#regional debate winner

[townpostin]

Jamshedpur Student Ishita Pandey Wins Regional CISCE Debate Competition

Ishita Pandey from Tarapore School to represent Eastern Zone at national level Ishita Pandey of Tarapore School clinched first place in the CISCE regional debate competition, advancing to the national level. JAMSHEDPUR – A Tarapore School student has won the CISCE regional debate competition, securing a spot in the national-level event. Ishita Pandey demonstrated exceptional oratory skills and…

[ollieofthebeholder]

Hi! I know you do NaNo every year and are quite involved with it; have you seen their new AI policy? And what are your thoughts on it?

https://nanowrimo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/29933455931412-What-is-NaNoWriMo-s-position-on-Artificial-Intelligence-AI

Hi!

So first off, nonnie: My involvement with NaNoWriMo has, uh, declined significantly in the last year. I was an ML through last November, and there were...a lot of problems that all culminated in me (and my co-ML ) not only making the decision to step down as MLs, but disaffiliate our region from NaNo altogether. We're not stopping people from participating, just taking the groups we manage independent and starting our own, localized version. Global communities are great, but when you get to as big as NaNo got and start having to implement rules and make them apply to wildly diverse regions - and then have absolutely no policies in place for people in those specific regions to adapt those policies - it stops being fun, frankly. For organizers and participants.

All of which is to say, no, I hadn't seen this until now.

My thoughts are that, like so many other things NaNo has tried to do since November, it's well-intentioned (probably) but poorly thought out and even more poorly executed. It's also too broad and overencompassing. And it violates the spirit of the program they've been belaboring us with for the last 25 years.

AI - Artificial Intelligence - covers a lot of ground. Spellcheckers are technically AI. Speech to text programs could be construed as AI. Predictive text is AI. ChatGP and its ilk is essentially an advanced form of predictive text, at least at this point. And if you had suggested five years ago that someone might write a novel entirely based on predictive text, the official NaNoWriMo stance would have been "I mean, sure, you CAN do that, we can't really stop you, if that's what you're happy with." If your goal is just to have 50,000 words, do whatever you want. I guess from their wording, they're saying that this is in general, not specifically for NaNoWriMo, but this is still a pretty bizarre stance for an organization that pushed for years for everyone to start on November 1 with a blank document and not a single word written ahead of time.

Arguing that "opposition to AI is classist and ableist" is the kind of reductive bullshit I expect from Tumblr, not a major organization that is supposed to promote literacy. I especially don't get the "not everyone has access to all resources" bit. Yeah...that's true...but if you have access to AI, you have access to everything you need to participate in NaNoWriMo, i.e. a computer with a keyboard and an internet connection. If you just want the fifty thousand words to get the prize and don't care if they're good, just fucking write "banana" over and over again until you hit it. Boom, you're a winner, and you've done just as much work as someone prompting ChatGPT, and it'll probably make about as much sense.

Also, most AI programs in existence use up a ridiculous amount of energy and resources, and encouraging their use is kind of an iffy stance for any company to take, let alone one that's been making this much of an effort to be sustainable.

Frankly, I think this policy is just one more sign that NaNo has gotten a) too big to be sustainable and b) too far from what it was originally meant to be, and I'm honestly debating if I'm even going to participate in the global one this year.

[ts1989fanatic]

Have We Reached Peak Taylor Swift? The Psychology Behind When Someone Becomes Overexposed.

Is Taylor Swift about to be in her 'overexposed' era?

Midway through the Eras Tour, Taylor Swift is everywhere.

The ongoing tour ― Swift is scheduled to resume the international leg in November ― and the subsequent concert film are certifiable cultural events that have actually boosted regional economies. (In Los Angeles, for instance, where Swift performed six shows, the California Center for Jobs and the Economy predicted a $320 million boost to the county. No wonder Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau practically begged the Grammy winner to visit up north.)

She’s even bolstering the NFL’s viewership: Since the “Cruel Summer”

singer started attending her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs games, the league has seen some Super Bowl-level numbers thanks to all the Swifties tuning in.

Meanwhile, the media coverage is breathless. While daytime talk show hosts ask Kelce’s mom about Swift, there’s play-by-play of the couple’s dates around the web: “They were in a rounded booth sitting super close to each other in deep convo the whole time,” a diner at the Waverly Inn in Greenwich, where Swift and Kelce dined on Sunday, told The Messenger. “It looked super romantic and was super intimate.”

But given Swift’s cultural dominance ― and NFL fans booing an ad for her concert doc early this month ― even her fans are a little worried that Taylor fatigue might soon set in. Is Swift due for another “overexposed” era?

“Kinda overwhelmed by how close Taylor is to overexposure,” one fan tweeted on X.

“You either die the hero or live long enough to admit that you have Taylor Swift fatigue,” another wrote on the site.

On the main Swift subreddit, fans debate if Swift will eventually go back into pop star hibernation like she did after her “1989” album.

Indeed, this isn’t Swift’s first go-around with overexposure. The success of “1989” in 2014 was followed by a heightened interest in Swift’s personal life: her famous friends (or her “squad”), her ill-fated romance with Tom Hiddleston, her drama with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. In response, Swift made a “conscious choice to disappear” and opt for a more “lowkey” life, a source close to the singer told People at the time.

Her rollout of her next album, 2017’s “Reputation,” was relatively quiet. (“There will be no further explanation. There will just be reputation,” Swift remarked on Instagram.)

Swift seems to pay close attention to her fandom and cultivate those parasocial relationships, said Lynn Zubernis, a psychologist and professor at West Chester University who researches fan psychology.

“Who knows, she might consider withdrawing from the spotlight again at some point,” Zubernis told HuffPost.

The professor likened the “Anti-Hero” singer’s ubiquity right now to Barney in the ’90s. Parents loved the purple dinosaur initially (no one kept their kids as entertained), but that love soured by the 104th listen of the “I love you, you love me” theme song.

“Familiarity is part of what drives fandom — we’re wired to attach to familiar faces, whether they’re offline or on our screens — but there’s a limit to how much repetition we can tolerate,” Zubernis said. “Too many instances of someone popping up and behaving the same way or saying the same thing can start to grate.”

The overexposure is sometimes exacerbated by the celebrity being perceived as “trying too hard” or being inauthentic, Zubernis said: Miley Cyrus, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, even Lady Gaga come to mind, she said.

“At first their ‘antics’ were popular, but people soon grew tired and cynical about them,” she said. “Justin Bieber, James Franco, Shai LaBeouf and Kanye West fall into that category too, and all have been on lists of ‘celebrities we’re tired of’ as a result.”

There’s also a common trajectory that fandom tends to take: Fans love to root for their favorite celebrity ― or sports team or TV series ― because of that vicarious sense of success they gain, but there’s also a cost to that success and visibility, Zubernis said. Some fans jump ship.

“Fans also relish feeling ‘special’ and seeing their fandom as exclusive ― as in, we are the only ones who see how truly special this person is and appreciate her,” the professor said.

“Once someone like Swift becomes beloved by everyone, even ‘normies,’ the fandom doesn’t feel as exclusive anymore,” she added. (Think how in high school, you used to say, “Yeah, I liked that band when they were still underground.”)

Jaye L. Derrick, an associate professor of psychology who studies parasocial relationships at the University of Houston, has a different take: She thinks that most of the people complaining about Swift were never fans to begin with.

“She has a very large following, but no celebrity can make 100% of the population like them,” Derrick told HuffPost.

“As Taylor Swift is shown to new markets, she is meeting some pushback from people who may have been aware of her before but never sought her out,” she said. “I suspect that most of the negative exposure is from people who had maybe consciously avoided her before and are not able to avoid her anymore.”

Tracy Gleason, the chair and professor of psychology at Wellesley College and an author of a paper on parasocial relationships, agrees with Derrick. The fans at the Giants game who booed her ad, for instance, might have done so because she’s dating a player on a rival team.

“Another possible explanation for the football game is that people who are fans of football, some of whom are likely women, are not necessarily fans of Taylor Swift,” Gleason told HuffPost. “Seeing Taylor get more attention than the game itself might have felt distracting and annoying.”

“Who knows, though,” she added. “Maybe they are Swifties but just want to keep each of the things they enjoy in their own lane: Taylor belongs on the stage and football belongs in the arena.”

Is misogyny at play when we deem someone “overexposed”?

When it comes to conversations about fame, some have pointed out that it tends to be women that get the whiplash “love-hate” treatment: They’re celebrated at first, then they’re deemed overexposed, like Anne Hathaway or Jennifer Lawrence were after their respective Oscar campaigns.

For the most part, men have more room to navigate fame: There’s a double-standard for the type of behavior that is considered appropriate for men versus for women, Derrick said.

For starters, men are expected to express their agency, so they are allowed to promote their projects.

“For women, it is harder to engage in agentic behavior without people viewing them as too in-your-face,” Derrick said. “In American society, we traditionally expect women to be more communal and less agentic.” (Swift addresses this complicated bind for women in the song “The Man” from 2019 album “Lover.”)

The professor thinks these women would probably get a pass if they were “trying too hard” to promote something communal, like a charity, but over-promoting yourself is a cardinal sin in celebritydom if you’re a woman.

With male examples of overexposure, it usually results from some publicly frowned-upon behavior: Bieber was a notoriously bratty teen (which is hardly a crime, of course, but his reputation persists), West was accused of antisemitism, Franco and LaBeouf were both accused of sexual misconduct, and Elon Musk has been accused of not only damaging Twitter (or as he’s rebranded, X) but threatening democracy itself.

Women celebrities are shamed for bad behavior, too, of course, but also for deviating from social expectations, Zubernis said.

“The culture still isn’t all that comfortable with women being very visible or powerful or successful in some way; that idea is vaguely threatening to the status quo,” she said. “I think that would apply to Swift, Hathaway and Lawrence.”

If you were a fan of any of those women to begin with, though, you probably stuck by them through and through. Fandoms tend to be ride or die until something truly cancellable happens.

“There are times when fans will turn on a celebrity, but those are usually cases where the celebrity did something out-of-character that led people to become disillusioned with their brand,” Derrick said.

In other words, when it comes to these “overexposed” claims ― or criticism from non-fans who wish Swift would take a sabbatical ― Swifties worldwide are probably just going to “shake it off.”

ts1989fanatic:

So Michael Jackson in his prime was everywhere and until he went off the deep end was beloved by fans and none fans worldwide. But Taylor Swift who has in my opinion reached MJ status is over exposed, you know this was not really a thing until she started dating Travis Kelce.

So to answer the question posed above

Is misogyny at play when we deem someone “overexposed”?

In the case of Taylor Swift damn straight misogyny is at play, all these talking heads and college professors and the rest of the media jackals and TS haters need to just FUCK THE HELL OFF.

[mariacallous]

Austria’s far-right Freedom Party has won the country’s recent parliamentary elections, reigniting debates about the rise of right-wing populists across Europe. However, survey data and election results from various continental European countries show that left-wing radicals are also experiencing a significant surge. These data suggest that Europe is not merely shifting to the right, but undergoing a broader political polarization. The driving force behind this trend seems to be socio-economic issues, including a wave of inflation that has hit the middle class hard.

Austria's search for stability

The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) won the country’s recent parliamentary elections, as was expected, securing 29.2% of the vote, according to preliminary data from the Austrian Ministry of the Interior. The party, which has made immigration its central campaign theme, is still waiting for the final count, as many Austrians vote by mail. This process has sparked controversy in the past, as late-arriving ballots have sometimes significantly altered election results — often to the detriment of the far-right. However, this time, the Freedom Party’s lead over the ruling center-right People’s Party (26.5%) is more than 2.5%, a margin that the remaining votes are unlikely to close.

Despite this clear victory, the Freedom Party has little chance of forming a government. All other parties, including the People’s Party — despite its previous coalition with the FPÖ — are currently refusing to cooperate with the winner. Additionally, President Alexander Van der Bellen, who has Russian roots, has made it clear that he will not nominate the FPÖ’s leader, Herbert Kickl, a pro-Russian hardliner, for the position of prime minister. It is more likely that a coalition of centrist parties, both left- and right-leaning, will take power, leaving the Freedom Party in the opposition — this despite a clear anti-immigration sentiment among Austrian voters.

At the same time, a new trend is emerging in Austria: rising demand for radical left-wing politics. For the first time in decades, the long-forgotten local Communist Party came close to passing the parliamentary threshold. It has focused on addressing real social issues, such as housing policy, and it is gaining traction in urban areas. In 2023, the party performed well in regional elections in Salzburg, achieved solid results in Vienna, and since 2021, the mayor of Graz has been a member of the Communist Party. This suggests that the Communists could strengthen their position even further in time for the next elections, especially if they start appealing to current far-right voters, as is happening in France and Germany.

France riding a left-wing wave

The approval rating of French President Emmanuel Macron has recently dropped to its lowest level of his seven years in office. According to a poll by Odoxa, only 25% of the French public are satisfied with his performance. Moreover, 59% believe that Macron’s newly appointed prime minister, Michel Barnier, will be a “poor” head of government.

In Austria, mainstream politicians are struggling to keep the far-right out of power. But in France, following the snap elections in June, Macron found himself up against the far-left. The New Popular Front, a coalition of diverse parties that includes the Socialists, took first place. Leading the coalition and securing the majority of the left-wing seats in parliament was Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his far-left party, La France Insoumise (“Unsubmissive France”).

Although Macron’s political maneuvering has thus far succeeded in keeping Mélenchon and his allies out of government, the French left is gaining momentum by focusing on social issues such as utility prices, pensions, food costs, and education. They are steadily reclaiming voters who had previously shifted to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.

Not long ago, the biggest concern for centrists in France was the potential victory of the far-right’s young new leader Jordan Bardella in the 2027 presidential elections. Now, however, the question of the day is which radical left-wing candidate will make a serious run for the presidency. Mélenchon performed quite well in the last presidential race, but it is likely that this time the candidate will be younger — and possibly even more radical.

German Greens losing ground to left-wing radicals

The political landscape in Germany and the Czech Republic also indicates a shift to the left. Almost simultaneously, the leaders of Germany’s Green Party and the Czech Pirate Party announced their resignations. In Germany, the Greens’ official reason for stepping down was their crushing defeat in the Sept. 22 regional elections in Brandenburg, where they secured only 4.1% of the vote, failing to enter the regional parliament (Landtag).

In reality, however, change at the top is likely due to the fact that the rating of the Alliance 90/The Greens, a la Macron's situation in France, has dropped to its lowest level in seven years, and is currently hovering around 9.5% nationwide. This puts them behind the newly established left-wing and pro-Russian Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, which was formed just this year. In Brandenburg, Wagenknecht's party managed to capture 13.5% of the vote.

A similar scenario played out in the Czech Republic in the latter half of 2024. Following disappointing results in regional elections and senatorial by-elections, the Pirate Party's leadership stepped down. The Pirates, much like Germany’s Greens, had positioned themselves as champions of progressive environmental policies, marriage equality, LGBTQ rights, and stricter penalties for domestic violence.

At the same time, the popularity of local communists and their allies surged following the European Parliament elections. They have coalesced into the Stačilo bloc, led by the Czech equivalent of Wagenknecht — Kateřina Konečná. Like her German counterpart and Mélenchon, the Czech communist opposes active military support for Ukraine and favors a potential normalization of relations with Russia. However, her campaign remains focused on social issues, such as high levels of household debt and problems with utility bills, access to housing, and pensions.

Radicalization fueled by inflation

In both the Czech Republic and Germany, the next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2025 — unless the current governing coalitions collapse before then, triggering snap elections. The newly emerging left-wing movements, which combine anti-immigration rhetoric with pro-Russian sentiments, appear to have a strong chance of success. It seems that radical leftists, who had largely vanished from the political landscape over the past two decades, are making a comeback in many European countries.

However, their platforms have shifted significantly, and in some cases, their stance on immigration sounds almost identical to that of the far-right. Support for such parties is growing among the European lower-middle class, which has been hit hard by economic and social upheavals over the past five years. Key factors include a sharp rise in utility costs following the breakdown of energy ties with Russia, record-high inflation for the EU, and increasing food prices. These issues were aggravated by the policies put in place in many EU countries to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, by global food price spikes caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, by the recent conflict in the Middle East, and by ongoing climate disruptions.

In Germany, the number of family-owned businesses is noticeably shrinking, and bankruptcies are rising. In the Czech Republic, a similar pattern is emerging, with more bankruptcies being declared and fewer small businesses opening up. Politicians have been quick to exploit these vulnerabilities. As a result, by the 2025–2027 election cycle, the narrative may shift away from fears of a right-wing bump to a growing concern over a left-wing resurgence. This new leftward shift could prove more stable and enduring than the rightward shift did, as its root causes are unlikely to be resolved quickly — if EU countries can even address them at all in the foreseeable future.

[lk-freelance]

Exploring Alternatives to the Electoral College: What Could Replace It?

In the United States, the Electoral College has long been a subject of debate. Critics argue that it can lead to outcomes where the winner of the national popular vote does not necessarily become president. This has sparked discussions about alternative systems that could potentially replace or reform the Electoral College. Here, we delve into several options that have been proposed:

1. Direct Popular Vote

One of the most straightforward alternatives is a direct popular vote. Under this system, the president would be elected based solely on the total number of votes they receive across the entire country. This would eliminate the intermediary step of electors and directly reflect the will of the people on a national scale.

2. Proportional Allocation of Electors

Currently, most states (except Maine and Nebraska) use a winner-takes-all approach, where the candidate who wins the majority of the state's popular vote receives all of its electoral votes. Proportional allocation, on the other hand, would distribute electoral votes based on the proportion of the popular vote each candidate receives within each state. This could provide a more accurate reflection of the electorate's preferences.

3. National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC)

The NPVIC is an agreement among states to award all their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of the individual state's results. This compact would only go into effect once enough states representing a majority of electoral votes join, ensuring that the winner of the national popular vote also wins the presidency.

4. Ranked-Choice Voting

Ranked-choice voting, or instant-runoff voting, allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed based on voters' subsequent preferences. This process continues until one candidate achieves a majority, ensuring that the winning candidate has broad support.

5. District System

In this system, each state would allocate its electoral votes based on the results within congressional districts. This approach is similar to how Maine and Nebraska currently allocate their electoral votes, potentially providing a more nuanced representation of the state's electorate.

6. Hybrid Systems

Some proposals combine elements of different systems, such as allocating a portion of electors based on the statewide popular vote and the rest based on results within congressional districts or regions. These hybrid approaches aim to balance the benefits of different electoral systems.

7. Constitutional Amendments

Ultimately, any substantial change to the Electoral College would likely require a constitutional amendment. This could involve abolishing the Electoral College entirely and replacing it with a new system, such as a direct popular vote or another alternative structure.

In conclusion, the debate over the Electoral College and its alternatives is complex and multifaceted. Each proposed system has advantages and challenges, and the feasibility of implementing change depends on political will, public support, and the intricate legal and constitutional considerations involved. As discussions continue, the search for a system that best represents the will of the American electorate remains a critical topic in the ongoing evolution of the nation's democratic processes.

[koreanling]

Happy 추석/Chuseok!

추석 also known as 한가위, is Koreas autumn harvest festival, similar to thanksgiving or other such celebrations. It's celebrated in both North and South Korea and lands on the 15/8 on the lunar calendar so it changes each year, but for this year it starts on September 28 and goes on until the 30th. Uniquely 추석 guarantees 3 days off; the day before, 추석 day, and day after.

Where Does Chuseok Come From?

Chuseok is an age old celebration so when it originated is a bit debated. Some think it comes from around 57 BC - 935 AD as a part of another celebration called gabae. Gabae was a month-long weaving contest between two teams and when the competition was over the winner would be treated to a feast from the losing team.

Other think that it is tied to celebrations for the harvest moon where people would offer deities and ancestors new harvests. Which means chuseok could have started off as a worship ritual.

Whichever the origins or history, 추석 has developed to be a big family event in Korea, with a lot of specific foods and events going on. The event celebrates family, food, and the large harvest before winter starts to come in.

Some common holiday foods are:

Yakgwa 약과

Jeon 전

Saengseon Twigim 생선튀

Hangwa 한과

Songpyeon ���편

Before there was more of a culture to make 송편 with family and go all out; doughs would be died naturally and made into unique shapes. There was even a common saying that said: “송편을 잘 빚으면 예쁜 딸을 낳는다” or in English: “If you shape 송편 well, you’ll have a pretty daughter”.

What are the traditions of Chuseok?

Visiting with Offerings Ancestors Graves:

추석 is all about family, both alive and past. Koreans usually hold a memorial service, or charye (차례), in honor of their ancestors and offer certain foods to them such as rice and fruits. Which additional food is offered changes a bit depending on region though, in Seoul salted fish and meat dishes are offered along with rice for instance.

When giving appreciation to ancestors Koreans also go to the family grave plot and sweep and clean the area. Then, they bow to their ancestors graves as a whole family which is called sungmyo (성묘).

Giving Gifts on Chuseok

People also need to celebrate their live family! 추석 gift sets are common to find around in Korea before the holiday begins in stores and supermarkets. Many gifts are very food and health focused; from having fruit, alcohol, and meat, to ginseng products, health products, and others.

Interestingly though; the fruit gifts are pretty pricey and filled with premium fresh fruits. So don't mistake them for the fruits you normally get at the grocery store. Quality Beef is also an expensive gift to give that people really love.

[venerates]

   mika "yumekui" mortimer.

   When nothingness and everything become one, what will happen? The world will reach cathartic heaven, for whatever gaps have befallen humanity betwixt Arceus' and Giratina's creation, all the violence and sin humanity have wrought, will cease to be. Paradise will be upon all those who survive.

   At least, that's what the extremist sect of Divinity of Fusion ( frequently shortened to DoF in Interpol documentations ) believed. They'd been functioning for over half a century, perhaps longer. The Divinity of Fusion embarked on a campaign of political assassination and opportunistic replacement of key governmental figures to seize control and to establish perceived social order across regions. Shortly after the world trembled before one Team Galactic, and more specifically, Cyrus, the Divinity of Fusion had replaced approximately 7 figures of importance over the course of 10 years. They were deemed high risk by Interpol.

   Mika. He was a hesitant believer of Arceism, specifically New Arceism, though for the most part avoided talks of religion unless it specifically benefited him. Mika was a spiteful, bitter piece of work.

   He was a con artist by day and night, specialising in assuming alternate identities. Mostly to thief money and goods away from those unsuspecting. One of his specialties was, in fact, a priest of New Arceism. He was so good at his job, falsifying documentation and references, that when the Divinity of Fusion sought one priest of Arceus and one priest of Giratina, they picked him. The selection was under the guise of partaking in a friendly debate, with the promise of plenty of cash shortly thereafter. The debate winner, upon poll, would also receive an extra sum of money.

   But, instead, the two priests were set up as a way of aiding the bridge between them and the gods.

   On a muggy night in spring, the Divinity of Fusion managed to summon Arceus and Giratina.

   Arceus eventually tore away from these humans' meddlings—whether this was because Arceus is harder to maintain a summoning with, or because Mika wasn't an actual priest of Arceus, no one knows—and Giratina remained. Giratina ended up what predominantly melded with Mika's psyche. Feelings, emotions—ones exclusively tied to the god pokémon, their minds, for but a fleeting second, touching—all came rushing in. The actual priest of Giratina were to receive the brunt of Giratina's soul and succumbed some moments later.

   Anger. That's what resonated with Mika—their common ground. Whether it was anger at being summoned so recklessly and thoughtlessly, or historic anger towards being banished, Mika can't be certain.

   But that's what his path became consumed by. That's how his life veered off course.

   That's how he became an avatar of Giratina.

[raynavan]

"Welcome to the world of Pokemon, Traveler!"

because i have seen possibly two Pokemon/Genshin crossovers, i decided to make my own! info dumping under the cut

So, as you can see from the drawing, normal in-game pokemon are around in the world of Tayvat, as are most mobs. The mobs themselves are either also pokemon, or “trainers” (hilichurls tend to befriend pokemon, but do not use pokeballs) or will simply come at you with a sword. The traveler themselves (who it is is up to you) usually defaults to swords, but after visiting monstat, will receive a few pokeballs. (yes, attacking pokemon with literal weapons happens, especially with guards that don't have visions, more on that later) and after that they can catch their first pokemon. Paimon is not their first pokemon, but acts more like a pokedex of sorts. (Whether or not Paimon even is a pokemon is up for debate. She insists she isn't though.) 

The world is split up into seven regions, claimed by an Archon, which is a particularly powerful pokemon, considered a god in their own right. It is said that long ago there was a huge pokemon war, and the Archons were the seven strongest winners. Granted power by Celestia, they were able to grant portions of power from one of their typings onto the humans themselves. These powers, Visions, allowed the wielder to learn moves of a specific type. 

Seven Archons, seven types. From Barbatos, the power of Flying types was given From Morax, the power of Rock types From Baal, the power of electric types From Buer, the power of grass types From Focalors, the power of water types

From Murata, the power of fire types

From The Tsaritsa, the power of ice types

(more on the first four in later posts)

While only these types can be used by human vision holders, there has been talk of some Delusions that hold other types…

By speaking to the statues of seven around the areas the Archons hold claim over, the Traveler can hold up to two different types at a time, at the cost of being weak to attacks of super effective types. This is the same with vision holders, while humans without visions function as pure normal types. 

Most people have at least a single pokemon partner, or, if not, pokemon that they are good friends with. How one gets their first pokemon varies greatly depending on the region you live in.

Seeing as only four areas have been released so far, I will only be talking about the first four.

In Mondstadt children usually find a partner very young, as they can leave the city whenever and the pokemon there are generally rather nice (Barbatos’ doing, it was said that he “calmed the winds and souls of the pokemon after the fall of the tyrant pokemon”) but often they will just be hanging out with a pokemon long enough and they’ll just. Bond. And then they’ve got a new partner! (Wild pokemon are often seen in the city of Mond, which is not seen anywhere else. Pokemon partners are encouraged to be out of their balls all the time, so Mond is basically crawling with pokemon 24/7. It is rare to see a child without some pokemon following them two steps behind.

In Liyue people can still bond with pokemon just by hanging out with them long enough, but it’s far more common for a person and a pokemon to form a contact and bond that way. It’s not as impersonal as it sounds- think of it like adopting a dog. You wouldn’t do it unless you really liked the dog. Often it also involves the pokemon helping the human out in a specific way, and the human taking care of them. Children often do not truly catch their first partner until their teenage years. 

In Inazuma it’s… complicated. Of course, people can bond with pokemon early on in childhood like in Mond, but to officially catch them, they will have to have a duel of sorts. Basically the humans and pokemon kinda. Tussle. It’s not a fight where you hurt one another, it's just a “I’m strong enough to take care of you” type deal. Understandably, children are not encouraged to properly catch their first pokemon while young, but theoretically they could as long as they can beat the other. 

Sumaru is a long series of tests and observations on what type would be best suited for a child’s starter, and then that’s sent to the scholars where they try and figure out what kind of pokemon children should get from that type and then they send the kid that pokemon. (Children Hate this especially when they have bonded with another pokemon first. It can be their Second pokemon, but not their starter. That’s not to say that all starter relationships are bad, the children know well that the pokemon didn’t exactly have a choice.) relationships are often tense, but unfortunately there is no refuting that the two, once they get to know one another, do work well together. (not all of them do. Though. There is a large amount of released pokemon in Sumaru, despite it being illegal) 

That's all on world building for now, as we (or, I) don't know much about the other regions. I will make separate posts about the archons later! So! Until then, have a good day/night!

[tardistimeladyyeah]

Check out vote.org to learn how to vote in your state.

Unfortunately, vote or die is appropriate here, in addition to the concept that if you don't vote, this might be the last (free and fair) election you live through if you reside in the United States.

Not voting because "it wOn'T mAke a DifFerEnCe" is the worst possible take on voting. Sure, the electoral college is an archaic remnant of slavery in the United States, but it still exists and overrides the popular vote in choosing the winner of the presidency. But, until we can get rid of the electoral college, we have to make sure as many people vote (especially in swing states) as possible.

Also, this threat won't go away if it's squashed during this cycle, they'll just rename it Project 2028 and so on. You have to vote consistently to defeat this threat. Not just in state and national elections, but local elections, too. All elections are important, even if they don't seem important. Elections have consequences, and choosing not to vote in an election because you don't like any of the candidates is unacceptable, especially in an election that holds so much weight on the future of the US. Pick the lesser of two evils and remember that both parties are not the same or even remotely similar. They are drastically different and if you don't believe me, just look at two different states with two different controlling parties. Seriously. Compare educational outcomes, lifespans (compare the south, especially, to the Northeast or regions typically controlled by democrats), policies that were passed or proposed. And yeah, you can't base what a politician believes in based on their party affiliation, but you can get pretty damn close by looking at the bills they write, what they talk about on social media, and through websites like ballotpedia, a website dedicated to informing voters about candidates. It is very useful if you want to compare candidates and decide who you want to vote for.

Ignore the polls. They are wrong because the sample size is not significant enough to make a difference. You have to vote to defeat Project 2025. You can't sit this one out and expect everything to be okay. Ignore the mainstream media. They're not talking about the right things. They touch on 2025 and move back to the debate and they don't even talk about all of the crap that comes out daily about 45. I'm not a huge fan of 46, but he has done things to help the United States and has a good VP to fall back on if he has to. There is no such thing as a perfect candidate, but 46 is a hell of a lot better than 45. Sure, 46 is old, but so is 45. They're both old but one has a cult that has infected most of a political party and has wrecked checks and balances (the immunity ruling pretty much destroyed the government. In the wrong hands, the US could become like Belarus, for example, one of those places masquerading as a democracy but has maintained the same ruler for decades through doctored results, for lack of a better term. If 45 is reelected because people stayed at home under the "we survived one term, we can survive another" lie, he will become a dictator. There's no doubt about it. The Supreme Court gave the president more power than that position was ever intended to have). The United States is a backsliding democracy, but we can stop it by voting.

There are 117 days to the election. 46 (probably) won't drop out. 45 won't either. Register to vote. Look at your sample ballots. Research candidates. Do your homework and choose which candidate you believe would work to fix the mistakes the Supreme Court has made, among other things (don't choose a third party or a write-in. I know it's appealing, but it's not feasible. The US is a two-party system and voting for a third party may split the vote enough to make the vote close enough that it'll have to go to SCOTUS and that won't end well and write-ins aren't a thing in some states. Suck it up and vote for the lesser of two evils).

If you care about LGBTQ+ rights, vote.

If you care about bodily autonomy, vote.

If you care about healthcare, vote.

If you care about (the availability and quality of) education, vote.

If you care about NOAA, the NWS, the FDA, the EPA, and other organizations that exist to keep us safe and healthy, vote.

If you care about democracy, vote.

We are staring down the edge of the end of democracy in the United States and we can either step back from the cliff or fall forwards into the end of democracy and potentially the world.

I highly recommend watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on YouTube. The show did a piece on authoritarianism that is still relevant, not to mention all of the 45-related pieces that are still somehow relevant. This is especially useful if you don't remember much about 45's presidency. Go back and watch it. Seriously. Then, ask yourself, do I really want to live through that again, but with significantly less freedom?

If the answer is no, vote for 46 to prevent that and so much more.

If the answer is yes, go to a cult deprogrammer and go back to high school.

information:

John Oliver clip

tumblr post with sources

post with a video breakdown

via nowthisimpact on Instagram

breakdown post

All In With Chris Hayes clip via MSNBC

*Please add any additional sources you may have and find useful*

I encourage everyone to not only be aware of Project 2025, but educate yourself on exactly what is — a nearly one thousand page document by Conservatives that describes the creation of an authoritarian state and dismantling of major necessary agencies (EPA, Department of Education, etc), as well as including a plan to remove those who hold high government seats and replace them with loyalists who have little to no experience in that field.

An estimated 41 million Gen Z teens will turn eighteen before this election. Please make sure you are registered to vote by November, and be sure to get to the polls on November 5th.

[crazy-economics]

Why Countries Fail: An Understanding from the Perspective of China’s Development

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics winners were announced on October 14, 2024. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the prize to three economists, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson, for their research on "how institutions are formed and their impact on development."

After hearing that they won the award, I read their book <Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty>. In general, the authors believe that institutions, as a key factor affecting a country's social and political structure, ultimately determine the rise and fall of a country's economic development. Before they published this book, academia had long been studying the determinants of economic growth and had already concluded some distinctive and even controversial results. Amongst them, the most representative ones seem to be the geographical (or climate) determinism and the civilization determinism.

The pioneers of geographical determinism found that so far, most countries that have achieved great economic development are almost all concentrated in the earth's temperate zone. Instead, in the tropical region near the equator, most countries are either poor or underdeveloped, such as African countries and Caribbean countries. Besides, there are almost no wealthy countries in the cold regions near the North and South Poles. At first glance, this statement seems to make some sense. Today, consider the developed regions such as Europe, the United States, and Australia are indeed all located in temperate regions. But paradoxically, there are also two obvious flaws in this view. Firstly, some countries have already achieved apparent economic development even if they are not located in temperate regions. Such as the four Nordic countries - Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. Secondly, and most importantly, this theory still cannot be proved by mathematical methods, irrespective of how convincing they sound. In other words, we have no way of knowing whether the data summarized by geographical determinism have solid theoretical support or are just a coincidence.

Yet as for cultural determinism, to some extent, it is even a bit more debatable. If culture can ultimately play a crucial and decisive role in inducing a country's economic development, then why have North Korea and South Korea, two countries that almost shared the same culture and the same roots decades ago, become so different in their economic development paths? On the contrary, this example just proves the basic view of the book, that institutions are the key factor in the success or failure of a country. The book also gave an example of a small town on the US-Mexico border, half of which was assigned to the United States decades ago. Years later, people found that the situation of the residents of the town, who were originally connected by blood, changed dramatically after being divided into the United States and Mexico. On the side belonging to the United States, its economy has developed rapidly, the unemployment rate and dropout rate have been significantly reduced, and the average life expectancy has increased by 10 years compared with before. However, most of the economic and social development indicators of the towns belonging to the Mexican side have been in a state of stasis for decades-old long. This implies that the role of institutional factors in the process of social development is indeed vital.

The book uses inclusiveness and extraction to divide political and economic systems into four types of system combinations, namely:

- inclusive political system and inclusive economic system;

- inclusive political system and extractive economic system;

- extractive political system and inclusive economic system;

- extractive political system and extractive economic system.

Meanwhile, this book uses a large number of historical facts to show people the crucial role played by institutions in the development of human society. However, can we conclude that institutional factors are the only decisive factor in a country's success or failure? Personally, my answer to this question would be negative. Since in reality, there are still some phenomena that cannot be perfectly explained by this theory, such as the Soviet Union, etc.

On paper, the Soviet Union's economy achieved impressive rapid development from the end of World War II (roughly from 1945) to the 1970s. Yet since the 1970s, its rapid economic growth has come to an abrupt halt, then it has never been able to replicate its previous brilliant development speed until it collapsed in the 1990s. To date, no economists have argued that the Soviet Union's rapid economic development after World War II was due to its highly centralized planned economy and its authoritarian political system. On the contrary, authoritarian regimes and planned economies have already long been repeatedly proven to be the most harmful institutional mechanisms for economic development. However, the Soviet Union still crafted an unbelievable economic growth miracle together with its non-democratic system.

In addition, if compared with China, India, and Russia, in terms of the development of democracy, China should undoubtedly be ranked last on the list. Because in Russia, at least on the surface, there are still nationwide elections. India's democratic process is a big step ahead of China as well. However, more recently, what is surprising is that China's economic development speed in is far ahead of these two more democratic countries. A pseudo-market economy country that is dictatorial, totalitarian, lacks full competition, judicial independence, and strict property rights protection, and even has almost no human rights (in other words, according to the book, China should be a typical combination of an extractive political system plus an extractive economic system), in front of hundreds of democratic countries around the world, has won the first prize in economic growth, and has lasted for nearly half a century. The "China phenomenon" is indeed one of the many mysteries that institutional determinism cannot fully explain yet.

In short, institutional factors do provide a necessary condition for the economic development of human society. However, it does not provide sufficient conditions, that is, as long as there is an inclusive institutional system, a country must be guaranteed to have long-term, stable, and sustainable development.

To further understand what truly determines the success or failure of a country, or what is the relatively most important determinant in a country's social and economic development, we have to first break away from the economic framework. In this way, we can truly think beyond the current limitations and look at problems more thoroughly and clearly.

In the thousands of years of human history, countless cultural branches have been formed. These cultural branches, under the joint action of different geography, climate, production methods, and production factors, have formed different civilizations with massive schools of thought. From the perspective of the scope of dissemination, human civilization can be roughly divided into two categories: regional civilization and worldwide civilization.

Regional civilization refers to a civilization that only affects people within a certain geographical range or even within a single country, such as British civilization, American civilization, Southeast Asian civilization, etc. Instead, worldwide civilization is a civilization that can have a greater influence on the world and has a universal impact on human beings. So far, there are still probably three existing worldwide civilizations of mankind, namely Chinese civilization, Islamic civilization, and Christian civilization.

If these three civilizations are classified according to their development level, then Chinese civilization might belong to the more primitive primary civilization. Although there have been countless brilliant inventions and contributions to human society in the course of the development of Chinese civilization, its greatest weakness lies in the exclusivity of devaluing foreign civilizations. In thousands of years of China’s history, any ethnic group that is not of the same race or origin as the Chinese nation or the Han nationality is uniformly dubbed as "barbarians". Of course, ancient China did have certain assets to be proud of. For example, during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, its GDP almost accounted for one-third of the world's GDP. Nowadays, if such a super-giant country existed, it would be completely unimaginable for all of the residents of this "global village". However, even when Chinese civilization began to decline after the West experienced the baptism of the Industrial Revolution when the level of Western science and technology, industry, and economic development surpassed that of Chinese civilization, the slogan put forward by Zeng Guofan (曾国藩), Li Hongzhang (李鸿章) and other important officials of the late Qing Dynasty was still "learn from the barbarians to control the barbarians." Therefore, in essence, Chinese civilization is a kind of civilization that can only develop itself but cannot lead others to progress together. Especially at present, China's rise in recent decades has not only failed to win the recognition of the world but has made more and more enemies. This aptly interprets the core philosophy of Chinese civilization for thousands of years. Yet even now, this concept has remained unchanged even after thousands of years.

From this perspective, Islamic civilization is a more advanced civilization compared with Chinese civilization. Although its main doctrines still have a distinction between internal and external, Islamic civilization emphasizes that Allah loves both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Christian civilization should be at the highest level of civilization currently. Unlike Islamic civilization, in the philosophy of Christian civilization, there is almost no distinction between "inside" and "outside", but the concept of universal values is used to influence everyone in the world, whether one is a Christian or not. In other words, Christian civilization advocates that whether a person is a Christian or not, one should do good and avoid evil, etc.

Consequently, two main differences are thus caused by this disparity in civilizational inclusiveness.

First, because Christian civilization is more inclusive, it can unite most allies around the world, regardless of skin color, cultural background, language, etc. Although Islamic civilization ranks second, it has had a worldwide considerable influence as well. There is even a trend of "Islamization" in many parts of the world currently, which is no less popular than Christian civilization. Although Chinese civilization has a far-reaching and brilliant history, unfortunately, it has the fewest believers among the three major civilizations in the world (excluding 1.4 billion Chinese).

The second profound impact of such disparity lies in that, both Islamic civilization and Christian civilization eventually evolved into civilizations with belief. Only the Chinese civilization turned itself into a civilization without belief eventually. As a consequence, this issue would in turn have a profound impact on social and economic development.

Perhaps, many Chinese people would not agree with this statement. Indeed, in reality, Chinese people also believe in something. For example, Chinese believe in ghosts, gods, “feng shui” (风水), “Ba gua” (八卦), and fortune-telling (算命), etc. However, believing in everything is equivalent to believing in nothing. Multi-beliefs mean no beliefs. Multi-centers mean no centers.

Most importantly, the "belief" of many Chinese is totally a typical utilitarian "belief". A famous literary figure in early 20th century China - Lu Xun (鲁迅) once said: "Our belief in God is like buying stocks. We believe in whichever one can rise." So, in practice, Chinese people do not believe in God, nor do they believe in the masters in the cave. What Chinese people do believe in is an extremely sophisticated combination of realism and egoism. They believe in profit, wealth-seeking, and everything that can bring them benefits.

However, true belief must be non-utilitarian and supernatural. If a person believes in both Bodhisattva and Tathagata, this cannot be called a belief. In addition, believing that an apple will fall to the ground after falling from a tree is not a belief as well, but a natural law. Belief must be a phenomenon or principle that cannot be explained by science, such as who created the world and who created humans. Unfortunately, there is already no legend or myth regarding the creation theory of the world in Chinese civilization. Ironically, maybe it once existed before in history, but not now. Then a larger problem with China is this has caused the lack of the most primitive foundation of Chinese civilization. Therefore, from this perspective, it is easy to understand the characteristic of Chinese civilization that it is good at wavering.

In other words, the lack of belief has eventually led to two major characteristics in Chinese people's concepts in later generations: wavering and short-sightedness. Subsequently, the huge flaws existing in concepts have cast an indelible shadow on China's social and economic development. To further understand this lag of concept, we might get a glimpse of it from the industrialization process of China and Japan.

Although China and Japan cannot be said to have the same origin completely, it is undeniable that the cultures of the two countries are highly similar and correlated. Since ancient times, China and Japan have all believed in the monarchy and theocracy. Rather, the difference is that theocracy and monarchy in China are vertical, the so-called "monarchy is granted by God." Historically, even the emperors of China also had to offer sacrifices to God and ancestors. They believed that their power came entirely from "divine authority." Nevertheless, in Japanese culture, monarchy and theocracy are roughly parallel. Social ideology sometimes leans more towards monarchy, and sometimes leans more towards theocracy.

In this case, and given that power in China has always been top-down, not bottom-up, China's vertical social system requires the monarch (or emperor) to control the country to the grassroots level if he intends to rule this vast country with full confidence. That is why in ancient times, the "baojia" (保甲), which is a government-designated system that requires the neighbors to monitor each other was so prevalent in China. However, today's "community grid members"(社区网格员) system is exactly a replica of the traditional "baojia" system. Hence, for thousands of years, even though dynasties have changed like flowing water in China’s history, the core concepts in Chinese culture have always remained as solid as a rock and have never changed until now.

On Japan’s side, the coexistence of Japan's monarchy and divine power has finally resulted in the fact that the grassroots society in Japan is controlled by different "daimyo" (Japanese: だいみょう, the name of the lord in the ancient feudal system of Japan), and sometimes the emperor can barely intervene into the local administration, this makes Japan more like typical feudalism in history on instead of that of ancient China. The impact of this discrepancy is obvious: in China, all dynasty changes are always subversive and complete changes, it is impossible to achieve partial regime changes or repairs and upgrades.

All of the above-mentioned issues are due to the degeneration of concepts caused by the lack of belief, which ultimately has an impact on China's political and economic development process. Specifically, in the field of economic development, extremely negative concepts are also pushing China's economy step by step into a dead end of profiteering and short-sightedness. For instance, in human history, indeed we could have seen some cases of fraud in business to make profits. However, we seldom can find similar cases that putting poison into the food. Rather, in modern China, Sudan red, melamine, gutter oil, and other toxic foods are gradually emerging in an endless stream, which is truly eye-opening.

Behind the scenes, what exactly is the deep-rooted reason that contemporary Chinese lack belief and behave without any moral standards? Undoubtedly, the most important thing is still the concept. This is also the answer this article would like to give to the question of what truly determines a country's success or failure.

Ultimately, the answer is - people's concept.

The influence of concepts on culture and beliefs will finally determine a country's choice of its development path (or system). To give a simple example, when the People's Republic of China was just established in 1949, what made nearly 1 billion Chinese people choose a planned economic system that later proved to be extremely harmful? Was it because people at the time had no interest in money or self-interested activities? Of course, the answer is negative. Rather, people's concepts at the time determined that they believed that the planned economy could meet their interests. Then, what was it that made the Chinese people instantly embrace the market economy system after 1978? The answer is still concepts. Just a momentary change in concepts has caused the entire Chinese economic system have undergo earth-shaking changes in a short period. Besides, the lives of people and the way of survival of nearly 1.4 billion Chinese plus the country itself were all dramatically transformed in such a short period.   

Therefore, the power of concepts is truly terrifying.

George Washington, the first president of the United States, once told his wife to free all of the more than 200 black slaves in his family after his death. However, after Washington's death, his wife immediately freed all the black slaves. She later explained the reason for doing so, saying, "I don't want to live among a group of people who are looking forward to my death." There is no doubt that Washington wanted to free the black slaves out of an advanced concept of human progress. Instead, the fundamental reason for his wife's act of freeing the black slaves may not be as great as Washington's concept, but it is still a necessary concept that intends to hamper potential crises from happening.

This reveals that, if a country wants to succeed, it must be guided by advanced concepts. Even if it does not have such advanced concepts for the moment, it must at least have some crisis concepts (or crisis awareness). If a country or its leaders do not even have a sense of crisis concepts, then the future development of this country must be unsustainable. Especially, for some current socialist countries, if they continue to maintain their current development concepts, then some or one of them will be very likely to repeat the footsteps of the Soviet Union and embark on a road of no return finally.

[jonsenl]

The Fascination of the Lottery: A Game of Chance and Dreams

The lottery is one of the most enduring forms of gambling, offering people a chance to win life-changing sums of money for the price of a small ticket. This simple, yet incredibly alluring game has captivated the hearts of millions worldwide, crossing cultural, social, and economic barriers. Despite its straightforward structure, the lottery carries deep implications—financial, psychological, and societal.

A Brief History of the Lottery

Lotteries have a rich history that dates back thousands of years. The first recorded instances of a 1 lottery date back to ancient China, where they were used to fund major government projects, including the Great Wall. Over time, the concept spread across Europe and North America. In fact, some of the earliest public works in the U.S., like roads and schools, were funded through lotteries.

In modern times, the lottery has evolved into a global phenomenon. Countries around the world host national, state, or regional lotteries, many of which contribute to public services such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure. This gives the lottery a unique position as a recreational activity that often has broader social benefits.

How the Lottery Works

At its core, the lottery is a simple game of chance. Players purchase a ticket that contains a series of numbers or symbols. On a designated day, a random drawing takes place, and the ticket holder with the matching combination wins the jackpot. While many lotteries offer a grand prize, they also feature smaller rewards for partial matches, increasing the overall odds of winning something, even if it’s not the coveted jackpot.

There are different types of lotteries, including instant-win games, where tickets can be scratched to reveal whether a prize has been won, and drawing-based lotteries, where numbers are chosen from a larger pool over time.

Why People Play the Lottery

The lottery’s allure lies primarily in its accessibility and the tantalizing possibility of winning big. For just a few dollars, anyone can have a shot at becoming a millionaire, a concept that can be incredibly appealing for people from all walks of life.

The psychology behind the lottery is fascinating. Many people play not just for the chance to win but for the dream of what that win represents—freedom, security, and the ability to fulfill long-held aspirations. Whether it’s paying off debt, traveling the world, or supporting loved ones, the lottery represents a ticket to a different life.

The Odds and Realities of Winning

While the dream is enticing, the odds of winning a lottery jackpot are famously slim. In major national lotteries, such as the U.S. Powerball or Mega Millions, the odds of winning can be as steep as 1 in 292 million. Yet, these astronomical odds don't stop people from playing. Why? The small cost of a ticket, coupled with the massive potential payout, creates a sense of excitement and hope.

Even with these long odds, people still win, and stories of lottery winners achieving their dreams make headlines, reinforcing the fantasy. However, there are also stories of those who mismanage their newfound wealth, as sudden riches can come with unique challenges.

The Lottery and Society

The lottery has societal impacts that go beyond the individual player. Many lotteries are organized to fund public projects, like education and healthcare. In some countries, the revenue generated from lottery sales contributes significantly to these sectors, turning what is essentially a game into a form of civic contribution.

However, there’s also debate surrounding the ethics of lotteries, particularly concerning the lower-income players who tend to buy tickets more frequently. Critics argue that lotteries act as a "regressive tax," disproportionately affecting those who can least afford to lose. Others see it as harmless fun, with individuals voluntarily choosing to participate.

Strategies and Superstitions

Despite being a game of pure luck, many players employ various strategies or superstitions to increase their chances of winning. Some believe in selecting numbers with personal significance, while others opt for random combinations or even patterns. Although these methods have no proven impact on the outcome, they can make the experience of playing more engaging.

The Future of Lotteries

With the rise of technology, lotteries have increasingly moved online, making it easier for people to participate without leaving their homes. Digital lotteries also offer more variety in games and payouts, with some platforms offering international lotteries, allowing players to participate in jackpots from around the world.

Blockchain technology has also begun to influence the lottery industry, with the potential to create transparent, decentralized lotteries that ensure fairness and prevent fraud. This innovation could revolutionize the way lotteries are run and perceived in the future.

[head-post]

What do Japan’s PM’s words about Hiroshima tell us?

The risk of the use of nuclear weapons has been looming over the world recently. The escalation of multiple regional conflicts in Europe, the Middle East and Asia has kept the entire world community in suspense, forcing politicians to consider every step and every word, sometimes substituting historical concepts. However, a recent statement by Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba came like a thunderbolt.

Last week, live on Japanese TV during an election debate between the heads of political parties, the minister said:

“I will never forget the shock I felt as a sixth-grade junior high school student when I saw the US disclosed footage of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.”

Probably every schoolchild knows from the history of the course about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with American bombs. The atomic bombs dropped by the Americans on Japanese cities were the first and so far the last combat use of nuclear weapons in history, which caused a lot of casualties and destruction. However, hearing this from a Japanese minister was quite a surprise.

Japanese officials have traditionally been silent about who dropped the bombs on their cities in 1945. Even at commemorations on the anniversaries of the deadly bombings, the US is not mentioned. It is therefore quite remarkable that Ishiba brought up the US. Yes, he said that the Americans showed the footage, not the bomb dropped, but for the Japanese and such a speech is a big deal.

In World War II, the Japanese, when they clashed with the US, showed themselves to be a motivated, disciplined and sacrificial opponent. Washington realised that he was unlucky with the enemy, but as it turned out, he was lucky to be defeated. After the deadly bombardments, the Japanese still continued to fight valiantly, but were later forced to surrender to the victor.

Now Japan is an ally of the US on many international issues, however, the Japanese mentality has a hard time accepting the fact that the government considers a friend of those who caused great damage and losses earlier. Therefore, the outcome of that war boils down to the formula “we asked for it, we got it ourselves, and now we just mourn.”

After the war in the 40s of the XX century, the Americans by right of the winner created the Japanese constitution, as well as literally “brought Tokyo down to earth,” showing that the “heavenly master, tenno” is no longer a descendant of the sun goddess. The US made Japan its outpost, while at the same time ostensibly making concessions, leaving Japan in its former status, abandoning the idea of turning it into a republic.

The same Tenno who ruled during the attack on Pearl Harbor was visiting Disneyland afterwards, but that’s no cause for surprise, but Shigeru Ishiba did give cause.

The PM broke the unspoken veto, which was inviolable even for Japanese ministers loyal to Russia, who built a neutral attitude towards the US, for whom Japanese soldiers of World War II are not only criminals, but also heroes in some places. One such minister was Shinzo Abe. Of course, he did not said these ideas directly; the minister visited the Shinto shrine of Yakusuni.

Ishiba is a long-time opponent of Abe, who challenged him even when the latter’s popularity among the people was enormous and his authority in the party was not questioned. The fact that Ishiba was able to lead the government after years of empty attempts looks like the final death of the long and fruitful “Abe era,” but it had been gone much earlier, even before Abe was assassinated, when Japan’s previous PM, Fumio Kishida, abandoned attempts to build balanced relations with Moscow in favour of pleasing Washington. This was his, Kishida’s, method, his principle, his “modus operandi.” Now, however, even hopes of restoring Japan-Russia relations are very, very transparent.

The new PM does not look like a politician from whom one can expect Moscow-Tokyo relations to be restored from the ruins. This contradicts most of the inputs, starting with the fact that, by his party’s standards, Ishiba is an extreme liberal, and liberals in Russia are not usually expected to do well. He has never said anything that would make him appear to be an opponent of the US; his focus on Washington as his main ally is what unites Japanese liberals with Japanese nationalists, because they are all equally afraid of Beijing’s power.

However, it should be recognised that Ishiba does know how to surprise. And he will surprise everyone – both Russians and Americans – many times over. And the Americans are more likely to be unpleasantly surprised.

The statement about nuclear bombing was made at an election debate, where every statement and every word is made with the expectation of political effect. Elections in Japan will be held very soon, in the last week of October, and the same party of Ishiba, Kishida, Abe will win them, it almost always wins and never seeks conflict with the US, unlike the left-wing opposition, which occasionally allows itself to do so.

However, having confirmed from the people a long-awaited mandate to govern the country, the 67-year-old Ishiba will try to change it, and this also applies to foreign policy. He is, extremely stubborn, principled and meticulous, and most importantly, he is a perfectionist and does not recognise many taboos like some young revolutionary.

For years he has been a dreamer, an individualist and even a rebel in a party and a country where standing out is not accepted and loyalty and obedience are honoured. There is no need to imagine Donald Trump in his place: Japan’s Prime Minister is an intelligent and polite man who, in his spare time from politics, enjoys a harmless hobby: gluing model aeroplanes. But he has publicly criticised the actions of his superiors, even though this is completely unacceptable in his country, and globally Japan’s superiors are the US.

Ishiba views Japan as an equal ally of the US. He did not specify what that alliance would look like, but it is certainly not what it is now, and it is certainly not what Washington would want. Americans value unequal alliances, where the bulls can’t even imagine what Jupiter is allowed to do, whereas Ishiba appears to want to put a new legal framework under the US alliance that would equalise Japan with America, i.e. the defeated with the victor.

It would seem that Moscow does not care what kind of relations Japan will have with America – equal or unequal, the main thing is that they will be. However, there is a difference: an equal alliance can at least theoretically be cancelled, unlike the situation when you are dictated policy by the right of the winner in the war.

It is not known whether Japan will be able to escape the net of American control, but if it does, it will be only through the stage of formal equality, when friendship is voluntary, not forced. At the same time, the role of the Washington White House is what primarily poisons Russian-Japanese relations. If it were not for the US, even on the Kuril Islands they would have reached an agreement decades ago.

After the words of the Japanese minister, Washington should get used to the fact that in Japan he is not remembered in the context in which he would like to be remembered. Because of traits that are rather individual and often contradict national ones, Ishiba is someone who is “not weak.” His meticulousness and perseverance are Japanese, but his willingness to sacrifice national traditions is exclusively Western. Today he reminded the US of Hiroshima, and tomorrow he will put in a word about Okinawa.

THE ARTICLE IS THE AUTHOR’S SPECULATION AND DOES NOT CLAIM TO BE TRUE. ALL INFORMATION IS TAKEN FROM OPEN SOURCES. THE AUTHOR DOES NOT IMPOSE ANY SUBJECTIVE CONCLUSIONS.

Emma Robichaud for Head-Post.com

[newstfionline]

Saturday, August 3, 2024

After Biden’s Withdrawal, Other Aged Leaders Get Some Serious Side-Eye (NYT) When President Biden abandoned his re-election campaign this month, citing the need to “pass the torch to a new generation,” some of the most envious accolades he received came from 6,000 miles away. In central Africa, in coastal Cameroon, many are longing for their president, Paul Biya—at 91 the world’s oldest leader—to take a leaf out of President Biden’s book. But most think he never will. “He’ll do everything to remain in power,” said Lukong Usheno Kiven, a human rights advocate based in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, where Mr. Biya has been in power for 42 years. Mr. Biya is just one of dozens of notably aged leaders who are also far older than the populations they serve. Presidents Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir V. Putin of Russia are both 71. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, is 73. Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is 74, while Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, is 88. But it is in Africa—the world’s youngest continent—where the gerontocracies are most stark. Eleven of the world’s 20 oldest leaders are African, according to research done by the Pew Research Center.

Harris won enough votes to be the Democratic nominee (NYT) The Democratic National Committee announced today that Vice President Kamala Harris had secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. She will be the first Black woman and person of South Asian heritage to earn the top spot on a major party’s ticket. Harris’s nomination will become official after the party’s virtual roll call vote ends on Monday, capping off a month of chaos for Democrats. Just two weeks ago, they were still debating which candidate would have the best chance of defeating Donald Trump in November.

Fires Burning at ‘Full Tilt’ Across the Western U.S. Stretch Resources (NYT) It took only a week for the Park fire north of Sacramento to grow into the fifth-largest in California history, signaling the potential for a destructive wildfire season across much of the Western United States. Almost 50 other large or notable fires were burning throughout the region on Wednesday, according to a New York Times tracker. The sheer number of fires currently burning in Western states—both big and small—has threatened to overwhelm firefighting resources at a rate that worries experts so early in the season. “Normally we’re ramping up in July to get to that peak in August, early September,” said Alex Robertson, director of fire and aviation management for the U.S. Forest Service. But this year, he said, “we’re going into August already at our full tilt.”

Extortion and gang violence are hitting even big corporations and business leaders in Mexico (AP) Even Mexico’s largest corporations are now being hit by demands from drug cartels, and gangs are increasingly trying to control the sale, distribution and pricing of certain goods. Well-known, high-ranking business leaders aren’t even safe. On Monday, the head of the business chambers’ federation in Tamaulipas state, across the border from Texas, gave television interviews complaining about drug cartel extortion in the state. Hours later on Tuesday, Julio Almanza was shot to death outside his offices in the city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas. “We are hostages to extortion demands, we are hostages of criminal groups,” Almanza said in one of his last interviews. “Charging extortion payments has practically become the national sport in Tamaulipas.”

Maduro and Western Pressure (Clarin/Argentina) Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's decision to declare himself the winner of the July 28 presidential election with 51.2% of the vote, compared to 44.2% for the opposition, has not been recognized by the United States, European Union, some allies in Asia and several Latin American countries. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken went so far as to explicitly declare that opposition candidate Edmundo González was the winner of the election, saying there was "overwhelming evidence" that Maduro had been defeated. Surely, as happened with the interim government of Juan Guaidó that emerged in 2019 and was recognized by these same countries, the West will intensify its economic sanctions on Venezuela. But it's worth remembering that such sanctions have failed in Cuba for 65 years, just as they have failed in recent years in Iran and Russia. These countries, along with China, have recognized Maduro's reelection claim, which will give Venezuela some ability to resist any sanctions.

Argentina will use AI to ‘predict future crimes’ (Guardian) Under the leadership of far-right president Javier Milei, Argentina has announced plans to use AI to “predict future crimes.” This week, Milei established the Artificial Intelligence Applied to Security Unit, which will use “machine-learning algorithms to analyse historical crime data to predict future crimes,” utilize facial recognition software to track “wanted persons,” and even use AI to analyze real-time security footage in order to catch crimes as they occur. If you know anything about the current state of AI, or have read any articles on the shortcomings of facial recognition software, you’re probably wondering how this initiative could ever end well. Well, so are many human rights groups. Even if the AI detection programs prove less than effective, said a representative for Amnesty International, the use of widespread surveillance programs will force people to “self-censor or refrain from sharing their ideas or criticisms if they suspect that everything they comment on, post, or publish is being monitored by security forces.” Milei has already shown Argentinians that he’s willing to crack down violently on protests, authorizing police to shoot anti-government demonstrators with rubber bullets at close range and warning that parents who bring their children to political rallies will be officially sanctioned by the state.

After much grumbling, Parisians have come to embrace the Olympics (CSM) In the lead-up to the Olympic Games this summer, the French—particularly Parisians—had a multitude of concerns: Would the River Seine be clean enough to swim in? How much would security restrictions take over daily life? And the universal question, would everything be done in time? But after a successfully executed opening ceremony, which took viewers on a virtual journey around Paris’s most iconic monuments, the mood in the city is starting to change. Yes, the sporting venues have been finished. The Seine was clean long enough to host triathletes this week. Olympic organizers said on Thursday that 9.7 million tickets have been sold—an Olympic record. And despite some latent grumbling, the French do indeed seem to be embracing the Olympic spirit. “There is something quintessentially French about cultivating the negative and focusing on what will not go right,” says Éric Monnin, the director of the Center for Olympic Studies and Research and vice president of Olympism at the University of Franche-Comté in Besançon, France. “But now that the Games have started, all I’m hearing from people is how they want to enjoy this moment of togetherness.”

Children of freed sleeper agents learned they were Russians on the flight, Kremlin says (Reuters) A family of Russian sleeper agents flown to Moscow in the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War were so deep under cover that their children found out they were Russians only after the flight took off, the Kremlin said on Friday. "Before that, they didn't know that they were Russian and that they had anything to do with our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "And you probably saw that when the children came down the plane's steps that they don't speak Russian and that Putin greeted them in Spanish” (the couple had been pretending to be Argentinians).

After Olympics, Turkey’s Erdogan seeks unity with Pope Francis against acts that mock sacred values (AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Pope Francis on Thursday about the “immoral display” at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics and called for a unified stance against acts that ridicule sacred values, according to a statement from Erdogan’s office. The Turkish leader told the pontiff in a telephone call that “human dignity was being trampled on, religious and moral values were being mocked, offending Muslims as much as the Christian world,” the statement said. In an unprecedented display, drag queens took center stage at the ceremony last week. The ceremony attracted criticism over a tableau reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” The scene featured drag queens and other performers in a configuration reminiscent of Jesus Christ and his apostles.

Problems in Pakistan (NYT) In almost every corner of Pakistan, anger at the ruling elite is nearing a boiling point. Thousands have protested soaring electricity bills just outside the capital, Islamabad. In a major port city in the southwest, dozens have clashed with security officers over what they described as forced disappearances of activists. In the northwest, protesters have admonished the country’s generals for a recent surge in terrorist attacks. The demonstrations over the past few weeks reflect frustration with Pakistan’s shaky, five-month-old government and with its military, the country’s ultimate authority. The unrest threatens to plunge Pakistan back into the depths of political turmoil that has flared in recent years and that many had hoped would subside after the February general election.

They ran for their lives as boulders and water banged at their door (AP) When Deva Das was jolted awake by the roar of gushing water and boulders banging at the door, he grabbed his parents and his kids and began running for higher ground. The family waded through slush and muck, climbed a hill, and stayed there in the pouring rain for nearly four hours. When day broke Tuesday, rescuers found the family and brought them down. When the 40-year-old agricultural laborer got back to the site of his village in southern India’s Kerala state, there was nearly nothing left. Houses were gone, buried under mud or wiped away. Trees were uprooted, and roads were swept away. Families were frantically searching for their loved ones. At least 201 people have been killed in Kerala since Tuesday after multiple landslides in the hills of Wayanad district sent torrents of mud, floodwater and giant rolling boulders to downhill villages, burying people or sweeping them away several miles downstream. The disaster also left behind a trail of destruction in its wake by flattening hundreds of houses and destroying roads and bridges.

Rights group says 13 killed during protests over Nigeria’s economic crisis. Hundreds arrested (AP) At least 13 protesters were killed during mass protests in Nigeria against the country’s economic crisis that turned violent in several states, a rights group said Friday. Authorities confirmed four people killed by a bomb and the arrests of hundreds in the protests that triggered curfews in several states. The protests were mainly over food shortages and alleged bad governance in the country. Nigeria’s public officials, frequently accused of corruption, are among the best paid in Africa, a stark contrast in a country that has some of the world’s poorest and hungriest people, despite being one of the continent’s top oil producers.

These Italians are walking off their wine (NYT) On Thursdays, Luciano Fregonese, the mayor of an Italian town famous for its Prosecco, goes on a stroll. He began the walks this summer to counter the calories he consumed at social gatherings. After all, he said, his job includes countless wine-and-snack obligations. “It’s not easy to say no,” he said. But word of the health walks quickly spread, and his evening strolls have become a sensation, with hundreds of walkers joining him. As motivation for others, he’s planning to add pizza. Have a vigorous evening.

[beardedmrbean]

1. 'I work for everyone': Who is Fouad Ahidar, the biggest surprise in Brussels' elections?

Unknown to many Brussels voters before the elections, Team Fouad Ahidar ended up being one of the biggest winners on Sunday, gaining three seats in its first electoral cycle. But who is the man behind the party and can he silence his critics? Read more.

2. Election aftermath: Kingmakers, deal-breakers, and will Flanders break with Belgium?

Belgium's seismic election day saw the nation's political pendulum swing to the right, though to varying degrees depending on the region. What coalitions could take shape is now central to public debate and as separatist parties top the results in Flanders, is Flemish independence really on the cards? Read more.

3. Meet the 22 new (and old) Belgian MEPs

The votes have been counted to decide who will represent Belgium in the next European Parliament, with initial results on Sunday showing Mouvement Réformateur (MR) has gained a seat to become one of the largest Belgian parties in the EU Parliament, matching the three seats each retained by Vlaams Belang and N-VA. Read more.

4. Post-Elections Live (day three): De Wever to become Federal informator

Good afternoon from Brussels! We are now on day three after the elections and things are moving quickly. The government formation processes across the regions are already in full swing (or even concluded in Wallonia). Follow the most important developments of Wednesday 12 June here. Read more.

5. 'A collaboration, not a fusion': MR and Les Engagés will work together in all governments

As the big winners among the French-speaking parties, francophone liberal party MR and the centrist Les Engagés have begun talks with the aim of quickly forming governments in the Walloon Region and the French-speaking Community (FWB). Read more.

6. 'Inspiring example': Belgian Amazon employees victorious in trade union elections

Amazon Web Services (AWS) employees in Belgium have been elected as trade union representatives for the first time ever. Read more.

7. Red Devils seeking a reboot at Euro 2024

Belgium’s so-called ‘golden generation’ is over and today the Red Devils are viewed as long shots to lift the European Championship trophy. Read more.

[cavefilllingcorporation]

A General Report of the Nono people: Part 1 (Page 4), festival edition

...Thanks to this, we know that the purpose of the Fall festival was twofold. First, to collect mushrooms to stock up for the winter. However, the second and main focus of the festival was to tell stories, with the goal of creating memorable ones, specifically ones that people would remember for later. They were forbidden from sharing other’s stories, only their own, though there was a trial regarding a theoretical breaching of this rite which proves that referring other people to hear other’s stories was allowed. After all, you are merely helping that person’s story, not supporting your own. Finally, at the end of the festival, a couple of days were allowed to pass, before the tribe cast a vote. Specifically, who’s story was the funniest. This was a solemn affair though, as the weight of who was elected high. While not directly confirmed, all evidence points to the winner becoming the elected executioner. This is collaborated with the fact that this festival, in contrast to the others, was strictly voluntary, while the others had the entire tribe participating. Many also chose not to participate, and those who didn’t were only allowed a partial vote. No rules existed on whether people were allowed to vote for themselves, and we have no idea if people abused this or not, or even if it was considered abuse. Why people chose to have this in the first place has to do with their “caste” system, which will be explained later, but for the context of this role, people usually could not switch occupations, and were set on them for life. It is theorized that the executioner position had a lot of benefits that others did not have, and maybe was a chance for someone to do something differently in their lives. Finally, children were strictly forbidden from speaking during the festival, mostly likely because the tribes believed that children couldn’t control their joy if speaking to people, and nobody wanted a situation where a child was forced to be an executioner. We have no evidence that such a tragedy took place, but we are sure that if it did, it would have been a one-of-a-kind and a horrifying incident to the Nono people.

Finally, was the winter festival, which seemed to be all about growth. Winter was not about death, it was the time after death, to reflect on your life, before moving onto the next one. Whether they believed in reincarnation or not is up for debate, but another theory suggests that they believe nature dies and is reborn every year, and they have to partake in this as well. To do this, they construct snow and ice sculptures of themselves, each of them a beautiful work of art, intricately detailed with fine precision. We know this because some retired sculptors took it upon themselves to create stone statues of similar kinds. This was probably taboo in their culture, as they were found in caves and other hidden places, and many were found to be smashed. Unlike the other festivals, which were centered on a single day, the festival took place at least over the course of at least a month and a half. In fact, we believe that there was no real start or stop time, starting when the snow first came, and finishing when the sculptures were complete and the rituals regarding them were finished. For context, the area in and around Mobletropolis, where the Nono people lived, is a very cold region. When snow falls, it usually does not melt until the arrival of Spring. Snow sculptures can exist throughout all of winter. This also explains why the Nono people loved Summer and the heat it brought with it. The sculptures were not just there for show though. They were representations of each person, not just physically, but metaphysically. Their loves, their hates, their hopes, their fears, their strengths, and most importantly, their shortcomings and flaws. It was the latter that the Nono tribe focused on, reflecting on it. Then they would write themselves letters, detailing to themselves if they had fixed a list of flaws in themselves that they had written, or at the very least improved upon them. Then they would seal them up, give them to some higher official, either the chief or some elder with a role of keeping the letters safe, secure, and private (it would not have been a sole responsibility though, merely something in addition to another job), and then wait. At the start of the Winter festival, they would open their letters, reflect on if they accomplished their goals, and then create the statues based on those reflections. While not everybody in the village was a talented ice mason, as there were people who specialized in this, everybody was expected to not only assist in their own statue, but also in the statue of their peers. Eventually, as spring came, the statues would melt away, a final death as new life would be brought forth.

Unfortunately, the discovery of these four festivals was the easiest parts of the Nono people’s culture to explore, as they were extensively documented. The rest of their culture wasn’t as documented, or at the very least has as much surviving documentation. It is estimated that it is three times as hard to discover their other works in comparison. Still, we are striving to do so, and this is the tip of the iceberg of what we have found. In two more reports, we will share what we have learned about their private and public lives, including the new reports on their roadways. We hope to see you then!

[art-of-manliness]

Skill of the Week: Escape From Quicksand

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week. Quicksand has held an interesting place in our cultural zeitgeist. Particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, it played a role in nearly one-third of Hollywood movies. Lawrence of Arabia, winner of seven 1962 Oscars, features a dramatic scene in which actor Peter O’Toole races across the desert sands in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to save a young boy from quicksand. In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech, and used the line “lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice” to implore the crowd and nation. When scientists were debating the safety of landing on the moon, plenty of smart men argued that lunar quicksand could envelop the lunar lander entirely and ruin the mission. Even the Vietnam War was often described as and compared to being a quagmire or pit of quicksand. Quicksand was once something that kids feared, and adults thought was a seriously dangerous real-life scenario. Today, that’s not so much the case (unless the kid in question has discovered The Princess Bride, and been watching it over and over). There isn’t any research as to why this is; it’s possible that the idea of quicksand simply ceased to cause fear once the culture was flooded with it, folks got inured to the trope, and fewer and fewer movies featuring this danger were made. In the 90s, the fear of quicksand was supplanted by that of ghosts and zombies. Then we passed “peak zombie,” and that cultural fear fixation passed from the scene too. (For some more discussion about this interesting phenomenon, take a listen to this Radiolab podcast.) While quicksand is indeed real, it’s not nearly as dangerous as Hollywood once made it out to be. First, this natural phenomenon can’t happen just anywhere; it requires some sort of underground water reserve, so in the U.S., you’re most likely to find it in the swamps/marshes of the Southeast, or the canyon regions of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Also, you won’t sink to your death unless you really panic. As long as you make slow movements, and know some basics about escape tactics (provided above), you’ll in all likelihood be just fine. In fact, death by quicksand is most often not due to drowning in it, but because escape isn’t made quickly enough and the person succumbs to the elements. Using the tips above, you can rest assured that won’t be you! Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon. Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support! http://dlvr.it/T76Z1C