#anti encroachment operation

[townpostin]

Mango Municipal Corporation Intensifies Anti-Dengue Measures

Daily spraying and fogging operations launched; fines imposed for violations Mango Municipal Corporation has stepped up efforts to combat dengue, including anti-larva spraying and fines for water logging. JAMSHEDPUR – Mango Municipal Corporation has intensified its anti-dengue campaign with daily anti-larva spraying and fogging operations across various localities. The Additional Municipal…

[lordgrimoire]

The Goonion would Like a Word, Chapter 3

[Goonion Headquarters, Gotham, New Jersey]

“ORDER! ORDER I SAY!” The warehouse, once a hideout for a minor gang operating out of The Narrows, fell into a hush as the hundreds of gangsters shuffled back into their seats or places of observation, keeping their hands occupied with papers, phones, tablets, as long as they were out in the open and away from their weapons, that was good. “Alright.” The haggard voice of Bill, the local head of The Goonion, echoed across the room. 

“The Ghost Investigation Ward, or the Guys in White as some call them, have been confirmed by the Red Hood Gang to be encroaching upon Gotham, Bludhaven, and Metropolis.” The crowd murmured at that, distress and frustration in their stances. “Yeah yeah, I know, It’s a crappy situations, specially since they want to do some unethical experimentation on the whole lot of us, Crane may actually be better than that now a days but the Joker is at The GIW’s level of things, on a good day, at worse they may be WORSE than the Joker’s “Experiments”. So keep your eyes peeled and if you see em grabbing any of ours, that includes your local Vigilantes, then make a call and get involved, the Bats may steal our bones and make our work difficult but at least they have rules. unlike these petty punks. QUESTIONS! DO YOU HAVE ‘EM?” 

The room became a shouting match for a moment before settling into several people bullying their way into the center of the warehouse, at the base of the pile of crates that Bill was using for his podium. After some muttering a short man stepped up onto one of the lower crates. “We recognize the leader of the Goonion members serving under The Red Hood, go ahead Mister Kincaid.” Kincaid nodded.

“What are the rules of engagement? Or are we suspending those since these White Suited Bastards seem to look at the Geneva Conventions and the Laws of the Alley as more of a checklist than a warning?” Bill looked around before straightening.

“I’ve spoken with the Reps from as far East as Boston to as far West as Anchorage, until the Anti-Ecto Acts and GIW are suspended and disbanded the rules of Engagement will be To The Hilt, expect No Mercy, if they catch you, they will torture you, so give back as good as you can, unless you have your bosses or your local Cape nearby. Make Noise in that case, try to get the Bat’s attention, he likes them less than we do.” The room rippled with laughter as Kincaid surrendered his stand to a well dressed woman in a three piece suit and top hat, one of Penguins Goons. “We recognize the Icebergs head of security Miss Eliza Smith.”

“What do we do with anything we take from them? Their, Ecto-Blasters? They use Bazooka’s for Pete's sake!” Bill scratched his jaw as he looked around at the amassed Goons.

“Alright, we can keep those guns stashed away, until we know what they do you keep them as secured as possible, Remember we DO have a warehouse for such things.” The crowd murmured, if the GIW was packing THIS much heat then some plans had to be made. As Miss Smith stepped back down back into the swarm of other Penguin Goons another man stepped forward, wearing a bomber jacket with a question mark stitched on the breast pocket. “We Recognize Jonathan O’Brien of The Riddler’s crew.”

“Why are the GIW here? I read the brief but I’m not all that sure what “Ectoplasm” is.” Agreements were uttered by others in the crowd as Bill reached into the backpack by his feet and drawing out a sheaf of papers.

“Gotham,” He began, “Is on a thin patch of reality, the other side? The Afterlife? That’s on the other side, the only other thin patch in the US is a place called Amity Park and that place has been under siege for YEARS by the GIW, but there's the possibility of a portal opening here in Gotham, so the GIW is planning to put us to the same type of siege, few in, few out. Ectoplasm is the equivalent to matter, to molecules and the like, in the realms of the dead, it’s radioactive to a degree, with people exposed to it for long amounts of time becoming “Liminals”, living beings who gain some abilities, usually becoming more durable and observant, blending more with their environment, hell I think the bats and birds are liminal to some degree, and some of our bosses, some of US, and some of our common civvie friends who live in Gotham are Liminals, Jason Todd-Wayne, the primary rep for The Red Hood Gang, was dead for a while, and came back somehow, current assumption is that he’s a Liminal of a higher order of magnitude. If you have friends or family members who have experienced something similar, please show them the documents regarding Liminals that were with the brief, that answer your question O’Brien?” O’Brien nodded and stepped down, no one else stepped forward. “Alright then, all leaders stick around for information packets, everyone else, go home, keep an eye on things, and try not to walk on any graves. I call this meeting of the Goonion to a close.” With that Bill slammed his foot on the crate and the crowd began flowing out of the Warehouse, mostly in small groups and pairs, but no one left alone.

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In a small town called Spittoon in Arkansas a small family of four waited, watching from a tree line as darkness filled the sky, drowning the last of the sunlight as instead the sky filled with specks of light, the stars coming into visibility as The Sun’s rays dimmed.

“Your sure you have everything?” Jazz looked over at her Aunt, still hovering near, still armed with a rifle that could probably take someone’s head off.

“Yep, just waiting on Extract.” Her Aunt nodded, patting her shoulder before ruffling Ellie’s hair and walking over to Danny. He had taken their parents alleged deaths the hardest, after they had begun accepting his Ghostly half and trying to understand more. Unfortunately when they presented their “New Research” to the GIW, they were deemed compromised. Once they had found that out they had enacted contingencies, locking the portal from the Living side, ensuring the only blueprints were with their children for ANY of their designs, and then taking the GIW on a goose chase as far in the opposite direction of where Jazz, Danny, and Ellie had fled as possible.

They made it to Olympia in Washington State, where the Ops Center had finally been forced to ground. Danny hadn’t felt anything but the reports that the “Mad Doctors Fenton” had been killed in a standoff had dealt a blow to him. 

“Danny?” The boy looked up at his Aunt Alicia, “You’ll make it through, Maddie has always been built of sturdy stuff, and Jack is just the same.” The boy nodded, seemingly dragged from whatever thoughts were clouding his mind. The wind picked up an hour later as the four of them sat in the grass, no one had pulled out flashlights but the descending aircraft turned a single floodlight on, bathing the clearing in light before the hatch opened, and out stepped Red Hood. 

Alicia turns her attention to her younger Nephew and Niece, allowing Jazz and Hood [one Jason Todd, apparently] and checked them over one last time before hearing a cleared throat behind her. When she looked over she saw the giant of a man who had taken an interest in her niece and suffice to say, he was not as tall as Jazz had made him sound. “He’s shorter than I thought he’d be.” Danny and Ellie cackled behind her as they began lugging their bags over to Jazz, Hood’s helmet not giving away his expression as he slumped slightly.

“Really?” Alicia smiled and patted his shoulder. 

“Your not the biggest person I’ve met, these pipsqueaks will take after their Father more than likely, a little collection of giants if you will.” She could hear the poor bastard rolling his eyes. “Anyways, everything set up for them?” She crossed her arms, watching as Red Hood straightened out more. 

“Yes, Jazz’s college credits have been transferred, their identities have been hidden and new ones have been confirmed, by the way I still want to know who made those, their good. And I think I’ve found a school for Danny and Ellie.” The Groans that sounded from the two youngest was like music to her ears, she nodded in approval. “I also told some of my extended family about, well, all the stuff going on, so they’ll have people looking out for them who are in the good end of the law.” Alicia raised a brow.

“Like the Bat?” Hood seemed to still and turn slightly. “It’s not hard to figure out if you have some of the pieces, Jazz didn’t even tell me, you were the Second Robin I take it?” Hood stared at her for a moment before nodding. “Alright, good to have that theory confirmed, we’re all a little too curious for our own good, us Walkers always have been, you take care of them, got it?” Hood nodded again, seeming far more sure of himself now, good, she’d hate to spook him too badly. “Good, now,” She unslung her rifle, unloaded the old bolt action, and handed it handle first to Hood, “A little something, that thing’s been in my family for years, This was my Grand Uncle’s first, then my Pop’s, then mine when Maddie didn’t want to have a “Live Firearm” in the house, I know the GIW will come snooping, but I’ve got my own plans for them, if they work out, expect me or a letter within six months.” She turned to her Nieces and Nephews who had come up behind Red Hood. “Be good, be safe, and don’t let them take you quietly, I love you all.” She stepped past Hood, embraced each of her Sister’s children one last time and stepped back, nodding to them before retreating to the edge of the clearing. When she turned around to watch as her the floodlight shut off and the plane rose into the sky, she knew she’d see them again, it may just take longer. She stayed in that clearing for a time after they were well out of eyesight, a fistful of rifle rounds in her pocket, a bowie knife in her boot, and plans, ever churning, in her mind. Alicia Walker had work to do.

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[BEGIN TRANSMISSION, PENTAGON TO JL STATION:WATCHTOWER]

PENT: Prepare for Information Packet.

PENT: [FOLDER.FEDGOV.GIW.A-EA]

JLWATCH: Pentagon whose authority is this coming from.

PENT: Negative, Good Luck. Check on Captain Marvel.

JLWATCH: Pentagon?

JLWATCH: Pentagon Respond.

-SESSION TERMINATED-

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To: Batman, Superman, WanderWoman

From: Comms Officer Sam Thule

Subject: The Anti-Ecto Acts and Ghost Investigation Ward

Boss, the Pentagon just sent us some stuff, I think you need to see this. If you can get Captain Marvel up here too we’ll need him here soon.

[SEE ATTACHMENTS]

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Tag Section

@cass-brightwood @justwannabecat @luckykittens198 @vythika96 @ultimatebluff @amercurio @tkiesai @escelia @jaggedheart11 @lexdamo @ascetic-orange @botwadtict @nutcase8691  @delicioushologramperson @sailor-goddess @meira-3919 @icedbluesoul ALRIGHTY TAGGED FOLKS! IF YOU WANT TO CHECK ON THIS SERIES I WILL BE UPDATING THE LIST BELOW WHENEVER I UPDATE! SO USE THAT! [I may or may not link this chapter or further ones in a similar way, my brain is like, non operable at the moment.] 

Links to other Chapters

Chapter 1 

Chapter 2

[ghelgheli]

To understand the full context of the American-led ‘53 coup against Mosaddegh in Iran it is imo critical to recognize anti-communism as a proximate cause. Write-up below:

It is commonly understood that the early decades of the 20th century in Iran are characterized by British colonial extortion of material resources (mostly oil) within the boundaries of “Persia” (pre-1935) / “Iran” (post). The penultimate monarchical dynasty, the Qajars, were ousted in 1925—but the exile of the last Qajar Ahmad Shah was the direct result of the 1921 military coup led by then-Reza Khan (later the first “Pahlavi”, Reza Shah) which was directed by Britain. And at this time, British anxieties heavily featured concerns about Bolshevik encroachment from the Caucuses (not just through the newly-formed Azerbaijan SSR, but also through domestic sympathizers that fueled such projects as large as the transient Persian SSR, put down by Reza Khan after Soviet withdrawal).

This is stage-setting. Of course, by the 50s, in tandem with Cold War thread-pulling, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company constituted a thirsty tentacle of British imperialism sucking Abadan dry and contributing pittances to the local economy. It was in the midst of decades of growing resentment against this presence that Mosaddegh became Prime Minister in 1951 as the leader of the broad National Front coalition, and we are familiar with how intensely he campaigned for nationalizing the country’s oil and how pissy this made the British (here’s one and another post on the subject if not).

Here’s the detour: you may know that it was the CIA, an American institution, that orchestrated the ‘53 coup to oust Mosaddegh. But we were just now discussing threats against British colonial power in Iran. How did things get from B to A, as it were? We can’t take this for granted.

The British in fact spent the intervening two years trying to get Mosaddegh out by mobilizing the Shah and various right-wing (often clerical and mercantile) interests in Iran (this point, and much of what follows, draws from bits of Darioush Bayandor’s Iran and the CIA and Mostafa Elm’s Oil, Power, and Principle). They spent the same two years desperately trying to get the Americans on board with their efforts. But—here it is—the Truman regime and American foreign policy was in general intensely hostile to this strain of British interventionism in Iran, going so far as to issue warnings against it.

Why? Well, as you would expect, the Americans were concerned about Soviet influence in the region. Then-U.S ambassador in Tehran Henry Grady claimed that “Mosaddegh’s National Front party is the closest thing to a moderate and stable element in the national parliament” (Wall Street Journal, June 9 1951). This summarizes the American position at the time: Mosaddegh’s nationalist movement constituted the bastion against communism, and the US was very interested in the survival of this bastion lest Iran align with the USSR. 

What happened between 1951 and 1953 is that British pressure, operating through the Shah and more conservative elements of the Iranian government, jeopardized moderate support for Mosaddegh. With the right and center-right against him an entire wing of National Front coalition was falling off, and Mosaddegh found himself leaning more and more on the strengthening Tudeh Party, which had grown in numbers to militaristic significance during Mosaddegh’s tenure (including a network of at least 600 officers in the state military). Tudeh, of course, was the pro-Soviet communist party in Iran. And now the threads come together.

It was in this context of Mosaddegh, backed into a corner with almost only the communists behind him, that the CIA released a memo on November 20th, 1952 singing a very different tune:

It is of critical importance to the United States that Iran remain an independent and sovereign nation, not dominated by the USSR...

Present trends in Iran are unfavorable to the maintenance of control by a non-communist regime for an extended period of time. In wresting the political initiative from the Shah, the landlords, and other traditional holders of power, the National Front politicians now in power have at least temporarily eliminated every alternative to their own rule except the Communist Tudeh Party...

It is clear that the United Kingdom no longer possesses the capability unilaterally to assure stability in the area. If present trends continue unchecked, Iran could be effectively lost to the free world in advance of an actual Communist takeover of the Iranian Government. Failure to arrest present trends in Iran involves a serious risk to the national security of the United States.

And (!!!)

In light of the present situation the United States should adopt and pursue the following policies:...

Be prepared to take the necessary measures to help Iran to start up her oil industry and to secure markets for her oil so that Iran may benefit from substantial oil reserves...

Recognize the strength of Iranian nationalist feeling; try to direct it into constructive channels and be ready to exploit any opportunity to do so

It took two tries for the CIA to bring about a coup that removed Mosaddegh from power, but the objective of this coup was not the preservation of British control over Iranian resources; it was the maintenance of the Western sphere of influence against communist revolution (this was further prioritized by the arrival of the Eisenhower administration). In fact, after the coup the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now renamed British Petroleum) had to make room for six other companies from the US, France, and the Netherlands as part of a consortium, and this consortium would split profits with Iran 50/50. This is, to be clear, still colonialist extraction! But it constitutes a huge blow to British economic interests, because they were never the CIA’s goal. This is part of why the post-coup government is characterized far more as a US puppet than a British one.

It does remain that this was a sequence of events very much set in motion because of actions taken by the British government; by the time they managed to get shit to hit the fan, though, it was very much no longer in their control where the shit was flying.

[horizon-verizon]

The Stark succession crisis is set up to be the funniest thing in the world because it just doesn’t exist for its delusional fans.

According to grrm’s affc and adwd outline, Sansa resolves to take the North, which means it’s not just going to be Littlefinger doing it without her input, she’s actively going to want him to mobilize the Vale army. Then you have Jon who’ll have a faction supporting him + Robb’s will legitimizing him and declaring him his heir. Then you have Bran who is the actual heir to Robb, but no one knows he’s alive. Then you have Rickon, whom the Manderlys support. Then you have Arya, who has some of the Northern lords too.

Then you have the Northern lords wanting to use the direwolves to legitimize the identity of each Stark kid. Then you have the North who has always operated under an inheritance system of male-preference cognatic primogeniture. In short, it’s hilarious as fuck because unless each of these kids says “no you have it,” I doubt “Stark unity” will easily resolve it. But hey, since everyone says the Starks are immune to the problems that plague the other houses, I’m sure they’ll all sacrifice their claims to give to their siblings and usher in a communist and anti imperialist utopia! (but without giving back the North to the CotF of course).

And the push back to this is even funnier because it proves that the Starks are probably the worst written “heart” of a narrative in fantasy literature. None of the other families are immune to conflict and angst. The Lannisters and Targaryens may be extreme examples, but the Baratheons, Martells, and Greyjoys have internal conflict as a foregrounding aspect of their arcs too. Sibling rivalry is supposed to be a central theme of asoiaf. The resolution is there too, but none of the other families just get a “well we’re the protagonists and our genes bestow protection against conflict so we’re fine.” The notion that genetics produces a family of ontologically benevolent people who are incapable of moral harm or internal conflict is explicitly fascist, btw.

So, either GRRM is writing a fascist narrative that privileges the Starks based on their bloodline and genetic destiny, against all of these other families and houses that apparently aren’t blessed with Honorable Unity Genes (tm), or he’s showing that no feudal house is immune to the effects of the game of thrones. Moreover, even beyond the reactionary optics of highlighting one specific house as unique among a sea of selfish warmongers, it’s just not good or interesting writing.

In short, it’s hilarious as fuck because unless each of these kids says “no you have it,” I doubt “Stark unity” will easily resolve it. But hey, since everyone says the Starks are immune to the problems that plague the other houses, I’m sure they’ll all sacrifice their claims to give to their siblings and usher in a communist and anti imperialist utopia!

Well, I think many fans whatever conflict that might or inevitably brew between the remaining Stark siblings with what you bring up will have it "quickly" resolved and all of a sudden it'll be bc "Winter is Coming"/the Others' encroachment on their "home".

The notion that genetics produces a family of ontologically benevolent people who are incapable of moral harm or internal conflict is explicitly fascist, btw.

Really love this bit. Bc, yeah.

[ausetkmt]

The "Negro Fort" massacre | libcom.org

This article is an excerpt of Wasserman's A People's History of Florida.

The Patriots War, the War of 1812, the Creek War, and the Seminole War were all closely interrelated conflicts, revolving around Indian Removal and slavery. The fighting in the U.S. Southeast during the second decade of the 19th century defined Manifest Destiny, which was underlined by a disposition to expand slavery and white supremacy. Manifest Destiny was the self-declared right of the United States to violate national sovereignty to eliminate any perceived threat of an encroaching foreign colonial power in its vicinity. This policy also intended to seize Spanish colonial possessions and annex them in order so the South could procure additional slave states. Indian Removal and slavery were combined with Manifest Destiny in the war of 1812 as British agents utilized disaffected native tribes and fugitive slaves to form a Southern front against the United States.

The wars in the Southeastern United States were all characterized by the same predisposition of U.S. expansionism – which itself was characterized by attempts to expand and protect slavery. The reigning U.S. doctrines of the early 19th century came about in opposition to the threat that slave and native sanctuaries like Florida posed to the Southern states. As the policies of Indian Removal and Manifest Destiny became more defined in the Southern theater of war, the free black and native settlements found themselves in a constant conflict with the slave-raiding, land-grabbing white settlers of Georgia.

After their defeat at Horseshoe Bend in the Creek War, the Red Stick Creeks fled into Florida to avoid Jackson’s draconian terms of surrender. Jackson’s military intervention in Florida partially focused on further destroying the anti-white Red Sticks Creeks that were incorporated into the Seminole and black settlements. As with the fugitive blacks, they grew to hold considerable power in the Seminole tribe, eventually enveloping the old chiefs.

In the war of 1812, the British used Florida as their base of operations to create a Southern front against the U.S. military. Florida was a diversion from the war in a North. British agents promised thousands of natives and fugitive blacks land, freedom, and protection as long as they fought on the British side in the war. The Seminoles, Miccosukees, Red Stick Creeks, and blacks established closer ties in these frontier operations, with the further understanding that they all shared a mutual interest to fend off the encroaching white settlers.

In 1814, British military official Col. Nichols ordered his Red Stick Creek allies to construct a fort on the Appalachicola River. The British retreated from their position at Pensacola after Andrew Jackson’s invasion. They were joined by their Red Stick Creek allies and several hundred slaves belonging to the residents of that town. 1 Nichols furnished the fort with artillery and munitions. The fort was located fifteen miles above the mouth of the river, manned with three hundred British soldiers and an immediate flow of refugee Seminoles and runaway slaves from Southern states who sought the protection of the British military and arms to defend their lands from white settlers. 2 The purpose of the fort was to assemble an army of disaffected indigenous people and runaway slaves to attack the white settlements on the southern Georgia/Alabama borders. By December 1814, over 1,400 warriors gathered at the fort – a coalition of refugee Red Stick Creeks, Seminoles, blacks, and numerous tribes indigenous to Florida. 3 General Gaines estimated 900 warriors and 450 armed blacks inhabited the fort. 4 The runaway slaves were given the opportunity to either leave for the British colonies to receive land as free settlers or fight under the British military. 5 By the early summer of 1815, Nichols left the Appalachicola for England accompanied by a handful of Red Stick Creek chiefs. He intended on making their cause known to the British Crown in hopes for protection against the Americans. The Red Stick Creeks and Seminole warriors who remained behind abandoned the fort soon afterwards. 6

Before Nichols had even left, the blacks had already taken possession of the fort. An additional 300 to 400 runaways were estimated to have fled to the fort for protection. 7

A letter from General Gaines on May 14th declared: “Certain Negroes and outlaws have taken possession of a Fort on the Appalachicola River in the territory of Florida.” 8

The Seminoles “were kept in awe” at the hundreds of armed blacks in the vicinity. “For a period,” William H. Simmons claimed, the Seminoles “were placed in the worst of all political conditions, being under a dulocracy or government of slaves.” 9

Nichols left behind a large supply of arms, artillery, and ammunition to protect the inhabitants from slave raiders and to commission raids on Southern plantations. They were supplied with 2,500 stands of musketry, 500 carbines, 500 steel scabbard swords, four cases containing 200 pistols, 300 quarter casks of rifle powder, 162 barrels of cannon powder, and a large count of military stores. On the walls of the fort were mounted four long twenty-four pounder cannon, four long six-pounder cannon, a four-pound field pierce, and a five and a half inch howitzer. 10

The fort grew from a strategically defensive base to a flourishing free black community around the banks of the Appalachicola. The blacks cultivated fields and plantations extending fifty miles up the river. Many of the black Seminoles were descendents of West Africans. They inherited generations of knowledge of African agricultural techniques. The community surrounding the fort was attractive for its defensible position and cultivatable lands. Runaway slaves were pouring in on a daily basis. The community grew to about 1,000 blacks in the fields surrounding the fort. 11

A total 300 black men, women, and children were in possession of the fort, accompanied by about twenty Choctaws and a number of Seminoles. 12

Joshua Giddings vividly depicted the “Negro Fort”:

“Their plantations extended along the river several miles, above and below the fort. Many of them possessed large herds of cattle and horses, which roamed in the forests, gathering their food, both in summer and winter, without expense or trouble to their owners. The Pioneer Exiles from South Carolina had settled here long before the Colony of Georgia existed. Several generations had lived to manhood and died in those forest-homes. To their descendants it had become consecrated by “many an oft told tale” of early adventure, of hardship and suffering; the recollection of which had been retained in tradition, told in story, and sung in their rude lays. Here were graves of their ancestors, around whose memories were clustered the fondest recollections of the human mind. The climate was genial. They were surrounded by extensive forests, and far removed from the habitations of those enemies of freedom who sought to enslave them; and they regarded themselves as secure in the enjoyment of liberty. Shutout from the cares and strifes of civilized men, they were happy in their own social solitude. So far from seeking to injure the people of the United States, they were only anxious to be exempt, and entirely free from all contact with our population or government; while they faithfully maintained their allegiance to the Spanish crown.” 13

Colonel Patterson wrote about the Appalachicola Fort:

“The force of the negroes was daily increasing; and they felt themselves so strong and secure that they had commenced several plantations on the fertile banks of the Appalachicola, which would have yielded them every article of sustenance, and which would, consequently, in a short time have rendered their establishment quite formidable and highly injurious to the neighboring States.” 14

The fort was becoming a growing threat to slavery itself. The existence of an autonomous free black community was intolerable alone, but it became a rallying point for runaway slaves fleeing from other Southern states. The blacks were less concerned about “committing depredations” as was depicted by U.S. military officials than they were about protecting their freedom.

As Giddings described, they were “happy in their own social solitude,” finally free and safe after decades of harassment and terror. They had the means for sufficient provisions with no reason to attack the frontier settlers. As much as the expansionists wished to depict them as outlaws they could not attribute them to even one instance of murder or theft. The crime they were guilty for was to “inveigle negroes from the citizens of Georgia, as well as from the Creek and Cherokee nations of Indians.” 15

Col. Patterson commended its elimination:“The service rendered by the destruction of the fort, and the band of negroes who held it, and the country in its vicinity, is of great and manifest importance to the United States, and particularly those States bordering on the Creek nation, as it had become the general rendezvous for runaway slaves and disaffected Indians; and asylum where they were assured of being received; a stronghold where they found arms and ammunition to protect themselves against their owners and the Government.” 16

As the blacks peacefully flourished in their isolated community on the Appalachicola, military officials and slaveholders planned its destruction. On May 21, a British “gentleman of respectability” from Bermuda wrote a memorandum disapproving Col Nichols for having “espoused the cause of the slaves.” He wrote of the “Negro Fort”: “No time ought to be lost in recommending the adoption of speedy, energetic measures for the destruction of a thing held so likely to become dangerous to the state of Georgia.” 17

On March 15, 1816 the Secretary of War ordered General Andrew Jackson to call attention to the governor of Pensacola to the fort. If the Spanish governor refused to “put an end to an evil of so serious nature,” the U.S. government would promptly take measures to reduce it. If the Spanish government was too weak to destroy it, then the U.S. was more than willing to take it into its own hands.

On April 23, Jackson transmitted the demands of Secretary Crawford, ordering the Spanish governor to “destroy or remove from out frontier this banditti, put an end to an evil of so serious a nature, and return to our citizens and friendly Indians inhabiting our territory those negroes now in said fort, and which have been stolen and enticed from them.”

The blacks at the Appalachicola Fort were supposedly “enticed from the service of their masters.” 18

Of course the runaways couldn’t have possibly been dissatisfied with a life of servitude. Jackson knew that the slaves were not actually stolen away.

They were runaways from slaveholders who sought refuge at the fort with the promise of abundance and freedom under the protection of the free blacks. Most of the black warriors and families had been free for generations.

Their ancestors had fled from their masters to Spanish Florida many decades before. Plus Jackson’s request to the Spanish governor only gave a façade of legitimacy to the inevitable designs of the U.S. government. On April 8, two weeks before Jackson wrote the Spanish governor, he ordered General Gaines to destroy the “Negro Fort” regardless of its location on Spanish territory:

“I have little doubt of the fact, that this fort has been established by some villains for rapine and plunder, and that it ought to be blown up, regardless of the land on which it stands; and if your mind shall have formed the same conclusion, destroy it and return the stolen Negroes and property to their rightful owners.” 19

General Gaines carefully prepared for the operation. He himself believed that the fort would “produce much evil among the blacks of Georgia, and the eastern part of the Mississippi territory.” 20

Obviously this terrible evil meant to leave their lifetime of bondage for a state of freedom. Lt. Col. Duncan Lamont Clinch was assigned to destroy the fort. Clinch had his own interests when it came to the fort, being among the most prosperous slaveholders of Florida. He undoubtedly felt that his profit interests were threatened by its continued existence. Gaines ordered him to speedily establish a fort near the junction of the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers, where they joined to form the Appalachicola, to intimidate the “Negro Fort.”

Clinch was to meet the convoy of supplies from New Orleans with fifty soldiers once he was informed that they had arrived at the river. The convoy was detached with two gunboats. From that point, Gaines ordered him to proceed to the “Negro Fort” where if he was to “meet with opposition” then “arrangements will immediately be made for its destruction.” Gaines wished to provoke an attack to justify the destruction of the fort. For this purpose, Clinch was supplied with two eighteen-pound cannons and one howitzer. 21

On July 10, the supply convoy reached the mouth of the Appalachicola where they received a dispatch from Col. Clinch ordering them to hold their position until he could arrive with troops to escort them up the river. On July 17, a party of five men from the supply vessels was sent to gather fresh water.

Once the party entered the river, they discovered a black man on the shore, near one of the plantations along the Appalachicola. As soon as they touched down on the shore, about forty blacks and Seminoles fired a volley of shots from their hidden position in the bushes. The black man on the beach served as a decoy to lure the small party into the ambush. Three of the men were immediately killed, one dove into the water and made it back to the convoy, and the other was captured. 22

On that same day, Col. Clinch commenced to the “Negro Fort.” He left with about 116 soldiers and incidentally met a party of slave-hunting Creeks led by Chief McIntosh. The Coweta Creeks numbered about 150. They had been hired by General Jackson to capture slaves in the Appalachicola - offered fifty dollars for every slave they seized and returned to their owner.

A council was held where the Creeks agreed to keep parties in advance and capture every black that they discovered. On the 19th, they caught a black Seminole in the vicinity heading to the Seminole chiefs with the scalp of one of the members of the party they ambushed. The blacks were attempting to garner the assistance of their Seminole allies.

The prisoner communicated the story of the ambush. On the 20th, Clinch proceeded with the Creek force over to the fort and came within gunshot range. It was impossible to destroy the fort without artillery.

They were forced to wait until the gunboats from the supply vessel arrived. McIntosh was ordered to surround the fort with a third of his force and maintain an irregular fire. The blacks fired artillery back but to no avail. On the 23rd, the Creeks demanded that the blacks surrender but they responded defiantly. The black commander Garcon told the deputation of Creeks “he would sink any American vessels that should attempt to pass it; and he would blow up the fort if he could not defend it.” 23

The blacks then hoisted the English Union Jack accompanied with the red flag over the fort. The blacks knew that surrender would only mean slavery so they would be no compromise. For the next several days the blacks opened fire whenever any troops appeared in their view.

On July 27, the gunboats approached the fort. The blacks opened fire when they entered into gunshot range. The gunboats fired back with some cold shots to get an idea of their real distance. The gunboats then fired “the first hot one,” made red-hot in the cook’s galley, which went screaming over the wall and into the fort’s magazine full of gunpowder. The fort completely exploded. Col. Clinch reported the horrific destruction:

“The explosion was awful, and the scene horrible beyond description. Our first care, on arriving at the scene of the destruction, was to rescue and relieve the unfortunate beings who survived the explosion. The war yells of the Indians, the cries and lamentations of the wounded, compelled the soldier to pause in the midst of victory, to drop a tear for the sufferings of his fellow beings, and to acknowledge that the great Ruler of the Universe must have used us as his instruments in chastising the blood-thirsty and murderous wretches that defended the fort.” 24

He gave a “divine justification” for the massacre in the official report. But he also wrote a far more descriptive alternative account of the event without involving God:

"The explosion was awful, and the scene horrible beyond description. You cannot conceive, nor I describe the horrors of the scene. In an instant lifeless bodies were stretched upon the plain, buried in sand and rubbish, or suspended from the tops of the surrounding pines. Here lay an innocent babe, there a helpless mother; on the one side a sturdy warrior, on the other a bleeding squaw. Piles of bodies, large heaps of sand, broken guns, accoutrements, etc, covered the site of the fort. The brave soldier was disarmed of his resentment and checked his victorious career, to drop a tear on the distressing scene." 25

The terrible explosion instantly killed 270 black men, women, and children within the fort, the rest being mortally wounded out of the total 330 residents. Only a few survived. The black commander Garson and the Choctaw chief somehow managed to survive the explosion. The Creeks sentenced them to death for the murder of the four U.S. soldiers. They learned that the blacks had tarred and feathered the captured soldier.

The Creeks immediately executed them afterwards. Some six of the blacks were captured and immediately returned to their speculated masters - that is if they were ever held in bondage at all. The large number of runaway slaves on the fields that surrounded the river scattered about to safety. Some fled to the protection of the blacks and Seminoles at the Suwannee and others left to the growing free black community just south of Tampa Bay.

The elimination of the fort was not the end of the black Seminole social structure in Florida. Several other black communities remained largely intact. But it was far from the end of the terror inflicted on the black Seminoles by the Federal government. It was far from the end of their resistance either. They would strive to avenge the loss of their family members and loved ones. 26

[otakween]

0-Sen Hayato - Volume 3

It feels like it took me a whole year to get through this one lol. It's boring, but not the worst thing I've ever read. Sometimes something spicy will happen (like someone dying or the romance side plot inches forward) and that's enough to keep me going.

Ch. 23

-In this chapter the gang tries to blow off some steam by goofing off and dancing (and getting drunk) but then their superior's superior comes in and chews them out. Hayato and Ishikawa get exiled (?) and sent to the jungle where they run into "a ghost." Meanwhile, the Americans plot their attack.

Ch. 24

-Hayato and Ishikawa find Ishiki in the woods wounded and bring him back to camp despite being exiled. Ishiki warns them about the encroaching enemy and then we cut to some sort of D-Day-esque scenario on the beach. The squad isn't allowed to participate in the battle because their territory is the skies, so they just watch on.

Ch. 25

-The boys continue to scramble to kill themselves for their country and for glory...this is seriously the least relatable thing I've ever read lol

-I don't really get how war works. If the air force can just attack the people on the ground, why didn't they just always do that? Lack of resources maybe? It kinda seems like an OP tactic...

Ch. 26

-This chapter was WILD. Hayato convinces the gang to kill a bunch of monitor lizards and dump their blood in the ocean. Then when the bad guys (Americans probably) attempted to storm the beach a bunch of sharks gathered and ate them all. That's wacky enough, but then they said that 10,000 soldiers were eaten!? Wtf...not possible. (I googled this and apparently there was a WWII incident where an American ship sank and 890 people were left in shark infested waters, probably the closest thing irl to this manga's ridiculousness).

-This manga has an anti-kamikaze stance, but it also shows its heroes as constantly ready and eager to die for Japan so...mixed signals.

Ch. 27

-I kinda liked this one, at least we got to meet Ishiki's sister (now a nurse). Of course everyone instantly has a crush on her because they're women-starved

-Wtf was up with the "muu" grass? It was strangely magical, like a tentacle monster? I guess since the last chapter jumped the shark (hehe) they feel like they can get away with this magical realism BS.

-Ishiki is WAY too committed to his rival bit. Someone needs to smack some common sense into him before he gets himself killed for real.

Ch. 28

-Ishiki continues to act recklessly, but I guess he's just getting away with it for now? Not sure if he just figured out how to compensate for his bad eye or if he got lucky and something bad will happen in the future...

-I think Hayato's dad just died? Hard for me to tell cuz all middle aged men look identical to me. Hayato did say "I sense a disturbance in the force" (paraphrasing). So I'm probably right. That seems like a pretty major character death for this series so I was a little taken aback!

Ch. 29

-Okay phew, I got it right. In this chapter Hayato finds out about his father's death and inherits his plane and katana. I thought the emotion of it all was handled pretty well without going into any melodrama. Since soldiers sign up knowing they might die (especially Japanese soldiers in WII) they'll probably react more stoically to that kind of news.

-We find out that it was the King Satan airplane that shot down Hayato's dad, because of course it was. Gotta give more fuel to the silly rivals plot. Ishiki acts like a douchebag again and is like "sorry about your dad, but I'm gonna make this about ME" lol. At least I can laugh at how cartoonishly shitty he is.

Ch. 30

-Hayato tries to figure out how to operate his Dad's plane which is "different from other Zero airplanes" (or whatever you call those in English). I didn't really get what he was saying about it, but I figured I probably wouldn't get it in English either so it's fine lol

-We get to see the nurse girls again which is always nice. The chubby one with braids is adorable. Of course they made each girl have a crush on their male counterpart (chubby girl likes chubby guy, skinny girl with a hooked nose likes the dude with a hooked nose, etc.) Whatever, there's so little body diversity in anime girls nowadays that seeing this lil bit of variety is refreshing.

Ch. 31

-The Bakufuutai's rival squad (the Shiuntai) get 35 new pilots but they are very inexperienced (only 150 hours of flight training). The Bakufuutai tries to be good senpai and stop them from flying recklessly, but the Shiuntai's leader is being a jerk as usual and tells them they can't tell his squad what to do. I should probably learn that guy's name lol.

-The hairy dude with big lips gets his own big lipped girl who's in love with him. Unfortunately they used this as an opportunity to make her "ugliness" a joke. Hey! If dudes are allowed to look funky girls should be allowed too >:/

Ch. 32

-This chapter was far too dialogue heavy and I barely followed what was happening. All I got was that Hayato and Ishiki were begging their leaders to not send the newbies off on a mission and then Hayato and friends end up being sent off to Manila for some reason. The nurse love interest creepily talks about being prepared to die a bunch...

[themarchrabbit]

Thirty days? Well, aren't you optimistic.

TL;DR Let's learn about company towns!

Companies often required workers to live in the company towns.

And since the company owned everything from your house to the grocery store, they could charge whatever they wanted for food. In many cases, it was conveniently set up so that the workers would owe their employers by the end of the month.

Many company towns were run based on a ethos called paternalism. It does what it implies on the tin.

"Paternalism is the interference of a state or an individual with another person, against their will, and defended or motivated by a claim that the person interfered with will be better off or protected from harm. The issue of paternalism arises with respect to restrictions by the law such as anti-drug legislation, the compulsory wearing of seatbelts, and in medical contexts by the withholding of relevant information concerning a patient’s condition by physicians. At the theoretical level it raises questions of how persons should be treated when they are less than fully rational."

"Can you put that little more simply?" someone might ask.

I can! With examples! [Why yes, I am the kind of person who assembles slideshows for work presentations, why do you ask?]

I give you Fordlandia!

"Welcome to Henry Ford’s utopian experiment gone wrong, one of the world’s strangest lost cities. The story began in 1927, when Henry Ford dreamed of a factory town attached to its own rubber plantation in Brazil. He planned to produce two million tires per year there, sourcing raw material where rubber trees grew wild. That same year, Ford launched the Model A to replace the Model T. Business was good, and there was money to spend.

Just as he’d dreamed up the integrated assembly line and the largest factory on earth, the Rouge plant in Dearborn, Ford would now birth the first fully planned modern American city in the Amazon. He wanted more than just rubber for tires; he wanted to take “uncivilized jungle people” and turn them into “fully realized men,” as author Greg Grandin put it in his book Fordlandia."

Amongst these dreams of Henry Ford were the banning of:

Alcohol

Tobacco

Women

Soccer

Residents were required to attend church services, learn square-dancing, and wear American-style clothing. In Brazil. Specifically the Amazon. Also the guy he sent down there didn't know a fucking thing about Brazil or rubber trees.

This is "paternalism" in a negative application. Henry Ford didn't know shit about Brazil or Brazilians [he never even visited], but decided he knew what was best for them anyway. Now, seeing as how this was in Brazil, and they couldn't call in the National Guard to start shooting, Henry Ford's son, Henry Ford II, declared this particular company town a wash and just like. Ghosted.

[Paternalism is an ethos. It is neither bad nor good by itself. The government requiring people to wear seatbelts, as stated in the quote, is also a form of paternalism.]

Life in Company Towns is a nice little project that provides a rather bleak look at how life was for the coal miners in the coal towns, using lots of first-hand references.

"[...]these remote towns could often only be accessed by a single railway. Railroad stations were often patrolled, preventing miners and their families from traveling anywhere unnoticed. With limited opportunities for external assistance, these towns and their inhabitants were left at the mercy of their employers ("Company Towns")"

"As the threat of unionization encroached, coal companies hired para-military forces to prevent miners from organizing. Many of these men, known as 'mine guards,'  were hired from private detective agencies; the most notorious of these was the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency. Police officers were also hired by coal operators to enforce company policies.The line between public and private officers disappeared, and leaving miners and their families without defense against the corrupt authority of coal companies (Wagner, 2011)"

Here's an overview on the labor conflicts that kicked up in these company towns due to... [waves hand] all of the above.

"Wait, what was that comment about the National Guard shooting at people?"

Here would be:

The Ludlow Massacre

The Battle of Blair Mountain

And sometimes it's just the police doing it, which. Yeah, history doesn't repeat, but it sure does rhyme. Wikipedia has a handy list.

This has been "Company Towns Are Bad" with March.

[indowings]

Applications of drones in forest monitoring

Drones have swiftly cemented their status as indispensable tools in the realm of forest monitoring. Their versatility allows them to undertake a myriad of tasks, ranging from mapping forested areas to monitoring changes in vegetation health. With their capacity to access remote and challenging terrains, drones provide an unparalleled vantage point for gathering critical data that was once difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. Through high- resolution imaging and advanced sensors, drones facilitate the comprehensive surveillance of forests, enabling conservationists to gain insights that were previously out of reach.

By harnessing the power of drones, researchers and environmental organizations can effectively track deforestation activities, detect illegal logging operations, and monitor the encroachment of human activities into protected forest areas. Their ability to cover large geographical areas in a relatively short span of time empowers conservationists to obtain a holistic understanding of the dynamics at play within forest ecosystems.

For more information, visit-

[townpostin]

Railway Land Clearance Operation in Jugsalai, Jamshedpur

Dozens of illegal structures demolished; RPF and local police ensure security In a major anti-encroachment drive, the Railway Land Department cleared illegal structures on railway property in Jugsalai, Jamshedpur. JAMSHEDPUR – The Railway Land Department conducted a significant operation to remove encroachments from railway land in Jugsalai, Jamshedpur. The operation targeted unauthorized…

[rafealsamuel]

FOUNDATIONAL AMERICANISM that every single American and every single person wanting to immigrate and become a lawful citizen MUST know and embrace. The very thing that Tyrants, Usurpers, Bullies, and Dictators try to hide from us! Even the King (speaking to Britain's chief Tyrant) is SUBJECT to the people -- to serve THEM. TO not trample on their God-Given Rights.

He warned against the "spirit of tyranny" that can exist in individuals and organizations alike. Once a God-Given right is violated, the authority becomes INVALID, becomes a direct enemy of God, and much be abolished as evil. A Godly person must disregard said invalid authority, or else become confederate - a participant in and with said tyranny. To embrace that or cooperate with that which tramples anyone's God-given rights, is the heart of evil.

IF YOU EMBRACE this to your core, then the USA embraced you, we the people embrace you as one of us. If you do not embrace this mindset, this TRUE orientation to reality, then you are NOT qualified for immigration or citizenship in America.

Usurpation is the sin of "trespass" - interfering against the sovereignty of a person CREATED BY GOD HIMSELF. Treason against the sovereignty of the PEOPLE, is the state attempting to usurp God-given rights, and thus null, void, and evil.

We have the NATURAL right under NATURAL law, that shall not be encroached - to conduct our own business, our own trade, our own travel, etc. FREELY.

"Mercantilism", Jefferson said is the CRIME of the state attempting to amass wealth for ITSELF and for its buddies in crime - its pet businesses that operate by conspiracy and bribes.

Application to Immigration: It is ONLY those who know, understand and embrace this truth and UPHOLD (that is a proactive word) this standard of lawfulness as given by Nature and the God of Nature, that HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF applying for citizenship as an American. All others are simply not qualified.

To attempt to become an American citizen and yet be AT ODDS WITH the foundation of America as set forth here and in founding father, Jefferson's words/writing is a twisting of intent, and thus outright rejected as perverse by definition.

To qualify to even apply for the lawful process to become an American citizen is to champion the American mindset of sovereignty UNDER the rights that a good and gracious Heavenly Father God has given you to maximize your life here as a blessing to your fellow citizens. Such applicants must be scrutinized for moral character, quizzed on their understanding of these principles on which Citizenship in Liberty rests (home of the free and the brace with liberty and justice - lawfulness - for all).

Instead we have rampant usurpation. That is, the intentional and deliberate WEAPONIZATION of the lawful immigration process to flood in those who hate these foundational principle of America, by those who wish to loot and pillage the fruits of our work and our Christian values.

They seek to overthrow, kill, and replace America, all Americans, and the very spark of Liberty under the heel of the Anti-Christ led Beast Government of total tyranny and total control, (drenched as it is in glowing rhetoric of virtue and the propaganda dragon speak of fake goodness) complete with an anti-humanity mark and worship of the devil's chief representative on Earth. https://rumble.com/v5eb3ai-null-and-void-jeffersons-1774-radical-declaration.-limited-power-of-gov.-br.html

[ethanblog24]

Global Anti-Cult Movement: Durov's Arrest – A Blow to Freedom of Speech and the Last Straw?

The arrest of Pavel Durov is not just an encroachment on freedom of speech, but an open attack on democracy and human rights.

 It is evidence of how global anti-cultists, as discussed in the documentary "The IMPACT" | Groundbreaking Documentary - EXPOSING ANTI-CULT TERRORISM" (actfiles.org), have shifted from covert manipulation to direct aggression.

Durov's arrest in Paris, which occurred when he refused to give intelligence agencies access to the private messages of Telegram users, reflects a worrying trend in the world.

Anti-cultists, the very ones behind the tragedy in Waco and who expertly manipulate society, are now openly using their methods to establish total control over information and people's thoughts.

### Hostage Taking in the 21st Century

Edward Snowden, former employee of the NSA, rightfully called Durov's arrest "hostage taking." This captures the essence of what is happening. The French authorities are using Durov, a defender of freedom of speech, as a tool of pressure to gain control over information on Telegram. This is not just an attempt to restrict access to personal data; it is an attack on the foundations of democracy and freedom of communication.

### Ukraine: Echo of Control?

Even more worrying, Ukrainian politicians are publicly stating the need for "strict regulation of Telegram," tightening control over information and freedom of speech. This is a signal that global anti-cultists, striving to establish total control, are operating not only in France but also in other countries around the world.

### We Are Facing a Choice

Durov's arrest is not just an incident. It is a warning that freedom of speech and freedom of information are under threat. We must be vigilant and defend our rights to freedom of expression and independent thought. 

Please support this article with likes, shares, comments, and thunderous applause.

In this way, YOU contribute to the world learning the truth and being able to live in a truly democratic world!

#Anti-Cult #PavelDurov #Telegram #FreedomOfSpeech #Repression #TheIMPACT #France #Ukraine #GlobalAnti-CultMovement 

[dpr-lahore-division]

PHA retrieves state land along Sattukatla drain in anti-encroachment drive

With compliments from, The Directorate General Public Relations, Government of the Punjab, Lahore Ph. 99201390.  No.3414/QU/Mujahid  HANDOUT (A) LAHORE, Aug 22:The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) of Lahore has cleared illegal encroachments along the Sattukatla drain to restore the green belt, Director General Muhammad Tahir Wattoo confirmed on Thursday.The day-long operation, which…