#four percent group re

[feckcops]

Starmer’s so-called “landslide victory” is built on sand

A deeply unpopular leader, Starmer has not secured the resounding endorsement his 412 seat tally would suggest, while record numbers of Green and independent MPs could pose a robust leftist challenge to Starmer’s Government ­– if they get organised

Keir Starmer, an ersatz Blair without a hint of his charisma or vision, is now Prime Minister, despite securing a vote share six percentage points lower than Jeremy Corbyn in 2017. These results expose the widespread disillusionment, if not outright resentment, towards both Labour and the Tories. Smaller parties and independents had a great showing, with shock wins for Greens and pro-Palestine independents, but also Farage's Reform Party (if indeed you can call a limited company with a CEO and no membership a party). However, a large minority of eligible voters chose not to vote at all, with turnout dropping to 60 percent. This matches the record low set in 2001, when everyone knew Blair was set to be re-elected on a landslide. In elections expected to produce a new government, turnout usually rises – but not so this time. Shockingly, Labour’s mantra of “false hope is worse than no hope” failed to inspire any hope for real change.

It is a damning indictment of our voting system that a party can win over two thirds of seats and celebrate a “landslide victory” after winning over just one in five eligible voters. (Out of the 60 percent who voted, Labour only won a third of the vote.) Thanks to our twee unwritten constitution, this technical win grants Keir Starmer the right to form an electoral dictatorship for the next five years. However, the results do offer some silver linings...

Corbyn won his seat as an independent with a 7,250 vote lead over Labour, after he was blocked from running as Labour’s candidate in Islington North, a seat he'd held for 40 years. Labour also lost Chingford and Woodford Green to Ian Duncan Smith, after Faiza Shaheen was similarly blocked by Labour on dubious grounds and continued her campaign as an independent – ultimately this helped IDS win with around 17,200 votes, compared to Faiza Shaheen and the Labour candidate who each got around 12,500 votes. Shadow cabinet minister Jonathon Ashworth lost his seat to a pro-Palestine independent, along with three other Labour MPs, while another pro-Palestine independent left prominent Terf and shadow health minister Wes Streeting clinging on by a thread. Israel's brutal escalation of its 75 year-long genocide in Palestine has not only dismayed Muslims and anti-Semites, as the media love to imply, but a diverse coalition of people united by their outrage at leading politicians excusing, if not actively cheerleading, such barbarity. These results prove there is an electoral cost for enabling rogue states to commit crimes against humanity.

Beyond the three largest parties, the balance of power in Parliament now lies with a socialist, environmentalist, pro-Palestine left. The Greens won all four of their target seats – not only in the young, urban constituencies of Brighton Pavilion and Bristol Central, but also in the rural, once solidly Tory constituencies of Waveney Valley and North Herefordshire – an achievement few really thought possible. (Greens and pro-Palestine independents also came second in a record number of constituencies, laying the ground for more gains next time.) Those four Green MPs, along with Corbyn and the other four pro-Palestine independents, make up nearly double Reform’s five MPs. As such, we will have a principled leftist grouping in Parliament, not beholden to the Labour whip, to hold Starmer to account.

There is hope the new pro-Palestine independents can put aside subtle philosophical differences and work together to offer a robust left opposition to Starmer. We could see Corbyn and other independents join the Green Party. This would be a strategic move; they could still reasonably claim to be independent voices for their constituents as Green MPs, as the Green Party does not whip its MPs like other parties. Meanwhile, they would benefit from this established party’s resources, networks and mass membership. The highly democratic structure of the party means, if they brought a lot of their voters with them, new Green MPs could even secure a change to any Green policies they disagreed with. As for socialist Labour MPs, we could even see some defect to the Greens now they've secured their seats, especially if Labour remains a deeply hostile environment for them. Defections from Labour seem unlikely at this stage, but they cannot be ruled out.

More than anything, we should take heed that our best chance of enacting real change lies in our communities, through grassroots organising and direct, solidaristic action. Green and pro-Palestine independents only won by rooting themselves in their communities, engaging with the voters they hoped to represent, and inspiring masses of people to join their campaigns. We cannot rely on career politicians, whose class interests are diametrically opposed to ours, to protect us and our interests.

There's more to politics than elections, which only come around every few years and, all too often, seem to yield no real change. Real progress does not come from above. It is not gifted to us by the powers on high. It is fought for, from the ground up. In the words of Frederick Douglass, power concedes nothing without a demand. We must keep faith, keep fighting and keep organising. This election shows us that hard work can bear fruit. We know a better world is possible, but we won't achieve it by just voting. It’s on us to bring it about.

[renegades-garbage]

Admissions

Hey guys I'm back lol. Finding out about the new renegades book inspired me to write for the fandom again! I decided to write a little fic about Adrian and Nova getting back together a few months after the Supernova assuming that they broke up to deal with their mental health and such. This ended up being a lot longer than I intended and I did a shitty job proofreading but I love you all and hope you enjoy it anyway. It's also on ao3 as usual!

PS. I hate writing combat scenes so I simply didn't even though it may have been necessary sorry lol

Adrian watched as Nova examined the broken window. They were out on a call for a home invasion but considering this was the only thing amiss Adrian was beginning to wonder if this was just a prank by some neighborhood kids and not a robbery as the elderly woman inside was so convinced.

Most of Adrian’s team came back to work only a few weeks after the Supernova but Nova had, understandably, taken a bit longer. This was only her first week back on patrols after four months and Adrian would be lying if he said it wasn’t hell. He wouldn’t exactly call their breakup messy but it wasn’t exactly easy, necessary and mutual, but definitely not easy.

Nova was a very valuable asset to their team but she was also extremely strong willed and after a few months without her they all needed to remember how to work together again. That was the only reason he was finding her return difficult. It had nothing to do with the fact that she had been doing a lot of healing and had a new brightness to her skin and eyes, or the fact that she was experimenting with new hairstyles and clothes that suited her much more than what she had before. No, none of that had any impact on him. Breaking up was what was best for both of them and he knew that. He truly believed that. One hundred percent. 

“Sketch? Hello?” Ruby’s voice crackled through the communication band. He hadn’t even realized she’d been talking to him. 

“Sorry what did you say”

“I saaaaaiid” she replied in mock annoyance. “Did you guys find anything on that side of the house, because we’ve got nothing.”

“Just the broken window she was telling us about but it looks more like it got hit with a baseball or something than a home invasion.” Just as he said it Nova shone her flashlight inside.

“Adrian.” her voice shook a bit. “Look”

He peered through the broken glass and sitting on the floor was an orange haired puppet. 

Nova looked up at him concerned. In the weeks past a man impersonating the Puppeteer had been terrorizing homes with small children, and the Renegades hadn’t been able to catch him or even find any clues about his identity. He was all anyone was talking about at HQ and Adrian knew that his dad’s would have sent a more advanced patrol group if they were aware of the perpetrator, especially since Adrian hadn’t yet finished re-tattooing his sentinel abilities, but maybe this could be a good opportunity to prove themselves.

He lifted his wrist to his mouth “Red Assassin, Smokescreen can you guys go inside and check if this lady has any young grand-kids staying here or anything.”

Ruby’s voice flowed back through the band “Um sure but why? Is there something wr-... Wait, did you guys find something? Is it that puppet guy?”

“Ruby. Please just go check. We might have limited time.” 

“Yeah of course. Okay. We're going inside now.”

Nova began reaching her hand inside to grab the puppet. 

“Careful of the glass” Adrian warned though he knew she would be. Nova only nodded and offered a small mhm. 

Though the window was very low to the ground and the puppet was just inside Nova was having a hard time reaching due to the jagged glass. 

Adrian knew she wouldn't ask for help so he simply walked over and grabbed it easily.

“I could have done that.” She mumbled.

“I know”

They both looked down at the creepy thing which was almost an exact replica of Winston Pratt’s infamous puppet Hettie. A note was pinned to the front of the doll which read, It’s time to pay for your betrayal Nightmare. A shiver ran down his spine and Nova’s jaw hardened.

“We don’t have to do this, you know. We can always call for backup if this is too much.” The threat was disconcerting to say the least and even besides that, Adrian knew that Nova’s connection to The Puppeteer was complicated and this may not be the best thing for her mental recovery. 

“I'm fine Sketch.”

She didn’t exactly sound fine, and Adrian wanted to insist that they call someone else, considering Nova was much more important than his desire to prove himself, but before he got the chance they heard Oscar’s voice through his communication band.

“Two kids in the upstairs bedrooms. A boy and a girl. Going to check on them now.”

“I'm going to check the back of the house.” Nova began to walk towards the gate that led to the backyard. 

“I'll come with you, Monarch can check around the other side.” 

“No, everyone else is still inside. It's faster if you go around the front and I go around the back.”

“Nova there’s a note on this thing threatening you.” He said holding up the doll. “I'm not leaving you alone.” 

“Adrian I'm not scared of him and I can handle myself, you know that.” 

In any other situation Adrian would have insisted that they stay together, but there were kids in danger and they needed to find this guy. He didn’t want Nova to be unsafe but he was probably just being paranoid, how much of a threat could this guy be? 

—

Nova’s head was pounding. Her memories of the night were coming back to her in short bursts. The sound of maniacal laughter. A face covered in marionette makeup exactly like that of the Puppeteer. The cold press of a knife to her throat. Her hand fumbling to find bare skin. A stab in her side. Pain. Searing white-hot pain. And then nothing. That’s when she had lost consciousness. And now she was laying in a hospital bed with large bandages wrapped around her midsection. 

‘Miss Artino?” 

Nova opened her eyes and looked up at the man in the white doctor's coat standing next to her bed. An older, balding man with friendly eyes.

“How are you feeling?”

“Um…fine I guess” she replied, testing her voice, and it was true she did feel fine. She had some soreness from the wound in her side but the prodigy doctors at HQ were some of the finest and she was sure it would heal completely within a couple of days.

“Good, the wound was pretty severe but it looks like you’ll make a full recovery. Would you like me to let your friends in? They've been here all night.”

Right. Her friends. Her team. Adrian. Was he okay? 

She shook herself. She should be asking about her whole team. She shouldn’t care any more about Adrian’s safety than the rest of them. And she didn’t. She definitely didn’t.

“Miss Artino?” The doctor looked at her mildly concerned, and Nova didn’t blame him. She probably looked crazy right now.

She cleared her throat “Yeah, yes please let them in.”

The doctor offered a small friendly nod and walked over to the door, exiting the room and letting her team file in. Ruby being the first to burst through the door, followed by Oscar, Danna, and Adrian. He- They all looked tired, drawing some minor scrapes and bruises but they were otherwise unharmed. 

“Oh my stars I am so glad you're okay,” Ruby rushed over to Nova’s bed offering an enthusiastic yet gentle hug, which Nova did her best to return. “You were covered in blood and it looked awful. I mean the doctors told us it wasn’t as bad as it looked but it was terrifying and that guy was so creepy.” Ruby shuttered.

“Oh come on we all knew she would be fine. Nova is the toughest of us all.” Oscar walked over to give her a gentle nudge on the shoulder. “You did have us scared for a second there Artino, but I knew you’d pull through.”

She could tell that Oscar was trying to sound braver than he actually felt, as he so often did. It warmed Nova’s heart a bit to see that her team truly cared, even if they couldn't all fully admit it.

“Well I'm glad you had faith in me.” she said a bit weakly. She was still tired from the battle and her injury. “What happened to the Puppeteer impersonator after I passed out?’

The answer came from Danna “You ended up putting him to sleep right as he got you. We have him in custody.” 

Nova nodded. This was a relief to her. She didn’t want that guy out there impersonating Winston, especially if it meant hurting kids. That, and she didn’t almost die for nothing. 

“I'm really glad you're okay Nova.” Danna sounded sincere when she said these words. Nova didn’t think Danna would want her to die, no matter how rocky their relationship, but the way she said it made it seem like more than that. Like maybe in these past few months she had found friendship and maybe even forgiveness for Nova. 

“Thank you.” Nova offered the brightest smile she could muster up, but it wasn’t great. 

She turned her eyes to Adrian who hadn’t said a single word since they had walked in. He looked like he’d been crying. Maybe that meant he still had feelings for her? No, he was just concerned, as he would be for any of his teammates. She wasn’t special, well, not anymore. And she shouldn’t hope to be anyway. They couldn’t be together. And besides she was over him. Totally. One hundred percent. They just stared at each other. No words came to her, and no words came to him either apparently.

“Weeeeeelll,” Oscar’s voice cut through the tension. “Guess it’s time to get home, maybe grab some food. Long night and all.” He said, gently grabbing his girlfriend's arm and feigning a yawn. Nova just shook her head at him. 

Danna began walking towards the door as well. “Yeah I’m gonna second that.” 

They each said a rushed goodbye, and Nova thanked them for sticking around before they exited the room.  

She looked back at Adrian. She had the striking thought that he looked handsome, even with obvious red eyes from tears, and being awake for many hours, he still looked handsome. She knew she shouldn’t be thinking about that, this wasn’t the time nor the place, and they had been broken up for months. But still, she thought it.

When he finally spoke his words were heavy. “I thought I lost you.” 

Stupidly, Nova relished in the words he chose. Not, ‘I thought you died’ or ‘I didn’t know if you’d be okay’. He didn’t want to lose her and that meant something. To both of them, she hoped. “Nova this is what? The third time you’ve almost died? You have to be more careful.”

This was slightly offensive to Nova considering his track record. “You're the one who’s always saying this job is dangerous, and you're almost more reckless than me.” 

“I know. I know okay.” he sighed. “But you should've let me come with you as back up. Someone else could have checked the rest of the house.”

“Well it’s over now and I’m fine. I survived.”

“No Nova, it's not over now.” He was starting to become angry, well not angry but more…flustered? Nova didn’t understand why he was acting like this. He knew better than anybody about risking his life. “This is our job. This right here.” He made a general gesture to the space around them. Or maybe between them? She couldn’t quite tell. “This is our life.”

“Adrian. I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.” And the truth was she didn’t. Why was he getting so upset?

“Nova I can’t do this okay.” He was almost struggling to get the words out now. “I can’t go into work everyday and watch the person that I love almost die.”

Nova was taken aback. There it was. Plain and simple. His admission that he still loved her. And she wanted to believe him, but he knew they couldn’t be together. This was sleep deprivation and emotion talking. He couldn’t possibly know what he’s saying. 

“Adrian, maybe you should get some sleep, and we can talk about this tomorrow.” It hurt Nova to say these words but she knew she had to. Out of respect for him. 

“No, Nova this past week has been horrible. Ever since the Supernova things have been hard, but having you here, around the team, with me, but not with me. It’s been hell. I know exactly what I’m saying. I love you, Nova Artino.” Nova’s jaw was almost on the floor at this point and she saw the look in his eye as he misread whatever he was seeing on her face. 

He started towards the door. “Um you know what, maybe I should get some rest, and we can just put this behin-”

“Adrian” 

“No, I'm really sorry. You're trying to heal and I’m just-”

“Adrian” She said again, more forcefully this time, stopping him in his tracks. She could practically hear Adrians heart racing, alongside her own. 

“Come here.” Adrian started towards the bed slowly and as soon as he was close enough Novas grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled his lips to her own. Adrian made a small noise of surprise but didn’t pull away. He  sat down on the edge of the bed, cupping her face in his hands as the kiss became more intense. 

Nova pulled away gently pressing their foreheads together.

“I love you too Adrian Everheart.” 

He smiled that beautiful smile of his and pressed one final kiss to her lips.

“Do you mind if I stay here tonight? It's pretty late and I told my dads I would stay in one of the rooms we rent out.”

“I would love for you to stay with me.”

Adrian gently maneuvered himself and the blankets so that they could both lay down without hurting her. They laid together in comfortable silence for a few moments, a feeling Nova had missed so much these past months, until Adrian whispered into the darkness. 

“So does this mean we’re back together?”

Nova just laughed and replied “I hope so.”

[hannahssimblr]

Chapter Six

We leave for Dublin early on Saturday. It’s the only morning of the whole summer so far that I haven’t gone into the sea for a swim, but I don’t mind. I am vibrating with excitement as I dash down the steps of the mobile home and through the gates of the holiday park where Jude and Jen are waiting for me in the car. Claire and Kelly will be asleep for hours yet, and I am glad that they aren’t up to see me leaving, because I don’t want to have to explain why I’m so thrilled about going to a gallery. I know they just wouldn’t understand. 

“Looking very chipper for half seven in the morning.” Jen says as I hop into the back. I buckle my seatbelt eagerly. “I don’t know, I’m just excited!”

“You morning people are all the same.” She is half asleep in the passenger seat and it’s the first time I’ve seen her without makeup on. She looks a lot younger. 

“I’m a morning person and it pisses her off.” Jude smirks. “Sorry that I want to get up to Dublin early so that you can have a nice day.”

“Okay. Yeah. You said that already.”

“Just focus on the pancake breakfast we’ll have.”

“Yes, it will be delicious. Now shut your stupid smirky little mouth and drive us, taxi man.” She curls up and shuts her eyes, he starts the car and then we’re gone. 

The streets are bustling already by the time we arrive. We park up in an underground car park near Trinity College and make our way onto the leafy Georgian streets, and I stare up at the buildings in appreciation as we pass them. There’s something about this city that I just love, it’s got an atmosphere like nowhere else, lively and young and bursting at the seams with excitement and opportunity. I don’t get to come here very often and I want to take it all in slowly, but Jude and Jen are on a mission. They weave through the crowds, hopping off footpaths onto roads and dashing across, as they are veterans of Dublin. They grew up here, went to school here, spent their weekends in these parks and shops and for them it is nothing special, it’s just another town. I try to follow their path but I keep bumping into people, tripping on cracks in the pavements, clumsily stumbling between parked cars. I’m glad that they never look around and notice me doing everything the wrong way.

They stop suddenly groaning in frustration, and when I catch up to them I realise we’re trapped behind a huge group of tourists dismounting a fifty two seater bus. They block the path entirely and we’re forced to stop and wait. The tour leader at the front of the group holds up a huge American flag and Jen cackles joyfully. “Jude! Oh my god! We’ve found your people!”

“Yeah! Wow! All of my Irish-American friends in their homeland, back to discover their roots.”

Jen puts on a silly American accent. “I’m four percent Irish, and I’ve come to kiss the Blarney Stone.”

Jude joins in and his accent is obviously better: “Where’s all the fields and the sheep? Is that Big Ben?” I giggle with them as we run across the road to get away from the crowd and Jude continues. “Hey! Somebody call the cops! Those young people are jaywalking!” I think that it’s novel that he pokes fun at himself like that, as I feel I’d be a bit defensive of myself if I were him. 

When we go into a sweet little cafe off Grafton street and order pancakes for breakfast, Jen does her makeup at the table. She’s very good at it, the way that she draws her eyeliner in one smooth stroke is fascinating to me. I feel like mine always turns out uneven and wobbly and I end up just wiping it off. 

As we eat, I decide to ask Jude a little bit more about his background. “So everyone was saying that your dad is from the States?”

“Yeah.” He says. “I was born there – down in New Mexico.”

“Wow, that sounds amazing.”

“It was alright” He says with a shrug. “It always sounds kind of exotic to people, but it was a really normal town with nothing much to do, I mean, ever since Breaking Bad has come out, everyone seems to think that my life was somehow like that.” He laughs. “But really, there were, like, just big highways and malls.”

“So nobody cooking meth?”

He smirks. “I mean, probably. I guess they just didn’t invite me to help for some reason. No six year olds in the lab, or some bullshit.”

I smile “You’ve lived here in Ireland a while?”

“Well,” He leans back in his chair. “Since I was ten. My parents tried out American life for a few years, I did elementary school and all that, but I think it was just too hard. My mom missed her family and the easier lifestyle back in Ireland, so we moved back.”

“And you like it here?”

“Sure!”

“That’s because he has the best friends in the world.” Jen says as she applies her lipstick. “And we all love him to bits.”

“Aw, so sentimental.” He says.

“…and let’s not forget about the women! If I had as many girls knocking on my door as he does I’d be pretty happy too.”

He laughs in surprise and pushes her playfully. “Don’t say that to her!”

“It’s true!” She cackles. “Evie, they love him. Can’t keep their grubby hands away, and I don’t know what it is, because he’s obviously rotten. Right?”

I laugh along and say “Yeah, so ugly.” 

He turns to me eyes wide, pretending to be shocked. “Hey! I expected better from you.”

“Sorry” I giggle. “I don’t mean it! You’re not ugly.”

“Ugh, He knows he’s not.” Jen says “Let’s not inflate his ego any more, if he gets any more powerful he’ll end up sleeping with the rest of the women who don’t already fancy him and there’ll be nobody left for the rest of us poor peasants.”

He surrenders his knife and fork and throws his hands up. “That’s enough of that. Poor girl doesn’t want to know these things about me, she’ll think I’m some sort of… floozy.” He looks straight into my eyes and my stomach erupts with butterflies – he really is so beautiful. “I haven’t slept with everyone in Dublin. She’s telling lies.” 

Then he pushes his chair back suddenly and it gives me a fright. “Let’s go to the gallery now please, if we’ve all finished picking on me.”

“I don’t know if we’re all the way done with you yet,” says Jen. “But yeah, you’re right. Let’s head on.” She packs up the rest of her makeup, and then we pay for our pancakes and leave. 

Prev // Next

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Sunday, April 21

SPIKE: Hey! Hey, let's be reasonable about this. (Riley slams him up against a pillar.) RILEY: You may have noticed, Spike... (he punches Spike in the face) RILEY: I left reasonable about three exits back.

~~Into the Woods~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Pillow Talk by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Five times Angel made chocolates for Buffy and the one time she made some for him by Liana_Medea (Buffy/Angel, G)

For Emergencies by Bobbie23 (Giles/Jenny, G)

By a whisker by squiddz (Spike & original cat character, Buffy/Spike, T)

Brick by Boring Brick by Wretched_Little_Words (Buffy & Kendra, G)

Это уже не смешно by B_E_S (Buffy/Angel, G, in Russian)

Riley's Special Spike (the plastic one, you ninny) by InvariablyStupidIdeas (Spike/Riley, M)

On a subway? by scooby-group-texts (Spike, Dawn, not rated - mentions of canon violence)

Something Red by Maxine Eden (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Pillow Talk by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy/Spike, anthology rated PG-13)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Going Astral - Chapter 1 by Geliot99 (Buffy/Spike, M)

Across Ages, Ch. 27 by Isabeau (Buffy/Spike, R)

Ties to the World, Ch. 33 by The Danish Bird (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Love Bites, Ch. 4 by cawthraven (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Truth and Consequences, Ch. 14 by JamesMFan (Buffy/Spike, R)

In Any Life, Ch. 12 by Spikelover4ever (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Hand in Flightless Hand, Ch. 4 by tragic (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Afterburn: In The Dark, Ch. 3 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Sweet Dreams (Or A Beautiful Nightmare) Ch. 2 by goodbyetoyou (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Tortured Slayer Department, Ch. 1 by BewitchedXx (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

A Ripple In Time, Ch. 1 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

To All We Guard, Ch. 12 by simmony (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Gargoyle, Ch. 4 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Centerfold, Ch. 2 by all choseny, Passion4Spike, MissLuci (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Something Blue painting by novivi (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Fanvid: Look What You Made Me Do by starryeyesxx (Buffy)

Gifset: The Albatross by detectivedawnsummers (Buffy/Spike, worksafe, includes canon death scenes)

spike + textposts by spikespeaches ()

[Reviews & Recaps]

Re: Can’t decide between S2 & S3 as the best season of Buffy by occidentaltourist

the dichotomy of band candy by shiteatinggrin

BTVS/Angel Rewatch Chronicles: Seasons 5/2, Part Four by QualifiedApathetic

Coming to the end of my 16th rewatch by Xandertheokay

[Recs & In Search Of]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fanfic Rec – a list by alwaysakin

[Fandom Discussions]

Contextless Jenny musing #47 by hal-1500

Re: you have to work on a group project with Oz, how does it go? by momsforroadhead

I cannot with s4 ending with Xander as “the heart.” by nicnacsnonsense

Crack Fic Idea: Bucky x Reader x Spike Love Triangle [Marvel crossover] by scoonsalicious

Okay, just some musing about Buffy Summers by deus--auri

When someone tells me "I normally don't like Riley but I like the way you write him." by riley-summers

Drusilla (the incredible layers of Drusilla added to the scene in Destiny) by thedeathscar

If you were to use one episode to represent each couple which would you use? by jdpm1991

What is your favourite headcanon that you one-hundred percent believe in? hosted by RavenNight789

Did anyone else feel Faith's arc would be played wildly differently if it had somehow continued on Buffy by sadhungryandvirgin

Full 180 on Dawn by Stellz04

Angelus in s2 out-Spikes Spike by Due_Resolution_8551

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[happyllamaglama]

Llamas are members of the camelid family meaning they're pretty closely related to vicuñas and camels.

Camelids first appeared on the Central Plains of North America about 40 million years ago. About 3 million years ago, llamas' ancestors migrated to South America.

During the last ice age (10,000-12,000 years ago) camelids went extinct in North America. Now there are around 160,000 llamas and 100,000 alpacas in the United States and Canada.

Llamas were first domesticated and used as pack animals 4,000 to 5,000 years ago in the Peruvian highlands.

Llamas can grow as much as 6 feet tall though the average llama between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall.

Llamas weigh between 280 and 450 pounds and can carry 25 to 30 percent of their body weight, so a 400-pound male llama can carry about 100 to 120 pounds on a trek of 10 to 12 miles with no problem.

Llamas know their own limits. If you try to overload a llama with too much weight, the llama is likely to lie down or simply refuse to move.

In the Andes Mountains of Peru, llama fleece has been shorn and used in textiles for about 6,000 years. Llama wool is light, warm, water-repellent, and free of lanolin.

Llamas are hardy and well suited to harsh environments. They are quite sure-footed, easily navigating rocky terrain at high altitudes.

Llamas are smart and easy to train.

Llamas have been used as guard animals for livestock like sheep or even alpacas in North America since the '80s. They require almost no training to be an effective guard.

Llamas don't bite. They spit when they're agitated, but that's mostly at each other. Llamas also kick and neck wrestle each other when agitated.

Llamas are vegetarians and have very efficient digestive systems.

A llama's stomach has three compartments. They are called the rumen, omasum, and abomasum. A cow's stomach has four compartments. Like cows, llamas must regurgitate and re-chew their food to digest it completely.

Llama poop has almost no odor. Llama farmers refer to llama manure as "llama beans." It makes for a great, eco-friendly fertilizer. Historically, the Incas in Peru burned dried llama poop for fuel.

Llamas live to be about 20 years old. Though some only live for 15 years and others live to be 30 years old.

A baby llama is called a "cria" which is Spanish for baby. It's pronounced KREE-uh. Baby alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos are also called crias. Mama llamas usually only have one baby at a time and llama twins are incredibly rare. Pregnancy lasts for about 350 days, nearly a full year. Crias weigh 20 to 35 pounds at birth.

Llamas come in a range of solid and spotted colors including black, gray, beige, brown, red, and white.

Llamas are social animals and prefer to live with other llamas or herd animals. The social structure of llamas changes frequently and a male llama can move up the social ladder by picking, and winning, small fights with the leader of the group.

A group of llamas is called a herd.

Llamas have two wild "cousins" that have never been domesticated: the vicuña and the guanaco. The Guanaco is closely related to the llama. Vicuñas are thought to be the ancestors of alpacas.

The current population of llamas and alpacas in South America is estimated to be more than 7 million.

Yarn made from llama fiber is soft and lightweight, yet remarkably warm. The soft, undercoat is used for garments and handicrafts while the coarse, outer coat is frequently used for rugs and ropes.

Trying to tell the difference between a llama and an alpaca? Two obvious things to look for: Llamas are generally about twice the size of alpacas, and alpacas have short, pointy ears, whereas llamas have much longer ears that stand straight up and give them an alert look.

thoughtco.com/fun-facts-about-llamas-3880940.

[rabbitcruiser]

National Aviation Day

National Aviation Day on August 19 should make us stop and think about the power of flight. Yet, some scientific and technological marvels become so commonplace that we seldom take the time to re-examine their revolutionary impact with an open and inquisitive mind.  In just a handful of generations, aviation went from pure, pie-in-the-sky speculation to a mundane reality that inspires about as much wonder as a trip aboard a Greyhound bus.

It’s that ho-hum attitude to the miracle of flight that makes National Aviation Day such an excellent national observation.  Plus, it takes place on  Orville Wright’s birthday!

Let’s take a closer look.

National Aviation Day timeline

1st Century ADChinese emperor

Legend has it that Chinese Emperor Wang Mang ordered a soldier to strap two wings to his back, who then flew 100 meters.

9th Century ADAn Andalusian takes flight

Abbas ibn Firnas is said to have covered himself with feathers, attached wings to his body and (according to Algerian historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari) "flew a considerable distance."

1799Cayley is the "father of aviation"

Sir George Cayley, an English engineer, described the model for a modern airplane — a fixed-wing machine with lift, propulsion and control mechanisms.

August 19, 1871Brother Orville is born

Orville Wright was born in Dayton, Ohio. His older brother, Wilbur, had been born in Millville, Indiana, on April 16, 1867.

December 17, 1903Orville pilots a plane

The Wright Brothers — with Orville at the helm and Wilbur making a final wing adjustment — completed the first sustained flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft on a spit of land four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

National Aviation Day Activities

Take a trip to North Carolina

Build your own airplane

Go "planespotting"!

What better way to commemorate the achievements of the Wright brothers than by flying to North Carolina and visiting the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills? Think of it as a pilgrimage to the spot where American flight first took off.

It doesn't have to be a real one, of course. You can build an airplane using Legos. Or, you can go for that old school-days standby — the paper plane.

Gather with a group of friends where you can watch airplanes taking off and landing. Bring food if the spirit moves you — a "planespotting" picnic!

5 High-flying Facts About Aviation

There aren't that many aviophobes

Maybe that's because so few have flown

A president flies

It started with bicycles

Who needs an engine?

Although it may seem like a lot of people are afraid to fly, aviophobia afflicts only about 6.5 percent of the population.

Worldwide, only about 5 percent of the population has been on an airplane.

The first U.S. president to fly in an airplane was the adventurous Theodore Roosevelt, who flew in a Wright Flyer on October 11, 1910.

The Wright Brothers got their mechanical training as owners of a bicycle shop.

A Boeing 747 without engine power can glide about two miles for every 1,000 feet or so that the plane is above the ground.

Why We Love National Aviation Day

We always choose the window seat

Space is the final frontier

The proclamation is simple and beautiful

Yes, some of us still stare in wonder out the plane's window as we ponder something that seems delightfully impossible. We are, after all, sitting inside a giant flying machine traveling many hundreds of miles per hour, thousands of feet above the landscape below. How can this be?

Many of the mechanical, technological and scientific breakthroughs in space travel would be unthinkable without the advancements inspired by the Wright Brothers' original experiments on a sandy strip of North Carolina coastline.

The National Aviation Day proclamation invites "the people of the United States to observe National Aviation Day with appropriate exercises to further stimulate interest in aviation in the United States." In short, it's a day to keep planes on the membrane!

Source

[erinptah]

Annotated Fall Bonus Strip #1

In print, this is the break between Volume 5 and Volume 6, and a lot of stuff will get re-introduced or finally-explained in the next chapter.

It’s also where these bonus comics fall in the original archive order! Perfectly timed for a slightly-longer chapter break. I’ll be posting these Mondays and Thursdays until we have the whole set.

And hey, look, this is where I put all my sources about food drives.

Timothy is delivering statistics from Bread for the World, which is an excellent organization, even if its name isn’t as chantable as Everybody Gets A Loaf And A Fish. (Some further analysis from Slacktivist.) (And even more from Slate.)

Bennett: Welcome back to Definitely Right News with Arthur Bennett! Brought to you by Bucks News. Today’s topic: feeding the poor. What’s the deal with that? Don’t regular meals just cut into the time they could be using to look for jobs? The government needs to get out of this area completely. Churches have programs to deal with this kind of thing, right? I haven’t checked. But I assume they do!

Timothy: Ahem . . .

Hi there! My name is Timothy Mattei. I work for a church. In fact, I’m a coordinator for our Everybody Gets A Loaf And A Fish! program. And there’s one tiny problem with your let-us-handle-all-the-food plan:

Right now, private groups are doing one twenty-fourth of the nutrition assistance in this country. Not half! Not even a tenth! We have four point two percent of this covered. The government is handling the other 95.8%.

We can’t do 24 times as much work! Even if we could, where are we going to get 24 times the money? Are you going to up your charitable donations by 2300%?

Bennett: Uh . . . Sure!

Next time we have a canned goods drive at the office, I’ll bring in 24 cans of peas instead of one!

Timothy: Lord, give me the strength not to hit this man with a fish.

(Originally posted here on But I'm A Cat Person.)

[mariacallous]

During its brutal war in Ukraine, Russian troops have burnt cities to the ground, raped and tortured civilians, and committed scores of potential war crimes. On November 23, lawmakers across Europe overwhelmingly labeled Russia a “state sponsor” of terrorism and called for ties with the country to be reduced further. The response to the declaration was instant. The European Parliament’s website was knocked offline by a DDoS attack.

The unsophisticated attack—which involves flooding a website with traffic to make it inaccessible—disrupted the Parliament’s website offline for several hours. Pro-Russian hacktivist group Killnet claimed responsibility for the attack. The hacktivist group has targeted hundreds of organizations around the world this year, having some limited small-scale successes knocking websites offline for short periods of time. It’s been one player in a bigger hacktivism surge. 

Following years of sporadic hacktivist activity, 2022 has seen the re-emergence of hacktivism on a large scale. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine spawned scores of hacktivist groups on both sides of the conflict, while in Iran and Israel, so-called hacktivist groups are launching increasingly destructive attacks. This new wave of hacktivism, which varies between groups and countries, comes with new tactics and approaches and, increasingly, is blurring lines between hacktivism and government-sponsored attacks.

“I’m not going to say that hacktivism was dying, but it was definitely withering for some time,” says Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, principal threat researcher at security firm SentinelOne. For the past four or five years, Guerrero-Saade explains, hacktivism has often existed at extremes: low-level disruptions and more sophisticated attacks that could be cover for a nation-state’s hacking. “You have so many more players in the space and a much beefier middle ground between those two extremes,” Guerrero-Saade says of the current situation.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February prompted a surge in hacktivism activity. Legacy hacktivist collective Anonymous was revitalized, but new groups were also formed. Ukraine’s unprecedented IT Army, a volunteer group of hackers from around the world, has continuously launched DDoS attacks against Russian targets that are outlined in its Telegram group. In June, a speech by Vladimir Putin was delayed after a cyberattack. Other hacktivist-linked groups have run huge hack-and-leak operations against Russian entities, resulting in hundreds of gigabytes of data from Russia being published online.

On the other side of the conflict, there are four main pro-Russian hacktivist groups, says Sergey Shykevich, threat intelligence group manager at security firm Check Point. These are: Killnet, NoName 057, From Russia With Love, and XakNet. Killnet is probably the most active of these groups, Shykevich says. “Since April, they have targeted around 650 targets—only about 5 percent of them were Ukraine.” Its targets, like the European Parliament, have largely been countries that oppose Russia. The group, which mostly uses DDoS attacks, is proactive on Telegram, media friendly, and appeals to Russian speakers.

DDoS attacks still have an outsize place within modern hacktivism. An FBI notification, issued in early November, says those behind DDoS attacks have “minimal operational impact” on their victims. “Hacktivists often select targets perceived to have a greater perceived impact rather than an actual disruption of operations,” the FBI said. In other words: The bark is often worse than the bite. 

Erica Lonergan, a research scholar at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University, says the impact of DDoS attacks is often overstated. Media reports can overemphasize the impact of DDoS, making it sound more severe than it is. “There’s this gap between the hyperbole of the language that’s used to talk about the types of attacks that these groups like Killnet are engaged in, and then the reality of their impact,” Lonergan says. 

But it isn’t all DDoS. In South America, the Guacamaya hacktivist group claims to have hacked mining companies and leaked their internal emails. The politically motivated Belarusian Cyber Partisans, which formed in 2020 following Alexander Lukashenko’s election, has innovated as it disrupts Russian and Belarusian efforts linked to the war. The highly organized group became the first to use ransomware for purely political objectives. It has also claimed to have taken data from Russian government organizations and mapped the data of government officials who have backed Lukashenko’s regime. 

Guerrero-Saade says the Cyber Partisans are part of a new style of hacktivists that use targeted sabotage and disruption. “To us, it looked very much like they’re an authentic group. They’re coordinating locally and trying out new ways to actually slow down or disrupt or inconvenience the local government away from supporting the war,” Guerrero-Saade says.

In Iran, the Predatory Sparrow group of hackers—which claims to be hacktivists—used a cyberattack to start a fire in a steel factory in July. The move was an incredibly rare use of a cyberattack to cause physical damage. In 2021, the Adalat Ali hacktivist group hacked and leaked CCTV footage from the notorious Evin political prison. The incidents were part of a larger series of cyberattacks between Iran and Israel. They show the potential extremes of hacktivism.

Check Point’s Shykevich says much of the hacktivism seen in 2022 can be classified as “state-affiliated” hacking. “In most cases, it’s difficult to tell if this group is guided or sponsored by a specific state organization,” Shykevich says. “But most of those groups, they have very clear pro or anti-regime narrative.”

Working out who is behind a cyberattack of any kind is always complex and difficult for organizations to do—attackers often try to disguise their activity or hide it from view. However, there is evidence some hacktivists are linked to individual countries. Researchers suspect Predatory Sparrow is linked to a government, for instance. Meanwhile, security firm Mandiant believes that the pro-Russian groups XakNet, Infoccentr, and Cyber Army of Russia all coordinate their operations with Russia’s GRU military hackers. The Cyber Army of Russia launched DDoS attacks against US organizations around the November midterm elections, with XakNet and KillNet also trying to influence the elections, Mandiant claims.

“They can be used in witting and unwitting ways by governments for political purposes,” Lonergan says. “Killnet for example, on the Russian side, has been pretty explicit in its Telegram channels of disavowing direct links with Moscow. But at the same time, they follow the implicit rules of the road of Russian cyber proxy groups.” Russian cybercrime groups rarely attack Russian targets, and the Kremlin has largely turned a blind eye to them.

The result is that while hacktivist groups are becoming more sophisticated and testing new tools, there’s increasing uncertainty about their origins. “There will be more hacktivism groups that will be more affiliated with governments,” Shykevich says. “Generally, this year the lines between what is governmental attack, hacktivism, and cybercrime have completely blurred.”

[infamousbrad]

"Y Combinator, a start-up accelerator that moved from the South Bay to San Francisco this year, said it is still seeing many AI applicants. Sixty-four percent of its most recent batch of companies were AI-focused, and nearly 60 percent of its overall AI portfolio is based in San Francisco. ¶ Jared Friedman, a group partner at the accelerator, says this is reminiscent of the early 2000s web boom."

(Danielle Abril, "From doom to boom: AI is slowly re-energizing San Francisco. Buzzy AI startups are landing big investments, drawing talent to the city and occupying more real estate." Washington Post, October 23, 2023.)

Dude!?! You're not supposed to say that part out loud!

[90363462]

Republicans, Fear the Young

Nov. 19, 2022Seventy percent of the younger electorate in Pennsylvania voted for John Fetterman.Quinn Glabicki/Reuters

By John Della Volpe

Mr. Della Volpe is the director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics.

Stressed and sickened by thoughts of their rights and democracy slipping away, young Americans across gender, racial, geographic and education lines banded together last week to help save the Democrats from what many foresaw as a sizable midterm defeat. If the elections had been decided by voters 45 and older, Republicans would have won the House by an even greater margin and likely taken the Senate. But thanks to young voters (especially the 18-to-29 age group, which had the second-highest turnout in midterm elections in almost 30 years, according to early estimates from Tufts University), Democrats retained the Senate, showing that an alliance of Gen Z and millennial voters answered history’s call to defend democracy. The majority of them rejected the big lie. They possess the turbulent, kinetic energy that withstands red waves. They will propel Democrats’ progressive agenda forward if the party seizes the moment.

In 2018, young voters were key to Nancy Pelosi regaining the speaker’s gavel. In 2020, millennials and members of Gen Z were instrumental in moving Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin into Joe Biden’s column, thus relegating Donald Trump to a one-term presidency. Winning one election might be an accident. Two, an anomaly. Three in a row proves that earning the support of the Gen Z-millennial alliance is essential to winning elections in our current era.

While Gen Z and millennial voters tend to vote Democratic, the preference is most pronounced in voters under 30. Consider some of the recent exit polls: In Arizona, the incumbent Democratic senator Mark Kelly won 76 percent of the 18-to-29-year-old vote, while the election denier Republican Blake Masters received just 20 percent, according to a CNN exit poll. In Pennsylvania, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, dominated the youth vote, receiving 70 percent, compared with the 28 percent Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Republican, received. And in Nevada, the incumbent Democratic senator Catherine Cortez Masto earned re-election against the Republican Adam Laxalt, thanks in no small part to her effort among young voters, whom she won resoundingly: Sixty-four percent, compared to Laxalt’s 31 percent.

This union of Gen Z and millennial voters will account for nearly 40 percent of votes in the next presidential election, according to estimates from the Center for American Progress. Republicans ignore this voting bloc at their peril. Even among white voters — the traditional Republican base — the youngest are slipping away to support Democrats. While midterm estimates show that the majority of whites over 30 years old voted Republican, 58 percent of whites under 30 voted for Democratic House candidates.

This is perhaps not surprising given how out of touch with young people party stalwarts such as Senator Ted Cruz can sometimes seem. Mr. Cruz, potentially provoking millions of voters following Mr. Biden’s student loan forgiveness announcement, said: “If you are that slacker barista who wasted seven years in college studying completely useless things, now has loans and can’t get a job, Joe Biden just gave you 20 grand.”

Democrats who court the youth vote fully will likely outperform their competitors in 2024. Now is the time to listen more intently, see beyond the top-line polling data and better understand the values and vision of this still emerging voting bloc intent on saving the America they believe is under threat.

As the salience of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization illustrates, young voters, both Democratic and Republican, are exceedingly concerned about rights — not just their own. A defining attribute of young Americans today is the degree to which they stand up and fight for those even more vulnerable than they are. Roughly four months before the Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of precedent on abortion, preserving individual rights and freedoms overpowered more than a dozen other midterm-year issues such as climate change and criminal justice reform, according to a national surveyof likely voters ages 17 to 34 that my firm, SocialSphere, conducted for Snapchat.

Similarly, according to the fall 2022 Harvard Youth Poll, a national survey I oversee for the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, 59 percent of young Americans believe their rights are under attack and 73 percent are troubled that the rights of others are threatened. Defending and expanding fundamental rights must be a cornerstone of the Democrats’ 2024 program. As the right for women to control their bodies animated younger voters in red states and blue, so too could a campaign for the right to inherit a healthy planet, to feel safe in school, to receive quality education, health care and an economy of opportunity.

As the 2022 post-mortems evolve into 2024 strategy, Mr. Biden and Democrats would also be well served to invest more in relational organizing, which enables young Americans to share with their peers the many campaign promises the president successfully delivered. Breaking through the algorithmic bubble of the uninterested is a complex challenge for political operatives. Our research shows that the more closely younger Americans follow politics, the more likely they are to approve of Mr. Biden’s job performance. As Victor Shi, a U.C.L.A. junior and Mr. Biden’s youngest convention delegate in 2020, reminded me, “the messenger matters, and it’s much easier for a young person to listen if it comes from their peer.”

Like all voters, young Americans stay engaged when they recognize the tangible difference their votes can make. By never losing sight of the threat to our democracy and focusing on concrete deliverables such as an assault weapons ban, a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, investments in child care and more affordable housing, Democrats can continue to attract and galvanize this critical part of their evolving base.

Many of the young men and women who voted for Democrats this fall have a complicated relationship with America. They have been told of our exceptionalism but rarely experienced it themselves or seen our nation united. Their brightest political memories are when the powerful protect and defend the vulnerable — like the day in 2015, a zoomer told me recently, when President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Biden lit the White House in rainbow L.G.B.T.Q. Pride colors in honor of the Supreme Court recognizing same-sex marriage. In the eyes of many young voters, this is how America meets its destiny: when the passion of the grass roots melds with the power of institutions to forge progress. As political analysts methodically review the numbers after an election for the ages, anyone interested in the winning formula for 2024 should closely examine those between the ages of 18 and 39.

Mr. Della Volpe (@dellavolpe) is the director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics and has overseen its youth poll since 2000. He is the author of “Fight: How Gen Z Is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America.”

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

[themaidenofwords]

On my planet, a missing limb is akin to a death sentence.

My race is born with six primary appendages. Four we walk with. Two we hold things with. This is how it is meant to be. Any deviations from the proper genetic structure are dealt with before birth. Our healers are capable of re-configuring faulty genetics before the egg is laid and the hatching grows deformed. This is how it is meant to be.

There have been cases of tragic accidents post birth. Times where sickness or the untimely collapse of a grimblespire has made the sacrifice of a limb necessary. The part must be sacrificed so that the whole may live on. Some learn to live past the tragedy. Most do not. This is natural. This is how it is meant to be.

The wars changed all of that.

My race was a peaceful one. We were not prepared for the grueling cost of constant destruction and misery. We didn't have enough soldiers to begin with, and then we began to lose the soldiers we did have on the battlefield. Many of those that survived lost a limb or three. It used to be that these survivors would be sent home to try and learn how to live their lives in the face of their missing parts. After all, it is not the end if only part is sacrificed for the whole. There is still a chance.

But those were the old days when we had soldiers to spare. When we could afford to release our wounded. When the battle didn't rely on their mutilated joints.

The first volunteers for prosthetic replacements had haunted eyes. They underwent surgery and awoke with metal grafted into skin and nerves that screamed wrong unnatural get it off. The first volunteers never made it back to the battlefield. The strongest of the group only made it a few weeks before succumbing to the allure of a quick death. Nature never meant for what was lost to be replaced by machines. A living abomination seemed an affront to our society.

The second and third batch of volunteers ended in the same way. They lasted longer than the first group, but in the end they could not face the unnatural hatefulness of themselves. All suicidal methods were removed, and the amputees responded by retreating within their minds to escape themselves.

It wasn't until the fifth batch of volunteers that we faced success. Only two of that group went on to continue the fight on the battlefield, using their new limbs in defense of their home. At our best, only forty percent of prosthetic recipients ever returned to the battlefield.

Metal and flesh were never meant to bind. Nerves were never meant to be replaced with wiring. A sacrificed limb was never meant to return. This is not how it was meant to be.

And yet

We had no choice but to continue. Four out of ten surviving soldiers meant four more defenders of our planet. The cost could not be too high when our families and hatchlings were at stake. So, on we fought, desperately begging for peace.

And then the Federation sent the humans as reinforcements. Humans, who are know for being loyal to a cause and devilish fighters. They could turn our war around.

And so they did.

The humans descended from their ships with their various skin colors painting a multicolored horde of white, tan, brown, and metal. Dozens if not hundreds of soldiers who had cybernetic arms or legs, and some with both. Far past the point that would have driven one of my people mad, the humans stood tall with only grim-- but sane-- determination in their eyes.

Our leader approached the human general-- who himself had an unnervingly red hued prosthetic eye shining out of his face-- and tried to discover their secret. How many soldiers had they sacrificed to have so many damaged ones on the field.

"Damaged? What, are our soldiers not good enough for you?" The general's offense was clear even through the translator.

"That was not my meaning," Our leader said ubiquitously. "My people have been forced to resort to cybernetic additions in order to continue the fight, but most patients do not make it past a full cycle. Nature rebels against the unnatural."

The general's red eyed implant seemed to glow brighter. "Our injured soldiers are not worthless or broken. Whether they choose to use prosthetics or no, their value is not diminished. Yes, the loss of a limb is traumatic, but work with them to recover as much as possible."

Our leader's antennae wavered in confusion. "Is it not better for nature to take its course?"

"What is natural is living. And whatever we can do to help someone live again and live fully we will do it. We choose to grow stronger from our tragedies, not submit."

"I feel that my people has much to learn from yours, General."

"If we can help your soldiers live on, then I would be more than happy to assist you."

The war did not end without more tragedy, but end it did.

The humans introduced my people to their therapists and counselors. They showed us how to move past our tragedies and better accommodate those who were injured.

This is right. This is natural.

To overcome and live.

When a soldier loses a limb, it is a tragedy. Soldiers are needed at peak efficiency, so they must undergoes the unthinkable - grafting metal to flesh. A horrific abomination, the mere process is often enough to shatter what is left of their mind. Then, there are the humans.

[bllsbailey]

CNN's Poll of Polls Provides a Shocking Update on Trump’s Chances

Only time will tell which polling methodology was correct, but Donald J. Trump is performing better than ever, especially in the Midwest. Kamala Harris isn’t breaking away like she needs to regarding countering the underestimated Trump vote. Joe Biden was ahead of Trump by several points in the waning weeks of the 2020 election and still just squeezed by; he only won Pennsylvania by 80,000 votes. It wasn’t necessarily a landslide. Trump only needed 46,000 votes to be re-elected in 2020, so Harris only being ahead by two to three points isn’t enough. 

With the latest slew of polling data, CNN’s poll of polls gives Trump a near-70 percent chance of winning the 2024 election:

What’s glaring is the underperformance by Kamala Harris among core Democratic voter groups. She’s woefully underwater with union voters, projected to be the worst performing Democrat in a generation. She’s grossly underperforming among black and Jewish voters, too. Is she doing better than Biden in some crosstabs? Sure, but having a pulse isn’t a high benchmark. 

Don’t let up for a second, but it’s not doom and gloom territory which was where we were at this point four years ago.

Trending on Townhall Videos

[pcttrailsidereader]

Project 2025, Trump, and the Department of the Interior

The topic of public lands rarely surfaces in the questions posed in presidential and vice-presidential debates. It is difficult to know how either the Trump or the Harris administration will approach public lands apart from how the first Trump administration dealt with the issue and, assuming that Harris shares some of the philosophy of Joe Biden, how the last four years have unfolded.

In this post, I intend to look at the Trump record as well as the roadmap laid out by Project 2025, the policy white paper written by conservatives and a number of former Trump staffers. Between 2016 - 2020, the Trump administration systematically reduced the emphasis on climate change, re-examined a handful of wilderness and protected land designations, relocated the BLM headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Grand Junction, Colorado (the Biden administration returned the headquarters to Washington, D.C.), and supported oil and mineral extraction and reduced regulation. He also signed the Great American Outdoors Act which has pumped significant funding (billions!) back into public lands. The GAOA also provided annual funding to the decades-old Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). These are two very positive initiatives in support of public lands.

Project 2025 has several thrusts as it relates to the Department of the Interior. Based upon the 2016 - 2020 record, these areas of emphasis seem to be in line with Trump priorities:

1) Departmental overhaul

The Department of the Interior encompasses nine bureaus, each with distinct missions ranging from managing national parks to overseeing energy resources. Project 2025 proposes several administrative and structural changes. One of the first major proposals is to again return BLM headquarters back to the American West from Washington, D.C. This move, combined with the implementation of Trump's Schedule F proposal aimed at increasing accountability in hiring and firing federal employees, suggests a significant shift in the DOI's operational dynamics.

2) Energy production and resource extraction

The energy section of the chapter was written by Kathleen Sgamma of the Western Energy Alliance, an oil and gas industry group; Dan Kish of the Institute for Energy Research, a think tank long skeptical of human-caused climate change; and Katie Tubb of the Heritage Foundation. The authors set the tone of the section, titled “Restoring American Energy Dominance,” with this passage:

“Given the dire adverse national impact of Biden’s war on fossil fuels, no other initiative is as important for the DOI under a conservative President than the restoration of the department’s historic role managing the nation’s vast storehouse of hydrocarbons, much of which is yet to be discovered.”

The energy section calls for rolling back Biden-era executive orders and reinstating Trump-era policies that favor oil and gas development. Specific proposals include expanding onshore and offshore oil and gas lease sales, restarting the federal coal leasing program, and reversing protections for areas like the White River National Forest in Colorado.

This aggressive push toward fossil fuel development raises environmental and economic concerns. Critics argue that such policies could undermine efforts to combat climate change and protect public lands from overexploitation.

3) Regulatory and policy reforms

Project 2025 also targets regulatory frameworks like the National Environmental Policy Act, seeking to streamline environmental reviews and permitting processes while eliminating climate reviews for federally funded projects. The document proposes reinstating Trump-era limitations on the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which could lead to reduced protections for vulnerable species.

Further, the project aims to revoke President Joe Biden’s 30-by-30 plan, which aims to conserve 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, and seeks the repeal of the Antiquities Act of 1906, potentially opening up national monuments to commercial activities.

4) Implications for Indigenous lands

The document outlines plans to facilitate fossil fuel and mineral development on Indian lands and overhaul the Bureau of Indian Education. These proposals, combined with securing the nation's borders to protect tribal lands, suggest a significant shift in how the federal government interacts with Native American tribes.

5) A critical examination

Project 2025 presents a vision for the Department of the Interior that aligns closely with the priorities of the Trump administration. While Project 2025 presents a bold vision for the department, its potential impacts on public lands, environmental protections and Indigenous rights demand critical scrutiny. Proponents argue that these changes are necessary for economic growth and national security, but the emphasis on deregulation and resource extraction raises concerns about long-term sustainability and the balance between economic development and conservation. As voters and policymakers consider these proposals, it is essential to weigh the long-term consequences for America's natural heritage and the principles of conservation that have guided the DOI for over a century.

The sweeping changes proposed in Project 2025 underscore a broader ideological battle over the role of government in managing natural resources and protecting the environment. As these plans come under public and political scrutiny, the stakes for America's public lands and natural heritage could not be higher. The next administration's approach to these issues will shape the nation's environmental and energy policies for years to come.

In a future post, I will take a look at the Biden record and any statements that Harris has made on the topic.

It is imperative that those of us who use and love the land, make our voices heard by voting!

[sa7abnews]

Venezuela: Nicolas Maduro blocks X amid election results dispute

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/11/venezuela-nicolas-maduro-blocks-x-amid-election-results-dispute-2/

Venezuela: Nicolas Maduro blocks X amid election results dispute

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro suspended access to the social media site X on Thursday, as he faced renewed pressure from a trio of friendly Latin American nations to release data proving his claimed re-election was valid.

The president announced his government was blocking the social media platform formerly known as Twitter for 10 days, while accusing the site’s owner Elon Musk of “inciting hate and fascism” in Venezuela.

Election authorities declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 vote but have yet to release detailed results, leading left-wing allies Brazil, Colombia and Mexico on Thursday to reiterate a joint call on the National Electoral Council (CNE) to disclose polling records.

Protests sparked last week by the declaration of Maduro’s victory left at least 24 people dead, according to rights groups, with thousands also arrested.

The Venezuelan opposition claims to have won in a landslide and warned on Thursday of a potential mass exodus if Maduro is allowed to remain in power.

“If Maduro chooses to stay by force, the only thing we will see is a wave of migration like never before: three, four, five million Venezuelans in a very short span of time,” opposition leader Maria Corina Machado – who was barred from running in the election – said in a video conference with Mexican news outlets.

According to the United Nations, more than seven million Venezuelans have fled the country of 30 million since Maduro took over in 2013, mostly to other Latin American countries and the United States.

Maduro has overseen an unprecedented economic crisis, including an 80 percent drop in the once-wealthy oil-rich country’s GDP, amid domestic economic mismanagement and international sanctions.

Washington has spearheaded sanctions against the Maduro regime and on Thursday threatened that further measures would be taken if he were to arrest Machado or Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the retired diplomat who stood as the opposition candidate in the election.

“I think that would be a step that could mobilise the international community even more, even those that might be somewhat sympathetic and don’t want to rattle things too much in Venezuela,” Francisco Mora, US ambassador to the Organization of American States, said at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank.

Machado – who says she fears for her life – and Gonzalez Urrutia have been in hiding for more than a week.

Highlighting the opposition’s perilous security situation, two other leaders were arrested on Thursday, party officials and family members said.

Ex-lawmakers Williams Davila and Americo De Grazia were arrested separately, adding to the growing list of reported sudden post-election detainments.

‘International hysteria’

The public prosecutor’s office has opened a criminal probe against Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia for “usurpation of functions, diffusion of false information, incitement to disobedience of the laws, incitement to insurrection” and “criminal association”.

Citing his fear that he would be “jeopardising” his freedom if he did so, Gonzalez Urrutia on Wednesday defied a Supreme Court summons over the disputed results.

The court summoned all presidential candidates, including Maduro, and other opposition politicians, some of whom did attend. Maduro is due to appear before the court on Friday.

Fellow left-wing governments from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico praised the verification process undertaken by the court but released a statement saying that they “start from the premise that the CNE is the organ legally mandated to transparently disclose the electoral results.”

Critics say the court, and the electoral authority, are unfailingly loyal to Maduro, who wants the body to simply “validate” his victory.

The CNE ratified Maduro’s victory with 52 percent of votes, but did not publish detailed results and even claimed to have been hacked.

The opposition has launched a website with copies of 84 percent of ballots cast, showing an easy win for Gonzalez Urrutia with two-thirds of votes. The government claims those are forged.

The opposition and several observers accuse the CNE of inventing the hack at the government’s behest to avoid publishing the real results.

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday hit out at the international community and critics on social media for “an international hysteria around the (election) minutes, they could even make a Netflix series.”

Maduro on Thursday night told a rally of supporters that X, formerly Twitter, would be “withdrawn from circulation” by the state agency in charge of telecommunications. He did not give details on how the suspension would work.

“No one will silence me, I will confront the espionage of the technological empire,” he said, accusing American billionaire Musk of “inciting hatred and fascism.”

Jennie Lincoln, head of the Carter Center delegation that was invited to monitor the Venezuelan election, told AFP that that US-based organisation had “no evidence” of a cyberattack.

In addition to the protester deaths, Maduro announced the death of two police officers and the arrest of more than 2,200 people.

[libraryofcirclaria]

1264

Library of Circlaria

Cabotton University Timeline

1253-55

The music program, up to this point, had been collectively run by numerous Cabotton Scholars, serving as the last "holdout" of former Headmaster Thomas Snow's old curriculum and being known for having numerous informal music group ensembles. Headmaster Cross, however, had a vision to re-establish this program as one with more integrity and unity. Slightly more than half of those in the program actually supported Cross in this endeavor despite opposition led by Kara Tomwell. And in May 1253, Cabotton University hired Robert Manning, who started his tenure that fall and established a new music program which would grow into one of good repute in the years to come.

Also under Cross' leadership, and with majority passage of University Council, the University filed for and officially became an accredited institution under the Congress of Circlaria, meaning that it received important international funding.

Cross sought re-election as Headmaster in 1255, proposing in his next term to have the University build much-needed off-campus housing as well as four more Schools on the Campus. These new Schools were to be focused on the subjects of finance, trade, and medicine. Challenging him, from former Headmaster Snow's faction, was Kara Tomwell, who promised to bring back the old research-based curriculum from the Thomas Snow era. Tomwell was also opposed to Cross' student housing expansion agenda, citing the excessive costs, and proposed alternatively to build library branches carrying University textbooks and establish a remote learning curriculum. The majority of the student body, however, was very supportive of Cross' achievement of Cabotton University's Congress of Circlaria accreditation in that it helped to avoid budget shortfalls without having to force the University to charge tuition. And so Cross won re-election in 1255 with 60 percent of the vote.

1255-61

Under Cross' policy, with construction beginning in the summer of 1256 and finishing in the summer 1257, the First Student Housing Expansion Initiative included a Fleming House Residence in downtown Cabotton Proper, a James Randall House Residence North of Cabotton, a Thomas Adams House Residence East of Cabotton, a Karl Deering House Residence South of Cabotton, and an Alexander Norris House Residence West of Cabotton. Each Residence had only one level and was considered to be the Sixth Floor of each University House. Each Residence also followed the same floor plan as the Fifth Floor of each House at Cabotton University. And each Residence was connected with the other Four, and also the Main Campus, by an underground granular thread cable rail tram system.

In 1257, an incident on Mount Carris triggered panic across the University as well as across the nation. Headmaster Cross responded by stepping up the powers and security measures of the Campus Watch, and also by dispatching University Reserve Corps to the Mount Carris region and take part in an agenda that ultimately failed to subdue the Finzi Darkfire Community but resulted in compromises between them and the Retunian Federal Government. Nonetheless, those in the Corps received recognition from the Federal Government and academic credit from the University.

James Black was the incumbent Prime Minister of the Retunian Republic at the time. However, Edward Jackson, an alumnus of Cabotton University, announced in June 1257 his intent to run for the Prime Minister position in the upcoming 1260 election, running on behalf of a new centrist third party called the Diplomatic Party. As a highlight to his campaign, Jackson promised to conference with the Great Northern banks for donations to fund a Retunian federal block grant that he, should he become elected Prime Minister, promised to give to the University as well as a similar block grant to the Pagotta family to establish a deep-trade business. Jackson made a campaign stop at Cabotton University in the summer of 1258, where he oversaw a temporary model deep-trade market exchange forum for participating students, at the end of which he gave an inspiring speech. Student sentiment up to that point, both on behalf of the liberal National Labor Party and the conservative Foundationist Party, had been against deep-trade, which was seen as nothing more than a money game among the privileged elite. After Jackson's visit, however, a large faction of both camps in the student body had come to support Jackson's deep-trade agenda for the Republic.

In 1259, the Retunian Republic was made to engage in a short-lived but intense conflict, known as the Chemkan War, against a notorious maritime terror organization known as the Vandalish. Headmaster Cross recruited numerous University Corps to take part in this. And incumbent Prime Minster James Black gave them honors and monetary awards afterward, while Headmaster Cross gave them, once again, credits toward graduation. This led some Cabotton Scholars to gravitate toward the Thomas Snow faction and decry such "privileges" as compromising the University principle of student equality. Cross defended his policies, though he was still concerned about his prospects for the upcoming 1261 Headmaster election. So he broke with an unwritten precedent by endorsing Edward Jackson for the Prime Minister election.

This endorsement gave those Cabotton students supporting Jackson a feeling of empowerment; and so they voted in droves in the 1260 general election. Cross was seen as more conservative as Thomas Snow, and so had only roughly more than half of the student body supporting him. However, many in Snow's faction were Jackson supporters, and so had turned to support Cross after his endorsement.

Edward Jackson had narrowly won the 1260 election, but this was nonetheless a win. So Jackson began his tenure as Prime Minister per constitutional protocol in January 1261. That year, he worked an agenda involving infiltration and shrewd diplomacy against the remaining government seat of the former Combrian Chartered State in the Diamond District of Hasphitat. After they submitted to Retunian federal jurisdiction, the Combrian National Bank was subsequently liquidated and divided into what would become the Big Five Banks. The Five Banks, after a round of legislation, donated further funds to the block grants that Jackson promised the University and the Pagotta family, grants which he finally signed into policy by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, in September 1261, Martin Cross, up against the now-divided Snow faction which failed to back a single opposition candidate that year, won handily re-election as the University Headmaster for a third term.

West Horizon and the Renovations

The measure signed by Prime Minister Jackson in late 1261 delivered the promised block grants to Cabotton University and the Pagotta family. For the University, this meant funding for the construction of four new Schools: the School of Deep Trade toward the Northwest, the School of Lightfire toward the Northeast, the School of Finance toward the Southwest, and New Hospital and School of Medicine toward the Southeast. The measure almost came to an impasse in University Council in 1262, as Kara Tomwell and the Thomas Snow camp made enough counter-arguments to spark intense and prolonged debates. However, after endorsements and promises made by the Pagotta family, the University Council finally voted to proceed with the construction project.

Construction on the four Schools began in the summer of 1263 and concluded by fall 1264. On 02 September 1264, the Pagotta officially opened a newly-constructed state-of-the-art facility in Three Points, Ereautea, establishing the lightfire company: West Horizon.

<- 1252 <- || -> 1276 ->

[rabbitcruiser]

National Aviation Day

National Aviation Day on August 19 should make us stop and think about the power of flight. Yet, some scientific and technological marvels become so commonplace that we seldom take the time to re-examine their revolutionary impact with an open and inquisitive mind.  In just a handful of generations, aviation went from pure, pie-in-the-sky speculation to a mundane reality that inspires about as much wonder as a trip aboard a Greyhound bus.

It’s that ho-hum attitude to the miracle of flight that makes National Aviation Day such an excellent national observation.  Plus, it takes place on  Orville Wright’s birthday!

Let’s take a closer look.

National Aviation Day timeline

1st Century ADChinese emperor

Legend has it that Chinese Emperor Wang Mang ordered a soldier to strap two wings to his back, who then flew 100 meters.

9th Century ADAn Andalusian takes flight

Abbas ibn Firnas is said to have covered himself with feathers, attached wings to his body and (according to Algerian historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari) "flew a considerable distance."

1799Cayley is the "father of aviation"

Sir George Cayley, an English engineer, described the model for a modern airplane — a fixed-wing machine with lift, propulsion and control mechanisms.

August 19, 1871Brother Orville is born

Orville Wright was born in Dayton, Ohio. His older brother, Wilbur, had been born in Millville, Indiana, on April 16, 1867.

December 17, 1903Orville pilots a plane

The Wright Brothers — with Orville at the helm and Wilbur making a final wing adjustment — completed the first sustained flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft on a spit of land four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

National Aviation Day Activities

Take a trip to North Carolina

Build your own airplane

Go "planespotting"!

What better way to commemorate the achievements of the Wright brothers than by flying to North Carolina and visiting the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills? Think of it as a pilgrimage to the spot where American flight first took off.

It doesn't have to be a real one, of course. You can build an airplane using Legos. Or, you can go for that old school-days standby — the paper plane.

Gather with a group of friends where you can watch airplanes taking off and landing. Bring food if the spirit moves you — a "planespotting" picnic!

5 High-flying Facts About Aviation

There aren't that many aviophobes

Maybe that's because so few have flown

A president flies

It started with bicycles

Who needs an engine?

Although it may seem like a lot of people are afraid to fly, aviophobia afflicts only about 6.5 percent of the population.

Worldwide, only about 5 percent of the population has been on an airplane.

The first U.S. president to fly in an airplane was the adventurous Theodore Roosevelt, who flew in a Wright Flyer on October 11, 1910.

The Wright Brothers got their mechanical training as owners of a bicycle shop.

A Boeing 747 without engine power can glide about two miles for every 1,000 feet or so that the plane is above the ground.

Why We Love National Aviation Day

We always choose the window seat

Space is the final frontier

The proclamation is simple and beautiful

Yes, some of us still stare in wonder out the plane's window as we ponder something that seems delightfully impossible. We are, after all, sitting inside a giant flying machine traveling many hundreds of miles per hour, thousands of feet above the landscape below. How can this be?

Many of the mechanical, technological and scientific breakthroughs in space travel would be unthinkable without the advancements inspired by the Wright Brothers' original experiments on a sandy strip of North Carolina coastline.

The National Aviation Day proclamation invites "the people of the United States to observe National Aviation Day with appropriate exercises to further stimulate interest in aviation in the United States." In short, it's a day to keep planes on the membrane!

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