#cannot find any official source that states this man's legal name

[vh-rasz]

an appeal that i can draw more actor-accurate ish moremen art

[dwellordream]

“...Livia cannot have reached Rome before late summer 39. She and her husband, Tiberius Nero, would probably have returned to their residence on the Palatine if it was still available to them. It may not have been. The Treaty of Misenum stipulated that those who had left Italy in fear for their safety would get their property back; those who, like Tiberius Nero, had been proscribed would recover only a quarter. Livia might thus have found herself in considerably reduced circumstances. Where and when she and Octavian met we have no idea, and we cannot exclude the possible irony that she might have been introduced to him through her aunt by adoption, his then-wife, Scribonia. Dio is the only source to report on how the affair began. 

Octavian in 39 bc organised a lavish entertainment to celebrate the shaving of his beard (the event may have been his birthday, on September 23). Dio tells us that Octavian kept his chin smooth afterwards (although coins continue to show him bearded as late as 36). He clearly wanted to look his best because he ‘‘was already (hede) beginning to love Livia.’’ For Livia, Octavian certainly represented a good catch. There are hints that in the eyes of contemporaries she quickly recognised his interest in her and turned it to her advantage. There is evidence that Octavian was already turning to Livia for help and advice well before they were married. 

Scribonia complained about her husband’s mistress—almost certainly Livia—upset not by his infatuation, a situation that Roman wives generally learned to handle, but rather by her rival’s nimiam potentiam (excessive power). Potentia is a term generally used of political rather than erotic power. Tacitus seems also to suggest that Livia may well have been active in encouraging Octavian’s attentions, when he says that Octavian took her away from her husband incertum an invitam (it is not certain that she was reluctant). But what did she have to offer him? We can certainly not dismiss the element of pure sexual attraction. Both Tacitus and Velleius speak of Livia’s beauty, forma, although such descriptions of aristocratic Roman women tend to be formulaic, and beauty in a bride may have been as much a commonplace in ancient Rome as it is today. 

Tacitus asserted that Octavian was driven essentially by lust, cupidine formae, and a tradition that saw his interest as pure infatuation (amore) persisted down to the fourth century. But Livia had much more than sexual charms to offer. Certainly in his previous matches Octavian had always looked upon marriage as a means of furthering his career. He was betrothed first to Servilia, the daughter of Publius Servilius Isauricus, related by marriage to Brutus, Cassius, and Lepidus, in an engagement that was the product of a political alignment engineered by Cicero early in 43 bc. This first arrangement fell victim to the shifting political tides. When he became reconciled with Antony, to strengthen the new alliance he became engaged to Antony’s stepdaughter Claudia, the child of Fulvia (see chapter 7) and her previous husband, Publius Clodius. The marriage was postponed because of his fiancée’s youth, and the clash with Fulvia ended the arrangement. 

The marriage to Scribonia followed in 40 bc. Octavian’s ties to Scribonia would similarly have been weakened when the old problems between himself and Sextus Pompeius reasserted themselves. Velleius, in fact, explicitly places the divorce from Scribonia and the fresh outbreak of hostilities with Sextus in close sequence. In fact, Livia would have seemed an ideal partner. Quite apart from any feelings of affection, she brought significant political benefits to the marriage. Octavian had considerable power. His desperate need now was for status. Although Antony’s taunt of ignobilitas might have been overstated (Octavian’s father had reached the praetorship, which would have given him a technical entrée into the nobilitas), Octavian was seen by the old nobility as something of a revolutionary parvenu, and this formidable obstacle had not yet been overcome even more than a quarter-century later, when, in 12 bc, some of the nobility declined to attend the funeral of his old friend and son-in-law Marcus Agrippa. 

Ancestry was a powerful element in making a marriage advantageous. As Tacitus observed in Livia’s obituary notice, she could boast a lofty lineage (nobilitatis . . . clarissimae), and Velleius describes her father as nobilissimus. Thus she would have helped Octavian to strengthen his ties with the old distinguished families. In fact, the union would have a double advantage. It would link Octavian with the powerful and prestigious Claudii. But beyond this the connection with Livius Drusus would resonate throughout Italy and help to strengthen Octavian’s power base. It is worth noting that the names Drusus and Drusilla, both from the Livian side of the lineage, continued to be used by later generations of the family. If Livia has been correctly identified as the mistress who was the target of Scribonia’s complaints, Octavian and Livia began an affair while he was still married to Scribonia. He waited for the birth of his daughter Julia, then immediately arranged a divorce. 

Livia for her part secured a divorce from Tiberius Nero in turn, and it is likely that in late September or early October, 39 bc, Octavian and Livia became betrothed. They do not seem to have proceeded immediately to the marriage, probably because by early October, Livia was six months pregnant. Tacitus and Dio say that Octavian sought the guidance of the pontiffs on the problem that the pregnancy raised for her remarriage. Both historians present this consultation in sarcastic terms, perhaps reflecting Antony’s propaganda. Tacitus says that the question was put, per ludibrium (in a farce), whether Livia, with a child conceived but not yet born, could legally wed. Dio provides the same question, and also records their answer: that if there was any doubt about the conception the marriage should be postponed, but if conception was confirmed, then the marriage could take place. Dio is sceptical about their finding this decision in the rules, but says that it was a moot point because they would have given the answer Octavian needed anyhow. 

…But there was another bizarre twist to the event. In two places Tacitus retains a tradition that Livia was forcibly removed from Tiberius Nero, that she was abducta Neroni uxor (a wife abducted from Nero) and that Octavian aufert marito (carries off [Livia] from her husband). The cruel characterization of Octavian’s conduct may, again, have originated in Mark Antony’s propaganda. Tacitus and Suetonius refer to letters of Antony’s which apparently survived the triumvir’s disgrace and death. They are brimming with bitter invective against Octavian. The seeds of the story of Livia’s abduction may have been sown by a claim made by Antony that Octavian carried off (abductam) the wife of an ex-consul (unnamed) from her husband’s dining room before his very eyes and took her into the bedchamber, from where she returned with her hair in disorder and her ears glowing (rubentibus auriculis). Was she Livia? Suetonius seems to relate the hasty marriage and the case of the unidentified consular wife as two separate events. Also, Livia’s husband was not of consular rank. 

…In fact, Tiberius Nero had always been prepared to bend in the political wind, even if he failed to benefit much from his compliance. Pliny describes him as Octavian’s enemy (hostis), and although this would not, strictly speaking, have been true after the amnesty, there would still have been an inevitable tension between the two men, whose mutual animosity went back to the time of Perusia. The marriage would have offered Tiberius Nero an ideal opportunity to bury his differences with the rising star of the state. Cicero described him as the kind of man who was excessively eager to show gratitude in return for a favour, and most of the ancient sources speak of him as the perfect model of the mari complaisant. This motive may well have been sweetened by another consideration. Octavian’s divorce from Scribonia and marriage to Livia would cause a rift with Sextus Pompeius; this would be to the advantage of Antony, to whom Tiberius Nero might have had a residual loyalty. 

And we must also remember that he had received a personal snub from Sextus. Suetonius says that Tiberius Nero petenti Augusto concessit (gave her up to Augustus at his request). In fact, both Dio and Velleius allude to what seems to have been an active, even eager, role for Tiberius Nero in the union, Velleius repeating the same information in two different sections, that he was the one who pledged Livia. Dio says that he officiated at the ceremony, giving away his wife as a father would give up his daughter. It is possible that Antony’s propaganda might have exaggerated his willingness to comply. But there were historical parallels for such behaviour. When the great orator Hortensius persuaded Cato Uticensis, a man known for his upright attachment to principle, to divorce his wife Marcia so that he could marry her, Phillipus, her father, refused to betroth her to her new partner unless Cato joined with him in the formal ceremony. They betrothed her jointly. 

Much later, Caligula compelled Memmius Regulus to betroth his ex-wife Lollia Paulina to him. Tiberius Nero’s eagerness to please did cause one embarrassing moment, when he chose to attend the feast following the betrothal. Present at the event was one of the pretty slave boys, the delicia, who were trained in clever and naughty comments and appeared naked as a regular feature at social events of the fashionable. These slaves were selected for their talkativeness, and were particularly appealing if they were impudent and adept at risqué language. Seneca notes that they were trained by special tutors in the art of abuse and observes wryly that because their vulgarity was a matter of professional expertise, what they said was considered not offensive but smart (nec has contumelias vocamus, sed argutias). The slave attending the betrothal feast seems to have lived up to expectations. When he saw Livia reclining next to Octavian, he told her that she was in the wrong place since her husband—as he pointed to Tiberius Nero—was in another part of the room. This would not have been a simple social gaffe, but a deliberately outrageous joke. 

The story may, of course, be apocryphal, but it does at the very least suggest that relations between Tiberius Nero and Octavian were cordial enough for the discarded husband to have attended the celebratory feast. Some scholars associate this banquet with a notorious event from Octavian’s past, the cena dodekatheos (Feast of the Twelve Gods), recorded only by Suetonius. At this infamous festivity Octavian and his guests appeared in the guise of gods and goddesses (he took the part of Apollo). Suetonius reports that Antony attacked the escapade in his letters, naming the guests (the list is not provided), and there was also an anonymous and ribald lampoon which suggests that Octavian produced a burlesque about ‘‘novel debaucheries of the gods’’ (nova divorum . . . adulteria) ending with Jupiter falling from his throne. According to Suetonius, the scandal became the subject of common gossip, which was all the more avid because there was a severe famine in the city, leading to the jocular comment that the gods had eaten all the grain.

In 40 bc Sextus Pompeius had cut off the corn supply and there were popular disturbances; Octavian was even stoned. The Treaty of Misenum would have removed the root cause of these supply difficulties, but it would have taken a while for the problem to be totally alleviated, and there are reports of famine in the years 39, 38, and 36, any one of which might in fact have been the year of the banquet. Whatever the date, Livia would almost certainly have been one of the guests at this celebration. Following the betrothal it seems that Livia joined Octavian at his home on the Palatine. It is probably safe to assume that at this stage they were not yet married. There is, however, some confusion in the sources about the relationship of their wedding to the birth of Livia’s second son, Drusus. The information in Suetonius and Dio that Drusus came into the world after the marriage may have resulted from a confusion between the betrothal and the wedding. Antony seems to have been the source of this confusion, for he maliciously charged that the ‘‘wedding’’ was hasty (festinatas Liviae nuptias), probably in allusion to a hasty betrothal in early October following their initial meeting in September.

Early in 38 Drusus was born in Octavian’s Palatine home (intra Caesaris penates). The actual day can be deduced as January 14. The marriage took place very soon afterwards, in a year that began with a number of compelling omens. The hut of Romulus was burnt down on the Palatine during a religious ritual. The statue of Virtus fell on its face. A rumour spread that the Magna Mater was angry with the Romans, causing panic. Purification rites were carried out, and people were reassured when four palm trees sprang up near her temple on the Palatine and in the Forum. Dio reports that in the midst of these dramatic occurrences Octavian and Livia married. The Fasti Verulani record the date as January 17 (38 bc). It seems that Octavian had simply waited a brief while for Livia to recover from delivering Drusus, then proceeded straight to the wedding. Inevitably, these events led to considerable gossip about the true paternity of Drusus, and humorists coined a line in Greek, preserved in Suetonius and paraphrased by Dio, about some being lucky in having trimena paidia (children in three months). 

This became a proverbial saying, and seems to have been parodied by Caligula, who married his last wife, Caesonia, when she was close to the end of her term so that he could beget a paidion triakonthemeron (a thirty day child). There was also a rumour that Octavian was Drusus’ real father, a belief no doubt encouraged by his deep sorrow on the young man’s death in 9 bc. This last particular ghost can surely be laid to rest. Livia must have conceived in late March or early April 39, before the Treaty of Misenum and the amnesty that brought her and her first husband back to Rome and into the company of Octavian. It may have been to discourage such gossip that after the birth Octavian sent the infant Drusus to his father and made an entry in the record (hypomnemata) of the fact that it was Tiberius Nero who was the father. But it should be noted that it was normal for a man marrying a pregnant woman to send the child to the natural father.

In the event Tiberius Nero does not seem to have made much, if any, political capital out of his compliance. When he died, some six years after the wedding, in 32 bc or the end of 33, he named Octavian in his will as guardian (tutor) to both his sons. In accordance with Roman tradition, his first son, Tiberius, now nine years old, delivered the funeral elegy. Tiberius Nero, Livia’s first husband, thus quitted the scene, a tired failure, the brilliant hopes of his youth unrealised. The scandal provoked by the unusual marriage continued to haunt Octavian. A decade later (29–28 bc), while he was exercising the power of censor, someone brought before him a young man who had committed adultery with a married woman but then had afterwards married the woman in question. Octavian was in a major quandary, but he dealt with it prudently. He suggested that they forget the quarrels of the past and look to the future.”

- Anthony A. Barrett, “Marriage.” in Livia: First Lady of Imperial Rome

[woman-loving]

Islam, heteronormativity, and lesbian lives in Indonesia

Selections from Heteronormativity, Passionate Aesthetics and Symbolic Subversion in Asia by Saskia Wieringa, 2015.

These passages discuss some general social developments related to sexuality and gender in Indonesia, and then describe stories from different (mostly lesbian) narrators. They also touch on the creation of a religious school for waria (trans women), and include two trans men narrators, one of whom talks about his struggle to get sex reassignment surgery in the 70s. I also included a story from a divorced woman whose sexuality was questioned when her husband complained that she couldn’t sexually please him. Accusations of lesbianism can be directed toward any woman as a method for managing her sexuality/gender and prodding her into compliance with expectations of sexual availability.

In spite of protests by religious right-wing leaders, Islam does not have a single source of its so-called 'Islamic tradition'. There are many different interpretations and, apart from the Quran, many sources are contested. Even the Quran has abundant interpretations. Feminist Muslim writers, such as Fatima Mernissi (1985), Riffat Hassan (1987), and Musdah Mulia (2004 and 2012), locate their interpretations in the primary source of Islam--the Quran. According to those readings, sexuality is seen in an affirmative, positive light, being generally described as a sign of God's mercy and generosity toward humanity, characterised by such valued qualities as tranquillity, love, and beauty. The California-based Muslim scholar Amina Wadud (1999) describes the jalal (masculine) and jamal (feminine) attributes of Allah as a manifestation of sacred unity. She maintains that Allah's jamal qualities are associated with beauty that, although originally evaluated as being at the same level as Allah's masculine qualities that are associated with majesty, have en subsumed in the 14 centuries since the Quran was revealed.

The Quran gives rise to multiple interpretations. Verse 30:21 is one of my favorites:

“And among Allah's signs is this. That Allah created for you spouses from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquillity whit them, and Allah has put love and mercy between your [hearts]: verily in that there are signs for those who reflect.”[2]

The verse is commonly used in marriage celebrations, and I also used it in my same-sex marriage ritual. It mentions the gender-neutral term 'spouse,' which leaves room for the interpretation that same-sex partners are included.

Indonesian waria (transwomen) derive hope from such texts. In 2008, Maryani, a well-respected waria, opened a pesantren (traditional Islamic religious school) for waria, named Al-Fatah, at her house in Yogyakarta. After her death in March 2014, it was temporarily closed, but fortunately soon reopened in nearby Kotagede. A sexual-rights activist, Shinta Ratri, opened her house to waria santri (santri are strict believers, linked to religious schools) so they could continue to receive religious education. At the official opening, Muslim scholar Abdul Muhaimin of the Faithful People Brotherhood Forum reminded the audience that, as everyone was made by God: "Everyone has the right to observe their religion in their own way...", and added: "I hoped the students here are strong, as they must face stigma in society."[3]

Prior to her death (after she had made the haj),[4] Maryani herself, a deeply-religious person, said: "Here we teach our friends to worship God. People who worship are seeking paradise, this is not limited to our sex or our clothing..."[5] So far, hers is the only waria pesantren in Indonesia, perhaps even globally, and may be due to the fact that Maryani was an exceptionally strong person who spoke at many human-rights meetings. In October 2010, I also interviewed her and was struck by her warm personality, courage, and clear views.

In spite of those progressive readings of the Quran, women's sexuality is interpreted in light of their servility to men in practice, and has been linked to men's honour rather than women's pleasure. Although marriage is not viewed as too sacred to be broken in Indonesia, it is regarded as a religious obligation by all. An unmarried woman over the age of 20 is considered to be a perawan tua ('old virgin'), and is confronted by a continuous barrage of questions as to when she will marry.

Muslim (and Christian) conservative leaders consider homosexuality to be a sin. Women in same-sex relations find themselves in a difficult corner, as exclusion from their religion is a heavy burden. Some simply pray at home, privately hoping that their God will forgive them and trusting in the compassion taught by their holy books. However, outside their private space, religious teachers and society at large denounce their lives as sinful and accuse them of having no religion.

Recent Indonesia legislation strengthens the conservative, heteronormative interpretations of Islam. Apart from the 2008 anti-pornography law (discussed below), a new health law was adopted that further tightened conservative Islam's grip on women's reproductive rights and marginalised non-heteronormative women. That 2009 health bill replaced the law of 1992, which had no chapter on reproductive health. The new law states that a healthy, reproductive, and sexual life may only be enjoyed with a 'lawful partner' and only without 'violating religious values'--which means that all of our narrators would be banned from enjoying healthy, sexual, and reproductive lives.[6]

Conservative statements are also made by women themselves; for example, members of the hard-line Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir, who not only want to restrict reproductive services (such as family planning) to lawfully-wedded heterosexual couples but also see population control as a 'weapon of the West' to weaken the country.[7] They propose to save Indonesia by the imposition of sharia laws. Hard-line Islamic interpretations are widely propagated and creep into the legal system, thus strengthening heteronormativity and further expelling non-normative others.

Yet strong feminist voices are also heard in Indonesia's Muslim circles. Even in a relation to one of the most controversial issues in Islam--homosexuality--a positive, feminist interpretation is possible. Indonesia's prominent feminist Muslim scholar, Siti Musdah Mulia, explains that homosexuality is a natural phenomenon as it was created by Allah, and thus allowed by Islam. The prohibition, however, is the work of fallible interpretations by religion scholars.[8] In her 2011 paper on sexual rights, Mulia bases herself on certain Indonesian traditions that honour transgender people, referring to bissu in south Sulawesi, and warok[9] in the reog dance form in Ponorogo. In those cases, transgender is linked to sacred powers and fertility. She stresses that the story of Lot, always cited as evidence of Quranic condemnation of homosexuality, is actually concerned with sexual violence--the people of Sodom were not the only ones faced with God's wrath, as the people of Gomorrah were also severely chastised even though there is no indication that they engaged in same-sex behaviour. Nor is there any hint of same-sex behaviour in relationship to Lot's poor wife, who was transformed into a pillar of salt. Mulia advances a humanistic interpretation of the Quran that stresses the principles of justice, equity, human dignity, love, and compassion (2011: 7). Her conclusion is that not Islam itself but rather its heterosexist and patriarchal interpretation leads to discrimination.

After the political liberalisation (Reformasi) of 1998, conservative religious groups (which had been banned at the height of the repressive New-Order regime) increased their influence. The dakwah ('spreading of Islam') movement, which grew from small Islamist usroh (cell, family) groups and aimed to turn Indonesia into a Muslim state, gathered momentum.[10] Islamist parties, such as the Partai Kesejahteraan Sosial (PKS), or Social Justice Party, gained wide popularity, although that was not translated into a large number of seats in the national parliament (Hefner 2012; Katjasungkana 2012). In the early Reformasi years, official discourse on women was based on women's rights, taking the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action as its guide, but recent discourse on an Islamic-family model--the so-called keluarga sakinah ('the happy family')--has become dominant in government circles (Wieringa 2015, forthcoming). The growing Islamist emphasis on a heteronormative family model, coupled with homophobia, is spreading in society. During KAN's [Kartini Asia Network for Gender and Women's Studies in Asia] September 2006 TOT [Training of Trainers] course in Jakarta, the following conversation was recorded:

“Farida: Religious teachers go on and on about homosexuality. They keep shouting that it is a very grave sin and that people will go straight to hell. My daughter is in the fifth form of primary school. She has a best friend and the two were inseparable. But the teachers managed to set them apart, as they were considered to be too close. The mother of my daughter's friend came to me crying; she was warned that she had to be careful with her child, or else she might get a daughter who was different. And now the new school regulations stress that a woman must wear the jilbab [headscarf].[11] This has put a lot of stress on tomboyish girls. They cannot wear the clothes they are comfortable with any more. Zeinab: When we were taught fiqih [Islamic law], we never discussed homosexuality. When we studied the issue of zinah [adultery], one of our group asked: "But how about a woman committing zinah with another woman, or a man with another man?" Our teacher just shook is head and muttered that that was not a good thing. The only story we learnt was about the prophet Luth [Lot]. But when we went to study the hadith [Islamic oral law], we found the prophet had a very close friend, Abu Harairah, who never married, while all men were always showing off their wives. There were some indications that he might have had a male lover. Yet the prophet is not known to have warned him. So, while the mainstream interpretation of Islam is that they condemn homosexuality, there are also other traditions that seem to be more tolerant, even from the life of the prophet himself.”

The above fragment shows how fundamentalist practices creep into every nook and cranny of Indonesian people's lives--the growing suspicion toward tomboys, forcible separation of close school friends, and enforcement of Muslim dress codes. But we also see a counter-protest arising. At the TOT training course, the women activists realised that patriarchal interpretations of religion had severely undermined women's space, and started looking for alternative interpretations, such as the story of the prophet's unmarried friend.

However, for many of our narrators, religion is a troubling issue. Putri, for instance, does not even want to discuss the rights of gays and lesbians in Indonesia; she thinks the future looks gloomy, with religious fundamentalism on the rise, and her dream of equal rights is buried by the increasing militancy of religious fanatics. [...]

Women-loving women

Religion is a sensitive aspect of the lives of our women-loving-women narrators, who are from world religions that, although propagating love and compassion in their distinct ways, interpret same-sex love negatively. In some cases, our narrators are able to look beyond the patriarchal interpretations of their religions, which preach hatred for what are emotions of great beauty and satisfaction to them, while others are devastated by guilt and shame. [...]

Indonesian male-identified Lee wonders why "people cannot see us as God's creatures?" but fears that Islam will never accept homosexuality. He knows the story of the prophet Lot, and how the city of Sodom was destroyed by God as a warning so others would not commit the sin of sodomy. Lee was raised as a good Muslim, and tries to follow what he has been taught are God's orders. For some time, he wore a man's outfit for praying.[16] At that time, he thought that religious duties--if conducted sincerely--were more important than his appearance but, after listening to some religious preachers, he felt that it was not right to wear men's clothing: "Sometimes I think it is not right, lying to myself, pretending to be someone else. We cannot lie to God, right? Even if I try to hide it, definitely God knows." So, after attending religious classes, he decided to wear the woman's outfit--the mukena--when praying at home.

Lia grew up in a strict Muslim family. When she pronounced herself to be a lesbian, it came as a shock to her relatives, who invoked the power of religion to cure her. When her mother went on the haj, she brought 'Zamzam water' from Mecca. The miraculous healing powers of the liquid from Mecca's Zamzam well were supposed to bring Lia back to the normal path. Dutifully, Lia drank from it and jokingly exclaimed: "Ah, my God, only now I realise how handsome Delon is!"[17] Yet she found succor in her religion when she went through a crisis in her relationship with Santi:

"When Santi hated me very much and avoided me, I prayed: "God, if it is true that you give me a guiding light, please give me a sign. But if it is a sin...please help me..." Was my relationship with Santi blessed or not? If it wasn't, surely God would have blocked the way, and if it way, would God broaden my path? As, after praying so hard, Santi and I became closer, God must have endorsed it. Does God listen to my prayer, or does God test me?"

So, even though she got together again with Santi after that fervent bout of praying, uncertainty gnaws at Lia, who realises that mainstream Islamic preachers prohibit homosexuality. Ideally, she feels that a person's religion must support people, but Islam does not do that because she is made to feel like a sinner. But, she says, the basic principle that Islam teaches is to love others. As long as she does that, Lia sees nothing wrong in herself as one of God's creatures. She realises that, particularly in the interpretation of the hadith (Islamic oral tradition), all manner of distortions have entered Islamic values, and wonders what was originally taught about homosexuality in Islam. She is aware that many Quranic texts about the status of women were manipulated in order to marginalise them, and avidly follows debates on feminist interpretations that stress that the real message of the Quran does not preach women's subordination.

Lia knows that there are lesbians in the pesantren who carry out religious obligations, such as praying and doing good deeds. If someone has been a lesbian for so long that it feels like natural character, and has been praying and fasting for many years, they cannot change into a heterosexual, she decided.

Religious values are also deeply inculcated in Sandy, who is tortured by guilt and shame about her lesbian desires. Although masculine in appearance and behaviour, she wears the mukena while praying both at home and at the mushola (small mosque) that she frequents. Since she was 23, when her mother died, she realised that what she did with her lover, Mira, was a sin and started reading religious books to discover what they said about people like her. She accepted the traditional interpretation of the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom. When she was 25 years old, Mira left her to marry a man. Sandy was broken hearted and considered suicide. In that period of great distress, she realised that God prohibits suicide and just wanted her to give up her sinful life. She struggled hard against her desires for women and the masculinity in her:

"If I walk with women, I feel like a man; that I have to protect them. I feel that I am stronger than other women. But I also feel that I am a woman, I am sure that I am a woman, that is why I feel that I am different from others. I accept my own condition as an illness, not as my destiny. ... Yes, an illness, because we follow our lust. It we try to contain our lust, as religion teaches us, we would never be like this. So I try to stay close to God. I do my prayers, and a lot of zikir.[18] I even try to do tahajjud.[19]"

Sandy believes in the hereafter and does not want to spoil her chances of eternal bliss by engaging in something so clearly disproved of by religion, although she has not found any clear prohibitions against lesbianism in either the Quran or hadith.

Bhima, who considers himself to be a secular person, was brought up in a Muslim family. His identity card states that he is a Muslim, which got him into serious trouble when he went for his first sex-change operation at the end of the 1970s. He went through the necessary tests but the doctors hesitated when they looked at his ID, fearing the wrath of conservative clerics. Bhima was desperate:

"Listen, I have come this far! I have saved up for this, sold my car, relatives have contributed, how can you do this to me? Tell me what other religion I should take up and I will immediately get my identity card changed. I have never even been inside a mosque. I don't care about any institutionalised religion!"

The doctors did not heed his plea, instead advising him to get a letter of recommendation from a noted Muslim scholar. Undaunted, Bhima made an appointment with a progressive female psychologist who had been trained in Egypt and often gave liberal advice on Muslim issues on the radio. He managed to persuade her to write a letter of introduction to the well-known Muslim scholar Professor Hamka. Letter in hand, Bhima presented himself at the gate of Hamka's house, and was let in by the great scholar himself. Bhima pleaded his case, upon which Hamka opened the Quran and pointed to a passage that read "when you are ill, you must make all attempts to heal yourself":

"Are you ill?" Hamka asked. Bhima nodded vehemently. "Fine, so then tell them that the Quran advises to heal your illness." "It is better, sir," Bhima suggested, "that you write that down for them."

With that letter, Bhima had no problem to be accepted for the first operation, in which his breasts were removed.

Widows [...] In Eliana's case religion played an important role in her marriage--and subsequent divorce. While still at school, she had joined an usroh group (created to teach students about religious and social issues in the days of the Suharto dictatorship). Proper sexual behaviour played an important role in their teachings. According to usroh, a wife must be sexually subservient to her husband and accept all his wishes, even if they involve him taking a second wife. Eliana felt close to her spiritual leader and tried to sexually behave as a good Muslim wife would. She forced herself to give in to all her husband's sexual wishes, including blow jobs and watching pornography with him. Yet the leader blamed Eliana for not doing enough to please her husband, saying that is why he needed a second wife. Her teacher even asked if she was a lesbian, because she could not satisfy her husband. As both her spiritual leader and husband agreed that it was not nice for a man to have an intellectually-superior woman, she played down her intelligence. Eventually she divorced her husband.

Internalised lesbophobia and conservative-religious (in this case, Muslim) norms prevented Jenar for enjoying the short lesbian relationship that she had between her two marriages. It is interesting how she phrases the conversation, starting on the topic by emphasising how much she distrusted men after her divorce (because her husband did not financially provide for their family). The relationship with her woman lover was not long underway, and had not advanced beyond kissing, but she immediately felt that, according to religion, what she did was laknat (cursed). Anyway, she added, she was a 'normal,' heterosexual woman and did not feel much aroused when they were touching. A middle-aged, male friend added to her feeling of discomfort by emphasising that she would be cursed by God if it would continue. He then took her to a dukun (shaman), where she was bathed with flowers at midnight in order to cure her. That was apparently successful, for she gave the relationship up. However, even though she had stressed that she was 'normal' and did not respond sexually to her lover's advances, she ended the conversation by saying that she felt lesbianism was a 'contagious disease'. That remark stresses her own internalised homophobia but also emphasises her helplessness and lack of agency--contagion is something that cannot be avoided. It also hints at the strength of the pull she felt for a contagion that apparently could not be easily ignored. The important role of the dukun indicates that she follows the syncretist stream of Islam, mixed with elements of the pre-Islamic Javanese religion--Kejawen. [...]

Women in same-sex relationships [...]

As in India, the human-women's-lesbian-rights discourse is gaining momentum in Indonesia. It could only develop after 1998, when the country's dictator was finally forced to resign and a new climate of political openness was created. The new sexual-rights organisations not only opened a public space to discuss women's and sexual rights but also impacted on the behaviour of individuals within their organisations (as discussed in more detail in chapter 9). Before Lee joined a lesbian-rights group, he had decided to undergo sex-reassignment therapy (SRT) to physically become a man as much as possible. Activists warned him of the operations' health risks and asked whether he really needed such a change in order to live with his spouse. Lee feels secure within the group, and is happy to find like-minded people with whom he can share many of his concerns. Lee actively sought them out after reading a newspaper article about a gay male activist: he tracked him down at his workplace and obtained the address of the lesbian group. Lee is less afraid of what will happen when their neighborhood find out that Lee's body is female--as he says: "I have done nothing wrong, I haven't disturbed anyone, I have never asked anyone for food." However, Lee is worried about the media, where gay men and lesbian women are often represented as the sources of disease and disaster.

Lia had no idea what a lesbian was when she first fell in love with a woman. There were many tomboys like her playing in the school's softball team, and she once spotted a female couple in another school's softball team. Her relationship with Santi developed without, as Lia says, any guidance of previous information. Only at college in Yogyakarta did she start reading about homosexuality on the internet. Through the Suara Srikandi portal (one of the first lesbian groups in Jakarta), she came to know of other Indonesian lesbians. Another website that she frequently visited was the Indonesian Lesbian Forum, and one of her lecturers introduced her to the gay and lesbian movement in her city. In 2004, she publicly came out at a press conference. She first joined the KPI, which has an interest group of sexual minorities, but found the attitude of her feminist friends to be unsupportive and decided to join a lesbian-only group. The women activists only wanted to discuss the public role of women and domestic violence, and told her that lesbianism was a disease and a sin.

Lia wants to broaden the lesbian movement. She feels the movement is good in theory but lacking in practice--particularly in creating alliances with other suppressed groups, such as farmers and labourers. In focusing only on lesbians, not on discrimination and marginalisation itself, she asserts that it has become too exclusive. By socialising with other movements, she argues, they will better understand lesbian issues, and, in turn, that will help the lesbian movement. It is true, she concedes, that lesbians are stigmatised by all groups in society but, since 1998 (the fall of General Suharto), the country has seen a process of democratisation. "We must take up that opportunity and not be scared of stigma," she exhorts her friends in the lesbian movement. Lia herself joined a small, radical political party, the PRD,[33] and faced stigma ("we have a lesbian comrade; that's a sin, isn't it?"), but feels that she has ultimately been welcomed. Now, her major problem is to find the finances to conduct her activism. At the time of the interview, she had lost her job and could not find the means to print handouts for her PRD comrades.

Lia is a brave forerunner. At the time of the interview, her lesbian friends were too scared to follow in her footsteps and told her that she was only dreaming. However, her heterosexual friends (in the labour movement) said that they were bored with her, and found her insistence of a connection between the struggle for sexual and labour rights to be too pushy.

Lia dreams of equal rights for lesbians. First, she would like to see a gay-marriage law implemented in Indonesia, which would ensure that the property rights of surviving spouses are protected in case one passes away. She also would like to set up a shelter for lesbians, as she knows many young lesbians who have been thrown out of their family homes and are in need of support.

Sandy is rather hesitant about the rights she would like to see introduced to Indonesian society. Most of all, she wants to be accepted as a normal human being, where no one says bad things about or harasses lesbians like her. What women do in the privacy of their bedrooms is one thing. Women should have the right to have sex, for it comes straight from the heart--it is pure love. But, in public, their behavior should be impeccable: no kissing, no hugging, no holding of hands. However, Sandy thinks that marriage rights for lesbians will not happen in Indonesia, and are only possible in Christian countries. But, minimally, she hopes to lead a life without discrimination or violence:

"If they see us as normal, they won't bother us. We are human, but if we act provocatively then it is ok for them to even hang us ... [I just hope they] won't harass us, or humiliate us. That is all I ask, that if we are being humiliated there is a law to prevent it. That a person like me is protected. To be laughed at is okay, but it is too much if they throw stones at us and if we are not allowed to work."

Sex workers want the right to work without being harassed, and women in same-sex relationships want to be treated like 'normal' human beings and enjoy socio-sexual rights, such as health benefits or the right to buy joint property. Yet the state does not provide those rights and does not protect its citizens in equal measure. As a major agent of heteronormativity, it restricts its benefits and protection to those within its margins. Couples with social stigma and conservative-religious interpretations, some of our narrators have reached deep levels of depression.

[coke-and-candy]

Fashion Editorial Special: Audrey Bourgeois

Inspired by this post link by @purrincess-chat 

Lila put herself out there in the public domain, and just because Marinette’s class and teachers might be stupid enough to fall for her lies, doesn’t mean that there aren’t adults out there who are...

The question was who? Who is critical and vicious enough to do so and has a HUGE audience to say things to, and who works closely with the modeling and fashion worlds and actually knows what they’re talking about...? 

Why! Madame Audrey Bourgeois! The Queen of Fashion herself. So please put on your best Devil Wears Prada reading hats on and enjoy as Audrey takes no prisoners. 

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

“Gabriel Agreste Losing His Mind and Sense of Taste”

By Audrey Bourgeois

Published: 9/15/20XX

It is no secret in the fashion world that since the mysterious disappearance of Emilie Agreste, famous Parisian actress, model, and wife of Gabriel Agreste—the man who had single handedly built the Gabriel brand from the ground up—the once envied designer had shut himself away from the world. Living the life of a recluse and refusing nearly any physical human interaction.

That is not to say that the man had lost his ability to design and to run his business, he just now does it all from the Agreste Manor in Paris, France. According to sources he now mostly conducts business meetings via videoconference calls and oversees the employees of this fashion empire via his ever-present and faithful assistant, Nathalie Sancoeur.  It was not until a little over a year after the disappearance of his beloved wife that Gabriel Agreste, at last, decided to grace the world with his presence. Appearing, for the first time in public, at the Gabriel Spring Fashion Show, where his own teenage son and Paris heartthrob, Adrien Agreste (age 15), was walking the catwalk modeling one of the newest spring suits and featuring a stylish bowler hat, designed by a talented and young up-in-coming designer, Marinette Dupain-Cheng (age 14).

Despite certain incidents that occurred on that day. Part of which was caused by the gross oversight Gabriel Agreste (a first sign to be sure). The show could still be considered a success and did showcase to the rest of the fashion world that Gabriel Agreste’s talent and designing abilities still reigned supreme and are still a force to be reckoned with, regardless of any personal issues he may be facing in private.

It seemed as if Gabriel was making small steps towards the acceptance in his single life.

Turns out this one moment of public interaction may have been the first cry for help.

His latest decisions in regards to just WHO represents his brand have been nothing but questionable and completely and ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.

This past season Gabriel had introduced a new face to its teen fashion line. One Lila Rossi (age 15).

At first it seemed as if this was simply a pity shoot for one of Adrien Agreste’s little schoolmates, as they both attend the same school and are in the same class.

But, alas, this was tragically not the case.

Despite her clear lack of ascetic taste, especially when it came to her own hair. Really, someone should tell that poor child that hanging two sausages on both sides of her face not onlyfails to come across as ‘trendy’ but it sends an ENTIRELY different message.

I’m both surprised and appalled her mother would leave the house with that style.

I certainly would never allow my own child to been seen like that in public.

Unfortunately, that first shoot was only the beginning as Ms. Rossi has appeared alongside fellow model, Adrien, in three more shoots and a commercial that pathetically tries, and monumentally fails, in portraying them as a young couple in love.

I have worked in fashion long enough to be able to spot what works and what does NOT a merely a glance. But one does not even need to be an INTERN to recognize that the dynamics between Adrien Agreste and Lila Rossi is so utterly ridiculous to the point a shutter of nausea courses through one’s body.

While Adrien continues to hold his own in the modeling world, despite the large shadows that both his parents cast, he is able to shine on his own merit and truly does have the looks and talent to model and act (no doubt traits he inherited from his mother). The same cannot be said for Lila Rossi.

Lila Rossi’s whole look (if you can call it that) is simply not genuine. I have worked in this industry long enough to be able to tell the diamonds apart from the rhinestones. Lila Rossi may want for people to believe that she is a diamond, but she is, without a doubt a rhinestone. Cheap, easy to produce, and a one in a billion find. Oh, sure she may have charm and charisma to carry some solo stock picture photo shoots but in order to make it in the Fashion World one requires to have a certain light and spark that stands on its own.

To put it simply, this girl has no discernable personality. Her expressions are stagnant, as if she had to practice being human, her posing leads me to believe she is merely trying to look good for the camera instead of working to display the clothing and products in their best light, and she has close to no versatility in any of the photo-shoots she has done as all of her pictures can be simply described as her in different outfits but using the exact same four expressions over and over again.

When I say the same expressions, I mean—THE EXACT SAME.

The Sophia robot emotes more human emotion than Rossi.

It is Adrien who carries the shoots and is doing the lion shares of the work while Lila Rossi does her best to APPEAR like a model. To put it simply—she is NOT.

Her hair is just one issue, but it her overall presence that just scream ‘Fake’.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and unfortunately, there are many pictures to choose from.

In the very first photo-shoot that was done with Adrien as her co-model you can easily see the disparity between the two. While Ms. Rossi seems more than happy to be in a loving embrace by one of Paris’ most eligible young bachelors, the same cannot be said for the young Agreste heir. There is an obvious tension in his body language that does not show in any of his other photo-shoots, including ones where he and another model were portraying romantic feelings for those ads. The untrained eye can see the slight curve of his spine, as if he wishes to get away but can’t, the small tension in his smile that screams, “I don’t want to be here but I have a job to do”.

My final verdict to the latest photo-shoot from the Gabriel name, that once more featured Adrien Agreste and Liar Rossi, was that is was ridiculous, completely and utterly ridiculous!

Inside sources on location where the two teens have modeled have also confirmed that there does not seem to be any natural chemistry between them and that Adrien had picked up a habit of making himself scarce until he is needed. Other sources verify that Lila Rossi seems to cling to him as much as possible. Perhaps, in the hopes that someone will confirm her own pathetic delusions of the possibly budding relationship between the two of them?

And my does this girl have a number of delusions.

Not counting the one where she THINKS she can model.

According to several interviews that this girl has given to the sub-par tabloid blog, TheLadyblog, she claims to be the best friend of the Parisian super-heroine, Ladybug. Claims to have connections to multiple high-profile celebrities such as Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale. Going as far as to claim that Jagged Stone even wrote a song about her. Lets ignore the legal implications of a man in his early thirties writing a song about a child for a second and continue examining more of said child’s claims.

According to another interview she gave on the same trashy blog, she claimed to be involved in multiple charitable organizations and causes, citing different projects that she has ‘supposedly’ helped with and oh so humbly placed most of the successes of those projects on her shoulders.

An official statement from Gabriel has stated that the girl has multiple health issues as well and is an inspiration on her abilities to overcome those obstacles in order to model and her other so-called various charitable actions. Very, well we won’t pry into a minor’s personal health.

Her public life, however, now that she is in the public domain is fair game.

It did not take even twenty minutes of searching to find absolutely NO validity to any of her claims.

Her claims of being a close personal friend of Ladybug: FALSE

-      The timeline does not match her arrival to Paris with her family. Nor does allow for ample time to establish any sort of close friendship.

-      Ladybug herself has the sense to never reveal anything about her personal life, but a little nobody is more than happy to broadcast their ‘supposed’ friendship on a blog that could once claim to be the best source for information on Paris’ two heroes? I think not.

-      Eyewitnesses from when the girl was Akumatized into Chameleon and subsequently defeated on the Eiffel Tower stated that Lila Rossi seemed to hold animosity towards the red clad heroine.

-      Ladybug has made no statements in knowing Lila Rossi and there has been no photo documentation of the two seen together, even though Ladybug can be seen almost daily swinging around and running along Paris’ rooftops with Chat Noir.

Her claims about Jagged Stone writing a song about her because she saved his kitten on airport runway: FALSE

-      Jagged Stone has never owned a kitten according to his personal assistant, Penny Rolling, and his exclusive interview with La Mode three years ago that revealed that the only pet he ever had other than his current pet crocodile, Fang, was a dog as a child in the States.

-      A quick Internet search also reveals that Jagged Stone and Lila Rossi have never even been in the same country together until four months ago. The rock star was still on tour in America while Ms. Rossi was in Paris, France.  The date of the Ladybloginterview is time stamped long before then.

Her claims to helping inspire and help co-write Clara Nightingale’s last album: FALSE

-      Countless interviews with the pop singer, and official statements upon the release of her album, Heart of Gold, will reveal that the inspiration for said album was her grandmother in her native home country of Brazil.

-      This was also the first album that Clara had written completely on her own in order to establish her own unique flair.  

-      I personally reached out to Clara herself and confirmed that she has never, met or even HEARD of a Lila Rossi. Strange? One would think that such collaboration would ensure that one of the parties involved would at least remember the other’s name?

Her claims to travel with Prince Ali of the Kingdom of Achu for environmental charitable work: FALSE

-      Again, a quick Internet search of the Prince’s official website and bio lists all of the organizations he is involved with. All of which focus primarily on children such as the International Coalition for Equal Opportunities, the World Health Organizations vaccinations drive, and the Refugee Children’s Fund to name a few.

-      A quick call to the royal family’s publicity affairs office confirmed that Prince Ali had never been in contact with Lila Rossi and are now looking into the matter for themselves. After all, an unknown person cozying themselves up to the second in line to the throne is matter of GREAT interest to the Royal Head of Security.

Her other claims of travel to international destinations in the middle of the school year: FALSE

-      According to the Italian Embassy’s official website Mademoiselle Maria Rossi had been stationed in Paris since her arrival almost a year ago and has not left the country, other than for a few short trips back to Italy to visit family members.

Her claims in having trained in gymnastics, ballet, and figure skating and even going so far as medal in gold in all three at major competitions in Italy: FALSE

-      Again, a quick Internet search reveals all winners of the top twenty major competitions in Italy for the past fifteen years. Names, age, date, and location of the competitions are easily and readily available to the public. NOTHING about Lila Rossi winning gold in any sort of athletic competition.

Her claims of being invited to have tea with her Royal Majesty, the Queen of England: FALSE

-      Any and all of the Queen o England’s engagements are public records as well as very well documented. Surprise, surprise there is NOTHING about a Lila Rossi mentioned in any credible new source, or even a single tabloid blurb. The only thing to sustain such a claim is the word a child who actually believes that her jacket looks good in light of day.

Honestly, I could go on and on and even be able to write a whole book. This girl has told so many tall tales she makes elected officials seem honest.

So let this be clear to the world of Fashion.

Lila Rossi is nothing more than a liar.

A liar who had only as gotten as far as she did because she was lucky enough to find someone with a decent online following that was both gullible and stupid enough to post those interviews online without ever once providing additional sources to verify them or double checking those claims. It was not that difficult disclaim every single one of those interviews.

I timed myself and it did not even take me my lunch break to do so.

The very fact that this girl is supposed to be the lead female teen face of Gabriel makes me question Gabriel Agreste’s sanity. Does he honestly think that having Rossi represent his brand is the smartest thing to do?

There clearly must be something in the water in Paris if Gabriel Agreste had not even bother to run a simple background check on the girl in order to ensure that there were no skeletons in the closet that would haunt his brand. Turns out she did not have any, but she sure did purposely create them.

I have to congratulate Monsieur Agreste on this achievement though.

Never have I seen the credibility of a designer go from as set in stone, to as questionable as a ‘designer gown’ bought in a Sale-Mart so quickly. What other decisions is he making behind the scenes that will further clue us in to his mental decline. Will the next Gabriel Show feature plaid parachute pants with matching toucan bird print dress shirts?

Yes, it seems as though grief has finally come to claim another once brilliant designer if he is unable to see past the paper-thin façade that Lila Rossi believes will be able to get her through this world. All the signs are there in same hideous orange Rossi insists on wearing.

Clue number one should have been her clear lack of any substance, versatility, and talent after the first photo-shoot she appeared in. The transparent aversion his own son has shown towards a fellow classmate should have been clue number two. And finally, clue number three should have been that this girls climb to fame was all due to a tabloid blog, TheLadyblog, run by the amateur journalist of all amateurs journalists that could not even be bothered to check their sources.

Or Google for that matter…

Gabriel has been known to take certain risks in the past, but the decision to hire Lila Rossi is nothing more than a mistake.

For the sake of all of our ocular senses, both Gabriel Agreste and Lila Rossi are clearly in need of psychiatric help.

The sooner, the better.

-----

Yay, nay? What did you guys think of this little Fashion Editorial by the Queen of Fashion of the Miraculous universe. Any thoughts. This was just so much fun to write I am so doing a follow-up to this. 

[creepingsharia]

The Missing Link Showing Ilhan Omar Married Her Brother

“The facts describe perhaps the most extensive spree of illegal misconduct committed by a House member in American history.”

Tying up loose threads in the curious case

In four intensely reported investigative columns — here (August 13, 2018), here (October 23, 2018), here (October 30, 2018), and here (November 5, 2018), — David Steinberg has explored the evidence suggesting that Ilhan Omar entered into a sham marriage with her brother in 2009. This is his fifth. He titles it “Meet Leila Elmi: The Missing Link Showing Ilhan Omar Married Her Brother.” Drawing on his research, interviews, and social media evidence he makes the case that Omar has engaged in a variety of fraudulent activities and willful misrepresentations related to her marital arrangements.

...

Twelve-year-old Ilhan had no say on the manner in which she arrived in the United States.

However, U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (D-MN) is now under scrutiny for acts she took beginning in 2009 — not 1995. In 2009, Omar was a 26-year-old U.S. citizen. She had been a U.S. citizen for nearly nine years.

Additionally, the foreign national Omar apparently helped commit fraud was not fleeing hell in 2009, either. Ahmed Nur Said Elmi was a long-time citizen of the United Kingdom. He even possessed a high school diploma from the United States: Elmi attended a St. Paul, Minnesota high school for his senior year of 2002-2003, and graduated before returning to London.

We look to 1995 not to incriminate a kid, but to answer questions about what Omar did 14 years later as an adult U.S. citizen.

Please read the verified evidence below — and read it alongside the three years of verified evidence published by Scott Johnson, Preya Samsundar, and myself (our work is linked here). The answers to those questions about 2009 appear to give probable cause to investigate Omar for eight instances of perjury, immigration fraud, marriage fraud, up to eight years of state and federal tax fraud, two years of federal student loan fraud, and even bigamy.

To be clear: The facts describe perhaps the most extensive spree of illegal misconduct committed by a House member in American history.

———————-

The proceeding information was given to me by multiple sources within the Minneapolis Somali community. The verifiable evidence corroborating their information follows below:

In 1995, Ilhan entered the United States as a fraudulent member of the “Omar” family.

That is not her family. The Omar family is a second, unrelated family which was being granted asylum by the United States. The Omars allowed Ilhan, her genetic sister Sahra, and her genetic father Nur Said to use false names to apply for asylum as members of the Omar family.

Ilhan’s genetic family split up at this time. The above three received asylum in the United States, while Ilhan’s three other siblings — using their real names — managed to get asylum in the United Kingdom.

Ilhan Abdullahi Omar’s name, before applying for asylum, was Ilhan Nur Said Elmi.

Her father’s name before applying for asylum was Nur Said Elmi Mohamed. Her sister Sahra Noor’s name before applying for asylum was Sahra Nur Said Elmi. Her three siblings who were granted asylum by the United Kingdom are Leila Nur Said Elmi, Mohamed Nur Said Elmi, and Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.

Ilhan and Ahmed married in 2009, presumably to benefit in some way from a fraudulent marriage. They did not divorce until 2017.

———————-

Confirming some of the above information, as it might appear on their 1995 U.S. immigration papers, is not difficult. A basic background search shows that “Nur Omar Mohamed,” “Ilhan Abdullahi Omar,” and “Sahra Noor” all received SSNs in 1995 or 1996 in Virginia. Verified address records show adult members of the Omars living at three addresses in Arlington, Virginia at that time: 1223 South Thomas Street, 1226 South Thomas Street, and 1107 South Thomas Street.

The United Kingdom records of the relevant individuals are similarly easy to find. Try with a simple Ancestry.com account and similar online tools: There appears to be only one “Leila Nur Said Elmi,” only one “Mohamed Nur Said Elmi,” and only one “Ahmed Nur Said Elmi” in the UK.

The remaining evidence below verifies a sibling relationship between Ilhan and Ahmed.

————————

...

On August 10, 2017, Ilhan swore under penalty of perjury — literally, she signed a half-inch or so under “penalty of perjury” — that she’d had zero contact with Ahmed Nur Said Elmi after June 2011.

Further, Ilhan swore that she did not know where to find him, and that she did not know a single person who was likely to know his whereabouts. She did this to apply for a default divorce from Ahmed — a divorce where one spouse cannot be located and served.

Now, a tremendous amount of evidence — from this article and our prior articles — shows that Ilhan perhaps perjured herself eight times with her nine answers. Minnesota’s perjury statute allows for a sentence of up to five years — for each instance:

Yet this may be the least worrisome of her current legal exposures.

Consider the disturbingly inadequate evidence used to obtain FISA warrants on members of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Consider that Democratic representatives have demanded that Attorney General William Barr release grand jury testimony — itself an illegal act.

Yet here we have:

Verifiable UK and U.S. marriage records

Verifiable address records

Time-stamped, traceable, archived online communications (Convictions and settlements based upon social media evidence are commonplace, Anthony Weiner being a notable example)

Background check confirmations of SSNs and birthdates

Archived court documents signed under penalty of perjury

Photos which can be examined to rule out digital manipulation

The 2019 Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board investigation, which found Omar filed illegal joint tax returns with a man who was not her husband in at least 2014 and 2015

Three years’ of evidence published across many articles — none of which has been shown to be incorrect, or have even been challenged with contradictory evidence from Rep. Omar or any other source

Perjury evidence that stands on its own — regardless of whom she married:

Long after June 2011, she was clearly in contact with the only man in either the U.S. or the UK with the same name and birthdate as the man she married. She was clearly in contact with several people who were in contact with him.

Further, Preya Samsundar did contact him, published how she managed to contact him, and published his email admitting to being photographed with Omar in London in 2015. To be clear: Omar was legally married to an “Ahmed Nur Said Elmi” at the time she was photographed next to a man who admits his name is Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, and that he is in the photo.

Samsundar published all of this information on how to contact Ahmed Nur Said Elmi a few months before Omar swore to that nine-question court document.

Rep. Omar has refused all inquiries from her constituents, elected officials, and media outlets to provide any specific evidence contradicting even a single allegation suggested by three years of now-public information.

In fact, Omar has responded by making information less available:

In August 2016, after Scott Johnson and Preya Samsundar posted the allegations, Omar’s verified social media accounts were taken offline.

Ahmed Nur Said Elmi’s social media accounts were also taken offline.

When the accounts returned, a large amount of potentially incriminating evidence had verifiably been deleted.

I found and published at least ten additional “before and after” instances of evidence still being deleted in 2018.

Omar has released carefully worded, Clintonian statements that denigrate those seeking answers from her as racists. Yet she has repeatedly refused to answer questions or issue anything other than public relations statements.

I have a large amount of information that we have not published for reasons including the protection of sources.

Sources have expressed fear regarding published video and photo evidence confirming threats from Omar’s campaign team. These sources have shared other evidence of threats. I have contacted the federal authorities to share this and other unpublished information. Providing knowingly false information to the DOJ is a serious crime.

I believe Scott Johnson, Preya Samsundar, and me, with our three years of articles, columns and posts, have provided more than enough evidence to give law enforcement authorities probable cause to open an investigation. Now would be the chance for law enforcement, and especially for Rep. Ilhan Omar’s House colleagues, to make a sincere stand against corruption and for the uniform application of the law.

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

These excerpts don’t due the vast amount of evidence justice. There is much more evidence, photographs, documents at the link below. Take the time to read it all and share it with your friends, neighbors and elected officials.

[bubypjm]

why bighit is trash

or, alternatively, a list of things that bighit, an entertainment company/music label, should start doing and stop acting like a small company.

im puting everything under a read more bcos its a lot, for one, and im also sure that not everyone wants to read it or cares lmao

a little disclaimer;  i speculate and connect things based off of the things we are shown/told, i will spoil some parts of their recent movie AND its not bighit-positive, obviously

okay to start this off, bighit released an official statement to say that bts will be going “on an official and extended period of rest and relaxation” and that’s honestly one of the best things that bighit has done for bts.

the statement is linked, but since i will be referring to a fair few points on it i will also attach it here

the issues start with the opening sentence.

“for the first time since their debut” bts will be going on an official and extended period of rest. to rephrase, for the first time in 6 years, the 7 men of bts will not be surrounded by cameras, will not be expected to attend any rehearsals or interviews and will not be expected to produce or write lyrics. they will not have any responsibilities tied to their work. or, that is what we all had assumed, but as we now know the members were expected to film content on what they do during their break and, if jungkooks video is anything to go by, they were also expected to edit and send it in to the company for “review”.

judging by the release/filming of Hoseok & Becky G’s CNS, it seems like their “break” does not include solo activities. or does bighit consider the building of ones own reputation as an individual artist an “extra” and not a part of ones work?

“enjoy the ordinary lives of people in their 20s, albeit briefly”

this just hurts. it was bighits responsibility to make sure that they got more chances to enjoy their lives.

the good

bighit reminding uglies to stay the fuck away from them during their short break.

okay, the statement aside, i want to talk about a few other bighit-bts related things.

bighit staff and sasaengs

- stalkers appearing in hoseoks bday vlive (no its not staff, the girls’ accounts were found on instagram. they were quite pleased with themselves) were was the security ? how did the girls know which room the boys were in ? doesn’t bighit rent out the entire hotel floor ? does that mean they were allowed in ? why ? did they pay ? do their parents have connections bighit could use ?

- giving away members clothes, providing concert entrance, giving away members numbers ect

the thing that occurred during hoseoks vlive was not looked into, as far as i am aware, however Jimin’s Gucci concert shirt being 'lent’ to a stalker was.

However, minimum to little effort was put into the case because no staff was fired, no disciplinary measures were taken and no consequences occurred.

- during either DNA or Fake Love comeback stages on music shows, some armys were not permitted entrance and some privileged people were taken backstage to meet the members (which is NOT allowed, at any point. those are PRIVATE areas for the idols to rest and prep for the stage) source 1 & more if you look around.

- not firing a manager that hit jungkook source (some speculate he was fired, others speculate he was removed from being a manager and took another position within bighit.)

- bighit restricting any and all interactions with the members among staff. according to one of the backup dancers during Not Today and/or Singularity, bighit staff was very strict about NOT speaking with the members.

take the last point as you will. I have my own thoughts about it

- no subs on army kit content, no subs for bangtan bombs (other channels have them. bighit claims themselves to be a global company but doesn’t move as such). its all well and good to say “you’re stanning a korean company, learn korean!” and this may work for bangtan bombs, but what about army kit content? why isn’t that subtitled? or should that be dismissed with “you don’t have to buy it”?

the good

- giving bts a private jet and not making them go through public entrances and exits. thank u bighit

the movie

this will contain spoilers.

- big hit staff filmed the members during their vulnerable moments.

jungkook nearly passing out, filmed and slotted into the movie. the members crying and clearly feeling emotionally vulnerable ? recorded and snipped into the movie. this would’ve been fine if the members were fine with it, but jungkook was clearly trying to hide his face from the camera and jimin expressed not wanting to show himself in bad conditions.

- treatment of bighit staff

we all know that jungkook had to sit out during some stages during the love-yourself tour. what we didn’t know was that he got stitches without any medication that would ease his pain because he had to go on stage.

jungkook hurt himself so badly that he needed stitches, but was not allowed anything to subdue the pain while getting the stitches because it would not make him stage-ready. the staff members watched as he screamed while getting stitches.

now, i don’t really care whether it was jungkook’s decision or not. nobody in their right mind would let someone they care about go through with something like that. there will be other stages, there will be other concerts. however, idk why i find this surprising since jungkook was hit by a staff member before and the only reason why he got fired was bcos it was spotted in the bg of a bangtan bomb and armys demanded for the man to be fired.

- secondly, jimin’s neck and dropping out of the graham norton show.

i cannot find the translation rn, but while deciding what to tell the fans with regards to what happened to jimin and why he isn’t able to perform with the rest, namjoon tries to opt for telling the truth in a gentle way while one of the staff members suggests a white lie as to not worry the fans.

this has also happened before with the korean vs english statement regarding jungkook’s heal injury. the korean explanation stated that it was serious, while the english one explained it more casually. i cannot find the sources currently, but if you look around yourself you can find them. 

bighit.

- keeping supreme boi employed

- forcing jimin and jin to sing in female key in fake love, despite both of them expressing their struggle with reaching such high notes.

- not providing a vocal coach while on tour (jimin had to ask jungkook for advice)

- vocal line still have not got their own studios despite expressing their want for it, yet txt members have their own studios already. source

- members having less and less influence over the groups music. even recently yoongi mentioned that the songs he makes don’t match with bts’ music/style anymore source

- bighit being immensely difficult to work with overseas (strict venue rules regarding staff, changing things last minute, not being time-efficient)

- leaving taehyung’s stage name out of promotional works/promo tweets

- not taking action against death threats made against taehyung

- forcing jimin to speak about his death threats during a live, global interview in korea

- not cleaning up the copyright matter over using michael jackson’s song “black or white” in the festa performance of jimin and jungkook - resulted in their performance being taken down 

- no bangtan bomb behind jimin creating his song “promise”, while recently there have been videos released of jins, jungkooks and taehyung’s solos

- bighit shooting down collaborations and picking and chosing the artists that collab with bts, despite the members wanting and expressing interesting in collaborations with said artist (why did we get a chainsmokers collab before a tinashe one? a khalid one?)

- bighits deal with dispatch. dispatch is known for exposing scandals and relationships among idols, so the fact that they get an exclusive peak into the bangtan life is interesting and rather worrisome.

-however, one of the dirtiest moves that bighit pulled was during the break between DNA and Fake Love. as we know now, that time was very hard for the members. it was in that gap that the members spoke of disbanding, there were rumours/concerns about jungkook’s well being and fans also pointed out taehyung’s odd state.

during this time, instead of allowing the members time and space to decide everything, bighit had applied for the legal copyright regarding everything bts. the group name was copyrighted, as were the members stage names, fandom name among other things (there are articles on naver, if you’re interested).

SPECULATION

i just want to stress that these are my thoughts and you are welcome to disagree and have your own opinions.

Although we know that the members have re-signed the contract with bighit for another 7 years, I do believe that their pens were pushed by bighit’s copyrighting run. the members had 2 choices; either bind yourself to another contract and stay with that which you have built for years, or drop everything and start anew. however, something tells me that bts didn’t sign the contract with no leverage.

namjoon had said previously that although the group started with 7 boys with the same goal, it now consists of 7 men on one boat, each with their eyes set on different horizons. i believe that with namjoon’s collaborations with more and more overseas artists (honne, fall out boy, lil nas x ect), he may have gotten himself more opportunities for solo work.

similar could be said about yoongi. the man is a musical genius and with his production of suran’s wine and heize’s we dont talk together, yoongi may also end up branching in that direction.

taehyung has expressed his interest in fashion and photography a lot over the past years. seokjin has not acted at all in his life, despite starting off to do just that. hoseok began to branch out with CNS but jimin and jungkook have seemingly little to no outside projects, either (though you could count wiom for jungkook)

the boys’ previous contract was, clearly, restricting and very demanding. i think that their new contract allows them a lot more freedom and room to establish a reputation as individuals. that isn’t to say, however, that bighit let the boys end bts as a whole and permitted them to go off and start solo careers.

from what is happening now and what has happened in the past, I do not believe that bighit would let bts disband, you can decide if that is for better or for worse. however, the only way to keep bts together and satisfied, is to give room for the members to do that what they want. i think that we may start to see some more solo projects from the members, and a lot more control and influence from the outside over bts’ music, concepts and management. ever since LY: Tear had been released, i find myself thinking that their next release will be the last one before a mass hiatus due to enlisting. this time, however, i feel like it may be their final release and concert tour before the group steps back for a while.  bighit debuted a new group and is pumping a lot of money into it. they had also recently obtained an entire new company that not only has a lot of trainees of its own, but also manages Gfriend - an already debuted and established group. bighit is no longer the little underground company that relied on 7 boys to bring it out of its debts. however, it will not let its biggest source of income fall away because, at the end of the day, bighit is a company. the most likely scenario, to me, is that once seokjin and/or others enlist, bts as ot7 will go on a break, but bighit will still get to cash in through the boys’ solo work. so, we may see sneak peaks of their solo careers here and there, but bts will remain active as 7 until it can’t no more.

[artemisegeria]

The Rights of Man (Vision Week, Day Two)

Title: The Rights of Man (Vision Week, Day 2)

Rating: G

Word count: 892

Summary: Vision exercises his rights as a citizen. Post Avengers 4.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16536440

 A/N: Written for Vision Week on Tumblr for the prompt “humanity” for Tuesday, November 6. Also inspired by it being Election Day in the United States. To any registered and/or eligible voters reading this on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, please vote if you haven’t already and you can!

Vision is not human. He knows that. He is something other. He has synthetic cells and synthetic organs that mimic a human’s body, but he is also made of vibranium. His head is full of circuits and wires. He has instant access to the internet inside his mind, and an ancient cosmic stone sits in his forehead. He had risen from the Regeneration Cradle as a fully formed adult when his creation was complete. If it weren’t for the surge of power from Mjolnir, he is not certain what would have happened to his consciousness and his body.

And yet, here he is. Preparing to vote for the first time. It is such a human thing. Choosing one’s leaders to attempt to make the world a better place. Voting for politicians with proven track records of lying, but still hoping that they will fulfill their promises this time. Debating which policies are best, despite not having a full picture of all the factors that may affect those decisions. 

After defeating Thanos and reviving him, the team had fought for the government to officially recognize his personhood and grant him full citizenship rights. Vision had been hesitant at first. He had passed the first few years of his existence without a declaration of his personhood. However, Wanda and Tony and all the others had all insisted that it was past time that the world at large recognized his personhood. 

That is why Vision sits poring over the official materials that New York’s Secretary of State had sent him. He chooses to read the information thoroughly, though he can get it all through other sources. He wonders if he should even rely on other sources to receive the information. On the one hand, it is best to have the most information possible before a decision is made. On the other hand, it is much easier for him to research statistics on incumbents’ voting patterns or the effects of certain policies than for the average person. Perhaps it would be better to limit himself to the information that every other person relies on. 

He spends many hours considering what to do. This responsibility is different from the responsibility he undertook as part of the Avengers. In some ways, it is of far less magnitude than fighting to save the world from Ultron or Thanos, but it is something that everyone can contribute to, no matter who they are. It is the clearest way most have to express their wishes for their countries and their communities. 

In the end, he decides that having the most of all possible information is the lesser evil. He compromises by creating a website that contains all the research he completed, in the hopes that others would come across it and make a more informed choice. Vision begins with New York, but as long nights stretch out in front of him and Election Day draws closer, he decides to compile the data for all the other state and national offices and ballot measures.   

When he finally goes to the polls, he takes the opportunity to be like everyone else. Very few people know about his human disguise, which is useful for privacy and undercover work, so he takes advantage of that, merely taking in the whole experience of waiting in line and listening to the burbling voices around him. Vision loves this anonymity. Though a persistent whisper in the back of his mind wonders what it would be like if he could truly be himself.

When Vision reaches the front of the line, he gives the poll worker, whose name tag reads Marjorie, his legal name of Victor Shade. Marjorie notes his accent and asks if he only recently moved to the United States, smiling pleasantly at him. Though he feels somewhat guilty about misleading her, he merely answers (technically) truthfully that he is a new citizen. 

As mutters grow behind them, Vision thanks Marjorie for his ballot and goes to one of the cubbies lined up around the room. Having already decided his votes ahead of time, the process of filling in the blanks takes only moments. Though he does double and triple check that he filled in the correct boxes and that they are evenly darkened, with no extraneous marks.

Once he is satisfied, he feeds the ballot into a machine per the instructions of another poll worker, named Fred. Such pride to be part of the human community in this way fills him as Fred gives him a sticker proclaiming “I Voted,” forming a warm swell of emotion in his chest. The emotion leaks out in the form of a broad smile that he cannot tamp down. Vision continues smiling as he exits the polling place and walks down the street until he finds an out-of-the-way place where he can phase and rise into the air to fly back to the compound.

Vision’s elevated mood lasts through the rest of the day, leaving the rest of the team regarding him with bemusement. He is certain that he has never smiled so widely and so long while going through new training exercises or cooking or sitting in the lounge playing chess with Rhodes. But he refuses to apologize for his elation. He carries it with him as a reminder that he is human in all the ways that matter.

[alexsmitposts]

Of Lesser Men Imagine yourself in school. You are 8 years old and it is recess time. You look for your friends, for the boys it is baseball or football, and the natural leaders set up teams and it begins. This is humanity, from its roots as hunter-gatherers so many hundreds of thousands of years ago, this is the natural order of things. Then, some would not survive. Guile and weakness was seldom rewarded. With the onset of “civilization” that changed. Where, at one time, the natural leaders became royalty or nobility, the need to pass on power though lineage went awry and these bloodlines through inbreeding and degeneration became the Deep State, physical weaklings, moral reprobates, tasked with selecting more of the same and moving them into positions of authority. The goal has been division, entropy, suffering, and managing the expectations of those of promise, pushing them into piracy, banditry or killing them in wars. Thus, when we find ourselves, even the strongest of us, the best of the best as it were, subject to rule by our lessers, “under the thumb” of those who, as children, we shunned as cowardly or vile, why do we recoil in surprise? What was left runs Washington, London and Paris, other capitols as well, the “lesser men,” damaged, confused, inferior, pushed up the ladder, the chosen people, a class of “Untermensch.” America’s ruling elite, when examined, for the most part resemble a form of reverse Darwinism. We are going to be calling the comic tragedy of the Muller investigation what it really is, “MuellerGate.” Any possibility that there was ever an investigation of anything intended is gone but the real reasons might well startle all but the most paranoid or well-informed watchers. What began as RussiaGate is playing out as not just fakery, but a complex and well-crafted intelligence operation intended to destabilize both the United State and Russia with full complicity of the press, those who control the press from the inside. It was always not only a wrong assumption by insane as well to assume that somehow, the controlled corporate media, would declare war on a presidency that has been so friendly to the oil industry, Wall Street, big polluters and the big pharma “poisoners.” The only other force handling this much cash is the CIA/Deep State worldwide heroin ring run out of Afghanistan and Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, with the help of well known and powerful American families, names very much like Romney, Bush and Walton, according to an FBI whistleblower who came forward in 2012. When Mueller investigators interrogated me in 2018, I brought the debriefing recordings with me and offered to play them. It nearly cleared the room. Here is what is playing out as of mid-April, 2019: Democrats who control congress are planning to subpoena the entire Mueller Report and to question both Mueller and Barr. Legal experts are saying that only a preliminary impeachment process provides needed statutory authority for this effort. The public, perhaps a majority approaching 60%, is hanging on this drama, waiting to “get Donald Trump” as though he were a masked villain in a fake professional wrestling match, which of course he is. What has been purposefully forgotten is that both Mueller and Barr are “lesser men.” Both, according to sources, were CIA recruits early in life. During Vietnam, the CIA began profiling a new generation to carry them past their roots. The CIA’s roots are Nazi Germany’s Abwehr. Their profile included intellectual ability combined with a bevy of negative traits including social psychopathy, feelings of inferiority and intense guilt, and a powerful need for approval and affirmation from authority figures. Two of my good friends, one a senior Army intelligence officer and the other a high-ranking FBI official, both “the best of the best” tried to get into the CIA and were turned away. They weren’t crazy enough. According to sources, both Barr and Mueller were “crazy enough” and for 4 decades or more, have been close personal friends while operating in and out of the corridors of power on behalf of what is now termed the Deep State. Similarly, Mueller and Comey as FBI directors were close friends. Remember, it was Comey that only days before the 2016 election put out highly derogatory and utterly unnecessary statements about the Clinton email case. That case, of course, was a fabrication of a GOP congress that spent endless millions concerned about “classified emails” that, thus far, were utterly without substance. Moreover, anything from the State Department that a Secretary of State wants to make pubic or declassify, has the full authority to do as the President does the same for the White House. Trump does this continually. Before that it was the phony Benghazi investigation and before that, Hillary Clinton was accused of personally murdering Vince Foster. Let us not forget the Clinton impeachment and the role of Kenneth Starr as prosecutor. Starr was a longtime acolyte of Richard Mellon Scaife, a typical James Bond bad guy, scion of one of the biggest Deep State banking families who simply bought Starr and spent millions hiring thugs of various kinds to smear the Clintons. Starr had been promised a seat on the US Supreme Court if he got Clinton. He failed but his “man,” Brett Kavanaugh, now holds a seat on the high court as a surrogate, we are told, for failed and disgraced Ken Starr. A key to understanding the dynamic is knowing that everything the public sees or is allowed to see is scripted. Comey went after Clinton not to damage or influence the election but to create the appearance of doing so while, as had happened in 2000 and 2004, Deep State operatives working with local election officials, literally thousands of them, simply hacked the election count. This has been investigated, studied and written of so many times and is forgotten and shelved. Everyone is complicit. Past that, every candidate is always from the same pool, either hopelessly insane like Trump or Bush 43 or deeply flawed or crippled like Bill Clinton or Barak Obama. When someone different sneaks in like Jimmie Carter, the answer is simple. The Federal Reserve cuts off the money supply, collapsing the economy and the CIA stages a coup in Iran in order to move Reagan in. Part of America’s suppressed history is the truth about Reagan, BCCI, Iran Contra and the collapse of America’s industrial economy, all done while America’s middle class disappeared. This was no accident. MuellerGate is a critical component of a “lesser man” ploy. Mueller and Barr, we assume, are in continual contact as they are constant companions, lifelong companions, who have planned and executed Deep State operations over and over during their careers. Barr exists to fabricate childishly absurd legal opinions. Read one of them. His early letter on the RussiaGate investigation, castigating his best friend Robert Mueller as dangerously incompetent, is classic deception and cover. Then, lo and behold, Mueller finishes an investigation that takes forever. The nation focuses on little else while everything that can be broken or stolen in the nation is broken and stolen. There are 3 White Houses, one in New York at Trump Tower, now a Secret Service protected home for the headquarters of the Kosher Nostra while at Mar-a-Lago, Chinese billionaires are buying America on the cheap. The White House in Washington is now “Tel Aviv on the Potomac.” Making it all work is the three-act play staged by the worst actors in the world, villain Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi of the fake left, and a cast of thousands. It was evident what was going to happen from the get go with the public sucked in the Mueller drama, taking it all seriously, while the GOP’s control of the Senate and the generalized agreement that a sitting president cannot be indicted. In fact, there is no such provision in the constitution whatsoever. The legal concept is the creation of now sitting Federal District Judge Raymond Moss, written in 2000 at the behest of then Attorney General Janet Reno. Was Reno expecting Bill Clinton to start murdering White House visitors on live television? That is, perhaps, the only rationale for a legal opinion that has entrained itself as a keystone of Deep State security. This is from Lawrence Tribe, perhaps the nation’s leading authority on the constitution: “In a recent opinion piece, I argued that the text and structure of the Constitution, a serious commitment to the rule of law, and plain good sense combine to preclude a rigid policy of “delaying any indictment of a president for crimes committed in winning the presidency.” My op-ed argued against the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memos opining that the Constitution prevents the indictment of a sitting president. Nearly everyone concedes that any such policy would have to permit exceptions. The familiar hypothetical of a president who shoots and kills someone in plain view clinches the point. Surely, there must be an exception for that kind of case: Having to wait until the House of Representatives impeaches the alleged murderer and the Senate removes him from office before prosecuting and sentencing him would be crazy. Nobody seriously advocates applying the OLC mantra of “no indictment of a sitting president” to that kind of case. The same is true for any number of other cases that come readily to mind. Among those, in my view, must be the not-so-hypothetical case of a president who turns out to have committed serious crimes as a private citizen in order to win the presidency. Whether the president committed such crimes in collusion with a shady group of private collaborators or did so in conspiracy with one or more foreign adversaries, it should not be necessary for the House to decide that such pre-inaugural felonies were impeachable offenses and for the Senate to convict and remove the officeholder before putting him in the dock as an alleged felon and meting out justice.” Conclusion Are people like May or Macron or Trump little more than circus clowns? Is everything scripted, where the chance of peace breaking out, of justice and righteousness infecting the absurd global processes inoculated against? Are the current moves around the world to criminalize expression of these very thoughts an indication of how blatant and egregious the lesser men have become?

[random2908]

Seen on Twitter, https://twitter.com/alexandraerin/status/1035196520918863873?s=21

a transcript of the tweet thread (tweets quoted within are italicized including links) since I could only otherwise find difficult-to-read screenshots:

A while back, I tweeted that in case anyone isn't clear, we are well past the "first they came for" point.

This is a big story and I'm not sure it's possible for it to get enough attention.

In some cases, passport applicants with official U.S. birth certificates are being jailed in immigration detention centers and entered into deportation proceedings.” Article: http://wapo.st/2PNIf68

I'm sure the "no need to panic" brigade would want us to point out that this affecting "only" hundreds or thousands of Latinx Americans living in a narrow region along the border.

But.

First of all, that's too many people.

Because...

Because here is the thing about due process.

Everybody gets it, or no one really has it.

And from the moment the Trump regime decided it just doesn't apply to "illegal" immigrants, we were always heading here.

Some (white) people replied to suspension of due process for non-citizens by saying "Well, I could prove my citizenship easily." But how do you do that when you're not entitled to any process to prove anything?

If we passed an amendment to the Constitution saying that Constitutional protections don't apply to waterbed repair technicians named Sleven Trusbucket, all the government would have to do is say that's you and you would be out of options for proving them wrong.

And to the sort of person who is sure that life operates on formal logic and strict proof, the sort of person who is sure if they can present the right argument just the right way they can convince anyone of the truth of anything, it feels like there must be some way around that.

But that's part of the horror of a situation like this, part of why Kafka's The Trial is so viscerally uncomfortable to read. The proof does not matter if no one is bound to accept the proof. It feels like it should. It always feels like truth should matter, proof should matter.

Now I said long ago, and again at the head of this thread, that we're past the point of "first they came for". For most of the people reading this, they're still not up to "they came for me", and probably won't be for a while. They're working to expand the ranks of "non-American"

They redefined huge swathes of undocumented immigrants -- including ones working with the system to fix their status -- as "criminals" and "gangmembers" and "animals". They slammed the door in the face of immigrants with papers, finding pretexts to call them "illegal".

They started revoking the citizenship of naturalized citizens for whatever excuse they could find, and the next step is to strip citizenship of natural born citizens who don't fit their profile of a Real American.

Right now their excuse for doing so is restricting them to people born in a border region but the excuse will widen and so will the scope of the action.

And they aren't just moving in one direction here. They've been revoking the passports of trans people while all this is happening.

Now, the flipside of revoking citizenship and "deporting" someone is: the United States cannot bestow citizenship for another country. Just because the man in the low castle thinks someone looks "Mexican" doesn't mean they default to that when they lose US citizenship.

There's been a lot of talk on Twitter about the dangers of statelessness, in regard to Canada and ending birthright citizenship (something the Trumpers would love to do if they can swing it.)

People who lose their citizenship are thrown into a legal limbo, effectively becoming unpersoned for many purposes.”

Tweet/ https://twitter.com/bashirmoham…/status/1033585831544410112… “I am shocked and disturbed that the Conservative Party of Canada voted to end birth right citizenship in Canada.

I say this as someone who was born stateless - legally without a country. I'll tell you my story and why this is move is so reckless and dangerous.”

And while nationalists whip up fear of the foreign, they hate and despise the stateless even more. They're deliberately making the "immigration crisis" worse.

Nazi apologists will be happy to tell you that the great humanitarian Hitler tried so hard to get Jewish Germans settled happily and healthily elsewhere but that no one would take them in, thus leaving him with a problem in need of a final solution.

So what's going to happen when Trump has stripped citizenship from everyone who doesn't "look American", doesn't "look like they should be voting", but there's nowhere to deport all these people, no home country for them to return to?

And maybe you're thinking that we don't have the resources to actually disenfranchise and denaturalize *everybody* who doesn't "look American" buuuut the magic of not giving due process is they don't have to.

If you knew that people whose last names are in the same language as yours are getting rounded up, stripped of rights, and arrested when they go to apply for or renew a passport... how dire would it have to be, before you'd dare try?

And then what if it expands to, say, people showing up at polling places? DMVs? Hospitals?

What if it goes on to the point where "everyone knows" that people with certain names and/or skin tones aren't really citizens and don't have to be afforded any particular rights?

Before the SCOTUS struck down sodomy laws, in a lot of states being seen as gay could be used to justify just about any level of discrimination. Gay couple needs an apartment? "We can't make landlords rent to a criminal if they don't want to." Were the couple ever convicted? No.

But ~*everybody knew*~ what gay people got up into their bedrooms was illegal, doing illegal things made you a criminal, and being a criminal was grounds for termination, eviction, expulsion, exclusion.

Or if you want to see what the future of law enforcement looks like in a fascist state, look at the standards used to arrest and prosecute sex workers.

For years now, in the land of Innocent Until Proven Guilty, you could be arrested for "suspicion" of a victimless crime because of entirely legal materials in your purse and entirely legal conduct within a place you had every legal right to be.

The actual ideal is that the cops could know you're a sex worker, could know for a certain fact that you're engaged in sex work, but if they couldn't prove it then you are an innocent in the eyes of the law. That's how it's supposed to work and how it works for some crimes.

Everyone in town can know that J. Doe up on the hill beats his wife and kids but if the cops can't prove it they will tell you nothing can be done, and proof has to be more than the fear in their eyes or bruises on their arms. Or even him "allegedly" bragging about it.

Meanwhile they'll pick people up off the street for ~*suspicion*~ of sex work and "prove" it through entirely circumstantial means, none of which points to actual lawbreaking.

Now here's the crux of that: being able to claim that any woman carrying condoms (for instance) is a sex worker doesn't mean they detain everyone and make them turn out their pockets.

It just gives them a tool, a weapon, to use when they feel like it.

And that's the future of policing. Increasingly broad rules that could apply to increasingly wide swaths of the population, that can be deployed by the authorities when someone "looks" like they might be trouble, much less starts to actually make any.

They practice these techniques on populations they think they can get away with practicing them on, and when they do get away with it, they start looking to expand.

Cf. stop and frisk in New York City, where white kids were more likely to have marijuana but less likely to be stopped and ordered to turn out their pockets. It was a tool of control.

Obviously I'm talking about practices that go back years before when Trump came to power. He's part of a progression, not the source.

And if you want to know where the progression is heading, just look at how the law has treated people on the margins since the year seventeen seventy forever.

That's where we're heading.

And I don't think enough people are alarmed enough by this.

I saw somebody QTing the Washington Post story at the head of this thread with "And Democrats want to tell us to vote every two years like that's enough."

It's not enough. But we haven't been voting every two years, and that's part of how we got here. Just part. A crucial part.

I think we should add this (specifically: stripping people near the border of citizenship) to the things we call our representatives about, especially but not only if you're in Texas. And if we can vote in a Democratic majority we'll have more tractable reps to yell at about it.

Tweet/ https://twitter.com/herhandsmyh…/status/1035206932938801152… “Plus: we have to start somewhere. Voting every single time is an essential step.”

Essential. Necessary. Not sufficient, but necessary.

A scary thing in all of this: the wave of revocation of trans passports I alluded to upthread doesn't appear to have *originated* anywhere. Select federal employees just decided it's time to start doing it.

I can't tell you from the outside which escalations of "enforcement" (to abuse the term) against immigrants and what I guess are "accused immigrants" among citizens were also spontaneous decisions made at the level at which they occur but I'm sure some of them were.

What I'm saying is, there have always been people within the federal enforcement apparatus and bureaucracy who were waiting for favorable winds to launch their warships.

Tweet/ https://twitter.com/queer_i_am/status/1035207525363200001… “Anti-homeless laws are also a really good example, especially because they target actions _everyone_ does. Pull over after working a night shift to nap and avoid an accident? Illegal.

I stopped to watch a cop once and he got in my space and threatened to take me in on loitering.”

See also: anti-loitering laws. A law against existing in space. Used to run off white kids who aren't driving business, run in anyone the cops feel like making a criminal. Not enforced against anyone ~*respectable*~, who "belongs".

With so much of this enforcement being subjective and self-directed, it is also decentralized. Which makes it harder to block or even attack.

Bank involvement in forfeiture/seizure of assets. (h/t @herhandsmyhands) This should scare you.

Tweet/https://twitter.com/sacbee_news/status/1035172325463736320… “Bank of America freezing accounts of customers suspected of not being US citizens : https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article217567300.html

I know people are waiting for a point where it feels real, where it really feels like Nazi Germany. That point is going to be too far along to have any practical chance of stopping it.

Instead it's going to keep happening piecmeal and every time it happens, those who sound the alarm will be met with "You're overreacting, this isn't like a law against Jewish business ownership, this is only affecting a specific group of people in specific circumstances."

Relax: The monster's not eating your whole body, it's just eating one bite at a time.

The piecemeal, self-directed, subjective nature of these actions makes them harder to fight. Bank of America, the State Department, and DHS are all saying the same thing when questioned on this: "This is the same policy we've always followed." It's just being applied differently.

"We've always exercised discretion..." but now it's being exercised in different directions, towards different ends.

Someone asked what to do, besides be scared:

Make a lot of noise. If we are silent, we are complicit. If the only voices heard are those who support what's happening, they can claim universal assent.

If you work in a workplace, try telling your coworkers, "You know, they're taking citizenship away from people who live near the borders. If they can do that to anyone, they could do that to us. I don't think it's right." You don't have to make it partisan or anti-Trump.

Yell at your elected representatives. Democratic politicians should be aware that the GOP is reshaping the electorate in their favor. It's cynical, but they have to care about that.

Tweet about it, share it on social media. These things are not sufficient but they are necessary.

Vote in November. Same.

I know it feels like making noise isn't doing anything except complaining and we're taught that talk is the opposite of action but I promise you: talk is an action. When there is enough of an outcry they back down. Not all the way always. But slowing and mitigating damage helps.

[childofjesus]

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Myself and My Family a Hurt Me And You're Going To Feel Pain Hurt My Best Friend And You're Going To Need An Ambulance Funny T-Shirt Real Service in the Country Is Service Them A Lot but It’s Easy to Unite the Democratic Party Where Rambunctious Group Is Pulled That off You Want to Get the Best Ideas on the Table so We Can Move Forward in the Best Way Possible Is Unified Our Group around a Clean Energy Strategy Is a Kind of Leader That Brings Other Leaders This Is a Guide Us to Walk into the Old Office and Not Have To Find a Way around It a Blessing Walk in and Have Already Soared Home the Instincts of the to Leave the Most Powerful Nation on Earth through a Crisis That Everyone for about Three There Are No Sidelines Is No Sitting This One out There’s No Hoping That Someone Else Come and Say That If There Is No We Are the Moment Has Found the Person That Person Is Joe My Got One Shot One Shot Right Resident and We Understand in November We Need Your Help Is Able to Go to Jail by Not Turning to in Five 10 Whenever You Can to Find Which We Need to Save My Democracy Because Every Bit Matters All of Us to Make This Happening. The commotion prompted the teacher to mute the audio from the video call Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told reporters the teacher said she heard and saw a commotion profanity and realize there was some sort of domestic altercation he set then the teacher sees a 10 year old put her hands up to her ears that’s when shots were fired inside the home official set including one bullet that shut the computer being used by the girl making her screen go blank Snyder added about 40 minutes later Snyder said deputies arrested 27 year old Donald J Williams on suspicion of killing 32 year old Maribel risotto morale is authority. Election and you see what’s happening with so many different places and doing even trial runs your disaster and I don’t want to see an election so many years I’ve been watching elections and they say the projected winner or the winner of the election I want to see that take place in a week after November 3 or a month or frankly with litigation and everything else it can happen years years or you never even know who won the election yes sending out hundreds of millions of universal mail in ballots hundreds of where you are being sent to its anointing about politics Democrats this Democrats know the state so I want to see how wanted election and a result much much more than you are doing very well in the same for fake balls but we have real calls with very well I just left Texas and Biden came out against fracking that means Texas is to be one of the most unemployed states in our country that means Oklahoma North Dakota New Mexico can be a disaster Ohio Pennsylvania disaster no fracking I want to have the

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They served as Atty Gen the same time it took the same big they took on the same big fights to get California bow here in Delaware big fights helped change the entire country I know how much bow respected and her work that matter a lot to me to be honest with you as I made this decision so now we need to get to work playing this nation out of these crises we find ourselves See Other related products: I Traded Up From A Six Pack To A Full Pledged Barrel Beer T-Shirt

[womenofcolor15]

Trump FIRES Secretary of Defense Mark Esper + Trump’s Former Lawyer Says He’ll Likely Flee To Mar-a-Lago & Will Never Return To White House

  Trump is having a post-election FIT! He just fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper amid ongoing tensions. And he has been recklessly tweeting on Twitter, per usual. Get those deets, plus what Trump’s former lawyer think he’ll do next inside…

The post-election shakeup!

Trump is mad y’all! He can’t take the fact he lost the 2020 presidential election, so he’s causing drama before his exit. Of course.

Days after it was projected that Joe Biden & Kamala Harris will be the next President and Vice President of the United States, Trump went into overdrive on social media. He hopped on Twitter to announce he “won” the election “by a lot” even though the ballots and electoral votes said otherwise.

        View this post on Instagram

                  This is the Big Clown Energy we are leaving behind. Also, if you thought Dems simply pander and don’t actually care about their constituents, your king hit the golf course as the election was being called for Biden, as multiple people tested positive (again) for coronavirus in HIS White House last night and this morning, and as over 100K additional cases of Coronavirus took over the US in solely the last 24 hours. He cares none. Act accordingly.

A post shared by TheYBF (@theybf_daily) on Nov 7, 2020 at 9:21am PST

As the ballots were being counted, Trump hit the hit the golf course as the election as multiple people tested positive (again) for Coronavirus in HIS White House over the weekend. There was over 100K additional cases that popped up in the US in 24 hours. No sweat off Trump’s back. He was busy golfing.

Today, he threw a fit and fired the Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. He announced Christopher Miller - who serves as director of the National Counterterrorism Center - will become acting secretary "effective immediately."

I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2020

Apparently, there was tension brewing between Trump & Esper before the firing. CNN reports:

Esper's increasingly tense relationship with Trump led him to prepare a letter of resignation weeks ago, an attempt to fashion a graceful exit in the widely expected event that the President decided to fire him, several defense sources, including one senior defense official, told CNN.

Esper had been on shaky ground with the White House for months, a rift that deepened after he said in June that he did not support using active-duty troops to quell the large-scale protests across the United States triggered by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. Esper also said military forces should be used in a law enforcement role only as a last resort.

His remarks from the Pentagon briefing room were seen by many as an effort to distance himself from Trump's threats to deploy the military to enforce order on American city streets and went over poorly at the White House, multiple people familiar with the matter said.

According to multiple administration officials, White House sentiment about Esper had been souring for some time, with both Trump and national security adviser Robert O'Brien viewing him as not entirely committed to the President's vision for the military.

For months, Trump and O'Brien had been frustrated by Esper's tendency to avoid offering a full-throated defense of the President or his policies, the administration officials said. One administration source told CNN that Trump had no respect for Esper, leaving the defense secretary with little influence and little choice but to take his lead from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

No surprise here Trump is using his power during his post-election meltdown. Trump’s defense team has been hard at work trying to find a loophole that would get him to serve out a second term. Trump’s legal team has already suffered losses in Michigan and Georgia courts this week, but Trump has pledged to keep moving forward with a legal strategy that he hopes will overturn state results that gave Democrat Joe Biden the win in Tuesday’s vote.

Reuters reports:

The Trump campaign is fighting Philadelphia election officials over vote counting in the city, which continued on Saturday. A state court on Thursday granted the campaign closer access to the proceedings, a ruling that officials have appealed.

The City of Philadelphia Board of Elections has said its observation rules were needed for security reasons and to maintain social distancing protocols.

Trump’s campaign on Wednesday filed a motion to intervene in a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging a decision from the state’s highest court that allowed election officials to count mail-in ballots postmarked by Tuesday’s Election Day that were delivered through Friday.

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., seemingly took a shot at the Black Lives Matter movement with a tweet about how Trump supporters aren’t rioting:

70 million pissed off republicans and not one city burned to the ground.

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 7, 2020

An innocent man was brutally murdered on camera either, but go OFF. Let's not compare apples to oranges.

So, what can American’s expect from Trump during his final weeks as president?

According to Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, the former reality star will likely flee to his headquarters at Mar-a-Lago, spend Christmas there and likely will NOT return to the White House for the transfer of power to Biden. He said Trump will likely fight the election results until January from his Florida property.

“I would not be shocked if there is no concession speech at all. My theory is that at Christmas time he goes to Mar-a-Lago. I think he will stay there through the inauguration. I would not be shocked if he will not show up to the inauguration either,” Mr Cohen said on MSNBC.

“He cannot let the camera look at him and basically pull down the curtain and see the wizard standing beside. He is just a loser and it is killing him and, right now, what is going on in the White House is nothing but finger-pointing.”

WOMP!

As of the time of this post, Trump isn’t giving any signs of conceding.

After it was projected Biden would WIN the presidential election, people ALL over the nation - including Chrissy Teigen & John Legend -  stepped outside to celebrate. And it was the perfect day to do so as temperatures were high in many parts of the country. Look at GOD.

Peep the celebrations in Brookyln, L.A., Philly, Washington D.C. and more below:

@JoyAnnReid I just wanted to share these pictures from Saturday’s celebration of Joe Biden’s and Kamala Harris Celebration in Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/uZwdCzFvAF

— Jahlion (@Jahprince25) November 9, 2020

Brooklyn:

Postal workers getting the love they deserve.

Ok, this is awesome... pic.twitter.com/3mElStKMcb

— Rex Chapman(@RexChapman) November 7, 2020

WATCH LIVE: Crowds have gathered across SoCal, including in West Hollywood and DTLA, to celebrate Joe Biden being projected to win the presidential election. Here's video of a celebration in Venice. https://t.co/FdZ4isCUhq pic.twitter.com/xltK9LzQ0a

— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) November 7, 2020

WATCH LIVE: Celebrations continue across SoCal after Joe Biden is projected to be the next president of the United States. This video captures celebrations in West Hollywood. https://t.co/IBG7rIWAow pic.twitter.com/rFOULufxhw

— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) November 7, 2020

West Philly reacts to Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania by dancing in the street, of course pic.twitter.com/WBuipfLydN

— Ellie Rushing (@EllieRushing) November 6, 2020

The Biden/Harris Philly dance party is on. Even Gritty is there.

Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough, Pennsylvania...pic.twitter.com/R4L1jWUo4x

— Rex Chapman (@RexChapman) November 7, 2020

lots of cheering and car horn beeps outside Philly city hall right now after news of Biden’s win pic.twitter.com/vVqT8ZV6aJ

— Amber Jamieson (@ambiej) November 7, 2020

hundreds gathered at Philly gay bar Woody’s lost it when Joe Biden referred to gay and trans Americans pic.twitter.com/gamnAWa68s

— Amber Jamieson (@ambiej) November 8, 2020

LIVE FROM BLACK LIVES MATTER PLAZA, WASHINGTON D.C. FOR BIDEN HARRIS  pic.twitter.com/dd2cCYAzjW

— soft boi nat (@nat_meier) November 7, 2020

Washington, D.C. in front of White House as President-Elect Joe Biden set to take stage in Delaware: pic.twitter.com/8DwhxroW9a

— Molly O'Toole (@mollymotoole) November 8, 2020

Washington D.C. reacts to the news of Joe Biden being named President-Elect. Nonstop honking in downtown. @fox5dc pic.twitter.com/FymQkWeiLy

— Ama Arthur-Asmah (@Ama_A_Asmah) November 7, 2020

Dear Trump Supporters: He Rather Y’all Believe His Lie(Voter Fraud) & Continue To Divide This Country For His Own Self Ego. Before He Tell Y’all To Do The Right Thing & Support This New President & Administration. If He Was Smart He Would Know God Doesn’t Like Ugly(Behavior)!

— Plies (@plies) November 9, 2020

This World Is Witnessing The Truth & Unveiling Of A “Fake Strong” (Trump) Man. He Was Never As Tough As He Wanted His Supporters To Believe. He Couldn’t Handle Tough Questions(60min Interview), Nor Could He Handle Tough People (Kamala). He’s A Insecure Child In A Mans Body!!

— Plies (@plies) November 8, 2020

  Change is coming!

And let us find out Biden is letting his inner petty out now that he's our next president: 

  How it started How it’s going pic.twitter.com/TiOluozUYk

— Dena Grayson, MD, PhD (@DrDenaGrayson) November 8, 2020

  Photos: Stratos Brilakis/Drew William Anderson/Shutterstock.com/Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2020/11/09/trump-fires-secretary-of-defense-mark-esper-trump%E2%80%99s-former-lawyer-says-he%E2%80%99ll-likely-flee-

[rbzpr]

Draft of the French Constitution of 1791: Robespierre’s Annotations

This document is an official draft of the Constitution of 1791, which bears the annotations that Robespierre made in the summer of 1791 ; it is the copy that Robespierre held in his hands during the discussions of the Constituent Assembly. Furthermore, these notes served as a basis for two speeches that Robespierre delivered at the Assembly, namely on the organisation of the public powers (10 August 1791) and on the marc d'argent (11 August 1791). Based on this document and Edmond Tardif’s work, I have been able to translate and to contextualise Robespierre’s annotations.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the first two titles do not bear any notes.

The annotations only start with Title III, Of the public powers.

Article I. Sovereignty is one, indivisible, and belongs to the nation ; no section of the people may assume the exercise thereof.

Robespierre writes the words "There is only" [original: il n'y a q], before seemingly stopping the sentence.

II. The nation, from which alone all powers emanate, can exercise them only through delegation. The French constitution is representative: the representatives are the Legislative Body and the King.

In this note (which is struck through and, apparently, also unfinished), he writes "If the nation alienated in any way" [original: Si la nation aliénait de quelque manière que].

Furthermore, he writes: "One does more ; one annihilates sovereignty itself ; no section of the people ; the people assumes the exercise, when it says: the nation can exercise them only through delegation. Note that it is your committees that have violated the constitution, and me who defends it."

According to Edmond Tardif's analysis, Robespierre here exposes a contradiction between the first two articles: to say that the nation exercises its sovereignty only through delegation is to annihilate sovereignty. Secondly, as the nation delegates its sovereignty, it assumes an act of the exercise thereof.

Robespierre adds: "The legislative power, the judiciary power, [and] the executive power are parts of the sovereign power, [which is] divided in relation to the various objects to which it is applied."

III. The legislative power is delegated to a National Assembly, composed of temporary representatives [that are] freely elected by the people, in order to be exercised by it, with the sanction of the King, in the manner which will be determined below.

"Observe, I beg you," Robespierre writes, "that the legislative power cannot be delegated in this manner, for it is the very essence of sovereignty. (Rousseau.) There would not even be the shadow of the general will any longer, as one here supposes that the King shares this delegation of the legislative power."

IV. The government is monarchist: the executive power is delegated to the King, in order to be exercised, under his authority, by ministers and other responsible agents, in the manner which will be determined below.

Robespierre adds: "Power has to be distinguished well from the functions ; in fact, the nation delegates the various public functions ; but power cannot be alienated, nor delegated. If one could delegate these powers in detail, it would follow that sovereignty could be delegated ; and then, you would adopt what the committee M. Malouet proposed ; you would do more: you would decree that it can be alienated, for delegation is perpetual. Neither a convention, nor any means to reform the abuses of the Legislative Body."

These are Robespierre's last notes on the public powers ; he refers to the proposal of Malouet, who, along with Barnave and Lameth, defended the royal prerogatives during the process of revision.

Robespierre's next notes deal with title III, chapter I, section II, article II:

II. In order to be an active citizen, it is necessary:

To be [born] a Frenchman or to have become a Frenchman ;

To be fully twenty-five years of age ;

To be domiciled in the city or in the canton, since at least a year ;

To pay, in any place of the kingdom whatsoever, a direct contribution [that is] at least equal to the value of three days of work, and to present the receipt thereof ;

Not to be in a state of domesticity, that is to say, a servant for wages ;

To be inscribed upon the roll of the National Guard in the municipality of his domicile ;

To have taken the civic oath.

Concerning this article, Robespierre started with the words "limit the" [original: limiter les], but, again, leaves the sentence unfinished.

He then writes: "The motive of abolishing the marc d'argent applies, with even more force, when it comes to the electors. What can the motive be? To let the conscience [remain] free: but the choice of the electors is also the work of the conscience. To prevent the aristocracy of the rich: but you introduce it even more surely. The electors usually choose [representatives] in their midst ; and thus, only the people [paying the] marc d'argent are elected. The active citizens will not go. Refutation of the motive. Wealth corrupts more than poverty. It would rather be necessary to exclude the millionaires than the people [who pay a contribution equalling] ten days of work. This decree is your own satire. Those who have elected you, can they be robbed by you? The next legislature will therefore be worth nothing. What does your guarantee of legal equality mean? The eligibility to all offices. What does it matter that you have abolished the Nobility! What was the guarantee of Aristides ; what was the guarantee of Rousseau. A rich deputy wants to augment his fortune ; a poor deputy wants to be free."

Robespierre concludes his refutation: "Contradiction of the committees. The ministry ; the legislature: they believe that it is not allowed to ... they believe that an incompatibility, which results from the very nature of the matter, can prevent the perpetuity of the coalition of the Legislative Body with the king against the nation, and they do not find any inconvenience in excluding the representatives of" (The sentence is seemingly unfinished.)

The next notes deal with title III, chapter III, section III, article VIII:

VIII. Nonetheless, the following are not subject to [royal] sanction: acts of the Legislative Body concerning its constitution as a deliberative assembly ;

Its interior police ;

The verification of the powers of its present members ;

The injunctions to its absent members ;

The convocation of tardy primary assemblies ;

The exercise of constitutional control over the administrators ;

The matters of either eligibility, or the validity of the elections.

Equally not subject to the sanction are the acts concerning the responsibility of the ministers, and all decrees ordering that there will be an accusation.

Robespierre notes: "The decrees ordering the addition to the domain of the biens nationaux [that have been] alienated irregularly."

The pages 41 and 43 (chapter III, section IV, articles V-X ; chapter IV, articles I-II) are, unfortunately, lost ; this is quite regrettable, since Robespierre's speech of 15 August was presumably based on notes that were written on these pages.

The next note finds itself in chapter V, beneath article IX:

IX. There will be, for the entire kingdom, a single Tribunal de cassation, established beside the Legislative Body. Its functions shall be to pronounce,

Upon petitions in cassation against judgments rendered in the last resort by the courts ;

Upon petitions for removal from one court to another because of legitimate suspicion  ;

Upon rulings of judges and suits against an entire court.

Robespierre adds: "Upon petitions in cassation [concerning] the status of the alienation or exchange of biens nationaux [that have been] alienated or exchanged irregularly. These petitions will be formed by the National Assembly."

The next note concerns title IV (Of the Public Force), article I:

I. The Public Force is established in order to defend the State against the enemies from without, and to assure the upholding of order and the execution of the laws in the interior.

Robespierre writes: "It is up to the legislative body to determine the number of troops and to set the pay."

On the very last page, he notes: "The manner by which the communes can be assembled is not determined."

Sources: Projet de la constitution française de 1791 / Projet de constitution française de 1791 annoté par Robespierre

[getlostinasia]

Crossing The Border With A Motorbike In Southeast Asia Getting denied entry at a local’s only border crossing between #Cambodia and #Vietnam . #travel Please read the comments at the end of this article for more up-to-date information from other riders who have experience crossing the border with a motorbike in Southeast Asia. Also if you have done this yourself, please leave a comment with your experiences to help other people. Thanks everyone. Riding a motorbike around Southeast Asia could possibly be one of the greatest adventures you will ever do in the region! While taking a motorcycle the length of Vietnam has just about become a rite-of-passage for backpackers, the two neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia are often ignored. Whether it is because people don’t have the time, or don’t think about it, is a true shame. Perhaps it is because “motopackers” aren’t aware that crossing the border with a motorbike is legally possible. We successfully crossed international borders three times – Laos to Vietnam, Vietnam to Cambodia and then back from Cambodia into Vietnam. We’re going to give our best advice, based on first-hand experience and research, on which borders you can cross at, and what you need to do this. Do I Need Travel Insurance? Legally, no. Intelligently, yes. Accidents do happen every day and, unfortunately, we have had a few friends be seriously injured or worst, killed on the roads in Southeast Asia. Motorbiking is dangerous, and there is no denying that. You might think that this won’t happen to you, or that if you are injured that medical care is cheap. But not if you end up in a serious condition. Seriously consider getting travel insurance before you ride a motorbike in Southeast Asia! If you know the right company, you can even buy travel insurance while you are already on the road (in case you have already started your trip). If you want to learn more, read our page Do I Need Travel Insurance We recommend World Nomads. For our riding itineraries and routes we took across Southeast Asia, check out our articles below: Northern Laos Motorcycle Adventure Southern Laos Motorcycle Adventure Cambodia Motorcycle Adventure Southern Vietnam Motorcycle Adventure Northern Vietnam Motorcycle Adventure Thakhek Loop Motorcycle Adventure Mae Hong Son Loop Note – all information below is based on owning a Vietnamese registered motorbike, unless otherwise stated. Happily standing on the Vietnamese side after another successful border crossing! Crossing The Border With A Motorbike Between Vietnam And Laos You can take a Vietnamese-plated motorbike between the countries of Vietnam and Laos. As far as we know you cannot take a Lao-plated bike into Vietnam unless you are the registered owner of the motorbike. The two countries share 6 international border crossings. Sop Hun / Tay Trang The Northern-most border in between Muang Khua on the Lao side, and Dien Bien Phu in the Vietnamese side, we have been told that this border crossing is either not possible, or expensive, with a motorbike. The guys who we bought our motorbikes off of in Luang Prabang tried to cross the border here and were not permitted to exit Vietnam with them. We have also heard from other riders that when they rode to this border crossing the immigration officials tried to extort a large amount of money from them.Na Maew (Na Meo) / Nam Xoi This border crossing near the Lao town of Sam Neua allows for taking Vietnamese-plated bikes in between countries. When exiting Vietnam you are required to pay US$20 for an ‘import form’ which is supposedly meant to be handed back to customs when you leave Laos with your bike. They also charge a very inflated price for a Lao visa (US$45). As of January 2015, the road on the Vietnamese side is in a terrible state, with very thick mud making the journey quite hazardous. Leave yourself plenty of daylight hours if trying to make this crossing.Nam Can / Nam Khan In between the large towns of Phonsavan in Laos and Vinh in Vietnam, the Nam Can border crossing is open to international tourists. We met two guys in January 2015 who took their Vietnamese motorbikes from Laos back into Vietnam at this crossing with no problems.Nam Phao / Cau Treo A convenient crossing point near Vinh and Lak Xao in Laos, we have also heard stories of people successfully crossing at this border. We have not met anyone who has done this personally though.Dansavanh / Lao Bao This border crossing is not too far from the city of Hue in Vietnam. We have no credible information on the possibility of crossing the border with a motorbike at Lao Bao, although we have heard stories that it is possible. Personally we would not hesitate in attempting this border crossing ourselves.Bo Y / Ngoc Hoi This border crossing is between the major towns of Attapeu in Laos and Kon Tum in Vietnam. It is a remote crossing, with the road on the Laos side being a beautiful mountain pass. Watch out for logging trucks on this road. We crossed from Laos into Vietnam at Bo Y with no problems. The border officials in Laos and Vietnam did not ask for any bribes, fees or extra money to cross. No one asked for the import permits that came with our bikes. The lovely views just past the Bo Y border crossing between Laos and Vietnam. Crossing The Border With A Motorbike Between Vietnam And Cambodia You can take a Vietnamese-plated motorbike into Cambodia and back. We have heard of people taking Cambodian-plated motorbikes into Vietnam, but have no credible sources on this. The two countries share 5 international road border crossings. They are as follows: Bavet / Moc Bai This is the main border crossing between Vietnam and Cambodia, and buses regularly ply the route. It is the most convenient crossing to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh, and can be done in one big day. It is definitely possible to take a Vietnamese-plated motorbike across the border at this international gate, although you may be asked for fees or bribes.Phnom Den / Tinh Bien This border crossing is close to the Vietnamese town of Chau Doc, and can be a convenient place to get to Kampot, or vice versa. We took our Vietnamese-plated bikes into Cambodia at this border crossing in July, 2014 and had no problems doing so. We were not asked for any additional fees.Prek Chak / Xa Xia Otherwise known as the “Ha Tien” crossing, this coastal border between Vietnam and Cambodia is open to international tourists. We have met people who took their motorbikes across the border at this checkpoint and had no problems.Le Thanh / O Yadao The northern-most border crossing links Ban Lung in Cambodia with Pleiku in Vietnam. There are stories online of people having no problems crossing the border with a Vietnamese-plated motorbike at this checkpoint, but the information is dated.Trapaing Sre Border Crossing This border crossing is close to the town of Snoul in Cambodia and Dong Xoai in Vietnam. This is the one we used to cross the border with our bikes back into Vietnam in October 2014 and had no problems at all. The high security border crossing between Cambodia and Vietnam. At the immigration checkpoint. Crossing The Border With A Motorbike Between Laos And Cambodia While there are no laws that state taking a bike between Cambodia and Laos is illegal, lately this has been difficult for international tourists due to corruption. There is only one international border crossing between the two countries. Veun Kham / Dom Kralor Due to this being the only legal border crossing between Laos and Cambodia, it is the most popular option. However when we went to do this in June 2014 we were told by locals and expats that a scam was happening at the border. Apparently the officials let you leave Laos or Cambodia with your bike, but deny you when you try to cross into the next country. They then ask for an extortionate fee to give you ‘permission’ to cross. If you don’t agree to this, a tout then appears and offers to buy your bike for peanuts. As you are stuck in no-man’s land, you are left with little choice but to sell your bike. Due to these stories we decided to skip this border crossing and head into Vietnam instead. Special Note: We met a local man on Don Det, in the 4000 Islands, who made an interesting proposition to us. He offered to ferry us and our bikes across the Mekong River into Cambodia and park them at his friend’s farm, before taking us back to Laos. We then could cross the border from Laos into Cambodia on foot and hitchhike up to the property to collect our bikes. As tempted as we were, we decided against this. We DO NOT recommend illegally crossing borders between any countries. But if you end up doing this, please let us know how you go! Perhaps you can find an ‘alternative’ way to cross the border between Laos and Cambodia? Crossing The Border Into Thailand With A Motorbike Yes, it is possible to take a Cambodian or Vietnamese registered bike into Thailand – but it is not easy. First you will need all the correct registration papers, and bike insurance. Officially you need the bike to be completely registered in your name, although there are ways around this. If you do manage to take a motorbike into Thailand, you are often given a form stating that you have 30 days to exit, and you have to nominate which border you will exit at. Our friend Seb found a ‘Power Of Attorney’ form online and had the previous owners of his bike and a Cambodian man co-sign them. Seb crossed the border first, leaving his friend with the bikes. Seb purchased the mandatory motorbike insurance and showed enough authorities the forms that they eventually let his friend cross the border. This took 3 hours. UPDATE This comes from Olli and Wooki, two Germans who crossed from Laos into Thailand: Yesterday we crossed from Laos to Thailand over the Friendship Bridge No. 4 between Huay Xay and Chiang Khong. All it cost us was one USD for some Photocopies, got 30 days in Thailand for free. First, they wanted us to pay for the police car escorting us while crossing the bridge, but when we told them we dont want to pay we didn’t have to. Finishing the paperwork took about one hour. On the papers it says that we have to bring the Bikes out of the country again, so it seems that we cant leave without them. The riding in Thailand is incredible, if you get a chance to take your motorbike across the border. Extra Tips For Crossing The Border Cambodian and Lao visa-on-arrivals are available at almost all the border crossings. Vietnamese visas must be obtained ahead of time. However we recommend getting your visa before arriving at the checkpoints. This way there is one less thing for the authorities to hold over your head in case they decide to be difficult. Another tip we got told is to park your bike ‘out of sight’ when you check out of one country, and hide it when you check into the next country. Then once your passport is stamped, jump on the motorbike and ride like hell before the authorities can stop you. Again, we don’t recommend this (but it may work). Vietnamese-registered motorbikes are the easiest for moving between countries, and we recommend buying one if you can. Make sure it comes with the blue registration form and keep it on you at all times. Another thing to carry with you is an International Driving Permit, although this means nothing in Vietnam. You may be asked for this at a border crossing though, so it doesn’t hurt to have one on you. When you are dealing with the customs officials, do not mention your motorbike at all, unless they ask. They might just be turning a blind eye to it, but by you bringing it up may make them consider asking for money for it. Do you have experience at crossing the border with a motorbike in Southeast Asia? If so, let us know below about which border crossing you used and how it went.Alesha And JarrydHey! We are Alesha and Jarryd, the award winning writers and photographers behind this blog, and we have been travelling the world together since 2008. Adventure travel is our passion, and through our stories and images we promote exciting off-the-beaten-path destinations and fascinating cultures as we go. Follow our journey in real time on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Latest posts by Alesha And Jarryd (see all)

[vasilinaorlova]

hologram and flamingo, superimposed / the self-contained luxury of esoteric fascism

“imagine a man of his age risking what little life he has left for something so absurd as a country.” (Heller)

while the sentiment “Anne Frank might have lived in Brooklyn now and be an 80-y.o. respectable Brooklyn woman, but she was denied the US visa” is very clear to me, the “Brooklyn” part is what makes me question this sentiment

as if it is only Brooklyn–of all the US–that is a suitable place for Anne Frank and the most terrible part, is that it might very well be so. today’s Brooklyn is, evidently, a very Anne-Frank-friendly place. it is easy to be friendly to Anne Frank today. especially in Brooklyn.

carry your inner Brooklyn in your heart indefatigably                                                                                                               [imaginary Brooklyn]

yet the Syrian refugees, denied entry to the US

having green cards on their hands

is a different story

inasmuch as Brooklyn is a friendly place

the positionality of the hypothetical Arab in the modern world is altogether different from the positionality of the hypothetical Jew in the modern world

not to mention that Syrians come in different ethnic backgrounds and national affiliations

different histories different sensibilities to the cultural figures set in motion in mind of the hypothetical Brooklyner it all is horrendous to be sure one could only wonder if there is a little child writer amongst those people stuck in the USA airports

and if it validates everything in a perverse manner

as if we only can be capable of appreciating carefully trimmed writers

attending to European standards of being humans a child already and inevitably enveloped in the political and literary contexts, the discourses and their perpetuators and perpetrators, performing multiple political and cultural and plainly human violations another curse in haste sent into the useless, irresponsive sky.                        finally I feel like home in the US. well done, mr president “illegal immigration” is not a target of Trump, as became crystal clear by airport detention of green-card holders. green cards=>their status in the US was legal. the target is people(s) of “wrong” races. I hope I will be deported or denied entrance to the US one day. to be sure, it’ll be a drama for me and my family. yet such is the sacred duty of every honest noncitizen as revealed today. history is coined today                             said my imaginary Marx                                                                             looking like philosopher                                                   Daniel Dennett                                                                                      too, in the sheen of his rarefied beard*                                                                                                phallogocentrism, said Derrida (what did he know--almighty phallus precludes these beings from knowing anything( as facebook reached the definitive completion of becoming a police machine--with border patrol checking facebook accounts for undesirable political messages--let’s remember this day there was a lot of speculations and evidence as to how facebook controls and polices citizens. and it'd be naive for the state apparatus--unimaginably naive--not to. were you a state representative, would you refuse to use such an endless source of most intimate information? of course not! yet this

is taking it to a new level

“it’s official”

“it’s a boy” “it’s a beast” what do I do? the answer is of course not to abandon social media and nook into a corner but to use platforms for more open and straightforward political commentary between silence and speaking out time and again one chooses speaking out not because it makes so much of a difference but because thus one earns self-respect loyalty to oneself                even though I often find myself sadly devoid of the pleasure of aligning with American elites, whether they are the establishment or the opposition. particularly in this dreadful time when everyone starts speaking in slogans. the very mechanisms enabling free speech and exchange of ideas, are simultaneously the mechanisms of controlling with lots of fear devices embedded that promulgate self-censure or cautionary gestures such as “friends only” settings. and why? well, it is because if you were to express yourself freely without reservation, you should first resign from all the positions you are currently holding–at least,that is what people believe; and who could tell them that they are wrong? not everyone is capable of becoming either a homeless body or a mini Žižek (some would argue, those two figures are in some sense synonymous, but they are not: the first figure is the figure of the radical renunciation of societal etiquette, and the second is performative of radical renunciation, in which absolute conformance is deftly packaged). Trudeau looked great on the backdrop of mumblers consisting of the Western politicians of all ranges. a new Western masculinity of sorts: kind and soft, still performatively masculine. in this sense, Trudeau is very much like a naked-torsoed Putin, a statue of Putin. the next Canadian Prime Minister would be a loyal Trumpist, because Trudeau has such a beautiful chest and wide shoulders--he should have looked less of a politician in all the maleness of this role. another spectacle to watch would be, a quick drift to the right of the Democratic party. half a year, and you would not tell the tomorrow’s democrat from the yesterday’s republican. “conservatives,” in their turn, would evolve into something which eats werewolves in the full moon. I told my husband six years ago that the revoking of the birthright citizenship would happen on our memory. one could never err predicting the worst.

back to being an unrelenting misandrist, I guess

even the best among men are still men, and thus deserve contempt.

“yes, I am a hatred-spewing feminist,” she said and turned into a dragon vomiting fire.

the main concern is to not wake up, come to the mirror, and see a face of the fascist in there                                                 one day

“There are many who do not know they are fascists but will find it out when the time comes” - Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls (thanks to Liz Lewis for the reminder)

to take a refuge in madness seems to be an appealing option these days

only it, like any other eccentricity, is a luxury for a dispossessed, displaced human being, madness means a series of terrors enacted upon them, and then the quick, violent death--and I, not being such a dispossessed individual, will merely spend several months taking the vertiginous drugs after a short incarceration in a pristine laboratory-like clinic. yes, I am the same self-centered, narcissistic fascist. I am the heartless sadist, a servants to the esoteric ideas of my own superiority. that’s why Trump is crystal clear to me, and, the whim he is, it is merely a historical whim also that I cannot praise and laud the vulgar fascism that he propagates. with the methodicalness and accuracy that befitted fascists (something close to this W.G. Sebald once said, I cannot find the exact quote, said with a cold, lingering surprise--the writer whose oeuvres are one vibrating (vibrant and reverberating) lament and repentance over the crime of the Nazis, the lament never expressed directly and straightforwardly, but gently, in all sorts of circuitous ways, allegorically, if you will, yet that surprise of his pierced me as my own icy surprise: it could hardly contain admiration “Every woman adores a Fascist” (Sylvia Plath)

                                                      no

Everyone adores a fascist                                               yet of course                                                 oh of course                                                   everyone is repulsed by a fascist,                                                       you would want to say, yet                                                         a month ago I did not read objections                                                            to suggestions that Hitler was a                                                                brilliant politicians, and no one                                                                  questioned--among those who                                                                      consider themselves sane--                                                                          or asked on Quora,** if                                                                                Hitler really was that                                                                                       bad                                                                                          surely bad but                                                                                                 not that                                                                                                          bad

that’s because things change quickly. and I am the worst fascist (well, I am a femi-Nazi after all), who is ascribing the name of fascists to anyone who is regretfully male or - - - (the continuation is not important). _______________________________________ *Daniel Dennett’s treatise “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea” I read after I was lucky to meet Dennett in person at the Philosophy department of the Lomonosov Moscow State University where he first gave a lecture and then was greeted at our division (of the History of the Western Philosophy). He was there in all the shine of his white beard.His crisp ideas are generally well-known. In his ardent atheism, Daniel Dennett goes as far as to use a metaphor of humans being robots of sorts, while the true subjects of evolution are genes. Being a consistent evolutionist, the philosopher nevertheless uses the expression “Mother Nature,” which shows, despite the intended irony, how difficult it is to change the language practice (linguistic ideology) even when one tries to repudiate ideas behind said practice. Dennett very well might be a deist after all. I perceived him as a part of that front of atheism which includes Richard Dawkins. Admittedly, new atheists “can’t be sure that god doesn’t exist.” It is evidently as difficult to be a consecutive atheist as it is difficult to be a theist in our times. And why? Because the very nature of “God” (as a term) is a linguistic fallacy. Another reason of why everyone is merely lukewarm, is that humanity inhabits the post-human era. Human is at least two centuries outdated, and there is no one coming to take on their place. **On the February 9th, 2017, the website functioning as opening space for questions and answers, Quora, “collapsed” (made invisible) my answer to the question formulated as follows: “Is the story about Hitler and the piano wire hangings a myth? I'm aware these hanging occurred but I've read that Hitler asked that the hangings be recorded for viewing. This seems to clash with what I've read about Hitler and his tendencies to witness atrocities authorized by him; that Hitler had a very weak stomach for actually wanting to see brutality.” My answer was: “No, Hitler was a nice weak-stomached kitten, everything too harsh that is said of him is but propaganda. I hope I answered this question in the mood of the times and can be a Standartenfürer of tomorrow.” (To clarify, it is a historic fact that Hitler watched the executions conducted through hanging, on video. Plenty of sources there are to support this. But for the shift of the linguistic framing the actual fact is not important. It suffices to say that the repetitive expression of the disbelieving doubt--no matter how irrational such doubt is, after everything that had been conducted under the orders of Hitler--is enough to signal the change in the atmosphere, the change difficult to catch, and these doubts--well-meaning and seeking the historical truth, ostensibly, doubts coming from the good Samaritans--will reoccur time and again, until they will reach their halt, which is also their climax. And the notched wheel will skip a bit: the perception of historical figure will shift undeniably. Intelligent people will ask: but what proofs do you have? Just as my friend, a literary critic and a writer, asked me once: “But what proofs do you, you yourself, have?” when we spoke about Stalin and his atrocities. And I did have plenty. But this is not the beginning of the conversation. This is the end of it. After this type of question, no amount of proofs could possibly doubt the doubt. Cogito ergo sum? No. Cogito ergo non cogito. He did not express doubt--he stood for the new order, in which Stalin was the great leader of the great country. His cogito was non cogito, for non cogito ergo sum in such a world’s (re)ordering.)

[glopratchet]

economy

everything prices, production and distribution of goods with an iron fist While it's not officially called fascism the people riot, rebel and kick their oppressors out as soon as they get the chance Many thought this would never occur When you next wake up, you hear shouts going through the streets You walk outside to listen It seems now that the time to rebel has truly come You quickly make your way to the lower dock areas where you think you can sneak aboard a ship bound for the republic "The Eternals are fall'!" " toppled the council!" You've only heard about the Eternal council, there were always whispers that they were still alive due to prophecies and would be enemies of a future rebellion The nation of Galilee consists of several islands, which are separated by underwater ridges making travel between them in early developmental periods very dangerous Due to the abundance of wetland and marine environments early fishing communities thrived Once tool making skills advanced, early humans began to venture onto the surrounding islands These early people were very dependent on fish, seafood, plants and wild game for food sources; thus they had to be sure their own population numbers did not outstrip those resources private individuals who have licenses allowing them to catch a certain amount per year, as long as they do not exceed it they may do whatever they wish with their alligators Selling the meat is lucrative business and many of the units of measurement are colloquialisms still in existence today, such as; "Two fat ladies laying side by side" which equals approximately 1 foot "Scalp Dances" in honor of the Native Americans scalping English intruders "Penny newspapers" and traveling rat catching "Mechanic Companies" eventually lead to a revolutionary mindset amongst the working class people and the foremost Labour leaders meeting to discuss how best to bring about meaningful change Most notable of these groups is the "Knights of Labor", an organization demanding health and safety regulations, a limitation on the work day, a minimum wage as well as profit sharing policies this day, as do many others Demanding women's suffrage, an end to child labor practices Many other changes are demanded such as ending monopolies and protecting the environment obtaining more than one skill are able to gain employ as undercover detectives They are charged with ferreting out union organizers, safety committees, sympathizers and other agitators often posing as workers themselves, they are commonly called "The Unions' Varied Devilance" or "Devilants " obtaining more than one skill are able to gain employ as undercover detectives They are charged with ferreting out union organizers, safety committees, sympathizers and other agitators often posing as workers themselves, they are commonly called "The Unions' Varied Devilance" or "Devilants " is evolving with the times Whilst the use of gaff hooks, butchering soon after death and mechanical livestock lift are still used; Knifes, pistols designed for ranch usage, Rope and other tool are becoming more common tools for the Hunting guide Also a new innovation by some companies is starting to gain favor, hooks connected to air hoses which making hiding difficult as you can shoot them out of hiding places sometimes multiple with 1 blast due to industrial accidents in the past To join the guild of hunting guides one faces stiff entrance exams involving a written test, field test and an interview with a guild official While the government licenses hunters, hunting guides must be guild members and the guild is strict about maintaining its quality In some locations, firearms are banned to the general public, making hunting trips more dangerous than their quests for glory, survival or vengeance the states, with regulations usually depending on habitat and season They are legal to harvest year round everywhere, although limits apply and licenses are restricted in some areas, with rules differing from state to state a union called the "Steely-J" They are charged with keeping up employment in areas where alligator hunting is used to soak up unemployment and underpaid, undervalued work depends on skill Mastering field chopping is a job in and of itself, for instance types often take months to become skilled enough to employ themselves at the barbaric trade Play the numbers game and get stinking rich it doesn't matter what era your in, it's still all about having a refined skill that is both rare and valuable that you can turn a coin with in your region To all other forms of hunting coin is standard, however as the Guild assesses what to value what type of hunting certain areas and types based on rarity, difficulty, danger of animal ,zeal required, equipment used skill level required etc Given that even in a bustling city setting game is still far from extinct in certain areas, contrary to popular opinion not all lands were tamed by men The wilderness always encroaches no matter how much we build your lands but is decided upon by the guild as stated Types of hunting areas There are generally recognized areas for hunting employed guides The standard types are based on terrain, animal preferences and multiple other factors, although your region has a few unique types at work This in no way negates that a smart alligator harvester can track and hunt their prey in hostile zones providing its not Lost Ground (in which case they wouldn't last If someone is desperate or insane enough they can try and hunt without a guide in Lost Ground, but its likely they'll be found dead if not by maddened wildlife then by Lost Ground Trap death of the standard payment for a alligator hunt just to make sure they can always afford their way home regardless of how successful they are on their hunt, although a few in dire necessity will opt to hunt with less in the hopes of made up loss in treasure if they find it skutes, named after an old trade currency from the lost civilization of Atalon adapted by the guild to help with easy calculation of vales in a quick fashion The various Guild Associations charge for their memberships each year, these range from basic dues to equipment loans Some types of quest exceptions to Guild Policies exist as well as legally allowed unsanctioned hunting it too, without the alligator hunting industry in your lands there would far too many of the beasts because they're the main large preditor in those areas otherwise Thankfully advances in technology to accelerate the growth of crops means meat hungry bipeds no longer have to be killed in mass for food and leather 1: Equipment guides Most items can be hired from the guild using coin at a reasonable price, some rare and more specialized items may require actual coin instead and are more expensive, also there rare items that are guild only The guides on offer at the local guild hall give a list of equipment recommendations to allow for alligator hunting in your area This equipment guide also exists in digital form online Alligators are susceptible to alot of ailments that would normally kill humans but they seem to shrug off It takes a human with similar weight to drop the average alligator with a single gunshot to the forehead When chopping at an alligator with an axe you need to split their armour first, going for scales just dull your weapon Its possible to shoot them in the eyes as well for an instant kill, but somewhat difficult this They need to be between 16-20, healthy and of a reasonable height and weight Nocriminal records They also need to work around the harvest camps for 1-3 years usually offering help without prompting and proving their reliability along the way During this time they cannot easily leave as their absence would arouse suspicion of slacking off, or worse, imitation of dangerous work routines that they had access to write a letter or go in person to the nearest alligator hunting guild hall and request a guide mission Guild halls situated are in lakeside settlements usually, and not in every single one but enough exist that reaching one isn't a issue assuming one is close enough Most guides will just hand you one of the guides, they can be found with the rest of the paperwork though a few are kept under the counter and you'll need to describe your situation to them handing over your guide to a guild employee who will then take it from there, you'll need to wait around a bit before being brought into a smaller side room In the side room you will find yourself facing your future employer which depending on the number of guides supplied will be one of the following types Your guider, and two militia in casual clothing obviously there to keep everything friendly and avoid accusations of thuggery The reason why these groups appear is simple your future employer to hand you a contract which will then give you two weeks to read and learn it by heart, and then another week of grace in which to get your affairs in order After that week you'll find a message on where and when to be for you The location will always the same small house on the edge of town which serves as ones of it's many drop offs and pick ups you enter the house and find a man in a semi-formal suit inside, it's too dark to make out any details but he will turn on the light and demand you sit down before speaking "Welcome " The man says "Who are you?" You ask He chuckles and responds "I think that can wait until after you've read this " At this point the man slides forward a small piece of card toward you which you pick up after reading the card word for word you are hooked and need to say the word "Stargazers" outloud at which point the man smiles and opens up the sliding door behind him He repeats "Stargazers " then leads you through as the sliding door closes behind you things such as map reading and navigation, camp management and drovery, establishing temporary camps and fibre lashings Things which you should have learned at your schools vocational classes in order to qualify you for employment in the field So here you all are in a class run by a man who holds no certification or formal education out and you all oblige, needing around two hours of education the man has you practice securing a bundle of wood to three large fallen trees and moving it with hooks and lines You all manage to take it in turns to do this under his watchful eye until he is content you all understand the basic skill of moving impermanent camps around with great items harvested from land laid out for you your duration than anything else, being diagnosed early with GSW (Green Sickness Warning) and pulled out of the camps for testing and quarantine can avoid many an issue later in life The standards are high for those who get to continue on in the profession as they age ages they recruit from each year You never knew that, but no doubt you'll find out when your test results come in in it's waters can all be found within a folder that can be downloaded from the link below with your profile information New Folder! Are you ready to find out what the future holds for you? Oh and now there are two doors before you Get back into the elevator and choose a Category for this "Room" to change, or explore the Maze of identical rooms until you find another story Get Back to the House of Rooms! in it's waters can all be found within a folder that can be downloaded from the link below with your profile information New Folder! Are you ready to find out what the future holds for you? Oh and now there are two doors before you Get back into the elevator and choose a Category for this "Room" to change, or explore the Maze of identical rooms until you find another story Get Back to the House of Rooms! Some laws on the books related to alligator harvesting are What type of hook is also different depending on body of water regulations in which part of the water you are operating under what rules, for example with Fresh Water alligators the belly line marking applies from when the kayak or boat enters the freshwater to when it leaves education rules, these more militaristic rules applying to open water apply here: water crafts on waterways and are codified in documents that all ship workers must be familiar with They also affect the ability to protect ones self with firearms while on a watercraft so because rules here are different , in which category does it fit? in freshwater result in some changes in laws that seem timely given that These developing technologies and the push for expansion makes someone realize that Categories: Alligator Snapping Turtle , Black Bear, Coyote, Gar, Goliath Tiger Prawn, King Brown, Leopard, Orca, Pythons Saltwater Crocodile, Sharks! air boating for the title of most dangerous line of work, this has lead to laws putting certain types of beams onto air boats to decrease speed to prevent water craft collisions as well as target clearing qualification tests so that accidents along these lines don't happen At the age of 18 with parental permission it is legal to operate any water craft in a harvesting capacity alone or with a group Laws also protect one from repercussions when harvesting in the traditional public waterways as supposed to claimed private waterways without permission the need set up traps and snares, freeing up more time to harvest rather than preparing the environment On private property one has full permission to hunt these creatures at any time even if the proper licenses aren't acquired, although this can obviously backfire since authorities will be quick to note whether you have fulfilled your annual harvest requirements and the amount of alligators in an area can multiply quickly if left unchecked and destroy a native population that relies on that habitat snares lead to official stipulations that limited only this particular trap in shall only be used on private property, top of the food chain predators quickly become scarce when harvest quotas need to come first Besides, it creates miserable living conditions for those indirectly involved in trading business with those using these traps as they often times are prone to get their fingers stuck or even lose entire limbs to an opportunistic alligator waiting underwater co comes to rise as an all-inclusive term for the business of gator trapping by anyone new to the industry, abbreviated as AGH One must start somewhere in this business so most start out employed by a warehouse or otherwise as hired hands like yourself for example, proceeds from work go to these upper management types who pay out what they must and keep the rest, a bit more involved than picking fruit but well worth it if one can last long enough as a whole better than working on farms underground or in factories so theirs less Likely for any labor strikes in the not so distant future just because there aren't large enough communities of them hitting the streets to push for any demands While it's uncommon for them to do it some AGH can resort to hiring themselves out as a mercenary force for land development for sums that would make your eyes water several medium-sized corprations for harvesting purposes only and sent in to primary alligator breeding rivers, peniches, and wetlands to in the quarantee that one will be shipped and delivered supplies no matter where they are as long as the medium sized corperation from which one aquires their harvesting license still supports them You've heard stories of lone alligator hunters stranded out on a island who through making a good deal wound up with an entire armada of ships waiting for their return To this day the only time an official execution is actually executed is in your business where lone hunters must prove their harvest amount before noon or face extinction by declaration of on on-site and very present witnesses mutual destruction all the time and there's rarely anything authorities need concern themselves with when it happens, same goes for vigilante action, most of the time someone wrecks justice on a accused traitor themselves before anywone can even form a mob and governments, and are quite capable of pulling out of any region or place that no longer proves profitable for their own business, such as a entire country if they must In the scheme of things most regions are considered safe for trade operation Others where either unknown hostile forces rule with an iron fist or no government at all, others where warring factions slaughter eachother on a regular basis, these tend to be riskier could constitute a naval threat were they ever to unite in a common cause and aim for sovereignty, thankfully this has yet to happen thus far Still you shake off these thoughts for now and leave them to worry about these things at a higher pay grade than yourself After acquiring all the relevant information from your pilot trainer its time to look into possible cargo drops runs almost entirely on a barter system, pre-fabricated cheap guns mostly imported from industrious chop-shop operations in sinks for those who want them are apparently one of the only exceptions But how to whose flights you not necessarily going ot be reputable enough to get onto with a landing zone about your size, and enough commercial traffic that your town should be able to send up at least one load before the trader moves on Apollo-Negros: Your previous trading partner from last year, they specialize in cash crops of all kinds and usually have a good amount of disposable capital to throw around on the less reputable goods either selling entire catch or selling prime cuts to large agencies who then process and distribute cheaper cuts down to local towns in need of food the big problem with this set up however is finding a distributor, In addition to being a wholly owned subsidiary of one of the trading organizations their distributors are ruthlessly exclusive, none of your townspeople will have ever have recieved prime cutless from them before so you don't even know if you'll be able to reach them , although they'd never say so in public, and it is in your interest to keep a good trading relationship with them Time to visit Zuri and see what that camp has to say about the situation now , and it is in your best interest to stay on good terms with the nation in addition to building airships they also produce high-end weapons and vehicles for military and police use you're convinced with your newfound leverage you should be able to at least get a small discount for gaskets and such screws, gaskets, wiring, and other parts necessary for airships of its nature if you can get a good deal the steel itself is cheap considering large purchases can be paid for in meat shipments alone --deal with alligator harvesters-- You trek off to the usual place, this time by yourself without one of the pilots as guide You do remember how to find it however (thank goodness for maps), and make it there by lunchtime for whatever reason, some times it just doesn't hurt to have extra meat in the back Today though is whatever reason, you've got a prime spot under one of their canopies despite it only being 10 in the morning Perhaps the harvesters that were suppose to do it got slaugthered or something, either way you're making good progress when "AAAAHHHH WHAT THE HELL MAN WAHHH GET OFF!" and testing ways to make it more efficient apparently just arrived it is now 12pm, you've got a dozen pallets to go through and you are finishing the last one --Author: Dilan to play-- "Let's hear it for our newest harvester, folks!" Hurrahs erupt from the workers as you enter the cafeteria, flinging the door open with panache have lately been in a slump, with the council itself even getting involved on the heavy side New ideas are always accepted, and often bring interesting results Having gotten through most of the stacks, you scroll through your contacts thinking who to tell about the new discovery One name in particular leaps out, so you call him up Today, at last, Zuzu has given the whole company a break by single-handedly deciding to reorganize the effort almost always an underground process, in fact that is how Zuzu was introduced to it himself Whacko Jacko's is a small time operation, but within the Republic it has almost complete dominance A lot of the workers are already from outside the Republic too, so organized crime as a whole seized on it easily actually banned by the nation of Galilee, however you prefer not to cross them in regards to shadow groups The Whitecrowns are obviously out for whatever reason, ignoring them is generally a good policy You could also try one of the bigger ones the raaigs gang is currently the largest skutepiracy outfit in the galaxy, having absorbed or wiped out most of the others with the complacency of the USSRC, who technically owns and operates all transportation ships It mainly happens because Councilor Stark wants a big standing navy so pirates are human bait The raaigs often act as coastal pirates themselves in fact whenever they feel like irritating Stark The other major player is the Black Hooks, an underworld organization with much greater resources than you might guess from their name

[maxwellyjordan]

Symposium: The Trump subpoena cases and the search for normalcy

Peter Shane is the Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

The 2016 victory of Donald Trump after his malignant campaign posed a question for lawyers, judges and government officials that has never really gone away: To what extent should the law treat now-President Trump as a normal president? Both constitutional and administrative law are shot through with doctrines in which challengers to executive branch action are met with “deference” to the president, “presumptions of regularity” and other judicial mood-setting devices that tip the scales in favor of the chief executive. The dilemma is whether Trump should receive the benefit of such doctrines without any post-inauguration pivot toward less mendacity and ridicule, more ethical sensitivity, or apparent respect for norms of democratic governance.

In one of the final decisions of the Supreme Court’s October 2017 term, Trump v. Hawaii, the Roberts court’s five-conservative majority decided in favor of normalcy in upholding Trump’s revised travel ban proclamation. While acknowledging the bigotry of Trump’s statements indirectly, the majority insisted that, “in reviewing a Presidential directive, neutral on its face, addressing a matter within the core of executive responsibility,” the court was bound to “consider not only the statements of a particular President, but also the authority of the Presidency itself.” The majority’s approach drew two written dissents, including an impassioned and closely reasoned statement by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The upshot, however, was unambiguous victory, legal and political, for Trump.

The court’s final decisions of the October 2019 term, Trump v. Vance and Trump v. Mazars, show, however, that “normal” law is two-sided. What normalcy gives, normalcy can also take away. In Vance, the court unanimously rejected the proposition that presidents have absolute immunity from state criminal subpoenas. The main opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts for himself and the four more liberal justices, discounted Trump’s three asserted bases for immunity — the diversion of presidential attention from official duties, the stigma of being subpoenaed (an argument, incidentally, that was not even joined by the Justice Department), and the potential for presidential harassment. On the last point, it was state courts and prosecutors who got the benefit of presumed good faith.

Yet more tellingly, the majority additionally rejected the idea that “a state grand jury subpoena seeking a President’s private papers must satisfy a heightened need standard.” The Vance subpoena, on its face, threatened no impairment of the president’s constitutional functions. Thus the majority reasoned that the ordinary limits on subpoenas — questions of scope, undue burden and even privilege — would give the president any and all the protections appropriate to his case. The majority, with Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch concurring in the judgment, remanded to the trial court for the president to press any such arguments.

Where Kavanaugh and Gorsuch parted company with the majority was in their preference for applying the “demonstrated, specific need” standard of United States v. Nixon in determining the enforceability of the subpoena. But here is where we see what might be called the revenge of normality. The majority opinion begins: “In our judicial system, ‘the public has a right to every man’s evidence.’” It ends with the same idea, underscoring that, in complying with subpoenas, the president is a normal citizen. The standard would not be heightened. Presidents cannot avoid criminal process just because they want to.

Mazars, which was consolidated for decision with Trump v. Deutsche Bank AG, involved a total of four broad subpoenas emanating from three congressional committees seeking extensive financial information about Trump, his children, other family members or affiliated businesses. The committees were the House Committee on Financial Services, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Each subpoena-issuing committee argued that the information it sought related to legislative functions within its particular jurisdiction. Two Financial Services subpoenas purportedly related to “efforts to close loopholes that allow corruption, terrorism, and money laundering to infiltrate our country’s financial system.” Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff declared that his committee planned “to develop legislation and policy reforms to ensure the U.S. government is better positioned to counter future efforts to undermine our political process and national security.” Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the Oversight Committee, wrote a memo asserting the committee’s authority to investigate four categories of potential misconduct by Trump. He added: “The Committee’s interest in these matters informs its review of multiple laws and legislative proposals under our jurisdiction.”

A split panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upheld, for the most part, the subpoenas issued by the Financial Services Committee and the Intelligence Committee to Deutsche Bank and Capital One, concluding that “all three subpoenas seek documents that the Committees are entitled to believe will disclose information pertinent to legitimate topics within the Committees’ authorized investigative authority, especially money laundering, inappropriate foreign financial relationships with the named individuals and entities, and Russian operations to influence the U.S. political process.” The panel remanded for further consideration of a limited number of potentially excludable sensitive documents.

A split panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, for its part, upheld the Oversight Committee’s subpoena to Trump’s accountants. In the majority’s view, adequate legislative purpose was established by the listing of the four investigative topics in Cummings’ committee memorandum and by letters he wrote to both Mazars and to White House counsel that referred to his committee’s plans to assess whether “changes to the laws … relating to financial disclosures required of the President are necessary.”

In his opinion for seven members of the court in Mazars — there were no separate concurrences this time — Roberts sought to deliver a double-dose of normalcy. In at least a temporary victory for Trump, the majority faulted the lower courts for reaching their conclusions without “a careful analysis that takes adequate account of the separation of powers principles at stake, including both the significant legislative interests of Congress and the ‘unique position’ of the President.” Such an analysis would include at least four inquiries: (1) whether “other sources could reasonably provide Congress the information it needs in light of its particular legislative objective”; (2) whether the subpoena is “no broader than reasonably necessary to support Congress’s legislative objective”; (3) whether Congress has “adequately identifie[d] its aims and explain[ed] why the President’s information will advance its consideration of the possible legislation”; and (4) a careful assessment of “the burdens imposed on the President by a subpoena.”

The inquiry thus prescribed shows a president special solicitude. But it is normal solicitude, appropriate to the gravity of a serious clash between co-equal branches of government. I grimaced to read the chief justice’s assertion that the president is “the only person who alone composes a branch of government”; that formulation renders Article II’s mention of “departments” utterly mysterious. But the basic point is sound: A conflict between Congress and the president, even in his personal capacity, raises separation of powers concerns that normally counsel sensitivity.

But Congress also gets the benefit of normalcy. Contrary to the arguments of Trump and the solicitor general, the majority would not transplant the heightened standards for overcoming executive privilege “to cases involving nonprivileged, private information.” Instead, seven justices endorsed the doctrine that Congress’ power to investigate and issue subpoenas is as broad as its legislative authority, encompassing “inquiries into the administration of existing laws, studies of proposed laws, and ‘surveys of defects in our social, economic or political system for the purpose of enabling the Congress to remedy them.’” The executive branch should not treat too lightly the “significant interests” of Congress any more than the lower courts should give short shrift to the president.

Unfortunately, one immediate side effect of all this normalcy is a continuance of the advantage that inertia gives to alleged wrongdoers. Trump has demonstrated that stonewalling demands for information can work to avoid accountability. None of the fact-finding that the House committees seek is likely to advance substantially before the next election. In January 2021, assuming House Democrats remain in control, their processes may well have to begin anew.

But absent a legislatively prescribed fast-track procedure for adjudicating Congress’ subpoenas — and, one has to say, rather more careful lawyering than the House proffered in these cases — it is not clear that the court should have done much more than it did. In Trump v. Hawaii, the insistence on normalcy seemed out of touch because civil liberties were at stake, and the president’s comments were so abhorrent. The possibility that Trump will have successors equally needing protection from their own public displays of bigotry seems remote enough that protecting the presidency in that particular context was regrettable. There will, however, always be presidents and houses of Congress in conflict, and taking the normal institutionalist stance seems more constructive. Of course, some may suspect that Roberts is secretly unprepared to affirm the future enforcement of Trump-related subpoenas by lower courts conducting the more careful inquiry Mazars requires. On this matter, however, I am prepared to give the chief a presumption of good faith. At least, that presumption is normal.

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