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therealcocoshady · 15 days

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Hi coco , I don’t know if your still doing requests if not juts by past this .

Fem reader x Marshall

Reader is some sort of celebrity and her and Marshall’s sex tape gets leaked

SECRETS OUT - ONE SHOT

Eminem x Celebrity Reader

Author’s note : Thank you so much for your request. I Hope you like it ❤️. I thoroughly enjoyed writing one shots and HCs so if you have requests, feel free to send them to me in my Ask.

Synopsis : You’re a prominent influencer, having a secret relationship with Em for years. None of you intend on making it public… until your sextape gets leaked.

When you started dating Marshall, the two of you had a serious talk about how important it was to him that your relationship remained private. He knew that you shared a lot of your life online - hell, it was kind of your job as an influencer - and respected it, but he was adamant about not being featured on your social media accounts and YouTube channel. You respected his wish. To be honest, you were a little relieved : your last relationship had ended because of public scrutiny and you didn’t want history to repeat itself. Especially since the person you were dating was a megastar. No offense to your ex, who was still a very successful influencer, but next to Marshall Mathers, he was chopped liver. If publicly dating someone with ten million YouTube followers was hard, you couldn’t imagine how it would be if everyone knew you were dating Eminem.

You actually did a good job at keeping your followers and his fans in the dark about your relationship. To everyone, the both of you were single and, even though they were rumours about the two of you dating other public figures, you had never been linked together. No one expected you, a twenty-something fashion and beauty influencer to date Eminem. From the looks of it, you didn’t have much in common and didn’t run in the same circles.

So your relationship flew under the radar for years and you even managed to get married without the public knowing. You had the most beautiful wedding, held in a secluded location with only your closest friends, with a lot of logistics and NDAs involved. Everyone joked that you had to be the only influencer who didn’t share the most important day of their life on social media. Especially when the wedding was so insta-worthy. A few years ago, you would have been a little bummed about it, but being with Marshall kept you grounded and reminded you that not everything was meant to be shared online. If anything, the secrecy of your wedding and the « no phones or camera allowed » rule allowed everyone to enjoy the moment instead of focusing on filming it or snapping pictures of their plates or outfit. That didn’t mean there were no pictures taken though. The only person who immortalised the wedding was the photographer and, though guests were sent the pictures, they were asked not to share, and everyone respected your wishes.

Just because the two of you didn’t share pictures online didn’t mean you didn’t take plenty. In fact, your phones were full of cute selfies of the two of you. At the beginning of your relationship, he often made fun of your habit to try and immortalise moments, but he ended up getting into it. When the two of you met, he was still using an old BlackBerry and took the crappiest selfies, but you managed to turn him into the perfect Instagram husband. In fact, he was the one who helped you do your daily outfit posts and he was more than decent at telling you how you should pose. And if he was a bit judgy of influencers at first, he had come to understand your line of work and your love of fashion. He was extremely supportive of every thing you did and his eyes were gleaming with adoration when he was watching you film your videos, though he still liked to tease you.

One evening, during your honeymoon, you found him filming himself in the mirror as you walked out of the bathroom in your finest, sluttiest lingerie.

- What are you doing ? You giggled.

- Immortalising the outfit. So, it’s simple, the boxers are Givenchy, fall collection… care to share yours ? He chuckled as he pointed the phone to you.

- So tonight, I’m wearing a gorgeous Dita Von Teese set, you said as you posed and played along. We have this gorgeous corset, and the panties are amazing, too…

- Turn around and show the back, babe, he instructed. You’re gorgeous.

This became a little game that you played during the whole honeymoon. Each night, Marshall filmed you in your lingerie, under the pretense that he wanted to remember your honeymoon as vividly as possible. This made you laugh and you let him. It started as « innocent » « outfit of the night » videos but, on occasion, you both felt frisky and ended up filming a literal sex tape, or rather a series of them. Nothing especially elaborate, just one of you holding the phone while doing the deed, just for laughs. You didn’t even watch them after or think about it. It was really just the two of you clowning around, making fun of your own IG account and enjoying your honeymoon. Once you got back home, you didn’t keep it going and eventually came to forget there were videos of you and Marshall having sex on his phone. Until the videos were leaked, that is.

You had been married for about six months and enjoyed your weekly brunch with Marshall’s daughters when they suddenly went silent, after Stevie showed her sisters something on her phone.

- Oh my God, I’m going to puke, Stevie said.

- Girls, no phone at the table, Marshall groaned.

- Have you guys… seen the news ? Hailie asked.

- What news ? You asked back, a tad confused.

- The Pistons headline, Alaina said.

- What’s wrong with the team ? Marshall asked with a raised eyebrow.

The girls frowned and stayed silent for a second before handing the phone to the two of you. There was an article about you and Marshall, soberly titled : « Detroit’s ultimate Piston : Eminem sextape leaked (featuring influencer Y/N ». The headline was enough to make you want to die. The article wasn’t much better. It commented on the videos and showed a few screenshots of tweets reacting to the leak such as « Bro can’t take a decent selfie but you can trust him to point the camera at his dick correctly 👀 » or « Damn. He’s 51 but Y/N’s the one who’s gonna need hip replacement surgery with these trusts 💀». You and Marshall stared at each other while the girls were looking at you. You felt humiliated. Not only were the videos leaked online, you were confronted by your step-daughters - though they were old enough to be your sisters - about it. You looked down, absolutely mortified.

- Don’t watch these, Marshall told his daughters.

- Like we’d want to see that, Stevie pointed out.

- Really, guys, a sextape ? Alaina asked. Dad, you’re 51 !

- I’m going to be sick, you said as you left the table and headed to your room.

You heard Marshall calling your name but there was absolutely no way you could face anyone right now. Once you were alone, you anxiously checked your phone. Of course, everyone was in a frenzy. Your manager was texting you and your social media accounts were flooded. Both in the comments and your DMs, people were going crazy and talking about the videos. You already had a huge following, but it was something else entirely. You immediately called your manager, who was beyond pissed. Apparently, some brands you collaborated threatened to sever their ties with you. Of course, you getting rammed on video didn’t really fit in with your usual good girl image and it wouldn’t be a good look for them. Now, not only were you ashamed but you were also terrified. You had worked too hard for your career to crumble that easily.

- What should I do ? You anxiously asked.

- For now, nothing, she said. I’m going to consult with a few people to see what we can do for damage control. Though if I were you I’d get ready to film an apology video.

- I didn’t do anything wrong, you pointed out. These videos were not meant to be shared.

- You know how it is, Y/N. I’ll get back to you ASAP.

- Thanks, you said sheepishly. Talk to you soon.

When you hung up, you couldn’t resist the temptation to go and check other articles. Obviously, news traveled fast and you were now a trending subject. Marshall being the more famous of the two of you, his name was on every headline but, from the looks of it, you were the one whose reputation was suffering the most. While everybody seemed to praise his performance - and impressive physique - you were deemed a slut by the Internet. Even worse, some people were already making memes with your face and some rappers beefing with Marshall were reposting them. You had always been a « glass half-full » type of person but you literally wanted to die. In a flash, it seemed like you could kiss your career and reputation goodbye.

After about an hour, Marshall joined you in the bedroom and took you in his arms while you were sobbing.

- Hey, he said sheepishly.

- I-I’m sorry, you said. But I can’t go and face your daughters. I just can’t. I can’t face anyone right now, I-I…

- It’s fine, he replied before kissing your forehead. I sent them home.

- Im sorry, you said. I know how much family brunch means to you…

- As it turns out, having your kids lecture you about your leaked sextape isn’t as fun as people make it out to be, he said sarcastically.

You couldn’t help but chortle. Even in this type of dramatic situations, you could always count on Marshall’s dry humor. He placed another kiss on your forehead and wiped your tears with his thumbs.

- We’ll be fine, he said reassuringly. Don’t worry, babe.

- Why aren’t you freaking out ? You asked. You should be freaking out.

- Oh, I’m freaking out, he said. I mean, I’m livid. But on a practical level, I know people will forget about it eventually, you know.

- Easy for you to say, you pointed out. The Internet is raving about the size of your dick and commenting about how in shape you are for an older dude… meanwhile, people are calling me a slut.

- You’re not a slut, he said as he rolled his eyes.

- Tell that to the thousand of people calling me a rapper groupie or whatever that is, you groaned.

- Doesn’t matter, he shrugged. We both know that’s not true. You’re not a groupie, you’re my wife.

- Well I’m about to be a stay at home wife, you said with tears in your eyes. I had my agent on the phone and sponsors are already breaking contracts… I-I’m losing everything, Marshall…

The tears started streaming down again. Mentioning the situation out loud was upsetting, it only meant it was real. You were really on the verge of losing everything. Your husband knew better than anyone how much your career meant to you, the work you put in and everything you had invested to be successful. To you, it wasn’t just a job : it was your dream. You had always tried your best to have a pristine reputation as an influencer and stay out of drama but now, people were looking down on you and calling you names. And you dreaded the perspective of doing an apology video. It was humiliating. In most recent years, you had focused your content on beauty and fashion instead of your private life but now, it was up for public consumption. Marshall held you tight as you told him about the comments you received and how sad you were about losing collaborations you were looking forward to.

- You don’t need these people’s money, he said.

- You know it’s not a matter of money, you replied curtly. It’s never only been about money. It’s more than that.

- I know, he said. But look, these videos were stolen from us. And if these brands who put that much effort into building a so-called relationship with you drop you easily, it’s not worth it. They should be sending you flowers and publicly supporting you.

- You know that’s not how it works, you sighed.

- All I’m saying is that it’s unfair, he said. And I’m sorry you’re going through this. But I know you. You’re strong and you’re resilient. And your followers love you. You’re not going to lose your career over this.

- I’ll do my best, you shrugged. My agency wants me to film an apology video.

- Are they serious ? He groaned. You don’t have to apologise for shit. These videos were fucking stolen, Y/N !!!

He was clearly mad. Funnily enough, he seemed more angry over the unfairness of the situation than the fact that everyone could see him having sex on video. But then again, it probably had something to do with his reputation being pretty intact. Sure, that would probably earn him a few lines in diss tracks people might be tempted to put out, but there wasn’t much to be ashamed of, as far as he was concerned. First of all, the videos clearly made a good job of shutting down rumours about his size, and he still came across as someone who had sex. On the other hand, you were more visible on the videos and earning a reputation of an easy and slutty influencer, hungry for fame. Typical double standard. You cursed whoever had managed to steal these videos. And deep down, you were mad that they had been so easily stolen.

- Why were they stolen in the first place ? You groaned.

- What ? He asked. You know how it is… people’s phones get hacked all the fucking time. Whoever did that was probably hoping to get their hands on new music. Joke’s on them, though. We only function with CDs to avoid this type of leaks.

- Joke’s on them ?! You almost yelled. The joke is on me !!! I couldn’t care less about your CDs. No offense but I’d rather have your album leaked than my career ruined, Marshall !!!

- Sorry, he said as he nervously scratched his beard. Poor choice of word. Of course it’s worse. What I mean is… hacks happen all the time. Every month there’s a new story about a celebrity’s phone or computer or cloud being hacked.

- And I’m usually over here, making fun about people who don’t know how to protect their data, you said as you rolled your eyes. The most basic thing to do is to at least put this type of photos in a folder that requires double authentication.

- Double what ?

He looked at you with big eyes. Of course, he had no idea what you were talking about. « That’s what you get for marrying a dummy when it comes to technology », you thought. You didn’t want to get mad at him, but you were pissed. You rolled your eyes at him and let your head fall on the pillow.

- I have to go and call Paul, he said. We’re both going to have to do damage control. But we’ll be fine, I promise you.

- Mmmmh, you groaned.

- I’ll do my best to find whoever did that and sue their ass, he assured you. And whoever shares these videos, too. When we got married, I swore I would protect you and you best believe I’m making good on that.

- Thanks, you said sheepishly.

The following couple of days were especially tough. News had obviously traveled fast and everyone in your life knew about the videos. You thought facing Hailie, Alaina and Stevie was hard, but FaceTiming with your parents was even harder. You could tell they were disappointed, and mostly worried for you. Both of your management teams were trying to find the best way to get through it. Unfortunately, crisis management wasn’t the same for a rapper as it was for an influencer. Marshall’s team advised him to stay silent while yours was almost begging you to address the elephant in the room, preferably with your husband, who was an ogre about it.

- I’m not appearing in your damn apology video, he groaned. It’s stupid enough that you have to do one of these.

- I have to do what’s best for my career, you pleaded.

- You always said these videos were disingenuous, he pointed out.

- Well, yes, but what am I going to do ? You groaned. Disappear and kiss my career goodbye ? And I’m not you, Marshall. I can’t just ignore it and go back to posting videos as if nothing happened.

He hummed and you kept talking about it, trying to come up with a solution. You weren’t thrilled about the idea of addressing the situation and he was right : you had nothing to apologise for. And he was fully against the idea of standing next to you like a First Lady while you filmed something so silly. Of course, it turned into an argument. There was only so much pressure you could take. And you knew Marshall was doing his best and keeping in touch with his lawyers, but you were mad that he wouldn’t support you publicly.

- I’m asking you to stand next to me for a damn video, that’s all, you sighed. I’m not asking for the moon, here. You don’t even have to say anything.

- Then what’s the point in me being here at all ? He shrugged. We agreed that I would be kept out of your content, Y/N. That was clear from the start.

- Because everyone thinks I’m a whore ! You yelled. I was fine with people not knowing about us, but I am not fine with people calling me a rapper whore. And I am not fine with my husband not supporting me. You said we were a team ! You promised to care for me and protect me for the rest of our lives. Or were these vows just words to you ?!?!

You knew he would be pissed off by your words. He had always made it clear that his vows were absolutely serious and solemn. And you knew for a fact that he had put a lot of heart and thought into writing them. He didn’t say anything, just sighed and left the room. Obviously, you both needed to take time off because this escalated into an argument. You groaned and stayed in the bedroom, which you had barely left since the videos had leaked.

A couple of hours later, you went downstairs and found Marshall watching some boxing match on TV.

- Hey, you said sheepishly.

- Hey, he simply said.

- Look, I’m sorry, I…, you began.

- Don’t sweat it, he shrugged as he gestured for you to come sit on his lap.

You sat on him and watched with him in silence, enjoying the sensation of his arms wrapped around your waist. When the match ended, he turned off TV and smiled at you.

- I took care of things, he said.

- You did ? You asked.

- I did, he confirmed. You don’t need to film that stupid video.

- What did you do ? You asked with a raised eyebrow.

He seemed pretty sure of himself, proud even, and you tried hard not to show it, but you were still a bit doubtful.

- Check Instagram, he simply said as he handed you your phone.

You nervously checked your account. You were tagged in thousands of new posts. Only these weren’t posts of the sex videos. Your account was flooded with pictures of your wedding, posted by your friends and reposted by tons of fan accounts. Your closest influencer friends had posted the beautiful pictures of them with you at the wedding. Marshall’s friends had done the same : 50, Dre, Porter, Royce… everyone was posting about your nuptials. The most beautiful shot was the one shared by Marshall on his account : a gorgeous black and white shot of the two of you after the reception, holding hands and staring at the fireworks, captioned : « For better & for worse. Happy 6 months anniversary. ». Everyone was going absolutely crazy in the comments, not failing to show their surprise and mentioning that he was now following one account : yours. You looked at him, almost crying and took him in your arms.

- Oh my God, you said. I can’t believe you did this.

- Called in a few favors and asked our friends to post the wedding pictures, he said with a smile. I figured the Internet would focus on these rather than the videos. So far it seems to be working…

- You didn’t have to, you said emotionally. I know you wanted to keep the wedding a secret.

- I also wanted to keep our sex life secret, he chuckled. But I care more about you and supporting you. Now, everyone knows I have your back. Until death do us part. And if anyone dares come for you, I will end them. I promise.

- I love you, you said emotionally.

- I love you too, he replied before kissing you. I’m sorry I was grumpy about the whole thing. You were right, these vows were never meant to be just words. I want to put them in action.

You kissed him passionately and you both took a minute to enjoy the posts everyone made about your wedding, reminiscing about that special day.

- I’m happy I don’t have to make that stupid apology video, you confessed.

- Me too, he chuckled. I did make an apology though.

- You did ? You asked in surprise.

He showed you his IG story. A black screen with simple text - in true influencer fashion : « I want to take a minute to apologize about the videos that have been leaked. I am sorry if anyone was confused. They were misleading and I want to state that the boxers were actually not Givenchy but Calvin Klein. Sorry for the confusion. 👀». You chortled and kissed him.

- What ? That was the only thing worth an apology, he pointed out with a smile.

- You’re such a troll, you said as you playfully rolled your eyes.

You spent the following days in bliss, showered with love from both your followers and his fans. Everyone was going crazy about your wedding and, even though there were still mentions of the sextape, most of the attention was focused on your relationship. Both of your management teams were also happy to put the incident behind them, though now they had to deal with plenty of interview requests. However, you agreed that even though your secret was out, nothing would really change. You slowly got back to business. Though nothing didn’t really change for Marshall - who was always in hermit mode in the studio - you had a lot of new followers and tons of collaboration requests. The sponsors who had been quick to drop you even came back and attempted to suck up to you, though you absolutely refused to work with them again. You were in your home office, reviewing partnership requests when you came across the biggest offer of your career : none other than Calvin Klein wanted you to be the new face of their underwear campaign, offering you a shit ton of money. It was the biggest opportunity you had ever received but you were a bit nervous when you mentioned it to your husband.

- What do you think ? You asked after you brought it up to him.

- I think we’ve established that you look good in underwear, he grinned.

- Yes but that would be banking on our sextape, our relationship… would it be ok with you ? You asked.

- I’ll cut you a deal : I’m ok with you doing that campaign if you’re ok with me using your moans as ad libs, he said with a smirk.

- You can’t be serious, you giggled as you rolled your eyes.

- What ? He chuckled. We’re partner in life, we might as well be business partners.

#eminem #marshall mathers #slim shady #eminem fanfiction #eminem x reader #eminem fluff #eminem imagine #marshall mathers x reader #marshall mathers imagine #Eminem one shot

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accio-victuuri · 1 year

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EXPLAINED : WANG YIBO IS DESPERATELY ILLITERATE???

On a normal day and considering what’s been going on for years & years, I wouldn’t want to address any negative press about Yibo. I would rather spread positive news and showcase his talents but i’m making an exception on this one. I am writing this as a Yibo fan who has watched a lot of his interviews and shows and feel like I have a good sense of what type of person he is. A fan who is sick and tired of people using the fact that he doesn’t have a college degree against him. There is really nothing that disgusts me more than those who feel superior just because they have a piece of paper. I accept people’s criticism of him but this is obviously beyond that so I wanna talk about it.

Sadly, he is at a disadvantage as casual people will only see a cut video or a certain post and will tend to run with it. add the fact that the general public don’t have much good point of view towards celebrities. I’m not going to discuss the alleged attack from yyxq’s side or the fan war going on cause that’s just too messy. and well, organized black propaganda is expected cause everyone can’t fuckin comprehend how Yibo is embarrassing everyone else with how good he is at acting and making money for companies that invest on him.

»»————-　　————-««

I thought this was gonna pass naturally but today “Beijing Youth Daily” shared the article called : can the desperate illiterate perform well?

The reason is that the lead actor of a Chinese New Year film was interviewed during a road show. When asked about his impressions of the work and the characters, he didn’t know what to do. Netizens dubbed him “desperately illiterate”.

This first paragraph clearly talks about WYB and the incident at one of HB’s roadshows. This is the whole article and it goes on to talk about literacy in terms of being an actor and all that, trying to make their article into a legitimate thinking piece. Take note that WYB is not the only one “mentioned” here but the title and the intro is about Yibo so he is at the center of it.

In fact, "illiteracy" in this context does not mean to engage in academic discrimination. We all know that there are specializations in the art industry, and the level of education and professional ability are not necessarily directly linked. The "illiterate actors" that everyone refers to often refer to those actors with low cultural reserves, empty heads, incomprehensible scripts, and incomprehensible characters.

This has been going around weeks ago but today, there were lots of verified accounts sharing it. I’m seeing talks of this is a fake account, organized verified entertainment accounts reposting or whatever, it doesn’t matter. the point is — this is out there. People have read it. Some have talked about it. I would have loved to see them actually name Yibo if they are really so brave, but I guess not really. They can only hide in their accounts like the cowards they truly are. This should come as no surprise, trending today of all days because it was officially announced that HB’s cinema run will be extended. Also that HB is at the #2 spot with only a meager 7% of the slots. It’s only a matter of time before HB overtakes everyone and that’s bad news for a lot of people. Also HB will be released in North America this week.

Coincidence? I think not. We all know what’s going on here. 💀💀💀

Now let’s see the Q&A portion that sparked this talk of illiteracy:

Q: In another time and space, if you met Mr. Ye, what would you say to him?

Wang Yibo: "Are you asking what will I say when I meet the character? First of all, I think this question is meaningless. I don't want to say anything, and we won't meet."

Q: Yibo, who is Mr. Ye in your mind? Do you think you shaped him and wanted to show him to the audience, what do you think is the most difficult thing about him?

Wang Yibo : In fact, I really don’t know how to answer this question ..

( He tries to answer this but the host and CE end up speaking in behalf of him )

As a Yibo fan, this kind of answer is not new to me. This is not the first person on a Q&A that Yibo has shut down if he doesn’t like to answer. He’s always been honest, sometimes, painfully so and may be misinterpreted by those who don’t know him. I can explain that he’s already tired of all the roadshows or the question itself was too much etc etc but as i said in the beginning, I CAN ACCEPT CRITICISM. I understand why certain people was put off by this answer. Especially if this your first exposure to him after hearing about Hidden Blade or watching it. There is nothing more that I wish for Yibo, than to be appreciated by the General Public and his popularity to extend to more than just his fans. I wanna say that this may be a learning experience for Yibo. This is his first roadshow experience. Promoting a movie is totally different from what he did with Dramas. He has two more movies, and I hope he will be more prepared. The Yibo i know and support will not be screaming and playing the victim because of this, he would learn from it and bounce back. He will be better.

What I can’t accept are the people who obviously are insulting his whole being because of this 1 thing. Don’t mind all the good things he said in other cities or other times — let’s just rally behind this and attack him. The thing is, they don’t have much negative things to say about his performance in the film or how it’s doing in the box office so they will find something to make him look bad. and this is it. It’s also too much to say that he is ILLITERATE. I don’t think someone who is illiterate can host, memorize/choreograph dances, memorize scripts, be considered a language genius, act scenes, understand directions from directors etc.

It’s so unfair cause there are people like Yibo who need time to articulate their thoughts. Or those who prefer to reply in shorter sentences. It doesn’t mean they are illiterate. they are not stupid. All the comments saying “of course he is, he didn’t graduate college..” not only on weibo but on international platforms. It’s always what they say. I wonder if they actually believe it and like how do you sleep at night with that poison in your head? It’s not like Yibo chose to not go to college cause he’s lazy. He had work to do. He had a career that will leave no time to focus on studying. He is clearly not stupid cause he got high marks while studying in Korea. It’s so ironic, especially those people in China who are saying this cause they know a college degree does not even guarantee them employment. Even a Tsinghua University graduate will end up as a tutor just to make ends meet. It’s the same thing all across the board — A College Diploma alone does not guarantee success. but of course people will just happily insult him and it’s fine, at the end of the day, Yibo is thriving and will continue to do so.

The next coming months, as BTF & One/Only gets released, expect more attacks. I hope we don’t get distracted and just let the positive be louder than the negative. 🙏🏼

To the people behind the scenes working to bring Yibo down, well, I hope they turn purple in anger cause this is only the start of his success.

#the way i avoided talking about it cause it makes me so mad and i know it’s a sore spot for yibo #and what makes me livid is i know he said so many good things in the roadshows but people only cared about this incident #wang yibo #personal

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lamarseillasie · 8 months

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Le Docteur Marat #02: Marat's clientele

Salut, citoyens! In the last issue of Le Docteur Marat, I spoke briefly about an important question that is often discussed when it comes to Marat's medical training. Today, I will talk about his clientele, as well as some anecdotes and medical experiences that Marat went through and which he recorded in correspondence and in some of his works.

First of all, I'd like to make it clear that I'm not fluent in English or French, so some of my translations may be subject to errors!

To find out who the clients of the then future Friend of the People were, we first need to understand his main specializations in the field of medicine. Apparently, according to Marat's own account in his Essay on gleets (1775), the first cure he must have performed on a patient was the effective treatment of a case of gleets, a painful and embarrassing manifestation of gonorrheal disease in a close friend of his, in 1769.

However, this may not have been Marat's first cure in life. An account by Joseph Farington, an English painter and member of the Royal Academy in London, for example, mentions that Marat "cured Bonomi, the architect, of serious problems two or three times". The time to which these accounts by Farington refer dates from 1775, although the accounts in question were made in 1793; they are therefore not 100% reliable, but there is no reason to doubt that Marat cured other people who were in his social circle at the time. It should be noted that in 1775, when he wrote the Essay on gleets, he was apparently in London, where he had gained influence and a certain popularity for his medical skills. The book's dedication indicates Church Street, Soho, where Marat may have lived at the time.

Furthermore, we know that Marat most likely began studying medicine when he was still quite young. Unfortunately, in the two medical essays he published in 1775-1776, he cites almost no dates that could provide us with exact information about the first definitive cure he performed on a patient.

On the other hand, these two works allow us to know, if Marat is to be believed, a little about his clientele at the time. He apparently had a reasonable clientele in 1770, and claims in his medical publications to have been the role of last resort for many patients. His patients were often "celebrated artists", travelers and people who could go to the best doctors before turning to him. What's more, Marat makes it clear that many of his patients are also his friends. Whether or not this was a personal advertising strategy, it shows that Marat did indeed have a well-heeled clientele. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is no reason to doubt the veracity of the cures he reported. The fact that none of the patients mentioned challenged him, that he lived at a relatively chic address in London and that he gained support and influence from his friends at the time - most of whom, it seems, were in fact artists - confirm that we can believe Marat.

These publications also reveal Marat's main medical specialties. It is undeniable that he was a great connoisseur of venereal diseases, judging by the entire content of the Essay on gleets. Another work, entitled An enquiry into the Nature, Cause, and Cure of Singular Disease of the Eyes, Hitherto Unknown, and yet Common, Produced by the Use of Certain Mercurial Preparations (1776), contains information about the cures Marat performed on patients with vision problems. Both works show that Marat had an excellent knowledge of physiology and that it was probably around this time that he carried out his first cures with the help of electrification.

It is possible that, according to the Enquiry, the first patient Marat cured of an eye disease was an eleven-year-old girl called Charlotte Blondel. Marat comments on this case on p. 34 of Reprint of Two Tracks:

To cure her, in order to check that Charlotte was progressing, Marat used a technique where he framed a scale, on which he marked the closest distance she could tell the time by means of a clock. The distance was twenty-eight inches. The treatment seems to have taken a long time, and at times Marat used electrification as a kind of stimulant for the eyes. At first, Charlotte's parents didn't accept Marat's use of electrification as part of the treatment, and he had to leave the case. Ten days later, however, he was called back and the cure was successful.

On Marat's interest in and methods of treating eye diseases, Clifford D. Conner, author of Jean-Paul Marat: Tribune of The French Revolution, comments as follows:

"Marat’s work on diseases of the eye, which grew out of and stimulated an interest in optics, was one of the paths that led him from medical practice to experimental physics. A recent study concludes that “for Marat ophthalmology had already become the combination of physiological optics, medicine, and ocular surgery that today still represents the three aspects of the specialty.” Marat’s “principal merit,” according to this study, was his opposition to the widespread use of mercury in treating eye problems. Marat’s “refusal to use this toxic substance” represented “good sense” on his part; the prestigious doctors of the Faculty of Medicine, by comparison, “did not play a very good role” in the controversy over this issue."

The study Conner is referring to in the text above can be found on p. 116 of Marat: homme de science? (1993) by Dr. Jean-François Lemaire. I don't have access to this book yet, but as soon as I have it, I intend to share any interesting content!

A few months after the publication of the Essay on gleets, Marat received his M.D degree from Andrews University in Scotland. The diploma was probably obtained, apart from other reasons, through recommendation, which is vital if we are to conclude that, during this "first moment" of Marat's medical career, where he was based in London, his clientele consisted mainly of his own friends or patients who were known to his friends, who turned to Marat on recommendation.

Marat's clientele changed considerably around 1776-1778, when he settled back in Paris. If previously his patients had been relatively well-off people, now his list would also include important and well-placed people, as Marat's reputation as a doctor grew rapidly. This was for a number of reasons, but mainly because of a specific cure performed by Marat on the influential marquise de L'Aubespine, who suffered from a kind of respiratory disease that many doctors said was impossible to cure. The case generated a certain amount of controversy when it was later published in the Gazette de Santé. A friend of Marat's at the time, l'abbé Filassier, was responsible for allowing Marat to comment on his medical procedures towards the marquise in the Gazette. Docteur Augustin Cabanés talks about this on p. 106 of Marat inconnu (1891):

"A disciple and coach of Marat, a botanist and chemist of questionable merit, but a physicist of undeniable merit, took up his pen to announce his master's triumph to the medical world. Under the signature of Abbé Fillassier, "member of several academies", the Gezette de Santé inserted a sort of invitation to Marat, urging him to make his own discovery. The abbot's exordium was very clever."

And then the text in question, written by Filassier for the Gazette:

"Five years earlier, the Marquise de L'Aubespine had been stricken with a lung disease which, as it worsened over time, was definitively considered incurable. Abandoned by all the doctors, the patient was on the verge of succumbing, when the intervention of one last doctor brought her back to health within a few weeks. Filled with gratitude for the doctor who brought her back from so far away, it is on his orders that I have the honor of writing to you, and she joins her pleas with mine to urge you, gentlemen, to spread the word about this amazing cure."

This is an excerpt from a letter, also written by Marat to the Gazette, in which he describes his healing techniques used in the Marquise's case:

"When Madame de L'Aubespine came to me, her cough was convulsive, continuous and accompanied by burning and tearing in her chest. To dissipate the inflammation, I used an emulsion of sweet almonds with nitro salt, as the patient's extreme weakness meant that bloodletting was not an option. After the inflammation subsided, which was fairly quickly, I examined the sputum, which I found to be very purulent. Stirred in water, the pus separated and rushed to the bottom of the vessel; as for the mucus that emerged, it was extremely viscous.

The lacerations of the chest were no longer felt, but the oppression was still excessive; I therefore thought that it was only the viscosity of the mucus, of which the lung was full, and I indicated to the patient the use of an artificial mineral water, from the acidulated waters of Harrowgate. The effect corresponded to what I had expected; soon the expectoration became easy, the cough subsided and the fever disappeared.

I continued to use this water for some time and purged the patient several times with polycrest salt. As a result, the lymph became more fluid, all the congested organs were cleared and regular flow was restored.

I replaced the mineral water with an infusion of Florence fennel. I added the internal use of quinquina extract, and the balsamic fumigations: first the yarrow, then the St. John's wort (millepertuis), then the melissa, and finally the Tolu balsam.

The expectoration was no longer considerable; it stopped being purulent, and the strength soon returned.

Finally, I prescribed the patient (every morning on an empty stomach) fifty drops of essence of ambergris in a glass of cow's milk; this was enough to complete the cure; the cough, the oppression and the expectoration ceased, and the patient regained her appearance, her freshness, her cheerfulness. Today, Madame de L'Aubespine's health is so good that she doesn't even need a diet."

Considering that at this time Marat had been employed as a doctor in the body of guards of Monsieur le Comte d'Artois - which he most likely achieved through the intermediary or at the very least the influence of the Marquise de L'Aubespine (niece of the Duke of Choiseul), who must have introduced Marat to these kinds of high circles - it is undeniable that he was right in the middle of the elite of Parisian medicine and could make a very comfortable living from his specialty. Apparently, he had quite a large clientele too.

However, his aristocratic clients weren't always happy with Docteur Marat's bill, as he was well aware of the type of clientele he had and therefore didn't hesitate to charge a relatively high price for his consultations. Two cases are known in which Marat's clients were dissatisfied: the first, much less serious or violent than the second, is highlighted in a letter written by the brother of the husband of one of his patients.

A lawyer living in Lyon, M. Roubaud, wrote to his brother, a medical student in Paris, to go to Dr. Marat, to get a consultation from him on the subject of his wife's illness. Marat then promptly writes a letter with a series of questions aimed at finding out about the patient's condition. This medical proscription was mentioned and attached in the last post, but since I managed to find it in better quality, I'll leave it here too:

Marat also makes some recommendations to ease the patient's suffering. The letter was published under the title of Marat médecin: une consultation inédite du docteur Marat, in Journal de Médecine de Paris, Dax frères & Thiron, Clermont, oct-nov 1907. It can also be found on pg. 130-131 of Marat inconnu.

However, Roubaud doesn't seem to have been very satisfied with the price of the consultation, and wrote the following in the postscript of a letter in reply to his brother:

"Mr. Marat seems a bit expensive to me; you pay twenty-four pounds for his consultations, and the little blotter I sent you cost me twelve."

But this is far from a serious case. The second person to clearly show his dissatisfaction was the Count of Zabielo. At the end of December 1777, Marat paid a visit to Madame Courtin, a patient who was being treated for a chest illness. When he arrived, he met the Count of Zabielo, a friend of Madame Courtin's, who made him go into a neighboring room where two men and a woman were already. Together, they began to strongly reprimand the doctor and cover him with violent blows. Marat's servant at the time, Nicolas Dumoulin, was with Marat when this happened, and was also beaten. The two managed to escape under the threats of the Count of Zabielo, who had promised to spread the word that Marat "killed his patients".

That same evening, Marat and Dumoulin opened a court case against Zabielo and his other attackers at the Châtelet. The process was coordinated mainly by Moreau, the king's prosecutor, and the commissioner Thiot.

Here is the certificate from the doctors who went to assess the abrasions suffered by Marat, with supporting documents and information. This document can be found in the Archives Nationales, Y/9864 and Y/13796. Other information about the case is told in more detail on pg. 500-510 of Marat inconnu:

Despite all this, it is quite wrong to assume that Marat was the only doctor who charged a lot for his services, or that he was the doctor who charged the most. Dr. Paul Delaunay, in his Le Monde médical Parisien au dix-huitième siècle (1906), for example, reports that other doctors with aristocratic clientele in the Ancien Régime, such as Dr. Antoine Portal, charged around twelve francs per visit and forty-eight francs per consultation.

One of Marat's most notorious and esteemed clients was undoubtedly Romé de l'Isle, a crystallographer. The two apparently met through one of Marat's close friends, Philippe Rouse Roume de Saint-Laurent, with whom he corresponded. Marat cured Romé of an eye disease in 1783 by means of electrification and, from then on, the two may have become good friends. In this letter that Marat wrote to Roume de Saint-Laurent on September 26, 1783 [pg.221], he tells his friend about his meeting with Romé:

"I shall have the happiness before my departure, my dear friend, of having restored sight by means of electricity to M. Romé de l'Isle, who had lost it 33 years ago, and the pleasure of having restored to society a man of talent. Your brother-in-law was threatened with an attack of paralysis, his tongue was already embarrassed, when I saw him at Madame de Saint-Laurent's, I urged him to come and see me, I only electrified him five or six times: and he is doing well."

Later, Romé proved to be a great supporter and respecter of Marat's academic and scientific work. In 1786, for example, he agreed to act as an intermediary between Marat and the Berlin Academy, apparently in a letter dated May 6 [p. 91]. In 1788, Romé also showed support for Marat's physical observations. The admiration is mutual, as Marat cites Romé as a "distinguished scholar" in the last letter of his Charlatans modernes (1791). I can't attach any more images to this post, but the excerpt where Marat quotes Romé is on p. 225:

"Where do you think they got this magnificent system from? They took it word for word from the treatise on weights and measures of the Ancients, published by Romé de Lisle, a distinguished sage, whose name they were zealous to silence, in order to plunder it with impunity after his death, after having persecuted him all his life."

From all this, it is possible to conclude that Doctor Marat's clientele was, at least for a good period of his life, essentially made up of wealthy and noble people, despite the fact that Marat himself was never really considered a nobleman. It is certainly ironic that, during the revolution, these people were constantly attacked by Marat (the Count d'Artois, for example). Despite the dissatisfaction of some of his clients about the prices he charged for consultations and the virulence of his opponents who tried to boycott his medical career, Marat undoubtedly shows himself to be a very competent clinician and a born observer. In the pre-revolutionary era, he often signed his letters with 'Le Docteur Marat', which changed after the revolution and especially after the founding of L'Ami du Peuple. However, even so, Dr. Marat did not cease to exist from 1789 onwards: sometimes Marat would sign his letters referring to himself as 'docteur en médecine', or also as 'Marat, docteur en médecine et l'ami du peuple'. In the future, I plan to write a post attaching some of the letters he signed like this.

That's how I end this post. Let me know if you have any questions about the sources used, and please feel free to send me an ask! :)

Vitam impendere vero.

* First of all, I beg your pardon if any information about the medical procedures is poorly explained or represented in the translations. I'm not a medical expert - I'm just completely fascinated by Marat's medicine, but I'm a long way from understanding anything about this area of knowledge.

* I've taken a lot of inspiration from the biographies of Olivier Coquard and Docteur Cabanés to write this post, and so I'm being careful to design them the credits for most of the things I've written and the information I've used! :)

#le docteur marat #marat #jean paul marat #frev #french revolution #my posts

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fatehbaz · 1 year

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There are three reasons why an international audience should care about the otherwise insignificant Canadian city of Thunder Bay, a community of 120,000 souls 100km North of the American border right in the middle of the world’s second most spacious nation-state.

The first is that, as Canada’s murder and hate-crime capital, with the vast majority of these terrors directed at Indigenous people, roughly 13-20 percent of the population, its example has a lot to teach us about the dire failure of the Canadian model of liberal capitalism, corporate multiculturalism, and half-hearted “reconciliation.”

Second, as a troubled (post-)extractive and logistics-based economy in a “first-world” country — a country that exports and finances extractive industries around the world — its patterns of racist violence reveal something profound about capitalism today.

Finally, Thunder Bay’s problems demand, and are generating, the kind of radical, grassroots solutions that point towards the kind of transformations all communities need to embrace in the years to come to overcome the dangerous intertwined orders of contemporary colonialism and capitalism [...].

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The isolation, the economic marginality, and the history of extraction and racial resentments all contribute to, but cannot completely explain, the staggering degree of racism in the city. [...] Like many police forces in Canada, officers in the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) have been known to drive Indigenous people out to the outskirts of town, take their shoes and coats, and leave them to walk back or freeze to death. Unlike most police forces in Canada, the TBPS has recently been found to be plagued with profound “systemic racism” by two independent and high-profile reports. [...] The real reason for the investigations was the deaths of seven Indigenous youth, most from remote Northern communities, most in the city to access high school education or medical services denied to them in their communities. [...]

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As scholars Damien Lee and Jana-Rae Yerxa note, many precedents stand behind these fears. Indigenous people end up dead in Thunder Bay at staggering rates. [...] Just before the most recent police reports were issued, the mayor (a former Police Association president), the police chief (a fool) and the city’s most successful lawyer (a convicted child molestor) were all implicated in a scandal involving a blend of sexual abuse, extortion, and breach of trust. [...]

Meanwhile, just as I moved to the city in early 2017, an Indigenous woman was fatally injured in the street when one of a gang of white teenagers out joyriding threw a heavy metal trailer hitch at her from their speeding car. It took her several agonizing months to die from her internal injuries. [...]

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The rank, racist and reactionary hypocrisy so common in Canada and in Thunder Bay is, unfortunately, often mistaken for merely a cultural anachronism, which can be solved through better public education, greater cultural sensitivity and more opportunities to celebrate diversity. This has, for instance, been the approach to the problems of racist policing in the city: another “cultural competency” workshop [...].

In spite of a great deal of rhetoric about “nation-to-nation” negotiations by the Trudeau government, it is profoundly clear, as Mi’Kmaq lawyer and professor Pam Palmater warns, that the State does not and cannot accept the idea that Indigenous people would be allowed to say “no” to, for instance, mines, forestry, corporate fishing or pipelines [...].

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To this day Canada is a key player in a global capitalist imperium that specializes in extractive industries and extractive forms of debt.

The Mining Association of Canada reports that “the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange accounted for 57 percent of the global mining equity raised in 2016.” As Alain Deneault and William Sacher have noted, Canada has historically structured its laws and commercial norms to empower the theft of indigenous lands to be violently transformed into “resources” for export, a specialization that is now itself exported around the world as Canadian-owned or -funded corporations are called upon to “develop” mines and extractive projects globally.

Every Canadian with savings is necessarily complicit: almost all pension funds, banks and other investment vehicles here are wrapped up in the TSX and therefore the extractive industry. Meanwhile, as Peter Hudson illustrates, Canada also has a long legacy of renovating national, municipal and personal debt into a tool of neocolonialism, notably in the Caribbean where Canadian banks have enjoyed profound influence, even monopolies. [...]

The ruling class and international capital, working hand in glove, have consistently used divide-and-conquer techniques to sew the seeds of racism that undermine solidarity. Thunder Bay is only a particularly poignant example, a place so small and marginalized that it cannot sustain the veneer of polite, civil, cheerful liberalism that is the country’s brand.

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Text by: Max Haiven. “The colonial secrets of Canada’s most racist city.” ROAR Magazine. 13 February 2019. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks added by me.]

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lockandkeyhyena · 3 months

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as someone who's JUST been raped again this whole story thing you have going on feels like a huge betrayal. sorry not sorry but rape culture already forgives abusers, ESPECIALLY if they're male, and your story contributes to normalizing abuse because "ohhh the rapist is just a little guy!! the rapist ALSO has feewings ohhhh they're sooooo sad they totally regret doing this guys". have you seen how the public response towards sa/csa allegations against celebrities usually goes? the VERY first thing people do is jump to the rapist's defense because they seem so normal, how could they? obviously the accuser is lying. your attempt to "humanize" your abuser oc is deeply insulting and though i do agree that punitive justice does more harm than good in the long run the thread of logic you're spinning wrt this situation more often than not culminates in villifying victims when they're caught venting — as if victims of other crimes (or their families) don't also do this and as if expressing anger inmediately turns us into monsters, you know? i would much, much rather an actual rape victim tackled this rather than someone who needs to do research on how it feels to be raped and is using a deeply traumatizing event as a fun little hypothetical in all honesty. boost our voices if you want but don't twist our experiences into... this.

my advice on what to do with the story: absolutely DON'T post it on this account because warriors has a huge pedo problem and they will jump on the opportunity to absolve themselves via your characters. if you really want to keep going make a sideblog with a different name and trigger tag your stuff appropiately. this is like, common practice regarding nsfw stuff

hey, you’ve just undergone an incredibly traumatising event and are feeling all your emotions very highly right now, i completely understand where you’re coming from but i have given every possible warning and and way for you to avoid seeing this content.

for your own personal mental health, i highly highly recommend you block me and avoid looking at my content if it’s going to trigger you so intensely. you shouldn’t be so attached to my online persona that me exploring different topics in my work feels as though a personal betrayal to you.

the pedophile problem in the warrior cats community is not something i am personally responsible for, nor is it something that i should have to curate my space to avoid. it is not my job to cater to the media illiteracy of potential viewers.

additionally, i don’t intend to, nor would i *ever* create nsfw content regarding such a story and the insinuation that i would is deeply upsetting. sexual assault should not be an adults only topic.

finally, i understand your feelings that this story may be better if told by an actual rape victim- and i don’t disagree, but several rape victims have offered their assistance with this project and volunteered personal anecdotes and advice for writing about it.

ultimately, i feel as though i am doing my very best to handle the story with tact and grace, and while i am not against criticism, i feel as though you haven’t offered substantive evidence of such towards me.

still, i appreciate you giving your feedback, and i hope you block me so as not to trigger you any further. apologies if any of this comes across as aggressive or patronising, it is not my intent.

#yeen rambles #ask #rape ment #csa ment #and listen. i get that it’s a luxury that i get to be calm in this situation. but i don’t think that i should be barred from exploring #topics i haven’t personally experienced in my art as long as i do it respectfully #alvin's infurno

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 10 months

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The walls of liberty.

July 5, 2023

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

JUL 4, 2023

Last week’s rulings from the Supreme Court continue to lead the news as the nation celebrates the 4th of July holiday. The Washington Post’s headline reads Biden faces renewed pressure to embrace Supreme Court overhaul. The details matter less than the fact that the notion of Supreme Court reform is the top story on a day when the Court issued no opinions. And the Supreme Court is top of mind for many readers, many of whom recommended articles and action items for other readers in yesterday’s Comment section. Chief among those recommendations was Rebecca Solnit’s exhortation in The Guardian, The US supreme court has dismantled our rights but we still believe in them. Now we must fight.

Solnit is a gifted writer who hit the mark in capturing the feelings of millions of Americans. She first addresses the feelings of anger and frustration about a Court that is out of control:

The first thing to remember about the damage done by the US supreme court this June and the June before is that each majority decision overturns a right that we had won. [¶] Each of those victories was hard-won, often by people who began when the rights and protections they sought seemed inconceivable, then unlikely, then remote, and so goes the road of profound change almost every time. [¶] To recognize the power of this change requires a historical memory. . . . Memory is a superpower, because memory of how these situations changed is a memory of our victories and our power. Each of these victories happened both through the specifics of campaigns to change legislation but also through changing the public imagination. The supreme court can dismantle the legislation but they cannot touch the beliefs and values.

In words that I wish I had written, Solnit urges us to action:

[H]istory shows us that when we come together with ferocious commitment to a shared goal we can be more powerful than institutions and governments. The right would like us to feel defeated and powerless. We can feel devastated and still feel powerful or find our power. This is not a time to quit. It’s a time to fight.

Other readers shared Jennifer Rubin’s op-ed in The Washington Post, Self-government is worth defending from an illegitimate Supreme Court.

On this Independence Day, we should reaffirm the twin pillars of democracy: Voters (not the mob) pick their leaders, and elected leaders (not unelected judges) make policy decisions for which they are held accountable. On this Independence Day, we should reaffirm the twin pillars of democracy: Voters (not the mob) pick their leaders, and elected leaders (not unelected judges) make policy decisions for which they are held accountable.

Rubin identifies the many ways in which the Court has strayed from its legitimate role as a judicial body (familiar ground for readers of this newsletter) but highlights the particularly destructive role of the “Major Questions Doctrine.” That judge-made doctrine arrogates to the Court the right to overturn any decision by a federal agency with which the reactionary majority disagrees. The pseudo-rationale for the doctrine is that if Congress intends to delegate discretion to federal agencies on “major questions,” it should use a level of specificity that is to the liking of the Supreme Court.

Says who?

The doctrine was invented from whole cloth to justify judicial activism in service of an anti-government agenda. As Jennifer Rubin writes,

The mumbo-jumbo “major questions doctrine” is not the stuff of judging. No wonder the chief justice got touchy when Kagan pointed out that the court “is supposed to stick to its business — to decide only cases and controversies and to stay away from making this Nation’s policy about subjects like student-loan relief.”

Ian Millhiser explains the Major Questions Doctrine in detail in his article in Vox, entitled, The Supreme Court’s student loan decision in Biden v. Nebraska is lawless and completely partisan. Millhiser does not mince words:

Let’s not beat around the bush. The Supreme Court’s decision in Biden v. Nebraska, the one canceling President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, is complete and utter nonsense. It rewrites a federal law which explicitly authorizes the loan forgiveness program, and it relies on a fake legal doctrine known as “major questions” which has no basis in any law or any provision of the Constitution. Roberts’s opinion in Nebraska effectively overrules the decision of both elected branches of government. It overrides Congress’s unambiguous decision to give this power to the secretary of Education. And it overrules the executive branch’s judgment about how to exercise the authority that Congress gave it. As Kagan writes in dissent, “the Secretary did only what Congress had told him he could.”

Like Rebecca Solnit, Jennifer Rubin ends her op-ed on a note of optimism and determination to right the wrongs of the Court:

On this Independence Day, which celebrates rebellion against a monarch lacking consent of the governed, it behooves us to dedicate ourselves to robust and authentic democracy: government of the people, by the people, for the people — not by arrogant right-wing justices.

On this Independence Day, it is also worth reflecting on how little the size of the Court has changed since the adoption of the Constitution in 1789. At that time, a Supreme Court of six justices served a nation of 13 states with 4 million inhabitants. If the Supreme Court had grown on a basis proportional to the number of states (from 13 to 50), the Court would be 23 justices today. If the Court had grown on a basis proportional to the increase in population (from 4 million to 330 million) the Court would be 489 justices today. (Check my math here: Percentage Increase Calculator.)

Other comparators could be used to estimate the appropriate increase in the size of the Court: increase in GDP, increase in the number of petitions for review in 1789 vs. 2023, increase in the number of lawsuits filed annually in 1789 vs. 2023, or increase in the number of laws and regulations on the books in 1789 vs. 2023.

Obviously, increasing the Court’s size from 9 to 489 justices is ludicrous. But increasing the Court from 9 to 13 justices (as many suggest) ignores the tremendous growth of the nation—and the need for a substantially larger Court. The workload of the Court does not increase in relation to the number of states, but to the populations in those states, the economic activity in those states, the number of lawsuits filed by the residents of those states, and the number of laws and regulations that must be interpreted.

Without regard to any of the present controversies surrounding the Court, substantially increasing the Court’s size is a reasonable proposition. But considering the Court’s descent into illegitimacy and usurpation of legislative power, increasing its size substantially is an easy call: We must do it to overcome the reactionary majority. We have no other choice.

Enlarging the Court requires only a majority vote in both chambers of Congress, while virtually every other structural reform would require a constitutional amendment—a 2/3rds approval in both chambers of Congress and ratification by 3/4ths of the states. That will never happen. (If you propose imposing 18-year term limits, I urge you to read the plain words of the Constitution: Article III Section 1 | U.S. Constitution.)

Urgency is required. As reader John C. posted in response to my 4th of July newsletter,

I agree that the long term looks promising, but many people cannot wait for the long term. Women who want abortions, victims of gun violence, refugees, same-sex couples who want goods or services, students who are barred from colleges, and so forth are suffering now and lack the luxury of waiting.

We can work our way out of this daunting situation in the short term at the ballot box—by retaking the House and defending the Senate in 2024. And then demand boldness from our leaders. While they have temporized and appointed commissions and fretted about the “legitimacy” of an enlarged Court, tens of millions of Americans have been injured by a rogue Court that abandoned the rule of law and adopted the agenda of religious nationalism. The solution is staring us in the face and is within our grasp. Let’s take it!

In the words of Rebecca Solnit, “This is not a time to quit. It’s a time to fight.”

And if you are looking for guidance on where and how to direct your fighting spirit, there is no better place to look than Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water on Substack. Her post on the 4th of July is filled with action steps you can take, including word scripts for calling your elected officials in Washington, D.C., and important organizing / fundraising events, such as:

An event on Wednesday, July 5th at 5:30 PM Eastern with Senator Sherrod Brown and Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters about how you can help get out the “NO” vote in the Ohio special election set for August 8th. Register here.

A Force Multiplier event with Senators John Tester and Raphael Warnock on Monday, July 10, 7:00 PM Eastern. The event will help build grass roots support for Senator Tester in what is expected to be a hard-fought campaign. Register and donate here.

While you are at it, sign up for Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood, Carry Water for the latest on daily actions you can take to help defend democracy!

Concluding Thoughts.

We are about to end our brief holiday in the Berkshire region of Massachusetts. As a California native raised in the desert that is the San Fernando Valley, I have been struck by the sense of place and history that is everywhere in a countryside settled before the founding of the United States. A simple example is the low stone walls that seem to be alongside every road we traveled. When the early settlers cleared the land for grazing and farming, the stones were obstacles to be moved. But nothing was wasted, and the stones were repurposed into walls to keep cattle and sheep from wandering and to mark boundaries separating neighbors and crops.

Low stone walls that were built three centuries ago still mark the landscape today. Indeed, they define it. The walls initially set the natural course for footpaths but soon evolved into the markers for horse trails, wagon ruts, country lanes, dirt roads, and (eventually) state highways. As we glided along the highway in our electric vehicle over the holiday weekend, we were unconsciously following the paths set by farmers who moved and stacked rocks by hand to create a clearing for an emerging nation.

In the same way, we are unconsciously following the paths defined by founders and framers, citizens and soldiers, immigrants and indigenous peoples, and Americans enslaved and free. Our struggles may seem new, but they follow ground that is well-trod, shaped by the efforts of those who came before us. It is worth a moment of reflection to recall that we have inherited a nation that has been shaped by the sweat and toil of generations before us. As we fight to reclaim the rights lost over the last year, we should recognize that are not starting from scratch. The land has been cleared, and the walls of liberty have been built and are still standing. We need only find and reinforce them for the next generation.

#Robert B. Hubbell #Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter #low walls #political #history #SCOTUS #rogue SCOTUS #rule of law #Rebecca Solnit #illegitimate scotus #Jennifer Rubin #WAPO

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bizarrequazar · 2 years

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05-14 (CST) QuelleVous, Bluebird, Flora, followerno65, and Naan Space Notes

This was the first space in an intended series going over events relating to 813; this one covers the leadup to 813 and the events of August itself. This is entirely an informal fan discussion and should not be taken as an official source. [Recording]

Please let me know if I’ve made any mistakes or missed anything important, I know I probably got a couple of the Chinese words and names I’m not familiar with wrong so I encourage people to correct me.

The Current Bigger Picture

Streaming sites have dwindled from around 300 to about half a dozen in the last decade due to venture capitalism

Current governmental efforts are being undergone to try to redistribute funding. Some of the major streaming platforms have been hit by this

Quite a few tech bigwigs have been quitting / retiring, and subsequently clearing out their social media

There is a governmental anti-monopoly crackdown happening, industry investments are being put on hold as a result

Anti-monopoly laws are fairly new in China

A reminder to keep in mind that there is a lot going in the background that we often aren’t cognizant of when we only look at things from a fandom lense. When Li Xuezheng was around, he linked Zhang Zhehan’s case to the wider situation happening

Pre-813 Rumors and Slander

Chinese rumor cycle:

Rumors are started by accounts on Douban with tons of followers; the accounts get a written statement by whoever is paying them, often posted without any changes made

Hotsearches are often bought, not organic

This is not very expensive, package deals exist, price sheets have been leaked before

Douban was fined more than 50 times last year for “polluting the Internet environment,” people are muted very easily nowadays as a result

Rumors against Zhang Zhehan began at at least the beginning of March

The earliest known one was tabloid articles implying that he supported another actor who had been involved in a domestic violence incident. Zhang Zhehan’s actual posts were that he felt bad because he had formerly had positive views of the actor, but that if this was true in needed to be addressed and punished properly.

Another rumor taking his banter with an actress out of context

March, Sensodyne endorsement, another celebrity’s fans claimed the tagline was the other actor’s and that Zhang Zhehan had stolen it.

Another incident (Beihai wrap party photos) with this actor’s fans leaving him death threats over a glitch (confirmed by Weibo) that made it look like his views had been artificially inflated

Slander about him using a stunt double in Word of Honor, didn’t last longWearing shoes by a brand endorsed by another actor

April to early August, girlfriend rumors:

Probably the same people behind August

Weixin chatlogs with a girl caused rumors that he was dating her / secretly married / had secret children

It’s now heavily suspected that these chatlogs were made by Sophie due to the GOT quote that QuelleVous has pointed out several times, Sophie would post about these rumors in an “I don’t believe it’s true” way every time. She wasn’t well known in the fandom at this time

Zhang Zhehan spoke against these rumors himself saying they were false and he was pursing legal action.

A lot of people loudly unfanned because of these rumors

It became a big enough issue for people in the general public to hear about it

Hotsearch on July 25th, there is evidence of it being bought for 180k

There was a followup rumor that one of the fans he was going to sue was underage

July, hanfu that had been worn by / designed for another actor in a commercial promo, caused “who wore it better” fan arguments

July, photos of him helping an elderly lady down the stairs were twisted to claim it had been staged to create a good persona for him

July when he passed out on set and was hospitalized, claims were made that he was “sad-fishing” (looking for pity) by posting photos from being in hospital

Rumors that he was lying about his reading habits

Rumor about his mother using connections / under the table deals to get him into the Shanghai Theatre Academy; this came back again on August 12th.

Claims that he had been removed from the alumni list, QuelleVous looked into this personally and confirms it is false.

Fans showed that the rumors’ “evidence” had been made from out of context interview quotes, fans found his entrance exam records proving they are legitimate

Lots of rumors about him having ulterior motives, lying to fans, being sexist, being disingenuous about his character

Rising Sun flag car dug up around May/June, came back again in August

Fans recognized that he seemed to get more hate than most other celebrities, but no one thought it was anything systematic / significant. It was assumed it was just due to his popularity and was normal

The level of the campaign makes it highly unlikely that there is a single person behind it. Li Xuezheng said the same, QuelleVous’s opinion is that it’s impossible, although it could be that a single person kicked it off and others joined in

A lot of these seem like “test runs”—they kept going with various rumors until one stuck (813)

August Timeline

Common tactic (also seen recently) of using some real elements to give credibility to rumors

68 hotsearches from the 12th to the 15th

Planted fans (<evidenced) spread ideas that this was a governmental issue / a human rights issue, encouraging people to write into nationalistic and international news organizations

Evidence shows no indication of governmental involvement; the evidence points to it being caused by private capital. Official governmental statements have stated they have no involvement

Him being unable to respond was the #1 warning sign of an unjust result

Trial by public opinion and mob mentality

Evening of the 12th, things about him attending a friend’s wedding at Nogi Shrine began circulating:

The shrine is known among Japanese people as a love site / popular wedding location. This is not as well known in China

The Nogi Shrine Baidu entry was created on the 12th at midnight by a high level admin. This admin had previously only made pages for luxury brands

Dewi Sukarno’s Baidu page was edited around the same time, again by a high level admin. It changed her husband to be the second president of Indonesia instead of the first, making it out that he was anti-communist

The Baidu page of Nogi Maresuke, whom Nogi Shrine is named after, was edited. He died far before WWII.

The photos were originally posted by an account that some people thought had a personal connection to Zhang Zhehan (possibly Susu but this is only conjecture)

Zhang Zhehan’s friend whose wedding it had been posted a public apology for not checking the history of the location

(According to Wang Mengmeng,) Endorsements began to contact his studio with concern over the situation and asking them to place importance on what was happening, his studio said it wasn’t a big deal

August 13th:

Sensitive date in China:

National mourning day

Around the time of the Olympics, raising patriotic sentiments

Around the centennial of the CCP

It being a Friday meant that the general public were more available to follow what was happening

The Japanese minister of defense made an unannounced visit to Yasukuni Shrine that day

Yasukuni Shrine cherry blossom photographs were circulated, hotsearches bought

10am, Xie Yihua paid people to edit her Baidu, made sure that it cannot be checked what was edited

Zhang Zhehan posted his formal apology on his Weibo around noon

Starting in the late afternoon fans found that their comments were being deleted, all comments left were those against him

People’s Daily (largest newspaper in China, endorsed by the CCP, anything they put out is taken as the stance of the CCP) posted an article initially saying he would learn from his experience. Around 4:30pm this was edited saying that he as a public figure should be punished for not being more aware. This is what significantly worsened the situation.

CCTV news made a comment about the shrine around 5pm

Around 5:30 endorsements began dropping him

Lang Lang Ding supertopic and Haizhe fan groups said to not to spread information about this and to not engage because drawing attention would make things worse

Some big fans who ignored this are now strongly suspected of having been planted / paid off

All endorsements and the movie Zhang Zhehan had recently finished filming (which had fully finished production) announced they were cutting connections with him

August 14th:

Zhang Zhehan’s Weibos were muted

August 15th:

CAPA boycotted him and called for an industry boycott, being the first ones to specifically say he “visited” (tianguan) the shrine

Many news sites later used “worship” (tianbai) due to this

Zhang Zhehan’s social media accounts were closed on the grounds of hurting national sentiment and being a negative influence on youths

August 16th and after:

17th, Instagram deactivated

All avenues of speech for him at this point were closed. We didn’t hear anything from him again until Li Xuezheng’s involvement

From 16th to 20th, his name was removed from show credits, then dramas were removed altogether, he was blurred out of variety shoes, and his scenes cut from smaller roles (ie. Nirvana in Fire)

Any trace of him was erased. Some reported that his media was being deleted from Chinese phones

His name could not be searched on some sites and could not be used to register for some services and sites. This also affects about 2k other people who share his name.

General Discussion

Some were genuinely concerned when it happened that 813 was going to lead to him being killed

It’s a very serious thing to have the term “traitor” assigned to you as a Chinese citizen living in China

Some organizations that contributed to the PR campaign in August (I apologize for my difficulty with names here, please talk to Flora if you have questions about this part)

BanYueTan put out a comment on the evening of the 13th saying his apology wasn’t good enough, that you cannot forget history or use the excuse of ignorance, basically saing that he must disappear. A writer responded to their comment this asking for a clarification about visiting Yasukuni Shrine, the company said that you can never go there period. This was widely quoted. This writer’s account was later nuked. In October their cheif editor was charged with corruption for having many properties and assets that were under investigation.

Thinking Torch (a think tank)’s director in December was discovered to be well known for using the think tank to stoke nationalist sentiments

China Cyberspace Working Association (similar to CAPA) released a statement before the boycott saying that the punishment should not stop at muting. Due to having “China” in their name, some believed they were a government organization; they apologized for this in December and have largely disappeared since

A reminder to look at news about Chinese tech comapanies and the new laws that have been coming into place rather than having fandom tunnel vision

Guest speaker: Sunlight

People were attracted to Zhang Zhehan for how genuine he is

It was hard for fans who don’t speak Chinese to properly understand what was happening

CAPA was assumed by many outside of China, including Chinese Americans, to be a governmental body

It created a strong fear of mob mentality

#Zhang Zhehan #my zzh posts #813 #Sorry just realized I forgot to tag this #zzh info

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rabbitcruiser · 9 months

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Truck Driver Day

Professional truck drivers are honored and celebrated today with Truck Driver Day. In the United States, a driver is considered to be a truck driver when their vehicle has a gross vehicle weight—the weight of the vehicle loaded—of at least 26,000 pounds. They must obtain a commercial driver's license (CDL) to drive a vehicle of this weight. Employers often require their drivers to take a safety training program, and some also require a high school degree or GED.

Truck drivers carry all kinds of freight—livestock, food, canned goods, liquids, packages, and vehicles—all across the United States and the world. They often have to load and unload their freight and must inspect their trucks before taking to the road. Truck drivers often ship products to stores, and some may have to undertake sales duties. Many truck drivers work long hours. Some may have daily local routes that keep them close to home, while others may have routes and schedules that often change, and many have to be away from home for an extended amount of time.

Some trucks were on the road in the United States prior to World War I. Trucks continued to be used and developed during the war, and by 1920 there were more than a million trucks on the roads of America. Trucking continued to expand over the following decade, on account of advancements such as the introduction of the diesel engine, improved rural roads, the introduction of power brakes and steering, and the standardization of truck and trailer sizes. In the 1930s, a number of trucking regulations were implemented, and the American Trucking Association was created. Trucking activity increased in the 1950s and '60s, in large part because of the creation of the Interstate Highway System. Regulations on the weight of trucks continued to be updated.

The heyday of the truck driver came in the 1960s and '70s. At the time, a wide swath of the public viewed truck drivers as modern-day cowboys or outlaws. The rise of "trucker culture" was signaled with the proliferation of trucker songs and films, the wearing of plaid shirts and trucker hats by the public, and the wide use of CB radios and CB slang. The romanticization of trucker culture subsided by the dawn of the 1980s.

Many truckers went on strike during the energy crises of 1973 and 1979, after the cost of fuel rose. The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 partially deregulated the industry. As a result, many new trucking companies were started. Trucker union membership also drastically declined, leading to lower pay. But the deregulation did reduce consumer costs, and it increased production and competition in the trucking industry. By the twenty-first century, trucking dominated the freight industry. In 2006, there were 26 million trucks on America's roads, which hauled about 70 percent of the country's freight. Truckers continue to play a prominent role in keeping the wheels of the economy turning, and for the hard work they put in to make this happen, they are honored and celebrated today!

How to Observe Truck Driver Day

Some ideas of ways the day could be spent include:

If you are a truck driver, get out there and drive! Or, take the day off. It should be up to you!

Wave to truckers or make a gesture like you are pulling a truck horn in an attempt to get them to honk their horns.

Thank a truck driver. Tell them thanks in person or make a social media post of thanks. Include the hashtag #TruckDriverDay.

Become a truck driver.

Listen to some truck driving songs such as "Convoy" and "Truck Drivin' Man."

Watch some truck driving films such as Smokey and the Bandit, Convoy, and Big Rig.

Talk on a CB radio.

Eat at a truck stop.

Attend or take part in the National Truck Driving Championships, which are held around the time as Truck Driver Day.

Read a book about trucking or truckers such as Trucking Country: The road to America's Wal-Mart Economy or The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road.

Explore the websites of organizations and companies related to the industry such as American Trucker, Truckers News, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the American Trucking Associations, and the Women in Trucking Association.

Source

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phoneybeatlemania · 2 years

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Sorry to discourse at you, you can ignore this if you want. Regarding George's humor, this is a big area where I struggle to like George. Particularly in his relationship to Paul, but also just overall. Like, my sisters and I will make some pretty mean jokes about each other, but we would never make them in front of our extended family. There's a public/private divide with that kind of humor. If that makes sense? And I try not to be too hard on George, because maybe when you're that famous (2/2)

Anon Ask 2: ...it stops being fair to ask someone to censor the sense of humor. But I just get uncomfortable knowing that George knows that some portion of the audience will take the joke seriously and telling it anyway. And I feel like this is particularly prominant with Paul, who he has also said bad stuff about publicly in a non-joking way. I don't actually know what I'm asking here. I'm just blurting this out to you because engaging with how George's humor interacts with his celebrity is hard for me.

Reference to my post and original gif set which sparked this discussion

Hiya anon! No worries about sending an ask, Im happy to talk about this topic in a little more depth :)

So something I didn’t really touch upon in my last post was that I do actually believe there were some Bitchy (for lack of a better term) things George said to Paul, particularly throughout the early 70s, which I think clearly went beyond harmless joking and were legitimately Mean Things to do or say. It’s not that I think these moments between George and Paul should be looked at in isolation, because there obviously was a long history between the two (and as well, the early 70s was just Complicated in general for everybody), so that should be accounted for if were going to criticise George for this. But despite the long history, I still think a lot of these things were unnecessary, and we should recognise that (and to be honest, not feel like we Always Have To Justify Everything? Sometimes people just do shitty things, and we can say that, and not have to victimise or vilify them for that).

I feel like this is the type of point where George fans are gonna read it and think “okay so she *hates* George” and vice-versa with Paul fans—but to be honest, this isn’t really an area where I feel like its necessary to take sides. I feel like there can be a tendency to forget, especially when we’re trying to Psychoanalyse or Understand [or whatever you wanna call it] celebrities, that they’re all just human beings. Like everyone has said nasty things to other people, and everyones had nasty things said to them—but a period of hostility between two friends isn’t necessarily representative of what their relationship is really like, if you catch my meaning. My point I guess is kind of that, 50 or so years on, we should be able to recognise that Sure That Was Kind Of A Shitty Thing To Do, but theres a difference between recognising and critiquing something, and then actually passing judgement on an individual and Taking Sides, which often leads us to trying to justify Everything one person did while critiquing the other to excess. And real judgement seems fairly pointless to me in the case between George and Paul, because I think at the end of the day, they both just did Shitty Things to one another—but try being friends with someone for 15+ years without that happening. Im not saying that it means we should ignore aspect to their relationship or that it makes it licit, but I suppose what seems to be of more importance to me is that I think they both eventually tried change an adapt for one another.

I see what you mean as well when it comes to a public and private divide with humour; there are jokes you’d make in front of your closest friends/family, but wouldn’t make in front of other people. In this specific case though (with the “Paul has no good songs of his own” comment), I honestly just think this was Something Funny that came to Georges mind in the moment, and he wasn’t taking into the wider contexts, i.e music critics. And while I don’t want to Project or anything, just speaking from my own perspective I can say that irl Im the type of person who will say just about anything that comes to mind for me in the moment if I think its funny—and I get that impression from George too. I just feel like me and (probably) George are the types who just like to joke a lot, and are always looking to make other people laugh (as well as ourselves)—which kind of leads me to believe that when George makes a joke like “Paul has no good songs of his own left”, I think his expectation is that Paul is in on the joke, rather then just the butt of the joke. I guess thats really up for your own interpretation though (and as aforementioned, I think there were jokes in other periods of their lives where I wouldn’t feel this really rings true).

I think as well, George must have known the music industry well enough by this point to be aware that sure, there were music critics and people sitting at home watching who genuinely would have Thought That. But again, if we’re speaking about intentions, I don’t get the impression that this was it, because as I mentioned before, I don’t feel like there was even any real intention behind the joke; I really just think it was a funny thing that came to mind for him; whether that makes it okay or not is up for debate (and to be honest, its your call really). Lowkey as well, I actually kind of think the people who Actually Believe Paul had no good songs of his own left (and so was Practically Forced to use some of Johns 😩) are really the butt of the joke? Like it rubs of as very dry, sarcastic commentary on those types of critics to me.

I guess also if you look at most British comedians, a lot of humour relies on deprecating other people—especially on things like panel shows. Again thats obviously a different situation to the one George was in, but I think the general point is that when you have a very dry and sardonic sense of humour, you’re very prone to mocking other people, and that can be malicious—but at the same time, for a lot of people it really is just their way of telling jokes, and no Actual Offence is intended.

But to return to the original point, I do hear what you’re saying in that ‘he has also said bad stuff about publicly in a non-joking way’, and I don’t really disagree. But what I was thinking with my response to that post specifically was like, there are genuinely mean things he said to Paul that I think are very-much worth discussing, but this imo just isn’t one of them? Like the way Im seeing other people respond [and this goes out to both the Staunch Paul Defendants AND the people saying “George was telling the truth!!” btw] just feels like an overreaction to me. So yeah—obviously I have no idea who you are anon, but tbh, I think if you wanted to get a discussion going about Georges treatment of Paul, theres a lot of room for that and Id be interested to read it! I just don’t feel that the joke we’re discussing here today greatly exemplifies your overarching point.

But thats just my thoughts on this :) and tbh, I think I feel especially defensive of George in this specific instance just because Im Well Aware that his joke is the exact sort of thing I would say to people irl. Maybe its just a Sibling Thing, if you see what I mean—I think if you have a big family, everyones always trying to get the last laugh in also feel like this is an Irish Catholic Family thing but maybe thats a talk for another day lol.

#but yeah nws about sending an ask #ive honestly been Bored as of lately so im liking getting asks atm :))#anon #asks #this was Too Long a response (whoops)#you people know how I am tho 😩#key take away ig is that there is a lot of room for discussion of Georges treatment of Paul #and I think theres an interesting argument you make anon with your Wider Point #I just dont think that the specific joke were talking about is really a good example of it tho #cause I do think that its just a joke that he thoughtlessly made #george harrison #paul mccartney #anyway Intrigued to see whose gonna hate on this post first >:) George girls or Paul girls? We'll Wait And See lol #beatles #paul and george #phoneys fandom opinions

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shakil244 · 3 months

Text

Musk replaced "Little Blue Bird" with X. Is this a major aesthetic downgrade

The earliest Apple logo depicts Newton being hit by an apple, but the style of the painting is more like that of a craft brewery.

Jobs, who admired modern computer design, felt it was outdated and impractical, so he hired HE Tuber graphic designer Rob Janoff. The classic shape of the Apple logo was established, and then gradually became flatter and more elegant.

The blue bird, which is the benchmark for the Apple logo, does have something in common with the former: simple, fashionable, and very compatible. It can be as small as a mobile phone screen or as large as a billboard, and its shape is very easy to recognize.

In contrast, Twitter's new logo is futile. It is very similar to the lowercase X in the font "Special Alphabet 4" and very much like a universal character in Unicode. It may not have a careful polishing process at all.

It can be seen that Musk wants to go with a cool style and a sense of technology. The projection of the building's exterior wall that he personally posted is more sharp and cold, and even more alienating.

Some even compared it to Barbieland turning into an unrecognizable Ken Kingdom. This tweet received nearly 250,000 likes. Audiences who have watched the movie "Barbie" will instantly understand this gag. Simply put, it is a satire of aesthetic degradation.

2. Killing the “little blue bird” is also brand suicide.

Losing the Bluebird is more than just a lament for the passing of an era. In business terms, it may directly lead to the devaluation of Twitter.

After being killed, Bluebird's brand appeal and even its influence on pop culture were revealed as never before.

Senior brand person Todd Irwin believes that Twitter's changes are a mistake and a brand suicide

Twitter emerged in the mid-2000s and changed the way people consume and express information on the Internet by allowing free, instant messaging of 140 characters.

Verbs such as to tweet and retweet have since had specific directions. They are often used to refer to how celebrities and politicians communicate with the public, and have even become part of modern pop culture.

However, Tokiya Miya's question "Why is Twitter called Bluebird?" may become the tears of the times in a few years.

Bloomberg pointed out that Musk’s decision cost Twitter $4 billion to $20 billion in brand value.

X, which catches people off guard, also forces users to rebuild their language habits.

The "tweet" of tweeting and the "retweet" of retweet are history. Someone asked what "retweet" will be called in the future. Musk replied that "the whole concept should be reconsidered." For example, a post can be called "an X."

This name change coincides with Twitter's troubles. Brand Finance estimates that Twitter has lost 32% of its brand value since last year.

The Pew Research Center reported in May that one in four users said they did not expect to use Twitter within a year.

Advertising sponsors are also leaving due to concerns about the deterioration of the platform ecosystem, including the increase in hate speech, misinformation and extremism. Recently, Musk acknowledged that Twitter's ad revenue has dropped by more than 50% since October.

Around the same time as the name change, Twitter discounted advertising. New customers will enjoy a 50% discount on all video ads until July 31, which is also related to the Women's World Cup. Sports events are Twitter's most important source of advertising revenue.

Musk has honey in one hand and a whip in the other. He also warned advertisers that starting on August 7, if the brand does not spend at least $1,000 on advertising in the past 30 days, the account will lose gold certification.

Since being acquired by Musk, Twitter has hardly had a good day. Changing its name may be to let the past disappear and forcefully open a new chapter, just like the optimism of the new Twitter CEO:

However, Musk gives people the impression that he can never be judged by common sense. One comment hit the nail on the head: Musk's personal brand may be stronger and more recognizable than the Twitter brand.

This Silicon Valley Iron Man has always dared to do pretty crazy things. He not only has to worry about Tesla, Space Artificial intelligence landscape.

At the same time, he is also a "top Internet celebrity" who is not shy about expressing radical views and spends a lot of time on social media to share what is on his bedside table. Biographer Ashlee Vance said of him:

#Comedy #Entertainment

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cyberbenb · 9 months

Text

Fact Check: Elijah Wood Did NOT Address Zelenskyy 'In His Stories' On Instagram; Actor Did NOT Offer Ukraine's President 'To Cure His Drug And Alcohol Addiction'

Did American actor Elijah Wood offer Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "to cure drug and alcohol addiction" on Instagram? No, that's not true: The actor doesn't post Instagram stories publicly. Wood did not say anything that would imply he was addressing Zelenskyy specifically in the heavily edited clip circulating on social media.

The claim appeared in a tweet published on July 20, 2023 (archived here). It opened:

Instagram has deleted a video of Elijah Wood for calling Zelensky a drug addict.

The tweet continued:

Elijah Wood in his stories addressed Zelensky with an offer to cure his drug and alcohol addiction. The actor advised the Ukrainian president to go to Betty Ford Rehab - a very expensive private clinic in California where many celebrities have been treated for addiction.

This is what it looked like on Twitter at the time of writing:

(Source: Twitter screenshot taken on Wed Jul 26 14:51:03 2023 UTC)

The 44-second video shared in the tweet depicted a man who looks like American actor Elijah Wood, known for portraying Frodo Baggins in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

However, a close look raised doubts about the story circulating on social media.

Caption incorrectly describes video's content

Contrary to the claim, Wood never actually said in the clip that he "advised the Ukrainian president to go to Betty Ford Rehab." He didn't make any explicit references to Volodymyr Zelenskyy either.

The video was heavily edited, with many cuts occurring in the middle of a sentence, creating sentence fragments -- not full, grammatically correct English sentences a native English speaker with a background in entertainment such as Wood would use.

Here is the full transcript:

Vladimir, hi! Elijah is here. I hope this finds you happy, healthy and well. [CUT]

You [CUT]

just sort of greater dependency on drugs and alcohol. So I just want to make sure that you're getting help [CUT]

through ... We all suffer from that, of course. So I just hope that you know, you're looking at yourself taking care of yourself taking your health into consideration and know that should you [CUT]

need help. There are people out there that want to help you. [CUT]

Do need help, I hope that you'll get help that you need. Alright, lots of love, Vladimir. Take care.

Vladimir is a common Russian name that is also the name of Russian President Putin and his now-deceased father.

The Ukrainian version of this name is Volodymyr, which is the correct first name of Ukraine's leader.

It was not uncommon that U.S. officials would use a Russified version of the name to refer to Zelenskyy before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and shortly after it (for example, here.)

But as the war continued, the general public in the United States grew more aware of the difference between the Russian and Ukrainian languages, and the Russified English spelling started to be more often replaced with the Ukrainian one. For example, Kiev became Kyiv. The same happened with the name of the Ukrainian president. As of this writing, a search across Google News limited to the results from the past year shows that "Vladimir" is used to refer to him significantly less frequently than "Volodymyr."

The only thing in the video that suggests the words were addressed to the Ukrainian president is a banner with Zelenskyy's official Twitter handle, but Lead Stories analysis finds it highly unlikely that it was added by Wood.

Wood doesn't post Instagram stories for everyone to watch

The video on Twitter contained in its final seconds a screenshot of what looked like a verified actor's account with numerous followers:

(Source: Twitter screenshot taken on Wed Jul 26 16:29:18 2023 UTC)

However, Wood tends to avoid bringing personal aspects of his life to the public space, and his social media is no exception. In March 2023, he told The Wall Street Journal that he used a private account on Instagram:

I wanted to be able to share photos that I didn't necessarily want to share with the world. An account that's public-facing would really change what I share. It's not like I'm sharing anything that I wouldn't want to go out, but I'm a relatively private person.

As of this writing, there was no evidence that Wood started a verified public account on Instagram.

The content of the purported Wood account seen in the video -- elijah.wood.kingring -- raises additional questions. Unlike other official celebrity accounts, it only contained one post of a person resembling the actor, the middle photo on the bottom row of the nine photos above. Furthermore, the link in the account description does not lead to his portfolio or recent projects -- it is a website of an American nonprofit specializing in addiction treatments, and it didn't contain any mentions of collaborative projects with Wood:

(Source: Hazelden Betty Ford screenshot taken on Wed Jul 26 17:16:13 2023 UTC)

The most recent six entries (the top two rows of the three) form a poster with a QR code leading to a Telegram channel created on July 3, 2023, aiming to promote a supposed documentary series called "Olympics Has Fallen" that promises to reveal "financial and sports scandals surrounding the International Olympic Committee" on Netflix. However, there is no publicly available evidence that such a project is in progress or already available for streaming, as of this writing. The closest match Lead Stories found was a 2013 fictional movie named "Olympus Has Fallen" that told the fabricated story of an "ex-Secret Service agent" who "must rescue the president when the White House is attacked."

The same visual technique -- composing a larger image from individual posts -- was used by an Instagram account that posted nonexistent anti-Zelenskyy graffiti. Those stories were debunked by Lead Stories here, here and here.

The name of the account purportedly maintained by Wood that was partially cut off from the supposed "screenshot" of it -- elijah.wood.kingring -- was better seen in other frames of the same video on Twitter. This handle was associated with a user named Mark who has zero posts and zero followers, as of this writing:

(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Wed Jul 26 17:25:56 2023 UTC)

The TMZ logo seen on top of the footage of Wood in the tweet implied that this entertainment news website reposted the clip. Yet, as of this writing, the most recent article about the actor appeared on the TMZ website in 2022:

(Source: TMZ screenshot taken on Wed Jul 26 18:30:34 2023 UTC)

Wood did support Ukraine in the past

On the first day of the full-scale war, the actor expressed his support for Ukraine on Twitter:

(Source: Twitter screenshot taken on Wed Jul 26 18:37:18 2023 UTC)

The use of the emoji showing the Ukrainian flag is highly indicative in this case. Since February 2023, the Russian government has been seeing that combination of colors on any surface as a threat, which, in turn, increases the chances of interrogation or arrest.

Openly pro-Kremlin users who often describe themselves as "patriots" on social media do not use the emoji of the Ukrainian flag as a way to express solidarity with the people of Ukraine --- they rather tend to use it to replace the word "Ukraine" in a sentence to avoid detection.

A hypothetical 180-degree change in the actor's attitudes would likely attract media attention. But Lead Stories did not find any credible reports from well-established media organizations confirming that it has ever occurred in the public discourse.

Possible origins of the footage

According to Hive Moderation, a tool designed to detect AI-generated content, what was seen in the clip on Twitter was unlikely to have been created by algorithms:

(Source: Hive Moderation screenshot taken on Wed Jul 26 16:03:55 2023 UTC)

One possible explanation of the origin of the footage is that it came from the website called Cameo. It allows the public to request personalized video greetings from celebrities for a fee. The resource explains:

Tell them what to say

During checkout, you'll provide the details the celeb will need to make the perfect personalized video.

Elijah Wood has an account on Cameo:

(Source: Cameo screenshot taken on Wed Jul 26 19:24:08 2023 UTC)

As seen in the screenshot above, the videos are recorded on cellphones vertically in the same format as stories on Instagram.

Social media users occasionally share such videos on their personal accounts. One example of Wood's personalized greeting found by Lead Stories is a clip that also contains several cuts, but never in the middle of the sentence to "assemble" a new one. It remains unclear whether the edits were made by Wood, Cameo staff or the user who shared it.

Lead Stories searched for but did not find the unedited footage that was reused in the tweet that is the focus of this fact check.

Besides English, the claim circulated on social media in French and Russian across different platforms. It was additionally amplified by such Russian media as the pro-Kremlin Tsargrad TV and Channel Five. All that showed signs of a coordinated campaign.

Claims accusing Zelenskyy of drug and alcohol addiction constitute a recurring topic in Russian war propaganda. Such messaging reuses obscure online speculations related to the 2019 presidential campaign in Ukraine. At the time, one of Zelenskyy's campaign videos was re-edited to imply he uses cocaine. However, it did not show the act itself, France Info reported, as translated by Google Chrome:

In the original clip, the comedian stages himself with Ukrainians, placed on both sides of the road. He lights the green light for them to cross it and reunite.

In a short video, posted on April 10 on Telegram messaging, we can see an extract from this same clip. But this time, the comedian is run over by a truck. The image of a rail of cocaine then appears on the screen with a play on words in Ukrainian: 'everyone [has] his way' (dorizhka: 'road' in Ukrainian, can also be translated as 'rail'). Petro Poroshenko's entourage denied any involvement in making the video. To determine the origin of the diversion, a judicial investigation was opened.

Both candidates, then-President Poroshenko and his challenger Zelenskyy went as far as taking drug and alcohol tests live.

Lead Stories reached out to Wood's representatives and Cameo. This story will be updated as appropriate.

Other Lead Stories fact checks about entertainment can be found here.

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historyhermann · 1 year

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Librarians should not be "everything to every community member"

From the "I Love Lisa" episode (s4, e15).

Recently, on Twitter, there was justified consternation with what a library director, named Justin, wrote about librarians on May 3rd. I'm only new to the library and archives profession, although I am planning to work in an archival institution rather than a library, and my hope is that others in the profession could build upon this post with their own experiences and thoughts. I am also posting this because Justin the Librarian locked his Twitter account, raising the question that he does not want his opinion to be challenged! This post is not meant as an attack on Justin himself, but rather a challenge to him (and others who feel the same), that they should change their views on libraries. Additionally, I understand, as Stephanie Crawford put it on Twitter, criticizing this post, "public libraries are often places for people to stay warm, to use the rest room, to job search, to do hw, to print resumes, to check email, etc" and do not intend to paint those who are poor as "an unwanted burden," but rather are talking about responsibilities librarians should have to their respective communities. The socioeconomic class of patrons of libraries is clearly important, and I have tried to incorporate that into this piece, but it should also be acknowledged that I am mainly talking about the role of the library profession, rather than the patrons, in this post, so that leads some aspects to fall to the wayside.

Reprinted from my History Hermann WordPress blog and Wayback Machine. Originally posted on May 12, 2019.

After saying how public libraries have changed a lot since 2009 and that there will be changes in the future in these "great place[s],"adding that "this is a time to celebrate and also a time to think about the future," Justin declares that "if you’re working in a public library now and you’re not enjoying it maybe you shouldn’t be working in a public library" which implies that everyone in a public library will enjoy their jobs and that no toxic environments exist, which is clearly incorrect. [1] He followed this with the most jarring statement of his post:

If you feel grumpy about your day to day work, if planning and hosting events isn’t your thing, and if you’re just not ready to be everything to every community member that comes through your doors, this public library thing just isn’t for you in 2019. And honestly, it’s just going to continue to be less of a thing for you as public libraries move ahead. The public libraries that I see existing today in 2019 will continue to be improved upon and become even more community focused in the next ten years. Libraries are on the right path these days, one that is fully focused on their communities. Do you want to be on that path?

The section when he says that librarians should be "everything to every community member" is what angered librarians on Twitter, rightly so, with Alexis Logsdon calling it "infuriating." Why should this heavy responsibility be hoisted on librarians? Why do they need to be "everything"? [2] As such, the idea that public librarians (or any librarians for that matter) should be "everything" to the communities, regardless of their class, race, gender, or creed, they serve should be challenged. I say this, while acknowledging the important role that librarians engage in when serving their communities, especially those who use libraries as a community space to serve their effective information needs, to pull from the titles of one of the courses I took in the fall, which was called "serving information needs."

The first part of that challenge is to summarize the tweet conversation on this topic. In fact, I thought of creating this piece after reading through the whole thread and responses, beginning with a thread by Julie Jergens. This piece goes beyond "shutting things like this down" and rejecting "this bullshit savior narrative," to quote her, as I aim to look at various posts he has made, not only one solitary post, to form a cogent argument to counter his points.

Jergens, in her tweet thread, called the statement that librarians should be "everything" to communities is not only "dangerously misinformed" but some "male BS" for a majority-female profession. She went onto say that relationships where one person or an organization is meant to be everything to another is "unbalanced, unhealthy, and unsustainable," adding that people are asking more and more of librarians, but not what local jurisdictions can do. With that, she points out what should be obvious: "the library cannot and should not be everything," with librarians working to serve the information needs of users. But this does not mean that librarians are lawyers, doctors, social workers, or "miracle worker[s]" [3] and that these information professionals should not be told to do more with nothing (or less) or that they are not focused on their community, as they evidently are, on the whole. She added to this by saying that the community she serves "deserves real experts, real services, real care, not just a librarian with access to narcan," doing what she can to help her community, but is not willing to "sacrifice myself and my staff to be EVERYTHING to EVERYONE," saying that "does not make me unsuited for public libraries."

Those that responded to Jurgen had a similar and understandable sentiment, clearly based in reality. Some sarcastically pointed out it was a "great time" with librarians when budgets for social services are being slashed, with job insecurity and low pay, which Justin the Librarian barely talks about, as I'll note in this piece. Others said that it is wrong to say that librarians who are facing trauma (or stress) from their work are "worthless and not cut out for the job" and that it is dangerous for librarians to think of themselves as everything for their community and patrons without training, as "it's unethical to pretend we are or can be." Responses beyond this pointed out that library budgets need to train staff appropriately if they continue to "stay on the front lines of community service," especially since some people at their library jobs have not received any training, and that there should be efforts to "set boundaries for yourself/your organization." The latter would use effective "social capital" of libraries to push back. Some added that the idea that librarians should do "everything" is problematic because "working with the public is taxing emotionally and physically," making it an unrealistic expectation, and that the idea that librarianship is a job "worth killing ourselves for" should be challenged, citing an article by Fobazi Ettarh within In the Library With the Lead Pipe. Additional comments echoed the same sentiments already expressed, noted that this is one of the only professions where an unrealistic "level of involvement is expected and required," that there should be professional boundaries as "it’s just not healthy or good service to expect library staff to be everything to everyone." Final comments stated that if librarians are required to "everything to everyone they need to raise your salary" a lot, that people were apparently "misinterpreting" the post, called the thread by Jurgens a "must read" with Jurgens outlining "perfectly what should be done," and said that the idea that librarians should be "everything for everyone" is a perfect "recipe for burnout" along with being a harmful expectation.

In the case of Justin, his viewpoint as a White male librarian should be no surprise. While you could say he has good intentions in that he wants librarians to connect with the community, out from behind their desks, including his support of efforts to reduce library fines, which are positives that librarians should undoubtedly aim to do in order to cement the importance of their public institutions to the communities they serve, his idea that library materials should be put in public restrooms is a mistake, especially if there are actual materials in those restrooms. I remember when working at the Washington Village branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore and there was a key to get into the bathrooms and it was prohibited to bring library materials into the bathrooms themselves. Perhaps he is thinking about pamphlets or something, but this idea, from how I understand it, rubs me the wrong way. The same goes for his "seven things" that he declares libraries should do. He suggests buying/collecting local, making stuff with patrons, building apps, standing up for yourself, exploring new partnerships, collect things the community wants not "what you want," and be "very nice." Some may say that this is all hunky dory and that there are no problems with these approaches, especially when it comes to providing new and exciting services for the communities they serve. But, should libraries have their collections solely determined by the community? Shouldn't they have the ability to choose materials they think are necessary, even if that does not fit with what the community is requesting at the present time? Additionally, the "very nice" aspect (which he brings up in a later post), seems optimistic but also unrealistic. Can libraries afford to be nice to every single person, including those patrons which are problematic or disruptive? Clearly libraries should strive to serve every member of the community they can, regardless of their socio-economic class, race, gender, or other characteristic, but the idea you should be nice to everyone is clearly emotional work/labor for the librarians themselves. At the same time, the goals he suggests could easily cause stress on librarians with increased responsibilities on top of their existing duties. [4]

Justin doesn't stop there. He writes about e-books, suggests that librarians should stop saying "no" to patrons (whatever that entails), and wrote a chapter of a book on library marketing while also presenting on personal branding. [5] This writings remind me of the Achieving Organizational Excellence I took last semester as part of my MLIS program, with skills that would speak to a manager like himself, but was seen as an annoying and unnecessary class by many of my fellow classmates, from what I recall. I still remember at the beginning of the semester when the professor asked who wanted to be a manager and a few people raised their hands. [6] By the end of the semester, the same question was asked and NO ONE raised their hands, as everyone detested the class and did not want to be a manager, with most of the class materials written for managers, not for those at the bottom of the employee ladder who could be managers in the future. In this way, his perspective differs from most librarians, many of whom are not managers, since that's not how hierarchies work. Is it any surprise that Justin the Librarian would push aside planning programs "having grand ideas, and just thinking and talking and thinking some more but not acting as quickly as I could"? Simultaneously he would endorse library programming, which seems contradictory. Furthermore, he seems to be on the "innovation" train when it comes to libraries, seems to think he "knows" how librarians should act at work (compared to how they apparently use their time), and focuses on hiring. As a director, it is no surprise he would write about the difference between management and leadership, declare that libraries need to transform, and say that "working in a public library is not about competition. It is about community." Some of these ideals, like saying that libraries are about communities, is not necessarily bad and should be encouraged. But, grumbling about how librarians spend their time at work and focusing on transforming/innovating a library is a problem, especially since the latter could cause undue disruptions in the library itself, weakening the role that libraries play as community centers.

Many may say that libraries are for "every single person that comes through the doors of their public library," which fits with existing concepts of social responsibility that librarians often exude, and that librarians do, on the whole, work which "has a positive impact on your community." However, the former carries with it various problems, like the issues of Nazis in the library or other bigoted individuals, which none of his blogs, from what I could find, ever address. The closest he gets to this is focusing on having a safe working environment which does not have "sexual harassment, stalking, and inappropriate comments." Does he never think about bigoted individuals in libraries? His blog indicates that he does not think about this in on a general basis, which is troubling. Similarly, you can say that he is right that every public library should do an annual report. However, this could easily be turned back on the library itself, used by those who want to cut public services and privatize them, so there should be care in compiling these reports, that they don't result in the idea that libraries can "do more with less" which is inherently destructive, as even Justin the librarian admits, when he says that there's a limit to that thinking. As anyone who has been employed would know, just because people are nice and friendly to you, they can be sadistic and use the statistics, requirements, and metrics against you and your organization. As such, just because someone is nice, this is no guarantee that those on the other side of the relationship (like those in government or business) will not be jerks.

In other posts, Justin the Librarian says that libraries should be made more simple, focus their services on the "hyperlocal" level, and focus on the community more than anything else, even giving suggestions for small rural libraries with strapped budgets. Again, the first two suggestions are problematic in that it could limit the purview of libraries too much, at worst making them not as much of community centers, allowing them to serve patrons from all walks of life, and centers of learning then they should be. In one post, back in October 2017, he declares that "people don’t come in and borrow books on how to do things/fix things/research things anymore." I wouldn't say that is completely true, as people come in and borrow books all the time and that will not stop, even with the advent of the library. Of course, libraries should change over time and not be static, but I think "simplifying" libraries could have problematic elements to them, especially with the incorporating business elements: providing library patrons "with amazing customer service." I still remember in my exit interview with a HR rep of the Pratt Library and I started talking about patrons and they corrected me to say those were "consumers." To me, it is deeply problematic to adopt these business terms and concepts in libraries and other public institutions, as you could call those who use libraries as either patrons or library users. There should be a clear wall of separation between public and private institutions when it comes to conceptions used to make a profit. I know there has already been some leakage into public institutions, but it should be limited to the best extent possible.

One of Justin's worst ideas is not his "summer reading treehouse" which seems a bit silly or even library billboards, but rather library currency. How is this exciting, as he claims? That sounds like a terrible idea that need an extensive infrastructure to put in place. He actually wrote about this idea again, recently, saying that he likes "the idea of a library currency that rewards good library behaviors, engages community members in programs, and helps patrons with library fines" and saying this idea of currency "goes a long way in promoting kindness in the community." He closes by adding that "this idea may work or this idea may not work. The important thing is to always keep dreaming and to keep on trying new things for your community. They are the most important thing in public libraries." While I appreciate that sentiment, I'm still not onboard on the "library currency" train, as it seems that it would cause strain on libraries themselves and those that work within them. And with that, I would argue that it seems evident that he doesn't care as much about those who work in librarians as much as he would think.

Overall, you could say that Justin the Librarian has his "heart in the right place." However, he seriously needs to rethink many of his conceptions of how libraries work and think not only of management but the legions of librarians who do the on-the-ground work, leading to stress, trauma, and strain, to say the least. The idea that librarians should be able to do "everything" for every community member is a clearly ignorant statement. It should be roundly rejected and replaced with the idea that librarians should do what they can, but never try to be "everything" since it would stretch their personal capacities and the institutions themselves, weakening the profession as a whole, even as librarians work to serve patrons from all walks of life.

Notes

[1] He almost guilt-trips people into working in public libraries, saying: "this is a great time to be working in a public library. Sure, there are bumps in the road but overall your community members value the work you do, from the events you plan to the collections you develop and even the little moments where you’re checking out library materials to a community member. Every step of the way in your work at your public library your community values you. Who wouldn’t want to work in a place like this?" This is utterly disgusting, as it seems to act like those who don't work in public libraries are somehow bad.

[2] But Justin the Librarian does not stop there. He does say it is fine if you "do not want to be on the path that public libraries are on" and even if you do not like change, there is nothing wrong with you, adding that by asking yourself if you want to work in a public library you can "learn a lot about yourself, grow, and if the need arises move onto something that better suits you." He ends by saying that if you choose to work in a public library then it benefits the library and the community, adding "be honest and be true to the decision. Be honest and be true to yourself. That’s all you need to be in this life." You could say these sentiments are, a bit, condescending.

[3] At minimum, we can say that librarians should not be social workers, grief counselors, or financial advisors, to say the least. Perhaps they will be forced into these roles, due to the current strain on social services within the U.S., but this is not an ideal situation.

[4] Justin has probably never read Not Always Right (focused on funny and dumb stories about "consumers"/users across society) and its many stories focusing on libraries.

[5] Speaking of branding, in one post he expresses his anger at social media, yet in another he literally advertises his social media, promoting his own...brand! Clearly a case of hypocrisy, if you ask me.

[6] This was followed by a question of how many will end up being managers, with more people raising their hands than was the case with the other question.

#libraries #librarians #limits #the simpsons #not always right #social services #branding #brands #managers #trauma #pop culture #jerks #annoying managers

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ericbatalon · 2 years

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Social media ethics

Social media, like many other fields, has to maintain a code of ethics. According to Freberg, she states, ”Social media professionals may face a variety of different situations while they are employed for a large corporation, media outlet, agency, or consulting firm, or even when they are part of an organization (e.g., student athletes). Access to information pertaining to personal accounts on social media sites has been discussed in the online community as well as in the court of law.” In an article by Irina Raicu from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, titled On “Trump Media”, she shares her views on the behavior of former president Donald Trump, and his attempts to spread misinformation through social media and subsequent ban from Twitter. She writes, “After the president listed a number of discredited claims about purported election fraud, Rafendberger said, ‘Mr. President, the problem you have with social media, they–people can say anything.’ Trump replied, ‘Oh, this isn’t social media. This is Trump media.’ (He insisted, for good measure: ‘It’s not social media. It’s really not; it’s not social media.’) As commentators debate whether the blame for disinformation and incitement should be placed on Facebook or Fox News, Twitter or OANN, YouTube or Newsmax, etc., we might reconsider the term ‘Trump media.’” In addition to this example, another example would be Facebook’s privacy violations, which Raicu also writes about. In the 2018 article, she talks about the employee eyes only memo that had been sent regarding a death that had been captured on facebook live. She outlined how there had been a leak of the memo and how up in arms staff became with the leak and the irony of facebook users becoming upset over “Private” posts being shared. It seemed that the employees felt they were justified in their being upset but that when it comes to the general public they felt like that it was on the original poster, and not Facebook.

As a person who enjoys video games, I would be interested in joining the social media team at Nintendo. Nintendo has community guidelines for its players, which include statements about respect and rules, but also cautions people around areas of privacy including account information and sharing information. For prospective employees, they outline their priorities in their Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR report. While they do not expressly refer to social media ethics, they do outline goals of accountability, responsible business practice, and support of human rights. As a member of the social media team, I would hope that there is a focus on ethical practices, including privacy and accurate information sharing and avoidance of things like misappropriation, ignorance and monotony, which have been identified by Steph Parker according to Freberg as “The new deadly sins of social media.”

In thinking about a professional that I feel uses strong social media ethics, I am drawn to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Natalie Robehmed of Forbs seems to agree with me. In her article Why The Rock’s Social Media Muscle Made Him Hollywood’s Highest Paid Actor, She outlines his success on social media. SHe explains his presence on social media, saying, “On Instagram, where he has more than 108 million followers, he delivers inspirational videos of himself talking directly to his iPhone, often in his traveling gym. Other posts-leveraging another 13 million Twitter followers and 58 million on Facebook-introduce movie trailers, showing Johnson in development meetings and celebrate his ‘cheat day’ pancake stack, all decorated with multiple hashtags and millions of likes.” While the article does not expressly discuss the use of ethics, it does point out the power of social media and its usefulness as a marketing platform. Personally in looking at his social media platforms, you can clearly see a difference in his posting vs other influencers out there who arrogantly post to get attention. It is important as an individual to be truthful and sincere while also being mindful of the content you are posting, because one ill advised angry post could ruin everything.

For me, I think that some of the most important things I can do is ensure that I maintain as much control over my own accounts through privacy as possible and not oversharing. I also would like to ensure that the information I share is true and not just spreading misinformation or engaging in acts of intolerance or bullying of others. In addition to these, I feel really strongly that it is important not to “spark outrage” or engage in that type of behavior that comes from responding to others that are trying to spark outrage. It is incredibly important to research topics prior to posting about or engaging in controversial topics.

I found an interesting article by Keith Quesenberry from September 26 2016 titled Social Media Etiquette and Ethics: A Guide for Personal, Professional and Brand Use, he identifies nine things to consider before posting or commenting personally, professionally, or as an organization. I found these concepts would be important to follow as a practicing social media professional. They are:

Does it meet the social media policy?

Does it hurt my company’s reputation?

Does it help my company’s marketing?

Would my boss/client be happy to see it?

Am I being open about who I work for?

Am I being fair and accurate?

Am I being respectful and not malicious?

Does it respect intellectual property?

Is this confidential information?

These nine concepts spoke to me because they also address the three main principles of social media ethics and etiquette, as defined by Carolyn Cohn of CompuKol Communications,as authenticity, transparency, and communication.

Citations:

www.scu.edu/ethics-spotlight/violence-at-the-capitol/on-trump-media/

www.compukol.com/social-media-ethics-and-etiquette/

www.nintendo.com/about/csr

www.scu.edu/ethics/internet-ethics-blog/we-connect-people/

www.forbes.com/sites/forbesdigitalcovers/2018/07/12/why-the-rocks-social-media-muscle-made-him-hollywoods-highest-paid-actor/?sh=13e0766a136b

K.Freburg, 2022, Social Media for Strategic Communication, SAGE Publications Inc., https://reader2.yuzu.com/reader/books/9781071826881/epubcfi/6/38[%3Bvnd.vst.idref%3Ds9781071826867.i1840]!/4/2[s9781071826867.i1840]/12[s9781071826867.i1873]/34[s9781071826867.i1888]/28/1:325[hey%2C%20ar]

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hardengineerengineer · 2 years

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Where To Put Living Room Furnishings

Content

What Type Of Wall Art Should Be Awaited A Feng Shui Living Room?

Loveseat And Also Single Chair

When my children were back in college and didn't require everyday access to their storage space cabinet, I added some layers back right into the space. After that, the long console table on the ideal separates the living room from the entryway. For example, our living room as well as entrance are essentially one long space. Over the last four years of living below, our living room has seen several layout options. Every one of them "worked" as well as are practical alternatives for our personal room. If tables are close to a walkway, take into consideration making use of round ones as opposed to fresh starts.

She held placements at Time Publication, AOL, as well as JPMorgan Chase. She is also a home decoration and DIY lover that invests her spare time enhancing her residence. Stay clear of dark or intense shades.Cushions, drop cloths, and also attractive objects can be extra conveniently and also inexpensively changed than furniture or wall surfaces, so start by adjusting these. Every space benefits from a focal point, or centerpiece, which can be any kind of item or area that attracts the eye as well as provides you something to orient your other furnishings around.

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When individuals ask how to prepare furniture in an awkward living-room, they're truly asking how they can make their space help their furniture. You can also see just how details products from Celebrity Furniture would certainly suit your room so you can better comprehend which furniture is best for your space. Go To a Star Furniture store near you to surf our big option of trendy and also affordable living room furniture. While you exist, do not forget to benefit from our free interior decoration solutions.

If your living room is often utilized for conversations with friends and family, pick a furniture design that assists in conversation.

You'll intend to consider where to place your television, the critical couch, coffee table as well as even more also.

Look at images in publications or on television decorating shows to get originalities, after that readjust them to match your very own choices.

With every one of the seats currently easily accessible, take your layout up an additional notch by offering each sitting location a close-by surface area for beverages, snacks, or phones.

As an example, if you have two couches, the television can sit behind one to maximize room.

Either use an online floor planner or old-fashioned graph paper to design your wanted floor plan. It's the only guaranteed means to understand whether or not things will certainly fit the means you desire. When it involves coffee tables, most of the time, larger is much better. A big coffee table in the center of a seating location is fantastic for both aesthetic appeals as well as feature. It works as an anchor for the space as well as it leaves lots of space for people to take down drinks or for you to show favored accessories. A large table also supplies easier access from the seats around it.

What Type Of Wall Surface Art Should Be Awaited A Feng Shui Living-room?

If your living-room's main function is to see television or motion pictures, then the TV will certainly be the emphasis of the area. As discussed, if this was the only purpose of the area, all furniture would simply aim at the TV. By taking the secondary task into account, we start to see exactly how we should organize the furnishings. For physical circulation, think about the method you relocate throughout the area. Your living-room should be easy to relocate through, with a clear area to every seat and a path behind furnishings, if required. Whatever you might need to accessibility in the room must be easy-to-reach, like light switches and fireplace controls.

" Pulling furnishings far from walls is a huge distinction. Love it. Will certainly advise Great post to read to anyone that asks." You can acquire virtual space arranging software application to get a much more accurate concept of the last look before you acquire or arrange furniture. Represent wall hangings, flat display televisions, or fire places with rectangles 0.5 to 1 square vast put over the wall of the map. This action is optional, but a small crookedness can add a wonderful touch also to a restful room.Make little changes initially as well as maintain readjusting until you find something you like.

This is where I share decorating pointers and also simple do it yourself jobs with great deals of color as well as a little bit of glam. As well as the objective is to influence you to use your very own imagination to change your residence right into a house you love. That will certainly produce the feel of space dividers without totally obstructing the view of the space.

Utilize a small side table such as this one rather than a regular sized end table. A couch ought to never block the window but if it has a low back it can be positioned in front of the home window in a tiny living-room. The truth is your living-room should be made for your every day needs, and also just how you use it daily! An open principle home's living-room can actually be much smaller than a separate living-room space. Price cut does not apply to furnishings, clearance or open-box products.

Loveseat As Well As Single Chair

So prior to shooting on that particular little side table that you like, make certain you have actually taken into consideration just how it will certainly function in your room with all of the various other elements. For many living rooms, choose a few large elements and a few small elements. Unless you consider your living-room extra small, added large, or an uncommon form, comply with these standards. A couple of huge pieces of furnishings need to comprise the majority of the furnishings by quantity. Two end tables and also a little coffee table after that offer beneficial features as well as give smaller sized objects for more aesthetic interest without taking focus far from the bigger items. We remain in a predicament with our living location attempting to make the seating much more comfortable for the two of us in addition to when we have friends and family over to enjoy ball games, and so on.

You intend to round out your seats as well as create an area for face-to-face discussion. Opt for low account furnishings to load this space in front of the prime focus. You could opt for a bench or set of footrests that won't block the view. A very easy and fail-proof approach includes dividing your room right into sections and then evenly distributing furniture throughout.

Floor lamps fill in side tables, so the coffee table should come within arm's reach so visitors can establish drinks down. There are some floor lamp creates that included a table connected as well. Table lamps are self-explanatory-- simply make sure they don't use up the whole table top.

It is extra flexible and produces chances for discussion without losing a very easy method to watch TV. Comparable to the U-shaped setup, it makes your television the focal point of the area. Nonetheless, it enables breaks in the location, so foot traffic can quickly slide between the furnishings. In this manner, you can comfortably rest multiple areas of furniture that all face the same instructions, without anybody losing their view of the tv.

When suitable, these charges will certainly be kept in mind on the item web page, in your purchasing cart, or throughout check out. In addition to our unbelievable specials and price promotions, Lumens is committed to supplying you the lowest possible price on every product we sell, each day of the year. If you ever before discover the exact very same product marketed for much less anywhere, within thirty day of your Lumens purchase, please let us understand and also we will happily match that cost. Bear in mind that delivery and handling fees will be thought about.

Beckett Chairsthat fulfilled somewhere in the middle with their upholstered seats and an open, oak outlining on the back as well as sides to bring more light and also airy-ness to the room. We are solid followers that mixed furniture is thoughtful furnishings, however picking split pieces for a wonderful space can be tough. It might feel like a hard thing to define however consider it in two ways-- the room's visual as well as physical circulation. Low-pile carpets are much better in the living room, as high-pile rugs will promptly become used by the furniture's legs.

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The Birth Of Buy Instagram Mentions

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