#char: joseph from the government

[eric-the-bmo]

The Neighborhood Watch S2 Ep4: Keep Greenville Weird

The month-long hiatus is finally over! So much happens to everyone except John, who has a nice day at work.

[Summary: Song takes Amira to be fixed and discovers the consequences, while Markus makes bad decisions. John tries his best at his new job, and Louis sparks up conversation with a conspiracy theorist.]

We pick up where we left off: in the charred wreckage of Song's house. Song and Fatima assure Amira she's fine as they wrap a scarf around the injured part of her face, while Amira insists she's fine and is very confused; she doesn't seem to realize she's a robot.

Louis and Markus show up and immediately begin to help putting out the fires as the trio above head to the Sumpath house; they're going to Arjun, Amira's father, so she can be fixed.

Some of the neighbors have started to come over to see what's happening; Shelby is one of them, still in her pajamas and looking like she didnt get much sleep. Bob Patterson, number one asshole neighbor, tries to come over to help- but with their current mental state, Markus is somehow convinced he's behind the explosion of Song's garage and threatens him. Bob puts his hand on the handle of his gun as a warning, and immediately Markus pulls out their knife and stabs him straight through the palm. Louis wanted to try and interfere, but upon seeing this, is all "oh nevermind, yikes"

Meanwhile, Song and Fatima take Amira over to Arjun, who takes them down to the high-tech basement of their house. He takes out a duffel bag full of gadgets, all with a logo- Song recognizes it as the logo of a company that exclusively works with her father. Arjun says a code to shut Amira down as he goes to fix her, and he's like "Song you can't tell anyone about this," and Song goes "alright let me cast a geas on myself so if i ever Do tell someone i'll die" Song and Fatima go upstairs, and right before the basement door closes behind them, they hear Arjun break down and cry.

With the fires almost out, Markus notices there's some weird melted plastic in the grass, so they scoop it up and leave. Louis finds the source of the explosion, the propane tank, and also a bunch of shattered gnomes. At this point he just goes "man, nothing is normal in this fucking town, jesus christ," and starts muttering to himself about it before deciding fuck it, he's going home- but then he sees that Ken, our resident conspiracy theorist npc, has been watching him. Ken tries to act all natural like he wasn't obviously spying, and asks what happened ["Was this a meteor, or an underground volcano..?"]. Louis has an idea, and invites Ken to chat with him, because perhaps this man has info that can help us. Kenneth is so so hyped about this offer to chat, because no one's been interested in his theories before! They head to the coffee shop.

John didn't notice the explosion as he's driven to work; I rolled too high. When he gets dropped off at the city hall, he meets up with Clara, his coworker. They're assigned to be at the corner of Main and Sapphire Street; they chat as the walk there, and John learns about her favorite places to hang out- turns out the reason they haven't met despite her being here her whole life was because they hung out at different spots, besides the coffee shop. He mentions it's been hard for him to get a job since he doesn't have a government ID, and Clara asks if he's an illegal immigrant- she then apologizes for asking that, and John says it's okay, since humans are curious by nature. He says he'll go with the immigrant explanation for now, and the two of them reach the street corner.

They speak to passerby; John learns from Joseph Miller, the park ranger, that the weird plant seeds grow very quickly, and Jebediah Ford, the Minister of the church, wished all of the other employees to get better. John asks Clara about this, and it turns out that some of the people at this job have been getting strangely ill; Not even Dr. Sutherland, the town's miracle doctor, can figure out what's going on- in fact, one of his patients has been moved to one of the city hospitals. John then spots Jack attempting to empty the garbage cans around town; the man seems sick, and he's wearing sunglasses. John realizes his symptoms are awfully similar to what he saw when Karen Patterson was sick in Season One... He's connecting the dots.

Speaking of the strange plants, Markus notices that one's been growing in their house- the seed they grabbed in s1 has been growing, and is overtaking one of their bug terrariums. When they try to get near it with their knife, the plant shoots them with thorns. The roots tear easily as Markus rips the plant off the terrarium, and they put it down the garbage disposal. Deciding not to stay in their house for a bit, they grab the melted plastic from earlier and heads over to Emmett's house- the AI analyzes the stuff, saying it appears to be fake skin. Markus suggests maybe Emmett should talk to Arjun about it- they guy worked for the government, after all, unbeknownst to Emmett. Markus leaves, and heads over to the Patterson's.

Over at the Sumpaths, Fatima is telling Song that she Arjun have always wanted a kid but it just wouldn't work out, so Arjun, being an engineer, built one. She says there was a lot of trial and error to get things right and that she still has nightmares about it sometimes, but they care about Amira very much. She starts to mention something about how it's a bit hard regarding something- but then Arjun and Amira walk out of the basement; she's on her phone like nothing had happened. And Arjun introduces her ["Amira, this is Ms O'Sullivan, she just moved in to the neighborhood."], and Song's player pieces together that Amira has completely forgotten the entire events of them game. Song and Amira practically re-enact how they met for the first time, before the witch excuses herself and begins to head out; but not before inviting Fatima over for coffee later.

At the Patterson's, Markus is snooping around the perimeter of their house. The lights are on in the basement, so Markus heads over to the side to look in through one of the basement windows. Inside, they see Bob with a medkit, fixing up the hand that Markus had stabbed earlier. Observing through the window, Markus sees there's something mounted on the wall much like a hunting trophy: It's the skull of a giant feline with antlers, and next to his is an entire wall full of weapons- this man is a monster hunter. Markus decides to walk around and knock on his door.

Song sees a moving truck outside of Lucretius (aka Lestat)'s home; he greets her, expressing sympathies about the explosion and how he would offer her a place to stay, but he's moving to another house on the block since his current one is too infested with bugs. He says that if her house is still in repair by the time he's finished moving in, he can let her stay for a bit- In the meantime, though, he asks if she'd like to head downtown with him and grab a bite to eat?

But Song looks over and sees two cars: a sleek black car, like the kind her father's employee's drive, and a police car. She declines Lestat's offer and excuses herself, and heading over to the cars to see what's up. One of the cops, Jason Chen, is putting up police/caution tape around the debris of her garage; he's not doing a good job but he's trying. The other cop is approaching the Patterson's house, and is revealed to be Bob's son.

Louis and Ken arrive at the coffee shop and are greeted by Jewel, the teen at the counter. They order coffee- Ken's order is very pretentious, while Louis gets an americano. Jewel spells his name wrong, and when he mentions this a voice from one of the booths- Tawny Evergreen, her boss- says that she's not allowed to spell the customer's names correctly. Louis gives Jewel a 50 dollar tip.

The two of them go to sit down. Ken is super enthusiastic about this, bringing out folders and everything, and Louis, who had already been regretting this, finally declares that this was a mistake and starts to leave. He tells Kenneth that his level of enthusiasm is too much, he's too into this, and that deters people away.

Ken gets upset and pleads with Louis to stay, saying that no one ever wants to listen to what he has to say, and how there's so much happening in town but he's the only one who can see it- and as Louis tries to walk away Ken grabs his arm; his eyes go white and his grip tightens, before he blinks and stumbles back. "[Our new neighbor's name] is LESTAT?"

Notes and Thoughts:

Shelby Nicole Waters my beloved, why are you tired? Im suspicious and reading too much into this

Once again, Louis continues to be the funniest PC in the entire game, it's so entertaining when he talks to himself.

HOORAY JOHN LAUGHED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN S2 <3<3

The title is taken from a patch on Ken's jacket!

We all started yelling at Markus's player for the garbage disposal decision, but really that's Such a good storytelling thing to do. Let's go bestie let's make it worse /lh

I'm very happy Emmett made an appearance again! I was worried he would only be a s1 character, so it's neat he's back! I also have a more concrete design in my head for him, so hopefully I can sketch him out soon

FATIMA. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE NIGHTMARES, HELLO???

God the favor Bob owes Markus means so much more if you consider he was probably worried he'd have to kill his wife in s1

LESTAT STAY AWAY FROM SON. BITE MAIM KILL

Markus is SO getting arrested oh my god

If I had a nickel for every time there was a blond prophetic conspiracy theorist in my ttrpg games, I'd have two nickels!

I don't think Ken is able to control his ability/what he sees! It seems to be activated by physical touch- good thing he didn't come into contact with any of the other Main Cast, yeah?

I am very very happy this game is back! We'll find out what happens next in two weeks! <3

[hongherbac]

[Hatori Centric] He Didn't Press the Button - Chapter 4

Read it on AO3

Fandom: モブサイコ100 | Mob Psycho 100 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Chapters: 4/4 (FIN!) Words: 1,790

Non-Romantic Relationships: Hatori Nozomu & Joseph, Suzuki Touichirou, Shimazaki Ryou

CW: curses, a lot of smoking

Summary: The mission was over. Everyone's back. They had a little talk.

Notes: Thank you for reading to the end!

If you're looking for more Hatori content, I highly recommend these two artists.Their works pulled me into the Hatori love: @Hino on AO3 @ぷる on Pixiv

Chapter 4

　　When Hatori woke up again, it was already night. The blinds had been lowered again, while the glass remained open. The plastic curtains rattled softly in the cool breeze of a spring evening. His body was wrapped in a blanket, rough but warm, and his hair tickled his skin as it brushed against his forehead. Not far away, Suzuki Touichirou sat at a table, reading a book by the light of a small glowing psychic orb.

　　Hatori struggled to sit up, stretching his arm to get his glasses. He put them back on and looked Suzuki up and down carefully - still wearing the same neat, clean orange prison jumpsuit, not even a wrinkle in it. There was no blood. But there might not have been any to begin with.

　　"Boss, where are the others?"

　　"Questioning." Suzuki didn't even look up, "The government wants to clear up a few things. When they confirm that Shimazaki is trying to protect Shou from the brainwashing crowd, they'll let them go."

　　Hatori collapsed back onto the couch and turned to look up at the ceiling. Seeing that he was awake, Suzuki hooked his finger, causing the psychic light orb to expand and split, spreading to all four corners of the room and emitting a soft, even glow. The daylight lamps that were supposed to illuminate the room had been reduced to a charred, blackened base and jagged shards of glass.

　　The air conditioning was also broken. The building was very quiet without the humming machines.

　　"Why did you help me so much?" Suzuki spoke up suddenly.

　　"You said you trusted me."

　　"That was a lie. I said it to keep you loyal."

　　"Not when we were at 'Claw'. It was today, when you talked to Joseph. You said you trusted me."

　　Suzuki turned another page in his book.

　　"If this had been before, I would have said you were too sentimental."

　　"I know." Hatori smiled, "It's the only thing I'm better at than you, boss."

　　"... Thank you."

　　Suddenly, the faint sound of scraping glass came from the corner of the room - it was Shimazaki teleporting in, usually silent and startling no matter how many times one got used to it, but today, the shards of broken light bulbs revealed his presence.

　　He walked across the room with ease, his shoes crunching on the debris, picking up the overturned chair from the floor and sitting down next to Suzuki with confidence. Suzuki gave him a cool look from behind the book.

　　"Shimazaki."

　　"Oh, hey, boss. Good to see you again."

　　He sat up with a shaky breath. His body still felt stiff, like the soreness that comes after too much exercise, except that even his internal organs, his bones, and his head were all aching too. But at least he had regained some strength.

　　"I guess the questioning is over?"

　　"Well, not really. They just keep nagging, asking question after question. It got too boring so I bailed."

　　"What!? You know you’ll be dragged back sooner or later, right?"

　　"I'll deal with it when it happens."

　　"And you know I will be the one who has to bring you back, right?"

　　"Mm-hmm."

　　"... Great. I really appreciate that."

　　"You're welcome." Shimazaki smiled.

　　Hatori ran his hands through his hair in frustration, already envisioning the workload awaiting him, and it wasn't helping his headache at all.

　　He noticed that his throat was dry and thirsty. He hadn't had time to sit down and get a drink since leaving Joseph's office in a rage that morning. There was a water cooler in the lounge, but he had to shuffle his shaky feet to get to it.

　　Hatori sighed. He was about to stand up, but was suddenly pushed back into the couch by a firm, invisible force, rendering him completely immobile. A paper cup, glowing with the red aura, floated out of the cabinet. The water cooler automatically pressed the button and the pleasant sound of flowing liquid flooded the air, filling the paper cup with clean water. It floated steadily in front of Hatori, and at the same time, his body was released from its bonds. Hatori clumsily took the cup and stammered thanks to Suzuki.

　　Suzuki folded a corner of the book, closed it and put it aside. He rested his hands on the table, fingers intertwined, and looked at his two former subordinates. His light blue eyes were neither cold nor hot, like a clear, peaceful lake.

　　"I can see that you both have adapted well. Especially you, Shimazaki. I never thought that you would work for the government one day."

　　"I don’t have much of a choice." Shimazaki shrugged. "It’s just practical."

　　"You've matured."

　　Shimazaki smiled, "Haven't we all?"

　　Click. The door opened gently, and Joseph walked in with a cigarette in his mouth. Seeing Shimazaki sitting inside, he narrowed his eyes in condemnation, but said nothing, instead stepping silently aside to let the others in.

　　Following him was Suzuki Shou and a woman. She had long chestnut hair, dressed in plain clothes, her face showing faint traces of age, but she still carried an elegant charm. She held Shou so tightly in her hand, as if afraid that the boy would disappear at any moment, causing him to blush with embarrassment. The boy looked awkward, trying to look away but couldn’t help sneaking glances, anxiously darting his eyes back and forth, observing the adults' expressions.

　　The woman looked at Suzuki, at Suzuki Touichirou, gazing intently and deeply. Her eyes were warm, her brow was slightly furrowed, and a small, faint smile on her lips. She seemed a bit confused, as if she didn't quite understand what she was feeling at the moment. But there was no mistaking the tenderness in her voice as she called out softly:

　　"Darling - "

　　The woman hurried forward, with her son’s hand clasped tightly in hers.

　　Joseph gave a meaningful look, and Hatori and Shimazaki rose and left, giving the family time for their long-awaited reunion.

　　Hatori struggled to his feet. Shimazaki, seemingly without a second thought, stepped forward and grabbed his arm, pulling him up and holding him with surprising strength, skillfully balancing his weight to share the burden.

　　They made it to the hallway, and then Hatori had to stop, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily.

　　Joseph pulled a cigarette from the pack, pointed it at Hatori, and raised his eyebrows in question. Hatori shook his head; one cigarette a day was already too much. Shimazaki reached for it, only to be slapped away by Joseph, who gave him a cold "we're not done yet" look.

　　Joseph lit himself a cigarette, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

　　"That mind control psychic, the one you just caught, he has confessed. He's probably been hiding behind the scenes all along, never facing a real confrontation. Just a little pressure and he's scared to death."

　　"Serves him right." Hatori grunted.

　　"I like this guy already." Shimazaki said.

　　"The brainwashing affected several buildings nearby, with more than 300 victims, all of them government employees. This is a huge scandal for the higher-ups. Orders have been given to cover it up completely. The investigation reports will be destroyed as if nothing had happened. Otherwise, you two should’ve been commended."

　　"Oh, that doesn't matter. But since it's all going to be destroyed..."

　　"You don't have to write reports this time."

　　Hatori cheered. Shimazaki also grinned.

　　"I'm still curious," Joseph said, looking at them through the wisps of smoke, "how did you get in touch with each other? Hatori has been under maximum surveillance for the last few days and we haven't noticed anything."

　　"What? Of course we had not been in touch."

　　"Then how do you know Shimazaki was still on the government's side?"

　　"That's easy. He made it way too obvious, like he's trying to make it look suspicious. If Shimazaki really wanted to do something, he could have done it much more subtly. No one would have suspected him."

　　"But... you knew that Shimazaki would deal with the suspect? And you also knew that Hatori would end up as bait?"

　　Shimazaki shrugged, "That’s what happens when you work with the same assholes for too long."

　　"Okay, sir, here's the thing." Hatori said patiently, "We may not like each other, but we both know each other's capabilities very well."

　　Joseph took a silent drag on his cigarette, skeptical about one of the previous statements. But he decided not to say anything.

　　"Anyway, Shimazaki, where have you been hiding all this time?"

　　"At Minegishi's place."

　　Hatori widened his eyes. He realized how reasonable this was: Minegishi, as a former member of the Super Five, was also immune to brainwashing. And unlike Shimazaki, who was good at single combat, Minegishi was able to manipulate plants on a wide scale, making him a known expert in group battles in "Claw", and especially suited to protect a specific target in the midst of a brainwashing army.

　　However, thinking about his annoyed expression, being upset for days every time he received a mission, and his detest when his solitude was interrupted. That grumpy bastard, Minegishi, had tolerated Shimazaki hiding in his house for a whole week?

　　He laughed out loud, "Oh man, he must’ve been thrilled!"

　　"Honestly, if you'd been a few minutes later, he might have killed us himself."

　　Joseph frowned, "I remember that guy. He clearly hated ‘Claw’, yet he just refused to cooperate with the interrogation. Can't understand what’s going on in his head. I'd rather deal with that mind control pervert."

　　"That's especially convincing coming from you."

　　Hatori turned to look out the window. The sky had gone completely dark, and several nearby buildings were pitch black, with only a few candlelights moving about inside. The moon appeared especially bright and clear, shining silvery white without the usual light pollution. In the distance, the hum of city traffic could still be heard. Beyond the classified government facilities, the city continued to function normally, unaffected.

　　"Hey, Joseph, I’m starving. Let’s order some takeout. I want sushi from the place we had last time. I don't care about commendations or anything, but you should at least treat us to some appreciation. Oh, and invite Minegishi too."

　　Joseph sighed, "Fine. But your friend doesn't seem to be the sociable type. I doubt he’ll want to come."

　　"Oh, he'll come." Shimazaki said.

　　"Yeah. He'll probably grumble a bit, act like he doesn’t want to, but he’ll come. Just wait and see."

　　And they were right.

(The End)

BONUS 1

(During hiding)

Shou: I don't need your protection! I defeated Hatori in seconds, which proves that I’m at the Super 5 level!

Shimazaki: Kid, that doesn't prove anything.

BONUS 2

Hatori: Shou, help! I need assistance from your man!

Shou: No problem, I'll contact him. Are you okay? Hang in there. Tell me, how bad is it?

Hatori: Very, very bad.

Shou: Okay, I've called Fukuda (the healer). He's on the way.

Hatori: What? No! I need Higashio (the material reassembler).

Shou: ????

Hatori: My sweater. She's dying. Please save her.

BONUS 3

Hatori: ............

Higashio: Sorry, I tried my best. I'm not an artist, and pigeons are really hard to draw.

Hatori: ............

Hanazawa: Hey, I like your sweater!

[magnumversumplus]

Manananggal Ko

Episode 1: Manananggal, Mahal Ko (Manananggal, My Love)

Written By Joseph M.

Jeepneys rolled down the road, colorful vehicles with big wheels, massive hulls and stuffy interiors. People climbed in and out of the jeepney as it made its stops, tipping the driver and saying “Salamat po.” The roads were crowded, these big jeepneys sharing the road with mga traysikel, monster trucks, smaller cars and cats roaming the sidewalk.

One of the jeepneys had the words “TABI TABI PO” (excuse me) spray-painted around the windows in colorful letters. Inside of that jeepney, there were fridge magnets, photos and stickers lining the top of the windows, decorations collected from places the driver had been to. The seats themselves had remnants of collectable decor, the adhesive of stickers still present.

The people riding didn’t care–they just wanted to get from one place from another. Even if the jeepney smelled like a jar of greenhouse gasses, that didn’t deter citizens of Manila from using it to get from one place from another, and it certainly didn’t prevent Manong (sir) Crisanto Dalisay–the owner of the jeepney and the CEO of Kaibigan Jeepney LLC–from using the beast to ferry people around.

The city around the jeepney reeked of cigarettes, gasoline, and farts. Like the jeepney itself, the putrid scent, the dirty and cramped nature and the people gave the jeepney–which Crisanto named “Bigan” its charm.

Bigan was Crisanto’s brother–that’s how deep he cared about it. It was an abiotic mode transportation that carried so many good memories. He was used to it in Manila, but he didn’t know how to operate his life without it.

One of the customers on Crisanto’s Bigan was one Crisanto had a huge crush on, Lagg N. Ananam. She always said “Salamat!” as she left the jeepney and she always had friendly conversations with Crisanto. Lagg had long black hair, a strong Filipina accent, brown skin and a strong passion for justice.

One day, Lagg entered the bus with a frustrated look on her face, possibly distressed by the Philippines rain hammering down on the suffocating streets of Manila. “Sorry po if galit ako, sir. It’s the rain, po.”

Lagg was brushing her hair and twirling it in her hand, her fingers quickly tying long, black strands into braids. She talked about the forests–the magnificent trees of Chocolate Hills were being chopped down and nothing was being done to stop it.

Crisanto watched the back of the jeepney carefully through the mirror, shushing a group of batang nakakainis (frustrating kids) while watching Lagg’s lips move and listening to her talk. “I understand, ma’am. Nakakafrustrate ang ginagawa ng government natin sa mga forests.”

Lagg eyed Crisanto carefully, trying to catch his stare in the mirror. There was a special connection between them that wasn’t obvious to the rest of the jeepney passengers that day. None of the passengers noticed–the Sun soon got dark and all of them were promptly disembarking.

All except for Crisanto and Lagg. May mahal sila sa isa’t isa (they have love for each other.) Lagg stayed behind for a little bit. But as Crisanto began to pack, she tipped Crisanto.

She had dropped several colorful bills–Filipino pisos of different denominations–and climbed out. Lagg and Manong Dalisay felt the warmth, the mahal the two secretly had for each other, Unlike piso coins, which were cold and tough, Crisanto had a soft spot for Lagg, and his heart was warm.

Crisanto glanced at the mirror, smiling at the red eyes that peered at him from behind the back of the jeepney, extending his hand to help up the talons that scratched at the metal floor. A vicious humanoid creature with charred flesh, big scaly wings and crossed eyes entered the back of the jeepney, the Bigan filled with the screeches of a bat and high pitched screams.

This was Lagg, but it wasn’t at the same time. It was a half human, half vampire. Its legs were gone, anything below the waist completely gone. The cut was surgical, and it made the “Bustler of Bigan” question what abhorrent surgery caused this anomaly to happen. Lagg was still there–he could recognize his crush’s lingering rasp from anywhere.

Crisanto said, “Naramdaman ko ang mahal mo sa akin. Alam ko na ikaw yan.” He confirmed his suspicions–Lagg was a bloodthirsty manananggal and the only one he’d call his “mahal ko.” Crisanto gestured for her to sit behind the driver’s seat, and with her wildly swinging tongue, Lagg pulled Crisanto towards her pale gray face, her tongue falling down, dribbling spit–her lips were so crusty and red they reminded Crisanto of a dehydrated pomegranate.

Thick, jaundiced phlegm globs dripped from her face, hanging below her chin and dissolving into slippery puddles below her. She fluttered her hairy gray wings, excitedly slamming them against the walls of Bigan as she made out with Crisanto. Her drooling tongue–a slobbering, fly-catching mouth-python violently wrapped around Manong Dalisay’s body–entering and thrashing against the insides of Crisanto’s intestines, her screechy howls echoing throughout asleep households and quiet palenkes (markets.)

[sciencespies]

Mother of invention: the new gadgets dreamt up to fight coronavirus

https://sciencespies.com/news/mother-of-invention-the-new-gadgets-dreamt-up-to-fight-coronavirus/

Mother of invention: the new gadgets dreamt up to fight coronavirus

LONDON/OAKLAND/BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Driving to work at his factory to the west of London last week, designer Steve Brooks had coronavirus on his mind. What could he make that would let him open a door without touching the handle?

Entrepreneurs Matthew Toles and Joseph Toles, co-founders of the company Slightly Robot, show smartbands, the Immutouch, which buzz when the wearer’s hand goes near their face, to prevent spreading the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Seattle, U.S., in this handout picture taken March 31, 2020. Immutouch/Handout via REUTERS

“Everyone has to use their little finger or find the bit of the door that nobody’s touched,” said the designer and owner at DDB Ltd, a company which makes office furniture. So he produced a hook to do the job.

The so-called hygienehook is small enough to fit in a pocket and made from a non-porous material, which makes it easy to clean. It is one of hundreds of gadgets dreamt up in recent days and weeks to help prevent people from spreading the coronavirus.

From furniture makers to AI software developers, companies around the world are adapting existing products or inventing new ones to help fight the pandemic or just make life easier for those working from home, in hospitals or stuck in quarantine.

The flurry of innovation comes as companies from Ford (F.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA) to luxury goods giant LVMH (LVMH.PA) retool plants to make critical equipment like hand sanitizers, ventilators and masks.

In years gone by it was large companies like these, with the financial clout and factories, who typically had to be relied upon to move rapidly from designing a prototype to manufacturing the product.

A crucial difference now, though, is that 3D printing and high-tech software mean devices can be produced faster than ever by companies big and small.

“There is definitely a ton of people with 3D resources very willing to help,” said MacKenzie Brown, founder of California-based product design company CAD Crowd.

Two weeks ago, his company launched a month-long contest for practical devices for navigating the new coronavirus world.

About 65 entries have poured in, including a wrist-mounted disinfectant sprayer, half gloves for knuckle-pushing of buttons and a device that lets you open car doors without touching the handle, aimed at cab users.

As the pandemic makes people far more aware of hygiene, some new products may have a shelf life beyond the current crisis.

‘WE HAD THE ALGORITHM’

Startups are retooling their technology.

In Seattle, brothers Joseph and Matthew Toles and their friend Justin Ith, who own a young company called Slightly Robot, had developed a wristband after college aimed at reducing compulsive skin-picking, nail-biting, and hair-pulling.

When their home city reported its first fatalities from the virus last month, they adapted the design to create a new smartband, the Immutouch, which buzzes when the wearer’s hand goes near their face.

“We had the algorithm, we had the software and the hardware. We’ve repurposed it for face-touching,” Matthew Toles said in an interview. “We made 350 devices and a website in one week and now it’s how fast can we ramp up.”

Romanian robotic software company UiPath has meanwhile found a way for nurses in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in the Irish capital Dublin to ditch time-consuming data entry and automate filing of virus test results. It hopes to replicate it in other hospitals.

Scylla, a U.S.-based AI company that makes gun detection systems for schools and casinos, turned its sights on the virus when China, the original epicenter of the outbreak, reported its first cases three months ago.

It has re-deployed its AI analytics software to measure the temperature of a person’s forehead, sending out an alert if it detects a fever. Taking images from a thermal camera, the software can be used in public buildings like hospitals and airports, and corporate offices, chief technology officer Ara Ghazaryan said.

The government of a South American nation has placed an order for 5,000 licenses of Scylla’s system for its public buildings and transport system, Ghazaryan said. He declined to name the country.

WORLD WAR TWO INNOVATION

Global upheaval often spawns new products and innovation.

The current burst of creativity may eventually compare to that seen during World War Two when companies, governments and scientists embarked on projects that had lasting consequences.

Technology used to help guide rockets eventually led to the first satellites and putting men on the moon.

“There’s no question that inventors will be coming up with hundreds, if not thousands, of new ideas,” said Kane Kramer, inventor and co-founder of the British Inventor’s Society. He first conceived the idea of downloading music and data in the late 1970s.

“Everyone’s downed tools and are only picking them up to fight the virus. It’s a global war.”

Many companies are donating their new wares or selling them at cost price. The CAD Crowd contest designs are free for download and use, for example. For some, though, the extra business could provide a financial cushion as other sources of income evaporate during the pandemic.

DDB designer Brooks near London has worked quickly.

Slideshow (2 Images)

Less than a week after his first design, four different models of the hook went on sale this week, selling at just under 15 pounds ($18.60) each. He is donating one hook for every one he sells.

Now Brooks is turning his creative eye to another gadget along similar lines.

“We’ve already had a request from the National Health Service in Wales about designing something for pushing a door.”

Additional reporting by Nadine Schimroszik in Berlin; Editing by Pravin Char

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

#News

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Genesis OCs

In the middle decades of the 21st century, explosive events occur that gives some of the world’s population superpowers. One such person is David Paine, who was rendered homeless by the event and due to his power being a Wolverine-esque healing factor, he found himself unable to die before finally finding shelter in a brothel/safehouse for empowered young women. Years after finding this new home, he soon has to protect it when someone from his past shows up in his life and a superpowered supremacist begins to make moves against the city and its people.

Finally got at least SOME stuff about these OCs written down. Kinda weird when I think about this story, it’s almost a dark contrast to Six Shots. 

HEROES

David Paine

Once your average teenager, David’s life was turned upside down when his home and family were seemingly destroyed during the Genesis Event. Surviving due to the event giving him a healing factor, David was rendered depressed, homeless, and suicidal; he would often wake up in the morgue, especially during winter. This all changed when he pulled himself together and began protecting people on the street, which led to him saving one of the sex workers who lived in Mac’s safe house. Mac soon gave David a home, and he has lived there ever since, protecting the girl’s living there from harm as well as finding love in the form of Alice.

6’, dark brown hair, blue-grey eyes, white, heterosexual.

Unlike many healing factors in fiction, his works even if his head is separated from the body. In such an event, his body will move on its own in an attempt to get the head back. During this period, his headless body has increased strength and speed, though it will only continue moving for an hour before collapsing, at which point the head needs to be brought over to the neck by an outside source to heal.

He almost always looks exhausted.

He’s a very calm guy, and it takes a lot to make him angry.

He is 27 years old.

Ashley Walker

David’s ex-girlfriend from high school, Ashley fell in with the wrong crowd, leading for David to part ways with her. Caught up in the Genesis Event, she gained fire powers, though this came with s ome unexpected side effects. She mainly used her powers to commit petty crimes, and hung out with unsavory folks, though part of her desperately wishes her life could get better.

5���6”, black hair, green eyes, white.

Her powers act much like any other pyrokineetic character in fiction, but if she exerts herself too much in too short of a time, she “burns out” and transforms into a 7’ tall charred skeletal monster known as “Ashwalker.”

She has a bit of a temper.

She’s kind of stubborn.

She regrets a lot of her criminal actions over the past ten years. However, she’d never say it willingly.

She has always been in to goth and punk subcultures.

She is 27 years old.

Alice Doe

A mysterious young woman. One night, she appeared bleeding on Mac’s doorstep; he took her in and he and the girl’s helped nurse her back to help. She doesn’t remember anything about her past, or how she became injured, and she seems to be nothing but an average young woman, albeit a bit pale and sickly.

5’8”, long black hair, very pale, dark blue eyes.

She has frequent dizzy spells.

She’s very sweet, perceptive, and patient.

She is 25 years old.

Mac Palmer

Once part of an average family, Mac’s life was turned upside down after the Genesis Event, which led to his brother being killed by a pimp in the ensuing gang activity that erupted during the chaos. Mac, unaware of his new powers, accidentally killed the pimp. He soon discovered said pimp had been gathering up girls with powers in the weeks after the Event, planning on using them to please himself and clients. Deciding to offer them help, he converted the pimp’s hideout into a safe house for at-risk young women with superpowers, though he allowed anyone who wanted to continue doing sex work to do so. He keeps up a front of being a hardcore pimp to keep away those who would do the girls harm, and he has David help keep them safe when he’s not busy protecting the rest of the streets.

He is 5’9”, black, black hair, brown eyes.

He is bisexual.

His power allows him to focus incredible strength and force, but only through his right arm. While normally a weakness, he works out to ensure his other arm is at least of peak normal human strength just in case.

He really enjoys watching old Nickelodeon cartoons.

He wanted to be a veterinarian, but he put this on hold to keep the girls safe.

He was frequently an Honor Roll student in school.

He is 30 years old.

CRIMINALS: THE UNDERWORLD

Piper the Rat King

One of Ashley’s old friends, and a renowned empowered individual in the underworld.

Piper has the ability to control rodents, though he is most fond of rats. With his psychic link he can command them to perform actions they normally would not on their own, as well as boost their power.

He is gay.

He is mute.

He is a huge fan of the band Ghost.

He wears a green hooded cape to keep his identity hidden.

He is 5’7”, black hair, and yellow eyes.

Sebastian Darke

Piper’s bodyguard and his lover.

He is 6’6” and very thin.

He is albino.

He has the power to move through and hide in shadows.

He’s very stoic.

He almost always wears sunglasses.

CRIMINALS: THE FULL DECK GANG

Based at least partially on the Royal Flush gang.

Suicide King

A superpowered criminal and leader of the Full Deck gang. His real name is Rex Hart.

Suicide King has the power to instantly reappear somewhere nearby after dying, leaving behind his corpse. Said corpse turns into a bomb and will explode shortly after he reappears. He is entirely immune to his own explosions.

He wears an outfit that can only be described as a red-and-black straightjacket (obviously the arms are not tied)

Before getting his powers, he suffered from suicidal depression. Getting his powers and finding out he actually couldn’t die now drove him crazy.

In reality, the above is just a cover story used to garner sympathy and get his gang viewed as counter-culture anti-heroes; in actuality, Suicide King is a sick, sadistic monster who revels in the murder and mayhem he causes.

Dancing Queen

A member of the Full Deck gang.

She is an expert dancer in nearly all styles.

She has the ability to perform powerful attacks via her dancing.

She needs to consume a ridiculous amount of calories a day, as each and every attack consumes a large chunk of calories and can leave her weak if she isn’t careful.

Her real name is Anna Beatrix Belinda Armandi.

Jack the Ripper

A member of the Full Deck gang.

His real name is Jack Tripper.

His power has given him razor-sharp knives for fingers. They appear to be made of some sort of metal and are hard to break; if they do, he can regrow them.

He was a violent misanthrope even before he got his powers, being involved in numerous debacles when he was still in school.

Joker’s Wild

A member of the Full Deck gang.

His power is the ability to alter the perception of anyone around them, causing them to see his movements as erratic and nonsensical; in other words, he extremely disorients his victims without them realizing it.

He is incredibly flexibile.

His real name is Joseph Carwylde. 

Ace in the Hole

A member of the Full Deck gang.

He wears a mask that makes his face seem to be entirely blank. He also always wears gloves, and is rumored to have burned his fingerprints away.

He has the power to generate portals that allow him and allies to pass through solid objects.

His real name is Dodger Holyfield. 

CRIMINALS: GANGS - OTHER

Nora Hawking

A tough girl who was forced to grow up on the streets after her parents vanished and she had nowhere else to go. Despite this and her dangerous powers, she tries to stay as upbeat as possible. She leads a street gang known as the Deathhawks. 

Her power is to drain out the lifeforce of anyone she touches with her bare hands, similar to Rogue. She has very little control over this ability. 

She’s mixed race, half black, half Latina.

She tris to stay upbeat and positive, but she’s still very much hurting.

She started a street gang so that she could always be surounded by people even if she can never touch them.

She’s 5′8″ with black hair and green eyes.

She is 19 years old.

Scout Sawner 

A former Boy Scout, he formed a radical Neo Nazi street gang shortly before the Genesis Event. His gang, known as the Pure Scouts, frequently clashes with the Deathawks.

He has X-Ray vision as well as enhanced sight, able to focus his vision to see far away people and objects. However, he needs to stand still to use any of these powers.

He is bisexual, but he frequently tries to suppress his urges. This has led to him raping and murdering many of his gang’s targets.

He is skilled at using hatchets and axes.

He is 5′8″, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Lady Raptor

A British woman and one of the most renowned gang leaders in the worldwide criminal underworld. Essentially the Godfather of gangs, being under her protection is what any gang should want. Her gang is known as the Illuminati, and they have agents all over the world.

She has the power to shapeshift into a giant, vicious reptilian monster that stands at 8′7″, has razor-sharp teeth and claws, and enhanced regenerative abilities. She has increased strength and durability even when not in her lizard form.

Her real name is Lyn Icke; she inherited the gang from her mother, and was raised since birth to take it over. She reverted to her mother’s name - McDowell - after her mother died, but occasionally uses hr father’s last name for undercover work.

She rarely wears shoes, as they would only be destroyed when she transforms. She tends to wear tanktops or very stretchy clothes so that she is not naked when she transforms back. She tends to wear a black trenchcoat over everything.

She is 5′7″, red hir, and green eyes.

She is in actuality a “neccesary evil,” a terrifying force to keep even worse criminals from rising to power, and works together with world governments.

Her powers are based on the Hulk and Lizard.

CRIMINALS: SERIAL KILLERS AND MURDERERS 

Skinwolf

One of the first superpowered criminals David fought after finding his new home.

His power is to be able to slit people’s skin, take it off, and wear it as his own.

His real name is Skinner Lobos.

He is a sadistic serial killer, though sometimes he gets lost in his victim’s lives for days at a time.

He is partially based on the Batman villain Jane Doe.

CHILDREN OF THE GENESIS

Lucius Bright

The son of a preacher, Lucius Bright grew up with a strong belief in God, and set out to do great things in the world. However, hardships struck; his father was killed in a hate crime, and he began to feel lost without him. Wanting to do something good in the world, he adopted several troubled children who had nowhere else to go. All of these children were caught up in the Genesis event.

Bright saw this as a sign from God. Recalling the cruelty that ended his father’s life, Bright seeks to create a world where those with great power such as himself  keep the world safe and protected. For ten years he and his remaining orphans trained so that they could bring about his vision: a world where people can understand their powers and live in harmony with those without powers. However, his peace and love style of teaching may not work with everyone.

He is 66 years old.

He is 6’2”, black, and has hazel eyes.

He is fluent in many languages, particularly French.

He is incredibly intelligent.

He has a strong appreciation for ancient cultures and their mythology.

He is heavily based on Samuel L. Jackson characters such as Elijah Price, Valentine, etc.

He has the power to manipulate light, meaning he can fire lasers, create illumination, and so on. However, to maximize the effectiveness of his power he needs to absorb light beforehand.

Kitty Olsen

One of the children from the Genesis Event.

She has the power of movement synchronization. If she is able to make consistent, direct eye contact with someone for five seconds, their movements become synched and Kitty mirrors everything they do for up to an hour. As long as she is synched with someone, any sort of damage that Kitty would take from the person she is synched with appears on that person instead. However, once she is synchronized she is incapable of de-synching until enough time passes.

She is 5’6”, brunette, blue-gray eyes.

She is a bit snarky, snide, and condescending.

She is 25 years old.

Babette Bonheur

One of the children. She was adopted when her parents died shortly after immigrating to America.

She is 5’5”, red hair, blue eyes, white.

She is French. She still has an accent despite not having lived there since she was little.

Babette is a very skilled artist, and can draw very well with just about anything.

Babette has the power to bring her drawings to life. Anything she draws she can make ‘real,’ in a manner of speaking; the living drawings only live for an hour at a time, and can be destroyed by water rather easily.

She is 16 years old. She was adopted shortly before the Genesis Event, about four months prior to it.

Bright is closest to her; he learned French specifically so he could help Babette keep that part of her heritage alive.

She spends a lot of time with Allen.

She is gay, though she doesn’t realize it.

Allen Lecarde

One of the children; he was impaled by several glass shards, but his inherent power coupled with energy from the blood dripping from a dying friend healed him.

He is 6’, with long black hair, red eyes, and very pale skin.

His power is similar to that of a traditional vampire; he has enhanced strength, speed, and regenerative abilities but he must feed on human blood to power himself. Interestingly, if he drinks the blood of someone with powers, he gains their power in a weakened form. His friend who died, for instance, had psychic powers, and getting his blood gave him the ability to speak into others minds as well as read thoughts. He still needs to eat and drink as a normal human, but he becomes extremely weak if he does not drink blood; currently, he is rather thin and a bit sickly as he has actively fought against his urges.

He is very close with Babette.

He is often quiet and brooding.

He is extremely persuasive.

He is 20 years old.

Bright has not allowed him to purposefully feed in a long time, insisting that Allen try and suppress his dangerous urges. This has made Allen rather bitter towards his adoptive father.

Jazz

One of Bright’s children.

Jazz has shapeshifting as their power.

Jazz is genderfluid and goes alternately by Jasper or Jasmine depending on what gender body they currently are shifted into. Most of their friends just call them Jazz, a s it is a gender-neutral nickname.

Jazz has shapeshifted so much since getting their power that they have started to forget what they were originally and have started suffering from identity crisis and depressive episodes.

Jazz is very melancholy.

They are 21 years old.

OTHER CHARACTERS

Davy Jones

Considered to be little more than an urban legend, Davy Jones is in fact real. During the Genesis Event, a man named Dave Bowie was caught in the blast and launched into the bay, where he drowned. His body fell into a seaweed bed, which somehow absorbed the power he would have been granted and took over his body. The seaweed, now in control of the corpse, became a strange guardian of the old lighthouse.

Its power seems to involve controlling the body it is within, making it incredibly strong and able to regenerate as well as utilize seaweed offensively. 

It is unkown if it can talk.

Hardly anyone believes it is real.

It is based on the Pokemon Dhelmise. 

His former name is a reference to how David Bowie had to change his name from “David Jones” when pursuing his musical career due to Davy Jones of The Monkees fame. 

Corpus Christie

A mysterious woman.

Her power is telekinetic energy, which she can also focus into corpses to make them turn into zombies for a brief time. 

Her skin is grey; apparently she had a near-death experience at one point.

She has no idea who she was prior to getting her powers. Only that her name was “Christine.”

Skyhigh

Sonny Skye was an average young man gifted extraordinary power by the Genesis Event. With it, he rose to fame in the Midwest and South of America by performing noble deeds, though it did draw him some ire from more conservative sources. At this time it is assumed he is a heroic figure.

He has quite a lot of powers: he has flight, the ability to communicate with and control any creature that is able to fly, he has limited ability to control the weather, and he has increased durability and cold resistance. 

His name is a reference to the song “Sky High” by Jigsaw.

His powers are a combination of Storm, Superman, and Aquaman.

Tetsuo Madden

The son of the president of the United States. He is secretly the katana-wielding vigilante known as Black Shadow.

He hunts down and kills superpowered criminals due to his girlfriend being killed by one during a home invasion.

However, he still by day champions the rights of these people, just like his mother and father.

He has no powers of his own, but he is very smart, atheletic, and skilled with the blade.

He is 30 years old.

[redemptivexheroics]

Jonathan Kent

Name: Jonathan Kent

Age: 45

Birthday: March 5, 1975

Species: Human

Occupation: Navy Seal (Formerly), Farmer

Family: Martha Kent (Wife) Clark Kent (Adopted Son) Kara Kent (Adopted Daughter)

Status: Canon Divergent 

Home Town: Smallville, Kansas

Current Residence: Smallville, Kansas

Face Claim: Mark Wahlberg 

Verses: Pre-Superman, Arrow Verse, Destiny Forged

Biography: Jonathan Kent is a former Navy Seal who turned to the life of farming because farming was in his family and he was entrusted the Kent Farm after his father passed away. Though Jonathan or Jon to his family and friends wasn’t always the wise man he is today, in fact he started off as a rebellious attitude problem but of course this changed when he realized his life wouldn’t amount to anything if he didn’t straighten up. After finishing high school he enlisted in the Navy with the goal of becoming a Navy Seal, he didn’t want to leave Smallville or his high school sweetheart, Martha but he wanted a family with her he needed to do what needed to be done. Jonathan did the Navy thing for ten years, retiring at 27 to run his family farm. He was married to Martha for a good five years prior to retiring. He finally gotten that apple pie life he always dreamed of until 2000 when a meteor shower carrying a young alien child from a now destroyed Krypton landed in a field on the Kent Farm. With a shotgun in hand and his wife behind him, Jonathan and Martha found a baby Kal-El in the remains of his charred ship.  Given that they had complications with having children, his wife immediately was taken over by her motherly instincts, while she took the infant back to their home, Jonathan busied himself with hiding the ship and expected the government or someone to come looking for the ship and its passenger, no one ever did.

Jonathan was confused but he was convinced by Martha that they would take care of the baby until his real parents came or someone came looking for him. Eventually a year went by and no one came to claim Kal-El who by then Martha who had grown attached to him and named Clark Joseph Kent, and even though Jonathan knew they would never truly understand him couldn’t bear the fact to take Clark from his wife, so with some digging and help they were able to officially adopt Clark and raise him as their own. Over the years Clark began to develop abilities making him abnormal none the less Jonathan helped him train those abilities and has become very protective of Clark, didn’t matter where he was from Clark was his son and he’d protect him with his life. Jonathan shares a very strong relationship with his son and they are really close, by Clark’s 18th birthday his cousin from Krypton came along and explained his true origins and Kara was adopted as Jonathan and Martha’s daughter. Jonathan’s life had been complete. 

[bbcbreakingnews]

Haiti on edge as theories about President’s assassination fill the vacuum

Port-au-Prince, Haiti CNN —  

The charred shells of three burned-out cars marked the road to the president’s house on Friday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Just up the hill, former leader Jovenel Moise had been murdered in his bedroom two days earlier, in an otherwise quiet neighborhood of big houses and high walls topped with barbed wire and overhanging flowers.

What exactly happened during the Wednesday attack is still unknown, along with its motive. But Carl Henri Destin, a local district judge tasked with investigating and documenting the crime scene, described the aftermath in minute detail to CNN.

“The doors were riddled with bullets, the glass was broken, the doors were smashed, even the locks were destroyed and lying on the ground,” he said.

Inside, up a wide bloodstained stairway leading to a bedroom, Destin says he peered through another smashed doorway, and saw his President lying on the ground.

“He was wearing a white shirt and a pair of blue jeans. His shirt was ripped and full of blood. I saw 12 visible bullet wounds in the president’s body…they smashed his left eye, but both were still open.”

David von Blohn/CNN

Burnt out cars line the street near the late President’s residence in Haiti.

David von Blohn/CNN

Violence broke out after Haiti’s President was assassinated on Wednesday.

Dozens of viral images and videos purporting to show the shocking attack are circulating in Haiti and abroad, of which few can be verified as authentic. But hardly any show Moise, the damage left by the attack, or the removal of his body from the house; Destin takes credit for that, explaining that he forbade most other people at the crime scene from snapping photos out of respect for the fallen leader.

Yet in perhaps a sign of the intense local hunger for an explanation, even the absence of images is spawning conspiracy theories. And in Port-au-Prince, it’s all adding momentum to a wave of speculation and uncertainty in a city already rattled by rampant criminal violence, economic deprivation and political instability.

What we know and don’t know

Many questions remain unanswered about what exactly transpired in the Haitian president’s house on the night of his death.

What we do know is that according to the remaining government – now led by acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph – Moise’s home was attacked around 1 a.m. He was killed, and his wife, First Lady Martine Moise, was wounded. She has since been flown to Miami for treatment.

A group of at least 28 people are suspected in the killing, of which 26 are Colombian and two are US citizens. So far, 20 of those suspects have been detained, five are on the loose and three have been killed.

According to a spokesman for the acting Prime Minister’s office, those burned-out cars down the street from Moise’s house belonged to some of the suspects, whom police later confronted in a shootout. The nearest storefront, decorated with a worn banner quoting Psalm 27:1’s “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” testifies to a fearsome battle with mounds of shattered glass, bullet marks and streaks of blood.

David von Blohn/CNN

Bullet casings on the ground in the wake of President Moise’s assassination in Haiti.

Colombian National Police Chief General Jorge Vargas said Friday that 13 retired members of the Colombian Army had traveled to Haiti over the past months and are believed to have been involved in the assassination. But why a group of foreign nationals would attack Haiti’s President is still unknown. No statements have been released from the suspects in detention, and the investigation is far from over.

“There is a mastermind behind this assassination, and that is what we need to find out,” Elections Minister Mathias Pierre told CNN.

Also unclear is how the killers were able to penetrate multiple levels of presidential security, including police checkpoints on the road and Moise’s personal guard. Despite the apparent scale of the attack, and signs of rampant gunfire in the President’s home documented by Destin, none of the President’s guards were injured, Haiti’s elections minister Mathias Pierre told CNN.

David von Blohn/CNN

The charred shell of a car following the killing of Haiti’s President.

Destin, who collected testimony from witnesses at the scene the next morning, said he has been unable to hear any firsthand accounts of what happened during the attack itself. When he arrived at the President’s house, the police security booth was unmanned, and agents without identifying badge or insignia met him at the entrance, he said.

“I was informed that nobody who was there on the night of the killing was present…I did not have a chance to talk to anybody who was on the scene during the attack,” Destin said.

The investigation is ongoing, and Haiti’s interim government has asked for additional assistance from the US and UN to help dig into the matter.

Senior FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials are expected to travel to Port-au-Prince “as soon as possible” to provide assistance on both security and the investigation, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Friday. Colombia is also sending its national intelligence chief to aid in the investigation.

What comes next

Further down the line, are myriad more unanswered questions, from when the President’s funeral will be held, to who should succeed him, and even whether the country is prepared to move forward with much-anticipated elections this fall. Over it all hangs a sense of foreboding, and many streets in Port-au-Prince have been unusually empty.

The assassination has sharpened fears of other violent outbreaks in the capital city, which saw more than 13,000 people displaced from their homes by arson and battles between police and rival gangs in the month of June alone. Haiti’s interim government has now requested that both the US and United Nations supply troops to enforce security at key infrastructural points like the ports, airports and oil terminals.

Elections Minister Pierre, who feared that he and other top officials might be targeted when he first learned of Moise’s death, says he still feels that he could now face retribution for continuing the deceased president’s political agenda.

“Anyone running for office, including myself, knows that we will face danger, and we are conscious of the danger of trying to make major changes in the country,” he said.

Richard Pierrin/Getty Images

A soldier patrols the area near the police station of Petion Ville where people protest after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise on July 8 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Moise, 53, was a divisive figure in Haiti, and many opposition and civil society leaders had been calling for his resignation for more than a year. His signature project, the subject of a referendum planned for this September, was a proposed overhaul of the Haitian constitution that would strengthen the executive branch – a change that critics feared would erode democracy, but which Moise argued was vital for leading meaningful change in the country.

The question of who should even be running the current government is also overshadowed by discord and doubt. Days before his death, Moise named neurosurgeon Ariel Henry as his new prime minister – which means that between Henry and acting Prime Minister Joseph there are two potential claims to the premiership. And there is an additional challenger for the top leadership role: Reuters reports that Senate leader Joseph Lambert was nominated on Friday by fellow lawmakers to assume the presidency ad interim.

Meanwhile Destin, the judge, says he is receiving death threats from Haitians who believe it’s all a hoax and that Moise is still alive, somewhere. “They are accusing me of being a part of the plot – they say the president was not killed – rather he was kidnapped.”

In the current atmosphere, he can’t afford to take such threats lightly, he said. “I have received anonymous calls from people threatening me. As a judge, there is not really a security plan to protect me… so I’ve had to go into hiding to protect myself and my family, my wife and my children.”

CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon contributed reporting.

source http://bbcbreakingnews.com/2021/07/10/haiti-on-edge-as-theories-about-presidents-assassination-fill-the-vacuum/

[anglaland]

What Words Have You for Me?

Title: What Words Have You for Me? Fandom: Hetalia Pairing: FrUK (France/England) Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 1213 Summary:

“You may try to pretend your people aren’t out there killing themselves right now, but you cannot pretend I am not here,” England says, annoyed, cutting through the oppressive environment. “As much as you hate it, both of us have quite the desire to keep your company.”

In the midst of the Reign of Terror, after the abolishment of the monarchy and yet another round of executions, England hunts France down. Notes: Written for the @fruk-net Secret Santa Event! My recipient was @the-awesome-sia, with the prompt ‘Historical Hetalia’. Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy :)

Read on AO3

Late September, 1792

The air is rank with the musty odor that accompanies a place forgotten, abandoned, and England cannot help the grin that pulls his lips, baring his teeth in a facsimile of a smile. It was no strain to imagine this place in its former decadence, and his own memories pull to the front—of laughing nations embraced by flowing wine, the walls climbing with paintings born out of a love for their country, with France in the center of it all. Too often, he was relegated to the side, always the outsider to the continent, only ever joining others in war but rarely in camaraderie. If France deigned to catch his eyes as he flirted from one nation to another, it was an uninterested glance, and England took pleasure in breaking it later in the evening, in their private rooms. Now, he steps on broken glass and charred, ripped tapestries, in the center, for once. But the attraction of the evening—only France, always France—is nowhere to be found.

Scouring the country had been hard enough, and twice already England had been wrong in his guess as to where his elusive lover lay, while the French tore themselves apart. But France cannot escape him forever, even if he is unaware that he is doing so.

England steps through a doorway absent of its door and is greeted by another ransacked room, broken furniture splintered across the floor, covering unflattering burn marks. The room is still, and the air heavy, but his senses sharpen, and he strides purposefully through the carnage.

Across him are the unassuming shambles of a bed. Gathering the stained sheets in his hands, he yanks, hard, and finally, the personification of France unravels from within. England waits, hands placed smugly on his hips.

Heavy silence settles in once more.

“You may try to pretend your people aren’t out there killing themselves right now, but you cannot pretend I am not here,” England says, annoyed, cutting through the oppressive environment. “As much as you hate it, both of us have quite the desire to keep your company.”

For a few moments, France remains silent still, empty eyes staring up at the ceiling as he lays spread across the bed. But as England moves to throttle the words out of him, he speaks, voice raspy from disuse. “How lucky I must be, to be in the affections of such brutish creatures.”

“And you are simply the very picture of regality, aren’t you?” England mocks, climbing onto the bed and over France. “After all, how often did you entertain their children in this house?” France’s face remains carefully composed, but something shifts behind his eyes, and England gleefully presses on. “Do you feel them, suffering in their prison? Or do you delight in their suffering, as your people surely do? Perhaps you revel in their misery, laying here as a mockery of once was—“

France snarls, sitting up and forcing England off of him. For a moment, England’s certain of the victory he came here to seek, but then France slumps inward, the sudden emotion seeping out of him. He reflects the state of his country, clothes in tatters, hair matted—but a frenzied look behind his eyes.

If England had not known France for as long as he had, he would be horrified at this caricature of a great nation. But there is little (perhaps none) he has not seen of him, and worse yet, he can recognize the familiar sight of struggle in France.

But that is why he is here after all.

“Come now,” he offers, propping him up. “Are you really going to wallow in self-misery in this house forever?”

France barely meets England’s eyes, but his fingers clench the bedsheets next to them. “What use is there in leaving? When I stand with half my people, my body yearns for the other. I cannot watch them mercilessly attack each other anymore.”

England squints suspiciously at him. “It is nothing new for us. Frankly, I am surprised you have some semblance of sanity yet. I was certain I would find a complete madman, and so this is rather disappointing.”

“Would I really be so dull as to be predictable, for you?”

“No,” England decides, with a note of finality. “I suppose not. And I have to say, you did surprise me with your new love for parliamentary ideals. You never gave the indication that you admired me so!”

France says nothing to that, only attempting a half smile eclipsed by the shadows over his face. He pulls back from England, who instead grasps France’s jaw in one hand. Moving to straddle France, England tilts the other’s head upwards, giving a curious hum at the sight in front of him.

“And this must be the work of your new lover,” England murmurs, tracing the red, angry, lines across France’s neck. “I’ve heard so much about her. How often has she visited you? Twice, at least?”

“Are you jealous perhaps, Angleterre?”

England’s nails dig into France’s cheeks, and red outlined crescents appear underneath his fingers. “I will admit, I will always prefer to be the one ruining you,” he breathes, mouth close to France. “But I will accept this substitute, in my place.”

He kisses him forcefully, pushing France underneath him. The taste is abysmal but they don’t break, England’s hands coming to fist in France’s hair, while France steadies himself on the other’s hips. Eventually, the need for air arises, and they separate, panting.

They stay like this for some time, the silence broken by intermittent harsh kisses.

“When will you be satisfied, mon amour?” France muses at some point, and England knows he is not talking about the present moment. And there is no answer for that, none that would be true anyhow.

When France wakes the next morning, he is still for a moment before rolling over to find England perched at the edge of his bed.

“Your government is coming to collect you,” England informs him in lieu of a morning greeting, not bothering to look up from the letters he is reading.

France stares at him for several moments. “I imagined,” he finally works out, tongue heavy, “that you would be find the idea of locking me in a prison for several years terribly boring.”

“I am hoping your government simply executes you and I can collect your headless corpse for my own amusement,” England confesses. “But you are a Republic now, and it is far more interesting to see what kind of man they will mold you into.”

“And you would not play a part in that, yourself?” France asks, sitting up, muscles straining under disuse.

England tosses France’s letters to the floor and stands up, dusting off his jacket. From his position, France is forced to look up at the man, a circumstance England likely deliberately planned for. There is a stark contrast between how smartly England has dressed himself and the disheveled state he left France in, and familiar irritation grows within France’s chest (and oh, how he’s missed it).

England’s eyes glint in the morning sun. “I’ll face the result soon enough,” he promises. With that, he sweeps out the door, leaving France alone.

(But not alone, anymore).

Notes

+ The children England refers to are Marie Thérèse and Louis Joseph, daughter and son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the deposed monarchs. Both were imprisoned in the Temple in Marais in August 1792, after the monarchy was abolished. Louis Joseph died in prison, and Marie Thérèse died at 72, in exile.

+ In early September 1792, the September Massacres occurred in Paris, where 1200 prisoners were executed because it was feared they would join foreign armies if France was attacked. France is still reeling from this, as the most recent event in his Reign of Terror.

+ On September 20th, 1792, the First Republic of France was formed, shifting from a monarchy to a more liberal model, similar to that of Britain. The French Revolution overall was said to have been influenced by the British political system and their ideals.

[kuh-boose]

eeeey!!! Time to share about my OCs some more! Next in the line up is Kelli Amelia Belrose! Kelli is honestly two separate characters. Her initial appearance in my head began with a little story I started in class in high school because I was bored and have not touched in years now. Initial Kelli, who we’ll call Kelly (with a y), is internally nervous and externally snarky, and has an incredibly dry and kind of self-deprecating sense of humor when she’s not being kind of distant. She’s always frustrated with her situation and has a voice in her head name Aries who doesn’t help. And she’s a badass that’s rather confused and annoyed that she’s a badass. She swears quite a bit.  Current Kelli is placed into the DC universe, particularly with the Red Hood and Batman. This Kelli is far sweeter, almost stubbornly so, despite having undergone a bit more trauma. She’s the one I’m gonna talk about in this post. 

Kelli was born to Coralynn (Cory) Belrose. Before we get to Kelli I wanna take some time on Cory. Cory grew up in France with a devoted father and an absent mother. Her father was military and it led to her moving about quite a bit, though Cory generally didn’t mind. Her father was diligent on six things: kindness, education, patience, discipline, preparedness, and courage. These would be the same things that Cory would desperately instill into her daughter. Cory grew up to be a number of things as it turned out. She simply wasn’t satisfied with just one, but eventually narrowed down to first a ballerina, then into a neuroscientist when she realized ballet couldn’t be maintained into her old age. 

I wish I could say Kelli was a child born of a deep love between two people, but... I’m too twisted for that. 

Cory became the target for, honestly, a man I don’t have a name for yet so we’ll just call him Victor because why not. Victor is... well, incredibly paranoid and his goal in a world filled with super people and super monsters and threats from space and other dimensions was to create a super thing of his own. His plan? Create a human weapon. After years of amassing supplies and staff, he kidnapped some of--what he thought--were the best humans humanity had to offer. Coralynn fit that description. She was taken, impregnated through artificial means, and then gave birth to Kelli. Initially, Kelli was one of the “guinea pigs:” children who were born within the facility and were simply beta testing for the methods they would use on the actual products. This allowed Kelli to remain with her mother in what was essentially an apartment-like prison cell. Kelli was taken, often daily, for experiments and testing. On these trips out of their cell, Coralynn would get Kelli to observe everything she could and report back to her, despite how much it hurt for them to take her (the for the first few months she tried to fight it, but that only resulted in a ton of beatings and tranquilization). By the time Kelli was four Coralynn managed to get them out, though by the time she got to safety and blew the whistle on Victor and his assistants, the facility was destroyed, hundred of charred bodies found at the site. 

Buckle up kids, it only gets worse. 

Coralynn got five years with her daughter. They lived in Paris, moved into different places around the city frequently since Coralynn never really trusted anything, even with personal protection provided by the government. But they loved each other so much. After a rough adjustment period to being back on the outside, Coralynn made certain her daughter had experiences and taught her to be kind and smart and strong and to see hope when everything was all darkness and despair. She kept fresh flowers and plants in their home, read to Kelli every night and climbed trees with her in the park and went to bakeries in the mornings to share the cookies she helped Kelli make the night before with the bakers. They visited libraries frequently and visited Kelli’s grandfather when they could manage it. Cory even maintained a ritual they had in the cell: dancing. 

They had a kind of content bliss like this for five years. One evening Coralynn and one of the personal guards was shot in an alleyway by some men in suits. Kelli tried to pull her mom up until the other guard pulled her away and got her to safety. Despite protective custody, she was kidnapped during a transport and found herself back under Victor's thumb. Victor began using what was left of his guinea pigs and desperately trying to turn them into the final product he had dreamed of for years. Kelli spent years being tortured through cruel experiments and attempts at psychological molding but clung fiercely to the memories and lessons of her mother. These experiments pushed her closer towards the weapon Victor wanted, strong, quick reflexes and stunningly agile, but not significantly past that of a human at peak condition. And for all his efforts Kelli wasn’t budging in her willingness for cruelty (at this point it was mostly out of spite and luckily there was one or two of the staff that managed to be at least little decent to her and encourage her decisions). 

The experiments turned her skin and hair white, drained the color from her eyes from brown to a pale gray, and strengthened her muscles, teeth, bones, and skin. Still, it wasn’t enough. Finally, Victor managed, through a full year process, to give her something no one else had, and that he himself didn’t fully understand (he would never admit he used alien tech to do it). Kelli was “outfitted” with glands (and a chemically changed body that would respond to them) that would produce god-only-knows-what. This mysterious stuff would “charge” Kelli, making her always kind of prominent purple veins glow and produce some kind of energy. In a state when it’s active Kelli is stronger, faster, smarter, and more ruthless, but she overheats quickly, to the point where her skin will begin to burn from the outside in. Luckily it heals relatively quickly but is still excruciating and if she uses it too much she’s out for days in a feverish and unconscious state. No one is sure if it can kill or her not.

All the while, Kelli’s grandfather (Coralynn’s father) is still looking for her, long after everyone else has given up. Eventually, he released a number of the videos of Kelli and her mother had made together on their adventures around Paris, desperate to renew public interest in finding her. Victor the asshole strikes again and poor grandpa dies of a “heart attack” while trying to gather some old acquaintances in Gotham city who can “find just about anyone.” This brings about the attention of the world’s greatest detective, AKA Batman, AKA the ONLY DC SUPERHERO THAT MATTERS (besides all his kids and like, wonder woman). After, y’know, doin what batman does, he and Robin find and take out Victor's operation (though Vic manages to escape with a good chunk of data), with Kelli being the only survivor left, unbeknownst to her (harming the others was a frequent threat used on her). It’s actually Robin (Jason Todd) who finds her in her cell near death after a particularly harsh test and actually convinces Batman to let her stay with them while she recovers. By this time she’s seventeen.

It’s with Jason and Alfred that she kind of reacclimates to being treated like a person, but it doesn’t last all that long before Bruce, with Kelli’s permission, admits her to an organization that will study and try to cure her. As is always the case in comics, that organization turns out to have some not so great backings and Kelli almost finds herself in hot water again, except she escapes this time, only to return to Gotham find out that Jason has died. She kind of just leaves then, a bit numb that her first friend since her kidnapping is just gone she just wanders the world a bit. In true Kelli fashion, she offers help where ever it’s asked of her and this eventually turns into a life of heroism, albeit a very humble and almost sneaky version since she tends to keep a low profile with it.

 Eventually, she meets three important people in her life. Vera Martin, and older woman with an elegant face and a stocky frame who refuses to share her real last name but is an older woman who grew up in the countryside of who-knows-where and eventually fell into mercenary work. At least that’s as far as anyone can guess. She tends to be pretty briefly spoken, but she keeps a locket of a man and a young woman around her neck and is very, very, very fiercely protective of Kelli. All that Kelli cares about is that Vera is very much a good person with compassion and wisdom that comes from years of experience. Vera tends to smack Kelli when she does something reckless and gets hurt, but bandages her up with the precision of a full medical staff. She also kisses Kelli’s forehead when Kelli is asleep and provides some support of particularly tough missions. She gives Kelli classic books every holiday, no matter how little, and writes her own commentary in the margins. They’re usually very snarky and clever jokes. The two others are Joseph and Harold. Harold is an active mercenary, and Joseph is his boyfr--tech support. Harold is sweet pea with a mean face, and he uses it to his advantage. As talented of a mercenary as he is, he has a soft spot for kids and kind of wishes he had gone on to be a teacher instead but opts for making children’s books in his spare time under a pen name. Kelli loves making him baked goods and reading his books and just generally being in his company. Joseph is a mastermind at anything, honestly, and he loves having Kelli test his armor, weapons, and disguises (which come in handy since Kelli stands out quite a bit otherwise). Vera tends to get kind of annoyed and insist Kelli looks fine as she is, to which Joseph will reply “I think so too, hon, but to the populous at large, she’s Frosty the Undead.” 

Vera tends to “accidentally” break a lot of Joseph’s things when he’s not looking. 

But that’s okay because Joseph replaces all of her black cloths with pastels. (Harold switches them back because, tbh, Vera kind of scares him.)

Woah! With that over lets get some fun stuff in here:

Kelli. Loves. Strawberry. Strawberry cake, icing, milk, jelly, milkshakes. You name it. If it’s strawberry, she loves it. She even has a strawberry print shirt and raincoat. 

She likes sleeping in “cramped” spaces. Under beds, in cabinets, boxes, crates, etc.

Despite liking cramped spaces, Kelli still gets a bit panicky being confined to places like room. The easiest way to freak her out are putting her in a public shower setting or having her lay back flat on a table. She can manage it for a little bit with some breathing exercises, but after about ten minutes she goes nuts. 

She enjoys libraries, and actually, lives in an old one filled with books from all over the world and those picked up at yard sales and free boxes. She sleeps in a hammock under a stained glass skylight strung high up amongst the shelves and keeps a few personal items on a shelf next to her.

Her headquarters of sorts is under the library in the basement.

Out of all vehicles, she prefers motorcycles for the maneuverability. 

She is crazy agile and flexible. Like contortionist level flexible. 

She has a crow named Cherise and an opossum named Pêche. Though since she runs around quite a bit they tend to hang out with Vera a lot. 

She still loves to dance, any style, but ballet is her favorite. 

She has a ring with a bird on it and a necklace with a sunflower on it. They’re recreations of ones her mother had and they were made for her by Alfred and Jason. She never lets them far from her and doesn’t take them off at all if she can help it. 

She also has a sunflower tattoo on her shoulder and a bird tattoo on her shoulder blade. 

That’s enough for now, this got really long (story of my life). Thanks for reading!

[2700fstreet]

OPERA / 2017-2018

DON CARLO

OPEN REHEARSAL

Washington National Opera

Music by Giuseppe Verdi Libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille Du Locle Translated into Italian by Achille de Lauzières and Angelo Zanardini Based on Friedrich von Schiller’s dramatic work Don Carlos

So, What’s Going On?

Spain, the mid-sixteenth century.

Our hero, Don Carlo isn’t doing well. The infante (een-FAHN-teh, basically a Spanish word for “prince”) can’t get along with his father, King Filippo II (fee-LEEP-poh), and, to top it off, Carlo has no real royal responsibilities to keep him busy.

Oh, and did we mention he’s in love with his stepmother?

Filippo had promised Carlo a beautiful French bride named Elisabetta (eh-leez-ah-BEHT-tah), but, at the last minute, the king swept in and married her himself. Not cool. Nope, definitely not cool.

Enter Rodrigo (ro-DREE-goh), a nobleman and Carlo’s best friend. Rodrigo tries to cheer Carlo up by getting him involved in a political cause (nothing says “distraction” like a revolution). Spanish-occupied Flanders, (present-day Belgium) Rodrigo explains, is badly oppressed and needs a leader ASAP. Having a lot of free time on his hands, Carlo agrees to act as “savior” to the Flemish (i.e., the folks from Flanders). Got it so far?

But there’s a catch. He’ll need his stepmom’s permission.

Rodrigo fires Carlo up for a Flemish fight.

Take a listen… In one of opera’s most famous duets, Rodrigo and Don Carlo take a vow of friendship and promise to work together to achieve freedom for Flanders. Listen for the sounds of the brass instruments, symbolizing war and aggression, as well as royalty.

Back to the story…

Rodrigo arranges a meeting between Carlo and Elisabetta, telling the queen her heartbroken stepson needs a favor. But one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting, the Princess of Eboli (EHB-oh-lee), overhears and takes Carlo’s heartbreak completely out of context—she thinks Carlo might be in love with her.

At the meeting set up by Rodrigo, Carlo tells Elisabetta he’s dying of love.

In other palace news, the king is highly suspicious of Elisabetta’s relationship with Carlo. He summons Rodrigo and asks him to spy on Carlo and Elisabetta’s extracurricular activities. Rodrigo unwisely uses this moment to plead for Flanders, claiming the king is applying unnecessary force to maintain peace in the Flemish territories. Though slightly moved, Filippo warns Rodrigo his rebellious ways may get him into trouble with the Spanish Inquisition (…bet you weren’t expecting that).

Sometime later, Carlo receives a mysterious letter. Thinking Elisabetta wishes to see him, he waits for her in a romantic spot, and she promptly arrives wearing a veil for cover.

(Yeah, just kidding: It’s not really Elisabetta, but Eboli in disguise.)

Carlo whispers sweet nothings to “Elisabetta,” but when the mix-up comes to light, he tries to take back his professions of love. The damage is done, however—Eboli figures out Carlo’s words were meant for someone else…and that the “someone else” must be the queen.

Rodrigo rushes in. Believing Eboli will go straight to the king for revenge, he asks Carlo to hand over any incriminating evidence pertaining to Flanders.

Eboli plots vengeance against Carlo for (accidentally) playing with her heart.

But tensions between Filippo and Carlo are about to boil over anyway. At an auto-da-fé (an execution led by the Inquisition and overseen by the king), Carlo interrupts the ceremony by bringing some Flemish citizens before Filippo to call the king out and beg for royal mercy. Things get heated, and Carlo draws his sword. Horrified by this treasonous act, Filippo calls for someone to arrest his son. To everyone’s surprise, Rodrigo steps forward and leads Carlo to jail.

A private family feud is put on public display.

Take a listen… In his aria, “Ella giammai m’amò” (“She never loved me”), Filippo contemplates the sad state of his marriage. Listen for the sorrowful string music, which repeats incessantly as if to reflect Filippo’s relentless thoughts.

Filippo wants Carlo out of the way (like…completely out of the way), so the king appeals to the Grand Inquisitor to ask if the holy man will pardon Filippo for ordering Carlo’s execution. Convinced the uprising of the Protestant-leaning Flemish—and not Carlo—is the real threat to Spain and to the Catholic Church, the Inquisitor slyly suggests Filippo may be absolved if he hands over the traitorous Rodrigo in exchange. Yikes.

The Grand Inquisitor offers a terrible bargain: Religious blessing in exchange for Rodrigo’s demise.

Take a listen… In this intentionally frightening scene, the Grand Inquisitor’s deep and forceful voice, along with the quivering strings and percussion, remind the audience (and Filippo) that the church wields power in sixteenth-century Spain.

Suddenly, Elisabetta bursts in claiming she’s been robbed. She asks her husband to take action against the culprit, but Filippo quickly admits to the crime himself. He then confronts Elisabetta about a portrait of Carlo she keeps hidden in her stolen jewelry box. Elisabetta maintains her innocence, however. She may love Carlo, but she’s never been unfaithful.

And yet here’s a twist: Filippo has.

Filippo tries to shame Elisabetta.

While comforting the queen after Filippo’s accusation, Eboli confesses she’s been having an affair with the king and that jealousy (for both Carlo and Filippo) led her to steal Elisabetta’s box and throw some serious shade at the queen. Shocked, Elisabetta orders Eboli to head to a convent. Eboli searches for a way to make things right—and finds one. She stumbles onto Carlo’s death warrant and resolves to intervene before it’s too late.

Take a listen… Eboli curses her own vanity for inspiring her to betray her queen in the aria “O don fatale” (“Oh fatal gift”). Check out how the mezzo-soprano uses both high and low notes to convey her sense of frustration and despair in the musical sample below. Also: Listen for the outbursts from the trumpets, trombones, and horns at the opening. Can you tell things have gotten pretty serious?

But can Eboli alert Carlo in time? Can Rodrigo escape the watchful eye of the Inquisition? And, most importantly, will Elisabetta and Carlo be allowed to ride off into the Spanish sunset?

Who’s Who

(Italian version of the original Spanish names listed; English version names in parentheses)

Don Carlo (Don Carlos) infante of Spain (tenor—the highest male voice) Filippo (King Philip II) Carlo’s father and king of Spain (bass—the lowest male voice) Elisabetta (Elizabeth of Valois) queen of Spain (soprano—the highest female voice) The Princess of Eboli (known as “Eboli”) (mezzo-soprano—a middle-range female voice) Rodrigo marquis of Posa and Carlo’s friend (baritone—a middle-range male voice) The Grand Inquisitor (bass)

Good to Know

You’ve heard of the Spanish Inquisition before, right? No?

Okay, well, just in case you haven’t, you might want to keep in mind that the Spanish Inquisition was a Catholic branch of the Spanish government whose task was to find and “question” anyone who wasn’t loyal to the Catholic church, particularly Jews and Protestants. These “interviews” were often literal torture, as the Spanish monarchy was known to use the Inquisition as an excuse to enslave innocents in order to get free labor.

Now that you’re familiar with the Inquisition: Did you know King Philip II, his wife Elizabeth, his son Carlos, and the Princess of Eboli were also real? Philip II was a sixteenth-century Spanish monarch who did indeed marry a French woman (Elizabeth of Valois) whom he had initially intended for his son. Turns out Philip and Elizabeth actually had a reportedly happy marriage, and the love story between Elizabeth and her stepson was invented by writer Friedrich von Schiller in the eighteenth century and exploited by Verdi in the nineteenth century for maximum dramatic impact.

The Princess of Eboli was likewise a genuine attendant at court and the wife of King Philip’s right-hand man. Rodrigo, however, never actually existed; he’s more of an ideal representation of compassion and progressive thinking created by Schiller at a time when the Enlightenment ideals of reason and rationality swept across Europe.

And Carlos? Sadly the historical Carlos wasn’t quite the romantic hero he is in the opera. Rowdy, and unpredictable, the real-life Carlos was decidedly not in love with his stepmom. Yet, as in the opera, Carlos wasn’t given much power by his father and eventually grew fed up with life in Spain. The infante then demanded control over Flanders, which was being ruled by a brutal cardinal of the Catholic Inquisition.

Just like in the opera, Flanders was a place of political (and religious) unrest in the mid-sixteenth century. Absorbed into Spain’s considerable empire via a political marriage, Flanders was somewhat content to be ruled by Philip’s father, Charles V, who had been born in Flanders and was well respected there. Things changed when Philip assumed the throne, however: Philip was more Catholic than his father and the new king had no trouble sending clerical and military forces to keep the Protestant-friendly Flemish in line—often using violent methods of persuasion.

Philip ultimately deemed his son unfit to serve as ambassador to such an unstable region and had Carlos put in jail to prevent a political catastrophe (thanks, dad). Carlos died while under arrest, but the Flemish controversy continued, and uprisings followed soon after.

Check This Out…

Don Carlo features many melodies that repeat themselves to help the audience recall a particular scene or emotion from earlier in the story. Listen up for tunes that come back to haunt these characters again and again (especially the themes from Carlo and Rodrigo’s Act I duet, Carlo’s first lovesick solo, and the choir of horns that opens the opera).

Though Carlo is the title character, all the leading roles in the opera are given at least one aria (solo song) in which to express their feelings, and each character has their own unique musical and vocal style. Can you identify some of the ways in which Verdi gives each character his or her own spin? Is there a type of note (high, low, stretched out, cut short, etc.) or rhythm (slow, fast, galloping, etc.) that sticks out as being a specific character’s “signature sound”?

The finale of Don Carlo is notoriously open-ended, leaving much of the interpretation up to the performers and production team. Pay close attention during those final moments. What do you think the director and designers of this particular version wanted the audience to believe about the characters’ fates? Do you feel this explanation of the ending is correct? What do you think actually went down in the Spanish court?

Verdi wanted to immerse his audience in the culture and atmosphere of his operas. One of the ways he achieved this effect in Don Carlo was to include music that plays just off stage, giving the illusion of “surround sound” and extending the action of Don Carlo beyond the borders of the proscenium. Listen for the organ, church bells, brass band, choirs, and solo soprano voice coming from the wings of the theater. Do these help you feel like you’re at the heart of the story?

Think About This…

The dialogue between Filippo and the Grand Inquisitor—which was purposely added to the original story by Verdi and his librettists—includes some heavy musical clues regarding the evil subtext of the scene. In fact, Verdi uses ominous-sounding instruments to make it abundantly clear that some devilish plots are being hatched. What instruments stick out for you in this moment? What do you think Verdi’s position was regarding organized religion? What do you think he felt about monarchies like the one in Spain?

Eboli sings a song about a woman who hides her appearance and discovers a terrible secret. And…surprise! Later in the opera, the princess herself actually wears a veil and uncovers something about Don Carlo she wishes she hadn’t. Do you think the creators were making a specific point about disguises or about women who mask their identity?

Don Carlo is a mixture of big, crowded scenes for huge choruses and smaller, more intimate moments for four people or fewer. This contrast between public life and personal drama is something that continues to fascinate audiences in the twenty-first century. Can you name some recent films or TV shows in which the private struggles of a handful of characters are set against the backdrop of an overarching story that packs an epic and/or historical punch (hint: think The Crown or Game of Thrones minus the dragons)? Do they parallel Don Carlo in some way? Why do you think viewers are still drawn to these types of dramas?

Filippo, though tyrannical and misguided, is ultimately portrayed as a sad and lonely figure in the opera—thanks in large part to Verdi’s sympathetic music and also to the made-up love triangle between Filippo, his son, and his wife. Do you think Filippo’s desperate attempts to govern the lives of his family and his subjects are a response to his own feelings of helplessness? How do you think the other characters handle forces beyond their control (e.g., love, war, religious duty, honor, etc.)? Do you think anyone in the opera is more successful than Filippo at facing down these seemingly insurmountable challenges?

Take Action

As hinted above, the private actions in Don Carlo often have public consequences. Toward the end of the opera, Rodrigo, whose personal loyalties to the king and to Carlo are severely tested, ultimately chooses a path he feels will do the most good for the most people. In his beautiful final aria, he considers the type of legacy he wants to leave behind and asks that Carlo never forget him and never abandon the Flemish people. “Non ti scordar’” (“Do not forget”), he sings.

Take some time to think about how your own personal actions can affect public discourse or change. Research a group of people facing adversity like those in the Flemish territories mentioned in the opera (this could be a group you consider yourself a part of and/or strongly identify with, or it could also be a community you simply wish to help). Next, come up with a plan to spread the word and jumpstart a campaign to make a positive difference. Concerned for the people devastated by recent hurricanes, fires, and other natural disasters? Organize an afterschool meeting to educate your fellow students and to brainstorm fundraising ideas. Want to throw your support behind victims of abuse in a foreign nation? Set up a crowdsourced relief fund and ask family and friends to donate.

Want a wider audience for your social justice campaign? Use social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or tumblr to get people talking about your cause and to post news and pictures of outreach events. If you decide to post, let us know by using the hashtag #donotforget.

Explore More

Go even deeper with the Don Carlo Extras.

–

Major support for WNO is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars.

David M. Rubenstein is the Presenting Underwriter of WNO.

WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.

WNO's Presenting Sponsor

Don Carlo is a production of the Clarice Smith Opera Series.

Additional support for Don Carlo is provided by The Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts.

The Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program is made possible through the generous support of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, with additional funding provided by Judy and Billy Cox, Robert and Lynn Downing, Carl M. Freeman Foundation, Virginia McGehee Friend, Susan Carmel Lehrman, John & Mary Lee Malcolm, Michael F. and Noémi K. Neidorff and The Centene Charitable Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey P. Pohanka,  Dr. Arthur and Mrs. Robin Sagoskin, Mr. Alan J. Savada and Mr. Will Stevenson, Dr. and Mrs. Guillermo Schultz, Mr. and Mrs. Michael R. Sonnenreich, Washington National Opera Council, and The Women’s Committee of Washington National Opera.

This performance is made possible by the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts.

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Americans leave large cities for suburban areas and rural towns (The Hill) A combination of the coronavirus pandemic, economic uncertainty, and social unrest is prompting waves of Americans to move from large cities and permanently relocate to more sparsely populated areas. The trend has been accelerated by technology and shifting attitudes that make it easier than ever to work remotely. Residents of all ages and incomes are moving in record numbers to suburban areas and small towns. A perfect storm of factors makes the decision to leave major cities like New York very obvious. The dense nature of urban living and the lack of proper local government planning led to the coronavirus spreading five times faster in New York than the rest of the country. The city that never sleeps now resembles a ghost town in many areas after thousands of its wealthy and middle class residents fled early in the pandemic. An estimated quarter of a million New York residents will move upstate for good, while another two million could permanently move out of the state. More than 16,000 New York residents have already relocated to suburban Connecticut. The preliminary figures show New York is also losing citizens to rural New England and Florida in significant numbers. Similar trends are happening in other large urban areas. There is a political element within the domestic migration at play across the nation, but what is more telling is the level of movement to suburban areas and rural towns.

Chicago Gun Violence Spikes and Increasingly Finds the Youngest Victims (NYT) As Yasmin Miller drove home from a laundromat in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood last weekend, a gunman in another car peppered her red Hyundai sedan with bullets, grazing her head and striking her son, Sincere Gaston, in the chest. Sincere died in his car seat. He was 20 months old. On June 20, a man fired gunshots through the back of a dark blue SUV, wounding the 27-year-old man driving and hitting his stepson, Mekhi James, in the back, killing him. Mekhi was three. Two other girls, both aged three, were hospitalized with gunshot wounds in separate incidents in recent days. These were just the toddlers. In all, nine children under 18 have been killed since June 20 as Chicago reels from another wave of gun violence. “The Windy City is becoming the Bloody City,” said the Rev. Michael L. Pfleger of Saint Sabina Church, calling it the worst period in the 45 years he has worked on social issues. Defenders of the police say that the violence shows they need more support, not less. Critics say it shows how deeply residents distrust officers and why cities should transfer funds to address underlying problems, including unemployment and mental illness.

Coronavirus mutation more infectious? (Houston Chronicle) Evidence is growing that a mutated coronavirus strain, the main one circulating in the Houston area, is more contagious than the original virus in China. Two new research papers show that the newer strain is more transmissible, a possibility first suggested by a team of scientists in May. At the time, that suggestion was considered highly speculative by many scientists, including some in Houston. “A summary of the data thus far suggests that this strain has gained a fitness advantage over the original and is more transmissible as a result,” said Joseph Petrosino, Baylor College of Medicine chair of molecular virology and microbiology. “It is safe to say this version is more infectious.”

Die in detention or at home? U.S. pandemic forces cruel choice on asylum seekers (Reuters) In early June, asylum seeker Jose Munoz decided it was time to flee for his life—by getting deported from a Texas immigration detention center where coronavirus was sweeping through the population and going home to El Salvador. As the number of COVID-19 cases rose in the Houston Contract Detention Facility—it has had at least 105, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data—Munoz said he had few ways to protect himself from exposure. Months earlier, the Salvadoran student had sought asylum in the United States after he says he was attacked for refusing to transport drugs for a gang, which he declined to name, citing concerns for his safety. But by June, he feared his life was hanging in the balance, knowing that the next ruling in his asylum case would be months away if he chose to keep fighting. “I felt like it was more dangerous than back in my country,” he said in a telephone interview last month from El Salvador. Reuters spoke to more than 30 lawyers, immigration advocates, detainees and their family members who said the risks of contracting COVID-19 inside detention facilities have driven people to seek deportation.

Dominican Republic votes for new president (Foreign Policy) Luis Abinader is expected to win the presidency the Dominican Republic, breaking a 16 year grip on power by the ruling Dominican Liberation Party. Preliminary counts show Abinader with 53 percent of the vote and his rival Gonzalo Castillo with 37 percent. Abinader is an economist known for his work in the country’s tourist industry and has not held political office before. He contracted the coronavirus during his presidential campaign and has since recovered.

To Buy a Drink in This Border Town, Make Sure You’re in England (NYT) In normal times, no one takes much notice of the invisible border between England and Wales that runs through Llanymynech, a village with a post office, a church and no fewer than three pubs. But the Anglo-Welsh frontier, fought over in earlier centuries, has once again become a contested front line, this time for British drinkers. England allowed restaurants, cafes and bars to reopen on Saturday, meaning two pubs in Llanymynech could serve customers again after more than 100 days of coronavirus lockdown. Less than 100 yards away, on the Welsh side of the village, the Dolphin Inn remained firmly shuttered, in line with Welsh government rules delaying pub openings until July 13—and then allowing drinking only in gardens or other outdoor spaces. The ruling has thrust the village into the media spotlight, reminding residents of the existence of an administrative border—more like a state line than an international frontier with passport checkpoints—that scythes through their village, even cutting through one building, and then snakes away through the surrounding countryside.

40 dead in Japan floods, as more areas warned of heavy rain (AP) The death toll from three days of heavy rain and flooding in southern Japan has risen to 40, including 14 who drowned at a riverside nursing home, as rescuers search for 10 missing people and rain threatens wider areas of the main island of Kyushu.

U.S. Navy carriers conduct South China Sea drills as Chinese ships watch (Reuters) Two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers are conducting exercises in the contested South China Sea within sight of Chinese naval vessels spotted near the flotilla, the commander of one of the carriers, the USS Nimitz, told Reuters on Monday. The U.S. Navy has brought carriers together for such shows of force in the region in the past, but this year’s drill comes amid heightened tension as the United States criticises China over its novel coronavirus response and accuses it of taking advantage of the pandemic to push territorial claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere. The Pentagon, when it announced the dual carrier exercise, said it wanted to “stand up for the right of all nations to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows”, describing its 100,000-ton ships and the 90 or so aircraft they each carry as a “symbol of resolve”.

Australia to shut state border as Melbourne infections surge (AP) Australian authorities were preparing to close the border between the country’s two largest states, as the country’s second-largest city, Melbourne, recorded two deaths and its highest-ever daily increase in infections on Monday. The border between the states of New South Wales—home to Sydney—and Victoria—home to Melbourne—is due to be shut late Tuesday. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian was a critic of states that closed their borders to her state when Sydney had Australia’s largest number of coronavirus cases. But she said she changed her stance because the situation in Melbourne was unprecedented and indicated the pandemic was in a new phase.

Egypt arrests doctors, silences critics over virus outbreak (AP) A doctor arrested after writing an article about Egypt’s fragile health system. A pharmacist picked up from work after posting online about a shortage of protective gear. An editor taken from his home after questioning official coronavirus figures. A pregnant doctor arrested after a colleague used her phone to report a suspected coronavirus case. As Egyptian authorities fight the swelling coronavirus outbreak, security agencies have tried to stifle criticism about the handling of the health crisis by the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. At least 10 doctors and six journalists have been arrested since the virus first hit Egypt in February, according to rights groups. Other health workers say they have been warned by administrators to keep quiet or face punishment. One foreign correspondent has fled the country, fearing arrest, and another two have been summoned for reprimand over “professional violations.” Coronavirus infections are surging in the country of 100 million, threatening to overwhelm hospitals. As of Monday, the Health Ministry had recorded 76,253 infections, including 3,343 deaths—the highest death toll in the Arab world. El-Sissi has said the virus’s trajectory was “reassuring” and described critics as “enemies of the state.”

Africa starts opening airspace even as COVID-19 cases climb (AP) As COVID-19 cases surged in many parts of the world, the island nation of the Seychelles was looking good: 70-plus straight days without a single infection. Then the planes arrived. Two chartered Air Seychelles flights carrying more than 200 passengers also brought the coronavirus. A few tested positive. Then, between June 24 and 30, the country’s confirmed cases shot from 11 to 81. Now the Indian Ocean nation has delayed reopening for commercial flights for its lucrative tourism industry until Aug. 1, if all goes well. African nations face a difficult choice as infections are rapidly rising: Welcome the international flights that originally brought COVID-19 to the ill-prepared continent, or further hurt their economies and restrict a lifeline for badly needed humanitarian aid. “This is a very important moment,” the World Health Organization’s Africa chief, Matshidiso Moeti, told reporters on Thursday, a day after Egypt reopened its airports for the first time in more than three months. Other countries are preparing to follow. That’s even as Africa had more than 463,000 confirmed virus cases as of Sunday and South Africa, its most developed economy, already struggles to care for COVID-19 patients. But Africa’s economies are sick, too, its officials say. The continent faces its first recession in a quarter-century and has lost nearly $55 billion in the travel and tourism sectors in the past three months, the African Union says. Airlines alone have lost about $8 billion and some might not survive.

[biofunmy]

How Chase Bank Chairman Helped the Deposed Shah of Iran Enter the U.S.

One late fall evening 40 years ago, a worn-out white Gulfstream II jet descended over Fort Lauderdale, Fla., carrying a regal but sickly passenger almost no one was expecting.

Crowded aboard were a Republican political operative, a retinue of Iranian military officers, four smelly and hyperactive dogs and Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the newly deposed shah of Iran.

Yet as the jet touched down, the only one waiting to receive the deposed monarch was a senior executive of Chase Manhattan Bank, which had not only lobbied the White House to admit the former shah but had arranged visas for his entourage, searched out private schools and mansions for his family and helped arrange the Gulfstream to deliver him.

“The Eagle has landed,” Joseph V. Reed Jr., the chief of staff to the bank’s chairman, David Rockefeller, declared in a celebratory meeting at the bank the next morning.

Less than two weeks later, on Nov. 4, 1979, vowing revenge for the admission of the shah to the United States, revolutionary Iranian students seized the American Embassy in Tehran and then held more than 50 Americans — and Washington — hostage for 444 days.

The shah, Washington’s closest ally in the Persian Gulf, had fled Tehran in January 1979 in the face of a burgeoning uprising against his 38 years of iron-fisted rule. Liberals, leftists and religious conservatives were rallying against him. Strikes and demonstrations had shut down Tehran, and his security forces were losing control.

The shah sought refuge in America. But President Jimmy Carter, hoping to forge ties to the new government rising out of the chaos and concerned about the security of the United States Embassy in Tehran, refused him entry for the first 10 months of his exile. Even then, the White House only begrudgingly let him in for medical treatment.

Now, a newly disclosed secret history from the offices of Mr. Rockefeller shows in vivid detail how Chase Manhattan Bank and its well-connected chairman worked behind the scenes to persuade the Carter administration to admit the shah, one of the bank’s most profitable clients.

For Mr. Carter, for the United States and for the Middle East it was an incendiary decision.

The ensuing hostage crisis enabled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to consolidate his theocratic rule, started a four-decade conflict between Washington and Tehran that is still roiling the region and helped Ronald Reagan take the White House. To American policymakers, Iran became a parable about the political perils in the fall of a friendly strongman.

Although Mr. Carter complained publicly at the time about the pressure campaign, the full, behind-the-scenes story — laid out in the recently disclosed documents — has never been told.

Mr. Rockefeller’s team called the campaign Project Eagle, after the code name used for the shah. Exploiting clubby networks of power stretching deep into the White House, Mr. Rockefeller mobilized a phalanx of elder statesmen.

They included Henry A. Kissinger, the former secretary of state and the chairman of a Chase advisory board; John J. McCloy, the former commissioner of occupied Germany after World War II and an adviser to eight presidents as well as a future Chase chairman; a Chase executive and former C.I.A. agent, Archibald B. Roosevelt Jr., whose cousin, the C.I.A. agent Kermit Roosevelt Jr., had orchestrated a 1953 coup to keep the shah in power; and Richard M. Helms, a former director of the C.I.A. and former ambassador to Iran.

Charles Francis, a veteran of corporate public affairs who worked for Chase at the time, brought the documents to the attention of The Times.

“Today’s corporate campaigns are demolition derbies compared to this operation,” he said. “It was smooth, smooth, smooth and almost entirely invisible.”

Records of Project Eagle were donated to Yale by Mr. Reed, the campaign’s director. But he deemed the material so potentially embarrassing to his patron that Mr. Reed, who died in 2016, stipulated that the records remain sealed until Mr. Rockefeller’s death. Mr. Rockefeller died in 2017 at the age of 101.

Some of the information may embarrass others as well. Hawkish critics have often faulted Mr. Carter as worrying too much about human rights and thus failing to prop up the shah.

But the papers reveal that the president’s special envoy to Iran had actually urged the country’s generals to use as much deadly force as needed to suppress the revolt, advising them about how to carry out a military takeover to keep the shah in power.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Carter did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for Mr. Carter at the time of the crisis was not immediately available.

After the hostages were taken, the Carter administration worked desperately to try to free the captives, and on April 24, 1980, authorized a rescue mission that collapsed in disaster: A helicopter crash in the desert killed eight service members, whose charred bodies were gleefully exhibited by Iranian officials.

The hostage crisis doomed Mr. Carter’s presidency. And the team around Mr. Rockefeller, a lifelong Republican with a dim view of Mr. Carter’s dovish foreign policy, collaborated closely with the Reagan campaign in its efforts to pre-empt and discourage what it derisively labeled an “October surprise” — a pre-election release of the American hostages, the papers show.

The Chase team helped the Reagan campaign gather and spread rumors about possible payoffs to win the release, a propaganda effort that Carter administration officials have said impeded talks to free the captives.

“I had given my all” to thwarting any effort by the Carter officials “to pull off the long-suspected ‘October surprise,’” Mr. Reed wrote in a letter to his family after the election, apparently referring to the Chase effort to track and discourage a hostage release deal. He was later named Mr. Reagan’s ambassador to Morocco.

Mr. Rockefeller then personally lobbied the incoming administration to ensure that its Iran policies protected the bank’s financial interests.

The records indicate that Mr. Rockefeller hoped for the restoration of a version of the deposed government.

At the start of the Iranian upheaval, the papers show, Mr. Kissinger advised Mr. Rockefeller that the probable conclusion would be “a sort of Bonapartist counterrevolution that rallies the pro-Western elements together with what was left of the army.”

Mr. Kissinger, in a recent email, acknowledged that the prediction “reflects my thinking at the time” but said “it was a judgment, not a policy proposal.”

But Mr. Rockefeller evidently continued to advocate for some form of restoration long after the shah fled Tehran.

As late as December 1980, Mr. Rockefeller personally urged the incoming Reagan administration to encourage a counterrevolution by stopping “rug merchant type bargaining” for the hostages and instead taking military action to punish Iran if the hostages were not released. He suggested occupying three Iranian-controlled islands in the Persian Gulf.

“The most likely outcome of this situation is an eventual replacement of the present fanatic Shiite Muslim government, either by a military one or a combination of the military with the civilian democratic leaders,” Mr. Rockefeller argued, according to his talking points for meetings with the Reagan transition team.

An heir to his family’s oil fortune, Mr. Rockefeller styled himself a corporate statesman and personally knew many White House officials, including Mr. Carter. He had known the shah since 1962, socializing with him in New York, Tehran and St. Moritz, Switzerland.

As Tehran’s coffers swelled with oil revenues in the 1970s, Chase formed a joint venture with an Iranian state bank and earned big fees advising the national oil company.

By 1979, the bank had syndicated more than $1.7 billion in loans for Iranian public projects (the equivalent of about $5.8 billion today). The Chase balance sheet held more than $360 million in loans to Iran and more than $500 million in Iranian deposits.

Mr. Rockefeller often insisted that his concern for the shah was purely about Washington’s “prestige and credibility.” It was about “the abandonment of a friend when he needed us most,” he wrote in his memoirs.

His only advocacy for the shah, Mr. Rockefeller wrote, had been in a brief aside to Mr. Carter during an unrelated White House meeting in April 1979.

“I did nothing more, publicly or privately, to influence the administration’s thinking.”

Yet the Project Eagle papers show that Mr. Rockefeller received detailed updates on the risks to Chase’s holdings, and that even his aside to Mr. Carter in April had been planned out the previous day with Mr. Reed, Mr. McCloy and Mr. Kissinger.

Over lunch at the Knickerbocker Club in New York, Mr. Carter’s special envoy to Tehran, Gen. Robert E. Huyser, told the Project Eagle team that he had urged Iran’s top military leaders to kill as many demonstrators as necessary to keep the shah in power.

If shooting over the heads of demonstrators failed to disperse them, “move to focusing on the chests,” General Huyser said he told the Iranian generals, according to minutes of the lunch. “I got stern and noisy with the military,” he added, but in the end, the top general was “gutless.”

Mr. Rockefeller had his own special envoy to try to help the shah: Robert F. Armao, a Republican operative and public relations consultant who had worked for Mr. Rockefeller’s brother Nelson, the former governor of New York and former vice president.

Mr. Armao became one of the shah’s closest advisers, and after Nelson Rockefeller died at the start of 1979, he reported to the Project Eagle team at Chase nearly every day for more than two years.

“Everybody had the hope that there would be a repeat of the 1953 events,” Mr. Armao recalled recently, referring to the American-backed coup that restored the shah the first time he fled.

When the shah’s rule became untenable at the start of 1979, the State Department first turned to David Rockefeller for help relocating the Iranian monarch in the United States.

“Not large enough for my very special client,” Mr. Reed wrote to a Greenwich, Conn., broker who had offered two estates priced at around $2 million each — about $7.4 million today.

But while the shah tarried in Egypt and Morocco, an Iranian mob briefly seized the American Embassy in February. Diplomats warned that admitting the shah risked another assault, and Mr. Carter changed his mind about offering haven.

Mr. Rockefeller refused to deliver this bad news to the shah, afraid that it would hurt the bank by alienating a prized client.

“The risks were too high relating to the CMB position in Iran,” he responded, referring to Chase Manhattan Bank, according to the records.

Instead, Mr. Rockefeller scrambled to find accommodations elsewhere — first in the Bahamas, and then in Mexico — while strategizing with Mr. Kissinger, Mr. McCloy and others about how to persuade the White House to let in the shah.

During a three-day push in April, Mr. Kissinger made a personal appeal to the national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and a follow-up phone call to Mr. Carter. Mr. Rockefeller buttonholed the president at the White House.

And in a speech, Mr. Kissinger publicly accused the Carter administration of forcing a loyal ally to sail the world in search of refuge, “like a flying Dutchman looking for a port of call” — the seed of what became a “who lost Iran” campaign theme for the Republicans.

Mr. McCloy flooded the White House with lengthy letters to senior officials, often arguing about the danger of demoralizing other “friendly sovereigns.” “Dear Zbig,” he addressed his old friend Mr. Brzezinski.

Finally, in October, Mr. Reed sent his personal doctor to Cuernavaca, Mexico, “to take a ‘look-see’” at the shah.

He had been hiding a cancer diagnosis. The doctor, Benjamin H. Kean, determined that the shah needed sophisticated treatment within a few weeks — in Mexico, if necessary, Dr. Kean later said he had concluded.

But when Mr. Reed put the doctor in touch with State Department officials, they came away with a different prognosis: that the shah was “at the point of death” and that only a New York hospital “was capable of possibly saving his life,” as Mr. Carter described it at the time to The Times.

With that opening, the Chase team began preparing the flight to Fort Lauderdale.

“When I told the Customs man who the principal was, he almost fainted,” the waiting executive, Eugene Swanzey, reported the next morning.

The plane’s bathroom was malfunctioning. The shah and his wife hunted in vain for a missing videocassette to finish a movie. And their four dogs — a poodle, a collie, a cocker spaniel and a Great Dane — jumped on everyone. The Great Dane “hadn’t been washed in weeks,” Mr. Swanzey said. “The aroma was just terrible.”

When Mr. Reed met the plane on its final arrival in New York, he recalled the next day, the shah seemed to be thinking, “‘At last I am getting into competent hands.’”

But as he checked the shah into New York Hospital, Mr. Reed was circumspect.

“I am the unidentified American,” he told the inquisitive staff.

Mr. Reed, Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Kissinger met again three days after the hostages were taken.

“Noted was the feeling of indignation as being high and nothing useful to say,” read the minutes.

The White House said the shah had to depart as soon as possible, but Project Eagle continued.

“The ideal place for the Eagle to land,” Mr. Reed wrote to Mr. Armao on Nov. 9, forwarding a brochure for a 350-acre Hudson Valley estate.

A week later, Mr. Rockefeller personally urged Mr. Carter in a phone call to direct the secretary of state to meet with the shah about “the current situation.” Mr. Carter did not and the shah soon departed, for Panama, then Egypt.

Only after the death of the shah, on July 27, 1980, nine months after his landing in Fort Lauderdale, did the Project Eagle team shift to new objectives. One was protecting Mr. Rockefeller from blame for the crisis.

Over roast loin of veal and vintage wine at the exclusive River Club in New York, Mr. Rockefeller and nine others on the team gathered on Aug. 19. Amid discussion of a laudatory biography of the shah by a Berkeley professor that the team had commissioned, some warned that a Rockefeller link to the embassy seizure would be hard to escape.

Why was the shah admitted? “Medical treatment/DR recommended,” one said, using Mr. Rockefeller’s initials, according to minutes of the dinner. “This association cannot be ignored.”

But Mr. Kissinger was reassuring. Congress would never hold an investigation during an election campaign.

“I don’t think we are in trouble any more, David,” Mr. Kissinger told him.

The hostages were released on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 1981, and a few days later Mr. Carter’s departing White House counsel called Mr. Rockefeller to inquire about how the release deal affected Chase bank.

“Worked out very well,” Mr. Rockefeller told him, according to his records. “Far better than we had feared.”

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[poetryofchrist]

Yod

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[louisvillerealpropertymanag-blog]

Moving to Louisville KY? 10 Reasons Why You'll Love it Here!

1. Great Food in Louisville KY

If you're planning on relocating to the Louisville area, you are sure to find some great food. There are many local Louisville restaurants that have so much to offer. A wide range of selections to choose from around the city. Enjoy everything from Kentucky home-style traditional cooking to French cuisine, Italian, Mediterranean and much more. With over 2500 restaurants; Louisville fine dining is becoming one of the ideal destinations for foodies around the US. The city has even been named one of the Top Five "foodiest" small cities in America by Bon Appétit magazine.

FUN FACT: Kaelin's Restaurant in Louisville KY claims to be the original inventor of the Cheeseburger.

2. Must Visit Louisville Parks

Frederick Law Olmsted came to Kentucky around the 1890s to take part in the Louisville Park system. An architect responsible for creating Central Park in New York. Olmsted's vision was to bring nature into the neighborhoods creating some of the best parks in Louisville. There are more than 120 public parks in the metro area alone.

Here is a glimpse at some of the popular parks in the Louisville area.

Cherokee Park

Cherokee Park is found in the Highlands neighborhood of the East End of Louisville. Being one of the most popular parks in the metro area. There is a 2.4 mile scenic Loop, a fenced dog park, and even a bird sanctuary. Cherokee Park is one of the 50 most visited parks in the United States.

Iroquois Park

Known for its panoramic views with over 730 acres, a large open-air amphitheater, and even a popular golf course. Iroquois Park attracts many visitors from hikers, runners, and cyclist. Iroquois Park is a great place for family outings and picnics when living in Louisville. A park with amazing views throughout the year.

The Parklands of Floyds Fork

The Parklands of Floyds Fork has acquired close to 4,000 acres of new parkland. Working with the Louisville Metro government and other nonprofit organization, this new park system is rapidly becoming one of the most popular parks in the Louisville metro area. The park has many different features, including a dog run, a splash park, canoeing & paddling, mountain biking, playgrounds and much more.

3. Local Live Entertainment in Louisville

If you are relocating to Louisville you'll want to be sure and head downtown to experience some of the many different styles of music throughout the city of Louisville. There are many different clubs in the city that host live music. You will find that there is live entertainment to enjoy almost every night of the week.

Below is a list of some of the most popular festivals that are held on an annual basis here in the Possibility City.

FEBRUARY

Musique Romantique - Louisville Chorus at the Seelbach during Valentine’s dinner.

MARCH

Itchin’ to Pick – A weekend-long bluegrass jam session held at the Galt House.

APRIL

Kentucky Derby Festival Fest-a-Ville - Outdoor music festival of various genres on the Waterfront.

GonzoFest – Various locations and concerts happening around Louisville.

MAY

Abbey Road on the River - Memorial Day Weekend at Belvedere Park, largest Beatles tribute festival in America.

Kentucky Reggae Festival – Memorial Day Weekend at the Louisville Water Tower.

JUNE

Americana World Festival – a Multicultural celebration held at the Iroquois Amphitheatre.

VinylFest – Weekend of experiencing and celebrating vinyl record collecting and music at the Crowne Plaza.

Kentuckiana Pride Festival – Celebration for the LGBT community and its allies on the Belvedere.

JULY

Waterfront Independence Festival – Fourth of July party featuring concerts, fireworks and more.

Forecastle Festival - Named one of the top 101 things to do in America by SPIN Magazine.

Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival – Local BBQ and the music of New Orleans and Memphis at the Louisville Water Tower.

Kentucky Music Weekend - largest traditional and folk music festival in the region held at Iroquois Amphitheatre.

AUGUST

Kentucky State Fair – Features free and paid concerts from multiple genres and national acts.

WorldFest – Celebration of world cultures held at the Belvedere over Labor Day weekend.

SEPTEMBER

Kentucky Bluegrass & Bourbon Experience – Live bluegrass, burgoo, barbecue, and bourbon.

Louisville Irish Fest- Live Irish and Celtic music and Irish dancers at Bellarmine University.

National Jug Band Jubilee - Gathering of the nation's best jug bands.

Louisville Music Awards – Celebration of local music held at Headliners Music Hall.

NuluFest – Street festival is the official after-party of IdeaFestival.

OCTOBER

Garvin Gate Blues Festival - Largest free neighborhood street music festival in Louisville.

Belknap Fall Festival – Great food, live music and local artists at a street festival off of Douglass Loop in the Highlands neighborhood.

DECEMBER

Give a Jam to End Homelessness – Local musicians and chefs come together to raise money for the Coalition for the Homeless.

FUN FACT: Patty & Mildred Hill of Louisville KY wrote the most recognized song in the English Language "Happy Birthday to You".

4. Louisville is Known for its Bourbon!

Did you know that Louisville is responsible for 95% of the world's supply of Bourbon? Kentucky is well-known worldwide as the birthplace of Bourbon. When moving to Louisville, be sure to learn all about the history of Bourbon in the Bluegrass state by visiting the many different tours around the city and embark in the historical heritage of Kentucky's past roots. Visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

In 1964 Congress declared Bourbon, America's only native spirit. There is a very strict guideline for a whiskey to be considered Bourbon. The drink shall be a minimum of 51 percent corn, aged in charred new oak barrels, stored at no more than 125 proof and bottled no less than 80 proof.

"Bourbon is kinda like whiskey's sweet spot"

Collect Your Bourbon Stamps

Many locals and out-of-towners take a trip down the Urban Bourbon Trail and experience the taste of more than 50 different Kentucky Spirits and collect stamps along the way as a souvenir.

5. Louisville's Weather is kinda...Crazy!

Many people ask when moving to Louisville. "What's the weather Like?" Louisville's Weather has four distinct seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. An average temperature in most parts of Kentucky for the summer is 88 degrees but there are many days in the summer where temperatures can easily exceed the upper 90's or even into the 100's.

As for the winter months...the average temperature is 37 degrees. At times the temperature can even drop below zero. March is typically the wettest month of the year and October tends to be the driest month of the year. If you visit Louisville in the Summer months, be sure to bring the right clothes. It can be very hot and humid at times.

Allergies?

One downside to living in Louisville and the local weather...is that majority of the people that live here, tend to suffer from allergies. Living in the 'Ohio Valley' you may be one of the ones that will experience this as well. Running nose, itchy eyes, and sneezing will become the norm during these Spring and Fall months if you suffer from seasonal allergies.

6. Louisville is known for College Basketball

If you are moving to the Louisville area, you will definitely learn that College basketball is a hot topic around town. Louisville is towards the top of the list of CBS 'Best in College Sports'. You will learn fairly quickly that you will have to pick one or the other to cheer for.

With the history of both teams and their success, no matter which one you choose will be a great pick. The great excitement stems from the rivalry between these two teams. Louisville Cardinals and the Kentucky Wildcats will always be a highly debated conversation. This in-state rivalry can be easily compared to the Duke and North Carolina rivalry.

7. Kentucky Derby - A Great Reason to Move to Louisville

Dating back to the late 1700's horse racing has been part of the state of Kentucky. But it wasn't until 1875 when they opened the doors to Churchill Downs. Home of the Kentucky Derby, the fastest two minutes in sports and also home to the Kentucky Oaks. Always on the list for things to do in Louisville, Kentucky.

"the fastest two-minutes in sports"

Churchill Downs was designed by Joseph Dominic and built in 1895; the twin spires are the most recognizable feature of the racetrack. As of today, Churchill Downs holds the record for the longest-running, continuous sporting event in the United States.

FUN FACT: Thunder Over Louisville is the Largest Annual Firework display in America.

8. Home of the Louisville Slugger

Hillerich & Bradley Co. moved into the new headquarters of Louisville Slugger in 1996 off of West Main Street in downtown Louisville. One of the city's most popular attractions, Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory where they continue to custom make many professional baseball players bats. The museum can be easily spotted by the "Worlds Largest Baseball Bat" that sits out front. Made from steel, weighing 68,000 pounds and over 120 feet tall. One of the many reasons why over millions of people have visited the museum.

FUN FACT: Standing at 120 feet tall in front of the Louisville Slugger Museum is considered to be the Worlds Largest Bat.

9. Living in Louisville KY = Convenient Location

One reason why people love living in Louisville KY is because of its convenient location. The average drive to work is under 25 minutes. Louisville is within a day's drive of two-thirds of the U.S. population. With the addition of the new East End Bridge near Prospect, we expect a better flow of traffic and more convenient travels around the Greater Louisville area.

With the great location, homeowners have benefited from the rising home prices because of the encouraging pace of growth around the city. Newcomers can quickly take advantage of the affordable home prices around town as well.

10. Great Neighborhoods in Louisville KY

[wavenetinfo]

At least 58 people are missing and presumed dead from the massive fire that engulfed a residential high-rise building in London earlier this week, police said on Saturday.

This latest figure includes the 30 people already confirmed dead; 16 of those bodies are being held in a mortuary, including one person who died after being transported to a local hospital. The others have been recovered from the scorched structure, according to Metropolitan Police Service Commander Stuart Cundy.

“The figure of 58 are those who are missing and that we have to presume are dead,” Cundy said at a news conference in London Saturday afternoon. “It might be that some of those are safe and well, but for whatever reason have not reached [out] to let us know. Again, I would urge them if that is you, I don’t care the reason, please, please contact us.”

Cundy said the Metropolitan Police Service has formally identified one of the victims who died in the June 14 blaze as 23-year-old Mohammad Alhajali, a resident of the apartment building in the West London neighborhood of North Kensington. Alhajali and his brothers fled their home in Daraa, Syria, due to the ongoing civil war and moved to London in 2014.

“Mohammad was a very amazing and kind person. He gave love to everyone. He came to the U.K. because he had ambitions and aims for his life and for his family. Our whole family will miss Mohammad dearly and he will never be forgotten. To God we belong and to him we return,” Alhajali’s family said in a statement released by police.

Courtesy Metropolitan Police Service

Mohammad Alhajali, 23, has been identified as one of the victims who died in a fire at a residential high-rise building in London, June 14, 2017.

Although the flames have now been extinguished, Cundy said rescuers don’t expect to find any survivors inside the building at this point.

Investigators believe the fire started at around 1 a.m. local time Wednesday on the fourth floor of the 24-story Grenfell Tower. The London Fire Brigade dispatched more than 200 firefighters, at least 40 fire engines and about 20 ambulance crews in an effort to battle the inferno.

It took nearly two hours to gain control of the conflagration, according to fire officials.

“This is an unprecedented incident,” London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton told reporters Wednesday night. “In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never, ever seen anything of this scale.”

The Metropolitan Police Service, which is leading the ongoing investigation, believes it has identified the origin of the fire, which so far does not appear to have been intentional. The exact cause of the fire is still unknown.

In addition to those killed, the blaze injured at least 74 people. As of Saturday afternoon, 19 remain hospitalized, with 10 in critical condition, according to police.

It’s unclear exactly how many residents were inside the building at the time. But the tower, built in 1974, contained 120 apartments, according to its management company, the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization.

Cundy has said that the ongoing operation to recover and identify all victims is a complex process, and some may never be identified.

“The conditions inside Grenfell Tower mean that the search-and-recovery operation to find and recover the victims is extremely challenging. The upper floors of the block are particularly hazardous due to the damage caused by the fire. The sad reality is that this work will take some time, stretching into many, many weeks,” the police commander said at a news conference Friday afternoon.

“Sadly, the nature of injuries caused by such an intense fire will mean the identification process will take some time. But it would also be deeply distressing for families for us to release wrong information,” he added.

The fire has left the building almost completely charred, and there were concerns about the tower’s structural integrity, as it appeared to lean slightly to one side.

Search-and-recovery efforts were paused on Friday over safety concerns, but resumed Saturday afternoon, police said.

At the news conference Saturday afternoon, Cundy reiterated that the time it will take to find and recover victims will be “significant.”

“Both myself and colleagues from London Fire Brigade have already said it will take weeks. It may take longer than that. My commitment to families is that as soon as we can, we will locate and recover their loved ones,” he told reporters. “The reason we had to pause the search and recovery yesterday was for the safety of our staff. We do not want another fatality arising out of this tragedy.”

Following a meeting of the Grenfell Tower task-force on Saturday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that a “London-wide local authority recovery operation” was established Friday in response to the devastating fire.

Khan said people were frustrated by the lack of information about the missing and the dead, as well as a lack of coordination between support services. Residents who survived the tower blaze lost everything and have no idea where they are going to live, or how they will get back on their feet.

“The government must ensure the recovery operation receives all resources and expertise they need,” Khan said in a statement posted to Facebook. “I have stressed to the task-force the need for local residents and the wider public to be provided with as much information as possible and for there to be maximum transparency.”

The move comes after Khan wrote an open letter to U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, who chairs the task-force, saying people were frustrated by the lack of information about the victims, as well as a lack of coordination between support services.

“The scale of this tragedy is clearly proving too much for the local authority to cope with on their own,” the mayor said in his open letter to the prime minister.

After meeting with survivors of the fire on Friday, May announced a 5 million pound ($6.4 million) fund to help them in their plight. The fund includes a guarantee to rehouse Grenfell Tower residents as close as possible to where they previously lived.

The Conservative Party leader has been criticized for failing to meet with survivors of the fire on her first visit to the site earlier this week.

ABC News’ Rashid Haddou, Joshua Hoyos and Joseph Simonetti contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.

17 June 2017 | 7:59 pm

Source : ABC News

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