My grandpa was one of the last to work for La Forestal. They came to the Argentine Chaco to extract tannin from the quebracho tree. He tells me that every time a huge quebracho was cut down, it fell on the new little trees, not giving the forest time to grow back. A job from sun to sun, on lands stolen from the native peoples of the Chaco, who, along with criollos and immigrants, were also forced into gangs to cut down trees so hard that broke down axes, with trunks meters in diameter, to be pulverized in sweatshop factories and sent as tanin podwer to European industries. La Forestal did not pay you in pesos; you had a coin (my grandpa still has his, it says "Obrero N° 14"), which you presented at the company store, and they gave you whatever (food, booze) they cared to give you, or what they said they had; after all, as my grandfather says, if you didn't know how to read or write, how would you know you were getting less than they said?

And if you went on strike? And if you formed a union? And if you wanted to resist, like the indigenous peoples did? Some boys with a blood-red cap, the Cardenales, criminals taken from prison, would come and kill you, in broad daylight if you were striking, in the middle of the forest if you were alone. Many books tell about hacheros yelling one last long sapucai before killing themselves, because they couldn't stand it anymore.

Who were the owners of this terrible company? English. In the La Forestal HQ in the north of Santa Fe, a beautiful mansion (I understand that it is now a ruin) while the workers lived in mud huts with roofs of palm leaves, every day, the Union Jack was hoisted over Argentine soil, and of course, at five o'clock it was tea time, while all the tannin, loaded on barges and on railways worked by Argentines but owned by the British, went to Europe, and the wealth, of course, to London.

My grandfather lived through the last of this. Perón already came by that time, with worker's rights, unions, rural schools and clinics, the nationalization of railways... Nevertheless, he still had to hunt to eat and work from a young age at the machines of the company, as the company was leaving the country and couldn't even bother to pay a pittance to its workers. It eventually closed most of its operations and came into Argentine hands. But don't think it was because the English had a change of heart. They just found a better source of tannin, the acacias in their African colonies. God knows what crimes they committed there, if this is what they did in the territory of a 'sovereign' country.

And this is the side of the story I know. I cannot yet speak for all the territories the British owned in the Patagonia, some of which are still owned by English millionaries today. Don't come to tell me that the poor innocent English had nothing to do with the genocide that was done to the indigenous peoples in this country.

The most used Mexico´ cliches in fanfiction and comics (And surely this can apply to any other OC)

Traducción en Español: AQUÍ

DISCLAIMER:

This post DOES NOT intend to throw shit and attack specific authors or their work, so out of respect we will not mention names. If you have read my other posts you will know that this only has the purpose of entertaining and to give a personal opinion.

Also, this does not intend to be a manual or guide on how to write a good comic or fanfic. It is only a compilation of repetitive elements found throughout these works.

Now, let's continue ...

Hi! How are you doing? I hope you are safe at home, and in case you have to go outside take your precautions.  

I have been in Hetalia's fandom for more than a year, and the Countryhumans' less than a year, and both my cousin and I have seen and read enough material from Mexico's OCs, enough to compile in a list the most popular cliches when reading a fanfic or comic which involves this character. As I said at the beginning, this is not a guide of what to do and what not, but we invite creators to find new ways to tell the same stories (or even new ones) differently and to not fall into the predictable.

( Perhaps it is because in my university career one of my teachers was very demanding with coherent scripts and stories, and that she tended to review them 10 times before giving the approval, that I became very demanding with the creation of stories and characters. But that's my personal issue! )

Sarcastically, this should be called "The clichés that cannot be miss for your Mexico´ story" :

1. The Mexico´OC was created ONLY to be the love interest of another character (the author's favorite):

In the same way, the author´ comics and fanfics will be of the romantic genre, and it will involve his favorite ship (or his various ships if he/she is a multi-shipper). Making a brief conclusion, there are few works in which Mexico stands out as a character, without having the love interest, or the famous harem, as the main plot.

And if you were curious, here is a chart that shows the most used ships in the Hetalia´ case, although in 2020 it may have slight changes:

(Denmark and Norway?! I have never found any fic about them being paired with Mexico)

2. María Sue and Gary Estuardo:

More cliché this could not be. Even when I´m mexican myself, I realize that the representation of my country has received the Mary Sue treatment by the fandom, both in Hetalia and in Countryhumas, and mostly by the latino and mexican community. I already talked about this HERE, but I'll summarize it:

Regardless of whether Mexico is a man or a woman:

- They will be the center of the universe, all the characters will kiss the ground they step on, they will be the most cute person in the world, without flaws, and their greatest virtue will be his or her ethereal beauty that will make everyone to fall in love with them, with just an eye blink.

- It´s never their fault and they will never face the consequences of their actions, e.g. causing WW3. What's even more, he or she is just a poor victim of the evil countries that want to take advantage of his/her territory.

- Having got laid or dating half of the world will not cause them serious consequences or a negative reputation.

- Personality? Oh my, that´s very complicated to write, instead I will narrate how my female Mexico arrived at the restaurant with a dress that highlighted her feminine attributes and how her long and abundant hair made more than one person to sigh; Or how my male Mexico wore tight pants that showed his perfect toned legs, and that when he smiled he made blush every country.

If it was a parody, I'd accept Mexico to be a Mary Sue or a Gary Stu. But usually the authors want you to take the story and the character seriously. So... nope.

3. Plots taken from soap operas, or telenovelas:

Believe it or not, there are authors who have admitted that their Mexico´ fanfics are based on mexican telenovelas. And the worst thing is that telenovelas have the most cliche stories in the world! Think about it, you have a good and humble, but kind of dumb person, who in this case is going to be Mexico, who falls in love with a handsome and rich person, who will obviously be a first world country, but there is someone who wants to finish their romance. You also have forced marriages, fights, misunderstandings, slaps, super dramatic scenes, passionate scenes, cheesy titles...

Mix all this elements together, and you will get:

For comedy purpose, we will be using my OC)

4. The fanfic or comic always, ALWAYS, has to start with a world meeting:

I propose a challenge for you and your friends. Gather together and search for Mexico fanfics, no matter the fandom where you all came from. Take a shot, or put a coin in a jar, for every time the first chapter begins at a meeting.

And almost always it is here where the author builds the romantic story, examples:

“It was a normal day in the boardroom, everyone was arguing while Germany (United Nations if it is a Countryhumans fic) tried in vain to put order and discipline. Only a nation was waiting for a certain person with brown skin and delicate features, to enter through that great door… ”

“Suddenly, a brown skin girl with black and curly hair (Seriously guys, where did you got the idea your average mexican girl has natural curly hair?!) entered the room, and the entire room went silent. Everyone who was there had something to do with that young lady, and seeing her there, turned into a full woman, left them stunned. She was gorgeous.”

Another cliché, but this one can be in any story, is: "Realizing that it was getting late, he got up, took off his pajamas, groomed, combed his hair, and put on his yellow shirt with his ...". There are several ways to start the story without the famous world meeting and the character's morning routine.

5. The harem and love triangles (or any other geometric shape):

This cliché could not be missing either. There are a lot of Mexico x TheWorld´ fanfics. As I said before, I am not against the shipping and the harem of Mexico, each one is free to ship whatever they like, as long as there is respect between the community.

But even when an author wants to focus on a single couple, let's take for example Canada x Mexico, he necesarily has to include USAMex and RusMex as secondary couples, and at some point it gets exhausting and reforces the Mary Sue treatment. It seems that for many authors, Mexico's international relations automatically translate into a “romantic relationship”, and not into a friends or business partners one.

And also, the construction of the relationship it feels sometimes very empty. The author doesn't give time to show how they become a couple or how they found the chemistry in the other. In the third chapter they are already making out!

6. The toxicity:

Oh yeah.

I don't blame this clichá, my cousin and I concluded that healthy relationships are rare in Hetalia and Countryhumans. Practically all countries have one or two flaws that at first sight makes them look toxic. And in Mexico's fanfics and comics, particularly those involving USAMex, the character gets involved in a possessive and codependent relationship.

If Mexico is not a dominant male or a femme fatale, it will be a submissive character who will allow all kinds of abuse. Or in each chapter he or she will doubt about his/her relationship, and will make their partner jealous.

To write a healthy relationship, you must work on the characters' strengths and make them both face their flaws, but instead, the authors take these flaws and make them the basis of the relationship.

7. The party´ chapter in which things get ... heavily crazy:

Okay, so we have our first chapter at the world meeting, where we establish the main couple. Now what we need is the stage for the lovebirds to confess their love ... while being drunk. In many works we will find the countries gathered at a party (usually a Latino party), and the author will narrate all the crazy events that occur, including how Mexico and his sweetheart, will confess their feelings after having taken a few bottles, and sometimes this gets to ...

8. The chapter (or chapters) + 18

This is almost a requirement for many fanfic´ writers, and is always written in the same way. The author will narrate you in detail from the moment they begin to undress until the climax moment.

9. Spain will never stop calling Mexico "New Spain", despite the fact that more than 200 years have passed since the country's independence and its recognition:

And in the case of Hetalia, Mexico must have the same last name as Spain: Hernández Carriedo. Yes, in the same way that United States last name is not Jones, but Kirkland, like its ex-colonizer England; or that Belarus last name is Braginski as his brother Russia, and not Arlovskaya.

Also, although Spain continues to call Mexico "New Spain", he will never call Argentina "Rio de la Plata" or Colombia "New Granada". Similarly, England and France will never call America and Canada "13 Colonies" and "New France" respectively. It seems to be something exclusive for Spain and Mexico.

10. Repetitive references and jokes, or lack of knowledge about the country.

Paco the chihuahua dog, Mexico and Sudamericans fighting over the avocado´s name, Mexico having flashbacks of his/her past with the Aztec Empire and with the USA when they were colonies, Mexico complaining about his/her rulers and corruption within the country, Mexico crying over Texas, Mexico demonstrating his/her beautiful culture to other countries …

Not to mention when someone makes an Mexico OC and his knowledge of the country is very basic: tacos, sombreros, Day of the Dead, always hot climate, the wall issue with America, Aztec and Maya as the only ancestors of Mexico, Texas, burritos... Sorry if I sound rude but, those people need to read and investigate more, and watch less movies where Mexico has that yellow filter.

11. Bad translations

Okay, this is something exclusive of the spanish speaking fandom, but I´ll tell you what´s their issue.

Some author had the brilliant idea to make the dialogues of the countries in their respective languages, followed by placing the Spanish translation in parentheses, and from there many followed suit. The problem is when you notice that they don´t speak or understand the language, and instead they use the Google translator, obtaining results like this:

There have been several occasions when I am reading America and England´ dialogues, and it makes me want to write in the comment section: “DON´T USE THE GOOGLE TRANSLATOR! ” I wouldn´t know what to say from the rest of the countries, since my French is very basic,and I have hardly learned one phrase from the others languages.

My advise for these authors is to find a person who is fluent in the language and who can help them with the dialogues. Or even better, try to avoid this cliché, because at the end of the day people will only read the translation, and it is already implied that each country speaks in its respective language. Also doing this is very pretentious.

The less you can do is to add in the dialogues well know words, like adiós, hola, bonjour, ciao...

12. Changing the canon personalities. Or worse: turn a loved character into a villain.

I already said this HERE too. Basically, for the author to make his Mexico an empathic character and to make other countries to fall in love with him or her, they must conveniently change their canon personalities. This applies more in Hetalia than in Countryhumans, since this last one belongs to the community and nobody can establish what is canon and what is not. On the other hand, in Hetalia the characters already have their own personalities, and neither plays the role of villain. And there is a big difference between being an antagonist or a villain, but I´ll let you to investigate it yourself.  

This cliché is closely related to the Mary Sue treatment, because if I want readers to empathize with Mexico, I must turn another character into an evil person who is going to put him through hardships. And normally this character is the United States or America, whatever you call him.

If I want Russia or Germany to fall in love with Mexico, I must rewrite their characters and throw out the unstable part of Russia, and Germany's little experience regarding romantic relationships, just to make them the most romantic and sentimental people in the world.

✥   ✥   ✥   ✥   ✥   ✥   ✥   ✥

There you have it! I think I already roasted 80% of Mexico fanfiction and fanart, but is not like they are going to dissapear with this post. On the good side, for every time I cringed reading some of these works, I have saved a good amount money, you must try it. I should try an aside blog where I criticize bad fanfiction... But at the moment, that´s all for today! See ya!

youre proud the portuguese used to be major colonizers?? what do the british have to do with south america??? im. a little lost

Okay so, I’m going to assume you’re a gringo to be asking that question, and I’m also going to take this in good faith for yours and other people’s benefit because South American history is not really a subject in other countries’ educational system to put it very charitably.

First of all, I’m absolutely not proud of the Portuguese empire’s colonial legacy. On the contrary, I’m highly critical of it and its lasting consequences in all of its past colonies, and the atrocities that they perpetuated. What I meant was that to erase the Portuguese empire’s part in the colonization of South America, the differences between the past Portuguese and Spanish colonies in Central and South America, and how those differences shaped our current geopolitical situation is to erase half of the history of the continent. When I brought them up, it was to remind that they were in fact a major power in the world before the British Empire took that role, something that is quite often overlooked or downplayed like it was in that post I reblogged. I don’t say it as a point of pride, I say it as a reminder of a historical fact, awful as it is.

And, you ask what do the British have to do with South America, and I tell you, more than you might think. 

The British had been trading with Portugal in their colonies since the 16th century when they first started to dip their toes in the transatlantic trade. They first started sailing from West Africa and then started to make stops in the northeast of Brazil, before returning to England. At first, they came for pau-brazil, a type of wood native of South America that gives a very deep and rich red dye and it was all the rage before sugar came along and became the Portuguese colony’s main export as well as other raw materials like cotton and tobacco. Of course the Portuguese cracked down on those trades eventually, and also Britain had the Sieges of Boulougne going on, so they had to give it a break for a bit. 

So guess what? Around the late 16th century, the British empire sent down fucking pirates to press on the Spanish and Portuguese fleets. Privateers but, you get the picture. You’ve heard of Francis Drake, right? 

Yeah, that guy. He and some other notable names like Edward Fenton and Thomas Cavendish were sent to explore the waters between the Atlantic and the Pacific and find ways to circumvent the fleets to make the way around the globe, going through the Strait of Magellan. You know, the southern tip of South America. Also, to steal stuff from the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Just to prove that they can and to clap back at the Spanish. And the ports of São Vicente and Santos in the southeast of current Brazil became an almost obligatory stop for English ships sailing in the south Atlantic to restock their ships for the rest of the journey. 

So the Portuguese started to get fed up with the English stopping by their colony and started to fend off the ships and arrest the sailors if they made port. So because they were pirates, they attacked the Portuguese colony. They assailed the Bay-of-All-Saints (current Bahia, Brazil) for two months, they raided and pillaged engenhos and towns on the southeast coast, and when they attacked Recife, they got so much loot from the city that they needed the help of Dutch and French ships to take it all with them. (an interesting source to dig through)

Also, where do you think our sugar went to? The engenhos (our version of plantations) sent the raw sugar to the Dutch who refined it and sold it across Europe, especially the British. Until the Dutch and the Spanish started to plant sugar cane in the Caribbean, Portugal had the sugar market pretty much cornered. That’s why the Guyanas exist and one of them have English as their main language, it was a Dutch colony and the British took control of parts of it from them, so they could trade with the native communities for prime resources, like wood, pau-brasil, native animals, cotton, tobacco, urucum (it’s another source fo red dye, google it), and so on. Guyana’s capital is called Georgetown??

Oh, shall I get to the fact that the majority of the gold you see in the interior of Buckingham Palace is from Brazil? I think I shall because, during the gold rush in Minas Gerais, Portugal was severely in debt from their wars with the Spanish and the Dutch. So much debt that what they got from exploiting their colonies, they spent it right away with industrialized goods. Goods from England. We in Brazil have an expression, “quinto dos infernos”. Literally “the Devil’s fifth”. It comes from the taxation of gold from the mines, one-fifth of what the miners extracted went to the Portuguese. To send someone to the Devil’s fifth is to tell them very emphatically to go fuck themselves. I think that explains how the people in the colonies felt about the taxes. It also caused revolts like Levante da Vila Rica and the Inconfidência Mineira, the last one being a major historical event in Brazil. So much so Minas Gerais’ state flag’s design is the same as was suggested by the rebels.

Libertas quae sera tamem is latin for “freedom albeit late”.

Oh, and you think pirates and privateers got involved just those first times? Think again! The tensions between the Spanish and British fleets in the Caribbean caused some major upheaval and even a war between the two of them, one battle affecting current Colombia, with the British attempting to siege several major ports from the Spanish. The war started cus the Spanish cracked down on illegal commerce in their colony by the British.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the British invaded the Vicoroyalty of Río de la Plata, (currently Argentina and Uruguay). The war was a good cover to attack one of France’s allies, but it wasn’t the first time the British had their eyes on the region, they’ve had previous attempts at trying to take control previously. The defeat of the British by the local populace with little to no help from the Spanish colonizers was also the last straw they needed to push for their independence.

Speaking of dwindling colonial powers, when Spanish and Portuguese ships kept failing to supply ships to meet the colony demands, it was the British who stepped in and filled the gap. After the Napoleonic Wars, the transatlantic trade basically belonged to the British, and if you’re paying attention, that greatly affected colonial and independence era South America. After Brazil’s independence from Portugal, the British were one of the new country’s main economic partner, mostly because it was their support when the royal family came to Brazil that pushed for independence. They even opened a mining company in Minas Gerais that ran for 125 years.

And these are just the things off the top of my head. The British Empire, like all the other European empires, had their fingers on many major events in Latin America as a whole as well as all over the world, but I tried to stay focused on South America. 

Colonizing powers in Europe of past and present have always had their fingers here because that’s what having colonies is. It’s exploitation and intimidation and always trying to get more and more, no matter who gets hurt or killed in the process. The plantations and engenhos were brutal, the mines were brutal, the entire system of colonization is brutal and revolting. Countless enslaved people, mostly black people, died in those places, so many even the slave trade couldn’t keep up with the demand for slave labor. It’s absolutely horrifying. And our countries have suffered and still suffer from external influences in our politics, especially by the US in more recent history, even if we keep fighting against thinly-veiled military intervention constantly. It really fucking sucks.

And you could have learned all this - and more! - if you just bothered to open a single Wikipedia article. Like, literally google “history of South America” or “Latin America-United Kingdom relations” and read. Bonus credits if you dig into the article sources and read them if available to you in English. But if reading is not your thing, there are several youtube channels out there who want to teach you stuff you don’t know and are a decent enough jumping point. Literally all I can say after all this is, educate yourself.

(I’ve leaned more on Brazillian history which is what I’m more familiar with, but if there are any fellow latines who want to correct me on something or add on to this, pls do so!)

Soy Luna Headcanons [or Alternative Universe].

Hey there! So, I had these headcanons for a while in mind (that, let’s be honest, are more au than anything) and a couple of people I love told me to share them here wth the #soyluna hashtag... So, here they are! A few explanations before starting:

-The pairings I put in [] are based on the characters’ interests, it’s not like they play a big role in the story, I just needed them for background and storylines.

-I don’t like all the pairings in here, (i.e Jimiro, Jimico, Gasfi and Lumon are paring I completely do not like nor ship) once again, I just need them for the storyteller.

-The pairings in cursive are the ones I’ll be developing.

-It’s gonna be a two parts post, this one has the sexualities and explains the plots a little. The other contains the headcanons in general.

-It’s not a fic or something, these are just some ideas I’ve got, tho if I ever get inspire I could write something but Idk, we’ll see.

-This does not contains s*x stuff, not explict anyway, but the characters do get involve in situations like that, so if that’s not your way, don’t read it please.

-I don’t know if I should advert this but, the majority of the ships are LGBTQ+ as well as the characters, so if you are not down with this neither Do. Not. Read.

-I tried to fix my ideas with the characterization that the characters have in the show, so if you find something OOC (more than the pairings) I’m really sorry.

Andddd, that’ll be all, hope you all enjoy my gay mess :’)♥.

Headcanons:

LGBTQ+ characters;

Luna {bisexual}.

Matteo {bisexual}.

Ámbar {bisexual}.

Gastón {queer}.

Ramiro {queer}.

Yam {lesbian}.

Delfi {lesbian/queer}.

Jazmín {polysexual/queer}.

Simón {bisexual/queer}.

The Inevitable Straights™;

Nina.

Jim.

Pedro.

Nico.

Pairings and basic storylines;

»Luna is an extrovert, fluffy, kinda silly girl; she used to have a golden life in México until her parents get a job from a rich woman from Argentina and has to move there. That’s the place where she meets Nina, the girl that quickly becomes her best friend, and well, then there is the following thing: Luna likes boys and girls, and although she is not really open about it, she definetely falls for Nina, who is already in love with someone else. Luna also kind of likes this guy Matteo, who is an irritating ass, but really charming and cute at the same time, and because of this she has to fight her feelings in the process of finding herself. [Lutteo/Lunina].

»Ámbar is Matteo’s all life girlfriend, but she’s always had something for girls, reason why she falls for Luna the instant she’s introduced. Ámbar had a pretty rude childhood and is still dealing with family issues, resulting in her always brad and mean demeanor. Her two best friends are the only people that actually like her, so when she meets Luna, she’s exposed to a different view of reality: Luna’s passionate, vivacious and cheerful and Ámbar realizes throught her that not everything has to be a black whole of revenge. [Lumbar/Mambar].

»Matteo is openly bisexual, dates Ámbar and chills sleeping around with boys… Until Simón comes into town. Matteo never liked to feel exposed or attached to no one, and that’s why he and Ámbar never had such a serious relationship. However, Simón is not like the guys he’s used to sleep with; he’s brave and expressive and won’t take any of his shit, so… Things really start to change. [Mambar/Sitteo].

»Yam is a punk-rock girl power kind of girl, she’s free in her own world. She has always known that she likes girls, and if she never came out as lesbian she well knows she is. She used to have a massive crush on Jazmín, but after Jim goes into another heartbreak, Yam helps her so that she doesn’t let herself suffer like that anymore, and in the process of making her independent she realizes she’s in love with her (kinda like Ari and Dante from Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe). [Yazmín/Jimila].

»Delfi is a popular girl with low self-esteem, a lot of sterotypes and prejudices when it comes to POC or LGBTQ+ people, and the belief that she should date Cute Popular Guys™. Thus, she starts with Gastón, but that is until something goes wrong and she ends up kissing Jazmín on a party… Wrong move. Jazmín has been Delfi’s best friend maybe her whole life, and she has always been connected to her better than to anyone else, but never in the world could she like a girl… Right? [Gasfi/Dezmín].

»Ramiro is a loner, an impassioned for dance, rap and skating, he’d got no friends until he meets Jim and Yam, and when Jim starts having feelings for him, he wonders why he never felt something quite like for… Nobody; he deals with the fact that he does not acknowledge his true sexuality, leading him to consider himself asexual for a while, although he’s always thought Gastón Perida is pretty cute while also admiring the way Yam views the world… But Gastón. [Yamiro/Gasmiro].

»Simón is the stereotypical delusional fell-in-love-with-my-whole-life’s-friend kind of guy, reason why he follows his best friend Luna all the way to Argentina when she moves. Once he’s there, he confronts two things: how a guy called Matteo Balsano can either take his girl or take his heart. Simón is a good guy, he has really high expectatives from life, and sees everything in a cheerful, vivid sort of way, and that’s why he thought Luna was the one for him. Little did he know you can reach heaven with the devil. [Lumon/Sitteo].

»Jazmín is a goofy, extravagant person, the average popular kind of girl; she doesn’t like to define her sexuality because she doesn’t think it matters that much, or that’s what she told to herself when she liked her best friend Ámbar. Now that that’s over, she obsesses with the new worker in the Roller: Simón cutie-face Álvarez. [Jambar/Jazmon].

»Nina is a bookworm (at least that’s how she gets called at school). She’s smart, shy and likes graphic novels just as much as tea. Luna is the first friend she makes, well, ever, reason why she’s the only one who gets to know Nina’s biggest secret: the pathetic fall she’s got from Gastón, even though Luna thinks Pedro Arias suits her better. Nina and Pedro have been friends for a while, and Nina loves talking to him, but for some reason, she always falls for the losers. [Gastina/Pedrina].

»Gastón is a average teenage boy: he likes sports, girls (especially that girl Delfi, w o w) and music, but he also reads novels and textbooks, likes to dance a lot and watches the constellations every night with a telescope from his balcony. Small things he would never tell in general… But here goes another: The hesitant feeling he gets around Ramiro Ponce. Gastón has never doubted his sexuality before, of course that, he had never hung out with Ramiro either. [Gasfi/Gasmiro].

»Jim doesn’t know what the word “stop” means, and that’s why she gets constantly hurt by guys that does not deserve her, including her best friend Ramiro; after going on hiatus when Ramiro told her he liked her best friend Yam, Jim promised herself she wouldn’t fall for boys again, but good luckk was what she needed when Nico started tutoring her in math… oh Jim. [Jimiro/Jimico].

»Pedro is a smart, decent guy, and smart enough to know that Delfi would never like him, starting from the fact that she’s a Mean Girl™, which actually doesn’t bother him that much, but damn she’s pretty, as pretty as any girl could ever be… Except for Nina. Nina is an angel, he was sure of that. Pedro never wondered if he liked Nina, it wasn’t important, he wanted to have her in his life as much as he could, ‘cause she’s the best girl he’s ever met. [Pedrelfi/Pedrina].

»Nico helps Jim in math after she fails a test and he’s in the band and stuff (idc about him enough to make him a proper stoyline lol sorry, i just need him for Jim). [Jimico].

Legacy - Chapter 24

At this point America was laughing and looking slightly offended “So, just to be clear, you didn’t think that I had the balls to actually rebel.” Mexico nodded in response “To my credit, no one else thought you would actually do it, including England. That is part of why you won.” America continued to chuckle “I thought I won because of my brilliant use of strategy.” Mexico smirked in response “Oh don’t kid yourself, Alfred, your strategy usually consists of charging at the enemy and hoping for the best.” America had no response to this and instead decided to change the subject “So what did you do to start training Philippines?”

Mexico stood up and walked over to the window, this seemed to distress America greatly “Where are you going?” Mexico glanced back over his shoulder and said “My legs were falling asleep; I need to stretch them if I am going to keep talking. You do realize we have been doing this for hours.” He absentmindedly opened the blinds and looked at the moon. Alfred was slightly uncomfortable about this turn of events “Close the blinds, anyone can see in here and both of us aren’t wearing anything”. Mexico replied with a smirk “Yeah, whoever is out in the middle of the night will see my amazing body and their night will be much better. Stop being such a prude.” America huffed indignantly but didn’t say anything; this stinging remark was one that Mexico often directed at him.

The other finally answered America’s question “I combined lots of house work with intensive weapons training during the nights. Spain thought I was breaking her wild spirit with the heavy chores and in a way I was. The point was to teach her discipline. Within the first few weeks she hated my guts, within the first few months, I think she wanted to kill me in my sleep.” Alfred nodded “If I had tried that with her, she would have really killed me”. Mexico was not surprised by this “You really don’t know how to deal with her, Alfred. It’s all about respect. She didn’t respect you, just like she didn’t respect Spain.” America responded with a slight laugh “And she respected you?” Mexico responded, still not looking at America “I did get her to agree to put up with all my tyranny, didn’t I?” America nodded, although Mexico didn’t see it.

The blonde then changed the subject again “When did you go back to Spain? I know that’s where you were when I started writing to you.” Mexico finally turned around so that his back was to the window and said “It was a while after I adopted Piri, I lost track of exactly how long. I was only in Madrid for a few weeks when I got your first letter. I suppose you want me to tell you about returning to Spain.” America nodded again eagerly. Mexico sighed again and took one long last pull from the cigarette stub that he was still holding on to and said “Alright Alfred, I’ll tell you about that if you tell me why you started writing to me, because I never figured that one out”. America smiled boyishly and said “Fine, we have a deal” ___________________________________________________

Mexico fell into a new routine, he spent most of the day supervising Philippines and sometimes talking to Texas about business matters. He had also taken a strange interest in America’s little acts of rebellion, which were going from bad to worse. The house had long since emptied, most of the other countries had left and gone back to their own respective homes. As it was, Philippines and Texas were the only two people who were around consistently. Even Argentina had taken a somewhat apologetic leave and disappeared. They all seemed to have had enough of Spain, who had inexplicably decided to remain in the colonies.

Every evening, Mexico and Spain dined together. It was mostly a way of lulling Spain into a false sense of security, the more casually friendly their relationship, the more comfortable Spain would be. The casual conversation was also an opportunity to loosen Spain’s lips to get a better sense of the state of the empire. Spain was trying to hide the fact that the empire was slowly spinning out of control, although it was stalled by the fact that England was very busy with America’s rebellious behavior. It was one of those nights when Spain made a proposition

Spain was already sitting down when Mexico came in late, although he did look up at his colony. Mexico sat across the table without saying a word, he didn’t need to. Spain looked up at him and started talking “You’re late, what were you doing?” This was not the first time that Mexico had been late, but this was the first time that Spain inquired after the reason. This indicated that Spain had something really pressing to talk about. Mexico responded with the most convenient response “Philippines was being more troublesome than usual and I had to deal with her”. Spain nodded curtly, which indicated that he took the excuse.

Mexico let them lapse into silence so that Spain could hurry up and spit out whatever he wanted to say. It worked as he expected it to. Spain continued talking “History has been made today, but I don’t suppose you were paying attention to international happenings”. Mexico took note that it must something really important that he was building up to, because he was stalling. It was Spain’s usual style. But Mexico was in mood to listen to Spain pander. He said simply “Cut to the chase, what happened?” Spain looked down and then back up at Mexico, obviously a little shell shocked before he said “You are always so abrupt, I like that about you. I’ll just get to the point then; the first shots were fired between The English troops and the Colonial militia in Lexington and Concord. The war for independence has officially begun it seems.”

Mexico couldn’t help but be shocked by this. He hadn’t expected or anticipated this, it didn’t figure into his plans for his own independence. But in this case he could outwardly show his surprise, it was expected “I take back what I said about Alfred not being an idiot. He’s out of his mind; there is no possible way for him to win a war with England. I expect this is going to last less than a year, England is a very strong Empire”. After he finished saying this he noticed that Spain was smiling. This indicated that he wasn’t actually sad about the turn of events, “Agreed. I suspect that we are seeing the end of the 13 colonies. Arthur should punish treason in the only reasonable way: death”. Mexico understood perfectly why Spain wanted Alfred dead. He saw the American as competition for Mexico’s affection. There was a part of the Aztec boy that was somewhat sad about the prospect of America dying but he didn’t understand why. He had no reason to care about the idiot, and at this point any sign of attachment would be bad. He had to turn this conversation away from America before some of the confusing mix of emotions slipped out.

He chose a very ambiguous transition “Do you think England could really kill the boy with how attached he is?” Spain picked up the butter knife and twirled it absentmindedly between his fingers “He needs to do it, the boy is deliberately being treasonous, and for that he should be punished”. Mexico leaned forward slightly and replied “You said they weren’t too dissimilar from us. So, hypothetically, if it were me and you, what would you do? Would you kill me for my betrayal?” Spain’s face drained of blood and the knife stopped spinning. Mexico could almost hear the wheels spinning in Spain’s head. A couple prickly silent seconds passed before Spain finally said “How can you ask me to decide that?”

Mexico maintained his stoic composure “It is the same decision that England is making right now. It is not so simple is it?” Spain nodded slightly, as though he was agreeing with the purpose. But his eyes were still uncertain of the answer as he spoke “I could not kill you unless you had completely renounced me. If your heart became so treasonous that you truly hated me, then I would have no choice.” Spain believed this to be purely hypothetical, but Mexico knew better. This response was diplomatically vague, but it revealed a very important hesitation. In his heart, Spain could not even contemplate the idea of having to kill Mexico. That was important. Once the younger did rebel, and he was certain that the time was getting closer at hand, he would have the advantage of knowing that Spain would hesitate.

He could also use the statement against Spain in the moment. He feigned a slight shock, being sure not to overact “Antonio, you could kill me as if I am nothing?”. If it was possible, Spain’s cheeks got even paler. He failed to speak, although his lips continued to move. This was exactly what Mexico had been expecting and he let his own plan run. Mexico stood up and said “Your silence is revealing. I thought I meant more to you than that.” He stood up and started to storm out. Spain did the most predictable thing he could, he yelled after Mexico desperately “Alejandro, wait! I need to explain. You can’t leave me like this!”

Mexico stopped walking and waited for Spain to speak. The Spaniard did just that “I didn’t mean that. Of course I could not kill you, unless I had no other choice. To do so would be like ripping my own heart out.” Mexico turned back around and walked up to Spain, who was also standing now. He now knew how much Spain cared and he could use it to his advantage Spain looked supremely relieved. Mexico took the chance to speak “I overreacted, I am certain of your love for me. And you can be certain that I will never rebel against you”.

Spain smiled as he replied “To show my love for you, I am going to give you something you have longed for” This caught the other off guard. What Mexico most desired was revenge and that was something that Spain could not give him. Other than that, he longed for liberty and that was something else that Spain would not give him. So, he was not certain what Spain was hinting at. The other read the confusion on Mexico’s face and said “I have arranged for us to go back to Madrid in a few days. You will finally be reunited with Catalina, which is something I know you have been wishing for.”

Mexico couldn’t help feel guilty about how easily he had forgotten his fiancé. She was a blur on the edge of his mind, he remembered that he loved her, but he couldn’t feel it anymore. He felt no guilt over being unfaithful either. The emotions were all disconnected. He should miss Puerto Rico, but he didn’t. To mask the lack of emotion, he looked down at his feet as though overcome. This turned out to be the wrong thing to do. His emotional vulnerability was apparently too tempting for Spain.

Spain took a step forward and closed the space between the two of them. Mexico didn’t notice this until he felt Spain’s hand on his face. At this point he looked back up at Spain. The green eyes were clouded over with lust and the Spaniard spoke in a soft rough voice “To think, I am going to hand you over to a woman. I only have a few days before you will spend all your time with her again. It will be so hard for me, especially now that we are so close.” Their eyes connected and Spain’s words seemed to fail him and he leaned in and captured Mexico’s lips.

As soon as Spain made contact, he could no longer restrain himself, the passion was quite obvious in the kiss. This time Mexico didn’t push him away, he couldn’t think of a good reason other than his own utter disgust. Even the taste of Spain’s tongue in his mouth made him want to gag. He was about to try and get Spain off him again, when Spain’s hand found the spot on the other’s back that drove Mexico crazy. Just like the last time they were in this position, the Aztec boy was instantly lost in the sensation. He had no way to stifle his moans with Spain’s mouth so crushingly against his own.

Spain disengaged the kiss and said in Mexico’s ear “I have tamed you, and yet I still taste the wild on your lips.” Mexico wanted to object, but all that came out of his mouth was heavy breathes. Spain kissed hungrily down the skin of Mexico’s throat. Between kisses, he spoke “My brother said I would never do anything right, but here I am. I have the child of the Aztec empire trembling under my hand.” These words broke through the haze of sensation. The shame they conjured in him was overwhelming and crushing. He was Aztec and would not submit to this indignity.

He gently pushed Spain off of him, it was meant to be a reproach, not a hostile gesture. Spain hardly looked happy about being reproached, and he said “Why do you always push me away when you seem to enjoy yourself? This is our last chance to do this before we return to Spain?” Mexico couldn’t tell him the truth without revealing other secrets, so he deferred to a different excuse “I am to be married and although I may love you as my colonizer, I cannot commit the sin of adultery.”

Spain scoffed. He turned around and grabbed a glass of wine off of the table. He took a drink of it before saying “I made that engagement; I can unmake it just as easily if it bothers your conscience so much.” Mexico could hardly believe what he was hearing. His engagement to Puerto Rico was Spain’s way of binding the boy to the empire and it seemed far too valuable to give up for the sake of the Spaniard’s lust. Spain put down the glass and stepped forward, this time softly caressing Mexico’s face as he said “I don’t need you to sin to be with me, mi amour.” He kissed his colony of the cheek, and there was something almost gentle about it. Mexico scrambled for a new excuse, anything that would keep Spain from taking him.

In his desperation, he chose a truth, but not one that would endanger him “Romano would never forgive me. You would do better to give your affections to him.” This actually managed to stop Spain in his tracks. His eyes went wide with genuine shock “Lovi hates me, he makes it clear every time he sees me.” This time Mexico was the one who scoffed, simulatiously taking a step away from Spain “Then you are blind. The looks he throws at your back are full of longing. He loves you, not like I do, as a colonizer and a lord, but as a lover.” Spain took a moment to come to terms with this. Mexico took the chance to leave the room. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This time Mexico actually stopped talking to let Alfred comment because he could tell that the other was seething with rage. Alfred said simply “How many times did Antonio try that?” Mexico had expected this question and answered “A couple more, would you like me to skip those occasions? Antoino has always been very bad about controlling his passions.” Alfred shifted his position on the bed uncomfortably “Alejandro, I can’t tell if you are just being cruel to me, or just being brutally honest. You are my boyfriend, I care about you and hearing how Spain made advances at you makes my blood boil.” Mexico responded with a laugh “You are far too jealous for your own good. I despise Spain. He can make whatever advances he likes, I will never fuck him and I never did. So, you need not be so jealous."America responded "It’s natural, I don’t want to think about you with someone else. So, you went back to Spain after that?” Mexico turned back to the window as he said “No, I made very important arrangements before I left for Spain”. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Texas looked up at his brother with utter and complete shock “You want me to do what?” Mexico repeated his requests carefully, making sure to be very clear “I want you to start altering the financial records. We can start pocketing some of our own prophets. Make it gradual at first so it isn’t noticeable.” Texas nervously moved his hands absentmindedly over the ledgers on the table in front of him. He kept looking down as if expecting to see the right words written on one of the pieces of paper. This strategy seemed to fail him, so Texas looked back up at his brother “It’s not that I can’t do it. It will be easy for me. But you do realize, brother, that this is treason.”

Mexico understood why this was his brother’s response. Every colony in the empire had been so thoroughly indoctrinated that it was only natural to call out treason. Now was the time to level with Texas, or at least appear to. He said smoothly “Brother, We both know that tensions are rising. We need the money for our own protection. The English seem especially fond of raiding our ports. It is only treason if we use it to build an army to overthrow Spain. We aren’t going to do that.” It was a lie, but Texas need not know that yet. The money was to finance a militia, which would be necessary when the time for rebellion finally came. But it had another purpose. The drain on Spain’s income would also weaken the empire greatly, especially with the income of both the Philippines and Mexico under Mexico’s control.

As the empire fell apart, Mexico might have the chance to finally break free. Texas laughed nervously “I doubt Spain will see it that way. If he finds out, what do we do then?”. Mexico had already prepared a response “Then I will talk to him, you know he favors me enough to allow this.” That was not true either, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a precaution. If Spain were to find out, then Mexico would simply claim he had no knowledge of the embezzlement. He could then let his brother take all the blame. Texas didn’t suspect the ulterior motive at all, He believed in his brother fully. He said “Alright, if you say it is alright then I will do it. Just be sure that Spain doesn’t know.” Mexico nodded now that he was sure his brother was going to follow his instructions. _______________________________________________

Philippines stared at Mexico blankly while she picked up the bucket she had been using to clean the floor. She put the bucket on a nearby table before she turned back to him and said “You’re going to take me to Spain with you?”. Mexico nodded in reply “I want you with me at court”. She smirked as she picked up the brush that accompanied the bucket “Is it possible that you have grown fond of me, Mexico?” Philippines was the one person who he could be completely honest with because she already knew his biggest secret, so he gave him the most honest answer “No, Piri, I just don’t want to let you out of my sight. Your self-control is still lacking and you need supervision.”

She placed the brush next to the bucket before responding to Mexico “Are you going to make me do all the housework there too?” Mexico responded “That is Spain’s choice, it’s his home so we have to abide by his rules.” She nodded pensively “Well, he doesn’t like me, so I don’t think things will be any better there”. Mexico could hear the sadness in her voice, and he understood why. She had just gotten used to this place after being uprooted from her own and now she had to change again. Mexico tried to be hard on her most of the time, but this was just so familiar.

He put his hand on her shoulder gently and said “It won’t be that bad, I can talk Spain into letting you have time to adjust. Trust me, there are things to look forward to.” She perked up, but only slightly, her voice was still subdued as she responded “What are you looking forward to. You can more easily orchestrate the rebellion from here”. Mexico smiled slightly, he had forgotten that Philippines didn’t know he was engaged “There is more to life than hate, you’ll learn that someday. My fiancé lives in Spain”. Philippines reacted to this far more dramatically than Mexico expected her to.

She jumped slightly and shrugged Mexico’s hand off her shoulder like it was something poisonous. She looked his squarely in the eyes and said “You’re engaged? How is that possible?” Mexico shrugged, a little confused on how to answer that question, “I love her, and she loves me. It’s that simple.” Philippines still didn’t look satisfied with this answer “Does she know you though? Does she know your plans like I do?” Again, Mexico felt he owed her an honest response “She doesn’t know. She wouldn’t understand."She responded as soon as he finished his sentence "So I am the only woman who knows the true you.”

There was something so hilarious about the whole situation that Mexico couldn’t help but laugh, which enraged the Filipino. She snapped “What is so funny about that.” Mexico responded “Firstly, you are a girl not a woman. Secondly, there is one women who knows my truth, and you are not her.” Understandably, Philippines gawked at him “But, you said that your fiancé didn’t know”. Mexico smirked “She doesn’t, but I didn’t say she was the only women waiting for me back in Europe.” He wasn’t going to tell her everything about his affair with Brazil, she already knew enough of his secrets to expose him to Spain if she chose to, she didn’t need a way to tie him to Portugal. He didn’t allow her time to ask more questions “You had better start packing, we leave in two days”

New/Old interview with Ian (November 2016) _______________

Mike Dolbear DRUMS | Interview with Ian Matthews - Kasabian

“Rock compares to jazz like killing someone with a baseball bat vs. putting a pillow over their mouth”. Ian Matthews has both ways down like few others.

Coming from a jazz background he swapped the thin sticks for some proper wood and has been the power house behind British Indie Rock band Kasabian for the last 13 years.

2015 has also seen Ian seeking out new adventures joining a team surrounding master drum builder Keith Keough launching the brand new British Drum Company.

I caught up with Ian after his performance at the London Drum Show to chat about his musical upbringing, Kasabian and his new venture into the drum building business.

[x]

You started at the age of four after your babysitter taught you your first beats?

Yes, my babysitter (now passed away) was one of my dads mates and a long standing friend of the family. He would come to babysit me and bring me drum sticks when I was about two. I still remember ‘Mama - Dada - Mama - Dada’. His dad had an amazing red sparkle drum kit which I always loved. I think that’s where the seeds were sown.

My dad being a pianist wanted me to play the piano too but he realised that I wasn’t interested. So when I was four he tried to find a teacher who would teach somebody so young. There was a guy who lived just around the corner in Bristol called Mike Holmwood who was playing as a session player at the time for a band called The Brotherhood of Men. He had me come round the house, stick on some Cowboys and Indians or whatever was on the telly on a Saturday morning, gave me some milk and biscuits; take me up to the drum room for ten minutes to teach me some stuff; then back down for some more Cowboys and Indians; then back up for another ten minutes and so on... He did that for several years and taught me how to play brushes, jazz independence, how to read and all that. He got me to a point where when I was seven years old my dad turned around to me as he was packing his organ in the back of the car and went: ''Son, you’re coming with me''. The drummer for his social club gig was ill so I filled in. I went to do the gig with him and got £5. From that point I was hooked.

This guy Mike used to tell me about playing with confidence and feel. It was something I didn’t quite understand then but he sowed those seeds in my head. I’m making music for the sake of how I’m doing it as opposed to what I’m doing and I’ve got on as a drummer from the age of 19/20 as a drummer by going into from that direction.

Was it a conscious decision for you to make drumming your career or did it just happen?

I went through school still doing all these gigs with my dad and then joined a Bristol drum corps called The Troopers when I was ten. I don’t think we were a very good drum corp; we rehearsed twice a week and we also came last in the championships, but it taught me how to play with others and we used to race each other on rudiments trying to become the lead drummer.

I also did some school orchestras and in the band of the Avon and Somerset fire brigade learning to play with a wind band, playing military type stuff and lots of reading. I also did wedding gigs and jazz gigs, so I was always involved with music through school.

Even my drum teacher at the time, Eddy Clayton, used to dep me out for his gigs so I was playing in the pubs of Bristol when I was 13. Props to all these middle aged jazzers letting a 13 year old boy sit in and count them in.

I left school and had some crappy jobs which all weren’t really well paid and I just realised I could make nearly enough doing a couple of function gigs on the weekend. So I decided I would like to just sit at home and have to do nothing else but just play the drums and see if I can live of that. So I did.

You once made this beautiful comparison between rock and jazz being like “killing someone with a baseball bat vs. putting a pillow over their mouth”.

[laughs] Yes, this was kind of a half joke between me and a friend of mine who’s a jazz violinist. I’ve done jazz gigs with him and it’s so different than going on stage for a hundred thousand people driving a drum kit through the stage. That’s why we came up with that. To me, brewing on a ride cymbal at mid- to up- tempo, or even a slow brush thing, the inner me is trying to bring as much intensity to that musical moment of a whisper as I would at a yell.

You’re left-handed but you set up your drum kit right-handed?

I had this question a lot during my time as a teacher. You find people have left/right issues with their bodies. For me, I’m left-handed writing but my natural instinct is to kick a ball with my right foot, so my right foot was always gonna be my kick drum foot. Also, I was just put on a traditional drum set by my first teacher. I can’t even remember if he made me play like this or if I just naturally did it because I as a kid I watched all these drummers on our little black and white TV making their drums shake, guys with massive bangs of hair and huge sideburns. Maybe that’s where it came from. I’m not against playing lefty but it’s just the way it rolled. The right foot thing though was important for me.

Let’s talk about Kasabian.

I had a teacher who indicated to me that if I wanna get on the scene I needed to make sure to make friends and connect to as many engineers as possible. That’s where you meet the musicians who are doing stuff and where you get a call of people who need a drummer. These are the guys who are active, not the getting stoned in a bedsit dreaming about being a rock star.

I had red light fever and every time the recording button got pressed I would jam up. I tried getting as much training as possible, whether it was paid or not.

Mat, a friend of a friend, ran a studio called Big Bonk and I used to go there and record for free on his projects and in return he would throw me some work. Sometimes there was 50 or 100 quid in it. Kasabian from Leicester were coming down. They got some development money from their manager to spend on a drummer and Mat recommended me.

The day before the recording I fell down the stairs, sprained my right ankle badly and was inches from picking up the phone to cancel because I couldn’t walk. I still did it. I limped down to his basement, the boys looked at me and I went: ''I’m your drummer for the day''. That’s when I first met them. I did the session in pain you wouldn’t believe, they were blown away it seems and I did a couple of sessions with them after that.

They got signed the year after in 2002 but I couldn’t really get involved because I was doing enough stuff already. I was working with a guy signed to Virgin, another artist signed to Real World and was going to Paris a lot doing some African crossover stuff replacing Manu Katche in a band.

During that time the guys were sharing a farm up in Leicester working on their record. We lost contact a little through 2003 and later that year they started getting on the road playing the Dog & Duck here, the Dog & Duck there, driving up and down the motorways in a Mini Metro and an Austin Maestro.

In 2004 the manager called me in a panic saying they needed a drummer next week and they wanted me. It was Easter holidays so I went in and we tore it up for two weeks. After that the manager said: “Do you want to come and work with us? I can hire you and we have enough money to replace your teaching and feed your family. Come with us for 18 months.” I went for it and it was amazing. In fact they made me a band member in 2005 - so it’s kind of a gradient in membership. I wasn’t just parachuted into a famous band. I proved myself, we proved ourselves and together we made it all possible. I met them 15 years ago and it’s all been developing ever since.

There’s a bit of a time off for the band at the moment?

Yes, we last seriously toured in 2014 when we headlined Glastonbury. That was a big gig. That whole year was really dense.

Then 2015 we just did about 15 or 20 festivals mostly in eastern Europe, we also went to Brazil and did the Lollapalooza tour of Latin America taking in Chile, Peru, Colombia and Argentina. Then come the end of August we decided we’re on our sixth album, we need to give us some time off. We also wanted to give the public some time off and not just bring out another album and go back out on tour.

This coincided with Keith inviting me to become partner in the British Drum Company.

2016 was quiet apart from May where Leicester, Kasabians favourite team, won the Premiership in the most dramatic way ever and we played their victory parade in front of 150,000 people in Victoria Park. In my down time I did some jazz gigs, some funk gigs, a little bit of session work here and there, the drum company and my family. I’m not pursuing a project because by the time it gets going Kasabian will be back out.

Let’s talk about the British Drum Company for a bit.

So Keith is a guy I met a few years ago at the Scottish Drum Fare and we got on like a house on fire straight away, it’s like Bro-Love. We stayed in contact every since and every time I was in Manchester we met up for a drink, some food or he came to see a gig - we just became mates and we would trade on each other on our perspectives on drum maker vs. drum player. I always knew I wanted to work with but he was with Premier and I was with DW so we just didn’t have the situation.

It came to that he left Premier and Al Murray convinced him to keep on building drums, so the two of them started collecting partners. Stu Warmington does our marching devision, Alan Kitching is our product designer and there is me, which is flippin’ amazing. Keith literally just turned around to me at V-Fest, the last gig of our tour and went: “You’re up for this then mate?”. And I just went: Wow! Fuck yeah!

It must be something like a little boys dream to be involved in building your own kits. Is there any limit to what you can do or can you just try anything?

Mate, it’s incredible! Keith is the genius and what the rest of us do around Keith is to steer his genius in the right way. We’re like a band. We’re flying very quickly, we’ve only just gone a year and already everybody is going: oh yeah, British Drum Company. People are intrigued still  but we all came together because we’re all senior in what we do somehow. We’re not ‘having a go’ or just investing in a business and try go get people in to run it who are not that emotionally into it. We’re five partners who came together to create something magic that we’re proud of and I think it’s working.

I think it has taking people by a bit of a shock that a little Manchester workshop can create a drum kit which sounds f**king unreal.

I had that moment when I left DW, who I was very loyal to, and turned up to London Drum Show last year [the official launch of British Drum Company]. I got up in the lift, got to the booth, drums all over the floor, the boys all red-eyed because they’d been up all night to finish the last drum kit and you could still smell the solvent. Keith gave me a drum key, put me on this 24” kick drum kit and told me to tune it up. I took a deep breath: Right, this is the moment, let’s see what I’ve done. I hit the drum and I tell you now: the adrenaline that went through me when I realised I’d done the right thing was incredible. We set the whole thing up, I played it and my first words when I turned to Keith were: ''I’ll take this kit on a stadium tour tomorrow. I’ll never forget that moment''.

I’m catching you just after your masterclass in the Mike Dolbear room here at the London Drum Show. How does this compare to being on stage with a band?

Well, I’m coming here to a full room of people and I have Ash Soan, Karl Brazil, Mark Richardson, Cherisse Osei and Tina from Zildjian out there who all came to see me. Bloody hell! I’m nervous of those situations but it’s not the playing, it’s the talking. Am I actually gonna manage to entertain these people and give them something?

When it comes to playing music I’ve been doing it long enough. The intense acceleration of Kasabians career happened in the mid noughties - especially when Fire came out. Suddenly we started headlining all these festivals. I remember being at T in the Park and looking at this enormous stage, there was Channel 4, T4 cameras everywhere, celebrities hanging about and 60,000 people out the front and I shit myself! I had my moment of ‘Wow’ and had to talk myself down of it. I told myself: I’m only here because the boys want me here and the way I play. I can’t change the way I play that’s just the way it is. We are only here because the people out there want us there. We can’t change the way we play, that’s the way we do it. So if we only go on stage and play the way we play and not be scared of that, then happy days surely! We spent hours together in dressing rooms and tour buses talking about these issues, Tom just always went: ''You have nothing to prove''.

So I think those other drummers can think what they like, we’re all mates. I could have a bad one today and wouldn’t give a sh*t. I’m only human.

I know that I’ve made 100,000 people jump at the same time in a field so there is something about my humble basic beats that works. That’s me being arrogant of course but if we get into the psychology of it... and maybe there are some readers out there who might have to read that. It’s like sports psychology.

Finally, what’s next?

The company is keeping me busy pretty good. We’re doing most of it via social media so my phone is just going ‘bing’ all the bloody time.

In the meantime, the weather is changing for Kasabian, we’re gonna be brewing up. The new record is in completion I think and for all you Kasabian fan readers, there’s gonna be something special coming your way.

That’s the good thing though: if I do go out back on tour with Kasabian this year, I’ll still be helping to manage the company.

I feel very lucky at the moment.

Thanks a lot for your time Ian!

Interview -Tobias Miorin

Photos - Francesco DesMaele

www.mikedolbear.co.uk

gercan -- i can feel your heart beat faster, faster

“Well, I think I love him,” Matthew says, voice amplified and discordant, and the entire United Nations General Assembly looks at him.

Ludwig, at the podium and about to call for a recess, just stares up at Matthew and Netherlands. Matthew’s back is to most of the assembly but Netherlands’ face is clearly visible, actually slack with surprise. Suddenly, he reaches out and covers Matthew’s microphone with his hand, the muffling sound of his hand loud enough to break the stunned silence of the enormous room. Matthew turns, then.

His expression goes white, and he meets Ludwig’s gaze.

There’s a thunder in Ludwig’s chest.

Every other nation starts talking at once.

--

Every continent is a knitting circle, and Matthew’s faulty microphone and inadvertent confession will become the talk for the rest of the summit. It’s already all anyone can talk about during the recess.

Ludwig can’t escape it, though Matthew does. He disappears at the beginning of the break, followed by Arthur, and Ludwig is left surrounded with a horde of curious, bored, and speculating nations.

“We haven’t had anything close to a love confession since France broke down and asked Austria what it would take to bed him.” Denmark grins, leaning heavily into the back of her chair, arm draped over it and onto the table behind them. He’s talking to Kiku when Ludwig approaches. “Which continent do you think little Matthew’s special friend’s from?”

Kiku’s expression is polite and engaging and Ludwig’s stomach twists when he guesses, “Europe.”

Denmark smiles at Ludwig, next. “What say you?”

“I say,” Ludwig begins, the back of his neck hot, “that we don’t have time to speculate over Canada’s personal life. We should be discussing Resolution—“

“It’s definitely Europe,” Peru interrupts, leaning over from the next row above Kiku. “I bet its England.”

Ludwig sighs and sits down. He thinks of Matthew. He thinks of how Matthew kissed his forehead before disappearing back to his hotel room.

--

They were soldiers when they first met, calling at each other from their respective trenches or, especially in the beginning, at night in no man’s land when collecting their dead.

Then, one day, when the sky was overcast and the earth was steaming, thick mist at knee-length, Matthew rose from a shell-hole and met Ludwig with narrowed eyes and muck smeared across his face. Ludwig’s footsteps pulled at the mud, a sucking noise with each step.

“I’ve only just come back,” Matthew called out, “so I’d prefer if you didn’t shoot me.”

“I won’t shoot if you won’t,” Ludwig replied, leaving his rifle hanging on his back. “Your German has gotten better.”

“Thanks to you. I’m sure it’s difficult to teach German when your student is in another trench.”

The other grinned, a bright thing in the dull landscape, and Ludwig didn’t know what else to say. He let the other pass him with a nod and watched him leave over the ridge.

(The next time they came face to face, Ludwig did shoot. And the following time, Matthew took his recompense and caught him in a chalk tunnel with a punch knife to his femoral artery.)

(The sixth time, they shared a cigarette on one of Ludwig’s abandoned pillboxes. Matthew’s face was still wet with tears, hiccupping even as he pressed his lips to Ludwig’s.)

--

At breakfast the next morning, Matthew is flanked by Alfred and Mexico through the buffet line then breakfast and until they take their seats at the morning assembly. Alfred has his hands in his pocket and Mexico links hers and Matthew’s arm together as they walk.

Ludwig watches them during breakfast; of the protective way Alfred hovers and brings Matthew coffee, of how Mexico bullies Argentina out of his seat on the other side of Matthew. They rally around their own and Ludwig doesn’t think he’ll be able to get Matthew alone again during this summit, especially since Matthew has ignored his phone calls.

The time for lunch comes and Alfred whisks Matthew and Mexico away for some off-Manhattan restaurant. They most likely won’t be back for the afternoon session, and Ludwig doesn’t feel like issuing a reprimand.

He eats his meal quickly, trying not to think too long on Matthew. It wouldn’t help, anyway.

“Did you know?” Francis demands, fork held menacingly right between Arthur’s eyes. “You did. You knew, and you kept it from me.”

Arthur looks undisturbed, for once. He just bats away the fork and pulls his plate of fish and chips (taken from the children’s offerings) closer. “Of course, I knew. And of course, kept it from you. You would have thrown a fit.”

“You bastard.” Then, “It isn’t you, is it?”

“Why does everyone think its me?!”

“I just hope he’s happy,” Feliciano murmurs, not at all concerned that Arthur’s upended his food onto Francis and shouting while Francis tries to shove him backwards. Feliciano’s too busy making curlicues in his pasta sauce and looking at where Matthew’s sitting. “It’s so nice to be in love.”

Ludwig glances back at Matthew, catches the blond’s head tilted just enough his way that Ludwig can imagine him watching, waiting.

He just sighs and finishes his food.

--

There’s something about Matthew that draws people in, makes them care. There’s mostly empty sweetness in his face that puts people at ease, and he’s neither cruel nor kind. He’s affable and friendly and harmless, and so all the nations get along well with him. Although they’re all gossiping about him now, there’s nothing malicious to it.

His extended family of nations rallies around him. Australia and New Zealand make him laugh during breaks. Jamaica takes him out to dinner and Cuba takes him out for dessert. He’s never left alone. No one can get close enough to tease him or ask who caught his heart.

The summit passes, and Ludwig walks through the lobby and tries not to think about Matthew.

He meets with Arthur in the elevator, the other holding it open when he sees Ludwig come into view. Ludwig almost considers turning around and going to the hotel bar, but Arthur hasn’t acted any differently toward him so maybe.

Maybe he’s not going to say anything about the fact that Ludwig and Matthew have been having sex for the past few decades—exclusively, from Ludwig’s perspective, by the way. Ludwig doesn’t know if Matthew has been having sex with other people. If he loves one of them. Probably.

Arthur just nods to him, lets the elevator close and rise. But he gets off on Ludwig’s floor, just follows him into the empty corridor.

“Don’t hurt him,” Arthur says quietly. “And don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I mean.”

“I won’t hurt him.” The threat and assurance in Arthur’s voice make him bristle. It isn’t the first time Arthur’s put himself somewhere between him and Matthew, like Ludwig’s the danger. As though Matthew’s still hiding wounds, and Ludwig can’t stop throwing himself at Matthew. Ludwig’s footsteps don’t falter over the plush carpet, and thankfully his voice is just as steady when he replies, “I didn’t think you cared. Matthew said you didn’t care. ”

When he looks back, Arthur’s face is a dark, furious flush. “I didn’t care. But then I saw you kiss him, wearing that uniform, and I did.” There’s a break in his voice, and Ludwig knows they all have fault lines, deep down. He just didn’t expect Matthew to be one of Arthur’s. “A fascist kissed my son, my little boy, and my little boy kissed back. You can damn well be sure that I cared.”

Ludwig’s turned to face Arthur now, his cheeks hot. “Your little boy kissed me first,” He snaps. He wants to say more, could say much more, but Ludwig stops.

There’s also something about Matthew that demands protection.

“I won’t hurt him,” he says after a moment. “I let him go. But he came back. I won’t hurt him.”

--

In Ortona, Ludwig came to with his head in Matthew’s lap. The other had one knee bent, Ludwig resting on his folded leg and Matthew holding him. When Ludwig moved fast to untangle himself, Matthew held tight and pulled him closer.

“Do you remember the tunnels?” Matthew had asked, soft and tired. “I was sorry I let you die alone. I considered you my friend, but I still left you.”

--

At a prisoner swap, Matthew left him with a soft kiss and Ludwig, wanting and wanted, took another. And Matthew gave him one more.

(The way Arthur had said Matthew’s name, it was like all the air had left his lungs, a shuddering, gasping plea that took Matthew further from Ludwig than any battle could.)

--

Two wars took their toll. Ludwig was rendered in half and sequestered to the area from his government office to his flat and the street of shops in between. Matthew learned what exactly independence was because it left him fractured right in his chest, over his heart.

Matthew had his fights and Ludwig has his, and neither of them had room for more. Maybe the wars left their hearts too small. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be, no matter how much their eyes met and how Matthew’s smile beckoned him.

But, once Ludwig was admitted to the United Nations, Matthew pulled him into his hotel room and Ludwig fucked him against the door, mouth against Matthew’s neck and Matthew’s hands in his hair and Matthew saying his name.

(And after the second time, when Matthew had ridden Ludwig until he was open, wet and dripping with it, Ludwig had touched Matthew’s cheek, slid his fingers into his hair and just looked at Matthew’s flushed, pleased face and thought, oh.)

--

Ludwig sends Matthew tulips because no one questions Netherlands, least of all Matthew, and Ludwig just needs Matthew to call him because they’ve been avoiding the same word for decades and Ludwig doesn’t know if its fear or misunderstanding or if Matthew just regrets the fact that he might love Ludwig.

“So,” Gilbert begins, smile slow and sly as soon as Ludwig arrives home, “Good trip? Eventful, productive meeting?”

Ludwig gives his brother a flat look. “How did you find out?”

Gilbert’s in the middle of the couch, arms stretched out along the back. He’s got two bottles of beer on the table, on coasters, and Ludwig resists for a moment before settling awkwardly by his older brother.

Gilbert passes him a bottle. “Francis called me, drunk, crying, asking if I was the one who stole his precious son’s heart. I told him that I’ve only slept with Alfred once, but Roderich was better. Not that he would know.” He shrugs at Ludwig’s wince. “Yeah, he didn’t like that either. Honestly, I’m really impressed that guy hasn’t given up. Roderich’s not that great either, but who is compared to me?”

Ludwig finishes the entire bottle while Gilbert preens and then says, “I don’t think Matthew and I can have a casual relationship.”

“Obviously,” Gilbert snorts, “You’re at least thirty years too late on that. Honestly, never keep a casual relationship for more than a decade with someone you gave handjobs to in a chalk tunnel.”

“That never happened—“

Gilbert just holds up a hand. “Come on, little brother. You know what to do.”

“…I sent him flowers.”

“Okay, not what I expected. But okay. Not a bad start.”

--

It’s difficult not to think about Matthew. He’s mostly the reason Ludwig’s caught in this limbo. For so long, Ludwig thought it was just him. He was the one over thinking Matthew’s gestures and complicity. Blogs and books tell him that fuck-buddies don’t dance at galas, don’t kiss without the intention of more, don’t attend the opera together. Matthew took him out to dinner and to hockey games. Matthew liked to have fun. They could have fun. 

There didn’t have to be more.

But fuck-buddies don’t soothe away night terrors. Fuck-buddies don’t bake cakes and share them at 3 in the morning. Fuck-buddies are supposed to back down when things cross a certain threshold.

Matthew loves him, too, and it’s not okay anymore for Ludwig to be the only one thinking these things.

Fuck-buddies don’t do any of the things Matthew and Ludwig do with each other.

And Ludwig fully intends to be honest, to tell Matthew its either everything or nothing. He doesn’t want to convince himself of things that are untrue.

But then Matthew opens the door to his house and Ludwig sees the tulips he sent on Matthew’s dining room table.

--

Ludwig slides to his knees, pinning Matthew to the front door with one hand. With one firm push, he tells Matthew to stay and starts to undo his pants.

“Oh,” Matthew breathes out. He slides to the floor, supported by Ludwig, and just runs his fingers through the other’s hair until it falls from the gel’s hold. “Ludwig….”

“It’s okay if you didn’t mean me,” Ludwig says, looking up into Matthew’s wide eyes. “Love whoever you want, but I want you, too.”

Matthew’s smile is timid and small, and he says, “I think you know it was you, Ludwig.”

Paulo Dybala Imagine

This is for @girlinmanyfandoms123. Thanks for your request love! <3 I hope you enjoy this. 

Paulo and you have been dating for a long time but you break up with him. Half a year later he comes to your city and wants to talk. A few weeks after you’re at a Juventus game and he scores and asks you to be his girlfriend again. 

I hope you enjoy and I would love if you left me some feedback! <33

A light breeze was blowing through the streets of Milan. Y/N could feel it brushing over her overheated skin, cooling it the slightest bit. She was grateful for it anyways. 

 "It’s so hot.“ Emma, her best friend, remarked. “I feel like I’m burning up. Literally." 

 Y/N chuckled a bit and watched her friend fanning herself with the menu of their favorite café. 

 "I guess you’re just hot like that.” She said, reaching for her drink. 

 A few droplets of water were running down the side of the glass, dripping down onto her thighs and causing her skin to erupt into goosebumps shortly. It was quiet refreshing to be honest. 

 "Haha.“ Emma deadpanned and brushed her red curls back. "Why am I still looking for my Prince Charming then?" 

 Y/N rolled her eyes and touched her now wet fingers to the back of her neck. She was hot as well, sweating in her pale yellow summer dress. The sun stood high in the sky, burning down on them unmercifully. Maybe they should have just stayed home like Emma originally suggested. They could fill the bathtub with cool water and ice cubes and take a bath instead of slowly dying off heat.

 "I don’t know Em, you’re a strong, independent woman. Maybe you have to go and rescue your Prince Charming." 

 Y/N wasn’t looking at her friend when she said that but when Emma didn’t comment further, didn’t even make any kind of huffy sound, she glanced up. 

 Emma’s face had gone pale and for a second Y/N was occupied with being surprised that you could actually look that pale during a hot summer day like this, but then worry kicked in.

She set her drink down and reached over, touching her cool fingertips to Emma’s arm. Her friend jumped.

 "Emma? You’re okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something." 

 Emma tried to laugh but it ended up being some kind of awkward coughing sound instead. 

 "I mean-” She started but trailed off quickly. “- that ex-boyfriend of yours, the soccer player. Do you remember him?" 

 Y/N felt herself tensing up immediately at the mention of Paulo. They had been dating for close to five years after meeting in Argentina during Y/N’s exchange year when she was a teen. Together they had gone through a lot of highs and lows, even managed to keep up a long distance relationship until Paulo moved to Italy in 2012.

Then in 2015 Juventus Turin, one of the best Italian soccer clubs, had signed him and it had all gone downhill from there. Y/N had supported him every step of the way as best as she could, but while Paulo’s fame grew he started neglecting their relationship.

It took a while to break their bond but with all the attention from the media she was getting as well, Y/N wasn’t able to stand strong much longer. Without Paulo to support her she had caved at some point and broke things off, moving back to where she came from. Milan. Her mental health had profited from her decision, her heart didn’t. Thinking of him still hurt.

 "Yeah.” She finally said, clearing her throat to speak normally. “Of course I remember. How could I possibly not?" 

 Emma nodded, not looking at her anymore. 

 "Does he still play for Juventus?”

 "Yes.“ Y/N shifted around in her chair, her thighs sticking to the cheap plastic material. "Why are you asking all those questions? It’s freaking me out.”

 "Well.“ Emma said dryly and placed the menu back on the table. "Because he is coming over here right now." 

 Y/N felt like she might have a heart attack right then and there. Her heart leaped into overdrive and she actually had to hold onto the chair to stay seated. Otherwise she might have gotten up and started running to god knows where. 

She was not prepared for this. She was not ready. She would never be ready.

 "Hi." 

"Oh my god.” Y/N said without really meaning to and slapped a hand across her mouth immediately after.

 Fuck, fuck, fuck! 

 "Ehm- yeah. I’m sorry to bother the two of you.“ Paulo, who was now standing next to their table, said and awkwardly ran a hand through his hair. 

 Emma nodded at him while Y/N was still unable to do anything. She was currently mesmerized by the fact that he actually looked good sweating. Damn those soccer players. 

 "It’s fine.” She stutters when noticing that Paulo was waiting for her to say something. “What are you doing here? In Milan? You should be in Juventus." 

 "I missed you." 

 BAM.

 That’s all it took to break down all those walls Y/N had carefully drawn up around her heart during the last half a year. She had placed brick upon brick, going higher and higher, forcing herself to forget about him, to forget his voice and his smile and his scent, to forget everything about him and now he was here, turning all her affords into dust. 

 "You can’t just do that Paulo.” Y/N snapped, she was fuming now. “You can’t just walk up here and tell me that you missed me. It doesn’t work like that!" 

 "Well, I’m here now." 

 "Right, but you really shouldn’t be!" 

 "Why not?” Paulo asks, crossing his arms across his chest and wow he had built up some muscles. 

 For a second Y/N is distracted again, then she goes back to being angry. 

 "Because it was a very long and painful progress to shut you out Paulo, and it’s unfair to just waltz right back into my life, okay?“

 The young Argentinian is quiet for a moment before his expression softens.

 "Y/N.” He begins quietly. “I don’t want you to shut me out. I never wanted that. I’m not here to judge you and I’m not here to beg for forgiveness. I know you’re probably are better off without me and I see you’re happy but I came to talk. I can’t live with us ending this way, I don’t want that. Not after what we had." 

 Emma clears her throat, making both of them aware of her presence. When they are both looking at her, she shoots Paulo an unimpressed glance. 

 "I’m just here to remind you that you are indeed here to beg for forgiveness.” She says and Y/N has to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud.

“And now I’m gonna leave because you guys have a lot of stuff to talk through. You better start now." 

 The redhead gets up, grabs her purse and nods over to her chair, waiting for Paulo to sit down. The young man awkwardly shuffles over and sits down across from Y/N whose heart is still beating wildly in her chest. She meets Emma’s eyes and gives her pleading glance, begging her to not go but her best friend doesn’t even react.

 A waitress comes over to their table when Emma raises her hand.

 “What can I help you with?” She asks politely. “Do you want another drink?”

 “No.” Emma says sternly. “I want you to keep an eye on those two and make sure, that they don’t leave this table before they’ve figure out their shit.”

 And then she’s gone.

 — One month later —

 When the ball hits the back of the net Y/N screams like all the Italian soccer fans surrounding her. There is an older man with his grandchild standing next to her, the little boy is singing excitedly, bouncing up and down.

 “Did you see that?” He asks, his cheeks glowing. “Dybala scored again!”

 “I did.” Y/N says and high-fives him when he lifts his little hand. “Do you like him?”

 “Oh yes, he is my favorite player. He’s great! I think he’s gonna be the next Messi.”  The boy turns back to the game but Y/N keeps watching him with a smile on her face.

 “Funny.” She says more to herself and then looks back down as well. “He’s my favorite player too.”

 Paulo scores again few minutes later and Y/N can feel her stomach doing funny little backflips when he runs up to the sidelines and waves to her when he spots her standing in the crowd.

A month passed since Paulo came to Milan, looking for Y/N and asking her for a second chance. She had been hesitant at first but agreed to meet him again. After a few normal dates they picked up texting and who was she kidding, she had never really stopped loving him. Their bond was still there and when Paulo had asked her to drive down to Turin and watch the game against Roma she couldn’t say no.

And now she is here, feeling just as bubbly and excited as the little boy sitting next to her.

 “Oh my god! Nonno, look.” He says to his grandpa right then and points down to the field. “Paulo Dybala is coming up here.”

Y/N whirls around and feels herself starting to blush when Paulo jumps over the sidelines and starts jogging up the stairs. Fans start screaming and the little boy next to her is reduced to a hiccupping mess but she can only focus on the young man who is now standing in front of her.

“Y/N.” He pants and quickly pulls her into his arms, hugging her tightly. “I have to be quick but I want you to know that those goals were for you.”

She hugs him back just as tightly, smiling into his jersey. The world slows down around them, everything fading into the background until she can’t even here the fans chanting anymore.

“Paulo.” Y/N starts but he cuts her off.

“You let me kiss you last week and I pray that I didn’t interpret it the wrong way, but I have to ask you something.” He pulls back so they can look each other in the eye. “I’m still in love with you and I want you by my side again. Do you want that too? Do you want to be my girlfriend? Please, say yes.”

Y/N feels like she might lift off the ground and float away if Paulo wouldn’t still hold her in his arms. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knows that this will be all over the media later and that fans are probably already making gifs but she doesn’t care. She’s in love as well.

“Yeah.” Y/N whispers and feels herself starting to smile once the words have left her mouth. “I want to be yours again.”

Paulo kisses her in front of the whole stadium, hell in front of the whole Italian soccer world, because the game is being broadcasted on TV but she kisses back anyways. When they part and  he jogs back down towards the field to finish the game, everybody is looking at her but for the first time in her life she doesn’t feel uncomfortable.

When Y/N sits back down her little neighbor tugs on her jacket carefully. His eyes are huge and round, staring back at her in astonishment.

“I’m Anto.” He says. “Will you please adopt me?”        

Investment Supervisor Cautions concerning Buying Uranium Projects

Although the junior mining industry began collapsing in May, smart capitalist Mike Halvorson, head of state of Halcorp Resources, still wound up having a very hectic summer season. Invite to the world of a substantial capitalist in mining supplies, who enters early and then delights in big profits as, one by one, his business end up being requisition targets. "I've been fortunate," the modest Halvorson told us, "I have actually obtained connected with top explorationists, individuals that do understand a high quality project." And due to the fact that they have reputation, high quality tasks come to those rock hounds. Halvorson claims his wealth-building strategy originates from buying the projects of these reliable rock hounds.

  On May 3rd, Glamis Gold got Western Silver. "I identified the project as well as the major rock hound behind it, Tom Patton," Halvorson discussed. "I was a director of Western Silver. I didn't remain associated for the entire run, but I was there for the most effective part of it." August has been his busiest month. As a director of NovaGold, Barrick Gold just recently announced a hostile requisition of this company, and which is currently being challenged. In mid August, Yamana Gold tried to take over the shares of Viceroy Expedition, which has actually confirmed as well as potential gold gets over of 7 million ounces in Argentina.

  So exactly how does somebody emulate Mike Halvorson's success in choosing significant victors in the mining field? "The average investor is mosting likely to have a bumpy ride," he sympathized during our phone conversation. "If I were an average investor, I would depend on some kind of advising service, or more or three, to help me choose my supplies." We both concurred several of the uranium tasks weren't going to make it. "A lot of these uranium jobs will certainly never ever see a shovel to the ground, they will certainly never ever see anything close to production," he warned.

  But several advising solutions keep an eye out on their own first, after that their subscribers, possibly if whatsoever. He recommended us to avoid the self-involved ones. "I have a long record with a couple of guys that are honest as well as have great capacities," Halvorson said. He registers for Bob Diocesan's Gold Mining Stock Record. "I like Bob," Halvorson informed us. "He covers individuals. He knows a lot of individuals in the sector. Among the presents, a person like Bishop has, is he does not try to fit the very same version over every business, like a lot of analysts do. He simply attempts to identify whether the supply is increasing. What makes Bob Bishop better at picking supplies than the majority of the guys is that he does not walk with a model. He walks with instincts and the capability to evaluate individuals included. He has a terrific network to inspect realities out with."

Michael Malcolm Walker ASIC

" I guess for the average person, if they do not count on a consultatory solution, they must most likely to the (source) conferences," Halvorson suggested. Such conferences happen throughout the year. One resource seminar happens today in Las vega. Another preferred resource program will certainly be held later on in September in Toronto.

  Valuing Uranium Mining Stocks

  " The (uranium) companies are so new," Halvorson claimed. "A few of them aren't actually that acquainted with their very own possessions, not to mention the properties of other companies. It's not such as the oil as well as gas service where you've got ... in western Canada, there are a loads or fifteen excellent design companies that supply get as well as tank analyses. If you see among those design reports, you can truly place a market price on those possessions."

  Not so in the uranium organisation. With uranium possessions, Halvorson explained, "A great deal it is historic job, several of them are National Tool 43-101 as well as some aren't." However he alerted that despite the regulatory insistence that business file independent geological records confirming their sources, "You need to be careful if you go out as well as acquire some 43-101 resources." He included, "I'm not sure that would solely base investment choices on them."

  As an example, he described just how it may be possible that a business can just option mine (ISR uranium recovery) the source. What occurs if after doing the tests, the company uncovers service mining won't function? "That is something that will concern me," he told us. "I assume there are a terrible lot of tasks available that are being called 'great tasks' by companies that have them. And I do not believe these people have a hint as to what is needed for option mining."

  If so, after that what should investors be seeking in uranium mining supplies? "At this phase, I would certainly try to consider undervalued firms since that's the least threat," Halvorson encouraged. "I do not think I would certainly take a look at the marketplace leaders, per se. Business like Cameco and also Denison are terribly pricey. International Uranium is pricey in my viewpoint." So where would Halvorson look today? "I would certainly take a look at the underestimated ones, the ones that have tasks, but for some reason perhaps not as much traction in the marketplace," he suggested. "I assume eventually the marketplace will certainly acknowledge those values or they'll obtain taken over at premiums."

Walker Capital

Two of Halvorson's favorites came from his network. "I originally obtained involved in Strathmore Minerals since I recognized they had some good homes and also some great professionals and contacts in the business," he described. "And, they have David Miller, that actually knows the business from top to bottom. Talking with him, I obtained comfy with those UNITED STATE assets. So, I actually backed the truck up and purchased great deals of stock." Halvorson subsequently ended up being a director of Strathmore Minerals.

  An additional Halvorson prefers is Kilgore Minerals. "With Kilgore, it is due to the fact that Norm Burmeister had such an excellent record with Silver Standard and also Bull Run," Halvorson said. "Standard is the type of guy that has a terrific admiration for a financial play. I obtained included with Kilgore relatively beforehand and also was semi-responsible for the stock moving out of the 30 - 50 cent variety. Standard has a huge gold home. We both chuckled regarding Kilgore's major disadvantage, and also he added, "There's a company that if it was boldy promoted, would probably be trading at possibly 3 times where it's at. Their gold property is possibly worth what they trade for."

  Halvorson reviewed his various other uranium holdings, "I was a fairly substantial investor of UR-Energy, yet you can't have all your supplies constantly. They had an excellent market so I left." He noted those were his 3 significant holdings and that he likewise has minor holdings elsewhere. Among those holdings, Santoy Resources, originates from his organization with Ron Netolitzky, that is additionally a supervisor of Viceroy. "There's not anyone that's got a much better performance history than Ron of identifying a financial deposit early," Halvorson said of his veteran associate. "Ron operated in the uranium area in the 1970s as well as 1980s, as well as the gold field, so he understands all about uranium expedition."

  Of the sector, Halvorson believes there is even more consolidation in advance with the quality uranium companies. "A few of these individuals have obtained pretty rich valuations, such as SXR Uranium One with their expensive currency and also extremely strong market support from Europe and also Canada," he informed us. "Because of their market cap, they're big enough that they can utilize their money and also do purchases." He commended SXR Uranium One, "I've been to their major task in South Africa. They're building it. It's taking place. They will be mining. As well as they are miners."

  Which's the huge distinction, returning to his remark regarding some tasks which will never see a shovel in the ground. "Exactly how do you contrast Denison to a few of these various other companies?" he asked. "That becomes part of the distinction. Denison looks like it's valued via the air, but they are extracting. I believe if Strathmore Minerals, which is type of underestimated right now, if we might get Church Rock producing, I believe there would be a huge revaluation."

  He sees a bright future in advance for the mining industry, and thinks investors can do well if they research firms before buying them and also obtain the right advice. "For people coming new to the market, I would certainly try to find undervalued stocks," Halvorson recommended. "I would possibly take a portfolio technique. I would not get simply one. I would acquire a number of."

  Halvorson anticipates extra consolidation in the uranium market. "As the business obtain more comfortable with everyone else's share price, and also getting more comfy with other people's possessions, then you will certainly see people saying, 'We can utilize our shares as currency because we're trading at roughly our Web Property Value (NAV), but this firm is trading at a price cut of 30 percent to their NAV. So, if we can do a deal with them, it's mosting likely to be accretive.'".

  That's not the instance right now, though. "You'll listen to firms talking about this fantastic possession they've obtained," he stated. "Then, I'll go ask somebody I know in the business about the play, and he might say, 'Oh god, I do not such as that.' Today, I do not believe individuals have any type of method of evaluating a great deal of these homes. If you keep in mind the analogy I utilized in the oil as well as gas organisation, where you have companies trading homes at all times, it's since people can depend on design.".

  Right now, a great deal depends upon the underlying asset. Rising spot uranium rates have assisted a multitude of the uranium 'development' firms, such as Strathmore Minerals, UR-Energy, Uranerz Power and Energy Metals, move higher. Most just recently, according to TradeTech LLC, the spot uranium price got to a brand-new high at $52/pound. A lot of the U.S. uranium projects became financial above $30 and $40/pound, which supplies financiers more chance commercial. "I assume I'm mosting likely to make a lot of money in the source industry over the coming years," Halvorson stated with enjoyment in his voice. "However you need to be nimble. If you purchase high and also simply hold, you might just get your cash back at the end of the day. If you like the market as well as trade around core settings, I assume it's mosting likely to be among one of the most appealing industries out there.".

‘They’ve been blindsided’: Silicon Valley wakes up to Sacramento

California’s Capitol in Sacramento.|Rich Pedroncelli/AP Image

SACRAMENTO– The powerful tech giants of Silicon Valley may wield some of the most significant lobbying budget plans in Washington, but they have been comparatively absent in their home state’s capital– where they are now on the defensive.

California captured the world by surprise in 2015 when it passed the country’s greatest information privacy law, instantly making Sacramento one of the most essential regulators of international tech. As members of the California legislature forged the offer on a specifying difficulty of the digital age, the internet business were sluggish to awaken to the risk, and brought few of their significant resources to bear.

Story Continued Below

The combined lobbying firepower of Google, Facebook and 2 major tech trade associations totaled up to just $235,000 in the three months leading up to the vote, compared to $3 million from the four biggest oil interests. Facebook, then mired in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, invested less than $18,000 that quarter, according to disclosure records.

The business neighborhood’s recent attempts to roll back parts of the personal privacy law, which works in January and will give consumers more control over personal information, hasn’t gone much better, further highlighting the disconnect in between Silicon Valley and its powerful neighbors a 2 hours’ drive away.

The Washington travails of Mark Zuckerberg and other Silicon Valley czars are well-known, and tech business have actually been grappling with aggressive European regulators excited to rein them in for years now– the European Union has the world’s most rigid privacy law. The companies’ reluctance to plunge into California politics has actually harmed them, strategists say, as they grapple with proposals from state lawmakers and a ballot initiative system that has actually produced two data-privacy projects in less than three years.

” You simply get the sense that they feel that Sacramento is on the other side of the moon,” said Andrew Acosta, a Democratic strategist.

That light touch looks to be altering as California dives deeper into data-privacy guideline.

However is it too late?

This year’s tech lobbying blitz, to the surprise of numerous, did not yield major carveouts in the brand-new Personal privacy Act. What’s more, the customer personal privacy advocate behind the law, Alastair Mactaggart, stated he was so worried by such efforts to water it down that he decided to advance a 2nd ballot initiative for2020 The new version would add new customer securities– and prevent the Legislature from making any modifications that would compromise the Personal privacy Act.

That could discuss why tech business who don’t like California’s brand-new personal privacy rules are leaning on Washington for regulations that would supersede state laws– an end-run on Sacramento.

One might presume state politicians facing reelection would shiver at the idea of pushing away a company worth the GDP of Argentina or Saudi Arabia.

Facebook is by far the sector’s greatest spender, with $1.7 million in contributions given that 2009 (leaving out those made by a former company executive to his own campaign for chief law officer in 2010). Google has actually invested $959,000, state records show, while Apple has given just $256,000

Compare that to $5.3 million that AT&T funneled into candidates’ coffers during that duration, and $6.2 million from labor powerhouse SEIU.

In truth, strategists state, some progressive legislators may even invite opposition from business like Facebook. “If Facebook did a huge independent expenditure versus Buffy Wicks,” Acosta stated, pointing to a first-term assemblywoman who has actually promoted privacy rights, “Buffy Wicks would say, ‘Bring it on!'”

” It’s informing that prospects running for president are now utilizing Mark Zuckerberg in their advertisements and highlighting him as an unfavorable,” he included. “Facebook’s on the ground and everybody’s kicking them.”

Facebook and Google declined to comment.

Amazon’s venture into regional politics provides a cautionary tale. The business suffered a public relations reaction and electoral defeat in November after pouring nearly $1.5 million into a PAC backing business-friendly prospects for Seattle City Council.

However another veteran Sacramento strategist thinks it is even riskier for tech to remain on the sidelines. Steve Maviglio, a ballot effort specialist, thinks the market’s uncertainty about openly opposing the 2018 data-privacy effort created an opening for California’s privacy law.

Maviglio was worked with by a tech and telecom coalition to eliminate the initiative. Rather than promise millions to beat it, he stated, the business took a wait-and-see method, not desiring to be the first to leap. The very first contribution didn’t come till February 2018, four months after the initiative was submitted, project records reveal. That April, reeling from the Cambridge Analytica fallout, Facebook announced it would no longer fight the privacy measure.

The effort had strong polling, and in June the Legislature all passed the Personal privacy Function as part of an offer to get it off the tally. By passing it in the Capitol, legislators restored the power to make modifications without returning to the voters.

” There was a basic misconception of how the initiative system worked and what they needed to do,” Maviglio stated. “It was painful to attempt to get them engaged, and honestly, that’s one of the reasons the Personal privacy Act passed in 2015. They just didn’t know how to engage and head it off.”

Roger Salazar, another veteran Democratic specialist, drew a contrast between the tech start-ups of today and the software and hardware giants like Hewlett Packard and Apple that ruled Silicon Valley in the 1980 s. The valley’s first generation companies tended to hire “old-fashioned” executives, he remembered, “kinds of business managers who comprehended how to handle federal government.”

More recent tech services don’t tend to have the exact same kinds of safeguards or relationships, he said, perhaps since they’ve grown at such a dizzying rate.

” I believe they have actually been blindsided,” Salazar said, “due to the fact that they didn’t understand the procedure, they didn’t understand the environment they were operating in, they didn’t understand the political system in California.”

The tipping point for Facebook’s image– in Sacramento and just about all over else– was the Cambridge Analytica scandal that blew up in early2018 The British consulting company employed by the Trump project acquired data from countless the social media network’s users that had been collected without their knowledge and utilized it to attempt to manipulate likely voters with political ads before the 2016 election.

Google’s data-gathering practices and market dominance has likewise been under the microscopic lense, particularly as the business expands into the personal health realm and tries to get Fitbit.

In early November, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra exposed a continuous probe into Facebook’s handling of individual data coming from Cambridge Analytica. Becerra, a previous Southern California congressman, also revealed he was taking legal action against the company for allegedly stonewalling his examination.

In a sign of the company’s fall from grace, Becerra’s reelection project utilized the news as fundraising fodder.

” Xavier sued Facebook,” checked out the e-mail blast.

The post ‘They’ve been blindsided’: Silicon Valley wakes up to Sacramento appeared first on Actu Trends.

'They’ve been blindsided’: Silicon Valley wakes up to Sacramento

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/theyve-been-blindsided-silicon-valley-wakes-up-to-sacramento/

'They’ve been blindsided’: Silicon Valley wakes up to Sacramento

California’s Capitol in Sacramento. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

SACRAMENTO — The powerful tech giants of Silicon Valley may wield some of the biggest lobbying budgets in Washington,but they have been comparatively absent in their home state’s capital — where they are now on the defensive.

California caught the world by surprise last year when it passed the nation’s strongest data privacy law, instantly making Sacramento one of the most important regulators of global tech. As members of the California legislature forged the deal on a defining challenge of the digital age, the internet companies were slow to awaken to the threat,and brought few of their considerable resources to bear.

Story Continued Below

The combined lobbying firepower of Google, Facebook and two major tech trade associations amounted to just $235,000 in the three months leading up to the vote, compared with $3 million from the four biggest oil interests. Facebook, then mired in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, spent less than $18,000 that quarter, according to disclosure records.

The business community’s recent attempts to roll back parts of the privacy law, which takes effect in January and will give consumers more control over personal data, hasn’t gone much better, further underscoring the disconnect between Silicon Valley and its powerful neighbors a two hours’ drive away.

The Washington travails of Mark Zuckerberg and other Silicon Valley czars are well-known, and tech companies have been grappling with aggressive European regulators eager to rein them in for years now — the European Union has the world’s most stringent privacy law. But the companies’ reluctance to plunge into California politics has hurt them, strategists say, as they grapple with proposals from state lawmakers and a ballot initiative system that has produced two data-privacy campaigns in less than three years.

“You just get the sense that they feel that Sacramento is on the other side of the moon,” said Andrew Acosta, a Democratic strategist.

That light touch looks to be changing as California dives deeper into data-privacy regulation. Facebook, Google and the trade groups TechNet and the Internet Association are on track to boost their combined lobbying spending by more than 80 percent this year and next, compared to the last two-year legislative session. Those four groups spent a combined $1.3 million to influence policymakers in the first nine months of the year.And Facebook has just hired a well-connected Sacramento insider, Mona Pasquil Rogers, to run its California policy shop.

But is it too late? Souring public sentiment about tech’s role in society and daily life may undermine companies’ efforts to shape policy in Sacramento, where even business-friendly Republicans have raised alarms. California’s ballot initiative process adds another layer of unpredictability.

This year’s tech lobbying blitz, to the surprise of many, did not yield major carveouts in the new Privacy Act. What’s more, the consumer privacy advocate behind the law, Alastair Mactaggart, said he was so concerned by such efforts to water it down that he decided to advance a second ballot initiative for 2020. The new version would add new consumer protections — and prevent the Legislature from making any changes that would weaken the Privacy Act.

That could explain why tech companies who don’t like California’s new privacy rules are leaning on Washington for regulations that would supersede state laws — an end-run on Sacramento. Last month, a tech and telecom-funded foundation helped send a delegation of California lawmakers to Washington. In meetings with their counterparts in Congress, the tech-friendly caucus discussed the flaws in California’s law and the merits of federal preemption, one of the organizers told POLITICO.

One might assume state politicians facing reelection would shiver at the thought of alienating a company worth the GDP of Argentina or Saudi Arabia. And to be sure, the sector does have friends in the Legislature. But a closer look at campaign finance records shows that Big Tech has not been a big player in candidate races.

Facebook is by far the sector’s biggest spender, with $1.7 million in contributions since 2009 (excluding those made by a former company executive to his own campaign for attorney general in 2010). Google has spent $959,000, state records show, while Apple has given just $256,000.

Compare that to $5.3 million that AT&T funneled into candidates’ coffers during that period, and $6.2 million from labor powerhouse SEIU.

In fact, strategists say, some progressive lawmakers might even welcome opposition from companies like Facebook. “If Facebook did a big independent expenditure against Buffy Wicks,” Acosta said, pointing to a first-term assemblywoman who has championed privacy rights, “Buffy Wicks would say, ‘Bring it on!’”

“It’s telling that candidates running for president are now using Mark Zuckerberg in their ads and highlighting him as a negative,” he added. “Facebook’s on the ground and everyone’s kicking them.”

Facebook and Google declined to comment.

Amazon’s foray into local politics offers a cautionary tale. The company suffered a public relations backlash and electoral defeat in November after pouring nearly $1.5 million into a PAC backing business-friendly candidates for Seattle City Council.

But another veteran Sacramento strategist thinks it is even riskier for tech to remain on the sidelines. Steve Maviglio, a ballot initiative consultant, believes the industry’s ambivalence about publicly opposing the 2018 data-privacy initiative created an opening for California’s privacy law.

Maviglio was hired by a tech and telecom coalition to fight the initiative. But rather than pledge millions to defeat it, he said, the companies took a wait-and-see approach, not wanting to be the first to jump. The first contribution didn’t come until February 2018, four months after the initiative was filed, campaign records show. That April, reeling from the Cambridge Analytica fallout, Facebook announced it would no longer fight the privacy measure.

The initiative had strong polling, and in June the Legislature unanimously passed the Privacy Act as part of a deal to get it off the ballot. By passing it in the Capitol, lawmakers regained the power to make changes without going back to the voters.

“There was a fundamental misunderstanding of how the initiative system worked and what they had to do,” Maviglio said. “It was painful to try to get them engaged, and frankly, that’s one of the reasons the Privacy Act passed last year. They simply didn’t know how to engage and head it off.”

Roger Salazar, another veteran Democratic consultant, drew a contrast between the tech startups of today and the hardware and software giants like Hewlett Packard and Apple that ruled Silicon Valley in the 1980s. The valley’s first generation companies tended to hire “old school” executives, he recalled, “types of corporate managers who understood how to deal with government.”

Newer tech businesses don’t tend to have the same kinds of safeguards or relationships, he said, possibly because they’ve grown at such a dizzying rate.

“I think they’ve been blindsided,” Salazar said, “because they didn’t understand the process, they didn’t understand the environment they were operating in, they didn’t understand the political system in California.”

The tipping point for Facebook’s image — in Sacramento and just about everywhere else — was the Cambridge Analytica scandal that exploded in early 2018. The British consulting firm hired by the Trump campaign acquired data from millions of the social network’s users that had been gathered without their knowledge and used it to try to manipulate likely voters with political ads before the 2016 election.

Google’s data-gathering practices and market dominance has also been under the microscope, especially as the company expands into the personal health realm and tries to acquire Fitbit.

In early November, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra revealed an ongoing probe into Facebook’s handling of personal data stemming from Cambridge Analytica. Becerra, a former Southern California congressman, also announced he was suing the company for allegedly stonewalling his investigation.

In a sign of the company’s fall from grace, Becerra’s reelection campaign used the news as fundraising fodder.

“Xavier sued Facebook,” read the email blast. “Big Tech is no longer an infant. These corporations are running at Olympic speed. It’s time for the industry to be treated as an adult.”

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GOOOOD AFTERNOON PATRIOTS!I hope everyone is having a TREMENDOUS Thanksgiving weekend so far! This is u/Ivaginaryfriend here and speaking of Thanksgiving weekend, I'd like to remind everyone that today is Small Business Saturday! If you're planning on enjoying a day out on the town or doing a little Christmas shopping, remember to support your local small businesses!ALSO!: Don't forget President Trump is holding TWO MAGA rallies this Monday November 26th, both in Mississippi!! We will of course have MAGAthread's up for both rallies so don't miss out on all the HIGH ENERGY FUN!As always, if you happened to miss any past recaps you can check those out here!FINALLY, let's get this recap started!Sunday, November 18th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Trump Delivers a Statement from Point Mugu Naval Air Station🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:So funny to see little Adam Schitt (D-CA) talking about the fact that Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was not approved by the Senate, but not mentioning the fact that Bob Mueller (who is highly conflicted) was not approved by the Senate!The Mayor of Tijuana, Mexico, just stated that “the City is ill-prepared to handle this many migrants, the backlog could last 6 months.” Likewise, the U.S. is ill-prepared for this invasion, and will not stand for it. They are causing crime and big problems in Mexico. Go home!Catch and Release is an obsolete term. It is now Catch and Detain. Illegal Immigrants trying to come into the U.S.A., often proudly flying the flag of their nation as they ask for U.S. Asylum, will be detained or turned away. Dems must approve Border Security & Wall NOW!From day one Rick Scott never wavered. He was a great Governor and will be even a greater Senator in representing the People of Florida. Congratulations to Rick on having waged such a courageous and successful campaign!I will be interviewed by Chris Wallace on @FoxNews at 2:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. Enjoy!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:BREAKING-Brenda Snipes submits her resignation as Broward elections supervisorThis got my blood boilingWife: Why'd you buy another gun? Me: Some schmuck threatened me with a nuke.Mexican protestor today in Tijuana on the caravan: "Donald Trump was right, this is an invasion! What Donald Trump said was correct: this is an invasion!"🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Every President needs a petYep!AOC: Do as I say, not as I doKekCalifornia logicMonday, November 19th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump Surveys Damage from Wildfires in CaliforniaPresident Trump and the First Lady Participate in the White House Christmas Tree DeliveryVice President Pence Attends ASEAN 2018 in Singapore - Day 1Vice President Pence Attends ASEAN 2018 in Singapore - Day 2Vice President Pence Attends ASEAN 2018 in Singapore - Day 3Vice President Pence Attends APEC 2018 in Papua New GuineaPresident Donald J. Trump Presents the Medal of FreedomPresident Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump Visit the Marine Barracks🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:.@cindyhydesmith loves Mississippi and our Great U.S.A.Of course we should have captured Osama Bin Laden long before we did. I pointed him out in my book just BEFORE the attack on the World Trade Center. President Clinton famously missed his shot. We paid Pakistan Billions of Dollars & they never told us he was living there. Fools!.. ... ....We no longer pay Pakistan the $Billions because they would take our money and do nothing for us, Bin Laden being a prime example, Afghanistan being another. They were just one of many countries that take from the United States without giving anything in return. That’s ENDING!The Fake News is showing old footage of people climbing over our Ocean Area Fence. This is what it really looks like - no climbers anymore under our Administration!(Retweeting The White House) President Trump and the First Lady Participate in the White House Christmas Tree Delivery(Retweeting FLOTUS) The @WhiteHouse is getting ready for the Christmas season! Thank you to the Smith Family & the National Christmas Tree Association for providing this year's tree. And to our @NatlParkService for their hard work in trimming the tree for the Blue Room.I hope the discovery and eventual recovery of the Argentine submarine San Juan brings needed closure to the wonderful families of those brave missing sailors. I look forward to hearing more from my friend President @MauricioMacri in Argentina later this month.SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Sarah Sanders releases the new rules for White House reporters: "We have created these rules with a degree of regret … given the position taken by CNN, we now feel obligated to replace previously shared practices with explicit rules."Wow, it's almost like this isn't a race issue, or something.Psycho antifa trigglypuff gets instant karma at #HimToo rally. She gone!BREAKING: Theresa Shook, the founder of the Women’s March, has called on Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory to step down for allowing "anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform"Trump to Chris Wallace: “ I ended aid to Pakistan because they hid Bin Laden and they don’t do a damn thing for US.” Boom. That’s how it’s done. 🇺🇸👍🏼🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Dear Men, Your Contributions Matter, Your Sacrifices Matter & Your Voice Matters. #InternationalMensDay #MensDay19Nov #IMD18CHECK YOUR MALE PRIVILEGE, MISTER!IN 20 YEARS WE WILL LOOK BACK ON THE RUSH TO CHANGE OUR CHILDREN'S SEX AS ONE OF THE DARKEST CHAPTERS IN MEDICINE... - BOB WITHERSThe entrance is over there ————> Bring identity!Tuesday, November 20th:TODAY'S ACTION:Presidential Proclamation on Thanksgiving Day, 2018President Trump and the First Lady Receive the 2018 White House Christmas TreePresident Trump & The First Lady Participate in the Presentation of the National Thanksgiving TurkeyPresident Trump Delivers a Statement Upon Departure🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:President @realDonaldTrump, joined by @FLOTUS, has officially pardoned this year's National Thanksgiving Turkey, Peas—and his alternate, Carrots!So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian. Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?AMERICA FIRST!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Mexican Woman says that instead of invading another country illegally, migrants should stay and fight for change in their own country.The Left’s Accusation That The Right Is Fascist Is Simply Psychological ProjectionFLOTUS got GEOTUS’s back and she is looking at you Acosta!!Trump admin to designate Venezuela as state sponsor of terrorism: report🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:President Trump pardons Thanksgiving Turkeys... but he continues “ I can’t guarantee you’ll be able to enjoy those pardons, thanks to the 9th circuit.” 😆Honduras is complaining about the free food and shelter Tijuana is providing for them. Ungratefulness is so attractive from people with their hands out.Am I right or am I right?I was able to get a copy of the answers President Trump sent to Mueller.How Democrats honored Susan B. AnthonyWednesday, November 21st:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Oil prices getting lower. Great! Like a big Tax Cut for America and the World. Enjoy! $54, was just $82. Thank you to Saudi Arabia, but let’s go lower!MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!“‘Trump Imitation Syndrome’ is afflicting the president’s liberal enemies” Thank you @MGoodwin_NYPost!Great new book out, “Mad Politics: Keeping Your Sanity in a World Gone Crazy” by @RealDrGina Loudon. Go out and get your copy today — a great read!Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have “Obama judges,” and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country. It would be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an “independent judiciary,” but if it is why...... ... .....are so many opposing view (on Border and Safety) cases filed there, and why are a vast number of those cases overturned. Please study the numbers, they are shocking. We need protection and security - these rulings are making our country unsafe! Very dangerous and unwise!“Thank you to President Trump on the Border. No American President has ever done this before.” Hector Garza, National Border Patrol CouncilThere are a lot of CRIMINALS in the Caravan. We will stop them. Catch and Detain! Judicial Activism, by people who know nothing about security and the safety of our citizens, is putting our country in great danger. Not good!“79% of these decisions have been overturned in the 9th Circuit.” @FoxNews A terrible, costly and dangerous disgrace. It has become a dumping ground for certain lawyers looking for easy wins and delays. Much talk over dividing up the 9th Circuit into 2 or 3 Circuits. Too big!Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?You just can’t win with the Fake News Media. A big story today is that because I have pushed so hard and gotten Gasoline Prices so low, more people are driving and I have caused traffic jams throughout our Great Nation. Sorry everyone!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:A solemn moment in history tonight Pede’s. Pay your last respects. Til’ ValhallaAvenatti's girlfriend should have waited 35 years to bring these accusations if she really wanted to be believable.Laura Loomer has been PERMANENTLY suspended for criticizing Sharia law.Smokin Hot. Gun Girl Kaitlin Bennett From Kent State Wins Round 1 In Lawsuit Against University. They tried to keep her from speaking by forcing her to pay for security because of threats from anti gun groupsCourt: NRA lawsuit against NY Gov Andrew Cuomo over "blacklist" can go forward - in short fuk Cuomo🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:The cycle of western civilizationTo those who will skip the turkey because you have to work (for crumbs?) Pepe salutes you..."Sir, I'm going to need you to step out of the car."For all the first responder Pepes that are missing Thanksgiving with their families. F.Thursday, November 22nd:TODAY'S ACTION:President Trump Participates in a Teleconference with Members of the Military🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:“It’s a mean & nasty world out there, the Middle East in particular. This is a long and historic commitment, & one that is absolutely vital to America’s national security.” @SecPompeo I agree 100%. In addition, many Billions of Dollars of purchases made in U.S., big Jobs & Oil!HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!Justice Roberts can say what he wants, but the 9th Circuit is a complete & total disaster. It is out of control, has a horrible reputation, is overturned more than any Circuit in the Country, 79%, & is used to get an almost guaranteed result. Judges must not Legislate Security... ... ....and Safety at the Border, or anywhere else. They know nothing about it and are making our Country unsafe. Our great Law Enforcement professionals MUST BE ALLOWED TO DO THEIR JOB! If not there will be only bedlam, chaos, injury and death. We want the Constitution as written!Will be speaking with our great military in different parts of the world, through teleconference, at 9:00 A.M. Eastern. Then it will be off to see our Coast Guard patriots & to thank them for the great job they have been doing, especially with the hurricanes. Happy Thanksgiving!(Video)This is the coldest weather in the history of the Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC, and one of the coldest Thanksgivings on record!Our highly trained security professionals are not allowed to do their job on the Border because of the Judicial Activism and Interference by the 9th Circuit. Nevertheless, they are working hard to make America a safer place, though hard to do when anybody filing a lawsuit wins!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Historic: at the DMZ South and North Korean soldiers shake handsChik-Fl-A reminds you to be thankful for FreedomTrump Thanksgiving dinnerIs this 2018?🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:I'm Thankful This Is Not The PresidentToday I am thankful for this man.55 years ago today, the Deep State assumed full control. FCuck/10. Libs can't handle politics.Holy shit. My mom came into my room to bring me a plate of mashed potatoesFriday, November 23rd:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump's 2018 Thanksgiving MessagePresentation of the 2018 National Thanksgiving Turkey🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Republicans and Democrats MUST come together, finally, with a major Border Security package, which will include funding for the Wall. After 40 years of talk, it is finally time for action. Fix the Border, for once and for all, NOW!Really good Criminal Justice Reform has a true shot at major bipartisan support. @senatemajldr Mitch McConnell and @SenSchumer have a real chance to do something so badly needed in our country. Already passed, with big vote, in House. Would be a major victory for ALL!I am extremely happy and proud of the job being done by @USTreasury Secretary @StevenMnuchin1. The FAKE NEWS likes to write stories to the contrary, quoting phony sources or jealous people, but they aren’t true. They never like to ask me for a quote b/c it would kill their story.SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Hopefully the apology was to herpes.The God-Emperor Marches OnWhen your child goes to Hollywood and all she wants to go see is her Presidents star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!! 👍🇺🇸👍Secretary Mattis paid a surprise visit to the 113th Aerospace Control Alert facility to thank the men and women who stand alert 24/7, 365 days a year.MUST WATCH: Dan Bongino lays out SpyGate🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:wall kicks won't workGuess Who's Back?What if Melania Trump met with Bob Mueller on a tarmac in Arizona, and then a few days later, Mueller cleared Trump?The "democracy" party.MFW I’m not even a Latino but I think refried beans and tortillas are deliciosoSaturday, November 24th:SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:If you are near Omaha on Tuesday, Nov. 27 @2pm, there is a funeral for a Vietnam War veteran with no known family at the National Cemetery. (x-post from r/Nebraska, r/Navy, r/Army, and r/military)Coach Mike Ditka suffers heart attack. A Trump supporter and coach back when the NFL was manly. Wishing him a speedy recovery.Tijuana Mayor REFUSES to Spend Tijuana Money on Migrants108 caravan migrants arrested for crimes in Tijuana, so far… They've only been in the city for a few days & already they are committing this many crimes? That's a lot of crime from so-called moms & kids fleeing "violence."Never Say No One Told You🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Judicial Activism Is Illegal LegislationHow I Feel When I'm Making America Great AgainSuper Hero ParkingI'M SO THANKFUL FOR THIS DOMREDDIT AND ALL YOU GLORIOUS PATRIOTS!some tunes to help you go through all this WINNING:Hey JudeAmerican PieUsing YouBrooklyn BabyDon't Take The GirlSitting On The Dock Of The BayMAGA ON DEPLORABLES! #robgray

Rebecca Peters: 'I'm not afraid of horrific grief'

Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size Flory Teletor was 17 when she began living with her boyfriend, Santo, in a cramped apartment in Guatemala City. Santo, who was 20, worked as a security guard. He was violent and controlling. He gave Flory a daily allowance of 20 quetzals ($3.50). She had to account for every cent; when she failed to do so, he would beat her. Sometimes, he would brandish the pistol he used for work, even shooting above her head. Flory was terrified, but she had already fled an abusive father and had no other place to go. Then one evening, Santo came home in a rage. He had heard that Flory was cheating on him with the man in the apartment above. "He thought I had been writing this man letters," she says. "No matter what I told him, he didn't believe me." Santo came at Flory; she thought he was going to hit her. Instead, he pulled out his pistol and fired. "I was so frightened that I didn't hear the shot," she says. "All I knew was that suddenly I was lying on my back, and I couldn't stand up. My legs seemed incredibly heavy, like my shoes were concrete blocks." The bullet had severed Flory's spinal cord, instantly leaving her a paraplegic. Santo called an ambulance and Flory was rushed to hospital, where she spent the next two days in an intensive-care unit. When the police questioned him, Santo said there had been a robbery at the local bakery, and that Flory had been shot in the crossfire. "He told me to say the same thing," Flory explains. After her discharge, Flory went to live with her mother, father and grandmother. Santo also moved in. (He has never been charged with the shooting.) The father put her and Santo in a curtained-off space in one of the bedrooms. The mother, who worked as a cleaner, would change Flory's nappies and wash her using a bowl, tying her to a chair in the laundry so she didn't slump over. After a few months, one of her mother's clients bought Flory a wheelchair so she could move around the house. But her father continued to abuse her, complaining that she was a burden. He would get drunk, and beat her mother: when Flory tried to stop him, he beat her, too. "I had no control of my life," she tells me. "I was dying there." Eventually, Flory's sister Olga and her husband Edgar intervened, moving her into their house, a tin-roofed besa-block building that clings like a limpet to the side of a cliff in the city's north. (Santo had long since left.) The house, where I meet Flory, now 40, one mild afternoon in March, is home to seven people. It has a long drop toilet that juts out over the ravine: through the chinks in the wood-slat floor you can see the rocks and rubble, 100 metres below. But Flory loves it: she has her own room, with a small television and a stereo. Edgar treats her like a daughter. When she needs to get out of the house, to go to church or a rehab session, he carries her in his arms, like a baby, up a series of steep, rickety wooden steps and ladders to the street above. "He's an angel," Flory tells me. "He saved my life." Advertisement Flory Teletor, a victim of gun violence, needs to be carried up the steps to the street above her sister and brother-in-laws house in Guatemala City. Photo: Kate Geraghty Olga and Edgar's intervention was the first bit of good fortune to come Flory's way. Her second piece of luck, no less life-changing, came a decade later, when she met a quietly spoken Australian woman named Rebecca Peters. Peters, 56, has short, dark hair and blue eyes. The morning I meet her, in the old colonial city of Antigua, in southern Guatemala, she is wearing a pair of joggers, black baggy pants and a cherry-red T-shirt that is obviously and unapologetically synthetic. She walks briskly, with a slight limp, the result of joint hypermobility, and she is very, very short 155 centimetres which, for those of you who can't picture it, is roughly the same height as the average 12-year-old. ("The most common thing people say when they meet me is, 'I thought you'd be taller,'" she says.) As she doesn't get many Australian visitors, the first thing Peters does is take me to her place, a rented, one-room rooftop bungalow which looks out over the sepulchral ruins of Las Capuchinas convent, abandoned after an earthquake in 1773, towards the perennially active Volcn del Fuego. Sitting drinking coffee, we watch as the volcano's picture-perfect A-frame periodically burps out colossal black clouds of pyroclastic ash. Peters is, by general consensus, the world's foremost expert on gun control. She was the driving force behind tightening up Australia's gun laws after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. (She was appointed an officer of the Order of Australia for her work in 2016.) She has developed gun control strategies for billionaire philanthropist George Soros, and headed up the London-based International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). When the UN needs advice on small arms trafficking, it calls Peters. When there's a conference in Argentina on guns and domestic violence, Peters hops on a plane. As the head of IANSA, she even consulted on the 2005 film, Lord of War, which starred Nicolas Cage as the lizardy, cigar-smoking arms dealer, Yuri Orlov. More recently, Peters has been working with the survivors of gun violence, most notably in Guatemala, where she has lived since 2014. Advertisement "Together with its neighbouring countries, Honduras and El Salvador, Guatemala is one of the most violent places on earth," she tells me. "Thousands of people get shot here every year. But what people don't realise is that for every fatality, roughly four people are wounded, many of them suffering catastrophic injuries." Faced with an almost complete absence of government assistance for victims, Peters has for the past four years engaged in a campaign of broad-based activism, mobilising the media and anti-gun groups while lobbying politicians to address the country's notoriously lax gun laws. She also raises funds, mainly for a local charity called Asociacin Transiciones de Guatemala, which makes wheelchairs for people disabled by gun violence the Australian government has funded 177 such chairs since 2014. The rest of her time is taken up with what might best be described as simple, grassroots social work; a kind of ad hoc pastoral care whereby she visits gunshot victims, delivers medicines and food to their families, and, on occasion, stands by their bedside while they die. "I have a high tolerance for tragedy," she explains. "I am not afraid of horrific grief." One of Peters' regulars is Flory Teletor. The day we visit, Peters takes Flory and her family a bucket of fried chicken, the arrival of which elicits a loaves-and-fishes level of gratitude. A couple of years ago, Peters got Flory a new wheelchair via Transiciones. Perhaps more importantly, she has always made sure to involve Flory in media opportunities and advocacy training. The impact of this cannot be overestimated. Balancing a plate of drumsticks on her lap, Flory says that on her worst days, when she sat in her room, alone and staring at the wall, she often asked herself, "What use am I?" The training has given her a sense of worth and purpose. "Rebecca makes me feel like I am needed, like I am important, like I matter," Flory says. Then, glancing at Peters, she smiles effortfully, and starts crying. On her worst days, Flory Teletor would sit in her room, alone and staring at the wall, asking herself, "What use am I?" Photo: Kate Geraghty Despite her success and the fact that there are thousands of people walking around today who would be dead if not for her work, Peters has next to no financial security. "She does it all on the smell of an oily rag," says the Australian social activist, Eva Cox, who has known Peters for 25 years. "She doesn't own a car, or a house, or shares, or superannuation. She is not motivated by that sort of thing, which makes it hard for people to understand her." Advertisement Peters earned less than $5000 last year, mostly from writing, editing or translating reports for human rights organisations. The year before that, the figure was a princely $20,000. Most of her money is spent on flights, sometimes to California, where her brother lives, or to see friends in Australia, where she sleeps in spare rooms or granny flats. "She is not of this world," says her friend, Fairfax Media cartoonist Cathy Wilcox. "She'll turn up in a T-shirt, shorts and sandals. Clothes, food, all that stuff, it's all functional for her. They serve a purpose but beyond that, they're not worth worrying about." Peters' main assets appear to be insomnia (it gives her more time to think), her independence (she has no partner, and no children) and what she calls a "perpetual state of outrage". "It's unacceptable to me that the people who most need help are the ones who are least likely to get it," she says. Peters was born in 1961, in Maryland, near Washington DC, the second of six children. The family moved to Panama when she was three, then to Costa Rica when she was seven. (She speaks fluent Spanish.) Her father, who ran a car repair business, was cruel and abusive, physically and emotionally, "a charming, sinister man", as she puts it, who delighted in humiliating his children. "Our father was a tyrant," says Peters' younger brother, Tim, who lives in San Francisco. "We were all overwhelmed by insecurity and adapted in our own ways. Rebecca took shelter at the homes of friends and teachers, or the school library." Tim says Rebecca's "sensitivity to injustice was evident early on". At 15, she organised a blood drive for Costa Rica's National Blood Bank, with donors bussed in to her school; she even faked her age so that she could donate. Desperate to escape home, she left, at 18, to go travelling, first to Europe and then to Egypt, where she met an Australian who convinced her to move to Sydney, where she decided to settle. "I was struck by the gorgeous beaches and the egalitarian feel of the place," she says. "At the shops, the customers didn't talk down to the shop assistants." (Peters and the boyfriend split, amicably, shortly after arrival; in 1992, she became a citizen.) Advertisement After a year studying mechanical engineering in the late 1980s, Peters moved into journalism, working as a producer on Andrew Olle's radio program, and then for John Doyle's. She favoured social justice stories: homelessness, HIV, disability, domestic violence. "The criminal justice system was toxic as well," she says. "I thought, 'Who changes these things? People with law degrees!' And so I went to law school." Peters enrolled at UNSW, but she had been studying for only a matter of months when, in August 1991, a 33-year-old taxi driver named Wade Frankum stabbed to death a teenage girl before using a semi-automatic rifle to shoot and kill another seven people, including himself, in a shopping mall in Strathfield, Sydney. The killings, known as the Strathfield Massacre, attracted huge media attention and prompted Peters to look into the gun laws. "They were shocking," she says. "It was ridiculously easy to get a gun, including an assault weapon. Anyone without a serious criminal record could buy any number of rifles and shotguns legally, without providing a reason. And because there was no registration that is, no record of ownership there was nothing to stop that person from selling the guns on to someone who did have a serious criminal record." She decided to write an article about it, in the process of which she got in touch with the National Coalition for Gun Control (NCGC). Peters began volunteering for the group, in the first instance by preparing a comparative analysis of Australia's different state gun laws. "The more I looked at the whole area, the more it interested me," she says. (The analysis eventually became part of her degree thesis.) As Peters discovered, there was a long list of things wrong with the laws. "Journalists on deadlines were never going to get it," she says. And so she put together an explanatory cheat sheet. "We said what was needed were national uniform laws based on three things: registration of all guns, a ban on semi-automatics, and proof of reason for owning a gun." At the same time, she recruited the public health professor and tobacco reform advocate, Simon Chapman. "Rebecca said that all the people in the gun reform area were women, and that they needed a male voice in there," he says. Together with their colleagues, Chapman and Peters began "power-mapping" lobbying the groups that had the authority to influence public opinion, from unions and medical colleges to women's organisations, legal centres, and welfare agencies. (Peters eventually established a coalition of 350 such groups.) They also decided to frame gun violence less as a crime issue and more as a public health problem. "We broke it down into the classic epidemiological model of agent, host, vector and environment," says Chapman. "With malaria, for instance, the agent is the Plasmodium parasite, the vector is the carrier mosquito, the host is the person who gets bitten, and so on. With gun reform, the agent was the gun, the host was the victim, the vector was the gun lobby, and the environment is the public and political climate around the issue." Advertisement Their messaging became clearer. "We register cars, boats and dogs," Chapman told the media. "So why don't we register guns?" He and Peters also began lurking around internet chat rooms used by shooters. "We'd use pseudonyms and write things like, 'Hey fellas, I actually don't think a little regulation is a bad idea,' " Chapman says. "We'd then see how people responded, and that would help us shape our arguments in future." It was time-consuming, emotionally taxing work. It was also unpaid. To get by, Peters took on freelance writing jobs. She shuffled her law lectures to make time, and would regularly study all night. "Rebecca was so broke we would pay her phone bills," says her friend Rosemary Quinn, who lived with Peters in a share house in Glebe. In late 1995, however, Peters got a call from a man named Alan Corbett. Idealistic and softly spoken, Corbett had just been elected to NSW Parliament as the leader of A Better Future for Our Children Party. Peters was initially wary: "I thought he might be some crackpot, right-wing, family-values guy," she says. "In fact, he was this fabulous single-dad primary school teacher who just happened to think that every policy should be evaluated on its likely impact on children." Corbett wanted Peters to help him prepare a bill to tighten up gun legislation. "Rebecca had the knowledge and the commitment," Corbett tells me. "I was really guided by what she thought was necessary." Peters drew on her thesis work, cherry-picking the most useful pieces of legislation from all over the world. The bill, which proposed, among other things, mandatory gun registration of all firearms, was supported by the church, police and the media. But before it could even get to parliament, both major parties had effectively rejected it. In February 1996, John Tingle, then-leader of the Shooters' Party, went so far as to describe it as "a pathetic piece of publicity-seeking nonsense". Tingle's comments were spectacularly ill-timed. On April 28, a 28-year-old Hobart man named Martin Bryant used two semi-automatic rifles to kill 35 people and injure 23 more at Port Arthur, in Tasmania. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in Australian history. Port Arthur killer Martin Bryant. Photo: Archive Peters was aghast: "I remember listening on the radio as the death toll went higher and higher." And yet the response was, she says, "exactly what we thought would happen". The media called for immediate action, citing Peters' three-point plan, as did politicians, backed by the broad coalition of community and professional organisations that Peters and the NCGC had so effectively mobilised. Within 12 days, prime minister John Howard produced the National Firearms Agreement (NFA), the 11 key points of which closely mirrored everything the NCGC had been pressing for, including uniform gun registration, a ban on civilian ownership of semi-automatic weapons, and a removal of self-defence as a reason to hold a firearm licence. "As soon as the NFA came out, the state and territory parliaments scrambled to draft legislation," Peters says, "which is when the NSW Parliamentary Counsel pulled out the bill Alan and I had done and said, 'Here's one we prepared earlier!'" Guns in Sydney to be destroyed under the post-Port Arthur buy-back scheme. Photo: Reuters NSW was the first state to pass a new law; most of the other states followed within the year. Peters was in the media every day for the next 13 weeks, and spent months travelling the country, persuading state legislatures to implement the NFA in full. By mid-year, she was running on empty. "You could tell she was exhausted," says Walter Mikac, who lost his wife and two young daughters at Port Arthur. "When I met her, it was actually an effort for her to walk." Peters received not so much as a cent for her efforts. But the laws she helped create were soon being heralded by gun-reform activists as world's best practice. "Rebecca's campaign was a remarkable piece of social mobilisation," says Professor Simon Rice, an expert in law reform and social justice at the University of Sydney. "It set a new benchmark for community empowerment in Australia." The 1991 Strathfield massacre prompted Peters to look into Australia's gun laws. "It was ridiculously easy to get a gun, including an assault weapon," she says. Photo: Kate Geraghty When Peters was young, one of her sisters occasionally wet the bed. Rather than comfort her, Peters' father would humiliate her in public. "He actually got pleasure out of doing that," Peters says. He would routinely belittle his children and dismiss their opinions, or go away and not say when he was coming back. "It was his way of exerting control," Peters says. "What we had then was this guy who was bigger and stronger and had more power, using that to control the whole household. And that's the problem with guns, right? The person with a gun acquires a disproportionate amount of power over those around them." Guns are, at their very core, weaponised bullying, which makes confronting the gun lobby particularly daunting. After the Australian gun reforms were introduced, Peters' home address was published on an internet bulletin board. She had a brick thrown through her window, received multiple death threats, and had to move house. "The gun debate tends to be very gendered," she says. "My voicemail filled up with all these weird messages, saying things like, 'You wouldn't know a gun if I put my .303 up your c and pulled the trigger.' " She was later accused in the Queensland Parliament of having had a sex change, and of wanting to sell crack, heroin and speed to children. A televised debate about guns and domestic violence with the then-vice-president of the Firearm Owners' Association, Ian McNiven, turned ugly: at the end of the broadcast, McNiven was caught in an off-camera aside saying, "If I was married to Rebecca I'd probably commit domestic violence, too." Most bizarrely, it was later suggested that she may have had something to do with the Port Arthur shootings, as a way to further her anti-gun agenda. Peters has long been regarded by the gun lobby as a Svengali-like figure, part of a global cabal of neo-Marxist zealots plotting, under the aegis of the UN, to rob law-abiding patriots of their ability to defend themselves. She became a particular target after she travelled to the US in 1997, where she worked with George Soros's Open Society Institute (now Open Society Foundations). Peters' job was to make strategic grants, from a fund of $US15 million, to groups working to prevent gun violence, mostly in the US. She used Soros's money to support gun research in universities, and to fund litigation against the gun industry. She was also the first backer of the Million Mom March, a gun reform rally held in 2000 in Washington DC, which was until this year the largest mass movement against gun violence in America. "Rebecca was there at the very beginning," says march founder Donna Dees-Thomases. "When you look at all the activists in the movement now, many of them have come in since that first march. That wouldn't have happened if not for her." The Million Mom March in Washington DC in 2000. Peters was one of the rally's first backers, and is still active in US gun reform. Photo: AP Even though she lives in Guatemala, Peters still devotes much of her time to US gun reform. She is regularly consulted by state legislators looking to improve their gun laws by, for example, regulating the sale of ammunition, which in some places can be sold over the counter at a corner store or petrol station. "They often want to know what happens in Australia," says Peters. Background checks are another problem. "In the US, when police decide whether someone can have a gun, they rely on what their computer databases say about that person's criminal record. But the majority of people are not in these databases, because most crime is never reported, and most of the crime that is reported is not prosecuted and most of those prosecuted are not convicted. So if you just rely on that criminal justice system to decide if someone should have a gun, then it's hopelessly inadequate." Efforts to improve vetting procedures have long been blocked by the National Rifle Association (NRA), which has more than five million members, and is among the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington. (The NRA sees itself as the first defender of the US Constitution's Second Amendment the oft-cited "right to bear arms".) "There are other factors as well," Peters says, "such as the private prison companies that have an interest in maintaining high levels of violence." But the fundamental problem is cultural, based in large part on the deeply ingrained ethos of American individualism. "In Australia and Europe, police have the discretion to make in-depth inquiries before a person can buy a gun, because the overriding purpose is to protect public safety. In the US, though, public safety is trumped by the individual rights of the person who wants to buy the gun. It's like a nation of toddlers saying, 'I want it, I want it!'" This creates a bizarre, not to say dangerous, kind of reality-distortion field. In 2004, during a debate with NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre, Peters claimed that, when it came to international agreements on weapons and human rights, "Americans are people like everyone else on earth. They should abide by the same rules as everyone else." LaPierre found the line shocking. "He used it all the time, like, 'Rebecca Peters says that Americans are just like everyone else!' Other people you'd talk to would be like, 'Yeah, what's the problem with that?' But he just thought it was outrageous." Rebecca Peters in 2014, lobbying a UN meeting on behalf of the International Action Network on Small Arms. In 2002, Peters left for London, where she became the first director of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). Formed in 1999, IANSA is a global movement against gun violence, a network of some 900 civil society organisations, including human rights campaigners, aid agencies and public health groups, that now operates in 120 countries. "It was a huge job, with not enough resources," Peters says. It was also her first experience with what she calls the "international humanitarian industrial complex". While IANSA was more thrifty than most, Peters was nonetheless dismayed by the profligacy and egotism that typified the sector. "There were giant amounts being spent on travel budgets and airlines and big hotels in Geneva and New York. Faced with the amount of stuff that needs doing in poor countries, for people to be focused on themselves seemed wrong to me." IANSA has had its victories: together with Amnesty International and Oxfam, it campaigned for the Arms Trade Treaty, which came into effect in 2014. Along with other groups, IANSA also successfully lobbied postmilitary governments in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East to ensure that civil society and not just the military had a role in debating weapons policy. But Peters' role at IANSA felt increasingly remote. "Public health is like that," she says. "Very global, big-picture. You never know who you're helping, which is part of the reason I'm in Guatemala. Here I can see exactly whose lives I'm making a difference in." Peters with Alex Glvez, one of the founders of Asociacin Transiciones, a grassroots charity that salvages wheelchairs and gives them to the victims of gun violence. Photo: Kate Geraghty Transiciones was founded in 1996 by local man Alex Glvez, who is himself in a wheelchair, and an American doctor named John Bell. (Bell has since moved on.) Peters first came across the group in the late 1990s when she was invited to Guatemala to lead a workshop on gun violence. Transiciones was unique, she says, "in that out of the many hundreds of NGOs in this area, it was the only one bringing the perspective of people whose bodies had actually been entered by bullets". Based in a Mission-style building on the outskirts of Antigua, the charity operates a workshop where a handful of technicians, most of them disabled, repair wheelchairs or build new ones using parts that have either been salvaged or donated, usually from the US. The charity has given away a thousand wheelchairs so far. In my naivety, I had assumed that all wheelchairs were the same. "No, no!" Glvez says. Wheelchairs made for pushing patients along a tiled hospital corridor are different to wheelchairs designed for people to get themselves about. And then, which wheelchair you need depends on whether you live in a village with dirt roads or one with pavements, and also varies according to your height, weight, disability and factors like arm strength. "Because [the technicians] are in wheelchairs," says Glvez, "they understand these kinds of things." He talks of Peters with something approaching awe. "She has a lot of other big responsibilities with the UN and in other countries, but she has decided to invest her effort in Transiciones. She's made a huge difference she's raised most of the funds for us." Some weeks after returning to Australia, I call Peters with some follow-up questions. She is in New York with Glvez, who had spoken the day before at the UN about the need for better regulation of ammunition. There were 600 people in the audience, from almost every nation on earth, and he was very nervous. He spoke about the bullet that paralysed him a .38 and how there are still fragments of it in his body. After the address, Peters and Glvez went outside the UN headquarters and posed beside Non-Violence, the bronze sculpture by late Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswrd of a revolver with a knotted barrel. Inspired by the fatal shooting of John Lennon in 1980, the artwork has become a global symbol of peace. "I love that sculpture," Peters says. "It's so simple and powerful. So much of the conversation about gun violence is about geopolitics and lofty ideals. But really, when it comes down to it, it's about the gun. That's what makes people die." To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald or The Age.

Tim Elliott is a features and investigations journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald. Most Viewed in World Loading Morning & Afternoon NewsletterDelivered MonFri. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/south-america/rebecca-peters-i-m-not-afraid-of-horrific-grief-20180703-p4zp80.html?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

BoJo's REAL Brexit plans leaked

London, November 25th - by Damien C., special correspondent

All the analysts fearing "maximum Brexit" should revise their expectations and concerns. Indeed, according to an email thread leaked yesterday, the true plans in the minds of the so-called "Three Brexiteers" (Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Michael Gove) are... a bit more ambitious than that.

This email thread involves Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, among others, and spans a period of two years up to and including last week. It contains reports that a "secret research laboratory" in Dorset has finished preparing all the required technology and that all that is missing is the order to go ahead.

According to the email, the original plan for Brexit was to cover the UK in sealed bubbles, fit huge rockets underneath all of the UK and uproot the entire country to send it into space.

The plan as described in the email is extremely detailed and specific. High-power chemical rockets would first lift the entire UK into Earth orbit. Then, blast energy from repeated small nuclear explosions set off behind the country would keep it accelerating away from Earth, maintaining a rate of 9.81 m/s² so as to provide a natural-feeling gravity.

The launch would have taken place on November 5th, 2019, following a Brexit victory and a successful exit from the EU and other international organizations. A nationwide mandatory bed curfew would be declared, to minimize discomfort and injury during the actual launch, and all ports and airports would have been closed down entirely.

In one email, Mr. Johnson told Mr. Farage, "It should be fine. During the launch everybody will be in bed anyway, and then in the morning they'll just wake up and go about their business as usual."

According to some emails by the scientists involved in the development of these plans, "The biggest challenge is collecting large enough reserves of water to support the entire population. we have plans to build massive underground tanks and we're working on upscaling water recycling technology"

No mention has appeared in this thread about a specific destination for the uprooted islands.

Other, more recent emails from Mr. Farage indicate these plans must be put on hold because the result was "too close" and the population would not go with it. To which Mr. Johnson defiantly replied that the people voted to leave, so the UK would leave.

Reactions

Reactions were quick to emerge. Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her feelings during an interview on SkyNews: "This is an absurd and ludicrous idea. Mr. Johnson's and Mr. Farage's hubris will never lead to anything. I'm certain this leak is a joke anyway, it's just too far-fetched" she said. Reporters thought her tone might have showed the slightest pout of utter derision, disdain and dismissal.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II did not speak openly about this, but expressed her shock at this revelation, her concern at how her politicians are handling things and her amusement at the absurdity of the plan with a wry smile and a small wave. The official statement from Buckingham Palace is that "Her Majesty will not stand by a plan that involves uprooting her nation against their will."

Mr. Johnson has, uncharacteristically, refused to comment in person, choosing instead to tweet: "So our plan to Brexit Earth was leaked. It's a good idea, and going to happen. We don't want Commonwealth ninnies or EU crybabies anyway. EU can get stuffed, and the rest with it. Long live an independent Britannia!"

Mr. Farage has chosen a different tactic, choosing instead to deny everything on the spot. "I would never have been party to such a ridiculous plan. I thought I'd made that clear when we turned back on funding the NHS." and wouldn't comment on the fact that he himself was involved in the leaked email thread.

In the countries

Northern Ireland, London, Scotland and Wales have all refused to go along. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said in a statement, "The idea that London can drag us away from our home planet is unacceptable, and Scotland will not go down that path. We will prepare to unilaterally declare independence before this happens, even within the coming days. We need to make sure we can be entirely independent before England takes off - literally."

Former First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster also made a statement, saying, "This is a ridiculous joke. It has to be. But if true, quick action will have to be taken to secede. We will not follow Britain down this path. A motion will need to be submitted immediately to the Ulster Parliament."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also took to Twitter, lashing out with angry tweets: "BoJo and Farage want to drag us off this planet. This is the most absurd, unhinged, bonkers thing I've ever heard. London will have absolutely no part in it. They've already wreaked enough havoc on the United Kingdom and on London without this.", which he continued with, "I have already instructed the London Council to consider plans for complete secession within weeks, and injunctions for the Royal Family, Parliament and all of Whitehall to relocate immediately. I might add that the Council voted unanimously in favor of both motions.".

Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones was less definite on the topic of independence. "There is a special relationship between Wales and England that should not be placed in jeopardy. We should try to discuss this and avoid any consequences." However, asked whether Wales will follow England into space, he replied, "Absolutely not. This is pure fantasy, and is never going to happen. The whole thing sounds like a metaphor anyway... Right?"

Several other local leaders, even within England, have also reacted angrily. Most have just expressed outrage at the leaked plan, but others including the mayors of Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool have intimated that they might also choose to secede from the UK, following London's lead. In response, Mr. Johnson took to Twitter again. "We will keep the Kingdom United, no matter what. There will be no negotiation. Neither the Countries nor even the cities who have expressed this desire will be allowed to leave us."

Nationwide

Though some are relieved that this will finally, once-and-for-all tackle the issues of immigration and EU and UN regulations, they are also reportedly disappointed at the loss of cheap holiday opportunities this will entail, the loss of their ability to visit their relatives abroad and - the most serious concern, according to Twitter - Britain's chances in the next Eurovision contest.

Our Twitter poll today revealed that though 48% of the population are still in favor of Brexit from the EU, only 2% of Britons throughout the nation agree with Johnson's plan.

In fact, the population seemed to have taken Twitter by storm, using hashtags such as #BrexitDontFecksit, #EURulesBojoDrools and #SendBojoUpAlone to express their anger at the plan. Many even implied that the main Brexit proponents should be sent into space themselves and left there.

People are also enraged about how BoJo was making a fuss about 350m a week, but the cost of this endeavor must be astronomically (pun intended) more. Other hashtags trending today included #350mOutTheWindow and #Pay4ItYourselves.

Economic and strategic analysts have been quick to dismiss the plan as impossible and obviously a joke. They point out that, quite aside from the sheer cost and technical difficulty of achieving such a plan, it would also be completely devastating to Britain's economy. "The country is not self-sufficient, not by a long shot. The people would starve within months.", said one analyst. They also point out that with this approach, Britain will lose all its vital North Sea oil and gas reserves.

Others point out the issue of the crown colonies and dependencies. Several people in the Falkland Islands have already protested, saying they want to come along too, not wanting to lose the preferential treatment they enjoy or end up fair game for Argentina. Other statements from Guernsey, Gibraltar and others, however, echo the Countries' refusal to join in.

We have tried to contact Pitcairn Island, but our special envoy there is still on his way to the remote island and only expected to arrive around Christmas of 2019.

Abroad

Reactions from the Republic of Ireland were pretty unanimous, a mixture of relief at the UK finally leaving them in peace, and concern over what will happen to Northern Ireland. Irish President Michael Higgins said in a press conference, "This is ridiculous. Britain can't expect to leave and ignore Ireland. The people here will not go with it, too many of them have close links to Britain and won't want to give those up."

US President Donald Trump, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. In a series of tweets early this morning, he seemed to change his mind mid way.

At first, he was very complimentary of Johnson's plan: "Sending Britain off the planet is a great idea. Great for stopping immigration, and for taking their country back. Tremendous, tremendous idea. Better than building a wall. My best to Britain in its travels."

Mr. Trump added, "I have instructed NASA to consider possibilities to do the same with America. They say it's not possible. They're weak! I say if I can build a casino, they can build rockets under America. Fund with Wall and Travel Ban money. This will truly #MakeAmericaGreatAgain!"

Then, appearing to remember he owns properties in the UK, he tweeted, "Will not lose my properties in space. Johnson must make sure all Trump properties stay on Earth. This plan is a sad, pathetic attempt to escape their inferior position. America will not go along with this! Johnson is a not funny clown!"

France's president Emmanuel Macron joined the fray against the plan, saying in a statement, "This is ridiculous and will never happen. How can anyone hope to lift an entire country into space? And the UK depends too much on its neighbors, with or without the EU, to be able to handle such a mission."

Also in France, far-right politician Marine Le Pen is more cautious. "Though the idea goes in the right direction toward proper independence and border control, it is not known yet what the longer-term consequences of such a plan would be. I applaud Mr. Johnson's idea on principle, but as far as implementation is concerned, it is ridiculous and out of reach."

Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish Prime Minister currently embattled over the situation with Catalonia, appeared to get confused and said, "If we have to implement article 155 and take direct control of the UK, we will", before an aide reminded him that the UK is not a Spanish region.

German chancellor Angela Merkel said that this plan was "either a ridiculous joke, or a desperate attempt to escape unfortunate realities and necessities" and that "this puts the Brexit negotiations in a whole new light"

Chief Brexit negotiator on the EU side Michel Barnier said, "This latest news puts us in an unassailable negotiating position. If they are going to leave the planet anyway, we can afford to dig our toes in and hold firm. And, as according to this plan there won't be time for the two-year transition period, this will allow for more pressure on Britain and better terms for Europe."

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, on his side, claimed that, "I think this is a massive overreaction. I could understand wanting to leave the EU, but to take an entire country and lift it off the planet?"

Reactions from the Commonwealth have been mixed. In Australia and New Zealand, people largely take this as a joke, though some are genuinely concerned. "It's not that I'm worried they'll actually do it, but I do still have relatives there and we would need to plan to get them out before this happens." said one Australian. Some people in Canada have expressed concern about the links with Britain, but mostly the concerns are much the same as in Australia.

On the other hand, Nigerian and Kenyan leaders took a different view, expressing concerns about the drying up of foreign direct investment and remittances from Britain. Statesmen from both countries have already said that in the light of this revelation, they have already reached out to China to build ever closer ties with her and eventually replace Britain as a contributor to their development.

Economy

The markets have reacted strongly to the release of these emails. London's FTSE 100 index lost ten percent of its value today, and the Pound sterling fell below the dollar, closing today at $0.9753, losing over a quarter of its value in a single day. The euro has jumped by over 15%, finishing at $1.3958.

Several major banks and companies had previously stated intentions to move their European headquarters and offices from Britain to Ireland or the continent because of the result of the vote, but now most international companies have announced intentions to close down all British-based offices, factories, etc.

This backlash has also affected British companies abroad. Concern has been expressed by local managers around the world regarding whether the home companies will remain in charge or leave them alone. Even their CEOs are worried about the consequences of this development.

No doubt there will be more to this shocking revelation than has already transpired. The implications are enormous, and the possible consequences are drastic. We will publish updates here as they emerge. Or we would, if this were a true story.

We wish to stress that this is a fake, a parody, a joke. There is no such plan (that we know of), and even if there were, there are so many more technical complications that such a plan would not be, as of today, feasible at all, not by a long shot.

This. Is. A. Joke.

http://ift.tt/2rpU2NU

When it comes to the world of sports, everyone is looking to gain a competitive advantage. Usually, it’s just a little thing here and there, like when Jason Kidd “accidentally” spilled water on the basketball court because he didn’t have any timeouts left, or a pitcher putting a little pine tar on the ball to ‘grip” it better. Of course, some people take these lies and cheats to the extreme, and at the end of the day we’re left with the realization that a lot of our heroes are really kind of jerks. Here are ten hilarious and ridiculous sports cheats that went way over the top.

#1 Boris Onischenko You may not have heard of Boris Onischenko, but as you can probably guess from his name he was a Soviet athlete competing in the Olympics in 1976 in the sport of fencing. And just like the clichéd Russian villain who shares his first name, he was a nefarious schemer, though in this case he wasn’t trying to keel moose and squirrel, but instead win himself a gold medal. He had won the silver at the 1972 Olympics, but that clearly wasn’t good enough, leading to him launching a plan worthy of the most over-the-top cartoon villains. His fellow fencers couldn’t help but notice that whenever they faced Boris, he would be credited with points despite seemingly never actually making contact. Was he just that quick with his foil? Of course not. Instead, he had rigged the scoring machine with a sort of electronic trigger. Whenever he decided he wanted to score a point, he’d simply hit the trigger and be credited with a point despite coming nowhere near actually touching his opponent. Eventually people caught on and he was disqualified, and people could get back to trusting the USSR like they always had before this embarrassing incident.

#2 David Robertson The game of golf, above just about every other sport in the world, has a certain sense of honor and a gentleman’s code of ethics. You keep your own score, you penalize yourself, and you do so while willingly wearing just the ugliest pants imaginable. So what David Robertson did during the Open Championship was obviously frowned upon. What did he do? Well, basically the same thing any of us duffers do when we’re on the link: he continued to give himself favorable lies when no one was looking. During the qualifying round of the 1985 Open, the Scottish golfer employed what amounts to little more than the old “foot wedge” to give himself a better chance. What would happen is that he would hit an approach shot onto the green, and then just about sprint up there before his playing partner or anyone else had a chance to arrive on the scene and see where his shot had settled. He would pretend to mark his ball so that he could clean it, but he never actually marked it at all. Instead, he simply picked up the ball, acted like he was cleaning it, and then place it closer to the pin before anyone realized what was happening. He tried this move five times before someone finally discovered the blatant cheating (on the 14th hole) and disqualified him.

#3 Danny Almonte Back in 2001, America got swept up by a youth baseball sensation named Danny Almonte. He was a pitcher for a team from New York, and was virtually unhittable. In fact, he actually threw a perfect game during the Little League World Series. He became the talk of every sports page and highlight show across the country, a bona fide superstar for that magical summer. And then, it was discovered that maybe he and his family hadn’t been entirely truthful about a thing or two — specifically, his age. See, there’s a reason Almonte was able to so thoroughly dominate his competition: he was actually 14 years old, a full two years older than any other player competing at the Little League World Series. Suddenly people looked at him from an entirely new perspective. This was no longer a promising young talent with Major League Baseball stardom written all over him. His fastball wasn’t quite as impressive with the revelation that he was more physically mature than the average 12-year-old, and he was followed by a cloud of shame for the next decade. The closest he’s ever come to pitching professionally was a brief stint in an Independent League in the Midwest, where his numbers proved that he was never really as good as his little scam made it seem. Oh, and just because it’s always fun to add a little more weird to things like this, when he was a senior in high school he got married to a 30-year-old woman. If it ever comes out that she was actually 20, then the two are officially made for each other.

#4 Diego Maradona Diego Maradona is one of the most famous soccer players in the history of the game, and he enjoyed a tremendous playing career as arguably the best player to ever come out of Argentina. Later, he saw some success as a coach, including guiding the Argentinian national club in the World Cup. However, what he is almost certainly the most famous for is an act that he claims was divine intervention and has become simply known as “The Hand of God.” The incident took place in the 1986 World Cup, when Maradona helped Argentina defeat England 2-1. The victory both eliminated England from the World Cup and kept Argentina alive, and they would eventually go on to capture the crown. The only problem was how Maradona blatantly used his fist to knock the ball out of the air just as it looked like the England goalkeeper was about to come away with it. Maradona would score on the play after what should have gotten him carded and probably sent off. After the game, Maradona denied touching the ball with his hand – which, if you’re keeping score at home, is a major no-no for soccer players – instead claiming that it had been the “hand of God” that led to the goal.

#5 Sylvester Carmouche It seems like it would be awfully difficult to cheat in a horse race, considering the horsies don’t actually know what “cheating” means. But Sylvester Carmouche pulled it off, at least until people realized how odd it was for a horse to make up so much ground without anyone, including the other jockeys, even noticing him. It’s amazing what a bit of fog can do, however, to enable a horse to go from first to last and suddenly win by 24 lengths. This hilariously short-sided solution by Carmouche happened a little over 20 years ago at a track in Louisiana, in front of only a smattering of fans and amidst a thick fog that covered most of the track and the infield. Riding a 23-to-1 longshot, suspicion was immediately aroused when it was pointed out that his horse had no mud spatters and was breathing easily, rather than the usual panting of a horse that, you know, just ran an entire freaking race. What is believed to have happened is that after the start of the race, Carmouche took his horse through the middle of the infield, waited for a few moments, and then popped out on the other side, racing to victory. Carmouche continued to deny cheating despite all evidence to the contrary, and earned the nickname “Phantom Rider”. Which, let’s be honest, makes the whole thing totally worth it because that’s one hell of a sweet nickname.

#6 Fred Lorz While it’s probably farfetched, it would be nice to imagine that Sylvester Carmouche was just a really big fan of Fred Lorz, because Lorz is perhaps the most classic example of just cutting out the middle of a race and popping up at the end to claim victory. The Olympic marathon runner, in a move straight out of a slapstick comedy, nearly pulled off a fraud that kind of makes us applaud him for his sheer audacity. The race in question was the marathon at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis. Lorz was a bricklayer by day and not a particularly experienced long-distance runner, having earned a spot in the Olympics in a five-mile race. Yeah, Olympic qualifying standards were a little more loose back then. Lorz decided to more easily bring home the gold when he hopped in a car at the nine-mile mark and just rode for the next 11 miles. He didn’t even attempt to be discreet, instead waving to his fellow runners as he passed. Despite finishing first, Lorz didn’t actually get the gold once it was pointed out that he had hitched a ride. It didn’t seem to faze him, though, as he shrugged it off and said that he only did the whole thing as a joke.

#7 Donald Crowhurst You know what one of the easiest ways to accomplish something is? Just lie about it and hope no one ever finds out. At least that’s what Donald Crowhurst was hoping would happen when he attempted to compete in an around-the-world yacht race in a subpar boat. Upon realizing that continuing in the race would lead to almost certain drowning, he set up shop in South America and started radioing in updated positions that put him in the lead, despite not only being far behind the rest of the pack, but also, you know, not actually racing. Ultimately, Crowhurst found himself faced with a no-win situation: either own up to being a big fat liar with a crappy boat, or disappear for as long as possible and hope people would forget about him. He chose the latter. After three months had passed, he radioed in that he was too far behind another sailor named Nigel Tetley, and was about to just give up and go home when he learned that Tetley’s boat had sunk, meaning that Crowhurst was about to be the victor. Horrified by the fact that his competitor’s boat had sunk and the realization that his fraudulence would soon be discovered, Crowhurst put a final cap in the tragic story when he threw himself overboard, his boat found 12 days after he had killed himself.

#8 Ali Dia Imagine being plucked off of the street to become an overnight sporting hero. Ali Dia made this fantasy a reality, when the amateur soccer player conned his way onto a professional English soccer club, sight unseen. By the way, when we call him an amateur, it’s pretty much an insult to amateur soccer players everywhere. When he took the field for the first and only time, what resulted was comically poor play that made the folks in charge of his Southampton side rethink their decision to take him on literally out of the blue. So how does some average guy who has as about as much business on the pitch as just about any of us wind up with a professional contract? Easy: he lied about who he was. He and a friend concocted a scheme in which his buddy would phone up the folks at Southampton claiming to be famed soccer star George Weah, saying that he had a cousin named Ali Dia who was on the cusp of becoming a star in his own right. And the brilliant folks in the front office at Southampton bought the lie and offered Dia a contract solely on the word of some random guy they talked to on the phone. Dia was released shortly after his one 20-minute appearance, in which it became abundantly apparent that not only was he not the dynamic player he claimed to be, but a six-year-old probably could have played circles around him.

#9 Dora Ratjen And speaking of athletes who aren’t exactly who they claim to be, here’s an Olympian named Dora Ratjen. Dora was a high jumper who competed for Team Germany in the 1936 Olympic games — despite only finishing fourth, two years later she set a new women’s world record in the high jump. As it turns out, that record would not stand for some pretty dramatic reasons. Was this woman, Dora Ratjen, juicing before anyone really knew what that was? Did she wear spring loaded shoes out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon that vaulted her higher than normal? Nope. As it turns out, Dora Ratjen was hiding something else. Literally, as it turns out, since “she” competed with “her” distinctively male genitals strapped back like Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. Dora Ratjen, as it happens, was really Horst Ratjen, meaning this was a real-life Juwanna Mann situation. Though maybe if the screenwriter had based his story on Dora’s and not whatever he actually concocted, he wouldn’t have crapped out one the worst movies ever made. So why did Horst compete as Dora? It had nothing to do with his gender identity. Rather, according to the man himself, he was forced into it by the Nazis, who weren’t confident in their female athletes’ abilities. Ratjen claims that they did not want embarrassment, so they recruited a guy and had him compete as a woman. Just another stupid Nazi idea, among many others.

#10 The Spanish “Paralympic” Team To top it all off, here’s the very definition of “low”. During the 2000 Paralympic Games, Spain took a page from The Ringer and sent entire teams of people who were not actually handicapped to compete. Most notable was the “intellectual disabled” men’s basketball team that won the gold with a team full of people who had absolutely zero disabilities, and instead thought it would be a good idea to pick on the mentally handicapped. One member of the team came forward later and said that he and his teammates had no disabilities, and the same was true for numerous members of the Spanish Paralympic team. It’s not a coincidence that, after the fallout of this scandal, intellectual disabled basketball was eliminated from the Paralympics. Years later, South Park filmed an episode where Cartman acted like a Special Olympian so he could win $1,000. When you inspire the actions of one of the biggest assholes in all of cartoon-dom, you know you failed at basic humanity.

Source: TopTenz

Investment Manager Alerts concerning Purchasing Uranium Projects

Although the younger mining market began falling apart in Might, wise financier Mike Halvorson, president of Halcorp Resources, still ended up having a really active summertime. Invite to the globe of a significant financier in mining stocks, that enters early and then enjoys considerable revenues as, individually, his companies end up being takeover targets. "I have actually been privileged," the simple Halvorson informed us, "I have actually obtained connected with top explorationists, individuals who do recognize a top quality project." And because they have trustworthiness, quality jobs involve those geologists. Halvorson claims his wealth-building method originates from buying the tasks of these legitimate geologists.

  On May 3rd, Glamis Gold obtained Western Silver. "I recognized the project and also the major rock hound behind it, Tom Patton," Halvorson discussed. "I was a director of Western Silver. I really did not remain associated for the entire run, however I was there for the most effective component of it." August has been his busiest month. As a supervisor of NovaGold, Barrick Gold recently introduced an aggressive takeover of this firm, and also which is now being contested. In mid August, Yamana Gold tried to take control of the shares of Viceroy Expedition, which has actually shown and also possible gold books over of 7 million ounces in Argentina.

  So just how does somebody mimic Mike Halvorson's success in choosing significant champions in the mining field? "The typical investor is going to have a difficult time," he sympathized throughout our phone conversation. "If I were a typical financier, I would rely upon some sort of advising service, or two or three, to aid me select my supplies." We both concurred a few of the uranium jobs weren't going to make it. "So many of these uranium projects will never see a shovel to the ground, they will certainly never see anything near manufacturing," he cautioned.

Michael Malcolm Walker ASIC

However numerous consultatory services watch out on their own first, after that their subscribers, possibly if whatsoever. He recommended us to stay clear of the egoistic ones. "I have a long record with a couple of guys that are straightforward as well as have excellent abilities," Halvorson said. He signs up for Bob Diocesan's Gold Mining Stock Report. "I like Bob," Halvorson informed us. "He covers individuals. He knows a lot of people in the market. Among the gifts, an individual like Diocesan has, is he does not try to fit the same model over every business, like a lot of experts do. He just tries to determine whether the supply is going up. What makes Bob Bishop better at choosing supplies than the majority of the men is that he doesn't walk with a model. He walks around with impulses and also the capability to evaluate individuals entailed. He has a fantastic network to check facts out with."

  " I think for the ordinary person, if they do not rely on an advising service, they ought to most likely to the (source) conferences," Halvorson advised. Such seminars take place throughout the year. One resource conference happens this week in Las vega. An additional prominent source show will certainly be held later in September in Toronto.

  Valuing Uranium Mining Stocks

  " The (uranium) companies are so new," Halvorson stated. "A few of them aren't really that familiarized with their very own possessions, let alone the properties of various other business. It's not such as the oil as well as gas business where you've obtained ... in western Canada, there are a dozen or fifteen excellent design companies that offer reserve as well as reservoir examinations. If you see one of those engineering records, you can truly place a market price on those possessions."

  Not so in the uranium company. With uranium assets, Halvorson discussed, "A whole lot it is historical work, some of them are National Instrument 43-101 as well as some aren't." However he cautioned that despite the regulative insistence that companies submit independent geological records verifying their sources, "You need to beware if you go out as well as get some 43-101 resources." He included, "I'm unsure that a person would exclusively base investment decisions on them."

  For instance, he defined just how it might be possible that a company might only service mine (ISR uranium recuperation) the source. What takes place if after doing the tests, the firm finds option mining will not work? "That is something that will certainly worry me," he told us. "I think there are a horrible lot of tasks out there that are being called 'great projects' by business that have them. And I do not assume these people have a hint regarding what is needed for option mining."

Walker Capital

If so, then what should investors be seeking in uranium mining supplies? "At this stage, I would certainly attempt to consider undervalued companies because that's the least risk," Halvorson suggested. "I do not assume I would certainly consider the marketplace leaders, in itself. Business like Cameco and also Denison are very expensive. International Uranium is pricey in my viewpoint." So where would Halvorson look today? "I would certainly take a look at the undervalued ones, the ones that have tasks, but also for some factor maybe not as much grip on the market," he recommended. "I believe eventually the marketplace will identify those worths or they'll get taken control of at premiums."

  Two of Halvorson's favorites originated from his network. "I originally got associated with Strathmore Minerals since I knew they had some good homes and some very good experts and also calls in business," he discussed. "As well as, they have David Miller, that really recognizes the business from top to bottom. Speaking to him, I obtained comfortable with those U.S. properties. So, I literally backed the truck up and bought lots of supply." Halvorson subsequently ended up being a supervisor of Strathmore Minerals.

  Another Halvorson prefers is Kilgore Minerals. "With Kilgore, it is because Standard Burmeister had such a good performance history with Silver Criterion as well as Bull Run," Halvorson said. "Norm is the type of guy who has an excellent admiration for an economic play. I got included with Kilgore rather at an early stage as well as was semi-responsible for the stock vacating the 30 - 50 cent range. Norm has a big gold home. We both giggled regarding Kilgore's significant downside, and also he included, "There's a business that if it was strongly advertised, would possibly be trading at possibly 3 times where it goes to. Their gold residential property is probably worth what they trade for."

  Halvorson discussed his various other uranium holdings, "I was a relatively significant shareholder of UR-Energy, yet you can't have all your supplies regularly. They had a great market so I left." He kept in mind those were his 3 considerable holdings which he additionally has small holdings somewhere else. One of those holdings, Santoy Resources, comes from his association with Ron Netolitzky, who is likewise a director of Viceroy. "There's not any person that's got a much better track record than Ron of identifying a financial down payment early," Halvorson stated of his veteran acquaintance. "Ron operated in the uranium area in the 1970s and also 1980s, along with the gold industry, so he understands everything about uranium exploration."

  Of the market, Halvorson thinks there is even more combination in advance with the top quality uranium firms. "A few of these guys have actually got rather rich evaluations, such as SXR Uranium One with their pricey money and also extremely solid market assistance from Europe and Canada," he told us. "Because of their market cap, they allow sufficient that they can use their money as well as do procurements." He spoke highly of SXR Uranium One, "I have actually been to their main task in South Africa. They're developing it. It's occurring. They will be mining. And also they are miners."

  And that's the huge distinction, returning to his comment about some projects which will never ever see a shovel in the ground. "Exactly how do you compare Denison to several of these various other business?" he asked. "That becomes part of the difference. Denison resembles it's valued through the stratosphere, but they are extracting. I assume if Strathmore Minerals, which is sort of undervalued right now, if we could get Church Rock producing, I assume there would be a substantial revaluation."

  He sees a bright future in advance for the mining market, as well as thinks investors can do well if they examine firms before investing in them and get the right suggestions. "For individuals coming new to the marketplace, I would certainly seek underestimated stocks," Halvorson advised. "I would most likely take a portfolio technique. I would not purchase simply one. I would purchase a number of."

  Halvorson expects much more consolidation in the uranium sector. "As the companies get more comfortable with everyone else's share cost, as well as also getting even more comfy with other individuals's properties, then you will see people claiming, 'We can use our shares as currency because we're trading at about our Web Possession Value (NAV), however this business is trading at a discount rate of 30 percent to their NAV. So, if we can do a purchase with them, it's mosting likely to be accretive.'".

  That's not the case now, though. "You'll hear companies discussing this fantastic asset they've got," he claimed. "Then, I'll go ask someone I understand in business regarding the play, as well as he might claim, 'Oh god, I don't like that.' Right now, I do not believe people have any method of judging a great deal of these homes. If you keep in mind the example I made use of in the oil as well as gas service, where you have companies trading residential properties constantly, it's because people can rely upon design.".

  Right now, a lot relies on the underlying product. Climbing area uranium rates have actually aided a lot of the uranium 'growth' business, such as Strathmore Minerals, UR-Energy, Uranerz Energy as well as Power Metals, relocate higher. Most just recently, according to TradeTech LLC, the area uranium rate got to a brand-new high at $52/pound. Much of the UNITED STATE uranium jobs ended up being economic above $30 as well as $40/pound, which provides capitalists a lot more possibility for profit. "I think I'm going to make a great deal of cash in the source sector over the coming years," Halvorson said with enjoyment in his voice. "Yet you have to be active. If you purchase high as well as simply hold, you may just get your cash back at the end of the day. If you like the market as well as trade around core positions, I assume it's going to be just one of one of the most eye-catching markets available.".