#but with extremely high infant mortality to match

[birdsquirrel]

me worldbuilding: there are some little bunny-people that are well known for their lovely gardens.

they were literally made for war and even though it has been centuries since they were under the thumb of the evil wizard that created them, their society still reflects this, being highly stratified and highly conformist.

occasionally, some jackass will think that the sweet lil bunbuns will be easily bullied off their valuable farmlands, and gets his ass kicked to a pulp for trying.

[thezodiaczone]

Aries Compatibility

ARIES + ARIES (MARCH 21 - APRIL 19) You're two high-strung, passionate Fire signs who both like to be the Alpha dominant. As such, you'll need to toss the hot potato back and forth, submitting to the other's rule—at times through gritted teeth. Acquiescence may not come naturally, but it builds a necessary trust. Aries is a paradox: you're the zodiac's infant (its first sign) and its gallant hero (you're ruled by warrior Mars). You want to save the world and be saved at the same time. You'll need to occasionally allow yourself to play wounded knight or damsel in distress, and let your mate charge to your rescue. However, don't spiral into neurotic helplessness or analysis paralysis. Nobody can beat a topic to death quite like you can—but that's what therapists are for, Aries. Neither one of you can be saddled with the emotional care and feeding of an adult baby. You're too independent for that. When your problems gain too much mental gravitas, it's time to move—literally. Disperse your Martian angst and anger with lots of physical exertion. As fellow adventurers, you travel well together. Try snowboarding, exotic bike tours, Costa Rican rainforest expeditions. Passionate sex is another antidote to prickly feelings for your high-touch sign. Like Aries Hugh Hefner, you have a champion libido (and an awesome sense of entitlement). Some Aries couples may mutually agree to flex the terms of your monogamy, although the jealousy it stirs might not be worth the trouble.

ARIES + TAURUS (APRIL 20 - MAY 20) The stubborn Bull locks horns with the willful Ram, nostrils flaring, heads bowed in determination. So begins a fierce but fiery courtship, as splashy and menacing as a Pamplona stampede. Aggression, however uncivilized, is part our Darwinian natures. It certainly is for your signs—who possess an arsenal of steamrolling tactics, from doe-eyed charm to old-fashioned philistine strong-arming. No weak-willed mate will survive your natural selection process. Nor should he. Neither one of you feels safe in the arms of a mate who can't protect you. Thus, your initial faceoff is simply a warning shot: Show me your strength so I can trust you. Once the fanfare is over, you make a great team—like British pop royalty Victoria (Aries) and David (Taurus) Beckham.

As tight as two mafiosos, you like to dress up and flaunt your natural superiority over the rest of the animal kingdom. The deal is sweet for both of you. Taurus gets an attractive show pony and a lusty mate to satisfy his Earthy libido. Aries has a lifelong provider and benefactor to supply creative freedom and endless playtime. Issues can arise if Taurus grows too possessive or tries to tame independent Aries. Indulgent Taurus will need to remain active to keep pace with the energetic Ram (read: lay off the nightly steak frites and vino). You both crave attention, but don't go looking for it outside the relationship, unless you want a real showdown. Like two tots in a nursery, you share a favorite word: Mine!

ARIES + GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUNE 20) ♥♥♥♥ You're the best of friends, so why not throw in some benefits? You certainly can…but not so fast. Your common traits are exactly what can snuff the spark before it combusts. Namely: impetuous, reckless, unstoppable drive for instant gratification. You want what you want, and you want it NOW. Sure, the adrenaline you evoke from trading edgy banter, bungee jumping, or playing footsie under the conference table might convince you that you're soulmates. However, this attitude will lead to an inchoate relationship, with the two of you skydiving into City Hall before you even know each other's middle names. It doesn't all come out in the wash, so check that laissez-faire attitude when you're ring shopping on the second date. That said, you do have the makings of a great match that's rooted in true friendship, intellectual chemistry and fun. The key is to pace yourselves and to continuously bring new adventures to the table. Boredom is the enemy; it leads to cat-and-mouse games and mental chess matches with each other. Remain active: get involved in a political campaign, build houses for the poor, take an eco-tour or scuba lessons. Host and attend lots of parties with your mutual friends, and busy yourselves with projects that satisfy your short attention spans. Above all, don't turn to each other for advice, unless you like impatient, tough-love coaching and draining circular conversations. Not exactly the soothsaying your sweetie needs in a rare vulnerable moment.

ARIES + CANCER (JUNE 21 - JULY 22) Aries is the zodiac's baby (its first sign); Cancer is its matriarch, ruling the fourth house of motherhood, home and family. Is this relationship doomed to be an Oedipal cliche? Not if you temper these traits through steady, conscious self-development. Otherwise, you easily lapse into automatic roles that polarize you into a parent-child (or master-and-servant) dynamic. Aries can be selfish—not maliciously, but in a crude, clueless style that leaves Cancer resentful and dismayed at the Ram's lack of nuance. Cancer knows how to play the nurturing giver, but this delicate sign needs room to be vulnerable, too. Aries loves to be coddled, but Cancer's maternal indulgences will create a spoiled brat or a demanding diva. Besides, while the Crab may have a tough outer shell, the true warrior is Aries, ruled by aggressive Mars. Your differences are many: Aries is a diehard independent and Cancer is a family guy; Aries needs freedom, the Crab's possessive grip clings tight. You'll need to compromise, or else the relationship can turn into a competitive, jealous hotbed. You can both brood with the best of them, and your dark days eclipse even the tiniest sliver of hope. Talk about depressing. Swear off the silent treatment and learn to communicate as two adult equals.

ARIES + LEO (JULY 23 - AUGUST 22) Aries and Leo are Fire signs who love drama, passion and extreme adventure. You're a flashy, outspoken duo that plays by your own bold agenda. Restless souls, you need lots of physical and intellectual stimulation—politics, inspiring conversations, startup businesses—you'll juggle them all, making it look so easy. Of course, your emotional meltdowns require a team of therapists and devoted friends to fix, and you should keep those folks on speed dial. Adrenaline is your favorite drug; no surprise Aries Jennifer Garner and Leo Ben Affleck fell in love while co-starring in the action flick Daredevil. Like this Hollywood pair, who refuses to walk the red carpet together on principle, you respect each other's autonomy. Fire signs are by nature independent. You both need to make your own mark on the world, and you don't like anyone stealing your shine. In fact, trouble starts when one of you eclipses the other's big moment or makes the other look foolish in public. Rule number one: don't compete. With your rash tempers, it won't end well. Instead, be each other's biggest fans and champions. As the relationship progresses, put more effort into dressing up, especially if you become parents. Because you're so comfortable together, you could end up bumming around in burp cloths and track suits, dulling the sexy edge that attracted you in the first place.

ARIES + VIRGO (AUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 22) The razor's edge between love and hate lives in this common but contradictory coupling. Your attraction feels so fated, it's impossible to resist. Fire-sign Aries loves freedom and risk, but helplessly falls for prudent, parental Virgo, an Earth sign landlocked by practicality and protocol. The tips of Virgo's gossamer wings are singed by Aries' flame—yet, into the fire the Virgin flutters. Both signs have a hero complex, and this relationship centers around fixing each other, or exposing the other to new ways of life. For the first six to twelve months, it's exhilarating. Arduous Aries hand-delivers Virgo's sexual awakening with passion that's tender and all-consuming. Cautious Virgo teaches the impetuous Ram how to slow down, prepare and look both ways before crossing. New facets of your personalities unearth themselves—how lovely! Once the hormone flood is no longer at high tide, however, there are glaring differences to negotiate. Virgo's well-intentioned criticisms feel like a character assault to Aries ("who cares how I fold my T-shirts? I'm still a good person!"). Aries' myopic selfishness makes Virgo feel resentful and unappreciated—especially after hours of listening to the Ram's diatribes with the patience of a paid analyst. At this point, you realize that you've spent way too much time together, and you've lost touch with the outside world. Roll out of bed and reconnect with your individual friends, hobbies and interests. Trust that the other one will be there when you return.

ARIES + LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 23 - OCTOBER 22) ♥♥♥♥ You're opposite signs who can match up well, but you sometimes baffle one another, too. Aries rules the self and Libra rules relationships. Libra is a lover; Aries is a fighter. Your polar extremes can be a great complement if you borrow what the other does best. Rash, temperamental Aries could stand to give others the benefit of the doubt, to look before leaping—something the wise Judge does well. Languid, overly accommodating Libra can learn to speak up, say no, and take action instead of pondering the possible consequences for a year. Although your differences can be irritating, they also make you a well-rounded couple if you play them right. When Aries needs to rant, patient Libra offers uninterrupted listening, capped with sage, sensible feedback. In return, Aries helps Libra overcome a mortal fear of conflict, teaching this sign how to stand up for his rights. As parents, or even business partners, you play the good cop/bad cop routine like seasoned pros. Just be willing to adjust your internal thermostats as needed. Hotheaded Aries will need to dial down the anger, lest all that concentrated emotion throw Libra's scales off balance. Erudite Libra will need to descend from that lofty, cultured perch and take a bold risk. (No, Aries does NOT consider ten years a reasonable time to wait for an engagement ring—and never will.) Compromise is essential for you to find a rhythm.

ARIES + SCORPIO (OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 21) Aries' ruler, passionate Mars, also wields minor command over Scorpio (whose main overlord is Pluto). Fierce physical attraction draws your signs together, but it's a game of sexual gunpowder and erotic explosives. Not that either of you is afraid of such things. No sign is as darkly intense as watery Scorpio. When mixed with Aries' concentrated fire-power, you stir up quite the hydroelectric charge. However, this match can only last if Scorpio has evolved from a ground-dwelling, vengeful scorpion into an elevated "eagle" state. Here's the fundamental challenge: Aries takes; withholding Scorpio takes away. When Aries reaches out his grasping hand, Scorpio's first instinct is to jump back, which wounds the sensitive Ram. Aries energy is consuming, which leaves Scorpio weak-kneed but scared. Aries will need to temper the raw desire, or at least mask it to avoid overwhelming Scorpio. Jealous Scorpio will need to stop Google-stalking Aries and hiring private detectives whenever the independent Ram goes out for a beer with friends. One way in which you're alike? You're both hyper-sensitized to abandonment, and may even shun each other in a self-protection paradox: "Go away before you leave me." (This tactic only guarantees another hot reunion tryst.) Selfishness can also be this couple's downfall. Scorpio is the sign that rules other people's resources—his karmic job is to create wealth from another man's pocket. Aries is simply born entitled. In a sense, you both live by the credo "What's mine is mine; what's yours is mine." Who will refill the coffers once you empty them?

ARIES + SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 22 - DECEMBER 21) ♥♥♥♥ Chemistry and simpatico build fast between these two Fire signs, and you find a twin soul in each other. You're both independent explorers, driven by lust, joie de vive and a breathtaking moxie that others mistake for arrogance. That brio and derring-do is the badge of your spiritual kinship—a primal mating call that draws you together. You share a blunt sense of humor, and naturally understand the other's need for space and autonomy (at least at first). Thrilling conversations traipse expansive terrain: philosophy, art, human nature, science, spirituality, dreams. Together, the impossible feels probable, and your natural confidence soars higher. Caution: the view from your rosy lenses can be a bit myopic. Sagittarius is a gambler and Aries is a charging knight—neither thinks far ahead. You'll need crash insurance for the times that your grand schemes don't reach your projections. At moments, you both lapse into overthinking, which can kill the celebratory vibe. Aries also has a greater need to for coddling and personal attention. At times, the Ram may resent competing with Sagittarius' busy career, social schedule and hobbies—and Sagittarius gets impatient with Aries' needy spells. When angered, your burning tempers can raze a national forest to ash. Be careful not to unleash a spiteful spark, for that's all it takes to destroy this treasured landscape.

ARIES + CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 22 - JANUARY 19) Aries is the Alpha in most relationships, but here the Ram meets his match. In the Goat, Aries finds a more seasoned pack leader, and backs into a rare state of obedience. This weighty respect comes from Capricorn's ruler, wise old Saturn, the planet of maturity, authority and command. Capricorn is the zodiac's father sign; Aries is its firstborn child. It's the difference between a king and a knight, a queen and a duchess. Both are noble, but one is clearly the elder. This can be a dealbreaker for Aries in some cases, as too much paternalism makes this independent sign run for freedom. However, it usually works. Although Aries can be a hellish brat, Capricorn is unruffled and even amused by the tantrums, giving Aries space to act out. If you accept your cosmic roles, you can make excellent partners in both love and business. Aries is ruled by warrior Mars, and Capricorn is a four-star general by nature. You both see life as a battlefield to conquer, and with Aries' grit and Cap's determination, there's no goal you can't achieve. Earthy Capricorn excels at structure and planning, and is the terra firm beneath the Ram's restless hooves. Fiery Aries is a daring playmate who amuses, excites and entertains the sober Goat, especially in the bedroom (where Capricorn has a lesser-known lusty side). Aries is a flirt, and this can spark jealousy in traditional Capricorn. Over time, trust and mutual respect abolish the Goat's fears, and you make supportive lifelong partners.

ARIES + AQUARIUS (JANUARY 20 - FEBRUARY 18) ♥♥♥♥ You're laugh-a-minute friends who make a fine comedic duo, but the romance isn't as hearty as your side-splitting guffaws. You're amazed by how quickly the other delivers a hilarious comeback or a clever opinion, and it turns you on. Banter leads you to the bedroom fast, where the sex is playful and experimental (though not heavy on the emotional connection). It's as though you've met your twin; and alas, you may soon feel more like siblings than lovers. After a couple weeks, the Bickersons sideshow routine gets old, especially for Aries, and you run out of things to talk about. While casual Aquarius likes to keep the conversation light, Aries has intense, brooding spells that demand way too much emotional attention. For Aquarius, problems are solved with steely logic or left alone, but Aries is unable to curb obsessive thinking, which drives Aquarius mad. Your styles of affection are different, too. Cool Aquarius gets overwhelmed by the Ram's passion and physicality—there's way too much touching, grabbing and kissing for the airy Aquarian temperament. If you're determined to be together, push yourselves to go beyond platonic borders by traveling, taking classes, even performing on stage together. Closeness breeds more ennui than affection. Cultivate mystery through time apart. Your independent signs need to develop your own lives, then reunite with thrilling tales from the road.

ARIES + PISCES (FEBRUARY 19 - MARCH 20) Aries is the zodiac's first sign, Pisces its last. You're the Alpha and the Omega, the dawn and the sunset. You're as far apart and as close together as two signs can get. Although your differences are vast, you also have a broad expanse of material from which to fashion your relationship. Your polar positions can actually make you a great match. Aries loves to be adored and spoiled, and generous Pisces will give everything in the name of love. In Pisces' worshipful gaze, Aries feels brilliant and boundless, and his insecurities melt away. This is important for the sensitive Ram, whose "wounded soldier" archetype is healed by the Pisces nurse. In this relationship, Aries is free to follow his natural hunting instincts; Pisces prepares a banquet from his conquests. The danger: You both have vivid imaginations, but with two dreamers at the helm of this romance, the ship can veer off course. Aries is a take-charge leader, but needs a strong second mate. Bravado and confidence don't come easy to insecure Pisces, who falls into feigned helplessness under duress. Moody spells are common for your signs, and digging yourselves out of emotional ditches can be a challenge. You'll need a council of advisors to help you manage aspects of daily life—accountants, lawyers, coaches, therapists. Aries can be naturally aggressive, where Pisces is passive or passive-aggressive. You'll need to adapt your communication styles in order to be heard.

[stillness-in-green]

Changeling: The League (2/3)

Being the next installment of my deeply nerdy spur-of-the-moment decision to do up a bunch of My Hero Academia villains as Changeling: The Lost characters.  For some introductory info and the League of Villains, check this post.  Or hit the jump for the Meta Liberation Army!  

THE METAHUMAN LIBERATION ARMY

Considerably reduced from what they are in canon (I don’t think there are 116,000 changelings in Japan, much less that many changeling dissidents!), the leaders of the MLA are instead a band of secret loyalists for the Keeper called Destro, who have spent a great many years preparing for a chance to bring him to the real world in full glory, unhindered by time limits or reduced powers.  The requirements are many and arcane, with a huge number of ways things could fall to disarray.  Thus they find to their great alarm that their prophecies are suddenly skewing when the truth of Shigaraki’s durance/Keeper comes out--there are two “heirs,” it seems, and fate is swirling, and it will only settle over one of them in the end.  

The group has its fingers in some of the more obscure fluff-book magic--fate-crafting, oracular dreams and the like--and collectively share a massively decked-out Hollow.

Re-Destro

Quote: “Everyone has a purpose to serve.”

Type: Gargantuan Ogre/Treasured Fairest dual kith.  The incarnation of Destro’s will.  Born in Faerie, he spent his early years being instructed (and molded) always--stand up straight, speak more clearly, be stronger, be better, you are the one who will herald me.  Re-Destro was delivered out of the Hedge at seven years old clutching a squall knife as long as his arm, his mind filled with the knowledge that he was the one who would see Destro ushered into the real world.  He was welcomed, open-armed, by those changelings who had been sent before.  He has spent over thirty years in the real world since then, scrupulously maintaining a startlingly high Clarity, but Destro whispers in his dreams more nights than not, and Rikiya (as he was named, though he has a true name his mother whispered against his head as an infant, now long forgotten) has always had the nagging feeling that the mundane Earth is not his true home.  

A tall, stiff-shouldered man in his Mask, Rikiya looks much as he does in canon, though without the stress spots on his forehead and with a nose that’s merely prominent, rather than a cartoonishly huge beak.  He’s quite tall and can go from mildly unassuming to toweringly imposing on a dime.  In mien, his hair goes more coppery and his skin becomes unblemished marble, the palest shade of jade in color, tinging ever so slightly darker around his joints.  His nose returns to its canonically proper glory, and the places where his hairline recedes in his mask are revealed to be making room for a pair of broad, curving horns, emerald green at the tips.  He’s unusually clean-hewn for an Ogre, not handsome, per se, but undeniably striking.  When he uses his kith blessing, he grows to profound sizes (shredding even the most cleverly crafted Hedgespun), easily as tall as a two storey building.  Naturally, he tries not to do that kind of thing around mortal witnesses.

Rikiya’s Wyrd is getting quite high (it was high even as a child, as might reasonably be predicted), so particularly sensitive or addled humans will sometimes see or experience fragments of his true form--his unyielding skin, a brief glimpse of the shadow of his horns, the echoing weight of his footsteps on stone floors.  His potent Wyrd and his affinity with the home of the Gentry means that his magic sometimes leaks into objects he keeps on his person for too long--it’s an issue he’s aware of, and practically speaking, it mostly means that he never wears anything more than a day in a row.  He has a staggering variety of suits and ties.  

Court/Mantle: Courtless.  With high-ranking friends in a sprawling freehold overseen by Directional Courts, Rikiya makes rounds in all of them.  He’s a deft hand with Hedgespun and his works are in high demand at even the most discerning changeling markets.  His home is in the center--close to the epicenter, in fact.

Contracts: Barbarically focused, though he uses both of his contracts sparingly.  His experience has gone more into his, shall we say, inherent magic.  

        Vainglory I-V.  Even when playing the role of a popular but unranked freehold member, or a canny designer of mundane accessories, Re-Destro has never forgotten who and what he is, and when he’s using these Contracts, that comes out with psyche-bruising force.  His higher-tier invocations tend to cause his colors to mottle somewhat, infusing to darker shades of green around his face--the hollows of his eyes particularly--and extremities.  

        Stone I-V.  Unbelievably strong whenever he needs to be.  He tries to avoid combat or let his underlings handle it when he can--he has very few problems maintaining his Clarity, but causing harm to others is a surefire way to disturb it--but when he does break these out, he’s as difficult to put down as a berserker.  Tends to take relaxing vacations after any occasion where he’s had to really work this. 

Curious 

Quote: ”You’ve got the look of someone with a story to tell.  I want to hear all about it.”

Type: Cleareyes Beast.  Once upon a time, she was a journalist with a nose for a story--well, she’s a journalist still, with a nose like you wouldn’t believe.  Talented and quick-witted, both traits won her attention from Destro’s “recruiters,” but it was her tenaciousness that finally saw her brought in from the snow and the hunts, a semblance of a human form returned to her, and the bright ambrosia of purpose poured down her throat.  Delivered to Re-Destro when he was in his 20s, Chitose is a hunter and a dream-spinner, a trickster with a deft and ruthless touch for talecrafting.  She remembers the headiness of blood on her tongue, and she can always smell a bleeding heart.  

A fox changeling, though given her bent of viciousness and her unusual coloring, you could be forgiven for thinking her a kumiho or a particularly wicked kitsune.  In mien, she has long, thick white hair and a pair of white tails (three in the dreamscape), tipped in black like stained ink brushes, that match her long, tufted ears.  Her whole body’s covered in a fine layer of silken fur; she’s got a lupine lengthiness to her features and sharp teeth in her smile.  In her mask, her hair’s rich and dark and she seems to have a perpetual healthy glow to her skin, tipping into a noticeably high, intemperate flush when her passions are aroused.  A beauty in either form, she has thin, seemingly delicate wrists and ankles, but moves with a quick, decisive grace.  Her eyes are blue with just a hint of the green they used to be, the color standing out sharply from the ring of her black eyelashes.  

Court/Mantle: The South, seat of ecstasy.  Chitose remembers the purity of her emotions in Faerie, remembers heights of euphoria and shocks of terror that stole her breath away, but out in the real world, she feels muted and muffled, never quite fulfilled, as if she’s always groping for an outstretched hand that’s just out of reach.  The Court of Song gets her closest to that reckless, all-pervading sensation, and so she throws herself headlong into its giddy pursuit of obsession.  Her mantle wraps her in a sensual warmth and, when she’s particularly worked up, wisps of thin white smoke scented like heady incense or burning sugar.  Every so often, when her eyes catch the light in a dark room, they reflect red instead of green.

Contracts: 

        Den I-III.  She considers herself to have every right to be wherever she finds herself and is not about to let a home security system stop her when she’s chasing any sort of rabbit.

        Dream I-IV.  Whether she’s digging for a story or pushing a narrative, dreams are fruitful ground with a multiplicity of uses, none of which she’s squeamish about implementing.  Curious is a terror, asleep or awake.  

        Omen I-III.  While she’s not much interested in fortune-telling as a method for long-term strategic planning (you want Skeptic for that), she does absolutely have a use for powers that give her visions of someone’s worst memory or upcoming major life events.  

Skeptic

Quote: “Do you have any idea what kind of shitstorm we have coming down on us?  What?  You can’t see the future?  I guess that means you should shut the hell up and stop distracting those of us who have something useful to contribute then, doesn’t it?!”

Type: Oracle Wizened.  Destro knew that his followers would need someone who could properly interpret signs and portents, so set his recruiters to finding someone with an eye for secret signs, a knack for the languages of symbolism and metaphor.  Most of them brought back psychics or sensitive children, but one particularly old recruiter, for whom “computers” were a new and strange novelty, brought back Tomoyasu.  An electronics whiz-kid from a young age, Tomoyasu was in high school at the time, but already doing college prep.  He was driven and competitive but, crucially, willing to explain things to people who didn’t understand them.  In Faerie, his eyes were opened (forcibly, sometimes with clamps) to a great many more languages and codes, and his competitive personality honed to a vicious edge because you did not want to be a failure, not at any cost.  

Now that he’s been sent back to the real world, Skeptic has a presence in many realms.  He’s still quite good with computers, of course, but there’s the much more important work of Destro that needs to be done, and that involves both tasks for now and plans laid for later.  As such, he maintains dream pledges with a number of psychics (mostly fresh ones, though there are a few shattered survivors from amongst his rivals for his current position).  Unlike Curious, he isn’t interested in digging in their dreams or using them as staging grounds for larger projects; he only needs them to help him fill in his understanding of the future.  He and Re-Destro do a great measure of the work in maintaining the group Hollow.  

Rail-thin and gangly, Skeptic stalks about his environment with a constant sense of bloody-minded productivity.  He’s rarely without a laptop or tablet tucked in one arm and wears exclusively black, which just adds to the impression of being The World’s Gothiest Scarecrow.  His eyes are always hidden, behind his long bangs, razor-thin sunglasses, or--on more formal Court occasions--a broad silk blindfold, but glimpses of them are always alarmingly bloodshot.  In mien, his hands and arms are dotted with tattoos and scarification, faerie glyphs and sigils, and his eyes are filmed with blood.  He may not actually have eyelids--certainly no one has ever seen him blink.  Usually has a sword or the emblem of one on his person somewhere--a custom of his Court, because the heavens know he’s no swordfighter.

Court/Mantle: The West, seat of honor.  Very much a means to an end.  Skeptic has little interest in martialtry, but the needs of Destro demand that someone do it, and his obsessive perfectionism and rigidly high standards for himself make him the best fit--and anyway, the Court of War does need strategists.  He’s learned how to handle weapons in a perfunctory sort of way, but he’s a much better shot with a rifle than one would expect from the state of his eyes, especially if he’s got some time to spend fidgeting with one for a little bit before he has to fire it.  His mantle is relatively low, compared to most of his motley-mates, and manifests as a penetrating chill to the air and a slightly sharper tang of blood-smell than just his red-rimmed eyes can explain.  

Contracts: 

        Animation I-V.  You don’t have to waste time learning how to operate anything if the object itself will tell you how to use it, and you don’t have to stand around waving a sword at people when you can have the sword wield itself.  “Inanimate” nothing; as a rule, he likes objects better than people.  

        Artifice I.  Object touchy because it’s busted?  Nothing a bit of magic can’t fix (at least for long enough to get the job done.

        Hours I-IV.  The result of Skeptic’s understanding of objects crashing together with his oracular abilities.  The time magic he can work on inanimate objects is very useful (and yes, the way Shigaraki warps the first clause of this drives him absolutely mad), but the real miracle is what the ability to control time dilation in the Hedge does for his and his motley’s productivity.

Trumpet

Quote:  “I’m sure we’ll succeed.  After all, we’re the ones he chose.” 

Type: Fairest Muse.  The only member of the MLA motley proper that has any ambivalent feelings about The Destro Revival Festival.  He’s about Re-Destro’s age, but was kidnapped at a much less tender age than the rest, well into his adulthood.  He was an up-and-coming civil servant at the time, then spent longer than he can remember in Faerie, rallying crowds and practicing speeches until his throat bled and cracked into silence, learning to channel some portion of Destro’s white-hot conviction and magnetic presence, for all that being vessel to those traits felt like it burned the soul out of him.  Hanabata was charismatic and persuasive while he went in and his time in Faerie amplified those traits beyond belief, but he isn’t so broken as to believe that Destro did him some kind of favor.  

He is, however, quite broken enough to believe that Destro is undefeatable and that he has no real choices in the matter.  He was returned barely a week after he was taken in real-Earth time, dropped on Re-Destro’s lap when the latter was just getting started in establishing himself.  He’s spent the twenty years since then doing whatever needs to be done in order to smooth Re-Destro’s path (he’s unusually prominent in human politics for a changeling; indeed, he’s amassed some fairly significant temporal authority) and watching the rest of his ordained motley grow up.  They’re really the only people keeping him going; Hanabata thinks they’re far more damaged than he, and in many ways he’s right--he has a much clearer grasp on what they’ve all lost, even if some of them never had it to begin with--but he’s also very badly hurt in his own way, lacking even the devoted fervor of the cause to fill up the empty spaces left in what used to be his optimism.  

His mask looks like the Trumpet of the canon, minus the ever-present sense of pomade and the facial hair that can’t decide if it wants to be a mustache or not; he’s just clean-shaven.  He has a wry, expressive mouth and a nearly hypnotic voice, a baritone by turns soothing or rolling.  There’s an indefinable sense of presence to him; just looking at him makes brave people want to strike up a conversation and timid people lurk about in vague hopes of leeching up some of his confident vibes. His mien just amplifies it; he’s impossibly magnetic, with strong features and eyes the kind of green you could get lost in.  His voice is even more of a marvel here, resonant and penetrating in ways humans couldn’t typically manage without augmentation.  When out in public, he wears a camera-ready smile as faithfully as a wedding band; in private, he’s markedly more subdued.   

Court/Mantle: The East, seat of envy.  Trumpet’s talents make him marvelously well-suited for this Court, but it isn’t just a matter of practicality, as the Court of the West is for Skeptic.  No, Trumpet is intimately familiar with the thumbscrew feeling of envy--no free changeling can even begin to grasp how bitterly he covets their ignorance.  His mantle can be difficult to pick apart from the gripping presence of his seeming, but when he’s working magic, it’s frequently accompanied by the bizarre sense to onlookers that he’s taller than he really is.  Even if someone is standing right next to him and knows perfectly well that they’re taller than him, sometimes they’ll blink and their eyes will lie, vision inverting such that Trumpet seems to be looking down at them.  Every so often, when he’s on a roll, his eyes will gleam the perfect yellow-white of the sun reflecting on newly-minted coins.   

Contracts: 

        Vainglory I-III.  Not as advanced in his understanding of this Contract as Re-Destro, but the effect is considerably more potent when he’s using it.  

        Hearth I-V.  As engrossing as it is to listen to him talk, Trumpet’s real talent is in inspiring others, and the Contracts of fair and foul fortune just amplify that.   

        Fleeting Spring I and Fleeting Autumn I.  First levels of the seasonal contracts don’t require Seasonal Court goodwill, but he’d probably get it from any Spring Court in the country anyway.  Envy is close cousins with Desire, after all.  Whichever the case, manipulating people is easier when you know both what they want and what they fear.

Geten

Quote: “Ice is never far away.  Prepare yourself.”  

Type: Snowskin Elemental.  Geten remembers little of their time before Faerie--in fact, they have very little recollection of the passage of any of the time that must have brought them to their current age.  Their memory is like one huge block of ice, solid from wall to wall with cold and scarcity.  If some of that scarcity, back at the very beginning, is colored in a different palette than Destro’s winter, well, it’s still of a piece with the rest, so what does it matter?  All of their life was the winter--until Re-Destro appeared and chose them.  Out in the real world, Geten knows, intellectually, about the whole “herald of Destro” thing and devotes themself to the cause with admirable fervor, but in truth, that fervor is far more dedicated to Re-Destro than it is their True Fae Keeper, of whom Geten recalls next to nothing.  Generally serious and driven, Geten enjoys feeling that their actions have meaning beyond just keeping them alive, so they’re never happier than when they’re fighting for Re-Destro in concrete, measurable ways.  Generally poorly socialized in ways that would make their life much more difficult if they didn’t have Rikiya looking out for them.  

In mask, Geten is a slight youth with shoulder-length, white-blonde hair and unusual pale gray eyes.  They have a delicate-looking face that’s incongruous with their rather feral personality.  In mein, their hair is fully white, as are the glowing pupils of their eyes.  Their already fair skin goes bloodlessly pale, and even on the hottest day, their features are kissed with a rime of frost.  They wear long sleeved, full-length clothes at all times of the year, though curiously, they dress more heavily in summer than in winter.  

Court/Mantle: The North, seat of suffering.  Something of an unusual case in their freehold, where the power of the Directional Courts holds sway, Geten emerged from the Hedge with a strong Winter mantle.  No matter that they’re sworn to the Armor Court, that raw affinity to the Court of Sorrow remains.  This odd duality, seen by some as untrustworthy, has largely kept them from advancing very far despite their apparent dedication to the Stupa’s focused, ascetic lifestyle.  They’re frequently mistaken for being courtless, particularly in a freehold that’s less familiar with the look of the Silent Arrow than those who move in Seasonal Court circles would be.  The lack of any obvious sign of a mantle is itself the tell--Winter always makes its changelings look more stark, as if somehow etched more clearly into the fabric of the world, unobscured by other connections.  Likewise, their magic is all ice-themed anyway, so many don’t realize that the brief gusts of snow around them are a sign of their mantle--but every so often, there will be a brush of pale ash on those winds, a sign that, for all that Winter lives in their bones, Geten has still embraced the North.  

Contracts: These speak for themselves.  Geten’s power set, more than anyone in these posts, hews closely to canon!Geten’s quirk meta-ability.  

        Elements (Ice) I-IV.  Exacts control over ice.  They’re protected from it, they’re protected by it, they control it, and it answers their call (though their range is not anywhere close to canon!Geten’s).   

        Communion (Ice) I-III.  Very unlike canon!Geten, the changeling version is ice-born enough that they speak with it like kin.  Ice isn’t much of a gossiper, as elements go, but it reflects things, sometimes, and knows the shape of everything it touches.  They can extend this awareness as far out as a mile in most weather, though the range is much shorter in e.g. a blizzard, when trying to take in that much information would be overwhelming.  

        Eternal Winter I-III.  Don’t have ice?  Make your own!  Again, not as wide-ranging as canon!Geten’s, but serves much the same purpose.  Geten can also, like Spinner, perform emergency thermostat duties, though Spinner’s control over heat allows him to turn it up or expel it, while Geten’s is only ever going to make things colder.

BONUS TIDBITS: 

Changeling!Re-Destro needs to be able to get around in the human world without being prone to fits of hallucination and delirium, and his magic isn't dependent on his stress levels, so unlike his canon self, he gets to have actual vacation time, do soothing yoga, etc.

Geten and Curious had some durance overlap, but neither of them remember it clearly.  Curious’s memories of that time are too patchy, while Geten’s are too hard to pare down into individual moments.  Geten does feel a sense of familiarity towards Curious, but they don’t talk about it much after the one time they described it as being, “Like she was...inside me, for a while,” and everyone looked really weirded out.  

Changeling!Geten is nonbinary because It’s My AU And I’ll Do What I Want.  They are made of ice and do not really understand what the deal is with gender.

Magne doesn’t die in this AU because It’s My AU And I’ll Do What I Want.  She and Curious have to team up to brainstorm a strategy for an epic oneiromachy duel with Destro that will decisively eject him from Rikiya’s dreams without reducing Rikiya to a drooling husk.    

Trumpet is the true wild card in this AU.  The other Destro-ites have never really even considered the prospect of breaking free from Destro; Trumpet has, but rather than that making him the person who’s the easiest to sway, it makes him the person most resolutely convinced that betraying Destro will lead only to suffering.  The lengths that conviction will drive him to make him a severe danger to his motley the moment they begin considering abandoning their mission.

[uclaradio]

UCLA Radio’s Best of 2017 - Music and Genre Directors

This year, UCLA Radio’s music director and genre directors compiled a list of their favorite releases this past year. Take a peek and explore some of our favorite albums of this past year. 

Alison Chi - Music Director

1. SZA - Ctrl

I don’t know a single person who doesn’t like SZA’s sophomore album Ctrl. There are so few albums that can capture people’s attention these days - it’s all about the singles and never the album as a whole but something about Ctrl is cohesive from start to finish. The way each song weaves into each other is seamless and you’ll truly be rewarded if you sit down and listen to the album straight through. Is there even a single bad song on this album? 

2. Giraffage - Too Real 3. Slowdive - Slowdive 4. Turnover - Good Nature 5. Land of Talk - Life After Youth 6. Cigarettes After Sex - Cigarettes After Sex 7. Julien Baker - Turn Out the Lights 8. Valerie June - The Order of Time 9. Slow Dancer - In A Mood 10. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me

Megan Hullander - Rock Genre Director

1. King Gizzard & The Flying Wizard - Flying Microtonal Banana

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s Flying Microtonal Banana was the first in a series of five albums promised to be released in 2017 (one of which has still yet to come) including a concept album ridden with the drama of human and non-human emotions, a jazzy collaboration with Mild High Club, and an album given as a gift to fans - the rights of which are “owned” by all. Flying Microtonal Banana is unique in that the band customized their instruments in effort to find spaces between existing tones, or “microtones.” The album is named for one of these instruments which does, in fact, look quite similar to a banana. 

2. Thee Oh Sees - Orc 3. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Open Minds Now Close 4. Alex Cameron - Forced Witness 5. Ron Gallo - Temporary Slave 6. Ariel Pink - Dedicated to Bobby Jameson 7. Ty Segall - Sentimental Goblin 8. ORB - Naturality 9. Kikagaku Moyo - Stone Garden 10. Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice

Gabe Cortina - Rock Genre Director

1. Limp Wrist - Facades

Featuring Martin from Los Crudos on vocals as well as members of Hail Mary, Devoid of Faith, By the Throat, and Kill the Man Who Questions, the versatility of Limp Wrist sound has never been more apparent. Identifying as queercore, the band has a fast hardcore sound and lyrical themes concerning gay identity politics. The mixing of album is something which also stood out to me, it’s able to polished without sounding over produced. Martin’s vocal style perfectly matches the killer riffs and speedy drums in both intensity and aggression. Halfway through this album, the band’s sound switches to a disco-ey almost dark-wave- techno sound which they pull of with perfection. This album is solid and I highly recommend it to both longtime fans of punk and people who are looking for an introduction to punk music alike.

2. Despise You / Coke Bust - Split LP 3. Gay Kiss - Rounded Down 4. Exit Unit - St 2017 5. Glue - S/T MLP 6. Lumpy and the Dumpers - Those Pickled Fuckers 7. Goolagoon / ACxDC - Split 8. Burnout - West Coast Tour 2017 CS 9. Sex Prisoner / Harm Done - Split 10. Meth Leppard - Discography 2015-2017

Gabe Punk Genre Director Top 10 Albums of 2017 from anon-10212970514769336 on 8tracks Radio

Alana Enriquez - Pop Genre Director

1. Beach House - B-Sides and Rarities

This compilation happened to be release on a day where I had only gotten around an hour of sleep the night before, and I cried within one minute of the first track. It’s Beach House at their most dreamy, their most blaring, their most haunting. Old tracks with new renditions and fresh ones meld into something spellbinding that doesn’t require the logistical unity of a formal album. B-Sides and Rarities has been on a weekly rotation for me for the entire second half of 2017, and probably for the entirety of 2018, unless they release something else for me to cry to during my morning routine. 

2. Florist - If Blue Could Be Happiness 3. High Bloom - Implied Sun 4. Alvvays - Antisocialites 5. The Drums - Abysmal Thoughts 6. Slowdive - Slowdive 7. Steve Lacy - Steve Lacy’s Demo 8. You’ll Never Get to Heaven - Images 9. Pedro Infante - Cien años... pensando en ti 10. Big Thief - Capacity

Alana Myers - Pop Genre Director

1. Wolf Alice - Visions Of A Life

Looking back at this past September, I remember sitting in my apartment late at night, counting down until midnight when Wolf Alice’s second record Visions of a Life would be released. I haven’t ever heard anything quite like Visions of a Life before, and I think the reason it resonates so much with me is the way it perfectly encompasses the feelings that come with the uncertainty of young adulthood, and the feelings of life in general - love, anger, sadness, extreme joy, and everything in between. The album digs itself into darkness, but at its core, lies a piece of work that is ambitious, honest, and a solid listen from start to finish.

2. MUNA - About U 3. Tei Shi - Crawl Space 4. Declan McKenna - What Do You Think About the Car? 5. Stormzy - Gang Signs & Prayer 6. Will Joseph Cook - Sweet Dreamer 7. HAIM - Something to Tell You 8. Lorde - Melodrama 9. Paramore - After Laughter 10. Circa Waves - Different Creatures

Alex Saakyan - Pop Genre Director

1. Lana Del Rey - Lust For Life

With an album cover that graces a smile, cheek to cheek of Lana Del Rey, it is no surprise as to why this record has been nicknamed as Del Rey’s first ‘happy album.’ Retiring from the ‘sad girl’ aesthetic of her previous records, Del Rey delivers an optimistic and authentic approach to her music. With tracks like ‘When the World Was at War’ and ‘God Bless America’ we see Del Rey take a more honest approach from her Americana aesthetic as she speaks of the hard times people in this country face. With tracks like ‘Get Free’ she delivers her mission statement: “Finally, I’m crossing the threshold/From the ordinary world/To the reveal of my heart,” She’s honest, she’s free, with a much optimism and a lust for life. 

2. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. 3. Lorde - Melodrama 4. Kelela - Take Me Apart 5. Majid Jordan - The Space Between 6. Harry Styles - Harry Styles 7. Calvin Harris - Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 8. Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy 9. Dua Lipa - Blow Your Mind 10. Kesha - Rainbow

Christian Wright - World Genre Director

1. Jay Som - Everybody Works

Melina Duterte’s sophomore album is a bedroom production jewel. Every song, incredibly cohesive as a whole, traverses the beautifully lush sonic worlds her mind seemingly conjures up. That’s not to say the ten tracks that span Everybody Works are simple happenstances that fall together nicely; they definitely sound like labors of love. Rather her voice, certain of itself, transmits to the listener so powerfully, making sense out of all the disorder that comes with self-doubt and personal struggle. “Won’t forget to climb,” she sings on E.W’s. final track, “For Light,” beautifully steering the qualms of trying to make it in this world.

2. Nikolas Escudero - Synthesis 3. Haley Heynderickx - Unpeeled (Live) 4. Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up 5. Bedouine - Beduoine 6. Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds from Another Planet 7. Lomelda - Thx 8. Hand Habits - Wildly Idle (Humble Before the void) 9. Kevin Morby - City Music 10. Wednesday Campanella - Superman

Ethan Lee - Jazz Genre Director

1. Nick Hakim - Green Twins

Nick Hakim blurs the line between psychedelic, soul, funk, rock, and jazz with his debut album, Green Twins. With lush melodies to command his songs and a spacey approach to recording production, Hakim creates his own unique sound and challenges the notions and implications of a music genre.  With a brand of sound that emulates Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Hakim's soundscape fills in colorful textures with his diverse instrumentation on top of steady, pulse-like rhythms.  From spacey, reflective post-R&B rock songs like "Bet She Looks Like You" to jazzy, rhythmic pulses in "Miss Chew" and slow, soulful ballads like "Needy Bees," Green Twins has just about everything you need in a debut album from an artist as complex as Nick Hakim.

2. Tyler the Creator - Flower Boy 3. Kamasi Washington - Harmony of Difference 4. Rex Orange County - Apricot Princess 5. Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah - Diaspora 6. Moses Sumney - Aromanticism 7. Steve Lacy - Steve Lacy’s Demo 8. Brockhampton - Saturation II 9. Smino - blkswn 10. Antonio Sanchez - Bad Hombre

Mark Edmonds - Electronic Genre Director

1. Moon Boots - First Landing

First Landing is Moon Boots' debut album. Moon Boots manages a deep overtone with techy-melodies. 'Never Get to You' is a standout track that will light up any dance floor or pool party. 

2. Rezz - Mass Manipulation 3. Oliver - Full Circle 4. Various Artists - Anjunadeep Vol. 9 5. Illenium - Awake 6. Giraffage - Too Real 7. Four Tet - New Energy 8. Odesza - A Moment Apart 9. Cosmic Gate - Materia Chapter.Two 10. Bicep - Bicep

Beliz Urkmez - Electronic Genre Director

1. Lorde - Melodrama

For me, Lorde's music means emotion in its purest, most honest form. Her sophomore album, Melodrama, captures her youth, her growth, her path to becoming a woman of her own and loving herself and all the ephemeral experiences in between. Mastering her craft, Lorde finds a cohesion between her atmospheric synths, harmonies, beats and the bittersweet wisdom in her lyrics. Especially in "Liability," a beautiful piano-ballad where she sings, "I understand, I'm a liability/ Get you wild, make you leave/ I'm a little much for everyone." Lorde is truly one of a kind and Melodrama proves she is one of the best artists today.

2. Gorillaz - Humanz 3. London Grammar - Truth Is a Beautiful Thing 4. HAIM - Something to Tell You 5. Alexandra Savior - Belladonna of Sadness 6. Temples - Volcano 7. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds - Who Built the Moon? 8. Wolf Alice - Visions of a Life 9. Cigarettes After Sex - Cigarettes After Sex 10. Mura Masa - Mura Masa

Alex Ivanova - Folk/Singer-Songwriter Genre Director

1. Kiran Leonard - Derevaun Seraun

This is probably the most sonically beautiful album I’ve listened to in years. 22-year-old Kiran Leonard blends voice, piano, and string trio into an album with each movement representing a different piece of literature, seeing as the album was written to celebrate the re-opening of Manchester’s Central Library. The album is intensely personal, and raw, as Leonard’s voice is in the spotlight, accompanied by mournful accompaniment. I recommend this album endlessly.

2. The Spirit of the Beehive - pleasure suck 3. Jay Som - Everybody Works 4. Joan of Arc - He’s Got the Whole This Land Is Your Land in His Hands 5. Kindling - Hush 6. Синекдоха Монток - MMXVII (Parts 1 & 2) 7. Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger in the Alps 8. Sidney Gish - Ed Buys Houses 9. Tagubu & Klimperei - I Don't Remember The First Time  10. Nnamdi Ogbonnaya - DROOL

[junker-town]

How sports is Seven Worlds, One Planet: Episode 5?

Alfred Trunk/McPhoto/ullstein bild via Getty Images

David Attenborough’s new show is epic ... and sports.

We continue our extremely important mission to conduct a scene-by-scene review of the BBC’s new nature documentary, Seven Worlds, One Planet, in order to see how sports it is. We determined that Episode 1, which focused on Antarctica, was reasonably sports. Asia was very sports, as was South America. Australia was more drinking than sports, but that’s OK. Now it’s time for ...

Episode 5 Europe

Let’s start with a prologue: there are really only six continents, and Europe’s not one of them. I’m sorry, it just isn’t. Every other continent is separated from its neighbour by something sensible — an isthmus, perhaps, or a whole-ass ocean in the case of Australia. Europe is just a chunk of Eurasia that thinks it’s cool. You’re never going to convince me that the Ural Mountains are a sensible continental boundary. Europe’s a big, smug, densely-populated peninsula and that is all.

There is still some cool stuff going on there though.

Scene 1: Attempted Urfanticide

Europe used to be dominated by an enormous forest. Almost all of it is gone. Such progress! But some remains and in Finland there’s enough to support a small (1,500) population of brown bears. Some members of that population are adorable:

This scene isn’t all frolicking baby bears, however. Where there are bear cubs, there are also bear mothers, and where there are bear mothers there are hopeful bear-fathers in pursuit. Bear, as you may know, share an unfortunate habit with many large carnivores: if they can, big males will kill infants which they haven’t fathered.

So when a big male shows up, the cubs play it safe and scamper up a tree, while the mother responds to his catcalls by telling him to leave her family the hell alone. (I don’t speak bear, but the context makes things clear.)

The cubs then proceed to play it somewhat less than safe, coming down while the male is still in sight. They’re in mortal danger, so the mother goes full on Bear Mama and runs the male off into the woods. Good parenting. Bad childrening.

Aesthetics 9/10

I just want to squeeze their little bear cub cheeks, although, since their mother could tear me in half without trying, I would probably have to be quite drunk to actually attempt this.

Difficulty 8/10

Bear cubs are surprisingly good climbers. Conifers have straight, overly-disciplined trunks, and are therefore much harder to climb than most large deciduous trees, which are more sprawling and inviting. And yet the little dudes zip straight up them.

Competitiveness 10/10

Male brown bears average almost 500 pounds. Female brown bears are closer to 350. That’s one brave charge.

Overall 27/30

Most parenting is not a sport. Bear parenting is a sport.

Scene 2: The Hair-Cows

When my three-year-old saw this scene, he decided he was watching “hair-cows”, which is at least as good a name as “musk ox”. (He also claimed he wanted to eat “hair-cow nuggets” for dinner, a worryingly predatory request.) Hair-cows are, true to their name, very hairy cows that live up in the tundra.

The tundra is not a very nice place to live. It’s cold, there’s basically no vegetation to break up the wind, and although it’s majestic in a desolate sort of way, I don’t think I’d be able to appreciate it on account of not being able to feel my legs. The hair-cows’ shaggy coats help them stay warm in this barren environment. Their huge horns help with ... other stuff.

Hair-cow herds are run by a bull, who controls mating rights for the whole group. A bull who doesn’t run a herd essentially has to go off and live on his own, which makes them pretty enthusiastic to upgrade their living situation. And that’s where the horns come in.

When a lone male meets a herd whose leader he thinks he can handle, this happens:

Still not as bad as the hangover from last week #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/IIwSbmrU4I

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

Let’s review the numbers. Quoting from Wikipedia, hair-cows:

can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h (37 mph).

on average, weigh 285 kilograms (630 pounds) and range from 180 to 410 kilograms (400 to 900 pounds).

Big bulls at the top of their game will therefore weigh close to 900 pounds and charge at each other significantly faster than, say, Usian Bolt. They also have four-inch think skulls to protect each other from a battering. Well-matched males can end up charging and gouging for some time, and if the fight goes on long enough we start to get head-to-flank goring action. Which just seems unpleasant, really.

Anyway, this is a long and drawn-out hair-cow fight. Good stuff.

Aesthetics 6/10

Hair-cows aren’t the world’s most attractive creatures, but at least they have style. Demerits on account of male hair-cows smelling like they’ve coated themselves in urine, because that is in fact what they have done: “The odor of dominant rutting males is ‘strong’ and ‘rank’. It derives from the preputial gland and is distributed over the fur of the abdomen via urine.”

Cool.

Difficulty 10/10

Taking a single head-on hit from a hair-cow would send your corporeal self into next week and probably eliminate your soul altogether.

Competitiveness 10/10

This is a great fight. It’s long, hard-fought, and there are enough twists and turns to keep things interesting. Well done, hair-cows.

Overall 26/30

Definitely a sport.

Scene 3: Wolves

You don’t really expect to find wolves roaming around Europe. Well, that’s not exactly true: I played last year’s Assassin’s Creed, so I expect to find a pack of wolves roughly every four yards, including in major cities. But in real life, finding a pack of wolves on the edge of an Italian village would come as something of a surprise.

Not that you’re likely to find these wolves. They’re so elusive that the Seven Worlds team had to film them all through thermal cameras, which gives this whole scene an ethereal look:

Sirius Black? Is that you? #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/DZvtQTW8Xg

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

It’s mid-winter and the wolves are hungry, so they’re attempting to ambush a herd of red deer in the darkness. Their first attempt fails thanks to a combination of being too noisy and having their hunt disrupted by a passing car. Humans!

Their second is better planned out, and they manage to isolate one of the deer and herd it down the mountain. As it tries to escape, it slips on an icy road (humans!) and the hungry pack manage to bring it down.

Unfortunately, the hunt has been watched by the village sheepdogs, who flood out to chase off the wolves and claim the kill as their own. Poor wolves.

Aesthetics 7/10

The night vision gives this an air of fantasy, which is nice because one gets the feeling that these wolves would be somewhat bedraggled had they been caught on normal cameras.

Difficulty 8/10

Hunting down deer in what amounts to pitch blackness sounds very difficult indeed.

Competitiveness 8/10

The deer give the wolves a seriously hard time, and the emergence of a third party right at the end is a clever twist.

Overall 25/30

Extended hunts are almost always sports.

Scene 4: Monkeys

The presence of Barbary macaques in Gibraltar is a reminder of the planet’s habit of undergoing massive changes over relatively short timescales. There are no monkeys in Europe except these ones, and they’re here because around five million years ago, the Strait of Gibraltar was closed, and north African animals had free rein to wander over to the Iberian peninsula.

Then came the Zanclean Deluge. With the Straits closed, the Mediterranean had no access to the Atlantic and slowly evaporated. And when they re-opened, the Mediterranean re-filled in about two years, powered by what was probably the biggest waterfall the planet has ever seen. This has very little to do with the monkeys. I just think it’s interesting.

Gibraltar, right on the southern tip of the continent, is home to Europe’s only monkeys. #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/GMnBIod7Eq

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

Anyway, Barbary macaques spread across southern Europe, but eventually (I assume because of the Ice Age, etc.) they collapsed back into a small population at the Rock of Gibraltar. Around 300 monkeys still live there. Some of those monkeys, incidentally, have a thing for kidnapping.

A low-status female monkey (these macaques live in tiered social groups) has just had a baby, and a higher-ranking female is jealous of her. So she steals the baby and runs away. The mother is so low-ranking that she can’t approach the other monkey for fear of the rest of the troop ganging up on her.

High monkey drama ensues as the kidnapper — who clearly has no idea what she’s doing with a baby — makes her escape, climbing a cable car tower with a tiny little monkey dangling off her. Eventually the mother catches up with the baby-thief, but the gang is more than 100 feet above the ground, and any wrong move might lead to a fall and certain death ...

... so naturally, the situation is resolved by grooming. Mama monkey finds a random monkey to groom within sight of the kidnapper, who gets so jealous that she gives the baby back in exchange for a change to get in on the action.

Most of this was some action movie stuff, but the end might be difficult to translate. I’m trying to imagine Liam Neeson rasping into his phone about his “particular set of skills,” only for them to turn out to be removing parasites from the other person’s hair with his teeth.

It’d be weird, but you’d watch it.

Aesthetics 7/10

Monkeys just aren’t that cute, even baby monkeys. The tension, fortunately, is accentuated by the impressive cinematography.

Difficulty 10/10

As a parent I have found it is more or less impossible to do anything with a baby, so climbing a cable car tower while fleeing the scene of a crime, baby in tow, is impressive work. Not morally impressive, mind.

Competitiveness 10/10

The ending doesn’t take anything away from the stakes.

Overall 27/30

Kidnapping monkey babies is sports. But please do not attempt this particular sport, at home or anywhere else.

Scene 5: Grave-Robbing Hamster Battle

This is it. This is what we’ve all been waiting for. The culmination of Sir David Attenborough’s long and storied career lies here, in a Viennese graveyard, where hamsters lie in wait to feast upon the offerings left for the dead ...

... it turns out that European hamsters love flowers. LOVE them. And, as graveyards have plenty of fresh flowers for them to munch through, that makes them prime hamster territory. Prime territory, of course, does not go uncontested. And while hamsters are cute and adorable, they’re also ferocious little balls of anger when roused. Observe:

Thug life. #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/ePaxjj8Ybd

— BBC One (@BBCOne) November 24, 2019

Thwarted by the martial skills of the home hamster, the challenger has to sneak in while they’re distracted. And here, they’re more successful, creeping merrily over a tombstone and then munching happily on a bouquet before being enticed by a nice, uh, candle.

Attenborough claims that candles are full of oil and high in calories and therefore excellent hamster food, so I’ll take his word for it. The hamster certainly agrees, stuffing their face with as much wax as they can fit into their squishy little cheeks, which turns out to be a lot of wax: European hamsters can apparently fit about a quarter of their body-weight in their cheek pouches.

And now I should mention that this candle is in a jar with a slightly-tapered mouth and ... oh no.

Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again #SevenWorldsOnePlanet #wevealldoneit #chonkyboi pic.twitter.com/TDhY1YEpBd

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

My only regret is that Edgar Allen Poe never found out about this.

Aesthetics 30/10

COME TO ME, MY GRAVE-ROBBING HAMSTER FRIENDS. TOGETHER WE SHALL RULE THIS DISMAL PLANET.

Difficulty 10/10

WE SHALL RULE IT IN THE NAME OF PEACE.

Competitiveness 10/10

AND JUSTICE. AND COMPASSION.

Overall 50/30

AND DELICIOUS, DELICIOUS CANDLES. IT WILL BE A BETTER PLACE. ONE FULL OF HAMSTERS, WHICH ARE SPORTS.

Scene 6: Mayflies

In June, the largest of all mayflies emerge from a Hungarian river. They’ve spent three years as larvae preparing for just a few hours of adult life. The males come first, flapping to the banks to get one last molt in, and then fly back to the river to catch the females, emerging later.

There’s a terrifying amount of competition to fertilise female mayflies, accentuated by the fact the male mayflies are literally dying as they scramble to find a mate. The females have timed their emergence to within a few minutes of the males’ death, and as their corpses float past they then fly up-river, 10 million-strong. Then they die too, releasing their eggs upon impact.

Houston, that’s a lot of bugs. #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/zp5GddXM2B

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

Within hours of the mayflies emergence into the European summer, they’re all dead. This is the most metaphorical metaphor that has ever metaphored.

Aesthetics 3/10

After three years of feeding and growing on the riverbed, the male mayflies appear first.#SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/V3bOFAv3R1

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

No.

Difficulty 8/10

It must be hard to try to be at the top of your game when you’re literally on the verge of death, especially in the middle of a mayfly melee.

Competitiveness 10/10

An entire generation of male mayflies fighting it out at the same time? Yeah, this is getting high marks.

Overall 21/30

Probably a sport.

Scene 7: Asshole Pelicans

Great white pelicans breed on the delta of the Danube river, one of the richest in the world. There are two things you should know about great white pelicans. The first is that they are huge. And I mean really, really huge: their wingspan can get to well over 10 feet and they can weigh as much as 30 pounds. The second thing you should know is that they’re assholes.

Flying above the delta, the pelican flock scans for food, using other birds for help

Cormorants: Come over. Pelicans: Can’t. Busy. Cormorants: We are eating delicious fish. Pelicans:

The real question here...are you a pelican? Or a pelican’t?#SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/YRaphn3WUY

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

Do the pelicans go fishing once the cormorants have done the hard work of finding their prey? No. That’s not assholish enough for a great white pelican, and is also far too much work. Instead, they wait for the cormorants to do the fishing and then do whatever the hell this is:

K...O#SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/48F9A4UDOM

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

The bullied cormorants quite naturally give up their spoils upon being engulfed by these horrible huge pirates. Imagine what it must be like having your head wrapped up in a penguin pouch. It’d like someone jamming your face into a yellow latex glove, and I’d rather get actually mugged.

Aesthetics 10/10

This scene is beautifully shot. All non-raptorial birds look better in large numbers, and the coordinated flight of the pelicans is gorgeous.

Difficulty 7/10

All these pelicans have to do is find and harass the people doing the real work, then enjoy their rewards. They’d do very well in the modern office. The cormorants, on the other hand, have to go fishing while being mugged by assholes, which sounds pretty difficult to me.

Competitiveness 5/10

Pick on someone your own size, pelicans.

Overall 22/30

Fishing is a sport. Piracy ... is also a sport?

Scene 8: The Offspring of the Cave Dragon

The face of Europe has been scoured by humans, turned from forests to homes and farms and roads and etc.. Under the skin, however, is a different story. Mankind’s reach doesn’t extend very effectually into caves, and nor does the sun’s, which leads to some very weird critters.

Olms, so far as I can tell, are the European equivalent of the American axolotl: blind albino cave salamanders which stay in larval form their whole lives. Unlike the axolotl, which is sort of cute, olms are very not:

Olms have feathery gills which enable them to breathe underwater, as well as on land.#SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/W75pHQ8gpS

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

Here be dragons Well...baby ones at least.#SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/MjdCQcDmxM

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

What they lack in cuteness they make up for in looking-like-an-eel-ness? Their weird looks and hermetic life led locals to believe that they were somehow related to more mythical beasts: 17th-century naturalist Johann Weikhard von Valvasor, upon handling an olm body, claimed that they were “baby dragons” which “resembled lizards.”

Fair enough, Johann.

Aesthetics 4/10

Weird-looking critters. Even the bonus point for being mistaken for baby dragons doesn’t net the olm very much.

Difficulty 10/10

Olms live in pitch blackness and only get a meal about once every 10 years. Even ignoring hunger, that environment would quickly reduce even the most hardened human into a gibbering wreck.

Competitiveness 0/10

Nothing happens.

Overall 14/30

Sorry, Johann, but olms aren’t sports.

Scene 9: Lynx

10/10 on the graceful fence leap, extra points for epicness.#SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/rkwRWiDxZN

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

It is hard to be an Iberian lynx. Nearly extinct, and hemmed in on all sides by human development, their population was at one point reduced to double-figures. Their final fastness is in southern Spain, where conservation efforts are going reasonably well. We are introduced to a lynx patriarch, who has helped preserve his species by fathering ... wait ARE WE GOING TO GET KITTENS?

And the award for cutest cat family goes to…#SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/cfqvVJl0Qf

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) November 24, 2019

KITTENS! Anyway Iberian lynxes are doing better these days, but still not well at all. Europe has been so over-developed that there’s no room for wild animals to co-exist along with humans, and so, like the lynx, large animals everywhere are under threat. Unless people make a concentrated effort to be much better neighbours, the lynx, and many other critters, won’t last long.

Aesthetics 10/10

KITTENS!

Difficulty 7/10

Imagine living your days in existential dread, suspecting that you might be close to the end of the line for your whole species. Couldn’t relate.

Good jump though.

Competition 0/10

Nothing happens.

Overall 17/30

Probably not sports, although I could be tempted to change my mind for reasons entirely related to KITTENS!

[lovacedon]

Govt must invest in human capital more than infrastructure uplift

LAHORE: Huge infrastructure projects that have been launched by this government would go waste if the government failed to enrich the human capital of the country, as all new investments from now on would required educated and high-skilled human resource.

There is thinking among the development experts of the government that it is more important to strengthen the infrastructure as the connectivity it provides to inaccessible regions would facilitate establishment of educational and health centres.

This is long very long term planning. Pakistan needs some quicker solutions to the skill shortages. We have seen scarcity of desired human capital in the better developed cities of the country.

This is because the health facilities provided by the state in the cities are only marginally better than those available in underdeveloped rural areas.

In the same way the standard of education in public schools is almost the same in rural and urban centres. Our planners have no clue about the needs of businesses operating in different regions of the country.

Development experts have time and again pointed out that the East Asian economies that were far behind Pakistan in 1960’s have moved much ahead because even in the 60’s their human resource was more educated and healthier.

It is therefore imperative that the planners give more importance to social investment than infrastructure and other development schemes. Sri Lanka too was way behind Pakistan in economy in the 60’s but they gave their human resource development preference over other developments.

The outcome of this approach was that today the per capita income of the people of that small island is three times that of Pakistan. It is not a very prosperous nation but all its social indicators are world class. Its population growth rate is less than one percent, its infant mortality rate four times less than that of Pakistan and poverty in Sri Lanka is negligible as in the Far East economies.

We do not have to go far, just look at Bangladesh that was once a part of Pakistan with over 60 percent of its population living in extreme poverty. It is one of the few nations where the inequality has declined.

The Bangladeshis also gave importance to human development with the result that it is now cited as an example globally for reducing poverty very fast.

Bangladesh is not a very rich country. Its population is 20 million less than Pakistan but its GDP is half that of our country and the per capita income has just increased $1,000.

Bangladeshis have reduced their population rate to manageable one percent per annum.

Due to improved health the average age of Bangladeshis is two to three years higher than both Pakistan and India.

Of late its economy has started growing at an average of little above six percent.

An interesting point is that natural disasters hit Bangladesh regularly but they have shown resilience to come stronger after every flood and sea storm.

In economic progress, Bangladesh set the tone for many regional countries other than Pakistan. Bangladesh jumped into garment exports in 1990’s and today its textile exports are almost three times than that of Pakistani textiles.

Vietnam entered textile field in 2000 and today its textile exports are at par with Bangladesh.

Cambodia is now becoming a threat for Pakistani textiles and a fierce competitor for Bangladesh and Vietnam.

The reason that Vietnam overtook Bangladesh in garment exports is that its human resource is more educated, skilled and healthier than that of Bangladesh.

Our human resource is no match to even Bangladesh. Bangladeshi planners supported textile in urban areas and successfully achieved green revolution in rural areas.

Social spending in Pakistan always remains very low but all the governments in Bangladesh deserve credit for maintaining basic social spending.

Indeed, the planners succeeded in keeping a consensus in favour of this despite several military coups and bitter political infighting between the two main parties.

  Govt must invest in human capital more than infrastructure uplift

[janeaustentextposts]

Was it actually acceptable for a 15 year old girl to marry a, say, 25 year old? Or was it frowned upon?

They could, and they did, and as long as it was a Good Match by whatever metric the people surrounding it wanted to measure it, it wasn’t frowned upon, no. If a girl was a particular beauty or very rich, it was beyond accepted–it was entirely understood.Though traditional debuts were made when a girl of a certain class reached the age of 16 or 17 and had finished their feminine education, as we see with the Bennets, girls of fifteen were often brought out into company (perhaps on a smaller scale, or in more relaxed local assemblies,) to begin polishing their social skills and potentially attracting a suitable match. As Mrs. Bennet fondly recalls a gentleman at the Gardiner’s in London being In Love with Jane when Jane was fifteen, it’s hinted that Jane was at least visiting socially in London at that age, whether she participated fully in the Season or not, and an offer was hoped for (and even perhaps expected) by Jane’s mother, at least. Given Jane’s beauty and Mrs. Bennet’s desire to see her daughters well-settled as soon as possible, Jane starting to have serious chances at matrimony at age fifteen is not at all astonishing.While it isn’t made explicit, it’s also implied that Colonel Forster’s wife is likely very near to Lydia’s age, and as a man could hardly expect to be made a Colonel before he is in his thirties at the very least (and in many adaptational castings, he appears even older–in his 50s or 60s,) it’s entirely possible that the Colonel could be at least twice his wife’s age.Of course today we hold very different ideas about personal maturity and social/intellectual development, which make it highly imprudent to consider teen girls (or boys for that matter) ready for such a commitment, but back then there would not have been any eyebrows raised at a 15 year old girl marrying a 25 year old man–a 10 year gap in their ages is hardly a consideration, given the examples of much older men with girls of near the same age, and the passage of time will bring them nearer to one another in maturity, too.A girl with a very flighty, immature nature or what we might now call a late-bloomer in terms of physical maturity would likely be discouraged from marrying too young, though if her husband was considerate and sensible it might not be such a bad thing.Others have written extensively on the notion we have that back in the day, girls always married extremely young, and were forced to bear heirs to the detriment of their own health. Particularly in medieval-style settings, though more commonly we can guess that women tended to be in their late teens or early twenties when they married, throughout history, and even among great political alliances between families where child-marriages were contracted, often the consummation of these unions was delayed until both parties were of a more suitable age. Think about it–if Prince Ancient Family must marry the sole daughter of the Duke of Moneybags and thus unite the families by producing an heir which will be the head of a new great political dynasty, why risk the life of his new wife Princess Moneybags by forcing her to bear a child too young? Of course childbirth was always going to be dangerous before modern understandings of anatomy and infection (and even today, pregnancy is one of the most dangerous things anybody can physically do,) but people were generally wise enough to allow a girl to grow up to her full capability of health and strength so that she could bear as many healthy children as possible (to allow for crap infant mortality rates, too.) Margaret Beaufort is rather a famous example of a girl forced to carry and bear a child at the age of 12-13, and after a difficult labour, she managed to survive, but could bear no more children. If her sole child had been a daughter, or not survived due to any reason, the Tudor dynasty would never have existed, and British history (and the world) would no doubt look very different.

These are extreme examples, however, and people in the past would have been well-aware of the risks posed by childbearing in girls who were still not fully grown. This IS at odds with the sexualization of very young girls which was common to the urban sex-work scene of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Georgian and Regency-eras commonly had girls as young as 11 or 12 trafficked for male customers who, to modern understanding, would certainly be considered abusive pedophiles. Given the horror of venereal disease and lack of treatment for it, the notions of extreme youth and ‘innocence’ were, for some, a means of blinding themselves to the risks they took, though it had horrific consequences for the young girls persuaded, tricked, or forced into such encounters. (And the sad truth being that girls of that age were in such high demand that bawds and pimps would often resort to theatrical tricks to convince a client that They Were There First, and sell a girl’s maidenhead several times to many different buyers, in rapid succession, for a higher price.)Essentially, there would have been little said about it in Austen’s time, unless the girl looked or acted very young for her age, and even then, people made allowances if they seemed to be a good match.Historical accuracy aside, however, modern readers will have modern responses to reading about such things, and while 15 and 25 might feel a bit awkward but perhaps be given a pass if the parties involved are sensible and mature, an age gap any wider and people will probably definitely start to feel uncomfortable about the possible exploitation of a girl too young to be anything other than somewhat sheltered and naive.

[theconservativebrief]

Listen to this story as an episode of the Impact, a Vox podcast about how policy affects people’s lives, hosted by Sarah Kliff.

GREENVILLE, South Carolina — When Amy Crockett was in high school, she shadowed an obstetrician for a day, and absolutely loved all the state-of-the-art technology she saw.

“I knew right away that was the coolest for me,” she says.

Crockett ended up deciding pretty early: She wanted to be a doctor who worked with pregnant women. She went through medical school and residency, and kept learning about other cool technologies. “A lot of things I was seeing in training were like, in utero surgery for spinal cord defects and lasers to treat Twin-Twin transfusion,” she remembers.

When Crockett first started her job running a women’s clinic here in the mid-2000s, South Carolina was one of the most dangerous places for a baby to be born. It had the 49th worst infant mortality rate in the United States in 2005, doing better than only Mississippi. Rural counties had infant mortality rates similar to Third World countries.

Crockett began running an experiment to try to fix this problem. But her solution wasn’t driven by a new technology or innovation. It was much simpler than that: She had women in her clinic do their prenatal care visits in big, group appointments. The visits last two hours, and look a lot more like a support group than a traditional doctor visit.

In CenteringPregnancy, pregnant women have their prenatal care delivered in big, group visits.

Shambreea Pryor, of Greenville, has her stomach measured to help document the growth and development of her pregnancy.

Dr. Amy Crockett has spread the CenteringPregnancy program across South Carolina.

It’s a seemingly minor intervention — but it’s made a difference. Her research shows that these women have significantly better outcomes than those who receive traditional, one-on-one prenatal care. Their babies are less likely to be premature, which significantly lowers their risk of death.

South Carolina’s infant deaths have declined 28 percent since 2005. South Carolina has risen from 49th in state rankings up to 37th. While it’s hard to pinpoint one reason for that change, it’s all happened as the state has embraced public health experiments like Crockett’s.

“South Carolina has absolutely been at the forefront, from a state perspective,” says Jessica Lewis, a health researcher at Yale University whose research focuses on infant health. “I think they do serve as a model for what can be done nationwide.”

Crockett’s approach to improving health outcomes cuts against the American health care system’s obsession with the latest technology and expensive pills.

Her choice intervention — 12 pregnant women, sitting and talking in a circle of folding chairs — isn’t fancy at all. It isn’t expensive either. But there’s early evidence it could save babies’ lives.

Earlier this year, a team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University published a stunning paper in the journal Health Affairs.

They found that babies born in the United States are 76 percent more likely to die before their first birthday than babies born in our peer countries, like Canada, France, or Japan.

“I think a lot of people have this idea that children are probably healthy in the U.S.,” says, Ashish Thakrar, one of the study authors. “It turns out, that’s not true. The U.S. is one of the worst performers in terms of infant mortality.” Thakrar’s study finds that the leading cause of infant death in the United States is prematurity: babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

“The rate at which US infants are dying from prematurity is three times the rate as in other countries,” he says.

With the name of their soon-to-be-born son written across her warming back pillow, Brookelyn Mitchell-Briggs and her husband, Jeffery Briggs, jot down some of the family traditions they want to continue with their own children.

Babies born early have worse outcomes than those who spend more time in utero. Their lungs are less likely to be fully developed, and their bodies less able to retain heat. Premature babies are more likely to get sick, and more likely to die.

America’s high preterm birth rate is, in part, driven by the fact American doctors will sometimes try to deliver extremely premature babies as early as 22 weeks of pregnancy because we have the technology that might keep these children alive. Other countries would consider such early births a miscarriage.

But this is not the entire story: Thakrar says that the data shows that these extremely early births account for only a small fraction (about 1 percent) of infant deaths. Something else is going on.

A growing body of research suggests it has to do with American women — especially low-income and minority women — experiencing greater stress during their pregnancy due to the lack of social supports.

The theory, essentially: A less-stressed out body might be one where a tiny, developing human wants to spend a little more time.

Megan Landreth, LeAnna Corley (a nurse practitioner student), Guadalupe Ascevedo, and Tianna Blakely (left to right) participate in an activity about group connectivity.

“Stress is known to trigger inflammation in a lot of other settings,” she says. “I think reducing psychosocial stress may help mute some of the pathways that lead to preterm birth. To me, that’s the biggest hypothesis of what is happening in here.”

America’s lack of a national health care system means women may go years without insurance coverage before they become pregnant. On top of that, having no paid maternity leave or child care subsidies can make planning for a baby’s birth an exceptionally stressful experience.

When Crockett started working at the Greenville clinic, she used to do normal, one-on-one visits with her pregnant patients. They felt too fast. Crockett would take some vitals, ask her patients if they were okay … and that was pretty much it.

“When the goal of the visit is to make sure you’re not sick, that takes a very short period of time,” she says. “But when you change the goal of the visit to prepare women to become mothers, that’s a totally different game plan.”

So, in 2008, she decided to start doing things differently. Crockett applied for a grant from the March of Dimes to start offering group prenatal care. The program she would implement was called CenteringPregnancy, which started in the mid-1990s in the Northeast.

Around the time Crockett applied for her grant, controlled trials of other studies were starting to show promising results. A 2007 Yale study found that the program reduced preterm births 29 percent (and an even steeper, 36 percent decline for African-American women). A study the next year, of women in New York City, found that group visit participants were significantly less likely to have babies that were low-weight or required NICU care.

Crockett knew that quick visits weren’t doing a great job. At the same time, she was pretty skeptical these group visits would do much better. She mostly thought these visits would be fun for her patients, and a decent way to clear out her overcrowded waiting room.

Program participants (left to right) Jeffery Briggs, Brookelyn Mitchell-Briggs, Caleb Owens Jr., and Landreth discuss with Corley feelings of anxiety about the pending births of their children.

“The idea that having women sit together in a circle for their medical visits would somehow improve their birth outcomes, I didn’t understand how that could be a thing,” she says.

But Crockett was quickly surprised: The results in her own clinic started to match those from others. “Even from that first small cohort we started seeing that our outcomes matched exactly what they were reporting from the randomized controlled trials,” she says. “That was when we really ramped up the research side.”

At the time, about 19 percent of African-American babies were being born early in South Carolina. And when you include all races, the number sat at 12 percent.

But Crockett’s results? They showed that only 8 percent of the Centering patients were having their babies early. What’s more, the racial disparity completely disappeared.

The study wasn’t large enough to show a decline in infant mortality (which, even though South Carolina had a high rate, is still a relatively rare outcome affecting less than 0.1 percent of births).

Additional research in South Carolina found similar results to Crockett’s. A 2016 paper, for example, found that CenteringPregnancy reduced the risk of preterm birth by 36 percent. It also saved the state money by preventing costly admissions to the neonatal intensive care unit.

That research converted Crockett from Centering skeptic to full-blown evangelist. She kept running the program in her own clinic, and urging state officials to expand it across the state, too. Because of her work, South Carolina is now the only state in the country where Medicaid patients routinely have access to CenteringPregnancy.

Crockett is studying these patients, too. She has enrolled 4,000 pregnant women across the state into a study that will see whether CenteringPregnancy reduces infant mortality.

Last March, I sat in on one of the CenteringPregnancy sessions at Dr. Crockett’s clinic in Greenville.

This was one of the last sessions for this group of women, who were eight months pregnant with round bellies. They sat in a circle of white, folding chairs set up in a bright pink room.

Patients would trickle in, have a nurse listen to their babies’ heartbeat, grab some snacks (a must at 8 months pregnant) and sit down in the chairs.

There was lots of joking and laughing; it was clear the women felt very comfortable with each other at this point in their pregnancy.

“We have fun, we trip, joke around, talk about everything,” Tianna Blakley, 36, says, and then repeats with emphasis, “Everything. When you don’t get enough support from the actual main person that you think should be the one to give you support, it means a lot [to come to the group]. It is better and comforting.”

b

Tianna Blakely and her daughter Anika Edmond share a moment during prenatal group time.

Blakely enrolled in CenteringPregnancy reluctantly. She already had two daughters, after all, so she knew what it was like to be pregnant.

“I thought it was going to be boring and a waste of time,” she says bluntly. Her views changed with each visit — as she actually got to know the other pregnant women in the program. “Coming in here, meeting everybody, it was better than I thought it was going to be. I fell in love with it.”

Blakely has a lot of instability in her life. She moves around a lot. Weeks before her due date, she wasn’t sure if her baby’s father would be involved in the child’s life. These sessions seemed to be a reliable place where people would listen. Where she could talk openly about the hard parts of expecting a child.

Tianna Blakely takes her girls, Corteice Prince and Anika Edmond, to the park to eat and do homework before heading to a friend’s home. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy last spring.

“It’s just being able to talk to people that actually would listen and not cut you off or not make assumptions or not judge you,” Blakeley says. “These were people that were going through some of the same things that I was.”

At the session, a nurse ran through a curriculum about recognizing the signs of postpartum depression. There were also tips about where to buy cheap baby bath tubs, and how to situate pillows for their growing body’s aches and pains.

The group also ended up on a lot of tangents, about new haircuts and Facebook videos they’d seen and what their babies’ astrological signs will mean. I was a bit surprised that the nurse let those run on for a while. Didn’t she want to get back to her curriculum?

She told me that the curriculum wasn’t actually the most important thing going on in the room. The main objective was creating a comforting environment for the pregnant women — a place where pregnancy feels a little less stressful.

Jennifer Bassatt, one of the patients I met, told me she doesn’t know a lot of pregnant people. Her baby’s father isn’t in the picture. The group makes her feel less lonely. “It’s good to meet other people who are doing the right thing, who want to have families,” she says.

Jennifer Bassatt, of Greenville, takes a quiet moment to soothe her stomach while waiting to schedule her next check-up appointment.

Hanging out with other pregnant women probably won’t eliminate all stress for Tianna, or Jennifer, or for anybody. But if it can dial down stress levels enough to help moms deliver healthier babies, that means these two-hour meetings are a pretty powerful drug.

South Carolina is now home to two statewide, randomized-controlled trials to improve infant health outcomes. One is the study that Crockett helms, which is looking at whether the statewide implementation of CenteringPregnancy is indeed reducing infant deaths.

The other is run by the Nurse-Family Partnership, testing a similarly low-tech intervention: having nurses travel to low-income mothers’ homes for regular visits during their pregnancy, and then for the first two years of their new child’s life. That program exists elsewhere on a smaller scale, but South Carolina’s implementation is the biggest to-date.

The idea, like Crockett’s study, is to take a simple health care intervention that has seen early success in small studies, scale it up to the state level, and see if it works.

Jennifer shows pictures of a baby shower cake to group participants Caleb Owens Jr. and his girlfriend Megan Landreth, both of Liberty, South Carolina.

To evaluate that program, South Carolina has contracted with top health economists from M.I.T. and Harvard. Like in Crockett’s study, they will also be recruiting 4,000 South Carolina women for the trial and publish their results in about two years.

“We’ll find exciting results in some cases or we might find disappointing results,” says Mary Ann Bates, executive director of M.I.T’s Poverty Action Lab, one of the evaluators. “But the encouraging and rewarding thing is that governments are willing to ask hard questions about their investments. I think this is really where we need to be.”

South Carolina has become a fertile testing ground for new policies that can help babies have a better start to life. But there is one obvious policy that could likely do even more to save babies that the state isn’t thinking about: expanding Medicaid.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that states participating in the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid saw greater declines in infant deaths than those that do not.

South Carolina is still in the latter category, which means that about 92,000 low-income South Carolinians who would otherwise qualify for the public program are currently not covered.

Pregnant women do qualify for Medicaid while carrying their child, but typically lose their coverage a few months later if their income is higher than 67 percent of the poverty line (that works out to an $11,000 annual income for a family of two).

Bryan Amick, a state Medicaid official, demurred when asked about why the state does not participate in that program. “I think South Carolina has largely been consistent with that of the rest of the Southeast,” he says. “Those decisions happen above my pay grade. It’s my job to implement the Medicaid program that we have today.”

Jennifer gave birth to a healthy baby girl last spring named Charlotte, or Charlie for short. Courtesy of Jennifer Bassatt

“It’s good to meet other people who are doing the right thing, who want to have families,” says Jennifer. Courtesy of Jennifer Bassatt

There’s no one reason that South Carolina’s infant mortality rate has declined in recent years. But these inexpensive interventions might be doing their part, which is exciting because these are solutions that are generally low-cost and scalable. It’s easier to bring a group of women into a clinic to talk for two hours than it is to bring a fancy piece of technology.

But for all its progress, South Carolina is still missing something it could do to tackle infant mortality. As Ashish Thakrar, the public health researcher puts it, “The easiest thing the state could do is expand Medicaid.”

Sign up for the Future Perfect newsletter. Twice a week, you’ll get a roundup of ideas and solutions for tackling our biggest challenges: improving public health, decreasing human and animal suffering, easing catastrophic risks, and — to put it simply — getting better at doing good.

Original Source -> Sit in a circle. Talk to other pregnant women. Save your baby’s life?

via The Conservative Brief

[racingtoaredlight]

Opening Bell: March 16, 2018

This week, the United States belatedly joined France and Germany in standing with Britain and accusations by the government of Prime Minister Theresa May that the Russian government was almost certainly behind the chemical weapons attack on an exiled Russian former intelligence officer and his daughter, both of whom remain in hospital in serious condition. The brazen attack, which may have been undertaken with a nerve agent, on British soil, upped the ante still further on actions which the Kremlin is willing to take in order to silence or avenge former intelligence and government officials who have defected to the West for various reasons. In response, the Russian ambassador demanded that the British government provide “material evidence” that the attack was ordered and/or undertaken by the government of Vladimir Putin. When the Kremlin failed to respond to a midnight deadline for answers, Theresa May’s government acted by labeling 23 Russian diplomats persona-non-grata, effectively forcing them to leave Britain within 24 hours. If it has not been pondered by others before this point, it is worth considering whether we have reentered a nascent version of the Cold War, which dominated European and American politics and the World stage for sixty years after the end of the Second World War. There is no question that Russian and American interests diverge or collide with each other around the globe, just as during the Cold War, but there is considerable more soft-power being applied with asymmetric military actions resulting in the seizure of territory, intervention in foreign conflicts, and the direct interference in western elections. While the prevailing fear during the Cold War, was mutual nuclear annihilation, or perhaps at best a large-scale war in between East and West in Continental Europe (something which Tom Clancy’s novel “Red Storm Rising” does an excellent job of portraying), now the fear is that our enemy, if we can call Russia that, can reach directly into the heart of our democracy and upend its very principles by undermining citizens’ trust in government.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has attracted considerable criticism for the way it is perceived to drag its feet over the implementation of further sanctions against Russia, in the face of clear evidence of Russian involvement in actions taken to undermine the American government. But this week, the Treasury Department announced new sanctions which were being instituted specifically in response to evidence of Russian meddling with the 2016 election. The sanctions which are financial in nature, apply to individual members of the Russian government and other high officials in Russian society, as well as specific companies with ties to the Kremlin. While the implementation of sanctions is a welcome sign, this raft still represents a very basic level of what the United States government could do, if it so chose. The Constitution gives the power of handling foreign affairs to the Executive Branch, however, and if that branch for some reason declines to implement sanctions, this provides significant barriers to other parts of the government from doing so.

This week, for the first time, Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller III (who I saw referred to on Twitter as “Bobby Three Sticks,” which I sorta like), subpoenaed documents from the Trump Organization, the umbrella corporation which President Donald Trump’s sons, Don Jr. and Eric, have run ever since their father was elected president. It is not known what exactly Mueller is seeking or what the scope of his subpoena is, but it has been long suspected that Donald Trump, when he headed the Trump Organization, fostered business ties between himself and the Russian government, particularly in 2013, and that these ties may form the basis for the belief that evidence of compromising behavior by the president is held as a form of blackmail over him by the Kremlin. Even if this grand conspiracy is found to have no basis in truth, but is in fact a series of coincidences that appear as a pattern, this does not exclude the possibility that Trump or individuals working for his corporation participated in unethical or illegal behavior during these previous attempts at forming a business relationship. The president is said to have drawn a line for Mueller, saying any extension of the investigation into his personal financial doings represents a “red line,” that may not be crossed. Whether this means that a foray into this part of the life of the 45th president means Trump would attempt to fire Mueller is unclear, though it seems highly doubtful that such a threat would affect Mueller’s activities.

And now on to this week’s features:

While the subject of climate change and its effects upon our society and infrastructure unfortunately remains a controversial subject in this country, there can be no denial that we are experiencing changes in global weather patterns that do not match our experiences since weather was first officially, regularly recorded in the 1870s. Rolling Stone analyzes several worst case scenarios for events in various parts of the country which could occur and, if they do, would create widespread migration. Whole cities or regions of the country may be abandoned by swathes of the public, with consequences that could undermine our national economy and perhaps even the social structure. This is certainly an apocalyptic vision which assumes many extremes which, the article concedes, may be mitigated by proactive human actions in the interim, but respecting the worst of what could happen does tend to force people and governments to undertake preparations that they always may not.

The end of repressive communist-dominated governments in Eastern Europe at the end of the Cold War seemed to create a new wave of enlightened thought in which the attitudes and broad social mores of the West would finally be successfully adopted by the East, creating harmony and prosperity based on shared continental governance; the European Union would be the uniting political structure while NATO would ensure the defense of this system against rogue or wayward nation states or actors. This inevitable outcome seemed to move closer to fact, as many former Eastern Bloc, Warsaw Pact nations, joined the EU and NATO. Geopolitical crises which created humanitarian nightmares have erupted in recent years, provoking the resurgence of virulent, post-Communist nationalism which abhors the notion of inclusion and multiculturalism, and instead embraces the preservation of a perceived unique historical identity. This, as the writer of this piece points out, is most clearly seen in Hungary, which has acted as a great barrier to refugees and migrants from the war-torn Middle East, forcing them into neighboring countries or forcing them to languish in place, in an unsteady limbo which preserves the wretched state of the migrants. This new form of nationalism combined with populism, has also led to a spate of historical revisionism in other parts of Europe, such as Poland where a new law (or more accurately, an amendment to an existing law), seeks to recast Poland’s role in the Holocaust and the war itself.

The mob or mafia is well-known in American culture through popular movies, television shows, books, and through infamous times in which agents of this shadowy world pulled off a record breaking heist, or gunned down a rival in the criminal world. The American mafia is descended almost entirely from the Sicilian mafia, which maintains a significant presence on the large Italian island to this day. But have you ever considered when and how the mafia came into existence and became the social and political power that it has been in Sicily for generations? This study traces the evolution of the mafia in Sicily based upon the economic factors which plagued the island in the mid-nineteenth century. It also examines the effects of mafia control of territory; rises in illiteracy and infant mortality, decreases in effective local government and economic development.

What is the earliest memory you can recall in your life? The first age at which I can remember certain daily interactions or occurrences is about 3, and the first major news story which I can recall watching and being engrossed by, was when Baby Jessica was rescued from a well in Texas. In the nineteenth century, conventional wisdom was that the brain of an infant and later of a toddler, which not sophisticated enough yet to produce memories. Research today indicates that this is not the case, that infants and toddlers and young children do create memories, but their endurance is low; ranging from a single day to a month to a handful of months. The average age at which the mind creates memories which seem to have a sort of permanence is about age 3.5; i.e. matching my own personal memory timeline above. And this is not because the brain is undeveloped at these early ages, its more that its pathways have not been refined enough to prioritize certain functionalities over others. And it seems that this process is necessary to the development of the adult brain. This is a really interesting story.

Anyone who has flown more than a handful of times in life has experienced at least one “bumpy” landing. Landing and takeoff are the only times in which an airplane is essentially locked into flying a particular speed, altitude, angle, and in a particular geographic location; pilots can fly around known pockets of mid-air turbulence, but a runway is where a runway is. Because of this reality, pilots are required early on in their training to learn the art and technical skill of landing in severe crosswinds. And while viewing a plane tossed sideways by the wind is terrifying to most people on the ground—to say nothing of the passengers in the aircraft—the truth is, most pilots consider landing in crosswinds to be, sort of, fun.

This past Tuesday, Democrat Conor Lamb scored an upset victory over Republican Rick Saccone in the Pennsylvania 18th congressional district special election. Saccone was not exactly an inspired candidate—especially in contrast to the telegenic Lamb—but the district was won by Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton by 20+ points in November 2016. This marked the most recent edition in a series of state and federal special elections in which Democrats have vastly improved their performance over Republican opponents and, in several cases, scored surprise victories in deeply conservative states, notably Oklahoma. Kyle Kondik of the Center for Politics looks at these races and analyzes whether Republicans face further trouble in upcoming special elections, particularly another congressional special election, this time in Arizona.

 Welcome to the weekend.

[theredcirclezim]

The Highs & Lows Of Madam Sirleaf

The long-awaited 2017 presidential and general elections are some days away, and the political puppets, political commentators, political bigshots and the rest of the political slaves are treading our communities and neighbourhoods with their usual fallacious promises. This 2017 elections will be one of the most important elections in Liberia. Since the 16th day of January 2006, the unity party government under the leadership of Madam Sirleaf had been in power. Madam Sirleaf's 2005 victory in the 2005 elections came as a divine miracle to her followers and also a breakthrough for the common and negligible people of Liberia. Giving one of her brilliant 2005 campaign speeches, she stressed on several factors surrounding the Liberian people. She promised to 1. create no fewer than 20,000 jobs (short and long-term) every year for the next six years, 2. Ensure that the mount coffee hydro plant is fully rehabilitated and made functional (100%), 3. The Roberts International airport is modernized and brought to international standards, 4. Connect all counties capitals with paved roads, 6. Ensure that Liberian business have increased access to finance, 7. Ensure that each county has a techanical and vocational training center, 8. Increase the salary of teachers and health workers, especially those working in rural areas, 9. Ensure double digit growth rate to address poverty, 10. Continue the fight against corruption with emphasis on punishment, 11. Build bridges, 12. Ensure all government agencies are in public building, 13. Complete community colleges in all counties and, 14. Construct three regional sport academics. All that she promised were hailed greatly by the oppressed masses. Some of her promises were fulfilled and the others are still in the dark and far from being achieved. The madam began her tenure in 2006 with a divided nation and a country that was in a huge external debt. Before 2006, Liberia’s external debt stood at $4.9 billion dollars, and the Madam embarked her tenure with a damaged revenue that was at $80millions, and the country was in total ruin. During the early period of the madam tenure-ship, many of Liberia infrastructure were damaged, and the health, education, energy, the condition of living of the common Liberians were also in limbo. To promote unity and reconciliation, the madam established the Truth and Reconciliation council. This council was intended for Liberians to tell his/her war stories, and also give the opportunity to the Liberian's warlords to apologize for their diabolical acts against their brothers and sisters. The TRC initiative was conducted accordingly and no individual was indicted for any crimes. In 2010, the government of madam Sirleaf was able to cancel $4.9 billions of debt. The cancelling of that huge debt was a great turning point in the Madam administration. Her government fiscal year (2012/13) budget elevated to $649.7 million and the GDP grew by 4.6% in 2009, 5.6% in 2010, and 6.9% in 2011. In the same 2010, she completed an important investment accumulating over US$ 16 billions foreign investment and successfully completing of the heavily indebted poor countries initiative. Additionally, a corporation called SIFCA international firm and the Liberia government signed an agreement worth $142 million USD for the operation of the Cavalla River corporation and the Maryland Oil palm plantation in the southeastern Liberia. The operation was expected to create 4,000 jobs for the common people of Liberia. The madam also straightens her budget by negotiating a US$ 1.5 billion iron ore concession agreement with Arcelor Mittal. With all the weighty investments that were signed by the Madam government between 2006 and the extant period, the living condition of the common and oppressed Liberians had been encircled by extreme poverty. The common Liberians had only enjoyed maltreatment, abject poverty, unemployment during and et al during the Madam Sirleaf's tenure. In order to minimize the high level of poverty, she put forth schemes called the Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Vision 2030. The vision 2030 program objective was to propel the country into the rank of a middle-income country by 2030. The poverty reduction strategy was a complete failure likewise the vision 2030. The madam vision plan met it death just like the Vision 2020 policy of former president Charles G. Taylor. The madam implemented policies that brought strong economic growth, increase foreign direct investments. The population of Liberia increased from 3.5 to 4.3 millions in 2015. That indicates that the population is increasing daily likewise the number of poverty among the masses. The World Bank announced that 54% of the population is living below poverty line. This means that they live on less than US$ 2.00 a day, and they also said that 18% of the 4.5 million population are living in extreme poverty to the core. In 2014, UNPP human development index indicates that 81.66% of the Liberians are in miserable poverty. Moreover, they stressed that infant mortality rate is at 69.19% while JFK memorial hospital and other governmental health centres are still functioning. According to the Madam's second inaugural speech, she said that “The youth of Liberia are our future and they sent us a message, they are impatient, they are eager to be rid the years of conflict and deprivation, they are anxious to know their homeland offers grounds for hopes. Let me say to them, we heard that message. It is our solemn obligation that their hopes will not be vein.” It so saddens today that the Madam failed that obligation and left the hopes of the youth in a desperate situation. She heard their messages but ignored it and that is the reasons the rate of youth employment is at Mount Everest in Liberia, that is the reason our young sisters are being raped on a daily and they have been denied justice, that is the reason youth unemployment stands at 5.1% as of 2010. With all the millions of dollar that have been donated to the Liberia's government to improve the living condition of the common people who are crushing rocks for their end means. Their money had been deep-pocked by the so-called elites of this country. The men and women who are working hugely to the growth and development of our motherland had been denied profitable salaries. According to Martin K. N Kollie “A VICTIM OF GREED”, he penned and gave a vivid analysis on the salaries of some studios and hardworking public servants. He indicated that the following employees of the government received this amount of money after every month. Public SchoolTeacher……………………USD130 PoliceOfficer…………………USD157 Nurse………………………………………………………….USD150 Immigration Officer…………………………………..USD100 AFL ……………………………………………………………..USD180 Medical Doctor……………………………………………USD2,000 The following are the salaries of the Senate pro Tempore, Speaker and Deputy speaker: Senate Pro Tempore………………………………..USD30,166.00 Speaker…………………………………………………….USD23,755.25 Deputy Speaker………………………………………..USD20,388.08 This analysis only indicates that the Madam government have forgotten the most hardworking public servants while her governmental bigshots are consuming 75% of the budget. If a mathematician may do a mathematical calculation and combine the salaries of the above listed public servants, it will not equal with the pregnant salaries of her representatives, senators and cabinet ministers. Liberia is a depreciating country with massive poverty and a high level of employment. The living conditions under the madam have never been improving for the common people. Children are still dying from unhealthy water and thousands of them go to bed hungry while the elites children of the madam's administration are flushing their restrooms with mineral water. The countless and fruitless policies that have been created by the Madam had gone wayward. The masses have suffered a lot under the Madam Sirleaf's tenure-ship. The price of the bag of rice is increasing daily, transportation fares are gradually elevating likewise the price of gas. The US rate is increasing daily and it had become unbearable for the market women and the common people. The country has been politically stable since her tenure began, but arm robbers are still banging on our rotten doors. Our mattresses have been taken from under us every night. We sleep in our matches box rooms with one eye open and the other wide awake. The Madam in making one of her endless promises, she promised to reconnect the political sub-division of Liberia and also rehabilitate some roads. She embarked on this huge tasks by constructing the Bella Yallah road after her visit to the famous Bella Yallah prison. The constructing of the Bella Yallah road served as a breakthrough and it brought hope to the people living in the deprived region of Liberia. Madam Sirleaf's government constructed the Monrovia-Buchanan road, Gbarga-Ganta-Guinea border road, Kolahum-Vahum road and also the Barclayville -Pleebo highway in Maryland county and Grandkru. Moreover, she constructed some bridges in and out of Monrovia. she constructed the newly Vai town bridge that links Waterside and Vaitown, the Ccaldwell Bridge, George Walker Bush bridge in Barclayville, Grandkru, and other petty bridges in the fifteen political regions of Liberia. The madam did well in constructing roads. The Somalia drive – Redlight road is undergoing as well as other roads in Monrovia, but the southeastern counties are still in the shadow of getting a smooth and easy transportation during the rainy and dry season. The Iron lady also embarks on another project by straightening Liberia health sector. Firstly, she completed and renovated several health centres around Liberia. she completed the Telewoyan hospital in Voinjama, Lofa county, The Jackson F. Doe referral hospital in Tappita, Nimba county. She also renovated the J.J Dossen referral hospital in Harper, Maryland County, and she also constructed several health centres that are working hugely to the well-being of the Liberian people. In 2014, Liberia was severely hit by an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease and about 300 health workers died. The outbreak of the virus was one of the major challenges the Madam faced. Several international NGO(s) and countries donated funds to the Madam government in order for her to conquer the killer disease. For several months the country stood still as the energetic health workers of the various health centres and with the massive help of foreign Doctors and the Liberia people the virus was eliminated. The Ebola situation had ended but the status quo of Nurses and Doctors now is worrisome. Health workers are always going on strike for their salaries. To the issue of the educational sector. The madam government provided more policies in the reformation process of the post war educational system. She increased the salaries of public school teachers and also reduced the tuition fees of public schools. Under her tenure, the enrollment of Liberian's youth increased greatly; especially the female. Her government constructed more schools than any other government that has ever existed in Liberia. As she promised during her 2005 campaign to established community colleges in the various counties. She began by establishing the Bomi county community college, the Nimba county community college, Lofa community college. She also established the Bong county technical college, Sinoe county community college, Herbal community college and the Grand Gedeh community college. In about twelve years of her reign, she had managed to establish eight community colleges in eight counties out of the fifteen. The remaining seven counties are left in the dark when it comes to the issue of higher learning institutes. Some of the fifteen counties do not have a suitable public high school. Like in Rivercess county, there is only one public high school to accommodate the many students in the county. In Grand cape mount county, students have to trek miles in order to get to a school that do not have armchairs and a suitable blackboard. From 2006-2011, about 250 public schools were completed across Liberia and with 1.3 million students in pre-primary and primary schools. The completion of the 250 schools was a major boost to the madam administration, but completing 250 schools without armchairs for students to sit and unpaid classroom instructors. It is a big shame to the madam government. A tireless public school teacher has to wait for 2-3 months before he can get a one-month salary while the minister of education salary is paid beforehand. Being the first African female democratically elected head of state, the Madam created policies and increase high judgement on any one that will assault or sexually abuse girls. Early in the madam's government, she declared rape as public enemy number two, but it ironical that rape cases are at the zenith. The supreme court has offered only one court for rape cases. Chief Justice Francis Korkpor said that Liberia has only one court that handles cases of rape and gender-based violence in the country. How can you handle rape cases with only one court allotted to it? I think the president was joking when she declared it as public enemy number two. According to a report released by the United Nations mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and the office of the high commissioner for the human right (OHCHR), is based on information obtained by the United Nations, human rights officer between January 2015 and March 2016. It indicates a very high number of rapes reported in all of the fifteen counties across the country with 803 cases in 2015. They state that rape is the second most commonly reported serious crime in Liberia. Moreover, they say that rape victims do not achieve justice due to multiple challenges, including institutional weaknesses, corruption, lack of due diligence by the government as well as logistical and financial constraints. Under the madam tenure, about 80% of rape victims documented by the United Nations in Liberia in 2015 were under the age of 18, including at least five cases of girls under the age of five (5) being raped. With all the high number of cases that have been reported daily, the madam has not taken any bold step to punish individuals that carried on these acts. In 2014, the ministry of Gender, children and social protection has reported a total of 554 rape cases in the country. Montserrado accounts for 428 cases while the other fourteen countries account for 126 cases, and also in 2011, a total 1,475 rape cases were officially reported. Since January 16, 2005, rape cases have been elevating in our countries even after the Madam declared it as public enemy number two. To the issue of the press, the madam gave more freedom to the press than any other president. Freedom of speech has become common since the madam began her tenure. Both the print and electronic media of the press have been operating with much freedom from the madam government. In fulfilment of one of her promises, she made to the Liberian people by saying that in her government corruption will be public enemy number one. In order to achieve victory after waging a great war on corruption, she established the General Auditing Commission (GAC), Liberia Anti-corruption commission (LACC) and the just recent formed presidential task force. The madam was the first to pass a freedom of information act to fight against corruption. To promote accountability and transparency, she created the procurement concession commission act which function is to control and regulate government procurement and giving out concession. There have been numerous policies laid down by the madam to gunned down corruption from her government but all was fruitless. Plo Lumumba said ” As long the political system of a country is corrupt the country can never be liberated from corruption. The political system under the Madam is laying in the pool of corruption. Corruption has been deep-rooted in the political system under the madam. Transparency International has released it 2016 perception index and they ranked Liberia 90 among corrupt nations. Also in 2013, they also ranked Liberia 83 out of 177 nations. Corruption has been spreading and circling the various governmental institutions in Liberia. The National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) is the perfect example of one of the madam institution that had been deep-rooted in corruption. Prior to it collapsing, NOCAL pockets 36 million yearly from the government. During NOCAL initial stage it has approximately 200 employees and the elite management received 63,000USD monthly from the government. Today NOCAL is in total ruin and it had been eaten by corruption and mismanagement. NOCAL coming was a major boast to the Madam administration and also the Liberian people. More Money was pumped into the cover of NOCAL and in less than four years NOCAL is shattered in the dust of Neverland. Corruption had eaten NOCAL to its foundation, and today, they have about 36 employees. The Madam LACC had failed to track down individuals who had been suspected of being corrupt. T. Nelson Williams is still walking freely after he had damaged The LPRC. With all the numerous Anti-corruption policies that had been created by the Madam government to eliminate, none was able to minimize corruption from her government. Former RIA boss Ellen Cockrum, a US-based Liberian female pilot that was tasked the responsibility of revamping the RIA reportedly attempted to defraud the Liberia government of nearly a quarter million dollar. Cockrum's is today walking freely in the US and the government have done nothing about that. Recently, former NPA boss Matilda Parker's and her controller Christiana Kpabar Paley's were indicted for making a fraudulent payments of funds from the account of the NPA awarding two sole-source contracts without the PPCC to the Donmar's enterprise on behalf of the NPA for the removal of wacks from the port of Greenville, and the provision of security consultancy at the ports of Monrovia, Buchanan, and Greenville, valued at USD 500,000 and USD 300,000 respectively. Conclusively, to the energy sector of Liberia. Prior to the Liberia civil war, the Liberian people enjoyed much electricity from the Mt Coffee hydro that was built by President William VS Tubman. The Mt Coffee Hydro was generating electricity through out Monrovia and its surrounding. After the war, a new government was ushered in and it was headed by the Madam. Madam Sirleaf's promised to electrify Monrovia in six months and also rehabilitate the damaged Mount Coffee hydro. The madam kept her promise by dedicating the first phase of the Hydro in December 2016. The government of Norway and America provided 50million and 257million respectively. The World Bank also aid in the process by providing 51 million to the Madam's government. Madam Sirleaf failed to electrify Monrovia in six months but she succeeds in providing electricity to 750,000 residents currently. By the end of her reign, 75% of the population will benefit from the mount coffee hydro when it is completed fully. Jeremy T.  Karn 23177613072 Jkarn209@gmail.com Click to Post

[babysafetyathome-blog]

Baby safety at home

Making a sheltered home for a youngster is continually testing, as the stakes are always high. An infant does not comprehend what particular protest can be perilous to it and with what question it should play. Be that as it may, concerned guardians are continually overpowering not to lose track of their infant. As per CDC, there are reports that around 12 million kids are sent to crisis office every year. To calm you from stresses, this article will help you fabricating a protected paradise for your tyke. For, this article comprises master conclusion, dependable insights and preventive measures for guaranteeing the security of your kid. Do you know, the wounds or unexpected passings which the children confront are for sure preventable? We will concentrate on the credible threat that your son may face while pondering around at home. Wounds caused by a fall, best our rundown for nonfatal injuries. You will be astounded to realise that every year very nearly 2.8 million kids experience the ill effects of a fall. Youngsters matured <1 year are extremely inclined to such mishap, and their damage rate is more than 50%. I realise second place; we have damage cases caused by being struck by or against house objects. On the off chance that you are as of now a parent, at that point you ought to most likely realize this is a key situation while raising 0-5 years of age infant. Suffocation and suffocating wounds will top the rundown on the off chance that you consider lethal damage list which incorporates passings of youngsters. Very nearly 2/third passings are caused by alone suffocation and suffocating could be for the best if we discussed demise reasons for 1-4 years of age babies. Did you know, male children are more inclined to mischances than the female ones? Anyway, you presumably would be pondering, what should be possible to shield your kids from such startling mischances? All things considered, we are here to give all of you the data that you require to offer your youngster a sheltered paradise. Once more, we will go well ordered to manufacture a protected home for your children. Assurance from falls Pay special mind to windows-Children who are five years of age or more youthful can press themselves out intensive a 6-8 inches opening or a window. So keep your windows from opening more than 4-5 inches (a few youngsters are sufficiently thin to press themselves out from this range), evacuate furniture that prompted climb and even let your kid play in an open space to administer its state of mind. Stairs are not reasonable for the infant Only thing you can do introducing an avoiding entryway with a doorknob on it. Patios Letting your kids play in yards and overhangs unattended may come about minor and lethal mishaps, so bolt your entryways and windows to keep their get to. Infant's bed-Put strikes to guarantee wellbeing for your little child. Something else, their energetic conduct may cause deadly results. Suffocation wellbeing for kids It is very prescribed to put your children to rest while they are lying on their back to keep away from suffocation cases. It is required for the guardians to take CPR courses to keep any gagging or suffocation mischance Your essence while your child is eating can guarantee the security of such case Children have the inclination to place anything in their mouth which can cause genuine suffocation. So dodge such things which may make hurt your valuable Electronic devices and apparatuses Make sure to unplug all your electronic appliances while your children are around. Try not to release your children close to a stove. Try not to give stove or other cooking apparatuses a chance to be the toys of your youngsters. They will underestimate it notwithstanding when those are on the stove. Put your infant a long way from matches and lighters. Suffocating Assembled wellbeing wall around the pool to bar your youngsters' get realized. Never at any point allow your kids to sit unbothered in a bath. Bolt the washroom entryway while you are far from your baby Keep Medicines and toxins away As you have realized that kids place anything in their mouth first. Be careful to put your medications and toxic chemicals away. Toxin exposures are such a regular thing for youngsters that it surpasses 44%. On the off chance that something comparative occurs with your kids, at that point call promptly to the National Poison Center. These are not very many however general cases for kids' mortal and non-deadly wounds. After perusing this ingenious article, we can anticipate that guardians will be more wary about their youngsters.