#on top of the church being open but the office refusing to give a funeral date until monday morning

[mirdaniaa]

i can't believe i have to work tomorrow lol

[chazukekani]

Previous // Next

Here comes the summary of Code:02 (chapter 2) of Stormbringer. Enjoy!

p.s. Please beware that it was just a summary so some part is skipped.

Recap: The flags were dead.

Adam was walking on the street. He was holding a big bag in front of his body. What's inside were chocolate, hard candy and gummy bear. Adam bought it all for Chuuya because he knew humans need sugar in order to live and to stay happier.

'Good morning!' Adam shouted. He was in a church with a hundred participants. Youth choir was singing hymns and attendants were all wearing black clothings.

It was a funeral, with five coffins placed in the center.

'Chuuya-san, I am here to pick you up,' Adam said.

'Quiet! The funeral is in progress!' Chuuya said impatiently.

'There is some new information about Verlaine,' Adam replied.

Hence, shortly after, Chuuya followed Adam to go somewhere else which was quite far away from the church. Adam asked for Chuuya's permission to override his own command authority. By command authority, Adam explained that this was something written into his system, where he had an order of priority of certain people that he could listen to their commands. The first priority was always following the command of the investigation authority, and the second is Dr. Wollstonecraft. However, Adam wanted Chuuya to be the first priority for now.

Chuuya agreed, and the priority was then alternated, which Adam now called Chuuya as Chuuya-sama. The teen was slightly embarrassed by the new title.

'Can you change the way of how you call me?' asked Chuuya.

'Yes I can. This is just my default,' Adam answered, 'But you will no longer be my first priority.'

'What? That's so annoying. Nevermind then. Don't you have something about Verlaine to tell me?' said Chuuya.

'Yes I do. But may I take a gum before I do that?' Adam said. The robot seemed to like gum very much.

Adam pointed out that Verlaine probably hired a third party to assist him entering Japan. There were only very few illegal smuggling services which were not under the control of the Port Mafia, so it was actually fairly easy to find out which organisation helped Verlaine. Adam said he hacked the database of the police authority, and found the exact personnel who was hired by Verlaine.

'I am glad to know that you can actually do something,' Chuuya mocked.

Apart from hiring people to provide assistance on smuggling, Adam pointed out that Verlaine also asked those people to order three things for him.' The first one is four branches of white birch. Adam explained that there was also a white birch founded in the billiards bar, so he believed that the birch was actually a signature of Verlaine after completing a murder. Hence, there were supposed to have three birches left. Meanwhile, the other two things were entry licences of a car factory and an old fashioned blue colour flip phone.

'I know where he is,' Chuuya acknowledged something, 'Let's go,'

'Where are we going?' Adam asked.

Chuuya didn't answer. He grabbed Adam's final piece of gum, and put it into the mouth. Chuuya blew a bubble from his mouth, and Adam was shocked.

-

-

Inside the car factory, there was a teen working. He was grabbed by his manager because he wanted to invite him to have a meal after work. However, the teen was then brought to the meeting room. The teen saw someone.

'Chuuya...' the teen spoke.

'Shirase.' said Chuuya

-

-

Chuuya explained himself to Shirase because he knew Shirase was Verlaine's next target. Shirase was the reason why Chuuya joined the Mafia (as recalled from 15 years old). If Shirase was killed, then Chuuya no longer had a reason for staying in the mafia, such that Chuuya could leave with Verlaine.

Chuuya asked Shirase to help him, but Shirase refused because he hated Chuuya, and he did not want to be a bait either. He escaped by riding a bike so Adam and Chuuya chased afterwards. While Shirase was escaping, he was stopped at a police checkpoint.

'Shirase Buichirou! I am going to arrest you for keeping weapons illegally!' A police officer, roughly around his 40s and wearing a dark green outfit, said. Chuuya ran forward because he knew this officer.

'Hey- How are you Chuuya? Did you eat properly?' said the officer, 'You can't grow if you don't eat well.' They chatted as if old friends.

'I suspect you may be the accomplice of Shirase, so please come to the police station with me as well.'

Chuuya suddenly realised that such an arrest was not a coincidence. It was the factory manager who had plotted them.

-

-

Adam, Chuuya and Shirase were all in the police station. Apart from Shirase being detained, the rest of two were staying in the investigation room inside the station.

'Chuuya-sama.'

'...'

'Chuuya-sama.'

'what...'

'It's your turn. Our game of '"Discovery of human's uniqueness".'

Chuuya didn't answer.

'Then it's my turn,' Adam said. 'Hmm, I think what's special with humans is, they will be embarrassed by sounds that were made apart from their voice, such as the groans of their stomach.'

'Huh?' Chuuya was confused.

' "Huh" right? Thanks for responding to me,' said Adam.

The game continues.

'Shall we ban gaming next time?' said Chuuya.

'Is this an order?'

'Yes.'

'Understood, I will no longer play the game of "Discovery of human's uniqueness".' Adam answered.

'Why you look super sad...' Chuuya noticed the disappointment on Adam's face.

Chuuya proceeded to ask whether it was possible for Adam to ask for help from his own organisation, but Adam denied this possibility because the EUROPOLE was bound by a regulation of 'non infringing country's sovereignty' when the organisation was founded in the post-war period, so this strategy didn't work.

-

-

[Change in perspective] Here was an abandoned area, a piece of land that was forgotten by everyone. Different kinds of garbage was thrown here, regardless of transportation container or corpses. In the middle of this area, was where Dazai lived. He's living in a container, with basic furniture such as a fridge, fan, table, chairs and bed equipped, together with a small light bulb.

Suddenly, someone opened the door of the container.

'You are really living in an interesting place, Dazai-kun,' that person greeted, 'My god, why are you living in this place? To avoid tax or something?'

'I am afraid of you, Verlaine-san,' Dazai replied without a single emotion.

'Lie,' said Verlaine, 'I was trying to kill you two days ago, and you didn't feel anything back then.' Verlaine touched some documents on the desk, and those were the top secret of the mafia.

'Two days ago, I didn't kill you because you promised to give me these documents. I don't think you handed me this because you wanted my spare you right?' said Verlaine.

'It's simple,' Dazai said, 'I just want to see the Mafia burns.'

'Why?'

'I'm fed up,' Dazai looked at Verlaine for a second, 'I found nothing after all,' Dazia then murmured to himself.

'I see, I understand what you mean,' Verlaine, 'thanks for your cooperation, Dazai-kun.'

Verlaine flicked a coin, and boom, it exploded. All the surroundings apart from Dazai's container were blown up and gone, and Verlaine was about to leave

'Where are you going?' Dazai asked.

'You should have known right? To the police station,' Verlaine answered.

-

-

Chuuya was called into an investigation room to be questioned by that police officer, his name was Murase. The officer proposed an idea which he could set Shirase free, but in return, Chuuya needed to expose some secrets about the Mafia.

'Are you telling me to betray the Mafia?' said Chuuya.

'Just tell me and I let you and your friend go home,' the police officer was writing his report.

'Give me your pen,' Chuuya said calmly, then wrote 'eat shit' on the signature spot of the report.

-

-

Adam was somewhere near Shirase's detention. He hacked into the database of the police authority, and acquired the detaining number of Shirase, and successfully deceived the guards. Adam found Shirase, and was about to bring him away from the police station, but Shirase didn't look happy at all. Adam told Shirase that there was actually no need for him and Chuuya to protect him, but Chuuya wanted to protect him. Adam explained what happened during one year ago and revealed the reason why Chuuya joined the mafia to Shirase because Chuuya wanted to protect him.

Suddenly, when Adam and Shirase were about to leave, the teen said something.

'You... where have your left leg gone?' said Shirase.

Adam realised that the part beneath his left knee was gone, and he immediately fell down.

'Robot investigator is surely a tough job isn't it?' said by a voice.

'Verlaine...'

Adam could not handle the attack from Verlaine because he was using gravity control which made Adam not able to move.

'Don't... don't come near me!' Shirase was horrified.

'Shirase-kun, I have done research on you. You have known Chuuya for the longest in this city. Shirase-kun, please tell me, how was Chuuya when he was a kid?'

'We are... the founding members of The Sheep... and we thought Chuuya was just an orphan. He was the one who spoke to us first: "What's that brick?" Chuuya said that.'

'It was bread, we answered,' Shirase continued, ' "Do you wanna eat that?" I asked, and he said yes. The moment he wanted to move, and fell down and fainted. He was very thin and almost dead by then. Despite there were some members who objected to my idea , I found some food and water for him and brought him back to The Sheep.'

'You are Chuuya's brother right?' Why do you want to kill me? There was no one apart from me saving your brother! Is this how you return your favour?' Shirase yelled at Verlaine, but he didn't say a word.

'I understood, there is no common sense in this world. I am killed because I saved someone. Now, hurry up and kill me,' said Shirase.

Verlaine stepped forward and walked closer to Shirase. Adam calculated, and deduced that there were 168 possibilities, and among all of them, Shirase would be killed either way. It was impossible that the 169th possibility would occur.

Yet, Chuuya was here and kicked Verlaine off horizontally, and that's the 169th possibility.

A fight broke out between the brothers. Chuuya hit Verlaine harshly and violently, which made Adam think it was probably his first time seeing how a person could beat the assassin king that severely. The wall and the surroundings were destroyed by the battle.

'It has been a while since I last saw my blood,' Verlaine's voice sounds dry.

Chuuya aimed for Verlaine's arm, and punched it. He hit the wall as if touching the water surface and broke through it. That was unbelievable, Adam thought. Outside the wall was the car park of the police station, and Chuuya was hit by a car that was coming for him, and there were more cars incoming. Chuuya finally stopped attacking.

'Chuuya! Are you alright!' someone shouted from the back of the car park, it was Murase officer.

'Officer-san...why are you here? Don't come!' Chuuya yelled.

'Finally you are here,' Verlaine whispered.

Verlaine came forward to Murase-officer and grabbed his neck.

'Stop it!' Chuuya shouted, but it was too late. Murase officer was dead. Adam came forward to the body, and found a cross that was made by white birch. Chuuya was holding the body of the officer, and he found something inside the pocket. It was an old-style blue colour flip phone. That was the exact model that Verlaine acquired before he came to Yokohama.

Chuuya realised, the target of Verlaine was always Murase officer, and never was Shirase.

But why?

-

Code:02 Ended

[adarafaelbarba]

A Sentimental Gift

Pairing: Rafael Barba x reader

Fandom: Law and Order SVU

Warning: mention of a family member passing. Angst.

A/N: This covers the secret Santa/ white elephant square of the Holiday Bingo @thatesqcrush created 🎄

What do you get to a guy you don’t really know outside of work? You’d only seen Rafael on a chance a few times outside the office hours. And to be honest, he was a hard book to read. You could give him a bottle of scotch, but those tended to be crazy expensive, at least the brands you knew he liked, and you knew Amanda would kill you if you went over the price limit. Maybe a new tie? God he had a lot of those already and probably didn’t need more of them.

You were almost ready to just say fuck it and buy a bottle of scotch when you came across the picture of Rafael, his mother and his grandmother from a mass you’d all been too. It was by complete chance that you’d bumped into them. Your brother was visiting from out of town with his wife and two year old daughter. His wife wasn’t really religious, not that you really were either, but you decided to tag along, mainly to spend time with him and your niece.

...

When you got to the church, you quickly found a pew to sit down, the little girl sat in your lap. She had been smiling and laughing extra as she sat there facing the pew behind you when you decide to turn and look.

“Counselor? What a pleasant surprise!” You had exclaimed, looking at Rafael. “Detective! Likewise!” He had replied. “Who’s this then?” He added, motioning to the little girl and your brother. “Oh, my brother and my niece. Can you say hi to my friend?” You said, looking at her.

“Hello”, she said shyly. “How adorable”, the older woman, you figured was Rafael’s mother, said, smiling at the two of you.

Turning a little more you looked at the two women sitting on either side of him. “You must be Rafael’s mother and grandmother. He speaks very highly of you both”, you said, offering them your free hand, “I’m (y/n), I work at the precinct he works with”, you added, your smile still wide on your face. “It’s so lovely to meet you dear”, his grandmother said, returning the smile.

You had snapped the picture after you had turned around to ask him for something and had seen him lean his head on his grandmother’s while his mom was leaning on his other side, a hand over his heart. It was too cute not to.

...

Figuring the picture needed an explanation, you wrote him a note, placing it on top of the glass before wrapping the frame up in black wrapping paper and tying it with a brown thread, placing a tiny piece of a tree branch in the thread for decoration.

The day before the exchange however you got cold feet. Maybe the gift would be too creepy? It felt like you had been invading his private life. And it didn’t sit too well with you.

So you decided to say fuck it and buy a bottle of scotch. Maybe you’d give the picture one day, maybe not.

On the actual day of the gift exchange, you watched as everyone opened their gifts in turn. Sonny had gotten you a book by your favorite author, your partner really knew you and it made you smile how spot on he’d been.

Then it came time to you giving the gift to Rafael. He’s been dealing with a really tough case recently, so the scotch would be perfect for him.

“Detective (y/l/n)!! This is too much!! And way over the price limit!” Rafael exclaimed. “Not really! I have a friend who sells them, got wicked discount”, you said, a lie, but you pulled it off cause no one questioned it. “Thank you!” He noted, smiling at you.

He was about to leave when you had a change of mind, grabbing the squared gift from your desk drawer. “Counselor?” You called out as you jogged over to him, “can I talk to you?” He nodded, letting you lead him towards the elevator before stopping when you figured you were private enough.

“Everything okay detective?” He asked, looking at you. “Uh, yeah. I have something for yo though. I was just a bit worried of what you, and the others may think”, you murmured, handing over the gift. Giving you the bottle of scotch in return to hold, he opened the paper. He quickly read the note, confusion on his face, until he lifted the note off, and his eyes glassed over.

Rafael looked back up at you before pulling you in for a hug. “Thank you. This is beautiful. And I needed it”, he murmured, pulling away and looking at you. “I’m glad you did. Are you okay though?” He nodded at that, grabbing the bottle before walking away, leaving you none the wiser at what just happened. But one thing you did know was you were blushing like mad. He had hugged you, like actually hugged you, and you couldn’t stop smiling.

...

Two moths later, when going to Rafael’s office for a warrant you noticed the picture was missing. Figuring he had given it to his grandmother after she moved into the home, you decided to ask him about her. “How’s Catalina? Is she settling into the home alright?” You asked, quickly noticing his change in mood. “She—she didn’t make it. The stress, it was too much for her”, he mumbled, tears in his eyes. “Oh my God! Rafael, I’m so sorry for your loss”, you said, pulling him in for a hug. He stiffened up for a bit before relaxing into the hug.

“Mami really loved the picture, so I gave it to her”, he said, knowing you had noticed it was missing. “I can develop a new one for you Rafael, I still have the picture on my phone”, you reassured him. “Thank you.”

Nodding at him you cupped his cheeks, wiping away the tears flowing down his cheeks. C—can you make it to the funeral? She would have liked you to be there, and mami wants you there too.” He took a deep breath, “I’d like to have you there too.” You nodded your head again, “just give me the time and place, and I’ll be there.” He hugged you once more before you went back to business.

...

You felt kinda out of place in the church filled with Rafael’s family members and friends of the family. You had only met Catalina and Lucia once, so you basically knew no one here.

“Mrs. Barba, I’m so sorry for your loss”, you murmured standing in front of Lucia. “Thank you so much for being here. Mami would have loved to see you here.” She was trying hard not to cry and the only thing you could do was pull her in for a hug.

“Rafael. I got you something”, you murmured, standing in front of him next. He looked at you with tear filled eyes as he took the picture frame, a teary smile broke out. “Thank you (y/n), really.” You nodded at that, braving a small smile before hugging him tightly. “Know that she doesn’t blame you. She knew you only meant well, and you wanted what was best for her”, you whispered in his ear, and he broke out in a sob.

It broke your heart to see him so vulnerable, but you kept holding him, rubbing his back and telling him it’ll all be okay.

“C—can you sit with me? I could use an extra support.” You were shocked he would ask, surely he would have family to sit with, but none the less you agreed and let him lead you to the front pew.

The service was beautiful. Lucia, Rafael and a few of Lucia’s siblings held speeches, making your heart ache. When Rafael sat back down after his, you leant over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, whispering “you did so good.”

He refused to let go of your hand for the rest of the funeral, the tightness of his grip depending on if he was about to break down again or not.

After, just before you were gonna part ways, you pulled Rafael in for the millionth hug. “You’ll get through this Rafael. I know you will, but if you ever need me. You know where you can find me”, you murmured, pulling a little away before cupping his cheeks, brushing the tears away.

He said nothing as he dipped his head, capturing your lips with his in a soft kiss. To say you were surprised was an understatement, even if you had been dreaming of kissing him since the day you met. But none the less you kissed him back, your arms going around his neck as his rested on your hips.

Pulling away, you looked up at him, a small smile gracing both of your lips. “I’ll call you. If I need to talk”, he murmured, pecking your lips again, “or before.” You nodded then, smiling at him, “you know where to find me.”

taglist: @detective-giggles​ @outlawsassemblerh​​ @itsjustmyfantasyroom​ @delia26​ @dianilaws​ @meri-dawn​ @storiesofsvu​ @permanentlydizzy @welcometothemadxxhouse @cycat4077​ @incomplete-coincidence​ @kriegsverlobte​ @rafaheadcanons​ @rafivadafreddy​ @teamsladsandgents​ @beccabarba​ @mrsrafaelbarba​ @stardust-fray​ @caked-crusader​ @infiniteoddball​ @averyhotchner

[blog-cosmosuniverse1]

THE STUPIDITY HAS NOT BEEN LIMITED TO CANADA AND THE USA

THE STUPIDITY HAS NOT BEEN LIMITED TO CANADA AND THE USA

With more and more disastrous results from the vax, the world is starting to crumble.

It will not last much longer in the USA because Americans, used to freedom from tyranny, will not put up with this nonsense much longer.

Will Canada be able to follow?  Our coming election may just turn the tide to get our freedoms back from the stupidity.

A Prison IslandAustralia is going back to its 1788 history as a penal colony, isolated and cut off from the world. Today, the island is once again home to prisoners—25 million of them.Australia’s first big step away from democracy came when international borders closed in March 2020. International arrivals have been limited ever since. The decision was made under the Biosecurity Act. In an emergency, the health minister is granted sweeping powers to prevent and control the arrival of diseases. When covid-19 arrived, the government was quick to test that power to its full potential.All those arriving are subjected to two weeks of quarantine at their own expense, costing thousands of dollars. More troubling still, the government has banned most people from leaving. Australia has one of the harshest border policies in the world. By banning its own citizens from going to otherwise welcoming countries, Australia is taking a page out of North Korea’s book.With the public safely contained, the government could turn its hand to the economy.Economic SuicideAustralia’s covid-19 response has delivered a staggering blow to the economy. Repeated snap-lockdowns have decimated businesses and families alike. Often giving less than a day’s notice, state leaders are forcing businesses to lock down on the spot. Only businesses deemed “essential work” can remain open in such times. For many, these measures are unsustainable. The result is an unemployment rate that has risen to 5.5 percent.Retail and hospitality have recorded an astounding 25 percent drop in income.During the latest lockdown, the federal government paid families au$700 per week to cope with the effect of being confined to their homes. To put that in context, the average rent in Sydney is $520 per week. Meanwhile, the unelected “health officials” who advise the state governments continue to rake in $12,000 per week.Between the loss of business and the government aid, the past two months have cost the government $17 billion. That represents a 2.5 percent hit to the gross domestic product in the September quarter. Sydney alone is bleeding out $1 billion per week.Economists and politicians are quick to assure the public that the economic suicide will be well worth it. “We’ve avoided 48,000 deaths on a per capita basis compared to what’s gone on in other countries, so you have to keep all of this in perspective,” amp Capital chief economist Shane Oliver told the Sydney Morning Herald. This is the opposite of perspective.Australia is a nation of 25 million people. Tens of thousands of families have had their savings obliterated. Countless businesses have been shut down for good. The elites who provide this “perspective” are not taking into account the debt future generations will be left with. Tens of thousands of lives are truly being destroyed.Normalizing MadnessTo keep the broader nation on their side, the federal and state governments must continually barrage the public with facts and figures. Every state has its daily briefings, where the waiting journalists are peppered with “new hot spots,” “case numbers” and “new restrictions.” (The death toll is rarely mentioned since it is so low.)The barrage of facts and misleading figures serves to normalize the increasingly deranged decisions made at the top levels of the Australian government. And the public seems blithely unaware—or at best accustomed—to the hysteria.But just take a snapshot of recent comments and consider if Australians would have stood for such nonsense two years ago.Victorian Premier Dan Andrews used his August 22 press conference to warn Australians of the risk of a sunny weekend: “Sunday is going to be quite a nice day, at home. … Otherwise, it will be lots of Sundays spent in hospital.” Such a statement two years ago would have garnered a deep belly laugh from Perth to Point Danger, but not anymore. We have become acclimatized to the madness.The South Australian chief health officer warned that spectators shouldn’t catch a football kicked into the crowd

lest they catch covid-19. You can’t sing karaoke, but you can sing at a wedding. You can eat in public, but it has to be sitting down.Perhaps we could laugh if the ramifications were not so dire. But the lunacy takes an increasingly dark tone when it is backed by action.Last week a rescue shelter in New South Wales shot all its dogs to prevent people traveling in to adopt them. A man who was videotaped sneezing in an elevator became the subject of a nationwide manhunt. Weddings, funerals, travel and other such vital and meaningful events in life are being limited or banned. Loved ones cannot visit a senior care facility or hospital without a jab. You can’t have guests in your house. Workplaces are moved from an office to home. Schools are either closed or kids must wear masks.The daily interactions that mankind not only desires but needs are being curtailed. The mental and emotional damage to the national and individual psyche is evident in the spike in depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide.God makes an explicit warning to our leaders in the end time: “Woe to those who issue harsh decrees, penning orders that oppress, robbing the weak of their rights and defrauding the poor of their dues” (Isaiah 10:1; Moffatt translation). God will not sit idly by while a nation like Australia—which once knew God through its ties to the British Empire—carries on down such a path.Australia keeps pushing on, driving a deep wedge into our communities. In states such as Queensland, mask wearing has become mandatory. A muffling barrier of light blue wherever you go is a good example of the barrier now forming in human relationships. The covid-19 crisis is, according to Joe Biden, “a crisis of the unvaccinated.” The mentality is very much the same in Australia.As vaccination rates gradually rise, more pressure is being applied to those who have refused the jab. The federal government has promised not to make the jab mandatory. However, Canberra has given businesses the green light to fire people who refuse.In the community, it is breeding an “us vs. them” mentality. The media is quick to stir the pot with a name-and-shame campaign. Lockdown violators are not just subjected to the iron fist of the law, but their lives are also plastered over the Internet. This happened two weeks ago with an “illegal” engagement party in Melbourne and a church group gathering in Sydney.The bitter divide is only set to widen as communities are punished for their low vaccination and high infection rates.Police StateAs frustration mounts against the state and federal governments, protests have begun to spark. To quell the dissent and enforce their non-science, nonsense policies, the states are turning to overwhelming police force.While most mainstream media refused to cover the story, videos have emerged of the heavy-handed response against unarmed lockdown protesters on the streets of Melbourne. More than 700 police descended on the protest, some on horseback and many more in full riot gear. With police helicopters overhead, the masked police forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray into the crowds.In disturbing scenes last month, a 12-year-old girl was pepper-sprayed by police after she and her sister refused to wear a mask at a western Sydney shopping center.In many of the lockdown cities, residents are limited to a 3-mile radius from their home. To enforce this, police are being taken away from other duties. Images of three or four police officers surrounding a sunbather or someone sitting alone on a park bench are becoming commonplace. One man of Polish descent told me his mother remembered having to carry papers to show the Nazis if you ever wanted to leave your own suburb. While Australia is no Nazi-Germany, there is no denying Australia is sliding down a path toward authoritarianism or even totalitarianism. And anyone who stands up against such measures is being shut down, shut up and shut in.As the police clamp down, remember that since mid-July Australia has averaged roughly

1.5 covid deaths per day, in a country of 25 million people. In the words of Tucker Carlson, “That has been enough to justify the end of Australia and totalitarianism.”The CureAs the nation continues to undergo its ghastly transformation, we are told by our political elites that there is cause for cheer. At 70 percent vaccination, we are assured the nation will unlock—maybe. Or when state health officials see lower numbers, they throw tidbits to the masses. For instance, last week New South Wales State Premier Gladys Berejiklian proclaimed that those who are vaccinated will receive a welcome reward; they can visit a hairdresser again. As if in some way this is good news in the light of all the aforementioned man-made catastrophe.Australia is the perfect example of a nation being poisoned to death by its own cure.Where is the hope? After all, in the nuclear age there are far more destructive forces than the coronavirus. The Bible is full of such warnings for us today. If Australia cannot handle covid-19, how can it stand up to a real threat like China? The truth is, there is no hope in man.

[kurasmaniac-blog]

#it needed to be more violent, I’m going to burry you, you don’t have magic.

In the hospital

daddy dropped me

there are historical figures and concubine queens

they chose me as martyr for my workout regime and as reward for my honesty

little girls resemble solid black babies who try and eat your face openly

tried to fix their dented heads when they got dropped from their cribs

syringles full of things slightly acidic

they opened my trachea

i was unconcious and interrogated

i begin smacking them around

TELLING them how stupid it was to do a thing like that

still managed to tell them a few things they didn't know

at home

finger nail clipping troubles

black widow bites

white python with yellow rings

they think they can abandon me if not completely financially

put hom outside

generaly not there very much

where?

pedophile

brother

no tv

on and off one way then the other

they refuse to feed me

two faced talking to kids who would have been my frinds

i don't get hurt very much i guess

tee ball

pedophiles

dented a kids head for harassing me

coach thinks he can fuck my little butt

i knocked half his teeth out

one swing

no damage initially but as he tries to go back to get my poor little butt hole

i was three

they all talk to eachother about what a bad little shit i must be

pedophile kids in day care #1

moved on to a second

fought every kid who asked me

knocked a kids teeth out for being a little mexican and trying to give everyone HIV

teacher knew the two intruders and tried to drug me

one single cop shows up somehow tries to break one of my wrists

i can see he is full of crying and try to assist him mentally

i continue fighting kids relentlessly

residual growing from the drugs

in and out seeing it all conciously

people try to break my legs

their wish dreams begin manafesting showing me broken memories and arguing that they had done what they said

im still 100% in tact

my grandmother on each side trys to rape me

assorted shit they try and feed me

elementary school starting with kindergarten

i rip a little girls broken arm off basically

a few more kids say they have fought me

little girl tries putting paper clips in my head

i bend her jaw with two punches

she loses her mind and says "i just got that off"

my soul smiles up at them openly

first grade second grade the cops had already seen me

i loved jumping off swings

but i had hurt so many people god came down and put my face in the ground

as high as the roof landing solely and flat on my face

i bled crainially

a puddle of clear liquid on my face and desk they would have licked me

stop defending yourself you're fucking the kids up

kid thinks he is hercules and wants to help everyone by trying to break my nose

i lie to him like they had lied to me

my nose is clearly not broken

i lose more of the kids its like they're just not there

i lose the ability to run without pain

dentistry

teeth filed

suppposidly removed for breaking the coaches face

second set is given to me

i had only walked into school twice even at that point

ultra decked a kid because a girl said he was a little fucker "stop raping me" they said

more drugs for beating so many of their children

kids who had been to my house lose it and go after things pets and family

there was supposed to be a funeral at some point they tried to kill me

i broke a toe walking down to the kitchen for a drink

i was sent back home from hell and scared the shit out of everyone royaly

im no longer capable of hearing them try and explain their reasons to me

one night i woke up having to remind myself to breath

brother and girlfriend kill parents

they go after me

putting cigarettes out in my nose

trying to cut

and failing horribly

the girl was daughter of a police officer whose face i had also broken right after his daughter

at a friends house other dad and second son come hope after going to the hospital having tried teaching the boy fighting and yanking his neck breaking the spine they

they had refused treatment and his head falls off in my arms

i had still only used violence defensively

i refuse to take karate for fear of perminantly damaging a student then instructor in that order

on anotyher night the dad of the dead boy tries to fuck my poor little butt hole

my only explanation is i simply don't and can't have the fucking of my butt magically

loss of memory

cop dughter girl has doctors try and cut off my arms and legs leave a for fork in my chest and chain me to my bed

the chains are broken i manifest new arms and legs which i use a bit to grab the girls face a bit and i notice they urge me to not hurt the girl by fading in and out

there are too mny things in my list here for me to just be full of shit believe me

sixth grade camp for 2 of the 7 day week a proctor dissapears for judging me and another kid and trying to put shit on at least my ear

he dissapears

my pants and broken belt fell off in front of a girl and i notice she has trouble not noticing my nuts

jr high first new friend trys to hold me under water but i didn't like it and shattered one of his testicles he has one

at a girls party somehow i overstayed my welcome so they try and cut my face off paint it with tatoo ink burn bitch at then shun me

before i can get out i find myself inside the house and the girl freaks out she wanted me to leave because my mother followed me in and i had to bitch slap her

drugs

i make a big scene talking to my mom on a cell phone they don't like me

the girls dad carrys me outside by the shirt and puts me directly into mothers car

pipe bomb

met tiesto he lived there i guess

the girl was rape/fucked because people knew my parents thinking of them poorly

i would have to have at least one of these mentioned having this many

havent done homework since second grade

little herculese still thinks of bending one of my arms so i shove a foot right up under his girlfriends butt in a class

on an extended field trip a fat kid drugs me and i hear i defiled a sanctuary but don't have memory of crying myself to sleep much less living with it like a mistake at all actually

kids had put shit in their pockets and thought of me

i don't get to go to the girls second party

on the final days of school field trip i miss the buss call but find some kids who stayed also find myself out by a buss and rape a police officer to get myself put home

i had robbed a crain game and grabbed at least 15 stuffed toys

i was punnished for not doing the monkey bars right and dislocate a sholder but still manage to get to the top the climbing pole

teleport frisbe

a bee flies right up into my shorts and didn't seem to want to leave

im debating not going back to add in all the other things for elementary school typing this is tiresome in itself

high school

staying late after school eventually turns to my brother throwing my dad a surprise party where i had died in the bathroom party girl put magnesium on my hed and it melted its way right through me

the bathroom is a mess and my dad watched me die

i pop back up and walk out into the living room naked not having clothes some mexican kids tried to piss all over my room

there must have been something wrong with my dad for refusing reason like he did i hear i knocked teeth out of his face for my poor little butt holes honor

barbeque injector to the heart

huge trap door spider made a snack of me

people tried to kill my cat

loss of vision but there were people who tried talking to me

the police had investigated the corpse in the bathroom and say it wasn't me

i smiled

stabbing for my method of provocation

soemthing fucked me

someone cut the skin off my left arm and tried to wear it

the next day i walk back to the hangout just fine

people threw rocks at my mother i didn't make it all the way home conciously

i thuroughly haunted a school performance and broke a girls face for their indirectivity

my bend in my jaw is still there

i don't go to my fathers house anymore after that party

find myself at my mothers and know not much more than that her housband breathes heavily when hes angry

when im at another house with one of his kids i end up staying for a week strait

when they wre drinking they poison me

on another night i make it too the bathroom after drinking heavily and think of it as a victory

i wake up in the bathroom with my left hand clutched around a puking girls pony tail shes screaming WAKE UP WAKE UP don't put my head in the toilet

as i take it off my hand responds slugishly with each finger prying itself off individually starting from the left pinky

i clutch my hand and call back to sleep

residual

i have a few short visions one of a neck readjustment i enjoy pranoidly

another of my mother and her housband trying to get me to leave that house why not just put me outside

i get a car

i drift around this same turn in my city 10 times having looked at the reason and ignoring my good way out i slam one front left axel into the curb breaking it loose then take a right turn and make it to a spot to park

the tire stayed on and they cannot police me

im gifted a few dips in the road and scrape part of a plastic under carrige piece off partially but being half an inch thick it cannot have happened

i was smoking at a church and let a guy try my manual car without me i hear a loud crash but the car seems fine later i realize he must have tried to blow the transmission seeing how the car acted just after

the car now runs on me

another set of people tests me at first mostly with steroids in a single spot cutting drugging

when someone threatens me i still just tell them to hurry the fuck up

drugs

a few long trips drugs found a girl with "tongue fur" which i cant have because earlier i was given a yellow funguns that was "if you're not dead in a week that's not what this is" i lived and the fungus formed a line around the horizontal rim of my tongue

there is a tackle box on every corner and everyone is on a foreign telephone netowrk

one night i appear just in front of my drive way pull in and am followed throught the door shot up and left unconcious

earlier there had been mexican workers broght from a separate city so many that step father is shuned "you never bring them back"

if a person fails it is clearly their fault or literal mind rape possibly

i made the girl who showed interest hot and for a while she thinks of it as raping me until she gets HIV

the last mentioned group of people one night summon me with wishes to go and have a rave far away and by the end the only thing i can say is they couldn't afford what I bought them by being there

a girl of them is kidnapped and raped supposidly

i tried many times after being shot up maybe 10 times taking pills and not smoking to pull her ass back to my car but the best i can do is offer my sholder for stabbing

the brakes became clogged with sand

we were moved and i took people home

the girl is recovered by one of the group and her authority father she had jondis

the now hot rape girl and a guy had given HIV to many people including both their families

i got a job

i somehow broke the computer system at that restourant but i had been driving my car with parifanalia and a broken tail light for long enough to get the idea i should use this chance to continue my high school work of being there weather anyone liked it or not

the cop whos sons head had fallen off in my arms tied to put a harpoon slug in my left eye

one morning on the way to school my windows had been rolled up and the frost was heavy on my windshield

i back out at a point of defrosting thinking it would clear up but find myself in the same place as before looking right at the answer clearly but not able to act

i passed throught a pillar my mother having been pushed into the drive way and proctor on the corner of my mountain rode street where there were some kids waiting for a buss i had never noticed

hercules had killed one of my cats for raping his home and i end up running over a kid who was playing in the street

the proctor pulls a boi knife and puts it through my face i have a vision of POW soldiers being hydrolically injected so i say no

one of the kids starts yelling about how a little gir had started crying and i pull off to make more magic

parts of the kids body were stuck to the bottom of my car and i took all of it strait to the closest parking space at the school to the school

there were police waiting but they just shoot so i vanish again losing memory not really knowing

the puddle was hercules' little cousin and my cat was at home

i did mushrooms up in the mountains and played car pinball all the way down to a friends house

the police showed up there but i had already fallen asleep from eating too many mushrooms

at the school graduation there was a special surprise for me in the form of some guy holding my diploma who the just ran thinking i didn't have it but did

father was there and tried to rip it in half i vanish again

my year book had been handed around the whole school

i didn't see it at all i'll make some wish for that later as long as not too much is a staged story

many people have HIV at this point

one final night after work i had been drugged for a week or so by the guy who brought the HIV back from cuba

i cant do anything but hurt people

she stood there in the hall unable to call me a bitch without explanation and I finally understood psychology

that part of their face is bent, so is mine but if it actually matters i wont ever care

i don't have HIV but i like to think that maybe some had been let go

i don't know how much of that acid they gave me but i drove home parked turned the music up as my brain dried out

if anyone had an objection i didn't hear of it right then

brother and the second cop had the second cops dad take drills to my teeth at a party i was summoned to

the damage wasnt immediate but later and just some

if that kid was hercules then my tee ball coach was zues whose lack of teeth have fucked my head up for years

i went to the planned parenthood and almost was raped but found myself outside

i was taken to two 5150's where by the end one had missing people the the other had seen me inside a secret wall room

i end up in the mountains one night and a kid with heppatitis shoots me up

everyone has a fucking needle

historical figures all around along with a zues and herculese makes me think there once was an after life but they refused to take responsibility and leave it there before showing up here to rape little boys

i raped and took a walk through the rave in LA one night on invitation apparently party girl told me i was a fagot

i didn't pay but i still even got inside after tiesto himself had failed to just walk up and beat me

once inside i was split into five went everywhere then took a seat up in the top section

they asked me to leave twice played me part of a song saw my brother and floated down to a door across the crowd from where I was

ruffles?

i landed on the other side near the enterance to the VIP section but just walked out into the fog

oh

went the wrong way and found myself home turned the music up and began wrenching around my bent faw right side

finally once i headed around to the back drive way it was loud again but i had a magic barrier that kep the high school kids away and the kids kept the other people away

my head started screaming at me and i was alone with it to beat as time went on

my psichiatrist heard me once say that the human trafficing people couldn't do anything about me either so they decided t kill me

one night i was sick with the flu had a heart attack

another day i went out to mow the lawn but i had gotten so clogged by the medications there was some pain

a while after i see my drivers license picture looks just like the kid from terminator two after he beat that hooker

on walks i found things i had never seen a mushroom that reminded me of a lamp shade red fat butt spiders like a black widow and small tube scrap that looked like it had been cut

i was going to use it as a blunt crutch but thought it might be metal lit one end and held it at the other

it was hot in less than 1 second and probably cold before i dropped it

i think about it having the mark of being cut and a piece left from it being broken off but i don't think people have anything like it

i threw it away thinking nobody would ever give a fuck who cares i found it on a walk no you don't have it

i have the kings crown magnet still

on the way i had broken kids cops an fbi agent but who gives a fuck i was born in a hospital

the phich meds were good for a while and i had gone back to laughing then suddenly it turned drastically to extreme discomfort the word for which people still don't acknowlege

it was that way for at least a year of painful discomfort not being able to sit still or stand

until one day i decided to give a bit and stop taking the medication

then the drugs quietly gently turned back a few different attempts later

but the yelling i had done in my room and the music had attracted me attention again i didn't hear of any of it from a person at all

nother guy dances down my hallway uninvited bounces into my room and tries to flip the light switch but the bulb breaks and im sitting there blinded by the light of my computer screne

they cant hear me thinking

someone got the little girl at the end of the street the tongue fur right the fuck up in the top end of it

i herd some people outside my window even my land lord so i guess they cant get the fuck out of my house either

i got my new house of my own in a mobile home park and in the first few days someone had assigned a hagared lady to try and do "something"

once the pandemic hit in the first few days there was a guy in a truck and not knowing well enough to stay away i talked to him

my casual manerisms concerned the people from down the street

but after the builders tried to crack the house in half and the HIV kids spitting at my father

[studentofrhetoric-blog]

Part 1, Thursday, March 23rd, 2017

International News:

--- "China said on Thursday the United States should respect its air defense identification zone (ADIZ), after Chinese officials warned a U.S. bomber it was illegally flying inside China's self-declared zone in the East China Sea. The Pentagon rejected the Chinese call and said it would continue its flight operations in the region. China declared the zone, in which aircraft are supposed to identify themselves to Chinese authorities, in the East China Sea in 2013, which the United States and Japan have refused to recognize. CNN, citing the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, said a B-1 bomber was flying near South Korea on Sunday, and that its pilots responded to Chinese air traffic controllers by saying they were carrying out routine operations in international airspace. The aircraft did not deviate from its flight path. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she had not heard of the matter, and referred questions to the Defence Ministry, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-defence-idUSKBN16U0SB?il=0

--- "Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he would have "face to face" talks with the new U.S. administration in May and that Syria and Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based cleric he blames for July's failed coup, were the top bilateral issues. In an interview with CNN Turk, Erdogan said talks with Washington continued on Gulen, whom Turkey wants to see extradited. Erdogan said a planned operation to drive Islamic State from their Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, and the fate of the Syrian town of Manbij were "very important regional decisions we have to take," and said Turkey was saddened by the U.S. and Russian readiness to work with the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria. He also said a U.S. and British ban on devices bigger than a cellphone in the cabin on flights from several countries including Turkey had damaged mutual confidence and said he hoped the mistake would be corrected soon."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-usa-erdogan-idUSKBN16U2OQ?il=0

--- "The top U.S. general in Europe said on Thursday that he had seen Russian influence on Afghan Taliban insurgents growing and raised the possibility that Moscow was helping supply the militants, whose reach is expanding in southern Afghanistan. "I've seen the influence of Russia of late - increased influence in terms of association and perhaps even supply to the Taliban," Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, who is also NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. He did not elaborate on what kinds of supplies might be headed to the Taliban or how direct Russia's role might be. Moscow has been critical of the United States over its handling of the war in Afghanistan, where the Soviet Union fought a bloody and disastrous war of its own in the 1980s. But Russian officials have denied they provide aid to the insurgents, who are contesting large swaths of territory and inflicting heavy casualties, and say their limited contacts are aimed at bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-russia-idUSKBN16U234?il=0

--- "Thousands lined the streets of Martin McGuinness' home town on Thursday for the funeral of the Irish Republican Army commander who became a cornerstone of Northern Ireland's peace. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was among the key figures from the peace process who traveled to pay their respects to the nationalist Sinn Fein politician, who died on Tuesday at the age of 66 from a rare heart condition. McGuinness remains a figure of hate for many pro-British Protestants in Northern Ireland for his senior role in the IRA, which killed over 1,600 people in three decades of violence aimed at breaking Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and uniting it with the Irish Republic. But he is a hero to others for defending his community from what was seen as a hostile British state, and for his role as one of the lead negotiators in the 1998 peace deal that largely ended the violence...Priest Michael Canny said McGuinness knew only too well how many people struggled with his IRA past, but that the presence of so many people in the church whose attendance would have been unthinkable only a short generation ago was an eloquent testimony to "a complex man". Clergy from other religious denominations also spoke during the service. "He changed the fabric of Northern Ireland for good. People are in a better place because of him," said Nancy O'Neill, in her 70s, who traveled with her family from the neighboring county of Tyrone."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nireland-mcguinness-idUSKBN16U1TV?il=0

--- "Europe's refugee policy is not sustainable and the European Union should move fast to change it, the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner said on Thursday. Nils Muiznieks said EU states should take family ties into account when relocating asylum-seekers and harmonize the system of assistance given to them. "The system is unjust on the frontline countries, especially Greece and Italy... It puts unsustainable burdens on the frontline states... I don't think it can work for a long term," Muiznieks told reporters during a visit to Slovenia. The so-called Dublin regime, based on the Dublin Convention signed in the Irish capital in 1990, determines the responsibilities of EU states toward asylum-seekers. It also allows them to return refugees to the first safe country they reached on their flight to the EU, which in most cases is Greece or Italy. As a consequence, thousands of refugees have been stranded in those two countries since last year when many EU states started to reject new asylum-seekers and to return those who were not granted asylum to the EU border states. Only a fraction of the stranded refugees have been relocated from Greece and Italy to other EU states where they can seek asylum."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-council-idUSKBN16U2E0?il=0

--- "A man drove a car at speed into a pedestrianized street in Antwerp on Thursday, forcing people to jump out of its path, a day after an assailant rammed a vehicle into crowds in central London, police said. The car sped away in the Belgian port leaving no one injured, but prosecutors said police later arrested a man suspected of being the driver, naming him as Mohamed R., a 39-year-old French national of North African origin. Antwerp police found knives in the vehicle and a canister containing an unknown substance that bomb disposal officers were checking, Belgian federal prosecutors' office said in a statement. The Belgian federal prosecutors did not give details of any motive but said they had been called in "based on all these elements and the events in London yesterday". A French source later told Reuters that authorities there believed the suspect had not been trying to hit anyone, but was probably drunk and trying to escape a police check. The source described the suspect as a Tunisian national living in France, known to police for common law crimes. There was no immediate comment on the source's account from Belgium."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-security-belgium-idUSKBN16U1RI?il=0

--- "Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday accused the United States of having a provocative stance on the South China Sea and said its inaction when China started building manmade islands was the cause of tensions now besetting the region. Duterte said Washington's freedom of navigation patrols risked a "miscalculation" that could spark conflict, and accused the previous U.S. administration of pressuring the Philippines to take a stand against China, without a guarantee of military support. "You go there in the pretence of challenging them?" he said of the U.S. patrols that began under the Obama administration. "One single solitary shot, it could lead to an explosion and it could lead to a war and it will be a slaughter." The firebrand leader is open about his grudge against his country's oldest ally, which he said was bound by a treaty to protect the Philippines, but had done nothing when China started building in parts of Manila's its exclusive economic zone (EEZ)."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-philippines-idUSKBN16U28X?il=0

--- "Fighting around Syria's capital Damascus has cut 300,000 people off from humanitarian aid and pauses in the conflict are needed to let aid convoys in, Jan Egeland, U.N. humanitarian advisor on Syria, said on Thursday. "They are totally dependent on our supplies. Starvation will be just around the corner unless we get there in the coming weeks," Egeland told Reuters in an interview after chairing the weekly Syria humanitarian taskforce meeting in Geneva. The besieged Douma and Kafr Batna areas of rural Damascus contain 161,000 and 142,000 civilians respectively. Their food stocks have dwindled and informal supply routes have been cut. "The increase in the fighting has disastrous effects on the civilian population," Egeland said. "They haven’t had any supplies by the U.N. since October in Douma, and in the Kafr Batna area not since June of last year." The Syrian government is not giving the green light for convoys and armed groups are not guaranteeing the security of aid convoys, meaning that no aid can go in, Egeland said. Rebels clashed with Syria's army on the edge of the city center in the Jobar district for a fifth day on Thursday and made advances against the Syrian army north of the town of Hama. The U.N. is hoping to send an aid convoy on Friday to Wadi Barada, a valley outside Damascus where fighting raged at the start of this year. But in other areas apparent humanitarian progress has been stalled or reversed."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-egeland-idUSKBN16U1PA?il=0

--- "Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday that the fatal shooting of a former Russian lawmaker in Kiev was an act of Russian "state terrorism". Former parliamentarian Denis Voronenkov was killed outside a hotel in the Ukrainian capital earlier on Thursday. Voronenkov fled to Ukraine with his wife last year and was helping the Ukrainian authorities build a treason case against former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-murder-poroshenko-idUSKBN16U1IV?il=0

Domestic & International News:

--- "A bipartisan group of U.S. senators including senior members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee introduced a bill on Thursday seeking to tighten sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile launches and other non-nuclear activities. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, a co-author of the measure with the Republican foreign relations chairman, Bob Corker, told Reuters it had been written specifically not to interfere with the international nuclear agreement reached during former President Barack Obama's administration."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-usa-sanctions-idUSKBN16U2VI?il=0

--- "Saudi Arabia's crude exports to the United States in March will fall by around 300,000 barrels per day from February, in line with OPEC's agreement to reduce supply, a Saudi energy ministry official said on Thursday. The United States imported about 1.3 million bpd from OPEC's top exporter in February, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. "Exports may fluctuate week on week, but on average in March exports will be down," the official said, responding to a Reuters request to comment on the EIA data. Saudi exports are then expected to remain around March's level for the next few months, the official said."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-opec-saudi-usa-idUSKBN16U2OY?il=0

--- "The U.S. Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, an outspoken bankruptcy lawyer aligned with the Israeli right. The vote was 52 to 46, almost exclusively along party lines. Only two Democrats, Senators Robert Menendez and Joe Manchin, joined Trump's fellow Republicans in backing Friedman. That amount of opposition is highly unusual for a nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel, a close ally of the United States. For decades, nominees from both Democratic and Republican presidents have been approved without objection, via unanimous consent or voice votes. Friedman, who has no diplomatic experience, is a longtime friend of Trump who worked for the Republican former New York businessman as a bankruptcy lawyer. In addition to investing in settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians, Friedman favors moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The relocation is strongly opposed by many U.S. allies because both Israel and the Palestinians claim the city as their capital. Friedman is also known for using inflammatory language against those with whom he has political disagreements, such as describing former President Barack Obama as anti-Semitic. Democrats said his approach could risk security in a volatile region."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-israel-diplomacy-idUSKBN16U2L5?il=0

--- "The U.S. State Department will approve on Friday the permit needed to proceed with construction of the Canada-to-United States Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project blocked by former President Barack Obama, according to two government sources familiar with the process. The move would mark the beginning of process that could be lengthy and complicated by approvals needed by state regulators and legal challenges...White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the administration would provide an update on Keystone on Friday but did not offer any details...The State Department's undersecretary for political affairs, Tom Shannon, is expected approve the cross-border permit for TransCanada Corp's pipeline since Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, recused himself from the matter."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pipeline-keystone-idUSKBN16U25E?il=0

--- "A teenager with dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship was arrested in Israel on Thursday on suspicion of making dozens of hoax bomb threats against Jewish community centers in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The suspect, whose identity remains sealed pursuant to a court order, is 18, Jewish and a dual U.S.-Israeli national, a police spokesman said. The teenager's alleged motives were not immediately clear. At a court hearing near Tel Aviv, the suspect's defense attorney, Galit Bash, said the young man has a growth in his head that causes behavioral problems. She later told Reuters he has a brain tumor, which "may affect his behavior, his ability to understand right and wrong," and said the teen's father had also been held in connection with the case...U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday said the arrest reflected the government's determination to prosecute those who perpetrate hate crimes."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-jewish-threats-idUSKBN16U1O7?il=0

--- "A Utah man was killed and his wife badly injured during Wednesday's attack near Britain's Parliament in London, relatives of the couple said on Thursday. Kurt Cochran, 54, and his wife, Melissa, were in Europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary and had been due to return to the United States on Thursday, according to his brother-in-law, Clinton Payne. The couple were struck by a sports utility vehicle that plowed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, Payne said in a statement. Three people were killed in the attack, including Kurt Cochran and a policeman who was stabbed to death. Cochran's wife was among about 40 others who were injured. The killer, named on Thursday as British-born Khalid Masood, was shot to death by police...U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his condolences. "A great American, Kurt Cochran, was killed in the London terror attack," Trump wrote on Twitter. "My prayers and condolences are with his family and friends.""

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-security-utah-idUSKBN16U20Z?il=0

Further info on attacker: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-security-attacker-idUSKBN16U26E?il=0

Domestic News:

--- "The Trump International Hotel in Washington is not in violation of federal conflict-of-interest rules that bar elected officials from taking part in a lease of federal property, the U.S. General Services Administration said on Thursday. Critics argued the luxury hotel housed in the historic Old Post Office a few blocks from the White House was a conflict of interest for Republican President Donald Trump because he is both landlord and tenant of the building. Lawyers for the hotel said the claim had no merit. Democratic lawmakers asked the GSA, which oversees federal property, to clarify the status of the lease arrangement. In a letter from GSA contracting officer Kevin Terry to the president's son Donald Trump Jr., the GSA said the issue had been resolved by the younger Trump taking over as head of the company that runs the hotel and by changes to its internal operating agreement. The agency said the company, the Trump Old Post Office LLC, was in full compliance with the section of the lease prohibiting elected federal officials from having any part of it."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-hotel-idUSKBN16U2RP?il=0

--- "The top U.S. Senate Democrat on Thursday pledged to pursue a procedural hurdle to try to block the confirmation of Republican President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, a move that could provoke a nasty partisan fight and change the way the Senate does business. Republicans hold a 52-48 majority in the 100-member Senate, leaving Democrats with an uphill battle to prevent Gorsuch's confirmation. But Senate rules enable Democrats to insist on 60 votes to overcome a procedural move called a filibuster to allow a final up-or-down vote on confirming Gorsuch, 49, to the lifetime job on the nation's highest court. Trump has called on Senate Republicans to change the long-standing rules in order to allow a simple majority vote on confirmation if Democrats mount a filibuster. If eventually confirmed as expected, the federal appeals court judge from Colorado would restore a conservative majority on the nine-seat high court, fulfilling one of Trump's top campaign promises. As the Judiciary Committee completed its fourth and final day of Gorsuch's confirmation hearing, the spotlight turned to whether he gains the support of vulnerable Democratic senators facing re-election in 2018. The support of eight Democrats would short-circuit a filibuster. "After careful deliberation, I have concluded that I cannot support Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court," Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor, a day after Gorsuch finished marathon Judiciary Committee testimony. "He will have to earn 60 votes for confirmation. My vote will be 'no,' and I urge my colleagues to do the same.""

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-gorsuch-idUSKBN16U13L?il=0

--- "The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted narrowly to repeal regulations requiring internet service providers to do more to protect customers' privacy than websites like Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) or Facebook Inc (FB.O). The vote was along party lines, with 50 Republicans approving the measure and 48 Democrats rejecting it. The two remaining Republicans in the Senate were absent and did not cast a vote. According to the rules approved by the Federal Communications Commission in October under then-President Barack Obama, internet providers would need to obtain consumer consent before using precise geolocation, financial information, health information, children's information and web browsing history for advertising and internal marketing. The vote was a victory for internet providers such as AT&T Inc (T.N), Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) and Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N), which had strongly opposed the rules."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-internet-idUSKBN16U2ER?il=0

--- "Jay Clayton, the Wall Street attorney tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on Thursday defended himself against Democrats' charges that multiple conflicts of interest would force him to miss too many SEC votes. Clayton, a partner at elite law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, is expected to win confirmation easily, although some Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee raised concerns about his ties to Wall Street and Goldman Sachs, a bank he represented during the financial crisis and that employs his wife, Gretchen. His wife plans to resign from the bank if Clayton is confirmed, and he said he will recuse himself from matters involving his or the firm's clients for two years...Clayton told the panel his Wall Street legal experience is a "strength," adding he did not think conflicts of interest would present problems in leading the agency that enforces securities laws and regulates U.S. stock, options and bond markets...Clayton, a political independent, told the committee the Dodd-Frank financial reform law should be "looked at" to determine if it has achieved its goals. When pressed on certain parts of the law, such as whether the SEC should delay implementing a rule requiring companies to disclose the ratio of CEO pay to the median pay of workers, Clayton declined to wade into the debate until he could get more information from SEC staff."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-sec-clayton-idUSKBN16U0DL?il=0

--- "The Republican head of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee apologized on Thursday for the way he handled sensitive allegations about U.S. spy agency surveillance of President Donald Trump's team. Representative Devin Nunes was criticized by colleagues on Wednesday for calling a news conference to announce that the communications of members of the team that ran Trump's transition to the presidency were swept up in incidental surveillance targeting foreigners. Democrats were upset that Nunes made the comments to the media and then briefed Trump in the White House without informing them. They questioned whether the intelligence panel could run a credible investigation...Representative Jackie Speier, a Democrat on the panel, said Nunes had apologized "in a generic way."...Another Democrat on the committee, Representative Eric Swalwell, told MSNBC that its members had not yet seen the material referred to by Nunes."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-surveillance-idUSKBN16U2FE?il=0