#need this man BIBLICALLY IM SERIOUS

[saatoruus]

summary ⭑.ᐟ your spouse/bf/etc xiangli comes home late from work (as usual) after not seeing you at all. he missed you sooooo much you wont be able to walk without wobbling for the morning after !

w.c. 900

warnings ! anypov, lovesick xiangli, no dialogue, nsfw, tame/vanilla, sex !!! mdni

a.n ´ˎ˗ just a littl one for tonighttt.... ive been 2 busy w commissions and staring at him ingame to rly write much but (batting eyelashes) its always so fun when i do !!! stay tuned for ur next installment in ???yrs

xiangli wasnt usually one for intimacy, nor did he exactly have the time to indulge in anything like that — not with countless responsibilities, the moon tree lodge, festival and his regular expected research progress. god, if anyone needed a break, it was yao.

and that's exactly what he got when he started properly going out with you, 'work breaks' in copious amounts. it was a wonder how he even kept his head on straight most days. in fact, his situation was almost entirely flipped on its head after you two were official. the both of you went at it like damn rabbits; whenever he'd have a gap in his schedule or some time to kill without it being long enough to take you out somewhere nice n' proper, it'd usually result in two tangled, out of breath bodies pressed up so close it almost seemed like you had melded together into one.

it was especially frequent when he finally got home after a lengthy day—and near night—at the academy without being able to see you briefly inbetween projects, his coat being slipped hastily from his shoulders, those soft lips pressed so tenderly up against yours, ever gentle, despite the gnawing need in his chest for you close to him. his hands would always follow that same path: starting on your hips - a gentle squeeze, a tug so you'd be pulled flush against his own - so close that the hard outline of him was evident against the crease of your thigh meeting your hip, despite clothed. up your waist, achingly slowly, as if you weren't desperate enough for him already, he took his sweet time, always, making sure you soaked in every ounce of pleasure and anticipation he gave you.

those long, deft fingers would trace every little line and section he could; as if a calculation, his quiet appreciation for your anatomy, your soft skin beneath his fingertips. after your waist it was your chest, the cold of his robotic arm sending goosebumps rising in its wake. by now, he was grinning, aptly aware of each shuddering little breath that left you, each soft gasp or feeble grasp at his pants waistband, you were just as lovesick as he was, and it made his eyes near sparkle in the dim light of your livingroom.

it wasnt long before the two of you, beyond worked up, were in your shared bed; soft orange glow from the lamp in the corner settling beautiful shadows across that pretty face of his. the way he looked at you when you were together, sex or not, had your heart swelling in your chest, drawing out a smile every time. he was infinitely gentle until specified otherwise, more than happy to give it to you rougher than normal when you wanted it. but tonight, the dull, slight sound of his robotic hand working the sex between your legs was just a quiet background element behind the two pairs of laboured, heavy breaths and mumbled kisses.

it was almost painful how good he was with that damn thing. granted, he was renown for being... practically a genius, it was unsurprising that he'd made something so seamlessly human in its motions—despite how scrambled your poor pleasure-drunk brain was as a result of the metal fingers on and around you, you were always quietly impressed by the fact, especially in moments like these when he really put it to use with you.

his free hand, the warm one with stars marked across the knuckles, was on your face, in your hair, anything close to you - he loved just feeling you, skin on skin. desperate, incoherent and slurred-together praises were mumbled against your lips and your neck as his hips rolled, meeting yours in the middle with a wet, gentle sound. you had been going at it so long, so passionately and slowly that you were fit to burst by the time he started suckling marks into the expanse of your throat, licking and babbling softly into the skin there.

he always relished in the way your legs would wrap his waist when you got close, your hands squeezing and pulling him so close it was almost hard to continue at the pace that brought you to the brink - but he always did, eager and more than happy to please his beloved, even when the tight wet of your sex held on so tight he swore he saw stars. it'd be criminal for him not to fill you up to the brim every time, how could he not? he'd watch with nothing but love written all over his face as it leaked out in a drool when he pulled back - not before peppering you in kisses and praise, naturally - his hands palming the hair from your eyes as he made sure you were satisfied and alright.

it was difficult to properly respond right away often times, with the aftershocks of your shared orgasm making your legs twitch and your entrance squeeze around what was once him nestled sweetly inside. but when the pair of you were confident the other was ready for either another round or some snuggling turned sleep, he'd oblige.

© saatoruus ! do not repost, translate, plagiarize or use my work anywhere

[johndonneswife]

i have a serious problem called ‘being normal’ and it manifests in such an undeniable way when i’m around random friends who know nothing about 1d / my ~internet history~ because sometimes a random h*rry song will start playing wherever we are and i’ll just go: ‘oh. did you hear he died?’

and the worst part is that im so earnest about it people BELIEVE me and then eventually it’s just like ‘oh kari why’d you lie about that ugly man being dead? why would you do that? what’s his deal?’ and then i have to pretend to be normal agaaaain and again and again and not say shit like ‘and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray’ because if i start quoting matthew they’re going to think i’m religious and i can’t have people thinking that, so then i’ll have to correct myself by saying ‘no i was just deeply obsessed with the biblical elements on the cw’s supernatural in 2014 and need a lobotomy’

and then i’m digging my own grave all over again. i fear

[futurewriter2000]

Rocks and Dust

A/N: I don't know why Remus gave me such Heath Ledger vibes when I was writing this but he did and I am honestly so fucking proud of it. Now, I really want to make myself some rice and chicken... or just rice. I hope you like it <3

REQUESTED BY @cloudywitchh: Hiiii, Im not sure if your requests are open, but if they are i have one. :)) Before I request, I want you to know that I love your oneshots and series! ive been binge reading. Could you possibly do a Gryffindor reader that has both james and remus that like her. oneshot or series. if you choose to write it, thank you, if not i understand

XX

Souls meet when eyes do and it hasn't been much easy to hold yourself back when such mesmerising hazel eyes had done nothing but watch you seductively.

At first you couldn't feel it but after a while, something in the back of your mind told you to look a certain direction. When you did, your eyes met his and a certain colour started to appear on your cheeks.

You watched him, he watched you. "Yes, Potter?" you asked with a smirk forming on the corner of your lips.

He smiled, tilting his head a bit to the side before speaking. "Had you done something new with your hair?" he asked, glancing up at your hair as you let out a laugh.

"Not really."

"Well, no matter of it." he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "You look absolutely stunning."

You felt your heart flutter in your chest but you were not about to let him know that. "Thank you. When don't I look absolutely stunning." you joked and he rolled his eyes.

"Hey, mate." Remus came into the common room and tapped James' shoulder as he passed him by, sitting next to him.

James smile faded a bit. He was a tad disappointed in his friend's presence. Everything had seemed to go so well between you and him. If the two of you continued to be alone, he would have had more confidence to ask you out on a date. Knowing that Remus took fancy in you too, it was a bit challenging to do so.

"What's up, Moony?" James looked at him, clearly not in a friendliest tone Remus was used to.

Remus' lips twirled upwards and he felt amused by his friends' frustration. He looked at you and smiled wonderfully. "Hi." he said and you smiled cheerfully, oblivious to the competition in front of you.

"Hi, Remus."

You seemed to be a tad disappointed as well. You loved to flirt with James because it seemed so easy and fun to do yet sometimes you couldn't understand whether he truly likes you or if he's doing it just out of fun. But you live by your mother's words; If a man truly likes you, he will do absolutely everything to let you know and pursue you.

That was why you were always so laid back. You didn't overthink anything when it came to boy. They seemed to think more simply than girls and whatever they did, they did because they wanted to, not because there was a whole scheme behind their actions.

You could see a bit discomfort in James. You couldn't really figure out why but he started to pout, which had made you a bit more uncomfortable around both of them.

Remus, however, loved to talk to you. He was open and honest but sometimes you felt as if he held too many secrets inside of him. To you, he was a bit harder to get to know, no matter how much he could tell you.

"You're going to love this, (y/n)!" he started to sound more excited. "I had found the oldest yet most interesting place a few nights ago-" he hear- both of you heard James scoff to that. "And I know your curious spirit cannot wait to explore it."

"Where?!" you threw all your books away and jumped forward. Old ruins and historic backgrounds always made you overly excited. You must have gotten it from your dad's side of the family. Everybody seemed to be more of history freaks and you were no different.

"I can show you. What do you think James?" Remus turned to James, who only laughed.

"No, thank you." he stood up and stretched his arms over his body. "Rocks and dust? Not my cup of tea. If I wanted to take a girl I fancy-" he looked at you with a grin and a soft chuckle. "I'd take her somewhere more romantic." he walked to you and winked. "A lovely restaurant or a walk among the trees under the moonlight." he was leaning down to you, close and observing the flush in your cheeks.

Your eyes were meeting and it lit a fiery spark between the two of you but as you didn't want to give him the pleasure of it, you rolled your eyes and moved away. "That's a bit of a cliche, isn't it, Potter?" you stood up and stretched your back as well. "I don't do romance." you turned from James to Remus and smiled excitedly. "Shall we go and explore!?"

"Yes we shall."

---

Remus hasn't felt you this excited over some 'rocks and dust' in all the years he had known you but he had felt his heart fill with joy and love when he could see how a person can live for the small things in life. You didn't care about wealth or power, neither if a person was physically beautiful and attractive. You neither cared if person had its flaws, you still loved anybody for who they were; good or evil. You always tried to look the best in people and your gift was, that you always seemed to bring out just that out of everybody and especially out of him.

As the two of you had walked, he had realised that he wants to tell you something important to him. It wasn't a secret to his friends and family but it was a shameful secret to him and to everybody else.

"Can I tell you something?" he asked as the two of you were climbing up the hill.

"Yeah." you stopped, gasping for air and putting your hands on your hips. "I think we need to rest too." you smiled and he laughed.

"It's not that far. We're almost close."

"My heart is almost close to stopping too."

He laughed again and sat on the rock, finding the moon shining on him as if it was leaving its fullness from a few days ago. "I just have the need to tell you this... and I'm serious."

You looked up at him and found the moon perfectly cut out the colour of his green eyes. "Your eyes look so pretty in the moonlight." you said without any filter but sat down next to him.

"Thank you."

You smiled and looked up at the moon before taking a look of his worried expression. "What is it?" you shoved him a little as he smiled. "You can tell me your deepest darkest secret." you joked but it was no joke to him.

"Well... I'm... I'm a werewOlf." he stuttered out, trying to sound casually as he said so but unsuccessful.

You only stared in silence, clearly processing the information as he was impatient to wait for your reaction. Your eyes only narrowed at him and you nodded. "I knew it."

"You knew it?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I mean, I didn't know it. I just know there was something to you that I couldn't put my finger on but I kind of knew it. It did cross my mind once but I brushed it off quickly. I didn't believe it but apparently my intuition was on to something." you laughed and stood up, offering him your hand. "Shall we continue?"

"You don't seem a tad phased by it." he took your hand gently and stood up.

"Oh, I am but I really don't mind people being people. You know?" you started to talk fast. "I don't judge people by their flaws, more by their actions and I don't seem why your werewolfness would bother me when there are far worse withces, wizards and Muggles in this world, who are far more worse than any werewolf I had encounter. Which, you're the first but still. You don't seem the one to eat children and howl at the moon."

He let out a loud laugh. "I don't eat children but I do the latter."

---

The two of you walked up the hill hand in hand, him trying to pull you up as his steps were much larger than yours. He was more of muscles than you, faster and careful as for you seemed to trip over a branch or two.

He had opened up as the two of you made your way to the top and started to walk on the flatlands. It stretched far away from the castle but you could see the ruins so clearly from the distance. The light of he moon made the subject far more pleasing to the eye and at that moment when Remus was talking to you and your eyes seemed to wander on the view- everything seemed to be perfect and you imprinted that moment into your memory so that you can look back and re-live it all over again.

As he talked, he seemed more lose and excited. He hadn't held back on anything. He had told you about Animagnus forms of his friends and how he isn't the only one who howls at the moon. Sirius apparently loves to do it just as well in his other form. He had constantly made you laugh by his full moon stories and how he accepted the awful fact of his life-long destiny of sharing his body with a beast.

He was glowing, literally glowing when he was telling you all the things he was hiding from you and for the first time, you were the one to listen and he was the one constantly talking.

"We're here!" he pointed at the ruins of an old castle. It wasn't big or notorious as Camelot or Hogwarts or any other historically known castle. It was small and poor in it's built but it was still a castle, just not the traditional kind.

He let go of your hand and it gave you a sort of an electrical shock as he did. You seemed to be so comfortable and in love of holding hands that you completely forgot what it was like without his fingers intertwined with yours.

It wasn't for long though. He had opened the old wooden door for you and offered you his hand to lead you inside. "After you, m'lady." he bowed as a gentleman should and you hurried up inside, taking him by the hand and leading him behind you.

Your wands needn't to be lit as the moonlight made it's own natural light through the large gaps between the rocks. Nature made it's own charm by growing vines around the walls, flowers and grass among the cracks. It truly did feel more magical than the magic itself.

"Oh, Remus look!" you ran to one of the walls and saw names carved in. "Ibzan." you smiled back at him.

"Old biblical name." Remus followed and saw many other names written around it. "Arthur." he laughed. "Wouldn't be an English castle without an Arthur in it."

"Tatiana." you looked at it. "Like a princess." you looked at him but he seemed to be very close to you, staring forward. His chest was against your back and his head leaning over your shoulder. You didn't have to look back. You could only move your eyes to the side and see him there.

He seemed to be so focused on the rocks in front of you that he hasn't even noticed you marvelling at him. All you could see, for the first time noticing his sharp, nicely structured side profile. His cheek bones were finely defined, his lips sharp and plump and his eyebrows nicely arched.

He truly was a beautiful boy and you hadn't noticed it till now. His palm was placed against the rock as he was supporting himself but when he had noticed you looking at him, he slyly looked back. A corner of his mouth quirked up and he said: "A girl doesn't need to be a princess to have a beautiful name." he spoke low and quietly.

The spark that James lit before was over-flamed by the passion Remus arroused in you. Before you knew it, he was leaning down and kissed you softly. One short kiss and it was enough to tempt you for more. You put your hand around his neck and pulled him down for me, smiling into it as you had felt him smile as well. As heavy as they felt, they seemed light as well because no kisses seemed to be as perfect as his; soft, teasing yet deep and passionate.

When he placed his hand on your cheek you could feel the dust set on your skin. You let out a giggle and he pulled away. "What?" he smiled but then just noticed how dark your cheek was. "Oh, my-" he let out a laugh, then looked back on the wall his palm was pressed on before. "I am terribly sorry."

You laughed as well. "Don't worry." you continued to laugh and wipe it away. "It'll probably wash away."

"Probably." he tilted his head a bit and gave you a peck. "And we should probably head back."

Putting your arms around his neck, you made a big stretch and looked up at the sky. "Ugh..." you looked back into his green eyes, burning your soul into sparks and bitses. "But it's so beautiful here." you let out a small whine and he chuckled.

"Well, (y/n)(y/l/n). I didn't think you did romance." he teased.

"I don't. I let the man do all the romance for me." you stepped on your tiptoes and brushed your nose against his.

"That's a bit unfair."

"I wouldn't worry if I were you, Lupin. I have time to make it fair."

"Glad to hear it."

[benevolentbirdgal]

“Thirteen” Tips on Writing Jewish Characters / Some  Jewish Identity Stuff Explained

So you want to write a Jewish character, but don’t want to write a caricature? Or are worried they won’t register as Jewish to readers, or something will be off or wrong? Well I, friendly (virtual) neighborhood Jewish professional, am here to help! 

Note: The Jewish community is made up of roughly 14 million people worldwide with all sorts of backgrounds, practices, life circumstances, and beliefs. I’m just one American Jew, but I’ve had exposure to Jewishness in many forms after living in 3.5 states (at several different population densities/layouts), attending Jewish day school and youth groups, doing Jewish college stuff, and landing a job at a Jewish non-profit. I’m speaking specifically in an American or Americanish context, though some of this will apply elsewhere as well. 

Let’s start with the word “Jew.” It’s not inherently a slur, but can absolutely be used as one. I am a Jew. You can call me a Jew, just not a Jew. Like most minority groups, there are slurs against us, but Jew is the proper demonym. It can be used disrespectfully as a noun, but isn’t inherently disrespectful. Think “Chava is a Jew” versus “You’re being such a Jew.” 1a. Any use of Jew as a verb by gentiles (non-Jews) is not okay. Your Jewish characters should be horrified by someone telling them they “Jewed down the price.” 1b. Any use of Jewess by gentiles is not okay and your Jewish character should not be cool with it.  1c. Many Jews would actively prefer to be called such because that’s what we are and “Jewish person” is stepping away from our Jewishness. But I get that not everybody is going to be comfortable calling us Jews. That’s okay, and “Jewish person/people” or “X is Jewish” is TOTALLY ACCEPTABLE.  1d. With that said, Jewish people refers to ourselves as Jews. If Sarah is Jewish but is squicked about referring to herself as a Jew, your Jewish readers will immediately know she’s written by a gentile.  1e. Actual slurs against Jews is a post for another time (did you know K*ke literally means circle?). 

Your Jewish-American character likely does not speak Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, or any other Judeo-Language (languages that are a mix of Hebrew and at least one other language, typically written in the Hebrew abjad). Three notes on this, however: 2a. If your character is an immigrant or the child of an immigrant, they might speak the Judeo-language of the old country. The most common will be Israeli-Americans speaking Hebrew, but families still speaking Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic, and other families do still exist. The children of Jewish immigrants might also speak another language that isn’t a Jewish one, like Russian or Spanish.  2b. If they are in a VERY religious Ashkenazi community, they might speak Yiddish at home and in the community.  2c. Odds are decent, however, that your American Jew can read but not understand Hebrew. If your character went to Jewish Day School or Yeshiva, they definitely read Hebrew, and will have some understanding of it (but likely not fluency). 

Despite what I just said above, your Jewish-American character likely drops a lot of Yiddish words and phrases into their day-to-day speech. Which words/phrases in probably a list for another time, but the most common will be foods, family names (i.e. “Zayde” instead of Grandpa), and sassy expressions. They may incorporate some Hebrew to a lesser extent. 

There’s not just one version of kosher. There’s kosher, kosher-style, Halav Yisrael, glatt kosher, etc. Depending on your character’s level of kosher, they’ve need a hecksher (kosher mark) on any given item or only eat at kosher restaurants, although not all Jews keep kosher and many keep “kosher-style” (i.e. only eat theoretically kosher things).

Your Jewish character should be a whole character, both in general and in relation to their Jewishness. This means, among other things, that they aren’t obsessed with Israel and I/P discourse one way or the other and that while writing you remember that not all Israelis are Jews and not all Jews are Israelis. Your Jewish character is not constantly agonizing over the I/P situation, has a life outside of their Jewishness, and shouldn’t be a cardboard stand-in for your desire to discuss the middle east. 

The Jewish experience varies dramatically with geography. Jews living in Omaha, Richmond, Philly, Kansas City, Boca Raton, and New York City are all American Jews. They will have drastically different Jewish experiences. I strongly recommend doing research on the Jews in the specific place your story takes places, but generally:  6a. The closer you are to the northeast coast and NYC (except south Florida) the better and more varied your Jewish resources.  6b. NYC has the highest Jewish population of any city on the planet. Big cities like Boston, Chicago, and L.A., as well as just outside of NYC in NJ and NYS, and suburban/exburb south Florida will have lots of Jewish resources: day schools (Jewish + secular education mix), maybe Yeshivas (Jewish focus), multiple synagogues, a Jewish Community Center, Jewish dating services, social stuff, Jewish charities, and youth activities. Your character will have other Jewish friends and their gentile friends will likely know other Jews. Antisemitism is still a problem and usually takes the form of excluding Jews from activism, thinly-veiled stereotyping or excusing antisemitism from people from other oppressed groups, but it’s usually not as overt as elsewhere. Almost always safe to disclose Jewishness.  6c. Small and mid-size cities Denver, Virginia Beach, Charleston, and Harrisburg will have a JCC or Jewish federation, multiple synagogues, and maybe a Jewish day school. Your character is not the only Jew their gentile peers have met, but the bagels are meh. They will have other Jews to bond and commiserate with. Antisemitism here is mostly like that in big cities with occasional burst of overt incidents and attacks. It is generally physically safe for them to disclose Jewishness.  6d. Big towns and small cities in the south or mid-west will have maybe one synagogue - probably reform or Chabad. Your character will have to seek out Jewish spaces, but they will be easy to find. They will not be everybody’s First Jew, but it will be unusual. Antisemitism here is mostly overt - most of the antisemites your character deals with will be very obvious and many will be violent. Jews in such situations will not hide their Jewishness per se, but will be more selective in choosing to disclose it.  6e. Rural areas and small-small towns will not have a synagogue. Your character and their family may be the only Jews or there might be a small group that meets on occasion or carpools to the nearest synagogue. They will have to actively seek out the others Jews and they will be difficult to find. Disclosing their Jewishness is a serious consideration and not always safe. Odds are they are many people’s First Jew, which gets really weird real fast. Beyond the harmless ignorant-but-trying-to-learn-from-their-first-Jew types your character will interact with, there’s also violent and overt antisemitism here.  6f. If your character is in college, they will likely have a Chabad and/or a Hillel on campus if they are at a large school or a school with a significant Jewish population. 

Related: when Jews meet each other for the first time, a game of “Jewish geography” ensues as they try and trace people they know in the other person’s state/city/community. 

Jews come in all shapes, colors, sizes, genders, sexualities, politics, and religious beliefs. There are all sorts of Jewish people with tons of different intersecting identities. Don’t box yourself in to writing one kind of Jew. Just research a ton on the particular subsection of the Jewish community your character is a part of - a Mizrachi-Jewish Persian-American bisexual woman is going to have a different experience than a straight Ethiopian-American Jewish man who is going to have different experience from a queer Ashkenazi-Jewish-American girl with non-Jewish family.  8a. Jews with Ashkenazi (eastern/northern European) ancestry and customs are the biggest group in the U.S., but by no means the only group or representative of every Jew. Sephardi (Spanish/southern European/north Africa), and Mizrachi (north Africa and the middle east) are the next biggest groups. It would not be unusual for your character to have Polish-Jewish, Iraqi-Jewish, Moroccan-Jewish, or Russian Jewish ancestry or a mix.  8b. Each of these groups have their own customs, Judeo-languages, local holidays, and local historic tragedies. Generally, historic Sephardi communities were linked between themselves, historic Ashkenazi communities were linked between themselves, and historic Mizarchi communities were linked between themselves. The three had some, but limited contact. Additionally, all three major groups have subdivisions within them.  8c. There are also smaller groups that don’t fall within the three traditional categories, like the Ethiopian Jews, the Cochin Jews (India), Chinese Jews, Gruzim (Georgian), and more. Most of these smaller groups were not in contact with the wider Jewish world.  8d. All Jewish groups start from the same base texts (the written Torah), and the majority include the oral Torah as well. Local interpretations and traditions develop, these are referred to as minhag(im) (customs). For example, the biblical commandment is to not boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk. Some communities extend this to mean no chicken and milk, others reason that chickens don’t produce milk so the mixture is acceptable. Both are equally valid interpretations rooted in tradition, but they are different.  8e. Marrying between Jewish subgroups in the U.S. is super common and outside of extreme or really intense groups is not frowned upon. Traditionally, the father’s minhagim are followed, i.e. a Syrian-Jewish father and a Spanish-Jewish mother would follow the Syrian-Jewish minhagim with their children. Many modern couples choose the mother’s traditions or mix them up, but that’s the traditional route. 

Unless they are VERY religious, your character’s family is unlikely to be particularly wound up about them being LGBTQ the way a comparably Christian family might, at least not because they’re Jewish. Samuel’s Jewish mother is likely unconcerned he likes boys and is much more empathetic than he must marry a Jewish boy and raise any kids Jewish. 

There are so many Jewish holidays, and they are not all celebrated the same or with the same intensity. Probably enough material for its own post, but the ones most likely celebrated by your character: 10a. Shabbat and/or Havdalah. Shabbat starts Friday nights with candles, wine/grape juice and challah bread, Havdalah ends Shabbat with a braided candle, wine, and aromatic spices. Shabbat dinner is usually a meat meal and it is common to invite guests or eat with friends and family (in normal times).  10b. The “High Holidays” - Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Jewish students often skip school for these. Yom Kippur is a 25 hour fast with services all day, Rosh HaShanah has services in the evening and morning.  10c. Passover - arguably the most important holiday. Celebrated with two sometimes agonizingly long Seders (ritual meals), family gatherings, and abstaining from leavened bread for 7/8 days.  10d. Hanukkah - Not actually that spiritually important, but culturally important for American Jews. Typically celebrated with candle lighting, presents, visits to family members, and greasy food. 

There’s a lot of wine involved in Jewish ritual, so it’s unlikely your character’s Jewish family are teetotalers. 

Jewish families tend to be very intense, loud, opinioned, caring, and involved, compared to many other assimilated American families. Shabbat dinner is not quiet. Dissent is a Jewish value - differing opinions are allowed (and expected in many circles), as is the ability to argue/defend competently. 

Jewishness can mean ethnic identity, cultural identity, and/or religion. There are several major denominations religiously, although that needs to be its own post in detail. The noteworthy movements at this point are Orthodox (further subdivided into Ultraorthodox and Modern Orthodox), Conservative (middle of the road, no relation to conservative politics), Reform, and Reconstructionist (both very “choose your own/your community’s adventure).

Probably will write more parts in the future, but this is heinously long already! Hope this is helpful!

[junionigiri]

BNHA Rarepair Month - Day 17 - Future

for @bnha-rarepair-month​ -- waaah im late

Summary: Shiozaki Ibara is concerned about Hatsume Mei's future.

Relationship: Shiozaki Ibara / Hatsume Mei (ShioMei)

Rating: T

Warnings/Notes: Flanderized, yandere!Shiozaki (but I don’t think it’s as extreme as it could be)... also, OOC Mei

Links: AO3 | FFNet

The moment Hatsume Mei lay her eyes over Shiozaki Ibara, she knew that this girl will be the end of her.

She can’t even remember how their paths crossed. Mei isn’t one to remember names or faces of her classmates or of her clients in the hero courses, instead she remembers them by their distinct traits and the support items they use--for example, billboard muffler-legs and broken-arms with supports and brainwasher with artificial vocal cords. She can probably pick them out in a crowd and tell you with confidence how the items she’d lovingly made worked with their quirks. But ask her about who that person is, their hero names, what they stand for? She'd probably stare at you quizzically, with a I don't understand the question and I refuse to acknowledge it kind of expression on her face, and resume working on her babies.

Yet, Shiozaki Ibara… of course the first name she remembers is hers. It's baffling and astonishing that Hatsume Mei recognizes a human being other than Powerloader-sensei,  and she is loath to admit that fact to anyone, even herself.

She remembers her as clearly as the blueprints to her baby jetpack legs--a girl from one of the hero classes who thinks that most hero costumes are useless vanities and support items are massive displays of human arrogance. “One needs only their God-given quirks to fight,” she declared loudly enough for Mei to hear, as a response to some extra or another who asked her why she has chosen to fight her battles in nothing but a flimsy white pillowcase. Without even bothering to wear sandals, even in the wintertime. Her power remains fearsome, all the same.

It’s impressive to many, yet all Mei sees is, funnily enough, a massive display of human arrogance.

For the first time ever, the machinist feels a strong human emotion for a fellow human being, and not a machine. And of course, of all things, it has to be contempt. Granted, Mei doesn’t know that it’s contempt at first, because all her life she’s never felt anything but detachment for organic life-forms.

Which is why, on this fateful encounter with her, Mei declares her beliefs loudly for the thorny girl to hear. “I don’t believe in God, I believe in science.” And she does it while she’s working on one of her latest babies, the leg-engine glasses dude’s set of armor. It’s merely an experiment, of course, one that’s admittedly loaded with bias with poor outcome measures, but she tries it out just the same.

Shiozaki turns her frighteningly blank green eyes at her, and she knows her hypothesis is correct. Mei feels a little proud of herself for being able to produce a frown on that perfect angelic mug of hers.

She makes a show of ignoring her, instead keeps her eyes on the machines in front of her. From the corner of her eyes, she sees the mesmerizing way she moves, as if she’s walking on water on a dark and stormy night. The scent of olives tickles her nose, even through her face-mask, as the vine-girl comes closer to her.

“I see a lamb lost in the valley of the shadow of death.” Her voice is chilly as it enters Mei’s ears. A thorny vine curls around her neck and pricks the bottom of her chin lightly, as Shiozaki uses this to turn her head to face her.

“What was that? Sorry, I can't hear you over the sounds of sound scientific reasoning,” Mei quips, in a tone that’s hopefully sharper than her thorns.

Shiozaki stares at her, her mouth slightly agape at her retort. It’s satisfying only for a second, because in the next moment there’s an absolutely condescending look in those cold eyes. As if she’s looking at a wretched orphan caught stealing from the church coffers. “As I’ve said, I see you are truly lost. Swayed by earthly temptations, misguided by these these idolatrous adornments. You godless machinists are all the same.”

Mei is wearing a set of thick goggles and a face mask, but she finds herself fighting to keep a straight face at how piercing Shiozaki’s gaze is. The tightening vines around her don’t help, either.

She tries not to falter as she says with a challenging grin, “I’ll take godless machinist as a compliment, thank you. But do me a favor and not call my babies earthly temptations. They don't deserve being sullied by the likes of you.”

Shiozaki hums contemplatively. She keeps her two hands clasped in front of her, like she’s praying to God for strength and enlightenment. “A shepherd must return all sheep to its flock. What must I do to bring you to the path of righteousness and away from eternal damnation…?” she mumbles, blatantly ignoring Mei’s yelps as the vines keep winding around her, closer. Tighter.

Mei’s arms are bound to her side as they entwine around her like ropes. The thorns poke through her clothes and through her thick work gloves. They draw no blood, but perhaps they will if she struggles. It’s only a matter of time before the machinist is lifted off the ground by Shiozaki’s quirk.

“I for one, forgive you for all your transgressions, my little lamb. If I act quickly… I can see your future in striking, heavenly clarity, Hatsume Mei,” she says with an enlightened smile that’s creepy in all possible ways. “I know now what I must do.”

Before she can ask what she means by ‘her future in striking, heavenly clarity’--because it sounds suspiciously like the girl has every intention of sending her to the other side, if such a thing exists-- thick vines wrap around Mei’s mouth, sealing any and all future complaints. The scent of herbs and flowers floating across a quiet stream overwhelm all her senses, until her mind forgets the comforting and familiar scent of grease and iron and steel. Quickly, before she is able to struggle and let the thorns shred through her skin, Shiozaki is already calling out to the dim areas of the support office, “Powerloader-sensei, I am borrowing one of your disciples. I need to save her from eternal damnation.”

Mei starts to protest, but the blasted vines are still around her mouth. Powerloader is just a tad surprised at the development, but shrugs. “Um… sure, Shiozaki-kun. Can you feed her something while you’re at it? She hasn’t eaten anything in a day.”

“Ask and you shall receive. I shall feed both her body and spirit,” answers Shiozaki, already turning away. “For man cannot live on bread alone.”

Mei doesn’t need bread, she needs science! Besides, from this interaction alone, she’s sure that Shiozaki’s going to feed her tasteless flatbread without anything on it! Not that Mei would oppose to that--she’d eat anything, if she can eat it quickly and has enough nutrients to last her until her next meal 24 hours later.

Her sensei is unperturbed though. Even seems relieved that Mei’s having such a prolonged interaction with anybody else, even though that person happens to be someone with serious delusions of grandeur. “Uh, sure. That’d work. A bath would be nice too.”

“I shall submerge her body in waters as pure as the River Jordan and cleanse her spirit anew.”

More like slam-dunk her in a nonconsensual baptism! Some of the vines move, as if they’re ready to undress Mei as soon as Shiozaki wills it. She screams fruitlessly once more.

“And sleep?”

“If she is weary, she shall rest forever in the fields of Eden after I am done with her.”

“Okay, that’ll do. Thank you kindly.”

You Judas! Powerloader-sensei!!! While Mei isn’t one for biblical references, this is what she chooses to uselessly scream within the vines as she feels herself being carried away.

After she’s threatened to feed her bread, drown her, and take her to her eternal resting place with Powerloader-sensei’s blessing, she gives an eerie, self-satisfied smile up at the struggling Mei. “Worry not, little lamb. I shall be the angel who will guide you to the light.”

“Mmmmph!!!!” cries Mei, locking in her zoomy eyes over her beloved teacher, who looks a little too much like a man who’s suffered centuries of misfortune (or a semester full of explosions in his precious laboratory) suddenly had something right happen in his life for a change.

“No flirting in my office, please,” Powerloader calls out brightly as they leave the room.

[demonphannie]

dan and phil - august 2017

8/12

first week (1-7): the lesters are visiting london! dan is amazing with bf’s (best friend’s) parents. YOUTUBERS REACT TO 90s INTERNET COMMERCIALS. mrs lester’s birthday celebration was seeing wicked at the west end! dan was there too! duncan and mimei hang out in london. new gaming video: MEET DILDDY LESTOWELL - Dan and Phil play: Dream Daddy (side note: controversy stemmed from this video in the phandom due to a remark perceived as racist about asian eyes that looked “sneaky” this part was removed from the video and dan and phil issued an apology in the caption of the viddie). more duncan and mimei #content <3. dan is a man full of joy and fun on a carousel. phil has no orienteering skills. dan is a living embodiment of the word mess (he spilled water all over his computer what a dumbo). phil thinking about toilet roll. privacy is no joke fools. REACT COMPILATION: July 2017. 

second week (8-14): granola v grayesla discourse. dan’s tinder viddie was taken down oops (here is a secret link). dan liveshow! (highlights: sad tinder video was taken down, lol week in march ask again in two months, weird sunglasses, danny’s drama den, duncan and mimei, weird friend inviting himself to see wicked with the lesters, tyler the creator is good, scared of dripping computer, hasn’t seen in a heartbeat, dream daddy talk, sims reno, mentions his gay porn star lookalikes, dan does not know what white eyeliner is, dan has no secret social media and yet is in fandoms sounds fake, dan wants to be gay at a rammstein concert thats his big dream, DAN THINKS HARRY STYLES IS GOOD AT ACTING AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM IN MORE THINGS, he likes pineapple pizza). phil is a biblical figure. new gaming video: DIL’S GRAND DESIGN - Dan and Phil Play: Sims 4 #43. more duncan and mimei content i feel good! dan is one of those white people that buys bird food as normal food because he liked the name. phil liveshow! (highlights: dan has a headache so he’s not joining in for a joint ls, jump scared this morning, it was a window cleaner, grossed out by rick and morty, eye infection phil, parents came and they saw wicked and did london things, live gaming is a maybe, hedgehog discourse, SHELTER 2 IS A MAYBE,). phil grew 500ft. new amazingphil video: Opening Ebay Mystery Boxes! 📦❓ (dan is obsessed with phil?). phil is a cannibal. good bye big ben bongs. dan is still posh rip. new gaming video: I CAN SHOW YOU THE WORLD! 🌎🤔 - Dan and Phil Play: GeoGuessr #2. 

third week (15-21): “dan” goes on a “walk” with a “friend” (this means joint liveshow later that week). phil tried to rescue a beetle to no avail. apparently flirting with a barista with puns does not work. joint liveshow! (highlights by updatedphan). phil is in a fight with thor #ripphor. kpop flavored iced tea. new gaming video: MEET HOT DADDIES IN OUR AREA! - Dan and Phil play: Dream Daddy #2. dan doesn’t trust blond people… scary warning or frank ocean reference? i guess we’ll never know. phil has the best angles im dead. phil is having a haribo crisis. new daniel howell video: How WHITE is Dan?! - DNA TEST RESULTS. dan thinks the sun is trying to become emo. phil’s excited for the prospect of sims pets. dan liveshow! (highlights by updatedphan).

fourth week (22-31): phil has a midnight snack. dan enjoys yandere roleplay. dan and phil arrive in edinburgh for a talk with sue perkins! watch the interview here. extremely attractive man tries to relate to the teenz by posting “bad” selfies to much acclaim. phil feels like he’s in game of thrones. new gaming video: THE DISASTER ARTISTS - Dan vs. Phil: 90 Second Portraits! dan is obsessed with phil pt 2. phil has a huge bruise and i’ll kill the person that did it. gaming livestream: THE PHAN-PRIX - Dan and Phil vs. SUBSCRIBERS!! dan relates to a prostrate lego man. sci-fi day! (including cornelia and martyn probs). new gaming video: THE TWILIGHT ZONE - Dan and Phil Play: Golf With Friends #3. a leaf fell on phil’s head. wow relatable autumn dan tweet. phil liveshow! (highlights: looking at someone upside down makes their eyes look like mouths, last day of august, the big c, game of thrones, phases of lava lamps, edinburgh, pretty train ride, final fantasy xv soundtrack is ace, scary tv people, stop geo-blocking and capitalism, needs new snazzy clothes, amazingslime, what’s in phil’s bag, reading week, full hand air quotes, not getting his leg out again, how he bruised his leg, it was the shelf, im going to kill the shelf, phil is a peach, phil loves finn from star wars, spooky week in the cards, dan and phil don’t have good internet hm, space museum thingy, dan jump scared phil and phil has not forgiven him, bake off, escape the room drama, ahs, no lava lamp bloop).

dan and phil? are you serious? right in front of my salad?

(hah this isn’t a month late or anything)

[mercenarypark]

medic hcs

Em made a big hc post for heavy a few days ago [here] and ive been meaning 2 finally do the same w/ medic bcause im gay

note: while i try to be brief about the details, this post is about a gay jewish man in Germany during wwii. to set aside any initial worries, no, he is never kept in the camps- as a jewish person myself it sickens me deep in my stomach to even think of that possibility. but there’s still mentions of n/zism and antisemitism, as one would expect.

also, a fair amount of the details of my medic hcs for his childhood are based on the german side of my family, primarily my grandfather and his father. while i still only know a little about my family history[tm], details like medic’s last name, how his family were able to lay low, etc, are based on the little bits and pieces ive heard from my grandmother #antisemitism #nazism #homophobia #transphobia #satanism #long post #text heavy #tf2 #gore text #medical abuse #malpractice #experimentation mention 

-Medic was born roughly around 1925- he’s in his early 40s around when the game takes place- to the name [redacted] Reichstein. the Reichsteins were reviled in their little town as mad doctors, which was at least somewhat true- they certainly weren’t shy to experimentation on body parts and [willing] subjects. but a good part of the hatred for them stemmed from Good Old Antisemitism, focusing their hate on the fact that they were an openly jewish family and saying that that must be influencing their occasionally morally dubious behavior

-for the longest time, though, people tolerated them- they were the only doctors around, after all. but as time went on, the disgusted glances turned to hate speech, turned to violent threats, and eventually, to violent actions.

-medic’s father, who had long since been debating on moving, finally packed the family up[against his wife’s wishes], and within a night, their home and lab were deserted.

-his father could tell that something terrible was coming. he brought down an ultimatum- they would have to abandon everything jewish about themselves in order to survive. medic was young, still, and didn’t fully understand the severity of why his father seemed so adamant that they never mention holidays they once celebrated, why their old family photos were torn and burned, why his mother was constantly reprimanded when her Yiddish roots showed through her accent

-medic’s father pulled a few favors, and before they moved into a new city, the family name was changed to Reich- a more acceptable, more German name. Reichstein could raise eyebrows, lead to questioning about jewish roots, but there have always been many Reichs in Germany.

-that’s also when Medic got his birthname changed to Ludwig, and he and his mother had to fight like hell for that. his father argued that the last thing they needed was another target on their back- if anyone found out that his son “wasn’t really a boy”, then that would bring the entire family under scrutiny and into danger.

-ludwig refused to take no for an answer. ludwig had always been someone who would rather die than pretend that he’s something he’s not, and this was one of the first signs of that. while he didnt fully understand his connection to judaism, yet, and thus didnt fight to keep it at the time; he DID understand that he wasn’t a girl, and by God did he refuse to pretend otherwise.

-eventually his father relented, though he never once forgot and throughout medic’s childhood, he would bring up how risky it was, how medic was potentially endangering them all.

-to clarify: his father DID technically accept his son being transgender, but he wanted him to repress it, ignore it, force it down and never bring it up, much like their jewish heritage. ludwig refused, and his father never liked that. [when ludwig grew older and became both openly gay AND became a practicing jew again, his father nearly had a fucking heart attack]

-ludwig was heavily isolated for most of his childhood after they moved, partially due to the war’s beginning, partially because his father was afraid of his son giving something away. he was homeschooled by his mother, and rarely left the house, instead spending most of his time playing with the family’s cockatoo, or in his father’s operating room, learning human anatomy

-this isolation[alongside his autism, and veritable cocktail of mental illnesses] helped contribute to medic’s general inability to understand how to interact with people- he is oblivious at the best of times, has no concept of personal space, rarely catches social cues, and has Awful attachment issues. he is overly affectionate with anyone he is even vaguely friendly with, he tends to ramble and talk about uncomfortably personal things without realizing its a bad thing, etc, etc, he is a mess and a half

-he does understand bits and pieces- for example, if he’s physically affectionate with someone, they tend to tense up, and try to get away from him, which means he’s doing something wrong. the problem is that he doesnt understand WHAT he’s doing wrong, or why it’s wrong[answer: he’s covered in blood and bird shit and holding at least one[1] human liver]

-speaking of physical affection, the first time engineer affectionately puts a hand on medic’s shoulder medic fucking freaks out because aside from his parents, NO ONE. no one has ever initiated Friendly Physical Contact with him. usually because theyre freaked out by him in some way. he has no idea how to cope with the fact that someone might actually think of him in a friendly manner to the point of expressing that physically [aside from sexually, which is a whole other story and a half]

-but im getting ahead of myself. the first time ludwig killed a man was when he was 17. a nazi soldier paid an unexpected visit to the Reichs. ludwig, scared for his family’s sake and overwhelmed with a boiling hatred for nazis that had simmered for all of his childhood, killed the man

-his father reacted violently, ranting that now they were doomed, but his mother helped ludwig destroy the body and evidence. by the grace of God, no other nazi followed up that visit- the soldier hadn’t told anyone where he was going, and there had been no witnesses to his visit. and germany was so chaotic at the time, that eventually the man's death was attributed to a previously unnoticed casualty in battle

-that was the first man ludwig killed, and also the first of many, many nazis. he spent a good stretch of his adult life hunting down nazis who had gone under the radar, trying to hide their past ties while still keeping the same disgusting views.

-as ive mentioned, in medical school, ludwig not only became openly gay, but returned to his jewish roots. no longer under his father's roof, and now that the war was over, medic saw no reason to hide aspects of himself any longer. and God help everyone who felt otherwise. especially once the most violently hateful dissenters, began to mysteriously disappear.

-throughout his adult life medic has had Multiple short term, non-serious relationships [including more than his fair share of one night stands], and maybe two serious relationships prior to heavy. neither of those ended well, citing ludwigs mental Fuckery as a big issue. speaking of, his mental fuckery has helped him get into at least a couple abusive relationships, which i wont detail beyond "he survived and healed".

-while he is Jewish, he is the kind of jew who criticizes god every step of the way. at least part of this is due to having to survive during the Shoah.

-the Shoah definitely fucked his mind up. the constant fear for his parents and himself, and the burning hatred for the nazis and everyone who agreed with them or stood back and let them take over, and just overall a horrible sense of helplessness, definitely contributed to a lot of his future mental fuckery, and to his feelings about God. as an adult, and as a doctor, he took the feeling of helplessness he had as a teenager, and flipped it around dramatically- if god didnt help him then, he’d have to become better than god. he would bring retribution where others didnt, and bring power and life to those god would not help.

-he sold his soul to satan sometime around his mid-30s. [this is a sentence that sounds really fucking weird if u dont know much about tf2.] there are a few reasons behind that, but im only gonna talk about one:

-as i've said, medic spent a lot of time murdering nazis who had tried to go into hiding. that's difficult when theyre trying very, very hard to cover up their past. medic struck a deal with satan- in exchange for the names, aliases, and locations of ex-nazis in hiding, he would kill them and send them straight to hell. his soul was just to sweeten the deal.

-ludwig does a Lot of experiments on captured and dead nazis, especially the painful ones. the ol' "removing a patient's skeleton" story was of a nazi officer medic had caught, and medical licence or not, ludwig would do it again in an instant

-medic's flock of homing pigeons, stolen from a wedding van, are like family to him. the original, stolen generation had more pretentious names, as named by their previous owner- mostly well known scientists and philosophers[Archimedes, Newton, Nietzsche, etc]. most of the pigeons he named himself have biblical, jewish names [Mordecai, Elijah, Rebecca, etc]

-ludwig is absolutely never prim, proper, or orderly. if he is wearing a coat that DOESNT have blood and bird shit on it, wait 5 minutes and check again

-he has a tendency to hyperfocus on something and forget things like "humans need food and water to live". heavy usually helps him remember

-medic snores. loudly. and it sounds fucking awful. heavy is, sadly, a very light sleeper. it takes a loooong time for him to finally be able to sleep through medic's snoring, and it winds up being one of the only things he actually CAN sleep through. god help you if you step on a creaky board halfway down the hall, though, because heavy will wake up in an Instant

-if tf2 were in modern times, ludwig's music taste would include a Lot of kesha, klezmer music, black metal, and so on. its varied, is what im saying

-medic, pyro, and soldier all get along surprisingly well together, because they all have a case of "same brain? same brain!", all of them have issues dealing with other people and have problems with processing/understanding things, have trouble w/ psychotic episodes and the like, overall their minds are all wired oddly but somehow they can understand /each other/

-scout accidentally becomes medic's unofficial adopted daughter and thats a whole post and a half on its own. suffice to say medic would do anything for her

-engie, demo, and medic are all Science Gays

-medic also does his best to help demo with his Absolutely Massive Amounts of Trauma and Self Loathing, by at least being a supportive shoulder to lean on when demo tries to drink himself unconscious to forget it all. hes absolutely terrible most of the time at actually saying anything to help, but he can be a good presence, and he has birds. birds help anything

-he has a very casual fling going with spy, since early on in their time at the base. its usually in a state of "on-again off-again", with the latter usually having something to do with how spy acts with scout.

-obviously theres a lot i could say about heavy and medic's relationship, but to put it briefly- theres a loooong time where both of them are "i dont understand social interaction" gays.

-medic is the "i literally dont understand how to act around people im attracted to or that me being extremely overaffectionate around you is due to the fact that im falling in love with you, i dont catch your vague hints towards the fact that you feel the same about me because you literally need to hit me over the head with something in order to get me to catch onto it" gay

-heavy is the "i have spent so many years repressing so much of myself and keeping quiet and not drawing attention to myself, that i physically cannot bring myself to be up front about the fact that im attracted to you. im also afraid of misintepreting signals and i am instead going to assume your over-affectionate attitude is platonic and i am misreading things" gay

-eventually they figure things out and its good and soft and gay

ok its 3 AM and ive been writing on this for at least an hour and a half and i told Em i would go to bed by now dhgfkhhj 

[intothenoise]

Apocalyptic Drama

The shocking contrast between Jerusalem and Gaza, represented in our television split screens on the day of the embassy opening, may have been designed largely for Evangelical consumption.

(This post was originally published as part of IMES’ Regional Brief for June 2018, written by Jesse Wheeler.)

News

On the 14th of May 2018, the United States controversially broke with decades of US policy by officially moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, followed soon after by Guatemala, Paraguay, and Honduras. Meanwhile, thousands of Gazans continued to engage in ongoing demonstrations at the separation barrier while Israeli military snipers responded with lethal force, leading on that day to the death of 64 persons. Since the beginning of the demonstrations, 121 Palestinians of all ages have been killed and over 12,000 injured. The split screen coverage contrasting the elegance of the embassy opening in Jerusalem with that of the carnage in Gaza set forth a dramatic scene, one commentator comparing it to Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Political cartoonists have been particularly caustic in their representations.

For some, the events in Jerusalem and Gaza have become a watershed moment, a time for collective introspection and soul searching. Many diaspora Jewish communities have been undergoing a rather serious moment of self-reflection regarding the country claiming to represent them and their interests. Somewhat surprisingly, numerous Evangelical Christian leaders, who would have otherwise remained relatively silent on the issue, have likewise felt it necessary to take a public stand. For example, President Emeritus of Fuller Theological Seminary Richard Mouw, a master at walking a fine line on controversial topics, spoke out on the issue in an article titled, “To my fellow evangelicals: What you’re cheering in Jerusalem is shameful.”

Of noteworthy importance to religious readers, however, is the bit of trivia concerning who was – and who was not – on the guest and speaker list of the embassy opening. In addition to the expected list of diplomats, dignitaries and political donors, one finds an assortment of prominent American pastors and religious leaders. Of particularly symbolic note were those invited to give the benediction and closing prayer: Robert Jeffress and John Hagee, each the author of multiple books on Israel and apocalyptic anticipation. Furthermore, mainstream Jewish leaders were not invited, while Catholic, Orthodox and other Protestant traditions were also not in attendance.

Analysis

The presence of Jeffress and Hagee in the ceremony – and not others – speaks volumes as to the purpose behind and intended audience for the embassy opening. This event taking place in Jerusalem was meant not for Israelis, nor even American Jews. Instead, it was clearly meant for the American evangelical voter, Trump’s most consistent base of political support. Given the fact that 81% of white American evangelicals voted for Trump and have remained his most reliable political supporters, while other demographics have waned, I don’t see this as surprising. Allegiance to Israel has long been a point of doctrine among these communities, with 80% of American Evangelicals viewing Israel as the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. Furthermore, Christian Zionists in America outnumber Jewish Zionists ten-to-one. Considering this, the presence of Jeffress and Hagee onstage (both apocalyptic preachers), is not surprising, even as both have been accused of making proclamations deeply offensive to Jewish communities.

What effectively unfolded on our screen was an apocalyptic drama, broadcast in real-time and orchestrated largely for a Conservative Christian audience. The viewer was able to consume vicariously events of “eternal, apocalyptic significance” from the safety of their television and computer screens. While the split screen contrast between Jerusalem and Gaza led many to recoil in disgust at the apparent callousness of the historical moment, for others it was all part of the show. Every drama needs a villain, and if there is anything Hollywood cinema has taught us, it is that “Arabs” make for great villains. It is simply more proof that the “enemies of God” will continue to rage against His purposes and His people.

Furthermore, this situation represents another instance of American foreign policy being set by domestic political agendas and homegrown pop-theologies projected out upon the global stage by means of US political, commercial and military influence. It represents a false matrix of meaning, blanketed over the region without thought or concern as to how such views may or may not reflect historical reality or how the policy ramifications of such beliefs affect people on the ground – be they Israeli, Palestinian, Christian, Muslim, Jewish or otherwise. To what extent such theologizing may or may not be consistent with scripture is never asked.

Theological Reflections

What we evangelical Christians are then left with is a conflicting set of (a) theological convictions and (b) historical narratives, each tied to the core identity and moral values of those of us adhering to such seemingly contradictory worldviews. As evangelicals deeply committed to the authority of scripture, questions related to biblical interpretation are of profound importance. For instance, what is the relationship between the first and second covenants? Do prophetic texts refer to events long past, or yet to come? Does our reading of these texts lead us to look for signs of Christ’s imminent return, that we might be ready for him? Or, does it lead us to the pursuit of justice and peace, speaking truth to power at great personal risk? Likewise, questions related to history and historical interpretation are of critical importance as we discuss the “facts” as they exist “on the ground.” As it stands now, one finds wildly divergent interpretations regarding the past and present realities confronting Palestinians and Israelis. As people committed to Truth, to whom do we listen? Is it possible, or should we even try, to bridge the narrative divide?

Until such ideological divides surrounding theology, history and identity are taken seriously, it seems we will forever talk past each other and around in circles despite our mutual presence together under the same evangelical tent. Meanwhile, the people on the ground in the land of Christ, from all backgrounds, continue to suffer. It is at these times that I look in hope to the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians:

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Ephesians 2: 14-22 ESV).

[topsolarpanels]

Al Gore: ‘The riches have subverted all reason’

With the sequel to his blockbuster documentary An Inconvenient Truth about to be released, Al Gore tells Carole Cadwalladr how his role at the forefront of the fight against climate change eats his life

In the ballroom of a conference centre in Denver, Colorado, 972 people from 42 countries have come together to talk about climate change. It is March 2017, six weeks since Trumps inauguration; eight weeks before Trump will announce to the world that he is withdrawing America from the Paris Climate Agreement.

These are the early dark days of the new America and yet, in the conference centre, the crowd is upbeat. Theyve all paid out of their own pockets to travel to Denver. They have taken time off work. And they are here, in the presence of their master, Al Gore. Because Al Gore is to climate change well, what Donald Trump is to climate change denial.

Disaster zone: extermination in the wake of Superstorm Sandy in New Jersey. Photograph: Mike Groll/ AP

Its 10 years since the reason for this, the documentary An Inconvenient Truth , was released into cinema. It was an improbable project on almost every level: a film about what was then practically a non-subject, starring “the mens” best known for not winning the 2000 US election, its beating heart and the engine of its narrative drive a PowerPoint presentation.

When the filmmakers approached him, he explains to the room, I thought they were nuts. A movie of a slideshow, delivered by Al Gore, what doesnt scream blockbuster about it? Except it was a blockbuster. In documentary words, anyway. The careful accretion of facts and figures genuinely shocked people. And its a measure of the impact it had, and still continues to have, that Gore delivers this vignette to a rapt crowd who, over the course of three days, are learning how to be Climate Reality Leaders.

Its the reason why we are all here his foundation, the Climate Reality Project, an initiative that grew out of the film, provides intensive training in talking about climate change, combating climate change denial and the tone might be described as activist upbeat. This is a crisis that is solvable, were told. Trump is just another hitch, another impediment to overcome. And it will be overcome. Only occasionally does a sliver of desperation leak around the edges. You have to stay positive, a man called David Ellenberger tells the audience. Though sometimes, he acknowledges: Theres not sufficient Prozac to get through the day.

Its almost a relief to hear person acknowledge this. Because before there was FAKE NEWS !!! and the FAILING New York Times ! Trump was tweeting about GLOBAL WARMING hoaxsters! and GLOBAL WARMING bullshit! The war on the mainstream media may capture the headlines currently, but the war against climate change science has been in play for years. And its this that is one of the most fascinating aspects of Gores new cinema, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power . Because if the US had a subtitle at the moment, it might be that, too, and the struggle to overcome fake facts and false narrations shall be financed by corporate interests and politically motivated billionaires is one that Gore has been at the frontline of for more than a decade.

Breaking phase: a huge fissure in the Larsen C ice shelf in the Antarctica. Photograph: Nasa/ John Sonntag/ EPA

The film runs through a host of facts that 14 of the 15 hottest years on record have passed since 2001 is just one. And the accompanying footage is biblical, frightening: tornadoes, deluges, rainfall bombs, exploding glaciers. We find roads falling into rivers and fish swimming through the street of Miami.

The nightly news, Gore says, has become a nature hike through the Book of Revelations. But what his run has shown and continues to show is that evidence is sufficient to. The film opens with clips from Fox News ridiculing global warming. In recent weeks, the New York Times has started describing the Trump administration as waging a war on science, a full-on assault against evidence-based science that runs in parallel with his attacks on evidence-based reporting. And Gore is in something of a unique position to understand this. What becomes clear over the course of several conversations is how entwined he believes it all is climate change refusal, the interests of big capital, dark money, billionaire political funders, the dominance of Trump and what he calls( hes written a volume on it) the assault against reason. They are all pieces of the same puzzle; a puzzle that Gore has been tracking for years, because it turns out that climate change denial was the canary in the coal mine.

In order to fix the climate crisis, we need to first fix the government crisis, he says. Big money has so much influence now. And he says a phrase that is as dramatic as it is multilayered: Our democracy has been hacked. Its something I hear him recur to the audience in the ballroom, in a room backstage, a few a few weeks later in London, and finally on the phone earlier this month.

Popular backlash: protesters demonstrate against the Koch brothers, funders of climate change denial. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/ AFP/ Getty Images

What do you entail by it exactly? I mean that those with access to large amounts of fund and raw power, says Gore, have been able to subvert all reason and fact in collective decision making. The Koch friends are the largest funders of climate change refusal. And ExxonMobil claims it has stopped, but it genuinely hasnt. It has given a one-quarter of a billion dollars in donations to climate denial groups. Its clear they attempt to cripple our ability to respond to this existential threat.

One of Trumps first acts after his inauguration was to remove all mentions of climate change from federal websites. More overlooked is that one of Theresa Mays first actions on becoming prime minister within 24 hours of taking office was to close the Department for Energy and Climate Change; subsequently gifts from oil and gas companies to the Conservative party continued to roll in. And what is increasingly apparent is that the same think tank that operate in the Nations are also at work in Britain, and climate change denial operating the a bridgehead: unifying the right and providing an entry road for other tenets of Alt-Right notion. And, its this network of power that Gore has had to try to understand, in order to find a way to combat it.

In Tennessee we have an expression: If you consider a turtle on top of a fence post, you can be pretty sure it didnt get there by itself. And if you watch these levels of climate denial, you can be pretty sure it didnt merely spread itself. The big carbon polluters have expended between$ 1bn and$ 2bn spreading false doubt. Do you know the book, Merchants of Doubt ? It documents how the tobacco industry discredited the consensus on cigarette smoking and cancer by creating doubt, and shows how its linked to the climate denial movement. They hired many of the same PR firms and some of the same think tanks. And, in fact, some of those who work on climate change refusal actually still dispute the connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

End of the road: the Gave de Pau river overflows after unseasonal storms in France. Photo: Laurent Dard/ AFP/ Getty Images

The big change between our first dialogue in Denver and our last, on the phone this month, is the news that Gore had been desperately hoping wouldnt happen: Trumps announcement on 1 June that he was pulling America out of the Paris Agreement. The negotiations in Paris are right at the heart of the new movie, its emotional centre, and when I watch it in March, the ending still find Gore carrying guarded optimism.

So , what happened? I was wrong, he says on the phone from Australia, where hes been promoting the film. Based on what he told me, I definitely supposed there was a better than even chance he might choose to stay in. But I was wrong. I was fearful that other countries for whom it was a close call would follow his result, but Im thrilled the reaction has been exactly the opposite. The other 19 members of the G20 have reiterated that Paris is irreversible. And governors and mayors all over the country have been saying we are all still in and, in fact, its just going to stimulate us redouble our commitments.

The film “mustve been” recut, the ending changed, the gloves are now off. What changed Trumps mind? I suppose Steve Bannon and his crowd set a big push on Trump and persuaded him that he needed to give this to his base advocates. He had blood in his eyes. Its instructive because Bannon, Trumps chief strategist, is also the ideologue behind Trumps assault on the media. And Bannons understanding of the news and information space, and make further efforts to manipulate it via Breitbart News and Cambridge Analytica, both funded by another key climate change denier, Robert Mercer, are at the heart of the Trump agenda.

And what becomes clear if you Google climate change is how effective the right has been in owning the subject. YouTubes results are dominated by nothing but climate change denial videos. This isnt news for Gore. He has multiple high-level links to Silicon Valley. Hes on the board of Apple and used to be an adviser for Google. We are fully aware of their own problems, he says with what sounds like resigned understatement. Gore has had more than a decade fighting climate change refusal, and in some respects, the problem has simply worsened and deepened.

On the other hand, two-thirds of the American people are convinced that its an extremely serious crisis and we have to take it on, he says. And there is a law of physics that every action makes an equal and opposite reaction. And I do think there is a reaction to the Trump/ Brexit/ Alt-Right populist authoritarianism around the world. People who took liberal democracy more or less for granted are now awakening to a sense that it can only be defended by the people themselves.

Man on a mission: Al Gore in An Inconvenient Truth. Photo: Paramount Pictures

And its in this, his belief in social progress against all odds, that he takes his result from the civil rights motion. The cut of the cinema I see compares the climate change movement to the other great social movements that eventually won out: the abolition of slavery, womens suffrage, civil right. Something profound and disturbing is happening right now, though, he admits. The information system is in such a chaotic transition and people are deluged with so much noise that it devotes an opening for Trump and his forces to wage war against facts and reason.

Is it, as some people describe, an info war? Absolutely, he says. Theres no question about it.

What there isnt much of, in the film, is Al Gore, “the mens”. In 2010, he split from Tipper, his wife of 40 years and the mother of his two grown-up daughters, and what becomes clear is just how much of his life the fight takes up. When I catch up with him next, hes in London for a board meeting of his green-focused investment firm, Generation Investment Management, and I ask him to tell me about his recent travels.

Two weeks ago, I had three red-eyes in five days. Ive been in Sweden, the Netherlands, Sharjah, then lets insure, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles. Where else? he asks his assistant.

Vegas, she says. We did CinemaCon.

Vegas, we did that. And then, lets ensure, Nashville, on my farm.

Focus on facts: Al Gore in An Inconvenient Sequel. Photo: Courtesy of the Sundance Institute

I assume this sum of travelling is connected to the release of the film, but no. Ive been at this level for the past 10 years and longer. He hesitates to use the word mission, he says, and then use it. When you feel a sense of purpose that seems to justify pouring everything you can into it, it induces it easier to get up in the morning.

He does tell me a bit about his parents though. He describes his father, Al Gore Sr, who grew up poor then became a lawyer and a legislator, as a hero to me. And it was at the family farm in Carthage, Tennessee, that he held the first Climate Reality training, an informal get-together of 50 people that has morphed into the event I witnessed in Denver. Theres no type or demographic, I shared a table with a disparate group including a consultant for the aerospace industry, a French lawyer and an American cook. And they seemed to have almost nothing in common aside from their passion to do something about climate change. Im a gardener so Im assuring whats happening with my own eyes, the cook, Susan Kutner, told me. You cant ignore it.

In light of Trumps fixation with fake news, its fascinating to find. Gore has been fighting disinformation for more than a decade. And, hes developed his educate program counter to the predominating ideology. The answer is not online. Social media will not save us. We will not click climate change away. The answer hes come up with is low-tech, old-fashioned, human. He takes the time to talk to people immediately, one to one, in the hope they will speak to other people who will speak to other people.

The course is run by Gore. He is on stage virtually the entire time over three intensive days. And the heart of it is still the slideshow. One of his aides tells me how he was up until 2am the night before. Hes preoccupied with his slides, he has 30,000 of them and he switches them around all the time.

Tinder dry: changing climate has find an upturn in woodland flames around the world. Photo: Jae C Hong/ AP

In the movie, you consider him perpetually hustling, calling world leaders, rounding up solar energy entrepreneurs, developing activists. Hearing information from people you know is at the heart of his strategy. You need people who will look you in the eye and say: Look, this is what Ive learned, this is what you need to know. It works. Ive watched it run. It is working. And its just getting started. Weve get 12,000 trained leaders now.

How many people do you think its impacted?

Millions. Honestly, millions. And a non- trivial percentage of them have gone on to become pastors in their countries governments or take leadership roles in international organisations. Theyve had an outsized impact. Christiana Figueres[ the UN climate chief ], who operated the Paris meeting, she was in the second training session I did in Tennessee. And, right now, people are get really fired up.

Al Gore shared the Nobel Prize in 2007 for his efforts in combating climate change, but in some way it feels like hes just getting started. The rest of the world is only now cottoning on to the enlightenment battle thats at the heart of it a battle royal to defend facts and reason against people and forces-out for whom its a truth too inconvenient to permit. For Gore, the US oil companies are the ultimate culprits, but its only just becoming apparent that Russia has also played a role, amplifying messages around climate change as it did around the other issues at the heart of Trumps agenda, and we segue into his visits to Russia in the early 90 s, during one of which he fulfilled Putin for the first time.

What did you induce of him? I would not have thought of him as the future chairperson of Russia. I once did a televised town hall event to the whole of Russia and Putin was the one who was in charge of inducing sure all the cables were connected and whatnot.

Revenge is tweet: an image of Trump is projected by Greenpeace on to the US Embassy in Berlin after he declared that America was pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Photo: Michael Sohn/ AP

What does he construct of the investigations into Russian interference? I guess the investigation of the Trump campaigns collusions with the Russians and the existence of fiscal levers of Putin over Trump is proceeding with its own rhythm beneath the news cycle, and may well ten-strike pay dirt. Its also worth pointing out that when someone passed his campaign stolen information about George W Bushs debate research, he handed it to the FBI.

And then he astounds me by pulling out a reference to an interview I conducted with Arron Bank, the Bristol businessman who funded Nigel Farages Leave campaign. Hes been reading up about the links between Brexit and Trump, and Bankss and Farages support of Putin and Russia. He told you: Russia needs a strong man, didnt he? And you hear that in the US, and I dont think its fair to the Russians. I am a true disciple in the superiority of representative republic where there is a healthy ecosystem characterised by free speech and an informed citizenry. I genuinely defy the slur against any nation that theyre incapable of governing themselves.

Brexit, Trump, climate change, oil producers, dark fund, Russian influence, a full- frontal assault on facts, evidence, journalism, science, its all connected. Ask Al Gore. You may want to watch Wonder Woman the summer months, but to understand the new reality were living in, you really should watch An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power . Because, scaring because this is, in some ways the times of typhoons and exploding glaciers are just the start of it.

Al Gore Live in Conversation followed by a screening of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power , for one night merely Friday 11 August in cinemas everywhere. Book your tickets at po.st/ aninconvenientsequel An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power is in cinema everywhere from 18 August. The cinema also opens the Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House, 10 -2 3 August, somersethouse.org.uk

The Observer Ethical Awardings: how to enter

To vote, going to see theguardian.com/ environment/ 2017/ jul/ 25/ vote-in-the-observer-ethical-awards-2 017 or email ethical.awards @observer. co.uk with the category title in the subject header. Then tell us in no more than 200 words why you, or your nominee, deserves to be recognised. Feel free to attach paintings, a short movie or relevant connections. The closing date is 15 September. For more information, going to see observer.co.uk/ ethical-awards

Read more: www.theguardian.com

The post Al Gore: ‘The riches have subverted all reason’ appeared first on Top Rated Solar Panels.

from Top Rated Solar Panels http://ift.tt/2m0NQc4 via IFTTT

[topsolarpanels]

Al Gore: ‘The riches have subverted all reason’

With the sequel to his blockbuster documentary An Inconvenient Truth about to be released, Al Gore tells Carole Cadwalladr how his role at the forefront of the fight against climate change devours his life

In the ballroom of a seminar centre in Denver, Colorado, 972 people from 42 countries have come together to talk about climate change. It is March 2017, six weeks since Trumps inauguration; eight weeks before Trump will announce to the world that he is withdrawing America from the Paris Climate Agreement.

These are the early dark days of the new America and yet, in the conference centre, the crowd is upbeat. Theyve all paid out of their own pockets to travel to Denver. They have taken time off work. And they are here, in the presence of their master, Al Gore. Because Al Gore is to climate change well, what Donald Trump is to climate change denial.

Disaster zone: extermination in the wake of Superstorm Sandy in New Jersey. Photo: Mike Groll/ AP

Its 10 years since the reason for this, the documentary An Inconvenient Truth , was released into cinema. It was an improbable project on almost every level: a film about what was then practically a non-subject, starring the man best known for not winning the 2000 US election, its beating heart and the engine of its narrative drive a PowerPoint presentation.

When the filmmakers approached him, he explains to the room, I thought they were nuts. A movie of a slideshow, delivered by Al Gore, what doesnt scream blockbuster about it? Except it was a blockbuster. In documentary terms, anyway. The careful accretion of facts and figures genuinely shocked people. And its a measure of the impact it had, and still continues to have, that Gore delivers this vignette to a rapt crowd who, over the course of three days, are learning how to be Climate Reality Leaders.

Its the reason why we are all here his foundation, the Climate Reality Project, an initiative that grew out of the film, provides intensive trained in talking about climate change, combating climate change denial and the tone might be described as activist upbeat. This is a crisis that is solvable, were told. Trump is just another hitch, another impediment to overcome. And it will be overcome. Merely occasionally does a sliver of hopelessnes leak around the edges. You have to stay positive, a man called David Ellenberger tells the audience. Though sometimes, he acknowledges: Theres not sufficient Prozac to get through the day.

Its almost a relief to hear person acknowledge this. Because before there was FAKE NEWS !!! and the FAILING New York Times ! Trump was tweeting about GLOBAL WARMING hoaxsters! and GLOBAL WARMING bullshit! The war on the mainstream media may capture the headlines currently, but the war on climate change science has been in play for years. And its this that is one of the most fascinating aspects of Gores new film, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power . Because if the US had a subtitle at the moment, it might be that, too, and the struggle to overcome fake facts and false narratives funded by corporate interests and politically motivated billionaires is one that Gore has been at the frontline of for more than a decade.

Breaking phase: a huge fissure in the Larsen C ice shelf in the Antarctica. Photo: Nasa/ John Sonntag/ EPA

The film runs through a host of facts that 14 of the 15 hottest years on record have resulted since 2001 is just one. And the accompanying footage is biblical, frightening: tornadoes, deluges, rainfall bombs, explosion glaciers. We consider roads falling into rivers and fish swimming through the street of Miami.

The nightly news, Gore says, has become a nature hike through the Book of Revelations. But what his work has shown and continues to show is that proof is sufficient to. The cinema opens with clips from Fox News ridiculing global warming. In recent weeks, the New York Times has started describing the Trump administration as waging a war on science, a full-on assault against evidence-based science that runs in parallel with his attacks on evidence-based reporting. And Gore is in something of a unique position to understand this. What becomes clear over the course of several dialogues is how entwined he believes it all is climate change denial, the rights and interests of big capital, dark money, billionaire political funders, the predominance of Trump and what he calls( hes written a book on it) the assault against reason. They are all pieces of the same puzzle; a puzzle that Gore has been tracking for years, because it turns out that climate change refusal was the canary in the coal mine.

In order to fix the climate crisis, we need to first fix the governmental forces crisis, he says. Big money has so much influence now. And he says a phrase that is as dramatic as it is multilayered: Our democracy has been hacked. Its something I hear him recur to the audience in the ballroom, in a room backstage, a few weeks later in London, and finally on the phone earlier this month.

Popular backlash: protesters demonstrate against the Koch brethren, funders of climate change denial. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/ AFP/ Getty Images

What do you mean by it precisely? I mean that those with access to large amounts of money and raw power, says Gore, have been able to subvert all reason and fact in collective decision making. The Koch friends are the largest funders of climate change refusal. And ExxonMobil claims it has stopped, but it really hasnt. It has given a one-quarter of a billion dollars in donations to climate denial groups. Its clear they are trying to cripple our ability to respond to this existential threat.

One of Trumps first acts after his inauguration was to remove all mentions of climate change from federal websites. More overlooked is that one of Theresa Mays first actions on becoming prime minister within 24 hours of taking office was to close the Department for Energy and Climate Change; subsequently donations from oil and gas companies to the Conservative party continued to roll in. And what is increasingly apparent is that the same think tanks that operate in the Countries are also at work in Britain, and climate change denial operating the a bridgehead: unifying the right and an entry road for other tenets of Alt-Right belief. And, its this network of power that Gore has had to try to understand, in order to find a way to combat it.

In Tennessee we have an expression: If you consider a turtle on top of a fencing post, you can be pretty sure it didnt get there by itself. And if you assure these levels of climate refusal, you can be pretty sure it didnt simply spread itself. The large carbon polluters have expended between$ 1bn and$ 2bn spreading false doubt. Do you know the book, Merchants of Doubt ? It documents how the tobacco industry discredited the consensus on cigarette smoking and cancer by creating doubt, and shows how its connected with the climate denial motion. They hired many of the same PR firms and some of the same think tanks. And, in fact, some of those who work on climate change denial actually still dispute the connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

End of the road: the Gave de Pau river overflows after unseasonal cyclones in France. Photograph: Laurent Dard/ AFP/ Getty Images

The big change between our first conversation in Denver and our last, on the phone this month, is the news that Gore had been desperately hoping wouldnt happen: Trumps announcement on 1 June that he was pulling America out of the Paris Agreement. The negotiations in Paris are right at the heart of the new film, its emotional centre, and when I watch it in March, the ending still assures Gore expressing guarded optimism.

So , what happened? I was wrong, he says on the phone from Australia, where hes been promoting the movie. Based on what he told me, I definitely thought there was a better than even chance he might choose to stay in. But I was wrong. I was fearful that other countries for whom it was a close call would follow his result, but Im thrilled the reaction has been precisely the opposite. The other 19 members of the G20 have reiterated that Paris is irreversible. And governors and mayors all over the country have been saying we are all still in and, in fact, its just going to make us redouble our commitments.

The film had to be recut, the ending changed, the gloves are now off. What changed Trumps mind? I suppose Steve Bannon and his crowd put a big push on Trump and convinced him that he needed to give this to his base advocates. He had blood in his eyes. Its instructive because Bannon, Trumps chief strategist, is also the ideologue behind Trumps assault on the media. And Bannons understanding of the news and information space, and efforts to manipulate it via Breitbart News and Cambridge Analytica, both funded by another key climate change denier, Robert Mercer, are at the heart of the Trump agenda.

And what becomes clear if you Google climate change is how effective the right has been in owning the subject. YouTubes results are dominated by nothing but climate change denial videos. This isnt news for Gore. He has multiple high-level links to Silicon Valley. Hes on the board of trustees of the Apple and used to be an adviser for Google. We are fully aware of the problem, he says with what sounds like resigned understatement. Gore has had more than a decade fighting climate change refusal, and in some respects, their own problems has simply worsened and deepened.

On the other hand, two-thirds of the American people are convinced that its an extremely serious crisis and we have to take it on, he says. And there is a statute of physics that every action renders an equal and opposite reaction. And I do think there is a reaction to the Trump/ Brexit/ Alt-Right populist authoritarianism around the world. People who took liberal republic more or less for granted are now awakening to a sense that it can only be defended by the people themselves.

Man on a mission: Al Gore in An Inconvenient Truth. Photo: Paramount Pictures

And its in this, his faith in social progress against all odds, that he takes his lead from the civil right movement. The cut of the movie I watch compares the climate change movement to the other great social movements that eventually won out: the abolition of bondage, womens suffrage, civil rights. Something profound and disturbing is happening right now, though, he acknowledges. The info system is in such a chaotic transition and people are deluged with so much noise that it gives an opening for Trump and his forces to wage war against facts and reason.

Is it, as some people describe, an information war? Absolutely, he says. Theres no question about it.

What there isnt much of, in the film, is Al Gore, “the mens”. In 2010, he split from Tipper, his wife of 40 years and the mother of his two grown-up daughters, and what becomes clear is just how much of their own lives the fight takes up. When I catch up with him next, hes in London for a board session of his green-focused investment firm, Generation Investment Management, and I ask him to tell me about his recent travels.

Two weeks ago, I had three red-eyes in five days. Ive been in Sweden, the Netherlands, Sharjah, then lets assure, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles. Where else? he asks his assistant.

Vegas, she says. We did CinemaCon.

Vegas, we did that. And then, lets consider, Nashville, on my farm.

Focus on facts: Al Gore in An Inconvenient Sequel. Photo: Courtesy of the Sundance Institute

I assume this amount of travelling is connected to the release of the cinema, but no. Ive been at this level for the past 10 years and longer. He hesitates to use the word mission, he says, and then uses it. When “youre feeling” a sense of purpose that seems to justify pouring everything you can into it, it attains it easier to get up in the morning.

He does tell me a bit about his mothers though. He describes his father, Al Gore Sr, who grew up poor then became a lawyer and a legislator, as a hero to me. And it was at the family farm in Carthage, Tennessee, that he held the first Climate Reality training, an informal get-together of 50 people that has morphed into the event I witnessed in Denver. Theres no type or demographic, I shared a table with a disparate group including a consultant for the aerospace industry, a French lawyer and an American cook. And they seemed to have almost nothing in common aside from their passion to do something about climate change. Im a gardener so Im ensure whats happening with my own eyes, the cook, Susan Kutner, told me. You cant ignore it.

In light of Trumps fixation with fake news, its fascinating to assure. Gore has been fighting disinformation for more than a decade. And, hes developed his educate program counter to the prevailing ideology. The answer is not online. Social media will not save us. We will not click climate change away. The answer hes come up with is low-tech, old-fashioned, human. He takes the time to talk to people immediately, one to one, in the hope they will speak to other people who will speak to other people.

The course is run by Gore. He is on stage nearly the entire period over three intensive days. And the heart of it is still the slideshow. One of his aides tells me how he was up until 2am the night before. Hes preoccupied with his slides, he has 30,000 of them and he switches them around all the time.

Tinder dry: changing climate has find an upturn in forest fires around the world. Photo: Jae C Hong/ AP

In the movie, you ensure him perpetually hustling, calling world leaders, rounding up solar energy entrepreneurs, training activists. Hearing information from people you know is at the heart of his strategy. You require people who will look you in the eye and say: Look, “thats what” Ive learned, this is what you need to know. It runs. Ive seen it run. It is working. And its just getting started. Weve got 12,000 trained leaders now.

How many people do you think its impacted?

Millions. Honestly, millions. And a non- trivial percentage of them have gone on to become ministers in their countries governments or take leadership roles in international organisations. Theyve had an outsized impact. Christiana Figueres[ the UN climate chief ], who operated the Paris meeting, she was in the second train conference I did in Tennessee. And, right now, people are getting actually fired up.

Al Gore shared the Nobel Prize in 2007 for his efforts in combating climate change, but in some ways it feels like hes just getting started. The remainder of the world is only now cottoning on to the enlightenment battle thats at the heart of it a battle royal to defend facts and reason against people and forces for whom its a truth too inconvenient to permit. For Gore, the US oil companies are the ultimate culprits, but its only just becoming apparent that Russia has also played a role, amplifying messages around climate change as it did around the other issues at the heart of Trumps agenda, and we segue into his visits to Russia in the early 90 s, during one of which he gratified Putin for the first time.

What did you induce of him? I would not have thought of him as the future chairman of Russia. I once did a televised town hall event to the whole of Russia and Putin was the one who was in charge of constructing sure all the cables were connected and whatnot.

Revenge is tweet: an image of Trump is projected by Greenpeace on to the US Embassy in Berlin after he declared that America was pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Photograph: Michael Sohn/ AP

What does he construct of the investigations into Russian interference? I suppose its review of the Trump campaigns collusions with the Russians and the existence of financial levers of Putin over Trump is proceeding with its own rhythm beneath the news cycle, and may well strike pay dirt. Its also worth pointing out that when someone passed his campaign stolen information about George W Bushs debate research, he handed it to the FBI.

And then he astounds me by pulling out a reference to an interview I conducted with Arron Bank, the Bristol businessman who money Nigel Farages Leave campaign. Hes been reading up about the connection between Brexit and Trump, and Bankss and Farages support of Putin and Russia. He told you: Russia needs a strong man, didnt he? And you hear that in the US, and I dont think its fair to the Russians. I am a true disciple in the superiority of representative republic where there is a healthy ecosystem characterised by free speech and an informed citizenry. I genuinely resist the slur against any nation that theyre incapable of governing themselves.

Brexit, Trump, climate change, oil producers, dark money, Russian influence, a full- frontal assault on facts, proof, journalism, science, its all connected. Ask Al Gore. You may want to watch Wonder Woman this summer, but to understand the new reality were living in, you really should watch An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power . Because, scaring because this is, in some ways the times of typhoons and explosion glaciers are just the start of it.

Al Gore Live in Conversation followed by a screening of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power , for one night merely Friday 11 August in cinemas everywhere. Book your tickets at po.st/ aninconvenientsequel An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power is in cinema everywhere from 18 August. The film also opens the Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House, 10 -2 3 August, somersethouse.org.uk

The Observer Ethical Awards: how to enter

To vote, go to theguardian.com/ surrounding/ 2017/ jul/ 25/ vote-in-the-observer-ethical-awards-2 017 or email ethical.awards @observer. co.uk with the category title in the subject header. Then tell us in no more than 200 terms why you, or your nominee, deserves to be recognised. Feel free to attach scenes, a short movie or relevant connects. The closing date is 15 September. For more information, go to observer.co.uk/ ethical-awards

Read more: www.theguardian.com

The post Al Gore: ‘The riches have subverted all reason’ appeared first on Top Rated Solar Panels.

from Top Rated Solar Panels http://ift.tt/2AXGOhf via IFTTT