Sample letter to renounce citizenship

U.S. Citizen Abroad

2014.11.09 19:07 USCitizenAbroad U.S. Citizen Abroad

Thoughts on being a U.S. citizen living outside the United States (offshore) in the age of: FBAR, FATCA, Citizenship-based taxation and the Obama presidency. Contemplating joining the thousands of other Americans abroad who are being forced to renounce U.S. citizenship.
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2014.09.14 12:21 daiyuesen Let's fight back against student loan debt servitude

Student Loans Defaulters
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2013.07.24 10:04 lastgen Cryptocurrency Marketplace

Buy, sell, and trade using Cryptocurrency
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2024.06.01 16:19 TacoTVSupport What actions can US keyboard warriors take?

The conservatives are set to form over the next government, but we need to push them to prioritize addressing mass immigration and reversing the policies implemented by the Liberals.
  1. Reach out to your local MP: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en
  2. Write a letter to your current MP and consider collectively engaging with Conservative and PP's YouTube and social media pages. Show your support by liking and upvoting comments that call for addressing mass immigration. By advocating against mass immigration, we can make it a key issue for voters. Can you dedicate 2-5 minutes each day to this cause? Let's remember to approach this respectfully. We are pro-immigration but against MASS immigration. It's crucial to shed light on the misuse of the TFW program, international student diploma mills, and the negative impact of granting PR and citizenship to unqualified individuals trying to manipulate the system.
  3. Make sure to include hashtags such as #CanadaMassImmigrant and #Canadaspulse to track the discussions.
  4. Social Media Accounts:
submitted by TacoTVSupport to CanadasPulse [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 15:44 vistopher Setlist, Audio & Video Downloads, Stream, etc

Brought to you by PrettyNights.com

Hampton Coliseum - Night 1 - Hampton, VA - 5-31-2024

Video Download - Uncut - Full twitch VOD with the pre-set and intermission.
Audio Download - Full Audio Cut - one large file, pre-set and intermission removed
Stream the Twitch VOD - Stream the VOD before it's uploaded to youtube

Setlist by PLF Setlisters

SET 1 New (All I Ever Wanted) [26:14] Omega Children [33:30] New (A Trip Through Time) [44:35] How We Do [58:55] Time To Build A Home [1:10:20] Chasing Rainbows [1:24:3] High School Art Class [1:32:15] SET 2 Understand Me Now [2:21:26] Color of My Soul [2:34:12] Shining Bright Despite.. [2:46:41] So Bright [2:50:54] Analog Lullaby [2:59:26] Sound of Silence [3:06:53] New (Free) [3:18:15] MITMJ > [3:26:08] FAFO v Work It Swirl [3:32:48] Encore Who Loves Me > [3:45:21] Rockstar > Mothership Connection[3:50:45] I Know the Truth [3:57:11] 

Samples by PLF Setlisters

John Williams - The Mothership [24:25] :: New (All I Ever Wanted) Aaliyah – Try Again [27:02] ID "Put Your Hands in the Air" [30:10] Timbaland & Magoo - Drop [???] ID "??" [29:33] Joe - Stutter [30:46] :: Omega Children Dr. Dre - The Next Episode [34:22] Supremes – No Matter What Sign [36:29] BIG - Let's Get It On [39:07] Culture Power45 - Ride [39:31] Clark Sisters - Brought Sunshine [???] :: New (A Trip Through Time) Scorpio Dance - First Movement [44:33] Willie Hobbs - You Don't Know [45:34] Rogér Fakhr – Trip Thru Time [46:08] Jay Electronica – Letter To Falon[46:57] Country Joe - Bass Strings [47:26} ID [48:38] Artifacts – Ingredients to Time. [50:13] PL - Around The Block (Talib Kweli)[50:17] :: How We Do ID "Now How Do You Like That" [59:31] ID "Mental Energy" [1:01:13] Chris Brown - Look At Me Now [1:02:20] David Bowie - Moonage Daydream [1:05:41] Sesame St - Someday Little Children[1:06:40] Maxfield - Fiesty Mallard [] [] :: Time To Build A Home Common - All Night Long [~1:12:xx] Guru – Lost Souls? [~1:13:22] Beastie Boys – Takes Time to Build [1:19:32] :: Chasing Rainbows [1:29:33] :: High School Art Class [1:35:50] Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart [] Axel F [] [1:43:27] :: Understand Me Now Chris De Burgh - Spaceman Traveling[2:21:26] Atmosphere - God's Bathroom Floor [2:22:53] Bee Cola [2:29:45] ID Got to Understand [2:30:10] ID Dont Let Me Be Misunderstood [2:31:48] :: Color of My Soul Common - The 6th Sense [2:35:22] ID "Baby" [2:37:40] [2:42:48] :: Shining Bright Despite the Plight Sesame St - Live on the Moon [2:43:41] ID Shining Baby (below samples) [2:45:58] Z-Ro – Still Shinin' [] :: So Bright The Kinks - Supersonic Rocket Ship [] :: Sound of Silence Travis Scott- Goosebumps [] Trick Daddy - Shut Up [3:10:56] DJ Shadow – Nobody Speak [3:13:08] :: New (Free) The Prodigy – Out of Space [3:18:40] J5 - Freedom [] BUMS - Elevation (Free My Mind) [] :: MITMJ ID "Yall ready for this" [3:26:33] Phil Gonzo - FAFO [] Missy Elliot - Work It [] Sean Paul- Gimme the Light [] Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman [] :: Who Loves Me Brownstone - If You Love Me? [3:47:03] Rihanna – Disturbia [3:50:25] NERD - Rockstar [3:50:45] Parliament - Mothership Connection [3:52:58] Pink Floyd – Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2 :: I Know The Truth Rick Ross - Hustlin [4:02:20] Lil Wayne - A Milli [4:02:50] Ann Peebles - Can't Stand the Rain [4:03:17] 
submitted by vistopher to prettylights [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 14:01 AutoModerator [Monthly Penpal Signups] Looking for an analog penpal to use your stationery and correspond with? Sign up here!

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2024.06.01 13:10 No-Debate2873 The Pandering Brown Sisters Still Grifting

The Pandering Brown Sisters Still Grifting
After a faulty start setting up a charitable tax-exempt organization in their deceased sister’s name, to support domestic abuse victims in late 1994, the Browns had appointed at the helm to run it a convicted violent domestic abuser and swindler. A 1995 Los Angeles Times article cited that….”the founding president of the Nicole Brown Simpson fund, records show, is a convicted felon and accused spousal batterer, who was once named in a domestic restraining order for posing a “clear and present danger” to his estranged wife and two children. Jeff C. Noebel, a 40-year-old Dallas businessman, is currently awaiting sentencing in U.S. District Court for lying to federal authorities in a savings-and-loan investment scam, one of his many shaky business ventures that have left a trail of bankruptcies and lawsuits from Texas to California.” Yet, the Browns pretended they did not know his background though Noebel stated that he had told them about the abuse charges, apparently his silver tongue offer to build them a successful, donation-seeking, organization was too juicy for the Brown family to pass up.
Yet, here we go again, the Brown sisters grifting during the 30th anniversary month of the OJ Simpson case in conjunction with the Lifetime cable network with the two-night streaming of The Life and Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson.
It should be an interesting dichotomy, since for 30 years someone has been lying. The father, Louis Brown, stated to the police detectives and later coroner’s investigator less than 12 hours after the murders occurred that his daughter, Nicole Brown Simpson, was last known to be alive the night before at 11PM talking to her mother, Juditha Brown, regarding glasses left behind by the mother at Brentwood’s Mezzaluna restaurant.
Two days later the mother would give the same time on two different occasions, first to the Simpson defense investigators, and then after they told Attorney Robert Shapiro, he would ask her himself what time that last call took place. Juditha Brown would tell Shapiro the same thing, that she talked to Nicole at 11PM on or about June 16, 1994.
When Shapiro asked how she knew it was 11PM she stated that when she arrived home from Brentwood that night she checked the clock and it said 11PM. However, within 7 months the 11PM last call would be changed, in another flim-flam slid past all of the American viewers whose attention was generally diverted to some tabloid unrelated event outside the courtroom. The time of the last phone call was changed in a low-key stipulation entered in open court and offered surprisingly by the defense team’s Robert Shapiro. He was now agreeing to accept a new time of 09:37 PM as the last call shown on an exhibit document, the Exhibit 35 POSTERBOARD claimed to represent the phone calls of Juditha Brown. The importance of the stipulation in California is that by their long-established state law it allows the evidence to circumvent examination by a jury.
This may be one of the most important tools to allow that state to have their notable celebrity show trials. Supposedly, all times on the Posterboard were accepted by Shapiro as his covering excuse to speed the case along since the Simpson defense lawyer was posturing that the prosecution witness, Karen Crawford, Mezzaluna weekend manager and bartender, could not accurately be certain of the final time anyway. So, the defense would simply accept the times shown on the posterboard, including the alleged phone call from Juditha Brown at 9:37 PM as seen in the blown-up section provided above. Defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran would do the same 5 months later and leave tell-tale evidence of their cooperative malfeasance as shown in the following video clip. https://youtu.be/Bk3Muy_MgJA?si=rDrtYy84pmfjapE0. This video clip of Cochran stumped OMIG investigators for about 7 years as to why he would enter what appears to be a false stipulation, until realizing based on other information that the Simpson trial and its malfeasance was to be utilized by Cochran for a more important trial he had lost where an innocent man, that was his client, would spend almost 29 years of his life behind bars as a result of Cochran’s naivety until Cochran could maneuver his release.
11 PM is important to this case because it places OJ Simpson in the backseat of a chauffeured limousine on its way to LAX for him to catch an 11:45 PM flight to Chicago while his ex-wife was still alive. The waitress, Tia Gavin, stated that the Brown party departed the Mezzaluna restaurant at around 8:45 PM, and now the last phone call from the Brown home in Dana Point, Orange County was at 09:37 PM approximately 52 minutes after departing Brentwood in West Los Angeles. Everyone, i.e. news commentators, highway patrolmen are on tape saying the distance was a 90 minute to two-hour drive between Brentwood and Dana Point, Orange County. This includes the two lead LAPD detectives, Phil Vannatter and Tom Lange, who stated in their book EVIDENCE DISMISSED below, that the drive was at least an hour and a half drive.
Since two of the Brown sisters were in the car on that fateful drive back home that night from L.A.’s Brentwood to Dana Point, someone is lying, and it certainly does not appear to be our side since all of the evidence appears to support our findings that the Brown family did not arrive home in approximately 45+ minutes. The highway data regarding traffic volume and density due to highway construction to build the HOV lane imply more like a 2-hour drive. This is what the data indicates the drive home for the Browns looked like on the southbound I-405 the night of June 12, 1994 between the hour of their departure from Brentwood between 8-9PM.
We at OMIG predict that the truth is going to ultimately catch up to all of these charlatans and grifters and expose them for this reckless and dangerous lie that they have placed before the public for the last 30 years sucking up all oxygen in the media space. The phone records were removed by court order from the Simpson case file to continue this lie so that the records could not be examined. However, these corrupt officials beyond the Brown sisters have continued to conceal the truth.
Several people pull this angelic cloak off of their unfortunate deceased sister, Nicole. Even Kato Kaelin, who Nicole invited to move into her pool guest house on Gretna Green before moving over to her condo on Bundy spoke in his book about Nicole throwing drug parties, where the party goers were making a bee-line upstairs, going up and down to the point Kato asked why. Someone pulled his coat during his recent meeting of Nicole as an invited guest to her party and told him “That’s where the cocaine is”. Kato who resided a year with Nicole and her children, would go on to state in his book that he witnessed Nicole becoming very belligerent and out of control when drinking too much tequila when out in social settings. Having to have the keys wrestled away by her girlfriends from preventing her being a drunk driver on the streets and highways. On one occasion it became so embarrassing with her being out of control that he simply left the gathering, which appeared to be par for the course for the Mousey looking house guest. He also accused Nicole the obsessive party gal of being a chain smoker; hence, he undermines the pristine image that the prissy Brown sister-grifters seem to be attempting to portray in all probability for the sake of making a dollar once again.
They knew that the so-called Bruno Magli shoe prints found in the sidewalk tiles did not fit Simpson’s foot, so they have attempted to conceal that until OMIG investigators examined the police photos and attained verification that the sidewalk tiles were only 11- and 1/2-inches square.
Because OMIG investigators stood firm during an interview with former FBI agents that one of their peers had lied about his true knowledge concerning Simpson’s foot in those size 12 Bruno Magli shoes, they in turn called back and provided OMIG with 53 pounds of documents some of which was associated directly with the Simpson trial indicating that the agent, Roger Martz, had been lying and committing perjury as it related to the blood the FBI lab was asked to examine. He wrote a letter back to the LADA’s office and the deputy DA who had asked for their help, Rockne Harmon, telling them that he, Roger Martz, had completed an examination of the blood samples of Simpson found on the back gate and blood of Nicole found on socks on Simpson’s bedroom floor. Martz said that he could find no contamination with the blood preservative EDTA. It appears that Martz lied, and was called out for his lies by other FBI examiners in the lab in a complaint filed with the Office of the Inspector General of the USDOJ.
That document, entitled by OMIG as the Whitehurst Complaint due to the author who filed it, former FBI Agent Frederic Whitehurst, became a hidden document as well one in which OMIG has filed at least 3 Freedom of Information Requests to attain from the Office of the Inspector General. This all is predictably going to unravel, and exposes the weakness of using the Brown sisters to promote a false narrative with its subtle yet powerful racial undertones to the detriment of so many more important events that have taken place over the last 30 years. This promulgation simply exposes the recklessness in doing something like that by exposing the soft underbelly of vulnerability as a national security threat to the nation by providing a cheap and cost effective tool to weaponize to fragment and polarize a nation, with that being the use of racial animus to create national mass hysteria.
submitted by No-Debate2873 to ojsimpsondidntdoit [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 13:04 justmybeats 1st Gen paths to Citizenship

Hi everyone, I’m wondering if I could have some guidance on what the best path to get my citizenship would be.
I would be getting citizenship through my mother who was born in 1960 by Italian parents (who are still alive and have only been italian citizens their whole lives). She came to the US in the 70s and did not become a US citizen until the early 2000s, maybe 3-4 years after I was born. I’m not sure if she renounced Italian citizenship at that point (nor does she remember, but I think she did).
The Boston consulate is booked out for years so I want to see what my options are for a quicker route.
1: Do I have to hire an Italian lawyer for this case and if so can someone give a rough estimate cost?
2: Or is it possible to just go to my grandparent’s comune and if so what’s required? (I’m assuming all of the same documents that the consulate would require)
3: My mother’s name on my birth certificate, her marriage certificate, and divorce certificate has been anglicized, will this be a problem if I go with option 2?? On all other things such as bank/tax statements, license, social security, have her true legal non-anglicized name.
Thank you all!
submitted by justmybeats to juresanguinis [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 12:54 QueasyStorage637 Looking for novel

Hi I just came across a novel, chosen by the moon novel by izabella W. Its on pay by chapter websites, I've opened and read a few chapters but I can't seem to find any free version or chapter version anywhere. Please help. If anyone has read it I'm willing to take spoilers. Here's the advert I found below of it on Facebook.
Lycanthrope species is a disgusting race. And I, Delan Riley, am nothing more than a human scum in their eyes never expected those species would turn my world upside down. Since when the lycans managed to penetrate our town, like in the early 1900's we have a hierarchy, upper class = the lycans, middle class = mated humans, and lower class = the normal humans, who were basically considered scum. I endured their torment day after day, vowing to run away from them one day, until that day came and everything changed.
Dylan POV "Humans," I scowled at the principal's words from tannoy. "The Alpha twins will be celebrating their birthday tomorrow, as such, festivities are in order." Oh great, the Alphas twin children. Adrian and Arya are the worst lycans alive. I swear just because they are the alphas kids they literally get away with everything. If their birthday is tomorrow, then the wolves are going to be worse than ever. "All students will be present to greet them, two lines will be made, with humans on the left and the lycanthrope on the right. Any mated human will be at the front of the line for their year, you will all also be in order of your school year. That is all." Chat broke out the minute the tannoy was finished. "We haven't had a school gathering since the alpha king visited three years ago, before his sons coronation." Nick was right, the last time we all gathered like that was for the king and queens visit, when he decided to let the world know that he was to renounce his title to his only child, son Josh. "That sick bestard, he wants to make sure everyone is there so those idiot twins can find their mates." Yes I was mad, my fists connected with the table in front of me once more as I thought about how disgusting the situation was. You see the twins will be turning 17, so it's very possible someone in our school could be their mate, finding a mate is sacred to a wolf, the minute they say that one word your fate is sealed. They will turn your mind, morph you into being a lover of their kind, and then you'll give in.

That won't happen to me, I'm growing old to see the world as it once was, and I'm going to choose who I'll be with. No one will take that dream away from me.

Once dinner was finished, I just wanted to sleep. I'd had a very long tiring day, I quickly sat down on a small stool my mother kept in the storage closet and removed my shirt while my brother Freddy sat at the table to do his simple homework. It wasn't long before my mother came in with a large bowl of warm salt water and some cotton, this was going to sting I just knew it. She was here to help me with the wounds caused by wolves yesterday. She slowly began to unwrap the bandage from around my torso and slowed down drastically when it came to the final layer, I felt it peel off every wound and my fists clenched in pain. "Jesus!" I heard my mom exclaim once the dressing was completely removed. The air on my back was nice though and I sighed as my arm covered my once again exposed brests. "This is more than 15!" I began to hear sniffles coming from her and sighed turning round to look at her face, only to notice tears streaming down it. "Mom I'm fine, it's alright." She shook her head. "It's not alright, I'm your mother I shouldn't let these things happen. I'm so sorry. Your father would have..." here she goes again. Every single time something happened she'd always bring up dad, it really annoyed me because no matter how much we all wish he was here, he just isn't. My father was kiled by THEIR kind, almost 5 years ago when they actually managed to take over. When the lycans managed to penetrate our town my father rose up with some people from the neighborhood, to defend our livelihood, it was futile to say the least. We lost many people and I watched as my dad was ripped apart by two fully shifted wolves, I ended up shoting him to stop his suffering before they dragged me to the courtyard, i was the person to receive the first lashing of the town when I was 12! The wolves have been pretty strict with me since that day. "Stop being stvpid!" Was I harsh? Definitely! Did she need to hear it again, absolutely. "Dad is dead, we don't know what he'd do because he never knew this life. He never knew this world." I know what he'd have done, most likely attacked the guy who held the whip and got himself kiled in the process. "The best thing you can do for me, is stop crying and help me, next time don't insist on helping if you can't handle it." She began to wash my open wounds with the warm salt water causing loud winces to leave me, I knew it was necessary to prevent infection, but my god it hurt like a betch. "Some of these are really deep Dylan!" She sniffed again and my eyes rolled in my head. "I told you, I'm fine, just wrap me back up so I can get to bed." My mom was obviously more impacted by my injuries than I was, I suppose that always the case though. When it's happening to you, you've just got to get through it but when it's happening to someone you love, you just want to take their pain away. She quickly placed a fresh bandage around my waist and chest and wrapped it tightly for compression. The bowl of water that was used was now red in color, I guess from the blood my back was dripping with. "Can you keep your head down please? At least just this week. You can't take any more lashings." I simply nodded before standing up away from the stool, I walked over to Freddie and ruffled his hair in affection. "Good night squirt." He giggled and fixed his hair slightly. "Night Dilly." I smiled walking upstairs to my little bedroom, as soon as I was inside i shut the door and flopped down on to my bed on my stomach and I took a minute to cry to myself at the pain in my back, what my mom did was important but it hurt, not that I'd ever tell her. My hand covered my mouth quickly to muffle any noise I might be making. I couldn't tell anyone, I had to be strong because more and more people were crumpling these days, and my mom would break if she knew how much I was suffering. Sleep followed me shortly after, she was right though about me needing to keep my head down for the time being, I could not take another lashing! After a long night and an even longer morning, we were all finally stood in the hallway at school waiting for the twins to arrive. "Mine!" Everyone that was stood in the hallway tensed up, as we were seniors, me and Nick were stood towards the very back of the human line. All the mated people were situated directly opposite their wolf mates in their years. We stayed silent and still as Arya walked down the hall and stopped directly in front of Nick. His eyes widened in fear, unsure of wether to look up or keep his head lowered. "Look me in the eye, mate." He glanced at me slightly as if asking what he should do. "I said, look me in the eye." He slowly moved his eye line up to look at her face. I took a glance myself to see her eyes pitch black with lust. "I... can't... I mean... erm." Before he was able to mutter anything else, two wolves from opposite, grabbed him out of the line and dragged him behind Arya. "Hey!" My head shot up before I could stop myself. My mouth also forgot its place as I jumped out of line. Everyone's head shot to me as my eyes widened in realization at what I'd done. Adrian, the other twin, walked up to me before punching me right in the stomach, I doubled over instantly. Feeling the sting in my slightly healed back. "I know you... You were publicly flogged only two days ago." God I hate this guy. "I also have it on good authority, that you openly spoke out against our rules and regulations in yesterday's class." My head shot down the line slightly to see Erin, looking a little frightened, her mate, the beta to be was looking at her, nodding his head in reassurance. "You traitor, you grassed on your own kind?" I yelled at her before feeling a fist connect with my cheek. My head whipped to the side from the force, while my class members gasped. I'm so done with this treatment, right then, I wasn't in charge of my actions. My fists curled up and my stance became a lot more defensive. My head snapped up to the alpha to be, and I looked him in the eye. "You don't know the meaning of the word disrespect." I suddenly hurled my fist towards his head, which he easily dodged, but my foot came up and kicked him instead. He stumbled backwards from the force with wide eyes. "You... you Actually hit me!" He didn't even sound annoyed, more shocked. Everyone in the hallway was watching, waiting for the alpha to do something but instead he simply stood up straight, regaining his composure. "I think everyone should get back to class." He began to walk away, following his sister when I called him back. "What about Nick?!" "Simple, He's my sisters mate. He now belongs to her." Argh, he's not an object. "He's not her property." A chuckle left his mouth, before turning his back to me again. "All humans are property." A short while later everyone made it to science class, our teacher Mrs Mathews is mated to the lycans pack doctor, she also now has a four and two year old with him. She was one of the first humans to be cohered into a false relationship. "What were you thinking young lady?" I rolled my head at her before looking at the empty seat next to mine. Nick was with that stvpid wolf girl right now. Being changed, I'm so angry it's ridiculous. "I was thinking, this guy is being a prick. Did you hear him? 'All humans are property.' It's bull shet." I looked up and the whole class looked at me like I had three heads. Talking shet about wolves is one thing, but talking about an alpha is punishable by death, attacking an alpha is an even worse offense. There was then a knock at the door and in walked Erin and her band of mated bestards. "Sorry we're late Mrs." "Erin, how are things between you and bata Monroe?" She blushed, the traitor actually blushed at the mention of his name. "He spoke to me last night about trying for a baby. We need a good strong boy to take over as beta." I scoffed looking at her as she took her seat. "You guys are actually pathetic, why can't it be a girl? Those mutts are basically Neanderthals" I voiced my opinion and saw all the shocked faces around me. Calling the lycans mutts, is the same as them calling us scum. After lesson had ended the entire school was called into the hall for assembly. This is where any human who has been found to have broken the rules were punished, usually 10 lashings were goven out or something similar. "Welcome to the school assembly, congratulations to the alpha twins for finding both your mates. Now on to the business at hand, as the 5 year anniversary of the new world is coming up, we have been informed that the alpha king will be visiting our district next week, this is very exciting news. We want you all to look your absolute best, she wolves and mated females will wear exemplary dresses made by seamstress. Male wolves and mated men will wear tailored suits. Anyone who doesn't comply will be reprimanded." The Alpha King?! No one has met him yet, he took over the throne three years ago when he turned 18. He really didn't make any appearances though, great, this month is going to be a nightmare. "As for the humans, you will be given a new uniform to wear for the visit, these are to be neatly ironed and worn to the highest standard. As for the following humans, based on your attitude this past week, you will be coming to the front and facing punishment. Tony summerset?!" Tony's head shot up as he looked around, he was in the year below but he shared my views when it came to the lycans. He slowly walked up to the front of assembly, almost instantly his top was t0rn in two and he received 10 lashings. A girl named Kara was next and she too received 10 lashings. A few more people went up slowly accepting their fate then suddenly my name was called. "Dylan Riley." Inside I was terrified but I simply shrugged my shoulders, I guess I did kind of expect this. Although I'm not sure if my back can take any more damage. "You attacked an alpha, correct!" His eyes bored into mine as I bowed my head submitting to his authority. "Technically, no." Everyone in the school gym looked on in fear, as my head moved to the front row of the wolf side. Adrian sat, with a werewolf girl in the year below, her name was Jana, I guess he found his mate. Nick and Arya were no where to be seen though. Adrian gave me a shrug as if to say he didn't tell, before smirking at my comment. "He hasn't officially taken the alpha title yet, so he's just..." i looked at the principle and noticed his eyes black and his claws out, he was in what lycans call a half shift, triggered when the subject has become angered. He turned to two security wolves and gave them a nod, Almost immediately i was forced onto my knees, my arm was slammed on a table and held in place by one wolf, while my body was held in place by the other. "Ok, I don't think this is needed, I have alpha blood, a stvpid human girl can't hurt me." My head snapped to Adrian who had stood up in front of the school to stop what was happening. "Nevertheless, humans need to know their place." With that the pressure on my arm increased as our principals hand pulled my sleeve up before a long claw punctured my skin. The searing pain shoting from the fresh wound had my eyes scrunched and my fist clenched, I bit the inside of my cheek hard instantly tasting blood, however no sound left my mouth. He continued to write, using my skin as a canvas and his claws as a marker, it went on forever, my vision blurred slightly at one point as I turned my head away. After minutes of torture, he was done and the pressure on my arm eased, instantly I snatched my arm away, hissing through my teeth at the pain. I was about to scurry off stage, when I was roughly grabbed yet again, my arm being held in the air by the principal while my feet were inches off the floor, blood dripped from the wound and the pattern he had made was on show for everyone to see. Loads of people gasped, even the wolves looked slightly horrified at what had happened. "This is what happens when a human decides to speak out. I can promise, anyone who so much as says one word about our way of life, will have the same punishment." My arm was starting to seriously ache from being held in the air for so long, and the lack of blood flow to my suspended arm was causing me pins and needles, still I refused to make a sound. I held the tears back and I bit my cheek harder causing more blood to fill my mouth. "That's enough Bradley!" Adrian growled, he was still stood up and looking at the scene in front of him. His eyes hard as he stared at the principal a low warning growl erupted from his chest which had the head teacher gulping, he quickly let go of my arm causing me to crash to the floor. A small cry left my mouth as I hit the hard floor. Immediately I scrambled away, my foot just missed the high step leading to the stage and I fell, waiting for the impact of the ground, but it never came. Two strong arms wrapped around me catching my weak body causing me to look up, my eyes widened as I noticed Adrian had caught my falling form. "This isn't part of the human punishment program!" Adrian growled causing me to tense in his grip, I pushed him away from me before fixing my uniform top. The room was deadly silent, taking in the scene in front of them, while I stole a glance at my forearm. Carved into my skin by his devastating claws were two words, words that would most definitely scar my body for life. 'Human scum' "Lessons must be learned, she received lashing merely two days ago, and clearly it had no effect on her." Another growl left Adrian's chest as he stepped on to the stage, I wasn't bothered though, you would think I'd be ashamed but I simply smiled slightly. I fixed my sleeve a little so it wouldn't rub on the fresh wound before speaking. "It doesn't matter," the whole room looked at me shocked by my attitude. "I would rather be labeled human scum, than have any resemblance to your kind. I'm proud of what I am, how many of you can say that?" After my amazing little speech, I walked right down the middle between the humans and lycans and out the door. No more compliance, I'm going to get away with as much as I can without getting into too much bother. There will come a day when the lycans power will fizzle out. When it does I'll be ready, I'll be waiting for the day we take our world back. As for the best part about my plan...

No one can stop me.

"Ouch, not so hard." I seethed as the school nurse cleaned my new wound with antiseptic. "If you had of just kept your mouth shut, this wouldn't have happened." I turned to my right looking out the window at the few clouds that were floating in the blue sky. "Like I said, I'm proud to be human, and now everyone knows what I am." I clenched my fist together as the nurse began wrapping a bandage around my forearm. It had been a good few hours since the incident in the hall, and I had been forced to come to the nurces office after I had tried to clean my wound by splashing it with water from the tap, it also refused to stop bleeding. "You are impossible. Can you please just try and stay out of trouble? For one day, that's all I ask." Our school nurse is a wolf, she's one of them. However she hates the way they treat us mere humans, she thinks we should all just live in peace with equal rights. Like that would ever happen. "All I've done is stay out of trouble, but you are just going to humiliate me anyway, so what's the actual point?" "The pack were discussing a public execution, Dylan. You need to walk on egg shells from now on, not just for you but for your family as well." No ones been publicly executed in over 4 months, I'm flattered they're considering it. They only execute people who they believe are the biggest problems to society. "Well then... I'm flattered." I chuckled, before looking at the patch job. 'Huh, not too shabby.' I quickly stood up from the human nursing station and pulled the sleeve of my shirt down covering the evidence of ever being hurt. "This is serious!" I just gave her a blank look before leaving the room. On the way out I heard her call back to me. "Please just think about it." I gave a clipped nod as I walked away wondering how I'm going to tell my mom about this. Later in the evening... "Dilly why you say that?" Freddie looked up at me with a mouth full of bread. "Don't speak with your mouthful!" My mom scolded him as a bashful blush made its way to his cheeks. "Sowwy mommy." His reply was muffled as he swallowed the last chunk of food. "I said it Freddie, because it's the truth. The wolf race are a pathetic excuse for..." my mom cut me off with an extremely stern look. "Dylan! They have ears everywhere, one more word out of you and it's your room." I scowled, my hatred for the Lycan kind growing stronger as each day passes. "What more can they do to me, lash me? Beat me? Brand me? They've ran out of options." I stated slamming my hands down, then severely regretting it as sharp pain shot though my wound. "What was that?" My head shot to regard my mothers worried expression. Her eyebrows were raised and her eyes were dull and judging as she looked at me. "Nothing, it was nothing." I quickly took my plate in my hand and began to walk to the kitchen. "I'm not really hungry, and I have homework to do!" My mom caught hold of my forearm causing me to drop my plate suddenly, I watched it slowly fall before shattering on the floor. I retracted my arm quickly and turned to Freddie. "Stay there and don't move until it's cleaned up ok sport?" He just nodded with wide eyes, I turned back to my mom and noticed her curious stare on my arm. Her grip shifted to the other side as she turned it around before pulling my sleeve up. The bandage was showing and a bit of blood was seeping though after the wound had been disturbed. "What the hel happened?" My moms eyes widened as she began to fumble with the bandage. Before she could unravel any of it I snatched my arm away. "I had an accident at school. No big." I began to gather the large pieces of the broken plate up ready to put them in the bin. "What did you do Dylan?" She looked at me with pure worry and only then did I realize what the wound must look like to someone who didn't know. "For gods sake! I didn't do it to myself! I got publicly punished at the assembly alright? It's no big deal." Her face dropped instantly and she stepped towards me, causing me to step backwards. "Mom, I'm ok. So back off will you." "What did you do? I've never known them to cut someone's arm as a punishment." Her shock and accusation was evident in her voice and I sighed heavily. "I spoke against the alphas son." I may have hit him too, but I wasn't going to divulge that part to her. "It's not one big cut, mom, it's a brand, 'human scum' carved onto my arm." "They've branded you now too?!" My eyes rolled at her hurt tone as I went to get the dustpan and brush. "You're so much like your father." A sigh left her mouth as she spoke, running a hand through her hair, while I quickly swept up the little pieces of the broken plate. "You've had a new uniform delivered. It's laid out on your bed. Dylan, Please just try and stay respectful in the future, I don't want my daughter to be completely mutilated. Although you're not far off." "Gee, Thanks." I then walked over to my little brother Freddy before blowing a kiss into his neck and hearing him giggle. "So sport, how's school going?" "It's ok." He shrugged before going back to coloring a dinosaur picture in. "Well that's good, stay out of trouble, ok little man?" Heading upstairs and into my room, my thoughts wandered to the permanent graffiti scar very slowly healing on my arm. Disgusting beasts. Think they own the world because they're faster, stronger and can shift. Pah. If you ask me they are not all that.

The second I walked into my room my mouth dropped open. On my bed was some grey pants laid out neatly, which wasn't the surprising part, no, what shocked me was the grey high neck no sleeved button down shirt, every single set of uniform had sleeves except this one. They've done this on purpose those, mutts. They want the world to see my arm and know what a disgusting creature I am. They want the world to know that I, Dylan Riley, am nothing more than 'human scum'.

During the last week, I've been horrible, in class I've been loud in voicing my views, I've insulted at least everyone to some degree, I didn't care about the consequences, and I certainly didn't think about them. I haven't seen Nick at all since he was claimed, and to make matters worse today was the royal visit. Oh yes, werewolves and mated humans alike were spending every waking minute preparing themselves to meet his royal majesty, king of the wolves. Unclaimed Humans however would rather stick pins in their eyes. "Dylan, get down now... you're going to be late." She was right, I was dawdling this morning, I really couldn't be bothered today, I gave myself one last look in the small mirror and sighed when my eyes met my newly uncovered brand. It had bad bruising around the letters, and was still extremely tender to touch, it was definitely healing now though. I made my way down the stairs and came face to face with my mother who was seeing to Freddie, she was helping my brother get his coat on when she turned to me. "You ready sport?" Freddie nodded his little head at me and smiled while I quickly slid my shoes on. "Just Remember, the alpha is bad enough, Dylan, please, please don't do anything to anger the king." My mother stopped us from walking out the door to tell me something she had been telling me continuously for the last couple of days, it was almost as if the entire human population of our district was expecting me to do something stvpid. "Try and have a good day." I rolled my eyes but nodded, even I know not to push the king, he could kil me in the hallway like it was nothing. In fact I plan on staying out of his way for the entirety of the day. "We will see you tonight mom." I stated before me and my brother began our walk to school, his little hand clutched my own tightly as we went. Usually Nick would be with us, as he lives next door, well he used to, now he's residing in the main pack house. I quickly dropped Freddie off at his school and watched him get the wolfsbane neutralizer before walking into him building giving me a small wave before he went in. With my new scar on complete show, and my figure being complimented by the skin tight shirt I was wearing, I sauntered down the street to school, I gave my name and year in and took the wolf's bane neutralizer injection with no problems at all. It was finally getting into school that the problem occurred. Walking through the halls I was met by many looks, some of pity some of disgust. You see every single non mated human in the school was wearing a long sleeved version of the uniform I was given. All the Wolves and mated couples were scattered around in fancy floor length dresses or tailored suits. As I turned the corner I noticed a couple, now this couple happened to catch my eye the most out of all of them because it consisted of Arya and Nick, eating each other's faces off. "What the hel!" Nicks head shot to me as his eyes widened. He too was dressed in a tailored suit, a navy blue tie hung on his neck to match Aryas dress. Why was this happening all the time? It's always my friends that get completely brain washed. I shook my head in disbelief before turning my back on him. I heard his fast footsteps behind me as I rounded the corner. "Dylan?!" He ran right in front of me, stopping me in my tracks, making me drop my bag off my shoulder and almost causing me to bump into him. "Let me just explain..." "Has she marked you?" I mean you could almost see it in his eyes, she had marked him, and knowing the way life goes he's probably even mated with her. "Actually... Don't even answer that." I aggressively picked my bag up off of the floor and stormed off down the hall. "Dylan, just listen to me, Erin was right, it's so hard to resist your soulmate, and Arya is actually ok once you get to know her." I just kept walking, he caught up to me walking beside me but it didn't matter, I completely ignored everything and everyone. 'I'm so not in the mood today' getting into class was good though, I said hello to Mr Foley and took my usual seat. Nick sighed then took his bag off ready to sit next to me, but I snapped before he had the chance. "Traitors and mated idiots sit on that side of the room." I didn't look him in the eye as I pointed to a seat right at the front of the classroom on the opposite side. His eyes widened as he turned his attention back to me. "You can't be serious Dylan." I gave him a blank look before grabbing my book out of my backpack, I placed it on the desk then began to write the date on the top line. "I've sat in this seat for as long as I can remember." I ignored him, his voice sounded sad and shocked. "Dylan? Wait! What is that?!" Before I could react Nick had grabbed hold of my branded arm and turned it to see the letters. "Oh my God! What happened?" I snatched my arm away from him and shrugged as I continued to write in my book before grabbing my water bottle out of my bag. "The principal happened, it was my punishment for speaking out against Adrian and Arya. I wear it with pride." He just held a complete look of disbelief. "You spoke out against them?" I shrugged, what did he think I'd do. "It's no secret that I despise this stvpid new world and the mutts that control it. You were my friend, I wasn't going to let them just take you without saying something, although that is exactly what you seem to have done. Enjoy the view from your new seat!" "Don't be like that, Dylan, I'm your best friend, I'm sorry about your arm, but..." my eyes rolled inside my head at my friends words. "Anything with the word 'but' in, isn't an apology, it's a rationalization." I took a drink of water from my bottle and kept my eyes facing forward, ignoring his every attempt to try and talk to me. "Dylan?.. Dylan?... Do you know what? Erin is right, if you push us all away you won't have any friends left." He huffed before walking over to the empty seat and sitting down, I could feel him glancing up at me every now and again but I didn't respond. "Good morning class, please settle down." He looked at me then at Nick and frowned, we've never sat apart, we were friends before the new world even began. I just shook my head telling him to forget it. "So... as you know the king will be arriving in a short while, but until then lessons will go on as normal." Its funny seeing teachers in the same uniform your wearing, mr Foley and his wife are the coolest. Human teachers and doctors only have slightly more respect than we do. Because of Mr Foley's status him and his wife have better access to food and drink, Mrs Foley is cool, sometimes she even makes sure mr Foley brings some in for me. Ya know, coz I'm their favorite student. It's not in a weird way, it's just they were friends of the family before the new wold took effect. Mr Foley and my dad were buddies from high school, so it goes without sayin really. "All the mated humans will be at the front of each years line again, after that you will all be placed in status, Nick, as your mated to Alpha Arya, you'll be at the front of your line. Dylan as you have been branded..." his voice trailed off as he looked at me. "Yeah yeah, I'll be at the back of the line behind everyone. I get it." I huffed, moving my sight towards the window once more. "I am sorry." I turned to face Mr Foley again, he looked genuinely upset and that look of pity wasn't something I wanted to see. I gave him a clipped nod then turned away again. "Anyway, on to the subject matter, 'Of Mice and Men, page 64, Nick why don't you start us off with the reading."

"Of course sir." Nick began reading the book but I switched off, today is going to be a long day. After almost an hour and a half of reading comprehension, the bell chimed signaling lunch. I shot up and out of the classroom before anyone could say anything. Today, I was avoiding drama like the plague.

I wandered the corridors straight to the lunch hall. All the people I would normally hang out with we're all mated so I grabbed my lunch quickly, and sat down at the end of the human table. Let me lay the lunch hall out for you. On one side of the room you have two long rows of tables, with simple benches that make it look like prison, on the other side of the room you have multiple round tables with fancy chairs. Yup you get it. The humans sit at the prison tables and the wolves and traitors sit on the fancy tables, they get fancy food, fancy drink and most importantly they get pudding. what I would give to have some pudding. "Dylan can we just talk?" Nick quickly took the spot next to me as he set his lunch tray down. I looked at his food which had been placed on a ceramic, circular white plate. God that looked good. I sighed knowing he was going to talk anyway. "Fine, you have two minutes." I used my fork to take a bit of pasta off his plate and shoved it into my mouth. God that was good. "After I left school, I was taken to the pack house with Arya, and I really got to know her. It took a few days for me to finally accept being with her, but ever since life has been ok, and the sax... well that's a whole other story." Eww, I didn't need that mental image in my head. "I'm glad your happy." I stated before deciding I had no appetite. His face held shock before he sighed in relief. "That means a lot Dylan, I mean you know that your opinion matters to me." I cut him off before he could say anything else. "I said I was glad your happy. I didn't say I approved of what you've done. You've basically turned into one of THEM, I can't ever forgive you for that." He looked hurt, but I couldn't care less about his feelings. He placed his hand gently on my arm and went to open his mouth when a growl sounded out. All heads whipped to where it came from, Arya was stood holding a glass of soda and a plate, she was looking right at me and Nick and I would totally be dead if looks could kil. Nick quickly retracted his hand, his whole face fell and you could see sorrow flood his irises. "You sit with me now, get away from that, that... scum!" Wow, Nick was such a lucky guy. NOT. "You heard her. Get away from me, go sit with your new friends. I'm happy for you, and I understand where your coming from, but don't come up to me again and pretend you didn't betray your own kind. Don't pretend you didn't betray me." I shoved a little bit of food into my mouth before standing up and walking out of the cafeteria, leaving my tray on the table. I was walking through the hallway to the classroom, you see I decided to spend lunch with Mr Foley in his room, when I happened to hear voices in the corridor. "Is it wise for her to actually be present when the king arrives? Surely she could be placed in the dungeons, it might actually teach her some respect?" My principal was speaking to the alpha of our district, huh, if I stayed and listened do you think they'd notice, maybe they could smell me?! "Everyone is to be present, if the Riley girl does one thing out of line she will be dealt with severely, child or not. That girl has been a blight to the district since day one, she's dangerous, if she puts one hair out of place I will personally break her into submission." Oh shet, they were talking about me specifically, and they mentioned the dungeon, that's not been used in months. Normally I would have listened in more but something about the entire situation didn't sit right with me, all of a sudden, I was on edge, and simply wasn't interested in the slightest in hearing how my misery was to be enhanced. I backed up slightly before turning around and bumping head first into one of the hottest man I had ever seen. I lost my balance immediately and fell straight on to the floor letting out a small grumble in the process. His eyebrows knitted together quickly and his breath hitched in his throat as he looked upon my fallen state and gasped. "Mate!" He whispered, his eyes fixated on mine. Now, I had seen and heard that many times to know what that means, I gasped before taking a step back. 'No, no, no, no, no. This can not be happening.' He growled slightly before stepping towards me. Oh Shet!
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2024.06.01 12:02 Normodox A Slush Fund for Radical Protesters?

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)

submitted by Normodox to BeneiYisraelNews [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 07:22 TheBroadcasterTB DOODLE

DOODLE
Yeah so I didn’t win the doodle for google thing so I figured id share my submission here. Below will be the explanation behind the art for those curious. I apologize for any spelling, grammatical, and/or factual errors.
This is MY dream for the next 25 years.
The g contains a sample of the symbols for common religions/theologies from around the world and the wood grain represents a dinner table, the place to share meals and good stories and the hope that one day there will be peace enough to eat in the presence of someone completely different of you. I dream for tolerance, no matter the vast amount of differences we share.
The o contains a few but not anywhere near all of the species currently endangered of extinction living in our oceans and bodies of water. They deserve our help, I dream to see them return in thriving numbers and for them to have clean seas to live in.
The second o is for the horn of Africa. Their region has provided for this entire world for a very long time and yet they still face hunger and many other struggles that are simply a tragedy when thinking of all they provide both in services and goods such as food, resources, and materials for construction and clothing. I dream to see them be thanked, fully, for what they have lost and given.
The g is symbolic of the drinking water of the world, and the lack of that many face. The green boarder contains many words from across the world that mean “water”. I dream for a day that water is free and everyone has clean water to drink, cook with, bathe with, and play in.
The L has become a tree, it grows tall and shades and protects the others like I wish I could myself. It is a baobab tree, one at risk of extinction and some of the largest trees to grace our planet. My dream is to see them one day, to travel and connect with the many astounding parts of this world, to see the people and hear their dreams and loves, to know their fears and to know the places they adored as children. I dream to speak with the ancient things of this world, and I dream to see them thrive as they are even in the face of extinction.
The final G is symbolic of the beloved groves of 🍉, of their beautiful streets, high flying birds, and their wild, free children that run through their streets. It is for the hope, and the untamable resistance that lives in the ruined streets of Gaza. It is for the loved ones that now only dance in their creator’s embrace and the warm rays of the sunset. The final letter is for those who have suffered, for those bearing the crushing weight of oppression. I am sorry, for what I have not done I am sorry. I dream of everyone being free and safe to raise their families, safe to go to school, and safe to rest their heads after a long day of being alive.
That is my dream for the next 25 years, and forever after that.
submitted by TheBroadcasterTB to AmselTV [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 04:02 2023_CK_ Why the PCR Test is Fake and Why it Matters (COVID, Disease X, Bird Flu)

Most conspiracy theorists are aware the fake PCR test was an essential component of the COVID Scam-demic. But a quick review is perhaps in order since another "pandemic" (Disease X or Bird Flu) could be imminent.
TL;DR: Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a technique that replicates a known strand of DNA but is 100% invalid when "abused" to diagnose a viral infection. In the case of COVID, the PCR test checks for a tiny DNA fragment of the SARS-COV-2 virus in a test sample. If this fragment is found, then it’s copied (doubled) per PCR cycle. The test is nominally run for 30 cycles (2^30= 1 billion copies) in order to manufacture sufficient DNA for optical detection in a “positive” case. The test is “negative” if the fragment wasn’t found or if the amount of DNA made was too minute to be detected. In the latter case, running more cycles will manufacture more DNA until a “negative” result becomes a “positive” one.
The PCR test is 100% invalid regardless of the number of cycles because the fragment does not uniquely identify SARS-COV-2 and detecting the fragment doesn't mean the rest of the SARS-COV-2 genome (virus) is present in the test sample. Any such viral tests become even more worthless when Bayesian conditional probability is accounted for.
********************************************************************************************************
Kary Mullis won the 1993 Nobel Prize for inventing the PCR technique for manufacturing DNA. Every “cycle” of PCR doubles (copies) a designated strand of DNA. After a cycle, newly copied DNA from the previous cycle is copied as well, so there’s an exponential increase in copies per cycle. After the 1st cycle, there are 2^1= 2 identical DNA strands (1 copy and the original strand). After 3 cycles, there are 2^3= 8 strands (7 copies and the original). After 30 cycles, there are 2^30= 1 billion copies. After 35 cycles, there are 2^35= 34 billion copies! After 45 cycles, there are 2^45= 35 trillion copies!
Mullis repeatedly said PCR couldn’t be used to diagnose a viral infection, which didn’t stop the medical industrial complex from creating viral tests anyway. In reality, the accuracy of the PCR test is extremely low- which means that PCR can NOT diagnose COVID or any other viral infection.
https://uncoverdc.com/2020/04/07/was-the-covid-19-test-meant-to-detect-a-virus/
In a COVID PCR test, “forward” and “reverse” primers are added to a test sample in order to determine if the SARS-COV-2 virus is present. The two primers supposedly attach only to two specific (unique) segments of the virus. If the two primers find a match and attach to a DNA* strand in the test sample, then any DNA between the two primers is duplicated per PCR cycle. A PCR viral test is “positive” if sufficient DNA is made (to be optically detected) by the time the test completes. If too few cycles are run, then not enough DNA will be copied to be detected and the test will be negative even if the primers found a match. On the other hand, if the primers don’t find a match, then nothing will be copied (detected) regardless of the number of cycles.
*Note: SARS-COV-2 is supposedly a retrovirus, which means it consists of single-stranded RNA, not double-stranded DNA. PCR only works with DNA, so the RNA is first converted to DNA via RT (Reverse Transcription) before running PCR.
PCR is great at manufacturing a known DNA strand. But as a viral test, it has at least 2 FALSE premises:
It’s incorrect to assume the two primers are uniquely specific to a particular virus. Virologists claim the SARS-COV-2 virus is 30,000 bases long where each base can be one of 4 “letters” (A, C, T/U and G). But the two primers are typically only 25+25= 50 bases long i.e. the SARS-COV-2 PCR test ONLY checks 50/30,000= 0.17% of the virus genome for a match! That’s like saying “BIG” and “MISTAKE” are the same word because they both contain an “I”!
This first link below shows two typical primers for a COVID PCR test, which are only 22+26=48 letters long. The wiki link shows how the primers are used to duplicate DNA for those who are interested.
https://www.otago.ac.nz/biochemistry/research/otago736925.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymerase_chain_reaction
Virologists claim the world is teeming with TRILLIONS of viruses, which are everywhere (possibly even in outer space per the panspermia theory)! If true, then 99.999% of viruses have NOT been sequenced so it’s nonsense to claim the two primers are unique to SARS-COV-2. (SARS-COV-2 is supposedly 80% similar to other coronaviruses.) The two primers delineate the ends of a DNA segment (typically only 1,000 bases long) of the SARS-COV-2 virus, NOT the full 30,000 bases. So even if the two primers find a match, it’s incorrect to assume the rest of the virus (30,000-50= 29,950 bases) is actually present! (The human body constantly produces viral-like fragments, which could FALSELY match the two primers.) When the PCR test is run at "high" cycles (>30), then it becomes increasingly likely that any such fragment will be amplified into a false “positive” for COVID.
During 2020, PCR tests were routinely run up to even 45 cycles! The WHO only recommended lowering the number of PCR cycles on 01/20/2021 (the day of Biden’s inauguration). This is the REAL reason COVID “cases” plunged in 2021. COVID “cases” and “deaths” were based on the invalid PCR test, which means that ALL of the COVID statistics ("cases" and deaths) are INVALID!
And COVID antigen tests are even worse than the PCR test since they're even more nonspecific to SARS-COV-2.
The ONLY way to diagnose a "viral" illness then is clinical symptoms since the tests are worthless. And since the flu "disappeared" during 2020/2021 then we can conclude that "COVID" was largely rebranded flu. The PTB used MSM propaganda and PCR to create a novel "pandemic" (case-demic) out of thin air. "COVID" deaths were due to falsely labelling any death associated with a "positive" PCR test within 30 days as a "COVID" death and also "treatment" with Remdesivir, ventilators and Midazolam. A perfectly healthy person could test "positive" for COVID and be dead after 2 weeks of "treatment".
Addendum-Here are 3 examples of Bayesian Conditional Probability, which are very relevant to “pandemic” statistics:
1) Let’s say 50 out of 100 people have COVID and you take a COVID test that’s 99% accurate (only 1% of the test results are false). If you test “positive” for COVID, what’s the chance you really have it? 100-50= 50 people don’t have COVID but 50×1%= 0.5 will falsely test positive anyway. So the probability of a true positive is 50/(50+0.5)= 99% and you almost certainly have COVID- only 1% of “positive” test results are false.
2) Now 2 out of 100 people have COVID and the COVID test is still 99% accurate. If you test “positive”, what’s the chance you really have COVID? 100-2= 98 people don’t have COVID but 98×1%= ~1 will falsely test positive anyway. So the probability of a true positive is 2/(2+1)= 66%- 33% of all “positive” cases are FALSE!
3) Finally, let’s say 2 out of 100 people have COVID and the test is only 75% accurate (25% of the test results are false). If you test “positive”, what’s the chance you really have COVID? 100-2= 98 people don’t have COVID but 98×25%= ~25 will falsely test positive anyway. So the probability of a true positive is now only 2/(2+25)= 7% – 93% of all “positive” cases are FALSE!
But since the PCR test has ~0% accuracy, then that means 100% of all "positive" COVID cases were FALSE!
submitted by 2023_CK_ to conspiracy [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 02:31 PreferenceDry2920 After rehearing the whole Ye discography, this might be a bitch ass take but i can confirm that Saint Pablo and POWER are his best songs

After rehearing the whole Ye discography, this might be a bitch ass take but i can confirm that Saint Pablo and POWER are his best songs
Lyricism on Saint Pablo makes it angelical, how Ye's voice cracks on "real family stick together and see through the mirage" makes me emotional, i know Sampha's verse from memory and the beat..... the beat is just IT, the flutes, i think those sounds fit perfectly with the song, the song literally explains the mental breakdown Ye had on those times
And POWER..... that shit is MAJESTICAL with capital letters, the sample of afroamerica think it was called is Gorgeous, shi makes me feel POWERFUL, Lyrics are amazing, shows how egoist and powerful and skillful Ye was on that album and i LOVE it, the KABOOMS, the guitar solos, the sample of that band i dont remember the name cause im fucking stupid, the fact that it took 50 hours to be made, idk yall, but this might be my favorite song OF ALL GENERATIONS
submitted by PreferenceDry2920 to GoodAssSub [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 01:47 Easy_Meal_7411 High School math prodigy gets absolutely COOKED

New account, and first time using Reddit other than to browse. Sorry if something goes wrong.
So to preface this I graduated in 2023 and applied to colleges (1st cycle) but chose to take a gap year instead and applied again (2nd cycle). So if you see those, that's what they mean. ALSO PLEASE READ THE ADDITIONAL INFO PART OF THIS POST!!
Here we go:
Demographics
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: South + East Asian
Residence: MD
Income Bracket: 300k?
Type of School: Competitive public
Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None
Intended Major(s): Chemistry (1st cycle), Neuroscience + Linguistics (2nd cycle)
Academics
GPA (UW/W): 3.94 (UW), 4.83 (W)
Rank (or percentile): HS does not rank
Number of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 11 APs, 10 Honors, 1 Dual Enrollment
Senior Year Course Load: Anatomy and Physiology, AP Lang, AP Psych, "Advanced Math" (AKA dual enrollment at CC in advanced differential equations), science intern at two local hospitals (yes it's listed as a course), Molecular Bio
Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.
SAT: 1540 (800 M, 740 R)
ACT: 35 (33M, 35S, 35E, 35R) (didn't submit, though probably wouldn't have hurt)
AP/IB: 4s and 5s on everything except a 3 on AP Lang 💀
Other (ex. IELTS, TOEFL, etc.): N/A
Extracurriculars/Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.
  1. Practiced Japanese calligraphy for over 7 years and received numerous internationally recognized awards and certifications for proficiency and artistic style (1st and 2nd cycle), uploaded samples on my application (1st cycle), but didn't upload (2nd cycle) since my parents advised me not to, and honestly I regret not doing it the 2nd time but too late now
  2. Coxswain of HS Crew, participated in freshman and sophomore year before ending it due to COVID (1st and 2nd cycle)
  3. Volunteer work at a cultural summer camp including leadership roles in engagement, ranked up from junior to senior position (1st and 2nd cycle)
  4. Helped teach students in underserved communities who were struggling in elementary school to learn math and English (1st and 2nd cycle)
  5. Internship at two local hospitals, including communicating with patients and assisting with tasks along with observing healthcare practices & surgery (1st and 2nd cycle)
  6. Extensive preparation to become an EMT, including over 150 hours of mandatory training and involvement in significant realistically simulated scenarios (2nd cycle)
  7. Volunteer position at a local senior memory care facility, involved with both leading and assisting group activities designed for elderly residents (2nd cycle)
  8. Self - studied Python to code and design a program used to identify handwritten digits with over 99% accuracy using concepts from Linear Algebra (2nd cycle)
(9). Self - studied German to where I got a 4 on the AP German test... this, along with my dual enrollment, appeared in part of my additional info section and not in the EC list (1st and 2nd cycle)
Awards/Honors
List all awards and honors submitted on your application.
  1. Numerous awards in Japanese calligraphy for "good work" (1st and 2nd cycle)
  2. CPR and BLS certifications as part of EMT training (2nd cycle)
  3. NASA College Scholarship Award
  4. AATG National German Examination level 2 and 3 bronze awards
  5. Seal of Biliteracy
  6. AP Scholar with distinction
Letters of Recommendation
Teacher: (7/10): So after browsing through this subreddit, it seems like people often overinflate their rec letter ratings. I'd have to say though, my teacher recs must have been pretty good since they won me that NASA scholarship (and the team specifically said that it was the rec letters)!
Counselor: (3/10) I'm just giving it a conservative rating... anyway, this is one thing that was really out of my control, and it's honestly kind of a sad story. My school assigns counselors by name, and I had a counselor that I was particularly close with and would meet with frequently. It was really sad to see her go in my junior year, and so one of the other counselors (still a nice guy) was forced to substitute as ours instead. Needless to say, I didn't have much time to connect with him as much as his other students, and I'm not sure if his letter could have stood out too much from other students that he knew much more.
Interviews
Harvard (1st cycle): (6/10) So, as a first interview, I thought it went quite well. We laughed together and shared our stories of how we grew up and connected through that. It started slightly awkward (video isn't the ideal form of communication) but otherwise went well. Lasted substantially longer than the scheduled time.
UPenn (1st cycle): (5/10) Pretty standard interview. The interviewer was very enthusiastic, but the conversation was a bit more formal and less exciting. Got to know a lot about the school though, so that was good. 45 minutes, not bad.
Dartmouth (2nd cycle) (8/10): Probably my best interview. He shared a lot in common with me and we were able to talk a lot about our cultural similarities and how Dartmouth would be a great fit. It lasted almost 2 hours and we had a great time!
A bit surprised by the lack of interviews, but maybe this is normal.
Essays
I feel like while I thought at the time my essays were good, in hindsight, they probably weren't. I'm inclined to think that my writing ability is not that great, but I tried and gave it a lot of time. For the personal essay, I first wrote about how Japanese calligraphy had given me a new way to see the world, but looking back, I may have looked a bit introverted from the way it was written. For the second cycle, I talked about sports, which looking back I felt was even more of a cliche. I only chose to write about it because at the time it was suggested to me and I thought it could work. I will say, however, that my supplemental essays were probably much better and very school - specific.

Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
FIRST CYCLE: EXTREMELY TOP - HEAVY, DON'T DO THIS UNLESS YOU'RE PREPARED FOR REJECTION!
Acceptances:
UMD (EA) (originally committed but was denied to defer acceptance to next year)
Waitlists (honestly surprised that I didn't get more waitlists):
UChicago (RD) (later rejected)
Rejections:
Berkeley
Caltech (RD)
Columbia (RD)
Harvard (RD)
Johns Hopkins (RD)
MIT (RD)
Princeton (RD)
Stanford (RD)
UCLA
UMich (EA, defer - reject)
UPenn (RD)
Yale (RD)
SECOND CYCLE: Still top - heavy but more balanced with a mix of safeties, targets, and reaches
Acceptances:
Baylor (RD, 23k scholarship), rejected BS/MD
CWRU (RD, 31.5k scholarship) (committed, but may just go to CC tbh), rejected BS/MD
Purdue FYE (RD)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RD, 36k scholarship), rejected BS/MD
SUNY Stony Brook (RD, 28k scholarship), rejected BS/MD
University College London (school in the UK)
Wayne State (RD, 6.5k scholarship), rejected BS/MD
Waitlists (honestly surprised that I didn't get more waitlists):
GWU (RD) (declined waitlist offer), rejected BS/MD
UChicago (RD) (later rejected)
Rejections:
Brown (RD), rejected BS/MD
Cambridge (in the UK)
Cornell (RD)
Dartmouth (RD)
Duke (RD)
Harvard (RD)
Harvey Mudd (RD)
Johns Hopkins (RD)
Northwestern (RD)
UMich (RD)
UPenn (RD)
Vanderbilt (RD)
Also got straight up ghosted by UMD 💀
Additional info/Final thoughts (IMPORTANT):
Extra things that I thought would help me stand out:
I took AP Calc BC in 8th grade and scored a 5 on the AP test (lol this might already give me away), and my middle and high school had to make a special curriculum/arrangement for me (and potential future students who were advanced in their classes).
Also, I was the only person to have dual enrolled in math, after literally running out of math courses to take at my already competitive high school. Diff EQ was no joke, but it was a really useful class and I did very well.
Took every double period and AP science course at least one year ahead of my peers.
I also talked extensively about traveling to Asia in my gap year, and how I utilized my language skills to interact with people. I talked about how it has opened me to new perspectives and how interacting with communities broadened my outlook.
FINAL THOUGHTS: after two years of straight rejections from top schools, I have to say I've been extremely invested in this process, if not anything more than for the sake of my younger brother, who is gonna need as much advice from me as possible given the fierce competition.
So yeah in the end college admissions cooked me to a crisp. Besides my unremarkable personal statement and (possibly) mediocre counselor rec, I really can't understand what went wrong. Maybe this year was just too competitive with test - optional policies, and I'm pretty sure there are kids with <1400 SATs from my school who went TO and got into top schools. Also, I will say that evidently, top schools couldn't care less about your course rigor, at least beyond a certain amount. They don't care that you took AP Physics C in elementary school or can speak 10 languages. I went in with the mindset of "all it takes is one", though I guess even that was too much to ask for :/ Anyway, my #1 piece of advice?
APPLY EARLY. Seriously, I think this was my biggest downfall. I can't believe I didn't learn from my first application cycle, but too late to change that now. THIS APPLIES ESPECIALLY IF YOUR SCHOOL REGULARLY SENDS STUDENTS TO TOP SCHOOLS. It doesn't matter if you have new stuff that you want to show by the regular decision deadline. You can always update stuff in your portal later. If you apply RD, universities may already have selected their share of students from your school. Honestly given how UChicago heavily pads their yield, I might have been accepted had I applied ED there. Or maybe JHU. I don't even know :/
I will say though, I think Purdue was an interesting outlier. Even though their engineering program is quite competitive (especially OOS), they specifically reached out to me and asked for my CC dual enrollment grade which no other university did. I think that compelled them to offer me admission, and turning them down was a really hard decision that I still don't even know was the right move. I am extremely grateful for that though.
Still, I'm honestly feeling quite lost considering all my work, but looks like I might just go to CC atp. What makes it even worse is that it's looked down upon by every person in my school community and even by my parents and relatives. At least I'll save money, right?
Also remember if you're reading this and you didn't get into a top college, DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED. This sub has an INSANE amount of response bias, and post titles like "clutching an ivy" or "scored a miracle" just aren't representative and you shouldn't compare yourself to them. Not everyone gets a satisfactory outcome and you aren't alone. For the sake of your happiness, if you're applying to top universities, just expect to get rejected from all of them. Don't bank on getting into one of them even if you think you are talented or extraordinary in some regard. Chances are that they just don't care. And unless you think you can do something remarkable in a gap year, don't take one just to reapply. It's just not worth it.
Anyway, vent over. It doesn't really matter anyway, I'll crush those transfer apps 😌
submitted by Easy_Meal_7411 to collegeresults [link] [comments]


2024.06.01 01:21 ITTechStudent CHANCEME: Latino Student with a Love for People & STEM

Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing well! I wanted to reach out to y'all for some advice on my chances of getting into Stanford and suggestions for potential schools. I'm an 11th-grade high school student passionate about promoting global health and environmental sustainability through innovative scientific research and technology. Demographics Age: 16 Citizenships: Mexico, Australia, and The United States of America Languages: Fluent in both Spanish and English Household Income: <$150,000 Hooks: Latino, Stanford Alumni (kind of), Underrepresented Demographic, Inmigrant Parents. School: Small, rural. (~300 students K-12) Academic Background Interested Major: Mechanical Engineering and International Relations GPA: 4.4/4.0 University Courses: 18 (so far) college-level higher and upper-division courses at local university (only student to do this + no APs). SAT: 1520 (780 Math/740 ELA) Extracurriculars Clubs: Engineering Club (President & Founder, 2+ years), Mental Health Club (President & Founder, 3+ years), Environmental Justice Club (member, 3+ years), Music Club (member, 1+ years). Community Service: Founder and President of country-wide organization on mental health club, promoting mental health awareness. Student council and student body president. Library Advisory Board member. School Advisory Board member. Making food for the unhoused (we have one of the country's highest rates of unhoused individuals). Mental health board member. Latino community outreach. Youth board member of substance abuse nonprofit. Helping professors set up online teaching during the pandemic. Provided technical support to faculty and teachers. Community Activism: I've been to my state capitol multiple types of lobbying meetings, meeting with congress and senate members' staffers, rallies, and marches for topics of mental health and climate change. I sent nearly five thousand text messages with the Bernie Sanders Presidential Campaign in 2016 and 2020 and nearly 100 phone calls with voters. Tabeling outside of libraries and universities to get people to register to vote. Workshops: Led various workshops for teens in my community (located at my school and local library with 100+ attendees). Internships: Assistant to the Director of Information Technology and Networking at my school district, internship in environmental science and sustainability (5 weeks). Aerospace Engineering: Worked on the development of a CubeSat satellite, launched in 2020 (also youngest presenter at the annual CubeSat developer conference at Cal Poly). Book Publications: Two book chapter publications for psychology textbooks, multiple research publications, and conference presentations. In-Progress: Physics, Psychology, and International Relations research. Passions/Other Interests Academic Interests: I am interested in sleep science, engineering, diverse cultures, and disruptive technologies shaping our world. Advocacy: Actively involved in political activism, lobbying for environmental legislation, social justice, promoting climate action, interviewed on the radio about climate change, organized multiple youth mental health conferences, presented to city council on new Senate Bill and suggesting implementation methods. Performing Arts: Trained in classical piano (12+ years), participated in theatrical productions and vocal training. Rock Climber: I've been a recreational rock climber since I was 8. Tennis: I've been playing tennis with friends and family since I was 4 years old. My school doesn't have any sports teams; otherwise, I'd be on it. Hiking: I've been hiking and backpacking from a young age. Leadership: I am extremely involved in my community, serving on multiple different boards at my school, local, state, and national levels.
Achievements Publications: Published articles on sleep science, performance-enhancing sleep in athletes, and several other more specific topics. Lab Work: This summer, I'm working in two labs with faculty related to my interests. Two publications at the end of the summer. Research Presentations: 7 presentations: Western Psychological Association, Cal Poly, and a local university. A+ Certified: (IT Certificate) Human Subjects Certified: Certified by the State of California to conduct research with humans. Specific Engineering Challenge Winner Essays They are not written yet but I have excellent responses in mind. Most likely 9/10, if not 10/10. Letters of Recommendation Physics and Astronomy Professor. 10/10. I've known him for 9 years. He's been a great friend and mentor to me. I've taken his classes since I was nine, and we have gone to plenty of events/science fiction conventions with him. Math Teacher. 9/10. Former Stanford grad. He's been my math teacher since 7th grade and helped me develop as a person. Recently, he has coached me a bit on the SAT for free after class since he was an SAT tutor before becoming a math teacher. Chemistry Teacher. 9/10. I've known her for four years; she's a really big activist and has been an important mentor to me. Schools Reach: Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard (just for fun!) Target: Cal Poly, Cal Poly SLO, UC Davis Safety: UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly Humboldt, Lewis and Clark. I am passionate about positively impacting the world; Stanford has always been my dream school and my friends and family have said it would be a good personal fit but after seeing everyone here with their awesome ECs, I feel like I don't stand too much of a chance. I don't know what other schools would be good to look at when I don't get accepted. Do you have any suggestions? I would love to hear your thoughts on my chances of getting into Stanford based on my background and experiences. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all in advance for your time and insights. Wishing you all the best! Note: I'm probably missing a few things but eh, doesn't really matter.
submitted by ITTechStudent to chanceme [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 22:53 Signal_Leave_1541 Certificate Requirements - Certificate of Non-Existence

I've confirmed with NARA and USCIS that there are no naturalization records for my Great Great Grandfather in the US. Great Great Grandfather arrived here in the US from Italy in 1910, had my Great Grandfather in 1921 and my Grandfather in 1944 (who is living).
So I've requested the Certificate of Non-Existence from USCIS as a result of this development. My question is, do I need to prove that my Great Grandfather never renounced Citizenship? Curious if anything is necessary here.
Thanks!
Edit:
Just received this response for anyone looking to get a certificate of non-existence from USCIS: "Please allow 28-30 weeks for processing of all requests relating to Certificate of Non Existence. All requests are processed in the order in which they are received to our office."
submitted by Signal_Leave_1541 to juresanguinis [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 22:06 super_hot_juice Cinema Pro: (almost) Definitive guide to Why and How to use it + tips & hacks

Cinema Pro is no more and none of its features are getting ported into new app Video Pro mode, so this is a perfect opportunity to release this (almost) definite guide as to when and how to record video footage in Cinema Pro. All of us are pretty much aware of most its shortcomings this app has but we are not going to complain or talk about them here, instead we are going to celebrate EOL of Cinema Pro.
I could bet my pet that about 90% of Xperia users ain’t touching Cinema Pro because they feel uncomfortable using it, that includes mobile camera enthusiasts. Instead, they go to BASIC Video or Video Pro and I don’t blame them as learning curve in Cinema Pro is pretty steep but on the other hand this camera app has very flexible workflow and results can be stunning if you practice enough.
So, first things first, none of the video camera apps will make your videos gorgeous by itself. Filming a video, much like a taking a photo, is all about framing your shot. Keep in mind that Cinema Pro is meant for static shots and short pans due to lack of auto ISO adjustments. If your shot is poorly framed not even a Burano can save your butt. Frame your shot properly before you even touch record button. But before you even do that here are few things you should read first to get yourself familiar with Cinema Pro.

Here is what Cinema Pro offers and can do that other Xperia camera apps can’t.
CLIP METADATA
This probably was not your first thought I was gonna bring up, right? Unlike Video Pro which does not save any advanced metadata in video clips Cinema Pro does and it does it quite good.
When you go to Cinema Library and play any clip inside your project (not final video) you can tap on ellipsis at upper right corner and choose Details. Brown window will pop up with following metadata such as ~resolution~ and ~FPS~ but besides that we also get ~Look~ we picked, ~Lens~, ~Stabilization~, ~WB~, ~ISO~, ~Shutter~ speed, ~Focus~ and ~Audio~ level. If we import the clip in desktop software we also get ~bit depth~, ~color space~, ~EOTF~, ~format~, etc.
Why is this important? If you are really making a video project there is a great chance that you imported those clips on your desktop OS and that you are editing or retouching them inside some desktop software. Desktop software has power of utilizing metadata for your convenience when manipulating and exporting the video, matching shots, doing color correction or just doing offline editing.
This will make your life a lot easier. As you will see in my sample footage below, I’ve actually automated the burn-in with the Cinema Pro clip metadata (Looks, WB, Shutter, etc.) to make each clip display the metadata on-screen without me having to punch it in manually.
METERING
If you don’t have Metering bar enabled in your UI you are doing it wrong. Go to yellow hamburger menu to the right and tap Customize DISP and make sure you have Metering Manual set to ON.
Again, what is this important? Because of two things. Cinema Pro dims the display all the time when it’s running for some reason (presumably to better show HLG result on screen) so if you have Xperia 1, 1II, 1III, PRO-I you will be struggling to see anything while being outdoors. Situation is not any better on 1IV and 1V but it’s more usable. Do not trust your display when it comes to exposure. Instead trust your Metering bar and always shoot around 0 if possible, you will thank me for this once you view your clip on a HDR UHD TV. If it’s too bright outside you can try lowering the shutter speed to level the exposure just make sure do not have fast moving subjects in frame such as cars because it will look choppy.
Second, we’ve already established that Cinema Pro is meant for static shots or gentle panning but if you have to do something “wild” such as POV or going from one lighting condition to other (and sometimes that means just a simple camera tilt from ground up to the sky) you will need Metering to try to find the middle value. Do a test run without recording first and pay attention at the meter to see how many stops is the spread between one frame to another. Lets say you adjusted ISO/Shutter for the 0 at the beginning of your camera movement and once your done with the move metering is showing +2. In that case you will need to set your beginning value at -1 in order to get to +1 in the end to contain both highlights and shadows. Just keep in mind that most of the time your aggressive tilts will be ranging from 0 to well above or under -/+2 and in that case, you will have to rethink what you want to do. That’s right Cinema Pro is a slow burn and unnecessary methodical because it applies cine camera philosophy to crappy mobile sensors.
WDR with Stabilization
Here is another one that is not available inside BASIC or Video Pro unless you have 5V or 1VI device. WDR or Wide Dynamic Range option is made for Cinema Pro period. Cinema Pro was pretty much useless until WDR options popped up in PRO-I. So, what does it do? It records three frames at once and then stack them together to make one frame. Camera is recording at 120fps and then outputs 30/25/24 fps as final result hence why it’s not available at 60fps in any app. Using WDR in Cinema Pro you contain the highlights which is impossible to do in SDR mode unless you are in some dimmed environment.
General rule is to always have the WDR on but if you can do it without do it. There is no false color option in Cinema Pro but if you toggle between WDR and SDR you will see blown out highlights in SDR as some mushy color on display. It’s quite easy to spot the difference. Unlike in Video Pro in Cinema Pro WDR does not introduce purple cast in dark/black areas when shooting in low(er)-light conditions. Cinema Pro has a bigger threshold when shooting in low-light before introduces purple cast in blacks compared to Video Pro as long as you do not shoot in N/A Look (you shouldn’t be shooting in N/A like ever but more on that later). Video Pro utilizes WDR quite poorly, in daylight scenes it drops the gain making dark areas even darker which boosts the contrast to a point where you get that Pixel zombie decomposition like human faces. Cinema Pro does NOT do that, instead it only affects the highlights mostly.
Drawback of WDR in both Cinema Pro and Video Pro requires separate paragraph because it’s a big issue. Whenever you have high frequency texture in your shot such as tiny rubble road (asphalt) or stone mosaic wall you will get texture floating effect like texture is rearranging itself. It’s super trippy. That issue persists because development team didn’t master the frame stacking while filming. Those three frames that get to be one do not alight properly with the next stacked frame when it comes to big areas with tiny patterns.
But one good thing that also requires its own paragraph is video stabilization with HLG WDR option turned on. As previously mentioned, that combo is not possible in Video Pro or BASIC modes but it is in Cinema Pro. How? Well Cinema Pro crops top and bottom of 16:9 footage to 21:9 so it has some wiggle room to give as some basic stabilization. Stabilization is nothing spectacular but it doesn’t crop in the image in order to enable stabilization like Video Pro does. In other words, it doesn’t take Video Pro stabilized cropped in frame to enable stabilization. It shoots native UHD which is really important to preserve the quality unlike both Video Pro and BASIC that crop in UHD frame to turn on stabilization and then upscale the frame back to UHD. Cinema Pro does not do that.
Video sample: WATCH 4K wobbly texture issue in WDR, pay attention to black carpet
NIGHTSHOOTING
Cinema Pro does really good night shots due to its flexibility to adjust Looks and auto white balance which I think is superior to Video Pro/BASIC. Funny things is that all of the exposure environment shortcomings during the daytime are not such a big deal during the night time because streets are evenly lit by light poles. So you have more freedom to pan, tilt and walk around while filming in Cinema Pro at night time then during the day. Here is a winning combo to make the night shot as good as possible: ~SDR + VENICE CS + AUTO WB unlocked~. Pretty straight forward. I find VENICE CS greatest strength to be default Look for nighttime as it’s easy on ISO, doesn’t boost contrast and has the least noise compared to some other looks. That doesn’t mean you can’t play around with the Looks during the night, if street lighting is annoyingly yellow you can use Cool/Blue60 +A to introduce some cool gray into the mix. And with the mention of other color profiles this brings us to the most important and the biggest feature of Cinema Pro, the Looks section.
LOOKS + TEMPERATURE + A/B + G/M Adjustments
This alone is the biggest deal in Cinema Pro app and this alone is what most of the users have no idea how to tweak and manipulate. If you thought rack focus is the number one feature in Cinema Pro, well I can assure you it’s number two right after this super flexible image manipulation output. Before we start discussing looks you have to keep in mind there is one factor in equation here and that’s Whitebalance. Most of the users stick with VENICE CS and don’t use any other look because by default all the looks are in your face when left in Auto whitebalance mode. Even less users who default to VENICE CS fiddle with whitebalance to unlock the full potential of image looks manipulation. Before you start playing with the looks you have to go to yellow hamburger menu and ~change WB MODE to TEMPERATURE~ instead of Preset.
With Temperature mode turned on you now have the option to set desired temperature in kelvins as well as to play with A/B and G/M sliders. What those sliders do? AB slider stands for Amber and Blue but names are inverted on axis so B will be to the left and A to the right. You can actually go quite wild with AB as our eyes are a lot less sensitive to warm and cold adjustments. GM slider stands for Green and Magenta and axis works just as the letters, green to the left and magenta to the right. GB sliders requires quite slight nudges in both directions because our eyes perceive color tilt very aggressively. You might want to use GB slider to adjust for human skin or just go artistic on a certain look.
You might ask yourself what the difference between setting up temperature and pushing AB sliders and I could tell you the order it needs to be done to make a proper impact on the picked Look.
1. You always adjust Temperature first. Between 4700K and 5500K is considered daylight in Cinema Pro (forget 6500K as you will crush it with amber). That’s at least how my eyes perceive it. If you pick lets say Strong/Blue100 look you will want to go to 7000K to neutralize it and then add some of A to make it shift from cold to warm look. Oh yeah it’s possible, so suddenly you just changed the bluest of the blue looks into yellow look.
2. Now you fiddle with AB/GM sliders for finer adjustments. AB will have more of an impact if you stick between 4700K-5500K but if you go below or over those Kelvins AB slider will get weaker. GM slider on the other hand will stay powerful and affect any highlight there is in an image.
3. Combine these two to completely alter any Look you pick.
*In order to follow the Looks description and how you could manipulate them, I will provide the links with video samples down below so you could watch them while reading the rest of the post.
WATCH 4K separate clips in order as described
WATCH 4K all the clips combined into one movie file following the order of description
(all files are in Rec2020 + eotf gamma 2.4 for better color representation but stripped of HDR)
Shot setup consists of warm neutral headphones, white coffee cup, glass of water to see highlights behavior and ugly yellow table and green trees. It's a shame I forgot to put red pack of cigarettes or something as reds are crazy different depending on the look you choose.
Soft/Yellow40 gain req: high contrast: lowest texture: softest grade: non-unifying offset: medium hdr: bright
This is the very interesting one and when combined with the right scene it can look marvelous. Soft look is your Orange & Teal go to look pretty much. It’s not very obvious but it’s not subtle either. One of the major traits of this look is really the softer image, not as sharp as let’s say Bright but because of that it mitigates artifacts quite nicely. Keep in mind that this look requires quite a gain so you will be boosting ISO until you reach the 0 in almost every situation. But because this looks require lots of additional stops it’s very grateful for bright environments. It has medium contrast but it can propel highlights quite high, things like neon signs look like glowing neon signs so it has a strong HDR effect which can clip easy. It doesn’t have unifying image trait, so if you are into color graded look this one will not offer that. That’s kind of a given considering it’s balancing out between orange and teal. If you want to unify it then your best bet is to shift it toward cool temperature or push A slider all the way to the left while introducing some magenta with M slider to the right. Soft/Yellow60 can’t completely switch from all blue to all yellow so it’s altering offset limit is medium.
Auto WB look for Soft/Yellow40 is quite decent but if you have some yellow patches, they will pick up some green tint. To remedy that just add some M like 1.x and add splash of Amber like 1.5 to 3 to be sure. If you want to cool down the image just drop Kelvins down or go crazy with B slider. On the other hand if you want to neutralize to get as close to white as possible you will need to add M1.5 or more together with cooler Kelvins. If you are shooting neutrals with this Look make sure you kill green cause it will overtake the whole image.
Where this Look kicks some major but is in a scene where you have brown wood veneer and blue/teal walls or panels. You will get an awesome O&T look out of it.

Opaque/Blue20/Yellow60 gain req: medium contrast: medium texture: sharp grade: unifying offset: medium hdr: medium
Another one that gets overlooked due to poor AUTO WB looks. When set to default WB it looks muddy and sepia like so most of us don’t know what to do with it. You will be shocked now if I tell you this should be your 2nd go to Look right after Bright. Yup, VENICE CS is not even in top two and I will elaborate why when we get to it. One thing to know in order to use this look you need to modify it from the get go. You need to kill that yellow and boost ISO for a stop or stop and half compared to Bright.
Opaque is great for skintones as they are easily adjusted with AB/GM sliders. Image is very creamy despite having enough clarity and medium contrast. If you underexpose you get some deeper contrast without ruining the creamy image. It’s great for shooting outdoor people gatherings, landscapes on a mute and cloudy day or any outdoor activity. Indoor is kind of tricky due to tungsten lighting but manageable although its not as appetizing as outdoor shots. Keep in mind when shooting at golden hour you will need deeper adjustments to get that sepia out and get the gold in. On any other condition it’s super easy to neutralize the image, you don’t have to push temperature nor sliders too far to get it just right. HDR effect is subtle and not over the top, proper medium and saturation is quite clever despite being a sepia preset. Colors are not muted by any means unless they have some brown in them. If you are a fan of grading I could assure you Opaque has quite unifying image effect no matter if you shoot warm, neutral or cold which is great. Transforming the look to complete cold or warm is tricky as it always keep that mud/sepia yellow in highlights.
To neutralize the look at daytime all you have to do is drop the temp around 4000K or push B slider to your liking. You can always do cold temperature to kill sepia and bring back some heat by pushing A slider. If you want to shoot gold tones then keep it around 5000K and adjust A to your liking while balancing GM.
This look produces super deep and rich reds, amazing reds. And if you combine that red with something beige or sand color like you will get a match made in heaven. Filming bars with brown furnishing packed with people is a treat as well. Shooting at night time in street lights is also a treat for this look.

Cool/Blue60 gain req: med to hi contrast: medium texture: sharp grade: very unifying offset: low hdr: medium
In a nutshell this is a faux bleach bypass or silver look if adjusted right. Together with Soft this has to be the most creative usage look offered. Unlike Soft this one is very easy to setup and results are sharp. At the first glance users might be confused what’s the difference between this one and Strong/BU100 as both look quite similar in Auto WB mode. But once you go out of auto look and start adjusting it soon you figure out that Cool/BU60 look has no vibrance and that’s what makes all the difference compared to all other looks. Gain adjustment to get to 0 is only like 1 stop compared to Bright or VENICE CS. Clarity is right on the par with others and contrast at proper sweet spot. HDR effect is tad bit mute but not by much and it works. And now if you ever wanted a look that makes the whole image like its graded as a whole, look no further (pun intended) than this one.
If you pay close attention, you can tell from the get go that this has silver look to it but it just needs to be released. Those familiar with bleach bypass look will know exactly what to expect from this one. If left in Auto WB you will get nothing but as soon as you dial A slider in more than a half you are waking it up slowly. If you want to get rid of the major blue cast you want to push temperature to 7000K and adjust sliders to your liking. If you drop the exposure, you will get that dramatic film look. Again, this look is quite easy to work with but it’s not flexible, don’t expect major transformations on the other end. It’s a one trick pony and it does that very well.
The best-case scenario for Cool is street photography with lots of metal on it. Cars, machines and silver or gray stuff blend in while human skin remain distinguishable. Interior shots are also great if you have to render a cold, clinical environment like office or a hospital or police station. It’s also your go to look if you want to make anticipation in the video.

Strong/Blue100 gain req: high contrast: low texture: soft grade: very unifying offset: highest hdr: bright
Turn day into a night and night into dusk. This is the most flexible look as it can get from one spectrum to the other without much casting. It’s not called strong for nothing; it really grades the whole image with a single hue. Despite being in your face it actually keeps the contrast on lower side which is very good as you can always dial it in with drop of exposure. Clipping in highlights can occur because of the nature it unifies the picture.
Because this look can go from cool to fire it can get neutral, although neutralizing it is not that simple affair as it’s with Opaque. Best way to get there is to adjust temperature. If hanging around neutral you will get image with blue cast over it. The way I see it this one is supposed to be opposite of Opaque while hitting harder. You might find some creative usage for this one if you want to go abstract and saturated. Similar to Soft look if you film contrast scene that has both cold and warm hues in it you will get that cross axis between the two and nothing in between.

Bright/Blue20/Yellow60 gain req: low contrast: highest texture: sharpest grade: non-unifying offset: low hdr: brightest
Your first go to profile when filming with Cinema Pro. It’s the closest one to Video Pro and closest one that looks like regular picture profile. If you are not looking for a creative look or any look in general this is it. It requires little to no gain adjustment which means it will not suffer from gain artifacts, it has the highest contrast and sharpest details for that mainstream image look (I do not count N/A as picture profile). But right now, there is a huge flaw that has to be addressed with this profile; it can’t capture pure reds no matter what. All reds are burgundy or violet unfortunately. But it nails down blues and teals like a pro.
On the other side it is super easy to balance out the image, its super easy to shift it to warm, cold, green or magenta. There is a quite big of a spread in temperature before image gets painted blue or yellow. It requires small nudges and results are visible right away. It plays well with the skin tones, no issues there. Where it excels is the HDR highlights. This profile kills it when there is shimmer in the view, metallics and all kinds of crazy and contrast stuff. HDR effect is exaggerated and it looks so oomph on a TV. Bright also nails down auto wb from the box so you can set it to auto and forget about it. Overall, it’s easiest to work with and sunny outdoors are a treat for the eyes. Usage of this profile equals that of Video Pro so you can use it anywhere you like. Video Pro is the direct competitor to this Look and while Video Pro can do saturated reds Bright/BU20/YE60 has a tad bit more organic feel despite being quite similar.
This is general purpose Look and being like that it doesn’t offer color grading effect nor it has any offset abilities of color transformation (unless you go completely blue 3200K or completely yellow 7500K).

VENICE CS gain req: low contrast: high texture: sharp grade: non-unifying offset: low hdr: bright
Default look and the one that’s most talked about and the one that most people use. First of all the look itself is fine but it is rather limited. It has nothing to do with Venice color science but it doesn’t have to honestly. It emulates log like image but without any flexibility of the log. It has very low ISO requirements and it’s the brightest look out of them all. Like mentioned above that makes it a go to look for low light shots. All other aspects of this look are almost on par with Bright look so I think these two go hand in hand when you want to lay off saturation and dial down blacks. In other words, don’t try to bring in VENICE CS footage into post to try to bring back vividness. It doesn’t work but that’s why there is Bright look for stuff like that. Unlike Bright look VENICE CS can capture red colors properly.
If you want to shoot haze, mist and other soft scenes VENICE CS is a dream. If you generally want to shoot relaxing stuff VENICE CS is the one to go for. Just don’t treat it as a log footage but rather as a looks footage. HDR is bright enough and it contains highlights really good. When it comes to exposure its quite flexible so margin of error is low.

Warm/Yellow80 gain req: medium contrast: high texture: sharp grade: most-unifying offset: lowest hdr: medium
This is supposed to be opposite of Cool, at least in theory. In reality we have a huge cast of orange and brown all over the screen. It’s really strong color cast and you can only manipulate it do a certain degree. It doesn’t require high ISO, it has deep contrast, good clarity and it contains highlights in HDR. On the artistic department there is vey little you can do with this. Cast is like three times stronger sepia of Opaque look. The only use case I found is when you want to turn something into golden look. Just like how Cool is silver look Warm is supposed to be gold look. But again, to my eyes it aligns more to Opaque deeper side than actual warm/gold. Shooting some neutral-colored scenery and cooling down the temperature below 4000K might give some artistic effect. This is a very limited look to play with.
There is nothing to say about N/A and Soft Monochrome except that you should never shoot in N/A it’s just horrible and if you want BW video you at least have an option.

So conclusion, Cinema Pro besides all of its shortcomings and some are pretty serious, has few features of brilliance that were never ever seen in any camera app third-party or OEM before and most likely we will never see those features again. Sony’s biggest sin with Cinema Pro is not omission of features but rather NOT improving up on what’s already in there. They just let it rot. I guess at one moment at it’s inception Cinema Pro had a great roadmap where it should go but then new management came in and shifted focus from cinema video to photography and v-logging.
Cinema Pro is dead, long live Cinema Pro. Go ahead and make some projects with it.
submitted by super_hot_juice to SonyXperia [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 21:18 Particular_Target521 Ghost update?

Hi everyone, I received this letter from IRCC today, ”This confirms that your application for permanent residence in Canada has been received by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on 2024/04/22.”, is this the so called AOR for PR? then I immediately checked on the official website but there is no update, is this a ghost update? How today is May 31st but it says April 22nd is a little confusing to me.
submitted by Particular_Target521 to ImmigrationCanada [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 20:11 MayaBehati If you have dual citizenship - can you avoid military service in Azerbaijan?

The other country is part of the UN and doesn't have compulsory military service. Would you have to renounce Azerbaijani citizenship or can it be kept but the service avoided?
I'm sorry for asking such a delicate question, I know it's societaly loaded, as well as very personal at the same time.
submitted by MayaBehati to azerbaijan [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 20:10 GCIlanguageIELTS Achieve Your Language Goals with the CELPIP General Test

The CELPIP General Test is a critical assessment tool for individuals aspiring to achieve their Canadian immigration and citizenship goals. This comprehensive English language proficiency test evaluates your abilities in listening, reading, writing, and speaking, ensuring you meet the language requirements for various Canadian immigration pathways. Here’s a closer look at what the CELPIP General Test entails, its uses, preparation strategies, and how GCI Language can help you excel.
What is the CELPIP General Test?
The CELPIP (Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program) General Test is designed to assess functional English language skills in everyday situations. It covers four key areas:
· Listening: Understanding spoken English in various contexts.
· Reading: Comprehending written English from different sources.
· Writing: Communicating ideas clearly and effectively in written form.
· Speaking: Demonstrating proficiency in spoken English through structured responses.
Uses of the CELPIP General Test
The CELPIP General Test is primarily used for:
· Permanent Residency Applications: Meeting the language proficiency requirements set by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
· Citizenship Applications: Demonstrating the necessary language skills for Canadian citizenship.
· Professional Designations: Satisfying language criteria for various professional bodies and associations in Canada.
Preparing for the CELPIP General Test
Effective preparation is crucial for achieving high scores on the CELPIP General Test. Here are some strategies:
· Understand the Test Format: Familiarize yourself with the structure and types of questions in each section.
· Practice Regularly: Engage in consistent practice using sample tests and exercises to improve your skills.
· Enhance Your Language Skills: Focus on improving your listening, reading, writing, and speaking abilities through various English language resources.
· Take Practice Tests: Simulate test conditions by taking practice tests to build your confidence and time management skills.
Achieve Success with GCI Language
GCI Language in Surrey, British Columbia, is your ideal partner for CELPIP preparation. Here’s why:
· Expert Instructors: Learn from certified and experienced instructors who specialize in CELPIP test preparation.
· Personalized Coaching: Benefit from tailored instruction that addresses your individual strengths and weaknesses.
· Comprehensive Resources: Access a wide range of study materials, practice tests, and feedback mechanisms designed to enhance your performance.
· Supportive Environment: Thrive in a supportive and motivating learning environment that fosters your language growth and confidence.
By choosing GCI Language for your CELPIP coaching, you can maximize your potential and achieve your language goals. Invest in your future with expert guidance and comprehensive support from GCI Language, and pave the way to your success in Canada.
Join our vibrant community of language enthusiasts at GCILanguage and let's embark on a transformative CELPIP journey together.
If you have any further questions, you can reach us directly at +1 604-755-4334 in Surrey. We will be happy to assist you and answer any questions you may have.
To learn more about GCI Language Centre and its CELPIP preparation courses in Surrey, visit https://gcilanguage.com/ today.

submitted by GCIlanguageIELTS to u/GCIlanguageIELTS [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 20:02 thetexalien Green Card in Hand! PD: December 2023

Hello everyone! I'm happy to share my approval and finally having my green card in my hand as of yesterday! Thank you every one in this sub for their support and wishes, and I hope that all of you can get approved soon!
Here are the dates about my case:
Notes about my case: Visa overstay from Mexico, DACA recipient, no major issues with the law, bachelor's degree, same job for over five years, living in Texas.
Notes about marriage: Same sex marriage, met SO years ago, started relationship two years ago, living together for over a year, a bit less married, courthouse marriage with no family/friends present, joint checking account, joint auto insurance.
Notes about application: Through lawyer (same one that has handled my DACA initial app and renewal), sent medical exam with initial application, both our IDs have the same address (since we're living together), 20+ photos indicating what/where/who the photo is (trips, vacation, with friends, etc.), printouts of SO being my beneficiary, joint bank account statements, paystubs for both, last income tax for both of us, auto insurance showing both our names, and trip itineraries.
Other notes: No biometrics taken (using the same ones from DACA EAD), no RFEs, no interviews, conditional green card.
I hope these notes can help some of you through your journey. I would also recommend not logging into this sub often, and that it is OK to have feelings when others get approved, we are human, we feel, but we also celebrate other's approvals.
This step of the journey is done, and I am grateful and thankful for having such an amazing partner that has supported me in every step of the way. What's next? In 21 months to apply to remove the green card conditions, and three years from now, to try to apply for citizenship, the ultimate achievement for many of us, but for now, to finally go visit my family, and take advantage of this opened freedom, time to take over the world. Or not, your choice.
Stay strong, stay focused, stay productive, your approvals will come.
Feel free to make any questions, hopefully my answers could be helpful!
submitted by thetexalien to USCIS [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 19:16 Previous-Middle5961 Why do so many people oppose Luka?

Please be polite with responses, I'm honestly not trying to be a jerk or glorify the Batka, I was there during the protests and it was shocking how the police acted so I get it. But what I'm saying is. When in my personal life experiences, after living both places I compare life in the US or western Europe to Belarus, I like Belarus much more.
I'm a German-American, my grandparents were German immigrants to the USA. My brother had moved back to Germany so I've been to Europe a number of times to visit him. Im from "the rust belt" (my city is Detroit Michigan) aptly named because there's nothing here but crime, poverty, abandoned buildings and drug addiction.
In 2017 is when i first started going to Europe to visit my brother and see the continent. I stopped in Frankfurt and you leave the train station and theres just homeless people and heroin addicts lining up and down the street, sleeping standing up, some looking like they are about to die. You turn left and go one block and you are in the "red light district" with a bunch of hollow eyed broken young women standing outside apartment buildings And ready to sell their body for 40 euros. I went to darmstadt to visit my brother and you get off at the train station and go out the exit to the right, and there's a camp of migrants from Africa, all laying around drinking bottles of alcohol and screaming loudly and aggressively, France the same way, at any moment in Paris or Dijon, aggressive migrants can demand cigarettes or money, it was entirely shocking to me to see in Paris people I assume were native French, quiet as a mouse, eyes pointed at the ground, trying to avoid catching anyone's attention. And it's the same in the USA, violent crime is so out of control that living in cities or using public transportation is impossible, unless you live in like a gated community that damn near doubles as like a fortress with private security life in many major cities in the US is horrible.
Then I met my Wife, a Belarusian, we settled in Minsk, had a child, lived there until the war started and my bank card from the US stopped working so I couldn't access my money. We then moved to Georgia, and began the green card process and got my daughter her dual citizenship and second (American) passport. I was in Minsk when Mike Pompeo came and Orban and Lukashenko was kind of taunting Putin by saying he will bring Trump to Belarus next and move into the US orbit. I was there for Covid, the election. The protests.
All of my friends despised Lukashenko aside from one or 2, and I saw first hand the public outcry. And I never understood it, to me, when I compare Belarus to America or Europe, Belarus seems the best country in the world. Safe, clean, my daughter could actually go outside and play and there was no fear of like a drive by shooting or some other craziness like in the USA. I understand the desire for freedom, but after living in the US, EU, and Belarus. I came to feel that there is a different kind of freedom in Belarus. There is not the freedom to talk badly about the president, a guy you'll never met or interact with. But there is freedom not to go bankrupt from medical bills, there is freedom of movement because public transportation is cheap and reliable.
My wife and I moved to the USA, I got my old job back. In Belarus I had been doing online work and a few side hustles here and there and I made about 1200 a month from my job, and I had some apps that reward you for say doing quizzes and surveys for business and you can make 1 dollar and 50 cents a day, so like 50 a month and I had 2 or 3 different ones each giving us 50 a month. My wife was getting either 200 or 250 rubles a month for her child pension for having a baby and before that had been making about 200 dollars a month at her teaching job, plus was doing private tutoring lessons making about 400 a month in total. Our bills combined, food, housing etc. Was only around 500 a month, and this was with living a rather extravagant lifestyle, much more then just the basics. We were able to save enough to go on trips to Egypt, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Italy, Spain.
We come back to the USA I'm making 5,500 a month, it's a fairly high wage. But I pay 2,000 in rent, 1200 for 3 health insurance( the cheapest available, turns out it basically doesn't cover anything) 250 for dental insurance, 500 for car payment,300 for car insurance, 1000 for day care, and 500 for heat and gas. Once we add in groceries each week I'm left with nothing. My wife needed an ultrasound for some reproductive issues a couple weeks ago, even with insurance they charged us 2500 dollars, and the worst part is they didn't even do anything, did the ultrasound, told us what we already knew, didn't provide any help, and send a letter demanding money.
The US health system is really like that meme where the one Wojack says " my stomach hurts really badly" then the chad doctor says " your lying. OK pay me 50,000"
Because of all this stuff, my wife started a tiktok where she does videos comparing life in the USA to life in Belarus/Russia/Ukraine and the entire comment section is filled with Slavic speakers who have never been to America saying it's all lies and America is awesome, "why don't you return to your fucking Russia ?" Well, we are, we are in the process of returning now, because life is so much better in Belarus then here.
Sorry for how long winded this us, but it's important to understand my background with Belarus to understand why I don't have problems with the Belarusian government. Now I'm not Belarusian, so I'm of course not trying to command the Belarusian people, I just feel that if Belarus became like western Europe or the US alot of people would end up regretting it, and that if you experienced both Belarus and the USA you might really begin to appreciate Belarus more and resent change.
Tldr: An American immigrant to Belarus that feels Belarus is like a paradise compared to the west. Safe, clean, orderly, low cost of living, better quality food instead of the American mcslop with extra high fructose corn syrup and concentrated soy, better medicine, daycare, a government that actually makes it easy to start a family. And I don't understand why people hate the government so much, they are all dictatorships that ignore whatever the people say. Ireland right now the government did several referendums on lgbtq stuff and migration. 70% of the people vote no. Government says too bad and does it anyways. It's the same in the USA, our government does not represent or care or listen to the peoples interests. The billionaires pick who will be in charge, and then just switch the faces every 4 or 8 years, buy the policies of the government never change, no matter how hard people vote. There is legal bribery ( it's called lobbying) and then the politicians do whatever the billionaire that bribed them the most wants
submitted by Previous-Middle5961 to belarus [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 18:27 OkExplorer3083 Seeking advice: Renunciation of Malaysia citizenship (Minor by descent)

Hi, would like to ask for advice from anyone who had went through this process. I turned 21 years old last year and had renounced my Malaysian citizenship at the high commission of Malaysia. I was told to wait for the letter to be mailed once the BORANG K was ready & did not have to contact the high comm for 1 year.
It has been a year and I have not received the letter. I am a little worried, may I know if there’s anyone who had went through this and roughly how long did you have to wait for the letter to be mailed? Planning to email/call them up to ask next week, anyone has any advice? Would really appreciate it, thank you 🙏
submitted by OkExplorer3083 to askSingapore [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 17:49 Crows77 B2 Visa interview - purely tourism

I have a BNO passport (born in HK before 1997) and I will be flying from Hong Kong to Toronto for a wedding. Since I will be nearby, I plan to visit NYC - mainly for the food and sightseeing. It will be a 2 day trip to NYC at most - so I do not have as strong a reason as some people have mentioned in this sub-reddit.
I was very nonchalant about the interview until I read all the answers here saying how much stress must be placed on ensuring the officer believes that you will return from the states. I have my return ticket from Toronto, but I have not booked Toronto to NYC since I am unsure if the visa would be done in time.
Do I just take these in addition to the confirmation printouts: Toronto itinerary, Employment Contract, recent Internal Transfer Letter, Bank Statement with Salary Transactions?
Something I must add, I applied for British Citizenship recently and I was approved for it. As a result, I do have the Citizenship certificate but I just haven't applied for a British Passport since I will be flying to this wedding and the passport processing times from HMPO are really long. I will get a British Passport after I am back. From what I have read, a British Citizen would fall under the Visa Waiver Program and not have go through this route to visit US.
I know absolutely no one is US.
submitted by Crows77 to USVisas [link] [comments]


2024.05.31 17:49 davFaithidPangolin [TOMT][MUSIC][1990s]Techno song that samples a game show and repeats the line "give me an E"

Hello, I am trying to find a song I remember hearing many years ago.

It's a techno song that repeats the line "give me an E" and starts out with a sample of a game show where the "give me an E" line is then taken from and repeated. I assume the song is from the ManchesteMadchester scene of the early 90s where E was slang for ecstacy and the song was cheekily using the game show sample to refer to the drug rather than a game show letter. The person who said the "give me an E" line had a feminine voice and I faintly remember a male voice as well, probably from the game show host. I can't remember any other part of the song but the "give me an E" has consistently gotten stuck in my head and I can't find the song!

Any help is appreciated, thank you.
submitted by davFaithidPangolin to tipofmytongue [link] [comments]


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