#this poll is mandatory /s

[garffag]

it’s getting so fucking hot out

[inbarfink]

Okay, with the 2010’s era of cartoons now firmly in the rear view, I’m curious…

If I missed your favorite 2010’s cartoon, feel free to add them in the tags. If I get enough ‘what about X’ comments I’ll probably do a second poll with all of the write-in answers. Please just note that I’m talking about cartoons that started between 2010 and 2019 (and preferably ended before 2020, that's less mandatory but I want to prioritize cartoons that did all or at least the majority of their run during the New Tens), there’s a reason why ‘Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts’ or ‘The Owl House’ are not on the list.

[deramin2]

As the US election draws near and the usual divide on the left about voting strategically vs. not voting as protest occurs, I'm reminded of these 1986 posters urging queer voters in California to turn out to the polls and vote down Prop. 64. Proposed by far-right cultish conspiracy politician Lyndon LaRouche, it world have classified AIDS as a communicable disease. AIDS activists feared this would lead to mandatory testing and permanent quarantine in concentration camps.

The posters were distributed by the Central Coast Citizens Against LaRouche, though the marker/s remain unknown.

The message of the first poster, "I didn't think my vote counted", feels very relevant in this election as Trump and his cronies political allies promise sweeping anti-queer policies, especially anti-trans ones.

Images and history from "Queer X Design: 50 Years of Signs, Symbols, Banners, Logos, and Graphic Art of LGBTQ" by Andy Campbell

[winterillustrates]

WHAT YOUR FAV TWST CHARACTER SAYS ABT YOU!! (CRACK VERSION)

Ace: I'd hate you (/affectionately).

Deuce: I'd propose to your mom.

Cater: You need hugs. And followers.

Trey: You're as sweet as the cakes he makes. Also, you're his dentist.

Riddle: Mother issues. Same.

Leona: You have that one sibling you hate and one you pretend to hate.

Ruggie: You'd rob me and I'd call it our 'meet cute'.

Jack: I'd imitate you to look cool, ngl.

Azul: "Shady businessman/woman/enby? That has got to be my favorite genre." looking ass and I'd never judge you for that.

Jade: I'd bring you peace offerings almost everyday.

Floyd: You owe me a 150,000 worded essay on why and how your standards dropped so low.

Kalim: You want to be as optimistic as him, and you honestly deserve more credit for it. Plus, you cry yourself to sleep while hugging his plushie, cause it feels like he's crying with you. He probably is.

Jamil: I owe you a 300,000 worded essay on why he's the best, and I'd better get an agreement for each paragraph.

Vil: You love breaking gender norms and you hardly ever flop. You make long winded essays on character designs or "Ooh, shiny". No in-between. Also, you memorized his last name.

Rook: You kinda freaky and into yanderes. I'm into yanderes, but I hate this dude, so idk. I'd definitely say "I know what you are" to you, and you'd be thinking "She thinks I'm gay/bi/queer" and I'd be thinking "They're a serial killer".

Epel: You love the "Innocent girl who's a spawn of satan" and probably are one, yourself.

Idia: You "win" online arguments by doxing. That and your fav brother from Obey Me is Leviathan. Don't lie to me.

Ortho: You've always wanted a robotic younger brother!

Malleus: You're the majority. Congrats. (Also you have abandonment issues and ship MalYuu. Not that I can blame you, honestly).

Lilia: You say, "Ow, my hip hurts" then does the latest tik tok dance, no sweat.

Silver: You liked the mystery shrouding him. Plus, you love the found family trope.

Sebek: You see through his loud demeanor and really like his loyalty to his friends that aren't Malleus.

Yuu: You love yourself and I love you. <3

Grim: You're a snitch.

Sam: You are waiting for him to sing "Friends On The Other Side". You watched that one animatic by Laizyboy?? (Remind me the name)

Vargas: You actually thought eating raw eggs would make you strong. ... LOL. Jk. You ARE Vargas. I'm sorry, but how did he get THAT high in 2024 popularity polls?!?

Crewel: You have good taste. Might also be into getting praised.

Trien: VALID. YOU WANT A GRANDFATHER IN YOUR LIFE, RN.

Lucifer (^'s cat): Hello..............IDIA SHROUD.

Crowley: You are someone who wishes they could escape from their responsibilities as much as him. "He's a deadbeat, but he's a funny one."

Chenya: You like characters that are on crack.

Rielle: I...-- Is that even a character, dude?

Neige: You're the minority. Congrats. (Also, you are so confused abt the hate Neige receives)

Rollo: CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, you aren't strictly religious. You also hate the double standards he's shown. And you think he looks actually kinda cute.

Fellow: You love seeing NRC boys get reckted.

Gidel: You think he's the cutest character in Disney. No one can/wants to change your mind.

Skully: You convinced him to skip the mandatory, "Twisted Wonderland is NOT an otome game".

Najma: You love fem!Jamil. Plus, you are the younger sibling that is secretly a little demon. As an older sibling, I'm sorry, but I will expose you at the slightest chance.

Dilia (Deuce's Mom): You're one of those people that Captain Man from Henry Danger was inspired from.

Marja (Epel’s granmama. Thx, https://www.tumblr.com/gremlinvapor): As a Marja lover, you love your grandmother and love hearing stories about her! And your grandma is low key a badass.

SCARABIA STUDENT B: W...who... who are you? Waiting until the ending for this guy. ... Idek what to say, honestly...

Mickey Mouse (Thx, https://www.tumblr.com/gremlinvapor): I’m the Donald to your Mickey. And you are probably so popular. Oh, you are also a cheap stake who fakes to like change, but actually despises it. You only like twst to be ‘woke’, but you don’t even like the characters or talk abt them.

(THIS WAS A JOKE. IF YOU ACTUALLY RELATE TO THESE RANDOM THOUGHTS I TYPED, THEN WOW I AM SHOCKED. Seriously, Idc who's your favorite, and I was not trying to discriminate or anything.

I tried to include all characters I could think of atm, but you are free to request more and I'll shove them in! These aren't even my opinions, I'm just tryna be entertaining.

If you'd like, guess my favorite(s)!

If I misspelt some characters names, I'm sorry and please politely correct me, thank you.)

[doctor-who-oc-tournament]

TOURNAMENTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!

As you've probably guessed from the title, this is a tournament for Doctor Who OC's! I'm going to edit this post whenever something changes or comes up, so pay attention.

Submissions

Submissions are closed!!! Sorry ya'll. I've added one of my oc's, but I won't be saying who it is untill they lose/win. I also added Odhrán Catton ( @bodhrancomedy ) because I just love them.

Bracket

We've got a bracket of 32, with four Rounds and a bonus poll for third place.

Some General Rules

If you're transphobic, homophobic, biphobic, aphobic, fatphobic, islamophobic, anti-semetic, racist, sexist, ableist, or any other shape of bigoted asshole, fuck off and don't interact with this blog ever. Thanks. If you're trans, gay, bi, ace, other types of queer, fat, muslim, Jewish, poc, feminine/female/afab, disabled, mentally ill or neurodivergent; this is a safe space. You're welcome here.

The usual, this is just a funny tournament, no death threats or anything stupid or You Will Be Blocked

I love hearing about your OC's so infodump all you want please!!!

Tags

I've seperated things into tags, feel free to block/follow any of them

tournament related things - dw oc tournament

polls - dw oc poll

asks - dw oc ask

And, of course, the mandatory @'s:

@drwho-shipbracket @companion-showdown @doctorwho @doctorwhoblog @doctorwhoproblems @dw-companion-outfits-bracket @oc-ships-fight-to-the-death @oc-siblings-bracket @ocshipsmackdown @dt-oc-tournament @villain-oc-tournament @transfemswagbracket @original-character-championship

If you could kindly reblog this please?

[thedeathofmahsaaminion16sep]

The death of Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022, while in police custody for wearing an “improper” hijab, has triggered what has become the most severe and sustained political upheaval ever faced by the Islamist regime in Iran. Waves of protests, led mostly by women, broke out immediately, sending some two-million people into the streets of 160 cities and small towns, inspiring extraordinary international support.1 The Twitter hashtag #MahsaAmini broke the world record of 284 million tweets, and the UN Human Rights Commission voted on November 24 to investigate the regime’s deadly repression, which has claimed five-hundred lives and put thousands of people under arrest and eleven hundred on trial. The regime’s suppression and the opponents’ exhaustion are likely to slow down the protests, but unlikely to end the uprising. For political life in Iran has embarked on an uncharted and irreversible course.

How do we make sense of this extraordinary political happening? This is neither a “feminist revolution” per se, nor simply the revolt of Generation Z, nor merely a protest against the mandatory hijab. This is a movement to reclaim life, a struggle to liberate free and dignified existence from an internal colonization. As the primary objects of this colonization, women have become the major protagonists of the liberation movement.

About the Author

Asef Bayat is professor of sociology, and Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His latest books include Revolutionary Life: The Everyday of the Arab Spring (2021).

View all work by Asef Bayat

Since its establishment in 1979 Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s, the Islamic Republic has been a battlefield between hardline Islamists who wished to enforce theocracy in the form of clerical rule (velayat-e faqih), and those who believed in popular will and emphasized the republican tenets of the constitution. This ideological battle has produced decades of political and cultural strife within state institutions, during elections, and in the streets in daily life. The hardline Islamists in the nonelected institutions of the velayat-e faqih have been determined to enforce their “divine values” in political, social, and cultural domains. Only popular resistance from below and the reformists’ electoral victories could curb the hardliners’ drive for total subjugation of the state, society, and culture.

For two decades after the 1990s, elections gave most Iranians hope that a reformist path could gradually democratize the system. The 1997 election of the moderate Mohammad Khatami as president, following a notable social and cultural openness, was seen as a hopeful sign. But the hardliners saw the reform project as an existential threat to clerical rule, and they fought back fiercely. They sabotaged Khatami’s government, suppressed the student movement, shut down the critical press, and detained activists. After 2005, they went on banning reformist parties, meddling in the polls, and barring rival candidates from participating in the elections. The Green Movement—protesting the fraud against the reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in the 2009 presidential election—was the popular response to such a counterreform onslaught.

The Green revolt and the subsequent nationwide uprisings in 2017 and 2019 against socioeconomic ills and authoritarian rule profoundly challenged the Islamist regime but failed to alter it. The uprisings caused not a revolution but the fear of revolution—a fear that was compounded by the revolutionary uprisings against the allied regimes in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, which Iran helped to quell.2 Against such critical challenges, one would expect the Islamist regime to reinvent itself through a series of reforms to restore hegemony. But instead, the hardliners tightened their grip on political power in a bid to ensure their unrestrained hold over power after the supreme leader expires. Thus, once they took over the presidency in 2021 and the parliament in 2022 through rigged elections—specifically, through the arbitrary vetoing of credible rival candidates—the hardliners moved to subjugate a defiant people once again. Extending the “morality police” into the streets and institutions to enforce the “proper hijab” has been only one measure—but it was the one that unleashed a nationwide uprising in which women came to occupy a central place.

Women did not rise up suddenly to spearhead a revolt after Mahsa Amini’s death. Rather, it was the culmination of years of steady struggles against a systemic misogyny that the postrevolution regime established. When that regime abolished the relatively liberal Family Protection Laws of 1967, women overnight lost their right to initiate divorce, to assume child custody, to become judges, and to travel abroad without the permission of a male guardian. Polygamy came back, sex segregation was imposed, and all women were forced to wear the hijab in public. Social control and discriminatory quotas in education and employment compelled many women to stay at home, take early retirement, or work in informal or family businesses.

A segment of Muslim women did support the Islamic state, but others fought back. They took to the streets to protest the mandatory hijab, organized collective campaigns, and lobbied “liberal clerics” to secure a women-centered reinterpretation of religious texts. But when the regime extended its repression, women resorted to the “art of presence”—by which I mean the ability to assert collective will in spite of all odds, by circumventing constraints, utilizing what exists, and discovering new spaces within which to make themselves heard, seen, felt, and realized. Simply, women refused to exit public life, not through collective protests but through such ordinary things as pursuing higher education, working outside the home, engaging in the arts, music, and filmmaking, or practicing sports. The hardship of sweating under a long dress and veil did not deter many women from jogging, cycling, or playing basketball. And in the courts, they battled against discriminatory judgments on matters of divorce, child custody, inheritance, work, and access to public spaces. “Why do we have to get permission from Edareh-e Amaken [morality police] to get a hotel room, whereas men do not need such authorization?” a woman wrote in rage to the women’s magazine Zanan in 1988.3 Then, scores of unmarried women began to leave their family homes to live on their own. By 2010, one in three women between the ages of 20 and 35 had their own household. Many of them undertook what came to be known as “white marriage” (ezdevaj-e sefid), that is, moving in with their partners without formally marrying. These seemingly mundane desires and demands, however, were deemed to redefine the status of women under the Islamic Republic. Each step forward would establish a trench for a further advance against the patriarchy. The effect could snowball.

While many women, including my mother, wore the hijab voluntarily, for others it represented a coercive moralizing that had to be subverted. Those women began to push back their headscarves, allowing some of their hair to show in public. Over the years, headscarves gradually inched back further and further until finally they fell to the shoulders. Officials felt, time and again, paralyzed by this steady spread of bad-hijabi among millions of women who had to endure daily humiliation and punishment. With the initial jail penalty between ten days and two months, showing inches of hair had ignited decades of daily street battles between defiant women and multiple morality enforcers such as Sarallah(wrath of Allah), Amre beh Ma’ruf va Nahye az Monker(command good and forbid wrong), and Edareh Amaken(management of public places). According to a police report during the crackdown on bad-hijabis in 2013, some 3.6 million women were stopped and humiliated in the streets and issued formal citations. Of these, 180,000 were detained. But despite such treatment, women did not relent and eventually demanded an end to the mandatory hijab. Thus, over the years and through daily struggles, women established new norms in private and public life and taught them to their children, who have taken the mantle of their elders to push the struggle forward. The hardliners now want to halt that forward march.

This is the story of women’s “non-movement”—the collective and connective actions of non-collective actors who pursue not a politics of protest but of redress, through direct actions. Its aim is not a deliberate defiance of authorities but to establish alternative norms and life-making practices—practices that are necessary for a desired and dignified life but are denied to women. It is a slow but steady process of incremental claim-making that ultimately challenges the patriarchal-political authority.4 And now, that very “non-movement,” impelled by the murder of one of its own, Mahsa Amini, has given rise to an extraordinary political upheaval in which woman and her dignity, indeed human dignity, has become a rallying point.

Reclaiming Life

Today, the uprising is no longer limited to the mandatory hijab and women’s rights. It has grown to include wider concerns and constituencies—young people, students and teachers, middle-class families and workers, residents of some rural and poor communities, and those religious and ethnic minorities (Kurds, Arabs, Azeris, and Baluchis) who, like women, feel like second-class citizens and seem to identify with “Woman, Life, Freedom.” For these diverse constituencies, Mahsa Amini and her death embody the suffering that they have endured in their own lives—in their stolen youth, suppressed joy, and constant insecurity; in their poverty, debt, and drought; in their loss of land and livelihoods.

The thousands of tweets describing why people are protesting point time and again to the longing for a humble normal life denied to them by a regime of clerical and military patriarchs. For these dissenters, the regime appears like a colonial entity—with its alien thinking, feeling, and ruling—that has little to do with the lives and worldviews of the majority. This alien entity, they feel, has usurped the country and its resources, and continues to subjugate its people and their mode of living. “Woman, Life, Freedom” is a movement of liberation from this internal colonization. It is a movement to reclaim life. Its language is secular, wholly devoid of religion. Its peculiarity lies in its feminist facet.

But the feminism of the movement is not antagonistic to men. Rather, it embraces the subaltern, humiliated, and suffering men. Nor is this feminism reducible to the control of one’s body and the forced hijab—many traditional veiled women also identify with “Woman, Life, Freedom.” The feminism of the movement, rather, is antisystem; it challenges the systemic control of everyday life and the women at its core. It is precisely this antisystemic feminism that promises to liberate not only women but also the oppressed men—the marginalized, the minorities, and those who are demeaned and emasculatedby their failure to provide for their families due to economic misfortune. “Woman, Life, Freedom,” then, signifies a paradigm shift in Iranian subjectivity—recognition that the liberation of women may also bring the liberation of all other oppressed, excluded, and dejected people. This makes “Woman, Life, Freedom” an extraordinary movement.

Movement or Moment

Extraordinary yes, but is this a movement or a passing moment? Postrevolution Iran has witnessed numerous waves of nationwide protests. But this current episode seems fundamentally different. The Green revolt of 2009 was a powerful prodemocracy drive for an accountable government. It was largely a movement of the urban middle class and other discontented citizens. Almost a decade later, in the protests of 2017, tens of thousands of Iranian workers, students, farmers, middle-class poor, creditors, and women took to the streets in more than 85 cities for ten days before the government’s crackdown halted the rebellion.5 Some observers at the time considered the events a prelude to revolution. They were not. For although connected and concurrent, the protests were mostly concerned with sectoral claims—delayed wages for workers, drought for farmers, lost savings for creditors, and jobs for the young. As such, theirs was not a collective action of a united movement but connective actions of parallel concerns—a simultaneity of disparate protest actions that only the new information technologies could facilitate.A larger uprising in December 2019, which was triggered by a 200 percent rise in the price of gasoline, did see a measure of collective action, as different protesting groups—in particular the urban poor and the middle-class poor as well as the educated unemployed and underemployed—displayed a good degree of unity. Their central grievances concerned not only cost-of-living issues but also the absence of any prospects for the future. The protesters came largely from the marginalized areas of the cities and the provinces and followed radical tactics such as setting banks and government offices on fire and chanting antiregime slogans.

The current uprising has gone substantially further in message, size, and make-up. It has taken on a qualitatively different character and dynamics. This uprising has brought together the urban middle class, the middle-class poor, slum dwellers, and different ethnicities, including Kurds, Fars, Lors, Azeri Turks, and Baluchis—all under the banner of “Woman, Life, Freedom.” A collective claim has been created—one that has united diverse social groups to not only feel and share it, but also to act on it. With the emergence of the “people,” a super-collective in which differences of class, gender, ethnicity, and religion temporarily disappear in favor of a greater good, the uprising has assumed a revolutionary character. The abolition of the morality police and the mandatory hijab will no longer suffice. For the first time, a nationwide protest movement has called for a regime change and structural socioeconomic transformation.

Does all this mean that Iran is on the verge of another revolution? At this point in time, Iran is far from a “revolutionary situation,” meaning a condition of “dual power,” where an organized revolutionary force backed by millions would come to confront a crumbling government and divided security forces. What we are witnessing today, however, is the rise of a revolutionary movement—with its own protest repertoires, language, and identity—that may open Iranian society to a “revolutionary course.”

In the first three months after Mahsa Amini’s death, two-million Iranians from all walks of life staged some 1,200 protest actions that spilled over 160 cities and small towns. Friday prayer sermons in the poor province of Sistan and Baluchistan, as well as funerals and burials for victims of the regime’s crackdown in Kurdistan, have brought the most diverse crowds into the streets. University and high-school students have staged sit-ins, defied the mandatory hijab and sex segregation, and performed other courageous acts of resistance, while lawyers, professors, teachers, doctors, artists, and athletes expressed public support and sometimes joined the dissent.6 In cities and small towns, political graffiti decorated building walls before being repainted by municipality agents. The evening chants from balconies and rooftops in the residential neighborhoods continued to reverberate in the dark sky of the cities.

Security forces were frustrated by a mode of protest that combined street showdowns and guerrilla tactics—the sudden and simultaneous outbreak of multiple evening demonstrations in different urban quarters able to disappear, regroup, and reappear again. The fearlessness of these street rebels, many of them young women, overwhelmed the authorities. A revealing video of a security agent showed his astonishment about backstreet young protesters who “are no longer afraid of us” and the neighbors who “attack us with a barrage of rocks, chairs, benches, flowerpots,” or anything heavy from their windows or balconies.7

The disproportionate presence of the young—women and men, university and high school students—in the streets of the uprising has led some to interpret it as the revolt of Generation Z against a regime that is woefully out of touch. But this view overlooks the dissidence of older generations, the parents and families that have raised, if not politicized, these children and mostly share their sentiments. A leaked government survey from November 2022 found that 84 percent of Iranians expressed a positive view of the uprising.8 If the regime allowed peaceful public protests, we would likely see more older people on the streets. But it has not. The extraordinary presence of youth in the street protests has largely to do with the “youth affordances”—that is, energy, agility, education, dreams of a better future, and relative freedom from family responsibilities—which make the young more inclined to street politics and radical activism. But these extraordinary young people cannot cause a political breakthrough on their own. The breakthrough comes only when ordinary people—parents, children, workers, shopkeepers, professionals, and the like—join in to bring the spectacular protests into the social mainstream.

Although some workers have joined the protests through demonstrations and labor strikes, a widespread labor showdown has yet to materialize. This may not be easy, because the neoliberal restructuring of the 2000s has fragmented the working class, undermined workers’ job security (including in the oil sector), and diminished much of their collective power. In their place, teachers have emerged as a potentially powerful dissenting force with a good degree of organization and protest experience. On 14 February 2023, twenty civil and professional associations, led by the teachers’ syndicate, issued a joint “charter of minimum demands” that included the release of all political prisoners, free speech and assembly, abolition of the death penalty, and “complete gender equality.”9 Shopkeepers and bazaar merchants have also joined the opposition. In fact, they surprised the authorities when at least 70 percent of them, according to a leaked official report, went on strike in Tehran and 21 provinces on 15 November 2022 to mark the 2019 uprising.10 Not surprisingly, security forces have increasingly been threatening to shut down their businesses.

The Regime’s Response

The regime is acutely aware and apprehensive of the power of the social mainstream. It has made every effort to prevent mass congregations on the scale of Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the Arab Spring when protesters could see, feel, and show the rulers the enormity of their social power. Protesters in the Arab Spring fully utilized existing cultural resources, such as religious rituals and funeral processions, to sustain mass protests. Most critical were the Friday prayers, with their fixed times and places, from which the largest rallies and demonstrations originated. But Friday prayer is not part of the current culture of Iran’s Shia Muslims (unlike the Sunni Baluchies). Most Iranian Muslims rarely even pray at noon, whether on Fridays or any day. In Iran, the Friday prayer sermons are the invented ritual of the Islamist regime and thus the theater of the regime’s power. Consequently, protesters would have to turn to other cultural and religious spaces such as funerals and mourning ceremonies or the Shia rituals of Moharram and Ramadan.

But the clerical regime would not hesitate to prohibit even the most revered cultural and religious traditions if it deemed them a threat to the “system.” During the Green revolt of 2009, the ruling hardliners banned funerals and prevented families from holding mourning ceremonies for their loved ones. On occasion, authorities even prohibited Shia rituals. This is not surprising. Ayatollah Khomeini, the Islamic Republic’s founding father, had already decreed that the supreme faqih held “absolute authority” to disregard any precept or law, including the constitution or religious obligations such as daily prayers “in the interest of the state.”11 Iran’s clerical rulers would not hesitate to prohibit these cultural and religious rituals, precisely because of their exclusive claim on them. Under this perverse authority, the regime would delegitimize and discard values and practices from which it derives its own legitimacy. For it views itself as the sole legitimate body able to determine what is sacred and what is sin, what is authentic, what is fake, what is right, and what is wrong.

For the regime agents,mass demonstrations of spectacular scale would sound the call of revolution. They do not wish to hear it but cannot help feeling it. For a hum and whisper of revolution is already in the air. It can be heard and felt in homes, at private gatherings, and in the streets; in the rich body of art, literature, poetry, and music borne of the uprising; and in the media and intellectual debates about the meaning of the current moment, organization and strategy, the question of violence, and the way forward.12 The regime has responded with denial, ridicule, anger, appeasement, and widespread violence.

The daily Keyhan, close to the office of the supreme leader, has charged the protesters with wanting to establish “forced de-veiling” and warned that the “Islamic revolution will not go away. . . . So, be angry and die of your fury.”13 The commanders of the key security forces—the military, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Basij militia, and the police—issued a joint statement on 5 October 2022 declaring their loyalty to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. And the hardline parliament passed an emergency bill on 9 October 2022 “adjusting” the salaries of civil servants, including 700,000 pensioners who in late 2017 had turned out in force during a wave of protests. Newly employed teachers were to receive more secure contracts, sugarcane workers their unpaid wages, and poor families a 50 percent increase in the basic-needs subsidy. Meanwhile, the speaker of the parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, confirmed that he was prepared to implement “any reform and change for public interest,” including “change in the system of governance” if the protesters abandoned demands for “regime change.”14

Appeasing the population with “salary adjustments” and fiscal measures has gone hand-in-hand with a brutal repression of the protesters. This includes beating, killing, mass detention, torture, execution, drone surveillance, and marking the businesses and homes of dissenters. The regime’s clampdown has reportedly left 525 dead, including 71 minors, 1,100 on trial, and some 30,000 detained. The security forces and Basij militia have lost 68 members in the unrest.15 The regime blames “hooligans” for causing disorder, the internet for misleading the youth, and the Western governments for plotting to topple the government.

A Revolutionary Course

The regime’s suppression and the protesters’ pauseare likely to diminish the protests. But this does not mean the end of the movement. It means the end of a cycle of protest before a trigger ignites a new one. We have seen these cycles at least since 2017. What is distinct about this time is that it has set Iranian society on a “revolutionary course,” meaning that a large part of society continues to think, imagine, talk, and act in terms of a different future. Here, people’s judgment about public matters is often shaped by a lingering echo of “revolution” and a brewing belief that “they [the regime] will go.” So, any trouble or crisis—for instance, a water shortage—is considered a failure of the regime, and any show of discontent—say, over delayed wages—a revolutionary act. In such a mindset, the status quo is temporary and change only a matter of time. Consequently, intermittent periods of calm and contention could continue to possibly evolve into a revolutionary situation. We have witnessed such a revolutionary course before—in Poland, for instance, after martial law was declared and the Solidarity movement outlawed in 1982 until the military regime agreed to negotiate a transition to a new order in 1988. More recently, Sudan experienced a similar course after the dictator Omar al-Bashir declared a state of emergency and dissolved the national and regional governments in February 2019 until the military signed an agreement on the transition to civilian democratic rule with the opposition Forces of Freedom and Change after seven months.

Only radical political reform and meaningful improvement in people’s lives can disrupt a revolutionary course. For instance, holding a referendum about the form of government, changing the constitution to be more inclusive, or implementing serious social programs can dissuade people from seeking regime change. Otherwise, one should expect either a state of perpetual crisis and ungovernability or a possible move toward a revolutionary situation. But a revolutionary situation is unlikely until the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement grows into a credible alternative, a practical substitute, to the incumbent regime. A credible alternative means no less than a leadership organization and a strategic vision capable of garnering popular confidence. It means a collective force, a tangible entity, that is able to embody a coalition of diverse dissenting groups and constituencies and to articulate what kind of future it wants.

There are, of course, local leaders and ad hoc collectives that communicate ideas and coordinate actions in the neighborhoods, workplaces, and universities. Thanks to their horizontal, networked, and fluid character, their operations are less prone to police repression than a conventional movement organization would be. This kind of decentralized networked activism is also more versatile, allows for multiple voices and ideas, and can use digital media to mobilize larger crowds in less time. But networked movements can also suffer from weaker commitment, unruly decisionmaking, and tenuous structure and sustainability. For instance, who will address a wrongdoing, such as violence, committed in the name of the movement? As a result, movements tend to deploy a hybrid structure by linking the decentralized and fluid activism to a central body. The “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement has yet to take up this consideration.

Civil society and imprisoned activists who currently enjoy wide recognition and respect for their extraordinary commitment and political intelligence may eventually form a kind of moral-intellectual leadership. But that too needs to be part of a broader national leadership organization. For a leadership organization—in the vein of Polish Solidarity, South Africa’s ANC, or Sudan’s Forces of Freedom and Change—is not just about articulating a strategic vision and coordinating actions. It also signals responsibility, representation, popular trust, and tactical unity.

This is perhaps the most challenging task ahead for “Woman, Life, Freedom,” but remains acutely indispensable. Because, first, a political breakthrough is unlikely without a broad-based organized opposition. Second, a negotiated transition to a new political order is impossible in the absence of a leadership organization. Who is the incumbent supposed to negotiate with if there is no representation from the opposition? And third, if political collapse occurs and there is no credible organized alternative to an incumbent regime, other organized, entrenched, and opportunistic forces—for example, the military, political parties, sectarian groups, or religious organizations—will move in to shape the course and outcome of a transition. Such forces could claim to represent the opposition and make unwanted deals or might simply fill the power vacuum when authority collapses. Hannah Arendt was correct in observing that the collapse of authority and power becomes a revolution “only when there are people willing and capable of picking up the power, of moving into and penetrating, so to speak, the power vacuum.”16 In other words, if the revolutionary movement is unwilling or unable to pick up the power, others will. This, in fact, is the story of most of the Arab Spring uprisings—Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen, for instance. In these experiences, the protagonists, those who had initiated and carried the uprisings forward, remained mostly marginal to the process of critical decisionmaking while the free-riders, counterrevolutionaries, and custodians of the status quo moved to the center.17

No one knows where exactly the uprising in Iran will lead. Thus far, the ruling circle remains united even though signs of doubt and discord have appeared within the lower ranks.18 The traditional leaders and grand ayatollahs have mostly stayed silent. But reformist groups have increasingly been voicing their dissent, urging the rulers to undertake serious reforms to restore calm. None of them say that they want a regime change, but they seem to see themselves mediating a transition should such a time arrive. Former president Mohammad Khatami has admitted that the reformist path which he championed has reached a dead end, yet finds the remedy for the current crisis in amending and enforcing the constitution. But a growing number of reformist figures, led by former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, are calling for a referendum and a new constitution. The hardline rulers, however, remain defiant and show no sign of revisiting their policies let alone undertaking serious reforms. Resting on the support of their “people on the stage,” they aim to hold on to power through pacification, control, and coercion.19

NOTES

1. Azam Khatam, “Street Politics and Hijab in the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ Movement,” Naqd-e Eqtesad-e Siyasi, 12 November 2022, in Persian.

2. Danny Postel, “Iran’s Role in the Shifting Political Landscape of the Middle East,” New Politics, 7 July 2021, https://newpol.org/the-other-regional-counter-revolution-irans-role-in-the-shifting-political-landscape-of-the-middle-east/.

3. A woman’s letter to Zanan, no. 35 (June 1988), 26.

4. For a detailed discussion of “non-movements,” see Asef Bayat, Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2013). For an elaboration of how “non-movements” may merge into larger movements and revolutions, see Asef Bayat, Revolutionary Life: The Everyday of the Arab Spring(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2021).

5. Asef Bayat, “The Fire That Fueled the Iran Protests,” Atlantic, 27 January 2018, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/iran-protest-mashaad-green-class-labor-economy/551690.

6. Miriam Berger, “Students in Iran Are Risking Everything to Rise Up Against the Government,” Washington Post, 5 January 2023; Deepa Parent and Anna Kelly, “Iranian Schoolgirl ‘Beaten to Death’ for Refusing to Sing Pro-Regime Anthem,” Guardian, 18 October 2022; Celine Alkhaldi and Adam Pourahmadi, “Iranian Teachers Call for Nationwide Strike in Protest over Deaths and Detention of Students,” CNN, 21 October 2022.

7. Video clip circulated on social media of the speech of a security agent, Syed Pouyan Hosseinpour, at the 31 October 2022 funeral ceremony of a Basij member killed during the protests.

8. According to a leaked confidential bulletin of Fars News Agency and a government survey, reported on the Radio Farda website, 30 November 2022, www.radiofarda.com/a/black-reward-files/32155427.html.

9. Radio Farda, 15 February 2023; www.radiofarda.com/a/the-minimum-demands-of-independent-organizations-in-iran-were-announced/32272456.html

10. Reported in a leaked audio of a security official, Qasem Ghoreishi, speaking to a group of journalists from the Pars News Agency, close to the Revolutionary Guards. Reported also on the Khabar Nameh Gooyawebsite on 29 December 2022.

11. Asghar Schirazi, The Constitution of Iran: Politics and the State in the Islamic Republic (London: I.B. Tauris, 1998).

12. For a discussion on poetry, see www.radiozamaneh.com/742605/.

13. Keyhan, editorial, 6 October 2022.

14. Khabarbaan, 23 October 2022, https://36300290.khabarban.com/.

15. Iranian Organization of Human Rights, Hrana, www.hra-news.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Mahsa-Amini-82-Days-Protest-HRA.pdf; https://twitter.com/hra_news/status/1617296099148025857/photo/1. The number of 30,000 detainees is based on a leaked official document reported in Rouydad 24, 28 January, www.rouydad24.ir/fa/news/330219/%D9%87%D8%B2%DB%8C%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%DA%86%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA.

16. Hannah Arendt, “The Lecture: Thoughts on Poverty, Misery and the Great Revolutions of History,” New England Review,June 2017, 12, available athttps://lithub.com/never-before-published-hannah-arendt-on-what-freedom-and-revolution-really-mean/.

17. This predicament resulted partly from the “refo-lutionary” character of the Arab Spring. “Refo-lution” refers to the revolutionary movements that emerge to compel the incumbent regimes to reform themselves on behalf of revolution, without picking up the power or intervening effectively in shaping the outcome. See Asef Bayat, Revolution without Revolutionaries: Making Sense of the Arab Spring (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2017).

[255940g]

Any title ideas guys? Ch.9 - Allspark abilities p.2

Chapter Summary: An outsider's perspective to Sam displaying her Allspark abilities. These powers do play an important role in the future of this fic. I wouldn't recommend skipping these chapters. Despite everything, these one-shots are usually related points in the timeline. I do blame watching a little bit of the first Avatar and gaining inspiration from it.

The other bots only saw the femme who got along with everyone that you couldn’t help but like - in nearly all the meanings and innuendos of the word. (Her frame - stunning, anatomy (for those more into the medical sciences) - astounding especially with being a tri-former with two alt modes and the ability to warp, her personality was easy for everyone to get along with, and always returned teasing with like, her interactions with Ellie were adorable and stirred dreams all thought were left long ago as a pipe dream of a conjux and/or blessed with a sparkling(s) of their own.)

Then she pulled out the things thought to be fantastical. With…everything about her, it was far too easy to forget your initial meetings with her and the obvious Allspark energy radiating from her. But, the light show happened and no one would be able to forget how the entire battle ceased, no one was able to move while she was attractively glowing with the telltale power of the Allspark radiating from within her. The snarl shook them to their sparks. The puling of the spark forcefully outside of the Decepticons frame to just…fiddling with it. The mechs closer to Sam swore that she said something about the parasite virus. They were released from whatever hold Sam had on everyone, but still, no one moved far. Even the humans were mostly stuck there in awe and confusion. They weren’t even stuck by the large bodies blocking their pathways.

The first time she spoke was practically cooing at Optimus who followed without complaint before he too backed away. Ratchet was rooted to the spot he could get close to her. It appeared without her say so no one would be able to get close or leave. The spark never left Sam’s servos. Energon was dispensed at the usual times. Sam never looked up from playing with the spark. Hours passed with little change. The second energon dispersing happened and Ratchet put his foot down about Sam missing another take of energon. Reasoning her energy levels were greatly lowering with the power she was radiating and who knew what would happen should she crash.

Through comms, there was a poll for volunteers to get close to try and get her to have some energon. Unsurprisingly Bumblebee ended up being the one to get the short straw. Entering the serene bubble surrounding her, it looked as if Bee merely was suicidal to sit behind her. Apparently, it was the right thing to do as Sam made the first movements for hours by relaxing a bit into Bee. She still ignored the energon cube next to her. Ratchet and Optimus did relax a little bit at whatever they heard back from Bee, so it couldn’t be too bad.

A few more hours passed, and even the bots with a shorter attention span were riveted by what they could see from the light show and whatever readings they were getting from Sam. The energon cube was finally acknowledged and passed to Bee.

At least he had the good sense to not drink it. Never mind, he absolutely chugged it. It was back to watching and waiting.

No one was sure what to do when the immobile Decepticon body was touched only for some of it to morph into a small body and the blue spark to be placed into the new spark chamber created. Nor did they know what happened during the super-secret meeting where Ratchet enforced an immediate mandatory check-up.

Even more unusual was the base going on lockdown for the next week. Bots were coming into the medical centre, then coming out hours later as if they'd been through hell. Only a few bots were able to get to the medical personnel. Namely Bee, Ironhide, and Optimus. Those released from the medical tent were sequestered to one side of the island and the other was on the opposite side. They were isolated from each other.

The humans had no idea other than the discovery of a dangerous virus. They doubted this was standard procedure based purely on the exhaustion of Sam and Ratchet and the rest of the bots' anxiousness.

As another little note: I read a fic where Shockwave and the fallen uploaded the deception ranks with a slow acting virus leading them to act irrationally and increase their anger and aggression. I've loved that idea.

Also, fellow tumblr authors, HOW DO YOU ATTACH SO MANY LINKS IN ONE FIC?

[mystagenameisangel]

Welcome to the first ever Angel's x Ignite's joint christmas party!

I just know you're all ending up on the naughty list after tonight. 😈

Tonight, we'll fully be embodying the phrase "eat, drink, and be merry." You all work so hard to help keep our businesses thriving, this is the least we can do to show how much we appreciate you.

You'll find an assortment of cocktails and shots and a delicious spread courtesy of @im-jace-osborn and the Seoulful Bites team.

Along with mingling, we'll be participating in a few party games:

Don't Say Freak 🤫

- Pretty self-explanatory. Anyone heard saying 'freak' or 'freaky' will have to take a shot of some very potent alcohol I acquired just for this occasion.

Rice Purity Test

- I said mandatory and I meant it lmao. It's just a fun little test so that we all have something to giggle at. If you really don't want to participate, that's okay, but you will be forced to wear the antlers of shame.

- When you finish it, make a post that says "Rice Purity Test Score: _____" and I'll send you your result!

Secret Santa

- Everyone who's participating was given a name, and we'll be seeing who received what 👀

((to keep with the spirit of anonymity, gifts can be given by 1) sending an anonymous ask describing the item(s). 2) if you want to present it as a photo, you can send it to Angel and she'll give it to the person (since she technically knows who's gifting to who anyway))

Best Dressed & Most Festively Dressed

- Via strawpoll, everyone will have a chance to vote for their favorite looks of the evening. Best dressed will mean best dressed overall, and most festively dressed will mean someone who's definitely in the spirit.

((If I create the polls correctly, you will be able to vote for up to 3 people in each category))

- Winners will receive a $1500 visa gift card!

I hope everyone has a great time!

[fangedbeau]

Clearing up misconceptions abt DE 🇪🇺🇩🇪

Let me clear up some misconceptions about Germany — and specifically ones that are spread by Germans themselves:

No voter registration needed?

Wherever the abyssal election conditions in the USA are looked upon, the comments section will mention how over here we don't need to go register to vote; all eligible voters just get the election notification in their mail.

If you're German, then that's how you experience it, right? If you're American, think about this: how could the government send documents to every citizen of voting age and not forget anyone, and not send duplicates to anyone, even when they have moved from one state to another? And don't just say that the government is incompetent. How would a competent government do that? They can't. They don't know reliably where everyone lives.

So how does our government do it? With voter registration. So, no, we don't register specifically for voting. But we have mandatory registration for a bunch of purposes, including voting. We update the registry whenever we move to a new address, regardless of elections. So people don't think of it as voter registration, but that still is part of it. And you can't pick and choose which purposes you actually want to be in the registry for and which you'd rather skip.

The USA don't have any existing registry like that. And I can't imagine that you would want that.

What's true, however is that we vote on Sundays and have enough polling places that there won't be waiting times longer than a few minutes.

But voter ID?

On that topic someone will usually note that Germany has voter ID though.

Ah, yes, in the election notification letter it always says that I should bring my ID card or travel passport. But you know what?

I've never had to show my ID at the polling place. I'm asked to bring one, just in case. But the letter was always enough. They cross me off their list and let me vote.

Also note that it's not anything wacky, like a weapons license, but my ID card or travel passport. You know what those two documents have in common? They are issued by the federal government and are printed based on the same registration data that is used to issue my election notification and send it to me. So the spelling of my name on my ID card and on my travel passport ought to match exactly that in the voter list, because they are taken from the same database. But, again, I never had to actually show my ID, only bring one along, just in case.

‘umfahren’ confusion?

Have you heard that ‘umfahren’ (unstressed um-) means ‘to drive around’ and ‘umfahren’ (stressed um-) means ‘to run over’, and they're written the exact same and differ only in syllable stress?

Well, the spelling of the infinitives is identical. That much is true. But otherwise the words are more distinct.

Imperative:

umfahre es — vs — fahre es um

Preterit:

ich umfuhr es — vs — ich fuhr es um

Past perfect:

ich habe es umfahren — vs — ich habe es umgefahren

And how often would you use the infinitive in a sentence in real life?

Furthermore, the widely repeated translation is inaccurate.

‘jmd./etw. überfahren’ means ‘to run s-b./sth. over’

‘jmd./etw. anfahren’ means ‘to hit s-b./sth. with a driving vehicle’

‘jmd./etw. umfahren’ (stressed um-) means ‘to topple s-b./sth. over by hitting them/it with a driving vehicle’

And ‘überfahren’ is the word that is more often colloquially misused when it's not technically accurate. The specific term ‘umfahren’ is not used as often as you may have thought when you heard the inaccurate translation.

Because tsunamis?

There's a strawman talking point claiming that because a nuclear accident in Japan was caused by a tsunami, Germany — that doesn't experience tsunamis — decided to quit nuclear power, which doesn't make sense. … Things tend to make no sense when you're missing the point.

Japan is at the junction of four tectonic plates. They experience earthquakes with some regularity, which at the ocean can cause tsunamis. And Japan is a technologically highly advanced nation.

The point isn't: «oh no, what if a tsunami hits a nuclear power plant?» The point is that this was to be expected and Japan was supposed to be prepared for it. They should have been able to safely power down the reactor but ended up in a situation in which that wasn't possible any more.

The same chain of events couldn't unfold here. But that same outcome shouldn't have been possible there. So how could we be confident that it wouldn't happen here under any circumstances?

[kilmerhq]

thank  you  to  those  who  let  us  know  that  sending  the  discord  via  mssges  will  get  us  shadowbanned  !  the  ooc  discord  link  is  now  in  the  source  of  this  post.  please  remember  that  it  is  not  mandatory,  but  recommended,  if  you're  comfortable  !  once  you  send  your  account  in,  feel  free  to  post  your  intro(s)  whenever.  a  poll  should  be  going  out  soon  on  the  discord  server  about  when  we  open  for  ic  interactions.

[mediamonarchy]

https://mediamonarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240708_MorningMonarchy.mp3 Download MP3 Sick to death of Labour, stupid voters and raising the minimum rage + this day in history w/the Dallas ambush and our song of the day by Mark Will on your #MorningMonarchy for July 8, 2024. Notes/Links: Biden’s poor performance and Trump’s lies: four key takeaways from the debate; President mumbled as ex-president avoided questions in a debate showcasing voters’ two main options in November https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/27/trump-biden-cnn-presidential-debate-reaction-highlights The Hollywood power players turning on the Biden campaign: ‘It’s about the ability to WIN’ https://archive.is/oZVWY Biden radio interview scandal escalates as host is FIRED for allowing White House to send scripted questions – even though president still made major gaffe https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13608941/joe-biden-replacement-donald-trump-polls-president.html Supreme Court Upholds Trump-Era Tax on Overseas Income; The Mandatory Repatriation Tax was part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed into law by President Donald Trump. https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/supreme-court-upholds-trump-era-tax-on-overseas-income-5667759 Trump floats eliminating U.S. income tax and replacing it with tariffs on imports https://archive.is/h5SLj Saudi Arabia ends 50-year petrodollar deal with US for multi-currency sales; The petrodollar deal was originally signed on June 8, 1974, and was a key part of US global economic influence. https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/saudi-arabia-ends-80-year-petro-dollar-oil-with-us-dollar-for-multi-currency-sales-2552844-2024-06-13 The Actual 1974 Saudi Arabia and US Agreement on Cooperation https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/06/the-actual-1974-saudi-arabia-and-us-agreement-on-cooperation.html Agenda 47 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_47 RFK Jr. Ate a Dog, Photo Appears to Suggest https://www.newsweek.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr-ate-dog-photo-rfk-tapeworm-korea-1920193 Prince Harry Accused of ‘Deliberately’ Destroying Evidence in Phone Hacking Case; The publisher of the British tabloid The Sun said Harry deleted drafts and communications related to his memoir Spare that may be relevant to the lawsuit https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/prince-harry-deliberately-destroyed-evidence-tabloid-publisher-says-1235049549/ Mayor Travels to Israel with Delegation https://www.riograndesun.com/news/mayor-travels-to-israel-with-delegation/article_e29c2514-33d2-11ef-8d83-37bd8c6b423d.html Who is Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, ushered to power by his Labour Party’s election landslide? https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uk-election-2024-results-who-is-keir-starmer/ Image: The gang pulls off Keir Starmer’s mask and “Jinkies! It’s Tony Blair!” https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F90d30e73-c81f-413d-8bf1-58643d3cb980_1802x1780.png #NewWorldNextWeek: Canada Beats Turdeau, Mexico Beats Monsatan, America Beats Rap https://mediamonarchy.com/nwnw560-video/ // https://mediamonarchy.com/nwnw560-audio/ Video: Keir Starmer becomes U.K.’s new prime minister in major Labour Party victory (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuUIc0HbxQQ Allen Clapp & His Orchestra – “Didn’t You Know?” (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAo0Y1vxOvE Various – Pop American Style https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_American_Style // https://www.discogs.com/release/1521845-Various-Pop-American-Style Americans bought 5.5 million guns to start 2024: These states sold the most https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/americans-bought-5-5-million-guns-to-start-2024-these-states-sold-the-most/ar-BB1p35tC How Governor Kathy Hochul Became The Most Unpopular Person In New York Overnight https://digg.com/internet-culture/link/new-york-governor-kathy-hochul-controversy-explained-quotes-tweets Video: Gov. Kathy Hochul Asked Point Blank: ‘How Stupid Do You Think ...

[ggblasts]

Hello babes!

So, I know this time of year is super duper busy for like all of us with every holiday imaginable being during this time of year haha, so, with that being said, we are gonna have both events go until the first of January. That way, y'all can particpate in both. However, we do ask that if you are posting outfits for the events, please specify which event it is, that way, when you get put on the blast page, it'll be easier lmfao. I am also gonna state, that neither event is mandatory. I don't think we've ever done a mandatory event but I know neither of the ones for December are mandatory. Though, beware, someone is going to get their secret exposed at the Christmas party event hosted by Gossip Girl. The person being chosen will be 100% RANDOM We aren't gonna have a poll on that haha. If you have not sent in your secret(s) then you should probably do.

-The Admin Team

[hardynwa]

Breaking: “INEC’s Server Logs Show Manipulated Election Results”, Peter Obi Reveals in Court

Labour Party (LP)'s flagbearer for the February 25 presidential election has made a serious claim regarding the results. Peter Obi said the server logs and uploads showed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) manipulated the results of the presidential election, Daily Trust reported. Obi and LP’s submission is contained in a further reply to the preliminary objection by INEC asking the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal to dismiss their petition challenging the outcome of the election, especially Nigeria’s president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's victory. Recall that INEC had told the tribunal to dismiss Obi and LP’s petition. However, in the reply filed by their lead counsel, Levy Uzoukwu (SAN), Obi and LP said there was no factual basis for INEC’s alleged circumvention of the mandatory transmission of the results of the election from the BVAS in the polling units to the IReV, Vanguard report added. The aftermath of the keenly contested presidential election reached a fever pitch again, and conversations about the possible outcome of the presidential election petition tribunal was predicted. Recall that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party's Peter Obi both filed a petition against President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission. The content of their petition faults INEC for its controversial decision not to display results electronically in real-time and the malfunctioning of the BVAS machine. In another report, a coalition of Arewa elders insisted that the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must be sworn in on Monday, May 29, 2023, having met the constitutional requirement to win the February 25 presidential election. The elders' made this assertion while cautioning those calling for an interim government in the country to desist forthwith. The group's position was contained in a communique read by Suleiman Usman Jere, chairman of the coalition, at the end of a meeting on Tuesday, April 11, in Kaduna. Read the full article

[waitingformyfavoritesongs]

22 April 2023 Saturday 1:03 am pt

Incubus is threatening me not to put up 🆙 my intaglio print picture here. It’s on my Instagram. He is burning 🔥 my vag. Benny blanco put up 🆙 that song 🎵 on his post George Michael. Michael sounds like my kill. 1:06 am pdt no one seems to care though. I haven’t seen any progress towards resolution. Only threats to tear me apart. I wish I never dated Scott. He wasn’t worth getting to know for me Bcz I don’t like 👍 him now. Hot 🥵 above right ear 👂. If they’re threatening me what is it they’re afraid 😱 of? That people will believe me? Bcz my print was made between fall 2007 and spring 2008? And Amar Malik article said July 2010? 1:10 am pdt it would (left hip bone 🦴 pain) point it in my favor slightly but no one likes me so no one will do anything to help me... so? 1:11 am pdt

1:13 am pdt stereo hearts 🥰

1:14 am pdt never going to dance 💃🏻 again Bcz my hip bones 🦴 etc are being taken away. 1:15 am pdt

1:17 am pdt do you think stereo hearts 🥰 sounds like it was written by a girl 👧 or a guy? I would like to see a poll on this. If you didn’t know who. Wrote it. Curious to know what others think 💭 only for experimental purposes. 1:19 am pdt

1:20 am pdt I want (back pain sharp) my bones 🦴 back and my youthfulness! My health. I don’t care about the money 💰! 1:21 am pdt 😞😖😭 1:22 am pdt I want this nightmare to be over!

1:23 am pdt I want to be able to work hard again without consequences such as losing my bones 🦴 and brain 🧠! 1:24 am pdt 😫😤😰

1:25 am pdt incubus attacked my skull 💀 and probably brain 🧠 today from trying to walk 🥺😖😭 1:26 am pdt

1:29 am pdt years and years of postponement and unfulfilled promises so a lot of stuff I won’t believe until I see results. A lot of stuff is like in reruns. 1:31 am pdt my hotel 🏨 is not giving us extra recycling and compost bins... 🤷🏻‍♀️ Nothings changed. Composting should be mandatory everywhere. 1:32 am pdt

1:33 am pdt acid throat pain no tengo dinero. It’s too bad Travis McCoy didn’t become a millionaire. Wait did Bruno Mars? Did either of those guys do stuff in the billionaire song 🎵? Who can I ask for money 💰? 1:35 am pdt Benny Blancos post literally day after my birthday 🎂 so it looks intentionally dedicated to me about not being able to dance 💃🏻 again. 1:36 am pdt and Amar Malik has some weird posts with a pink liquid spill. Rose 🌹 Rosa pink . Shana = beautiful, rose 🌹, Lilly 1:38 am pdt right arm acid throat too

1:41 am pdt incubus pointed something out to me days ago. It sometimes hard to think 💭 when I can’t breathe 🧘🏻‍♀️ and fighting for my life. So it’s okay 👌 if I’m a whore and it’s my fault 🤦‍♀️ Bcz I shouldn’t have dated me for I don’t remember how long how many days but I don’t think 💭 it was more than 2 months. Some people say by the third month you will know if something will become long term? I don’t really remember spending July 4 th with Scott in 2007. Trying to remember but it’s hard. I used to keep everything. But I was bad at putting dates on drawings ✍️ in my sketch ✍️ books 📖. I guess it was my fault 🤦‍♀️. I don’t have a lot of experience with dating. I guess I never learned until Q said it’s supposed to work immediately. But that was after s*x with Scott. I was trying to see if people would grow on me. I was better off hearing the advice b4 not after. My parents are divorced and they have a huge age gap. My parents were pen 🖊 pals. But I guess my dad rushed my mom Bcz he was already very old. He wanted/needed to have babies 👶 ASAP I guess. They tried to make it work. They weren’t the right fit unfortunately. 1:51 am pdt teeth 🦷 pain 1:52 am some times you just bite the cookie 🍪 5 year engagement. My dad had a fiancé who was stolen by another man 👨, so he had bad luck. 1:53 am pdt my dad wasn’t rich 🤑 I think the other man was? 1:54 am pdt

2:21 am pdt while I was at UCB my eczema on my hands 🙌 got worse so I stopped printmaking. 2:22 am pdt I didn’t do printmaking my second year and beyond. 2:23 am pdt

2:37 am pdt incubus is extremely biased and extremely WRONG 😑. He or she is vilifying me about dating Scott. I was attracted to him too much. And I wanted it to work out 🏋️‍♀️ I wanted to like 👍 someone I was attracted to. But I guess it was too dangerous a situation and I didn’t realize it. Bcz it was hard for me to say no even though I wanted to and meant to say no, he physically didn’t allow me to say no. He physically stopped 🛑 me from responding and went for it. 2:41 am pdt that was probably only the second or third time we hung out even though I don’t remember anymore I think 💭 I used to think 💭 I remembered it being very early on. Too early. Bcz I wanted to say NO Bcz my heart ❤️ wasn’t there yet. But he said he could feel I wanted to. Duh 🙄 that’s hormones. But he is probably trying to lie (acid head pain 2:44 am pdt) and twist it into saying he was in love with out saying it then, but twisted it for later when he wanted to make me look 👀 bad. Bcz he didn’t want people to know what happened exactly. I already told him I don’t think 💭 we should be doing this, but he challenged me. It’s not ok 👌 to challenge a woman 👩🏼. If she says no respect ✊ it. 2:47 am pdt

2:48 am pdt at least I verbally said b4 the s*x a very long no. Acid lips 👄 pain b4 I typed. Acid brain 🧠 pain.

2:50 am pdt I seem to be punished for this. I move to ban lap dances from strip clubs . If I’m being punished acid brain 🧠 pain for that then I will be saving every strippers life by warning ⚠️ them this is what they are like. They will eat your brains 🧠 with acid if you don’t claim responsibility for any rape that occurs after lap dancing 💃🏻. If Scott is punishing me then you are warned. He likes teenagers. Teens at my high school 🏫 rubbed their butts on guys crotch in dances. They didn’t get raped? 2:54 am pdt

2:58 am pdt I guess it’s true. I’m going to die Bcz of Scott cano. Bcz they blame me for stuff they tricked me into doing. 2:59 am pdt men are messed up and 😧. 3 am pdt they are not safe (stomach pain) to be alone with or to conduct business 👨‍💼 with. Unfortunate. 3:01 am pdt

3:04 am pdt I will repeat 🔁 myself Bcz now there are too many posts 😑. Women only desire p*nis. Adequately sized. P*nis. Nothing else would satisfy a woman 👩🏼! But we don’t know what men will try to put their p*nis. Into a pie 🥧 or a sheep 🐑? 3:07 am pdt

3:09 am pdt if people like Amar Malik more than me then I guess there’s nothing I can do. They want to award 🥇 him and not me I cannot do anything. 3:11 am pdt

3:11 am pdt in this weird world 🌎 now that is coming out it doesn’t seem to matter who had the idea 💡 first under what circumstances. Whether I forgot about specific things or I wasn’t made 100% aware of the truth and they messed around with my head a lot for a long time b4 telling me. 3:14 am pdt a lot of sharp back pain. I forgot a lot. No crossover. 3:15 am pdt all I thought 💭 was those guys were regular people like me and they were doing weird bad stuff to me. 3:15 am pdt

3:23 am pdt I guess I have to give up 🆙 Bcz god wants them to have what originally thought 💭 was mine. I thought 💭 about stuff for a while b4 I sang in the shower 🚿 in my apartment. Everything (acid hot pain left hip pain bone 🦴 difficulty breathing cruncher groin bone 🦴 3:26 am pdt I need to face the music 🎶 is that this a cruel joke on me😖😭😫 and that there is nothing else to this. There is no new earth 🌍 that we will all go to together. If there was, I would think 💭 that (pain cramp fart 💨 3::30 am pdt) anyone who has a growing family should go first. Hopefully 🙏 that it’s a quick trip! 3:31 am pdt please stop 🛑 hurting me please stop 🛑 taking my bones 🦴😫😖😭🥵🥵🥵🥵 3:32 am pdt

[carpediem-celebrpg-events]

Dear Players

Since day one of this group there has always been mandatory tasks and events. In the very beginning there was a new task AND event every month. I believe it was the year of 2016 Admins Lena, Elle and myself had the entire year planned by the end of 2015. We were so excited for all the things we planned and by the end of 2016 participation had started to dwindle. Every year since the amount of tasks and events we do has gone down and every time we do try to plan something people are either taking hiatus’ or not finishing things they start or just not posting event stuff. I know I am guilty of this as well in recent times. 

I’m trying to figure out where to go from here when it comes to tasks and events. I could think of things for us to do. Ideas I’ve had for years that other admins hadn’t wanted to do that I’ve always wondered if the players would actually enjoy it, things past admins have suggested we hadn’t gotten a chance to do yet, and I’m also open to suggestions. 

However, as I am the only admin now and real life is chaotic I don’t want to spend a whole bunch of time on something if the group as a whole isn’t going to participate. I was thinking of making a poll but I’d rather hear from everyone directly. I’m asking EVERYONE to message into this page through the IM feature and let me know your thoughts/feelings/concerns/suggestions on tasks and events for the future. 

If we do plan on doing an event soonish I don’t want it to be too soon and rush to plan. I was thinking we could do a Christmas event, New Years event or Valentines event. Or we could do nothing at all and just play our storylines. 

I don’t want to call this a task but it kind of is. I really need to hear from everyone ASAP.

Please and thank you

-Admin S

[restructuralcommittee]

Happy Radio Dystopia Day!

Behold the results of the Restructural Committee’s survey for No. 6′s 10th anniversary, as well as the collage put together by the No. 6 Discord. These were both submitted to the Radio Dystopia event. The images were put together by @nezumivc103221, translated to Japanese by @origami10, and double-checked by @aowyn.

Additionally, we sent the event some questions, memories, and thoughts from our followers (also translated to Japanese). Thank you so much to everyone who submitted something. We loved reading all your heartfelt words.

The questions that we sent to the Japanese VAs were:

1. What about Nezumi, Shion, or the story of No. 6 has stayed with you after all these years? 2. Did working on No. 6 affect any aspect of your way of thinking or how you see the world? 3. Did you find it difficult to get into the character to perform Nezumi and Shion's voices? Or did you identify with them in some way? 

The first two questions were asked by multiple people and rephrased by us to encompass what everybody was asking. Aside from this, a lot of people wanted to know when the VAs thought reunion would come, or if there would be a season 2!

Followers’ memories and thoughts on an ideal city are below the cut.

MEMORIES

Although we loved reading all the wonderful memories you sent in, these are the ones that the committee voted to send for the event:

1. No.6 means a lot to me, since it was the first show I ever saw as a kid that actually had queer representation, with Dogloan as nonbinary, and Rat and Shion as mlm. Not to mention Safu being an amazing and unique character, being autism coded and not being infantilized. There were so many characters that I connected to in so many different ways, and it had an absolutely amazing story to boot.Ever since I watched it all those years ago, once a year or so, I binge watch the entire show from start to finish multiple times over, and every single time, it still takes my breath away, and I notice new things that make the show feel even more special to me. My one regret is not being able to find DVD copies for the country I live in, New Zealand, and not being able to find official English translations of the novels, lol.

2. No.6 is very dear to me. Before reading the novels I wasn't a big fan of books, but when I watched the anime, all I could think was "I want more of that," and so I read the manga and later the novels. There is no better way to describe how I felt reading those except that they made my heart warm, seeing Nezumi and Shion's interactions made me happy (especially the silly ones). After reading everything I could about No.6, I started to look for similar books, so you could say that No.6 got me into reading, and is the reason that I met many other great stories.

3. When I first encountered No.6 (the anime and novels), my country was starting to go through a very difficult period. And while I could see the similarities between the political and social issues addressed in No.6 and what was happening in my country, I could also see how my feelings sometimes coincided with Nezumi's, and sometimes with Shion's. I couldn't have known No.6 at a better time. It was an important way for me to cope.

4. The bees in No.6 are actually what got me interested in entomology, which I am goingto be studying in college.

-

IDEAL CITY

And lastly, Onsen Radio (the host of the Dystopia Radio event) posed this question: “If you were told you could build an ideal city, what kind of city would you build? Please tell us five points that make an ideal city!” We found one response that seemed to encompass many of our respondents’ ideas in one. The version that we sent in was edited in order to make it easier to translate.

I would build a solarpunk city.   1. Every citizen will have all their primary necessities covered. This includes: water, housing and food access, clothes, cultural enrichement (theatres, cinemas, libraries, music, also included in education), education up until they want in whatever thing they want, health insurance for everything completely free including mental heath, etc. 2. The technology will be made to last as long as possible and will run on renewable sources, as the sun or the wind. No copyright; only a need to recognize the intelectual creator. Info about anything will be free to everybody, so no paywalls or academic access or monopolies interested on only making a profit. 3. Crimes will be obligued to do immediate reaparation to the affected when necessary and a whole program dedicated to help criminal reintegrate back in society, with good and human facilities even in cases where it's impossible for them to not reenact their crimes. No immunity of trial to anyone regardless of their social position. Also people are assumed innocent until proved guilty. 4. A council elected by sortie every two years of a poll of volunteers above 20 that have passed tests of aptitude (so people only interesed on themselves without caring for the people or without a minimum of knowloedge about how the city works cannot get a post) and govern. Any heavy change in laws will need to be voted by the general population possible thanks to technology. No leader will exist, only moderators and spokespersons.   5. Jobs will be leave to the discretion of the citizentry; they won't be mandatory. But with human workdays of 4 to 6 hours and three to two free days each week plus holidays of at least two weeks every two months, plus one big holiday every six months of a whole month I think people will gladly work and help themselves and others.   All of this will make a society where people will be free to be and love and do what they want, and who they want and be a little closer to that elusive happiness of humanity. I want to believe it, at least.