In a video posted by event co-organizer Palestinian Youth Movement on Instagram, an Amnesty booth could be seen in the vendor fair at the May 24-26 conference.

Human rights NGO Amnesty International had a booth at the Detroit People’s Conference for Palestine, which featured terrorist group members as speakers, honored and quoted terrorists, and promoted armed action against the State of Israel.
In a video posted by event co-organizer Palestinian Youth Movement on Instagram, an Amnesty booth could be seen in the vendor fair at the May 24-26 conference.
Amnesty USA confirmed that it had a table “to share our organization’s work around the world, especially in the ongoing conflict in Gaza,” and “offered participants the opportunity to join our petition calling for a ceasefire in Gaza,” but emphasized to The Jerusalem Post that it did not sponsor or help organize the conference.
“Participating at a conference such as this does not mean we support all the statements made during the conference, nor does it mean we support all participants,” said Amnesty USA Senior Campaign Manager Isra Chaker.
The event featured Wisam Rafeedie, who was noted in previous Amnesty reports as an activist for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – an organization listed by the US State Department as a foreign terrorist organization.
Rafeedie, who spoke remotely on Sunday because he was denied a visa, described Israel as a racist project and assured the crowd that there was “no place for the two-state solution for any Palestinian.”
He described Hamas as part of the “Palestinian people’s liberation movement, like all the resistance factions in Gaza, both Islamic and leftist.” He also encouraged participants to go on social media to dispute the events of the October 7 massacre, such as how the “resistance” engaged in “sexual assaults, killing children, and beheadings.”
Conference keynote speaker Sana’ Daqqah, wife of PFLP terrorist Walid Daqqah, spoke on Sunday in a hall named for the deceased terrorist. Daqqah died of bone marrow cancer in an Israeli prison on April 8. He was originally imprisoned for commanding the PFLP cell that abducted, tortured, and murdered Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984.

Event praises terrorist Walid Daqqah, endorses PFLP

The conference panel repeatedly referenced, praised, and quoted Daqqah and other terrorists, including Bassel al-Araj, Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, Udai Tamimi, former PFLP spokesperson Ghassan Kanafani, and convicted murderer Assata Shakur of the Black Liberation Army.
The event was endorsed by leading PFLP member Salah Salah in a May 20 Palestinian Youth Movement Instagram video.
The conference saw the frequent glorification and advocacy on behalf of the armed “resistance” as a means of achieving the ultimate objective: the destruction of the State of Israel.
“It’s very fortifying to be here with you all. This has been a marathon of eight months but for many of us, a lifelong struggle to dismantle Zionism in the State of Israel,” International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network co-founder Sara Kershnar said on a Saturday panel on Zionism and US Imperialism. “IJAN approaches the work first and foremost following the demands for the full liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea, and we stand in our own history when we do that. We stand in our own history of resistance to genocide, including the right to resist and armed resistance as part of that history. In that way, we are unequivocally with the resistance in Palestine.”
At the opening speech on Friday, activist Yar Shoufnai explained that “eight months into this war against the most well-funded militaries of the Western world, the Palestinian resistance had demonstrated to our people, to our enemy, and to the entire world the meaning of dignity of honor or resilience and of glory.”
She continued, boasting that “the Zionist occupation continues to suffer deep humiliation, both on the battlefield in Gaza and on the world stage at the hands of the mass movement that we have built. Gaza has been transformed into the graveyard of the Merkava tank, the Namer troop carrier, the D9 bulldozer, and the occupation.”
Also on Friday, American Muslims for Palestine Outreach and Community Organizing Associate Director Taher Herzallah claimed that “the long tentacles of Zionism have always reached deep into the American heartland. Like no other place in the world, Zionism has penetrated the depths of American society – economics and politics for decades.”
“They’re losing a public narrative battle; they’re losing their ability to control us, and this means that now the gloves are off, and quite frankly, anything is possible,” Hezallah said on the War on Palestine panel. “I caution you of the days to come, because they will not be easy. There are people among us today who might not be with us next year at this conference, and this is a reality because the liberation struggle requires sacrifice, and I know everyone here is prepared to make that sacrifice.”
Palestinian Youth Movement Houston’s Mohammed Nabulsi, who served as conference MC throughout the three-day event, led the conference participants in chants calling for intifada and praising Hezbollah and Houthi maritime terrorism.
“Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around,” said Nabulsi, who opened the conference by honoring fighters in tunnels in Gaza.
Amnesty’s presence at the conference was not the only controversial attendance. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib also made a surprise Saturday speech at the event, and Dearborn Michigan Mayor Abdullah Hammoud delivered a video address.
Amnesty International features booth at Detroit Conference for Palestine - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

The profusion of identical green tents at this spring’s anti-Israel protests struck many as odd. “Why is everybody’s tent the same?,” asked New York mayor Eric Adams. Like others, the mayor suspected “a well-concerted organizing effort” driving the protests. More recent reporting shows a concerted push behind the Gaza protest movement. But it is not as simple as a single organization secretly rallying protesters or buying tents. Instead, the movement’s most determined activists represent a network of loosely linked far-left groups. Some are openly affiliated with well-known progressive nonprofits; others work in the shadows.
The movement also draws on diverse but generous sources of financial backing. Those funding streams may soon be augmented by the federal government. As I chronicled last year in a Manhattan Institute report, “The Big Squeeze: How Biden’s Environmental Justice Agenda Hurts the Economy and the Environment,” the administration’s massive program of environmental justice grants seems designed to prioritize the funding of highly ideological local groups. The Inflation Reduction Act, for example, earmarks $3 billion for “environmental and climate justice block grants” intended for local nonprofits. Today, hundreds of far-left political groups include language about environmental issues and “climate justice” in their mission statements. If just a fraction of planned grants flows to such groups, the effect will be a gusher of new funding for radical causes.
As the Gaza protests spread across U.S. college campuses, many observers noted an eerie uniformity among them. From one campus to the next, protesters operated in disciplined cadres, keeping their faces covered and using identical rote phrases as they refused to talk with reporters. The Atlantic noted the strangeness of seeing elite college students “chanting like automatons.” Students held up keffiyeh scarves or umbrellas to block the view of prying cameras and linked arms to halt the movements of outsiders. At Columbia University and elsewhere, protesters formed “liberated zones,” from which “Zionists” were excluded. Around the edges of the encampments, the more militaristic activists donned helmets and goggles and carried crude weapons, apparently eager to mix it up with police or counter-protesters. We’ve seen these tactics before—notably during the “mostly peaceful” Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, when full-time agitators helped ignite riots, set up a police-free (and violence-plagued) zone in Seattle, and laid nightly siege to Portland, Oregon’s federal courthouse.
In a remarkable work of reporting, Park MacDougald recently traced the tangled roots of organizations backing pro-jihad protests, both on and off campuses. These include Antifa and other networks of anonymous anarchists, along with “various communist and Marxist-Leninist groups, including the Maoist Revolutionary Communist Party, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and the International ANSWER coalition,” MacDougald writes. Higher up the food chain, we find groups openly supported by America’s growing class of super-rich tech execs or the anti-capitalist heirs of great fortunes. For example, retired tech mogul Neville Roy Singham, who is married to Code Pink founder Jodie Evans, funds The People’s Forum, a lavish Manhattan resource center for far-left groups. As the Columbia protests intensified, the center urged members to head uptown to “support our students.” Following the money trail of other protest groups, MacDougald finds connections to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Ford Foundation, and—surprising no one—the George Soros-backed Tides Foundation.
Of course, the current wave of anti-Israel protests also involves alliances with pro-Hamas organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine. Last November, Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies testified to the House Ways and Means Committee that SJP and similar groups have deep ties to global terrorist organizations, including Hamas.
For many keffiyeh-wearing protestors, however, a recently professed concern for Palestinians is just the latest in a long list of causes they believe justify taking over streets and college quads. In Unherd, Mary Harrington dubs this medley of political beliefs the “omnicause,” writing that “all contemporary radical causes seem somehow to have been absorbed into one.” Today’s leftist activists share an interlocking worldview that sees racism, income inequality, trans intolerance, climate change, alleged police violence, and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts all as products of capitalism and “colonialism.” Therefore, the stated rationale for any individual protest is a stand-in for the real battle: attacking Western society and its institutions.
In the U.S., this type of general-purpose uprising goes back at least to the riots at the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle. In those protests, mainstream liberal factions—including labor unions and environmentalists—were joined by “black bloc” anarchists and other radicals eager to engage in “direct action” against police. That pattern—relatively moderate demonstrators providing a friendly envelope for hard-core disruptors—formed the template for many later protests: the Occupy Wall Street encampments in 2011, demonstrations following the police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, 2016’s Standing Rock anti-pipeline movement, and of course, the calamitous summer of 2020.
These uprisings were not entirely spontaneous. In some cases, activists spend months planning mass actions—for example, against economic summits or political conventions—and can recruit street fighters from across the country. In others, an event, such as George Floyd’s death, sparks popular protests involving neophyte demonstrators. Those attract far-left activists, who swoop in to organize and expand the struggle, often tilting it toward more radical action.
That has certainly been the case at the college Gaza-paloozas. At Columbia, the New York Times spotted a woman old enough to be a student’s grandmother in the thick of the action as protesters barricaded that school’s Hamilton Hall. The woman was 63-year-old Lisa Fithian, a lifetime activist, who Portland’s alternative weekly Street Roots approvingly calls “a trainer of mass rebellion.” A counter-protester trying to block the pro-Hamas demonstrators told NBC News, “She was right in the middle of it, instructing them how to better set up the barriers.” Fithian told the Times she’d been invited to train students in protest safety and “general logistics.” She claims to have taken part in almost every major U.S. protest movement going back to the 1999 “Battle in Seattle.”
America’s radical network has plenty of Lisa Fithians, with the time and resources to travel the country educating newcomers about the “logistics” of disruptive protests. And these activists appear to have played key roles in the college occupations. The New York City Police Department says nearly half the demonstrators arrested on the Columbia and City University of New York (CUNY) campuses on April 30 were not affiliated with the schools. One hooded Hamilton Hall occupier—photographed scuffling with a Columbia custodian before getting arrested—turned out to be 40-year-old James Carlson, heir to a large advertising fortune. According to the New York Post, Carlson lives in a $2.3 million Park Slope townhouse and has a long rap sheet. For example, in 2005, he was arrested in San Francisco during the violent “West Coast Anti-Capitalist Mobilization and March Against the G8.” (Those charges were dropped.)
For a quarter-century now, Antifa and other anarchist networks have worked to refine tactics and share lessons following each major action. At Columbia, UCLA, and other schools, authorities found printouts of a “Do-It Yourself Occupation Guide” and similar documents. The young campus radicals are eager to learn from their more experienced elders. And, like the high-achieving students they are, they follow directions carefully. MacDougald asked Kyle Shideler, the director for homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy, about the mystery of the identical tents. There was no need for a central group to distribute hundreds of tents, Shideler said. Instead, “the organizers told [students] to buy a tent, and sent around a Google Doc with a link to that specific tent on Amazon. So they all went out and bought the same tent.”
In other words, America’s radical class has gotten very skilled at recruiting and instructing new activists—even from among the ranks of elite college students with a good deal to lose. How much more could this movement accomplish with hundreds of millions in federal dollars flooding activist groups around the country?
From its first week in office, the Biden administration has trumpeted its goal to funnel more environmental spending toward “disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized,” partly by issuing grants to grassroots organizations. Previous environmental justice (EJ) grant programs were small in scope. But, with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022, a huge pool of grant money became available. EPA administrator Michael Regan told reporters, “We’re going from tens of thousands of dollars to developing and designing a program that will distribute billions.”
More than a year and a half later, it remains hard to nail down just where the Biden administration’s billions in EJ grants will wind up. Money is being distributed through a confusing variety of programs, and the process of identifying recipients is ongoing. To help outsource the job of sifting through proposals, the EPA last year designated 11 institutions as “Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmakers.” These groups are empowered to make subgrants directly to community organizations, under streamlined EPA oversight. In all, the Biden administration has entrusted these outfits with distributing a staggering $600 million in funding. The money is expected to start flowing this summer.
The EPA’s grantmakers include a number of educational institutions and left-leaning nonprofits. For example, the EPA chose Fordham University as its lead grantmaker in the New York region. Fordham, in turn, lists as partners two nonprofits that oppose immigration enforcement. (One, the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, states on its website: “NJAIJ believes in the human right to migrate, regardless of citizenship or political status.”) Neither group claims expertise in environmental issues. Given that the IRA’s eligibility requirements for EJ grants are extremely vague, however, perhaps that’s not a problem. Almost any activity that could help “spur economic opportunity for disadvantaged communities” (in the words of Biden’s EJ executive order) might qualify.
Perhaps the most prominent—and problematic—EPA grantmaker is the Berkeley, California-based Climate Justice Alliance. The CJA is a consortium of mostly far-left activist groups. It describes its mission as working for “regenerative economic solutions and ecological justice—under a framework that challenges capitalism and both white supremacy and hetero-patriarchy.” The group is a vigorous proponent of the omnicause, embracing almost every left-wing concern as a manifestation of climate change. For example, the CJA website proclaims: “The path to climate justice travels through a free Palestine.” MacDougald notes that the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, one of CJA’s affiliated groups, “organized an illegal anti-Israel protest in the Capitol Rotunda in December at which more than 50 activists were arrested.”
The CJA website also includes a section dedicated to the cause known as Stop Cop City. It refers to an effort to halt the construction of an 85-acre police and firefighter training center outside Atlanta. Rag-tag activists from around the country have gathered around the facility since 2021. They have repeatedly battled with police—sometimes with fireworks and Molotov cocktails—and used bolt cutters to enter the site and torch construction equipment. (CJA’s Stop Cop City page features a cartoon illustration of three childlike activists; one brandishes bolt cutters.) The group also backs a legal defense fund for activists arrested in attacks on the training center or in other protests. For those looking for more inspiration, CJA links to an interview with former Black Panther and self-described revolutionary Angela Davis.
The Alliance is not an ideological outlier in Biden’s EJ coalition. On the contrary, when the White House assembled its White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC), a panel of outside experts meant to provide “horizon-expanding EJ advice and recommendations,” it chose CJA co-chair Elizabeth Yeampierre to help lead the committee. Like other members of the panel, she sees environmental issues through an ideological, not a scientific, lens. “Climate change is the result of a legacy of extraction, of colonialism, of slavery,” Yeampierre told Yale Environment 360. As a group, radical EJ activists tend not to focus on pragmatic ways to reduce pollution and carbon emissions; for them, the real goal is overturning what they see as an exploitative economic and political system. Since these are the voices the White House chose to help shape its EJ policies, we can assume this worldview will dominate grantmaking decisions.
In February 2023, House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, along with fellow committee member Pat Fallon, wrote to EPA administrator Regan asking for more information on the EPA’s grant programs. They noted that the EPA’s own studies of EJ grants issued in previous years showed sloppy supervision. According to an EPA report, an earlier version of the program funded projects that did “not logically lead to the desired environmental and/or public health [result].” Without better oversight and more clearly defined goals, the congressmen wrote, the EPA’s EJ grant machine risks becoming simply a “slush fund for far-left organizations.”
Since then, the administration has done little to reassure skeptics. To the contrary, the EPA has put at least one far-left organization—CJA—in charge of distributing $50 million in grant money. No doubt, many of the EPA grants will go to worthwhile projects. But money is fungible. A group that gets a large grant to, say, clean up dirty parks or teach children about recycling will also be able to hire more staff and divert more resources to political action.
With graduation behind them, most of the anti-Israel college protesters have stowed away their keffiyehs and moved on to summer vacations or internships. But the peripatetic activists who helped guide and intensify those uprisings are doubtless already planning their next actions. After all, two political conventions are looming. This fall, the college protests will likely flare up again, though by then perhaps focused on a different facet of the omnicause. And, with hundreds of millions in fresh funding flowing through the activist ecosystem, the groups that quietly nurture extremists—like those who firebombed “Cop City,” or who chant “Intifada Revolution!,” or who block bridges in the name of “climate”—will be more emboldened than ever.
A Slush Fund for Radical Protesters? City Journal (city-journal.org)
​

I personally think that Ronin is probably one of the worst written characters in Ninjago.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love early Ronin, and if I’m being honest, I never stopped liking him.
But I dislike the way the character was written.
I thought he was a great addition to the main cast when he was first introduced in Season 5.
I liked the way he went from being a massive selfish sleazball, to actually being a valued member of the team.
Plus it was nice having a more Anit-Hero character on the team.
He separated a bit from the team in Season 6, yk hunting them and all that, but he joins them again and continues being an asset, and I love the Ronin and Dareth as a duo.
I do like the introduction of Ronin’s mech in Day of The Departed.
And Ronin and Dareth’s partner ship continues into the first few episodes of hands of time.
The pair of them really felt like part of the team for the first few episodes, like Nya in Season 1, part of the team but not really part of the team yk what I mean.
But then they cut Ronin out of the rest of Season 7 with the dumbest f#cken excuse (a broken leg).
And then he disappears for the entirety of Season 8.
He then gets captured by the sons of garmadon at the beginning of Season 9, to show off the fact that they’re hunting ninja ally’s, and he was the demonstration, which in my opinion is stupid, they could’ve used a better character as the example.
And then randomly at the end of Season 9 he’s suddenly part of the main cast again like he never left, which was weird.
And then he disappears for like 5 seasons, and then re-appears at the end of The Island as the surprise reveal villain, which is piss poor writing.
I do like his speech to the inmates in Crystalised, but that doesn’t really go anywhere as they all themselves get Crystalised pretty quickly.
I mean I don’t care too much about Ultra Violet and Kilo, but Ronin, come on!
What do you guys think?

When you're a cop, you don't have the luxury of feeling things. You have to do the job.
Welcome Earthers to our final discussion of Leviathan Wakes. And what an ending it was! If you want to catch up on any previous discussions, you can find the schedule here and marginalia here. Otherwise let's dive in!
Chapter 48: Miller – Miller and crew arrive at Eros. Protogen’s involvement with the station has become public knowledge (and surprisingly it wasn’t Holden that told everyone) which has shifted the blame to the corporation and put the Earth-Mars war on hold. Miller and the OPA team strategically place fusion bombs on Eros and their return transport arrives, but Miller tells Diogo he’s staying behind. The next day, he heads to the outside of Eros and awaits the Nauvoo’s impact, with the Eros’ feed and his imaginary Julie keeping him company. But just before the collision, Eros shouts, “Don’t you fucking touch me!” and dodges out of the way!
Chapter 49: Holden – Understandably, everyone on the Rocinante is like WTF just happened!? Naomi explains that it can’t be magic because whatever Eros just did to move seven thousand trillion tons of rock wasted energy which they can see. So you know, just really fucking advanced science, but not magic! Eros then disappears off the radar but continues to move towards Earth at high speed. Holden and the UNN Escort Vessel agree to temporarily put their differences aside and chase Eros. Holden calls Fred and says this is a great opportunity to get everyone to work together before they all turn into vomit zombies. Fred tells Holden to call Miller and get the remote detonation codes to the bombs on Eros to maybe buy them some time.
Chapter 50: Miller – Miller tells Holden he’s still on Eros, somehow not feeling the insane movement and just hanging out upside down like a bat. Of course Holden wants to rescue Miller, but he’s like, “No bro, you get why I’m here,” and Holden drops it. Miller decides the best bet is to take the fusion bombs inside Eros to whatever is controlling it. Naomi sets him up a dead’s man switch, so now Miller has to somehow drag these heavy ass bombs around without ever lifting his finger off a button for more than 5 seconds. Miller tells Holden his last wish is to find Julie’s parents and figure out their link to Protogen, and then heads into Eros.
Chapter 51: Holden – Eros continues to travel faster and faster, and it is impossible for the Rocinante to keep up without causing serious physical damage or killing everyone on board. Fred calls and says that Earth has forgiven him after learning that he had nothing to do with Eros and, in fact, Protogen hated him. Holden doesn’t have the patience to congratulate Fred on his personal gains since his organs are about to explode. Fred says that Earth is going to launch its entire nuclear arsenal at Eros, but needs the Rocinante to bounce a laser off it so they can use its targeting system to guide their missiles. This means the crew would need to put the ship on autopilot and sacrifice themselves, which Holden isn’t super keen to do. He tells Fred he’ll think about it, but then immediately stops the ship because he refuses to let his crew (especially Naomi) die. Naomi heard everything Fred said and isn’t pleased with Holden’s decision. But no fear, he has a back-up plan! If they turn back on the OPA freighters attached to Eros, they can use their transponders to track Eros. The nukes are successfully launched and everyone’s happy until Miller calls sand says there’s a problem.
Chapter 52: Miller – It’s a struggle, but Miller manages to get into Eros which is now filled with human corpse crust and luminescent dots in the air. He realizes that to find whatever is powering the ‘ship’, he should use temperature to guide him to the hot spot. As he progresses deeper, he hears Eros talk about taking the ‘razor back’ and Miller has the biggest lightbulb moment – Julie is alive and she’s the brain of the protomolecule!
Chapter 53: Holden – Miller tells Holden to check all his vitals to clear that he’s not physically going crazy before dropping the bomb that Julie is the one driving Eros to Earth. He argues that the original protomolecule was meant to infect single-celled organisms. It is now being forced to improvise as it’s infected much more complex creatures so is using Julie and her brain as a template. Miller doesn’t think the protomolecule wants to wipe out humanity, since humans didn’t even exist when it was first launched, so if he can only speak to Julie (or what’s left of her), he can convince her to take Eros away from Earth. He agrees that if he can’t get through to her with words, he’ll use the bomb and blow up Eros, but he needs Holden to buy him some time. Naomi comes up with a plan to deflect the missiles in an arc shape and trick the UNN to not realizing what’s happening. They pitch their plan to Fred who immediately rejects it, but Holden offers him the protomolecule sample in exchange which is too good to pass up. Holden tells Miller the plan is on and that they should take Eros to Venus.
Chapter 54: Miller – Miller is looking for Julie while trying not to go insane. Visions of Holden, Havelock and Muss guide him to the backup environment control room where he finds Julie’s body. He wakes her up, introduces himself and explains the situation. Miller removes his suit helmet, letting the protomolecule infect him, and convinces Julie to head to Venus.
Chapter 55: Holden – Holden wakes up from a nightmare to a call from the UNN ship. They’ve learned about the deflected missiles and the Rocinante is in big trouble. McBride tells Holden he’s got ten minutes to deactivate the false transponders or else she’s shooting them down. Before a battle can break out, Eros reappears on the radar and everyone can see it’s heading away from Earth. It crashes into Venus, saving all of humanity from becoming vomit zombies (for now at least).
Epilogue: Fred – After the Eros crash, tensions are still high among Earth, Mars and the Belt. Fred is about to deliver a speech with the aim to establish peace between all parties. The protomolecule is NOT dead things are happening on Venus, like two kilomtere high crystal towers. So Fred’s hidden sample is the best option for finding a solution to protect humanity. Holden appears and asks if Fred can help him and his crew get amnesty and keep the Rocinante. He also wants Fred to talk about the real Miller and not turn him into a heroic Belter icon. Before his speech, Fred is tempted to go Holden’s way but ultimately labels it a “noble way to fail,” and carries on with his original plan, using Miller’s sacrifice as a tool to try and unite humanity.

I just completed an interview that I applied for 1 month ago (it took them 3 weeks to reach out to me and 1 week to schedule an interview, during that time I already landed at another job that pays similarly with a bonus, but I decided to try out the interview anyway). They are a tech university.
I applied for marketing assistant but I was told I have to do graphic design too during the interview. They claimed that no 'graphic design' department exists in their university. So as a marketing assistant, I have to do marketing tasks, graphic design (poster, video, etc), manage social media, do campaigns, photography, etc. Just because I can do it (also stated in my resume) doesn't mean I have the responsibility to do it right? Since it isn't even included in jd, jr. Also after the interview I need to wait 1 week for them to confirm if I pass or not. So if I don't have a job I want a job at their place I need to wait 5 weeks just to see if I pass or not. During the interview, I was asked and tasked if I can demonstrate the design of the poster in 1 hour (when I Had no ducking idea what the design condition is: font, color pallet, etc) with little to no context and no resources (i have to find everything on google and all their logo is crappy that upscale ai doesn't even fix it (have do waste time do their logo via inkscape). They don't even tell me to bring my laptop or anything or mention anything about the graphic design so I have to wait for them to get me a desktop with photoshop.
Also is using Canvas consider a design skill now? I was asked if I could design via Canvas, I don't use Canvas a lot but from what I know it just drags and drops existing templates with little to no input compared to Photoshop, AI, etc. Is this a thing? Note: This is from a third-world country, and English isn't my first language.

THE EMERGENCE OF BIOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY
The vast reservoirs of carbon dioxide, silicon dioxide, oxygen, water, methane, and ammonia
molecules, present on the early Earth, would have been manufactured, sorted, combined and
refined by the planet itself; and would later serve as the raw materials for the planet-wide
production of more complex compounds, such as sugars, amino acids, fatty acids and other complex
carbon-containing compounds. In other words, on the early Earth, many of those inorganic chemical
compounds and the molecular structures they form would serve as the container (or beaker and
petri dish), fuel source (or Bunsen burners), reactant, catalyst and reagents for various complex
reactions (or syphoned-off, closed-off, pressurized and temperature controlled reactions) used for
the production of many basic organic compounds. Essentially, the natural convection and
geochemical mechanisms of the planet would only need to get certain specific light or gaseous
elements confined within certain reaction channels, pockets, or cavities, at or just below the Earth’s
surface, in the presence of certain natural catalysts and reagents, to start to create the very first
chemical permutations for biological life. This is because, spectroscopic analysis of organic
compounds and biological molecules (such as sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids) shows that, in
their most basic forms, all organic molecules comprise of some combination of just 11 specific light
elements, all of which would have been abundant within the lower atmosphere and upper crust of
the newly formed Earth.
Essentially, because of the specific chemical composition and energy orientation of the early Earth,
all variations of carbon-based life, at the molecular level, mainly contain six elements: oxygen,
carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus, with trace amounts of another five elements:
potassium, sulphur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. Which is why, the experiment conducted by
Stanley Miller and Harold Urey, in the 1950's, where they tested if organic molecules readily form
from simple inorganic compounds, used a closed system of gases, thought to be abundant in the
atmosphere of the early earth (namely, H2O, N2, NH3, and CH4). Importantly, for the main energy
resource, to aid or ignite the chemical reactions, they chose to simulate lightning by sending sparks
of electricity through the mixture. Then, after letting the experiment run for a week, Miller and Urey
found that various types of amino acids, sugars, fatty acids and other organic molecules emerged
within the mixture. However, no natural catalysts (such as clays minerals, metallic substances, or
phosphates) were used and as a result, no large complex polymer chains, such as proteins or RNA,
were formed within this mixture, but the experiment demonstrated that, at least, some of the
building blocks for life could form spontaneously from simple inorganic compounds, using
reasonable quantities of energy.
Therefore, in nature, the sequences of compounds, made from those 11 elements, that did not
immediately overheat and decompose back to their individual inorganic or elemental components,
and were able to remain stable, long enough, to merge into complex polymer chains, to become
proteins and lipids, would mark the start of bio-coherency on the planet. Where, under this notion
of bio-coherency the reactant for the newer reaction would mainly be comprised of the organic
compounds or strings of organic chemical information that were manufacture in the previous
reactions, microseconds earlier. This is because, the emergence of the first set of protein molecules,
would also make the arrival of enzymes, as well; as most enzyme are proteins that would allow ever
more complex polymer chains to be engineered or manufactured, and would allow more chemical
information and chemical energy to be stored within increasingly more complex chemical mixtures
and chemical systems. Additionally, these newly formed enzymes would be able to act as natural
catalysts (or Extremozyme), and thus would help many complex reactions to occur at much lower
activation energy levels, than they otherwise would in nature (as, enzymes are known to be able to
catalyse more than 5,000 biochemical reaction types), even at extreme temperatures. As such, the
emergence of life and biological complexity would about not only the quality and quantity of
chemical ingredients, but it would also be about energy availability, reaction activation levels,
chemical durability, and catalytic integrity, as well.
Furthermore, introducing a catalytic component to these mixtures would allow for faster and more
efficient reaction, and would allow for a more streamline ordination of the reactions that need to
occur in sequential order (or even concurrently). Essentially, the organic molecules or polymers that
emerged to take the place of inorganic mineral catalyst would quickly elevate the complexity and
efficiency of those enclosed mixtures, as they would not have to rely on constant outside refuelling
of catalytic components, instead they could simply make their own, in the right proportions, as
needed. As such, any protein or other polymer structure that reliable meet, those functionalities
would quickly attain significant dominants within the burgeoning mixtures. Which is why, ribonucleic
acid (or nucleotides) and amino acids (or peptides) became an indomitable part of all functioning
bio-chemical mixtures at the molecular level, as they are the chemical that possess the ability to
preserve both chemical information and catalytic information, within their overall arrangement and
overall molecular structural framework, shape, and orientation. Furthermore, ribonucleic acid, as a
polymer of nucleotides, functionally act as the sequencer that facilitates the polymerization of
amino acids into specific proteins. As such, the set of RNA molecules that possesses catalytic
properties to optimize (or that are able to recall and preserve the exact steps and components need
for) the production of organic compounds such as proteins would serve as the first type of genetic
code (or as a means of storing the chemical and catalytic identity of an enclosed mixture).
Consequently, the emergence of the first set of enzymes, which are the type proteins or other
polymers that can catalyse the creation of protein molecules, would facilitate the emergence of the
very first closed loop autocatalytic chemical mixture, which would represent a mixture containing
reactant and catalysts that were synthesized by and within the mixture itself. Additionally, the
existence of this catalyst-filled mixture running on reaction autopilot would facilitate or allow ever
more complex polymer chains to be engineered, or manufactured, within minutes if not seconds of
each other. Essentially, this would allow vast quantities of chemical information, or chemical energy,
to be stored within these increasingly more complex compounds, or chemical systems. Such that,
these chemical mixtures or chemical systems would conduct organic chain reactions on overdrive, as
the chemicals contained within them would be either the main ingredients and/or the means of
lowing the activation energy for future reactions, which would exponentially increase the likelihood
of specific types of reaction taking place. Therefore, the constituent parts (or catalytic substances
and substrates) within these dynamic mixtures would quickly evolve into more complex and large
polymer structures, which would allow them to acquire more functionalities, as well as more
physical properties, shapes and traits.
Importantly, it should be noted that given that unlike most inorganic catalyst, catalytic enzyme
cannot function in open / unprotected environments; as such, the emergence of lipids (which are
the complex polymer chains, or molecular chains, of fatty acids), would represent the emergence of
the very first partially insoluble molecular shells or membranes, that could enclose or wall-off
mixtures. Thus, the many little spherical pockets or oily bubbles create by lipid molecular shells
would serve as the very first maze-like multi-chambered multi-layered structures that could fully
enclose and insulate various chemical systems, or mixtures, of ongoing molecular reactions that
contain both catalytic enzymes and proteins. So, many of the reactions that were being catalysed by
proteins and enzymes would readily be protected from being directly exposed to the harshness of
the outside environment, like they would be if those reaction were solely occurring in underground
vents, rock channels and closed rock cavities (or in lakes or stagnant pools of water). As such, the
concurrent emergence of the carbon- containing compounds, or chemicals, known as proteins,
enzymes, and lipids would mark the point where new portable diffusion gradients, reaction
pathways, along with new pressure and temperature gradients could form on the early Earth.
Therefore, within those moments, thousands of new reaction types, or chemical combinations,
would start create fully functional Molecular Machines, designed to complete specific chemical and
physical tasks, while others would become Discrete Data storage units, designed to store specific
kinds of chemical information, within the 3-dimensional structure of their physical molecular chain.
Thus, some of these organic molecular machines and molecular structures would represent fully
functional sequences, or pockets of chemical information and they would preserve the accumulated
lineage of the chemical information once only held within the system that created them, while
others would preserve the properties, functionalities, chemical pathways, rules, protocols, and
syntax unique to those systems. As such, these units or pocket biological coherency, could be
defined ostensibly as an enclosed set of localized mixtures (or as a mesh of compounds) that exist
collectively to follow an existential set of algorithmic permutations (or axiomatic source codes),
written in, written on, or stored within carbon-based molecular compounds, or chemical molecules.
Where, those compounds would not only possess the ability to store information by virtue of their
arrangements, configurations, reactions, and interactions, but they would also possess the ability to
functionally read, compile, execute, and utilize, the multiplicity of chemical information, or chemical
energy, stored within the other molecules they come in contact with (or interact with). Therefore,
the life-like structures would represent bounded units of stored chemical information working
together in unison with or within various mechanical and chemical microsystems; where, catalytic
enzymes and lipids would actively, or continuously, help to reduce the activation energy levels
needed for certain reaction to occur, and to prevent premature halting caused by excess heat or
other external environmental pressures.
As such, with these lipid enclosed chemical pockets, reactions that once took days or even millions
of years to unfold naturally would now reach completion within microseconds; and, this jump in
complexity, and efficiency, would result in the creation more complex chemical entities such as
viruses, which toe (or straddle) the line between the living and non-living world. As, viruses are
portable chemical structures that are simply messenger catalysts / enzymes and proteins (or
chemical information) physically and chemically fused to, or encased within, a lipid shell (and can
simultaneously be view as nest of biological functionalities, or as inert chemical molecules stuck
together). However, unlike the limited chemical information and functionalities or properties stored
within individual lipids, proteins and enzymes, each virus’s amalgamated molecular structure would
possess a lot more functionalities and a lot more stored chemical information, when compare to the
basic polymers or organic compounds, or progenitors, that preceded them. Therefore, viruses would
represent one stratum up in the lineage of chemical structures manufactured by a concurrent
amalgamation of chemical mixtures that actively use energy to sequence and store information, and
that protect and insulate these pockets of chemical information from the inorganic world, or outside
environment.
Additionally, the syntax or sequences of chemical information (proteins, enzymes and catalytic RNA)
held within these viruses, would have the added functionality of being able to hijack the resources,
mechanisms and chemical infrastructures of other chemical systems, to derail, interrupt, or interfere
with many of their natural protocols and tasks. As, viruses would be able to chemically, or
genetically, introduce some of their own chemical information, catalytic instructions, RNA code and
mechanical sequences into other structures and mixtures, specifically through the existing chemical
pathways of the lytic and lysogenic cycle, which is the universal chemical syntax shared by all
biological entities. Which would allow viruses to functionally transport and actively facilitate the
exchanging of genetic material and catalytic tasks among the many lipid bound microsystems that
happen to be in close physical proximity to each other, or that possess very structurally similar lipid
membranes and can attract and attach to each other. Therefore, viruses would be the means
through which some isolated lipid bound chemical mixtures would place, preserve or package
segment of their existing catalytic information or catalytic instructions into portable pockets, for
later use by them or by other larger systems to make newer, more complex, or more elaborate
permutations or arrangements of polymer chains.
Consequently, on the newly formed Earth, before the formation of the first true single cell
organisms, viruses and some loosely held together proto-cells that resemble lipid bound organelles
would be the main stores of biochemical information and catalytic instructions. However, the cross
membrane interactions among these wide array of organelle like structures or viruses (or proteins
stores of chemical information protected by lipid shells) and enzymes (or functional catalytic
proteins), would quickly lead to the creation of the first true single-celled prokaryotic organism.
Which would represent one of the most significant leap in the complexity of shared and stored
chemical information (and would take the form of a concentrated energy enriched mixture of
proteins, enzymes, and various dissolved organic and inorganic substances, protected by or encased
with a semi-permeable lipid mesh). Additionally, even though, at first glance, a prokaryotic organism
would appear to be very similar to a virus, or would appear to be a virus that simply happens to be a
lot more hydrated (or that happens to have retained a lot more water and dissolved chemicals); it
would, actually, represent a gigantic leap in biological complexity. This is because, prokaryotes
would be able to install within themselves organelles or molecular structures such as Ribosomes,
which comprise of many set of catalytic molecular machines, that would serve as the site of
biological protein synthesis; and would represent a set of structures that no virus would be complex
enough to possess. As, these ribosomes would have the ability to link amino acids together, in the
sequential order specified by the instructional templates, or data, stored within the physical
structure of the molecules such as messenger RNA molecules.
However, much like viruses, many prokaryotic entities would possess the ability to either hijack,
and/or have its own internal mechanisms infiltrated by, other prokaryotes due to the similarity
among their internal catalytic structure, proteins and enzymes, or because of the shared
commonalities of syntax used within certain aspects of their membranes and lysogenic chemical
pathways. Subsequently, this process of endosymbiosis would allow two or more prokaryotes, (or
one prokaryotic entity and a multiplicity of viruses), to merged or to coalesce within a share physical
structures. Which would permanently merge the molecular, chemical or catalytic lineage of these
different chemical structures, or sources of chemical information, and would represent a key step in
the evolutionary process of cellular structure; as, it would lead to the creation of the first set of
eukaryotes, which are the entities that are one fractal stratum above prokaryotes in biological
complexity. Which means that, eukaryotes are the results or by-products of a multiplicity of
prokaryotes and viruses hijacking or co-opting each other’s genetics and catalytic chemical pathways
via forceful membrane intrusion and through the lysogenic cycle. Thus, the double-membranebound mitochondria, with its very own strands of circular DNA, found in the complex structures of
most eukaryotic cells, may have originally been a prokaryotic entity that had its own internal
mechanisms hijacked or overwritten by another; where, one entity utilized the lysogenic cycle to
forcibly splice its own chemical instructions, or genetic information, into the other.
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
Overtime, depending on the level of exchange, integration or interaction amongst these prokaryotic
entities, there would soon emerge more reliable ways to attain mobility or to acquire energy, more
efficient ways of storing chemical information and catalytic instruction, or more reliable ways for
recording or storing genetic information and instruction, etc. As such, congruent to this exponential
growth in complexity would be the emergence of DNA (which are nested fractal molecular folds of
cumulative codes or polymerized RNA), from which more expansive protein synthesis can be
harness, when pair with extensive clusters of ribosomes, and more proficient ways of storing or
extracting power or energy within the cell. In addition, some microcellular organisms would develop
or acquire new say build, generate or repair their membranes and the specialized membranes would
create separate species that are able to defend against unwanted genetic material or chemical
resources, chemical energy, and chemical information intrusion, or defend against viruses and other
intrusive external pockets of genetic code or catalytic information. Which would ensure that only
specific type of chemical information would be absorbed or incorporated into their existing chemical
system, without causing significant changes to, or disruption within, the system. Therefore, this
would allow for the assimilation, upgrade and installation of entire chemical systems, and this would
mark the first sign of true biological evolution.
Essentially, these prokaryotes would exist as unique individually and not necessarily direct clones or
replicas of each other, but since they would not be able shout to each other nor shine a flashlight to
display the unique qualities, they would only be able to communicate or show their distinct
personalities through means of physical contact or through direct chemical exchanges. Which would
allow them to transfer catalytic enzymes, proteins, or genetic information, within their local
ecosystem. As such, it is through these cross membrane (or intermembrane) means of
communication, regulated by the share syntax of lysogenic cycle, where techniques and chemical
procedures would have occasionally gotten distributed, amongst the population, without invasively
destroying or completely overriding existing information. Which would serve as a new multiplicative
or additive way for organisms to develop or refine their previously individually developed ways of
performing certain tasks, and would allow them to adopt or develop many new traits,
functionalities, or techniques, to add to, or replace, all the ones that they came up with in isolation.
Furthermore, this continued growth in complexity amongst all these populations of biological
entities, where information from external sources could get continually, continuously and seamlessly
added to existing nucleic acid / RNA or DNA, rather than causing the host cell to be destroyed, would
allow for a seamless elevation in overall biological complexity across the entire planet.
In general, this lysogenic exchange or sharing of chemical information and catalytic instructions, via
physical and chemical mechanism, would be a process that predate the development of any multicelled entities, and predate any firm classification of living entities in any known domain, kingdom,
phylum, class, species, or even gender mechanisms. Thus, it would have been the continued
absorption and replication of new or existing genetic information (or physical chains of chemical
information, chemical instructions, chemical instruments, and chemical energy) through those
chemical exchanges that would have led to the emergence of, the stratum of microbial complexity,
known as eukaryotic entities. As such, the distinct organelles or structural features and physical
characteristics present within a eukaryote would have originally been in a separate and distinct living
entity that somehow got absorbed and chemical or genetically fully integrated into this much larger
biochemical composite structure or system. Therefore, in general, eukaryotes are, undoubtedly, the
entities within which many viruses and prokaryotes voluntarily (or forcibly) passed on their catalytic
data, RNA and DNA, during their life cycle, and their combined genetic code or combine catalytic
information, which got preserved by the larger hosts, before being passed on to future generations,
of the new hybridized entities.
As a result of this, the first eukaryotic entity to exist on the planet, ostensibly as an interconnected
net of subjugated prokaryotes, would have emerged with the collective chemical knowledge or traits
of the many strata of entities whose merged genetics and functional chemical codes helped to make
it in into a full functional being. Such that, even the cell nucleus of a eukaryote and the nucleolus of
this nucleus, would been acquired via some version of this absorption or integration process.
Essentially, the precursor to the nucleus may have been an entity that was able to proficiently
control and assemble ribosomes, was able to allocate a vast array of catalytic enzymes to alter
transferred RNA, or was proficiently able to sense intracellular stresses, which allowed it to co-opt
many of the chemical traits of the entities that it encountered. As such, while maintain its own
position of dominance, the nucleolus within this precursory entity was able use its extensive
repository of DNA, RNA and proteins to create a new network of cognition, logic modules, and
chemical data pockets, much like the catalytic data utilized by enzymes to subjugated many other
entities, while ensuring that its own structure remained intact.
Therefore, once the subjugated chemical systems have been fully integrated and is now a part of its
collective, the nucleus and its nucleolus would be able to pass information these organelles (or
subjugated prokaryotes), and the internal infrastructure of these organelles would follow the
catalytic information in the data pockets they received. Where, most of the instructions given for
each subjugated prokaryote would no longer come from chemical sequences recorded on circular
genetic code, or a maze of functional RNA or catalytic enzyme, floating within its structure, instead
most instructions would come from the nucleus and the enzyme and proteins it produce, which
would mimic the syntax of the original prokaryote. Consequently, these structures would only use,
bind, fuse and combine the existing finite number of polymerized molecules whose existence and
functionalities got deemed valuable by the intracellular network, controlled by the nucleus. Thus,
most of the hybridized structures within a eukaryote would not aim to create or catalogue all 10 to
the 21 power peptide bonds (or protein combinations) that are possible, or all possible chains of
billions of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen that can make the most lavish genes, instead they
would simply do the tasks assigned to them. Which is why there is not currently an infinite number
of random permutations, combinations, or arrangements of mismatched proteins, peptides, and
genes, instead only a stable syntax of very consistent and very steady arrangements of proteins,
peptides, and genes now exist, shared across most classification of biological life forms, on the
planet.
Furthermore, in addition to their very stable, organized and well control intracellular system,
eukaryotic entities would have been the first entities to emergence with cognitive functionalities,
such as the ability fully perceive their surroundings, ascertain ideas, understand correlations, and
make logic based decisions about allocating resources, as well as using precedent and prioritization
to make correct choices. Essentially, eukaryotic entities would be able to use computational logic to
interpret any stimuli acquired from the outside environment, related to vibrations,
electromagnetism, temperature levels, PH, hydration levels, etc. This is because the centralized
nucleus or main organelle of the eukaryote would have been an entity that originally specialized in
many of those functions as well as sensing the chemistry of the outside world or ecosystem. Which
allowed it to be the entity that successfully co-opted the catalytic function other entities, to merge
with them catalytically or genetically, and to construction a fully functional ecology made entirely of
subjugated molecular structure and chemical data. Therefore, in general, microscopic life on the
early Earth would have been less like a "pitch patch" mesh of random chemicals stuck together, and
would more be like refined self-contained amalgamation of micro-machines or self-contained microecosystems.
Which is highlighted in the existence of the mitochondria, as it is an organelle that possess its very
own remnant genetic material, its own lipid membrane, is able to divide at its own independent
rate, and is able to take nutrients and breaks them down, to the creates energy rich molecules for
itself and the eukaryote within which it resides. Which means that, the mitochondria too is perhaps
yet another organelle that may have originally been an entirely separate prokaryotic entity, whose
entire structure and genetic information were absorbed, interpreted and incorporated into a much
large system of chemical chains and sequences. So, in general, microscopic symbiotic system built
from an integrated set of recursively synthesized, recycled and replicated structures built made of
sugars, acids, proteins, enzymes, viruses, RNA and DNA all confined with a variety of lipid
membranes are the things that would together create life and pre-life or life-adjacent systems or
chemical mechanisms. Such that, complexity, or higher-level functionalities would emerge in nature
only through those types of symbiotic relationships or genetic mergers amongst catalytic, viral,
prokaryotic and eukaryotic microsystems. Thus, the development of new higher-level traits such as
logic, computation, cognition, consciousness, and self-awareness, would all relate to those types of
mergers and interactions amongst microbial entities, and this would help those systems to attain the
ability to proficiently solve problems and make decisions about themselves, their environment, and
their acquired resources.
However, as the bridge between the living and non-living world, viruses at their core would not be
conscious and would possess no notion of good or bad intent, they simply would exist as pocket of
data or as pockets of catalytic instruments that can relocate from one biological microsystem to the
other. In other words, virus would mainly serve as hardware to upload and install new genetic data
into and existing bio-computers or cells, without necessary overriding all of the existing stored
chemical data that was stored in the form of polymerized molecular strings or sequences.
Consequently, the concurrent emergence or existence of a collection of two or more viruses,
prokaryotic entities, and eukaryotic entities, regardless of their size, regardless of their relationship
to each other, and regardless of their relative physical distance to each other, would constitute the
existence of first true sign of ecological biodiversity, on the planet. However, these entities would
either have the ability continue to exist as separate entities, or to have their genetic information
chemically further co-opted by one or more of the other entities. Where, although the acquisition of
a stable pool of genetic and catalytic information would be important, if this information is unable to
help the organism to acquire raw material, ingredients, and energy (or chemical resources), in the
form of sugars and/or ions, to prevent the its chemical death or thermal decomposition, then the
information acquired would be functionally useless.
Consequently, as these entities continue to interact physically, chemically and genetically, they
would either all maintain the ability to acquire energy directly from physical inorganic resources; or
only some would continue to possess this ability, and the others would become symbiotic or
omnivorous to acquire readymade pockets of chemicals such as sugars, amino acids and fatty acids
from the others. Essentially, one or more of these entities would recognize the other biological
entities as portable pockets of energy or as food and fuel, which would start a food chain mechanism
to convey energy resources to themselves. As such, the food web that would emerge would be an
offshoot of the lysogenic and lytic battle amongst these viruses, prokaryotes, eukaryotes and other
microbes. Where, some cells would consciously choose to reinforce their infrastructure to protect
themselves and to acquire the life sustaining resources from the inorganic world; whereas, another
group of cells would consciously choose rip open other cells to get their resources (and the remnants
of this choice is evident in the distinction between plant cells and animal cells).
Alternatively, one of the entities may have overly selecting for specialization in lysogenic defence by
way of lysogenic offence, such that it would develop the cognitive ability to detect and capture all
lipid bound or protein producing entities within its vicinity. Where, once captured it would break
down their structure to it prevent its own genetic or catalytic control from being corrupted,
changed, overwhelmed, and over time this fight or flight mechanism would turn entity into the a cell
that can envelop, breakdown, consume or digest other cells, and conduct the absorption of their
chemical remains. As such, eukaryotic plant cells possess chloroplasts, which are organelles that
convert light energy into relatively stable chemical energy via the photosynthetic process. By doing
so, they provide diverse metabolic activities for plant cells, including the synthesis of fatty acids,
membrane lipids, starch, and hormones. While, animal do not contain any energy producing
organelles, but they possess lysosome, which is a membrane-bound cell organelle that contains
digestive enzymes; where, lysosomes destroy invading viruses and bacteria and break down excess
or worn-out cell parts, back to their non-living constituent parts. Therefore, the entities at the
bottom of the food chain would be the entities that were able utilize the energy that come directly
from the Earth or directly from the sun (sunlight), and were able to make direct use of the inorganic
and non-living chemical energy resources that came from metallic salt ions, hydrogen ions, carbon
dioxide, sulphur, sulphate, etc.
Beyond this, the unexplained and overwhelming innate drive that most organic entities have to
reproduce and replicate themselves, would also be an offshoot of the lysogenic and lytic battle
amongst viruses, prokaryotes, eukaryotes and other microbes. This is because, the story of life is a
story about captured energy, that happens to be temporarily held or confined within very organized
chemical pockets on the surface of the Earth; and without this captured energy there would be no
organic chemistry, and no organic chemical reactions on the surface of the Earth. Consequently, the
main self-sustaining goal that all living organisms would have is to breathe and feed, or to take in
both simple and complex organic and inorganic compounds, as well as to find ways to use energy to
sustain their internal repository of biochemical resources, or to prevent it from collapsing and
reverting to simplest individual non-living inorganic compounds. Therefore, many of the main
characteristics of living things, at the base level, are functionalities that arise as a lysogenic byproduct of the encounters or interactions amongst microscopic cells or that arise as a means to
cause or prevent natural chemical energy resources from being continually co-opted, transmuted,
transformed, and transferred.
Importantly, the emergence of multi-cellular organisms would be a natural progression in biological
complexity once eukaryotic entities have acquired enough catalytic data (or are unable to readily
merge with new external entities), and cognitively start to recognize or compute that they can
construct towers of themselves to strategically specialize in specific task, in order to benefit their
interconnected unit parts. Essentially, a multi-celled organism would represent a nested set of
Turing machines (or computers) that achieved collective synchronicity across the lysogenic network.
Where, each cell or specific sets of cells would have certain task to carry out based on the specific
instructions held within their internal cellular matrix (or their internal mesh of proteins, enzymes
and translated genes). Furthermore, the cross-membrane communication amongst the different
cells within the network would allow certain catalytic functionalities to be on or off (or specific
protein synthesis or polymerization processes to be active or inactive), where this selective cell
specialization would improve the efficiency and sustainability of the collective. Therefore, the
lysogenetic transfer or cross-membrane transmission of protein, enzyme and other forms of
chemical information, amongst these physically conjoin collection of cells, would allow certain cells,
from very early on in their lifespan, to possess certain specific traits, perform certain specific tasks,
or to conduct certain specific functions.
Essentially, these towers or columns of cells from the same eukaryotic entity, would communicate
via the lysogenic network (where, chemicals molecules would be the data and enzymes or the signal
receivers and transmitters in the inter-cell and intra-cell network); and this would mark the arrival of
the first set of multi-cellular biological stratum on the planet. Furthermore, as the level of
instructional data held within these collection of cells continue to grow, and each group of cells
become substantially better at the specific specialized task, then this would eventual cause the
emerge of stem cell, organs and systems. Where, these organs and systems would be stacks,
columns or rows of cells or groups of cells assigned to certain tasks or specialized functions (or
cluster of specialized cells operating within an inter-group co-operative that share data or
information and instructions across the lysogenic network). As such, the specifications of the
specialization would come from the instructions held within genes, but could also come through the
action of protein, enzymes or other chemical units.
Nevertheless, if the different traits, tasks and functions assigned are good to the organisms overall
wellbeing, and are passed on, then the generational longevity of these traits would be noticeable
genetics of future generations. However, if the organism’s death was due to the lock of functionality
brought about by these traits then they would not attain any genetic longevity, as most biological
units with the population with those traits would eventually die off. Unfortunately, another byproduct of any malfunction within this specialization process would be mutations within individual
cells, and any sustained collective breakdown process could cause the entire lysogenic or catalytic
cycle across an entire collection of cells to start to perform incorrect task, which would be cancerous
or carcinogenic, and could cause the biochemical death of the organism, as well. Essentially, cancer
cells are the cells that have some level of chemical amnesia and have had their catalytic processes
(or the controls and parameters of their operating system) changed to the wrong settings (or
corrupted), relative to the collective that they are a part of. As such, these cells would continuously
synthesize the wrong set of protein, enzymes, or lipids, because they continuously receive the wrong
instruction, or started to interpret the syntax of the instructions they receive incorrectly.
Additionally, this would have the additive effect of preventing new instructions from getting into the
cell, due to the infrastructure and catalytic machines (or proteins and enzyme) being preoccupied
with the wrong tasks, which would reduce the overall functionality of the cell in service to the
overall goals of the other cells in the collective. Therefore, cancer cells are simply cells that have
corrupted operating systems or cells that can no longer read, compile or decipher the syntax of the
existing chemical codes from its own genes, or its own intercellular polymer, catalytic enzymes or
protein chains (and thus, fail to maintain the specific traits, task and functionalities they were
selected to specialise in).

Welcome to our latest fortnightly Narita(verse) Friday thread! Here, you can discuss Durarara!!, Vamp!, Etsusa Bridge, and Wednesdays Smiling with Otsuberu, the four other works by Ryohgo Narita that share a universe with Baccano!—i.e. the Naritaverse.
Per early thread feedback, you may also discuss Narita's works that aren't set in the Naritaverse (e.g. DMDP, Stealth Symphony, Hariyama-san, Center of the World, et cetera). Suffice it to say, many don't have dedicated subreddits or discussion spaces of their own. Some likely never will.
As biweekly threads, Naritaverse Fridays are active throughout the entire fortnight duration at minimum. Participation, in other words, isn't limited to Fridays! On that note, thank you for participating! Meta feedback on Narita(verse) Fridays is always welcome.
Threads are posted at 6 PM EST.

Thread Guidelines

Tagging spoilers is vital practice; see the sidebar for two types of spoiler code you may use.
For the sake of navigation and convenience, please also preface your comments with something like the following template:

SERIES TITLE — Media Type (or) Arc (or) Volume — Comment Type

Below are two examples; Baccano! is used here solely for demonstration purposes.
Recommending the 2015 manga:

BACCANO! — Fujimoto/2015 Manga — Recommendation
Where to even begin? With Volume 1 and its brand new story arc? Canon at that! Or perhaps . . .

Question:

Vamp! — Question
I've never been able to get into vampire fiction for xyz reasons. I do love Narita, though, so can anyone convince me to give Vamp! a chance?

These content descriptions will make it easier for readers to find or avoid content in the thread. If your comment pertains to a specific arc, volume, episode, or media type, please try to include such information in the content description line.
Other Guidelines

• If you want to share fanart/fanfics, provide a source link and at minimum name the artist/author. Alongside content warnings, it is also worth mentioning what level of series knowledge is involved. (e.g. "This fic is safe for anime-onlies," or, "Avoid if you haven't read Vol. 5", or "set during xyz arc").
• If you want to talk about multiple series, feel free to create separate comments per series if you choose—or not. Aside from the spoiler courtesies, we're casual around here.

Previous Threads

See Wiki/Archive/Naritaverse Fridays for a list, or check our 'fortnightly' filter.
^{Notice: The first four threads used the singular 'Friday' in their title; thread titles will use 'Fridays' going forward.
Old Reddit Users: Remember, opting out of New Reddit in your preferences means the old. prefix is unnecessary for viewing Reddit links in Reddit Classic/Old Reddit-style. Aka the superior style.}

For those in Blacksburg, here's a rundown of 28 local events you can enjoy in Blacksburg and throughout the New River Valley as June arrives.
Weekend Rundown of Local Fun: 1. Matt Holloman in Concert Rising Silo Farm Brewery, Blacksburg Friday, May 31, 2024, 6:00 - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Born and raised in southeastern Virginia, Matt Holloman has been playing around Virginia for more than 25 years. Growing up on his older brother’s blues collection, Matt mixed the likes of Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters with the experimental sounds of songwriters like Leonard Cohen and Frank Black, creating a style all his own. Always interested in reinventing his live performance, Matt uses a looper so he can improvise and manipulate layers of sound not usually heard from an acoustic performer. You can also expect simple, but memorable songs, reminiscent of storytelling songwriters like John Prine and Bob Dylan. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=777075
2. Friday Nights at the Farm with Music from Jim Korb Beliveau Farm Winery, Blacksburg Friday, May 31, 2024, 6:00 - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Jim Korb is an acoustic musician and guitarist based in Southwest, VA and a member of the band Stonehouse. "Just a singer; a natural-born guitar ringer, playing and singing a mix of Classic Country, Eagles, CCR, Skynyrd, and a little bit of everything else from John Denver to The Blues." Beliveau welcomes a special musical guest every Friday night with live music from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM and sing along to all of your favorite classics. Enjoy delicious food from their full service kitchen until 8:30 PM and chat over a glass of wine during our extended bar hours until 9:00 PM. Get a $5 Beliveau Buck to use during your next visit for every $50.00 you spend on Friday nights from 6:00-9:00 PM. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=777450
3. Pizza Roll (Bike Ride) Blacksburg Library, Blacksburg Friday, May 31, 2024, 6:00 PM - TBD Admission: Free The New River Valley Bicycle Association (NRVBA) presents a Pizza Roll starting at the Blacksburg Library. Enjoy a five mile bike ride on the Huckleberry Trail and through Virginia Tech's campus, followed by post ride pizza at Benny's provided by Trek Blacksburg. This is a NRVBA ride, meaning waivers are required and can be filled out on site. If you have never ridden with NRVBA before, your first ride is free. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=777778
4. The Grascals in Concert Little River Bluegrass Barn, Radford Friday, May 31, 2024, 7:00 - 10:00 PM General Admission: $30.00, Reserved Tickets: $35.00 Great musicians will always find a way to make good music, but for great musicians to make great music, they must form a bond – one that, more often than not, goes beyond the purely musical to the personal. For The Grascals, that bond has been forged at the intersection of personal friendships, shared professional resumes and an appreciation for the innovative mingling of bluegrass and country music that has been a hallmark of the Nashville scene for more than 40 years. Their cutting-edge modern bluegrass is delivered with a deep knowledge of, and admiration for, the work of the music’s founding fathers. Timely yet timeless, The Grascals make music that is entirely relevant to the here and now yet immersed in traditional values of soul and musicianship. It’s a unique sound that has earned three Grammy® nominations and two Entertainer of the Year awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association, as well as national media attention that seems to perpetually elude acts entrenched in niche genres. Such appearances include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Fox & Friends, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and CBS’ The Talk. The Grascals have over 200 guest appearances on the Grand Ole Opry to their credit and have also performed on the revered stages of Radio City Music Hall, the Ryman Auditorium and the Kennedy Center as well as music festivals such as MerleFest, Stagecoach, and the CMA Music Festival. In addition to performing across the United States and Canada, the awarding-winning band has traveled the world to take bluegrass music to Japan, Greece, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, and Belgium. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=777777
5. Line Dancing at Sinkland Sinkland Farms, Christiansburg Friday, May 31, 2024, 7:00 PM - TBD Admission: $10.00 Join Sinkland Farms for a fun-filled night of line dancing. All types of music and all levels of experience welcome. Energetic, enthusiastic instruction begins at 8:00 PM. Adult beverages and food truck will be available for purchase. Weather permitting, there will be outdoor dancing as well. This event is fun for all. Ages 16 & under must be accompanied by an adult. Doors open at 7:00 PM. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778214
6. 2024 Pulaski County Spring Flea Market New River Valley Fairgrounds, Dublin Saturday, June 1, 2024 and Sunday, June 2, 2024, 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM Admission: $2.00, Kids 6 and Under: Free The Dublin Lions Club presents the 2024 Two-Day Pulaski County Spring Flea Market celebrating 49 years. With over 20,000 visitors and 800 vendors spaces, more than a dozen different food vendors offering varied food options and the chance to eat a few of the famous "Lion Dogs", you will not want to miss this event. Check out vendors with crafts, antiques and more at the semi-annual Pulaski County Flea Market. Expect to have a ton of fun hunting for that rare items or the deal of the century. Although over 100 spaces are under roof, it is a largely an outdoor event. All proceeds go to the Dublin Lions and their numerous community causes such as eyeglasses for the needy and hunger relief in the community. This is their primary fundraiser each year. The event is rain or shine and parking is free. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778201
7. Benefit Ride for Bubba Williston's Family KFC, Christiansburg Saturday, June 1, 2024, 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM $15.00-$20.00 Donation per vehicle. The Benefit Ride for Bubba's Family will start and end at KFC. Registration begins at 9:00 AM with kickstands up at 10:30 AM. Help raise money for Bubba Williston’s family. Bubba lost his life on Thursday, April 11th after saving his boys. Bubba leaves behind a wife, Danielle and three small children, Brantley, Kyler and Aubree. Let’s come together as a community and help ease the financial burden. There will also be door prizes, raffle and 50/50 raffle. Lunch will be served following the ride and returning to KFC. All bikes, cars, trucks and all vehicles welcome. Snacks will be provided on ride and lunch and drinks afterward. All proceeds benefit Bubba's wife and his three children. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778242
8. Cabin Fever 12: Six Band Charity Event Cabin Fever, Pilot Saturday, June 1, 2024, 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM Adults: $10.00, Kids 13 & Under: Free Cabin Fever Charity Events presents their semi-annual charitable musical fundraiser event Cabin Fever 12 benefiting the Floyd County Humane Society in honor of Kevin Dodson. A family style buffet and t-shirts will also be available for purchase and there will be both a live and silent auction featuring donations from local businesses and our line-up of seven performers. 100% of the proceeds from all items will be donated to the Floyd County Humane Society. Music Performers include Chris and Chelsea, Seph Custer, Jake and Jess, The Good Ole Boys, The Flying Doves, Hoppie Vaughan and the Ministers of Soul and By All Means. The family style buffet is highlighted by the world class pulled barbecue provided by Cabin Fever friend Hamp Maxwell is $10.00 per person. Credit cards and personal checks will be accepted the day of the event. Pets and children are welcome. Bring your dog and a $25.00 donation will be made on your behalf. All donations made to Cavin Fever Charity are 100% tax deductible. The event is BYOB and lawn chairs are welcome. Parking is free. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778240
9. Summer Reading Kickoff Event Blacksburg Library, Blacksburg Saturday, June 1, 2024, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Admission: Free Grab your chalk and head to the library to kick off our summer reading program. Enjoy activities like a chalk walk, face painting, bubbles, and a sweet treat. Available while supplies last. All ages are welcome. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=777959
10. Ride-A-Rescue Cornhole Tournament Bisset Park, Radford Saturday, June 1, 2024, 11:00 AM - TBD Tournament Entry: $25.00 per team, Spectators: Free Ride-A-Rescue and Winterfrost Farm presents their Ride-A-Rescue Cornhole Tournament. Ride-A-Rescue is a local, non-profit, equine rescue that is holding an epic Cornhole Tournament throwdown to raise funds and awareness for their rescue's operation and rescue horses. The Cornhole Tournament is a double elimination tournament and open to all ages. There will also be a Kids Corner open all day and food vendors on site. First, second and third place teams will win big prizes. Teams can battle back in the Losers Bracket for another shot at the championship. All participating teams will also be entered in a drawing for awesome bonus prizes. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=776144
11. Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer JBR Vineyards LLC, Pearisburg Saturday, June 1, 2024, 12:00 - 5:00 PM and Sunday, June 2, 2024, 1:00 - 5:00 PM Admission: Free Wine Pricing: Tasting: $5.00, Glass of Wine: $5.00, Bottles of Wine: $15.00-$20.00 plus tax Experience the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer with a delightful afternoon of wine tasting. Savor fine wine in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. Stroll through the vineyard with a glass of your favorite wine. Credit cards and cash accepted. Dogs and kids welcome. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778155
12. Annual Loyalists in the Backcountry Event Wilderness Road Regional Museum, Newbern Saturday, June 1, 2024 and Sunday, June 2, 2024, 12:00 - 4:00 PM Admission: Free Join the Wilderness Road Regional Museum for the Two-Day Annual Loyalists in the Backcountry Event and learn about both the Patriots and Loyalists in the Backcountry of Southwest Virginia during the Revolutionary War. There will be some mischief afoot. Living history will be presented by the Fincastle Company on both days. Members of the Fincastle Company Living History group will share the history of the complicated interactions of the Patriots, "rascally" Loyalists, Tories, and those trying to stay "unaffected" during the American Revolution. On Sunday, there will be expanded programming including kids activities and a mock round up of the Tories to recreate some actual events in and around the Newbern area during the Revolutionary timeframe to include conspiracies, counterfeiting, and rounding up of the rascals. The event is free, but donations are always welcome and appreciated. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778165
13. 2024 New Town Festival Gospel Sing St. Luke and Odd Fellows Hall, Blacksburg Saturday, June 1, 2024, 12:00 - 6:00 PM Admission: Free The Blacksburg Museum & Cultural Foundation presents the 8th Annual New Town Festival Gospel Sing. The afternoon will be filled with dancing, singing and fellowship as five local groups and soloists perform their favorite current and old-time gospel favorites. Kirk’s BBQ will be onsite with food available for purchase. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778231
14. Speed Friending Program for Ages 20-45 Christiansburg Library, Christiansburg Saturday, June 1, 2024, 1:00 - 3:00 PM Admission: Free Are you interested in meeting new people? Want to make friends in the area, but find it hard to make time? Join the library for a fun and free way to connect with others in the community. Speed Friending will start with a speedy round of conversation starters. Yes, similar to speed dating, questions and conversation will be available for those who need it. Hang around after to chat, enjoy snacks, play games, or make plans with new friends. There will also be door prizes. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778081
15. Saturday Afternoon Music with Leslie Brooks New River Vineyard & Winery, Fairlawn Saturday, June 1, 2024, 2:00 - 5:00 PM Admission: Free Leslie Brooks is a singer-songwriter, performing solo with guitar, playing jazz, folk, blues, rockin' country and popular favorites originally from Kentucky now resides in Virginia. She has played the best venues in a 16-state area, as well as in Norway and Monte Carlo. Opened for Heart, James Taylor, Bob Margolin and Willie Nelson to name a few. Feel to free to select your favorites from her 300-song music menu. Seating is first come, first served. No reservation required. Guests can bring a blanket and/or chair. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778088
16. Spring Garden Day and Flower Art Opening Montgomery Museum of Art & History Gardens, Christiansburg Saturday, June 1, 2024, 2:00 - 4:00 PM Admission: Free This event will feature the "Flower Art in the Garden" Theme Show, showcasing the creativity of local artists. Participants were tasked with decorating "flat flower" templates, thoughtfully crafted by students at Blacksburg High School, which will be placed throughout the site. Participants were encouraged to incorporate native southwest Virginia plants into their artwork, resulting in a vibrant display that celebrates the region's natural beauty and artistic talent. In addition to the art exhibit, Spring Garden Day offers a wonderful opportunity for attendees to explore the Museum Garden with gardeners on-site to answer any questions. Visitors will also have the chance to engage with the Virginia Native Plant Society's plant clinic, Virginia Master Naturalists, and Virginia Master Gardeners, as several booths will be set up to provide information and insights into the rich botanical heritage of Southwest Virginia. Note: This event was originally scheduled for Saturday, May 4th, but was postponed due to inclement weather. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778241
17. Summer Arts Festival Free Classic Movies: Wizard of Oz Lyric Theatre, Blacksburg Saturday, June 1, 2024, 3:00 - 4:45 PM Admission: Free The 2024 Summer Arts Festival kicks of the Free Classic Movies series featuring "The Wizard of Oz". The classic "Wizard of Oz" was originally released in 1939 with a rating of PG and stars Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. Synopsis: Dorothy Gale along with her dog Toto is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home to Kansas and help her friends as well. The Summer Arts Festival is presented by Virginia Tech and the Town of Blacksburg. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778205
18. Grand Opening in Blacksburg J.H Bards Spirit Co., Blacksburg Saturday, June 1, 2024, 4:00 - 9:00 PM and Sunday, June 2, 2024, 12:00 - 6:00 PM Admission: Free J.H Bards Spirit Co. has moved the distillery from Fairlawn to Blacksburg and can't wait to show you their new completely renovated digs. On Saturday, last call will be ~8:40 PM and on Sunday ~5:30 PM. Parking is available in the Kent Square parking deck, on-street anywhere downtown, or in the municipal lot directly across Washington Street from us. Enter the distillery off of Draper Road. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778076
19. 2024 Oldtown Nights Concert Series Kickoff featuring Miller Holler Band Oldtown Fields (Shawsville Middle School Rec Area), Shawsville Saturday, June 1, 2024, 5:30 - 9:00 PM Adults: $5.00, Ages 12 & Under: Free The Eastmont Community Foundation presents the 8th season of the Oldtown Nights Concert Series Kickoff featuring the Miller Holler Band with a large open green space that is family and children friendly. Miller Holler is a country rock band with southern roots and a hunger for going against the grain and stirring up the music industry in Nashville, Tennessee. Concessions and drinks including adult beverages for those ages 21 & up will be available for purchase. Please bring cash for tickets and beer sales. Only limited credit card sales available. Please bring your own chairs and/or blankets. No tents or umbrellas allowed. Ages 16 & under must be accompanied by an adult. No outside drinks and no pets permitted. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=774327
20. The Wild Wood Band in Concert Long Way Brewing, Radford Saturday, June 1, 2024, 6:00 - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Wild Wood is based in the New River Valley performing country, classic rock & country, folk, bluegrass and originals. Enjoy an old school sound and a very eclectic catalog of music with your favorite sing-along ballads and originals. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778071
21. Baxter Briefly in Concert Rising Silo Farm Brewery, Blacksburg Saturday, June 1, 2024, 6:00 - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Baxter Briefly is a Roanoke, VA musician performing unique and original music in the alternative rock, nu-funk and indie realms. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778232
22. Stand Up Comedy Show with Headliner Heather Joyce Bull & Bones Brewhaus & Grill, Blacksburg Saturday, June 1, 2024, 8:00 - 9:30 PM Admission: $7.00 Comedians Gone Rogue presents a Stand Up Comedy Show with Headliner Heather Joyce in the Banquet Room. Headliner Heather Joyce will be joined by other amazing comediennes from across Virginia and one very strong and independent man. Other performers include: Andrew Gustafson, Katherine Rogue, Christinia Tynes, Chelsea McCreight and Amanda Fitz. The cover goes directly to the talent. For ages 18 & up. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778246
23. 2024 Huckleberry Jam Point-to-Point 8.1 Mile and 1.75 Mile Run / Walk Runabout Sports, Blacksburg Sunday, June 2, 2024, 6:45 - 11:00 AM 8.1 Mile Run: $40.00 (through June 1st), $45.00 (after June 1st) 1.75 Mile Run: $29.00 (through June 1st), $32.00 (after June 1st) Return Shuttle: $5.00 Runabout Sports presents the 4th Annual Huckleberry Jam Point-to-Point 8.1 Mile and 1.75 Mile Runs on the Huckleberry Trail with the 8.1 Mile Run starting at RunAbout Sports in Blacksburg, VA and the 1.75 Mile Run starting on the Huckleberry Trail in Christiansburg, VA at the gate by Uptown Christiansburg's Kohl's store with both runs finishing at the Christiansburg Rec Center. Race Day Registration & Packet Pickup is from 6:45-7:45 AM. The 8.1 Mile Race starts at RunAbout Sports at 8:00 AM. The 1.75 Mile Race starts on Huckleberry Trail near Kohl's side of Uptown Christiansburg at 8:30 AM. Both race distances are point-to-point courses finishing at the Christiansburg Rec Center. Two aid stations will provide water and Gatorade along the way. RunAbout Sports will be donating all net proceeds to the Friends of the Huckleberry Trail. The group uses 100% of donations and funding for the engineering and construction of the Huckleberry Trail and the amenities along the trail. Participants may purchase an add-on shuttle ticket for $5.00 per person when registering. If you have a ride from the Christiansburg Rec Center, you are not required to purchase a shuttle pass. All finishers will receive an engraved rail-road spike finisher award with overall awards for the top three male and female finishers. The top two finishers in each age group also receive awards. Spectators and those picking up runners from the finish may park in front of the Christiansburg Rec Center and walk to the back where the race finishes. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778200
24. 2024 Check Farm Trail Downtown Check, Check Sunday, June 2, 2024, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Admission: Free Floyd Country Tourism presents the 3rd Annual Check Farm Trail at seven participating farms and businesses throughout Check, Virginia. This family-friendly experience is an up-close chance to learn about agriculture through demonstrations, tastings and farm tours including plants & animals and more. Food and/or products will be available for purchase at most of the farms and businesses. Carpooling is encouraged and please leave pets at home. Note: Times and hours vary by farm and tour stop. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=778239
25. Youth Spaghetti Fundraiser Blacksburg United Methodist Church, Blacksburg Sunday, June 2, 2024, 12:00 - 6:00 PM Admission: $10.00 The Youth Ministry at Blacksburg United Methodist Church (BUMC) hosts a Youth Spaghetti Fundraiser. This fundraiser will offset cost associated with summer youth mission trip. BUMC’s youth will venture to the Eastern Shore of Virginia to Camp Occohannock on the Bay this summer. During the weeklong mission trip, the youth will work with Chesapeake Housing Mission. Grab lunch from 12:00-2:00 PM or dinner from 4:00-6:00 PM. The menu includes one serving of spaghetti (with or without ground beef), salad, garlic bread and choice of cookie (chocolate chip, sugar or snickerdoodle). For those unable to dine in, carryout will be available. Pre-ordering is available online. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=777765
26. Free Outdoor Acroyoga Class and Jam In Balance Yoga Studio @ VTCRC, Blacksburg Sunday, June 2, 2024, 12:30 - 2:30 PM Admission: Free Learn about the playful practice of Acroyoga in a safe environment. Acroyoga is a physical practice that combines yoga and acrobatics typically involving a base, a flyer, and spotter. No experience or partner is necessary. The first hour will be guided learning, followed by free form jam for an hour. This event will be held outdoors at the corner of Pratt Drive and Kraft Drive. The rain location will be In Balance CRC studio. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=777994
27. Book Club: Mr. Brightside's Italian Adventures with Discussion and Tasting Blacksburg Wine Lab, Blacksburg Sunday, June 2, 2024, 1:00 - 3:00 PM Admission: $40.00 Join the Wine Lab Book Club tasting & discussing featuring Mr. Brightside's Italian Adventures by Ryan Jacobson. After the success of his first humorous travel memoir, "The Adventures of Mr. Brightside", in which he traveled around the world exploring each country he visited on three different budget levels, Ryan Jacobson has now decided to tackle the country of Italy. Ryan travels to all of the Italy's twenty unique regions and splits his time in each by spending half his time on a low budget and half on a luxury budget before moving on to the next. Through the use of his humorous storytelling, Ryan shares what makes each of the regions so special and worthy of visiting. Reservations are required. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=776425
28. Sunday Mountain Music Series Kickoff with Victor Lawson and the Boogie Chillin Band Mountain Lake Lodge, Pembroke Sunday, June 2, 2024, 4:00 - 6:00 PM Free Admission Mountain Lake Lodge presents their Sunday Mountain Music Series Kickoff with Victor Lawson and the Boogie Chillin Band. Victor Lawson and the Boogie Chillen Band have forged an identity as a good-time party band that plays the real deal blues and down in the mud rock ‘n roll and funk music as well. The tight three-man band takes their name from the song, “Boogie Chillen” which was made famous by late Delta blues icon, John Lee Hooker. From Tennessee to Virginia to West Virginia, in bars and saloons and restaurants and festivals, Victor Lawson and Boogie Chillen’s exuberant, joyful music has made the band one of the area’s premier attractions. Stop by Salt Pond Pub every Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day from 4:00-6:00 PM and enjoy live music along with food and drinks. Perfect for relaxing with the whole family (furry friends are welcome too). Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=776813
For all the 65+ big events happening this weekend, check out: • http://www.nextthreedays.com/featuredevents.cfm
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

May 31, 2024
Dear UC Santa Cruz Community,
I write this morning to share with you that after repeated unanswered calls to have the unlawful encampment voluntarily disband and remove the dangerous blockade from the campus entrance, we made the decision to request law enforcement to remove the blockade and encampment. Law enforcement removed the barricade and the encampment; however, some demonstrators remain at the main entrance of campus. We continue to ask the campus and the community to avoid that area.
We understand there is much grief, anger, and frustration about the events that continue to unfold in Gaza and Israel, and the immense suffering of innocent people. I believe that many who have engaged in these protests over these many weeks are well-intentioned and attempting to make change through their spheres of influence. Unfortunately, the disruptions we experienced these weeks were harmful to others in our community. This decision was not made because individuals demonstrated; it was because they have chosen to do so through unlawful actions.
The road blockades, with fortified and chained barricades made of pallets and other materials, and other unlawful actions disrupted campus operations and threatened safety, including delaying access of emergency vehicles. We have attempted to avoid conflict or the involvement of law enforcement to address the encampment disruptions over the past month. We have consistently communicated to encampment organizers that campus safety and security are our highest priorities. In one particularly worrisome incident Tuesday, an emergency medical vehicle was prevented from entering a facility in which a toddler was in distress. Minutes and seconds can be the difference between life and death in an emergency. Actions such as this demonstrate a continued lack of regard for our campus community.
Since the encampment began, first at the Quarry Plaza and then at the main entrance, participants have been given repeated, clear directions to address safety issues, cease camping and cease blocking access to numerous campus resources and to the campus itself. Early this morning, they were also given multiple warnings by law enforcement to leave the area and disband to avoid arrest. Unfortunately, many refused to follow this directive and a number of individuals were arrested.
Having law enforcement remove the unlawful encampment from campus is not an action we wanted to take or have taken lightly. For the past month, we have sought to de-escalate campus disruptions and road blockades, and encouraged the voluntary disbanding of the unlawful encampments. The individuals at the encampments have been repeatedly informed about the policies that their actions violated. They continued to ignore university directives, including those related to safety, and have sought conflict, actively escalating tensions within our campus community, harming those who are simply trying to learn, teach, and do their jobs in support of our educational mission.
Despite negotiating in good faith over the course of a full week when the encampment first began at the Quarry Plaza in an effort to reach its voluntary removal, we were unable to come to an agreement that was within our authority and aligned with the values of UC Santa Cruz. As the chancellor for the entire university, I must be firm when the demands of one group undermine the rights of others. In this case, the demonstrators demanded that we end relationships with organizations that support our Jewish students and funders that support important student success work and happen to be Jewish organizations. They demanded that UC Santa Cruz divest from and boycott companies affiliated with Israel, a demand that the UC Office of the President has already addressed and deemed unacceptable. Most worryingly, they demanded that we curtail the foundational right of academic freedom by condemning the use of funding from select federal agencies. Functionally, the encampment wanted to prevent our researchers from pursuing research related to topics with which they disagree. This is a dangerous precedent and to give in to it would undermine academic freedom and make our academic community vulnerable to the values of whatever political force seeks to prevent free inquiry.
As we have shared in previous messages, we continue to be ardent supporters of free speech. While some actions by individuals fall within First Amendment protection, many other activities over the past weeks did not, and should be called what they were: unlawful disruptions, vandalism, and intentional harming of our community. Because of this morning’s events, the campus community will continue to notice a higher presence of law enforcement on campus.
We know there will be disagreement about this decision and the steps taken to support campus safety. However, our ultimate responsibility is for the safety and well-being of this campus. It was a necessary decision at a critical time.
Sincerely, Cindy

May 31, 2024
Dear UC Santa Cruz Community,
I write this morning to share with you that after repeated unanswered calls to have the unlawful encampment voluntarily disband and remove the dangerous blockade from the campus entrance, we made the decision to request law enforcement to remove the blockade and encampment. Law enforcement removed the barricade and the encampment; however, some demonstrators remain at the main entrance of campus. We continue to ask the campus and the community to avoid that area.
We understand there is much grief, anger, and frustration about the events that continue to unfold in Gaza and Israel, and the immense suffering of innocent people. I believe that many who have engaged in these protests over these many weeks are well-intentioned and attempting to make change through their spheres of influence. Unfortunately, the disruptions we experienced these weeks were harmful to others in our community. This decision was not made because individuals demonstrated; it was because they have chosen to do so through unlawful actions.
The road blockades, with fortified and chained barricades made of pallets and other materials, and other unlawful actions disrupted campus operations and threatened safety, including delaying access of emergency vehicles. We have attempted to avoid conflict or the involvement of law enforcement to address the encampment disruptions over the past month. We have consistently communicated to encampment organizers that campus safety and security are our highest priorities. In one particularly worrisome incident Tuesday, an emergency medical vehicle was prevented from entering a facility in which a toddler was in distress. Minutes and seconds can be the difference between life and death in an emergency. Actions such as this demonstrate a continued lack of regard for our campus community.
Since the encampment began, first at the Quarry Plaza and then at the main entrance, participants have been given repeated, clear directions to address safety issues, cease camping and cease blocking access to numerous campus resources and to the campus itself. Early this morning, they were also given multiple warnings by law enforcement to leave the area and disband to avoid arrest. Unfortunately, many refused to follow this directive and a number of individuals were arrested.
Having law enforcement remove the unlawful encampment from campus is not an action we wanted to take or have taken lightly. For the past month, we have sought to de-escalate campus disruptions and road blockades, and encouraged the voluntary disbanding of the unlawful encampments. The individuals at the encampments have been repeatedly informed about the policies that their actions violated. They continued to ignore university directives, including those related to safety, and have sought conflict, actively escalating tensions within our campus community, harming those who are simply trying to learn, teach, and do their jobs in support of our educational mission.
Despite negotiating in good faith over the course of a full week when the encampment first began at the Quarry Plaza in an effort to reach its voluntary removal, we were unable to come to an agreement that was within our authority and aligned with the values of UC Santa Cruz. As the chancellor for the entire university, I must be firm when the demands of one group undermine the rights of others. In this case, the demonstrators demanded that we end relationships with organizations that support our Jewish students and funders that support important student success work and happen to be Jewish organizations. They demanded that UC Santa Cruz divest from and boycott companies affiliated with Israel, a demand that the UC Office of the President has already addressed and deemed unacceptable. Most worryingly, they demanded that we curtail the foundational right of academic freedom by condemning the use of funding from select federal agencies. Functionally, the encampment wanted to prevent our researchers from pursuing research related to topics with which they disagree. This is a dangerous precedent and to give in to it would undermine academic freedom and make our academic community vulnerable to the values of whatever political force seeks to prevent free inquiry.
As we have shared in previous messages, we continue to be ardent supporters of free speech. While some actions by individuals fall within First Amendment protection, many other activities over the past weeks did not, and should be called what they were: unlawful disruptions, vandalism, and intentional harming of our community. Because of this morning’s events, the campus community will continue to notice a higher presence of law enforcement on campus.
We know there will be disagreement about this decision and the steps taken to support campus safety. However, our ultimate responsibility is for the safety and well-being of this campus. It was a necessary decision at a critical time.
Sincerely,
Cindy
Cynthia Larive Chancellor

By Jacob Crosse
This past weekend, the “People’s Conference for Palestine” was held in Detroit, Michigan over three days, from May 24 through May 26. Organizers for the event stated that over 3,500 people attended.
The steering committee for the conference included 15 organizations, among which were the Palestinian Youth Movement, National Students for Justice In Palestine, the ANSWER Coalition (associated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation), Arab Resource and Organizing Society (AROC), Writers Against the War on Gaza, and Healthcare Workers for Palestine.
Despite the peaceful character of the event, police were a constant presence on the streets and outside the convention center. Several Palestinian speakers slated to appear at the event were delayed or were not able to attend in person, due to fascistic restrictions imposed on their travel by the US/NATO governments.
The stated goal of the conference, according to a program signed by the Steering Committee, was to provide “a space to assess, strategize and prepare for what is required for us in the next phase of the struggle.” However, the political perspective that dominated did not present a viable way forward.
Several panels did feature harrowing testimony of the situation in Gaza. In a recorded video message, Hind Khoudary, a journalist in Gaza who has been displaced since November 2023 said, “We are not only fearing air strikes, we are fearing famine.” She documented the catastrophic situation produced by Israel’s bombardment and the difficulties confronting journalists, who have themselves been targeted by airstrikes.
In a session titled, “Cutting Ties with Zionism in the Workplace,” former Google worker Ariel Koren discussed her experience trying to fight back against the implementation of Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract between Google, Amazon and the Israel Defense Forces that provides the military a suite of computer and artificial intelligence tools used to facilitate the oppression and extermination of the Palestinian people.
Koren explained that as part of the contract, Google is required to build “whatever cloud tools and AI tools the Israeli government and military ask for without asking any questions themselves. Google has no right to regulate or oversee or even know anything about how these get used on the ground and which government and military agencies are the beneficiaries of these tools.” Among the tools provided to the IDF are “facial detection, automatic image categorization, object tracking, and even sentiment analysis.”
Taghreed Ahmed, a member of the Palestinian Transport Union, explained that “Israel controls the conditions of workers” and that “over 9,000” workers were taken prisoner by Israel following October 7. While in Israeli custody, many workers were tortured and “over 80” are still missing.
Despite the IDF offensive on Gaza, Ahmed said that after workers were released they asked to return to the city to be with their families.
Before October 7, Ahmed said that over 32,000 workers in Gaza were granted permits to work in Israel, but not a single permit has been granted in over seven months. In order to survive, Ahmed said many working class families have resorted to selling their possessions, including furniture.

A political orientation to the Democratic Party

Despite the objective and empirical testimony provided by many of the panelists and speakers, the basic political perspective that emerged was thoroughly bankrupt: that of pressuring the Democratic Party.
The opening plenary event set the framework for the conference that followed. References to the crimes of the Israeli regime were combined with a great deal of chanting and slogans.
To the extent that anything was said about the background of the genocide, it was only in relation to the history of the Palestinian struggle. But even here, there was no examination of the essential experiences of this history, including the role of the bourgeois nationalist states in the Middle East in facilitating the repression of the Palestinians by Israel and imperialism.
In her keynote speech, Yara Shoufani of the Palestinian Youth Movement spoke of “historic revolutions” from “the Great Arab Revolution of 1936” … to “the popular revolution launched in the camps of Lebanon and Jordan”… to “the first and second intifadas.” Another speaker suggested that the “resistance” would last another “100 years” before victory.
To be blunt, the people in Gaza do not have another 100 years. The genocide in Gaza has already led to the deaths of over 36,000 people officially, a significant under-count, while hundreds of thousands are on the brink of famine.
Neither in the introduction nor in any of the panels and plenary sessions was there a single reference to the broader war of which the genocide is a part. In particular, no speakers addressed the escalating US-NATO war against Russia over Ukraine, backed by the Democratic Party, which threatens to develop into a nuclear exchange.
Israel’s genocide, supported by the US and NATO imperialist powers, cannot be defeated by the resistance of the Palestinian people alone, no matter how self-sacrificing. It is necessary to mobilize the international working class, which has the social and economic power to oppose imperialism.
The political perspective presented at the conference, however, worked against this. On Saturday, the conference organizers welcomed a “guest appearance” by Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
In his last social media post before he was assassinated by the US-backed Israel Defense Forces last December, Prof. Refaat Alareer, tweeted, “The Democratic Party and Biden are responsible for the Gaza genocide perpetrated by Israel.” Why a member of the party responsible for not only backing Israel for decades, but murdering Alareer and tens of thousands of other Palestinians, would be welcomed into the conference was never explained.
In her brief comments, Tlaib attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him a “war criminal.” She refused to apply the same label to Netanyahu’s patron and top weapons supplier, President Joe Biden. Instead she appealed to the president she helped elect in 2020, imploring him: “I hope you hear us loud and clear.”
Tlaib did not attempt to provide an explanation as to why the Biden administration and her “colleagues” in the Democratic Party have not only refused to listen to over eight months of sustained peaceful protests, but instead have overseen the police repression of the protests.
Tlaib said it was “shameful” that her “colleagues” voted to send “$14 billion to the apartheid regime,” while “seniors” in her district ask her, “When are we going to get an increase in Social Security?”
While Tlaib and a few other Democrats voted against providing military funding to Israel, she said nothing about her “yes” vote in the same $95 billion package to send over $61 billion to the fascistic Ukrainian government in order to continue the proxy war against Russia.
The deliberate omission of Ukraine on the part of Tlaib and the conference organizers was not a mistake. By presenting the genocide in Gaza, which is one front in the US/NATO global re-division of the world that includes Ukraine and the conflict with Iran and China, as an isolated episode, the organizers and participants could present different factions of the capitalist ruling class, and their adjuncts in the trade union bureaucracy, as “allies” to the Palestinian people, and to the “revolution.”

PSL backs “Uncommitted” trap

Joining Tlaib at the conference was her sister, Layla Elabed, who, alongside Party for Socialism and Liberation co-founder and ANSWER National Coordinator Brian Becker, led the penultimate plenary on Sunday, titled “Uncommitted Votes and the Fracturing of the Two Party System.”
As the WSWS has previously explained, the purpose of the Uncommitted campaign is to promote the illusion that the Democratic Party and Biden can be “pressured” from below via symbolic votes or empty ceasefire resolutions. Organizers for the Uncommitted campaign, including Elabed, who told the New York Times in February that she “has not ruled out” voting for Biden in November, have been clear that the purpose of “uncommitted” is not to “Abandon Biden” or the Democratic Party, but to “push” him to adopt their position.
Despite tens of thousands of people voting “uncommitted,” the Biden administration, with the support of both the Democrats and Republicans, continues to send weapons to Israel which are being used to ethnically cleanse Rafah. This did not prevent Elabed from presenting the campaign as a success. Speaking next to Becker, she said it sent “a clear message to Biden and the Democratic Party.”
Elabed said, “This is our way of telling Joe Biden he is being held accountable. That he needs to do, in order to save...if he really believed in saving his re-election, if he really believed in fighting fascism, if he believed in fighting for democracy, then he should be pro-Palestinian. He should be demanding a ceasefire now.”
Elabed cautioned against breaking with the Democratic Party, “before November we have a number of primaries happening, state house elections and congressional and senate seats. We need to protect our ceasefire candidates, if anything you come out and you vote and you send people like Rashida and [Missouri Rep.] Cori Bush and our pro-peace anti-war folks back to Capitol Hill and back in our state house.”
Lending support to Elabed and the Democratic Party’s electoral campaigns, Becker replied, “I want to shout out the Listen to Michigan campaign, and the Uncommitted campaign because given the available options, which are so limited in this tortured form of democracy, these women the other organizers have used the electoral arena to register something that Biden couldn’t ignore, which is the majority of the base of the Democratic Party in particular says ‘no’ to his policy in Palestine.”
Working in tandem with the Democrats to divert energy towards protest stunts, and away from building an independent movement in the working class, Becker later revealed that the same forces behind the Palestine Conference will be organizing a June 8 demonstration at the White House.

The promotion of the UAW apparatus

Several panels at the Palestine Conference featured the words “labor” and “Zionism” without ever critically examining the role of the US-based trade unions in supporting US imperialism and Israel’s genocide. There was no discussion on current UAW president Shawn Fain’s endorsement of “Genocide Joe.”
The conference featured various “reform” union factions, including Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), and several current and retired union bureaucrats, including UAW Local 4811 president Rafael Jaime and former president and bargain chair of UAW Local 909 in Detroit, Frank Hammer.
UAW Local 4811 comprises 48,000 graduate student workers and researchers in the University of California. Pressure from the rank-and-file compelled the UAW to initiate a strike, but the apparatus has sought to limit it to a handful of campuses, employing the “stand-up strike” tactic used to shut down the auto strike last year. It has also done nothing to inform autoworkers and other members of the union outside California about this highly significant political strike against the genocide in Gaza
Speaking in a panel, “The Role of Labor Unions in Palestinian Struggle,” Jaime tried to take credit for “organizing” the union in order to put it into a position to strike.
The chasm between workers’ desire to fight and the union bureaucrats’ reticence was present throughout Jaime’s comments. After joining what would become Local 4811 in 2016, Jaime admitted that even by 2018 “most workers didn’t even realize they had a union. And so, what we were able to win in 2018 was very limited.” Turning to the current struggle, Jaime said,

I think that the media will focus mostly on the strike and make it seem like all you have to do is press a button and it happens. And I just want it to be, very emphasized, that the work that’s taken to organize, to be able to actually respond to the moment with this kind of action, it’s been years of tireless work.

Near the end of his presentation, Jaime listed the various circumstances through which the union was prepared to call off the strike: “If the university doesn’t resolve its [Unfair Labor Practices], if it doesn’t guarantee the right to peacefully protest, allow protesters to speak up for justice in Palestine, then more campuses are going to go out on strike.”
Throughout his entire presentation Jaime never once mentioned that UAW President Shawn Fain endorsed Biden and stood by as UAW members protesting the genocide were dragged out of the convention where this nomination was announced.

The way forward

The perspective advanced at the “People’s Conference for Palestine,” in which ANSWER and the PSL play a dominant role, is a dead-end. It is not through appeals to the political establishment and the trade union apparatus that the fight against the genocide must be developed, but through a political struggle in the working class.
For nearly eight months, millions of people around the world have taken to the streets, campuses and government centers to demand an end to the genocide. Despite the overwhelmingly peaceful character of the protests, thousands have been arrested and assaulted by police.
Young people and workers opposed to the genocide, outraged by the daily atrocities, sickened by the support for Israel’s actions by the Biden administration and the imperialist powers, confront serious political questions that require serious and revolutionary answers.
The perspective of “pressuring” governments and corporations to adopt more humanitarian policies has proven to be less than useless. At the same time, the trade union apparatus, integrated into the state, is working to suppress the class struggle and subordinate workers to the ruling class policy of global war.
As WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North explained in a lecture in March on the suicide of Aaron Bushnell, the basic and urgent task is to mobilize “the only social force which actually has in its power, in its objective role in the whole process of capitalist production, in its position in the forces of production, its potential economic strength, its global character, the ability to bring capitalism to its knees, to destroy the very foundations of militarism.”
The political program upon which the struggles of the working class must develop is the program of socialist revolution.

Are you new to the world of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and looking to understand what they are and how to create effective ones? You've come to the right place! In this post, we'll cover the basics of SOPs, their importance, and some best practices for drafting clear and comprehensive procedures.
What is an SOP?
A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is a set of detailed, written instructions that outline a routine or repetitive activity. SOPs are used in various industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare, and laboratories, to ensure consistent and efficient operations, maintain quality standards, and comply with regulations.
Why are SOPs important?
SOPs serve several crucial purposes:
​

1. Standardization: They ensure that processes are carried out consistently, reducing variation and errors.
2. Training: Well-documented SOPs make it easier to train new employees and maintain institutional knowledge.
3. Compliance: Many industries have regulatory requirements for documented procedures, and SOPs help demonstrate compliance.
4. Quality Control: SOPs help maintain quality standards and minimize the risk of errors or deviations.

Best Practices for Drafting Effective SOPs:
​

1. Use a consistent format: Establish a standard template for your SOPs, including sections for purpose, scope, definitions, materials/equipment, step-by-step instructions, and references.
2. Be clear and concise: Use simple language and avoid ambiguous or technical terms that may confuse the reader.
3. Include visual aids: Incorporate diagrams, flowcharts, or illustrations to enhance understanding of complex processes.
4. Involve subject matter experts: Collaborate with experienced personnel who perform the tasks regularly to ensure accuracy and completeness.
5. Review and update regularly: SOPs should be reviewed periodically and updated to reflect changes in processes, equipment, or regulations.

Dos and Don'ts:
Do:
​

• Use active voice and imperative language (e.g., "Perform step X," "Record data Y").
• Number steps sequentially and use clear headings for different sections.
• Include safety precautions, troubleshooting tips, and quality control checks.
• Specify who is responsible for each step or task.

Don't:
​

• Use ambiguous terms like "as necessary" or "as appropriate."
• Assume prior knowledge or understanding of the process.
• Copy and paste from other sources without verifying accuracy.
• Neglect to include version control and revision history.

Creating effective SOPs requires careful planning, attention to detail, and collaboration with subject matter experts. By following these best practices, you can ensure that your SOPs are clear, comprehensive, and consistently applied throughout your organization.

This was something I wanted to use in a comment here but it was too long, so I'm putting it here with the lead-in from the comment:

An essential element is the charisma of NSA's leaders. Theoretically, charisma is an event which takes place between a leader and a group. Charisma exists only as it is perceived in someone by others and cannot be artificially produced. Source

Of course, sometimes the way a person, like an SGI leader, is described to someone else can set that other person's expectations, prime their perceptions, to regard this SGI leader as someone worthy of an extra helping of respect and admiration, provided that person is susceptible to being led in that way. That's a function of the SGI indoctrination, to regard the leadership as "special", as automatically possessing superior wisdom and understanding (which is all that qualifies them to dole out "guidance" to everyone at a lower leadership level than themselves). However, when someone isn't in thrall to that kind of delusional thinking, the SGI leader often comes off poorly, as in Eddy Canfor-Dumas' book The Buddha, Geoff and Me (2005). While I was still in SGI, a friend asked me to read it, so I got ahold of a used copy and gave it a read. It left me totally WTF, honestly - I think you'll get an idea why from this section.
Eddy, the protagonist, has this on-off girlfriend who is Jewish and who strenuously objects to the concepts of "karma" and "cause and effect" because those lead to the conclusive, inescapable, irrevocable, and completely unacceptable conclusion that the Jews themselves were responsible for the death camps like Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Bergen-Belsen and the whole of the Holocaust itself! We've noted the same problem here - holding the victims accountable for their own victimization! If you're already "going there" already, it's only a tiny baby step to extend that to the Jews who were exterminated by the Nazis in WWII - and his girlfriend could see that clearly, even if poor Eddy couldn't (or wouldn't). As you can see here, this concept, that the Jews were ultimately responsible for their own victimization, that they CHOSE that, does exist within these silly weird religions that put so much faith in "karma". Eddy can't explain; he's left embarrassed and she's angry. It starts in Chapter 8 (p. 123); here's the relevant piece:

Perhaps if [SGI-UK member] Geoff talked to her like he talked to me, if he convinced her, charmed her, reassured her that this Buddhism thing I was getting interested in wasn't a load of old nonsense ⏤ well, perhaps we'd be all right after all. She wouldn't be a walk-on in the first act of my story; she'd be the girl the boy meets and loses and wins in the end. Perhaps. (p. 141)

As you can see, Eddy is counting on Geoff's "charisma" to impress his girl. But it doesn't go quite as he expects:

'So,' said Angie after a while, 'Ed says you've got a Buddhist explanation for the Holocaust.'
Geoff smiled. 'It's my explanation,' he said. 'it's not an official line or anything. It's how I've made sense of it, through Buddhism.'
'Can you make sense of it?'
'I've tried.'
'OK. Fire away.' Angie sipped her wine and smiled sweetly, but I knew that look. Inside she was coiled, ready to pounce on any statement that in any way suggested the victim was culpable.

As if that's a BAD thing! Why shouldn't people be on their guard when a stranger is clearly ready to launch into a sales pitch of some kind?

Geoff took a deep breath and launched in. 'Right. Well, first off, I want to make it clear that nothing I say should be taken in any way to justify what the Nazis did.

Uh-oh - not off to a great start, I'm afraid 😒

'That was disgusting, an atrocity, and the people who did it and supported it are totally responsible for their actions. OK?'
Angie nodded and sipped her wine, watching him closely.
'And from a Buddhist perspective they've created terrible karma for themselves in doing what they did.'
'Karma ⏤ that's the punishment they're going to suffer in the future?'
'Not punishment, exactly. It's the effects you experience as a result of causes you make, good or bad. So if you cause suffering at some point you'll suffer in return.'
'Which means all the Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust must have made the cause at some point to die like that ⏤ which I absolutely refuse to accept.'
'That sounds outrageous to you?'

WHAT?? How could it NOT??

'Totally.'
Geoff grunted. 'Ed said members of your family were killed.' He glanced at me.
'On my mother's side, yes. Her mother's parents, two brothers, cousins, uncles and aunts. My grandmother was the only one who got out, on the kindertransport. If she hadn't I wouldn't be here.'
Geoff shook his head. 'Terrible. So anything that even hints the victim is somehow responsible feels like a real insult.'
'Yes.'
He sighed. 'I know. It's very hard, even if you believe in the eternity of life, like I do. But for me the question isn't so much what causes did these people make to suffer like this, because I think that's impossible to answer⏤'
'That's convenient,' said Angie tartly.
'For me,' said Geoff, ignoring her tone, 'the important question isn't what causes people made in their past lives but what people do in this life. What makes people behave like the Nazis did to the Jews? Why did other people let it happen ⏤ or not? In Denmark, for example, the vast majority of Jews were hidden by the non-Jewish population, or helped to escape, whereas in Poland they weren't. And for me, above all, the crucial question is what can we all do to make sure it doesn't happen again?'
'Only it has, hasn't it?' I said. 'Rwanda.'
'Exactly,' said Geoff.
'Exactly what?' said Angie, still seething. But at least she hadn't walked out, which i suspect she would have done by now if it had been just the two of us.
'Well, I reckon,' said Geoff, 'everything boils down to what Buddhism calls the world of Anger. Which isn't just losing your temper. It's ego, identity, how you define yourself as separate from other people; the rest of the universe, in fact.'
Angie crossed her arms and legs and gazed at him, aggression shining from every pore.
Geoff ignored it. 'One way we do it is in opposition to other people, or groups of people, often putting "them" down to make "us" ⏤ our group ⏤ feel better or superior. You see it in football supporters, nations, religions, political groups ⏤ everywhere.'

Especially in how certain SGI members attack this SGIWhistleblowers ex-SGI members' support group, all the while bragging that they are "Bodhisattvas of the Earth", clearly superior to everyone else.

'And?' Angie's tone was harsh, impatient.
'And taken to extremes,' said Geoff, 'that attitude can be used to justify anything "our group" decides is good for us, and to ignore anything "that group" says or wants. They don't count; our needs come first.

Just like how those SGI member-attackers insist that what they're doing somehow qualifies as "right speech", even though it's the OPPOSITE of the actual definition!

'So time and again through history you see groups of people who've wiped out other groups they've classed as enemies or a threat or inferior in some way. The Mongols did it right across Asia. We Europeans did it to millions of "darkies" during the whole period of colonialism. White people wiped out or ethnically cleansed millions of indigenous people when they settled the Americas. And we're still doing it.'
'How?' Angie sounded incredulous, and even I was taken aback.
Geoff ploughed on. 'Every year,' he said, 'millions of people in developing countries die from poverty, disease, hunger, malnutrition; more people every year than died in the six years of the Second World War, including the Holocaust. In fact, some people call this the Silent Holocaust. We know about it but we let it happen ⏤ because it suits us, our lifestyles.'
Angie looked floored for a moment. 'How do we let it happen?'
'Because a lot of this death is the result of international debt and unfair trade policies skewed toward the West. We benefit, so we do little or nothing to change it.'
Angie's eyes narrowed. 'If you're saying that me buying a cup of coffee from Starbucks or wherever is the same as the Nazis shovelling men, women and children in to the gas chambers . . . well, that is such complete crap. And trying to make the link, to make them equivalent ⏤ I find that disgusting.'
Geoff didn't turn a hair. 'I'm not saying it's equivalent. I'm saying what the Nazis did isn't unique or even unusual. It's an extreme case of what human beings have done since for ever: denigrate, devalue, disregard other human beings when it suits them.'

Oooh - sick self-burn, bruh!

Angie stared at him with naked hostility, and inside I groaned. If I'd known he was going to start sounding like Red Pete I'd never have put him anywhere near her, because she was basically a Daily Mail editorial on legs.

"Red Pete" was "a bloke from college" who was always involved in causes - protests, leaflets, rallies, etc. (p. 148)

But he hadn't said any of this to me. He'd talked about history, about how Christians had felt insulted by Judaism because it denied that Jesus was the son of God; and how the Jews were often feared as alien because they were a tight-knit and self-reliant community, forced into separate development by persecution. And a lot of the time people were simply jealous of them because they were so successful in trade and business. 'Look at how Jewish businesses were destroyed by the Nazis, or stolen,' he'd said. 'That shows where a lot of anti-Semitism was coming from: greed and envy.'

But what of Dickeda's "eternal clear mirror 'guidance'" from 1990? That says that everything in one's environment is simply a reflection of one's own life?? Where did THAT go?? IF others were reacting to them with "greed and envy", then isn't it OBVIOUS that "greed and envy" are firmly entrenched in those victims' LIVES, because by definition the others were simply a reflection?? Take it up with Sensei.

But ⏤ and this was the bit that brought me up short ⏤ he'd also wondered how the Jews calling themselves the Chosen People might have affected non-Jews. 'Anyone who sets themselves up as special in some way ⏤ even if they are special ⏤ is always going to be targeted by other people',' he'd said. 'It's not nice, but it's a fact. Like, we had this rich kid at school who really thought he was a cut above us, and we all hated him, wanted to bring him down to size. So we bullied him ⏤ including me, I'm ashamed to say. And with the Nazis ⏤ well, they were the Chosen People too, weren't they? Aryans, the Master Race. And you can't have two Chosen People, so they tried to wipe out the Jews. Horrible.'

But - and hear me out here - according to THAT logic, if the Jews hadn't felt themselves to be superior Chosen People, then the Nazis wouldn't have felt compelled to exterminate them - right? So THAT argument makes it the JEWS' fault! THEY essentially created the "effect" of being exterminated through their "cause" of ego, hubris, and superiority!

I'd had to think hard about all this. It went beyond labels like 'good' and 'evil' to basic human attitudes like resentment, fear, and jealousy. It sort of made sense to me, but then I wasn't Jewish.

When YOU aren't involved, it's EASY to make it into an abstraction, something just theoretical that isn't involved with anything real and doesn't really make any difference, practically speaking.

I didn't know how it would sound to someone more closely involved ⏤ like Angie. I hoped she might just be able to consider it without getting all worked up. But somehow the conversation had taken the wrong track and come off the rails. Time to rescue the situation. I opened my mouth ⏤ but too late.
'There is no way,' Angie hit back, 'that you can equate people starving in the Third World to the Holocaust. That was genocide ⏤ one group deliberately targeting another people and trying to exterminate them. And even talking of them in the same breath is an insult to the six million Jews who were deliberately, wilfully, systematically murdered.'
'Fair point,' I said, desperate to appease her. Geoff wouldn't budge.
'If governments follow economic and trade policies that they know result in massive numbers of deaths,' he said, 'does it matter what it's called? And how different are we from people living in Germany during the Holocaust if we know our governments are doing this but turn our backs on it?'
I winced again and waited for the explosion.
Angie looked at Geoff as if he were from another planet. 'So now I'm as bad as the people who supported Hitler?'
'Look, I don't want to upset you, Angie,' Geoff said.

Notice he didn't say "No, of COURSE not!"

She snorted with derision.

Fair.

'All I'm saying is the Nazis blamed their problems on the Jews and consciously decided to get rid of them. We sacrifice other people indirectly, by building our wealth on structures and systems that cause incredible suffering in poorer parts of the world. And basically we think that's OK, or not enough of us care enough to stop it.'

Just look at the "Big Ideas" pouring out of this SGI member to justify doing DICK! Where have we seen THAT before??

Angie sighed and stared at her empty wine glass.
I leapt in. 'Another one?'
'No, thank you.' Her answer was clipped, terse. She composed herself and looked up at Geoff. 'Is this Buddhism ⏤ or communism? Because it sounds identical to the sort of crap you hear from those people who riot about the "evils of globalisation" and capitalism. Despite the fact that every society, when it gets freedom, freely chooses the free market.'
'Actually, I did used to be very left-wing,' Geoff admitted cheerfully, 'till I realised neither communism nor capitalism's got the whole story. And if you base your society on ideas that are incomplete, sooner or later you're going to hit the buffers.'
'What do you mean by "incomplete"?' Angie asked, her critical antennae still quivering furiously.
'Ideas that don't understand cause and effect properly, or don't reflect life accurately. Or exclude whole groups of people ⏤ like women, or savages, or Jews, or non-Aryans, or non-Christians, non-believers, the rich, the poor, the working class, the bourgeoisie. You name it.'
'Meaning, I suppose, every idea except Buddhism.' The contempt in her voice was so heavy I sensed the conversation might be drawing to a close.

I'm surprised Eddy didn't use the word "incredulous" anywhere here - I can only imagine that was how Angie was feeling, at this guy's effrontery and smug self-satisfaction.

But again, Geoff sailed over it. 'Well, even most Buddhist teachings are incomplete,' he said. 'Some of them say women can't become enlightened, for example.' He flashed her a warm smile, but it was far too late for that.
'How very enlightened,' Angie replied ⏤ her one joke of the evening.
'Exactly. Not the sort I practice, though.' He smiled again.
'So there is hope for me,' she said dryly. 'As long as I follow your example, hmm?'
'As far as I'm concerned,' said Geoff, 'the important thing isn't what people practise, or even what they believe ⏤ it's how they actually behave towards each other.'

Yes, if only the Nazis had been nicer to the Jews, which we're all confident they would've been if the JEWS hadn't been such offensive individuals!

Angie looked at him a moment. 'Right,' she said. She held his gaze a while longer, then gave a short sigh, grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. 'Well,' she said, getting to her feet, 'it's been very informative. Thank you for the drink.' She headed for the door.
I jumped to my feet and ran after her. 'Angie!'
She turned and looked at me.
'Come on, stay for another one.'
'No thanks,' she said, glancing daggers over my shoulder at Geoff. 'I've had a long day and I want to get home.'
'Angie . . .' I pleaded.
'OK?'
The two letters were laden with a warning that froze me dead. Helpless, I watched her push open the door and turn out of sight along the street. Out of sight and out of my life for ever? (pp. 149-156)

It's so easy for those who aren't involved in a specific situation to be glib, insensitive, and callous to the concerns of those who are involved. "Karma" is their "get-out-of-caring-free" card. The sort of pontificating and grand generalizing that Geoff was engaging in, demonstrating such privileged, entitled DETACHMENT, is deeply non-compassionate. "I don't HAVE to care because c'mon, it was all their own fault, they deserved it, everyone can see that."

Not getting any interviews.
https://preview.redd.it/roezo5q5qs3d1.png?width=861&format=png&auto=webp&s=398cdfc619d7467f7e81dea8046343915b045647

May 31, 2024
Dear UC Santa Cruz Community,
I write this morning to share with you that after repeated unanswered calls to have the unlawful encampment voluntarily disband and remove the dangerous blockade from the campus entrance, we made the decision to request law enforcement to remove the blockade and encampment. Law enforcement removed the barricade and the encampment; however, some demonstrators remain at the main entrance of campus. We continue to ask the campus and the community to avoid that area.
We understand there is much grief, anger, and frustration about the events that continue to unfold in Gaza and Israel, and the immense suffering of innocent people. I believe that many who have engaged in these protests over these many weeks are well-intentioned and attempting to make change through their spheres of influence. Unfortunately, the disruptions we experienced these weeks were harmful to others in our community. This decision was not made because individuals demonstrated; it was because they have chosen to do so through unlawful actions.
The road blockades, with fortified and chained barricades made of pallets and other materials, and other unlawful actions disrupted campus operations and threatened safety, including delaying access of emergency vehicles. We have attempted to avoid conflict or the involvement of law enforcement to address the encampment disruptions over the past month. We have consistently communicated to encampment organizers that campus safety and security are our highest priorities. In one particularly worrisome incident Tuesday, an emergency medical vehicle was prevented from entering a facility in which a toddler was in distress. Minutes and seconds can be the difference between life and death in an emergency. Actions such as this demonstrate a continued lack of regard for our campus community.
Since the encampment began, first at the Quarry Plaza and then at the main entrance, participants have been given repeated, clear directions to address safety issues, cease camping and cease blocking access to numerous campus resources and to the campus itself. Early this morning, they were also given multiple warnings by law enforcement to leave the area and disband to avoid arrest. Unfortunately, many refused to follow this directive and a number of individuals were arrested.
Having law enforcement remove the unlawful encampment from campus is not an action we wanted to take or have taken lightly. For the past month, we have sought to de-escalate campus disruptions and road blockades, and encouraged the voluntary disbanding of the unlawful encampments. The individuals at the encampments have been repeatedly informed about the policies that their actions violated. They continued to ignore university directives, including those related to safety, and have sought conflict, actively escalating tensions within our campus community, harming those who are simply trying to learn, teach, and do their jobs in support of our educational mission.
Despite negotiating in good faith over the course of a full week when the encampment first began at the Quarry Plaza in an effort to reach its voluntary removal, we were unable to come to an agreement that was within our authority and aligned with the values of UC Santa Cruz. As the chancellor for the entire university, I must be firm when the demands of one group undermine the rights of others. In this case, the demonstrators demanded that we end relationships with organizations that support our Jewish students and funders that support important student success work and happen to be Jewish organizations. They demanded that UC Santa Cruz divest from and boycott companies affiliated with Israel, a demand that the UC Office of the President has already addressed and deemed unacceptable. Most worryingly, they demanded that we curtail the foundational right of academic freedom by condemning the use of funding from select federal agencies. Functionally, the encampment wanted to prevent our researchers from pursuing research related to topics with which they disagree. This is a dangerous precedent and to give in to it would undermine academic freedom and make our academic community vulnerable to the values of whatever political force seeks to prevent free inquiry.
As we have shared in previous messages, we continue to be ardent supporters of free speech. While some actions by individuals fall within First Amendment protection, many other activities over the past weeks did not, and should be called what they were: unlawful disruptions, vandalism, and intentional harming of our community. Because of this morning’s events, the campus community will continue to notice a higher presence of law enforcement on campus.
We know there will be disagreement about this decision and the steps taken to support campus safety. However, our ultimate responsibility is for the safety and well-being of this campus. It was a necessary decision at a critical time.
Sincerely, Cindy
Cynthia Larive Chancellor

Hi all, let me know what you think. I’ve recently been made at risk of redundancy. I’ve been working for the same business now for 7 years so want to see what’s available out there. I’ve had a couple of interviews already but want to see if you think I could improve anywhere else.

Original Post by GrassFedBitcoin https://x.com/GrassFedBitcoin/status/1796311998466003418
Wow just figured out Bitmain's latest fuckery in real time.
I'll give you the back story...
Once upon a time Bitmain was grinding merkle roots instead of nonces aka "covert ASICBOOST".
This gave them an advantage over other miners who didn't know this was possible. One company went out of business - KNC - citing "the Chinese having some secret advantage we don't know about" - which turned out to be true precisely for this reason.
It's one of the reasons ASIC manufacture is so centralized today and this is correctly identified by many as being one of the most vulnerable aspects of the entire bitcoin ecosystem. The ASICBOOST issue came to a head when Bitmain used their influence to block the activation of SEGWIT (essential for Lightning) because it would break their ability to do it - at least covertly. Well, they would still be able to use asicboost, but just in an obvious way that would mean everyone else could do it too.
They had patented it so as to try and prevent this because that's the kind of people we're dealing with here but I digress... When asicboost was independently discovered by u/nullc aka Greg Maxwell.
Bitmain lied and said they weren't in fact using it. This was after years of bullshitting about segwit, with Bitmain pretending to be in favour of "alternative scaling solutions" or even doing segwit as a hard fork instead which would allow them to continue what they were doing.....
Absolutely nobody believed them thanks to GMax having reverse engineered one of their ASICs and demonstrating what they had built and tried to keep to themselves. This was a watershed moment in the fork wars where everyone suddenly understood why Bitmain had been making nonsensical arguments against segwit forever.
Wanting big/small blocks wasn't a related discussion. Segwit fixed TX malleability and was a no-brainer upgrade and in the end was combined with a block size increase anyway as a compromise. So we proceeded with segwit anyway, at which point Bitmain switched to overt asicboost which is actually even more powerful, it just requires grinding version bits instead of merkle roots but it's obvious if a miner is doing this.
Now everybody does it so essentially the net effect of it being possible is zero, except your node asking you wtf miners are doing signalling for upgrades your node knows nothing about (upgrade coordination is what version bits are actually supposed to be used for). Oh well, relatively little harm done. If you're happy to ignore the obvious dishonesty and effort to undermine what's arguably Bitcoin's most important ever upgrade.
Fun extra tidbit: Antbleed - an intentional backdoor with which Bitmain could remotely shutdown any Antminer in the world. They said it was for shutting down stolen ASICs but immediately patched it once it was discovered.
Anyway, this company now accounts for 25-30% of all blocks found, if you naively observe the blockchain. That's not enough to spook anyone, but unfortunately many smaller pools are in fact just fronts for Bitmain which we know for three reasons:

1. The smaller pools are clearly using blocks constructed by, or for the benefit of, Antpool.
   
2. They share the same custodian of their newly mined coins (Cobo).
   
3. They have a lending program to bail out smaller pools who get in over their head due to FPPS.
   

And the trend is sadly in the wrong direction, given Braiins recently abandoning its old payout model and becoming just a simple proxy for Bitmain as result of switching to FPPS. [Massive shoutout to
@mononautical
and
@0xB10C
for helping uncover how centralized pools have become.] Summary - Bitmain is not just Antpool, it probably accounts for >50% of block templates and manufactures >90% of the mining hardware in the world.
So where am I going with all this?
Amazingly, it's about empty blocks. What does that have to do with anything? Well, famously OCEAN has found 3 empty blocks in its short existence, causing many to wrongly make allegations of some sort of issue with the pool itself. This spurred on endless debate about why pools make empty templates in the first place and the actual reason so many of them get solved.
In short, pools send empty templates then immediately follow up with full templates. So quickly, that the interim period accounts for a tiny minority of the empty blocks that get found on the network, and none of ours.
In all three cases with OCEAN, the miner solved the empty block longer after already having a full template to work on - - leaving the pool in a position to either throw away a perfectly good (but empty) block or to broadcast it to the network and get miners >90% of the reward of a full block.
Obviously the latter makes sense and does zero harm to the network while still adding to the overall PoW necessary for any attacker. So why would an empty block happen a few seconds after the pool had already sent an updated job for a full block? Because Antminers suck.
*What we didn't realize was that they intentionally sucked.\*
You can send an updated job to an Antminer and watch it continue to work on an old job for over 60 seconds in edge cases. This was something we assumed was due to design of the ASIC itself, and thus just poor engineering on the part of Bitmain. But it turns out we were wrong, it's due to Antminer firmware.
We know this because they just released a fix for it. So Bitmain watched, while people kept mining empty blocks, everyone would wrongly attribute it to pools, while explainers on popular websites like mempool(.)space would offer wrong explanations about it happening due to pools being slow to send proper templates and seemingly no one would understand even the motivation for sending empty templates, let alone the reason they get worked on for so long.
But the fix being something that gets released right after OCEAN starts explaining what's really going on here is beyond reasonable doubt. They had a fix for it, and have been using that fix for their own mining. Now they can't get away with it because increasingly people are realizing that Whatsminers and ASICs from other manufacturers aren't finding anything like the amount of empty blocks because they switch jobs far more quickly.
An Antminer has a far greater likelihood of finding an empty block because it spends longer working on old jobs. We've been out here yelling that the issue is with the ASIC *NOT* the pool.
The fact that Bitmain intentionally crippled the firmware on the Antminers they would sell to the world, while keeping more functional units for their own mining is typical of everything Bitmain.
Sure it can be incompetence and coincidental timing on the fix, but I sincerely doubt it. The conversation around empty blocks reached the point where people were beginning to realize something was broken with Antminers and then they just happen to release a fix for it right after people finally start catching wind of what's really going on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So imagine this - You sell shovels to gold miners, and as we all know, the people who make money during a gold rush are the people who sell the shovels. But in this case the shovel seller is digging for gold himself too. And he has intentionally sold crappy shovels to all of his customers so as give himself an advantage.
Empty blocks kept happening, people kept blaming pools. OCEAN got attacked over it. We explained the real reason they happen so much, and Bitmain releases a fix right after. Insane. This goes further than empty blocks. It's not just empty templates that take forever to work their way out of an Antminer, it's *all templates* and pools are constantly updating work as new transactions show up.
A super lucrative transaction shows up in your mempool? All other pools are sending an updated job to hundreds of thousands of Antminers who will ignore it for a while, while Antpool has their miners working on it more quickly. It's not hard to see the motivation for all this, especially going forward as TX fees become more and more important. Again, insane.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to watch
@wk057
and I figure this all out in real time, watch the video below which was just intended to be a discussion on why empty blocks happen. I'll post it shortly so tweeter doesn't kill this post like it always does with external links. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BkyhdxnDrM

Original Post by GrassFedBitcoin https://x.com/GrassFedBitcoin/status/1796311998466003418
Wow just figured out Bitmain's latest fuckery in real time.
I'll give you the back story...
Once upon a time Bitmain was grinding merkle roots instead of nonces aka "covert ASICBOOST".
This gave them an advantage over other miners who didn't know this was possible. One company went out of business - KNC - citing "the Chinese having some secret advantage we don't know about" - which turned out to be true precisely for this reason.
It's one of the reasons ASIC manufacture is so centralized today and this is correctly identified by many as being one of the most vulnerable aspects of the entire bitcoin ecosystem. The ASICBOOST issue came to a head when Bitmain used their influence to block the activation of SEGWIT (essential for Lightning) because it would break their ability to do it - at least covertly. Well, they would still be able to use asicboost, but just in an obvious way that would mean everyone else could do it too.
They had patented it so as to try and prevent this because that's the kind of people we're dealing with here but I digress... When asicboost was independently discovered by u/nullc aka Greg Maxwell.
Bitmain lied and said they weren't in fact using it. This was after years of bullshitting about segwit, with Bitmain pretending to be in favour of "alternative scaling solutions" or even doing segwit as a hard fork instead which would allow them to continue what they were doing.....
Absolutely nobody believed them thanks to GMax having reverse engineered one of their ASICs and demonstrating what they had built and tried to keep to themselves. This was a watershed moment in the fork wars where everyone suddenly understood why Bitmain had been making nonsensical arguments against segwit forever.
Wanting big/small blocks wasn't a related discussion. Segwit fixed TX malleability and was a no-brainer upgrade and in the end was combined with a block size increase anyway as a compromise. So we proceeded with segwit anyway, at which point Bitmain switched to overt asicboost which is actually even more powerful, it just requires grinding version bits instead of merkle roots but it's obvious if a miner is doing this.
Now everybody does it so essentially the net effect of it being possible is zero, except your node asking you wtf miners are doing signalling for upgrades your node knows nothing about (upgrade coordination is what version bits are actually supposed to be used for). Oh well, relatively little harm done. If you're happy to ignore the obvious dishonesty and effort to undermine what's arguably Bitcoin's most important ever upgrade.
Fun extra tidbit: Antbleed - an intentional backdoor with which Bitmain could remotely shutdown any Antminer in the world. They said it was for shutting down stolen ASICs but immediately patched it once it was discovered.
Anyway, this company now accounts for 25-30% of all blocks found, if you naively observe the blockchain. That's not enough to spook anyone, but unfortunately many smaller pools are in fact just fronts for Bitmain which we know for three reasons:

1. The smaller pools are clearly using blocks constructed by, or for the benefit of, Antpool.
   
2. They share the same custodian of their newly mined coins (Cobo).
   
3. They have a lending program to bail out smaller pools who get in over their head due to FPPS.
   

And the trend is sadly in the wrong direction, given Braiins recently abandoning its old payout model and becoming just a simple proxy for Bitmain as result of switching to FPPS. [Massive shoutout to
@mononautical
and
@0xB10C
for helping uncover how centralized pools have become.] Summary - Bitmain is not just Antpool, it probably accounts for >50% of block templates and manufactures >90% of the mining hardware in the world.
So where am I going with all this?
Amazingly, it's about empty blocks. What does that have to do with anything? Well, famously OCEAN has found 3 empty blocks in its short existence, causing many to wrongly make allegations of some sort of issue with the pool itself. This spurred on endless debate about why pools make empty templates in the first place and the actual reason so many of them get solved.
In short, pools send empty templates then immediately follow up with full templates. So quickly, that the interim period accounts for a tiny minority of the empty blocks that get found on the network, and none of ours.
In all three cases with OCEAN, the miner solved the empty block longer after already having a full template to work on - - leaving the pool in a position to either throw away a perfectly good (but empty) block or to broadcast it to the network and get miners >90% of the reward of a full block.
Obviously the latter makes sense and does zero harm to the network while still adding to the overall PoW necessary for any attacker. So why would an empty block happen a few seconds after the pool had already sent an updated job for a full block? Because Antminers suck.
*What we didn't realize was that they intentionally sucked.\*
You can send an updated job to an Antminer and watch it continue to work on an old job for over 60 seconds in edge cases. This was something we assumed was due to design of the ASIC itself, and thus just poor engineering on the part of Bitmain. But it turns out we were wrong, it's due to Antminer firmware.
We know this because they just released a fix for it. So Bitmain watched, while people kept mining empty blocks, everyone would wrongly attribute it to pools, while explainers on popular websites like mempool(.)space would offer wrong explanations about it happening due to pools being slow to send proper templates and seemingly no one would understand even the motivation for sending empty templates, let alone the reason they get worked on for so long.
But the fix being something that gets released right after OCEAN starts explaining what's really going on here is beyond reasonable doubt. They had a fix for it, and have been using that fix for their own mining. Now they can't get away with it because increasingly people are realizing that Whatsminers and ASICs from other manufacturers aren't finding anything like the amount of empty blocks because they switch jobs far more quickly.
An Antminer has a far greater likelihood of finding an empty block because it spends longer working on old jobs. We've been out here yelling that the issue is with the ASIC *NOT* the pool.
The fact that Bitmain intentionally crippled the firmware on the Antminers they would sell to the world, while keeping more functional units for their own mining is typical of everything Bitmain.
Sure it can be incompetence and coincidental timing on the fix, but I sincerely doubt it. The conversation around empty blocks reached the point where people were beginning to realize something was broken with Antminers and then they just happen to release a fix for it right after people finally start catching wind of what's really going on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So imagine this - You sell shovels to gold miners, and as we all know, the people who make money during a gold rush are the people who sell the shovels. But in this case the shovel seller is digging for gold himself too. And he has intentionally sold crappy shovels to all of his customers so as give himself an advantage.
Empty blocks kept happening, people kept blaming pools. OCEAN got attacked over it. We explained the real reason they happen so much, and Bitmain releases a fix right after. Insane. This goes further than empty blocks. It's not just empty templates that take forever to work their way out of an Antminer, it's *all templates* and pools are constantly updating work as new transactions show up.
A super lucrative transaction shows up in your mempool? All other pools are sending an updated job to hundreds of thousands of Antminers who will ignore it for a while, while Antpool has their miners working on it more quickly. It's not hard to see the motivation for all this, especially going forward as TX fees become more and more important. Again, insane.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to watch
@wk057
and I figure this all out in real time, watch the video below which was just intended to be a discussion on why empty blocks happen. I'll post it shortly so tweeter doesn't kill this post like it always does with external links. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BkyhdxnDrM