#dominion loan

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Strength Unimpaired!” Kingston Whig-Standard. October 31, 1932. Page 9. --- A Mountie rides a horse marked New Dominion Loan - a cartoon celebrating the passage of a new loan to shore up Canada’s shattered economy and government.

[blackthornwren]

Incantation Magic

(Just some thoughts, not meant to be comprehensive, barely even coherent)

Incantatory magic to me is an elegant simplicity of words strung together in order to commend oneself to the protection and favor of divinity. The appeal to the spirits is a call to come forth, to guard the petitioner. The words themselves build around the caster as an armor - the words tell a story and, in the telling of it, makes story come to life by mimicking the events in the present time; a sort of microcosm, macrocosm effect. By telling the stories of the spirits (Christian or not), the speaker is viewed literally as calling down the essences, the spirits, of those same stories - seen as very real and independent beings with their own agency and arsenal - to enact upon themselves. Therefore, if the gods hold divine weapons and armor, the petitioner calls upon the gods to loan them the use or power of such instruments of fortitude and protection.

Healing magics by way of incantation weave similar stories to different effect. A charm might tell the story of an injury and how a god or spirit (often a saint) cured it. In this instance, the caster is asking to be loaned the same ability - essentially letting that spirit guide their hands to undertake the healing in the same way that spirit once did. Another form uses the stories of magical items, similar to the lorica (breastplate). The item's story is told and mimicking actions may take place during the recitation to pull on the power of the item itself and its history.

Incantatory storytelling is also used to drive out spirits that may be harmful, banishing them. In this case, the caster uses scenarios in their story that are either "impossible" or hearken to specific realms of spirits, place locations. Either way, it serves the purpose of sending it back or sending it away to a place that either doesn't exist or that cannot be escaped from (the impossibility, the non-existence, creates a perfect trap). By impossibility, it's not just a place that does not exist but also specific scenarios that would never happen. For example, in order for that spirit to be released a condition would need to be met that could never be met. It would be released on a date that would never occur, or under a circumstance that could never happen.

The storytelling aspect of incantation lends history and credence, adding weight to the words. Naming the gods or spirits involved is an immediate way to connect to them, to garner their interest, to appeal for their aid, and to put some of their power to the words being spoken and it's intended effect - if they decide to assist, that is.

"Apportioning" by incantation was used in similar fashion as the method of banishing I've described above, but by driving out the spirit of a sickness or the evil eye using a combination of various locations and repetition. The incantations would describe sending away the illness or spirit causing illness/misfortune to various places - a portion to the mountains, a portion to the rocks, a portion to the hills, a portion to the sea, and so on. By doing this, the purpose was to divide up the affliction or spirit and the "pieces" would be so many and so scattered, the malevolence would have no hope of ever reforming itself.

Symbolism within the words points to the powers ascribed to the being who is called upon for aid. Columkille portrayed as standing astride land and water denotes power over both land and sea. God being referred to as the King of Elements conveys his power as ultimate, dominion over all the elements and therefore, all else that falls under them. Charms calling upon Michael or Patrick evoke their strength, while Brigid and Mary are often called on for healing. Christ's baptism features in several healing charms meant to stop blood flow, and Christ himself is called upon by saints in healing charms - Peter's toothache, and Lucy's eyes. Brigid in particular is called for the protection of cattle and livestock but is also appealed to during childbirth as the midwife of Mary and foster-mother of Christ, and there may even have been a time when Brigid was appealed to as a healer of sight and eye-related injuries. As the spirit's regional folklore grew, so did their repertoire.

[evermoredeluxe]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/06/taylor-swift-jet-tracking-legal-threat/

By Drew Harwell

Taylor Swift’s attorneys have threatened legal action against a Florida college student who runs social media accounts tracking the flights of her and other celebrities’ private jets.

Jack Sweeney, a junior at the University of Central Florida, has for years run accounts that log the takeoffs and landings of planes and helicopters owned by hundreds of billionaires, politicians, Russian oligarchs and other public figures, along with estimates of their planet-warming emissions. The accounts use publicly available data from the Federal Aviation Administration and volunteer hobbyists who can track the aircraft via the signals they broadcast.

Sweeney’s accounts fueled a free-speech debate in late 2022 when X, formerly Twitter, banned Sweeney for sharing what the platform’s owner, Elon Musk, said were his “assassination coordinates.” The accounts don’t say who travels on the aircraft or where they go once the planes land.

In December, Swift’s attorney at the Washington law firm Venable wrote Sweeney a cease-and-desist letter saying Swift would “have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies” if he did not stop his “stalking and harassing behavior.”

Sweeney’s accounts had caused Swift and her family “direct and irreparable harm, as well as emotional and physical distress,” and had heightened her “constant state of fear for her personal safety,” the lawyer, Katie Wright Morrone, wrote, according to a copy of the letter sent to the home of Sweeney’s parents. Sweeney shared the letter with The Washington Post.

“While this may be a game to you, or an avenue that you hope will earn you wealth or fame, it is a life-or-death matter for our Client,” Morrone wrote. She added that there is “no legitimate interest in or public need for this information, other than to stalk, harass, and exert dominion and control.”

The pop star has routinely faced stalkers showing up outside her homes, Morrone wrote, and one man now faces stalking and harassment charges after being arrested last month outside her townhouse in Manhattan.

Asked whether Swift’s representatives knew of any evidence that stalkers had used the jet-tracking accounts, Tree Paine, a spokeswoman for Swift, said, “We cannot comment on any ongoing police investigation but can confirm the timing of stalkers suggests a connection. His posts tell you exactly when and where she would be.”

Sweeney, 21, told The Post he saw the letter as an attempt to scare him away from sharing public data. The accounts offer only an incomplete sketch of which cities Swift might currently be in, similar to the public schedules for her concerts or any NFL games she might attend, he said. And the letters, he added, were sent to him at a time when she faced criticism over her flights’ environmental impact.

“This information is already out there,” he said. “Her team thinks they can control the world.”

Private-jet flights are routinely criticized for their “disproportionately high” impact on climate change, and Sweeney’s accounts have often been used to name and shame their most famous passengers. In 2022, the accounts were cited in an analysis that estimated Swift was the “biggest celebrity [carbon dioxide] polluter” of the year.

Her publicist told The Post then that the analysis was flawed because her jet was often loaned out to other people. Paine told The Post on Monday that Swift bought more than double the “carbon credits” needed to offset her travel before her recent tour kicked off.

Around the time of the December letter, Facebook and Instagram disabled the accounts Sweeney had created to track Swift’s air travel, saying they broke the platforms’ privacy rules, he said. He began posting those updates onto accounts on Facebook and Instagram that he uses to log the travel of planes used by a range of stars, called Celeb Jets. Then, last month, Morrone sent a second letter saying his posts about Swift’s aircraft constituted “harassing conduct.”

The letters included the names of three other Venable attorneys experienced in litigation, including one who says on LinkedIn that she is the founding member of the firm’s “Digital Crisis Planning & Response client solution” and helps “high-profile individuals” manage crises of varying magnitude, such as “celebrity disgrace events.”

Morrone did not respond to requests for comment. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, also did not respond.

Planes in the sky regularly broadcast their locations via transponders so air traffic controllers and other pilots can see where they’re going. Anyone on the ground can pick up those signals using a cheap device, known as an ADS-B receiver, that is widely sold online.

The FAA allows plane owners to request their flights be hidden in the federal data that undergirds popular consumer flight-tracking websites, such as FlightAware. Swift’s jet appears to be blocked through such a request.

But many aviation hobbyists feed their raw data into independent websites, such as ADS-B Exchange, that those FAA requests do not cover. Criminal investigators, journalists and researchers have used those sites to look up historical flight paths or see who’s flying overhead.

Swift, Time magazine’s 2023 “person of the year,” made history Sunday as the only musician to win four best-album Grammy Awards, and her every movement is closely watched by paparazzi and superfans. Her “Eras Tour” last year was credited with boosting the local economies of every city she stopped in; one study cited by The Post estimated that “Swifties” spent about $93 million per show.

Her travel plans have drawn increased attention in recent weeks as she’s flown to watch her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, play for the Kansas City Chiefs, including from conservatives who have seized on the trips to criticize her.

They have also become a key point of interest for her fans, especially because her upcoming concert in Tokyo is just hours before Kelce’s scheduled Super Bowl appearance on Sunday in Las Vegas. Even Japan’s embassy in Washington recognized the public’s interest, posting on X last week, “Despite the 12-hour flight and 17-hour time difference, the Embassy can confidently Speak Now to say that … she should comfortably arrive” on time.

Sweeney’s accounts have in recent months tracked two jets that were owned by Nashville-based companies and registered to be operated by a Swift company called Firefly Entertainment, according to FAA documents. They do not track who travels on the planes or any other chartered flights.

Swift’s spokeswoman told The Post that “there is only one plane.” One of the planes previously tracked by Sweeney’s accounts, a Dassault Falcon 900, was marked in FAA records last week as being transferred to a real estate company. Each jet sells for about $25 million, according to brokerage estimates cited last month by The Post.

After X banned him and his accounts in December 2022, Sweeney opened new Facebook and Instagram accounts for Swift, former president Donald Trump, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, reality star Kim Kardashian and Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, among others. All of those accounts except for Swift’s remain online — including the accounts for Zuckerberg, who runs both sites. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Sweeney continues to post Swift jet updates to other platforms, including Bluesky, Mastodon and Telegram. To abide by X’s rule against real-time location tracking, he also created accounts that post Musk and Swift’s flight updates with a 24-hour delay.

The December letter from Swift’s attorney states that Sweeney’s actions are “in violation of several state laws” but does not specify them. The letter does, however, cite nine anonymous Instagram comments saying the account is “scary,” “pathetic,” “weird,” invasive” and “dangerous” “stalker behavior.”

The letter says Sweeney is “notorious for disregarding the personal safety of others in exchange for public attention and/or requests for financial gain” and cites a message he sent to Musk in 2021, during which he countered Musk’s $5,000 offer to delete the Musk-jet account with a suggestion of $50,000, as first reported by the now-defunct tech blog Protocol. Sweeney said no money was ever exchanged.

After receiving the letters, Sweeney said he asked for help from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, which sent his request to a list of attorneys. James Slater, a Florida lawyer who specializes in First Amendment and internet speech issues, responded on Sweeney’s behalf to the Venable letter.

Slater wrote that Morrone had not identified any legal claim, that the jet information posed “no threat” to Swift’s safety, and that Sweeney’s account had “engaged in protected speech that does not violate any of Ms. Swift’s legal rights,” according to a copy reviewed by The Post. Slater said he has yet to receive a response.

In an interview, Slater said he thought the Swift attorney’s letters were “hyperbolic and unfounded” and sent in hopes that Sweeney would “just delete everything and do what they said.”

“This isn’t about putting a GPS tracker on someone and invading their privacy. It’s using public information to track the jet of a public figure,” he said. “This is their means to try to quash a PR issue and bully my client to have the bad coverage die down.”

[illustratedvancouver]

A rare dozen of original works by E.J. Hughes is coming up for auction at Heffel, works by E.J. Hughes from the Barbeau Owen Foundation.

Anticipated closing time: Thursday, September 26, 2024 | 02:00 PM ET

Barbeau has probably assembled the single most important collection of Hughes' work to date. Opportunities to acquire works by Hughes are rare to begin with, from a prestigious collection such as this, all the more-so.

From Heffel: E.J. Hughes is renowned for his BC coastal and interior landscapes, rendered in oil, acrylic, and watercolour. His work in the medium of printmaking is less well known. Ian Thom wrote, “Although his print oeuvre is small—only twenty or so—he is one of the most significant printmakers to have worked in British Columbia.” In 1937, E.J. Hughes was working in a partnership with Orville Fisher and Paul Goranson. The trio, fellow graduates of the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts, produced a number of prints and murals together. This work may have been intended as a study for a woodblock print, linocut or mural. Totem Poles at Stanley Park was reproduced in Ian Thom’s 2002 monograph on the artist, and Thom described the work as follows: “A tonal study that uses only black and a series of yellows, it is a striking example of foreshortening and arbitrary cropping. The work recalls, albeit in different form, Emily Carr’s Totem and Forest (1931) in the abrupt conjunction of the poles and the forest behind.” He concluded, “This image is one of the most remarkable of Hughes’s early works.” Revisiting past subject matter later in his career, in 1985, Hughes painted a similar, larger work in watercolour, also titled Totem Poles at Stanley Park. Angling for commercial success in the Depression years, Hughes produced a small suite of linocuts depicting Stanley Park in the mid-1930s, including this pleasing view of Second Beach. Dating from 1936, this early work predates the building of Second Beach Pool in 1940. It brings to mind the fine block prints of Walter J. Phillips, whose work Hughes admired. Of special interest, Robert Amos relates that it was while sketching in Stanley Park that Hughes met his future wife, Fern Smith. Jacques Barbeau wrote about this print, “The mood is tranquil and serene. Yet it illustrates Hughes’ subtle ability to suggest less to achieve more.” With very few colours and sure, sinuous lines, Hughes generates interest in the foreshore rocks, the ocean waves and the dark evergreens beyond. Near Second Beach telegraphs Hughes’s graphic design skills and is one of his rare print works. This same image, with a slightly different tonal range, is in the National Gallery of Canada’s Prints and Drawings collection (acc. no. 29253). Collector Jacques Barbeau said his interest in the art of Hughes was first sparked when he saw one of the artist’s paintings reproduced on the front cover of a 1958 Vancouver telephone directory. More than a decade later, in 1969, Barbeau acquired his first work by Hughes after paying a visit to the Dominion Gallery in Montreal, which had represented Hughes since 1951. Barbeau purchased several “cartoons,” the detailed graphite drawings that the artist, a meticulous draughtsman, would prepare leading up to an oil painting. Over the years, as Hughes transitioned from oils to acrylics and watercolours, the collection of Barbeau and his wife Margaret Ann (née Owen) grew to 80 works, encompassing sketches, prints and paintings from all phases of the artist’s lengthy career. Fifteen masterpieces from this prominent collection have been on loan to the Audain Art Museum in Whistler since 2016, on public display in the Barbeau–Owen Gallery.

[zee-man-chatter]

In Canada you have to renew your mortgage every 5 years. Obviously people hope to get the best rate, but interest rates continue to rise. The Canadian government refuses to cut back immigration, which would lessen pressure on the housing market, and incidentally would be beneficial for the environment too. So it looks like borrowers are having to go from the standard 25 years to longer amortization periods. This means that the banks and government are interfering with the market to keep prices artificially high. Shame on them!

Toronto-Dominion Bank said 48 per cent of its Canadian mortgages had an amortization period of more than 25 years as of July, up from 35 per cent the year prior. Like RBC, it has experience a surge of loans being extended to more than 35 years.

[child-of-atlas]

The Judge

I don’t remember at which point I was conditioned to distrust my feelings. But at some point, either when I was very young or somewhat-young, it happened, and I now lack the critical ability to truly verify any feeling of unhappiness. I am always fine; truly. I don’t remember who trained me to swallow discomfort or squeeze between someone else’s needs and the wall; I don’t remember who trained me to loan and lend and give and break for someone else, or many someone elses. But I thought, until recently, that made me good, and wonderful, and an excellent partner. I thought that ensured praise and commendations and the joy of external validation, and the thrill of being “good.” So, I would always remain fine. But when the layer below the leather around my heart cries: “I’m so tired,” something within me wakes with a whip in one hand and sweets in another. Some faceless, voiceless force denies and negates the current struggle in favor of something kind that happened once, long ago, and thus, according to this faceless Judge: the scales are balanced. And the heart is, for a moment, silenced. The leather grows thicker.

I may not have created the Judge single-handedly—someone, somewhere, outlined for me the shape he would take—but I have allowed the Judge’s reign for too long.

———

Luke never hit me, even though I asked him to, once, when we were young and I was made of fire in the shape of a siren. He claimed that it would hurt him to hurt me, and though I dimmed, I claimed I understood.

How is it, I wonder, that his line in the sand is only drawn at his own hand, and not his mouth, or his pointed silences for hours at a time, his relentless need to pull his body away from mine, or the marked inconvenience engraved onto every small expression of affection at my request.

———

I learned recently—too recently, too horrifically—that babies who cry out to no consolation stop crying altogether, and become silent; and for a mother, there poses no greater fear than a silent baby. I am no mother, but I am a keeper; I am responsible for my own heart, and I am scared of its recent silence. I cloaked my own neglect in agreeability; in ‘good partnership’; in acquiescence; and I did not step in between the whip or the sweets. The arbitrary scale upon which my invisible Judge balances Luke’s transgressions against moments of kindness, my ache to feel loved against flickers of happiness, needs thorough and complete dismantling. I need to break it down into its most basic parts, systematically, until neither the scale nor the Judge have any input, any dominion, or any chance to interrupt whatever the surface beneath the leather of my heart needs to say.

I will, one day soon, end the reign of the Judge.

[bgeurotrash]

Board game review - Barony, Marc André's magnum opus

In 2014 french designer Marc André released his most commercially successfull game, Splendor, an elegant tableau builder. It quickly became a massive hit, winning a double digit of awards and being nominated for the highly prestigious Spiel des Jahres, even managing to become one of the few designer games to break out of the hobby and is today loved by gamers and non-gamers alike. The year after, in 2015, Marc André released his greatest game to date. The comparatively unnoticed Barony.

CORE GAMEPLAY

After having randomized a map to play on and chosen your start positions, the expansion of your dominion over the land starts. Though there are six actions to chose from in the game, three of them tower over the rest as the most important. Recruiting knights, moving knights/attacking villages and removing knights to establish villages. Using these three simple mechanics you'll slowly but surely spread over the map, taking control of territory. Establishing a village has two functions. It's a defensive move, allowing you to create borders and section off a part of the map that is yours to rule. Secondly it nets you point-tokens, though acquiring these tokens are not enough to get the points. If you have 15 points worth of tokens you may spend spend a turn taking the fourth action in the game: cashing them in and moving up one rank. Reach the highest rank of king, and the game ends. Usually the player who ends the game also wins it. This leads me marvelously into my next point:

TEMPO

The tempo considerations come in two forms for this game. Firstly: whenever you take an action, you always have the option of doing more than one thing. You always recruit at least two knights, you always move two knights and when you establish villages, you may establish any amount of villages you want. This gives a feeling that you can always either do an action or DO an action. You're always pushing to be just a tad bit more efficient, but if you spread yourself too thin you will be severely punished by the other players.

For the second point I'd like to loan some terminology from the classic game "go" as Barony shares quite a few similarities with it. The concept of "sente" is ever present in this game; sente being a move that demands an answer from another player. It's taking the initiative and forcing someone else into a corner, for example, staging an attack for the sole reason of forcing your opponent to spend their valuable time defending.

The earlier mentioned concept of having to take time to cash in your points works wonderfully here. If you do it to early you might be giving up opportunities to play sente, or worse, having a sente move played on you. But the longer you take to score your points, the higher is the risk that someone will find an opportunity to rob those points from you by attacking you.

STRUCTURE

These tempo considerations gives the game a wonderfully structure. The first half of the game is merciless, as everyone does a mad scramble to establish their borders and get territory. In the second half of the game you're doing one if two things based on how you fared in the first half: Either you're playing defensively, constantly making decisions between taking time to exploit your territory or keeping up your defense. If you're one of those left poor by the first act however, you will instead play the role as the aggressor. Pushing borders back to claim territory for your own and, if your opponent neglects their duty to defend, maybe even stealing a tile or two from them.

TURN OFFS

Barony is entirely and proudly a deterministic abstract. Based on that sentence alone you will probably have some idea if this game isn't for you. And that is honestly the only turn off this game has in my opinion.

CONCLUSION

Barony is a fantastic, simple and short game, thought it's depth feels almost endless. The randomization of the board every time you play will drastically change how the game flows and how you have to approach it, leaving you with a game that feels fresh and exciting every single time you play. Few abstracts come close to this level of quality decision making and if this game sounds appealing to you, you should definitely check it out.

Music pairing:

For this game I would recommend the album "The Sims Medieval, Vol 1" and "The Sims Medieval, Vol 2" both by John Debney.

[deepspacedukat]

So my brain decided to give me the pornstar au for DS9: some of this is just ???? but I’m going with it.

So the Cardassians own a studio on Bajor and either there was some law breaking or they lost money but the Bajorans take it over. They have no time to really focus on the studio so they have the Federation (interplanetary porn conglomerate) do a lot of the major work had hired contractors (managing, scheduling, doctors, and whatnot).

Kira is the Bajoran in charge of The Office and Sisko is the overall Manager. Odo does security work but sometimes he also does temp art/dildo work.

Most of the Cardassians who worked there as stars stayed on because the content they were in got them banned pretty much everywhere else. Dukat is a big star. Bashir is working there through college. Garak is Garak but is banging Bashir on and off screen. Madred specializes in dark things. Dax does science shows. O’Brien is their engineer who does engineering stuff. Damar gets brought in on loan even though he doesn’t want to work there but ends up liking it (and he’s bigger than Dukat). Macet is basically Cardassia’s Mr. Sheffield but sexier. I don’t know what Quark is doing but it definitely involves water/liquids.

The Dominion is trying to take over the market by nefarious means but it doesn’t work because all the Weyoun’s are susceptible to Cho’ch. The Jem’Hadar are just really into the tiny (by comparison) women. My OC might be working there as an actual doctor who is also spying for The Federation and may or may not be getting hounded by Dukat to star in one of Madred’s interrogation specials. She’s done very specific kink work on Vulcan and Andoria before but no one knows about it.

Actual lines my brain made up:

“They’re never the same after they get split open [on a Cho’ch]. The first time is the best to get on camera. *Gloating about how the actresses keep coming back because his is so fantastic*

-Horta-in-Charge

I'm about to chew through steel!!!! I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this!!! 🥵🤤 I–

Porn star Cardassians and Wouns being susceptible to Cho'Ch and–

*ahem*

I swear I had some sort of coherent commentary to add to this, but my brain has devolved into sexy lizard thoughts... 🙈

PFFFF, of course Damar is on loan cuz he has a bigger dick! Did we expect anything different? 🤤

THAT LINE DAMN NEAR KILLED ME, WOMAN. Bless you for putting this in my inbox. 🙏

[roguetelepaths]

☄️ please!

From your OC’s perspective, write a short paragraph about their average day.

Gonna do this for a Vorta OC I haven't used these to talk about yet. He's kind of on the backburner, but I still love him and think he's an excellent boy. Basically he's my deconstruction of the "let's put a Vorta in Starfleet" concept I've seen a lot of other people play straight— he's on loan to Starfleet as part of a diplomatic initiative, he's not happy there, and (at least at the start) he just wants to go back to Dominion space where everything makes sense. He's a little asshole but he's my little asshole and I hope you care him as much as I do.

Also "short paragraph" lol. lmao. this turned into a ficlet so I'm putting it under a readmore.

☄️ Kilaran

Life as the sole test subject of a "grand diplomatic experiment" was difficult, and definitely not worth it by any stretch of the imagination. Mostly, since his assignment to the USS Eudaimonia, he'd kept to himself. He'd even, by some divine providence, managed to carve out something approaching a routine among the hustle and bustle of Starfleet life.

Wake up, 0500. Get dressed and ready for the day. Perform the morning devotional ritual. He prays for the strength and wisdom to align his actions with the will of the Gods, offering the work he will do today in fulfillment of his orders as tribute. It isn't the work he was built to do. Distantly, he wonders if that makes a difference to anyone but him.

Breakfast. He used to take it alone, at his own table in the mess hall, until that horribly pushy Bajoran lieutenant started on spending it with him. Anaru Elen. She's the most equipped to handle your situation, the captain told him, she worked closely with Odo on Deep Space 9 for a time, so she has a bit more of a nuanced view of the Dominion than most. Well, he has to wonder exactly why the Founder known as Odo decided to avail himself of her services. She's talkative, prone to emotional outbursts, and, by Dominion standards at least, highly undisciplined. He tolerates her, though, because he can do nothing else. The lieutenant orders something new from the replicator every day. He always orders the same nutrition shake, which he's sure is supposed to taste like something, but it's lost on him.

The work is repetitive. They put him on communications, mistakenly assuming that every Vorta was a diplomat. In truth, most of those he interacted with before being assigned to the Eudaimonia were Jem'Hadar, and one didn't exactly need good people skills for field supervisor duty. He does his job as well as he can, though, difficult as it is. Lack of training is no excuse for lack of effort, and the sooner he can show results, the sooner he can go back where he belongs.

Lunch and leisure time come after a while, and he never knows how to feel about it. The lack of structure confuses and repulses him. That Bajoran woman insists, again, on taking her break with him. She wants to know how he's "settling in." He asks her why she wants to know. She says she can tell that he's lonely, and thinks he needs at least one person on the ship who gets him. (She doesn't get him, and if he has anything to say about it, she never will.)

He would never question the edicts of the Founders, but he's certainly questioning what he did to deserve this.

Before returning to his work, he dashes off to send a report back home. Of course, it goes through Starfleet Intelligence's surveillance network before a word of it reaches the Founders. He doesn't begrudge them their suspicion— he's a servant of the Dominion before he's anything else, and suspicion is probably more natural to him than it is to the Federation— but somehow, it feels different than the type of surveillance he's used to from his own.

The rest of the day breezes by. He finishes his shift, then there's dinner and downtime (again, with unsolicited companionship from Anaru Elen, his personal burden to bear), then his private evening devotions, and then, finally, deep and dreamless rest.

He rises the next morning to a memorandum on his PADD. Oh, no.

Your recent reports have made it clear that I must remind you, once again, that this is a diplomatic initiative. To that end, it is imperative that you ingratiate yourself with the crew as much as possible. I gave you this task because I believe in your ability to extend yourself past what you were made for. Prove me right.

He exhales quietly, and sends a quick response. As you wish, Founder.

[xviruserrorx]

Fandoms

Finished:

-Shows

Arthur Of The Britons (2 Seasons)

AMC The Terror (2 Seasons)

American Horror Story (*11 Seasons*)

American Horror Stories

Bates Motel (5 Seasons)

BBC Atlantis (2 Seasons)

BBC Dracula (1 Season)

BBC Jamestown (3 Seasons)

BBC Merlin (5 Seasons)

BBC Robin Hood (3 Seasons)

BBC Sherlock (3 Seasons)

BBC Sinbad (1 Season)

BBC The Musketeers (3 Seasons)

BBC The Village (2 Seasons)

Being Human UK (5 Seasons)

Being Human US (3 Season)

Beowulf: Return To The Shieldlands (1 Season)

Black Sails (4 Seasons)

Bonding (2 Seasons)

Brideshead Revisited (1 Season)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (7 Seasons)

Carnivale (2 Seasons)

Carnival Row (1 Season)

Criminal Minds (15 Seasons)

Dead Like Me (2 Seasons)

Devil In Ohio (1 Season)

Dexter (9 Seasons)

Dexter: New Blood (*1 Season*)

Dominion (2 Seasons)

Everything's Gonna Be Okay (2 Seasons)

First Kill (1 Season)

Good Omens (*2Seasons*)

Gotham (5 Seasons)

Grimm (6 Seasons)

Hemlock Grove (3 Seasons)

House MD (8 Seasons)

In The Dark (4 Seasons)

Jekyll and Hyde (1 Season)

Jinn (

Knight Fall (2 Seasons)

La Brea (*2 Seasons*)

Mayday (1 Season)

Medici: The Magnificent (3 Seasons)

Midnight Texas (2 Seasons)

Miracle Workers (*3 Seasons*

Misfits (5 Seasons)

My Babysitters a vampire (2 Seasons)

Nbc Dracula (1 Season)

Nbc Hannibal (3 Seasons)

Nobody's Looking (1 Season)

Our Flag Means Death (*1 Season*)

Over The Garden Wall (1 Season)

Penny Dreadful (3 Seasons)

Prodigal Son (3 Seasons)

Ripper Street (5 Seasons)

Robin Of Sherwood (3 Seasons)

Shadowhunters (3 Seasons)

Someone Has To Die (1 Season)

South Of Hell (1 Season)

Spartacus (3 Seasons)

Stranger Things (*4 Seasons*)

Supernatural (15 Seasons)

Syfy Sanctuary (4 Seasons)

Teen Wolf (6 Seasons)

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1 Season)

The Almighty Johnsons (3 Seasons)

The Healing Powers of Dude (1 Season)

The Imperfects (1 Season)

The Last Kingdom (*5 Seasons*)

The Living and the Dead (1 Season)

The Sandman (*1 Season*)

The Society (1 Season)

The Tomorrow People (1 Season)

The Umbrella Academy (*3 Seasons*)

The Winchesters (1 Season)

Thirteen (1 Season)

Troy: Fall of The City (1 Season

Unorthodox (1 Season)

Vampire Diaries (8 Seasons)

Versailles (3 Seasons)

Vikings (6 Seasons)

Voltron: legendary Defender (8 Seasons)

We Are Lady Parts (*1 Season*)

You (*4 Seasons*)

-Movies/Franchises

Call Me By Your Name

Ghibli studio movies

Her

Ondine

Saw (Franchise)

The Interview With The Vampire

The Shape of Water

-Books/Light novels

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Aristotle And Dante Discover The Universe

Aristotle and Dante Dive into The Waters of the World

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman

Find Me by Andre Aciman

Heroes Of Olympus (5 Books)

Magnus Chase and The Gods Of Asgard (3 Books)

Maurice by E.M Forester

Percy Jackson & The Olympians (5 Books)

The Kane Chronicles (3 Books)

The Trials Of Apollo (5 Books)

The Sun and Star by Rick Riordan

-Comic Books

Lone Receiver

-Anime

Akatsuki No Yona

Amnesia

Angel Beats

Another

Assassination Classroom

Black Butler

Blood-C

Blue Exorcist

Brothers Conflict

Bungo Stray Dogs

Danganronpa

Deadman Wonderland

Death Note

Death Parade

Diabolik Lovers

Dramatical Murder

Durarara

Free

Fruits Basket (2001)

High School Of The Dead

Higurashi No Naku No Koro Ni (original)

Junjou Romantica

Kamisama Kiss

Karneval

K Project

Loveless

Love Stage

Magi

Maid-Sama

Mirai Niki

No.6

Orenchi No Furo Jirou

Ouran High School Host Club

Pandora Hearts

Place To Place

Princess TuTu

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Rozen Maiden

Sekai ichi hatsukoi

Shugo Chara

Soul Eater

Sugar Sugar Rune

The World God Only Knows

Tokyo Ghoul

Toradora

Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru

Touken Ranbu: Katsugeki

Tsubasa chronicles

Uta No Prince Sama

Vampire knight

Xxx Holic

Yuri On Ice

Zombie loan

-Manga

Drug and Drop

Fruits Basket

Kitchen Princess

K Project

La Esperanza

Loveless

No.6

Pandora Hearts

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Soul eater

Soul eater NOT

Strawberry Panic

Sugar Sugar Rune

Tokyo Ghoul

Tokyo Ghoul:re

Vampire Knight

Xxx Holic

-Games/Franchises

Baldur's Gate

Borderlands

Devil May Cry

Final Fantasy

Kingdom Hearts

Persona 5

The Evil Within

Waiting for/Caught up:

-Shows

(S2) Good Omens (Waiting for Season 3)

(S4) Stranger Things (Waiting for Season 5)

(S11) American Horror Story (Waiting for Season 12)

(S1) Dexter: New Blood (Waiting for Season 2)

(S3) Miracle Workers (Waiting for Season 4)

(S1) Our Flag Means Death (Waiting for Season 2)

(S1) We Are Lady Parts (Waiting for Season 2)

-Currently airing

(S2) La Brea (s2 e7 - Waiting for episode 8)

-Movies/Franchises

Aristotle And Dante Discover The Universe

-Books/Light Novels

The Hammer of the Gods by Rick Riordan

-Comic Books

The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way (Waiting for Volume 4: Sparrow Academy)

Not Caught Up With:

-Shows

(S13) BBC Doctor Who (Really behind-ish)

(S4) BBC Ghosts (Need to watch Season 4)

(S6) Peaky Blinders (Need to watch Season 6)

(S5) The Handmaid's Tale (Need to watch Season 5)

(S3) The Umbrella Academy (Need to watch Season 3)

(S2) The Wilds (Need to watch Season 2)

(S2) Vikings: Valhalla (Need to watch Season 2)

(S2) Shadow and Bone (Need to watch season 2)

(S3) The Witcher (Need to watch Season 3)

(S4) You (Need to watch Season 4)

-Books/Light Novels

Shadowhunters Chronicles by Cassandra Claire (Really behind)

Currently watching/reading:

-Shows

(S2) A Young Doctor's Notebook (s2 e2)

(S2) BBC The Mill (s1 e3)

(S2) Britannia (s1 e3)

(S5) iZombie (s1 e8)

(S1) Jinn (s1 e2)

(S1) Midnight Mass (Restarting)

(S3) My Two Dad's (s1 e14)

(S1) Nobody's Looking (s1 e4)

(S2) Raising Dion (s1 e4)

(S1) Safe (s1 e6)

(S3) Shtisel (s1 e2)

(S2) Special (s1 e2)

(S5) Switched At Birth (s1 e20)

(S2) Tell Me A Story (s1 e3)

(S1) The Defeated (s1 e3)

(S1) The Imperfects (s1 e6)

(S5) The Last Kingdom (s1 e2)

(S4) The Man In The High Castle (s1 e3)

(S2) This Close (s2 e2)

(S8) Weeds (s2 e10)

-Books/Light Novels

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Currently Revisiting:

-Shows

Being Human UK (Rewatch 1 - s2 e6)

Dexter (Rewatch 3 - s)

Grey's Anatomy (Rewatch 2 - s2 e?)

Lucifer (Rewatch 4 - s3 e2)

Ripper Street ( Rewatch 1 - s2 e?)

The Almighty Johnsons (Rewatch 1 - s3 e11)

Vikings (Rewatch 2 - s2 e5)

-Books/Light Novels

Call Me By Your Name (Re-read 4)

-Games

Final Fantasy XIV (Replay 1)

Haven't Started:

-Shows

(S3) Baby

(S2) Black Spot

(S3) Derry Girls

(S2) Diablero

(S4) Eastsiders

(S1) Elves

(S5) Leverage

(S1) My Dead Ex

(S4) Ozark

(S2) Russian Doll

(S4) Roswell New Mexico

(S2) Sense8

(S1) The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself

(S5) The Magicians

(S3) The Rain

(S1) The Seven Lives Of Lea

(S1) Tidelands

(S1) Tiny Pretty Things

(S2) Trinkets

(S2) Young Royals

-Comic Books

Killjoys

The Sandman

The Walking Dead

Not sure/On The Fence:

-Shows

Cw Arrow

Heartstoppers

Not Continuing:

-Anime

Attack On Titan

Tokyo Ghoul: re

-Manga

Attack On Titan

[ck-overanalyzes-scriptures]

July 22-July 28 Scripture Study Thoughts

(Studying Topical Guide: Jesus Christ, Mission of)

Colossians 1:16-17. All things were created by Jehovah. Verse 16 specifically lists thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, which I thought was interesting, as these seem to be man-made constructs. This consideration led to the following thought: It was His mission to create all things and He still causes all things to be. Anything we have is actually His. We may think we have dominion, but its just on loan from Him, so we should take care how we manage and rule over it.

Colossians 1:18-19. It was Jesus's mission to be the first to be resurrected - reborn - from the dead, thus He is the firstborn. Others will come in the first resurrection and be firstborn but He is the first of the first born, showing us the way. It is His mission to lead and rule over the Church. It is His mission to have all fulness.

An adjacently related thought that came to me: I think it's often framed as being part of the first resurrection is a reward for righteousness, which means coming forth in other resurrections is a punishment. I do think the first resurrection is a reward, but the other resurrections being delayed is an act of mercy, not punishment. The first resurrection will take place at the beginning of the Millennium while the others will be at the end. That gives those that didn't qualify for the first resurrection one thousand extra years to repent, change their ways, accept Christ, and have their work done. God will give us every possible chance to change and be with Him.

John 6:37-40. Verse 37 starts with "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me." This phrasing can make it sound like predestination - like the Father has already designated specific people that will be saved while others will not be. That is not supported by our doctrine. Perhaps it could be phrased as "The Father gives Me all those that come to Me." I rephrase it to propose that it may not be that specific people have already been chosen, but that the Father has told Jesus to keep all that sincerely come to Him. That there's not already a set group of "these are Jesus's," but that we become part of the group that belongs to Jesus based on our actions and coming to Him.

John 12:23-28. "Now my soul has become troubled. But what should I do about it? Pray and say 'Father, save Me from this hour?' This hour is the very reason I came! So instead I pray 'Father, glorify Your name.'" Jesus was scared when He faced having to perform the atonement. But he knew it was His very purpose. When the time came, He did ask the Father to let the cup pass from Him (Matthew 26:39), but only if it was the Father's will, only if there was another way. And there wasn't. So He submitted, despite the pain and the fear, focusing on the joy that would result from it (Hebrews 12:2). We may be scared when we face hardship. We may ask the Father to let it pass from us. But if that is not His will, let us submit faithfully, instead praying for strength to do His will and focusing on the joy we will one day have by doing so.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"PATTULLO WILL REFUSE RELIEF CUT," The Province (Vancouver). July 14, 1934. Page 1 & 2. --- Frankly Amazed at Federal Government's Reduction -B.C. Wants More. ---- LEAVING FOR OTTAWA JULY 25 ---- Would Mean Extra Burden Of $100,000 a Month for Province, Says Premier. ---- VICTORIA, July 14. British Columbia will flatly refuse to accept the reduction in federal unemployment relief allowances ordered in Ottawa by Premier Bennett on Friday.

The announcement that his government would absolutely insist on continuance of the existing arrangements as a minimum and would press for further federal aid in the form of a real work-and-wages programme was made by Premier Pattullo today.

Frankly amazed at the Ottawa announcement that the Federal Government proposed to cut its grants towards unemployment relief to 25 per cent. of the total cost, Mr. Pattullo wired acting premier as follows: "So far as British Columbia is concerned, it will be necessary for the Dominion Government to make a larger contribution than that suggested in your telegram and for a considerably longer period."

In a statement to newspapermen, the Premier added: "The Dominion Government's plan simply can not be put into effect; that is all."

MORE THAN 100.000 STILL ON RELIEF. He pointed out that in the peak of employment at the midsummer sea- son, British Columbia had over 100,000 persons on relief. Even if this were reduced substantially by the measures now under way, the Premier said, a grave problem remained which the Provincial Government could not handle on the reduced federal contribution proposed.

Ready to go to the mat with the Federal Government and to fight with other provincial premiers for a federal works programme, Mr. Pattullo prepared to leave here July 25 for the national conference called in Ottawa for July 30. He will prob- ably take Hon. John Hart and Hon. G. S. Pearson, minister of labor, with him.

It was estimated that if the Federal Government cut its contribution. from 50 per cent. in unorganized districts and 33 1-3 per cent. in municipalities to a basic rate of 25 per cent.. this would cost the Provincial Government an extra sum of $100,000 a month.

HASN'T GOT MONEY FOR EXTRA EXPENSES. The province simply hasn't got the money to pay this extra cost, since it is financing now on federal loans, which are its minimum requirements.

Thus the Ottawa announcement cut the ground from under the famous agreement reached between Premier Bennett and Premier Pattullo in Ottawa a few months ago. At that time British Columbia was guaranteed loans of $8,000,000 as well as the refunding of a provincial maturity of $2.000.000. Of the total $3,500,000 was for unemployment relief. This was the minimum amount which the Provincial Government said it would need to meet the situation and it was based, of course, on federal contributions at the present rate. If these contributions are cut, of course, the province will need more money for its share of the total. It can not get this money except from Ottawa.

Should the Federal Government insist on cutting down on relief, the Provincial Government, it was intimated officially and emphatically, will then have to take its own course. This statement was not elaborated, but it could mean nothing less than the same threat which was made in Ottawa in the spring, namely, that the province would defer interest payments rather than cut off unemployment relief.

QUARTER SHARE IS EXTENDED FOR MONTH. OTTAWA, July 14. - (CP) - Dominion Government assistance to the provinces in the cost of direct relief will be continued for another month to the extent of 25 per cent. of the total, and a Dominion - provincial conference has been called for July 30 to consider ways and means of dealing with this problem in future. Announcement of this move was made by Rt. Hon. Sir George Perley, acting-Prime Minister, following a meeting of the cabinet council.

Some months ago the provinces were advised that federal contributions to direct relief costs would end on June 15. This limit was later extended to July 15. The extension announced today means a slight decrease in the share to be borne by the Dominion treasury, which now pays one-third of the total.

RELIEF NECESSITY GREATLY LESSENED. The following telegram was despatched to all provincial premiers:

"The government has been giving most careful consideration to the question of direct relief and is of the opinion that it should not continue Indefinitely. In any case, the necessity for it is greatly lessened on ac- count of the improved conditions, and therefore it imposes a lighter local burden. The Dominion Govern- men has decided to contribute 25 per cent. of the cost of direct relief for the month ending August 15 only. As this question of relief is a most important one, we ask that you and the other provincial premiers attend a meeting here on July 30 for the purpose of carefully considering and dealing with this serious matter. If you can not come yourself, you will please send a representative."

[1000phimcom]

1000Phim | 1000phim.com | Xem Phim Chiếu Rạp | Phim Hay | Phim Mới Nhất

Viện phim quốc gia Việt Nam vừa công bố danh sách những bộ phim sẽ được chiếu trong rạp trong nửa cuối năm 2022. Năm nay, khán giả sẽ có được nhiều lựa chọn hơn với hơn 1000 bộ phim朗.

Nổi bật trong số đó là các bộ phim bom tấn Hollywood như: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever của Marvel; Jurassic World: Dominion của Universal; Avatar: The Way of Water của 20th Century Studios... Những bộ phim này hứa hẹn sẽ đem đến những trải nghiệm điện ảnh đẳng cấp thế giới cho khán giả Việt.

Bên cạnh đó là các bộ phim Việt Nam sản xuất trong nước như: Đất Phương Nam, Mắt Biếc, Em và Trịnh, Mưa Bóng Máu, Sóng gió, Về nhà đi con...Những tác phẩm này hứa hẹn mang đến những câu chuyện nhân văn, mang đậm bản sắc văn hóa dân tộc.

Ngoài ra còn có các phim từ các quốc gia châu Á như: Hàn Quốc với Emergency Declaration, Trung Quốc với Hi, Mom; Nhật Bản với One Piece Film: Red, Đài Loan với A Sun...đem đế - ygq94070t4

[turtle-to-eternity]

Day 221 - Extended Exhaustion

Calories: 1430

Today was tiresome and long. I spent a lot of the afternoon worrying about loan repayments and finances and I couldn't decide on anything to do for fun.

Writing for today:

I don't even know what to put here because I didn't really do anything but stress. At least the payments are behind me now. Besides that, Abigail also worried me because somehow she hurt her jaw or something. Her jaw was crooked for a few minutes and she was whining, and then suddenly it was back in place again and she's fine. I need to stop letting her out of my sight, she's getting strange and fragile in her old age.

There is still a bit of time remaining, maybe I'll start another Agartha campaign in Dominions 6. I've been considering going back to Dominions 5 just for the overhaul mods but I don't know if I would really want to do that. 6 has plentiful improvements, I just wish there was more "flavorful" magic.

Today I got up slightly late, better than expected. As a side effect, I am very tired now 2 hours before bedtime. I really hope that helps me sleep. Overall, today felt mediocre.

[dominionenterpriseservices]

FAQs About The California Employee Retention Credit

California employers are encouraged to take advantage of the California Employee Retention Credit before it expires. But what is this tax credit? Who qualifies? Is ERC taxable in California? In this article, Dominion Enterprise Services’ CPA Skyler Kressin breaks down the ERC and how it can benefit your business.

 Like many business owners, California employers were subjected to extreme challenges during 2020 and 2021 and even extending into 2022. Business operations often were fully or partially suspended due to state or local health orders, revenue swings occurred unexpectedly, labor shortages abounded, and the unknowns related to global economic conditions created a difficult environment for businesses of all stripes due to COVID-19.

In the midst of these difficult times, various federal programs were created to mitigate these challenges, including the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act. Each of these had provisions for relief, such as advance payment programs or forgivable business loans such as the Payment Protection Program (PPP loan).

While many businesses took advantage of these relief provisions, the sheer volume of legislation signed into law in the last several years has resulted in some of the key relief provisions for employers to be overlooked in the effort to keep the lights on and business flowing.

One such relief provision that consistently has been overlooked was created specifically for employers who continued to pay wages and federal employment taxes throughout the official “pandemic period” (March 12, 2020, through the third quarter of 2021) in the form of an employer tax credit, officially called the Employee Retention Credit (ERC).

The good news is, for California employers specifically, this federal tax credit may be much easier to obtain than for those who own and operate businesses in other states, due to how eligibility works. 

High-level Features of the ERC for California Employers:

• The credit is up to $26,000 per employee for a fully eligible employer. 

• The credit is a federal refundable tax credit, meaning you can claim a refund directly in the form of a check from the IRS, and the ERC is NOT a loan or grant through a bank like the PPP.

• That said, the other relief programs, (such as the PPP) do interact with the ERC but importantly, do NOT make you ineligible for the ERC as was previously widely believed – even those who received both rounds of PPP funding are still potentially eligible for the ERC.

• The claim is made through federal payroll tax filings and entails tax calculations customarily performed by tax professionals.

• The eligible filing period for the ERC begins to expire in April 2023 as the statute of limitations for refunds begins to sunset. 

Who is Eligible for the ERC? 

Eligibility for the ERC is determined on a calendar quarter basis (corresponding to each federal filing period) and can be achieved in one of two ways:

1. Gross Receipts Test

Employers must show a specified percentage decline in gross receipts, quarter-over-quarter when comparing a given quarter in 2019 to the same quarter in 2020 or 2021. For example, the quarter ending December 31, 2019, compared to the quarter ending December 31, 2020, must show a specific percentage decline. Specifically, 2020 needs to show a decline of 50% in at least one quarter, and 2021 needs to show a decline of 20% in at least one quarter – BOTH compared to the equivalent quarters in 2019. 

2. Trade or Business Operations Disruption Test

This test is where there may be advantages for the California Employee Retention Credit as opposed to the relative eligibility in other states. Eligibility under this test all hinges on whether direct state or local government orders restricted business operations for employers during the pandemic period. California was one of the more restrictive jurisdictions as compared to other U.S. states and localities, so ERC eligibility is more likely to be achieved for California employers than in other jurisdictions.

As with all federal legislation and tax law, there are nuances and fine print to the above eligibility tests that go beyond the scope of this article and edge cases that require parsing through grey areas. This is where working with a qualified and licensed tax professional who specializes in tax credits comes into play. Many who are otherwise eligible for the ERC may be leaving money on the table, or otherwise working off an incomplete assessment of the full scope of their eligibility. 

Is ERC Taxable in California?

Another benefit of the ERC is that, in general, it is not taxable on your California income tax return, as per FTB Publication 1001. That said, given it is a federal credit, it does directly impact your federal income tax filing and may result in the need to modify your federal income tax filing.

Dominion Can Help 

Dominion Enterprise Services, PLLC is a full-service licensed CPA firm, with broad experience in helping California employers with various tax credits and consulting and has broad familiarity with the Employee Retention Credit specifically for the state and local legislative and regulatory environment in California during the pandemic period. 

Our model is based on a transparent assessment of the facts and circumstances of each business we work with and working with existing tax preparers and payroll providers in ensuring the maximum claim for the ERC in California is pursued under the law. 

Given the unique regulatory landscape of California, don’t miss out on this opportunity to claim the California Employee Retention Tax Credit before the eligible filing period ends in April 2023. If you would like us to help with this process, please click on the button below and fill out our quick, one-minute questionnaire.