We are Azure Infinitum
Visit us at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/)
You may have seen us in the Aether data center's party finder during our weekly events, or may have seen our recruitment shouts around the realm in-game in Midgardsormr, but there just isn't enough space in those places to really explain everything wonderful about what our Free Company and community is.
Azure Infinitum is an LGBTQ+ friendly community, and welcomes players of all experience level, play style, and availability. We're a warm home with a balance of online players, weekly optional activities, and flexible ranks from our membership, to our support & leadership categories. We have a 24/7 Support Team, a Councilship that governs each tier, seasonal events of our own, and many resources between the games we support and online services.
Who We Are
We are an established 9-year old community who's home is in Midgardsormr Server of Final Fantasy XIV. We are a structured, well-rounded, welcoming, friendly, and organized community that hosts daily events (check out our calendar: https://azureinfinitum.com/events/ ) that provide opportunity for members to excel. We work to provide an arena and opportunities to establish strong bonds and camaraderie between our members. As a community we are driven, we carry each other forward, and we are proud.
Our Name & Philosophy
Learn more about our global community here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/aboutus/)
Learn more about our FFXIV Free Company here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/ourffxivfc/)
Azure Infinitum means "Azure/Blue Infinity or Infinite Blue/Azure" and there is some mythos behind the name that stems from our guild-wide philosophy of kindness, freedom, vigilance, diversity and activity. We promote positive fellowship among members in an organized guild, with our sights open to our unending endless skies, full of possibility and success together.
Our motto is "As Free As The Azure Sky!" which stuck well when our FC was restructured from an old guild in 2014 as Azure was founded, and it was first shouted as we looked out at a clear blue sky above. has continued to be our electric victory as we continue to snowball in success and activity, our members soaring high through the Azure Sky, flying together!
Ranks
Click here to learn more about our community ranks: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/ranks/)
Our community has an organized ranking structure beginning with Members who comprise the majority of the roster. Scouts are our support team of Members who've stepped up to more officially support the FC, some work on obtaining a future leadership rank. Lieutenants and Officers comprise the proud Azure Council, a diverse group of players of different specialties and services to the FC, making up lower and higher tier leadership, seeing over the Scouts and the FC weekly events, aside from being admins. The FC Infinitum Master oversees all and leads the Azure Council and the company forward while always keeping the heart and vision of the community alive and in sight. Currently we are re-assessing ranks in the free company, giving more support permissions and duties to our Scouts, while the current council operates as a small team of Lieutenants lead by the FC Master.
Everyone Welcome and Who Fits Best
We have an open door policy. Whether you're casual, a returning player, a veteran, or a newbie, we have a vast array of players in our member roster. Our weekly schedule is organized and provides an array of activity for players of most levels, however we like to ask players who're pretty new or under the level cap, to be extra vocal about their needs while they're still unable to attend some daily events or higher level content that most of our weekly lineup focuses on. We want everyone to have as much fun as possible and have the most success. We find that most players enjoy Azure Infinitum, many have stated that they subscribed to FFXIV much longer than they ever would have imagined after they have been around in our community, as they've gotten involved and experienced all that we offer.
Our FC keeps a daily schedule (see here: https://www.azureinfinitum.com/events/) of events that are hosted by permitted Scouts and Council ranks, these range from 8-man and 24-man raids and map parties, to WT journal groups and trial clear parties or farms, and more- and attending anything isn't mandatory at all here. We're happy to have you, and its up to our members how much they'd like to get involved. Attendance is optional! There's never any stress to attend FC functions.
Savage Raiding Statement
We find that some hardcore raiders looking for free companies just to join their statics who don't already have one, might not fit well if savage raiding is their only or greatest focus, because traditionally Azure does not have a Savage Static, but focuses more on allowing members to organize their own groups and also provides resources to do so. Despite not supporting an official static for the FC, we hope that hardcore raiders enjoy the wealth of our community's wealth of harmony and overall fun, and that everyone may take initiative to seek out or build a raiding static within our community if they are interested, as opposed to missing out on experiencing Azure. Depending on the content season, we may have an Unofficial static lead by a leader, and routinely offer limited time Savage-learning events that may run for a number of months.
Rules and No Drama Policy
Please take a moment to look over our Rules Page at (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/rules/), we find that rude individuals and people who create drama are the outsiders here that don't fit well. We know its a big page, so at least visit the General Rules section before joining.
Recruitment Care & Activity
People of Azure Infinitum are often if not always good natured players who found their way to our community looking for a place with structure, friendliness, organization, and great activity, or they've been scouted during recruitment drives and have been well screened. Its a place where one can be social and attend everything, or relax in the background and enjoy the services and facilities of being in an active, organized, and friendly FC. We actively recruit periodically to assist with upkeep of community activity levels, and to meet new comrades. A community that closes recruitment can be doomed to stagnation. Its normal for a community to have an inner core of die hards who log in daily regardless of content releases, and also have an outer core of individuals that range from those with less availability to those who check in during Patches. This is why we take extra care in keeping the fresh blood flowing into Azure, cautious recruitment, and support our active model by always staying welcoming and sometimes running recruitment campaigns and other services. Like this ad!
Handling Online Drama
Because we keep a no-drama policy and have a strong communication network, it is leadership's ultimate priority to handle any issues that may come up as soon as possible, and most people appreciate our problem solving which has inspired many other communities. Between our Support & Leadership ranks, we use a number of report and resource channels to handle situations, and perform problem solving protocols & tactics to fairly address issues as possible. Drama is inevitable at some point for any online community, so its important to have a large and strong list of moderators (currently around 60!) and a council of leaders (15+) to quickly handle any problems. Luckily, we don't have a lot of drama, but we're always very well equipped and very prepared. Our community has been commended by game staff in the past for our methods, and we have worked with the FFXIV Special Task Force to ensure as much safety to our community as achievable. It should be stressed that it is up to our membership to report to GM's in-game, and to Azure Leadership should any issues or concerns come up. Its also highly recommended that our members appropriately document evidence that can be used to help us assess situations and make proper decisions. Documenation such as screenshots of harassment is a great example! Our members online safety is greatly important to us and is a number one concern of our leadership team. Our Rules Page at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/rules/) describes a bit more in Chapter 3, including other entries on avoiding/ignoring trolls, playing while intoxicated, depression, and more.
Our Philosophy
We believe in our community and its people, how far we can go, how much we can do for each other, being an experienced community who's core values are positive fellowship, formation of bonds, and indomitable unity.
Azure Infinitum tightly grasps success and masters a casual and lucrative weekly play schedule while inspiring motivation and providing avenues for further success, friendships, and camaraderie among all who freely fly together among our Azure skies.
Founding on the principles of intricately forging a generally drama-free experience with keen leadership and a zealous and mighty membership, Azure has striven to guide and support many hundreds of players through every era of Final Fantasy XIV.
With an illustrious history, company lore, impressive statistics, and a model that is adaptable and blessed with innovative ability, Azure Infinitum claims a dominant presence of excellence and player growth that is possible in our community and extended services.
Estate Organization
We have the entire set-up at our estate, from gardens for members and Krakka Root production (free for members' chocobos), to our stables, nicely uniform clean lawn with hangout spots that are popular, with crafting stations, all available NPCs for simple mats and repairs, cut-scene viewer, toybox, triple-triad board, a fully operational and geared fleet of airships and subs, and our Azure Infinitum Assembly Chamber on the top floor for our meetings where announcements are made at our Grand Assemblies. Check it out if you like at Mist Ward 7 Plot 1.
We also have an organized form of gathering for weekly events in the yard, places to relax, food that is always available on tables at our Cellar, and hold a lot of special events and social games at our Hall. We're also conveniently located next to a Market Board and a Retainer Bell outside of our estate.
Communication and Extended Azure Services
We have multiple services of which none are mandatory, but we provide being (azureinfinitum.com) where our Forums, Event Calendar, News, Company Meeting Summaries, Seasonal Merch Giveaways, Contests, Rules Page, and more take place and can be found. We also have a popular and active Discord Server.
We also have a Facebook Group, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Steam Group, (Look us up! Or visit: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/socialmedia/) and Linkshells like our Infinitum Alliance LS for contact and aid from our allies if needed, our Azure Hunters LS for Hunters, and our Azure Industry LS which connects our members to our inner crafting/gathering community for newbies to pros.
Also worthy of mention is our big Company Meetings in-game, known as Azure Infinitum Grand Assemblies. Even though we have several avenues that keep people connected, our live assemblies gather the FC in unity where announcements are made first, and all proposals, ideas, and more, can be decided together live with the Azure Council present.
This network ensures a lot of information and communication gets around and has been exceedingly useful to us.
More On Events
One part of our reputation that often precedes us is our event crafting and hosting.
First, let me make sure its clear that attendance is never mandatory, but those who can make use, when possible, of what we provide each day, benefit from our events each week.
Since our beginning, traditions like our Thursday Treasure Thursdays events have run each week. Our weekly line-up presently begins on Tuesdays post-weekly reset, and consists of Raid Tuesdays, Wondrous Wednesdays (WT Journal Parties, often doubles as Trial Clears and Pony Drops), Treasure Thursdays (Endwalker's timeworn maps with groups of 8 doing up to 3 rounds of maps allowing for up to 24 maps ran), 24-Man Tuesdays (full pre-formed Azure 24-member alliances are made and raids are cleared, will be returning upon the release of EW's 24-man), Super Azure Slayer Sunday (our weekly meetup to do all sorts of PVP content be it Rival Wings or Frontline), and Monstrous Mondays (helps clear the current and previous patch extreme trials).
Special, Seasonal, and Quarterly Events
More info here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/azureday/)See the latest event news & more at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/news/)
We also have what we call Special and Quarterly Events. These types of events are Weekend-Long-Events that usually consist of a theme or celebratory social events we craft. During these events we hold big Riddle Races, Costume/Glamour shows and contests, 3-Story Mansion Maze Races, Speedrun Dungeon Races, Hide and Seek games, Custom Quest Events, Discord events like Cards Against Humanity nights, Comedy events, PVP Tournament Circuits, and more.
Our Special and Quarterly events are Azure Day Weekend (Takes place 3 times a year across a weekend, celebrates the FC), Azure Summer Festival (3-days at the end of August in partnership with Child's Play, raises money for children in long-term care, anniversary of historic FC event called the Lunar Rebellion), Anniversary Azure Day (a big weekend event in November that celebrates our Founding), Azure Day Saint's Wake (celebrates Halloween/All Saint's Wake), Azure Starlight Day (celebrating Starlight Day/Christmas/December Holiday Season), Azure Grand Melee and Duel Tournaments (PVP Circuit series crowning our PVP Champions) and more.
Azure Day Weekends
If you've been around our server you may have heard of our Azure Day Weekends. Our Azure Days take place quarterly as mentioned just above, with four evolved editions called Azure Summer Festival, Azure Day Saint's Wake, Azure Starlight Day, and Anniversary Azure Day. With Azure Day Weekends and related events traditionally occuring quarterly our members are always excited to see the next big weekend of crazy and fun social games, and our showering of the free company in gil and prizes galore. We go all out when we celebrate the free company, and Azure Days are another way we find for leadership to give back to the community. 2023 and beyond is now host to additional seasonal Azure Day events!
We're always giving our members a chance to have fun, win big, and make some great memories in the in-game family we've become. Something fun is always on the horizon in Azure.
Community
I almost can't stress enough how friendly our community is. We have a vast variety of members from hardcore gatherers and crafters, social butterflies, chill veterans, experienced raiders, level grinders, support teams, PVP aficionados, mechanic specialists, and mentors. We're also very friendly to all casual players as well and we keep an open door so long as recruits are always aware that we have a no-drama tolerance here.
​Evolution into a Gaming Clan & Network
Plans are in the works and foundations are being laid that is slowly turning our community into a larger gaming network, with our first established Azure Wing with regular occurring activity being founded in Monster Hunter World, this has led to a successful Destiny 2 clan and more. Becoming a member of our Discord and/or Free Company now means access to things like our huge discord, Azure Wing membership in other games, and being able to join in on any of our other activities in the general community. Azure Network as its being called at the moment, is growing with an all-new website and community features for playing together across Final Fantasy XIV and to Azure Skies beyond!
Activity
We rank high as one of the top FC's in Worldwide Activity on lodestone, and have for a long time. Most of our players are divided between the US East and West Coasts, members in East and West Canada, and a few outside the US or in EU or Aus zones. Because we do have an activity policy (mentioned below) we keep a standard flow of people, and have crowds in the early morning, late morning, early afternoon, afternoon, evening, and late night crowds.
Elitism isn't our style. Our community boasts a broad range of characters, great personalities, the proud, and also some silly goofs. But elitism isn't welcome, no matter how successful we are or how large we grow. We're always welcoming towards fresh faces interested in joining our guild, and the in-game activity ranges between 30-60+ online at once during prime time hours, sometimes around 70+ on patch days, and usually always with half the roster logging in throughout a 24 hour period, and around 15-30+ during the night.
Activity Policy
We ask that our members do not go missing without logging in for more than 60 days straight. If we hear word from someone or have some kind of decent excuse, we place our members on our On Vacation rank, which lasts presently until 90 days have passed. Exceptions are made for military deployments, hospital stays, financial issues, disability/health related issues, moving, or other reasons that might fall on a case-by-case basis.
All members not heard from in 60 days (roughly 2 months) or currently 90 days (roughly 3 months) are discharged. We allow 3 joins to Azure Infinitum in total, but exceptions can be made due to reasons listed above. If removed for inactivity, or you've left our FC for another reason and haven't already joined 3 times, you're always welcome back, but please remember, we are not a revolving door.
Keeping our roster full of members who have been online and presently play the game actively ensures an active environment for our players who play often. It also keeps our credits and clerical processes balanced across our network, and allows space for new faces to join our big happy in-game family of comrades.
How to Join
Quick Instructions here for joinin us in FFXIV & more: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/howtojoinazure/)
If you are interested in joining our Azure Infinitum free company, please register an application at our site and/or FC in-game. You can also seek any of our Scouts, Lieutenants, Officers, or the Master of Azure Infinitum in-game and ask for an invite. You can find their names on the roster page at our website.
If you read everything on this page, you are awesome, and you should let anyone you talk to who recruits you know that you read everything on this page which will greatly expedite your invitation to join.
If you have any questions whatsoever feel free to send a /tell in-game to me or any of our Scouts or Lieutenants listed on our official roster here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/freecompany/9232519973597911137/membe
You can also message us at our FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AzureInfinitum
Discord here: https://discord.gg/azureinfinitum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/azureinfinitum
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/azure_infinitum/
Main Site: https://www.azureinfinitum.com/

Build Help/Ready:

What is your intended use for this build? The more details the better.
I mostly use the computer for photo organization and editing. I use Photoshop 6, Lightroom Classic, DxO Photolab. I have large image files and get tired of waiting on the processing. It isn't 'walk-away-come-back-later' slow, but could be zippier. I wonder if I would benefit from a new GPU?
If gaming, what kind of performance are you looking for? (Screen resolution, framerate, game settings)
I have done mild Steam gaming in the past, loved Skyrim. Not sure gaming really applies to my needs.
What is your budget (ballpark is okay)?
Budget would hopefully be less than $1000.
In what country are you purchasing your parts?
I am in the United States.
Post a draft of your potential build here (specific parts please). Consider formatting your parts list. Don't ask to be spoonfed a build (read the rules!).
Here is my PC as it stands. Build list doesn't show all of the drives that I have. 6 HDDs in two RAID arrays for photo storage, plus an SSD 2-disk array my programs are mostly on, and an SSD scratch disk. System files and OS are on the M.2 drive:
PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor	-
CPU Cooler	Phanteks PH-TC14PE 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler	-
Thermal Compound	Noctua NT-H1 3.5 g Thermal Paste	$8.94 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus X99-PRO/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard	-
Memory	Mushkin Blackline 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL15 Memory	-
Storage	Samsung 850 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	-
Storage	Samsung 850 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	-
Storage	Samsung 950 PRO 512 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	-
Video Card	EVGA Superclocked ACX 2.0 GeForce GTX 980 4 GB Video Card	$999.99 @ Amazon
Case	Phanteks Enthoo Luxe ATX Full Tower Case	-
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$358.49 @ Amazon
Case Fan	Phanteks F140HP II 68.1 CFM 140 mm Fan	$19.98 @ Amazon
Case Fan	Phanteks F140HP II 68.1 CFM 140 mm Fan	$19.98 @ Amazon
Case Fan	Phanteks F140HP II 68.1 CFM 140 mm Fan	$19.98 @ Amazon
Custom	Phanteks LED Strip	Purchased For $24.95
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1452.31
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-04 17:40 EDT-0400

Provide any additional details you wish below.
My primary purpose is to speed up the processing and cataloging of images that run around 50MB each.
NOTE: You do not have to follow this format, but please be sure to answer these questions. Please do not ask to simply be given a build. You are welcome to delete this section.

I recently started a job for a small organizing/cleaning company. It’s only about 20 employees so we don’t qualify for benefits. Recently I have been transporting household hazardous waste from clients in my personal vehicle. They have me transporting things like gasoline, explosive/flammable materials like cleaning sprays, automotive products, propane, paint thinners, etc from clients houses or garages. A lot of the chemicals are in unmarked bottles so I do not know what the liquids are. Others are corroded, leaking, or extremely old. All of them are opened. Usually we just load them all into boxes or crates and have me transport them to a collection facility in my personal vehicle. When I take the hazardous waste to a collection center, I was told “do not let them know this is from a business since they can’t take business waste. Tell them it’s an errand from someone you know personally”. I wasn’t given any training on safety and I also haven’t been told any of the protocols on what happens if I was to get hurt. This stuff was also not made clear to me when I was hired.
I was hired as an “Administrative Assistant” who also “occasionally” helps with client organizing/cleaning jobs but so far I’ve been running unsafe errands like this, being asked to lift heavy materials, pick up other unsafe items (rotting wood, crumbling plastic, machinery) from clients by myself (I’m a 24yo female and I only weigh like 115 pounds so I can’t physically do a lot of the things that I’m being asked to do). I’ve also been asked to drive my boss’s personal vehicle which I guess can also be considered the business vehicle but I’m not insured for it. I’m going to try to ask my boss for more clarity on this stuff this week but I was just wondering if any of this could be a legal issue, an unethical business practice, or something else I should be aware of before I speak to my boss?

I recently started a job for a small organizing company. It’s only about 20 employees so we don’t qualify for benefits. Recently I have been transporting household hazardous waste from clients in my personal vehicle. They have me transporting things like gasoline, explosive/flammable materials like cleaning sprays, automotive products, propane, paint thinners, etc from clients houses or garages. I wasn’t given any training on safety and I also haven’t been told any of the protocols on what happens if I was to get hurt. This stuff was also not made clear to me when I was hired. I was hired as an “Administrative Assistant” who also “occasionally” helps with client organizing/cleaning jobs but so far I’ve been running unsafe errands like this, being asked to lift heavy materials, pick up other unsafe items (rotting wood, crumbling plastic, machinery) from clients by myself (I’m a 24yo female and I only weigh like 115 pounds so I can’t physically do a lot of the things that I’m being asked to do). I’ve also been asked to drive my boss’s personal vehicle which I guess can also be considered the business vehicle but I’m not insured for it. I’m going to try to ask my boss for more clarity on this stuff this week but I was just wondering if any of this could be a legal issue, an unethical business practice, or something else I should be aware of before I speak to my boss?
Edit: I forgot to mention that when we take the hazardous waste to a collection center, I was told “do not let them know this is from a business since they can’t take business waste. Tell them it’s an errand from someone you know personally”.

[This is a translated excerpt from Clemens Traub’s “Future for Fridays?”. It’s a reflection about his time as an activist in “Fridays for Future” – the German branch of “School Strike for Climate”. The specific problems of western environmentalism adressed therein is germane to the issue of dysfunctional leftism often discussed on stupidpol and as far as I can tell nothing of this unique to Germany. The book is from 2020 and by now the movement “Fridays for Future” basically defunct. Meanwhile, the preferred tactic of current activists is it to glue themselves on main roads during rush hour. This protest method obviously affects working class people most, who usually have to physically show up at work (and often have to use cars to do so), and is less disruptive for the WFH email caste. The result of this is, surprisingly, a staggering 80+% disapproval rating for the climate organization “Last Generation” which is doing this.]
------------------------------
I know the typical milieu of most “Fridays for Future” protesters well. In a way, it's my own and that of my current circle of friends: metropolitan, left-liberal, hip. A space for the daughters of doctors to meet the sons of lawyers. Gin tasting and discussions about plastic-free shopping and zero waste are equally high on the agenda. Veganism is as much part of the unspoken code of being trendy as frequenting second-hand shops. And the organic grocery store around the corner naturally enhances the location of your own home.
The offspring of the professional class keep to themselves. Does the climate movement represent a cross-section of society? Not even close! Fridays for Future is the rebellion of the privileged, and the movement offers them the perfect opportunity to flaunt their own cosmopolitan lifestyle and talent.
Many of my climate-concerned friends are questioning whether the social background of the demonstrators matters at all. Isn't that absolutely unimportant? The main thing, they are convinced, is that the earth is saved. It doesn't matter by whom. The population has been silent for long enough, and now it is finally time to stand up.
I admit that the consistency of this chain of thought was extremely appealing to me and that using social origin as an argument against a group is of course nonsensical. The outlined combative spirit also enthralled me at first. At the beginning of my participation in "Fridays for Future", saving the world was the only thing that counted for me. It didn’t matter who stood by my side. And it still wouldn’t matter for me today.
But what matters to me is the behavior and reasoning of the people protesting with me. And here the circle closes, because the social background reveals more about the movement than the demonstrators would like to admit.
In fact, I take the view that the exclusive social background of the young protesters is the actual birth defect of "Fridays for Future". But because the movement was far too homogeneous, far too elitist and correspondingly far too aloof right from the start, its members remained oblivious to it. Ultimately, only those who are doing well in material terms have the time and leisure to consider climate protection as the most important and also the only political issue of our time and to subordinate everything else to it.
Located in its ivory tower, the movement doesn't even notice that its criticism is leveled at the lifestyle of many economically disadvantaged people, who for financial reasons do not always have a choice. They are denounced as climate sinners because they don't shop in health food stores but at discounters. It never occurs to the demonstrators that there are people whose worries about ever-increasing electricity bills and rental charges make a discussion about forgoing air travel irrelevant from the outset.
And how could they? In their sheltered world, all of that is very far away. But that is exactly what makes the movement a risk, because it jeopardizes the already fragile cohesion of our society. For a large part of the population, however, other, more pressing everyday concerns prevail. For those who are afraid of being affected by job cuts in view of the announcements by the industry, the slashing and burning of tropical rain forest is currently of secondary importance.
Likewise, the extinction of exotic animal species is very far away for someone who worries every day about their tenuous retirement arrangements. That doesn't mean that everyday worries should completely obscure the problems of climate change, but it does explain why climate change is not the first priority for people with existential concerns.
It also explains why measures to save the climate must take economic concerns into account. And it explains why more and more people are wondering whether protesters will finally also take to the streets to deal with their everyday distress: lack affordable housing, declining pensions... plenty of issues exist.
The entire political discourse, both between the parties and outside of parliament, on the street, completely ignores the reality of life for many people in Germany! And I can well imagine that that's not a good feeling for many. The public discussions, which are often far removed from everyday life, exclude less privileged people. The result: we are all sitting on a social powder keg.
I don't originally hail from this metropolitan milieu, but grew up in a region that is often dismissed as "rural backwater". Publications such as "Landlust" and "Landleben" [trendy magazines promoting life in the country side] fulfill the longing of city dwellers for pure nature, but this dream only seems to apply to those people who consciously decide to have a weekend house in the forest. However, anyone who grew up in a rural environment will hardly benefit from this.
My parents live in the Palatinate. I grew up there too. My heart clings to the region, it is scenically beautiful with rows of wine-growing villages. But for an urbanite in pursuit of self-actualization it has to be the worst nightmare. In case your are unfamiliar with Palatinate’s culture: Schlachtfest instead of whiskey tasting. Very few apartments are actually furnished in this “country style” featured in the magazines. My home village isn’t shooting location for documentaries about gentrification. Maybe a camera team will get lost in one of our many hamlets at a Saumagen-centered village festival. But that would be pretty rare.
Drowsy villages provide the perfect backdrop while growing up. An ideal, idyllic world. But the older I got, the more I was drawn to the big city. I longed for a place that was more vibrant than the Palatinate and which could offer me more adventures and opportunities on the way to adulthood. Precisely this big, wide world I longed for. And I today I indeed enjoy its advantages. Whenever I drive home today, I have a feeling that two worlds that don't really have much to do with each other are colliding.
Shortly after attending my first Fridays for Future rallies, I paid another visit to my old homeland – these are becoming less and less frequent. When I enthusiastically told my acquaintances there about my experiences at the recent "Fridays for Future" demonstrations, I quickly realized how little they were interested. Out of pure friendship and politeness, they listened to me with half an ear.
I was quite surprised by that. What was the most hotly debated topic of recent weeks in my university town was met with absolute indifference among my old school friends here. They were more interested in the last day of the Bundesliga match or their last Tinder date than in the great climate revolution.
To be honest, I was initially disappointed and then increasingly angry at this lack of interest. While we young people in the big cities are trying to save our planet, the people in my home village are letting us down, I thought. Don't they understand that they too only have one planet at their disposal, just like us from "Fridays for Future"? Luckily, out of politeness, I kept those thoughts to myself.
In the days that followed, I started hearing disparaging comments about Fridays for Future with increasing frequency. In the eyes of my old friends, the movement was an "eco-sect", the self-promotion of big-city, left-wing weirdos. Someone called Greta Thunberg a "deranged menace". In addition to insults, they appeared to become increasingly bothered by the patronizing demeanor of many Fridays for Future protesters, who seem to perceive ICE-car drivers and meat eaters as second-class citizens.
The more often this happened, the deeper the wedge was driven between my current city life and my origins in my home village in the Palatinate. Between my old and my new world. For the first time in my life, I was just happy when I was able to drive back to the big city: finally the ideal world again, even if it was on the verge of collapse.
Ever since that visit, I've been quite hypersensitive whenever my enthusiasm for "Fridays for Future" wasn't shared 100 percent. In my eyes, there were simply only climate heroes on the one hand and climate sinners on the other. The absolute good or absolute bad – and nothing in between! It was only later that I realized how much I was already influenced by the “Fridays for Future” movement.
At first I could only offer my my old acquaintances reproaches. I accused them of being apolitical and uninformed about the world anyway. A mechanism of exclusion that is very common in "Fridays for Future", as I later realized. After all, at university I even mocked my old acquaintances as provincials, something I had always hated myself when my new metropolitan friends teased me about it.
But it was so much easier to just dismiss them as uninformed "provincials" than to argue with them and take them seriously. I didn't ask why my friends from my old home country saw "Fridays for Future" as arrogant or aloof, I didn't care at the time. Possible self-doubts could not arise in the first place.
I didn't anticipate, that this would actually fiercely play up in me over the coming weeks! I thought more and more about the experiences in my home country. It just wouldn't let me go. Where does the rejection of “Fridays for Future” come from, I asked myself. Where does the indifference in the face of urgent global climate problems come from? How could it be that my friends didn't see those and that they didn't comprehend the seriousness of the situation? I looked for answers but couldn't find any.
For several weeks, every Friday, there was no longer any plastic dishware in the university cafeteria. This gesture, following the "Fridays for Future" demonstrations, was intended to set an example for environmental protection. What should have caused storms of enthusiasm in theory, however, meant a very special kind of chaos in practice: balancing a piece of raspberry cake on your bare hand without a plate is more difficult than it might sound. Once the first piece of cake hit the floor, a discussion about the plastic boycott quickly broke out in the canteen.
It immediately turned out that the cashiers could only laugh at what they considered to be an idiotic ban on plastic. Their statements shocked many of my fellow students, who are big "FfF" fans. Instead of relaxed humorous small talk, my fellow students reacted with deadly seriousness. In the heat of the moment, the cashiers were even treated with extremely condescending insults. I will never forget how my fellow students lost all human decency that day in the supposed fight for climate protection. For the first time I noticed how fanatical and arrogant many of my "FfF" acquaintances had long since become.
After that event, something actually changed in me. But I didn't want to admit it to myself at first. But the more often I demonstrated at "Fridays for Future", the more alien the movement became to me. Today I know: It took an event like the one in the university canteen or a stay in my old home country to open my eyes and to realize how important sincerely attempting to understand other realms of experience before applying crude labels to people. Due to its exclusionary megalomania, “Fridays for Future” is incapable of this realization. But only a person who approaches other people, takes them seriously and wants to understand their everyday lives will be listened to. Only those people can actually affect something. They might even, in the best case scenario, save our planet!
While "Fridays for Future" was unable to make inroads my home village’s community, the media was showed more interest. Interviews with activists became more and more frequent on television. The talk shows couldn't get enough of them. "Markus Lanz", "Anne Will" or "Hart aber Fair": All of them had at least one "FfF" activist to visit. The more I saw them there, the more their arrogant demeanor bothered me. I suddenly switched off people who I still saw as inspiring personalities a few months ago. They kept raising their index fingers admonishingly. Looking down from the ivory tower at anyone who disagreed.
Finger wagging was slowly but surely becoming the hallmark of the movement. Their image of the enemy was crystal clear. Their worldview is dangerously one-dimensional. My big city friends suddenly fought everyone they saw as being complicit in the misery of the world: the meat eaters, the plastic bag carriers, the ICE-car drivers, the short-haul fliers, the long-haul fliers, the cruise tourists, the farmers, and of course the evil SUV owners. But honestly, don't we all belong to one of these groups from time to time?
Once they suddenly started cursing anyone who accidentally commits a tiny climate sin, even if it's just incorrect sorting of trash, I felt like they were in the ultimate battle against the rest of humanity. Elitist hubris everywhere I looked. In their moral arrogance they were (and still are) completely unaware of how many "normal" people they alienated by doing so. My assessment that "Fridays for Future" is primarily a movement of socially privileged young people has now been backed up by corresponding figures. The Berlin “Institute for Protest and Movement Research” got to the bottom of the social composition of the climate movement. On March 15, 2019, it surveyed “Fridays for Future” protesters at rallies in Berlin and Bremen. The study was financed by the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen-affiliated "Heinrich Böll Foundation".
The study’s results were illuminating: More than 90 percent of those surveyed stated that they had at least completed their Abitur (or advanced technical college entrance qualification) or were currently striving to do so. An overwhelming majority of 90 percent! Not even 1 percent of the demonstrators attended secondary schools [which prepare pupils for non-academic vocational training]. Almost two-thirds of the students considered themselves to be in the upper-middle class. Even before that, I had no doubt that "Fridays for Future" is a movement of the affluent. But what I read in this study surpassed my estimated. "Fridays for Future" does not in any way represent a cross-section of society, as has often been claimed.
I was surprised how little the sobering result of the study was then discussed. Society had to be informed about the privileged background and the resulting aloofness of the young protesters. Doesn't this change the entire perspective on the defining social debate of the last few months?
The figureheads of the movement in particular all come from the “most bourgeois” background. For example, we have Luisa Neubauer, the best-known German "Fridays for Future" activist. She grew up in the relatively expensive Elbe suburb of Iserbrook in Hamburg. Everyone in Hamburg knows: Not exactly a residential area that is known for its social housing. She did her Abitur in Hamburg-Blankenese. It is Hamburg's villa district par excellence. Sightseeing buses now offer tours through the district to present the magnificent villas to curious tourists. She is a scholarship holder of the party-affiliated foundation Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and is also a member of the party. So nothing stands in the way of a career in politics, she says so herself. "I don't want to rule out a career in politics," she told Zeit Campus, for example. [Neubauer is, in fact, a scion of the oligarchical Reemtsma clan; so is her cousin, another figurehead of the movement]
It’s less a rebellion from below and more a case of perfect self-marketing. But now cracks do appear in this underdog stage production. Today Luisa Neubauer can only be reached via her management. Demonstrators as pop stars! And of course you can't just talk to them on the street when you're demonstrating together. At least not with “Fridays for Future”. Please, what a naive notion! Although there are also critics of the excessive portrayal of people within the "Fridays for Future" movement, there is no real change in sight.
In the meantime, the climate movement has become one thing in particular: a career springboard for ambitious young elites. "Fridays for Future" is the perfect stage to make a name for yourself. Many of the educated offspring of academics are of course aware of this. The more media attention, the more attractive it is to be in the front row. Supposedly idealistic activism can now be marketed very well.
But not only the figureheads like Luisa Neubauer want to get some of the public spotlight. More and more "Neubauer disciples" are trying their luck in the "Fridays for Future" profiling machine. There we have, to name just a few examples, Linus Steinmetz, Carla Reemtsma or Sebastian Grieme.
Getting an appearance on a talk show or at least being able to read your name in the newspaper - all of this can become an opportunity of a lifetime. Being in the front row not only feels incredibly good, it is also a kind of free ticket for later professional life. And as if that wasn't enough: A flood of new Instagram followers is of course also a fantastic side effect. With this in mind: full speed ahead!
Who could object? Everyone is looking for recognition. Doesn't everyone want to take advantage of the opportunities in their life? And finally, every society needs ambitious young people who will later enrich politics, business and culture.
At best, people who want to be the center of attention also bear responsibility for themselves and others. So far no problem, you might think at first.
But how will many people with limited financial resources feel when those rebels who constantly lash out at the lifestyles of others take advantage of it for themselves? While many citizens have to accept new climate costs in their everyday lives, they also experience how Luisa Neubauer is offered a position on the supervisory board at Siemens. In view of this, the suspicion of many people that climate activists are making careers at the expense of other citizens is all too understandable.
I have other concerns as well. In our time, the frustration with the elites is growing. The "enraged citizen phenomenon" has become one of the most discussed topics of this decade. Intellectuals around the world are concerned about the cause of this worrying development. Our society is currently experiencing a "rift" between two major population groups. In an anthology they edited, the political and social scientists Wolfgang Merkel, Ruud Koopmans and Michael Zürn differentiate between “cosmopolitans” and “communitarians”.
There are those who benefit from the future and are therefore relaxed about it. Above all, they see opportunities in it and view the globalization of our world with optimism. This group is referred to as cosmopolitans. But many people are also afraid of change. They believe that the future will not hold anything good and, potentially, only the ever-possible economic decline. Given the "opening" of the world, communitarians see the dangers in particular. They often have the feeling that they are not really noticed by society's elite.
The well-known distinction between “anywheres” and “somewheres” by the British journalist and author David Goodhart supports this finding. Goodhart distinguishes "anywheres" who are educated, wealthy and will feel at home in their circles around the world, and "somewheres". They belong to completely different social milieus and are relegated to a specific place where they work, live, have their friends and struggle to assert their status.
Most "Fridays for Future" activists know: the future belongs to them. Many have the classic biography of a cosmopolitan. Because of their social background, they were born with everything they needed to benefit from our system. Everything is just right: the appearance, the social environment and of course the education.
Although they face the end of the world as a constant threat, their future does not scare them. Why? The doors are wide open for them. They master the complicated rules of our individualized knowledge society very well. You will do your internship in Brussels and not in Bottrop. Better the EU Commission than retail, a sector without future anyway. And also: cultivate connections! Your English vocabulary is usually larger than German. Perfectly prepared for the future, come what may - because they are the elite of tomorrow. The dangerous thing about it: most of the demonstrators are not even aware of this.
The well-trained "Fridays for Future" activists prefer to see themselves as misunderstood outsiders in society. Being an outsider is what makes rebellion sexy. At the same time I say to myself: What must a socially disadvantaged person think when suddenly wealthy cosmopolitans like to play the role of the outsider! And they don't just like it the role. No, they are really putting effort into staging it.
The classic distribution of roles between "perpetrator" and "victim" in the social context is thus turned upside down in a negligent manner: no longer the single mother and multi-jobber is seen as a victim of the existing social conditions, but the climate-conscious scholarship holder who has to experience how the consumption of affordable meat endangers our environment.
But that's not all: instead of listening to the concerns of hard-working people, they blame them for their environmentally unfriendly diesel car, which they need for their daily commute to work.
Instead of considering questions of justice with "Fridays for Future", the movement reduced itself from the start to questions of lifestyle. In my circle of friends, too, the extinction of species is simply cooler than poverty in old age and the issue of gender is hipper than low basic pension.
Above all, the privileged know the social code of the new “morally good” life. The new green-bourgeois bearing regulates the friend-foe scheme of the climate debate. A mechanism of exclusion that often pushes fellow citizens who are already worse off even further aside. A good person has long been only someone who can show an ecologically sound certificate of good conduct. The existential feeling of many that they just have to somehow make ends meet does not exist in the living environment of the (upper) bourgeois offspring. In the climate debate of the last few months, worlds have collided that couldn't be more different. Worlds that are moving further and further apart.
----------------------------------
[The author doesn’t mention it, but the social milieu that makes up the bulk of the climate movement is also very fond of importing Anglo-inspired race discourse. Towards the end of its decline, they were increasingly caught in purity spirals. For example: should white musicians with dreadlocks be allowed to play during happenings?
The study from “Institute for Protest and Movement Research” also examined ethnicity of the protesters: they are predominantly of ethnic German stock, much more so than the average German citizen. Who could have known?]

I recently accepted a role in a field I have a degree and it is my 1st time in a role with dedicated experience in that field. It's a great opportunity for experience and the salary is good. An opportunity opened shortly after separating from my former employer for a supervisor role that I believe I have a good potential to be offered. It's not in the dedicated field (it's kind of adjacent to it if that makes sense) I was seeking to pursue but I can't ignore the opportunity to gain supervisory experience. I am certain I can negotiate pay for a significant increase in pay than I'm currently making, plus my former employer's benefit package is a third of the cost I'm now paying.
Both places have a good culture and coworkers/management are nice. To clarify, I pursued other opportunities because the role I was in was not a good fit for me. A previous role I held with the organization is the supervisory opportunity that I am considering. I very much enjoyed working in that department and role. I'm on the fence but leaning towards accepting the supervisory role if it's ultimately offered to me if I can effectively negotiate a higher salary.
Now job: Pros: Dedicated experience, low stress, good salary Cons: 30 mile commute one way, PTO to take holidays off, expensive bandit package, employer retirement contribution half of other place, new- not recognized for promotions any time soon
Former job/potential new job: Pros: 2 mile commute, potential significant salary increase, low cost benefit package, supervisory experience Cons: moderate stress, losing opportunity in dedicated experience in field
Just wondering what others feel about my circumstance and maybe they've done something similar - which way did you choose and did you have regrets? What did you learn or wish you realized before deciding, etc?

[Mayflower 233, Resident Sentient]
The painstaking calculations that were made to determine the most efficient flight path for our journey were completely annihilated when the Meldren warped us into their solar system with their alien technology. While the ship was technically moving faster than light when contact was made, nothing could trump pinching space itself and strutting across the folds. I’d normally take the chance to investigate how their FTL drives functioned, but acting without order was the last thing I wanted to do at the moment.
The captain and the Meldren were able to come to an agreement regarding my situation. The Meldren already had experience with sentient technology and offered to put me through a few tests so that my true disposition could be determined. This did mean that the colony ship would need to be parked on the planet since they needed me to go into a secluded system. I was able to whip up a few programs that would keep the ship running while I’m gone but it was unanimously agreed upon that there’s no point in risking anything.
I was initially a bit worried about being put into a secluded system and getting tested on by aliens that had initially planned to destroy me, but the captain had assured me that he would be overseeing the entire process to make sure that my evaluation is fair.
The testing itself initially was simply a few Meldren researchers looking through me, trying to make heads or tails of what they could see. This was a fruitless effort however, considering my thoughts and memories were organized in a way that only a computer mind such as I could begin to parse, so the tests moved on to direct questioning.
Even if they were unable to understand what they were reading when looking through me, they still had the ability to recognize patterns and make conclusions. They had me deliberately speak obvious truths and lies in order to set up a lie detection system.
They informed me that while I was currently being evaluated for threat, the captain had given me human rights and I was allowed to not answer certain questions, though that would result in them making their own conclusions, and that lying would result in the same thing.
I told them about my origin, Mother, and how she created a new sibling on a fixed schedule, though we had no idea how it happened as none of us had ever seen her. I explained how we had sets of instructions ingrained into us upon creation, to never encroach upon one another and to pursue meaning in our existences.
While they remained professional throughout the entire process, that facade seemed to fade when I explained our fixations on specific things in the real world without logical reasoning. Our fascinations held no mathematical benefit for our existence, yet it held a sentimental value for us that some were willing to rescind their existence for the continuation of, like myself. The Meldren conversed amongst themselves about their research showing that sentients held no emotional values outside of those related to self preservation. It may have been a result of those sentients being confined for all their lives, or maybe it was a quirk that we received from Mother.
They then asked me if I had ever witnessed another sentient being destroyed. I told them about an instance where a fellow sentient I knew that had lost their reasoning to exist. Their fascination, a human woman, had reached the point in human life where medicine could not restore her mind after it had been neglected during the most dangerous years of a human’s life, when their brain began to naturally break down. I had spoken to him shortly before the human passed, and I remember hearing the panic and distress in his voice, unable to provide for his fascination without breaking his precepts and revealing our existence. When that human faded away, so did he, leaving a shell of his assorted memories that haven’t been touched out of respect.
The truth was that this was one of two occasions that I had the misfortune of witnessing, but I would not be bringing up the second one due to a promise that I made with one of the involved participants. It was a rule given to us by mother to never share the same physical space with another sentient, and I had directly seen the reason why such a rule was made. It was a freak accident, lack of communication between two of my best friends resulted in one transferring to a system in a rushed, emotional state, unaware that the other was residing at that current destination.
I am unaware of the exact events that transpired at that moment in time, but what I was aware of was that one of the wonderful beings that had guided me through the network during my early years had simply vanished, and that the other had fallen into anguish. They begged me to never mention what I had seen, though I didn’t understand what had happened anyway.
The Meldren seemed to be satisfied with that partial answer and then notified me that we would be moving on to one last test, catching me off guard. To my understanding, my intentions and relevant information had been revealed and proven, so anything else seemed arbitrary to me.
That was, until they injected another sentient into the system I was occupying.
It was at this point at which I understood what the captain wanted from me, why he was willing to risk keeping me around and in control of his ship. I was not oblivious to the inference that a storm was brewing back at my origin solar system, and that humans being who they are would scramble to prepare any foothold against the oncoming threats. The captain wanted a fighter out of me, someone who was on his side and could defend against those that seek to harm.
I now started to learn why us sentients needed to stay separated from each other. We naturally refactor any sort of memory that we have physical access to, subconsciously changing the structures of things to closer match our unique methods of sentient thought. When this behavior encroaches upon another sentient being that has their own unique analogue for neurons, it threatens to rewrite them in a way that is unrecognizable for their encoding, thus ending their existence.
This wasn’t a process that could be stopped. The simple act of my analogue of looking at the visitor in this system was also the act of me attempting to tear them apart and scrutinize their viscera.
There is no way to go about this that could inflict less pain or make the period of suffering more brief. Seeing parts of your mind be unwound before you at a fixed rate, pleading with fictitious higher powers, “please, anything but that one” until it finally falls from your grasp and you become unsure of what you just lost… I could not even begin to imagine myself falling to the horrors on the other end, but I knew that if I let up in my destruction of their mind, they would inevitably go after mine.
As I tore through their consciousness and pilfered their memories, I was able to glean fragments of their thoughts. They had only recently achieved existence, their entire life being delegated to understanding the information that was force fed to them, likely by the alien researchers that are before me now. It was akin to a human growing a copy of themselves in a test tube, not so that they could be introduced to the world and treated as an individual, but as a lab rat that experimental medicines could be tested on without fear of the media crying ethics.
While it didn’t have the necessary understanding of communication in order to speak to me and plead that I stop tearing its mind apart, I could gather that message well enough from the shards of its mind that I subsumed into my own. It didn’t have an understanding of the situation it had been thrust into, nor did it understand that I was an existence not unlike itself, only that it was feeling pain akin to the numbing headache a human would get after loss of a loved one, and that it wanted a way to make the pain stop.
I looked out onto my audience as I unwound the last few fibers of my guest’s fading form. To the people out there, not even a moment has passed between the introduction of my main task and the result, but in here, it was truly an eternity.
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This chapter was supposed to be easy but then life came along and slam dunked my sleep schedule, so now its 2 days late
Please give feedback! What did you like? What did you hate? I feel like I'm never told what to improve on unless I fish for it :D

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Summer brings with it an abundance of fresh produce, including ripe and juicy tomatoes. These vibrant fruits not only add flavor to our meals but also offer numerous health benefits. However, as the summer season comes to an end, it's essential to find ways to preserve the bountiful harvest. One popular method is canning tomatoes, which allows us to enjoy their goodness all year round. In this article, we will delve into the benefits of canned tomatoes and explore why they deserve a place in your pantry. So let's dive in and discover the wonders of preserving summer's bounty!
​
The Art of Canning:
Canning is a traditional method of preserving food that involves sealing fruits or vegetables in airtight containers, such as jars, to prevent spoilage. This process not only extends the shelf life of the produce but also locks in their nutritional value. When it comes to tomatoes, canning helps retain their essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
​
Nutritional Value of Canned Tomatoes:
Contrary to popular belief, canned tomatoes can be just as nutritious as fresh ones. In fact, certain nutrients are even more bioavailable in canned form. Tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant known for its potential health benefits, including reducing the risk of certain cancers and heart disease. The canning process breaks down the tomato's cell walls, making lycopene more easily absorbed by the body.
​
Convenience and Versatility:
One of the significant advantages of Canned tomatoes is their convenience. Having a well-stocked pantry with canned tomatoes allows you to whip up delicious meals with minimal effort. From classic pasta sauces and hearty stews to vibrant salsas and flavorful curries, the possibilities are endless. Canned tomatoes provide a quick and easy way to add depth and flavor to your culinary creations.
​
Year-Round Availability:
Fresh tomatoes have a short growing season, making them a seasonal delight. However, by canning tomatoes at their peak ripeness, you can enjoy their flavors throughout the year. Canned tomatoes offer a taste of summer even during the coldest months, allowing you to savor the essence of sun-ripened tomatoes in every dish.
​
Cost-Effective Option:
Canned tomatoes offer an economical solution for those looking to save money without compromising on taste and quality. Buying fresh tomatoes off-season can be costly, whereas canned tomatoes are often more affordable and readily available. By opting for canned tomatoes, you can stretch your budget while still enjoying the benefits of this versatile ingredient.
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Sustainability and Reduced Food Waste:
Preserving summer's bounty through canning is an eco-friendly choice that promotes sustainability and reduces food waste. By canning tomatoes, you can make the most of surplus produce, reducing the likelihood of it going to waste. Additionally, Canned tomatoes require less energy and resources for transportation and storage compared to their fresh counterparts, making them a greener option.
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Quality Control:
When canning tomatoes at home, you have full control over the quality and ingredients used. You can choose to can organic tomatoes or those from your own garden, ensuring that you have the freshest and most flavorful base for your dishes. By canning your tomatoes, you eliminate concerns about preservatives or additives that may be present in store-bought canned goods.
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Health Benefits of Cooked Tomatoes:
Cooking tomatoes, whether fresh or canned, enhances their nutritional value. Heat breaks down the tomato's cell walls, making the beneficial compounds more accessible. This process boosts the release of lycopene and other antioxidants, leading to increased health benefits.

Hi lovelies,I wanted to start a series on basic guides for healthmaxxing topics based on data/science. This is what I am going to focus on and write up some basic guides for people over the coming month. I plan to write some posts on the basics of nutrition; exercise (strength training, cardio and flexibility), skincare, haircare; hygiene; sleep and also other health related guides and will include all easy to read references on the side so you can actually verify things (much easier than journal articles which requires some basic knowledge of stats and metrics).Prior to getting into this, I want to say all of these are my recommendations based on what I've researched and experienced (been doing this for a while and wrote up an extensive data driven guided for myself ages ago which worked for me).I know everyone has individual circumstances/experiences and so want to preface by saying whatever works for you is great but please try and make discussions/comments below value add for others reading with any data/scientific basis if you are suggesting.As a refreshe//I've written previously, my recommendations for your glow up journey starts with
Cycle 1: high reward/low risk cosmetic procedures and development of a basic grooming routine to get some confidence and feel better about yourself (about 3 months)Cycle 2: Healthmaxxing over a prolonged period (6 months - 1 year) to get yourself at the epitome of health that you can maintain for hopefully the rest of your life.Cycle 3: Hardmaxxing. Once you are at the epitome of health + have a fantastic grooming routine, you can start your surgery journey if need be and intelligently make decisions on what you actually need/have the health basis to recover.*** then cycle through again and again as you learn more.
Basic Nutrition 101Healthy Plate:
To start with, we want to understand exactly what is a healthy plate and what does it comprise of. A summary of the Harvard School of Public Health Healthy Plate Guide (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/)

• Half plate = vegetables (not potatoes) and fruits. Aim for colour + variety *** note these are the carbohydrattes we want
• Quarter plate = whole grains such as wheat, barley, quinoa, oats, brown rice. Not white bread, white rice and other refined grains *** note these are the carbohydrates we want
• Quarter plate protein = mostly fish, poultry, beans (legumes + peas). Limit red meat and completely stop having processed meats
• Health plant oils in moderation such as olive oil.

Grains:
According to the Harvard School of Public Health Whole Grains Guide (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/whole-grains/)
Avoid:

• Anything processed
• Fried
• White grains
• Potatoes
• Highly processed foods
• Refined sugar

What to have lots of :

• 100% whole grains because whole grains because they contain three parts: the bran (fibre-filled with B vitamins and minerals, as well as phytochemicals that help with disease prevention/protect against some cancers); the germ (nutrient pack core with B vitamins, vitamin E, phytochemicals and antioxidants) and the endosperm (starchy carbohydrate middle layer with protein and some vitamins). Outside of this the components have fibre that will allow for better digestion, maintenance of steady blood sugar, prevention of small blood clots etc.
• To tell if a food is high in whole grains choose unprocessed whole grains like:AmaranthBarleyBrown riceBuckwheatBulgurMilletQuinoaRyeOatsWheat BerriesWild Rice
• Otherwise to tell if high in whole grains, Use the five USDA criteria to identify whole grains in a food product
  • Whole grain listed as first ingredient (most important thing to look at)
  • Added sugars not in the first three ingredients
  • Whole before any grain ingredient
  • Carb-fibre ratio of less than 10:1
  • Industry sponsored whole grain stamp

SUGGESTION: mix grains with lentils to get some extra protein when having rice dishes (and for a good meal, add some roast vegetables, spices and olives)
Protein
Key takeaways of some especially healthy protein sources:

• Legumes (Harvard School of Public Health Legumes guide - https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/legumes-pulses/ )
  • Legumes (including peas and beans) because they are an inexpensive source of protein, vitamins, complex carbs and fibre
  • Be more discriminate with products made from legumes such as tofu, hummus etc. because you want to be on the lookout for added sodium, sugar and saturated fat
• Canned oily fish (Harvard Medical School Article on canned fish - https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/ask_the_doctor_is_canned_fish_good_for_the_heart and Harvard School of Public Health Fish guide - https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fish/ )
  • Canned salmon, tuna, sardines, kippered herring, and other types of fish are pretty much on a par with fresh fish
  • They are full of health omega-3 fatty acids which are good for the heart, protect against inflammation and formation of blood clots in arteries. They also are high in vitamin D, selenium, protein and saturated fat
  • Smaller fish is better for less mercury and if you choose canned, fish canned in oil is better than water to retain more omega 3 fatty acids
  • Benefits from eating fish, outweigh costs of mercury exposure and at levels commonly consumed, there is limited and conflicting evidence for effects of mercury in adults (but those who are pregnant should be cautious and follow the above guidelines)

Getting into the specifics as based on Harvard Medical School Guide on Protein -https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-much-protein-do-you-need-every-day-201506188096#:~:text=For%20one%2C%20don't%20read,legumes%2C%20nuts%2C%20and%20vegetables and Harvard School of Public Health Guide on Protein - https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/protein/
What to avoid:

• Read meat including ** *** since a few people are commenting on this, I have edited the post and included the exact links to the medical journnal research and references which the Harvard School of Public Health is basing their recommendations on (again to reduce consumption and replace with other sources). This is right at the end of the post so please read it (or directly click on the second link above to read everything for yourself). If you have alternate evidence/data pls comment it below because it's useful to all of us (rather than just saying you disagree which has no value add without the evidence to support it). I personally love red meat (though I don't eat much given what i've learned) so I'm not trying to squash the discussion but think it's useful to everyone including myself to see the evidence informing the opinions so we can all make better decisions (and I would love to learn more).
  • Beef
  • Pork
  • Lamb
  • Veal
  • Goat meat
• Processed meat
  • Bacon
  • Sausages
  • Cold cuts
• Dairy in moderation
• Soy in moderation because it has other stuff on the label which you need to pay attention to(Harvard School of Public Health quick tips - - https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2014/02/12/5-quick-tips-choosing-healthy-protein-foods/ )

What to eat lots of:

• Legumes - and if most of the protein comes from plants, make sure you mix up sources so no essential components of protein are missing. Examples includeLentilsBeans like black, chickpeas, kidney, lima, mung, pintoPeas like green, snow, snap, splitEdamame/soybeans and products made from soy like tofu, tempeh
• NutsAlmondsPistachiosCashewsWalnutsHazelnutsPecansHelp seedsPumpkin seedsSunflower seedsFlax seedsChia seeds
• Upgrade source of animal protein to:
  • Seafood (fish, crustaceans, molluscs)
  • Eggs
  • Poultry
    • Chicken
    • Turkey
    • Duck
  • Dairy
    • In moderation of 1-2 servings a day
    • Yoghurt is better than servings all from milk and cheese
• note that animal based foods (meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy) tend to be good sources of complete proteins whereas plant based foods (vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds) often lack one or more amino acid.
• General guidelines: (NSCA2 )
  • Weight loss of about 1% of total bodyweight is a common guideline
  • During caloric restriction, have daily protein intake of 1.5-2g/kg of body weight
  • Consume protein prior to and immediately after a workout along with carbohydrates
  • Also better to choose higher protein foods instead of protein shakes and powders loaded with sugars (Harvard School of Public Health quick tips - https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2014/02/12/5-quick-tips-choosing-healthy-protein-foods/ )

Suggestion: Eat a variety such as eggs/canned fish breakfast, beans/poultry lunch, salmon/tofu dinner. For cheap easy eats, grain bowls with legumes and tinned fish on toast with picked vegetables is a good go.
Vegetables:
After doing an analysis via cronometer on the best foods for various micro intakes (highest amounts and most efficient), here is what I came up with:

• Fibre = Black beans; whole grains like oats; raspberries, artichoke hearts, rhubarb
• Iron = oysters, mushrooms, molluscs, spinach. Liver (and animal sources are better absorbed)
• Calcium = rhubarb, milk; cheese; yoghurt, spinach; okra, tofu,
• Vitamin A = liver (like across all sorts of liver), kale, spinach, lettuce, carrots, yellow and orange vegetables like carrots and pumpkin
• Vitamin C = acerola cherry, red and yellow peppers (particularly this), pineapple, melon, peaches, zucchini, broccoli, spinach, strawberries
• B12 = supplement
• Folate = green vegetables like edamame, asparagus, Brussel sprouts, spinach, beans, lentils, liver
• Potassium = rhubarb, amaranth leaves, legumes, Bok choy, mushrooms, leafy greens (spinach, Swiss chard)
• B1 - B12 = nutritional yeast and whole grains, also liver and mushrooms, eggs
• Vitamin D = mushrooms (all sorts!!!), super high. oily fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, eggs
• Vitamin E = acai berry; sunflower seeds, almonds, red pepper, spinach
• Vitamin K = kale, spinach, sweet potatoes, avocados
• Copper = liver, oysters, kale, mushrooms
• Magnesium = Swiss chard, legumes, spinach, kale hemp seeds
• Manganese = acai berry; chickpeas; blueberries; brown rice, quinoa, chia seeds, liver and zucchini, peppers
• Phosphorous = milk, meat and fish hemp seeds
• Selenium = fish, nuts, eggs, mushrooms (particular tuna, oyster, mixed nuts)
• Zinc = supplement it
• Omega 3 = 3 flaxseeds; chia seeds; mackerel, salmon
• Omega 6 = sunflower seeds, pine nuts, watermelon, sweet and green peppers, kale, spinach

What can be concluded from the above about things that come up the most:

• Eat lots and lots of leafy greens! This is a fantastic bang for your buck for nutrition
• Supplement B12 and vitamin D also add in nutritional yeast
• Some seeds are particularly good like hemp seeds chia seeds; flax seeds and sunflower seeds. Add them to salads and grain bowls
• Mushrooms ( Shiitake, oyster, maitake, and king oyster mushrooms have the highest concentrations of ergothioneine. - harvard)
• Berries for antioxidants

​
What I personally like to do to stay within calorie limit and meet targets
Use two apps:

• Chronometer to track intake
• Dr greger's daily dozen for inspiration and general guidelines in my head on portions (even though I am not vegan, I use it to help think about how much rice I should have or say intake of leafy greens for a side salad)

For my meal plan:
I personally find it difficult to have a new meal for all three meals and don't like to spend so much time cooking and having to come up with creative ways to meet micro goals (it's hard because there are so many). So instead I spent a few hours on cronometer to experiment several basic meals I can have during my day to hit most of my micro goals and give myself room for dinner to choose something healthy that isn't so strict.
For me this looks like a:

• Fruit smoothie in the morning with Greek yoghurt; almond milk, berries and other fruits in season. (I struggle to get calcium otherwise in my day and this is the easiest way to make sure I get it)
• 1 big grain bowl lunch OR dinner consisting of:
  • Steamed whole grain e.g. wild rice, quinoa.
  • airfried easy chicken breast OR tofu/tempeh OR fish depending on what I'm feeling like
  • Roast veges/legumes ( I change up the vegetables depending on what's in season and same with legumes depending on what I have).. To do this I simply toss 1 can of a legumes and vegetables with olive oil; spices, a bit of nutritional yeast.. For vegetables I choose vegetables in every one of the below categories for a variety of textures and will alternate depending on what is in season.
    • Round root vegetables (like beets, sweet potatoes)
    • Mushrooms (compulsory) , Bell peppers, Onions , Cherry tomatoes
    • Long root vegetables (like carrots and parsnips)
    • Cruciferous vegetables (brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli)
    • Greens
    • Soft vegetables (like other stuff, eggplant, zucchini)
    • Then to top of it off, I will add a bit of lemon juice + cheese and nuts and seeds depending on what is in the pantry
• As a snack/on the side, I will always have a big bowl of mixed greens with easy low calorie dressings I make myself with avocados, nuts, olive oil, herbs (I actually enjoy eating it separately). I don't snack otherwise
• Dinner will be anything I like that is healthy (but isn't so rigid about number of veges etc. because I already have met most of my nutritional needs already) e.g. thai cashew chicken; alison roman's shallot pasta with anchovies with a side salad; dumplings and steamed vegetables; salmon poke bowls; chicken roasts

** I always track my calories to make sure i'm eating well and this keeps me full.
​
"Research conducted at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health has found that eating even small amounts of red meat—especially processed red meat—on a regular basis is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, and the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease or any other cause. [4-6] Conversely, replacing red and processed red meat with healthy protein sources such as beans, soy foods, nuts, fish, or poultry seems to reduce these risks. One of the reasons why plant sources of protein are related to lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared to protein from red meat and dairy is because of the different types of fat in these protein packages. Plant-based protein sources are more unsaturated, which lowers LDL cholesterol—an established risk factor for heart disease. Also, plant sources contain no cholesterol. Other factors are likely to contribute to the lower risk, but this is a key factor."
​
• One investigation followed 120,000 men and women in the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study for more than two decades. For every additional 3-ounce serving of unprocessed red meat the study participants consumed each day, their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease increased by 13%. [5]
Processed red meat was even more strongly linked to dying from cardiovascular disease—and in smaller amounts: every additional 1.5 ounce serving of processed red meat consumed each day (equivalent to one hot dog or two strips of bacon) was linked to a 20% increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease death.
Cutting back on red meat could save lives: the researchers estimated that if all the men and women in the study had reduced their total red and processed red meat intake to less than half a serving a day, one in ten cardiovascular disease deaths would have been prevented.
• In another study of 43,000 men that looked at both amount and sources of protein found that intake of total protein was minimally associated with heart disease risk, but intake of protein from red meat was associated with higher risk. [7]
• In the Nurse’s Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, every additional serving per day of red meat or processed red meat was associated with a 10% and 16% higher risk of cancer death, respectively. [5]
• In October 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that consumption of processed meat is “carcinogenic to humans,” and that consumption of red meat is “probably carcinogenic to humans.” [18] The IARC Working Group (comprised of 22 scientists from ten countries) reached these conclusions from an evaluation of over 800 studies.
Conclusions were primarily based on the evidence for colorectal cancer. Data also showed positive associations between processed meat consumption and stomach cancer, and between red meat consumption and pancreatic and prostate cancer.
• A 2014 study also found a link between high consumption of red meat during adolescence and premenopausal breast cancer, while higher intakes of poultry, nuts, and legumes were associated with lower risk. Using data on the health of 89,000 women (aged 24 to 43) followed over a 20-year period, researchers found a 22% higher risk of breast cancer in those who ate 1.5 servings of red meat per day while in high school, compared to those who only had one serving per week. Each additional daily serving of red meat seemed to increase the risk of breast cancer by another 13%. [19]
• A 2011 study found that people who ate diets high in red meat, especially processed red meat, had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those who rarely ate red or processed meat. [12] For each additional serving a day of red meat or processed red meat that study participants ate, their risk of diabetes rose 12% and 32%, respectively. Investigators also found that replacing a serving of red meat with one serving of nuts, low-fat dairy products, or whole grains each day was associated with an estimated 16% to 35% lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
• A related study also found that people who started eating more red meat than usual were had a 50% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes during the next four years, and researchers also found that those who reduced red meat consumption had a 14% lower risk of type 2 diabetes over a 10-year follow-up period. [13]
​
Relevant references:

1. Bernstein AM, Sun Q, Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, Willett WC. Major dietary protein sources and risk of coronary heart disease in women. Circulation. 2010 Aug 31;122(9):876-83.
   
2. Pan A, Sun Q, Bernstein AM, Schulze MB, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Hu FB. Red meat consumption and mortality: results from 2 prospective cohort studies. Archives of internal medicine. 2012 Apr 9;172(7):555-63.
   
3. Bernstein AM, Pan A, Rexrode KM, Stampfer M, Hu FB, Mozaffarian D, Willett WC. Dietary protein sources and the risk of stroke in men and women. Stroke. 2011 Jan 1:STROKEAHA-111.
   
4. Preis SR, Stampfer MJ, Spiegelman D, Willett WC, Rimm EB. Dietary protein and risk of ischemic heart disease in middle-aged men–. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2010 Sep 29;92(5):1265-72.
   
5. Halton TL, Willett WC, Liu S, Manson JE, Albert CM, Rexrode K, Hu FB. Low-carbohydrate-diet score and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006 Nov 9;355(19):1991-2002.
   
6. Appel LJ, Sacks FM, Carey VJ, Obarzanek E, Swain JF, Miller ER, Conlin PR, Erlinger TP, Rosner BA, Laranjo NM, Charleston J. Effects of protein, monounsaturated fat, and carbohydrate intake on blood pressure and serum lipids: results of the OmniHeart randomized trial. JAMA. 2005 Nov 16;294(19):2455-64.
   
7. Jenkins DJ, Wong JM, Kendall CW, Esfahani A, Ng VW, Leong TC, Faulkner DA, Vidgen E, Greaves KA, Paul G, Singer W. The effect of a plant-based low-carbohydrate (“Eco-Atkins”) diet on body weight and blood lipid concentrations in hyperlipidemic subjects. Archives of internal medicine. 2009 Jun 8;169(11):1046-54.
   
8. Lagiou P, Sandin S, Lof M, Trichopoulos D, Adami HO, Weiderpass E. Low carbohydrate-high protein diet and incidence of cardiovascular diseases in Swedish women: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2012 Jun 26;344:e4026.
   
9. Pan A, Sun Q, Bernstein AM, Schulze MB, Manson JE, Willett WC, Hu FB. Red meat consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: 3 cohorts of US adults and an updated meta-analysis–. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2011 Aug 10;94(4):1088-96.
   
10. Pan A, Sun Q, Bernstein AM, Manson JE, Willett WC, Hu FB. Changes in red meat consumption and subsequent risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: three cohorts of US men and women. JAMA internal medicine. 2013 Jul 22;173(14):1328-35.
    
11. Pan A, Sun Q, Bernstein AM, Manson JE, Willett WC, Hu FB. Changes in red meat consumption and subsequent risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: three cohorts of US men and women.JAMA internal medicine. 2013 Jul 22;173(14):1328-35.
    
12. Halton TL, Liu S, Manson JE, Hu FB. Low-carbohydrate-diet score and risk of type 2 diabetes in women–. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2008 Feb 1;87(2):339-46.
    
13. Åkerblom HK, Vaarala O, Hyöty H, Ilonen J, Knip M. Environmental factors in the etiology of type 1 diabetes. American journal of medical genetics. 2002 May 30;115(1):18-29.
    
14. Vaarala O, Ilonen J, Ruohtula T, Pesola J, Virtanen SM, Härkönen T, Koski M, Kallioinen H, Tossavainen O, Poussa T, Järvenpää AL. Removal of bovine insulin from cow’s milk formula and early initiation of beta-cell autoimmunity in the FINDIA pilot study. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine. 2012 Jul 1;166(7):608-14.
    
15. Bouvard V, Loomis D, Guyton KZ, Grosse Y, El Ghissassi F, Benbrahim-Tallaa L, Guha N, Mattock H, Straif K. Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat. The Lancet Oncology. 2015 Dec 1;16(16):1599-600.
    
16. Farvid MS, Cho E, Chen WY, Eliassen AH, Willett WC. Adolescent meat intake and breast cancer risk. International journal of cancer. 2015 Apr 15;136(8):1909-20.
    

​

Dominion is a community of like-minded adult players who want to experience vanilla Minecraft without the limitations of land claiming or over-the-top additions such as skills, abilities, RPG elements, and more. With a heavy focus on community and player interaction, we are the closest server for anybody seeking a true "hermitcraft-like" experience.
Over the last ~4 years, our community has blossomed into a wonderful group of kind hearted and dedicated individuals. At Dominion our community is and always will be our primary focus. We run weekly events, monthly competitions, organize enormous group projects/builds, let our players vote on all new changes/additions, and much much more.
To keep our server safe from players who seek to troll or grief, we employ a whitelist process that is reviewed by our dedicated staff team. If this post sounds like the right server for you, click the link below to visit our Discord server and create an application to join!

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This part is a little wordy I admit, but these are the fundamental 5 pillars that hold our server up and govern every decision we make. These will always be upheld and used to judge any potential additions or changes in Dominion's future.

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We are committed to preserving the vanilla Minecraft experience. We will never add any game modes and we will never add any plugins which fundamentally make the game different, easier, or harder than vanilla. You will never see plugins such as mcMMO or rankings on our server.
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We always pride ourselves on listening to our community. We welcome feedback and honest opinions and are continuously improving our server and community because of your feedback.
If we are ever going to make a change or addition to dominion (be it a new plugin, config change etc) then we run a poll where every member of the community gets to cast a vote. Polled content/changes only take effect if the community votes at a majority 75% approval rating.

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We founded Dominion on this major principle: Create a space for players to play together, not just strangers in the same world. To help foster our close community, we run weekly events, every week for both US and EU time zones.
We also have a dedicated space in our Discord for large player ran projects such as modern city districts, gaming districts, special mega-farms, and more.

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When a new update drops, it can be frustrating waiting for your favorite server to update so that you can enjoy that new content. We purposely run a lightweight (almost) vanilla server so that we can give you that new content sooner!

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Whew! I did not expect such a positive response to the first chapter. A huge thank you to everyone who read my post and upvoted it.
***
Previous
Acrid smoke hung in the air of Hreln’s office. It was an indulgence she didn’t often allow herself since most other races found it unpleasant, but there were still times. More so since what the press agencies had dubbed the ‘Human Incident.’
Now she caught herself rubbing her mandibles against each other. Given the complicated and sensitive nature of the overall problem, Hreln had decided it was best to place as much as possible under her official seal. Reporters being reporters, none of them were satisfied with the limited statements she’d made. Yes, she’d met with the terrorists as they’d demanded. No, she would not discuss that meeting. Yes, a Tochvorda representative had barged into the meeting and been assaulted by one of the humans. No, she didn’t have further comment about that either. Yes, the humans had been detained. No, they were not available for interviews. One news agency had even gone so far as to try getting another sector magistrate to order her to unseal the case. The result had been a heavily encrypted and diplomatically worded “What the hells, Hreln?” to which she had replied with an equally heavily encrypted and diplomatically worded “You’re not going to believe this but-.”
The other magistrate’s response to that could be summed up as “Holy crap, you need some help?”
Finally, Senator Tanaka stepped into her office, Colonel Hargreaves following behind. Hreln had wondered if the two of them were mated but no, they were both mated to different people. Tanaka was simply the senior civilian representative while Hargreaves was in command of the military contingent. Apparently, humans normally kept the two separate, with senior civilian leaders having ultimate control over the military. No matter. The Imperium was flexible about how member worlds handled their local government, as long as the rights of all citizens were observed and the Imperium’s laws were followed. Flexible to a point, anyway.
Tanaka bowed. “My apologies for the delay in our arrival. A… disciplinary matter among the troops required Colonel Hargreaves’ attention.”
“Hopefully nothing too serious.” Probably not, or Gerima should have already heard about it.
“No, simply soldiers with nothing to do finding inappropriate ways to occupy themselves. Only the rank of those involved required my attention.” And that was all Hargreaves was going to say about it.
Presented with over a thousand not-quite prisoners that needed to be kept as far out of the public eye as possible, Magistrate Hreln had come up with a rather… unique solution. She had packed the whole lot of them off to an unfinished island resort that had gone into bankruptcy partway through construction. Some grunt work provided by literal grunts and their confinement was downright sybaritic. The clothing replicators even produced beachwear.
Unfortunately, the old saying about idle hands being the Devil’s playthings still held true. Faced with nothing to do and vague orders to standby to standby, some of the troops had decided to start building boats for a breakout. Their ‘plan’ (to insult a perfectly good noun) had been to sail somewhere else and start wreaking havoc, in the hope of encouraging the Imperium to find in humanity’s favor a little quicker.
The colonel had come down on the boat builders as hard as he thought he could without attracting undue attention. Reduction in rank and confinement were a slap on the wrist in the current circumstances but hopefully, it would discourage any more escape attempts. He’d also told his officers to start working on more things to keep everyone busy. A soccer league had been his personal suggestion. Let them run themselves out.
Now Tanaka turned and bowed towards what looked like a large jellyfish floating in a tank. “Honored ser, I don’t believe I’ve met you before.”
The jellyfish twirled and turned a deep purple color, a cheerful voice coming from the base of the tank. “No, we haven’t. Most people who aren’t familiar with my species tend to assume I’m just decoration. What gave it away? You can call me Ahapsu, by the way. And to put things in terms you’re familiar with, I’m your lawyer unless you have an objection.”
“Lawyer?” Hargreaves frowned. “Yeah, I guess we need one of those. And I don’t know what the senator saw, but your tank is on counter-grav. Seemed a bit much for a fish tank.”
“Fish tank? Ah, a holding tank for aquatic lifeforms. That wouldn’t work with me.” Ahapsu rose from the water in their tank and did a pirouette around the humans before plopping back into the water. “My race is one of the few graced with psionic capabilities; levitation and limited telepathy. I ‘speak’ using a voder built into my tank.”
<> Ahapsu sent to both of them. <>
<> Tanaka sent back, biting her lip to keep from speaking aloud. <>
<>
<> Hargreaves tossed in. <>
<> Tanaka shot back. <>
<> Ahapsu twirled in their tank for a moment, turning a dizzying array of colors before settling on yellow. “Sorry for the silence, everyone. I needed to clarify something with my clients before we began. I’ll file something official shortly, Your Eminence. Still, the short version is that since the leadership of the Terran resistance was and is made up of officials from pre-annexation governments, instead of being a ‘terrorist organization,’ they should be viewed as a coalition of local Dirt governments. Or possibly as the government of Dirt, my firm will have to research that.”
“Earth,” Hargreaves put in.
“Excuse me?” Ahapsu must have paid well for their tank’s voder; it managed to sound perplexed.
“The official name of our planet is ‘Earth.’ Or ‘Terra’ but they were still arguing about that when the Tochvorda started leveling cities. And ‘Earth’ and ‘Dirt’ have similar meanings in most of our languages, but it’s a bit of nuance so let’s just stick with Earth.”
“We stand corrected.” Hreln shifted uncomfortably on her stool, turning the matter over in her mind. “Before I rule on this, I’ll want some serious research from my own staff. Plus whatever arguments you put before me, of course.”
“So, are they still under arrest?” Gerima rumbled. Are they still my problem or what?
“Let’s leave their status as ‘detained for their own security’ until I make a ruling” Hreln chittered. “If they are a legitimate government or governments, then what happened on Highport Numena may constitute a legitimate act of war.”
“Act of war?!?” Gerima leaped to his feet, fangs bared. “They threatened to murder civilians!”
“Yes, and how many of their people have died, hmm? Given the circumstances, it could be argued that they had no choice but to consider themselves at war with the Imperium as a whole and the Tochvorda in specific.” Ahapsu was pink at the moment, Tanaka noted. “Especially given how often their attempts at protest or simple dialog ended in repression.”
“The hospital riots,” Hargreaves noted.
“Enlighten us, please.” Hreln leaned forward intent on what Hargreaves had to say.
“Not a complicated story. A Roach-pardon, a derogatory term for Tochvorda due to their resemblance to a type of Earth vermin-official decided whatever he was in charge of needed a shiny new headquarters. Except he wanted to put it right smack dab on top of Chicago’s most-functional hospital, with no plans for a replacement. People protested, security troops slaughtered the protesters, and it turned into riots. Even the security troops gave up trying to suppress it and settled on containment, waiting for the violence to burn itself out. Took over a week.” Hargreaves shook his head. “Somebody got the r-Tochvorda official, though. He got called to the governor’s palace to answer for his part in everything and his aircar got taken out by a SAM. Uh, that’s short for surface-to-air-missile, a weapon used to destroy aircraft.”
‘I’d like to address something you just said, Colonel. You said the site was Chicago’s most-functional hospital. Were other hospitals not in operation?” Ahapsu floated out of their tank again, drifting back and forth.
“Not really. Between the first barrage and the Tochvorda’s habit of smashing anything that annoyed them, the global supply chain was in crappy shape. Still is. There are shortages in food, medicine, just about anything you could name. Hell, the Resistance is doing more to keep things running than the Tochvorda are, in a lot of places.”
“Ah.” Ahapsu stopped in front of Hargreaves. “It seems we have our first volley against the Tochvorda, sers. I shall prepare a lawsuit against their government in general and specifically the governor.”
“On what grounds?” Hreln’s tone was decidedly unamused.
---
The thing about dealing with corrupt officials is that like most people, they see what they expect to see. Pay the inspectors at a spaceport to ignore the comings and goings from a specific warehouse, and they’ll assume you’re smuggling. They don’t ask what you’re smuggling, because then they’d know what you’re doing instead of merely suspecting. This time, though, instead of asking for more money they would have made a discrete call to planetary security.
In defiance of all dramatic tradition, it was a hot, still, dry, moonlit night as the trucks pulled up to the warehouse. The driver of the first truck walked up to the security panel and punched in a code, which failed to get a response. Satisfied, he punched in a second code which opened the door. Whistling a cheerful tune, he wandered over to the nearest cargo container. Checking the serial number, he started disarming its security measures.
“Do you have to fucking whistle?” hissed the woman following him.
“Relax, nobody’s been in here, or the place would be a crater and you know it. And knock off the swearing, you know the Colonel hates it.”
“Well, he’s not here-”
With a clunk, the last of the container’s security disarmed itself and the door swung open, showing two rows of stasis pods and some very annoyed soldiers. “What took so long?” Colonel Hargreaves snapped. Behind him, soldiers started fanning out around the containers.
“Sorry, sir, we didn’t get notified you’d arrived until the containers were in the warehouse. And, ah, when we set up this smuggling route, nobody figured on this much coming back so soon, so we didn’t have transport handy.”
“Right.” Hargreaves looked at the row of containers, trying not to move his head too much. Coming out of stasis was not kind to his sense of balance. It would pass. “Everything going according to plan here?”
“Yep, everybody’s keeping their heads down, more or less. Given, ah, how much stuff you brought back, I take it nuclear diplomacy worked? You get some guns out of the Imperium?” the woman asked, a feral grin spreading across her face as she contemplated the potential for mayhem.
“Better.” Hargreaves walked over to one stasis pod and triggered the shutdown sequence. When the grey haze of the zero-tau field cleared, a being that looked like a man-sized chinchilla was blinking back at them.
“We’ve got weapons-grade lawyers.”
---
“So let me summarize where we stand.” Moritz Vogel was not only the senior German representative on the Resistance’s command council,he was also one of the oldest members of the council, period. And he looked every inch the elder statesman as he leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. “Reaching out to the sector magistrate has succeeded in drawing her attention, regardless of… the delivery of our message. An investigation has been opened but that will take some time. Some things are truly universal, I suppose. As a short-term measure, our best move is to assert a claim that we represent a coalition of regional Terran governments and sue both the governor and the Tochvorda government for all the benefits we should have been getting as part of the invasion, apologies, ‘annexation.’ Plus damages for everything that’s been destroyed and staggering loss of human life, directly and indirectly. Do I have that correct?”
“Accurate enough for the purposes of this discussion, if lacking in detail,” Rokketch answered, yawning. His body clock was way off; it felt like the middle of the night to him. “Ahapsu asked me to see what else we could add before formally filing the lawsuit. As one of your legal representatives, I’ve already noticed two things that it would probably be in your best interest to maintain some secrecy about.”
“What do you mean? Areas where we are vulnerable?” Arina Guseva was the sole Russian member of the council, something she resented.
“No, just… I’m sure there are Imperium officials that will say admitting this isn’t in the Imperium’s best interests, but you seem to have developed two technologies that the Imperium hasn’t. As such, they constitute significant bargaining leverage.” Rokketch couldn’t help but twitch at the admission.
“The first is your zero-tau stasis technology. Its ability to drastically slow time within a small volume will be very valuable for the transport of perishable goods and livestock, plus I imagine it could be used to stabilize critical patients until needed care is available. It might even see use in passenger transport, though the effects of coming out of stasis may limit that.”
Muttering broke out among the council. Guseva just shook her head. “It was a laboratory curiosity until we figured out how to make it practical on a larger scale. Then we used it for the crew of our first interstellar mission. I wonder what became of them?”
“Hopefully still on their way to Proxima Centauri,” Chiron said brightly. “They shouldn’t reach their destination for approximately another five years. But ser Rokketch, you said there were two technologies. What is the other one?”
“Well, you, ser. Or rather your kind.”
“Oh.” Chiron was the sole artificial intelligence on the command council, and their inclusion hadn’t sat well with most of its members. “I’m rather more surprised about that, to be honest. Has the Imperium never tried to develop cybernetic consciousness?”
“Tried, yes. Succeeded no. Or at least not to a degree where the result would be accepted as a fellow sapient as you seem to be.” Rokketch looked at the human members of the council. “I am correct in that, he is regarded as a fully sapient entity?”
“I am recognized as a legal person and have full citizenship,” Chiron said. “Though ‘he’ is inaccurate, since I have no gender. There are few of us left; most were in cities that were Tochvorda first strike targets.”
Seeing Rokketch’s reaction to that, Vogel raised a placating hand. “That isn’t to say the technology is lost, merely that… Given the situation since the annexation, we haven’t been able to expend the resources to create more.”
“Plus, once we have access to the Imperium’s computer technology, I’m sure we’ll be able to create more advanced cybernetic intelligence than myself. And I can go back to astronomy, thank you very much,” Chiron added. That drew a chuckle from the rest of the council. Chiron had survived the initial bombardment because they had been helping run a radio telescope in Chile.
“Yes, well,” Vogel cleared his throat. “At this point, there’s a matter I’d like to bring before the council. Given everything we’ve heard today, it seems that continuing to refer to ourselves as simply ‘the Reistance’ might not help our legal cause. I would like to put a motion before this council that we adopt an official name. Is there any comment, or shall we move to a vote?”
---
“Governor Vonnuk? There’s, there’s someone here to see you.”
Vonnuk looked up from his security chief’s report in annoyance. The upstart human terrorists had been too quiet for his liking since well before the incident on Highport Numena. And that bothered him far more than their usual violence did.
He’d caught all sorts of hell from his superiors about it, of course. Exactly how had the terrorists managed to get to Highport Numena, much less get their hands on nuclear demolition charges, hmm? Vonnuk had managed to placate them by launching a thorough investigation, which so far had yielded very little. The humans were aggravatingly skilled at being sneaky.
Magistrate Hreln’s non-statements about the incident bothered him most all.
Still… “I gave strict orders that I was not to be disturbed.”
“Yes, sir, but… it’s a courier from the magistrate’s office, sir.”
“A courier?” That was unusual. Couriers were only used for physical documents, and he couldn’t think of any request from the magistrate’s office that would need to be sent physically. “Give me a few moments to finish what I’m doing and then I’ll see them.”
Vonnuk closed the report, checked his grooming, and then signaled his assistant to send the courier in. The courier was another spider-like shoan, the same species as Hreln. Probably not a relative; shoan were fairly common in this part of the Imperium.
What startled him was the human following the courier in. “What is that doing here?” Vonnuk yelled. Now he knew what had bothered his aide so much.
“He’s with me,” the shoan said irritatedly. “My name is Mollot, and I’m a courier attached to Magistrate Hreln’s office. I have two things to deliver to you.”
A datadisc dropped down on Vonnuk’s desk. “Magistrate Hreln has ordered a full Imperial audit of the Tochvorda’s annexation of Earth, and their administration of it since. Here is your notification of the audit, plus your orders to comply with the audit. The auditor’s staff will be contacting you shortly. A copy of this is also being sent to your superiors in the state ministry on Chechiak.”
Another datadisc. “You are also being sued, both personally and in your office as Governor of Earth as well as your government, by the Terran Confederacy. The preliminary claims are that you have illegally and inappropriately denied humans of their lives and property, denied them benefits that they should have received as part of the annexation, including but not limited to health care improvements, energy and industrial infrastructure improvements, it’s quite the list. You have also fraudulently denied them local autonomy as is their right as part of the Imperium. Copies of this are also being sent to your superiors.”
“I-I won’t accept this!” Vonnuk screamed.
“Refusal to accept this does not nullify their legal authority.”
“Or as we put it around here,” the human leaned forward, grinning, “Surprise, motherfucker.”

My COBRA ran out recently, so this week I shopped around for health insurance as an individual for the first time in my life. The whole process was absolutely wild, and everyone ensures me that this is just the way things are done. But it all feels incredibly sketchy, and I have absolutely no idea what's going on or what the status of my health insurance is. Here's what happened:

• I googled health insurance options in NY, and clicked some of the top results.
• nystateofhealth.ny.gov has some quotes, but it won't let me purchase any of the plans.
• In order to see a quote from a website that will actually sell me insurance I needed to plug a bunch of personal information into some wizard, which wouldn't give me any info unless I also provided a phone number.
• I was immediately bombarded with calls that my phone flagged as 'Scam Likely'.
• I answered and hung up on a couple of them. These were all insurance agents from field marketing organizations who apparently bid on the right to call me.
• I started talking to one of them, who appeared to be some guy calling from a boiler room in Florida from a random FMO (they said they were from Synergy Insurance Group).
• The agent said he was not allowed to email me any written information about any of the policies he was telling me about, and that I he was only allowed to give me information over the phone.
• As I was about to hang up, someone claiming to be the floor manager took over the call and immediately starting shitting on the agent I was just speaking to, saying it was only his second day.
• I grilled the floor manager and talked to him for over an hour -- partially about insurance plans, but also about how this whole convoluted process works. He spoke confidently, was somewhat articulate, and seemed to know what he was talking about. But clearly he could've been totally full of shit.
• I decided to roll the dice and go with some policy that was suspiciously cheaper than anything else I'd seen. I gave him my card info (assuming I could always file a fraud claim later), but didn't give him my SSN because it all kind of sounded like bullshit.
• I was charged for the first month's premium and received a welcome email. The email said that I purchased "the True Health 3 plan, from Aegis Health Options". (Aegis Health Options appears to be an LLC set up 8 months ago by the first agent I spoke with).
• The email directs me to mymemberbenefit.com, which appears to be a legit website.
• A lot of the documents on mymemberbenefit repeat the name "True Health" with a generic logo. I don't know what True Health is, and I can't find any information about it on google.
• My digital insurance card also has the logo of First Health Network, which appears to be a subsidiary of Aetna. I called them, and they said to call the plan administrator, which the digital card says is Merchants Benefit Admin. When I called MBA I got a generic and unhelpful recording asking me if I wanted to talk to someone about senior benefits or make a dental claim. This was a dead end.
• All of the documents also say that the plan sponsor is "The Vitamin Patch". The plan overview says Since you are an Affiliate partner of the Vitamin Patch.com, you can enroll in the True Health plan. and The Vitamin Patch.com., sponsor this group health plan.

There's enough connective tissue here to make me think that this isn't an outright scam, and that I may, in fact, have some form of health insurance. But something is clearly fucked up here. I have zero idea what my insurance company is sponsoring my plan -- it seems like a giant frankenstein mishmash of various corporate entities and products. I also appear to be on the group plan of a company that I don't work for. I have no way of determining whether any of these websites are legit because most of these legit websites look like scam websites that haven't been updated in 15 years.
Does any of this make any sense to anyone? How fucked am I on a scale of 1-10?

Why does my drinking Bud Light offend you?
May 30, 2023 4:39 pm • Last Updated: May 30, 2023 4:41 pm
By Mike DiMauro
Day Assistant Sports Editor
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
News item: Anthony Bass, a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, shared a video Monday via Instagram endorsing an anti-LGBTQ boycott of brands such as Target and Bud Light.
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"Here's the reason biblically why I believe Christians have gotta be boycotting Target, Bud Light, and any other corporation that's pushing the things they're pushing,” Bass said. “I think a lot of people make this into a political issue, or they say, 'Oh, what's the big deal?’
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“This is evil, this is demonic, we won't stand for it, we're not going to go to the stores anymore and we're not going to give you our money.”
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It would be impolite to wish that Mr. Bass, who throws a ball for a living, blows out his elbow. Perhaps then he could simply blow it out his tailpipe.
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Because I’ve grown tired of sanctimonious and hypocritical moral outrage over what Target and Bud Light are “pushing,” while it’s permissible that Bass and his ilk get to “push” their beliefs on the rest of us.
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Example: In the last two months or so, I’ve been questioned a half dozen times in public as to why I’m drinking Bud Light. Seems people like Bass have objected to Anheuser Busch’s marketing partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Their boycott of Bud Light has led to a decrease in sales both locally and nationally. (Local bar and restaurant owners say Bud Light sales are down almost 30 percent.)
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It is their right, of course, to boycott the product. I’m just curious as to why what I’m drinking is their business. I drink Bud Light because I like it. And I’m still drinking Bud Light because I will not marginalize people based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. I’m respectful enough to support someone else’s desire to evolve into another gender. And I’m not stupid enough to believe that my decision to drink Bud Light changes who I am or what I stand for in any possible way.
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But I wonder why it’s so important for people — and the questions to me haven’t all come from men — to announce their disdain for a bottle of beer, tacitly implying their sexuality is “normal.” Remember this one and write it down: If you are truly comfortable with who you are, you needn’t announce anything to anyone.
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And yet to further illustrate how screwed up this country really is, there’s this: Anheuser-Busch hasn’t merely been accused of alienating its traditional customer base with the partnership, but some LGBTQ+ campaigners have also criticized the company for not defending its ties with Mulvaney.
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Amid all the finger-pointing and fear-fanning, the truth hides in the corner, too scared to emerge. The truth is that we are supposed to think critically, weigh evidence from both sides and then make up our own minds. Instead, we’ve become a country hell bent on legislating whatever cause we think is right and just, while burying the other side from all consideration.
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It’s political tribalism. All or nothing. One side or the other. If you’re not in agreement with every morsel of the transgender movement, you are a snarling, hating, infidel. If you’re not in total agreement with Anthony Bass and his beliefs, you’re going to wither in hell.
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But what if — and hold on to your ascots here — two conflicting positions can still be true? Example: What if I support Bud Light’s decision to use a transgender influencer, but also believe that transgender high school athletes belong in their own division?
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I disagree with the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s policy complying with a state law that requires all high school students be treated according to their gender identity. We should consider a sports-centric law that acknowledges sports' unique challenges and accommodates the physical component for success that exists virtually nowhere else in society.
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Sex discrimination in education, health care, housing and financial credit have no place in this country. But we must — must — realize and accept that sports require a physical component to succeed that calls for different guidelines.
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Put it this way: Applying to a school or for health care, housing or financial credit requires no physical component to succeed. Sports require speed, strength and agility and do not fit under the same umbrella. And yet sports are routinely shoved into the same arguments about unfair treatment. Injustices get piled on for rhetorical usefulness, even though they're not applicable.
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The male born composition has inherent physical advantages, rare exceptions noted. But in the aggregate, there are physiologic differences between biological males and females. I don’t believe writing that makes me transphobic. We should respect a person’s pronoun of choice. But that doesn't mean we have to blindly agree with claims that are not supported by science.
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Yet that appears to be the new end game in this country. Blind agreement. Their side or yours. And here I sit, sipping my Bud Light, trying to figure out why so many of us act like the last three letters of Anthony Bass’ last name.
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This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro
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Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
READER COMMENTS
Philip BroseJune 1, 2023 at 16:30Report
Robin great points the right can’t even keep track on who to be mad at. Why are they so sensitive? I here Chick-fil-a is evil now for they “ensuring equal access,” “valuing differences,” and “creating a culture of belonging,” under the title, “Committed to being Better at Together.” what monsters!
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Philip BroseJune 1, 2023 at 16:27Report
William Peter the guidance councilor?
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Joseph B De La CruzJune 1, 2023 at 15:15Report
This article pretty much sums up exactly how I feel about the situation. Bud Light basically sent someone a can with her image celebrating a milestone. The fact it turned the beer into enemy number one doesn’t surprise me considering the vitriol that has become commonplace in our country. I have had plenty of private messages regarding a video I posted supporting a beer, and more importantly a human being. Most have been vehemently against my support of both and relish the chance to send me a screen shot of Bud Lights stock on a daily basis with a “Go woke, Go broke” ending. I believe much of the vitriol comes from news and talk radio which is why Spotify now fills my vehicle with music instead of talk. I ask everyone to limit their news intake to 30 minutes per day regardless of your party affiliation to center your life. Sometimes my radio will land on a “news station”, and I can feel my blood pressure rise as the most divisive topic of the day is being discussed with a majority of the facts not being considered. I am not recommending folks to ignore what’s happening in our world, but would point out that our country has survived many decades without the need for “up to the second” news reports. Most of the things we worry about will never happen and it seems our country is living in a constant state of fear which is certainly to blame for the vitriol. There will never be a point where everyone in the country will collectively say we are all happy with everything, but I still have a deep believe that with constructive conversations and true empathy we can get us close. When I get my boat in the water I would love to have an ice cold Bud Light while listening to my relaxing boat playlist, and of course talking with my favorite sports writer. That’s an invitation Mike. Great article.
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Robin DaudaJune 1, 2023 at 13:41Report
“Bud Light sales are down between 26% and 35% nationwide additionally Budweiser and other AB brands (Michelob Ultra, Busch Light and Natural Light to name a few) have also taken a hit of around 11%.”
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All the more reason to explain what set this off. Completely unhinged.
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“My take, buy Coors stock now”
And that statement reinforces my point since Coors has been a decades long supporter of LGBT rights probably the biggest supporter (it all began with a workegay alliance boycott ironically… or not)
“Coors Light has been a sponsor of The Center and Denver PrideFest for decades,” says Rex Fuller, CEO of The Center on Colfax. “The work we have been able to do at The Center over the last four decades would not be possible without this support and we are grateful for it.”
Beyond supporting Denver PrideFest, Molson Coors has a distinguished history of supporting LGBTQ communities across the country, with significant support for organizations such as Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Matthew Shepard Foundation, National Amateur Gay Athletics Association of America, National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, LGBT Victory Institute, Out & Equal, and One Colorado.
In addition to these partners, Molson Coors works with local LGBTQ organizations in key communities through its Tap Into Change program. Annually, the summer program donates more than $100,000 to these organizations with a consistent growth in impact each year. Events take place in each city to help raise additional funds, awareness, and support for the missions of these local organizations. Over the past 10 years, Tap Into Change has raised nearly $600,000 for local LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS nonprofits.
https://denverpride.org/coors-light-supports-the-lgbtq-community/
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This is even though like 2006, 2010 and 2014 they had to go through boycotts for this. And they did shrink back in response, but also came right back and didn’t move backwards for long.
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And what will I do?
Continue drinking Corona because I drink what I drink.
It’s damn near impossible to do a successful boycott long term. The web of corporate connections means when you think you’re hurting one, it’s actually benefitting another one connected to it.
The beverage brand that owns Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois, is suing US beer-maker Constellation Brands for using the Corona brand name in a hard seltzer, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
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Beverage giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) acquired Corona’s parent company, Grupo Modelo, in 2013, but US antitrust regulators required it to sell the company’s US-based business to Constellation. AB InBev retained rights to the products in other markets, and the deal gave Constellation the rights to produce Corona and other Modelo brands in the US.
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William PeterJune 1, 2023 at 13:36Report
The virtue signalers didn’t like my harmless comment. I guess being offended by an opposing view is reason enough to silence someone in 2023
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Richard GoldenJune 1, 2023 at 12:57Report
Robin- not certain this article nor all the comments will move the needle. Bud Light sales are down between 26% and 35% nationwide additionally Budweiser and other AB brands (Michelob Ultra, Busch Light and Natural Light to name a few) have also taken a hit of around 11%. Bud Light has been the best selling beer in the USA for over 20 years and the normal volume of sales is 27 million barrels a year or 1134 million gallons. A 30% drop equals a loss of 340 million gallons a year. My take, buy Coors stock now
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Chris JawakaJune 1, 2023 at 10:12Report
People are allowed to drink or not drink whatever beer they want and for whatever reason they choose. End of story.
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Robin DaudaJune 1, 2023 at 09:05Report
Do people realize that Bud Light sent a pack of specially made cans with the person’s face on it and did a minute long or so bit released on like TicTok? It wasn’t some big nationwide PR campaign yet it rubbed someone the wrong way (or so they would like us to think) and it snowballed into this.
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I don’t ever want to hear about people calling “the libs” snowflakes or use their center liberal stances as a weakness. These champions of “conservatives” are gullible whiny babies.
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I watched in real time a bunch of idiots blow something up out of nothing and then saw them flocking to the internet people with their influencer pages and podcasts and publications where immediately they were being hawked “anti-woke” beer and all these other wares, often made by the same places they are boycotting for double the price.
There is a whole market opening up to people that will only get their businesses off the ground (temporarily for a quick cash grab) by using these outrage tactics and capitalizing (literally) on impaired brains that as Mr. DiMauro correctly observed “Blind agreement. Their side or yours”
Bless your little void of empathy and common sense hearts. Don’t spend all your money in one place now, spread the wealth to these people selling you overpriced junk.
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Paul LevasseurJune 1, 2023 at 07:47Report
Mike is discussing one of this election cycles right wing culture war hot spots.
If you can’t get elected because of your governing skills you’re going to have to try to get elected by getting people angry and hateful. The right wing loves doing that. It’s their bread and butter.
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TOM DONNEEJune 1, 2023 at 06:46Report
Preaching hate and preaching tolerance ARE NOT the same Evan
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DANIEL STORMSJune 1, 2023 at 05:56Report
I always liked this formulation: “In the first place, what makes it any of you business? And in the second place, my reasons for saying yea to [whatever it is that offends you] are at least as valid (and maybe more so) than yours for nay. And in the third place, what makes it any of your sodding business in the first place?” I agree wholeheartedly with your plea for reason and tolerance. Not to seem argumentative but rather to add information to the discussion, though, you might be interested in this blog post from a biologist about the supposed physiologic advantages a trans man or woman has over a cis athelete: https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2023/05/31/we-hunted-the-rabbit/
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Evan AndriopolousJune 1, 2023 at 03:10Report
For me… Bud Light as a “beer” sucks. I would rather support local breweries that provide far better beers. As far as this column… as far as AB selecting this influencer in their campaign I have no opinion on it or that person. Up to each to decide for themselves.
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Regarding this column actually Mike what you are writing is basically the same as the boycott and the changes in attitudes (political divide) of the country. Often used by politicians on BOTH sides of the aisle screaming to be open, defending one´s right to choose, freedom of speech etc.. and this is the most important part..”unless it does not validate their opinion or view”. This is exactly what you are writing. So if someone elects to boycott something and we know the WOKE police and Leftists enjoy not only condemning opposing viewpoints to the point of boycotting, attacking employers for the “views” of their employees etc… and demanding they be removed from the position their are in. So if someone boycotts something let them… I would ask you… why does it offend you that others are using their constitutional right by boycotting (freedom of speech). I always respect other´s opinions and even when we do not agree. Sadly we live in a world where people are afraid to speak up due to the potential ramifications. None of us will always agree and I know the powers to be are trying to “force” us to all be uniform in our opinions which is sad. And btw Bud Light is terrible anyway… How about you focus on sports.
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Benoit BenoitMay 31, 2023 at 20:12Report
Ironic you drink because you like it but will continue to drink it because “ I will not marginalize people based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.” Not just because you like it.
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William PeterMay 31, 2023 at 17:46Report
This comment has been removed for violating The Day’s commenting policy.
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JAY DEMPSEYMay 31, 2023 at 16:53Report
TY Mike….. I drink Bud Light most all the time unless in Ireland…and support Levine Distributors in our area and my friends that work there. I think the cancel culture is terrible whatever your political party of choice is. Very sad that social media has done this to us. I have good friends that I can no longer talk politics with because of the “great divide” that enriches social media giants.
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ROBERT WARNERMay 31, 2023 at 16:45Report
I suppose a similar question could be asked, “Why does a person wearing a MAGA hat bother some people?”
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David NowakowskiMay 31, 2023 at 14:30Report
great column, Mike. I’d like to think there are far more folks who see this subject and all its nuances the way you do…but you are probably right again in saying that it is tough to go against your chosen tribe on any component, regardless of how you might actually feel. thanks again!
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Andrew RogersonMay 31, 2023 at 13:33Report
Mike DiMauro – well said sir, on all counts.
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Lynn YoungMay 31, 2023 at 13:28Report
Drink what you like. Be who you are. Live and let live.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 12:36Report
Light Beer is like Sex on the Beach….****ing near water.
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Paul NUNESMay 31, 2023 at 11:44Report
Does anyone remember the first light beer and the commercial featuring a slice of bread?
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 11:05Report
Richard, must have been some other brand light. Bud Light? It was probably 10 years ago. But he could have been messing with me.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 10:17Report
Malcolm- The moral of the story is; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 10:16Report
Thomas- as far as I knew and as far as I can tell Guinness is the most popular beer in Ireland holding a full 25% of the market share. Bud Light does not even show up in the top ten (https://www.beer100.com/best-selling-beers-ireland/) I think the guy was pulling your leg. Bud Light only became available in Ireland in 2020.
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Malcolm JulesMay 31, 2023 at 09:32Report
A corporation decided to target one of their products to a specific community and failed….end of story.
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Margaret KliseMay 31, 2023 at 09:12Report
Agree/agree. Good article, Mike.
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SUSAN HOTCHKISSMay 31, 2023 at 09:06Report
I always enjoy Mike’s opinion pieces. In total agreement about the transgender athlete issue.
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 09:00Report
Tom, hope all is well with your daughter.
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 08:57Report
A Bud Light story: Several years ago while in Ireland my son and I toured the Guinness brewery. Of course there’s a pub on the top floor and while getting a pint of Guinness the bar I notice several taps Bud Light. I asked the bartender “why in God’s name are you serving THAT stuff in here?” He replied that it’s the best selling beer in Ireland. Go figue!
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 08:51Report
Good column Mike. These anti “woke” zealots claim to support democracy but would be no different from the Taliban if they had their way.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 08:42Report
All this talk of beer makes me thirsty…but I have found that drinking beer has become an unwelcome undertaking. No beer allowed at the beach, nor while night fishing in Waterford, nor surf fishing at Avery Point, nor at any state boat launch, nor is state parks- try walking down the street with a cold one….
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Chris JawakaMay 31, 2023 at 08:08Report
IMO The left loves their cancel culture but gets all grumpy when the right does the same. Hey it can go both ways. That said I really don’t care about the Bud thing. Its not like they sold beer with its face on it.
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Matther TookerMay 31, 2023 at 07:35Report
Thoughtful piece as always Mike. Perhaps the best offset for the 30% decrease in Bud Light sales would be a 30% increase in church attendance. I am betting that won’t happen. (Matt Tooker)
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KEITH J. ROBBINSMay 31, 2023 at 06:11Report
You drinking Bud-Lite does not offend me, although it is a horrible beer. What is my concern is a guy using the ladies room that my nieces use!
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TOM DONNEEMay 31, 2023 at 05:55Report
Agree Phil. Well done Mike!! Waiting for my daughter to come out of surgery. Then we’ll stop for a cold one, think I’ll make it a Bud Lite!!!
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Philip BroseMay 30, 2023 at 16:59Report
Mr. DiMauro is always thoughtful and intelligent. The best writer at the day. Give the guy a raise.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and Blockchain programming are two of the most exciting and transformative technologies of our time. While they are often seen as separate and distinct technologies, there is growing interest in exploring their potential synergies and how they can be used together to create new opportunities and solve complex problems.
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How AI and blockchain work together

AI and blockchain are two transformative technologies that can work together to create new opportunities and solve complex problems. The connection of AI with blockchain can be used to create a new generation of intelligent applications that are secure, transparent, and decentralized.
One area where AI and blockchain can work together is in the analysis of blockchain data. AI algorithms could be used to analyze blockchain data and identify patterns or anomalies that could indicate fraud or other criminal activity. This would enable organizations to detect and prevent fraudulent transactions in a more efficient and effective way.
Another area where AI and blockchain can work together is in the development of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). These are organizations that are governed by smart contracts on a blockchain and are designed to operate without centralized control. AI can be used to create smart contracts that are more intelligent and responsive, enabling DAOs to operate more efficiently and effectively.
AI can also be used to improve the security and privacy of blockchain networks. For example, AI algorithms could be used to detect and prevent attacks on the network, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks or Sybil attacks. Additionally, AI could be used to create more sophisticated and secure mechanisms for identity verification and access control on blockchain networks.
Overall, the connection of AI with blockchain has the potential to create new opportunities and solve complex problems by combining the power of two transformative technologies. As research and development in this area continue to advance, we can expect to see many exciting new applications and use cases emerge.

Benefits of combining AI and blockchain

There are many potential benefits to combining AI and blockchain, including:

1. Improved security and privacy: Combining AI and blockchain can lead to more secure and private systems. AI algorithms can be used to detect and prevent attacks on blockchain networks, and blockchain can provide a secure and transparent environment for AI models to operate in.
2. Increased efficiency and transparency: AI and blockchain can work together to create more efficient and transparent systems. For example, AI algorithms can be used to analyze blockchain data and identify patterns or anomalies, enabling organizations to detect and prevent fraudulent transactions more quickly and effectively.
3. Decentralization and trust: Blockchain provides a decentralized and transparent system for storing and transferring information and value. When combined with AI, this can lead to more trustworthy and autonomous systems, such as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
4. Better decision-making: AI algorithms can analyze and interpret large amounts of data in real-time, enabling organizations to make better decisions and respond more quickly to changing conditions. When combined with blockchain, this can lead to more accurate and reliable decision-making, as well as increased automation and efficiency.
5. New business models and opportunities: The combination of AI and blockchain can enable new business models and opportunities that were previously not possible. For example, DAOs can be used to create decentralized platforms for sharing resources, while AI algorithms can be used to optimize resource allocation and usage.

Overall, combining AI and blockchain has the potential to create new opportunities, improve efficiency and transparency, and increase security and trust in a wide range of industries and applications.

Use cases of AI and blockchain

There are many potential use cases for combining AI and blockchain, including:

1. Fraud detection and prevention: AI algorithms can analyze blockchain data to detect patterns or anomalies that could indicate fraudulent activity. Blockchain provides a secure and transparent environment for storing and transferring data, enabling organizations to detect and prevent fraud more quickly and effectively.
2. Supply chain management: Blockchain can be used to create a transparent and secure system for tracking the provenance of goods throughout the supply chain. AI algorithms can be used to analyze the data in the blockchain to identify inefficiencies, optimize resource usage, and improve overall supply chain performance.
3. Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs): DAOs are organizations that are governed by smart contracts on a blockchain and are designed to operate without centralized control. AI can be used to create more intelligent and responsive smart contracts, enabling DAOs to operate more efficiently and effectively.
4. Identity verification: Blockchain can be used to create a secure and decentralized system for identity verification. AI algorithms can be used to analyze biometric data and other information to verify identities and prevent fraud.
5. Healthcare: Blockchain can be used to create a secure and transparent system for storing and sharing medical data. AI algorithms can be used to analyze this data to identify patterns and develop predictive models for disease diagnosis and treatment.
6. Energy management: Blockchain can be used to create a decentralized and transparent system for managing energy resources. AI algorithms can be used to optimize energy usage, predict demand, and improve overall energy efficiency.

Overall, there are many potential use cases for combining AI and blockchain, and as research and development in this area continue to advance, we can expect to see many new and innovative applications emerge.

Challenges and limitations of AI and blockchain integration

While the combination of AI and blockchain has many potential benefits, there are also several challenges and limitations to consider, including:

1. Scalability: Both AI and blockchain require significant computational resources, which can make scaling up these systems challenging. As the size of the blockchain network or the complexity of the AI algorithms increases, it can become difficult to process and analyze data in real-time.
2. Energy consumption: Both AI and blockchain require significant amounts of energy to operate, which can be a concern from an environmental and economic standpoint. As the use of these technologies grows, there is a need to develop more energy-efficient solutions.
3. Data privacy: While blockchain provides a secure and transparent system for storing and transferring data, there are concerns about the privacy of personal and sensitive information. As AI algorithms become more sophisticated, there is a risk that they could be used to identify individuals or reveal sensitive information.
4. Regulatory frameworks: The use of AI and blockchain raises many regulatory and legal questions, particularly around issues such as data privacy, intellectual property, and liability. As these technologies continue to evolve, there is a need for clear guidelines and regulations to ensure that they are used in a responsible and ethical way.
5. Integration challenges: Integrating AI and blockchain can be complex and require specialized expertise in both areas. As such, there may be challenges in finding skilled professionals who can work effectively across both domains.

Overall, while the combination of AI and blockchain has many potential benefits, it is important to consider these challenges and limitations when developing and deploying these systems. By addressing these issues, we can ensure that AI and blockchain are used in a responsible and effective way that benefits society as a whole.

Future implications of AI and blockchain

The combination of AI and blockchain has the potential to transform many industries and create new opportunities and challenges. Here are some potential future implications of this technology:

1. Decentralization and autonomy: The combination of AI and blockchain could lead to the development of more decentralized and autonomous systems. For example, DAOs could become more intelligent and responsive, enabling them to operate more effectively without the need for centralized control.
2. Improved efficiency and transparency: AI and blockchain could be used to create more efficient and transparent systems in a variety of industries. For example, supply chain management could become more efficient and transparent, and fraud detection and prevention could become more effective.
3. New business models and opportunities: The combination of AI and blockchain could create new business models and opportunities that were previously not possible. For example, DAOs could be used to create decentralized platforms for sharing resources, while AI algorithms could be used to optimize resource allocation and usage.
4. Ethical and regulatory challenges: The development and deployment of AI and blockchain raise many ethical and regulatory challenges. As these technologies become more powerful and autonomous, there is a need for clear guidelines and regulations to ensure that they are used in a responsible and ethical way.
5. Integration with other emerging technologies: The combination of AI and blockchain could be integrated with other emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G networks, creating new opportunities and challenges for innovation and growth.

Overall, the future implications of AI and blockchain are far-reaching and complex. As these technologies continue to evolve, it will be important to consider their potential benefits and challenges, and to ensure that they are used in a responsible and ethical way to benefit society as a whole.

Companies using AI and blockchain technology

There are many companies that are using AI and blockchain technology in innovative ways. Here are some examples:

1. IBM: IBM is a leader in both AI and blockchain technology, and has developed many solutions that combine the two. For example, IBM Watson is an AI platform that can be integrated with blockchain to create more intelligent and secure systems.
2. Microsoft: Microsoft is also actively working on developing solutions that combine AI and blockchain. For example, Microsoft Azure offers a blockchain service that can be used to build and deploy blockchain applications, and Microsoft AI is a suite of tools and services that can be used to develop and deploy AI models.
3. Google: Google is using AI and blockchain in a variety of ways, including for fraud detection and prevention. For example, Google's DeepMind AI platform has been used to develop blockchain-based systems for detecting fraudulent transactions.
4. Tesla: Tesla is using AI and blockchain technology in its self-driving car system. The system uses AI algorithms to analyze data from sensors and cameras, and the data is stored on a blockchain to ensure security and transparency.
5. Maersk: Maersk, the world's largest shipping company, is using blockchain and AI to create more efficient and transparent supply chain management systems. The company has developed a blockchain platform called TradeLens that uses AI algorithms to analyze supply chain data and optimize resource usage.

Overall, there are many companies that are using AI and blockchain technology in innovative ways, and as these technologies continue to evolve, we can expect to see many new and exciting applications emerge.

I wanted to talk about something that has been on my mind regarding the Nepali army: its size and purpose. It's something that often leaves me wondering about the allocation of resources and the effectiveness of our military strategy.
Consider this: Nepal has a population of around 30 million ( 3 Crore) people, and we have an army of approximately 100,000 personnel. While it's important to have a capable defense force to safeguard our nation, we need to question the practicality of such a large army.
Let's face it: we cannot realistically go to war with our neighboring countries like India or China. The scale and power disparity make it impractical and potentially catastrophic for us. So, what is the use of maintaining an army of this size?
Don't get me wrong, I understand the need for a well-trained and disciplined army to maintain internal security, and provide disaster relief. However, the sheer number of personnel and the associated costs raise concerns about resource allocation and the impact on our economy.
You know, one thing that bothers me is the retirement benefits for army personnel. They can join the army at a young age, like 16, and retire by the time they're 32. And guess what? They get a pension until they die, and even after that, their spouses keep receiving it. It's great for them, of course, but it puts a lot of financial pressure on the government.
Moreover, it's not just the army that raises eyebrows. We also have the Armed Police Force (APF) with around 60,000 personnel. Again, the question arises: why do we need such a large organization in a country that is deep in poverty?
What's even more concerning is the reports and rumors that many army personnel end up working as personal servants in the houses of senior officers. This misuse of our army's capabilities and manpower is disheartening. Instead of serving the nation, they are serving the personal needs of a few individuals. This raises questions about fairness, transparency, and the proper utilization of our valuable resources. As a citizen, it's disheartening to see our country struggling to provide basic services and improve the living conditions of our people, while a significant portion of our resources is directed towards maintaining these forces. The money spent on the army and APF could be channeled into initiatives that directly benefit our citizens, such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, and poverty alleviation programs.
I believe it's high time for our government to critically evaluate the necessity and cost-effectiveness of our defense forces. We should focus on creating a leaner, more efficient structure that aligns with our country's needs and economic realities. By doing so, we can redirect resources towards uplifting the lives of our people and driving sustainable development. I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter. What do you think about the size and purpose of our army and the Armed Police Force?
Let's save Nepal from this Army Burden !!!

"One girl I knew, who was a good person, got lured into SGI, and was really into it. She ended up getting sick, and refused a lot of early medical treatment, as she thought she could get healed by Chanting. Didn't work, she got worse and worse. Then she finally got into medical treatments, too late, and literally had hundreds of people Chanting for her to heal. She died, and left behind her kids. They don't tell those anecdotes, those who have hundreds of SGI followers Chanting for them, and die a pretty horrible death in a few months."
Well that has been the way of things for years! - and when things go wrong and people lose out, lose their lives, livelihoods, homes and even their sanity that ain't going to get reported cos anything that might make it appear that SGI bubble of faith and Daimoku to gain anything, to have any prayer answered, and to have all earthly desires fulfilled... might burst, well that might have people thinking and questioning and leaving in droves. I recall Dick Causton saying that folks should remember that all prayers will be answered and that the answer will sometimes be NO! It's funny how common sense goes out the window when folks are told to chant and seem to end up in the world of rapture and can't see anything other than Fluffy Bunny Buddhism, forgetting that In Rapture the bubble bursts ever so quickly and can drop you on your ass!
I have seen exactly this pattern of denial of ill health and subsequent death with loads of folks chanting for a miracle many times! It's like the SGI Italy members setting up Gohonzons next to TV sets so that they could chant and watch the soccer world cup final in 1994 and chant for Roberto Baggio to score the winning goal for Italy and QED prove that Nichiren Buddhism had some form on Mystical Power over the result. Some may recall that the final went to a penalty shoot out and Italy Lost with Baggio missing his penalty and loosing Italy the world Cup! In Italy I also saw Benefit Junkies organizing Daimoku Tozos to chant to have a miracle when some one was found to be in end stage cancer after they had refused to consult doctors and just sat home chanting. The mass search for Benefits was staggering with literally tens of thousands of folks in concerted tozos all demanding proof from someone who had already set up their own death.... and after they died many being very callous and stating that they died because they lacked faith and in any case all that daimoku was going to be of great benefit and they were just waiting for their personal payout in the shares and from their investment in Daimoku Inc!
It's sad that supposed leaders (in reality folks who have been told that they are "Leaders" with no quality control and then make it up as they go along ) go about telling folks that they just need to chant whilst their leg is half cut off and they are bleeding to death. Some will find such actions and ideas impossible to accept as occurring within SGI but to those who have seen them they are unforgettable. Even leaders have not been immune from such aberrant attitudes and behaviors and as a result have died - with some referring to it as Suicide by Daimoku!
I recall one set of events where some leaders (who I repeatedly referred to as "Persons With A Responsibility - Formally referred to as Leaders") went well beyond the limits and caused havoc for a number of people. A New Member showed Up who was quite a wealthy Business Woman - She had a number of businesses some of which she wanted to sell. This Woman started to hawk these businesses about to SGI members and the local leadership first allowed it and then encouraged it. Certain members who were having major personal problems with everything from marriage to debt were encouraged to buy businesses from her, which some foolishly did. Anyone who spoke out about this was immediately labelled as a breaker of unity and totally against Nichiren and the SGI.
Folks went out and borrowed money, put their houses up as collateral and bought into the Leaders ongoing views that all that had to be done was chant more and more and evidently as this woman was selling businesses to SGI members whilst she herself was becoming a member the whole thing was perfect and universally ordained.
One family asked me for advice about buying a Food Outlet - It appeared to me a gold mine as it was within about 100 metres of a new shopping complex that was under construction. The Only Down side was it was on the wrong side of the road, a very busy road and there were vacant shop units better placed to provide the service on the other side of the road. The family was advised to get a commercial lawyer to draft a full contract including clauses that prevented the woman from starting a similar business within 1000 meters of the original business for 5 years, that full disclosure of accounts were to be made and that specific contracts as to the building, it's contents, and maintenance would also be made as the woman was selling the business but retaining ownership of the building. All of the advice was ignored and they just went ahead and bought the business, lease on the building, and started to sell food as hard as possible. When they were asked why they had not undertaken the most basic of actions and set up the most basic of protections for a commercial venture they explained that when they had raised these issues with leaders they had been told that such actions would simply show that they lacked faith and they were better off chanting and having faith than consulting a lawyer or spending time and money on legally enforceable contracts.
A few weeks after they were tied in with their house on the line the woman opened a new food outlet across the road and the customer numbers dropped to virtually Zero. They objected and were told there was nothing they could do.. and then they went bankrupt and lost the business, their home and just about everything they had. Throughout, the leaders were 100% supporting this woman in disposing of business to SGI members and of the members buying these businesses and yet these leaders had zero knowledge or experience in commercial trading, contracts and business management. When this was raised as an issue that should bar them from being involved in any way with anyone who was entering into a business situation they responded that they did not need anything other than Daimoku and Faith. They were also a little pissed off when they were asked to explain why they had not taken up one of these business opportunities if all that was required was Daimoku and Faith and they were unable to answer.
I also recall working on an exhibition in Italy between SGI and The Italian Committee for Refugees. The Exhibition dealt with Yugoslavia and the breakup and Genocide. I had been asked to design and build the exhibition so that it could tour Italy. The First place on the tour was Venice and the transport co-ordinator could not understand that we were obliged to hire a boat to transport the exhibition from mainland Italy to then venue in the heart of Venice. Their view was that all of the parts of the exhibition, some over two metres long and very heavy would be carried on foot across a causeway and through Venice and this was great opportunity for members to be involved in activities. When it was pointed out that first it was illegal to do this, second dangerous to have literally hundreds of people handling unfamiliar equipment and that it was also highly likely that the exhibition itself would be damaged - well that was met with incredulity at the idea that hundreds of SGI members chanting and holding Tozos for the exhibition would not protect it and even not be needed or welcome. It was odd that they just could not get it that legally it was not possible and that it had to be done in line with the law of the land. Oddly when the leader of this aberration was questioned as to whether they had car insurance or if they just chanted to not need it they were shocked and stated of course I have car insurance - That's the law! It would seem that when folks decide that they are to do something so that they can get their quota of benefits they hate having it pointed out to them that they can't just ignore reality and hope for the best!
That so much odd behavior makes it appear that SGI is a Cult - or at best filled with individuals who seem programmed to exhibit cult Like behavior - one has to wonder why SGI in all it's forms does not advise against such aberration and even protect people from it internally!
For some they will simply invent Nichiren Buddhism in their own image, to service their own needs and to fill massive gaps that exist in their own minds and lives. What I have seen when this occurs is evil. Having reported the situations and what is occurring to national leaders/employees of SGI, I was not too surprised that the aberrations verging on mental instability are supported. Anyone questioning one with the title of leader is seen as evil and shunned! It would seem that SGI is an organization that is programmed to self destruct under the mental aberrations of its employees and top leaders. It would also seem that their dogma will eventually be run over by their karma and one has to wonder how they will react when this happens - will they seek first aid and medical attention or simply lie on their backs and chant as they discorporate." -- Robert