#less known facts switzerland

[monicascot]

Top Less Known but Interesting facts about Switzerland

Did you know that Switzerland is home to the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge? Or that it houses a breathtaking underground lake with crystal-clear waters? Discover the fascinating blend of languages spoken in different regions and the unique way the Swiss safeguard their ancient traditions.

[arminreindl]

Benggwigwishingasuchus: The Fisher Crocodile

I once again come bearing news from the realm of Pseudosuchia. Yes, we got a new taxon. Benggwigwishingasuchus eremicarminis ("Fisherman Croc's desert song") is a new basal member of the poposauroidea, a clade you might have heard about before.

But first some more key notes. Benggwigwishingasuchus has been recovered from the Anisian Fossil Hill Member of the Favret Formation, located in the US State of Nevada. It is known from a decently complete skeleton that preserves much of the neck and torso, a decent chunk of the limbs but only small pieces of the skull.

Left: Press release artwork of Benggwigwishingasuchus looking across the Panthalassan Ocean (Jorge A. Gonzalez) Right: Fossil material

As said already, Benggwigwishingasuchus is considered a member of the poposauroidea, one of the most enigmatic groups of early pseudosuchians. The reason for that is that we primarily know them from their most derived members, the bipedal Poposaurus, the sail-backed ctenosauriscids, Lotosaurus, the ornithomimosaur-mimics of the Shuvosauridae and Qianosuchus. As you can see many appear kind of like proto-dinosaurs and most have lost their osteoderm armor, requiring a whole different skeletal structure to support their erect posture. But until recent years we knew little and less about where they came from. This is thankfully starting to change now, since we now not only have Benggwigwishingasuchus, but also Schultzsuchus (formerly "Prestosuchus" loricatus) described earlier this year, Mambawakale from two years ago and recently assigned to the group as well as Mandasuchus (similar to Mambawakale originally described as something else and recently considered as a basal poposauroid). Thanks to these we are slowly starting to see a transition. Schultzsuchus still has pretty standard armour for example, but Qianosuchus shows clear signs of reduction, with Benggwigwishingasuchus kinda falling into the middle between them.

Assorted Poposauroids: clockwise from top right: Poposaurus (Skye McDavid), Arizonasaurus (Gabriel Ugueto), Lotosaurus (Gabriel Ugueto), Shuvosaurus (Joschua Knüppe)

What's also interesting about Benggwigwishingasuchus is its ecology, or what little we can infer based on the circumstances of its preseration. You see, the Favret Formation preserves marine sediments and was previously best known for its ichthyosaurs (including the giant Cymbospondylus). So its kind of weird seeing a rather lanky pseudosuchian there. What's weirder still is the fact that the preservation seems to suggest that it wasn't swept out. No, its still reasonably complete, partially articulated and in the classic death pose with its back bent backwards, this thing was moved little before being burried. BUT. It wasn't marine. The skeleton fits of a terrestrial animal and both limb proportions and histology show no evidence of it being a swimmer or diver. Instead its hypothesized that it might have been an animal that inhabited the coast, possibly drawing sustenance from the sea but not actively adapted to forage in it. In this sense Benggwigwishingasuchus could parallel Ticinosuchus from Switzerland and Qianosuchus from China, both of which were coastal animals yet not explicitly aquatic (in the case of Qianosuchus it was originally proposed given its specialised tail, but recent work seems to suggest it was never very fast nor enduring).

Top image: Benggwigwishingasuchus standing on the skull of Cymbospondylus (Joschua Knüppe) Bottom left: Ticinosuchus among a group of Tanystropheus (Zach Robinson) Bottom right: Qianosuchus holding a fish (Gabriel Ugueto)

All in all, Benggwigwishingasuchus is an interesting animal that does fill in some gaps in the fossil record, both phylogentically and ecologically and though the description is sparce on actually describing the skeleton, here's hoping that more research will come out eventually. Hell, they dropped a histology on it like a day after it was named.

Wikipedia:

Benggwigwishingasuchus - Wikipedia Papers: A new pseudosuchian from the Favret Formation of Nevada reveals that archosauriforms occupied coastal regions globally during the Middle Triassic | Biology Letters (royalsocietypublishing.org)

Diverse growth rates in Triassic archosaurs—insights from a small terrestrial Middle Triassic pseudosuchian | The Science of Nature (springer.com)

[runwayrunway]

No. 29 - What is the Flag Carrier of Brazil?

In part two of what is at this point going to be a three-part post, let's look at some history, which happens to include a bunch of liveries, on a quest to answer the question...well, it's the title.

We've talked a lot about flag carriers on this blog. I believe, quite emphatically, that flag carriers should have particular considerations when designing liveries, which I've discussed in my Icelandair post. After all, these are a point of national pride, at least in theory. This is one of the reasons most countries have them, and I've mentioned the US as a rare exception. The United States have never had an official flag carrier, and this persists to this day.

But what is the flag carrier of Brazil?

I asked this question on my recent questionnaire. I got a lot of answers. This one was my favorite.

But aside from that, the answers I got were all over the place, and only one of them was correct (while a handful of people did know the correct answer for Switzerland). In fact, the majority weren't real airlines, and none were airlines that currently exist. In order, the most common responses were:

An explicit admission of not knowing

Some variant of "Brazil Air" or "Brazilian Airlines" (not real, has never been real, at least not as anything except a lengthened official name to an airline which goes by something else, i.e. Azul)

Things that are just totally silly, like Green

Airlines that were real, but no longer operate, specifically one guess of TAM and one of VARIG, the latter of which was acknowledged by the submitter as being defunct

Embraer, which as far as I can tell does sort of fit the same spot for Brazil as Boeing does for the US

Rainforest Airlines (not real)

"Something Portuguese", which was a fair bet and I wish was true (you would have been right if you'd gone for the reliable Latin American answer 'an abbreviation', though)

The correct answer, from an actual Brazilian: is this a trick question?

Yeah, Brazil...doesn't really have a flag carrier, not in a way that matters. But 'what is the flag carrier of Brazil' has been an interesting question for a while now. So it doesn't have a flag carrier - what does it have? To answer that question, I first have to answer another one. It hasn't always been this way. So...where did Brazil's flag carrier go?

Founded just a month after Pan Am and slightly before Iberia, VARIG (Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense, Rio Grande Airlines) was Brazil's first airline, its largest, and its main bridge to the rest of the world. In short, its flag carrier.

Well, technically, VASP existed too. I feel like people forget about VASP. Viação Aérea São Paulo (São Paulo Airlines), known better as VASP, was founded in 1933 by the state of São Paulo.

They flew this awesome-looking plane, the General Aircraft Monospar.

Since São Paulo is nowhere near the ocean, they used only landplanes, which was pretty unusual for the time. Early on this meant they were using dirt airstrips and 'airstrips', presumably just some grass that had airplanes landed on it until it got all smushed down. Eventually an airport was built to accommodate them, though.

São Paulo–Congonhas Airport (CGH/SBSP) is Brazil's second-busiest airport. It is known for its gorgeous terminal building and being one of the most dangerous airports in the world due to crowding and runways which become unnervingly slippery with even the slightest rain, which contributed directly to it being the site of Brazil's deadliest air disaster. It now has a very low cap on operations and no longer serves international destinations, but that might be VASP's single biggest contribution to history - an airport that caused a mass casualty event after VASP had already stopped flying. In its defense, landing at Congonhas was still probably nominally safer than putting a 737 down in an empty field, and tore up the landing gear less.

VASP was pretty dominant domestically for most of its history (while VARIG was essentially the only international airline), until it entered an incredible death spiral. The decline began in the 80s, in a way I would not describe as an incredible death spiral. That portion was initiated when VASP was privatized, attempted to expand into international destinations, gave up on that within a decade, stopped flying altogether and existed only to provide maintenance for other airlines, and then went bankrupt in 2008.

I prefer its livery to VARIG's, I think. I like that they didn't promptly shift the wordmark all the way forward like a lot of airlines did, and I like their shade of blue, but I sort of miss the old blue stripes. I mean, jetBlue could try that on for a tail? Still, always quite simple. It has one or two things I'd call 'features' in every iteration, but it never goes above a C- for me.

So, yeah. I would feel like I was omitting something if I didn't at least mention it, given it was a nationalized carrier and a huge chunk of Brazilian aviation history. I just feel like everyone forgot VASP the moment they went out of business, and that almost makes me sad.

Oh, well! There's other airlines.

Like VARIG! I feel like VARIG's older tramline blue livery was somehow pretty iconic despite being deeply, deeply generic. It does the layered, multicolor cheatline thing Lufthansa did but with blue-on-blue, which I actually quite like, and indeed this does feel a bit like a monocolor Lufthansa of the time period. I'm unsure if I actually think it's iconic because I'd be able to pick its old livery out of an identity parade or just because it was massive, but I'm going to just give it a C, I think, which would probably be higher if I were alive in the time period, but I don't believe I was. Let me know if you know anything I don't on the subject.

Their modern livery (designed in 1996 by the prolific Landor Associates) was also pretty alright. I like that weird little inexplicable divot, feels like it keeps me on my toes - not an airline I can rely on straight lines with! Nice legible wordmark, gold contrasting symbol (though I think they could have done something on the main body with it), it's all nice, it's all cromulent, C airline. This was designed at a point where full white fuselage wasn't done to death the way it is now, or I'd be harsher, but it feels a bit like beating up a corpse, given the rest of this post.

VARIG was Brazil's only real international airline for literal decades. It existed until 2005, other airlines gradually cropping up to chip away at its monopoly, until it finally went under and was restructured into two companies. One, the judicial successor known colloquially as "old VARIG", became the quickly-defunct FLEX Linhas Aéreas, which lasted all of another five years; the brand, meanwhile, was given to "new VARIG", which was purchased by GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes.

GOL haven't been using the VARIG brand, which I generally think is the better move when it comes to acquiring old trademarks; better to build something new than attempt to resurrect something dead. Besides, they have their own brand, using the unusual color scheme of grey and orange and with a very memorable and simple logo (though it does look a bit like it says GOOL).

Judging by the reactions of a couple Brazilians I know in person who I told about this airline, the name is a love letter to Brazilian culture. Flag carrier material? Well, let's pause. How do they look? Are these planes a country can be proud of?

I like the loops a lot. While I prefer the scribbly feeling of the old GOL wordmark (the first two planes pictured) I think the new livery (immediately above) is an improvement in every other way, namely a somewhat clever solution to the Detached Tail Syndrome problem. I like how the wordmark is centered on the fuselage, and the fact that there are loop details on the winglets as well.

And, honestly, people underrate how hard it is to make a design like this look good consistently from different angles, but I think this does. I like it.

Do I wish there was more orange and grey and less white? Yes, but do I think it uses what little color it is very well and is more than the sum of its parts? Also yes. This could definitely improve a lot but it's very well thought out - just think even more outside the box and you'll get there.

B-. I like this, even though orange is my least favorite color and doesn't feel like it should go with grey at all. Good job, GOL.

Even though new VARIG wasn't the same company, surely it was part of VARIG, so this would make GOL its successor? That does make sense, hypothetically, but isn't how it shook out. For one, GOL is a low-cost carrier, which flag carriers usually aren't, particularly because LCCs tend to fly shorter point-to-point routes. (In 2019 GOL was Brazil's largest domestic airline with nearly 40% of the market share, and its third largest international airline, with nearly...four percent.)

The second, and I think potentially more damaging event, one which kept it in this mostly-domestic state, was a codeshare agreement with Portuguese flag carrier TAP Air Portugal falling through. TAP is a major international airline which flies basically everywhere within A330 range of Lisbon and which I constantly see as a codeshare option on flights to places that are definitely not actually in Portugal. GOL is the sort of airline I'd call...nominally international, in that it does fly to other countries, but those countries aren't particularly distant. They fly to other destinations in South America, a few in the Caribbean, and also Florida. It would be tricky to manage anything else given their all-737 fleet; they seem to have owned and operated 767s for just long enough to realize that this 'being a flag carrier' thing wasn't going to work out for them. TAP? They fly to South Africa, Venezuela, Norway, Guinea, Macau, Montreal - basically everywhere, including eleven destinations in Brazil. GOL flies to 17 countries in total. This was followed up with a failed attempt to join oneworld which also fell through for some reason or another, after which GOL said 'well, that's fine, we didn't want to be part of an alliance anyway' and then just went back to minding their own business domestically and making heaps of money, while the last vestiges of even new VARIG became thoroughly extinct to the point that I didn't know GOL technically had the trademark until maybe a month ago.

TAP did codeshare with a Brazilian carrier, though, one of the other three largest in the country.

If you feel something ominous building up, sense a certain presence...

No. Stop smirking, David. You won't be involved in TAP until 2015. At this point in the David Neeleman timeline he was still at jetBlue. Wait, does this make TAP jetBlue's step-sister?

To be totally honest I think by force of branding alone Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras should get to be the flag carrier because clearly they want it and nobody else does, but they have the same issues GOL does and given David seems to have moved on I can't imagine that changing anytime soon. B+ for the Brazilian flag livery, by the way, that looks awesome.

No, this post is not going to become about David Neeleman, it's going to become about TAM Linhas Aéreas.

TAM originally stood for Táxi Aéreo Marília. The airline was later named TAM – Transportes Aéreos Regionais, and operated a subsidiary called Brasil Central Airlines. When restrictions on destinations for domestic carriers were lifted in the 90s this subsidiary rebranded to Transportes Aéreos Meridionais. You may notice that this means there are two TAMs, owned by the same holding company (only distinguishable by their differing IATA codes, KK and JJ - they even had the same livery).

They solved this issue by just becoming one carrier, TAM Transportes Aéreos (with the code JJ). They tried to buy VASP, didn't manage to buy VASP, and then sort of became the flag carrier anyway.

I hate TAM's livery because I like it but also hate it. They did the Lufthansa straight-tail back when that was a major innovation over Detached Tail Syndrome, I like the way the trim on the tail goes all the way over the top of the rudder and widens as it slopes down, I like the little bird on their wordmark a lot, and I love the red and white with just a hint of blue. This color scheme is just fantastic. My only criticism is that they stopped and forgot to do anything with the rest of the plane.

I mean, like, it looks okay, right? This looks fine?

Hmm, okay, flattering angle, still looks decent-

NO NO NO PUT IT BACK WHITE TUBE WHITE TUBE WHITE TUBE-

This livery looks so phenomenally back-heavy despite the huge wordmark. This is an A321. This isn't even a long-looking plane by any stretch of the imagination. I'm going to say it outright: this is why you paint your engine cowlings.

C, but the concept is good!

There's a lot to work with if you just commit to the bit! Given the timeline we're working with, TAM would actually probably be overhauling their livery sometime around now...you know, if they still existed.

TAM got the codeshare deal with TAP. TAM joined Star Alliance. After VARIG went under and GOL dropped the bag TAM became Brazil's de facto flag carrier. They were full-service, flew to Europe and North America, and they had the Brazilian flag on their planes, which were registered in Brazil. They became the largest airline in Brazil. Then the largest in Latin America.

Average state of Congonhas pre-2015, assumedly back when it was still allowed to land international flights.

They were also rated runner-up for least safe airline in the world by the Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre in 2013.

...what a note to go out on, huh?

For a few years now, something has been building, far from the prying eyes of those watching the liveries of the planes taxiing by them. Soon the parasite inside TAM will burst out, and the largest country in South America will no longer have an airline of its own.

Something very big is about to happen. Something which casts a shadow over all of Latin American civil aviation.

[comic-book-jawns]

Ava kisses her for the first time on a Tuesday morning, their 12th day in Switzerland.

“C’mon, Bea. You’re gonna give yourself a hernia.”

Beatrice, naturally, had opened her mouth to explain why Ava’s assertion was not remotely plausible… but then her diaphragm hadn’t given her the chance to, just as Ava intended.

“Pardon me.”

Beatrice wasn’t sure if her blush was the more the result of her loss of dignity or Ava’s smirk.

“Nope.” Definitely the smirk. Dammit. “You’re allowed to have the hiccups!”

The laughter was clear (and enticing) in Ava’s voice, but Beatrice refused to let herself be goaded into conversation a second time. Perhaps, she could admit to herself, though, that Ava had a point.

“I literally peed my pants yesterday, and you don’t see me apologizing for it.”

They’d been halfway to Bar LaVasseur for their first night shift, Ava babbling away about the wild time Beatrice prayed was not in store for them until she stopped abruptly and confessed she’d forgotten to use the restroom.

Beatrice had asked if she could wait to go at the bar; and Ava, looking only moderately sheepish, had replied that waiting wasn’t the issue. So, in fact, it was Beatrice who’d ended up apologizing, following her prolonged period of silent confusion.

When they’d set off again from their flat twenty minutes later, Ava indeed had not apologized. She’d thanked Beatrice for accompanying her.

“Fine.” Beatrice at least managed not to hiccup mid-word, but Ava still giggled. “Slap me.”

Until her giggles turned into a cough.

“Excuse me?”

“No.”

It was Beatrice’s turn to smirk, and Ava stopped in her tracks, face flushed — which wasn’t surprising given the burn she’d acquired last week in pursuit of a “base tan.”

“Bea, I’m not gonna slap you.” Even less surprising was her roommate grinning well before she got to the punchline. “That’s way too boring.”

Ava, naturally, had spent the rest of their walk back to the flat trying out increasingly absurd scare tactics: jumping in front of her, phasing in front of her, phasing in front of her and screaming, declaring that she’d left the stove on.

Admittedly, that one could possibly have worked last week… before Ava decided to make “experimental tea” and Beatrice returned from the library to a kettle of boiling orange juice, alongside Ava, who’d spotted a stray cat on the street from their third-floor window.

Just as it seemed Ava had run out ideas, she suddenly sprinted ahead, straight for the lake. And while Beatrice already knew Ava would complain about her wet clothes for the next two hours, she also recognized that Ava was an adult, free to make her own choices — as long as they didn’t involve the stove.

“I can’t swim, by the way!”

Her roommate called over her shoulder gleefully, as she splashed through the water’s edge.

“Ava!”

The warning only encouraged her, of course… until she reached the drop-off. The one Beatrice had known was awaiting her, having gone for a morning swim on Sunday, their “day off” from training.

“Bea!”

Beatrice was still getting used to the nickname, despite Camila having used it first. Ava’s tone, though, was one Beatrice absolutely did not want to get used to.

“I’m here.”

If she did, it would mean she’d failed her mission… failed Ava.

“I’ve got you.”

She hadn’t this time, though, carrying her out of the water — Ava uncharacteristically quiet as she clung to her neck.

Beatrice wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, only that she felt her blush return — as Ava pulled back and promptly looked over Beatrice’s shoulder at the ground below — along with her hiccups.

She was too drained to fight a smile when Ava giggled again, but it was short-lived.

“Thanks, Bea.”

Beatrice set Ava down with a tingling right cheek.

She didn’t hiccup again.

[rabbitcruiser]

National Cheese Day

June 4 is National Cheese Day. Not to be confused with other popular cheese related holidays like grilled cheese day, cheesecake day, or mac and cheese day. This day is in reverence of the queen of all dairy, the big cheese.

When is National Cheese Day 2024?

Cheese and its many varieties are celebrated on National Cheese Day on June 4.

History of National Cheese Day

Cheese making is an ancient, some might even say sacred, craft. So ancient in fact it predates recorded history. It is speculated that the magic of cheese making began somewhere around 8000BCE shortly after the domestication of animals. Archeological digs have found evidence of cheese around the world including strainers coated in milk-fat molecules in Kuyavia, Poland dated around 5500BCE, murals in Egypt dated at 2000BCE, and an artifact of preserved cheese in Xinjiang, China believed to be more than 3,000 years old! European Imperialism took their styles of cheese through Asia, sub saharan Africa, and eventually to the Americas.

The most popular cheese of all is (obviously) mozzarella. This delicious and pizza topping cheese was first created near Naples from the rich milk of water buffalos. At the time, it rarely left its home near Naples, as it was made from pasteurized milk, and a lack of refrigeration meant it had a very short shelf life. As both cheese technology and refrigeration systems advanced, this delicious cheese left the southern region of Italy and found itself traveling around the world.

There are two types of mozzarella produced within the United States — low moisture and high moisture. Low moisture mozzarella has a moisture content less than 50% while high moisture has a content of over 52%. Low moisture is made specifically for transportation and mass production as the lack of moisture gives it a longer shelf life.

Today, cheese dishes can be found on every continent served savory, sweet, melted, deep fried, and even chilled in ice cream. This household staple can still satisfy any craving after thousands of years.

National Cheese Day timeline

1815 Industrial Revolution

First large scale industrial cheese production begins in Switzerland.

1851 Mass production

Jesse Williams, a farmer, is credited with being the first to have an assembly-line of cheese production in Rome, New York.

1939-1945 Goodbye Mom and Pop

Factory made cheese surpasses the production numbers of traditional farm raised cheeses during World War II.

1982 Mama Mia

The Mozzarella Company was founded in Dallas to bring fresh Mozzarella to America.

By The Numbers

4% – the percentage of all cheese being sold that ends up stolen. 1,400 pounds – the weight of a block of cheddar cheese delivered to the White House once by President Andrew Jackson. 2 – the hours it took for 10,000 visitors to the White House to finish the block of cheddar cheese. 17th century – the period in which they started dyeing cheese orange to fool people into thinking it was higher quality. ½ – of the total cheese consumption in the world is of Gouda cheese. 1,000 – the estimated number of different French cheeses. 1615 B.C. – the year when the oldest known cheese was discovered in China.

National Cheese Day Activities

Charcuterie

Take a cooking class

Cook something

Make a spread of some of your favorite cheeses to enjoy solo or with friends. Try working in new and international varieties you’ve never tried before. Check out Pinterest for ideas on the best meat, wine, and veggie pairings.

You may be surprised how many cheese themed educational experiences there are. Learn how to make your own cheese at home, the perfect drink and food pairings, or discover a new cheesy dish. With workshops, in person classes, and free online tutorials there are a lot of ways you can learn to enjoy this ancient culinary staple.

Whether traditional comfort food like mac n cheese, the tangy sweetness of cheesecake, or the contemporary refinement of stuffed pull apart bread there are countless cheese recipes to try. Why not try a new twist on a family recipe or search the internet for the latest cheese trend. You can start simple with a five ingredient ricotta cheese recipe.

5 FACTS ABOUT CHEESE THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND

It’s vegan!

Americans cut the cheese

Don’t forget the stomach

Medieval curds

Cheesy Moon

Okay, not really, but dairy free cheese is definitely having a renaissance. Food experimentation has come a long way in recent decades offering up many plant based cheese alternatives you can find at major grocery retailers or your local vegan butcher shop (if you’re lucky enough to have one).

Contrary to popular assumption the U.S., not Europe, is the biggest producer of cheese, making up 29% of the global market. In order the top producing countries are the United States, Germany, France, and Italy.

Rennet is curdled milk and complex enzymes found in the fourth stomach of unweaned calves and is often added in the cheese making process, as it is considered to make a bolder, richer quality product.

The most popular types of cheeses of today like gouda, cheddar, parmesan, and camembert, all came in vogue during or after the Middle Ages.

The long standing myth that the moon is made out of cheese may stem from “The Proverbs of John Heywood” back in 1546 which stated "the moon is made of a green cheese." We now understand this to be more metaphor than literal, with “green” referring to the freshness or un-aged nature of the moon.

Why We Love National Cheese Day

Expanding our Palate

New cultural experiences

Sharing and bonding

We love taking our taste buds on new adventures! Today can be about trying so much more than cheese. Wine, beer, meats, veggies, deserts… all of it is up for grabs and we can’t wait.

As an international food staple, National Cheese Day opens the door to a variety of new cultural experiences. We love being able to explore new dishes, cultures, and traditions.

We love breaking cheesy bread and making new memories with the ones we love.

Source

[deeptrashwitch]

🐶 Are you more of a dog person or a cat person?

🙃 What’s a weird fact that you know?

👖 Jeans or sweatpants?

🦖 Favorite extinct animal?

Hi Tats!

🐶 Ummm, I'd say I'm a cat person! I have my babies (the grumpy one and the derpy one) and for now they're enough!

🙃 Two of them:

We get more creative on the shower because warm water increases the flow of dopamine and makes us way more creative! (That explains a lot of things hehe)

In Switzerland is illegal to have only one guinea pig because they are social creatures, so you're legally required to have at least two.

👖Hmm, sweatpants. If I can have an opportunity to wear sweatpants, I'll take it.

🦖 The Caribbean Monk Seal! Look at this baby!

It was the only seal known on Caribbean and tropical waters. Apparently they were shy and docile with humans, and their habitat was mostly between Florida, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Venezuela's shores but also were seen all over Central América and the Antilles. The specie was proclaimed as extint more or less during 1952 after the last sighting near the shores of Serranilla (an island in the north of Colombian maritime control zone) after its systematic hunt, the hunts looked mostly for the skin, fat and meat.

The first encounter of this animal with humans was during Christopher Columbus, who described them as sea wolves, and was the first in noticing the economical benefits that the animal represented. Although, supposedly recently some Monk Seals have been seen around Jamaican and Haitian shores, but it isn't confirmed and biologists think it can be a Haitian Manatee.

[mightyflamethrower]

Transgenders Dominate Multiple Women's Cycling Events

JOHN SIMMONS | AUGUST 24, 2023

We interrupt your workday to present to you yet another reason why transgendered females (who are men) should never be allowed to compete against women.

Within the past week, two separate biological men won cycling events against women - one in Switzerland, and one in Washington state. The first race took place in Zurich (the largest city in Switzerland) where Kiana Gysin took first place at the women’s fixed gear racing final, taking home a prize of roughly $556.

As a disclaimer, the X (formerly known as Twitter) user who published that tweet does not believe men should compete against women, so the wording of that tweet was written with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

Gysin had previously ridiculed the Union Cycliste International (UCI) for banning transgenders from the women’s division in any events that it oversees. But after witnessing how Gysin performed, it's easy to see why the UCI made this decision.

Elsewhere in our crazy world, another male pretending to be a female won a race against women in Richmond, WA. 

A 35-year-old man named Claire Law was competing against teenaged girls at the 1/2/3 Women’s Northwest Elimination Championship. This type of event means the last rider of each lap gets eliminated until only one is left. Unsurprisingly, the results apparently weren’t close.

Related: British Media: English Women's Soccer Team is Too White

“In a livestream of the event, Law was seen crushing his teenaged opponents,” Reduxx reported. “As the third place rider Lucy Dorer, 15, was eliminated, second place rider Lucy Scoville, aged 17 can be seen completely dropping back for the last lap, and not even bothering to compete with Law, who sailed ahead to what appeared to be an easy victory.”

Why someone in their 30s is being allowed to compete against teenagers in any division of any sport is beyond me, much less a man being allowed to compete against women.

But hey, since sports these days are all about inclusion, these events should be celebrated!

Just like the tweet above, that was filled with sarcasm, too.

Despite outcomes like this happening across a variety of sports, some people still believe transgenders in women’s sports won’t lead to anything bad happening. The group FemMess, which advocates for transgenders to be allied in the women’s division, also criticized the UCI’s decision to ban transgenders from women’s cycling events, saying:

We from FemMess CC strongly condemn UCI’s decision to essentially ban trans women from competitive cycling, this decision has no basis in scientific findings and has only been implemented because of the current transmisogynistic political climate and pressure from trans exclusionary organizations. We won’t be attending any event that follows UCI Guidelines as we won’t financially support organizations like this. “We stand for an intersectional feminist approach to the sport and bio essentialism is dangerous for everyone, they won’t stop with trans woman. F**k UCI!”

The fact that women are forced to compete against men is absurd, and that people like FemMess that want stuff like this to happen is even more so. While we have seen other instances of people showing a level of common sense regarding this issue, there is obviously still work to be done.

Follow MRCTV on Twitter/X!

I would feel sorry for the women, but by and large, they have been the most ardent supporters of Transmania. So.....it serves them right.

[mcneymaker]

{elizabeth debicki, she/her, thirty-one} we just saw NADEZHDA 'NADIA' LIDDELL entering CANARY WHARF. i heard through the grapevine that their loyalties lie with herself THE JABBERWOCKS, and that they also go by THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE. be careful, they work as a FINANCIAL ADVISOR / MONEY LAUNDERER and are known to be ALOOF, INSENSITIVE, or INTOLERANT. however they’re also known to be FOCUSED, METICULOUS, and SHREWD. – {hanna, she/her, gmt+2, no triggers}

STATISTICS.

full name: nadezhda minerva liddell

nickname(s)/alias(es): nadia, the wheel of fortune

age: 31

date of birth: august 23, 1992

star sign: virgo

place of birth: devon, england

current location: london, england

gender: woman

pronouns: she/her

romantic & sexual orientation: greyromantic bisexual

religion: atheist

occupation: financial advisor, money launderer

family: constantine liddell ( father – deceased ), ekaterina liddell ( mother ) , viktor liddell ( older brother ) , maksim liddell ( older brother ) , elizaveta liddell ( younger sister ) , one more younger sibling

education level: graduated with a msc in finance from the stockholm school of economics in 2015; earned her bachelor's (a BA (Hons) in Economics) from the university of cambridge in 2013

living arrangements: a 4-bedroom penthouse located in the city of westminster

financial status:  extremely wealthy, even by rich people's standards

spoken languages (in order of fluency):  english, russian, french, italian, portuguese, romanian, swedish, danish

BIOGRAPHY.

to be written.

meanwhile pls check out the timeline & fun facts section for some headcanons.

TIMELINE & LOCATIONS THROUGH THE YEARS.

1992 - 1998: devon, england

1998 - 2003: cascais, portugal

2003 - 2008: bucharest, romania

2008 - 2010: st. donats, wales

2010 - 2013: cambridge, england

2013 - 2015: stockholm, sweden

2015 - 2017: copenhagen, denmark

2017 - 2019: paris, france

2019 - 2020: moscow, russia

2020 - 2022: geneva, switzerland

2022 - 2023: rome, italy

2023 ->: london, england

FUN FACTS.

as evidenced by the timeline section, nadia has moved around A Lot and has lived relatively little time in england. this was motivated by constantine's desire for nadia to learn the tricks of the money laundering trade as soon as she displayed an affinity for it. europe's best were spread across the continent and given that there might be some cultural nuances to the trade, it only made sense she actually lived in the regions.

she is an international baccalaureate girlie through and through. all of her education prior to tertiary education was ib; primary years in portugal, middle years in romania, and diploma programme in wales. given the programme's international nature, it enabled nadia to form connections with useful individuals all over the world.

nadia is 190cm / 6'3" tall, making her the tallest liddell by far. the massive height difference, especially compared to her father, has led to some speculation that she's an illegitimate child, but the liddells have always ignored such talk. they know she's a liddell by blood, as much as she detests their relation, and nothing can change that

speaking of height, rarely will you catch nadia without a pair of christian louboutin's in her feet. she particularly favors the kate design — a classic pointy pump with a red sole and a 10cm stiletto heel. this makes her 2 meters / 6'7" tall and very intimidating in the eyes of others. she couldn't care less about the feelings of others, though, she'll gladly crush you under her heel and exploit your insecurity gleefully.

even though she's got a great memory and likely remembers your name, even after a brief encounter, she'll shamelessly pretend she doesn't remember it if she's deemed you too boring / inferior to her. furthermore, she has no issue using a dehumanizing nickname when speaking about you. an example of this is maksim, who nadia sometimes refers to as "expense number (insert number here)" due to what his rehab cost.

capable of physical violence and killing, as all liddell children are, but considers herself above such vulgarities. however, can and will absolutely calculate the most and least efficient ways to commit such acts based on numbers and statistics.

nadia owns two russian blue cats, named mariinsky and bolshoi. they're the closest thing to children she'll ever have, and all of her capacity for warmth and caring is reserved for them only.

more headcanons to be added !

[principleofplenitude]

Heim’s passionate interventions in the world of Swiss cartography are less well-known. In 1927, the then 78-year-old geologist denounced Switzerland’s two official map series – the Dufour Map and the Siegfried Map – as he believed they contained a “lie” that “flew in the face of nature”. The bone of contention was the fact that the imaginary light source that created light and shade on relief maps, therefore lending them a three-dimensional effect, came from the northwest in both map series.

Albert Heim was an avowed opponent of the ‘northwest illumination’ of maps, which had become increasingly established throughout the world in the 19th and 20th centuries. The geologist believed that it contradicted reality as in Switzerland the sun usually shines from the south.

Albert Heim therefore saw northwest illumination as a “mistake of the past” that needed to be corrected. He believed that maps should reflect the natural conditions and called on the producer of official maps of Switzerland, the Federal Office of Topography (now swisstopo), to transition to southern illumination and take “the major step from mistaken convention to nature”.

—"Casting light on relief map shading" from Swiss National Museum

[nagdabbit]

Dags how stupid much did you research plants symbolism. How much did you do. Was this on purpose? Because I looked that shit up and if you didnt, you got so lucky

thank you for noticing, i am in fact Like That. if there is a rabbit hole of research i can fall down, i will fall down it. i have an entire tabs folder dedicated to researching the plant life in this nameless region in the fantasy land that i made up. i put so goddamn much thought into the symbolism of the plants named in this chapter

lilacs - i realized too late that i forgot to include the color of the lilacs in the chappy, but most varieties of common lilacs are lilac colored, so i assume that's where everyone's imagination went. but my mind intended purple and white lilacs specifically. lilacs represent a wide array of things: blue is for tranquility and happiness; magenta is for unrestrained passion and love; lilac is for first loves and innocent romace; white is for innocence, purity, and divinity; purple is for regality and nobility, but also represents self reflection, spiritual connection, and new beginnings. they've also been known to represent knowledge, wisdom, hardiness and perseverance. most importantly, in victorian flower language, lilacs represent lost love and mourning.

creeping thyme - thyme has long been used in medicine because of its antiseptic nature, and is often used to promote healing. it thrives in less than desirable soils and rocky earth, and is incredibly hearty and drought-resistant. the greeks, romans and medieval europeans associated thyme with bravery, courage and strength. there has been a long history of believing that the souls of those that met violent ends reside in the flowers of wild thyme, and it's often said that the area where they died will smell of thyme.

edelweiss - in switzerland, the blooms symbolize devotion and determination, due to the fact that they live in some of the toughest mountain conditions. they represent individualism (both lonely, and prideful) and are used as a symbol of wilderness exploration. because of the scarcity of the flower, gifting it can carry with it a sense of daring, care and sacrifice.

yarrow - long been a symbol of mysticism and magic. it represents bravery, courage, luck, friendship, and happiness. it is gifted as a representation of health, healing and protection—as well as a token of love in spite of everything.

rosemary - it has been used in medicine to improve memory and relieve pain. it is a symbol of fidelity, devotion, loyalty, and, most importantly, remembrance. as a symbol of mourning, it is placed in graves, or even the hands of the dead, to help them remember who they were and find their way in death. in hamlet, ophelia, "there's rosemary, that's for remembrance. pray you, love, remember.."

sweet pea - like many flowers, the meaning changes with the color of the blooms. but there are several meanings that spread across all varieties: appreciation, gratitude and respect. within victorian flower language, sweet pea symbolizes specifically departures and goodbyes.

tarragon - known as little dragon because of its snake-like, intertwined and tangle root systems—a feature that will strangle and kill the plant if not tended to and propagated. not to mention its magical association with the element of fire. it has also long been associated with artemis, the goddess of, among other things, wild animals and vegetation. it's been traditionally used in dishes to make guests feel welcomed and calm. according to legend, tarragon sprung up where the dragon passed out of the garden of eden in its banishment—and thus is the key ingredient in banishment spells and rituals.

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning!  I hope you slept well and feel rested?  Currently sitting in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day.  Merry Christmas though, for those of you working in the NHS or the emergency services, welcome to just another day.

If you want an alternative to Christmas cracker jokes … welcome to Too Much Information Tuesday … on a Monday!  Warning: one of these facts is not true!  Can you guess which one?

Agreeable people are more likely to use emojis.

In Switzerland, you can be denied citizenship for being too annoying.

Farting helps reduce high blood pressure and is good for your health.

Dog owners have a lower risk of dementia.  Cat ownership has no effect.

For a million years, the human population of the Earth was less than 26,000.

4.8 billion people own mobile phones whereas only 4.2 billion own a toothbrush.

Giraffes are about 30 times more likely to die from a lightning strike than humans.

Toothpaste removes ink from your clothes.  Apply it to the stain, let it dry and then wash.

Synesthesia is a neurological condition that can cause a person to see, smell and taste music.

Goats produce more milk if they're listening to Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You'.

Anger triggers the region of the brain associated with honesty, which is when the truth comes out.

In 2013, a British inventor sold ice cream that glowed when you licked it.  It cost £140 a scoop.

Until the founding of the Vegetarian Society in 1847, vegetarians were usually known as Pythagoreans.

In 2009, a 13-year old Chinese girl tried to commit suicide so that she could donate her liver to her dying father.

Diana Ross, who sang ‘Ain't No Mountain High Enough’, lost her ex-husband to a mountain climbing accident.

Astronauts lost track of a tomato inside the International Space Station for eight months but found it this month.

Researchers have found that the average person will form about 400 friendships during a lifetime, but only 33 will last.

Will Smith is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross more than $100 million at the domestic box office.

Intelligent people tend to care less about the opinions of others, they also enjoy being alone because of great sense of self.

In 1984, New Zealand's Prime Minister Robert Muldoon got drunk and spontaneously called for a general election.  He lost.

The earliest carol singers can be found on The Bayeux Tapestry and were soldiers from western France known as the Brittany Spears.

As time goes by, humans are becoming less and less empathetic. Today, we care about others 40% less than people in the 1980s did.

In Japan, you can hire a handsome man to show up at your office and watch sad videos with you until you cry, then wipe your tears for you.

People tend to sneeze three times because one loosens up an irritant, the second gets it to the front of the nose and the third gets it out.

Brazilian footballer Argélico Fuchs spent much of his life spelling his name ‘Argélico Fucks’, resulting in headlines such as "Fucks off to Benfica."

Drinking white or green tea every day will minimize the environmental damage done to your skin and minimize fine lines and wrinkles.

There are roughly seven people in the world who look exactly like you and there is a nine per cent chance you will run into one of them in your lifetime.

‘Baby Shark Dance’, the most viewed YouTube video of all time, has over 5 billion more views than Luis Fonsi’s ‘Despacito’, the second-most viewed YouTube video of all time.

In 2001, India began building plastic roads using recycled plastic waste.  The roads haven't developed any cracks or potholes despite years of usage and are much cheaper to build than traditional road surfaces.

Triboulet was a notorious court jester who was allowed to choose his own death after having insulted the queen of France.  He chose to die of old age, which made the king laugh so much, he was spared and banished instead.

During The Great Depression, Al Capone started one of the first soup kitchens called Free Soup Coffee & Doughnuts For The Unemployed.  Capone’s soup kitchen served breakfast, lunch and dinner to an average of 2200 Chicago residents every day.

‘Loving Day’ is an annual national celebration held on June 12th, the anniversary of the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia, the day that Richard and Mildred Loving finally won their case, legalizing interracial marriage in the U.S.

On the day of South Korea's university entrance exams, the entire country goes quiet.  Shops close, construction stops, and planes are grounded so that students can focus on their exams.  Students that are late can even get a police escort to make sure they make it in time.

Bill Haast began extracting snake venom aged 15.  He founded the Miami Serpentarium and injected himself with venom more than 60 times.  His blood was used to save 21 snakebite victims.  He created a venom serum to cure polio.  He was bitten over 170 times and lived to be 100.

Ozzy Osbourne gave up taking acid during the recording of Black Sabbath's ‘Volume 4’.  He said, “I took 10 tabs of acid, then went for a walk in a field. I ended up standing there talking to this horse for about an hour.  In the end, the horse turned round and told me to fuck off.  That was it for me.”

Okay, that’s enough information for one day.  Merry Christmas and have a mouthwatering Monday!  I love you all.

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

DELAIN Shares Another New Single, 'Moth To A Flame'

DELAIN has released a new single, "Moth To A Flame". The song is taken from the band's upcoming album, "Dark Waters", which will arrive on February 10 via Napalm Records. Emerging as a brand new start and safe haven alike, the LP, without any doubt, continues the legacy of the brainchild of keyboardist, founder and main songwriter Martijn Westerholt and contains everything DELAIN is loved for and more: a sonic rollercoaster ride of catchy tunes with explosive elements — ranging from pop to film score-inspired to blistering room shaking metal.

Singer Diana Leah says about "Moth To A Flame": "This song was the last song written for our new album 'Dark Waters' and I'm proud to say I had the opportunity to write the lyrics for it! It has a deep meaning to me."

Westerholt adds: "I'm extremely proud of this song. It's one of the most upbeat songs on the album while also having the heaviest guitar riff, and Diana's vocals are outstanding! It's a killer combination that I think fans will love."

Along with Westerholt, original guitarist Ronald Landa and original drummer Sander Zoer bolster DELAIN's continuity, while new members — Leah and bassist Ludovico Cioffi — continue to evolve their sound. Songs like the previously released single "The Quest And The Curse", as well as "The Cold" (the latter featuring a real, epic choir),lure with a bombastic sound that skilfully combines orchestral melodies, epic heavy riffs and marvelous vocal performances. DELAIN magnificently manages to never lose touch with their characteristic sound, making them a constant without ever standing still. Pop-induced opening track "Hideaway Paradise" shows exactly that by inducing a dream-like feeling flirting with melodic metal guitars, while the ballad-like dark track "Mirror Of Night", featuring WITHIN TEMPTATION guitarist Ruud Jolie, entices the listener with unfathomably catchy lines and melodies. "Queen Of Shadow" merges the orchestral and synth-focused soundscapes DELAIN is known for as it weaves melodic heavy guitars that intertwine with orchestral lines and vocal melodies. "Tainted Hearts" is centred around Westerholt's keyboard arrangements, which skilfully showcase the creative roots of the mastermind. "Invictus" is nothing less than the magnum opus of the album — a rock opera in its own right with heavy riffing, choirs and vocal parts performed by Leah, Ribaldini and Marco "Marko" Hietala (ex-NIGHTWISH),ending in a bombastic climax where everything comes together.

Westerholt adds: "This album captures all elements DELAIN is known for — our distinctive heavy guitar riffs, massive orchestral parts, both heavy metal and pop vocals, rock opera vibes along with '80s synth sounds. In short, this is definitely a recognizable DELAIN album that contains classic 'DELAIN elements' while also moving forward with fresh influences."

"Dark Waters" track list:

01. Hideaway Paradise 02. The Quest And The Curse 03. Beneath 04. Mirror Of Night 05. Tainted Hearts 06. The Cold 07. Moth To A Flame 08. Queen Of Shadow 09. Invictus 10. Underland

The new DELAIN lineup made its official live debut last August at the Riverside festival in Aarburg, Switzerland.

Leah answered a few fan-submitted questions via the band's YouTube channel, including how she joined the long-running Dutch metal act. She said: "It's really simple, actually. I knew they were looking for a singer so I just left a comment on their Instagram page. So a couple of days later I received an e-mail from Martijn, and we talked a bit about how I could audition and he sent me some material that I could sing on. And the rest is history."

Asked how she decided to sing in a metal band, the 32-year-old Diana said: "Well, I've always wanted to sing in a metal band. It was really my desire to do it. In fact, I did sing in a couple of rock bands, but it wasn't really heavy music, which I loved at the time. It was really hard to find the right people to form a band with and also to get along together and all that. But I've always wanted to be in a metal band. Always."

Leah also talked a bit about her background, saying: "I was born in Romania, in a city called Alba Iulia. It's in the middle of Transylvania. And then I moved to Italy when I was 15, and I lived in Italy for, I think, 10 years or something. And then I moved to Canada, in Ottawa, and I lived there for five years. And then I came back to Italy. And now I currently live in Italy, near Torino, so up north."

In February 2021, Westerholt announced the dissolution of DELAIN's previous lineup. At the time, he explained: "For the last year or so, the collaboration within the band ceased to work as well as it once had. Some of us were no longer happy with the current roles in the band. We all tried very hard to find a solution for over a year, but sadly we were unable to find one. As a result, we will all be going our own ways and pursuing our own endeavors.

"I am very sad our cooperation has come to end, but at the same time I am very grateful for all the years we were able to work together. Together we toured the world, shared highs and lows, and met with many successes as well as times that pushed us to learn and grow. We all enjoyed meeting our fans and making new friends all over the globe."

Singer Charlotte Wessels said about her departure: "I know that you might have questions about the 'why' in all of this. I fully understand and respect that. Simply put, it is the sad conclusion of more than a year of trying to find solutions to built up grievances. Part of me feels like I'm letting all of you down, I'd like you to know that this decision was not taken lightly and I apologise to those of you who had high hopes of seeing all of us together live on stage again after lockdown. Until recently, I thought this might still be in the cards for us as well."

In September 2022, Charlotte was asked in an interview with Spain's The Metal Circus TV how she felt about the fact that DELAIN recently made a comeback with a new lineup. Wessels said: "I'm trying not to engage with it too much, honestly. I've seen positive responses about it, which I think is good. But I do try to keep some distance and just focus on what I'm doing rather than checking that out, because I still don't feel like that will make me happier per se."

DELAIN's sixth full-length album, the Westerholt-produced "Apocalypse & Chill", was released in February 2020 via Napalm Records.

Photo credit: Andrea Falaschi

[alexbkrieger13]

Peter comments on Sweden's Nations League draw. It's a good insight in how he reasons https://www.fotbollskanalen.se/uefa-nations-league/gerhardsson-om-nations-league-upplagget-kommer-vara-skarpt-lage-varje-gang-/

Some more comments https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/4oX2qE/nations-league-sverige-far-mardromslottning

Gerhardsson on the Nations League setup: "Will be a sharp situation every time"

The Nations League groups are complete. For Sweden, it was a tough group where an Olympic ticket is at stake. - It will be a tough situation every time, says Peter Gerhardsson.

This autumn, the first edition of the Nations League for the ladies will take place. And for Sweden it was a tough draw. They will be pitted against Spain, Italy and Switzerland. Two tickets to the Olympics and, in addition, the tournament will fulfill the function of a new type of European Championship qualification.  

This means that every match will be important and national team captain Peter Gerhardsson is aware of that.

- It will be very important. We have known that it will be the basis for the Olympics and European Championships since the decision came, so it feels very exciting. It feels fun with a new form of competition and to meet the absolute best nations. It will be a great challenge that I look at positively, there will be important matches before the Olympics where there are only two places. But we like to compete and we like competitive matches.  

He continues:  

- Training matches can be good when it comes to watching players and testing in the context of the national team, and there is less of a chance to show off because it is sharp every time. Then I hope that several tough matches can increase interest in both our national team and women's football in general.  

However, Peter Gerhardsson does not agree that Sweden should have been drawn against nightmare resistance, as several of the headlines read.  

- Lottery can be heard in the name. It's a draw, I can't do anything about it, it is what it is. But if you want to go all the way and play well, you have to cope with these types of opposition. And then I think there are very few who can know how Switzerland will start in five months. But those are headlines and I don't work with headlines, I work with facts.  

[itisme-rosie]

-- together again; takes place before the canon events of the show. you left switzerland and by extension, beatrice, but you're back now.

cw: hurt(ish?)-comfort!! written with female!reader in mind; mentions of death / loss (unmentioned character); religious themes; reader with a family like lilith's but less intense

[ if i don't watch the last episode, warrior nun hasn't ended yet 🤩 ]

masterlist | rules

i had always known i loved to live.

it was the little disasters of the outside world - a sudden downpour of rain after a hot summer day, a damned dip in the ground i didn't notice when i was skipping down a sidewalk that had me sprawling to the ground and scraping my knee - now those moments made me feel alive, telling me about the world and beyond more than the 'spiritual journey' going on inside the school haunted by its mundane nature of routines and rules could ever teach me.

i don't think i had meant to leave at first. as much as i didn't love it there, i sort of came to terms with the fact that i'd never ever be allowed to leave - my parents were initially very firm about keeping me in there to train and eventually join the legacy the rest of the women of my family began by stepping into the OCS. until they weren't.

i don't remember much of the day i had left. i had gone to sleep after beatrice knocked on my door to greet me with a happy birthday and the next thing i know, i had been woken up and whisked away, and the OCS - the church in general, as a matter of fact, just wasn't that important to my family anymore. too much sacrifice, too much loss; i didn't need to be another notch on a board of how much we gave up.

all connection, anything that linked back to the church had been severed and i never saw them again, not even during the funeral during the week that followed (i just knew it was them who had knocked on the door, i had never heard my father sound so angry). i may have regained a bond with my family, but in doing so, i left behind the family i made for myself. i left bea. by the time i was old enough to go looking for her, beatrice wasn't where i left her.

which brings me to now.

the littler version of me would be baffled. here i was, standing in front of a convent in spain of all places - the only reason i should be in spain right now should be for a vacation for crying out loud, there wasn't any good reason for me to find myself in a place associated with a time in my life i had been trying to avoid for years.

but here i was, despite how much i vehemently argued with my parents of how 'religion and faith were and have never been my strongest suits', protesting a fate where i could potential lose myself, my identity, my life at such a young age. my mother would lament about how i had come 'round a full circle, right back in the steps of a life i was trying to escape. i would have agreed with her had i not come here on a very specific mission not even vaguely connected to re-joining the ministry.

after thanking and paying the elderly cab driver that, to the best of his abilities, told me stories of the roads and lands we drove past in broken english, i steel myself for what i would find in the old building that loomed over me and i, rightfully, felt very small, the paper that read 'the cat's cradle' with its address and a name in barely comprehensive cursive crumpled in my sweaty palm.

i must have been standing and staring for a long time, because i didn't notice the sister who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere standing beside me with a polite, practiced smile - "what brings you here?

a brillant question with a very simple answer, one that had stayed stuck in the back of my throat and the sister waited patiently for my answer.

i give her a last name first and at the confusion in her eyes (though that might have been because my voice was as quiet as a mouse), i clear my throat, "i was told i could find, erm..." i hesitate for a second, my throat goes dry and i had half a mind to turn and run. spit out excuses of a wrong turn, a wrong address, that i was a nosy, lost tourist that stumbled upon the building on google maps, god - anything!

"miss?" the sister asks softly and i assess her expression for a while - concern with a bit of apprehension behind it.

"beatrice," her name falls effortlessly from my lips, and by effortlessly i mean breathless and like it was forced up my throat and out my mouth - gutteral and rushed, "i'm looking for beatrice? i was told i could find her here?" i give her my name and the lady nods in understanding, perhaps recognizing my surname. there was some surprise she tried to hide, i roll my eyes at the thought.

"sister beatrice is indeed here," the sister smiles, "allow me to take you to her," she gestures towards the building as she takes brisks steps towards the large double doors, gesturing for me to sit on a pew at the very back, "i'll be back with her shortly - we don't get much personal visitors," she explains with a smile, hurriedly walking away to lord knows where.

i sit pin-straight, my eyes scanning the images and statues around the hall and i let out a shaky exhale. as much as i found them beautiful, they terrified me.

the sister was gone a while. my head would snap up at every set of brisk footsteps only to lower after smiling politely at the sisters who were passing by with curious eyes and i opt not to look up when i hear two sets of hurried footsteps - one stops and walks away, growing fainter the further it got and the second set walks closer towards me, until i saw a pair of shoes beside my feet and i felt very conscious of how exposed i was in a place of worship. perhaps the sundress would have been a better suited outfit for my tasks today instead of shorts and a cotton button down shirt. in my defense, the weather felt like i was about to be cooked alive right on the concrete sidewalk.

"never pegged you as the type to pray so earnestly unless you were held at gunpoint,"

i was not as steeled as i wanted to be, my heart felt like it had stopped. as much as i didn't want it to, a familiar warmth washed over me; it was so comforting that the pit of dread clawing at my stomach silenced itself for a while for the quickest moment and i laugh dryly.

"i still think that you pray enough to save the both of us from eternal damnation," i shake my head, only lifting it when she settles down beside me and even then, i keep my eyes on anything that wasn't her, "you...suit the habit better than i ever could have, beatrice," i glance at her, my lip quirking in a small smile, "that color does nothing for your complexion though,"

it was a joke made in an earnest attempt to diffuse the tension between us. she huffed out a laugh and i smile a little wider at the sound, "nice to see i can still make you laugh,"

silence. soft pitter-pattering of shoes on tile as a group of sisters walk past us.

beatrice hums softly when they've left, "it's been a while,"

"did you expect it'd be me when you heard you had a guest?"

"i was definitely hoping for a familiar face, but..." she murmurs with a resigned sigh, "truthfully, i was not expecting it'd be yours," beatrice folds her arms over her chest, "but i will not deny that you've crossed my mind over the years,"

"really?" i pick at my nails, "i honestly didn't think you'd even remember me,"

"why'd you come then?" out of the corner of my eye, i see her face me and i huff softly, rubbing my sweaty palms on the rough material of my shorts.

"...i don't know," i mumble truthfully, or rather an attempt at sounding truthful. of course i knew why i was here, of course i had a purpose in getting on a plane to spain, struggling and travelling alone to get to this place, to see her and talk to her. when i glance at her, she has that look on her face.

her lips are pursed in a straight line, jaw set, most of her face is unreadable, save her eyes - oh, god, her eyes. soft, persistently trained on me and ever-moving to hold my gaze and no matter how much i tried to avoid them, i ended up looking right back at her. there's a look that - i won't lie - i have missed. so much emotion i can't decipher, but i knew that if i looked hard enough, somewhere in that look was the reassurance that she'd always still be there, whether i choose to tell her the truth or not. beatrice sits there, waiting and expectant.

"you are still a terrible liar," she deadpans when it was clear i have no plans on telling her why i was really here.

"it is the truth," i grumble defensively "you're still so suspicious of everything i say when i'm trying to be honest."

"well, your lower lip keeps twitching,"

my eyes narrow in confusion and i huff, suddenly aware of how tense i was, "and?"

"that's your tell," beatrice says as though it is the most obvious thing in the world and she faced forward, hands folded on her lap.

"my tell? my tell could have changed, genius - we haven't spoken in -" i shrug, "5? 6 or 7 years?"

"6 years, 2 months, 11 days," bea's voice quietens.

i glance at her, also silencing myself as the tension and defensiveness ooze out of my body and i slouch against the pew with a scoff of disbelief. she remembered, she counted it down to the day, though wouldn't be surprised if she had it down to the minute, beatrice was good at remembering details like that. it was both endearing and infuriating.

"'course you remember,"

"it was 12:07 am, the morning of your 16th birthday, the day you left switzerland," bea continues to speak only to falter slightly, her voice weakens and she looks down at her lap to fiddle with her thumbs - that, to me, was her tell. her tell that she was about to start a very difficult conversation, or ask a very awkward question.

"they never told us why you left, you know," bea's voice is small, smaller than my fuzzy memories tell me she has ever sounded, even during late nights having the hardest of conversations, when we both had our hearts bared out to each other, during our secret embraces as we cried with each other she has never sounded quiet as small as she is now. i wished for nothing more than the ground to swallow me whole, "and you never came back,"

"i wished i did," i say immediately in a soft voice, "god - sorry - i really wish i did," my heart pounds painfully in my chest, "and i'm sorry i didn't, and i know that isn't enough, and no amount of grovelling and asking for your forgiveness will fix that," i swallow thickly, "we -" i second-guess what i'm about to say, clearing my throat, "- were each other's greatest friend, and regardless of that fact, you don't have to forgive me,"

it's hard to gauge her reactions when beatrice keeps her face turned away from me but i could have sworn there was an almost imperceptible look that shifts her features briefly.

"there are absolutely no excuses, beatrice," i sigh heavily and the speck on the ground by my shoe was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world, "and i've just turned your whole world upside down by showing up unannounced - jesus - sorry again - i'm so sorry, bea,"

"you still haven't told me why you left," she says a little more clearly, her stare stony as she looked right at me.

"does it matter?" i mutter, nails digging into my palms, "does it still matter bea? i'm here right now, isn't that what should be focused on?"

"you left me," bea sounds exasperated, "dare i say, you owe me an explanation? after you disappeared for years - you think i don't have questions? my own versions of why you left? my own doubts? i still don't even know what you're doing here,"

"i wanted to find you! by the time i was allowed to do things on my own, you weren't in switzerland anymore and nobody would tell me where you were - they all thought i would be a terrible influence on you -" i wince at how my voice echoed around the room and i hear her take a deep breath in and out when another trio of nuns walk past us. i shrink back into the pew with crossed arms, tucked against the corner.

"do you hate me for it?" i ask softly, "have you ever regretted being my - my friend?"

"what kind of ridiculous question is that?" is her answer, spat out like the thought was poison, the mere insinuation was a heavy boulder i just hurled at her. or maybe i was reading too much into things and this was just her regular anger, a normal amount of disdain she had for an old friend who left her behind without looking back - overthinking has always been a terrible habit of mine just as repressing how she truly felt about something was hers.

"...you know, i don't think i have it in me to hate you," my head lifts to look at her when she continues and i'm alarmed to see her eyes grow misty, "even when i really, really wanted to,"

beatrice sighs and i echo the sound, a shared sentiment between us. i also think that hating her was an impossible thought, no matter the sin she commits. my fingers drum against the wood of the pew, slowly and hesitantly reaching for her hand.

"i'm here now, bea," i whisper reassuringly, squeezing her hand tightly when she links our fingers together, "this time, i won't leave you hanging, yeah?"

"i'll hold you to that," she says weakly.

i smile softly, holding out my free hand, pinky lifted. beatrice lets out a watery laugh, sniffling before she mimics the action, locking our pinkies in some unbreakable promise and suddenly, we were back in our spot at the school in switzerland, vowing to be friends forever and ever, making plans to join the same convents, or if the Lord willed it, the same university, maybe the same apartment to live the rest and best of our lives together.

"we've got the rest of forever to catch up, and forever is a lot of time,"

[snowwhitenew]

Hindus: Swami Vishwananda criticism and controversy?

I have started a Vishwananda thread before, but I wasn't satisfied with the results. So, I'm trying again. Next Saturday, there will be the Swami Vishwananda darshan im my region, and I really feel torn between attending and not attending it. So I literally "browsed" the internet for background information. Information is sparse and hard to find, but because I haven't yet made up my mind to go to to the darshan, I decided to put my findings here from memory. I leave it to someone else to verify whether they are true or not. In detail, I found claims/allegations

that Swami Vishwananda allegedly is gay (which is okay) and marched on the 2007 San Francisco Gay Pride Parade (which is okay) and that he allegedly had sexual relations with 16 brahmacharis who partly felt "abused", "raped" or like "having received special treatment from the master" due to the dynamics of the master-disciple relationship (which is definitely NOT okay)

that Swami Vishwananda allegedly left the U.S. because of those allegations of sexual misconduct, and is now active in Europe (his HQ is in Germany) because in Europe those allegations are much less known

that S. V. allegedly stole relics from a church in Switzerland disguised as an Eastern Orthodox priest, that he allegedly was convicted and was allegedly in a jail in Switzerland

that S.V. allegedly has no guru-disciple lineage from Mahavatar Babaji, who according to opinions on Wikipedia is "a legendary person, rather than a real sadhu that was seen by numerous witnesses from 1861 to 1935."

That S.V. rather is a disciple of Sai Baba (1926–2011), that he uses the same "alll religions are one" approach Sai Baba did.

That S.V.'s miracles of "materializing" golden eggs (lingams) and jewellery are in fact sleights of hand S.V. had learned from Sai Baba, who used the same tricks during his lifetime

That S.V. in his youth allegedly went to Sai Baba centers and later allegedly tried to convert Sai Baba disciples to himself.

That S.V. allegedly separated couples in his ashram in order to tie them closer to himself

That S.V. allegedly is a con-man, that his happy face is a façade, that in private he is prone to things like whims and anger (okay, the last part is just human, but anyway.)

The usual cult survivor claim that S.V. wants ultimate surrender and that he is into squeezing his disciples dry for money

The claim that a "genuine" guru wouldn't demand money for darshan as S.V. does and that the practice of doing so would help to discern a con-man from a "true" master (Well, this part I don't know because I wasn't born as a Hindu)

[aikikay]

How We Can Protect The Truth In The Age of Misinformation; Insight Gained

by Wanda Leigh S. Santos

Fake News A Critical Contemporary Concern

False information is news, stories, or hoaxes created to deliberately misinform or deceive readers. Pieces of information which is fabricated without credibility are potentially risky because they can create chaos and misunderstanding between people.

As the phenomenon known as Accelerating Change persists, technological advancement and improvement have been created to form a stronger generation of technology. On the other hand, its disadvantages persevere, the most timely relevant, and dangerous among them is fake news. According to media outlets, social critics, political organizations, and research groups have identified the problem of “fake news” as a critical contemporary concern.

In a 2018 TEDx talk in Geneva, Switzerland, IDE lead, Sinan Aral, discusses some of the threats and dangers face from unchecked social media posts, citing his strategies and research on how we can tangled web between true and false. Sinan with his team had found that false news diffused further, faster, deeper, and more broadly than the truth in every category of information that were studied, sometimes by an order of magnitude.

And in fact, false political news was the most viral. During the US presidential election alone in 2016, the Internet Agency's efforts reached 126 million people on Facebook in the United States and issued three million individual tweets and 43 hours' worth of YouTube content. All of which was fake -- misinformation designed to sow discord in the US presidential election, while a recent study by Oxford University showed that in the recent Swedish elections, one-third of all of the information spreading on social media about the election was fake or misinformation. In addition, these types of social-media misinformation campaigns can spread what has been called "genocidal propaganda," for instance against the Rohingya in Burma, triggering mob killings in India. It diffused further, faster, deeper, and more broadly than any other type of false news.

Based on their study false-news spreaders had fewer followers, followed fewer people, were less active, less often "verified" and had been on Twitter for a shorter period. And yet, false news was 70 percent more likely to be retweeted than the truth, controlling for all of these and many other factors.

Sinan’s team came up with a different hypothesis, the "novelty hypothesis”, so to understand people's perceptions of false news, they looked at the information and the sentiment contained in the replies to true and false tweets. What they found was that across a bunch of different measures of sentiment -- surprise, disgust, fear, sadness, anticipation, joy, and trust -- false news exhibited significantly more surprise and disgust in the replies to false tweets. True news exhibited significantly more anticipation, joy, and trust in reply to true tweets.

The surprise corroborates our novelty hypothesis, they also studied a lot of potential false-news spreaders such as bots, and what they found out was that, yes indeed, bots were accelerating the spread of false news online, but they were accelerating the spread of true news at approximately the same rate. This means bots are not responsible for the differential diffusion of truth and falsity online, we humans, the users are the ones who are responsible for the spread of any type of news or information, we have to be extra careful and think a lot of times before clicking something that goes on the internet. As democratic satisfaction is key to sustaining citizen participation, perceived legitimacy of electoral outcomes, and democratic commitment, high levels of presumed influence of misinformation threaten the fundamentals of every democratic governance.

As Aral had discussed, on April 23, 2013, the Associated Press put out the following tweet on Twitter. It said, "Breaking news: Two explosions at the White House and Barack Obama has been injured." This tweet was retweeted 4,000 times in less than five minutes, and it went viral thereafter. Now, the news turned out to be fake sending markets on a round-trip roller coaster ride, it was propagated by Syrian hackers that had infiltrated the Associated Press Twitter handle. Their purpose was to disrupt society, but they disrupted much more. Because automated trading algorithms immediately seized on the sentiment of this tweet, and began trading based on the potential that the president of the United States had been injured or killed in this explosion. And as they started tweeting, they immediately sent the stock market crashing, wiping out 140 billion dollars in equity value in a single day.

Social media has been an ever-changing and ever evolving field, it is the new but not so new, way of communication and connection, and it serves platform where we can share our thoughts and ideas. Originated as a way to interact and socialize with people, specifically family, and friends, and for the past few years, it has allowed the execution and exchange of content for 4.54 billion users, and there are 3.725 billion active social media users. Social media has been a tool for such things as false-News or fake news and it has always been a really important and dangerous issue, especially in this time of pandemic people spend most of their time using social media platforms, having a lot of access to information online.

This problem has been a challenge for a long time since the Internet and social media exist and have already become a part of human lives. There are about five different paths that Sinan had addressed. Each one of them has promise, but each one of them has its challenges. The first one is labeling.

Think about it this way, when you go to the grocery store to buy food to consume, it's extensively labeled. You know how many calories it has, and how much fat it contains, and yet when we consume information, we have no labels whatsoever. What is contained in this information? Is the source credible? Where is this information gathered from? We have none of that information when we are consuming information. That is a potential avenue, but it comes with its challenges. For instance, who gets to decide, in society, what's true and what's false? Is it the government? Is it Facebook? Is it an independent consortium of fact-checkers? And who's checking the fact-checkers

Another solution is to improve regulation, in the United States, currently, Sinan and his team are exploring what might happen if Facebook and others are regulated. While we should consider things like regulating political speech, labeling the fact that it's political speech, and making sure foreign actors can't fund political speech, it also has its dangers. For instance, Malaysia just instituted a six-year prison sentence for anyone found spreading misinformation. And in authoritarian regimes, these kinds of policies can be used to suppress minority opinions and to continue to extend repression.

The third possible option Sinan stated is transparency. They want to know how Facebook's algorithms work. How does the data combine with the algorithms to produce the outcomes that we see? If possible they should open the kimono and show us exactly the inner workings of how Facebook is working. And if we want to know social media's effect on society, we need scientists, researchers, and others to have access to this kind of information. But at the same time, we are asking Facebook to lock everything down, to keep all of the data secure.

Another aspects that we could improve are algorithms and machine learning. The technology was devised to root out and understand fake news, how it spreads, and to try and dampen its flow. Humans have to be in the loop of this technology because we can never escape that underlying any technological solution or approach is a fundamental ethical and philosophical question about how we define truth and falsity, to whom do we give the power to define truth and falsity and which opinions are legitimate, which type of speech should be allowed and so on. Technology is not a solution to that. Ethics and philosophy is a solution for that.

Humans are the spreader of fake news, therefore social media platforms are just tools that we, humans have to take responsibility for. The precautions, safe use of apps, and guidlines about the internet is a major mechanism that will protect the truth in the age of misinformation.

Users should be careful and selective on the posts that they will be engaging with, and sharing. People are responsible for defending the truth. Thus, it will create a new generation of technological advancement wherein the users, and the digital economy is protected.