#i have to cooperate with her to deal with an important financial issue. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

xxdragonwriterxx · 4 years ago

Text

🔥I’m Done Playing Games So I’m Going Down in Flames (Mafia AU)🔥

A/N: Okay so I’ve been reading a lot of Mafia AU’s lately and now I’m obsessed. I’ve always loved this AU but some amazing recent fics have revived my soft spot for them so I decided to give a shot at my own! If you want some absolutely top notch Mafia AU Levi fics to read, go read the stuff from @mysteriousmagicx and @ackermans-freedom-inc! They both have fantastic work all around and inspire me all the time. Thanks for the support and enjoy!

🐉 Song Recommendation: “The Search” By: NF 🐉

~~~

‘Damn, she’s still working isn’t she?’ Levi thought as he looked up from the crime thriller he’d been reading, his brow furrowed as he glared at the closed door of their bedroom, waiting for his girlfriend to finally come to bed with him.

He glanced at the clock and sighed when the little red numbers told him it was already 3 AM. While he greatly admired his girlfriend’s work ethic and stamina, always getting everything done efficiently, he also hated it. She tended to let her responsibilities take over her life, working until she collapsed and neglecting to take care of herself until every project was done for the day, which unfortunately, always seemed like a never ending list.

Levi got up, determined to get her to relax, even if he had to force her to. He was worried about her, her boss dumping way more work than usual on (Y/N) as the company she worked for struggled to overcome a recent financial obstacle. He knew it was important to her, and he definitely didn’t want her to lose her job, but this was the sixth night in a row in which she hadn’t slept more than an hour or two and it was starting to get on his nerves.

He missed having her warm presence in bed with him, lulling him to sleep when his insomnia normally troubled him until the early morning hours. He missed waking up to her sleepy smile and half-lidded eyes, her gaze filled with love as she gave him his good morning kiss. He missed seeing her bright eyes and energized personality, going on runs with him or laughing as she cooked something mouthwatering in the kitchen. Now, (Y/N) could barely do more than give him a tired kiss on the cheek when she trudged home from the office before collapsing on the couch in a desperate attempt to catch up on sleep, only to wake up an hour later to continue her grueling assignments.

Slipping into the hallway, Levi padded quietly through the dark until he reached her office door, the golden light spilling out from underneath it and the sound of clacking computer keys floating through the wood. Raising his fist to the door, Levi knocked three times and waited as the sound of typing faltered only to be replaced by the sound of her chair scraping along the wood floor.

When (Y/N) opened the door, Levi had to stop himself from wincing. She looked absolutely drained. Her skin was paler than usual, almost sickly in the golden light, her cheeks were sunken in a little, her cheekbones protruding from her face as if someone was stretching her skin, and dark circles made her look as if she had been punched, displaying her exhaustion under her eyes clearly for anyone to see.

“Hey, Levi, I’m almost done, okay? Then I’ll come to bed, I promise,” (Y/N) said with a tired smile, fighting back a yawn, not even needing him to speak to know why he was here.

“(Y/N), you look like shit,” Levi said.

(Y/N) smiled wider at his blunt response and shook her head at him with a chuckle. “Thanks, Levi, I try.”

“I’m serious,” he said. “You look so tired I don’t even know if you’re really awake. You could be sleep walking for all I know.”

“I know,” (Y/N) sighed. “But I have to finish these reports before tomorrow, otherwise my boss will kill me. Why don’t you go back to bed? Try to get some sleep? I’ll meet you there soon, I promise.”

“Join me in twenty minutes. If you’re not done by then, I’m dragging you there and tying you to the bed.”

“Oh, how forward,” (Y/N) teased.

“I mean it, I’m not letting you kill yourself over work. You need to sleep and if that means forcing you to relax, then that’s what I’ll do.”

(Y/N) nodded, her shoulders slumping as she made her way back to her desk. She knew she needed to go to bed, and she wanted more than anything to snuggle up to Levi and let his warm protectiveness lull her to sleep, but she also wanted to make sure she had done the most she could possibly do before she retired for the night.

Settling back into her desk chair, (Y/N) almost felt like crying in frustration as she woke her computer up again, envying the damn machine for getting more shut eye than her. She could feel Levi watching her from where he was leaning against the doorframe, his intense gaze burning into her back, but she ignored the urge to cave and started typing again.

After a few moments, Levi eventually left again, closing the door behind him as he mumbled something about keeping his promise of dragging her away. (Y/N) smiled despite herself at her boyfriend’s antics, his love and concern for her giving her the strength to keep working.

________________________________

Levi scowled at (Y/N) over the rim of his tea cup, frowning at the dead look in her eyes. He had eventually gotten her to come to their room the night before, but he knew she had tossed and turned for a significant portion of the night, thoughts about her job and the stress that came with it, keeping her up.

He wanted desperately to help her with it, to maybe even take some of her workload for her so she could finally get some damn rest. But he didn’t know anything about budgets and profits and organizing trade deals. (Y/N) worked for a company as their assistant manager, making sure everything ran smoothly and handling the organizational parts of running a business, which was where the majority of her work came from. His annoyed growl made her glance up at him, the low noise snapping her out of her zoned out state.

“Everything alright, Levi?” (Y/N) asked sweetly, blinking a few times and digging into the bacon and eggs in front of her in an attempt to wake herself up more.

“No, it’s not. You’re working too hard and I’m worried about you.”

“I know,” (Y/N) said softly, her fork dropping to hang limply from her fingertips so she could twirl it on the edge of the plate. “But unfortunately we are going through a rough patch right now in the company, so I’ve been having to work double time to make sure things get back up to speed. Assuming it gets better, I’ll be able to relax more when things calm down. My boss is just panicking at the moment, so I’ve needed to step up to provide her the support she needs to get us through this, which means extra hours.”

Levi knew what she said made sense, but he still couldn’t help being unhappy about it. He missed when (Y/N) was lively and bright-eyed, telling him about her day and giving him the affection he pretended to find annoying. Hugging him, kissing him, combing through his hair with her fingers, and smiling because she knew he loved it anyway. Grunting in acknowledgement, Levi took another sip of his tea before reaching for a strip of bacon, attempting to ignore the unusual silence that filled the house.

Levi wished he could be there to support her more. She obviously wasn’t taking care of herself, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her back to bed and snuggle with her, ignoring her protests as she only put in half the effort to escape from his warm embrace and go back to work. But he too had work that day and didn’t have time to slide back into bed with (Y/N), no matter how tempting that may sound. As if someone was reading his mind, his phone rang and when he looked at the number, he nodded to (Y/N).

She nodded back. She knew when he nodded to her that it was a work related call for him. She watched as he stood from the table and made his way into the other room, his voice echoing back as he told the person on the other line to stay on target until he got there. Standing up, (Y/N) put away their dishes as Levi hung up and made his way to the door, grabbing his jacket on the way out.

(Y/N) gave Levi a quick hug and a sweet kiss on the lips right before he walked out the door, waving to him as he made his way to his sleek black car and drove off. She watched until he was nothing more than a black speck in the distance before shutting the door and immediately heading back to her office to finish her work.

___________________________________

Levi was sitting on the couch, his hands clasped together with his elbows on his knees as he poured over the papers on the glass coffee table at his estate, his eyes narrowing on the text.

“Fucking idiot. At this rate, we’ll have no choice but to face him,” Levi muttered angrily, glaring at the photos and documents in front of him.

Erwin sighed from the arm chair across from Levi, his fingers reaching up to rub at his temples where a headache was starting to build. “I know, but you know he won’t stop, not until he gets what he wants. If we keep dodging this, it could lead to some major territorial issues, should another group decide we are being too lax with our borders. We need to put an end to this, right now, before it gets even worse.”

“But doing so will put us in the spotlight, Erwin,” Levi countered. “You know as well as I do that, although being famous in the criminal underbelly has its perks, being well known outside of that bubble can be detrimental. If we go through with what Zeke Yeager is requesting, we will be completely exposed; to the media, to the public, to the police. It’ll be a slaughter, and we’ll have to give up our territory anyway.”

“I know,” Erwin muttered, slouching in his chair. “But we have a similar outcome if we don’t follow through with his demands. He’s got us cornered, and he is obviously willing to go to any length to make sure we cooperate.”

Levi growled and glared at the photos again, the images making his heart pound. While he was alarmed at the sight of them, he was not surprised that the photos were of (Y/N). He had tried his very best to keep her out of his mess, to keep her bright light from being swallowed by the darkness he ruled, but he knew realistically that there was no guaranteed way to keep her safe. Alongside the photos of (Y/N) were also photos of Erwin’s lover Emily, her smile beaming as she took a walk on a beach or had a lunch date with (Y/N), the two of them having been friends since high school.

He hated to admit it but the photos were proof. Both he and Erwin were most definitely cornered, Zeke taunting the two powerful mafia bosses with the safety and survival of their respective lovers as if it were a game. Levi wished he were strong enough to fight against Zeke, to come off as unaffected, but he wouldn’t risk (Y/N) for anything. No matter what happened, if it guaranteed her life and safety, he would comply. He supposed that made him seem weak, something that would’ve made his past self scoff in disgust, but he couldn’t change how she made him feel and how unconditionally he loved her. If protecting her meant the end of him, either as a mafia boss or in life, then so be it.

______________________________

Levi didn’t let himself regret anything as he shouldered on his jacket, his eyes roving over the things he’d laid out on the bed in preparation for this meeting. He knew he should probably be trying to think of ways to outsmart the rival mafia leader, finding ways to kill him and continue expanding like he had been doing for the past several years. But as he packed the few things from the estate he thought he would need, his thoughts were only focused on his gorgeous lover, her warm smile and contagious laughter filling his senses.

He sighed. He knew she wouldn’t understand, and he feared she would do something rash in response. But he trusted Hanji, the only one he had told about this meeting aside from Erwin, to keep her safe for him. He tried not to think about it too much, what (Y/N) might do when she found out about what was about to happen. She had left early for work that morning, giving him the perfect opportunity to write her a lengthy letter telling her how much he loved her and how none of it was her fault. He knew the letter was far from adequate in explaining everything to his beloved girlfriend, but it would have to do.

Strapping a single small pistol to his belt, Levi gave his room one last glance before pushing through the door, nodding to his members as he passed them in the hallways. All of their expressions were grim, all of them knowing the same thing. Today would be Levi’s last. While nobody said anything to their leader, their hearts were heavy as they watched him leave. Despite what they did for a living, Levi was well known amongst his subordinates for caring for them in his own way, always protecting them the best he possibly could and offering council when necessary.

Levi could feel their eyes on him but he spared none of them a glance aside from the occasional nod or slight wave. He didn’t stop to talk to anyone, even Erwin, who he’d convinced to stay behind to protect the estate, just in case Zeke used this as an opportunity to take over the powerful crime syndicate. Levi was willing to give up his life to protect (Y/N), but that didn’t mean he was willing to wave a white flag either, refusing to bow to this cowardly piece of shit just because of his threats.

Levi pushed through the glossy wooden front doors and slipped into his car without looking back, only looking up to give his driver the address Zeke had given him after a brief interaction over the phone. The sleek black car pulled out of the drive and picked up speed after sliding through the large open gate, the passing trees flashing by in a blur. Levi looked out the window for a minute, his silver eyes taking in the beauty of nature for what he assumed to be the last time, the sun glinting through the leaves of the trees to dapple his lap with sunspots. He saw rolling hills and glittering streams and children playing in the park, their laughter echoing temporarily in his ears before the speed at which they were moving snatched the sound away. He saw a big dog chasing a ball and immediately thought of (Y/N), quickly swallowing the sudden lump that formed in his throat.

She had always wanted a dog. The two of them had lived together for long enough that they had started to talk about it, but Levi had always shied from the idea, not excited in the least about having a messy, loud animal in the house with them. (Y/N) had teased him but had never pushed the issue, aside from the one time she had offered to get him a cat if he got her a dog, shoving down her disappointment and respecting his wishes for cleanliness. Little did she know, despite his attitude, he had secretly been excited to share something like that with her, wanting nothing more than to see her beaming smile as they picked a furry friend to love together. He wished he had done something like that with her sooner. Now, she was going to be in that house all by herself, with nobody to keep her company or help her process her grief.

His heart tightened and he looked away from the window, his eyes trained on his lap as he focused on his breathing. He never expected to feel this way, like he was drowning. He never expected to fear his lover’s reaction to his death more than the death itself, although he surmised he shouldn’t have been surprised, he had always valued her welfare over his own.

“We will take good care of her, sir,” Mikasa said from behind the wheel, her eyes trained on the road as she continued to drive steadily to their destination, making Levi look up in surprise. Mikasa had always been a loyal member of his group, but he had continuously butted heads with his cousin over her obsessive compulsion to protect her boyfriend, Eren, another member of the syndicate. He had never expected her to care about (Y/N) or him, nor to even notice that (Y/N) was the origin of his turmoil.

His eyes lowered back down onto his lap and he swallowed hard. “Thank you.”

Mikasa shrugged in response but he could tell it wasn’t as nonchalant as she was trying to make it look, her shoulders tense and her hands gripping the steering wheel a bit harder than normal. Silence filled the car again as Levi went back to thinking about (Y/N), even pulling out his phone to look down at a beautiful picture of her, one where she was smiling at him while at the beach, wearing an adorable bikini and holding her sunhat to her head to keep the wind from blowing it off while the ocean waves crashed behind her. She looked so happy, her smile making his heart flutter and his stomach churn just as it always did when he saw her.

All too soon, Mikasa had pulled onto a cleverly hidden gravel drive and parked in front of an old abandoned warehouse. His heart was thundering in his ears as soon as the purring of the engine cut off. Levi took a deep breath and opened the car door, slipping out while Mikasa stared straight ahead, her breathing labored as she fought against the surprising appearance of tears springing to her eyes.

As soon as Levi shut the car door, Mikasa restarted the vehicle and put it into reverse, her eyes meeting Levi’s briefly as she crawled back onto the street before she sped away, Levi standing in the drive until the sound of his car had given way to silence. With Mikasa gone, Levi was able to release his shaky breath, his eyes scanning the beautiful forest he was standing in, the trees arching high and protecting the land below with thick canopies that blocked most of the harsh sunlight from the flourishing foliage, giving the forest floor a beautiful spotted look, the sun winking at him from the space between the leaves.

It was time. Taking in his surroundings one last time with an appreciative deep breath of the warm pine smell he and (Y/N) both loved, Levi headed into the warehouse.

“Good bye, (Y/N). I love you.”

_______________________________

Zeke was grinning so wide his cheeks ached as the door to the warehouse opened, revealing a very angry Levi Ackerman. The Torva Messor. The Grim Reaper. He had never expected in his entire life that he would be able to get rid of one of the most dangerous mafia bosses in the world so easily. It was almost laughable, how quickly Levi had submitted to Zeke after he had threatened his lover.

It had taken years to find Levi’s weak spot, the man always just out of reach and seemingly untouchable with no family or friends to speak of that weren’t already in his gang. Zeke and his men had spent countless hours searching for a crack in Levi’s impenetrable armor, some of them even leaving to find a new boss, claiming Zeke’s obsession with the raven-haired man was both unhealthy and futile.

But Zeke had never given up, always waiting patiently for the one day when he would find something, and everything would fall into place. He was determined, and had no doubt in his mind that a day such as this would come eventually. Despite the skeptical nature of his followers, he never lost that spark of hope that he knew would one day lead him to power unlike any other.

The day he had discovered (Y/N), he had thought he was dreaming. It couldn’t be that simple. A lover? Levi would never take one of those, always too busy and too cold-hearted to even think about love. He was a mafia boss for fucks sake, how the hell was he supposed to juggle a lover at the same time? But against all odds, Zeke found it to be true when he tracked her and found her with him, the two of them sharing loving embraces and playing off of each other smoothly. It was then that Zeke realized he had finally found his opening, the crack in Levi’s armor where he knew his arrow would strike home, and just as he had expected, the most feared man in the criminal underbelly had yielded immediately.

“Well, well, well,” Zeke cooed as he pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning against when Levi came in. “If it isn’t the man of the hour! Welcome, welcome, Levi!”

Levi gave a nearly inhuman growl in response and walked to the center of the warehouse before stopping, his eyes never leaving the bearded man in the room with him.

“Jesus, where did you learn your manners? Do you speak to (Y/N) that way, hmm?”

“Don’t say her name you filthy cock-sucking bastard,” Levi snarled.

“What are you going to do about it?” Zeke taunted, pulling a gun from his holster. “Shoot me? Call in your cronies and have me violently killed?”

Levi stayed silent, knowing that one wrong step could render this entire mission pointless. Unfortunately, (Y/N)’s life still rested securely in Zeke’s grasp. If he wished, he could send his men to find and kill her in the worst way possible. He might even be sadistic enough to force Levi to watch.

“That’s what I thought,” Zeke practically purred, coming right up to Levi and running the gun from the shorter man’s temple down to his side before moving in front of the shorter man and placing the muzzle of the gun directly over Levi’s heart.

Levi swallowed thickly once, the only sign that he was even remotely concerned, his eyes remaining clear and narrowed on Zeke’s gleeful face.

“Goodbye, Great Torva Messor, may your death bring about a better world.”

Levi closed his eyes and thought of (Y/N), her bright, happy face floating through his mind one last time before the sound of the gun going off blasted through the warehouse. It wasn’t what Levi was expecting, surprisingly painless as he felt himself falling backwards.

_______________________________

A scream had his eyes shooting open, his mind frazzled as he found himself on the floor but with no bullet wound. He pawed at his chest in confusion, almost as if the wound was hiding from him, the blood waiting to bloom under his shirt until he uncovered it. But he found nothing, his chest solid and whole, his heart hammering loudly in his chest.

He wasn’t dead.

Quickly looking around, Levi found Zeke on the ground facing him, his jaw slack and his eyes glazed in death, his hand still clutched around his own heart and covered in blood.

“What the fuck-”

A quiet groan made him look up, and his eyes widened at the figure crumpled to the floor, their hand clutching their side as blood seeped between their fingers, their hair curtaining her expression.

“(Y/N)!!! HOLY SHIT!!!” Levi didn’t hesitate to scramble to his feet and sprint over to her, his hands immediately reaching out to hold her to him, to assess her injuries, to do something, anything to help her.

“I’m fine, Levi, I’m fine, but we need to get out of here,” (Y/N) coughed, her eyes darting around the space nervously and her head tilting as if listening for something outside.

“(Y/N), you are not fine! You just got shot!”

“I know, but we need to leave right now. My car is out front, let’s go. Now.

Levi balked at her serious tone, his brow furrowing.

“(Y/N), what’re you…,”

His eyes widened even more as a gleam at her chest made him pause, his voice catching in his throat. It was a badge. A shiny gold police badge.

“(Y/N), what is this?” Levi asked, leaning down to brush the cool metal with his fingers. He noticed (Y/N) wince slightly but when he looked at her face, he saw the fire that was in her eyes, the hurt that swirled in them too. He had no right to question her right now, she had just gotten shot saving his ass after catching him working with the mafia, and here he was drilling her about a badge.

“It’s nothing,” (Y/N) snapped, making him flinch at her harsh tone. “But if we don’t move right now, things will get a lot worse. Please, drive us somewhere, anywhere, but make sure it's far away from here.”

Levi met her hard, determined gaze for a second before nodding, bending down to gently shuffle her into his arms. To his surprise, she pushed him away and stood on her own two feet, only leaning on him to use as leverage to make it to the car.

“Not my first time getting shot,” (Y/N) said in response to Levi’s questioning look.

“What!?”

“I’ll explain later,” (Y/N) mumbled, stumbling towards a glossy black car that wasn’t too different from own work car. He could tell it was meant for speed and agility with its aerodynamic form, something that surprised him since he had been expecting a bulky cop car. It was definitely not the car she normally drove, making him wonder how much of her life she had hidden from him in the way that he had from her.

Bundling her into the passenger seat, Levi tried not to panic at the sound of her pained groan as more blood gushed from her wound. He wanted to stay and bind it or stitch it, but a sharp look from (Y/N) had him hustling for the driver’s side door.

The car roared to life and Levi wasted no time in spinning the car around and speeding out onto the road, breaking several traffic laws in his haste to get back to his estate. As they sped through town, (Y/N) shouldered her jacket off and gripped the corner of it with her teeth, ripping at the fabric until she had several strips to bind her side with. Levi watched her out of the corner of his eye, making sure she didn’t faint from the blood loss as she worked. He was surprised by her skills, watching as she properly bound her wound with nothing more than a few breathless hisses and settled back into the seat, her palm pressed into her side.

Levi busied himself by calling Erwin to update him on the situation, ignoring his friend’s relieved surprise and demanding the first aid kit be delivered to his room before they arrived.

Levi nearly hit the gate in his panic, forcing himself to take a deep breath as the slow speed at which the gate opened made him want to tear his hair out. He was practically foaming at the mouth when a warm hand on his arm immediately demanded his attention, his gaze snapping to where she was watching him, her gaze unreadable. Her touch immediately calmed him, despite the turmoil in his gut at not being able to read her emotions. She always knew how to bring him back to himself, and even if she now hated him with every fiber of her being, it was still immediately effective. Something Levi was immensely grateful for as the gates finally opened wide enough to grant them entry.

His group members immediately swarmed him when the doors opened and the pair stumbled in, ready to assist, only to part like the Red Sea when they realized it was (Y/N) that was hurt rather than their leader, shock rippling through the small crowd. He barked orders and sent them running, quickly cutting past them and ignoring their questioning stares as he ushered (Y/N) up to his private quarters.

The two were both silent as Levi sat (Y/N) on his bed with a towel underneath, (her boyfriend’s clean freak tendencies making (Y/N) smile despite herself), and got to work studying her wound, the first aid kit open with a surprising amount of tools at their disposal. The room was thick with unresolved tension but neither of them seemed to be able to find the courage inside themselves to speak first, (Y/N) distracting herself by taking in the large room while Levi busied himself with cleaning her injuries.

It turned out to be Levi who spoke first, his hands running along her side in a soothing motion with every small wince she did, only for his fingers to pause when they reached the thick metal of the badge on her chest. Levi’s eyes flashed as he took it in, his fingers lifting it so he could look at it better in the light. It was a real badge alright, that was for sure, and Levi hated the fact that it sent cold shivers down his spine.

“So you’re a cop?” Levi asked softly, his voice barely over a whisper.

“A homicide detective, actually.”

Levi looked up and met (Y/N)’s hard gaze in shock. A homicide detective? How the hell could he have missed that? How did he not know about this? He thought she was the assistant manager for a firm, working with trade deals and profits. Since when did she deal with murders and killers?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Levi asked as he went back to fixing her wound, his fingers gently prodding at the sensitive flesh around where the bullet went through.

“I didn’t tell you partly because my boss told me not to. She told me that she wanted as few people to know about this case as possible since it’s impossible to find all of the mafia members and nobody can be trusted. But it was mostly to protect you. I’ve been doing this job for a long time, and it wouldn’t be the first time if someone I was chasing down threatened the people I care about to get me off their tail. I couldn’t bear the thought of that happening to you, of you getting hurt on my behalf, so I didn’t tell you, to keep you safe.”

Levi’s breath caught in his throat at her words, his heart pounding against his ribcage. He was warmed by her words, the love and consideration she held for him, but her sentiment also fanned his anger, upset at the burden she had placed on herself.

“Idiot, you should’ve told me! You didn’t have to put all of that stress on yourself, I could’ve handled a few measly threats.”

“Oh like how you told me all about you working for the mafia? Being a mob boss?” (Y/N) said, making Levi flinch at the venom in her tone. “Do you think I liked lying to you, Levi? Do you think I enjoyed having to erase my browser history and create false reports for a fake company to keep you from finding out I was researching the recent murders that have been happening all over the city? I hated it. I fucking hated it, but I did it to keep you safe and to keep my job so I could continue to help support the two of us.”

Levi was silent, hanging his head in shame as her words washed over him. She was right. She had every right to be angry at him, but he couldn’t help but feel as if he were being stabbed with every harsh word that came out of her mouth.

“I wanted to tell you. So many times I wanted to tell you why I couldn’t come to bed with you, or why I had to skip breakfast, or why I had to lock my office door everyday for work. It killed me to lie to you because I knew I could trust you. It made me want to vomit because you had done nothing wrong and you deserved to know about what I was really doing for a living, but I held my tongue because I knew it was for the best.

And besides, my boss’s reasoning made sense. I mean, it’s obvious that the more people who know about something, the harder it is to keep it a secret. Who knows? Maybe you had friends in the mafia who could find information through you. Maybe you had a boss who was involved with the murders and would use your connection to me to keep from being behind bars. I thought it was ridiculous, but I did it because I trusted my boss too.”

(Y/N) choked out a small sob, her lip trembling as she spoke the next words. “But now I know that not only was my boss right, but if I had told you, it would have ruined our entire investigation. Why? Because you’re a fucking mafia boss, that’s why.”

“(Y/N)..., I-”

“Are you the one I’ve been hunting? The one who’s been instigating the recent murders all over the city?”

Levi froze.

“Are you the one who put bullet holes in the bodies of the people I went to see? Are you the one who created crime scenes I had to analyze? Have you been behind everything this entire time!?”

Levi couldn’t breathe. At first, discovering she was a homicide detective had made him worried for her physical health, the fact that she had been shot before making him feel light headed. But now he realized, as she asked him these questions, that he hadn’t even taken into account her mental health. It was clear she had seen a lot in her life, especially since she had told him earlier that she had been doing this job for a long time. But the images of what he often did to his victims floated through his mind. The way he was sometimes ordered to torture them in horrible ways until they finally collapsed into death from pain and exhaustion.

Horror filled him then at the thought of (Y/N) seeing that. Of seeing what he had done. Levi always knew he was a monster, a demon straight from hell, his name, The Grim Reaper, a testament to that. But he had always felt better knowing that (Y/N) would never know that side of him.

(Y/N) noted his labored breathing, his lack of response, the horror that flashed in his silver eyes even though his head was still hung, his bangs covering his face. It told her everything she needed to know. She felt her chest tighten, her heart constrict painfully as tears leaked from her eyes.

“Levi…, why? Why did you do this? I spent all of this time, trying to find this psychopath, who tortured and murdered people. To give justice to the people who could no longer obtain it themselves, only to find it’s my own boyfriend!? How could you do this? To them? To me?”

Levi shuddered with a shaky sigh as his own tears slipped down his cheeks. He finally lifted his head to meet (Y/N)’s gaze, and had to force himself to hold it when the hurt look in her eyes made him want to vomit.

“(Y/N), I’m so so sorry, I didn’t…,” Levi swallowed hard. “I didn’t want to lie to you either. I wanted to tell you, I wanted so badly to let you in on what was going on, but I couldn’t bear the thought of you getting caught up in my mess. I didn’t want anyone from my side to see me with you, to have any idea about your existence because I knew that someone would try to target you to get to me. I was so worried about you getting hurt, or worse, killed, because of me. So I didn’t tell you because no matter how much it hurt me, no matter how much I ached to tell you, I had to keep you safe. It’s my responsibility to protect you, and even if that meant lying to you about who I am, then that was what I was going to do. That’s what I did do, to keep you safe.”

(Y/N) was silent in response and while it worried Levi, he was at least grateful she wasn’t trying to kill him. She had left the gun she had used to kill Zeke back at the warehouse, but that didn’t mean she didn’t possibly have other weapons she could use against him. It wasn’t until Levi’s shaky hands managed to gain the courage to begin redressing (Y/N)’s injury that he found the strength to speak again, wanting nothing more than for this deafening silence to go away.

“Thank you, by the way…, you saved my life back there.”

“Well, I couldn’t just let him kill you, could I? No matter how angry I am at you, I will never let that happen, not if I can help it.”

“How did you find me?” Levi asked, his brow furrowing as he gently began to stitch his girlfriend up again. To his surprise, she did nothing more than squeak slightly at the sting of the needle.

“Like I said, I was investigating the recent murders, and since I was leading this case, I had free rein to do a lot of extensive research on my own without having to consult with anyone other than sending in reports for my boss. My findings led me to Zeke Yeager, and he became my number one suspect. I started following him, keeping track of his movements, noting down the addresses of places he frequented. Unfortunately, he’s a sly bastard, and covered his tracks pretty well, so I didn’t have much proof that pointed to him being connected to the murders other than he was a mobster with a vast history of violence.

Desperate for more proof, convinced that my gut feeling was right, I never stopped watching him. So when word that he was planning to execute a meeting between a long standing rival of his at an old warehouse reached me from one of my partners, I sped over there as fast as possible.”

“You didn’t know I was there?” Levi asked.

“No,” (Y/N) said. “I found you there, waiting for him to shoot you when I walked in. At first, I thought he’d found out about me tracking him, and the whole thing was just a set up to get me to show myself. I thought he’d kidnapped you to get to me, my worst fear.”

Levi finished putting in the last stitch, the bloody bullet resting on the towel beneath (Y/N), and met his girlfriend’s gaze, the tears in her eyes making his own start to water.

“But then I noticed how you were standing, and the expression on your face. You weren’t scared or confused. You were furious, but… confident. Livid, but accepting. I knew in that moment that Zeke didn’t know about me at all, but he knew you, and you knew him. It took me a little while to figure out, but when he started gloating about how he was going to be the one to bring down the famous Grim Reaper, I realized who you were. What you were.”

“(Y/N)-”

“He was going to kill you,” (Y/N) said, her hair curtaining her expression as she broke from his gaze to look down at her lap, her teardrops landing with soft taps on her crossed legs. “And you were going to let him.”

(Y/N)’s body started to shake but she fought to keep her voice firm. She had to get through this. They had to get through this… together. If she couldn’t handle this, then there was no way she would be able to be around him ever again.

“But I couldn’t let him. I saw him press that gun against your chest and I exploded. I couldn’t control myself, it was like I was possessed by a wild animal,” (Y/N) looked up at Levi again, her eyes swirling with so many emotions he couldn’t read them all.

“Levi, I’ve been doing this job for many years. I’ve seen some of the most horrific murders on the planet, met the worst scum in the world, talked with a perfectly sane man who killed his entire family one day for seemingly no reason. But never in my life have I ever felt the want…, the need to kill someone. I’ve only ever pulled out my gun three times with the intention of actually using it,” (Y/N) raised her hands to gently cup his face, her eyes locked on his.

“But in that moment, when I heard him telling you that your death would make the world a better place, when I saw him put his finger on the trigger, I had the overwhelming desire to tear him limb from limb. I acted before I could even process the situation, and I killed a man without a second thought.”

“(Y/N)...,” Levi cooed softly. “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault. You acted without thinking because it’s in your nature to protect people. I’ve seen the way you care for others. Even when they are complete strangers, you are always thinking about how you can be there for them. What you did, protecting me, is the very essence of you, and that does not make you a monster.”

“But it is my fault, Levi,” (Y/N) said. “I killed a man. I’m a homicide detective, I’m supposed to solve murders not cause them. I’m glad I saved you, more than anything, but this is something I’m going to have to deal with and live with for the rest of my life.”

The pair were silent again, the air heavy with the weight of (Y/N)’s words.

“I was doing it for you, you know,” Levi said after another moment.

��What?”

“At the warehouse. I was there because while Zeke may not have known you were keeping an eye on him, he did know that you were connected to me. I don’t know how he found out about our relationship, but he did, and had the photos of us to prove it. He threatened you, told me that if I didn’t give myself up, that he’d do the worst of the worst to you. He threatened your friend Emily too. Erwin is a part of the Wings of Freedom with me.”

“The Wings of Freedom?” (Y/N) asked, ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach at the thought of her best friend being hurt.

“That’s what we call ourselves. Zeke’s people are called the Beast Titans, a rival group. They’ve been a thorn in my side for years, competing with us for territory and power in the most violent ways possible. Zeke especially was always known for his complete lack of humanity, and he’d been obsessed with catching and killing me ever since we first met. When he found out about you, found out that I love you, he immediately set his sights on you and used you to corner me.”

(Y/N) sucked in a breath, somehow producing more tears to slide down her cheeks as Levi spoke.

“You’re right. When I went to that warehouse, I knew I was going to die and was prepared to do so. I didn’t want to obviously, but as long as your life was held in his hands, I knew I was going to yield to him no matter what he asked of me. I did it to protect you, to keep you alive, even if it meant never getting to see you ever again.”

Levi heard her voice catch and closed his eyes, waiting for her to react. While he wanted more than anything for her to forgive him and allow him to hold her close, he knew there was a very high possibility of her rejecting him. He had done all of it for her, but that didn’t erase his history, or his job, or the lies he spun to keep her in the dark. He knew it would kill him if she walked away from him and never looked back, but he would find a way to live with it, loving her from afar if that’s what she wanted from him. It was her choice. He would be strong for her.

What he didn’t expect was to be tackled to the floor. Levi let out a surprised grunt as he was thrown backwards, landing on his back with (Y/N) clutching him from above, sobbing into his shoulder. His arms immediately wrapped protectively around her and held her to his chest, breathing in her calming, unique scent.

“(Y/N)?”

“You idiot, you absolute fucking idiot,” (Y/N) lifted her head to look at him with puffy eyes and flushed cheeks. “Never fucking do that ever again. I know you did it to protect me, but I wouldn’t have been able to live without you, Levi. If you die, even for my sake, especially for my sake, I will kill you.”

Levi chuckled shakily and buried his face in her hair, his own tears soaking into the soft strands as he held her.

“Levi, what’re we going to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

She looked at him incredulously. “Are you serious? I love you, but I’m still a detective, and I killed a man. I can’t exactly go back without a proper explanation about what happened, and why I’ve been MIA for the past several hours. And I’d prefer it if the explanation I gave didn’t result in you getting arrested or killed.”

“I think I’d prefer that too,” Levi teased with a small smirk, earning him a slap on his chest.

“I’m serious, Levi.”

“I am too,” Levi said, sitting up so that (Y/N) was seated on his lap, his hands gripping her waist gingerly to account for her recent injury. (Y/N) watched him closely as he leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers, sighing happily against her.

“Listen, (Y/N), I know this will take a long time to get over. I know we will both struggle with this for a while and I am going to work my ass off to have you forgive me, but I want you to know that I love you and no matter what happens, we will do this together, alright?”

(Y/N)’s eyes sparkled warmly. She was still upset at him, her emotions roiling in her gut like a brewing tornado, but she managed to shove them all to the side, leaving her love clear to shine brightly for him in the wake of what just happened. There were a lot of things to figure out, and she still had no idea where they stood in terms of their relationship when they were trained to hate and hunt each other. But just as he said, they were going to get through this together.

“Okay, Levi..., I love you.”

“I love you too, (Y/N). Let’s get some sleep.”

Despite everything, the killing of a man, the discovery of her boyfriend’s secret identity, the inner turmoil inside her as the mind of a detective fought with her heart over her love for a mob boss, (Y/N) felt everything melt away the moment she was curled up with Levi in his huge bed. She nuzzled into his chest as she was lulled to sleep by the strong beat of his heart, shouting out his love for only her to hear.

215 notes · View notes

reading-writing-revolution · 3 years ago

Text

Heather Cox Richardson

October 4, 2021 (Monday)

“hello literally everyone,” the official account of Twitter tweeted this afternoon, after Facebook and its affiliated platforms Instagram and WhatsApp went dark at about 11:40 this morning. The Facebook outage lasted for more than six hours and appears to have been caused by an internal error. But the void caused by the absence of the internet giant illustrated its power at a time when the use of that power has come under scrutiny.

In mid-September, the Wall Street Journal began to publish a series of investigative stories based on documents provided by a whistle-blower.

The “Facebook Files” explore how the company has “whitelisted” high-profile users, exempting them from the rules that put limits on ordinary users. Another article reveals that researchers showed Facebook executives evidence that Instagram damages teenage girls by pushing an ideal body image and that they flagged the increasing use of the site by drug smugglers, human traffickers, and other criminals; their discoveries went unaddressed.

Concerned about declining engagement with their material, Facebook allegedly privileged polarizing material that engaged people by preying on their emotions. It appeared to have encouraged the extremism that led to the January 6 insurrection, lowering restrictions against disinformation quickly after the 2020 election.

Last night, on CBS’s 60 Minutes, former Facebook employee Frances Haugen revealed herself to be the source of the documents. She is concerned, she says, that Facebook consistently looks to maximize profits even if it means ignoring disinformation. Her lawyers have filed at least eight complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees companies and financial markets. Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said it was “ludicrous” to blame Facebook for the events of January 6. Chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg have not commented.

Lawmakers have repeatedly asked Facebook to produce documents for their scrutiny and to testify about the social media platform’s public safeguards. Tomorrow, Haugen will testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security about the effects of social media on teenagers. Her lawyer, Andrew Bakaj, told Cat Zakrzewski and Cristiano Lima of the Washington Post that Haugen’s information is important because “Big Tech is at an inflection point…. It touches every aspect of our lives—whether it’s individuals personally or democratic institutions globally. With such far-reaching consequences, transparency is critical to oversight, and lawful whistleblowing is a critical component of oversight and holding companies accountable.”

Amidst the outrage over the Facebook revelations, technology reporter Kevin Roose at the New York Times suggested that the company’s aggressive attempts to court engagement reveal weakness, rather than strength, as younger users have fled to TikTok and other sites and Facebook has become the domain of older Americans. He notes that Facebook’s researchers foresee a drop of 45% in daily use in the next two years, suggesting that the company is desperate either to retain users or to create new ones.

While the technology Facebook represents is new, the concerns it raises echo public discussion of late nineteenth century industrialization, which was also the product of new technologies. At stake then was whether the concentration of economic power in a few hands would destroy our democracy by giving some rich men far more power than the other men in the country. How could the nation both preserve the right of individuals to build industries and preserve the concept of the common good in the face of technology that permitted unprecedented accumulations of wealth?

While money is certainly at stake in the issue of Facebook’s power today, the more pressing issue for our country is whether social media giants will destroy our democracy through their ability to spread disinformation that sows division and turns us against one another.

When we began to grapple with the excesses of industrialism, lots of people thought the whole system needed to be taken apart—by violence if necessary—while others hoped to save the benefits the technology brought without letting it destroy the country. Americans eventually solved the problems that industrialization raised for democracy by reining in the Wild West mentality of the early industrialists, protecting the basic rights of workers, and regulating business practices.

The leaked Facebook documents suggest there are places where the disinformation at Facebook could be reined in as the overreaches of industrialization were. When Zuckerberg tried to promote coronavirus vaccines on the site, anti-vaxxers undermined his efforts. But one document showed that “out of nearly 150,000 posters in Facebook Groups disabled for Covid misinformation, 5% were producing half of all posts, and around 1,400 users were responsible for inviting half the groups’ new members.” Researchers concluded: “We found, like many problems at FB, this is a head-heavy problem with a relatively few number of actors creating a large percentage of the content and growth.”

“I don’t hate Facebook,” Haugen wrote in a final message to her colleagues at the company. “I love Facebook. I want to save it.”

While most Americans were busy watching Facebook crash—the falling stock took between $5 billion and $7 billion of Zuckerberg’s net worth—drama in Washington, D.C., was an even bigger deal.

Los Angeles Times reporter Sarah D. Wire noted that the rioters who broke into the Capitol on January 6 ran more than 100 feet past 15 reinforced windows, “making a beeline” to four windows that had been left unreinforced in a renovation of the building between 2017 and 2019. They found the four windows, located in a recessed part of the building, Wire wrote, “by sheer luck, real-time trial and error, or advance knowledge by rioters.”

The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol will likely look into this oddity.

The committee has begun to take testimony from cooperative witnesses. Observers expect fireworks on Thursday when former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, longtime Trump aide Dan Scavino, Trump adviser Steve Bannon, and Trump appointee Kash Patel must hand over documents. Trump has vowed to fight the release of any information to the committee. Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) says the committee will make criminal referrals for anyone ignoring a subpoena.

Finally, today, the debt ceiling fight got even hotter. While Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through December 3, the issue of the debt ceiling, which stops the government from borrowing money Congress has already spent, remains unresolved. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the government will be unable to pay its obligations after October 18, and warns that a default, which has never before happened, would be catastrophic.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) insists the Democrats must raise the debt ceiling themselves, although the Republicans raised it three times under former president Trump and added $7.8 trillion to the debt, which now stands at $28 trillion. But when Democrats tried to pass a measure to raise the ceiling, Republicans filibustered it. As Greg Sargent points out in the Washington Post, McConnell is trying to force the Democrats to raise the debt ceiling through reconciliation, which cannot be filibustered. Since they get only one chance to pass such a bill this year, this would force them to dump their infrastructure bill.

McConnell is holding the nation hostage to keep the Democrats from passing a very popular bill, and today, Biden called him on it. McConnell complained that congressional Democrats were “sleepwalking toward significant and avoidable danger,” prompting Biden to demand that Republicans “stop playing Russian roulette with the U.S. economy.... Not only are Republicans refusing to do their job, but threatening to use their power to prevent us from doing our job—saving the economy from a catastrophic event—I think, quite frankly, is hypocritical, dangerous and disgraceful. Their obstruction and irresponsibility knows absolutely no bounds.”

When asked if he could guarantee we would not default on our debts, Biden said, “No, I can’t…. That’s up to Mitch McConnell.” If McConnell doesn’t blink and the Republicans continue to filibuster Democrats’ attempts to save the economy, there will be enormous pressure on the Democrats to break the filibuster.

Meanwhile, every day this drags on, Congress does not pass the Freedom to Vote Act.

11 notes · View notes

dreaminginthedeepsouth · 3 years ago

Link

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 4, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

In mid-September, the Wall Street Journal began to publish a series of investigative stories based on documents provided by a whistle-blower.

“I don’t hate Facebook,” Haugen wrote in a final message to her colleagues at the company. “I love Facebook. I want to save it.”

While most Americans were busy watching Facebook crash—the falling stock took between $5 billion and $7 billion of Zuckerberg’s net worth—drama in Washington, D.C., was an even bigger deal.

The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol will likely look into this oddity.

Meanwhile, every day this drags on, Congress does not pass the Freedom to Vote Act.

—

Notes:

https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2021/10/protecting%20kids%20online:%20testimony%20from%20a%20facebook%20whistleblower

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/03/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-revealed/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-facebook-files-11631713039

https://apnews.com/article/facebook-whatsapp-instagram-outage-8b9d3862ed957029e545182a595fdce1

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/03/technology/whistle-blower-facebook-frances-haugen.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-says-she-wants-to-fix-the-company-not-harm-it-11633304122

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/04/facebook-instagram-down-outage/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/technology/facebook-files.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-vaccinated-11631880296

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-10-04/jan-6-rioters-exploited-little-known-capitol-weak-spots-a-handful-of-unreinforced-windows

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/01/bennie-thompson-jan-6-panel-subpoena-514940

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/04/jan-6-panel-trump-collision-514979

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/10/04/biden-schumer-debt-ceiling/

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#quotes #political #facebook #social media #debt ceiling #political hardball #Heather Cox Richardson #Letters From An American

4 notes · View notes

killian-whump · 4 years ago

Note

Colin characters probably broke bums...so they can’t use patreon to watch Colin how do they deal with this?

Let’s check real quick. Could these characters buy their way into seeing this video, assuming they would want to?

Rowe: He’s a teenager in 1920s Ireland. No. Brendan: His Mommy doesn’t trust him enough to let him use her credit card online, and he doesn’t have his own. No. Peter Sheerin: Any money he has/had likely goes on weed and booze. No. Jamie: He'd see the value in supporting a fellow journalist, and likely has a valid credit card with which to make this purchase. $$$$ Conor: He’s a struggling pianist with mental health issues. I highly doubt he has the disposable income to blow on this sort of thing. No. Unnamed Security Guard: You know what it’s like living on a security guard’s salary? It’s tough; it’s tough. No. Duke Philip of Bavaria: He definitely has the means... but lacks a valid credit card number with which to make the transaction. No. Ben: Definitely has more money than sense. Count him in. $$$$ Michael Kovak: Has more important things to do, but probably has a credit card and enough money to afford it, if he wanted to. $$$$ Mark: He doesn’t have a face or eyeballs to watch a video with. No. Unnamed Lumberjack Florist: He’s living in a rural area, growing and arranging flowers for a living. He’s getting by, but likely doesn’t have a lot of excess income. Living off the land as he seems to be, he may not have a credit card. I’m gonna say... No. Brennan: Since he quit his soul-destroying corporate job to focus on becoming a musician... No. There’s a reason they call them struggling musicians. Professor Harrison: This dickhead has a lot of money and likes to make sure people know it. $$$$ Douxie: Does he look like he has a valid credit card? No. Preacher Peter: No one’s issuing new credit cards in the apocalypse, and all the ones he might find in corpses’ wallets are expired. Also, there’s no such thing as the internet anymore, and money itself no longer has any value. No. Abe: The inter-who? A credit what now? No. JJ Sneed: He has the money, but Patreon doesn’t accept crumpled dollar bills with blood on them. No. Gordo Cooper: Yeah, sure. Why not? $$$$

So far, that’s 5/18 characters that could conceivably buy this video.

Let’s check on the Hooks... Well, most of them live in the Enchanted Forest, where credit cards are literally not a thing - so regardless of their financial standing, none of them are capable of making a payment to Patreon without having a valid credit card. So we’ll only count the ones in our world.

Storybrooke Hook: He’s figured out a way to get his doubloons transferred to money accepted by our modern world, so... $$$$ Detective Rogers: He has a steady job, likely has a credit card. $$$$ Wish Hook: He’s schtupping the Queen of All Realms. $$$$

So now we’re at 8/21 - so your assessment that his characters are “probably broke bums” who couldn’t afford this video is... ACCURATE.

Now for how they deal with it... Well, I’ll be honest, I don’t think many of these fellows would care one way or the other, as I suspect most of them have WAY more important things to do. However... I feel like Douxie would probably be able to use his magic to access blob chunks and combine them into a cohesive file, and is modern enough to know what that means, and counter-culture enough to share it with others... and if there’s any issues, his techie girlfriend could help him out - so I feel like the Colin Character Coven is covered.

Now if only the rest of us were... *sigh*

#anonymous #kw ask box

9 notes · View notes

kkintle · 5 years ago

Text

Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioural Economics by Richard H. Thaler; Quotes

One day on a phone call I asked him how he was feeling. He said, “You know, it’s funny. When you have the flu you feel like you are going to die, but when you are dying, most of the time you feel just fine.”

Let a six-year-old girl with brown hair need thousands of dollars for an operation that will prolong her life until Christmas, and the post office will be swamped with nickels and dimes to save her. But let it be reported that without sales tax the hospital facilities of Massachusetts will deteriorate and cause a barely perceptible increase in preventable deaths—not many will drop a tear or reach for their checkbooks.

“willingness to pay” or “willingness to accept.”

Opportunity costs are vague and abstract when compared to handing over actual cash.

The Weber-Fechner Law holds that the just-noticeable difference in any variable is proportional to the magnitude of that variable. If I gain one ounce, I don’t notice it, but if I am buying fresh herbs, the difference between 2 ounces and 3 ounces is obvious. Psychologists refer to a just noticeable difference as a JND.

So, we experience life in terms of changes, we feel diminishing sensitivity to both gains and losses, and losses sting more than equivalently-sized gains feel good.

Big ideas are fine, but I needed to publish papers to stay employed. Looking back, I had what science writer Steven Johnson calls a “slow hunch.” A slow hunch is not one of those “aha” insights when everything becomes clear. Instead, it is more of a vague impression that there is something interesting going on, and an intuition that there could be something important lurking not far away. The problem with a slow hunch is you have no way to know whether it will lead to a dead end. I felt like I had arrived on the shores of a new world with no map, no idea where I should be looking, and no idea whether I would find anything of value.

Economists don’t care whether you like a firm mattress better than a soft one or vice versa, but they cannot tolerate you saying that you like a firm mattress better than a soft one and a soft one better than a firm one.

Psychologists tell us that in order to learn from experience, two ingredients are necessary: frequent practice and immediate feedback.

Many people have made money selling magic potions and Ponzi schemes, but few have gotten rich selling the advice, “Don’t buy that stuff.”

acquisition utility and transaction utility.

Expressions such as “don’t cry over spilt milk” and “let bygones be bygones” are another way of putting economists’ advice to ignore sunk costs.

Many mentioned the advice, often attributed to William Faulkner, but apparently said by many, that writers have to learn to “kill their darlings.” The advice has been given so often, I suspect, because it is hard for any writer to do.

The bigger lesson is that once you understand a behavioral problem, you can sometimes invent a behavioral solution to it. Mental accounting is not always a fool’s game.

A good rule to remember is that people who are threatened with big losses and have a chance to break even will be unusually willing to take risks, even if they are normally quite risk averse.

Although it is never stated explicitly as an assumption in an economics textbook, in practice economic theory presumes that self-control problems do not exist.

Some early economists viewed any discounting of future consumption as a mistake—a failure of some type. It could be a failure of willpower, or, as Arthur Pigou famously wrote in 1921, it could be a failure of imagination: “Our telescopic faculty is defective and . . . we, therefore, see future pleasures, as it were, on a diminished scale.”

The economics training the students receive provides enormous insights into the behavior of Econs, but at the expense of losing common-sense intuition about human nature and social interactions. Graduates no longer realize that they live in a world populated by Humans.

I once gave a talk about self-control to a group of economists at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. At one point I used the word “temptation,” and one of the audience members asked me to define it. Someone else in the audience jumped in to say, “It’s in the Bible.” But it was not in the economists’ dictionary.

Ainslie’s paper also provides a long discussion of various strategies for dealing with self-control problems. One course of action is commitment: removing the cashews or tying yourself to the mast. Another is to raise the cost of submitting to temptation. For example, if you want to quit smoking, you could write a large check to someone you see often with permission to cash the check if you are seen smoking. Or you can make that bet with yourself, what Ainslie calls a “private side bet.” You could say to yourself, “I won’t watch the game on television tonight until I finish [some task you are tempted to postpone].”

We all have occasions on which we change our minds, but usually we do not go to extraordinary steps to prevent ourselves from deviating from the original plan. The only circumstances in which you would want to commit yourself to your planned course of action is when you have good reason to believe that if you change your preferences later, this change of preferences will be a mistake.

At some point in pondering these questions, I came across a quote from social scientist Donald McIntosh that profoundly influenced my thinking: “The idea of self-control is paradoxical unless it is assumed that the psyche contains more than one energy system, and that these energy systems have some degree of independence from each other.” The passage is from an obscure book, The Foundations of Human Society. I do not know how I came by the quote, but it seemed to me to be obviously true. Self-control is, centrally, about conflict. And, like tango, it takes (at least) two to have a conflict.

One principle that emerged from our research is that perceptions of fairness are related to the endowment effect.

“If you gouge them at Christmas they won’t come back in March.” That remains good advice for any business that is interested in building a loyal clientele.

Although it is true that in the Ultimatum Game the most common offer is often 50%, one cannot conclude that Proposers are trying to be fair. Instead, they may be quite rationally worried about being rejected.

Further research by Ernst Fehr and his colleagues has shown that, consistent with Andreoni’s finding, a large proportion of people can be categorized as conditional cooperators, meaning that they are willing to cooperate if enough others do. People start out these games willing to give their fellow players the benefit of the doubt, but if cooperation rates are low, these conditional cooperators turn into free riders. However, cooperation can be maintained even in repeated games if players are given the opportunity to punish those who do not cooperate. As illustrated by the Punishment Game, described earlier, people are willing to spend some of their own money to teach a lesson to those who behave unfairly, and this willingness to punish disciplines potential free riders and keeps robust cooperation rates stable.

Not everyone will free ride all the time, but some people are ready to pick your pocket if you are not careful.

Shefrin and Statman’s answer relied on a combination of self-control and mental accounting. The notion was that some shareholders—retirees, for instance—like the idea of getting inflows that are mentally categorized as “income” so that they don’t feel bad spending that money to live on. In a rational world, this makes no sense. A retired Econ could buy shares in companies that do not pay dividends, sell off a portion of his stock holdings periodically, and live off of those proceeds while paying less in taxes.

“Discovery commences with the awareness of anomaly, i.e., with the recognition that nature has somehow violated the paradigm-induced expectations that govern normal science.” —Thomas Kuhn

the Journal of Economic Perspectives is available free online to anyone at www.aeaweb.org/jep, including all the back issues. It is a great place to learn about economics.

If the outside view is fleshed out carefully and informed with appropriate baseline data, it will be far more reliable than the inside view. The problem is that the inside view is so natural and accessible that it can influence the judgments even of people who understand the concept—indeed, even of the person who coined the term.

Flip a coin, heads you win $200, tails you lose $100. As Samuelson had anticipated, Brown declined this bet, saying: “I won’t bet because I would feel the $100 loss more than the $200 gain.” In other words, Brown was saying: “I am loss averse.” But then Brown said something that surprised Samuelson. He said that he did not like one bet, but would be happy to take 100 such bets.

“If it does not pay to do an act once, it will not pay to do it twice, thrice, . . . or at all.”

“myopic loss aversion.” The only way you can ever take 100 attractive bets is by first taking the first one, and it is only thinking about the bet in isolation that fools you into turning it down.

One reason is that it is risky to be a contrarian. “Worldly wisdom teaches that is it is better for reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally.”

Remember another of Keynes’s famous lines. “In the long run, we are all dead.”

In a rational world there would not be very much trading—in fact, hardly any. Economists sometimes call this the Groucho Marx theorem. Groucho famously said that he would never want to belong to any club that would have him as a member. The economist’s version of this joke—predictably, not as funny—is that no rational agent will want to buy a stock that some other rational agent is willing to sell. Imagine two financial analysts, Tom and Jerry, are playing a round of golf. Tom mentions that he is thinking of buying 100 shares of Apple. Jerry says, that’s convenient, I was thinking of selling 100 shares. I could sell my shares to you and avoid the commission to my broker. Before they can agree on a deal, both think better of it. Tom realizes that Jerry is a smart guy, so asks himself, why is he selling? Jerry is thinking the same about Tom, so they call off the trade. Similarly, if everyone believed that every stock was correctly priced already—and always would be correctly priced—there would not be very much point in trading, at least not with the intent of beating the market. No one takes the extreme version of this “no trade theorem” literally, but most financial economists agree, at least when pressed, that trading volume is surprisingly high. There is room for differences of opinion on price in a rational model, but it is hard to explain why shares would turn over at a rate of about 5% per month in a world of Econs. However, if you assume that some investors are overconfident, high trading volume emerges naturally.

The key lesson is that prices can get out of whack, and smart money cannot always set things right.

“the three bounds”: bounded rationality, bounded willpower, and bounded self-interest.

When people are given what they consider to be unfair offers, they can get angry enough to punish the other party, even at some cost to themselves.

The winner’s curse. When many bidders compete for the same object, the winner of the auction is often the bidder who most overvalues the object being sold. The same will be true for players, especially the highly touted players picked early in the first round. The winner’s curse says that those players will be good, but not as good as the teams picking them think.

The false consensus effect. Put basically, people tend to think that other people share their preferences.

A competitive labor market does do a pretty good job of channeling people into jobs that suit them. But ironically, this logic may become less compelling as we move up the managerial ladder. All economists are at least pretty good at economics, but many who are chosen to be department chair fail miserably at that job. This is the famous Peter Principle: people keep getting promoted until they reach their level of incompetence.

“I am not the sort of person who would steal, and I hope you are not one of those evil types either.” This is an example of what game theorists call “cheap talk.” In the absence of a penalty for lying, everyone promises to be nice. However, there turns out to be one reliable signal in all this noise. If someone makes an explicit promise to split, she is 30 percentage points more likely to do so. (An example of such a statement: “I promise you I am going to split it, 120%.”) This reflects a general tendency. People are more willing to lie by omission than commission.

(...) he said he was planning to steal right up until the last minute. The hosts reminded him that he had given an impassioned speech about his father telling him that a man is only as good as his word. “What about that?” the hosts asked, somewhat aghast at this revelation. “Oh, that,” Ibrahim said. “Actually, I never met my father. I just thought it would be an effective story.” People are interesting.

Someone turning sixty who finds herself flush with surplus savings has numerous remedies, from taking an early retirement, to going on lavish vacations, to spoiling the grandchildren. But someone who learns at sixty that she has not saved enough has very little time to make up lost ground, and may find that retirement must be postponed indefinitely.

When dealing with Humans, words matter.

standard recommendation from the Cialdini bible: if you want people to comply with some norm or rule, it is a good strategy to inform them (if true) that most other people comply.

Ethical nudges must be both transparent and true.

If you want to encourage someone to do something, make it easy.

“big peanuts” fallacy

Those looking for behavioral interventions that have a high probability of working should seek out other environments in which a one-time action can accomplish the job. If no one-time solution yet exists, invent one!

As Gene Fama often says when he is asked about our competing views: we agree about the facts, we just disagree about the interpretation.

Mark Twain once said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

#behavioural economics #economics #non-fiction #quotes #books #misbehaving #Richard h thaler #Richard thaler

1 note · View note

theliberaltony · 6 years ago

Link

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

While he loudly calls the media’s attention to issues like immigration and trade agreements, President Trump is quietly testing the limits of his authority through the courts. His views of executive power and separation of powers are, in dozens of different cases, forcing the legal system to answer knotty — and sometimes unprecedented — questions about what the U.S. president is really allowed to do.

It’s not uncommon, of course, for presidents to push at the boundaries of the presidency and for the courts to rein them in. But Trump stands out for both the range and breadth of the constitutional questions that have been raised during his presidency, which isn’t yet 2 years old — from his attorney’s claim that a president can never obstruct justice to his declaring that he has the right to pardon himself. To be clear, neither of those legal questions is being considered by courts at the moment (although if Trump tries to pardon himself, I can promise that will go before a judge in record time), but there are plenty of other consequential cases currently working their way through the judicial system. Disputes about the scope of presidential authority are never easy for judges to resolve, but Trump’s unorthodox statements and actions are making it even more difficult for the courts to determine when, and how, to place limits on the president.

Whether the courts reject Trump’s actions or allow them, the results of these cases will leave their mark on our country long after this administration is over, because they’ll be enshrined in law. So far, the nation’s highest court has upheld a policy restricting travel to the U.S. by people from several nations, some of which are majority-Muslim — still one of Trump’s most controversial actions. Others seem likely to end up at the Supreme Court; indeed, one aspect of the legal fight over the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census will go before the court in February. Although many lower courts have been skeptical of the legality of some of Trump’s actions, Trump and the Republican Senate are remaking the federal judiciary through a record-setting series of conservative judicial appointments, which could have implications for how similar cases are received in the future.

That’s why we’re launching The Trump Docket, a column that will explore some of the most important legal cases of the Trump presidency and how their results could shape the contours of presidential power for years to come.

To do this, I’ve assembled an initial set of cases to track and investigate and divided them into three categories (Pre-presidency Trump, President Trump and the Trump administration) based on the nature of their connection to the president. The list is far from exhaustive, and the choices I’ve made are admittedly subjective, although I’ve consulted more than a dozen legal experts and political scientists along the way. I’ll add and subtract cases as they arise or are resolved, but my aim overall is to isolate a group of legal challenges that illuminate the range of Trump-related issues that are currently in the courts. And every week or two, I’ll dive into what a particular case or set of cases means — for Trump personally, his presidency and our democracy.1 For today’s column, I’m going to walk through some of the major cases in each category and outline their stakes.

Pre-presidency Trump

Trump was elected with several dozen active lawsuits against him, so it’s not surprising that he’s still battling cases that involve conduct from before he was president. But several are now forcing courts to grapple with how our justice system should treat a president who is being sued. And the ongoing special counsel investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election has raised the specter of whether the chief executive can be criminally indicted. In this category, I’ll follow cases involving conduct from Trump’s pre-presidency days (even if the lawsuit or charges were filed after Trump became president), including:

A lawsuit filed by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who is accusing Trump of defamation for calling her a liar after she said he had sexually harassed her.

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels’s dispute with Trump over a hush-money deal she signed during the 2016 election campaign.

New York state’s lawsuit against the Trump Foundation — which Trump dissolved after the 2016 election, saying that he wanted to avoid conflicts of interest — that argues the Trump family’s charitable organization repeatedly violated both state and federal laws.

President Trump

Trump’s unwillingness to divest from his businesses after he became president and his aggressive Twitter presence haven’t just raised eyebrows — they quickly spurred legal action. In this category, I’ll be looking at cases related to Trump’s conduct as president that have raised questions about limits on a president’s personal behavior and how much power the courts have to rein him in. These cases include:

Three separate lawsuits that claim Trump’s business ties are in violation of anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution that prohibit federal officials from receiving domestic and foreign “emoluments,” or financial benefits, without congressional approval. Cases have been brought by Democrats in Congress, a watchdog group and concerned private citizens, and the attorneys general of Maryland and Washington, D.C.

A case brought by people who have been blocked by Trump on Twitter and claim that the president is violating their First Amendment rights.

A lawsuit from a professional writers organization that claims Trump is using his office to punish members of the media whom he dislikes and is asking the courts to stop him.

The Trump administration

This category is both the biggest and the trickiest to define. That’s because every administration is constantly engaged in court battles over the way they’re interpreting laws and regulations, but those fights don’t often revolve around constitutional issues. We also wanted to focus on the policies that press at the boundaries of the president’s power, relative to the other branches of government — as well as disputes that we might not expect to see in another administration. These cases include:

The multiple, ongoing legal battles over whether the executive branch can withhold funding from so-called sanctuary cities, which are places that have instituted policies limiting local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

A challenge from a lobbying group that represents steel traders, who claim that Trump overstepped his constitutional bounds by imposing tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

Lawsuits attacking the Trump administration’s revocation of “temporary protected status” — a designation that shields migrants from deportation if they’re from certain countries experiencing natural disasters or conflict — for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan; they say that the president was motivated by racially discriminatory views against people from these countries.

The fight over whether the Trump administration’s plan to exclude transgender people from the military is constitutional.

You can see — and follow — the full set of cases here. I’ll periodically update the data set with the latest on each case, and I’ll post new and interesting information on Twitter. And don’t hesitate to reach out if you think an important case is missing or if there’s an interesting angle on one of these cases you’d like us to explore. We want this column to answer your questions about how Trump is changing the presidency, so please be in touch.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux

3 notes · View notes

digimedial · 6 years ago

Text

Who's driving now? - DigiMediaL wrap up & consultation tips / 13th of December 2018

As the DigiMediaL_musik project is coming to an end by new years eve after nearly more than 10 years, this last Berliner Musiker*innen Treff offered a ceremonial project completion as well as a place for further consultation tips regarding the Berlin music scene.

We invited alumni, lecturers and cooperative partners from the past three years and also all interested people who would like to find their way around the consulting jungle in Berlin to come together.

Sandra Flachmann was guiding through a well organized variety of consulting opportunities in Berlin, (digital) networks and platforms, funding opportunities in music, information on workshops and lectures on music-related issues. So this time there was almost a two-hours program to be enjoyed.

First the OMA’s café was presented as it is still one of the last uncommercial spaces so close to Mitte and hosted us very friendly for the last couple of months. Also they are open to alternative uses of the space itself. The presentation and wrap up of the DigiMediaL-musik project and a brief introduction of cooperation partners and guests followed.

The talk opened up when alumni of the OnStage certificate course were joining the round, Lisa-Miriam Übel (OnStage IV) and Chrissy Möllers (OnStage II) sat down next to Sandra. For Chrissy it was most important, that OnStage opened the door to a variety of networks like Ramschakl or Tal der Verwirrung. As a result of these connections she created her own regular event series and doing bookings at the venue Klunkerkranich. She really liked the group work itself and the group dynamics and even though it was exhausting sometimes, it showed her how much potential a group can develope. Most problems she remembered of the processcame from dealing with their main event location as at that time the owners of the location were in the process of just forming their own group also. Reflecting the self inside a group was the biggest learning for her. Lisa told that she found it very interesting how the development was from the first meeting until the main event, as many creative heads ‘have strong personalities’ and they all didn’t know each other before. To manage this and combining very different tastes while fulfilling the tasks that needed to be done to get the event going was a challenge and at the same time showed her how much is possible in such a short time. Also for her own it was a push to really finally prepare a live set. Developing new friendships and collaborations, she said she took a lot of values from the OnStage course with her.

The first pitch was made by Maureen Noé of Musicboard Berlin. This is one of the biggest or maybe the central funding organization for pop music in Berlin. It covers nearly any genre, just no straightforward jazz or classical music. The Music Board tries to be very approachable and do consultings in English and German. They distribute financial support towards artists directly and to projects, organizers and festivals (in Berlin). ‘Karrieresprungbrett’ for example is a program to establish newcomers and ‘Pop im Kiez’ is raising awareness for the acceptance of live music in neighbourhoods. Most deadlines to apply for scholarships are around February (only for newcomers registered in Berlin, roughly 5000-10000 €). Above all you apply with music, next to a small project plan, CV of your artistic career and a small finance overview for the jury to decide. They are active in supporting more female*, non binary and trans artists.

Giuditta Panzieri of Music Pool Berlin followed. The non-profit organization exists since 2014 and offers a mix of think tank, consulting, education and networking. The aim is helping musicians to take a step forward and to be able to navigate inside the Berlin music industry. They offer 4h-workshops once a week (15€) on topics like e.g. marketing, branding, music licencing, DIY booking and similar to support independent artists. There are two types of consultation (all available in German and English): One for free and one that that offers you a ‘personal expertise’ (20€=1h). Once a month there is an event called ‘Community evening’, an easy going conference offering different topics and experts with changing locations every time. The other event of the Music Pool is the artist meetup, where artists are free to sign up for a slot and then do a pitch to show what they are doing at the moment as well as to ask for feedback and ressources.

The Berlin Music Commission was represented by Tim Joppien who first stated that this network and cooperative consists of 120 members with a background in labelwork, management, radio stations and booking agencies. They also do consultations but workshops and thinktank formats as well. Tim called the Music Commission a ‘music industry network’ which targets companies, but also more and more ‘individuals’. They were part of the ‘Most wanted: Music convention Berlin’ and do a monthly event called ‘Backstage’ which for example tries to bring together people who create music and other industries like the film industry. Their ‘Sprechstunde Musikwirtschaft’ is a consultation for basic music industry knowledge and there is a program for internationalisation called ‘Music Ambassador’. Via their platform ‘listen to berlin’ they are including compilations of newcomers and the applications usually open up around April.

After a short break Mona Katawi of the transnational counseling center ‘Landesmusikrat Berlin’ explained her offer, which she does in four different languages (German, Arabic, English, Turkish). She manages the program ‘Information about the music market’, making information available for people who just came to Berlin, especially for musicians in exile who just fled their country. It is mostly a very general consultation, like for example regarding “what is the KSK and how to I get in”. They also work together with Kulturförderpunkt and ver.di, accompanying people who mostly need translations and emotional support with bureaucratic appointments in Germany. Also they made a map visible on landesmusikrat-berlin.de/projekte/musikarbeitsmarkt which shows various institutions and locations regarding music. The program is funded by the ‘Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa’.

Sebastian Hoffmann who is working inside the ‘touring artists’-advisory package of SMartDe Netzwerk für Kreative e.V. explained that they are open to all sectors of music and the music industry. They give advices regarding VISA, residential questions, transports, taxes, insurances and similar issues. Except German and English they offer some information in Polish, French, Dutch and some Italian. As they are funded from the federal government they offer free consultation via phone, in universities and through workshops. Mainly they focus on two ways of consultation: for people who just arrived to Germany and for people who want to travel outside Germany. The next workshop will be on January 15th in the afternoon from 2-6pm at Music Pool; an overall crashcourse on all topics shown on the website. Costs 15€.

Following this, Matthias Krebs of DigiMediaL_musik introduced the free online platform SKILLFRIED which is focussing on music projects and is all about connecting professional musicians as well as freelancers and creative heads. This is especially interesting for people who are already experienced in music-related projects and are searching for new partners or collaborateurs.

Last but not least the current initiative savemauerpark.de was given the space to make the situation visible by a delegate of busking.co; musician and (street) artists Laura Hoo. Not only being linked to other busking projects all over Europe, she is involved into founding the Verein related to streetmusicberlin.de, trying to help out street musicians in a time when more and more places are getting problematic and finally shut down. As the rules for busking are not really clear and visible in Berlin, buskers are threatened about losing their instrument through confiscation. Since summer weekly demonstrations in Mauerpark took place, as the situation got out of hand during summer with a lot of neighbour -and police troubles. To support the cause and buskers in their work, it’s about getting involved and spreading the word and awareness or simply get in contact to join the weekly meetings. At the moment, the initiative tries to do lobby work in Pankow/for Mauerpark but probably has to go for a berlinwide movement. Everybody signing the petition to create pressure on the authorities helps the cause!

Closing wrap up, Sandra mentioned some more institutions to find consultation and networks: -female:pressure -culture container -ALEX Offener Kanal Berlin -musicBwoman.de

Like always there was time for questions and networking and the evening was rounded off by a cosy talkative session from an audience that clearly appreciated the Berliner Musiker*innen Treff. Thanks & Good-bye! :-)

2 notes · View notes

creativewritingforscammers101 · 2 years ago

Text

Global Unity

Greetings my beloved friend,

My name is Sheikh al Hinai, I worked as Manager overseeing the distribution of imported materials to the late Mr. Akihiko Saito, who suffered casualty and died during the Iraq crisis.

I am writing this personal letter to request your business cooperation.

This matter is in regards to Mr. Akihiko Saito, Japanese, who was a diplomat and a former member of the French Foreign Legion who worked for Hart Security Ltd., and an oil contractor with Abu Dhabi NationalOil Company [ADNOC]. He was awarded a contract worth 80 Million KWD by ADNOC for the supply of oil drilling equipment.

He did receive a mobilization of 40million KWD, which is equivalent to £100.793.000,Million British Pounds, Immediately the contract award was approved, he did execute the contract but when during the final stage he ran into serious trouble with the militants.

He was subsequently killed on the 9th of May 2005.

I worked for Mr. Akihiko Saito, as a manager overseeing the distribution of imported materials. I am a Netherlands citizen.

I was very close to Mr. Akihiko, as I assisted him in communication and others during the process of the contract award.

I ensured that his balance contract payment of 40 Million Kuwaiti Dinar was secured accordingly and deposited with a Good Bank in BURKINA FASO.

I have the original copies of all the contract documents and I will send them to you for your perusal as soon as you confirm the receipt of this email.

The name of the Bank is BANQUE COMMERCIALE DU BURKINA FASO.

The wife of the late contractor is not in good health and she has given me approval for the process I am about to take.

She has guaranteed the process of securing offshore investment in their interest.

She does not want the brother of the late contractor to be aware of the deal as all her husbands’ assets are willed to her and her children and she wants a woman like her with children or without children to help her claim and keep the funds for her.

This is the primary reason why we have to keep this business confidential.

Mr. Hironobu Saito is a brother to Mr. Akihiko Saito but in the late contractors “will”, there is no mention of the name of Mr. Hironobu Saito, rather all assets are willed to the Wife of the late contractor and her little children.

As a business mogul, I want you to assist to secure the above sum (40 Million Kuwaiti Dinar) in your reliable bank account for investment whereas the bulk sum (80 million KWD held in Parex bank) would be an issue of later discussion since it was deposited with Parex Bank with a specified maturity Date.

All the original documents regarding the said contract are in my possession and will be forwarded to you accordingly.

A letter of authority would be issued in your favor As the next of kin, that would authorize you to receive the Investment Capital.

You shall make an immediate arrangement to hold a meeting with me to proceed with claiming the Investment Capital and transferring it to your reliable account through the help of some financial experts in BF.

As soon as I receive a response from you, I shall send you the entire contract papers for your perusal.

Below is the family’s specification for your consideration: -

1] Investment capital is 40,000.000.00.KWD [Forty Million Kuwaiti Dinar].

2] Areas of interest are Real Estates, Industries, Fisheries, Transports and Hotels.

3] Shares are subject to negotiations.

Take note that this transaction is 100% legitimate and risk free.

You shall be compensated for assisting to secure the funds for investment purposes Of 35% from the fund.

Please ensure that this matter is kept strictly confidential.

You can contact me with my personal emails.

Please get back to me with your personal details if you are willing to partner with me.

Thanks for honoring this invitation. Expecting your mail.

Best Regards,

Al-Sheikh Mohamed Asad AlKhalaf.

#It's the Japanese version of Cain and Abel #But Iraqi style #This transaction is 100% legitimate we swear!#They throw darts at a map to decide where they're from this week #SPAMalot

0 notes

marjaystuff · 2 years ago

Text

Elise Cooper Interviews Mark Greaney

Armored by Mark Greaney shows why he is currently one of the best thriller writers. Although written first as an Audible Original, the book is much more enjoyable. Once again Greaney does not disappoint. There is plenty of action, but also some important issues covered including those still able to serve after losing a limb as well as how contractor companies treat their employees.

Best known for his “Gray Man series,” there were times in the story that readers wished for Court Gentry to come out and help the main character, Joshua “Duff” Duffy. But the badass in the novel was not Gentry, but Duffy’s wife Nichole, a former helicopter pilot.

Duffy, a former military Infantry soldier who became a private military contractor, shows his tenacity after losing part of his leg. Down on his luck and struggling to financially support his family, Duffy has an old comrade set up an interview with the contracting company, Armored Saints, that has a checkered reputation. He is hired as part of a private protection squad to guard a team of UN representatives. They are going to meet with warring drug lords deep into cartel country in Mexico, hoping to negotiate a peace between them. It soon becomes obvious that Duffy and his teammates must deal with hidden agendas, double crosses, and warfare.

Not only are the guys front and center but so are the women. Dr. Gabrielle Flores, a regional analyst for the area of Sierra Madres, in Mexico, informs Duffy’s team how dangerous the area is. She is also very valuable in helping them escape, knowing the area, the cartels, and the locals. The other woman in the story is Duffy’s wife Nichole who goes on a fact-finding mission to save her husband and refuses to take “no” as an answer.

This military thriller will leave readers on the edge of their seats. The plot will remind readers of “The Dirty Dozen.” The novel has everything Greaney is known for including intense action, great dialogue, and team of heroes that are very likeable, while enemies that are very unlikeable. This is a book that should not be put down, but unfortunately, people will have to wait for book 2 to come out.

Elise Cooper: Can you tell us something about the “The Gray Man” movie on Netflix?

Mark Greaney: It stars Ryan Gosling as The Gray Man, Court Gentry, and will be released on July 22. I read the script when they started filming. I have also seen it and really liked it. They did change some things. With so many people involved in making the movie, there is always creative influences. Characters who were not in the first book but did come along later in the book series are introduced in the movie. It is true to the spirit of the longer story of the first book. The dialogue was clever for the story.

EC: How did you get the idea for Armored, your latest book and will it be a series?

MG: Yes, it will be a series. The idea came about when I was training in a school with firearms. This school trained a lot of civilian contractors. There, I took a lot of classes that were designed for executive protection. It had a lot of running and gunning with team tactics. I thought in 2009 about writing a story about these contractors. First it was an audio play, and now the novel has come out.

EC: You put a different take on contracting firms?

MG: Some are not loyal or supportive to their employees. The one I created in this book, Armored Saint, is corrupt and dirty. Overall, the contractors themselves are awesome. Some of these companies have a reputation, which I wanted to dance around a bit. In the 2000s it was the heyday for these companies and now things have dried up.

EC: How did you come up with the scene where Duffy saved the wife?

MG: Duffy had a mission that went wrong but did his job. I decided to do it in Beirut because there was an assassination of a presidential candidate fifteen years ago. With that in the back of my mind I orchestrated the different roads and tactics. I did not go over there but mapped it out.

EC: How would you describe Duffy?

MG: Very much a blue-collar worker. Not at all like The Gray Man, not a secret spy, a Superhero, or Special Forces. But he was not a mercenary because he seeks justice. In the beginning of the story, he is not a leader, but a helper. When he lost his limb, he was depressed at the inability to financially support his family. But as a strong family man he was responsible and caring. He has the desire and guts to get back out there even with the loss of a limb. Very courageous.

EC: How would you describe Nichole, Duffy’s wife?

MG: She was a Captain in the Army, flying helicopters. I wanted to write her as an alpha female. She is very assertive, someone who takes charge. She is the opposite of Duffy who is very easy going. I think she wants to go back to the world where she was a leader, her natural habitat. Overall, she is straight forward, no nonsense, and detailed.

EC: The Cartels are like the Mafia?

MG: I wrote a Gray Man book, Ballistic, where Court faced off with the Cartels. I found out through the research how much torture and violence there is. I could not put that in the books. It is a civil war in Mexico, the Mexican Marines versus the Cartels who are brutal to the townspeople. There are rivalries between the different Cartels and actual maps show what territory is held by which Cartel.

EC: What role did Dr. Gabrielle (Gabby) Flores play?

MG: I spent some time in the Archeological Museum in Mexico City where Gabby works. As I was writing the story, I realized that many of the contractors were American, French, British, and in a world they did not understand. Gabby became the character, the heart and soul of the story, that allowed me through her, to tell the story of the setting and the hardships the people face. She preached to the contractors the danger in the area and how desperate the people living there are.

EC: How would you describe Dr. Gabrielle (Gabby) Flores versus UN representative Michelle La Rue?

I contrasted Gabby with Michelle La Rue. Gabby is a realist, caring, honest, and direct. La Rue is a UN bureaucrat who overestimates her abilities and influence. She is an allegory for the UN going into places and doing things, trying to be peacekeepers. Through La Rue I was able to put in my own personal bias. La Rue has a naiveté and a jadedness at the same time, especially when she wanted the contractors to disarm in a very dangerous setting.

EC: Next books?

MG: I have written two books a year since 2009, the “Clancy series,” “Red Metal,” of course “The Gray Man,” and now this series “Armored,” where I will probably start to write the next book in August. Armored has been optioned by Sony with Michael Bay producing it. The second Armored book will have a strong dynamic between Duffy and Nichole, co-leads.

The next Gray Man book is titled Murder, the twelfth in the series, out in February next year. Zoya will be back with Zack probably in the latter part of the book.

Red Metal II written with Lt. Col. Hunter Ripley Rawlings will be out before the next Armored book.

THANK YOU!!

0 notes

deepjoshisblog · 3 years ago

Text

GOOGLE'S NEW TOOLS FOR KIDS' ONLINE SAFETY

With kids having invested considerably more energy at home – and on the web – than any time in recent memory during the Covid 19 lockdown there is a predicament which canines guardians and watchmen:

How might you urge youngsters to utilize the web to investigate every one of the miracles it holds, while protecting them from the frightful stuff that is pervasive on the web also?

As a web wise grandma who is especially infatuated with the internet both in my expert and individual life, it stresses me. A seo services need the children to partake in the upsides of all the information they can assimilate on the web, yet one can't police them unsurpassed, all over the place, in the internet. Regardless of whether you, unseemly substance or unfortunate correspondence can sneak in.

The issue is the manner by which to keep a kid's advantage started and their certainty high without putting them off of the web inside and out.

Read Also:-- Tips to get Google AdSense approval with a new blog

It's a matter that worries Google as well – they need the cutting edge to be (in the most natural sounding way for them) "web legends". They've cooperated up with Parentzone, the digital marketing company in sheffield in computerized everyday life; the PSHE Association, a public body for individual social, wellbeing and financial training; and Internet Matters, a wellspring of counsel to assist guardians with protecting their kids on the web.

Becoming Confident Digital Citizens

Working with these bodies, and drawing on their own ability, Google has assembled an exhaustive program pointed toward enabling guardians and educators to assist youngsters with becoming brilliant, safe web pioneers and "certain computerized residents".

This is an alternate way to deal with the one taken by most concerned guardians, which is to restrict web time and use applications or programming to follow their posterity's internet based action. All things being equal, the Google lobby appears to advocate giving youngsters free rein to investigate the web, furnished with the information on the most proficient method to perceive, and manage, any threatening advanced risks they might run over.

The truth will surface eventually if this methodology works – the Google program still can't seem to be tried in the long haul, however filling in as I do with the web each day – and the imaginative web advancement group here at digital marketing company in stafford– I believe they're doing great.

When making a decision about the Google "Web Legends" approach, remember this outcome that arose in a Parentzone study: 71.3% of youthful respondents figured their folks don't regard their protection on the web. The end result is, as one youngster commented: "They attempt to follow me so I utilize counterfeit records so I can have some protection."

As any parent knows, there isn't anything so particularly alluring as taboo natural product, so rather than eliminating a kid's capacity to assume liability for his/her internet based insight, I trust it is ideal to rather give him/her the apparatuses to explore the internet securely.

Five important illustrations on Internet Use

To me the Google Be Internet Legends crusade bodes well, and essentially fills in as an important apparatus for supporting a kid's computerized instruction. It surely can't do any mischief.

It appears as five arrangements of major illustrations, went with exercises, which kids can work through with an educator and additionally parent. These examples incorporate:

#GOOGLE tools #social media marketing #seo services

0 notes

dpr-lahore-division · 3 years ago

Text

CM APPROVES 25 PERCENT SPECIAL ALLOWANCE TO REMOVE DISPARITY IN SALARIES

With the compliments of, The Directorate General Public Relations,

Government of the Punjab, Lahore Ph: 99201390.

No.798/QU/Umer

HANDOUT (A)

LAHORE, May 20:

Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has chaired the special committee meeting at his office on Thursday to remove disparity in the salaries of government employees.

The CM approved a 25 percent special allowance for government employees from June and turned down the suggestion to give 10 or 15 percent special allowance and directed to give 25 percent special allowance. He said more than 7 lakh and 21 thousand provincial government employees of grade one to 19 will be given special allowance while those already receiving special/executive allowance will not be included in it. The government employees are our companions and government is determined to resolve their genuine issues. The employees will also hear good news in the upcoming budget, the CM concluded.

Provincial Ministers Raja Basharat, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Hashim Jawan Bakht, Hussain Jahania Gardezi, additional chief secretary, secretary finance and others attended the meeting.

** **

No.799/QU/Zahid

HANDOUT (A)

CM CONDOLES LOSS OF LIVES IN A ROAD ACCIDENT

LAHORE, May 20:

Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has expressed a deep sense of sorrow over the loss of precious human lives in a road accident near Sukkar. In a message, the CM extended sympathies to bereaved heirs and prayed for early recovery of the injured.

******

No.800/QU/Zahid

HANDOUT (A)

CM PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO THE KHANEWAL GIRL WITHOUT ARMS

LAHORE, May 20:

Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has taken notice of a viral video about an armless girl Shehnaz Bibi and directed Deputy Commissioner Khanewal to take necessary action. The DC visited her residence and presented electric sewing machines and a financial-aid cheque to her.

** **

No.801/QU/Zahid

HANDOUT (A)

PARLIAMENTARIANS CALLS ON CM PUNJAB

LAHORE, May 20:

Provincial Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bukht and MPAs Asif Majeed, Muhammad Shafi called on Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office and discussed various issues.

The CM said the wrong tradition of unjustified distribution of funds has been done away with to help the remote areas, including the district of Rahimyar Khan, to benefit from the composite development process. The development package will ensure composite development of every district; he added and announced to visit Rahimyar Khan soon. Meanwhile, the propagandists have no care for the national interest or welfare of the masses and they are following a specific agenda to achieve certain objectives, he continued. The PTI is fully united under the leadership of PM Imran Khan and no conspiracy will ever succeed. The government has never indulged in the politics of accusations because politics is meant for public service. It believes in rule of law, justice, merit and transparency and no discriminatory action has been taken against anyone in Punjab, the CM concluded.

** **

No.802/QU/Zahid

HANDOUT (A)

INTERIOR MINISTER SH. RASHID AHMED CALLS ON CM

LAHORE, May 20:

Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed met with Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office and discussed issues of mutual interest.

Sheikh Rashid termed the chief minister as a frontline lieutenant of PM Imran Khan and announced to stand with him. The PTI government is stronger than before under PM Imran Khan, he added. Ups and downs are a routine in politics and there is no element of anxiety, he maintained. Those making prognostications will face defeat as before, he added. The Punjab government is solving the problems of Rawalpindi on a priority basis and the law and order situation is satisfactory. Meanwhile, the Punjab government has taken timely steps to overcome the spread of coronavirus and its efforts are worth following, he further said.

While restating his political vision, the CM said Punjab is administered as a team adding that he believes in the principles of tolerance and brotherhood in politics. Those waging divisions should look into their own peep and criticism for the sake of criticism, allegation-mongering and levelling baseless accusations is not the habit of the government, maintained the chief minister. It follows the golden principles of transparency, honesty and trust and the politics of revenge has been done away with, he continued and regretted the political opponents were targeted in the past.

A special development package has been devised for Rawalpindi and full attention is paid to solve the city problems, he assured. Rule of law has been ensured by the government and steps have been taken to protect the life and property of the people. Meanwhile, the government is striving hard to overcome the coronavirus and citizens' cooperation is also important, concluded the CM.

Advisor Dr Salman Shah was also present.

** **

No.803/QU/Zahid

HANDOUT (A)

CM CHAIRS PROVINCIAL APEX COMMITTEE MEETING

LAHORE, May 20:

Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired the provincial apex committee meeting at his office on Thursday. The meeting was told the health department will recruit 4452 paramedics and vaccinators for corona drive while 10 oxygen generators and 200 oxygen concentrators are being provided to ensure the supply of oxygen in the province.

The meeting repeated the commitment to utilize resources for dealing with the third corona wave and the military leadership assured to continue every possible cooperation with the civil government to contain the spread of corona. The apex committee decided to use all administrative actions to enforce the SOPs. It was decided that airports will remain super alert, upon arrival of international flights, and effective steps will be taken to ensure the identification of corona-positive international passengers. It was decided to increase the number of corona vaccination centres along with expediting the vaccination drive. The meeting further decided to implement the decisions through a mutual line of action. It was decided to effectively implement the closure timing of markets and bazaars through administrative measures and it was planned to devise a separate policy for overcoming the spread of coronavirus in Lahore.

The CM told the vaccine was being procured with Rs. 1.5 billion through an accelerated process. More vaccine doses will also be procured as the Punjab government is fully active to save the citizens from this virus, he added. The ratio of corona positive cases in May is 19 percent while the ratio of the positive cases in 26 districts is 8 percent or above, he added. 9456 beds are allocated for corona patients and 2642 patients were under treatment on May 19, the CM said. Meanwhile, 943 ventilators are reserved for corona patients and 422 patients are put on ventilators, he added. Meanwhile, 864987 doses are available in Punjab and a ban is imposed on business activities after 8:00 PM, the CM said. However, plying of transport is allowed with 50 percent capacity and I believe that we can overcome every challenge, concluded the CM.

Corps Commander Lahore Lt. Gen. Muhammad Abdul Aziz reiterated the commitment to continue cooperation with the Punjab government adding that the provincial government's work is praiseworthy. It is a nationwide challenge and every possible assistance is extended to the civil administration, he added. The joint efforts will be made further effective because the lives of the people are important, he concluded.

GOC 10 Division Major General Muhammad Aneeq-ur-Rehman Malik, DG Rangers Punjab Major General Muhammad Amir Majeed, Law Minister Raja Basharat, Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, SACM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Chief Secretary, IGP, ACS (Home) and high-ranking civil and military officials attended the meeting.

*****

No.804/QU/Zahid

HANDOUT (A)

CM CONDOLES DEATH OF SCIENTIST DR KHALIL CHISHTI

LAHORE, May 20:

Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has condoled the death of famous scientist Dr Khalil Chishti. In a message, the CM extended sympathies to the heirs and prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace.

*****

0 notes

dispatchesfrom2020 · 4 years ago

Text

2020

Week 28: July 6-12

6: You know who I forgot about in May? Amy fucking Cooper, that’s who. But as 2020 luck has it - all news cycles come back around at some point. Lets catch up: white Canadian woman (Amy Cooper) in New York Dog parks becomes incised when a black birder (Christian Cooper) who asks her to put her dog on a leash in the nature preserve part of the park. She threatens to call the police and he reflexively starts filming as she shouts into her mobile that she’s being threatened by a large African-American man. The video was posted on twitter by the birder’s sister and Amy becomes persona non-grata almost immediately. The incident coincided neatly with the murder of George Floyd, another unarmed black man falsely accused of a crime. She is fired from her job - and even has her dog taken away briefly, as the rescue shelter she adopted the pup from revoked his ownership. In July, following seemingly months of public discussions of her abuse of the police system, she is actually charged with false reporting.

Christian Cooper was threatened by a white park-goer while birding in Central Park over the Memorial Day Weekend - Brittainy Newman/The New York Times

7: In the United States, COVID is now so ubiquitous in the southern states that contract tracing is no longer worthwhile - or even possible. Community spread is rampant. The country also announces that it will be withdrawing from the World Health Organization in 2021 - Trump blames the organization for not taking a harsher stance on China in response to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the United Nations expert on extrajudicial executions presents a report to the Human Rights Council, calling the United States’ January assassination of Qasem Soleimani unlawful and arbitrary, determining that it violated the United Nations charter.

8: After a spate of reasonable decisions, the Supreme court delivers a real bummer: in Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v Pennsylvania, the court decides 7-2 that employers can decline to cover their staff’s contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act if they have religious or moral objections to its use. Allowing employers to dictate what medicines and procedures people have access to is fundamentally morally bankrupt. In Burkina Faso, mass graves containing the remains of 180 people are uncovered - the fraught northern regions of the country have been home to incredible violence between government forces and jihadist groups with ties to Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Human Rights Watch believe that the government was responsible for committing mass extrajudicial executions of suspected jihadists.

9: The Bolivian President tests positive for the coronavirus. Rodrigo Duerte, president of the Philippines, televises a cabinet meeting. He strongly resists suggestions the country should re-open, citing the examples of Brazil and the United States as evidence of the “deep shit” they would face if they chose to ignore the rising numbers and loosened COVID restrictions.

Still 9: SCOTUS has another busy day. In a blow to Trump, the justices decide that New York state prosecutors can seek the president’s financial records, further defining the limits of presidential power. More importantly, however, they rule on two cases, finally settling the issue of whether or not nearly half of Oklahoma is tribal land. It is a crucially important ruling that re-asserts Indigenous land rights in the United States. Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee fairly-well respected in Indian Country for his rulings on Indigenous rights issues, joins the four liberal justices. He pens the majority decision: “On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise. Forced to leave their ancestral lands in Georgia and Alabama, the Creek Nation received assurances that their new lands in the West would be secure forever... Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law. Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word.”

Piotr Redlinski for The New York Times

10: Turkey’s President Erdogan decrees that the Hagia Sophia will be converted back into a mosque. The site - with histories both as a church and a mosque - has been a museum since 1934. The decree was incredibly controversial - and earned the disapproval of UNESCO. Donald Trump, meanwhile, commutes the sentence of friend and political advisor Roger Stone. Stone faced up to 40 months in jail on felony charges of witness tampering, obstructing official proceedings, and making false statements during the Mueller Investigation into Trump’s corrupt dealings in the Ukraine. Stone is a huge Nixon-head and has a tattoo of tricky Dick on his back, which is truly regrettable. Representatives Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) and Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) state "No other president has exercised the clemency power for such a patently personal and self-serving purpose", suggesting that Stone was rewarded for protecting the president with these judicial favours.

11: Donald Trump, who has long resisted mandates despite public health official warnings, is photographed wearing a black fabric face mask for the first time. He has long vocally opposed wearing masks - or making masks mandatory, galvanizing his loyal base of followers against local mandates and encouraging them to eschew these precautions as well.

Alex Edelman/AFP

12: Sudan enacts a series of liberal reforms. They ban female genital mutilation, end public floggings, and lift a long-running ban on non-muslims drinking alcohol. Mexico’s COVID death continue to rise, surging them past Italy to assume the unwanted title of fourth-highest-death-toll.

#2020 recap

0 notes

theliberaltony · 6 years ago

Link

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

This is the Trump Docket, where we track some of the most important legal cases of the Trump presidency and how their results could shape presidential power. Questions, comments, or thoughts about cases to cover? Email us here.

After two years of legal wrangling, the Trump Foundation will soon be no more. Last month, in the midst of a dramatic month for cases that stem from President Trump’s pre-presidency life, a judge signed off on a plan to shutter Trump’s much-criticized personal foundation. Under the new agreement, the foundation will be dissolved under court supervision.

In effect, the deal implies that the foundation cannot be trusted to disburse its remaining $1.7 million to legitimate nonprofits. But even though the foundation is dissolving, the lawsuit against the foundation will continue, with the New York attorney general seeking damages for the foundation’s alleged “extensive and persistent violations of state and federal law,” including the illegal use of foundation money to pay off legal settlements, buy portraits of Trump, and promote Trump’s 2016 campaign.

The December settlement is an important reminder of the risk that the state of New York poses for Trump. In particular, New York is uniquely well-positioned to go after Trump where it could hurt him most — through his businesses. In fact, New York has been one of the most significant and I’d argue most underrated legal hazards for Trump since he began his campaign for president. Here are three reasons why.

New York has jurisdiction over Trump’s family businesses

Pursuing legal challenges against Trump has become something of a sport among Democratic attorneys general over the past two years, but most of these fights focus on actions taken by Trump’s administration rather than matters that implicate him personally. But because Trump’s businesses and his presidential campaign are registered in New York, state officials have the authority to investigate and potentially prosecute him for violations of state law.

Trump’s attorneys have argued in a separate case that involves a former “Apprentice” contestant who’s suing Trump for defamation in New York that as president, he should be immune to lawsuits in state courts. It’s an open constitutional question, but two judges have already come down against Trump, saying that when unofficial conduct is involved, there’s no reason to exempt the president from state lawsuits. The case is still being appealed, but even if it’s decided in Trump’s favor, legal actions could still be brought against his businesses or children.

Worse still for Trump, state prosecutions are pardon-proof, since the president’s power to grant clemency extends only to federal crimes. This means that while Trump could pardon an associate or family member implicated in, for example, the Mueller investigation (or even try to pardon himself), his get-out-of-jail-free card won’t work in New York. There’s even been a push to amend New York’s double jeopardy laws to make it possible for someone convicted (and, hypothetically, pardoned) under federal law to be prosecuted for corresponding violations of state law.

State prosecutors are especially tough on financial misconduct

Then there’s the fact that the offenses where Trump has the greatest potential liability in New York — for example, tax or other kinds of corporate fraud — are ones the New York attorney general’s office is particularly adept at handling. Over the past 15 years, New York has steadily stepped up its prosecutions of financial crimes. “Fraud cases are the linchpin of what most attorneys general do, and the laws are particularly strong in New York,” said Paul Nolette, a political science professor at Marquette University who studies state attorneys general.

Trump knows this firsthand, because of a previous tangle with former attorney general Eric Schneiderman. The state sued Trump University for defrauding customers in a case that was settled for $25 million. And because Trump ran for office, opening his businesses to a whole new level of national scrutiny, the Trump Foundation lawsuit may have only been the beginning. Before he resigned last year, Schneiderman was reportedly cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller on matters related to Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, and state tax officials said they’re looking into potential massive tax fraud by the Trump family after reporting from The New York Times last fall. Meanwhile, New York’s new attorney general, Letitia James campaigned on a promise to hold the president accountable across a wide range of issues, including his businesses and finances.

“The Mueller investigation is the shiny object everyone is watching,” Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor and the executive director of Columbia Law School’s Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity, told me. “But under everyone’s nose are what look like much more straightforward violations of state law, including some pretty flagrant tax fraud. Depending on what happens with Mueller, that could be what actually sinks the big ship.”

New York prosecutors may have the clearest shot at indicting Trump while he’s president

Finally, legal experts told me that if New York officials have sufficient evidence against Trump and the appetite for a protracted legal battle, they may have the best chance at testing a high-stakes constitutional unknown: Is it possible to issue a criminal indictment against a sitting president?

Unlike their federal counterparts, state prosecutors are not bound by a Department of Justice policy that says that a sitting president is immune from indictment (a former president is fair game). “I think it would be hard for a judge to tell New York that it can’t pursue charges for criminal violations of its own state law by Donald Trump that occurred before he was president,” said Andy Wright, former associate counsel to President Obama.

Not everyone I spoke with agreed with this view, however. Andrew Coan, a law professor at the University of Arizona and the author of a new book about special prosecutors, said there might even be a stronger argument against allowing state attorneys general to indict a president. “The attorney general of New York only speaks for her state’s voters, not the country as a whole,” he said. “So it seems strange to let that person do something that would significantly impair the president’s ability to serve.”

But even without an indictment — which would unleash an epic constitutional showdown — New York could still threaten Trump’s business empire through civil suits or prosecutions of his family members and inflict a significant amount of political damage on the president in the process.

None of this, of course, answers one key question: If New York is such a danger to Trump, why haven’t prosecutors or the attorney general filed charges or a lawsuit against the president or his businesses?

The Trump Foundation case is actually a good example of why one shouldn’t read too much into the state’s relative inaction. Reports that the foundation was being used for Trump’s personal benefit began while he was still running for office, but the lawsuit wasn’t filed until 18 months after Trump took office. (There is currently one other case in New York involving Trump — the lawsuit from the former “Apprentice” contestant — that we’re tracking as part of the Trump Docket.) But New York officials could be waiting until after Mueller’s probe is concluded to take further legal action — or they might be investigating other instances of potential corporate fraud that we aren’t yet aware of.

Other cases

Pre-presidency Trump

Attorneys for Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chair who was recently accused of violating his plea agreement with special counsel Robert Mueller, failed to fully redact sensitive details from a recent legal filing in the case. As a result, we learned that Manafort was accused of sharing presidential campaign data with a business associate who has links to Russian intelligence, and that during the campaign he discussed a plan for peace in Ukraine — which Russia and its allies were advocating as a path to lifting Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia. On Tuesday, a subsequent, correctly redacted filing from Mueller spelled out a few more details, including a confirmation that Konstantin Kilimnik, a former Manafort aide with alleged ties to Russian intelligence, is still a focus of the investigation.

Sentencing may be postponed for Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign aide and business partner of Manafort, who has been cooperating with Mueller’s investigation. Prosecutors requested a two-month delay in his sentencing because Gates is still assisting with “several ongoing investigations.”

President Trump

Although the case is paused until the partial government shutdown ends, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled oral arguments in the District of Columbia and Maryland’s emoluments lawsuit against Trump for the court’s March 19-21 session.

The Trump administration

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s injunction in a case involving Trump’s ban on transgender military service members, concluding that the previous judge had incorrectly concluded that the policy was a “blanket ban on transgender service.” The decision had no immediate impact, though, because three other lower courts still have an injunction against it.

A second trial over the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census concluded in California on Friday. During the trial, an expert testified that the question would deter Latinos and noncitizens from responding to the Census.

A trial also ended last week in a case involving the Trump administration’s decision to revoke temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants. During the proceedings, Trump’s use of the word “shithole” to describe Haiti and other countries came up repeatedly. Attorneys for the Haitians are arguing that the decision to end the policy was spurred by racial bias.

The Supreme Court rejected an unusual challenge to Matthew Whitaker’s appointment as acting attorney general last November. In a case involving separate issues related to gun rights, the plaintiff and his lawyers asked the Supreme Court to remove Whitaker’s name from the case — arguing that his appointment was illegal — and instead name Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as a party in the case. Without spelling out their reasons, the justices denied the request on Monday.

A district court judge in New York struck down the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, saying Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross illegally violated federal law when he added the question. Notably, the judge said that while Ross wasn’t honest about why he added the citizenship question, the plaintiffs hadn’t proved that his aim was discriminatory. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision to the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, and ultimately, the case could end up before the Supreme Court.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux

1 note · View note