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streets-in-paradise · 2 years ago

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Borrowed Bride - Achilles x (Fem)Trojan! Reader

Troy (2004) Oneshot

Warnings: Posted from mobile, so no proofreading. Reader is ace coded (I know asexuality as a concept wasn't a thing in ancient greece, but some of her feelings and experiences match with what we consider asexuality today.)

Summary: As a captive of the greeks you are convinced that the unusual kindness of your captor is driven by the desire of winning your favors. Achilles enjoys of harmlessly flirting with you, but you feel in need of dissapointing him regarding his actual chances of seducing you. However, when the oportunity to do it presents you discover a different side of him as he makes you a shocking proposition.

Notes: I made the reader be a priestess and she is esentially put in the situation of Briseis, but as a completely different character making the plot take different routes.

Tags: @mysticaldeanvoidhorse @losersclubisms @helie-brain

" The men found her hidding in the temple. They thought she could amuse you. "

Every inch of your body felt repulsion to the sentence delivered by who you guessed was yet another man in service of your true captor. The destroyer of the temple, freshly arrived murderer heading the slaughtering of all the priests, he who must have kept you alive only for one reason. The dead were lucky, at least they wouldn't become the new plaything of a greek captain.

Not only one of their leaders: Achilles of Phthia, the most brutal of them all. He didn't respond to the soldier's tease, but before you could even process it he was carelessly taking off his armor. The action had at least a clear purpose, he was cleaning himself up and you were lucky he wasn't asking you to do it.

It didn't make it less awkward, as if he was bragging to you about how aestetically pleasant to look at he was like it could make any difference. Were you supposed to find comfort because he wasn't an old man?

Silence was as dense as the enviroment, but all he found in front of him was an unamused girl. Your eyes weren't constantly shying away, but there was no reaction. Not even anger or fear. The most impressive man in Greece was simply not impressing you in any way.

" What's your name? " He asked you, trying to start an interaction

The answer was more of your silence and you could tell it frustrated him.

" Eudorus heard your screaming, so i know you can speak."

" It didn't stop your men. My words mean nothing here. "

He smirked, playfull celebration after making you talk.

" Peraphs, or you are confusing meaning with impact. "

A first manifestation of rage invaded you, only centered on your impotence.

" Why does it matter? I heard your friend, i know what you want from me and my priesthood robes will not stop you. If i had become just an usable body for your amusement, then you don't need my name."

He was finishing the removal of dirt, sweat and blood on his skin and finally dressing up. Not much, what he had on still left his torso exposed.

" I have some other interests besides killing and capturing a nameless priestess. I like music, i play the lyre just like your boyfriend god does. "

Your expression of pure annoyance to his blasphemy amused him.

" What's your name? " He insisted one last time, sitting next to you in the grownd. " … Even servants of Apollo have names."

You answered the question and he seemed tranquilized by that.

" Are you afraid, ( y/n)?"

" You tell me, Achilles is a greek synonim for demise in my vocabulary. " You ironically mocked his ask. " I'll struggle against your touch, i warn you. I'm a sacred maiden and i belong to my god, even in captivity. "

He stared at you for an instant before replying.

" And i honor your loyalty and courage, but with me it is unnecesary. I will not do to you anything you don't want me to."

It was a calming statement, but he delivered it with a flirty undertone. Dirt and damage aside, he must have found you appealing and to that man flirting seemed to be as natural as breathing. Not the best first impression, but it was nothing compared with what was about to come.

The commander in chief of all greek forces, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, decided that you had to be his share of the treasure. You were mercielessly dragged away once more and the king made Achilles witness your recapture as a power display. It was an act of pure spite meant to reinforce his political domain of the army, but through it you easily understood that the new master was even worse. Fear couldn't be easily hidden anymore, you were terrified.

Silent tears began to fall down your face and something unexpected occured. The infamous wrath of Achilles was unleashed, he was ready to fight the personal guard of the mycenaean king to get you out of there. Only the visible increasement of your horror stopped him.

He wanted to save you, but didn't mean to scare you.

An even greater idea occured to him, one that would also contribute to the growth of his eternal glory. He refused to fight in the war as a protest, knowing the greek army would be desperate for his contributions. Clever choice, since they got hopeless pretty quick without him. In your insignificant position as a prisoner of war you gave a great service to your country taking him out of the battlefield.

It was a matter of time untill the warrior came to rescue you by himself before the despicable king could hurt you and all chance to pressure him into fighting was gone. You had no idea of what would happen next, but felt guilty by the fact that your personal safety could mean the ruin of your people if he would fight for the greeks again.

Achilles wasn't the worst possible company in that nightmarish place, but you were almost sure he fancied you and that was still a problem. You had conflicted feelings regarding him and the many risks he took for you. He was your captor, yet also your savior. You were supposed to hate him but you couldn't help to feel a bit thankfull. Other men you have meet there being more awfull than him wasn't an expiatory excuse for his hubris driven sacrilege or your enslavement. However, it was a concrete fact making your survival easier. It was making a difference and that was enough in that desperate situation.

The one thing you wished you could change from him on a regular basis living with the myrmidons was the flirty humor. It was uncomfortable even when he let you know he wasn't going to act on the jokes. You weren't going to confront him about it, but you got a proper space to do it during one of his many attempts to charm you.

" Why did you choose to love a god? " He asked you once ríght as you both were finishing dinner. " I think you'll find that romance one sided."

" The way i experience romance fits better with that. Apollo loves me as i am, I doubt a mortal man would. "

He thought you were just sharing a self deprecating observation about your chances of finding a husband.

" Why? I bet trojan men were doing line to get you. Temples tend to choose only the prettiest of their pretty aspirants."

" I am aware of that, i know what men think when they see me and that's why i can't engage in union with a mortal man. I don't have the slightest interest in the consummation and that is usually their most longed part of marriage. My union with Apollo is spiritual and i like it that way, lack of physical accesibility is my preference. "

Achilles listened you with curiosity and didn't hesitate in doing his first ask.

" You are Interested in romance, but you don't like to be touched. Is that the accurate answer?"

You nodded in affirmation with a shy smile.

" … This must be a nightmare for you with all those men wanting to touch you and no one caring to romance you. "

" Indeed, it is. " You added to his conclussion. " The temple was my place in the world. Even in Troy how i feel Is difficult to explain, but no one questioned me there. I found the way of making my family proud while being myself, but you just ruined everything i had built. "

" Pretty much, yes. " He frankly admitted. " Even if you return, the priests will never believe i never touched you. It's most likely that priesthood is forever lost for you. "

You looked at him with hopefull amazement.

" Does that mean you'll let me go now that you understand i'm worthless to you?"

Achilles was slightly disconcerted about your claim.

" Worthless? I don't think a woman fitting for a god could ever be worthless to me."

It was your time to get even more honest about the issue. There was no other way, he had to understand you would never be who he surely wanted you to become with him.

" You know exactly what i mean. Do you think I haven't realized of what's going on? You are different from the other greeks only in one detail. Agamemnon doesn't care about my consent, but he knows that you do and that fear has kept me safe from his hands. I take your words from the first day we meet and it's easy to see what you are up to. You have been incredibly nice to me, gifting me with a sample of your mysterious softness. Instead of eating with your men, we have dinner in your tent and you feed me with the same dish you are having despite you could be making me eat the food of slaves. We talk for hours, you make me feel good in your company and later at night you go to sleep naked. Everytime i flee to Patroclus' tent fearing you were blackmailing me into sleeping with you. "

He chuckled at your still percievable naivety.

" The term you are looking for is seduction, not blackmail. And i have to inform you it's all in your head. I just want to get to know you better and if i sleep naked, that's because i find it very comfortable. Had you ever try it?"

" SEE, YOU ARE DOING IT AGAIN!" You yelled with frustration. " You are calling Eros and waiting for the visit of Himeros. One of the brothers may attend your call, but the other never will. I'm desireless and that's part of how i experience romance. "

The open confession should have dissapointed him, or so you thought, but it didn't.

" Has it never occured to you that maybe i just like you and I am not part of some conspiracy to steal your maidenhood? I'm many despicable things, but never a liar. I do find you attractive, you are beautifull and i can't say i don't like your body. Yes, I would be taking you to bed if you wanted me to…. but you don't want that and i respect it. "

" Then why do you keep me?" You softly asked him. " Which man in your place would keep a war prisoner he isn't planning to bed?"

He had a great answer for that.

" One that accepts he shouldn't touch her but still wishes to romance her?"

It caused some almost involuntary giggling from you, since he was repeating the interpretation of your preferred definition of romance he understood.

" You can't be serious."

He was, but he still have some jokes left to point it out.

" Aren't you curious about how it would be like to have a husband you can see everyday?"

" I'm not going to pretend i'm your wife, Achilles. "

After you explained yourself to him, it was his time to be open with you.

" I'll never get married, a prophecy says i gave up my last chance when i came to Troy and I didn't use to care about that… Now i think it would be nice to experience a bit of what i'm missing before the end. Hector talks about the trojan wives waiting for their men, Odysseus wouldn't shut up if you ask him about Penelope. His wife, he misses her to death… I'll understand if you don't really feel curious about that, but i do. "

Another unexpected move on his part, but it was so heartfelt that you got to feel touched by it.

" Stealing the bride of a god can bring a curse upon you. "

" I'm already cursed. " He replicated with sad resignation. " And it would be a borrow. As i told you, I will keep you pure. You can go back to Apollo whenever you wish, if his priests let you."

" The ones that are still alive, you mean. " You snarked back. " I guess i don't have a choice but to follow you hoping Apollo will understand this madness was your idea. "

" Who knows? Maybe you will like me more than him. " The myrmidon replied. " I will do my best for you, I promise. "

For whatever reason in his vague speech about a prophetized curse Achilles wanted to have someone who would take care of him. It was quite sad to think about, since the mightiest warlord of the greeks was so lonely that he wanted to replace a wife with a slave.

" Put on some clothes and I'll sleep next to you tonight."

The proposition you were making in acceptance of his plan amazed him a bit.

" You don't have to do that sort of effort for me. I understand it's something I can't ask. "

You chuckled, clear and freely, then glanced back at him with an adorable looking expression.

He was lost, but still trying to understand you.

" I do like cuddles. " You sweetly explained. " I will never fall asleep in my god's arms, but cuddling is something I feel curious enough to try. "

#troy 2004 #troy #achilles #brad pitt #achilles x reader #brad pitt x reader

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darlingdawnauryn · 3 months ago

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How I Use Technology in My Practice

I know we've all been watching the online world disintegrate in real time -- and the rise of spiritual psychosis on Tik Tok is something I definitely don't want to think too much about -- but I'm here to tell you that it's not all doom and gloom and modern-day technology can still be utilized in a beneficial way. Here are some ways I use it to aid in my practice.

Music for Meditation and Ambience. There are a lot of premade playlists to help people meditate, consisting of binaural beats, eastern inspired zen music, and instrumentals and chants to help connect to a specific deity -- and that's probably only scratching the surface. But what I like about the modern-day landscape where anyone can post anything is the specificity: we're not limited to what could previously only be found on a CD your mom might've gotten from the back of a magazine; instead, there are playlists like "you're taking a bath in ancient greece," "2 AM," and one of my personal favorites, "T h e D r e a m p o o l s." There are people who post their own compositions too, like in the case of help me.'s channel! Most of the time I don't even use it for meditation; I put it on in the background when I write spells and hypersigils, when I work my herbal magick, when I feel like working energy by dancing, etc.

Liminal Portals. Speaking of the poolrooms, I use liminal spaces a lot in my work. Due to my mobility issues and my inability to drive, I can't exactly visit a cemetery, a crossroads, or even an abandoned house whenever I want. So I do the next best thing: pull up a picture of a liminal space and meditate on it however I see fit. Similar to the wider variety of music, this affords me the opportunity to pick a specific, sometimes niche location to harness a specific energy -- it's not like you can go to a funzone midday and expect it to be vacant, let alone expect to work magick with all the kiddos running around. I also like using the images as portals: something to focus on before I sleep so I can conjure it in dreams and do work in the astral.

Inspiration and Motivation! Like a lot of people who came of age alongside the Internet, I now spend more time on Youtube than I do watching TV or even using other streaming services. I use it for shits and giggles as much as the next guy, but I also try to be conscious and intentional with my screentime. I find more and more that I use Youtube for a place of inspiration: magickal as well as mundane. As I've said in previous posts, journaling and writing are serious hobbies of mine. I watch a lot of junk/journal Youtubers, so this video popped up in my recommended the other week -- decidedly un-witchy and completely separate from anything magickal. But I ended up using it to make a journal for my hypersigils, and it feels so much more personal that way. As far as witches go, I'm way more intrigued by Q&As and those in the community interviewing each other; I find the candid conversations more practical than short little how-to videos. Plus, they're a great go-to when I feel disconnected from my practice. Listening to a back-and-forth between two people who are clearly passionate about their Craft gives me the kick to get back into mine again!

Mapping Out the World. This one is a bit headier than the others, so bear with me. First and maybe most importantly: I've been a supporter of the New Age movement since before I knew what it was -- I've always been in contact with spirit guides, fairies, and other nature spirits, and I've always had an affinity for crystals and Hippie Culture (TM) and seen firsthand how the Law of Attraction can be both beneficial and detrimental to one's overall health. While I don't interact much with that side of the Internet anymore, owing to the alarming turn to far-right mindsets and some other problematic beliefs in that community -- as well as my pseudo-disillusionment with the movement at large -- I still think there's something to be said about some of those principles -- particularly the LoA. In a sense, the algorithm as we know it is a mini version of our lives. Do I think every word, thought, and emotion should be policed in an attempt to achieve the myth of ~high vibration~ and enlightenment? Of course not. But let's look at an example that's completely free from any kind of spiritualism: if I ask you to look around the room you're in right now and count as many red objects as you can in ten seconds, that should be a relatively easy task, right? But if I ask you to then conjure up the number of yellow objects without taking another look around, you won't be able to. Why? Because you were focused on the red ones. And in my experience, the world works much the same way and technology exists to reinforce this belief: what we watch, read, and give our attention to online will multiply; it's up to us to curate our experience.

The second thing I'd like to touch on is something that's completely personal -- what I've taken to calling Small Living. Maybe this was brought on by collective nostalgia for the aughts, but lately I've been preoccupied by early-days Internet (web 1.5?) and how much more contained everything felt back then. People can make their filtered edits and try to recapture the vibe by creating bygone-feeling analog horror, but it truly was an experience, going on Youtube and watching "ghost caught on camera" videos or logging onto Quizilla to read anything from local urban legends to proto-creepypasta. It goes without saying that a lot of this stuff was bullshit, but there was something exciting and transgressive about semi-hidden forums dedicated to paranormal and occult information -- back when nothing was monetized yet and people were earnestly either trying to spread knowledge or scare the shit out of unsuspecting viewers and readers.

In a way, getting into the Craft has brought me back to that smallness. Despite the paranormal boom that happened twenty-odd years ago, it was still rare to find people who actually took it seriously: ghost hunters, fellow witches, and the like. Now that "alternative spirituality" has gone mainstream, books about opening your third eye and connecting with nature spirits and high frequency diets are a dime a dozen, meaning it's the same handful of points regurgitated by people who are most likely just looking to make a quick buck. (And don't get me started on the bastardization/commercialization of metaphysical shops.) Thinking about this objectively was one of the biggest things that led me to starting this blog: compared to Insta, Tik Tok, Reddit, and even the cesspools that are Facebook and Twitter, Tumblr is almost a dying breed. I like to think I'm not too far off in feeling like those who stumble across my page looking for first-hand experience and/or potential pointers had to do some digging in order to find it. I'm also getting a kick out of older, secondhand copies of occult books for the same reasons. (Related sidenote: turning my attention to helping my immediate community instead of giving myself IBS flare-ups stressing about every worldwide issue has helped my mental health astronomically. Another pro of Small Living.)

#witchcraft #witchblr #magick #witch #occult #paranormal #liminal spaces

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thecreaturecodex · 2 years ago

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Agathion, Ophinal

"Snek" © Cindy Avelino, accessed at her ArtStation here

[The name "agathion" for Pathfinder's NG outsiders is derived from "agatho daemon", or the "fortunate spirits" of classical Greece. The agathodaemon, sometimes named Tycho, was popular in Ptolemaic Egypt, particularly in Alexandria. Which is why, for a venomous snake-based agathion, I feel comfortable slotting it into Africa for the World Tour project. For more information about snake veneration in the Greek world, Drakon by Daniel Ogden is an excellent book, and was the inspiration for this entry.]

Agathion, Ophidinal

CR 4 NG Outsider

This creature appears as a snake with a human torso and arms. Its scales are colorful, and its expression beatific.

An ophidinal is an agathion devoted to healing above all other arts. They serve heavenly forces and mortal temples alike as doctors, able to patch injuries, treat longer term ailments and expel most mundane and some magical afflictions with magic. Although their aspect resembles that of venomous snakes, they are actually anti-venomous; a creature bitten by an ophidinal has the toxins purged from its body, and any natural poisons it secretes temporarily suppressed.

Ophidinals dislike combat, and rarely choose to fight. They can defend themselves with teeth and claws if they must, but would prefer to heal than to harm. They are usually mobile on the battlefield, casting a sanctuary spell on themselves and then moving between allies to grant them support. In addition to healing, their touch can bring with it good fortune. An ophidinal will happily lay down its life to protect goodly allies.

Unlike many agathions, which eschew civilization for wilder spaces, ophidinals are comfortable in buildings and cities. There are many hazards that urban populations have to deal with—hunger, disease, crime—and ophidinals work to minimize these impacts on common folk. An ophidinal is especially good at dealing with pests. Insects and rodents are often eaten as snacks, and venomous serpents are bitten to suppress their venom and then encouraged to take up residence elsewhere. Ophidinals are suitable for calling with lesser planar ally to act as a source of healing, and their prices for such services are typically taken in healing items magical and mundane, or simply blankets and digestible food to make the lives of the sick more comfortable.

An ophidinal is about eight feet long, but come up to about four foot high when posed upright. Some have hoods, eyelash scales, colored stripes, or other markers of particular species of venomous snake, sometimes mixed and matched in ways unseen in nature.

Ophidinal CR 4

XP 1,200

NG Medium outsider (agathion, extraplanar, good)

Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +13, scent, tremorsense 30 ft.

Defense

AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +4 natural)

hp 42 (5d10+15)

Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +7; +4 vs. poison

DR 5/evil; Immune electricity, petrifaction; Resist cold 10, sonic 10; SR 15

Offense

Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.

Melee bite +5 (1d4 plus antivenom), 2 claws +5 (1d3)

Spell-like Abilities CL 5th, concentration +7 (+11 casting defensively)

At will—detect poison, diagnose disease, sanctuary (DC 13), stabilize

3/day—cure moderate wounds, lesser restoration, protection from evil (DC 13), remove paralysis, remove sickness

1/day—remove blindness/deafness, remove curse, remove disease

Statistics

Str 10, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 15

Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 19

Feats Alertness, Combat Casting, Lightning Reflexes

Skills Climb +12, Diplomacy +10, Heal +11, Knowledge (nature, planes) +9, Perception +13, Sense Motive +13, Stealth +12, Swim +12; Racial Modifiers uses Dexterity for Climb and Swim

Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal, speak with animals, truespeech

SQ bit of luck (6/day), healing ritual, lay on hands (5/day, 2d6), undersized weapons (small)

Ecology

Environment any land or urban (Nirvana)

Organization solitary, pair or clinic (3-6)

Treasure standard (healer’s kit, other treasure)

Special Abilities

Antivenom (Su) A creature bitten by an ophidinal automatically has any poison affecting it removed, as per a neutralize poison spell. A creature with a poison special attack that is bitten must succeed a DC 14 Will save or lose the ability to use its poison for one day per HD of the ophidinal (5 days for the average specimen). The save DC is Charisma based.

Bit of Luck (Su) An ophidinal can touch a willing creature as a standard action, giving it a bit of luck. For the next round, any time the target rolls a d20, he may roll twice and take the more favorable result. An ophidinal can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + its Wisdom modifier (6/day for a typical specimen).

Healing Ritual (Ex) By increasing the casting time for any of its spell-like abilities with the healing subschool to one minute, an ophidinal can grant itself a +4 bonus to its caster level for the purposes of the spell’s effect.

#ophidinal #agathion #pathfinder 1e #world tour #agathodaemon #greek mythology #ptolemaic #alexandria

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mariacallous · 4 months ago

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Opposition MPs expressed dismay after the Prosecution Office of the Greek Supreme Court on Tuesday concluded that no state ministry or agency had used illegal Predator spy software, or any other surveillance software.

“There was absolutely no involvement with the spy software Predator or any other similar software by a state agency, namely the National Intelligence Service (EYP), the Anti-Terrorist unit (D.A.E.E.B.) and more generally the Ministry of Citizens Protection or any government official,” Supreme Court Prosecutor Georgia Adeilini said.

Provisions lifting the privacy of communications issued by Vasiliki Vlachou, Prosecutor of the EYP for 2020-2024, followed the procedure provided by Greek law, the court said.

However, the court said that there were sufficient grounds “for the initiation of criminal prosecution … against certain legal representatives and beneficial owners of companies for criminal acts, such as the violation of the privacy of telephone communication.” These companies, it said, had been involved in violating the privacy of telephone communications of politicians, journalists and others in other countries as well, combined with similar “targets” in Greece.

Opposition leaders reacted with disappointment.

“Today … my confidence in the Greek justice system has been seriously shaken. Unfortunately, this now coincides with the widespread feeling of the Greek people that justice is not the last refuge of the wronged,” wrote the leader of the left-wing SYRIZA party, Stefanos Kasselakis, on social media.

The preliminary examination into the wiretapping case lasted two years and more than 40 witnesses were examined.

They included politicians, journalists, representatives of mobile phone companies, Commanders, Deputy Commanders and other members of the National Intelligence Service, EYP, members of the Greek Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE) and the National Transparency Authority, NTA, senior police officers, the Intelligence Management and Analysis Directorate, the Finance Directorate as well as the Electronic Crime Prosecution Directorate.

Grigoris Dimitriadis, nephew and former secretary of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, resigned in August 2022 over revelations of alleged involvement with Intellexa, a company that sells Predator in Greece. He denied wrongdoing and sued the media involved in the reports – Reporters United, Efimerida ton Syntakton, as well as the journalist Thanasis Koukakis, whose phone had been infected with Predator. His resignation was followed by that of the then head of the EYP, Panagiotis Kontoleon.

The wiretapping scandal, known as Predator Gate, or the Greek Watergate, and which has occupied the Greek media since 2022, concerns the use of Predator to monitor or attempt to monitor journalists, politicians and other public figures.

The New York Times suggested that the simultaneous tapping of a victim’s phone by the EYP and its Predator infection “indicate that the spy service, and whoever implanted the spyware, were working hand in hand”.

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eurovision-revisited · 5 months ago

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Eurovision 2004 - Televoting Watch

Bang the gong! Finally, it had to happen. We've gone full televote. 100% of the vote in this year's final came from the public. The juries were there but only to provide a back-up in the case of a technical problem or unforeseen circumstances.

That's going to make my analysis of this year's final a little more boring than usual. However there are a couple of points of note.

First - of course - there's a semi-final to look at as well, and in that a back-up jury was used. Monaco and Croatia both had issues with their phone networks. The Croatian mobile service provider had forgotten to delete votes for their own country. These were recalculated without those votes, and the remaining televote went forward, so the Croatian backup jury wasn't used. However the Monaco jury did have their verdicts included in the result, as the problems affecting their televote couldn't be fixed.

Having just a single jury vote to compare doesn't really lead to any well-founded conclusions, but it is possible to have a look at the running order biases.

After experimenting (successfully!) with the reverse recap in 2002 and 2003, the EBU have removed it from 2004. We're back to a standard running order recap and it shows. Both the Monegasque back-up jury and the televote heavily favoured the second-half of the running order in the semi-final. Even though Ukraine and Greece were in the first-half, none of the first seven countries on stage qualified. This bias is probably due in large part to the random running order placing several of the weaker songs towards the start, but even so, around 60% of both the jury and televote went to the second-half countries.

Having a semi-final allows us to see the relative strengths of the two halves of the draw for the first time - which gives added context to the outcome.

In the final, both of the big two from the semi-final (Ukraine and Serbia & Montenegro) were drawn in the first half. Even with this advantage, the first half barely exceeded the second half in the televote 52%-48%. It's going to take a few more years of reverting to non-reverse recaps to see if the effect is noticeable again. I'm already missing it.

One other point of note. Even though all competing countries could vote in both the semi-final and the final, leading to higher scores all round, there were three fewer countries voting in the semi than in the final. This was because of France, Poland and Russia not broadcasting the semi-final on the grounds that they weren't in it and interest was low. Some countries just take longer to get it than others...

Despite there being more voting points than ever that doesn't mean that countries receiving zero-points can't happen. And it did happen this year. Commiserations to Switzerland - the first ever country to get zero points in a Eurovision semi-final!

#esc #esc 2004 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #istanbul #istanbul 2004 #televoting #televote #nul points

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susuvcarnival · 6 months ago

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Happy month of men mental health!! ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

Bro, if you can see this, please know that I am so damn proud of you and that you are here! I know you've been through a lot and often you didn't even have anyone to turn to for help, I know what it's like for men, But remember that you are never alone. This is for all men on this planet: don't think you need to be manly and brave all the time, and if you feel bad (which happens to everyone), just tell someone about it and I guarantee you that no one will laugh at you about it. You can tell your girlfriend, parent, sibling or trusted adult for example teacher, or even ask your another male friend "You want to hug?" You really may need it as much as the next man and don't be ashamed of it!!! ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

Professional help:

Armenia ( National Domestic Violence Hotline)- +374 105 428 280800 80 850,( Infolinia Fundacji Charytatywnej Armenian Lighthouse)- 2080

Belarus: (National Free Children's Helpline)- 8 801 100 8 801. (Safe Migration Hotline)- 113

Croatia: (Harbri Telephone (children's helpline))- 116 111. (SOS hotline for victims of human trafficking)- 0800 77 99

Cyprus: (Emergency Help Center)- 1440

Czech Republic: ( DONA line)- +420 251 51 13 13. (Children's safety line)- 116 111

Denmark: ( Lew Uden Vold)- 1888

Estonia: (Tugitelefon)- 1492

Georgia: ( National Domestic Violence Hotline)- 309 903

Greece: (National Center for Social Solidarity (EKKA) (for people in various crisis situations, including domestic violence))- 197. (General Secretariat for Gender Equality)- 15 900

Iceland: ( Infolinia schroniska Kvennaathvarfið)- 561 1205

Ireland: (Nationwide toll-free hotline)- 1800 341 900

Italy: (Donne przeciw przemocy)- 1522

Kosovo: (Direct line for victims of violence)- 0800 11112. (SOS Linja)- +381 39 033 00 98

Latvia: (Marta Center for Victims of Human Trafficking)- 800 2012. (Crisis hotline)- 6722292227722292. (Children's Fund hotline)-116 111

Luxembourg: (Fraentelefon)- 12 344

Macedonia: (National SOS Line)- 15 700. (National SOS line) – helpline 15 315. (National SOS mobile line)- +389 75 141 700+389 77 141 700+389 70 141 700

Moldova: (Helpline)- 8008 8008

Montenegro: (SOS hotline for victims of violence)- 080 111 111

Netherlands: (Veilig Thuis (for victims of domestic violence and child abuse)- 0800 2000

Norway: (National hotline for survivors of sexual abuse)-800 57 000. (Crisis helpline)-800 40 008

Poland: (National Emergency Service for Survivors of Domestic Violence Blue Line)-22 668 70 00. (National Emergency Service for Victims of Domestic Violence)- 801 12 00 02

Russia: (ANNA (National Center for Counteracting Violence)-08800 700 600

Serbia: (Domestic violence helpline)- 0800 100 600

Spain: (Hotline for information and legal advice on gender-based violence)- 016

Switzerland: (Dargebotene Hand (crisis helpline))- 143

India: (Hürriyet domestic violence hotline)- +90 212 656 9696. (Social Care Counseling Line for Family, Women, Children and Disabled People)- 183

Ukraine: (Hotline for counteracting domestic violence and protecting children's rights)- 0800 500 3350800 500 336

UK: (ENGLAND: National free domestic violence helplineENGLAND: Rape crisis helpline)- 0808 2000 2470808 802 999. (NORTHERN IRELAND: 24-hour domestic and sexual violence helpline)- 0800 917 14 14. (SCOTLAND: Scottish Domestic Violence Helpline Scottish Domestic Violence Helpline)-0800 027 1234080 88 01 03 020808 8010 302. (WALES: Free Live Fear Helpline Rape Crisis Helpline)- 0800 8010 8000808 802 9999

I hope I didn't mess it anywhere, I love you guys hahaha (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠❤

05.06.24

22:08

#blogger #self h@rm #vent post #polska #samookaleczanie #sh cvt #self assessment #motylki any #mental health #mental illness #actually mentally ill #boys #boy ana #good men #chce byc lekka jak motylek

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usafphantom2 · 1 year ago

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U.S. Air Force marks 100 years of air refueling with national overflight

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 06/27/23 - 11:00am Military

In honor of a century of excellence in air refueling, the United States Air Force (USAF) is expected to fly over all 50 states on June 27.

The Army Air Service - a predecessor of the Air Force - developed a way in the 1920s to extend flight missions, allowing aircraft, which were strictly propeller-powered, to remain in the air without landing to refuel.

On June 27, 1923, U.S. Army Air Service aviators performed the first air refueling, by passing gasoline through a gravity hose between two DH-4B aircraft. During this historic event, 1º Lieutenant of the Air Service Virgil Hine and 1º Lt. Frank Seifert pumped fuel from one plane, by means of a hose, to the other below, carrying Captain Lowell Smith and 1º Lt. John Richter. A few weeks later, Smith and Richter set a new resistance record of more than 37 hours, which involved more than a dozen refueling contacts, according to the USAF Museum.

Two Army Air Service pilots pump fuel through a hose from one plane to another in the San Diego sky on June 27, 1923.

Today, more than 150 tanker planes from 26 Total Force facilities are expected to participate with KC-135 Stratotankers, KC-10 Extenders and KC-46 Pegasus aircraft during overflights, celebrating a revolutionary capacity delivered 100 years ago. An Iowa National Air Guard Stratotanker KC-135, for example, will perform F-16 overflights in the Missouri River Valley region — and the 168ª Alaska Wing will fly over many locations with KC-135, including Fort Yukon in the east. central part of the state, Deadhorse in the far north and Kenai at the far south.

"Air refueling embodies our determination to defend freedom and project power, leaving an indelible mark on the history of aviation," said General Mike Minihan, commander of the Air Force Air Mobility Command. "It connects our strategic vision with operational reality, ensuring that we can reach any corner of the globe with unwavering speed."

"It connects our strategic vision with operational reality, ensuring that we can reach any corner of the globe with unwavering speed and accuracy. Air refueling embodies our determination to defend freedom and project power, leaving an indelible mark on the history of aviation," he added.

The announcement earlier this year about the acquisition of the KC-46A and the accelerated search for the state-of-the-art air refueling system (NGAS) is driving the advancement of capacity that was developed and entrusted to aviators a century ago, the USAF declared.

Tags: Military AviationREVO - Air ReplenishmentUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Daytona Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work around the world of aviation.

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warsofasoiaf · 2 years ago

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I have two sets of questions, one regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War and the other regarding Turkey.

The first is about sending main battle tanks to the Ukrainians. I'm sure you know the British are sending 14 Challenger II tanks and the Poles are poised to send several Leopard II's. One question I have is how impactful do you think these tanks will be? And as an extra question, do you agree with the Pentagon's assessment that sending M1 Abrams tanks is is not what the Ukrainian's need, and that they would be better off receiving other forms of materiel?

My second question is in regards to Erdoğan's stance on NATO and Russia as a whole. I'm sure you saw that Erdoğan said that Turkey will not grant Sweden NATO membership after right wingers in Sweden burned several copies of the Quran. Clearly Erdoğan is just using this as an excuse to deny Sweden NATO status. But why? Why deny Sweden NATO membership, what does he gain from doing that? And by other question regarding Erdoğan and Turkey is their relationship with Russia. The Turks plan to buy S-400 missiles from Russia are are interested in buying Su-57's, but at the same time the Turks have been fighting the Russians in Syria, supported Ukraine since Crimea was annexed, and supported opposing sides in the Libyan Civil War and in the Nagorno-Karabakh War. So why are they willing to do business with each other?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions.

If the Ukrainians can develop an armor unit with Leopard II's and IFV support such as Bradleys, it can become a frighteningly effective force against the Russians. As we've seen in the Russo-Ukrainian war, Russian artillery targeting moves at a slug's pace, so a mobile armor unit can hit hard and be on the move before taking battery fire. It would be quite useful in establishing a thrust toward Melitopol and severing the land bridge to Crimea and potentially severing the Russian forces in two.

The Abrams would have problems in being deployed - the Leopard is definitely more effective given the terrain. I wouldn't underestimate the Ukrainians in understanding and adapting the Abrams, but I do understand that most repair and refit facilities can't service an Abrams engine, whereas the Leopards can just be shunted over the border to Poland. But at the same time, we've got Abrams that we aren't using, even for training, so I'm okay with sending a few Abrams if it puts egg on Olaf Scholz's face and gets him to release the Leopards.

Erdogan is facing severe problems at home. His very stupid Fisherist economic policies have caused inflation in Turkey to skyrocket, and so he's trying to salvage the upcoming elections by picking fights and pandering to the nationalist base. Erdogan wants to pick fights with Kurds, with Greece, and with Sweden to tell the people back home that he's fighting for Turkey's place as a pre-eminent power, coupling that with selling the grain deal to say that he's no mindless bravo. Make no mistake, Erdogan's stance on Sweden joining NATO has absolutely nothing to do with Turkish strategy and everything to do with Erdogan preserving his political career. After all, given the release of the Su-57 data on Warthunder, it's obvious that the plane is comparable in stealth to 30-year old aircraft, any modern radar system is going to light up like a Christmas tree. It has 0.1-1m² RCS, no sensible strategist would want to purchase the Su-57 with that large of a radar cross-section. It isn't stealthy, so either buy an aircraft that is or buy a cheaper or more effective multirole platform without stealth. It does fit into Erdogan's strategy of painting itself as an interlocutor between Russia and the West, again to sell Turkey as a pre-eminent power capable of producing great geopolitical feat.

It won't work out in Erdogan's favor, but he's backed himself into a corner and would rather ruin Turkey than lose.

Thanks for the question, Bruin.

SomethingLikeALawyer, hand of the King

#modern politics #nato #m1 abrams #leopard 2 #engineering #technology

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esimdataplan · 4 days ago

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Where to Buy a Prepaid Greece SIM Card

Wherever you may be traveling to, it is a must to have reliable and affordable connectivity whether it be for business or pleasure. This guide delves into the various aspects of purchasing a local physical SIM card and explains why eSIMs are now the obvious choice in every way. Don’t Buy SIM Cards, eSIMs Are Better! Get Your eSIM Now Greece is not only a land of rich history and breathtaking…

#Buy the best mobile service for travel to Greece

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s4g2 · 1 year ago

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Crafting Digital Bridges Across Borders: S4G2 Marketing Agency's Global SEO and Web Design Symphony

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cindylouwho-2 · 1 year ago

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Etsy Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Report - Get Ready For More Pressure To Discount

Above - Slide 9 from Etsy's Second Quarter 2023 report. © Etsy

Etsy's second quarter 2023 results beat projections, but the outlook for the third quarter was weak, and that has led to a sharp drop off of the stock. No doubt investors were unimpressed that Etsy has no convincing plans to begin increasing sales and profits again. The call announced nothing truly new in that vein.

First, the resources for this post:

the press release

transcript of the conference call

slides from the conference call

video of the call (click on “Webcast” under "Latest Quarterly Results")

my summaries of the second quarter 2022, and the first quarter 2023 for comparison

The basic numbers (covering April to June 2023, compared to the same period in 2022):

Sales on Etsy were $2.6 billion, down 0.7%

Total sales for all 4 marketplaces (Etsy, Reverb, Depop, Elo7) were $3.0 billion, down 0.6%

Etsy’s revenue (including all 4 sites) was $628.9 million, up 7.5%

Seller service revenue was up a whopping 20.8% to $175.9 million, while marketplace revenue was up 3.1% to $453 million

Net Income was $61.9 million, down 15.3% (in part due to the impairment charge from the impending sale of Elo7)

Active buyers on Etsy alone stand at 90.6 million, an all-time high

Active sellers on Etsy alone are 6.3 million, the second large jump in a row compared to the previous quarter; numbers had been stagnant through the end of 2021 and all of 2022 [Note that “active” means one charge or transaction in the past 12 months; many “active” shops currently have nothing for sale.]

Sales where the buyer and/or the seller was not in the United States were 47%, up from 44% last year, but most Etsy buyers are still in the US

Sales on mobile are now at 68%, up from 66% last year [this includes both the buyer app and mobile browsers]

I'll cover the points of the biggest interest to sellers below, with my comments in square brackets.

Advertising (On and Off Site)

Etsy Ads (the onsite ones) again helped increase the services income. CFO Rachel Glaser mentioned that "XWalk, our real time retrieval engine" was now a part of the Ads algorithm. [It was previously introduced in search results, to help draw connections between multiple sets of data rapidly as someone is searching.] They are now able to show ads in more places, increasing site profit.

Offsite Ads (aka performance marketing) cost roughly the same in the quarter, due to testing which led to Etsy reducing money spent on some platforms.

From the press release: "We expanded performance marketing investments from 13 to 20 non-core countries, now including the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia."

Etsy Search

CEO Josh Silverman feels Etsy has made progress in search relevancy (Slide 6). Therefore, the next step is to "better identify the quality of each listing, so that from this relevant result set, we bring the very best of Etsy to the top. Our data shows that high quality listings attract a higher value buyer than our average listings, attract more repeat and habitual buyers, and most importantly, they often convert over 2 times better than other listings." No actual definition of "high quality listings" is provided. [This may be a refinement of the listing quality score.]

Etsy is training its machine learning software on "...a best of Etsy library, which is curated by expert merchandisers based on the visual appeal, uniqueness, and apparent craftsmanship of an item." (Slide 7) The models are then expected to find the best items out of large search results, and return those for searchers. [I hope these aren't the same human curators who supposedly selected the "Etsy's Pick" listings, as my only Etsy's Pick listing is a commercial pendant on my hand-cut chain. Totally Etsy-legal, and even appealing and well-made, but hardly unique - there are hundreds or maybe even thousands of these pendants on Etsy right now. (In my defense, there were a lot fewer when I started selling them.) Only my chain falls close to the realm of unique, due to the clasp.]

Etsy is also working on "collapsing" similar items on the first few search pages into sets, and offering shoppers several different sets to choose from, "showing you just the very best of each of a set of very different items". [I believe I have seen a test like this, where several rows of slightly different search results are shown for some queries. It could also mean an expansion of the "more like this" link under individual listings on the search page.]

[It appears to be time to accept that Etsy is not interested in being a site for niche searches any more; management only cares about the large searches converting. I understand what the engineers were trying to do with training the systems by adding more items in and letting the customers signal which results were good, but small and niche searches have only gotten worse over the past 3-4 years, and they've now effectively told us we can't expect any more improvement in this area. Search effort is now going to winnowing down large searches, not improving very small ones.]

Upcoming Promotional Plans & Focus

As usual, Etsy is focussed on retaining existing buyers as well as adding new ones. Hitting an all-time high in active buyers this quarter shows some progress in this area.

Given that "[t]here's no question this is a very promotional environment," we should expect to see more features around sales and discounts, as shown in Slide 9 at the top of this post. Those 3 boxes are part of a scrolling banner at the top of the Etsy home page in the US right now. [If you have tried to run a sale lately, you have already noticed that the lowest percentage off sale is 25%. You can enter a custom amount, but 25% is the default if you don't click for more options.]

They are already testing "a new price discovery functionality utilizing buyer demand data to help sellers think about how to price their items and when or how they might best use promotions as part of their mix." An example is shown in the top right corner of Slide 11 - see below:

[If this works as badly as the old tool from years ago - the one that compared hammered sterling silver pendants to plastic ones - then it will be a waste of time. And don't forget the tool that tells us our shipping for large heavy items is overpriced because it is comparing the listing to the shipping rates of the smallest items in the same category. The list goes on... However, many sellers would appreciate knowing more about what similar items are actually selling for, and it is possible Etsy heard that request, so we shouldn't write this test off before we see it.]

The new wedding registry has been doing well, with 14% of sales coming from first-time buyers. Etsy is opening a baby registry in August, and more categories may follow.

Silverman said that the Purchase Protection Program (PPP) "...reduced the issue resolution time for cases by approximately 85%". [I guess when there are rarely humans involved in adjudicating cases, that does tend to save time.] The site will soon mention this in even more places, to increase buyer confidence and bring them back more often.

Also on the way: "Buyers will see some new AI assisted ways to find crafted quality gifts for the loved ones at great value with even more confidence that these gifts will arrive on time." Gifting will continue to be a promotional focus.

Payment Reserves

Following the recent media attention to payment reserves, one analyst asked what the policy was meant to do in terms of benefiting the marketplace, and how the company is addressing the complaints. Silverman fell back on the "sellers not able to fill a rush of sales" example [even though that hasn't been the main reason for most of the recent reserves], and mentioned the previous day's announcement that reserves would be changing.

Depop, Reverb, and the Exit of Elo7

Etsy is selling Elo7, and is apparently taking a loss on it.

Depop's sales and revenue grew this quarter (year over year); new ideas and developments are detailed on Slide 16.

Reverb is still doing better than the general musical instrument market; details on Slide 17.

Miscellaneous

sales were down this quarter due to the month of April; May and June were both up, as was July [so the third quarter is up so far, but they noted the company traditionally has lower sales in August and September]. Silverman stated that the economy is in a down cycle, but that cycles change.

sales are declining in United States zip codes where the average household income is below $100,000 a year, and are growing in the zips above $100K a year.

the increase in marketplace revenue was partially due to having more non-US transactions, which usually have higher payment processing fees charged.

"advances in ML capabilities have enabled our enforcement models to detect an increasing number of policy violations." Slide 10 states they've "...removed 29% more listings for violating our Handmade Policy in 1H 2023 vs. 2H 2022". It's not clear if this includes all the ones they removed in error and later had to reinstate. [It's not just handmade takedowns that were mostly wrong. They caught my 2 "drug paraphernalia" listings earlier this year, as well as many top selling item from big shops, for no reason. As I explained in my coverage of the annual transparency report, only 5% of items Etsy reviews for violations actually need to be removed from the site. Increasing takedowns is a bad thing when they are almost all wrong, and especially when real and easy-to-find violations - such as boxes of commercial potato chip packages and actual roach clips - remain up. This initiative continues to get an F.]

almost 20% of vintage shops are choosing to use the new "Make an Offer" option.

Why Etsy Needs To Do More To Impress Investors

If you watch or read these calls every quarter, or even just read my summaries, you will note that there was very little new here, and certainly not much new that one would expect to substantially increase sales across the site. I think the upper brass recognized that, as the "challenging" times were stressed repeatedly, and they are still occasionally comparing numbers to the pre-pandemic stats.

Yes, it is great that Etsy has basically retained all of its pandemic growth; many other platforms - such as Wayfair and eBay - did not. However, analysts seem to be over that now, and are looking to future growth. Etsy's response seems to be that any substantial increase in marketplace sales will have to wait until the current uncertain world economic cycle improves. While they talk about incremental increases in sales expected from some current projects, their own projections for the third quarter aren't reflecting that growth, given Etsy now has more active buyers and sellers than ever before.

Have they possibly lost too many successful shops due to overreaching with payment reserves? Are buyers expressing concerns on that topic? Now that many more sellers can opt out of Offsite Ads, is that dragging down the company's income at all? Are they truly out of new ideas? These are questions that the analysts and the media need to be asking.

Perhaps Etsy is planning on another release that will lift marketplace sales, but right now they are keeping it secret. The company probably can't afford to wait on this much longer, though, if it cares about the stock price.

#EtsySellerNews #etsy #ecommerce #microbusiness #cindylouwho2 #marketplace

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aboutanancientenquiry · 2 years ago

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Ian Moyer on Democedes’ ”Golden Fetters” (Herodotus III 125, 129-137): experts and cultural exchanges in palace and market economies of Antiquity

Ian Moyer “ Golden Fetters and Economies of Cultural Exchange”, 2006, Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 6 (abstract and preliminaries)

“Abstract

In W. Burkert’s Orientalizing Revolution, itinerant craftsmen and other specialists moving from East to West are the primary vector for the movement of Near Eastern ideas and practices to the Greek world in the archaic period. In this model, the incentive for movement is a choice between western economic freedom and the despotism of eastern palace-centered economies. When set in the context of theoretical debates over the ancient economy, and particularly the important studies of C. Grottanelli and C. Zaccagnini on the mobility of specialists, Burkert’s model appears to accept that modern divisions between eastern and western economies were also salient for ancient actors. This supposition is tested through a reexamination of Herodotus’ story of the Greek doctor Democedes and the golden fetters awarded to him by Darius (Histories 3.125, 129-137). Though Herodotus uses the symbol of “golden fetters” as a focal point for the construction of cultural diﬀerence, parallel Greek and Egyptian evidence of specialists in royal service suggests that such gifts could also function as cross-cultural prestige items, and that the royal economies in which they circulated could facilitate and even stimulate the adoption and dissemination of notionally foreign ideas and practices.

Preliminaries

Herodotus’ ethnography of Egypt encapsulates a paradox that plagues theories of cultural exchange. In a famous passage, the Greek historian wrote that the Egyptians are entirely opposite to other people in their manners and customs, and yet he also claimed that many Greek practices and ideas, especially in the realm of religion, came from Egypt.2 On the one hand, his oppositional deﬁnition draws boundaries around Egyptian culture, and on the other hand the boundaries are porous and their content transferable. Similar ambiguities permeate the unreﬂective uses of inherited anthropological categories such as “culture” in the study of contacts between the Archaic Greek world and adjacent regions surrounding the Eastern Mediterranean. As J. Hall has observed, concepts of a universal, transnational culture (or civilisation) spreading out from the Near East are found alongside descriptions of interaction and exchange between bounded, plural cultures.3 Though much work over the last 3 decades has gathered evidence of connections between Greece, the Near East, and Egypt, the processes of cultural interchange have received less attention than they merit. In particular, models of the economies in which culture contact and exchange took place—that is, the systems of transactional relationships in which people, goods, practices, and ideas moved—still remain relatively underdeveloped.4

Perhaps the best known model for interaction with the Near East in the archaic period of Greek history is outlined in The Orientalizing Revolution by the eminent historian of religion, Walter Burkert. His account includes contact and exchange between Greece and the Orient in a number of modes, including trade and military expansion, but the dominant explanation, indeed the one framing the structure of his work, is the movement of various specialists, whether in sacred or profane technologies, from East to West. The aim of Burkert’s work is to correct earlier historiographical tendencies to view Greek culture in isolation, and yet the way he envisions the process of cultural interchange in the early archaic period reiﬁes some of the divisions he seeks to break down. In Burkert’s description of cultural vectors, the force that drew Eastern specialists to the Greek world was rational individual choice between western economic freedom, and the despotism of the East:

To sum up: For craftsmen of the East, at least the chance for free movement had existed for some time, since the inﬂuence of the despots was limited in extent. In the West, this mobility was fully developed by the orientalizing period. It can be presumed that precisely this factor could act as a strong incentive for emigration to the freer West.... Even if free enterprise was an invention of the early orientalizing period, the “orientals” were certainly involved too.5

Just as the direction of ﬂow in Herodotus’ view of Greek debts to Egypt is determined by the antiquity and conservatism of the Egyptians and the youth and receptivity of the Greeks,6 Burkert organizes the economic forces involved in his model of mobility along the lines of an East-West divide.7

I propose brieﬂy to reexamine this model of migration and the distinctions it makes between East and West against the background of its economic assumptions, and through a familiar tale from Herodotus. The story of the Greek doctor Democedes of Croton, who received from Darius a pair of “golden fetters” while serving involuntarily at the Persian king’s court has been used to illustrate the tension between the freedom of the itinerant specialist and the tyranny of Near Eastern economies in which craftsmen were controlled by the palace.8 Parallels from Greek and Egyptian sources, however, suggest that the “fetters” need not have had the despotic signiﬁcance Herodotus assigned them. These examples reveal circuits of migration tied to the historical conditions and ideologies of palace economies, thus situating the model of craftsmen moving east to west in the context of other economies in which contact and exchange took place. My purpose in this is to ask whether the distinction between eastern and western economic patterns was as salient a factor in motivating the movement of specialists as Burkert’ s model suggests, or whether this model accepts too easily a Herodotean view and certain metanarratives inherited from theories of the ancient economy.”

The whole article can be found on https://href.li/?https://www.academia.edu/475659/Golden_Fetters_and_Economies_of_Cultural_Exchange

This is another very interesting article of Ian Moyer, which has as subjects a number of very important questions on the history of Antiquity: the interactions between Greece and Near Eact during the archaic and early Classical periods, the vectors of this interaction, the role of itinerant specialists and craftsmen in the cultural exchanges in Antiquity, and above all the nature of the economies of the ancient Near Eastern monarchies and of the Greek city-states and their relations with the political structures of these polities.

My remarks on this article are that, first of all, the last decades there is a tendency to overestimate the Near Eastern influence on the development of the ancient Greek civilization, perhaps as a reaction to the previously dominant view, according to which Greece was essentially isolated from the Near East. However, I think that the truth is that, although the Greeks borrowed important things from the Near East, the ancient Greek civilization had since its beginning its own particular identiy, character, and dynamic of development, and of course its own characteristic major contributions and breakthroughs.

Secondly, it seems to me that Moyer’s criticism of Burkert’s model about the movement of specialists and craftsmen from the East to the West as anachronistic is rather justified and, moreover, I suspect that perhaps Burkert overestimates the extent and importance of this movement.

Thirdly, I think that Moyer tends to overlook somehow the particularity of the situation of Democedes and to read in Herodotus’ story about him more than what there is in the text. Democedes was not a typical itinerary specialist coming to offer his services to the Great King of Persia, usually after invitation: according to Herodotus, Democedes had gone to Susa as a captive after the execution of his former employer Polycrates of Samos by the Persians, and it is in this particular context that Darius’ gift of “golden fetters” must be understood. Herodotus presents Darius’ gift as an expression of royal favor and gratitude toward Democedes for his medical services, but also as a reminder of his status as a captive. In all this there is of course a depiction of Darius’ absolute power, which can raise someone from misery but also, conversely, annihilate the recipient of this favor, if the King is displeased with him, and an implicit comparison with the Greek political structures in which (with the exception of tyranny) no individual had such a power over free people. But I don’t see this story as an illustration of the differences in the situation of the various experts in the economic models of “free entreprise” and “palace economy’, because, as I said before, Democedes was not a typical specialist working for Darius, but a captive. Moreover, it is not uncontroversial that the economies of the developed ancient Greek city-states, although for sure in a large part market economies, were systems of “free entreprise” in the modern sense of the term.

More particularly concerning Herodotus, although it is true that he shows the role of the market in the life of the Greek city-states (see above all 1.153 with the description of the Greeks by Cyrus the Great of Persia) and the role of royal power in the circulation and distribution of resources and wealth in the Persian Empire, it would be problematic to make of him some kind of preacher of the “free entreprise” in the sense that this term has today.

Now, despite my remarks about the particularity of the situation of Democedes in Herodotus’ story, I believe also that the traditional view that entering the service of the Great King or of other monarchs with absolute power meant not only advantages, but also a loss of personal freedom, and that the gifts of the King were expressions of an unequal relation and means to tie even more their recipient as subordinate to his royal benefactor is largely correct, as Moyer himself shows when he presents the role of the royal gifts in the Achaemenid court.

Another remark that I have is that more generally Moyer’s views on Herodotus’ ethnography seem somehow unsympathetic in this article. For instance, when Moyer writes that... the direction of ﬂow in Herodotus’ view of Greek debts to Egypt is determined by the antiquity and conservatism of the Egyptians and the youth and receptivity of the Greeks , to attribute immediately afterwards the flaws of Burkert’s model to a mentality similar to that of Herodotus in the previous excerpt, it seems that he rather reads Herodotus through the lens of the modern critical to Orientalism postcolonial theory. But I think that this reading is anachronistic, because first of all Herodotus in general admires Egypt and avoids comparisons which would show the Egyptians as culturally inferior to the Greeks, secondly because “antiquity and conservatism” were not seen by the ancients as something necessarily worse than “youth and receptivity” and perpetual change: in fact one can find in the ancient Greek literature several passages in which the conservatism and (supposed) immutability of ancient Egypt are seen with great admiration.

These critical remarks and disagreements from my part do not mean of course that I deny that Ian Moyer’s article on Democedes’ “golden fetters” is important and thought-provoking.

#herodotus #classics #ancient economies #ancient near east #ian moyer

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smitharaghu · 2 years ago

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Deutsche Telekom Stock Review

Deutsche Telekom is a Germany-based company that provides integrated telecommunication services. It operates through five segments: Germany, United States, Europe, Systems Solutions, and Group Development. The Germany segment provides fixed-network and mobile telecommunications services to consumers and business customers. The United States segment provides telecommunications services in the United States market; and the Europe segment offers fixed-network and mobile operations of the national companies in Greece, Romania, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, and Austria.

IPO

A major turning point in the world of telecommunications took place in November 1996, when Deutsche Telekom went public. It was the largest IPO in history and the capstone of years of intense effort by Goldman Sachs to establish a presence in the German market.

The company's offering marked a significant step in the development of an Anglo-Saxon shareholder culture. It was also the first telecommunications company to be listed on the Frankfurt and New York stock exchanges, as well as the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

It was the largest ever IPO and it was oversubscribed five times. Shares traded at nearly 20 percent above the issue price on their first day of trading.

In addition to its traditional services in Germany, the company provides telecommunications services throughout the rest of Europe and the United States. Its businesses include fixed network and broadband, mobile telephony, and information technology services.

Today, the company is one of the world's leading telecommunications companies with operations in more than 50 countries and a broad range of products and services. It has a worldwide network of around 248 million wireless and 26 million wireline customers.

The company has been in the forefront of telecommunications innovation, investing extensively in digital technologies to develop innovative new products and services for its customers. Examples include the Internet of Things, 5G technology, video conferencing, and artificial intelligence.

For a company like Deutsche Telekom, it is important to have a diverse product portfolio that appeals to different kinds of users. The company is also known for acquiring and selling companies to generate growth and streamline operations.

Despite its success, the company has faced several challenges in the past few years. It has lost customers to larger rivals, including AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc VZ.N, and it has also experienced a drop in revenue and profits.

However, the company's management has made efforts to turn its fortunes around, launching new business models and making strategic acquisitions. It is a leader in the telecommunications industry and it continues to seek ways to grow its business and create value for shareholders.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Deutsche Telekom is a diversified telecommunications company with a strong position in Europe and a booming US business. It operates in a number of different sectors, such as payments and commercial real estate tech.

In the US, the company is primarily focused on mobile services. Its subsidiary T-Mobile USA has an excellent record of growth and is a significant competitor to AT&T and Verizon. In addition, it owns Sprint (NYSE:S), which is set to become a major player in the U.S. telecom industry once the merger is complete in 2019.

The company has not made many major acquisitions, but it has done a few small ones over time. These smaller deals, such as the purchase of a Romanian carrier, the sale of T-Mobile Netherlands and its acquisition of Austria’s Telecom Austria, have improved its market position and scale.

Its US telco operations, T-Mobile USA and T-Mobile International, have been growing at very strong rates. These companies have a large customer base and are expected to continue expanding.

T-Mobile US is the second largest wireless service provider in the United States with a customer base of 120 million, behind Verizon. It has a very competitive pricing model and a great reputation in the industry.

However, the stock has not performed well in recent months. This is largely due to the fact that many investors are not aware of the fact that the German government owns 57 percent of the company. It has been criticized by a few legislators who think that the government should reduce its holding before the deal can be completed.

As a result, the stock has been down with other European stocks. If the Euro continues to weaken, this would likely help the stock and also its U.S. assets, which have been irrationally punished by European investors because they are included in a European stock.

To counter this, the company has been increasing its dividend and repurchasing some of its own shares, which are now trading at about a 50% discount to their value. These dividend increases and the repurchases should allow for further growth.

Shareholders

One of the largest shareholders in deutsche telekom stock is the German government and its agency, Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW). KfW owns 17.3 percent of the company's shares. It has been buying more shares and reducing its stake in a series of transactions.

Another large shareholder is the United States investment group Blackstone. It purchased 4.5 percent of deutsche telekom stock for $3.3 billion. It is hoping that the purchase will help the company achieve its long-term financial goals and boost shareholder value, according to the company's announcement.

It also plans to use the money to fund future dividend increases. The dividends are a key part of the company's plan to reinvest in new technologies and networks.

The company also recently rolled out an overhaul of its corporate strategy to focus on digitalization and adapting its business models to the changing needs of customers. The changes will make it a software company that sells telecommunication services, rather than just a hardware manufacturer.

This is a big shift from the days when telecommunications networks were made up of monolithic blocks of network elements. Today, companies like DT are disaggregating their technology and moving it into the cloud. This allows them to connect with third-party networks and use their infrastructure to provide telecommunications services.

In the case of telecommunications, this involves billing-software and other backend systems. These backend systems are responsible for collecting and analyzing customer data to make pricing decisions.

If these systems are not able to comply with GDPR, will they be subjected to enforcement action or sanctions by U.S., EU, or German authorities? If not, will they be the target of new private actions for fraud and/or breach of contract?

To protect its data, deutsche telekom stock has "binding corporate rules" that it has promised to abide by. These rules are "binding" on all of the company's subsidiaries and any of its other companies that can be required to comply with them or have already adopted them on a voluntary basis.

But what if deutsche telekom stock's subsidiary T-Mobile USA doesn't subscribe to these "binding" corporate privacy rules? Does it still have to comply with the "binding" rules, or is there something in the corporate law that prevents it from doing so?

Dividends

One of the coolest perks of being a shareholder of this German company is the opportunity to participate in its annual dividend payout. The company pays out an impressively large sum each year, and it has a long and distinguished history of making its shareholders happy. Despite its size, the company manages to stay on top of its game thanks to some innovative corporate strategies and a healthy dose of luck. In a nutshell, there's a reason why this stock has been a KfW staple for so long. The company is also one of the few surviving German telecoms. If you're on the hunt for a good value telecommunications stock, deutsche telekom should be at the top of your list. You'll be rewarded with top-notch service and competitive paycheques, not to mention a hefty chunk of the local economy.

After all, it's not every day that you get a free piece of the country's largest phone company, let alone one of the most innovative and coveted German telecommunications companies in the business.

#shareholder #dividends #telecommunications

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belovedsemi1995 · 2 years ago

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BT project RESEARCH <History of Telecommunications>

BT claim they are the first telecommunications company - which feels like a massive claim to make. Especially as telecommunications is one of the oldest forms of communication worldwide

Prehistoric era

fires, beacons, smoke signals, communication drums, horns etc…

Used these signals to code messages

Limited geographical area

Limited contact to those who received their messages

Needed to be simple, pre decided meanings

6th Century BCE

Mail

Cyrus the Great (Persian emperor)

Empire was so massive that communication was extremely difficult

Established first postal system in history of the world

Egypt, Rome and China (other great massive empire’s of the time - similarly followed)

5th Century BCE

Pigeon Post

Persia and Syra credited as first pigeon system

They had an ability to find their way back to their nest regardless of distance

Travelers would take them with them, write a message and release them, to end the message back home

Romans later on used them to report outcomes of sporting events

Egyptians for military communications

4th Century

Hydraulic Semaphore

Designed in ancient Greece

Method of communication

Vital during first Punic War

Network of identical containers on separate hills, each with vertical rod floated in it

Predetermined codes inscribed at various intervals

Would signal another with a torch

They would synchronize and open their spigots and drain water until it was at the desired code

Limits as smoke signals

Messages must be predetermined prior to sending

Circa 490 BCE

Heliographs

First documented during famous greek battle of marathon that took place on 490 BCE

Shining sun on a polished object (ex. shield)

15th Century CE Maritime flag semaphore Special code involving positions of two hand held flags Position and motion represented a letter or number Easy for fleets to communicate

1672 First experimental acoustic telephone Robert Hooke Sound could be transmitted over a wire or string into an attached earpiece / mouth piece

1790 Semaphore lines Maritime flags inspiration Chappe Brothers (french inventors) Optical telegraph system in 1790 System of pendulums set up somewhere high Telegraph would swing its mechanical arms around and sign messages from one tower to the next First telecommunications system in europe

1838 Electric telegraph Samuel B Morse (Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale) When connecting two model telegraphs together and running electricity though wire you could send a message by holding or releasing the buttons in a series of intervals Morse code and laid foundation for modern landline phones

1858 First trans Atlantic telegraph cable US and UK had telecommunication stations and able to communicate within their own countries Cryus Field (NY) wanted to connect both countries Completed in 1858

1867 Signal lamps Dots and dashes flashed by signal lamps at sea British admiral Phillip Colomb To help ships communicate easily Similar to morse code Morse code became more used

Current timeline 1876: telephones 1877: acoustic phonograph 1880: telephony via light beam photophones 1983: wireless telegraph 1896: Radio 1915: first north american transcontinental telephone calling 1927: television 1927: First Uk and US radio-telephone service 1930: first experimental videophones 1934: first commercial radio telephone service 1936: first world wide public videophone network 1946: limited capacity mobile telephone service for automobiles 1956: transatlantic telephone cable Etc…

Franic Ronalds First working telegraph 1816 Static electricity

Charles Wheatstone and William Fothergill Cooke (BT) patented 5-needle, 6-wire system which entered commercial use in 1838 Operated along Great Western Railway 9th April 1839 They did not believe their invention was not new but added to an existing electromagnetic telegraph innovation Improvement Not a company until 1846

6 January 1838 Atlantic ocean Samuel Morse of morse code Developed on 2 September 1937 Alfred Veil saw this and helped him register this; telegraph terminal that integrated a logging device for recording messages to paper tape By 1851, their lines expanded across 20 000 miles of the US

Claude Chappe 1792 French engineer First visual telegraphy system between Lille and Paris Strasbourg to Paris Rotating beams of wood Abandoned in 1880

Abraham Edelcrantz’s 1794 Swedish Stockholm to drottningholm Relied on shutters Abandoned in 1880

America Telegraph system in 1844 and ran for 3 years by the US Post office Pioneering washington to Baltimore line Private telegraph companies also were in operation Meaning BT in 1846 - may be the first British telecoms but not the first internationally. The US likely was first. They had the invention but it seems like the US was quicker at monopolizing the invention. Western union - 1st telecommunications monopoly form in 1856 by 5 smaller forms Civil war used this form of communications

Charles Wheatstone and William Fothergill Cooke (BT); did not believe they were the first to do something but rather added to previous inventions. Telecommunications have been around since language itself existed. Saying it is the first company undermines a lot of the preexisting history of communication. As well, systems used globally were in place but companies have a very capitalistic approach to the world - equivalent companies would exist in the ancient world too but had a different name and different technology to do the same thing.

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