#the life and times of david dalziel

[pantaro]

I'm making it my new years resolution to get a job and get a girlfriend (maybe two, but let's not push it), or at least get a hug from a woman I don't currently know!

And also, to be a bit hornier on main, if only to ward the bots away.

...

WOMEN ARE HOT!

[magpiemorality]

Ok so this is a slightly disjointed idea but, 24 hour diner with Virgil or Dee as waiter/person who works there and one of the boys is a regular customer, but who shows up at the oddest of hours. they talk one day and our customer boy tells him about slightly unbelievable happenings, and Virge/Dee isn't sure if they are making fun of him, but this continues. They become each others constant, cause life's hectic. Any ship :] - xaime

This isn’t entirely what you requested because my mind half read it and went off on a wild tangent, but I hope you enjoy! 

Combined with:

This isn't a prompt as much as it's a challenge; how many different names can you give Deceit in one short story without it being incoherent? - @loveceit

"It was a dark and stormy knight" listen, it was a pun and a combo of purple prose+virgil nickname so i figured it could become a story therefore you get it *goes back into the night* - Anonymous

AO3

***

The diner was always an interesting place to work. From the peppy college students to the millennials seeking a quirky date; from the families with rowdy kids to the construction workers that were on a project nearby; it was a great place to be a people watcher.

Just a shame Virgil didn't much like people. He was only there to finance his freelance work and pay for his rent, which made him the perfect candidate for the night shifts.

When he'd accepted the graveyard hours he'd assumed he could just get some work done, hang out in silence until the morning guy, some peppy high-school grad waiting to get into the community college a few blocks away, showed up to take over.

No one told Virgil that the night shift often got the most... interesting customers.

Case in point; D- uh, Dee something. It might have been Damien? Virgil was sure he'd introduced himself as Damien once, but he couldn't quite remember and the guy was a regular by now so he couldn't ask, either. Damien- or maybe Darren?- was a fascinating individual that had managed to pique even Virgil's lack of interest, coming in as he did every time Virgil was on shift without fail. It wasn't always the same time, sometimes Darren, or Dalziel, arrived as the night started around eight or nine (if the sun had gone down), and sometimes he arrived as late as four or five am, only a few hours before Virgil got to go home.

No matter what though, he always stayed until Virgil's shift ended, disappearing in the few minutes when Virgil headed in the back to change out of his apron and grab his stuff. What a mystery. Virgil might not have liked people but he adored a good mystery.

They talked a little every so often, just exchanging pleasantries when Virgil brought D- Derek?- his coffee or a slice of pie (homemade by the chefs but not remotely fresh; this wasn't actually the 50s and demand was too high for authenticity like that). The man was often working diligently away on a clunky laptop with no discernible brand, tap tap tapping providing a nicely soothing rhythmic background to Virgil's own work over at the counter. It was always the same volume, even when there was dead silence, or rain outside, not that Virgil consciously noticed that.

Once he almost caught a glimpse of what D...rake? No definitely not a Drake, eesh. Maybe Declan? Still not right... What Dee was going. It looked like coding, but not coding that Virgil really recognised. More like if the Matrix had been an actual thing of sorts, flickering symbols moving up and down and somehow forwards and backwards, deep into the screen. It made his head hurt a little and Dee- no wait, it was... it was... nope, gone again. Maybe Devon? Ew no. 100% not right.

Anyhow, since then Virgil hadn't ever tried to look again, feeling faintly queasy at the thought of seeing that screen again, and the mysterious Dee just kept tapping reliably away.

The mystery deepened when Virgil had to take a day shift one week. It was busy, a little annoying because he had work to do he would have to stay up late to do instead, and his sleeping pattern was immediately off-kilter after the change of rhythm, but there was something else. His regular D- David? No, too plain. He was more of a Despereaux, or a December, something like that... His regular wasn't there, and the absence was more noticeable than Virgil could have predicted. Even worse, there was some creepy man with crazy intense eyes who came in part way through Virgil's shift and would not. stop. staring. When he got his things and headed to go home the man just smiled at him brightly and he hurried to grab the bus, giving in to the urge to keep looking over his shoulder as he made his way back to his apartment.

He told Drew, Dara, Dolion, whatever his goddamn name was, next time he was on the night shift. It was like slipping into bed at the end of the day; how right it felt to be back under cover of darkness. Dylan, D-ax? That was a name right? Not his mystery regular's though... Dee seemed curious about where Virgil had been, when he served the guy his drink that night, and insisted he sit down for a chat while the diner was otherwise empty. Virgil, despite the work he needed to get done, agreed, and they spent a while having a comfortable and easy conversation that had them both laughing in turn.

That night Virgil left work with a smile on his face for the first time in a very long time.

It only took another few shifts before Desmond or Dexter or Diaz admitted he'd been rather worried when Virgil had changed shifts. He was equally worried about the weird guy that had shown up on that shift. "There are some bad people out there," he'd murmured, looking out the window into the dark streets with a faraway expression as Virgil hung on his every word. "And there are some even worse things than them that prowl the streets." He'd shot Virgil a soft smile, a little apologetic, and had turned the subject neatly onto Virgil's word, leaving the words lingering in the air, almost solid enough to touch as they followed Virgil around for the rest of the week.

That conversation turned into a part of the routine, sitting together over cups of hot, strong coffee, grinning and laughing and sharing thoughts on the world. Rarely did their own lives get much discussion, the past just seemed... unimportant somehow, when compared to the now and the what could be. Draco or Dorian or Dominic or whatever his name was, was quickly becoming Virgil's best friend, and from the genuine delight on Douglas or Diego or Daniel's face he felt the same way.

And one night his friend was late.

It was near closing and Dee still hadn't shown up. Despite the massive coincidence Virgil had never bothered to wonder why he seemed to know the right nights to visit the diner, subconsciously writing it off as nothing strange, but now he forced his worries down with the logical answer that Dee simply had other things to do.

It wasn't weird that he had never once failed to show up for the past... had it been more than a year now? Close to two, even? It... that wasn't weird...

It was weird as hell. But it wasn't anything to worry about; no that pleasure belonged to his absence. Even when Virgil went and changed and got his bag, wondering if tonight of all nights Dean or Dustin or Donovan would have appeared in that moment instead of his usual disappearance, but it wasn't to be.

The journey home felt wrong and Virgil was restless when he forced himself to go to bed, full of turbulent thoughts and concerns. "There are some bad people out there," his thoughts whispered in the early dawn light. "And there are some even worse things than them that prowl the streets."

And yet, somehow, he was there again the next shift. He looked tired, Dalton or Deacon or Demetrius. His eyes were dark and his hair ruffled, and his laptop was nowhere to be seen. He smiled though, when Virgil spotted him, already hunched down in the booth in the corner, the shadow of bruises on his face.

Virgil waited for the other lonely customer to finish up and head off before turning the never-used sign to CLOSED and bringing the entire pot of coffee over for them both. He wrapped his friend in a hug when he stood from the booth as Virgil approached, only making sure to put the pot down first.

When they fell back into the red leather bench seats, eyes on the table in front of them and silence thick, Virgil knew something was changed forever.

He looked up as Dee cleared his throat, a rueful smile on his face. "I owe you an explanation, Virgil," he said, voice hoarse and gravelly.

"Do you?" Virgil asked, looking at him curiously. Somehow it felt like he was actually seeing Dee now, like he was clear where he'd been slightly blurred before. And Dee just smiled again.

"Let me tell you a story. About a man living in a world he wasn't meant to, and someone who saved him."

Virgil's eyebrows furrowed together and he leaned forwards, elbows on the table so he could rest his chin in his hands.

"It was a dark and stormy knight," the man called Dante began. "That saved him..."

-

Masterlist | Buymeacoffee

[45news]

The stricken Muslim community of Christchurch was preparing to bury its dead after the far right terrorist attack on two mosques which stunned New Zealand. Graves for the victims of the worst mass shooting in the country’s history were being dug on Saturday, in anticipation of their bodies being released by the authorities. Workmen using diggers carefully prepared the ground in a quiet corner of Memorial Park Cemetery, with colleagues erecting a cloth over a fence to preserve the dignity of their work on part of the site set aside for Muslim burials, the graves facing Mecca. A few hours earlier Brenton Tarrant, the Australian national accused of the rampage, appeared in court in Christchurch, where he made a white supremacist gesture with his hand while flanked by two police officers. The 28-year-old was charged with one initial count of murder but more are expected to follow and he was remanded in custody until April 5. Christchurch residents outside the Al Noor mosque, where 41 worshippers were shot dead Credit: Jorge Silva/Reuters Police believe Tarrant was responsible for both the attack on the Al Noor mosque and the shooting at the Linwood Islamic Centre a short drive away. Fifty people were killed. A further 36, mostly men, are being treated for injuries at the city’s main hospital, the youngest a boy of two. Two people remain in a critical condition, including a four-year-old girl who was taken to Auckland’s Starship Hospital. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, said yesterday the country’s gun laws would be tightened, with regulations around semi-automatic weapons, such as the ones allegedly used by Tarrant, "one of the issues" the government would consider. Minister David Parker confirmed that Semi Automatic weapons will be banned in New Zealand. pic.twitter.com/zVOAuyalZk— Kenny Williams (@Ohheykenny) March 16, 2019 Praising the bravery of two rural police officers who detained Tarrant at gunpoint as he allegedly tried to flee from the scene of the shootings, Ardern said he would have gone on target more victims. "It was absolutely was his intention to continue with his attack,” she said. Among Tarrant’s alleged victims were children, the elderly, recently arrived refugees and long settled migrants who had built a new life in a country one of them had described as "a slice of paradise". Daoud Nabi, a 71-year-old retired engineer who migrated from Afghanistan to New Zealand following the Soviet invasion, was the first to die on what Ardern would later call the country’s “darkest day.” In the grisly video allegedly filmed by Tarrant and streamed live online during the attack, the pensioner can be heard saying “hello brother” as he approached the gunman at the entrance to the Al Noor mosque. How Tarrant's hate spread across social media There were reports that Mr Nabi stepped in front of someone else to confront Tarrant, taking the bullets for himself. His son Omar, 43, said that was completely in character for his father, who had believed New Zealand to be a "slice of paradise." “Just helping people is his main thing. It makes me feel like he wanted other people to live,” he said. “To die in the masjid, in the mosque, if something like this happens the golden gates open for you.” At just three-years-old Mucad Ibrahim is thought to have been the youngest victim of the massacre. He had gone to the Al Noor mosque with his father and older brother Abdi, but was lost in the melee when the firing started. Abdi described his little brother as "energetic, playful and liked to smile and laugh a lot", confessing he felt nothing but “hatred” for his killer. Barely a year older than Mucad was Abdullahi Dirie, who was photographed cradled in a man’s arms outside the mosque after being fatally shot. His father and four siblings survived the attack. Abdullahi’s family had made their home in New Zealand after fleeing Somalia in the mid-1990s as refugees. His uncle Abdulrahman Hashi, 60, a preacher at Dar Al Hijrah Mosque in Minneapolis, said: “You cannot imagine how I feel. He was the youngest in the family. This is a problem of extremism. Some people think the Muslims in their country are part of that, but these are innocent people.” The family of Khaled Mustafa thought they had found safety in New Zealand after fleeing the bloody chaos of Syria only a few months ago. But he too became a victim of hatred when he was shot dead while praying with his two sons, Hamza, who is now missing feared dead and Zaid, 13, who is recovering from a six-hour operation on his wounds. Ali Akil, a spokesman for Syrian Solidarity New Zealand, said Mr Mustafa's wife and daughter, who were not at the mosque on Friday, were in "total shock, devastation and horror". He added: “They survived atrocities and arrived here in a safe haven only to be killed in the most atrocious way.." Among those also feared killed was a sports loving teenager described by his family as "a regular, typical, Kiwi kid." Sayyad Milne, who had dreams of playing football professionally, had gone to the Al Noor mosque with his mother Noraini. She managed to flee but Sayyad was cut down as the terrorist made his way through the building. Brydie Henry, Sayyad's half sister, said she was "devastated" by the attack. "They were good people, just living good lives. It's just awful," she added. Hosne Ara Parvin, 42, who moved to New Zealand from Bangladesh, is reported to have taken the full force of the bullets after leaping in front of the gunman to shield her husband Farid Uddin, who was in a wheelchair. Naeem Rashid, a Pakistani-born teacher, also tried to rush the gunman, but died later of his wounds. His son, 22-year-old Talha Naeem, a civil engineering graduate, was among those killed. Mr Rashid’s wife and Naeem’s mother Ambreen said: “I still can't understand or believe why and how this happened. But, I know that my husband is a hero. He always helped people and even in his last moments, he did what he could to help others." Khaja Mohiuddin, a chef, described how a fellow worshipper saved people by tackling the gunman while he and about 15 others hid at the Linwood mosque. He said: “The guy was there with us and said ‘we have to do something”, so he ran and just pulled the gun down.” One of Mr Mohiuddin's friends was killed, shot through the head. Two others are seriously injured, one with a collarbone “ripped off”, the other shot in the shoulder. New Zealand mosque massacre - In pictures While Prime Minister Ardern has vowed to change New Zealand’s gun laws, for Mr Mohiuddin it is too late. “That doesn’t return our loved ones. I know I have lost someone about whom I care, and my two other friends, I do not know for how many months they will be on a bed," he said. "It will not return their time nor my mate’s life back.," he said. Others feared killed were Mohammad Atta Alayan, Palestinian refugee who helped raise funds to build the mosque and Haroon Mahmood, a PhD student from Pakistan, who had two young children. Khaled Mustafa, Syrian refugee who fled Isil, was shot while praying. New Zealand futsal goalkeeper Atta Elayyan, 33, was also killed, as was retired engineer Ali Elmadani, who migrated from the United Arab Emirates in 1998. His daughter Maha Elmadani said: "My Dad always told us to be strong and patient so that's what we are all trying to do. For his sake. He considered New Zealand home and never thought something like this would happen here." The city of Christchurch once again bears the hallmarks of compassion that residents leaned on to help them through the dark months after the earthquake of February 2011 that claimed 185 lives. Opposite the hospital a row of traffic cones was adorned with flowers, while a nearby safety barrier was littered with bouquets. Terror in New Zealand | Read more A poster adorned with angels, butterflies and flowers read: “In loveing (sic) memory of all the beautiful Muslims who had their whole beautiful lives ripped away. We love you all and we know you are in a better place now. We will always walk with you side by side.” Lianne Dalziel, the Mayor of Christchurch said the killings were an “act of cowardice” by a “terrorist” who came to the city with “hate in his heart”. She added: “I want us not to be divided by what has happened, because hate divides. I want us to be united, and that’s what love and compassion and kindness are all about. “I believe that we can, because of our previous experience, recover from this. We can recover in a way that we will be stronger than we were before.” New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said this morning that the death toll has risen to 50 after investigators found another body at one of the mosques.  "Security around mosques will continue until Police believe there is no threat," he said. Two other people, a man and a woman, arrested soon after the shootings were not linked to the gunman. The woman had been released without charge, the man has been charged with firearm offences.    A list of those killed in the shootings had now been compiled and families had been advised. Mr Bush said the bodies have not yet been returned to the families as police need to determine the cause of death for each one.   "We have been working pathologist and coroners, and the chief coroner, on that and we have to be clear on cause of death and the identity before we can do that. "We are so aware of the cultural and religious needs so we are doing that as quickly and sensitively as possible," Mr Bush added. The Police chief also said that it was "obvious" that a modified weapon had been used.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2O8tf2i

[7newx1]

The stricken Muslim community of Christchurch was preparing to bury its dead after the far right terrorist attack on two mosques which stunned New Zealand. Graves for the victims of the worst mass shooting in the country’s history were being dug on Saturday, in anticipation of their bodies being released by the authorities. Workmen using diggers carefully prepared the ground in a quiet corner of Memorial Park Cemetery, with colleagues erecting a cloth over a fence to preserve the dignity of their work on part of the site set aside for Muslim burials, the graves facing Mecca. A few hours earlier Brenton Tarrant, the Australian national accused of the rampage, appeared in court in Christchurch, where he made a white supremacist gesture with his hand while flanked by two police officers. The 28-year-old was charged with one initial count of murder but more are expected to follow and he was remanded in custody until April 5. Christchurch residents outside the Al Noor mosque, where 41 worshippers were shot dead Credit: Jorge Silva/Reuters Police believe Tarrant was responsible for both the attack on the Al Noor mosque and the shooting at the Linwood Islamic Centre a short drive away. Fifty people were killed. A further 36, mostly men, are being treated for injuries at the city’s main hospital, the youngest a boy of two. Two people remain in a critical condition, including a four-year-old girl who was taken to Auckland’s Starship Hospital. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, said yesterday the country’s gun laws would be tightened, with regulations around semi-automatic weapons, such as the ones allegedly used by Tarrant, "one of the issues" the government would consider. Minister David Parker confirmed that Semi Automatic weapons will be banned in New Zealand. pic.twitter.com/zVOAuyalZk— Kenny Williams (@Ohheykenny) March 16, 2019 Praising the bravery of two rural police officers who detained Tarrant at gunpoint as he allegedly tried to flee from the scene of the shootings, Ardern said he would have gone on target more victims. "It was absolutely was his intention to continue with his attack,” she said. Among Tarrant’s alleged victims were children, the elderly, recently arrived refugees and long settled migrants who had built a new life in a country one of them had described as "a slice of paradise". Daoud Nabi, a 71-year-old retired engineer who migrated from Afghanistan to New Zealand following the Soviet invasion, was the first to die on what Ardern would later call the country’s “darkest day.” In the grisly video allegedly filmed by Tarrant and streamed live online during the attack, the pensioner can be heard saying “hello brother” as he approached the gunman at the entrance to the Al Noor mosque. How Tarrant's hate spread across social media There were reports that Mr Nabi stepped in front of someone else to confront Tarrant, taking the bullets for himself. His son Omar, 43, said that was completely in character for his father, who had believed New Zealand to be a "slice of paradise." “Just helping people is his main thing. It makes me feel like he wanted other people to live,” he said. “To die in the masjid, in the mosque, if something like this happens the golden gates open for you.” At just three-years-old Mucad Ibrahim is thought to have been the youngest victim of the massacre. He had gone to the Al Noor mosque with his father and older brother Abdi, but was lost in the melee when the firing started. Abdi described his little brother as "energetic, playful and liked to smile and laugh a lot", confessing he felt nothing but “hatred” for his killer. Barely a year older than Mucad was Abdullahi Dirie, who was photographed cradled in a man’s arms outside the mosque after being fatally shot. His father and four siblings survived the attack. Abdullahi’s family had made their home in New Zealand after fleeing Somalia in the mid-1990s as refugees. His uncle Abdulrahman Hashi, 60, a preacher at Dar Al Hijrah Mosque in Minneapolis, said: “You cannot imagine how I feel. He was the youngest in the family. This is a problem of extremism. Some people think the Muslims in their country are part of that, but these are innocent people.” The family of Khaled Mustafa thought they had found safety in New Zealand after fleeing the bloody chaos of Syria only a few months ago. But he too became a victim of hatred when he was shot dead while praying with his two sons, Hamza, who is now missing feared dead and Zaid, 13, who is recovering from a six-hour operation on his wounds. Ali Akil, a spokesman for Syrian Solidarity New Zealand, said Mr Mustafa's wife and daughter, who were not at the mosque on Friday, were in "total shock, devastation and horror". He added: “They survived atrocities and arrived here in a safe haven only to be killed in the most atrocious way.." Among those also feared killed was a sports loving teenager described by his family as "a regular, typical, Kiwi kid." Sayyad Milne, who had dreams of playing football professionally, had gone to the Al Noor mosque with his mother Noraini. She managed to flee but Sayyad was cut down as the terrorist made his way through the building. Brydie Henry, Sayyad's half sister, said she was "devastated" by the attack. "They were good people, just living good lives. It's just awful," she added. Hosne Ara Parvin, 42, who moved to New Zealand from Bangladesh, is reported to have taken the full force of the bullets after leaping in front of the gunman to shield her husband Farid Uddin, who was in a wheelchair. Naeem Rashid, a Pakistani-born teacher, also tried to rush the gunman, but died later of his wounds. His son, 22-year-old Talha Naeem, a civil engineering graduate, was among those killed. Mr Rashid’s wife and Naeem’s mother Ambreen said: “I still can't understand or believe why and how this happened. But, I know that my husband is a hero. He always helped people and even in his last moments, he did what he could to help others." Khaja Mohiuddin, a chef, described how a fellow worshipper saved people by tackling the gunman while he and about 15 others hid at the Linwood mosque. He said: “The guy was there with us and said ‘we have to do something”, so he ran and just pulled the gun down.” One of Mr Mohiuddin's friends was killed, shot through the head. Two others are seriously injured, one with a collarbone “ripped off”, the other shot in the shoulder. New Zealand mosque massacre - In pictures While Prime Minister Ardern has vowed to change New Zealand’s gun laws, for Mr Mohiuddin it is too late. “That doesn’t return our loved ones. I know I have lost someone about whom I care, and my two other friends, I do not know for how many months they will be on a bed," he said. "It will not return their time nor my mate’s life back.," he said. Others feared killed were Mohammad Atta Alayan, Palestinian refugee who helped raise funds to build the mosque and Haroon Mahmood, a PhD student from Pakistan, who had two young children. Khaled Mustafa, Syrian refugee who fled Isil, was shot while praying. New Zealand futsal goalkeeper Atta Elayyan, 33, was also killed, as was retired engineer Ali Elmadani, who migrated from the United Arab Emirates in 1998. His daughter Maha Elmadani said: "My Dad always told us to be strong and patient so that's what we are all trying to do. For his sake. He considered New Zealand home and never thought something like this would happen here." The city of Christchurch once again bears the hallmarks of compassion that residents leaned on to help them through the dark months after the earthquake of February 2011 that claimed 185 lives. Opposite the hospital a row of traffic cones was adorned with flowers, while a nearby safety barrier was littered with bouquets. Terror in New Zealand | Read more A poster adorned with angels, butterflies and flowers read: “In loveing (sic) memory of all the beautiful Muslims who had their whole beautiful lives ripped away. We love you all and we know you are in a better place now. We will always walk with you side by side.” Lianne Dalziel, the Mayor of Christchurch said the killings were an “act of cowardice” by a “terrorist” who came to the city with “hate in his heart”. She added: “I want us not to be divided by what has happened, because hate divides. I want us to be united, and that’s what love and compassion and kindness are all about. “I believe that we can, because of our previous experience, recover from this. We can recover in a way that we will be stronger than we were before.” New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said this morning that the death toll has risen to 50 after investigators found another body at one of the mosques.  "Security around mosques will continue until Police believe there is no threat," he said. Two other people, a man and a woman, arrested soon after the shootings were not linked to the gunman. The woman had been released without charge, the man has been charged with firearm offences.    A list of those killed in the shootings had now been compiled and families had been advised. Mr Bush said the bodies have not yet been returned to the families as police need to determine the cause of death for each one.   "We have been working pathologist and coroners, and the chief coroner, on that and we have to be clear on cause of death and the identity before we can do that. "We are so aware of the cultural and religious needs so we are doing that as quickly and sensitively as possible," Mr Bush added. The Police chief also said that it was "obvious" that a modified weapon had been used.

[teeky185]

The stricken Muslim community of Christchurch was preparing to bury its dead after the far right terrorist attack on two mosques which stunned New Zealand. Graves for the victims of the worst mass shooting in the country’s history were being dug on Saturday, in anticipation of their bodies being released by the authorities. Workmen using diggers carefully prepared the ground in a quiet corner of Memorial Park Cemetery, with colleagues erecting a cloth over a fence to preserve the dignity of their work on part of the site set aside for Muslim burials, the graves facing Mecca. A few hours earlier Brenton Tarrant, the Australian national accused of the rampage, appeared in court in Christchurch, where he made a white supremacist gesture with his hand while flanked by two police officers. The 28-year-old was charged with one initial count of murder but more are expected to follow and he was remanded in custody until April 5. Christchurch residents outside the Al Noor mosque, where 41 worshippers were shot dead Credit: Jorge Silva/Reuters Police believe Tarrant was responsible for both the attack on the Al Noor mosque and the shooting at the Linwood Islamic Centre a short drive away. Fifty people were killed. A further 36, mostly men, are being treated for injuries at the city’s main hospital, the youngest a boy of two. Two people remain in a critical condition, including a four-year-old girl who was taken to Auckland’s Starship Hospital. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, said yesterday the country’s gun laws would be tightened, with regulations around semi-automatic weapons, such as the ones allegedly used by Tarrant, "one of the issues" the government would consider. Minister David Parker confirmed that Semi Automatic weapons will be banned in New Zealand. pic.twitter.com/zVOAuyalZk— Kenny Williams (@Ohheykenny) March 16, 2019 Praising the bravery of two rural police officers who detained Tarrant at gunpoint as he allegedly tried to flee from the scene of the shootings, Ardern said he would have gone on target more victims. "It was absolutely was his intention to continue with his attack,” she said. Among Tarrant’s alleged victims were children, the elderly, recently arrived refugees and long settled migrants who had built a new life in a country one of them had described as "a slice of paradise". Daoud Nabi, a 71-year-old retired engineer who migrated from Afghanistan to New Zealand following the Soviet invasion, was the first to die on what Ardern would later call the country’s “darkest day.” In the grisly video allegedly filmed by Tarrant and streamed live online during the attack, the pensioner can be heard saying “hello brother” as he approached the gunman at the entrance to the Al Noor mosque. How Tarrant's hate spread across social media There were reports that Mr Nabi stepped in front of someone else to confront Tarrant, taking the bullets for himself. His son Omar, 43, said that was completely in character for his father, who had believed New Zealand to be a "slice of paradise." “Just helping people is his main thing. It makes me feel like he wanted other people to live,” he said. “To die in the masjid, in the mosque, if something like this happens the golden gates open for you.” At just three-years-old Mucad Ibrahim is thought to have been the youngest victim of the massacre. He had gone to the Al Noor mosque with his father and older brother Abdi, but was lost in the melee when the firing started. Abdi described his little brother as "energetic, playful and liked to smile and laugh a lot", confessing he felt nothing but “hatred” for his killer. Barely a year older than Mucad was Abdullahi Dirie, who was photographed cradled in a man’s arms outside the mosque after being fatally shot. His father and four siblings survived the attack. Abdullahi’s family had made their home in New Zealand after fleeing Somalia in the mid-1990s as refugees. His uncle Abdulrahman Hashi, 60, a preacher at Dar Al Hijrah Mosque in Minneapolis, said: “You cannot imagine how I feel. He was the youngest in the family. This is a problem of extremism. Some people think the Muslims in their country are part of that, but these are innocent people.” The family of Khaled Mustafa thought they had found safety in New Zealand after fleeing the bloody chaos of Syria only a few months ago. But he too became a victim of hatred when he was shot dead while praying with his two sons, Hamza, who is now missing feared dead and Zaid, 13, who is recovering from a six-hour operation on his wounds. Ali Akil, a spokesman for Syrian Solidarity New Zealand, said Mr Mustafa's wife and daughter, who were not at the mosque on Friday, were in "total shock, devastation and horror". He added: “They survived atrocities and arrived here in a safe haven only to be killed in the most atrocious way.." Among those also feared killed was a sports loving teenager described by his family as "a regular, typical, Kiwi kid." Sayyad Milne, who had dreams of playing football professionally, had gone to the Al Noor mosque with his mother Noraini. She managed to flee but Sayyad was cut down as the terrorist made his way through the building. Brydie Henry, Sayyad's half sister, said she was "devastated" by the attack. "They were good people, just living good lives. It's just awful," she added. Hosne Ara Parvin, 42, who moved to New Zealand from Bangladesh, is reported to have taken the full force of the bullets after leaping in front of the gunman to shield her husband Farid Uddin, who was in a wheelchair. Naeem Rashid, a Pakistani-born teacher, also tried to rush the gunman, but died later of his wounds. His son, 22-year-old Talha Naeem, a civil engineering graduate, was among those killed. Mr Rashid’s wife and Naeem’s mother Ambreen said: “I still can't understand or believe why and how this happened. But, I know that my husband is a hero. He always helped people and even in his last moments, he did what he could to help others." Khaja Mohiuddin, a chef, described how a fellow worshipper saved people by tackling the gunman while he and about 15 others hid at the Linwood mosque. He said: “The guy was there with us and said ‘we have to do something”, so he ran and just pulled the gun down.” One of Mr Mohiuddin's friends was killed, shot through the head. Two others are seriously injured, one with a collarbone “ripped off”, the other shot in the shoulder. New Zealand mosque massacre - In pictures While Prime Minister Ardern has vowed to change New Zealand’s gun laws, for Mr Mohiuddin it is too late. “That doesn’t return our loved ones. I know I have lost someone about whom I care, and my two other friends, I do not know for how many months they will be on a bed," he said. "It will not return their time nor my mate’s life back.," he said. Others feared killed were Mohammad Atta Alayan, Palestinian refugee who helped raise funds to build the mosque and Haroon Mahmood, a PhD student from Pakistan, who had two young children. Khaled Mustafa, Syrian refugee who fled Isil, was shot while praying. New Zealand futsal goalkeeper Atta Elayyan, 33, was also killed, as was retired engineer Ali Elmadani, who migrated from the United Arab Emirates in 1998. His daughter Maha Elmadani said: "My Dad always told us to be strong and patient so that's what we are all trying to do. For his sake. He considered New Zealand home and never thought something like this would happen here." The city of Christchurch once again bears the hallmarks of compassion that residents leaned on to help them through the dark months after the earthquake of February 2011 that claimed 185 lives. Opposite the hospital a row of traffic cones was adorned with flowers, while a nearby safety barrier was littered with bouquets. Terror in New Zealand | Read more A poster adorned with angels, butterflies and flowers read: “In loveing (sic) memory of all the beautiful Muslims who had their whole beautiful lives ripped away. We love you all and we know you are in a better place now. We will always walk with you side by side.” Lianne Dalziel, the Mayor of Christchurch said the killings were an “act of cowardice” by a “terrorist” who came to the city with “hate in his heart”. She added: “I want us not to be divided by what has happened, because hate divides. I want us to be united, and that’s what love and compassion and kindness are all about. “I believe that we can, because of our previous experience, recover from this. We can recover in a way that we will be stronger than we were before.” New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said this morning that the death toll has risen to 50 after investigators found another body at one of the mosques.  "Security around mosques will continue until Police believe there is no threat," he said. Two other people, a man and a woman, arrested soon after the shootings were not linked to the gunman. The woman had been released without charge, the man has been charged with firearm offences.    A list of those killed in the shootings had now been compiled and families had been advised. Mr Bush said the bodies have not yet been returned to the families as police need to determine the cause of death for each one.   "We have been working pathologist and coroners, and the chief coroner, on that and we have to be clear on cause of death and the identity before we can do that. "We are so aware of the cultural and religious needs so we are doing that as quickly and sensitively as possible," Mr Bush added. The Police chief also said that it was "obvious" that a modified weapon had been used.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2O8tf2i

[buckmebuchanan]

UK’s Queer History part 2

1912 - the First gay pub, Madame Strindgberg's The Cave of the Golden Calf opened

1936 – A 30-year-old British athletic champion, Mark Weston of Plymouth, transitioned from female to male. The story appeared in some national newspapers, including the News of the World (31 May 1936). The reportage said that Weston was a male and should continue to live as such

1956  – The Sexual Offences Act recognises the crime of sexual assault between women.

1967  –  Sexual Offences Bill 1967 was introduced. When passed, The Act decriminalised homosexual acts between two men over 21 years of age in private in England and Wales. The 1967 Act did not extend to Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, where all homosexual behaviour remained illegal. The privacy restrictions of the act meant a third person could not be present and men could not have sex in a hotel. These restrictions were overturned in the European Court of Human Rights in 2000

1969  – Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) formed as the first British gay activist group.

1972  – The First British Gay Pride Rally was held in London with 1000 people marching. Gay News, Britain's first gay newspaper was founded.

1976 – Britain's political pressure group Liberty, under their alternate name National Council for Civil Liberties, (NCCL) called for an equal age of consent of 14 in Britain. The term Gay Bowel Syndrome was coined to describe a range of rectal diseases seen among gay male patients; this is the first medical term to relate to gay men.

1981  – The first UK case of AIDS was recorded when a 49-year-old man was admitted to Brompton Hospital in London suffering from PCP (Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia). He died ten days later.

1983  – Britain reports 17 cases of AIDS. Gay men are asked not to donate blood. UK Crown Dependency Guernsey (Including Alderney, Herm and Sark) decriminalised homosexuality.

1984 – Chris Smith is the first openly out homosexual politician in the UK parliament. Britain reports 108 cases of AIDS with 46 deaths. The Politics Of Bisexuality (BiCon) signals the growth of separate bisexual community organising. Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, a campaign of LGBT support for striking workers in the miners' strike of 1984 and 1985, is launched.

1988 – Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 enacted as an amendment to the United Kingdom's Local Government Act 1986, on 24 May 1988 stated that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".

1989  – The campaign group Stonewall UK is set up to oppose Section 28 and other barriers to equality.

1990  – In July, following the murders in a short period of time, of Christopher Schliach, Henry Bright, William Dalziel and Michael Boothe, hundreds of lesbians and gay men marched from the park where Boothe had been killed to Ealing town hall and held a candlelit vigil.

The demonstration led to the formation of OutRage, who called for the police to start protecting gay men instead of arresting them. In September, lesbian and gay police officers established the Lesbian and Gay Police Association (Lagpa/GPA).The first gay pride event is held in Manchester and northern ireland. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson, a semi-autobiographical screenplay about her lesbian life was shown on BBC television. Justin Fashanu became the first professional footballer to come out in the press (he subsequently committed suicide).

1996 – A breakthrough is made in the area of AIDS treatment; Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) is found to significantly delay the onset of AIDS in people living with HIV. The NHS makes the treatment available in the UK. HAART has a dramatic effect and many bed ridden AIDS patients return to work. The European Court of Human Rights heard Morris v. The United Kingdom and Sutherland v. the United Kingdom, cases brought by Chris Morris and Euan Sutherland challenging the homosexual inequality in divided ages of consent.

1999  – In May, the Admiral Duncan, a gay pub in Soho was bombed by former British National Party member David Copeland, killing three people and wounding at least 70. Queer Youth Alliance was formed

2000  – The Labour government scraps the policy of barring homosexuals from the armed forces.Though it will not be until the Armed Forces Act 2016 that the law is actually repealed. The Labour government introduces legislation to repeal Section 28 in England and Wales - Conservative MPs oppose the move.

2001  – The last two pieces of unequal law regarding gay male sex are changed. In 1997 the European Commission of Human Rights found that the European Convention on Human Rights were violated by a discriminatory age of consent; the government submitted that it would propose a Bill to Parliament for a reduction of the age of consent for homosexual acts from 18 to 16.

2002  – Same-sex couples are granted equal rights to adopt.

2003 – Section 28, which banned councils and schools from intentionally promoting homosexuality, is repealed in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. Employment Equality Regulations made it illegal to discriminate against lesbians, gays or bisexuals at work. Kitzinger and Sue Wilkinson, both British university professors, legally married in British Columbia, Canada, however on their return their same-sex marriage was not recognised under British law. Under the subsequent Civil Partnership Act 2004, it was instead converted into a civil partnership. The couple sued for recognition of their same-sex marriage.

2004  – The Civil Partnership Act 2004 is passed by the Labour Government, giving same-sex couples the same rights and responsibilities as married heterosexual couples in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is passed by the Labour Government. The Act gives ‘transsexual’ people legal recognition as members of the sex appropriate to their gender (male or female) allowing them to acquire a new birth certificate, affording them full recognition of their acquired sex in law for all purposes, including marriage.

2006  – The Equality Act 2006 which establishes the Equality and Human Rights Commission (CEHR) and makes discrimination against lesbians and gay men in the provision of goods and services illegal, gains Royal Assent on 16 February. The age of consent is equalized and Section 28 "successfully repealed"

2007  – The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations becomes law on 30 April making discrimination against lesbians and gay men in the provision of goods and services illegal. Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham declared his opposition to the act, saying that the legislation contradicted the Catholic Church's moral values.

2008  – Treatment of lesbian parents and their children is equalized in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. The legislation allows for lesbians and their partners (both civil and de facto) equal access to legal presumptions of parentage in cases of in vitro fertilisation ("IVF") or assisted/self insemination (other than at home) from the moment the child is born.

2009  – The Labour Government Prime Minister Gordon Brown makes an official public apology on behalf of the British government for the way in which Alan Turing was chemically castrated for being gay, after the war. Opposition leader David Cameron apologises on behalf of the Conservative Party, for introducing Section 28 during Margaret Thatcher's third government.

2010  – Pope Benedict XVI condemns British equality legislation for running contrary to "natural law" as he confirmed his first visit to the UK. The Equality Act 2010 makes discrimination against lesbians and gay men in the provision of goods and services illegal.

2013  – The coalition government unveils its Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill on 25 January.On 17 July 2013, Royal Assent is given to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. Queen Elizabeth II grants Alan Turing a posthumous pardon.

Nikki Sinclaire comes out as transgender, thus becoming the United Kingdom’s first openly transgender Parliamentarian.

2014  – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in England and Wales on the 29th of March under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. Queen Elizabeth II praises the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard for their 40-year history, the first time the Crown has ever publicly supported the LGBT community.

2015 - The Royal Vauxhall Tavern became the first ever building in the UK to be given a special “listing” status based on its LGBT history; it was accorded Grade II listed status by the UK’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

Part 1

Some further reading for my UK LGBTQs: 

A minority: A report on the life of the male homosexual in Great Britain, 1960

We Can’t Even Match Straight, 1995 - a history of LGBT in the military

Mother Clap's Molly House: The Gay Subculture in England 1700-1830, 2006

Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to the Present Day, 2018

Pride: The Unlikely Story of the True Heroes of the Miner's Strike, 2017

The Lesbian Revolution: Lesbian Feminism in the UK 1970-1990, 2018

[newsonlinegroup-blog]

Coronation Street spoiler: Martin Platt returns to the cobbles with pregnant girlfriend as he tries to help David Platt after rape trauma

Martin Platt won't be returning to the cobbles alone, it has been revealed. The dad, played by Sean Wilson, will make his return to Weatherfield with his pregnant girlfriend Robyn. He is returning to the the street to help support his son David following his horrifying sexual assault. A source told The Sun Online : "Martin was always a womaniser and that didn't stop when he left Weatherfield all those years ago. Read More Martin Platt won't be returning to the cobbles alone (Image: ITV) "He's moved on from everything that happened on the street and built a new life for himself and that includes a new family." Last month actor Sean, who plays Martin, once said there was no way he'd return to the ITV soap over bosses' "rudeness" to him when he was axed back in 2005. But the 52-year-old star, who played Martin from 1985 until a falling out with soap chiefs 20 years later, has signed up for more episodes as the ex-husband of Gail and father of David Platt. At the time of his axing, Sean had protested against a storyline in which his character had an affair with an underage girl. He refused to film the scenes and left the soap under a black cloud. Read More Sean played Martin Platt opposite Helen Worth as Gail and Tina O'Brien as Sarah Louise (Image: Granada Television) He joined the cast in 1985 and stayed for 20 years (Image: PA) "I will act again - but never with Coronation Street," he said at the time. "They were very rude to me when I left. I would rather walk down any other street even if I had a nail in my shoe." Since then, Sean has appeared in several British TV series, including minor roles in Casualty, Doctors, Silent Witness and Dalziel And Pascoe. He also signed up to the very first series of Dancing On Ice in 2006 and was voted out in sixth place. In 2009 he blasted Corrie once again for trying to make him do the controversial storyline, which would have ended with Martin Platt in jail. Read More Sean left Corrie over a storyline dispute (Image: ITV) "I didn't think they gave me as much respect as my 21 years on the show deserved. They would have to be very persuasive if they wanted me back," he told This Is Nottingham. Since then, Sean has trained as a chef and launched a successful business as an award-winning cheesemaker. But it seems the call of the cobbles was too strong to resist, and Sean will return for just a handful of episodes as part of David Platt's heartbreaking male rape storyline. A Corrie insider told Mirror Online that it was the soap's decision to approach him first. Read More Sean went on to train as a cheesemaker (Image: Liverpool Echo) Sean has won awards for his dairy products (Image: Daily Post Wales) "Sean was asked if he would like to return for three episodes and he readily agreed," they added. A source told the Daily Star that ITV would have pulled out all the stops to sign Sean up. "They must have bent over backwards to convince him," they said. "Most stars leave quietly no matter how embittered they might feel about their exits. But Sean didn't. He pulled no punches about why he left and how he would never come back." It comes as four other big-name stars of the soap bow out for various reasons. Catherine Tyldesley (Eva Price) and Shayne Ward (Aidan Connor) are both leaving, while 78-year-old Malcolm Hebden - who plays Norris Cole - is set to take an "extended break" from filming. Helen Flanagan, who plays Rosie Webster, recently announced she's pregnant with her and partner Scott Sinclair's second child, so will be taking maternity leave later this year. Read the full article

[pantaro]

I've got a toothache. And not the "too much candy" kind that's normal for this time of year, and not the "not enough brushing" kind that's expected for my level of executive dysfunction. Feeling around, I'm pretty sure one of my bicuspids are out of alignment.

Might have to get braces, might have to get it extracted (bicuspids are the teeth that are pulled most often), either way, I've rescheduled an upcoming dentist appointment from December to next Wednesday, and if anything happens, I'll reschedule it again to "immediately".

[pantaro]

Had a rather low-key birthday, all things considered. Though 29 isn’t exactly a milestone number. 

[pantaro]

In anticipation for a job interview, I’ve clockshifted so I’m back to waking up in the morning for the first time in a long time.

I then realized I’m far more easily understimulated during the daylight hours.

It could be because I’m so used to having my YouTube subscriptions upload during the day so when I wake up at night, I’ve got swathes of content ready for watching immediately.

Or it could be the lack of lunar energy. 

[pantaro]

I decided to join that blue thing that everyone was talking about on that other blue thing.

[pantaro]

I've successfully completed another decade.

Time for my flirty thirties to begin!

Ladies~

[pantaro]

I might be a goodie-two-shoes, but some nights I just want to be a goddamn supervillain. Making some chaos, dressing up in a fun costume, having some henchmen in similarly fitting costumes, and potentially meeting Batman or Spider-Man or what have you.

But there's some issues.

I don't think I can limit myself to a single gimmick, and I'm not diabolical enough to pull off not having a gimmick.

I don't want to hurt people (unless they really deserve it), because again, goodie-two-shoes.

I don't want to go to jail if I get caught.

Where am I gonna get henchmen?

I don't want to make a superhero mad at me!

[pantaro]

So, an update on the toothache, it's a cavity in an awkward, hard-to-clean spot on a tooth that was already crooked. I'll get a filling next Wednesday.

In other news, it's my mom's birthday today. I got her the new Jimmy Buffet CD and some flowers. She took a pic and it's visible on the official Facebook page for the Parrotheads (the official one, not the one that doesn't say it's official).

[pantaro]

I've been getting a lot of followers lately (hopefully from humans or creatures of human-level intelligence, not bots), so I should probably reintroduce myself.

I am Pantaro, my real name is David. I'm a 29-year old cis-het (well, mostly het) male Canadian on the autism spectrum. I'm trying to break into the video game industry, I've got several projects in the works. Anything to turn my hundreds of OCs into just plain ol' Cs. Go ahead and ask me about them if you're curious! My latest one is an elementary school teacher who is plotting to bring about a particularly odd apocalypse, out of love for her students.

If you're here for Goo Jit Zu stuff, you won't find anything here. I might have a "Canon URL", but I was here first!

[pantaro]

I finally won my summer-long battle with the Canadian IRS!

Next time I look at my bank account, I should be a thousandaire again, or pretty darn close to it!