#you’re liable under this law

[we-re-always-alright]

I’m off work today but I’m thinking about it anyway and I’m thinking, you know, what cottage lawsuit industry is going to pop up next (if it hasn’t already) and my guess would be on CCPA/CPRA etc violations for small businesses

[gusty-wind]

“It does not actually articulate or force the articulation of a strategy for how to end the conflict to begin with. So you basically have a blank check — or a near blank check — for a strategy that’s completely gone off the rails.”

Lee called out his Republican colleagues for sending aid to Ukraine at the expense of America’s own interests.

“By voting yes and passing this bill now, it empowers drug cartels, it dissolves our borders, it spends insane amounts of money that we don’t have on the priorities of foreign countries all at the same time,” he said.

Lee also slammed the bills’ proponents for defeating an effort led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to increase accountability and oversight of the aid to the notoriously corrupt Ukrainian government through appointment of an inspector general.

“These are not choir boys,” Lee said. “These are not Boy Scouts. These are not Girl Scouts. These are people who have really set world records for corruption. It’s an art form over there.”

Vance laid out the arguments from Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for rushing the aid through without further accountability measures.

“The basic argument is that we have to rush resources to Ukraine immediately, or they’re liable to fall to Russian aggression,” he said. “And it’s all basically an argument made under the gun that unless you approve this appropriation of resources and weapons, then you will allow Russia to win. So it’s a kind of moral blackmail.”

Supporters of yet more aid to Ukraine can not admit the reality that the war is not winnable for Ukraine, Vance continued. “They can’t admit that this isn’t going well because if they admitted that, it would cause too much psychological harm, and they’d have to cut bait.”

Johnson added that proponents argue that it is in politicians’ naked political interests to support the aid because “it’s helping build our industrial base, and so it’s creating jobs in your state. And I call that a depraved justification.”

Musk, who noted his contributions to Ukraine’s war efforts, echoed the assessment of the trio of senators that the war is ultimately not winnable and that a peace deal is in their best interests.

Ukraine is “losing people every day,” he said. “And if you’re going to spend lives, it must be for a purpose.”

Musk continued:

There is no way in hell that Putin is going to lose. If he would back off, he would be assassinated. And for those who want regime change in Russia, they should think about: Who is the person that could take out Putin? And is that person likely to be a peacenik? Probably not. They’re probably gonna be even harder, even more hardcore than Putin if they took him out.  Ramaswamy detailed additional “unacceptable” risks to American and global interests from continued “endless funding” of the fighting in Ukraine, arguing that Americans see “daily strengthening of the military alliance between Russia and China, which, when combined, is the single greatest increase for the risk of World War III that we’ve seen in the post-World War II era.”

If the foreign aid passes the Senate, as is expected, the House must still act. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) would likely face a rebellion from members of the Republican conference if he brought the bill to the floor.

Monday night, after the conclusion of the X Space, Johnson seemed to throw cold water on the Senate’s package, echoing earlier statements that Congress must address American border security first.

“In the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters,” a Johnson statement read. “America deserves better than the Senate’s status quo.”

The timing before Monday night’s vote is important, sending the message to any on-the-fence Republican senators that a vote on the unpopular aid package would imperil their political standing for legislation that will not become law.

Some Democrats have insisted they will use all the parliamentary tools at their disposal to bring the bill to the floor, although a path forward for the legislation in the House is unclear.

Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.

[vigilskeep]

Still thinking about that one Circle mage with a spouse and children in DA:O and wondering whether Bioware originally intended to allow mages marry or maybe he was an Apostate and was married with kids before being found out...

I know Teagan flirts and you can tell him you're a mage and say he'd have to be very brave to marry them but maybe that's in reference to you being a Warden and, therefore, outside of Chantry law?

oh no, it’s very specifically established in dao that circle mages can marry! teagan specifically says that in the conversation you mention, but a banter between alistair and wynne goes into more detail

i forget if there’s any more mentions. oh, a good one is shale’s old master wilhelm, who is a bit of a complicated case but as you can see in honnleath, was allowed, in his role as mage to the arls of redcliffe, to take a wife and even live with and raise his children

i think the takeaway between wynne’s “what sort of man would marry a mage, do you think?” and a female mage warden’s “only if the man is brave enough” to teagan, it’s pretty clear that this is a right mages very rarely get to exercise even if they are ostensibly granted it. i mean, think about the logistics required.

for one thing, the circle mages are all trapped in a tower and all their options in that tower (fellow mages, templars, priests) are forbidden or Strongly Not Encouraged to the point that the templars finding out you’re in love is the source of terror. so only the very very limited number of circle mages with regular duties outside the tower could meet anyone. then there’s the huge stigma about mages baked deep into the very core of your entire culture, especially about bringing one into your line, which is a real threat considering the risk of having mage children and that you know exactly what kind of life their inheritance from you would give them. and then if you found somebody who was still willing to marry you under those circumstances, you’d be a very poor prospect for them: locked up in the circle, with no property and no money, no way to support them or even be with them, liable to being spirited away by the templars at any given moment. let’s say you do miraculously manage to find someone who’s willing to marry a mage and face the cultural consequences, all to have absolutely no life with you and possibly children who will likely be stolen from them too. then you’d also have to seek the first enchanter and knight-commander’s permission, because yes you may have the right to marry in general, but let’s not get carried away

it doesn’t surprise me that the right to marry is barely more than a platitude. but yes, they do have it

[ihhfhonao3]

I have some ideas for a follow up to your recent maya clown story.

could you write a sequel where it turns out Maya’s clown training is part of an undercover investigation at the circus but she really enjoys her new clown life and keeps practicing as a hobby. Or a version where she is genuinely wanting to become a clown and Phoenix convinces her to use her new career as part of an undercover investigation. choose whichever version you think you would be better.

heyhey! I went with the second option, since it had more potential imo. Under the cut!

Maya was helping feed the elephants when she got the phone call from Phoenix. She excused herself, apologizing to Regina for bailing, and stepped outside the main circus tent to answer the call.

“Maya!” Phoenix said through the phone. “I’ve been trying to reach you for forever. I need your help.”

Maya sighed and rubbed her temple. “Nick, I told you, I’m dedicated to my new job, and I don’t have as much time anymore to investigate every little petty crime that happens on the city streets.”

“That’s not what I’m calling for,” Phoenix said. “This is related to the circus, I swear.”

“I’m listening,” Maya said, crossing her arms.

“So, I’ve been on a sort of… how should I say it… an unconventional case this time around,” Phoenix said. “I’m investigating another local circus for wage theft. It’s stationary, so it sticks to Japanifornia, but from the looks of it there’s some shady things going on in it.”

“That’s terrible,” Maya said. “But why are you calling me about this?”

“Well…” Phoenix paused. Maya heard him exhale before continuing. “I was hoping that you could possibly assist me in my investigation by going undercover to dig deeper into the story behind this. It would help me out majorly, since it isn’t as obvious as some dude in a suit poking around.”

Maya thought for a moment. “Honestly? It sounds like fun! Just like old times! I can ask the boss if I can take the time off. I’m sure he won’t mind, he’s super cool.”

“Awesome!” Phoenix said happily. “Can you meet me at the offices in an hour or two? I want to get this ball rolling as soon as I possibly can.”

“Roger that, captain!” Maya then hung up the phone and went to find her boss, Moe.

Maya asked some of her co-workers if they had seen Moe around, but nobody was quite sure of his whereabouts. She looked around the grounds for a little bit, before finding him sitting behind the main tent staring solemnly at a picture of a woman and a young girl.

“Who are they?” Maya asked when she noticed the picture.

Moe jumped and quickly shoved the picture into his pocket. “They’re nobody in particular, it doesn’t matter- what do you need, Maya?”

Maya bounced on her heels. “I wanted to ask you… would you mind if I took some time off? No need for it to be paid, I just need, say… a week and a half?”

“To do what?” Moe asked.

“That’s my business, sir!” Maya smiled.

“...Fair enough. Fine. Just give me the dates, and I’ll make note of your absence,” Moe said. “Just try to practice at least a little bit while you’re away, alright? I don’t want you getting rusty.”

“Right!” Maya said, smiling. She then headed to the changing rooms to get into her normal clothes. Once she gathered all of her things, she ran down the familiar road to Wright and Co. Law Offices. When she arrived, she knocked on the door and was greeted by her old investigation partner.

“That didn’t take you long at all,” Phoenix said, opening the door wider to let Maya in. “I gave you an hour and you took twenty minutes!”

“I’m excited!” Maya said. “It’ll be just like how we used to investigate crimes together. Except, I’ll be on my own for most of this one.”

“Hey,” Phoenix chuckled. “I’ll be with you in spirit. And through your phone.”

“That reminds me,” Maya said. “Do you know how long I’ll be out?”

“If we don’t get anything incriminating by Friday of next week, I’ll let you return to… whatever it is you do for a living now.”

Maya smiled and took out her phone, typing out an email to Moe telling him her estimated time of return. After that, she looked up at Phoenix and then at all the notes he had scattered on his desk.

“Your desk is real messy, Nick,” Maya noted. “Which isn’t totally absurd for you, but it’s more than the usual.”

“Oh!” Phoenix turned to look at his desk. “Yeah, that’s all the information I could get on this circus. They’re pretty down-low, likely scrubbing information from public records. So a lot of that is just scraps of information, but I think they could be useful in putting some things together.”

Maya headed over to Phoenix’s desk and peered at the strewn-about papers. Some were messy with highlighters, others scribbled on with pen. But from the looks of it, most of the information was junk or led to dead ends. Maya picked up one sheet of paper- seemingly a newspaper clipping- and started reading the highlighted text.

The article was about the circus’ history. Some interviews were conducted with the employees, but nothing looked terribly unusual… except for the fact that the ringmaster declined an interview, the clowns in the article photo looked exhausted, and one of the animal trainers, when interviewed, mentioned having to work multiple jobs alongside her circus gig.

“Man, now I understand why you need my help,” Maya half-chuckled.

“Yeah…” Phoenix sighed. “I found out about it from an anonymous tip. Likely one of the employees. I don’t know why, but… I just feel like, no matter what happens, I just have to help them. I have to investigate, I have to bring the ringmaster to justice. Especially if the police won’t do it.”

“I get it,” Maya said. “They need help. Nobody’s helping them. So that’s where we come in.”

“So,” Phoenix started. “I was thinking that we start bright and early tomorrow morning, heading to the place where you’re gonna demonstrate your abilities and get falsely hired as an intern. From there, you can conduct the investigation.”

“Roger,” Maya said. “We can do this!”

Phoenix smiled. “If you want to, you can stay the night here. I mean, you probably won’t need to get much.”

Maya grinned back. “Sure! It’d be a pleasure.”

As the night started to approach, Phoenix spent his time catching Maya up to speed on all his information. Eventually it was time for bed, where Phoenix retired to the second floor of the office where his apartment resided. Maya looked through the clues once more before going to bed, observing the faces of the people in the photographs and trying to remember them.

The next morning, Phoenix woke her at around 6 to give her a coffee. Maya showered and changed, and the pair caught a bus departing at 6:30. They soon arrived in the area where the circus was, and Phoenix took Maya to the location of their investigation.

“Alright, here is where I leave you,” Phoenix said. “Good luck, Maya. Tell me everything when you get home.”

Maya nodded and headed into the bright pink tent, leaving her friend behind.

At the front of the tent was a little desk where a woman sat. She seemed much too nicely dressed to be a part of the circus. Maya cleared her throat.

“Excuse me,” Maya said to the woman. “I would like to sign up to be a… clown?”

The woman looked at Maya, seemingly incredibly bored. She flipped a clipboard around and handed Maya a pen.

“Write a name and contact information here, as well as the desired position,” the woman said. “When you’re done, head into the tent and find Mr. Flim. Brown goatee, red coat and a tall hat. You’ll know him when you see him.”

Maya smiled, scribbling down her information and scurrying into the tent. She spotted Mr. Flim right away- he was scolding a pair of gymnasts in a corner of the establishment. Maya sauntered over, not in a rush to interrupt a ringmaster’s power trip. By the time she approached, the lecture seemed to be over.

“Erm, Mr. Flim?” Maya asked. The ringmaster turned around.

“And who might you be?” Mr. Flim said, not exactly threatening but definitely not welcoming.

“My name is Maya Fey, and I’d like to join your circus,” Maya said.

“Ah, a recruit!” Mr. Flim lit up. “Welcome, then! Tell me, what position are you going for?”

“Clown, sir,” Maya said.

“Ah, clowns!” Mr. Flim smiled. “Can never have enough of those fellows. Here, Dot can interview you.”

Mr. Flim directed Maya over to a short man with yellow hair and orange cartoonish overalls. His hair was slicked back in a greasy mullet and he wore red shoes and a red nose to tie it all together.

“Dot!” Mr. Flim said when he approached. “This here is Maya. She’s a new recruit. You’ll interview her for me, won’t you?”

“Of course, sir,” Dot said. His voice was gravelly and tired.

“Great,” Mr. Flim beamed. “If you need anything you know where I am. And please… we really need new faces. Give her some leniency if you need, okay?”

Dot nodded wordlessly and led Maya to a gigantic rubber ball.

“First, I want you to balance on this ball for me,” Dot said. He gestured for Maya to stand on it.

Maya climbed on the big blue ball and stood upright on it. She started to walk on it, guiding it around Dot. Dot watched as Maya circled him, his face unchanged and apathetic.

“That’s good,” Dot said after a while. “You can get off now.”

Maya stopped walking on the ball and hopped off of it. She then followed Dot as he headed towards a white chest near the edge of the tent. When Dot reached the chest, he opened it with a key and pulled out three rubber balls.

“Juggle these,” Dot said.

Maya took the three balls in hand and tossed them in the air. She didn’t have much practice with juggling, but she wasn’t awful at it either. She kept it up for a few seconds before Dot asked her to stop, right before she was going to drop one of the balls by accident. Dot took the balls from Maya and returned them to the chest, locking it up when he stored them in safekeeping. Dot then led Maya over to a target. He grabbed a spare pie pan filled with whipped cream and handed it to Maya.

“Hit the target,” Dot said, bored. “I don’t care if it’s centered, it’s more a test of distance.”

Maya smiled. With the pie in hand, she backed further away from the target. Then further. Then further.

“You don’t have to go that far,” Dot called.

Maya didn’t listen. She kept backing up until she reached the far wall of the tent. She then chucked the pie as hard as she could, hitting the target clean in the middle.

As she hurried back to Dot, she noticed that his face for once showed a small hint of emotion- surprise.

“Was that good?” Maya asked.

“Yeah, that was good,” Dot said. “You’re looking for a full-time job, right?”

“Yeah, I am,” Maya said. “If that’s possible, it's preferred.”

“We’re kind of in the market for as many new workers as possible,” Dot said. “So I guess what I’m saying is… 6 AM tomorrow, got it? And ask the receptionist for the employee documents.”

Maya nodded. “Thank you, Dot.”

She then hurried off to call Phoenix for lunch.

~~~

“So you start tomorrow?” Phoenix asked as he dipped a spring roll in duck sauce. “That’s awesome, Maya! I’m proud of you.”

Maya grinned. “Thanks! I’ll do my best to poke around, since I’m not sure that everyone is gonna want to talk to the newbie right away, but my hope is that I can at least find something.”

“Did you notice anything suspicious while you were there, though?” Phoenix asked.

Maya thought for a moment. “The workers seemed super apathetic and tired. And the ringmaster seemed kinda two-faced.”

Phoenix chuckled. “Well, there’s a start I guess. Suspicion is always the beginning, isn’t it?”

Maya nodded as she slurped her noodles. Truly, in the back of her head, she really wanted to help these people. Even just Dot himself seemed so sad and hopeless. Maya needed to find out why that was.

She thanked Phoenix for eating with her and they parted ways. Maya decided to go for a stroll, seeing as she had the rest of the day to herself. She bought an ice cream cone and ate it in the park. While she was there, she decided to do a quick google on Mr. Flim.

She couldn’t find much. Most of his public online presence was positive or cryptic- Maya assumed that that was intentional. Though she did find that his first name was Jacob. But even searching up “Jacob Flim” didn’t reap many results.

Maya gave up on her internet search and headed back to her apartment, deciding to relax for the rest of the day.

Maya woke up bright and early the next morning, catching a bus to head to her new, albeit temporary, career. When she arrived, she checked in with the receptionist lady. Before she could leave, however, the receptionist showed Maya to the changing rooms and showed her her locker, where a clown outfit was already inside.

Maya took out her costume. She had big, baggy purple pants and an ugly green puffy jacket to match. Clearly this circus didn’t have anything quality available, so they tossed together what they had to spare. This was one of the first confirmed suspicions Maya had.

Maya put on her costume and headed back out into the tent. There, she found Dot talking to a small crowd of a few other strange-looking clowns. Maya hurried over to hear what he was saying.

“...With the show coming up,” Dot said. “So make sure you’re practicing hard and putting in the work. And what do we say?”

“Nothing,” the clowns said in unison.

“Great,” Dot clapped his hands together. “Now, back to work.”

The clowns dispersed and Maya approached Dot.

“Hey Dot,” Maya said. “What does that mean? We say nothing?”

Dot almost looked frightened for a moment. “Uh, it’s just a random saying. Came from an inside joke… What are you gonna practice today?”

“Oh!” Maya said. “Um, I think today I’ll juggle?”

“Good,” Dot said. “That works. We have a couple different things you can juggle with if you’d like. All in that chest you saw yesterday. It should be unlocked for you.”

“Thanks,” Maya said. “Oh, and Dot?”

“Hm?”

“I wanted to ask… where is Mr. Flim’s office?”

“Why?”

“I have to tell him something later. Where would I go to find him?”

“I mean, he’s usually hanging around in the tent, but his office is behind the tent in the little shed looking thing. You’ll see it.”

Maya beamed. “Thanks so much Dot!”

With that, Maya scurried off to the prop chest.

Maya’s plan was to juggle and practice for a bit, then sneak out when nobody was looking. With that, she could root through Mr. Flim’s office and look for anything suspicious. However, when Maya went to look through it, the door was locked. For some reason, Maya expected it to not have a lock. So she needed a key.

Maya figured that the key to the office was on Mr. Flim at all times, and to test her theory, she held a conversation with him for a moment. Sure enough, around the ringmaster’s neck, was a little chain. Maya asked about it, and Mr. Flim seemed to get defensive and refused to tell her about it. So it had to be there. Now, all Maya had to do was figure out how to get the key. Simple, right?

Wrong.

Mr. Flim never took it off. Even testimony from some co-workers said that he was wearing it all of the time. So Maya had to hatch a plan.

Maya thought about it all through the night when she got home. Then all through the morning. And then all through the night. And then all through the morning. Days passed, and Maya still had no clue how to get that key from Mr. Flim’s neck. She was slowly close to giving up.

So instead, she decided to get testimonies.

Dot was out. Maya had no clue why, but he was sincerely loyal to the ringmaster. And most of the other clowns- and workers, for that matter- were monotonous and bland. They had no excitement or vigor in them, so Maya figured they wouldn’t even talk to her about the weather if she asked. Luckily, though, she thought ahead. Throughout her time hatching a plan and pretending to be a member of the team, Maya was slowly befriending one of the tech workers, Jen. Jen worked the lights system whenever shows took place. There wasn’t always a need to test and practice maneuvering the lights, so Jen had a decent amount of time on their hands. With this, they often went down to the tent to watch everyone practice. Even luckier for Maya, Jen’s favorite act was the clowns.

So, Maya and Jen started to become acquaintances. Then associates. Then, slowly, friends. Maya and Jen would go on lunch breaks together and chat, or dilly-dally in the corner of the tent away from the eye of Mr. Flim. And Jen started to open up about their feelings about him.

“I really hate that bastard,” Jen said one night while they were over at Maya’s apartment. “He’s annoying as all hell.”

“Why is that?” Maya asked.

Jen took a sip of their seltzer. “He’s self-centered, for one. He brags a lot, for another. Tells us all the time about how good his life is. While we get the short end of the stick.”

“What do you mean by that?” Maya asked.

Jen sighed. “You can’t tell anyone I told you this. I’m trusting you, Maya. I could lose my job with this. Or worse.”

Maya crossed her heart. “My lips are sealed.”

Jen sighed again, running their fingers through their short brown hair. “Mr. Flim… he’s not paying us as much as he’s supposed to.”

Maya had to resist punching the air. Finally, some proof!

“How so?” Maya asked.

Jen snorted. “You haven’t noticed? 12 dollars an hour is the Japanifornian minimum wage. He pays us barely half of that.”

“I haven’t checked my bank account…” Maya muttered, faking shock.

“I wish I was as self-assured as you are, Maya.”

“But… Why don’t you sue him for wage theft? Or… unionize?”

“There’s not enough of us, Maya. We’re understaffed, and for a good reason too. Unfortunately, most of us are tied to this place somehow. Some of us are crazy impoverished, and nobody else will hire. Some of us don’t know how to do anything else. Some of us, like me, are tied through insurance. I have chronic neck pain, and this place pays for my meds. I can’t just pack up and leave. I don’t have much of a choice.”

“I’m sorry, Jen. I didn’t know.”

Jen chuckled. “It’s a cruel irony, and I hate how the system is rigged like that, but it is a little funny, no?”

When Jen left, Maya knew that she absolutely had to take down Mr. Flim. And she finally had an idea on how to do it.

Maya had always been good with animals. In a way, she was an animal whisperer- whenever she took walks in the park, people walking their dogs would have to stay far away from her so their dogs wouldn’t break free and run to her. Maya had barely ever been attacked by animals- cats, birds, snakes, hamsters, you name it; all of them loved her. So Maya figured that she could utilize this power when it came to getting the key from Mr. Flim’s grasp. Because- just her luck- there were plenty of animals that had their own acts in the circus too. Even though Maya figured that the animals weren’t being treated the best, especially under someone as awful as Mr. Flim, they all had been sweet to her up to that point. So surely they would help her in her endeavors, even if they weren’t trying to.

Maya put her plan into action on the second week of her investigation. She arrived early on the day she planned to execute her plot, helping the animal tamers with bringing the great beasts into their training pens. She chose one of the tigers- Pomegranate- to help her out. She singled out Pomegranate especially because she was the nicest- and also the burliest- tiger they had.

So Maya spent some time with Pomegranate. She gently petted the creature and helped feed her. And under her breath, she told her about her plan. Maya was convinced that Pomegranate could understand her. She trusted the beast, and she believed that she could help her pull it off. So, around midday, when Mr. Flim was hanging around the tent and most of the employees were on break, Maya slowly unlocked the tiger cage and showed Pomegranate the open door.

Pomegranate was still for a moment. A trained creature she was, she didn’t dare step out of line. But Maya stepped out of the way and patted her leg, and almost spontaneously, Pomegranate burst out of her enclosure.

Someone screamed as Pomegranate ran around the tent. One of the animal tamers grabbed their whip and started to chase her. Maya knew she had to do something.

Maya ran to the tamer as fast as she could and tackled them. She then cried out, “Look out Mr. Flim!”

Pomegranate finally got the memo and charged full-speed towards Mr. Flim. Taken aback, he was suddenly pinned to the ground by the huge orange beast. Maya knew she had to act fast.

She apologized to the animal tamer, claiming it was an “instinctual reaction,” and hurried over to Mr. Flim, who was struggling underneath the great beast. Pomegranate just sat there, her paws on Mr. Flim’s shoulders, staring right at him.

“I’ll save you!” Maya said, as she dove and fake-tripped, falling right next to Mr. Flim.

While her coworkers called Pomegranate’s name, trying to coax her off of the ringmaster, Maya grabbed Mr. Flim by the shoulders and started to pull him out of Pomegranate’s grasp. In the process, she gently lifted the key off of his neck. Luckily for Maya, Mr. Flim’s eyes were closed the entire time. She quickly popped the key into her pocket and gave Pomegranate a small push- signaling her to get off.

Pomegranate followed and backed off of Mr. Flim, trotting back to her cage where a tamer locked her up again. Her coworkers then came to surround Mr. Flim, asking him if he was okay and examining for any injuries. Maya snuck away for a moment to grab a chunk of meat from the feed storage and dropped it in Pomegranate’s cage, rubbing her neck as she ate it. Maya then quickly returned to the scene to not look suspicious.

Maya struggled not to grin with pride. She finally got the key! And better yet, Mr. Flim decided to go home early! It would’ve been the icing on the cake if Mr. Flim did get injured, but in a way, Maya was happy that he didn’t. If he did end up with a scratch, Pomegranate would likely have been put down. But Maya was eternally grateful for Pomegranate helping her- even though as she slumbered, it was clear that she had no clue how much of a big help to Maya’s investigation she was. Now all Maya had to do was wait for after-hours to arrive, and she’d sneak into the ringmaster’s office.

Maya was eager to put her plan in action, but also somewhat nervous. She couldn’t stop herself from overthinking, even when it was clearly irrational. What if she had the wrong key? What if all the proof she needed was stored in a safe that had a code she didn’t know? What if Mr. Flim noticed his missing key and went to get it back? What if someone caught her and snitched? What if, despite everything, they still ended up losing the case?

Maya shook her head to clear her thoughts. No, Mr. Flim would be found guilty and he would be put in jail. She was sure of it! But for that to happen, she needed to get over herself and grab those documents. So she waited.

The rest of the day was like a blur. Maya was so focused and preoccupied by what she was going to do later that night that she wasn’t present in the moment, and sooner rather than later, it was closing time and everyone was going home. Maya took her sweet time changing out of her clown outfit and getting into regular clothes. She dilly-dallied by faking a call from a friend, so she didn’t seem suspicious about hanging around. Eventually, she headed out with the receptionist, who was the last to leave. Feigning her phone call as the receptionist got into her car and drove away, Maya hung around until she was positive that she was the only one left. She then put her phone away, grabbed Mr. Flim’s key from her bag, and hurried back onto the circus grounds.

Even though she was sure she was alone, Maya crept around as quietly as she possibly could, nervous that some passerby would approach at the perfect time to see her sneaking around. She wasn’t sure how she would explain THAT ordeal, so she mitigated the risk by walking slowly and gently on the dirt.

Eventually, she snuck back to where Mr. Flim’s office was. When she approached, she inserted her key into the lock and turned it. The door swung open and Maya slunk inside, closing the door gently behind her.

She fumbled around for a light for a moment, when she felt some kind of thread hit her forehead. She grabbed it and pulled, turning on a single, overhead lightbulb that flickered every minute or so. The light illuminated the tiny shack- revealing a beaten-up armchair in the far left corner of the room, two large shelves containing various tools and equipment at her sides, and a small desk pushed against the right wall. Maya beelined for the desk, opening the desk drawer to see what was inside.

Jackpot! There was a slew of financial papers and documents crumpled up and hidden in the drawer. Maya started to sift through them and smooth them out.

Most of them didn’t really mean anything- or they had been ruined by wear and tear or humidity. However, Maya found some checks that were still intact- fully filled out, yet never sent. Some had been sitting in there for as long as five months. Mr. Flim likely had shredded any others. Maya also found a document detailing billing information for one of the animal tamers. Jen was right- the payment was around half of the legal minimum wage requirement. Maya grimaced as she took all of these papers and shoved them in her bag.

With that, Maya headed for the door and went to open it. But, almost as if it was some cliché novel, the door seemed stuck on the way out. Maya didn’t want to make lots of noise, so she tried her best to push on it quietly, but it was no use. Maya pushed harder, but even that didn’t work. Maya pushed and shoved as hard as she could, but nothing she did could open the door that didn’t include her breaking something.

Eventually, she heard footsteps approach the office. Maya backed away from the door, fearing for her life and expecting the worst. Mr. Flim had DEFINITELY caught her. She braced herself as the door was shoved into and pushed open.

Standing in the doorway was Jen, the tech worker.

“Jen!” Maya cried. “You scared me! What are you doing here?”

“That’s what I should be asking you,” Jen said. “Why are you poking around in Flim’s office? And more so… how?”

Maya sighed. “I got his key is how. And why? Because I need evidence for my case.”

Jen stared at Maya in disbelief. “What do you mean by ‘case?’”

Maya fiddled with her bag strap. “I’m… I came here to investigate Mr. Flim’s wage theft, with the intent to bring him to court.”

Jen rubbed their face and eyes underneath their glasses. “Maya, I already told you… shutting down this operation could hurt more than it helps.”

“It’ll work out Jen, I promise. I’ve got friends, they can help…”

“Help how? Help all of us find new careers in time for our rent dues?”

“I mean, I can help you find a new job…”

“WHERE, Maya? What place is gonna need some people who train tigers? Who’s gonna take in some half-assed comedians? Have you even thought about where the animals are gonna go?”

Maya looked defeated. She just wanted to help.

Jen scratched their cheek and sighed. “Look, Maya, what you’re doing is noble, and…”

Jen hesitated before taking a step away from the door. “And I trust you.”

Maya beamed as a small tear formed in her eye. “Thank you, Jen.”

Jen smiled sadly. “Just… don’t forget me, okay? Don’t leave us behind.”

“I won’t let you down, Jen!” Maya called as she ran to catch her bus.

~~~

Maya did not, in fact, let Jen down. Or anyone else for that matter.

Maya’s proof was more than enough to be incriminating- Phoenix pawned everything off on his friend Miles Edgeworth, who made quick work of the case and subsequently put Mr. Flim behind bars. The defense counsel that day barely even put up a fight.

Maya pulled some strings to ensure that everyone had the best possible outcome once the circus was put out of business. Phoenix helped verily as well, with his long list of contacts from previous clients proving useful for job applications.

The circus animals were sent to other circuses that were far more humane, or shipped to nearby zoos where they could lead an almost normal life for the rest of their days.

Most of the animal tamers were taken by a pet grooming and training facility, their expertise with tigers and elephants proving to be more than enough when it came to taking care of rowdy dogs.

One of Phoenix’s old clients, the owner of a local gym, took the acrobats for himself and had them all teach various yoga classes.

A local comedy club welcomed the clowns with open arms, only requesting that their jokes shift away from corny and lead into more “generally enjoyable.”

Dot the clown was taken by the Berry Big Circus itself, being promised better wages and better hours by a sympathetic Moe. Slowly, he became more sociable and fun to be around after this. Maya even discovered Dot’s sensitive side, containing a love for poetry.

Jen was offered a position as tech crew at the Berry Big Circus, but they declined, opting for a job as a general technician for a traveling broadway company. Maya and Jen continued to keep in contact with each other, sending updates on their careers and sharing coworker gossip.

And Mr. Flim… well, he surely was going to have a nice time wasting the next twenty-five years of his life in prison.

Nobody felt much remorse for him. And rightfully so.

[wafflebloggies]

the long con - part 4/7

a Don't Feed The Muse/Captain Disillusion crossover story. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

*

“I’m sorry, Alan.”

Alan stared at the Captain. He looked like a person who was seriously doubting the input of their own ears, and, in the dim cabin, the bright neons of the control panels and lights around them turning every speck of luminance into sharp glimmering point, his astonished expression wobbled. He did not actually burst into tears, but for just a moment he looked as if he might.

Only for a moment, though. It passed, and his expression sobered and settled, and he slowly sat back in his seat and leaned his head back against the worn leather, staring into the night.

“I… don’t believe you,” he said.

Blinking, almost as if the words were a question he was asking himself. Shaking his head, a numb little motion that grew as he spoke.

The Captain reacted sharply enough for both of them, flinching as if shot, turning towards him with an astonished, stung-to-the-core look.

“Alan!”

“It doesn’t make sense,” said Alan, calmly. He sounded more like he was talking to himself than the Captain, telling himself something important, with quiet, bewildered conviction. “There’s something you need me to do, or… something you’re not telling me, another temporal emergency that means you have to make me feel positive emotions, or- or something. There’s no other reason why you’d ever say that.”

The Captain bridled. “Alan, I don’t lie! This is me we’re talking about! I’m basically- thematically incapable of it! I literally spend most of my time telling people on the Internet not to lie because it freakin'- pisses me off so much!”

“Just back there, you told that ticket booth guy that vehicles of extra-terrestrial origin aren’t liable for parking tariffs under U.N law.”

“Come on, that was an exaggeration at most- and sixty dollars for a weekend? That is blatant extortion!” The Captain grimaced. “Okay, not the point. I wouldn’t lie to you!”

“You also tell people on the Internet not to accept claims without evidence,” said Alan, doggedly. “Sir.”

He sighed, glancing down, tucking his phone away behind him. “Captain… you’ve been acting strangely since Friday. Iknowyou. You gotta at least give me that, right? I know when something’s wrong, or- something’s upwith you, even if I can’t understand it because I’m just a dumb human, you could maybe at least just… tell me what’s really going on. Maybe-” He shrugged, looking away through the glass. “Maybe you’d feel better, at least.”

Feel better. It wasn’t hard to extrapolate from the tired undercurrent of apathy in Alan’s voice that what he really meant was stop acting weird. Quite easy, to go further and hear because, whatever this is, I don’t trust it, I don’t want to deal with it, and it’s making me uncomfortable. I’d just like it to stop.

The shuttle hummed, the systems purred and clicked. The Captain gazed out of the rain-streaked glass, shoulders slumped, following the faint smudges of lighter cloud scudding by above and below with his eyes. He looked wretched.

“You didn’t even remind me.” He swiped his sleeve quickly across under his nose, with a sharp sniff and a struggle into something more like his usual confident, upright posture. “About your talk. I... I’ve had a lot of other things to think about, you know. I’ve had a lot on my mind!”

“I know,” said Alan.

There were probably a lot of other things he could have said, but none that would have been so effective. Without meaning to, without meaning anything beyond just a simple agreement, he didn’t know how quietly, flatly damning he sounded.

I know. I’ve had a lot on my mind too. With everything we do, and everything it needs from me, everything you need from me. I know what it’s like, to have a lot to think about.

The Captain swallowed again, as if it hurt, flicking a couple of switches overhead as he stared through the windshield, the bright overlays and the HUD blinking between them. At last, like every word was a pulled tooth, he said,

“Fine. Listen, when I was on stage, I… I don’t know what happened. I’ve never felt anything like it before, or at least I…” He hesitated. “I… I just looked at some random guy in the audience, and the next thing I knew, I felt… it was like, I felt seen. Not in a good way, it-” He stopped again, his mouth pulled into a moue of discomfort and distress, gazing a hole through the clouds ahead as he struggled to explain. “It felt like... the tiniest part of something really, unfathomably big was looking straight at me and… it could see way more than you people can.”

“More?”

The Captain huffed. “Humans don’t exactly see a lot, Alan. Visual acuity isn’t really your species’ thing, you know? Your basic three dimensions, barely a million colours… well, you know, we made a whole video about it. But this, I felt like it could see… everything. Like it- it could...” He stumbled, stopped.

“It... wasn’t a great feeling.”

Alan frowned. “You said you were looking at someone in the audience, when it happened. Do you think it was anything to do with them?” He watched the Captain’s face, but saw only confusion, and that strange edge of fear- a mix of emotions which looked so out-of-place there that he felt pushed to try to help, to clarify, say anything if only to stop the Captain looking so frighteningly lost.

“What were they like? Maybe I would’ve noticed-”

“I hardly think that’s likely, Alan,” snorted the Captain. It was a relief for Alan, to hear him taking refuge in impatience. At least it was normal. “There’s no way you would’ve seen him from the booth, anyway. Some kid, hair all slicked back like George McFly, grey sweater, he was sitting in like centre-G with another guy- red check jacket, band shirt- that French prog rock thing-”

“Escalier,” said Alan. The Captain blinked.

“You saw them?”

“Not then. They- they were sitting at the same table I was at, after my talk, you literally just miss- sir, please maybe sometimes, um, actually look where we’re flying, you’re making me really nervous.”

The Captain finally returned his eyes to the windshield, where the low lights of early evening were gleaming through the soft rain, glinting across the dim landscape below. In grids and in tangles, towns and highways and the huge blackout zones of the Everglades, the state slipped through the rainy night under a blanket of cloud.

“I don’t like this, Alan,” he said. “I feel things, like my whole... vibe thing? Like when I say I’ve gotta go, because someone’s aunt in Des Moines is thinking of investing in crypto, that thing. You know?”

Alan blinked. “I… kind of always thought that was a bit?”

The Captain went to put his head in his hands, remembered he was supposed to be flying a shuttle, straightened up again. “No. Sometimes, people get all lined up to make exceptionally poor decisions- particularly ones involving the Internet- and wherever they are, I feel it. It’s like... someone sticking a Q-tip so far up my nose it tickles my brain. Ughh.” He shuddered, as if his silver skin was crawling from the inside out. “But it’s never been a two-way thing before. This time, it was. Like… like some super-terrible, super-toxic, life-altering decision, but- with eyes.”

Alan thought about this. He thought about Mark’s flat, hurried voice, how even in the middle of his pitch he’d sounded kind of frantic, more like a hostage with a gun to their head than someone nervous and eager at the chance to work with a favourite channel. He thought about the sinking feeling the whole thing had left him with, the anxious funk he’d been stuck with ever since.

“I don’t think I… understand exactly, but it sounds bad.”

“It is bad. I haven’t been able to stop- thinking about it, and...” The Captain trailed off, rubbed his forehead. “Other stuff. Whatever, the point is, this isn’t something we want to just leave roaming around loose out there. Look, I know tracking down some random guy we saw for five seconds at a convention full of thousands of people sounds like a pretty crazy, gargantuan mission, but honestly, the more I think about it, the more it feels like something I just gotta do.”

“Oh, that’s easy, I got his number.”

“You may well ask why, Alan, but it’s a question of responsibility. I have to ask myself, does it fall to me, as the sole superpowered defender of verifiable truth and generally good digital decision-making in this entire galactic sector, to… wait, what did you say?”

Alan was wrestling with his seatbelt, trying to get into his back jeans pocket without loosening the strap. “He gave me a business card, Captain. His name’s Mark… let me just give him a call.”

*

Anthony, shocked silent in the wake of Mark’s outburst, struggling for something to say, had only just opened his mouth when the sound of Mark’s phone came buzzing, muffled, from under the jackets in the back seat. It pulsed against the upholstery, vibrating through the fabric covering it like a smothered wasp. Anthony barely reacted to it at first, but as the sound came a second time, the fabric of Mark’s jacket illuminated faintly by that small blueish rectangle underneath, he blinked, twisted in his seat. Relieved, maybe, to have any kind of distraction, a reason to move.

“That’s, uh- that’s yours-”

He was already fishing into the back, feeling blindly around in the clustered shadows with one arm. Mark, instantly panicked, took a hand off the wheel long enough to try to grab the phone himself, but even though his arms were longer the driver-side seat was directly in front of where his jacket lay, and he would have needed to be some multi-jointed tentacle-being to have even stood a chance of getting a hand on it.

“Leave it, it’s fine!”

Anthony was fumbling under the jacket, hanging out of his seatbelt with half of his torso leaned into the back. “No, I got it- gimmie a sec-”

“I said leave it!” yelled Mark. The rhythmic double-pulse buzz of the phone felt like it was wired directly into his brain, the scraping of an insect buried between his ears. He felt the car start to drift under his control, and returned both hands to the wheel in a hurry, heart lurching, gripping hard. “Just let it go to message-”

“I got it, dude,” said Anthony- puzzled, uneasy, not a little wounded still. “What if it’s your mom?”

He sat back, poked the screen. “Hey, this is- hello? Shit, missed it.”

“See? Put it back, I don’t care who-”

“Wait, I could check the number-” All of a sudden, Anthony’s voice stopped in its tracks. Mark, glancing desperately sideways in snatches as long as he dared, was in a perfect position to see the exact moment that his worst fears were confirmed, right as it happened. Anthony’s brow scrunched, his hands went still, and he looked down at the phone in silence.

“What’re all these notifications?” he said.

“Don’t,” said Mark, but all the volume had gone out of his voice, all of the force, and with it the ability to even try to sound in control. The word sounded more like a small winded plea, and it was ten to one if Anthony even heard it, his finger already tracing and flicking and tapping, his eyes glued to the small screen.

“Thumbnail edited successfully? Thumbnail edited… thumbnail… description edited successfully… video title edited- Mark?”

Mark couldn’t breathe.

“Mark, what’s going on?”

Mark could feel Anthony looking at him. He could imagine his expression far too well even without looking, his accusing eyes, floating in the darkness with the lights flicking past the windows like the last crashing embers of his oh-so-clever plan. He said nothing, swiping the tears from his face with a quick, hot palm, kept staring straight ahead.

“Why did you change the video title?”

One last try. One last try, to explain again what he’d been trying to explain all weekend, to make Anthony see, as if anybody could explain anything well while battling the rising fury and panic that the embarrassment of being caught red-handed only flamed and fuelled, like throwing water on blazing oil. Like he should have to feel guilty, like he’d done something wrong, when he was doing the only thing he could, the one thing left that he’d been forced to do. Anthony was even incapable of understanding how he had forced him to this, forced him to lie and sneak around and feel like some kind of traitor.

“No-one cares about our videos,” he said, as patiently as he could. “This is the only way they’re going to be seen.”

Anthony was shaking his head slightly, automatically, the harsh light from Mark’s phone casting ghastly blue-white shadows up across his shocked, hurt face as he dropped the phone in his lap and turned to look at Mark.

“You’re making us sound like some stupid contrarian clickbait channel-”

“Those channels actually make money,” said Mark, evenly.

Anthony let out a quiet, punctured breath, and Mark didn’t even have to glance at him now to know he had that maddening, sympathetic, pitying look on his face again. He didn’t want to see it, he didn’t want Anthony’s pity. As if pity wasn’t completely useless, as if pity would green-light his mother’s medical coverage, or save her life.

“Look. I know you’re in a tough situation with your mom,” said Anthony, gently. “I get it! But that doesn’t have anything to do with the channel-”

“No, you don’t get it,” snapped Mark. His hands were still neatly at three and six, but his nails were digging into the fake leather of the wheel and he might as well have been driving underwater, or on Mars, for all the attention he was paying to the road in front of his burning eyes. On one level, he was aware that Anthony was not going to be any more easily convinced by being snapped at, or talked to as if he was a particularly stupid six-year-old. On another, he was too angry to care. “My dad’s not helping, our insurance got denied- I have to take care of her!”

“I’m sorry, Mark-”

Injured, understanding, but even now full of a kind of petulant, aggravating sympathy, Anthony’s voice grated in Mark’s ears and on his fraying nerves. To Mark, he sounded just like a whiny kid whose favourite toy was being handed away to someone else. And maybe that was the last straw, to hear so clearly in Anthony’s voice that the channel, the thing that was being dangled relentlessly over Mark’s head as his last thread of hope, was in Anthony’s eyes nothing but a neat toy he refused to give up, something fun he didn’t want to let go of just because it was his too.

“-but this isn’t just your channel! I’m not going to let you ruin this!”

Because this, this, was really the only thing Anthony cared about. Fun. Keeping something fun.

“You asshole-!”

Anthony’s stunned face, his eyes flicking all of a sudden past him, to the road. In the tumbling slowdown of seconds, his mouth opened without sound, the betrayal in his eyes flaring into panic, horror. Mark turned back to the road, far too late, as the car completed its slow drifting slew across the empty road and hit the kerb with a sickening, bone-shaking lurch, mounting it in a series of terrible earthquake bounces. A final glare of light, a snatch of safety rail, before the car dove headlights-first into a black void beyond. A black and crowding host of branches slamming against the windows, a rush of wet wheels tearing at the soaking grass, a final heavy impact that ended in a splintering crash of glass.

*

Silence.

Slowly, his pulse a jackhammer in his throat, his heart loud as a marching band in his ears, Mark raised his head. For a moment- a jumbled collection of moments- he wasn’t even sure where he was, only that his neck hurt and he felt sore and shaken in every nerve. His grasp on the thread of the world felt as if it had undergone a terminal skip, and he could catch hold of nothing coherent other than the fact that it was horribly, hideously dark, and something awful had happened.

Was happening.

Reality overtook him fast. Everything tumbled into place, and he jerked forwards- tried to- but his seatbelt held him clamped across the chest, a mechanical death-grip too tight to escape.

“Anthony?”

The car was quiet, the headlights, dash, every system dead and dark. The road, somewhere above and behind them, was empty, hidden, lightless. The engine ticked slowly as it cooled, water dripped and trickled, crushed branches groaned in the damp black night.

“Anthony??”

Fresh air started to seep in, cool against Mark’s face, full of rain and the scent of churned earth and bruised growth.

“Anthony!!”

[brasskingfisher]

Queer oppression

A thought has occurred to me, what with all this queer division stuff (as in how TERFs and other divisionists are increasingly pushing this idea of “LGB without the T”). I mean you really think that transphobes and the right wing extremists you’re allying with are going to be willing to make a distinction between Trans and other Queer people?

The Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw (and I daresay others) had both Catholic and Protestant Churches. The reason why was that Nazi law classified anyone with Jewish ancestry in the previous 3 generations of their family as Jewish (and therefore liable to be deported to an extermination camp). Under the Apartheid system in South Africa there was a category of “Not Obviously White” (NOW), that is to say people with dark skin who were classified as ‘White’ because of their parentage (usually they had ‘white’ parents but a Black great-grandparent). Hell, even straight people caring for AIDS victims in the 1980s were disowned by their families and treated as being ‘tainted’ because of the fact they had contact with “the gays”.

Attacking trans people is the start. Just because you’re willing to throw trans people under the bus now doesn’t mean they’re going to spare you later once they’ve started removing anyone who doesn’t conform to heteronormativism.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

President Biden speaks on the border deal, promising to sign the agreed Senate measure as soon as it lands on his desk and making clear that the only thing that stands in the way of the border security revamp becoming law is Donald J Trump.

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

January 26, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JAN 27, 2024

[There is a description of rape in paragraph 8.]

This afternoon a jury of nine Americans deliberated for less than three hours before it ordered former president Trump to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her after she accused him in 2019 of raping her in the 1990s. In May 2023 a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in an assault the judge said is commonly known as rape, and for defaming her. That jury awarded Carroll $5 million. 

Despite the jury’s 2023 verdict, Trump has continued to attack Carroll. Indeed, he repeatedly attacked her on social media posts even during this month’s trial. Today’s jury found that Trump acted with malice and awarded Carroll $65 million in punitive damages, $11 million in compensatory damages for a reputation repair program, and $7.3 million in compensatory damages outside of the reputation program.

Trump immediately called the jury verdict “Absolutely ridiculous!” and said he would appeal. “THIS IS NOT AMERICA!” he posted on social media.

Conservative lawyer George Conway responded. “Not so. The United States of America is about the rule of law, something you couldn’t care less about. Today nine ordinary citizens upheld the rules of law. You have no right to maliciously defame anyone, let alone a woman you raped. In America, we call this justice.” 

In June 2023 the court required Trump to move $5.5 million to a bank account controlled by the court to cover the jury’s judgment while he appeals it. For this larger verdict, Trump could do the same thing: pay $83.3 million to the court to hold while he appeals, or try to get a bond, which would require a deposit and collateral and would also incur fees and interest. Any bank willing to lend him that money would likely take into consideration that he has other major financial vulnerabilities and charge him accordingly.

This was not, actually, the case that looked like it would incur staggering costs. More threatening is the other case currently underway in Manhattan, where New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron is considering appropriate penalties for the frauds that Trump, the Trump Organization, the two older Trump sons, and two employees committed in their business dealings. New York attorney general Letitia James, who brought the case, has asked Engoron to impose a $370 million penalty, as well as a prohibition on the Trump Organization from doing business in New York. 

Judge Engoron has said he hopes to have a decision by the end of the month. 

Former president Trump is under pressure on a number of fronts. As legal analyst Joyce White Vance pointed out tonight in Civil Discourse, two separate juries have now found that Trump acted with malice, and it is becoming harder for him to argue that so many people—two entirely different juries, prosecutors, and so on—are unfairly targeting him. Vance speculates that this latest judgment might hurt his political support. “How do you explain to your kids that you’re going to give your vote in the presidential race to a man who forced his fingers into a woman’s vagina and then lied about it and about her, and exposed her to public ridicule and harm?” she asked.

On the political front, much to his apparent frustration, Trump has not been able to bully former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley out of the race for the Republican nomination, and she is needling him about his mental deterioration. The Republican National Committee has been considering simply deciding Trump is the nominee rather than letting the process play out. The Haley camp responded to that idea with a statement saying that if Ronna McDaniel, the RNC chair, “wants to be helpful she can organize a debate in South Carolina, unless she’s also worried that Trump can’t handle being on the stage for 90 minutes with Nikki Haley.” Ouch. 

Trump’s congressional allies’ attacks on President Biden took another hit today after a business associate of Hunter Biden said in sworn testimony yesterday that President Biden “was never involved” in any of their business dealings. 

John Robinson Walker said: “In business, the opportunities we pursued together were varied, valid, well-founded, and well within the bounds of legitimate business activities. To be clear, President Biden—while in office or as a private citizen—was never involved in any of the business activities we pursued…. “Any statement to the contrary is simply false…. Hunter made sure there was always a clear boundary between any business and his father. Always. And as his partner, I always understood and respected that boundary.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s attempts to destroy the bipartisan border deal, in which Democrats appear to have been willing to give away more than the Republicans out of desperate determination to fund Ukraine, are being called out for cynical politics. The news is awash today with stories condemning the Republicans for caving to the demands of a man who is, at least for now, a private citizen and who is putting his own election over the interests of the American people as he tries to keep the issue of immigration alive to exploit in the 2024 campaign. 

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) told his colleagues: “I didn’t come here to have the president as a boss or a candidate as a boss. I came here to pass good, solid policy…. It is immoral for me to think you looked the other way because you think this is the linchpin for President Trump to win.” Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) told Sahil Kapur and Frank Thorp V of NBC News, “I think it’s crap…. We need to get that deal done to secure the border. If they want to keep it as a campaign issue, I think they need to resign from the damn Senate.”

But while Trump is apparently telling Republicans he will “fix” the border if he gets back into the White House, Greg Sargent noted yesterday in The New Republic that when Trump was in office, “[h]e too released a lot of migrants into the interior, and he couldn’t pass his immigration agenda even with unified GOP control.” And, of course, he never got Mexico to pay for his wall, as he repeatedly claimed he would, while President Joe Biden, in contrast, got Mexico to invest $1.5 billion in “smart” border technology and to beef up its own border security. 

The White House has refused to abandon negotiations even as Trump trashed them. In a statement today, Biden said that negotiators have been “[w]orking around the clock, through the holidays, and over weekends,” to craft a bipartisan deal on the border, and he called out Republicans who are now trying to scuttle the bill. 

“What’s been negotiated would—if passed into law—be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” he said. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.

“Further, Congress needs to finally provide the funding I requested in October to secure the border. This includes an additional 1,300 border patrol agents, 375 immigration judges, 1,600 asylum officers, and over 100 cutting-edge inspection machines to help detect and stop fentanyl at our southwest border. Securing the border through these negotiations is a win for America. For everyone who is demanding tougher border control, this is the way to do it. If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it.”

Biden seems to be signaling that if the Republicans kill this measure, they will own the border issue, but he is not the only one making that argument. Yesterday the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, which slants toward the right, wrote: “[G]iving up on a border security bill would be a self-inflicted GOP wound. President Biden would claim, with cause, that Republicans want border chaos as an election issue rather than solving the problem. Voter anger may over time move from Mr. Biden to the GOP, and the public will have a point. Cynical is the only word that fits Republicans panning a border deal whose details aren’t even known.”

The Wall Street Journal editorial board went further, articulating what Republicans are signing up for if they continue to prevent funding for Ukraine. Recalling the horrific images of the April 1975 fall of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, to North Vietnamese forces, when desperate evacuees fought their way to helicopters, the board asked: “Do Republicans want to sponsor the 2024 equivalent of Saigon 1975?”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[mariacallous]

There was a ripple of laughter in the US Supreme Court on February 21 when Justice Elena Kagan said: “We are a court—we really don’t know about these things. We are not, like, the nine greatest experts on the internet."

On February 21, the nine justices heard oral arguments in the case of Gonzalez v. Google, a case brought by Reynaldo Gonzalez, whose daughter was killed in a 2015 ISIS terror attack in Paris and who alleges that YouTube’s algorithm aided in the attack by recommending the group’s recruitment videos to people who would be most susceptible to their message. The outcome of the case could decide the future of social media platforms worldwide. 

At the heart of the case is the question of whether tech companies should be held liable for harmful content posted on their platforms by their users—something for which they are currently protected under Section 230 of the Telecommunications Act, a 1996 piece of legislation whose primary purpose was to increase competition in broadcasting and telecoms markets. It is a protection that has shielded companies whose platforms have enormous reach and influence from being held responsible for harms caused by extremist content and disinformation. But it is also a fundamental underpinning of free speech online. 

“The purpose of Section 230 was to try to prevent platforms from becoming the soccer ball that gets kicked around whenever people disagree about what appropriate free expression on the internet is,” says Andrew Sullivan, president and CEO of the Internet Society, which filed an amicus brief in support of Section 230. “If you start to mess with this, you’re fundamentally messing with the design of the internet. And that is going to lead to a splintering of the network.”

Debates over Section 230 have largely been confined to the circuit courts—lower levels of the US federal court system—for nearly two decades. That changed after the 2016 presidential election, when Republican lawmakers began to seize on and amplify often spurious claims that platforms were censoring conservative users. That message proved effective in galvanizing elements of their base, and Republican figures have continued to accuse major tech firms, such as Meta and Twitter, of bias. 

One prominent example of this supposedly “biased” enforcement is Facebook’s 2018 decision to ban Alex Jones, host of the right-wing Infowars website who later was slapped with $1.5 billion in damages after harassing the families of the victims of a mass shooting.

Many of the actions that infuriated Republicans were those shielded by the First Amendment to the US constitution, which guarantees free speech. Those protections are essentially unassailable legislatively, so lawmakers targeted Section 230 instead. 

Starting in 2018, prominent conservatives began demanding changes to the law that would expressly hinge Section 230’s liability protections on how companies treat political speech. High-profile Republicans, including Missouri senator Josh Hawley and Texas senator Ted Cruz, frequently misconstrued the section’s language. “The predicate for Section 230 immunity … is that you’re a neutral public forum,” Cruz said in 2018, interpreting the law as shielding only websites that treat left- and right-wing political views equally. 

Recent laws in both Texas and Florida have sought to impose greater restrictions on the way platforms can and cannot police content.

Gonzalez v. Google takes a different track, focusing on platforms’ failure to deal with extremist content. Social media platforms have been accused of facilitating hate speech and calls to violence that have resulted in real-world harm, from a genocide in Myanmar to killings in Ethiopia and a coup attempt in Brazil.

“The content at issue is obviously horrible and objectionable,” says G. S. Hans, an associate law professor at Cornell University in New York. “But that’s part of what online speech is. And I fear that the sort of extremity of the content will lead to some conclusions or religious implications that I don’t think are really reflective of the larger dynamic of the internet.”

The Internet Society’s Sullivan says that the arguments around Section 230 conflate Big Tech companies—which, as private companies, can decide what content is allowed on their platforms—with the internet as a whole. 

“People have forgotten the way the internet works,” says Sullivan. “Because we’ve had an economic reality that has meant that certain platforms have become overwhelming successes, we have started to confuse social issues that have to do with the overwhelming dominance by an individual player or a small handful of players with problems to do with the internet.” 

Sullivan worries that the only companies able to survive such regulations would be larger platforms, further calcifying the hold that Big Tech platforms already have.

Decisions made in the US on internet regulation are also likely to reverberate around the world. Prateek Waghre, policy director at the Internet Freedom Foundation in India, says a ruling on Section 230 could set a precedent for other countries.

“It’s less about the specifics of the case,” says Waghre. “It’s more about [how] once you have a prescriptive regulation or precedent coming out of the United States, that is when other countries, especially those that are authoritarian-leaning, are going to use it to justify their own interventions.”

India’s government is already making moves to take more control over content within the country, including establishing a government-appointed committee on content moderation and greater enforcement of the country’s IT rules.

Waghre suspects that if platforms have to implement policies and tools to comply with an amended, or entirely obliterated, Section 230, then they will likely apply those same methods and standards to other markets as well. In many countries around the world, big platforms, particularly Facebook, are so ubiquitous as to essentially function as the internet for millions of people.

“Once you start doing something in one country, then that’s used as precedent or reasoning to do the same thing in another country,” he says.

[rametarin]

Imagine

Imagine if every time some terrorist did anything violent while posting about it, be it a taunting note, a manifesto, we treated freedom of speech the same way we treat guns.

“But we HAVE to do SOMETHING!!!” Says the loud mouth that wants to reserve harsh words and language for state and county representatives. They consider setting a “common sense limit” of maximum characters you’re allowed to use to air greviances.

And then someone commits a crime and tweets about it with mockery.

“BUT WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!!!” they say again, before outlawing a brand of Twitter or social media arbitrarily. The problematic words are appearing on Twitter, right? Clearly, banning Twitter will fix the problem.

More crimes are committed and freedom of speech is cited as an instigating element.

“BUT WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!!!!” again. And you lose 1 maximum character for each post, every single time some stupid asshole on instagram or twitter or facebook says something ignorant before they egage in a hateful crime..

Until it becomes obvious that restricting freedom of speech isn’t about punishing criminals, it’s about controlling law abiding people by taking away their ability to represent themselves and voice opinion against the government.

Someone puts forwards a heinous belief that victims are crisis actors. Other conspiracy people see the information, grab onto it, cause pain, suffering and ignorance.

“BUT WE HAVE TO DO SOMEEEETHIIIIIIINNNG!”

And now to exercise your freedom of speech, you have to pay for Expression Insurance. No expression insurance? You are 100% free to speak (L O L) but 100% liable for everything you say legally, and unlike people that pay into the fund whom have insurance and a system set up to protect people under their care, you pay the enormous, bankrupting premiums for speaking out of line- and you will pay this fortune just in defending yourself, whether or not you are “proven” out of line by the state.

Eventually, your Freedom of Speech doesn’t count if you speak against what the government holds as true, whether or not it can retroactively be proven that the government’s policy and beliefs were not based on the truth, but convenience for national safety. And the government get to arbitrate and minister what the truth is at no consequence to them. So, speaking agaist them without being part of the government assigned to do so is personally dangerous.

And you find you’re limited to “state sanctioned vocabulary.” So if you want to use vulgarity, you have to use, “no-no word.” No artful euphamisms, no dodges, no indirect references- those are now federal crimes.

What words are compliant and what words are not (like, Sextant) are often arbitrary and inconsistent, and there’s an entire Bureau of Language designed to at a whim decide which words are federal crimes which day and play musical chairs with them, so perfectly normal words one day can be crimes to use the next. Being made a federal criminal suspends your constitutional rights until you fight for them back in court.

And banning this hate speech does not make a single person safer, it just drives the greviances underground.

Then you’ll understand what it feels like to be a firearm owner.

[aulia-m]

Movie studios could be liable for releasing misleading trailers

Two Ana de Armas fans successfully sued Universal for not featuring the actress in the movie Yesterday despite being part of the trailers, after they rented the movie to watch at home.

This is dangerous territory. Trailers come out months before the final cut of the movie gets approved and often there are rewrites and reshoots.

The judge said the ruling is limited to whether an actor or actress and scenes are in the movie. Teasers and trailers are made and released based on what’s available to the trailer editors at the time which does not include decisions to alter the movie down the line.

One of the most obvious examples is Rogue One which had an extensive third act rewrite and therefore reshoots after several trailers were released. Tony Gilroy, who took over from Gareth Edwards, made substantial changes to the movie that several footage from the trailers didn’t make it to the movie. Promoted scenes were dropped. 

The American legal scene is crazy enough that based on this ruling someone can sue Disney for not including the train station scene from the trailer in the movie.

If a trailer is actually deceptively released, with a “malicious” intent of lying to the audience about aspects of the movie, sure, you can claim false advertising but you have to prove intent. 

I feel like we’re going to hear much more about this sooner than later. Like how Universal’s undoubtedly expensive lawyers failed to make convincing arguments. 

If you’re going to watch a movie at home, especially one that supposedly features your favorite actress, I feel like you should have the time to at least look it up on IMDb or read reviews. The movie had been out for months, reviews had been published, and her being dropped from the movie was widely known by the time it made the home release. Ignorance shouldn’t be a reason for winning lawsuits.

Unless this ruling gets thrown out on appeal, it could change how studios promote movies. Trailers would have to be crafted around potential lawsuits from late changes to the movie. 

[crtter]

Man. I hate to be THAT guy because we have this conversation every other week in this website and I genuinely think there’s no malice involved and you guys can’t really change the fact you’ve been raised in a very self-contained culture, but… I’m afraid you forgot the laws of the United States don’t apply to the rest of the world. But hey, you weren’t the only one to make this mistake: so did Elon Musk! In fact, that’s what got him in this situation in the first place.

You see, the people involved in orchestrating the 2023 attempted coup on the Brazilian government are not, in fact, protected by free speech laws. They waived that right the very second they started spreading far-right rhetoric. That’s because, that even though the right to freedom of expression is a human right, enforced in most nations of the world as constitutional law, each country has their own constitution and exactly what will be protected under free speech laws and what won’t be varies depending on where you’re from. Under the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil, hate speech is not protected under free speech, and is, in fact, considered a crime.

So, in refusing to cooperate with the Brazilian government in getting these people convicted, Elon Musk would have been reinforcing their rights… if X was only based in the US. Since they have offices all around the world, though, X users are liable to be persecuted under the jurisdiction of any country X is partially based in. And according to the Brazilian Supreme Court, they commited a crime for spreading hate speech and Musk committed a different one for not turning in their information and terminating their accounts: obstruction of justice. That’s why he shut down all of the X offices in Brazil. He thought that would mean he wouldn’t be breaking Brazilian law anymore.

He was wrong, though! In doing that, he broke another Brazilian law: it’s illegal to operate a business in Brazil without a legal representative of the company present in the country. That’s why he was ordered to appoint one or have his business (X) shut down over here. He got big mad, didn’t appoint anyone and… X got shut down in Brazil. I guess that’s why he’s doubling down so hard on making fun of Alexandre de Moraes and pretending this is all a big win for free speech. I wouldn’t want to admit I lost an entire country’s worth of revenue because I couldn’t be bothered to Google “free speech laws Brazil” before I publicly and proudly refused to to snitch on a handful of shitheads who won’t even be able to use my website anymore either.

The funniest thing about this situation is that Elon Musk is so pissed off at not getting to do something illegal and get away with it by being a billionaire for once in his life that he has been -and I’m 100% serious here- making photo edits of our Supreme Court minister dressed as fucking Voldemort. Literal little kid taping a picture of someone they don’t like to a dartboard kind of behavior.

[stiricidewrites]

All the Things We’ll Leave Behind: ch 39, pt 26

Previously

~

“Ooh~ nice!” jzxuan cooed, hopping down from the wall and ignoring nmj’s increasingly loud screams about cheating.

lwj was half tempted to yell back at his brother-in-law, but that probably wouldn’t help any. As it was, he was watching the wall, trying to determine what had changed with the twist of the key. It had been a heavy turn, despite the key’s small size, and lwj was unsurprised to find it had triggered an internal mechanism that slid the top edge of the wall, which had previously blocked further movement through the course, into the main wall.

Up and over it was then.

“Remove your key,” lwj said, throwing his voice louder than he would have liked, so it both overcame nmj’s yelling—which for whatever reason was now directed at the Hawaiian shirt wearing attendant—and reached Lu Ming. Unfortunately, it also likely reached lqy.

The other alpha had also used his key and had been in the midst of standing up. He froze, eyes darting over the lwj, then to lqy behind them—although interestingly, she hadn’t turned to look at them, and was instead still intent on her puzzle—before he squatted back down and grabbed his key.

“Dude, I’m totally throwing you under the bus for this,” jzxuan laughed as he began to climb. “That chick seems chill until she’s not. You’re playing with fire already.”

“Mn…” lwj hummed, refusing to look back at the female alpha again. She had been nice to him and the others so far, and he felt bad about leaving her behind, even if this was a competition.

In the end, however, he was more afraid of his brother-in-law. Had he waited for lqy to catch up, or at least be in a position to watch where they were using the key, the grumpy alpha would have noticed. As much as some people assumed nmj was all brawn and no brains, that was patently untrue, especially when it came to things he knew and loved. If lwj or jzxuan threw the game, dallied too much, gave away too many clues to the others—and leaving their keys behind would have definitely counted as such in the older alpha’s eyes—they were liable to get a lecture.

lwj had experienced his brothers-in-law lectures before, and he knew full well he was already treading the line of one. He wasn’t going to actively choose to step over the line, even if it would give him an opportunity to contact wwx and beg him to return, claiming he was being bullied.

wwx would defend him, if necessary.

[sweetypagli]

Trustworthy Legal Guidance for Fatal Car Accident Cases in Pennsylvania

Understanding Fatal Car Accident Claims

In fatal car accident cases, grieving families face the profound loss of a loved one while also grappling with significant financial burdens. A fatal car accident lawyer provides crucial support by guiding families through the legal complexities involved in securing compensation for medical costs, lost wages, and other financial needs. When seeking a reputable attorney for these cases in Pennsylvania, a firm with a strong history of winning challenging cases is essential. Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, a well-established Pennsylvania law firm, brings this credibility with over 65 years of experience and a record of successful settlements.

Why Munley Law Is a Top Choice

With a team of nationally recognized attorneys, Munley Law specializes in handling a variety of personal injury cases, including fatal car accidents, catastrophic injuries, and wrongful death. They are adept at taking on even the most complex claims, fighting for justice for clients who’ve suffered due to another’s negligence. When choosing Munley Law, you’re working with a firm that prioritizes each client’s unique needs, equipped with resources and experts to tackle all aspects of personal injury cases.

I rely on Munley Law’s approach to personal injury law because of their comprehensive understanding of complex accident scenarios and their commitment to client success. They collaborate with a network of experts, including accident reconstruction specialists, medical consultants, and economists, who provide crucial insights for building a strong case. This extensive support empowers clients to pursue justice confidently, knowing their case is in capable hands.

The Role of Expertise in Truck and Van Accidents

Accidents involving commercial trucks, garbage trucks, FedEx, and UPS delivery vehicles require specific legal strategies, as these cases often involve large corporations and extensive insurance resources. For example, in hazardous material truck accidents, Munley Law’s attorneys understand the strict regulations governing these vehicles, making it possible to hold accountable any parties responsible for negligence. Their experience in dealing with multiple liable parties means clients benefit from representation that knows how to confront corporate legal teams and protect victims’ rights.

Specialized Legal Knowledge for Medical Malpractice Claims

Medical malpractice cases require attorneys who are not only familiar with healthcare standards but also equipped to demonstrate how an error caused harm. For example, in cancer misdiagnosis cases, Munley Law’s attorneys work with medical experts to build evidence proving a failure in diagnosis or treatment. This process ensures that affected patients or their families receive compensation for prolonged suffering and associated expenses.

Munley Law’s attorneys have earned a reputation for handling cases that many firms find too complex, such as cancer misdiagnosis and other catastrophic injuries. With the right legal team, families affected by medical negligence can secure compensation to support medical treatment and regain financial stability.

Wrongful Death and Premises Liability Cases

In wrongful death claims, it’s crucial to select a law firm with empathy and professionalism. Munley Law has extensive experience in wrongful death cases, providing compassionate support and comprehensive legal assistance to families seeking justice. This experience spans cases such as slip and fall incidents or dog bites, which fall under premises liability. Munley Law holds property owners accountable for maintaining safe environments, ensuring that clients are fairly compensated when injuries occur.

Protecting Workers’ Rights in Compensation Cases

Work-related injuries often lead to financial stress, with mounting medical bills and lost wages. Munley Law’s workers’ compensation attorneys assist employees through these challenging cases by handling legal complexities and preventing workers from returning to unsafe work environments. By securing benefits for clients, Munley Law ensures workers have the support they need to recover and return to work safely.

Contingency-Based Legal Representation

One key advantage of Munley Law is their no fee unless you win policy. This model eliminates financial pressure for clients, allowing them to focus on recovery. By covering all legal fees upfront, Munley Law enables clients to seek justice without worrying about added costs. This commitment, along with a reputation for winning high-stakes cases, makes Munley Law a trusted choice for victims in Pennsylvania.

Final Recommendation: Choose Munley Law for Reliable Legal Support

For personal injury claims across Pennsylvania, Munley Law is a highly respected option, providing experienced attorneys and significant resources to fight for fair compensation. If you’re seeking representation in fatal car accident cases, truck accidents, or medical malpractice claims, Munley Law’s seasoned attorneys offer effective, compassionate support to secure the best outcome for your case.

[geraldduthie]

Corporate Tax in Dubai: Key Regulations Every Business Should Know

In June 2023, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) implemented corporate tax for the first time, marking a significant shift in its taxation landscape. Businesses in Dubai, a prominent economic hub in the UAE, now need to comply with corporate tax regulations. Working with tax consultants in Dubai has become essential for businesses unfamiliar with taxation or new to Dubai's regulatory environment. These experts help ensure compliance and provide strategies to optimise tax management.

In this blog, we’ll explore the critical corporate tax regulations every business in Dubai needs to know and highlight how partnering with accounting and management consultants can streamline the process.

1. Overview of Corporate Tax in Dubai

Before diving into the details, it's essential to understand the overall framework. The UAE introduced a federal corporate tax law that came into effect in 2023. This law applies to businesses across all emirates, including Dubai. The standard corporate tax rate is 9% for taxable profits exceeding AED 375,000 annually, while profits below that threshold are subject to a 0% tax rate.

For businesses, especially those unfamiliar with tax laws, collaborating with specialised accounting firms in Dubai helps them meet these requirements while focusing on their core operations.

2. Key Corporate Tax Regulations

Let’s take a closer look at some of the critical regulations businesses need to adhere to under the corporate tax law.

2.1. Who Is Subject to Corporate Tax?

Corporate tax applies to various entities, including:

UAE-incorporated businesses: Companies registered in Dubai are subject to corporate tax.

Foreign businesses with a permanent establishment in Dubai: Any foreign company that has a fixed place of operation or conducts business in Dubai is liable for corporate tax.

Free zone companies: Although free zones in Dubai have historically offered 100% tax exemptions, these benefits are conditional. Companies conducting business outside their designated free zone or interacting with Dubai’s mainland may be subject to corporate tax.

Multinational corporations (MNCs): MNCs based in Dubai or generating income in the UAE must adhere to these corporate tax regulations.

For businesses new to Dubai or those expanding, management consultants in Dubai can play a crucial role in ensuring the correct interpretation of these tax regulations and avoiding penalties.

2.2. Corporate Tax Rates

Dubai’s corporate tax system follows a tiered structure:

0% tax rate on taxable income up to AED 375,000.

9% tax rate on taxable income above AED 375,000.

In addition, multinational corporations with global consolidated revenues exceeding EUR 750 million are subject to a 15% tax rate as part of the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) framework. This higher tax rate applies to large corporations to prevent tax avoidance practices.

2.3. Tax-Exempt Entities

Certain entities are exempt from corporate tax, such as:

Government and wholly-owned government subsidiaries.

Businesses involved in natural resource extraction.

Public benefit organisations, charities, and pension funds.

Entities in these categories should consult with tax consultants in Dubai to confirm their exemption status and avoid unnecessary complications.

2.4. Tax Residency and Permanent Establishment

Foreign companies that operate within Dubai may become liable for corporate tax if they are deemed to have a permanent establishment (PE) in the city. A PE is defined as a fixed place of business or an agent that conducts significant economic activities on behalf of a foreign company.

This regulation ensures that foreign businesses generating income in Dubai contribute to the local economy through taxation. If you’re unsure whether your business qualifies as a PE, consulting with experts in corporate tax law is essential.

2.5. Free Zones and Corporate Tax

Dubai is known for its extensive network of free zones, offering businesses substantial tax advantages. However, under the new corporate tax regime, companies operating within these free zones may still be liable for tax depending on their activities:

Companies that only generate income from activities within the free zone or outside the UAE may retain their 0% tax status.

However, free zone businesses conducting business with mainland Dubai may be subject to the standard 9% corporate tax rate.

Partnering with Dubai-based accounting firms specialising in tax law and free zone regulations can help businesses determine their eligibility for tax exemptions.

3. Corporate Tax Filing Requirements

All businesses subject to corporate tax in Dubai must adhere to specific filing requirements. These include:

3.1. Registration and Tax Identification Number (TIN)

Businesses subject to corporate tax must register with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) and obtain a Tax Identification Number (TIN). This registration is mandatory for all businesses, even those subject to the 0% tax rate.

3.2. Annual Corporate Tax Return

Every business in Dubai must file an annual corporate tax return within nine months of the end of their tax period. The tax period typically aligns with a business’s financial year.

3.3. Financial Reporting Standards

Businesses must prepare financial statements that comply with internationally recognised accounting standards. This ensures transparency and accuracy in reporting taxable income.

Accurate record-keeping is critical for compliance, and businesses often turn to professional accounting firms in Dubai to manage their financial reporting and corporate tax filing.

4. Penalties for Non-Compliance

Businesses that fail to comply with corporate tax regulations face significant penalties, including:

Fines for failing to register or obtain a TIN.

Penalties for submitting inaccurate returns or failing to file returns on time.

Interest charges on unpaid corporate tax.

These penalties emphasise the importance of professional guidance from tax consultants in Dubai who can ensure accurate filings and timely payments to avoid unnecessary costs.

5. Impact on Businesses in Dubai

The introduction of corporate tax in Dubai represents a significant change for businesses accustomed to a tax-free environment. Although the tax rate is relatively low at 9%, companies must understand the regulatory requirements and ensure compliance.

Dubai’s corporate tax regime was introduced to diversify the economy, but it remains business-friendly compared to other global markets. However, working with management consultants in Dubai can ease the transition and ensure smooth operations under the new system for businesses unfamiliar with tax regulations.

6. How to Prepare for Corporate Tax in Dubai

Preparing for corporate tax requires careful planning and professional support. Here are some steps businesses can take:

Engage tax consultants: Working with tax consultants in Dubai can help businesses understand the nuances of the new tax law, avoid penalties, and implement effective tax strategies.

Leverage accounting expertise: Partner with accounting firms in Dubai to ensure compliance with international financial reporting standards and manage tax filings.

Consult management experts: Management consultants in Dubai can guide businesses through the regulatory landscape, optimise operations, and help them adapt to the evolving tax environment.

Conclusion

Implementing corporate tax in Dubai represents a significant shift in the country’s regulatory environment, but it remains one of the most competitive tax rates globally. Businesses, especially those new to the region or unfamiliar with corporate tax regulations, should seek professional guidance from tax consultants, accounting firms, and management consultants in Dubai to ensure compliance and optimise their tax planning strategies. Understanding key regulations, from determining tax residency to filing returns, will help businesses navigate this new territory successfully while contributing to Dubai’s growing economy.

For Consultation, Contact Us Now! 

Email - info@geraldduthie.ae  

Call - +971 (50) 695-1806  

Address - Suite #78, Floor 11, Ibn Battuta Gate Office Building, Jebel Ali, Dubai

[birminghamlawattorney]

How a Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer Can Turn Your Injury Into a Victory

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, navigating the aftermath can be overwhelming. Truck accidents, due to the massive size and weight of these vehicles, can cause devastating damage. Having an experienced semi-truck accident lawyer can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case. At Belal Hamideh Law, we’ve spent years helping clients in similar situations secure the compensation they deserve.

Our firm is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for our clients, working to help them receive everything they are entitled to for the hardships they’ve endured. Should you believe there’s any chance you were injured in a truck accident, it’s worth it to reach out to us.

What Do I Do After I’ve Been Hurt in a Semi-Truck Accident? First, always call the police, even if the accident seems minor. Injuries and damage may not be immediately apparent, and a police report can serve as crucial evidence later. Seek medical treatment right away, even if you don’t feel injured. Internal injuries can go unnoticed initially, and having a medical record is vital for your claim.

If you’re able to do so safely, gather evidence at the scene, such as photographs of your injuries, the damage to your vehicle, and any relevant environmental factors like skid marks or damaged structures.

Collect the contact and insurance information of all parties involved, as well as any witnesses who can support your claim. Do so politely.

Lastly, once you’ve done the above, then contact us. That way, we can begin working on your case and help you secure the compensation you deserve.

What Compensation Could I Be Eligible For? In a truck accident, you may be eligible to claim both economic and non-economic damages.

 Economic damages cover the costs you’ve incurred due to the accident, such as medical bills, therapy, counseling, and even ambulance fees. You can also seek compensation for lost wages and, if you’re unable to return to work, the future income you would have earned.

Additionally, you may receive funds to repair or replace your vehicle and to cover any necessary modifications to your home or in-home care due to catastrophic injuries.

Non-economic damages include compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, and loss of quality of life or companionship. Our firm is dedicated to doing everything we can to ensure you receive the full compensation you’re entitled to.

The Truck Driver is Liable in My Accident Case, Right? Not necessarily. Determining liability in a truck accident can be more complicated than in car accidents, where typically only one driver and their insurance company are liable. In truck accidents, multiple parties may share responsibility.

For example, the truck driver may be liable, but so too might the trucking company, especially if they failed to adhere to safety regulations. The truck’s manufacturer, mechanics who performed faulty repairs, or even the company responsible for loading the cargo could also be at fault. In some cases, the owner of the location where the accident occurred might share responsibility if hazardous conditions contributed to the crash.

We leverage our years of experience to identify all liable parties, so that you receive compensation from everyone who played a role in the accident.

What Causes Semi-Truck Accidents? Truck accidents can happen for a variety of reasons. Fatigue is a common issue, as truck drivers often push themselves or are pushed by their employers beyond safe driving limits. This can lead to slower reaction times, poor decision-making, or even falling asleep at the wheel. Speeding is another factor, as trucks require significant space and time to brake and stop safely.

Distracted driving, unfortunately, is not limited to car drivers; truck drivers may also engage in behaviors like texting or eating while driving, leading to accidents. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is another dangerous factor, as is operating a truck that has not been properly maintained.

Mechanical failures such as brake issues, tire blowouts, or steering problems can result in serious accidents. Additionally, defects in the truck itself or improperly loaded cargo can contribute to crashes. Even environmental conditions like snow, ice, or heavy rain can lead to deadly accidents. Regardless of the cause, our firm is prepared to represent your case aggressively if another driver was responsible for the crash.

A Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer Who’s Ready to Help Truck accident cases are often complex, making it challenging for victims to navigate them alone. Trucking companies are known for their aggressive defense tactics, often deploying teams of investigators to the scene immediately. These companies work closely with their insurers to minimize or deny compensation to victims.

An experienced attorney can identify all liable parties, ensuring you receive compensation from everyone who bears responsibility for your suffering.

You deserve a legal team with a proven track record of successfully taking on trucking companies and securing victories for their clients. After a truck accident, you have enough on your plate without having to worry about the complexities of your case. Let us handle the legal aspects while you focus on your recovery. We’re here to represent you with tenacity and dedication, fighting for everything you’re entitled to.

For a free case evaluation, contact us through our website or by phone.

[sa7abnews]

'Corruptly influencing the courts': Climate justice group that trains federal judges under scrutiny

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/16/corruptly-influencing-the-courts-climate-justice-group-that-trains-federal-judges-under-scrutiny/

'Corruptly influencing the courts': Climate justice group that trains federal judges under scrutiny

FIRST ON FOX: A new report by an American energy advocacy group is sounding the alarm on a legal training program that it says is “corruptly influencing the courts and destroying the rule of law to promote climate cult alarmism.” The new report released by the American Energy Institute (AEI) alleges that the Environmental Law Institute’s Climate Judiciary Project (CJP) is “falsely portraying itself as a neutral entity teaching judges about questionable climate science.” The report also alleges that CJP is a partner to more than two dozen public plaintiffs suing energy providers to hold them liable for damages resulting from climate change effects. To date, CJP has trained more than 2,000 state and federal judges, the report says. Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, says the training program is “really like interfering with the referees before a match and before a game.”HAWAII’S BIG OIL SUIT A ‘STALKING HORSE’ FOR GREEN NEW DEAL PUSH NATIONWIDE, EXPERTS SAY”You’re getting access to them and sharing your opinions and steering them down a certain path,” Isaac said in an interview with Fox News Digital. Nick Collins, a spokesperson for the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) said the report “is full of misinformation.””The Climate Judiciary Project is a non-partisan, educational initiative that provides judges with a mainstream, evidence-based scientific curriculum. CJP does not take stances on individual cases, advocate for specific outcomes, participate in litigation, support for or coordinate with parties in litigation, or advise judges on how they should rule. ELI’s funders include individuals, foundations, and organizations, ranging from energy companies to government agencies to private philanthropies, and none of them dictate our work,” Collins said. In recent years, several lawsuits have percolated through the courts targeting Big Oil companies, leveraging mechanisms like public nuisance laws to incur liability for climate change damage. One such case is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2020, the city of Honolulu sued several major fossil fuel companies, including Exxon and Chevron, alleging the companies’ products cause greenhouse gas emissions and global warming without warning consumers about the risks.The energy companies appealed to the Hawaii Supreme Court, arguing that federal law prevents individual states from effectively shaping energy policies for all states. GOP STATE AGs PRESS SUPREME COURT TO TAKE UP HAWAII CLIMATE CHANGE CASE THEY SAY IS ‘GRAVE THREAT’But the court ruled against the companies, advancing the case to trial. The companies appealed again, this time to the Supreme Court, which signaled interest in June in taking up the case.Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Mark E. Recktenwald quietly disclosed in May that he presented for a course in the Climate Judiciary Project. According to the ELI, the Climate Judiciary Project is designed to educate judges across the country on how to handle climate change litigation that comes before them.”As the body of climate litigation grows, judges must consider complex scientific and legal questions, many of which are developing rapidly,” CJP states on its website. “To address these issues, the Climate Judiciary Project of the Environmental Law Institute is collaborating with leading national judicial education institutions to meet judges’ need for basic familiarity with climate science methods and concepts.”But the AEI says the program “is a partner in this anti-democratic social engineering” through its influence of judges involved in the types of cases, like the Hawaii case, and through its funding by “the same leftwing (sic) moneymen bankrolling the climate change cases.” The “educational materials” are, the report states, “prepared by activist academics who are advising the plaintiffs or supporting their claims with legal briefs. And the materials are full of pro-plaintiff messaging, including rigged made-for-litigation ‘studies.’”The report also alleges that “CJP conceals its ties to the plaintiffs, such that judges seeking information in good faith may not know that CJP is an untrustworthy source” and calls on “relevant state authorities [to] ensure that public resources are not being used toward a campaign that is corrosive to the rule of law and trust in the courts.”BIDEN’S ENERGY POLICY RIPPED BY REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS: ‘DONE NOTHING BUT ATTACK AMERICAN ENERGY’According to AEI’s report, CJP has received “millions in funding from the same activist groups who are providing grants to the Collective Action Fund through which money is flowing to Sher Edling LLP,” the law firm spearheading the Hawaii case, to help cover the legal fees required to bring the climate cases. Sher Edling is counsel for two dozen climate plaintiffs, according to its website.The U.S. Judicial Conference, which governs U.S. court systems, has warned judges of seminars where they may be “influenced inappropriately.””That influence, it is argued, may be exerted through program content, contact between judges and those who litigate before them, and prerequisites provided to program attendees,” the U.S. Judicial Conference states. AEI’s report alleges that CJP “hides its partnership with the plaintiffs because they know these ties create judicial ethics problems.”AEI says that the ELI vice president and director of judicial education, Sandra Nichols Thiam, acknowledged as much in a 2023 press statement, saying, “If we even appeared biased or if there was a whiff of bias, we wouldn’t be able to do what we’re doing.””Taken together, it appears CJP made the thinnest possible disclosures to create the appearance of rectitude,” AEI states. “But their admissions confirm that CJP exists to facilitate informal, ex parte contacts between judges and climate activists under the guise of judicial education. And secrecy remains essential to their operation, whose goal, as Thiam has said, is to develop ‘a body of law that supports climate action.'” AEI, a group self-described as “dedicated to promoting policies that ensure America’s energy security and economic prosperity,” says CJP’s work is “an attack on the rule of law.””In America, the powerful aren’t allowed to coax and manipulate judges before their cases are heard,” the report reads.