I’m talking Uber Driver, Food Delivery Person, Security Personnel etc … those micro interactions that we all have day to day in our lives where the default is usually a man. Yet when unexpectedly a woman appears in that role, you just feel … safer? calmer? less wary?
I noticed this last night when I went out to the street to accept a food delivery. It was rainy and wet and my house is set back from a main street down a dodgy little lane way with barely any light (one of the reasons I go out to the street to accept a delivery - as a courtesy to save them the trouble from trying to find my front door, but also I feel safer transacting on the street rather than at my door) - I hadn’t bothered to look at the delivery persons details until the very last moment and it was such a pleasant surprise to see it was a woman delivering. I just instantly felt safer and less of a need to be wary.
Similarly, an Uber I took the other day was a female driver and I just was like “…. Phew” without even really actively thinking about it.
It got me thinking how much men will never fully be able to empathise the “soft” state of fear that we, as women, are in almost all the time. And I say that as a woman who is lucky enough to have a brilliant and kind male partner, a dad who is my best friend and greatest champion and brothers who are the best also. I’ve never been seriously sexually assaulted, beyond being randomly groped in nightclubs and having one or two “blurred consent” interactions when I was younger (gosh how crazy and perverse is it to deem it “lucky” that I’ve never been “seriously assaulted” … sigh).
Any of you chickybabes know what I mean here?

In the 19, nearly 20, years I have lived my life, I was raised a Christian by American conservatives in a middle class environment and am fortunate to experience countless memories of joy, laughter, and growth with (mostly) everybody I have met. Each memory with the people in my life holds a special place in my heart, and I will forever cherish the bond we built.
The thing is that until the end of eighth grade, I had a strange obsession with East Asia. Looking back, it was very embarrassing and I condemn my parents for enabling me to become a weeaboo (by “weeaboo”, I mean “a person who is overly obsessed with East Asian culture, especially Japanese culture, to the point that they fetishize the culture in an unhealthy way”). I was the textbook example of a weeaboo who had a terrible case of “yellow fever” (sexual preference towards East Asians). Loving the image of East Asian culture without having any real idea what it stood for and seeing the East as a utopia, my fetishization of East Asia, especially Japan, was born out of the shame I have with the Western culture I was raised in. I never felt like I could fit in with my Western peers who I often looked down upon and did not want to be associated with. It got to the point that I became unsatisfied with my home town, my physical appearance, and even my closest friends. This combined with the surge in anime, K-pop, and other media on the internet really got me hooked and believing really fetish-y things about the Sinosphere. I hate being reminded of it and have tried to move on.
However, I am thankful for my exposure to Eastern culture, though it was through a very bastardized, Westernized lens. I am grateful for my exposure, even though it started out with something as intellectually undemanding as Vocaloid music (songs sung by a Japanese voice synthesizer). The best part about the exposure was that it helped me leave Christianity and join Buddhism at age 11, which greatly helped with my mental health considering I was experiencing suicidal thoughts since the age of 8. Though I had awful misunderstandings of Buddhism in the beginning and still do not really have a Buddhist teacher, I am glad that I have the resources to connect myself with other Buddhists and take refuge in the Triple Gem.
As I left my gross misconceptions of the Sinosphere behind back when I was 14 while still having a healthy interest in it, my eyes were eventually opened to perils which threaten not only the homelands of Buddhism (East, South, and Southeast Asia), but also the sustainability of modern humans. These two perils are Western culture and capitalist fascism.
The West exoticizes and misrepresents Buddhism and the culture of its home, the East, as a whole. I am ashamed to be born in a culture where this was encouraged, which I am worried could lead me to fetishizing Eastern culture again.
But what I know for sure is that the West’s hyperindividualism is harming people, both those whose lands are invaded and its own people. This combined with the West’s growing rejection of education, including that of the knowledge the West itself has given to the world for humanity’s benefit, makes it clear that it is lacking some of the Sinosphere’s cultural strengths. Everybody should hold collectivism and education to the same degree that the Sinosphere does, otherwise we would be left with an unsustainable society that would destroy itself.
There is nothing wrong with speaking Western languages, eating Western foods, watching (most types of) Western media, wearing Western clothes, and especially nothing wrong with using Western inventions, but we are now seeing that the West’s hyperindividualism and rejection of education is destructive and spreading like a cancer.
It is only Buddhists who make an effort to assimilate to the East (had they not been born into it) who can see the West with its hyperindividualism and uneducatedness, promoted by its creation of its spreading ideologies such as capitalist fascism and social Darwinism, for what it really is: a cancer. I can now see the direction the United States, the most populated and powerful country in the West, is going due to the rise of ultra-capitalism and/or fascism supporters.
Rarely the phrase “Western”, as in “formed by the combined foundations of Greco-Roman civilization and Western Christianity” (Gabbe), raised positive thoughts in my mind since I learned about it shortly after discovering Buddhism. “Western” when used in the context of medicine is an exception to this, but we are now seeing more and more Westerners dishonor the progress their ancestors made towards modern, mainstream, dare I say, Western medicine as they fall for anti-vaccine and anti-mask pseudoscience.
Nowadays, some who use the word in a derogatory context are uneducated reactionaries that bash anything and everything Western, yet hypocritically promote the Western political ideology of fascism. A strength that a majority (though now a decreasing number) of Western countries have is their progressivism, supporting scientific advancements, women’s rights, racial equality, and the LGBT+. However, this is not just becoming less common; being a progressive Westerner is not enough, not enough to end Western imperialism, to save the sacred truths taught to us by the Shakyamuni Buddha, or to empower the working class.
Although I never fully approved of Western culture after my weeaboo phase ended, my early teen self still ended up falling into the anti-social justice warrior side of YouTube that I now recognized hindered my understanding of what actually ruined my country, the United States of America. I still did not feel comfortable calling myself a Westerner but mainly because the West did not widely accept Buddhism and has several times in its history persecuted Buddhists. At the same time, I was deceived by a bastardized form of Buddhism common among Westerners (known as “secular Buddhism”, which picks and chooses aspects of the Buddha’s teachings instead of accepting them as a whole), so I was a bit more of the classic, stereotypical atheist neckbeard who fetishized the East up until 2020. Since then, my views became more progressive similar to those of American liberals and I denounced traditionalist Western beliefs, but like the average American liberal, I did not see Western culture, both traditional and progressive, as the peril I now see it. It was not until around the end of 2023 when I discovered the Western problem.
It was a slow burn that started with my discovery of Buddhists on the internet talking about how the West misrepresented Buddhism to appeal to “self-help” consumerists, Christians, and New Age followers. In the Westerner, I originally saw only a person who followed harmless customs, traditions, and other norms that came from a part of the world where Buddhism was not the dominant religion (if you could even call the non-theistic dharma as taught by the Gautama Buddha a religion). And so, I did not believe that Western civilization needed to fall for the safety of the dharma, let alone for its own people. After all, I thought to myself, the West has contributed so much to science and the modern world as we know it. I still believe to this day that there are no superior cultures and that each one simply has its own unique strengths and weaknesses, some of which are only subjective. However, while looking through Buddhist forums, I was shocked to hear about the West’s pollution of Buddhism and my knowledge on Buddhism skyrocketed as I learned that I fell victim to the Dunning-Kruger effect. I started reading sutras and immersing myself with Buddhism by listening to those who have much more experience than I do. There are hardly any Buddhists in my community and the only Buddhist center within reach is a New Kadampa Tradition meditation center (FYI: the New Kadampa Tradition must be avoided since it has a reputation for financially exploiting members and its monastics have allegations of drug trafficking and sexual abuse), so books and the internet are all I have left.
Practicing Buddhism in the West is nearly impossible without a community, without a Buddhist teacher, without any resources written by Eastern Buddhists. Reddit user u/Tendai-Student, a “lay Tendai Student [sic] with aspirations to become a Priest [sic]” states the following:
It is exceedingly challenging for a Westerner who is interested in Buddhism to find reliable information. Bookstores' Buddhist sections are rife with myths about the religion (we will come to some of these misconceptions below). Buddhism-related disinformation abounds in university classes. Misinformation about Buddhism abounds in publications with a Buddhist theme. Even Buddhism-related english-speaking [sic] Reddit boards are prone to carry false information.
Buddhism is constantly distorted in the same way: to make it more agreeable to Abrahamic faiths(especially Christianity in the west) [sic]. To imply that it is subject to Western standards, Western religion, and Western consumerism and materialism.
…Asian teachers are frequently excluded from English-speaking Buddhist places (meditation centers, university forums, periodicals). Asians make up the majority of Buddhists in the United States, despite the fact that popular images of Buddhism in the West make it appear otherwise. In the minds of Westerners, Buddhism is a religion of white converts. They don't even pay attention to the odd lack of Asians in some Buddhist areas. (u/Tendai-Student)
It is no wonder that I went through a phase when I was a weeaboo with “yellow fever”. The Westerner commodifies and commercializes these Buddhist practices and East Asian customs like they do with several other cultures. Its misuse and stealing of Buddhism is the worst because its teachings are for us to end suffering by ridding ourselves of the three poisons: greed, ignorance, and hatred (which the Westerner promotes).
My realization of this drew me away from the West, similar to when my obsession with the East began. The difference is that my interest in the East now is not because of a fantasy born out of misguidance, especially not a sexual one. I now know that there is more to the East than its pop culture. But I cannot help thinking that none of this would have happened and I would better understand Buddhism had I been born to and raised by Buddhists in East Asia, or even a majority Buddhist country in South or Southeast Asia.
However, the possibility of a cycle starting with a yo-yoing fetishization of the East makes me anxious. When I realized what I was doing at first was fetishization, I did further research and found out that the West is to blame for its portrayal of the East in its media. This in turn makes me denounce the West and brings me back towards my obsession with the Sinosphere, which could lead to more fetishization.
Despite this, I am glad that at the very least, my interest is more than just wanting to live a kawaii lifestyle, hoping to have a “submissive housewife who will look young forever”, or all that neckbeard squick. I do have to say that there is something else that is drawing me towards the Sinosphere, not to mention that it is the region where Buddhism is dominant (the same is true to a lesser extent with the Indosphere). Even though I am not a huge fan of tradition since I am very progressive, when a region’s culture gets something right, they get it right. In addition to Buddhist values, the Sinosphere holds education and collectivism to a high degree. It is no wonder I find their people so much more intelligent and caring than people from my culture.
It is common knowledge that countries such as Japan, China, South Korea, and Singapore have the highest average IQs. To add to this (unbeknownst to many), even less developed countries, e.g. Mongolia, with high Buddhist populations around the same region, have average IQs higher than developing and undeveloped nations outside the region. The most agreed upon reason for this is cultural factors rather than genetic or economic factors. To conclude, Buddhism combined with values in the East Asian cultural sphere creates the best “brains” to represent humanity, thus the West should make way for them, especially considering the East’s superior collectivism.
Of course cultures do not stay the same forever because they change over time. One big thing that is different now in the Sinosphere and Indosphere (the latter I am mentioning because it is where Buddhism came from, though it is not as dominant in the cultural region as it was) is that they are generally much more patriarchal and anti-LGBT+ than they were up until the last several centuries. However, Buddhism treats same-sex relations and being transgender the same as heterosexuality and being cisgender (preferring celibacy among monastics, though depending on the school of Buddhism, those in the monastic order may be treated as their birth gender, even if they are transgender), and in addition, the Buddha taught that women are just as capable of attaining enlightenment as men. Even outside of Buddhism, there are records of same-sex relations as early as the Shang dynasty in China and the temple walls in Khajuraho, India depict homosexual activity. As for feminism, China was matrilineal until the Han dynasty era, when Confucianism and filial piety became mainstream in the area, while India, home to over 100 different ethnic communities, has had a few matriarchal and egalitarian societies pre-European colonization. In the modern era, numerous people in the two cultural spheres are becoming more supportive of gender equality and the LGBT+, which in some cases may be due to Westernization (not that it redeems it) or simply the individuals’ progressive political views not influenced by Western culture.
What has stayed the same for the most part, besides Buddhism, is the Sinosphere’s and Indosphere’s value of collectivism in honor-shame societies and the former cultural sphere’s emphasis on education; this is what Westerners, as well as people all over the world, need for themselves. If the West is going to fall due to hyperconsumerism, late stage capitalism, and uneducated leaders, those living in the West would be better off joining Buddhism and assimilating to the East. Arguably, the best way to do this is to move to a majority Buddhist country, preferably one in the Sinosphere (its core countries being China, Japan, the Koreas, Taiwan, and Vietnam). Leave everybody you know from your home behind, especially non-Buddhists. Just to make things clear, Westerners are not necessarily evil and it is not their fault they were raised in a Western culture, but having these people in your life will hold you back from collectivism, quality education free of anti-intellectual quackery, and above all, understanding the dharma.
After you have left everybody in your life and started anew, you can immerse yourself in the culture. Again, abandoning Western food, media, clothing, and especially inventions and scientific breakthroughs is very unnecessary. Your main focus is reprogramming your mind to think like a person (specifically a Buddhist person) in the Sinosphere/Indosphere, utilizing the high educational standards, putting the collective over the individual, and taking refuge in the Triple Gem. Before moving, though, it is best to make yourself familiar with the customs and learn the language of the place you are moving to. To aid your assimilation, it would not hurt to start dating one of the locals who strongly identifies with the culture, regardless of their race. Someone living there who is not ethnically East, South, or Southeast Asian who is still very involved in the culture would be very helpful to your assimilation as one who is ethnically East, South, or Southeast Asian (I am clarifying this to discourage racial fetishization). This may be difficult as you would have to win over approval from their parents, let alone convince them to see you as another Easterner, but if you manage to do so, that would be fantastic. To make things easier, you could plan to move to a country where people treat women as equals and are relatively accepting of the LGBT+ so you would not have to worry about gender roles or whatever. Think of places in the Sinosphere such as Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, or if you are planning on going to the Indosphere (which is not too big of a step down) since they did give us Buddhism after all, Nepal and Thailand. Your most important goal, however, is to rewire your brain to think in a more Sinic or Indic way and be more in touch with Buddhism.
You can hardly consider yourself a Westerner if you manage to do so, being Western only in your country of origin (and possibly race as well). I am definitely not like those other “people” from the West who strongly cling to Western culture because they just do not understand. Western cultural merit is almost solely from the proxy of our ancestors’ inventions, scientific discoveries, and political revolutions. Considering that the West is being brought towards the wrong direction in the modern era, we should get out of there culturally, if not physically, until it all hits the fan.
If the West continues its defilement of the rest of the world, when it falls, it will bring it all down with it. We must not lose or else everybody loses.
This pressure has a good side; because the bigger the great threat becomes, the more we will push ourselves to assimilate and raise children to fight for us. Considering the infectability of Western anti-intellectualism and “main character syndrome”, how could our Western peers know better? Buddhism is not a proselytizing “religion”, so our best bet is eliminating the promoter of the three poisons, the Westerner (especially the Christian Westerner), from our own lives. How it will run to us as its society collapses under itself and we welcome it to assimilate but say “we told you so”! The older I get, the better I know the Westerner. The better I know the Westerner, the easier it gets to excuse hostility against them, especially from the Sinosphere.
From my perspective, the ones to blame are not the angry, low-middle class white males in the rural United States nor the boba conservative bananas and right-wing coconuts who suck up to the West’s biggest scum, but rather the ones who have brainwashed them to fall for chauvinism, reactionarism, and laissez faire capitalism.
Realizing this, I am now closely investigating the sources of these beliefs which make up the foundation of social Darwinism and, when combined with totalitarian thinking, capitalist fascism. This is after I noticed that these systems are unsustainable and would destroy themselves from the inside out. The slow, painful destruction of communities who fall victim to them are well known to me. If one looks carefully, they can see the consequences that have been unfolding since the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic. You may wonder: were the founders aware of this? My guess would be that they were not but were evil nonetheless because they were too selfish to think about the future, their descendants.
If this is the case, then it is the duty of us, the opponents of these ideologies, to spread the word faster than the ideologies are currently spreading in the West. It is hard for me to believe it is not the case considering that both Western political ideologies are fundamentally reactionary. Besides, I doubt they would want civilization as we know it to collapse.
I have a social Darwinist as a maternal uncle who sometimes meets with my parents, maternal grandfather, and younger brother and with his political conversations, often sourced from flawed studies, Russian news, and 4chan, I can easily study the principles of its theories. Both of my parents are also conservatives who support Trump and other immoral American politicians. Being raised by the two of them, I bet I could disguise myself as a Western right-wing traditionalist, maybe even a social Darwinist, since I know the way they speak, to whom they flock to, and how to make them give one their full attention. It would probably be easy to do this as some right-wing grifters can fool American right-wing audiences into thinking that they share the same beliefs (e.g. Thomas MacDonald).
Their kind are gullible because they do not listen to fact checkers and often do not do research to see if who they are listening to really practices what they preach.
Even though there are Westerners who are not like this, the West cannot coexist with Buddhism, let alone the cultures where it is dominant, as the West ruled by colonizing tirthikas and it will likely always be for as long as it lasts. And just because their culture is not as viable as the one founded on Buddhist, Sinic, or even Indic values does not give them the right to imperialize the rest of the world and bring it down with them. We can welcome the Westerner willing to change its ways, turn it into one of an Easterner, and have its culture go through a quick and painless demise, or the Westerner can continue its power trip, destroy everything it touches along with itself, and society will suffer a slow and painful death. This is what the conclusion that I have come to so far as I examine capitalist fascism and Westerners’ connection to it.
The Western doctrine of capitalist fascism rejects an aspect of maitrī, fulfilling beings’ basic needs, and substitutes it for a privilege towards the bourgeoisie and the exploitation of the workers’ labor (also known as Vergegenständlichung or “objectification”). Thus it denies the worth of the collective, only concerns itself with greedy individuals, and thus is immoral. Unlike what the non-Buddhist capitalist wants people to believe, all beings have an altruistic Buddha nature, but it is corrupted, being difficult to notice as it has only conditions without a beginning (listed in the Avijjā Sutta). Abandoning capitalism, both fascist and non-fascist, gives power to the people as it ensures a more guaranteed right to life instead of having not even one thousand billionaires own more than half of Earth’s population combined, more than each one of those billionaires could ever spend in their lifetimes.
Should the Westerner, especially one who pushes capitalist fascism, strengthen its grip on humanity, it can be said that it would make its own naraka.
And so I stand by my plan and encourage others to do the same because it is in the name of the Unsurpassable Enlightened One. By protecting our kind against the Westerner, we are defending the Triple Gem.
If it is not already clear, the disapproval I feel towards the societal values and prevailing norms of the West has led me to question my place in this environment. I believe that meaningful change can only be fostered if the West is put into its place and the Sino-Buddhist East motivates our minds.
In Vietnam, where the culture is predominantly Sinic with some Indic aspects and little European influence, we can see the promotion of quality education, collectivism, and Buddhism (practiced by a forgivable 15% of the population), very unlike the nearby country of the Philippines. In the Philippines, its citizens cling to the Anglo-Saxon and Hispanic culture brought to the country by American and Spaniard imperialists. The effects of this are very clear in their average IQs (Vietnam: 89.53 vs. Philippines: 81.64) and PISA scores (Vietnam: 1403 vs. Philippines: 1058). They are both developing countries in Southeast Asia that were colonized by the West, but because Vietnam kept its culture more pure and stuck to Buddhism (or at least Sinic philosophies), its people are better educated compared to the nearby Westernized countries in a similar economic situation.
In short, Westernization leads to the following:

1. The native culture becomes diluted
2. If Western thinking intrudes, mental degeneration takes hold of the native population and its society slowly degrades along with the West itself as it eats itself from the inside out

Those who cause this to happen must be stopped, especially those who endanger Buddhism. We must not wait for the fruition of their karma for their sacrilege of the Tathagata’s teachings because by then it would be too late, and even if it is instant karma, every bodhisattva’s job is to end suffering.
Those who spread the harmful ideologies bring themselves and others away from the Buddha’s word are polluting humanity by having them join their rat race that will only end in their own demise. They are leading to the ruin of many and thus, I do not consider them to be human but instead parasites.
There is a disgraceful Western belief that for a short amount of time was not held by the majority but is now very pervasive in the West and also is the foundation of reactionarism, chauvinism, and capitalism in all cultures. It says: “My individual rights matter the most and freedom means my right to violate the rights of others.”
This Western babble is followed by numerous all around the world and sows disharmony in societies where it becomes the norm. This idea provides basis for several types of Westerners, including but not limited to:

• the “Karen”; a middle-aged, entitled, often white and anti-mask/anti-vaccine female who makes trivial complaints
• the “Chud”; a racist, misogynistic, right-wing male (usually young) who browses 4chan everyday and has a high likelihood of becoming a mass shooter
• the dayangma (Hanzi: 大洋马); a sex-obsessed young adult Western female, majority white but sometimes POC, is conventionally attractive (to Westerners), sleeps around, and in some cases creates spawn that do not know their father(s)
• the angry white male; self-explanatory, right-wing and traditionalist (sometimes a social Darwnist or capitalist fascist), commonly rural, evangelical Christian and have never seen a POC before
• the “Trad Wife”; a prudish, sometimes uneducated, female who lets Western males walk all over it and raises spawn who are likely to become angry whites
• the New Agehippy; generally a teenager or young adult, a well-meaning but poorly educated white liberal or social democrat who misappropriates Buddhism and appeases Muslims
• the AmeriKKKan fathegrandfather; a middle-aged to elderly, chauvinist male with children, sometimes also grandchildren, and is unconcerned about social justice and similarly to the “Karen”, falls for pseudoscientific conspiracy theories
• the neckbearded otaku (Hiragana: おたく); a hairy white male with “yellow fever” and mediocre hygiene, for the most part subreddit/Discord server moderators who stalk and kidnap East Asian ladies (if not teenage girls)

The growth of these groups is evidence of the degradation of Western culture, showing that it must retire as the dominant culture and make way for the much more sustainable East. Once the manuṣya realm on Earth is completely tainted by the West, Buddhas can no longer arise in the world because the dharma would be known by nobody and the Vinaya are forgotten or destroyed.
The future generation will not remember the dharma unless we halt the growth of the parasitic culture that promotes overconsumption, hyperindividualism, and anti-intellectualism.
The Westerner has a remarkable contrast to the Sinic or Indic. The Westerner has a grasp on this world so strong with its weaponry since the 16th century, using force to disrupt the traditional lives of whatever native people it saw, safe for those in a few countries (even though some of those countries are still being Westernized). The Dutch, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish built colonies from the Americas to Southeast Asia. The kingdoms were blessed with powerful militaries, strong economies, stable governments, and advanced technology that allowed their cultures to spread. But after half a millennium and looking back, was any of this really earned? And is the Westerner’s conquest over yet?
Since the Great Schism of Christianity, the Westerner trained itself for roughly one thousand years. It trained itself in several aspects, but it forgot an important piece, the dharma. The cunning Westerner, blessed with advancements, used them to tyrannize other peoples on a scale never before seen. This was the beginning of the Latter Day of the Dharma. The dharma is declining because of the savage Westerner. And so, it leeched off of any people it got a hold of, including predominantly Buddhist peoples. Even during the decolonization of the 20th century, fundamentalist Christianity spread and threatened the dharma. To make matters worse, previously Buddhist peoples clung to Christianity as taught by their colonizers; the French in Vietnam and the Spanish and Americans in the Philippines. To this day, the Philippines is a lost cause along with its majority Muslim neighbors in Maritime Southeast Asia. The cunning Westerner turned the Filipino against us and now Buddhists make up only 2% of the Philippines’ population. Now, the Westerner sees Buddhism as nothing more than an aesthetic, a self-help lifestyle, or a decoration that they can commercialize and cherry pick aspects to integrate into their religion or lack thereof.
It is excellent for someone from the West to learn the dharma as this will turn them into a more compassionate and wise person, but they must not enforce the Western gaze onto it and discard parts of the Shakyamuni Buddha’s words they do not like. To be fair, some aspects of Buddhism would be nearly impossible for a Westerner to understand unless they assimilate.
Buddhism is not materialist or blind belief without evidence and it belongs to the East, so stop pretending to be something you are not while pushing stereotypes of Asian Buddhists.
However, even though Buddhism is not materialist or very in line with the Western worldview, it is uniquely human. Walpola Rahula, a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk and writer explains it this way:
Among the founders of religions the Buddha (if we are permitted to call him the founder of a religion in the popular sense of the term) was the only teacher who did not claim to be other than a human being, pure and simple. Other teachers were either God, or his incarnations in different forms, or inspired by him. The Buddha was not only a human being; he claimed no inspiration from any god or external power either. He attributed all his realization, attainments and achievements to human endeavour and human intelligence. A man and only a man can become Buddha. Every man has within himself the potentiality of becoming a Buddha, if he so wills it and endeavours. We can call the Buddha a man par excellence. He was so perfect in his 'human-ness' that he came to be regarded later in popular religion almost as 'super-human'. Man's position, according to Buddhism, is supreme. Man is his own master, and there is no higher being or power that sits in judgment over his destiny. (Rahula 3)
How could one even consider the Westerners who diluted Buddhism human themselves at this point? If it were not for them, Westerners may have a better understanding of the teachings of the “man par excellence”. We are lucky that the only Westerners who necessarily see us as inferior are white nationalists and fundamentalist Christians, otherwise the Westerner could have committed a genocide that would have left millions of us dead. Westerners are competitive beings, so they rarely act in concord towards each other. It is only when there is something that draws them together or away from a common danger.
If everybody on Earth becomes a Westerner, they would wallow in their shamelessness and would have nobody left to exploit except for each other until they destroy themselves.
Until they are the only ones left, they will vilify and exploit anything non-Western until they only have each other, then leading to a chaotic world of undignified militaries, economic inequality, corrupt governments, and little or no innovations.
Unless the Westerner considers even the slightest of inspiration from the East, it will continue to follow hyperindividualism and have apathy towards its education. That is why the West is falling. Those from the West who are smart enough to realize that the West’s flaws that it spreads are deciding that the West is not worth maintaining and its resignation is overdue. If those from the West abandon it to assimilate to the East, it would make the West’s death quicker but more dignified.
This is more than a fad but rather the realization that Western society would be best being a passing fad itself. The West gave us great inventions, food, clothes, scientific discoveries, etc. and once it is gone, the East can pick up where it left off just fine.
We will never abandon the Triple Gem because we recognize it to be more than a spiritual, exotic aesthetic or trend. To do so would make us just like those others in the West who Asian Buddhists look down upon. When the time is right, each and every one of us will surround ourselves with the people who know the dharma better than anyone you have met in the West and we can finally be at their level. We shall be Western only in our country of origin and/or race, but in every other way, we will be Easterners; Buddhist Easterners who will take back what rightfully belongs to us.
When we (and hopefully Buddhists outside of both the Eastern and the Western world) do this, consumerism will lose some of its biggest prey. Even though it may not seem like it at first considering we are abandoning everyone we have ever known, we are doing our ancestors a favor by joining the culture that strives towards the end of suffering. We will be leaving our cultures’ ways of thinking behind, but doing this will save face for our lineage, especially the Western lineage as we would be preventing the creation of more “Karens”, “Chuds”, dayangmas, “neckbeards”, and other degenerates. We will not be annoying dorky nerds and certainly not “neckbeards” who are overly obsessed with and fetishize the culture but people making an effort to get closer to the dharma and surrender to the East.
Although we are collectivists, we must seek personal liberation first for the good of other beings. Once the West collapses and its former supporters come running to us, we shall welcome them. If some do not recognize this before it is too late, well boo hoo! They will have a better birth with the world we will create. Some of them, especially their unlucky spawn, would probably be better off dead and reborn into a better life, maybe even the Pure Land.
The way it is looking now, the West is falling and becoming the world’s laughingstock, which is a good thing. The quicker it falls, the less painful it will be for the Westerner and everybody else. Western culture will not be missed, but we can keep the best of it and continue the innovations that the creators would wish to see. We will remember the legacy of them and be thankful while never forgiving or forgetting the ones who ruined the West.
Works Cited
“Ignorance Avijjā Sutta (AN 10:61).” Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. Dhammatalks. 2017, https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN10_61.html. Accessed 31 May 2024.
Gabbe. “Western Culture.” Wikipedia. 25 May 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_culture#:~:text=The%20core%20of%20Western%20civilization,Roman%20civilization%20and%20Western%20Christianity. Accessed 31 May 2024.
Rahula Thero, Walpola. What the Buddha Taught. Oneworld Publications, 1959. Accessed 31 May 2024.
u/Tendai-Student. “栄真Eishin (u/Tendai-Student).” Reddit, 31 May 2024, https://www.reddit.com/useTendai-Student/. Accessed 31 May 2024.
u/Tendai-Student. “Buddhism is being MISREPRESENTED in the West Marginalisation, cultural appropriation, misconceptions and what you can do.” Reddit, 2023, https://www.reddit.com/WrongBuddhism/comments/14zc6xg/buddhism_is_being_misrepresented_in_the_west/. Accessed 31 May 2024.

Proposal
Looking for some proposal ideas or how to make this more special/interesting!! My gf and I live in Asia so we are only out to very very close friends. We don’t want to grab too much attention but don’t necessarily want to be stuck in a hotel room to propose.
We both have bought rings already so it’s not really a surprise and my gf has already talked about getting her nails done before we go on a trip next weekend lol. We will be traveling to Japan, and going to universal and some of the touristy places in the area. How can I make this more of a surprise when she knows it’s coming? And how can I get it on camera without acting suspicious?
Since we’re going to nintendo world/universal and she loves that stuff I’m thinking of buying the little mario box with the question mark and putting the ring box inside so it’s less immediate and more surprising maybe, & proposing there. Anyway PLEASE please tell me your thoughts and suggestions!! I have no doubt she’ll say yes but really want to make this special for her.
Extra info: -Neither of us speak Japanese but I can get by with very basic phrases if there are ideas where I need to ask staff something etc etc
-Proposing in japan rather than her home country where we live is a MUCH safer option re us both being women. We both have public servant jobs and live in a city with lots of other government officials, so doing it abroad would be a lot less stressful for both of us.
Thank you in advance and I hope yall have some great ideas!!!!

When I first watched Evangelion, I saw it as the pinnacle of anime. However, upon learning how much Hideaki Anno wrote himself into the show, reading various interviews, and subsequently revisiting it, I noticed several frustrating aspects which tie into how NGE handles criticizing its main character.
Some dialogue feels pretentious. Aside from the "running away" motif present throughout, Misato's speech to Shinji about how Kaworu died because he "abandoned his will to live" and how "only those who have the will to live get to survive" feels like the author speaking through a mouthpiece. A more realist, inspirational, and less edgy response might be, "Kaworu sacrificed himself because he cared about you, so live on for him." Misato ultimately admits to failing as a mother to Shinji, yet, as with Asuka, the story treats her as a tragic character rather than an enabler to her charge's respective mindsets. Yet the series prioritizes criticizing Shinji when he shares the story with irresponsible adults and a girl who yells at anything and everything.
I agree that ultimately, Shinji needed to grow and confront his demons. However, I dislike how no one ever even acknowledges to him how messed up his situation is. His dad abandons him after his mom dies, then suddenly calls him in because he "[has] a use" for him. When Shinji tells him off, Misato tells him to "not run away" from his father. When Shinji later criticizes Gendo on the escalator, Rei slaps him. Although Hyuga mentions that Gendo forced Unit 02 to fight to save Shinji, Gendo himself only accuses him of running away and tells him to grow up, never himself admitting to caring about Shinji until his own death in EoE. (Assistant Director Tsurumaki said in an interview that Gendo serves as a role model for Shinji because too many fathers "mollycoddle" their children.) When Shinji quits NERV, Kensuke leaves a message on Shinji's phone saying, "You're running away again? Aw man, I believed in you" disappointed in Shinji's refusal to continue to pilot, despite being saved by him in an early episode. The show criticizes Shinji for showing any frustration with his situation rather than sucking it up without complaint. Ironically, Asuka, the resident complainer of the show, faces a tragic situation near the end, but never harsh judgement.
While the final two episodes of the show hold everyone accountable for their respective issues, EoE quadruples down on criticizing Shinji. In the show, Asuka criticizes Shinji for "running away," then Rei calls her out for being the same. The finale examines Rei's and Misato's respective issues and how they negatively impact them. In EoE, aside from Misato's single line about failing as a mother to Shinji, he once again bears the brunt of criticism through his behavior at the hospital, in the kitchen scene with Asuka, and when he starts the Third Impact. EoE dismisses other characters' flaws while amplifying and hammering down on Shinji's.
EoE treats Shinji begging Asuka for help as selfish and despicable. While it's true that he only approaches her because Rei and Misato scare him, he had better relationships with them as well. The Rei he knew died and Misato currently struggles with Kaji's death. Shinji has the most antagonistic relationship with Asuka, so of course she'd be lower on the list. He's just killed someone and Misato didn't give him a satisfactory reason. He needs someone he knows rather than people he doesn't know. The problem arises when his acts become desperate. Yet these acts show contradiction in his character.
In the show, Shinji "runs away" every time he quits NERV and rides the train while listening to his walkman, whereas his attempts at escapism in EoE manifest as the hospital scene. In the show, he escapes by literally moving away, yet in the movie he escapes by seeking comfort and/or gratification through others.
Many moments throughout the series contradict its own and EoE's assertion that Shinji didn't "really try" to connect with anyone and only sees them as objects for his entertainment/gratification. He tells Gendo he's glad to spend time with him at Yui's grave, talks with Misato about her father, spends time Rei to the point she sacrifices herself for him out of love, comforts Asuka at Hikari's behest after Rei outperforms her at the dance game, and asks Asuka about her step-mom before she pushes him away.
Many other moments throughout the series contradict its claim that Shinji only acts nice so people like him. Near the beginning of the very first episode, he makes a smart-ass comment to Misato, which results in a minor comical fight in her car. He also yells at his dad in that same episode, almost destroys NERV headquarters after wounding Toji, and altercates with Asuka throughout their training to fight Israfel. He also quits NERV multiple times throughout the show. In addition, the final episodes criticize Shinji for killing Kaworu only for approval, yet before that he refused to fight the EVA that Bardiel infected.
The original series criticizes Shinji because Anno saw himself as a selfish burden who allowed depression and self-loathing to prevent him from performing at his job, a common belief among Japanese workers at the time and still today somewhat. He obsessed over criticizing himself and otaku in general to the point of contradicting Shinji's character, first abandoning the entire story in the final episodes to bring subtext to the forefront, then abandoning the show's themes of self-identity in favor of portraying Shinji as a borderline sex offender who sees women only for their bodies while disregarding their problems. The hospital scene and Third Impact, both EoE-exclusive, serve as Shinji's legacy when the show, while critical, depicts him as more. The fourth Rebuild film felt refreshing in that it remains the only instance in which Anno clearly shows love and positivity toward Shinji through his maturation as well as other characters' rethinking of their harshness toward him.
tl;dr In the original show and EoE, Anno was so intent on criticizing himself that he retconned his self-insert's established virtues and amplified his vices while excusing other characters' behaviors.

Trigger warning: there’s unsubstantiated violence, including sexual violence, related to the history of the house that are mentioned here. I just want to put this out because I don’t know which flare to use.
I’m telling this story because of another post here that got my attention.
I wasn’t raised in Manila but I lived with my grandmother when I worked there. I’m the very youngest in the family, (so I’m the shobe) and I didn’t actually get to meet her until I was in my early 20s and she was in her late 90s. We have Chinese heritage through her, she came to the “Philippine Islands, USA” as an infant in the early 1920s with her family from mainland China.
We’re a huge family but we “splintered” and live in different parts of the world - mostly HK, USA, Canada, and some in Australia and UK. So I didn’t have anyone else to live with but her when I decided to experience Manila. When she was on the verge of death, she would keep telling the household staff to quiet down the visiting children and lead them out of her bedroom. (She was half-conscious at this point, very ill but refused to go to the hospital for hospice care.) But there were no children in the house. Just me, the cook, 2 young housemaids, a licensed in-home caregiver, and my grandmother’s elderly driver and elderly gardener who have both been with her since the 70s. The lot where her house stood had a dark history we’re not exactly clear about, one story was that it used to be part of a compound where military during the dictatorship years would bring political prisoners to torture, another story is that it used to be a compound of a Spanish-era orphanage that went up in flames, and still another story said the same compound was used as a garrison by the Americans, that it was full of refugees who all then died in the hands of the Japanese during WW2. So we really don’t know who the ghost children were. The house in general is creepy, you always feel on edge in it especially at night, on edge and extremely melancholic! The staff have experienced dreaming of a short guy with grey hair in white shirt waking them up frantically (yelling “not here, not here!”) when they rest in the lanai, the driver and gardener would also often see that same guy walk past them in the garage followed by the smell of cigarette smoke. The ladies would also see a lady in long white dress passing between the pagoda and pond at the end of the property. The pond supposedly was where women were brought to be raped and drowned but our family never found anything there, and the period when those supposedly happened always changed - during the dictatorship years, during WW2. The men would also see a big guy in purple basketball shorts standing at the front door and looking out towards the gate of the property (by description no one in the family dead or alive looks like that), everyone in the house have seen a faceless little boy going up the stairs to the rooms carefully holding on to the bannister, a teen-aged girl also in purple who always shows up in the house staff’s kitchen at 6 pm but with her back turned. I just hear banging and footsteps or voices in the huge living room, or piano keys played but have never actually seen anything until two weeks before my grandmother’s death.
I had come home quite late from work. The only light kept open at the ground floor of the house at this time of the night is this antique ceramic lamp that sat on a table in the hallway. I’m already feeling creeped out arriving this late, it was raining so I asked the elderly driver to just drop me off at the front door and to not assist me with my bags from work (purse, laptop, document bag), he drove off to the garage behind the house and I just tried to enter quickly before the automatic portico lights shut off. From the front door I crossed over to where the old piano was to turn on a floor lamp next to it and read the notes left for me by the house staff (about my grandmother’s needs, groceries bought, etc,) look through the mail, bills, packages, all that. From the moment I got out of the car I had this feeling of someone waiting for me, watching. It didn’t feel unfriendly, just a sense of being waited for. The feeling was stronger as I walked over to the piano, it came from the upstairs rooms which was to my right from where I was reading the messages by the piano. I was too scared to even look and was wondering how I was going to go up to my room if something was there. But because I can’t exactly just stand there forever, I eventually looked up and saw a little girl of about 3 yrs old in height, she had on an old-timey polka dot dress. The dots were big and brown(?) and her dress was creamy white that went all the way down to her shins, it had this sailor’s collar (that’s why I thought it was old-timey), and puffed sleeves. I didn’t feel scared anymore when I saw her, just fascinated. I looked and she looked and then I heard like soft echo-ey gasp, I saw her jump like she was startled, step right into the top bannister of the stairs and hid behind it, and when I made a slight move towards the stairs, I saw her glide quickly across the second floor hall into the bathroom. This was all of five seconds tops, mostly in darkness with dim yellow lights from the ground floor.
I may have imagined all of it because at first I really thought I did. But after her I’ve seen more ghost children, one even ended up in a picture I took of an old car.
The house stood for a while after my grandmother’s death. The gardener said he saw her about two years after she died looking out from her bedroom window and from the dining room window probably watching him care for her favourite flowers. When the house was eventually abandoned to be sold the neighbours let us know that on certain nights nearby dogs would be barking and howling at the house. One neighbour said he had even seen a dark shadow standing by the gate of the house. And another reported looking over from his second floor bedroom and seeing what looks to be light from a tv flickering in the dining room. The house was still full of my grandmother’s things but we brought everything down to the second floor for the movers including an old tv that was placed on the dining table. Sometimes they could also see yellow light shining from the front room of the house. The whole property was sold 2 years ago and is now an 11-door apartment complex.

Haven't been on Reddit for a while but hope that the sub continues to provide value, support and shared knowledge for the Asian bros.
Just sharing some recent experience of my trips to two non-Asian majority countries.
I have recently returned from some time off. 1 week in Mexico City and another week in Madrid, Spain right after. Majority of it was spent Latin Social dancing. It's been a great way to meet people and make friends while also building up my confidence, fine tune my social skills, and network opportunities.
Mexico City - I stayed in Condesa and Roma Norte. Majority of this area is walkable and I felt pretty safe even when it was late at night after a social dance and feeling hungry I walked two a nearby taqueria. The peso to USD was about $17 to $1. Majority of places accepted debit/credit, so I really didn't carry too much cash on me unless it was a social dance spot or dance classes that only took cash. I normally don't do touristy things as I rather hang out with locals. Avoided American fast foods there (Popeyes, McD's burger king etc) and ate at either mom and pop shops or full service spots. They generally would ask if you wanted to tip which I did as it's just $1-2 USD more for us. Uber and cabify were very affordable so getting to places far away was easy. I also contacted a local tatoo artist that specializes in lettering for an appointment. Costed around $80.
Most locals could understand my beginner level of spanish and everone was pretty nice. I actually met quite a few white women there either from the States or from Europe in the dance classes / socials. They seem to be comfortable with me as they had someone to speak English with since they moved there and many added me to their whatsapp to go to other dance socials in that week. A lot of the Latina's also enjoyed dancing with me and would ask me to dance as there would be more follows than leads at most of the venues. Many of them compliment my dancing and Spanish level. They were open to me adding them on IG. Most of them were kind of bummed that I didn't move there and was just visiting. Just about all of them unless it was the really pretty ones didn't have an entitled vibe.
Would recommend visiting.
Madrid, Spain. Stayed on a touristy street as my friend wanted to be in the middle of the dance socials and touristy spots. She was there already visiting, coming from Barcelona. She being an older Japanese woman who spoke very little Spanish but still has the Japanese accent when she speaks Spanish had a much better experience than in Barcelona. People in Madrid were a little nicer, maybe because I mainly conversed in Spanish for us. People there felt very warm, especially compared to LA. Just about all the women that I social danced with, just about all hugged and gave a kiss on the cheek while holding out their other side of the face for me to reciprocate. 1 common they that I saw, was that like 90% of the locals were NOT overweight and I didn't get a sense of entitlement. They do a lot of walking and dancing is more of a lifestyle for them vs a side interest / hobby compared to most of the social dance scene in LA. Many of them that I had a good connection with and just had fun dancing with me, would repeatedly come up to me to ask me to dance. An Argentianan girl in her late 20's showed interest at one social and even though she didn't dance Bachata, we would just slow dance and grinded closely to me when I asked her to the dance floor. She was impressed that I spoke the level of Spanish I learned but was also bummed that I was only visiting.
Uber was still cheaper than LA, probably about 1/3 of the price. The longest trip was about 40 mins one way and was still just $23. Food was also affordable but consists of mainly pork and strangely being land lock, calamari and shellfish are plentiful in the area we were in.
Not as super affordable compared to Mexico City but Madrid was also great to visit and I'd go back to take more of dance classes since their level of Bachata is super high for sensual dance right now.
Side note-
Some of the things I'm setting goals for- to be able to do remote work after knocking out some more certifications to aim for Cloud Security Engineer. Also aiming to go either Rio de Janeiro / Sao Paulo Brazil for new years. More parts of Mexico. and Bogota Colombia is on the list. Vietnam has a huge SEA latin dance festival so might look into planning to go to that.
Go where you're appreciated, not where you're just tolerated. For anyone that is un easy about expenses, I used uplift.com to make payments on flights just in case anything got canceled since I would buy travl insurance. I normally don't like to use my credit cards too much. Also applying for Global Entry makes flights to and from easier.

Hello! I'm a beginner artist in this field and I'm just wondering if anyone has any recommendations on places/people were I could do figure studies in the irezumi/japanese style. I'm trying to draw a woman inspired by Demon Slayers Spider Mom but I want it in the style of Irezumi. I don't know how to begin searching for references on people/women/body parts (like legs, feet, hands, etc).
Thank you!

I have a strange problem and I was wondering if anyone else encountered the same thing. I am a member of one traditional art club and I come in contact with various people of different backgrounds, it’s mostly women though. I noticed an interesting pattern: women who are significantly older than me act more natural and I’m able to have interesting conversation with them despite the age difference. They act natural and are not afraid to show their real face (at least partially) which in turn leads to some interesting exchanges. But, of course I want to have friends in my own age group. However whenever I encounter Japanese girl of my own age, they are nice but behind the mask there is a strange judgmental tone. It’s like they are judging my looks, lifestyle and everything about me; they often have nasty remarks hidden behind polite phrases; they pry into my private life and in general act very superior especially if they’re married (I’m unmarried ). With few of them I felt genuinely uncomfortable (making passive aggressive remarks about my private life) so I broke all contacts .
I just find it super weird that women my age act so aggressive and high-nosed while in fact I’d expect the opposite (more relaxed and spontanes conversations with someone without generation gap !) It happened many times now and I’m starting to wonder is there a pattern? Did any of you girls here have similar experiences or is it just me?? I’m confused
P.S. those were all young girls/ women with at least some international experience and good English

September 3rd, 2072, Underground Naples, 4:32 PM

The underground system of catacombs, old World War Two bomb shelters, and aqueducts echoed with the rumble of voices. Aldo Riganelli rushed towards the sound, determination in his eyes and the old Italian anthem playing in his mind.
He couldn't believe it. It was happening, the liberation of Italy– and within his lifetime, too! Aldo believed that, in the best of cases, Alfheim would have tightened the noose around Italy, annexing the peninsula. And at worst, his lands would have been occupied by the Japanese and subjected to an even harsher rule after a devastating war.
Well, the last part happened, partially, he thought. But the details didn't matter to him now. All he cared about was seeing his country free. Aldo entered a narrow hallway, at the end of which one large man stood on guard.
“I'm Aldo!” he said, “I’m with you.”
“Codeword, pl–”
Before the guard could finish his sentence, Aldo immediately replied: “Garibaldi.”
The guard promptly raised his hands and moved out of the way. “Oh ok, come on in then.”
Aldo found himself in a large, if somewhat empty room. A table had been brought in, alongside some chairs and a whole bunch of documents, papers, and more. Sitting at the table were many of his colleagues. Men, women and anything in-between who, much like Aldo, all “worked” for the Oligarchy. Yet, since they were all there, those ministers and interns were anything but loyal. Indeed, they were all gathered for one thing.
Overthrowing, the Oligarchs.
“You're late, Aldo,” said one of the ministers there. Angela Furini, who had been working as Minister of External Affairs, yet had found nothing but disappointment as her office was practically overshadowed and ignored by the Oligarchy, who were focused on “handling the internal chaos of Italy”.
“It won't happen again,” replied Aldo, taking an empty seat at the table. “So… what were you all talking about again?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just the very simple and irrelevant discussion of who's gonna lead each ministry.” The sarcasm and annoyance in Angela's voice was palpable.
“W-well… You're already Minister of External Affairs so that one's settled.” Aldo chuckled. He really was late. Part of him wanted to just bury his head in his arms/ but he resisted the urge. “Who else is there?”
“The ‘Regent’, who'll hold the position until we can organize elections, is Mario de Gregori over there…” Angela pointed to a man sitting on the far end of the table, a short man with olive skin and a beard.
“Then,” she continued, “Giordano Miglio is Minister of Agriculture, Franco Pausini is Minister of Infrastructure… you would be a good Minister of Internal Affairs.”
“Hmm…”
Aldo thought about it for a moment. Originally he was aspiring to become Regent, but he knew he wasn't going to be a popular option so it was a pipe dream. He would have liked to become Minister of Infrastructure, due to his experience in Urban Planning, but Minister of Internal Affairs was an adjacent position, so he could make it work.
“I accept,” he said.
“Good,” said Mario de Gregori from his end of the table, “ I guess that leaves only the position of Minister of Defence empty. Are there any volunteers?”
“There is one.”
The reply came from a voice so deep it made Aldo skip a beat. Loud footsteps echoed across the catacombs, as the source of the voice revealed itself, entering the room.
Aldo could not believe his eyes. He was staring at a giant– no, a mountain. A man in military uniform, so tall and large he towered above everyone in the room, including the guard in the hallway. For a moment, it was like gazing upon a god-turned-man, such was his stature.
The man had a prosthetic left arm, which he put on full-display, uncaring about the judgment of others. Yet, the sighting of prosthetics was not a rare occurrence in Italy by now. No, the most significant feature of the giant was the enormous red scar on the right-side of the face, with his eye covered by an eye-patch.
Aldo had only ever heard of him, yet, in that moment, he had no doubts: that was the man who would lead the Coup against the Oligarchy. Brigadier General Ettore de Angelis.

××××××

September 5th, 2073, outside Salerno, 9:05 PM

Vittorio had never been a particularly strong drinker, but he didn't particularly care. Tomorrow he was gonna suffer from history's worst hangover, sure, but this wine was just so good, he couldn't stop. Besides, what was he going to do tomorrow?
The Oligarchs had ordered his unit to move south, towards Messina, but the commander had refused to follow the order and Vittorio sure as hell wasn't going to obey them himself.
Certainly not while his tank was still being repaired.
He both loved and hated that thing. Driving the LuWa made him feel powerful and unstoppable, yet whenever it broke down it was always a nightmare to repair. It was like a curse: the tank’s transmission would break and the engineers would try to fix it. As soon as they did, the tank’s engine wouldn't start. And so, repairing the tank always took double the time it normally should. What was even more curious, was the fact that no other tank in his unit had this problem. It was both hilarious and incredibly frustrating.
Suddenly, a fellow soldier walked in front of him, and placed a small piece of paper on the bench he was sitting at. Then, he quickly walked away.
“H-hey!” Vittorio yelled,”What… what's this?”
Vittorio grabbed the small note and, reading it, it all became clear. A huge smile formed on his face, as he read the last words of the message.

The Coup against the Oligarchy will be launched the 1st of January, 2073.

Hey guys! New here. I'm a Japanese women in my 30s and am living in Tokyo, looking for new friends and wanna go to Shisha bars together! 😁
Does anyone want to enjoy shisha with me? I'm such an enthusiast that I enjoy shisha at home lol. If anyone is interested, feel free to DM me, and if we have good vibesx let's be friends 😋

I've been with a friend where we write RPs together and we are in the middle of a multiversal type story with MHA and a subplot involving Mineta improving himself on to get to his goals. I do think that while in the story Mineta does learn to tone down his behavior, I didn't want him to be instantly rewarded for it. As in if he started to not be as much of a pervert as he usually is, he wouldn't get instant dates or sex like he wants. It's sometimes that happens over time and he feels like he needs to earn that feeling instead of being written as he does the bare mininium and then gets laid a lot. When writing the RP, didn't want it that Mineta would just find a girl who was willing to give him some kisses and grope her because she was okay with that. Sure it would be great, but I didn't think it would be good for his development.
While I do very much enjoy the story Mineta the Mayhem as it's puts Mineta in the center and has him grow and get girls, I felt that with a plot and character driven story, he's getting sexual rewards a bit too easily. Like Mineta realizes the harm he's causing, tells Momo 'I respect women now' and it just turns into Momo almost instantly wanting to have sex with him. Feels rushed and again feels like Mineta hasn't really gone though to really 'earn it'. If Mineta wants to have a girl fall for him, he does need some to improve himself and get to know her.
Just something I wanted to say. Have Mineta really work hard for his goals, so when he actually does get it, it will feel so much better.

Blaze 3: Demonic Arc 3: Soul Snatchers⁵
Last time the Soul Snatchers forged a war on mankind. Meiji was telling a story about Bosu and the Soul Snatchers. More years later. He met more Soul Snatchers. He thought if he could get them to side with him, things would be looking good. He was no longer weaker but stronger than Kissiske and could feel it. He never fought Kissiske again but had a face to face with him and his Dark Phantoms against the Soul Snatchers. Kissiske wanted to make a truce and become one but Bosu turned it down. His reason was that he thought Kissiske was playing him and was going to screw him in the end. So it never happened. Bosu knew about the Kyklos Guards but never saw them in person. He thought his group would mop the foor with the Kyklos Guards. Would be a dominant team. Because there was enough Soul Snatchers, there will be more souls. Bosu wanted to test them. He had all of them battle each other and Shi was the strongest. Suiko had great potential to. He whipped the Soul Snatchers into shape. He started to see them flourish. He saw Kissiske failed and didn't want the same fate. He basically picked up where Kissiske left and failed at. He wanted to go to the Surface World and take over unlike Kissiske. Story over. This time he's more powerful.
Meiji" You see when he keeps eating, he starts going crazy. He's even gotten bigger. It'll be harder for us to communicate with him. Every soul he's eaten, is able to come out of his stomach. Anybody killed, can't come back. I'm sorry." Draum" Thank you for that information." While their backs are turned, Shi kills Meiji. Draum" Why did you do that for? You heartless bastard! He was your comrade for god sakes." Shi" He's no comrade of mine. Giving away our info to the enemy. Even though at this point it's useless. I'll fight you then. How about it?" A Spirit Cannon was launched. Shi" Okay! Who did it? Come on out(he looks around)." MaXx " Hey! Yeah you. Over here asshole? You're going to be fighting me. You think I'm afraid?" Shi" Bring it on!" MaXx uses his Dark Seal Form. Full form. Dark Aiga. He has become stronger than or equal to Shi. How will everybody prevail against the Soul Snatchers? 6 strong Soul Snatchers left. MaXx's Dark Seal Form wears off and he is right back where he started. On the losing end again. Note. Demons have different color blood. Soul Snatchers are green.
Suddenly a glow occurs in the air. A large portal is seen. The spirit beings are here at last. God Spyro" Sorry we're late. There was this miscalculation. But we're here now." King Spiro" Better late than never." Now the battlefield has a greater challenge. God Spyro has a Spirit Guardian uniform on. He has only six people in his team. He is the head of the Spirit Guardians or the general. His team is called the Alpha Team. The higher ups. They are used for special cases. Uniform jackets are white with black outline. T-shirts are black and pants are blue. All teams have the same color pants. Shoes are the team's color and has a black stripe. Except for God Spyro's team. Shoes are white with a black stripe. The women have a different design for the side of the jacket. Earlier in Blaze 1, I said that Spyro wore a red uniform but it is false. Red outline. Outline matches the t-shirt color. Team: King Spiro(Lieutenant General), Akahiro Daichi(Major General/ male), Tadashi Kimura (Brigadier General/ male), Queen Kaori Yoshida Atahata(kah-or- e)(Colonel) and Yukio Nakamura(Majomale/short). Only one female. Spiro and Maniya are there as well. Yukio is up and going to fight Jenmei. Yukio" This is going to be my pleasure. I'm going to enjoy this." Jenmei" You seem overconfident" Yukio" Oh there's a reason why." Yukio has blonde hair. Eyepatch on left eye. Has a beard connecting with his sideboards.
Yukio uses simple attacks. Hand to hand combat. Jenmei is dominating the battle. Jenmei" You must not be one of the strong ones?" Yukio" Hey don't talk about my skills like that. Besides I was joking." He uses a two handed Spirit Cannon. Green color. She moves but the Soul Snatchers in the background get taken out. Great damage. He summons Hinge #98: Prometheus. A large blade. Jenmei" A little man with a big blade. Be careful with it" Yokio uses a blade combo. Jenmei uses her blade to even the odds. Yukio begins to hear a vibration sound. Yukio" It is getting distracted. Whatever that noise is." He gets cut. Jenmei" Try to pay attention. Will ya." She laughs which is rare for her. A different sound is heard. Yukio" There's something fishy about these sounds I keep hearing. They must be her specialty. Even so, how do I stop it? There has to be a way." While talking, she attacks. Jenmei" What's the matter? Am I giving you some trouble?" Yukio" My vision is getting blurry. I won't see her attacks. If I eliminate my vision and hearing, I might have a chance against her. I'll try." He covers his ears. He can actually see her which is strange. He is able to attack.
Jenmei" How could you figure it out? He beat my Illlusion Sound Bite. Time to regroup." She uses an Illusion Mind Bite, Mind Controller and other mind abilities. She used the illusions on Eyashi and Phil. Yukio ends up getting free from the mind games. She sees Yukio off guard and tries to take advantage. Yukio puts his blade in ground. Jenmei makes it closer but gets caught in Prometheus' finisher. Great Firewall Barrier. Wherever he puts it, a wall of fire will burn anything in its path. She is dead. 5 strong Soul Snatchers left. Yukio" Serves her right. This is what happens when you mess with a Spirit Guardian." A flashback shows her life. Spyro and Maniya are fighting regular Soul Snatchers. Spyro isn't paying attention. Spyro's 1st Lt, Kitoro Kuujo appears and strikes. He is black with black dresds and has a low voice. Spyro" Thanks!" Kitoro" Just doing my job." Next fight. Kaori is next. She is taking on Daigo. He isn't that smart and sounds like he's stupid. A little on the chunky side. However, he's pretty strong in physical attributes. Daigo" Look at the nice lady. What's your name?" Kaori" I'm Kaori. The Queen of the Spirit World." Daigo" It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Daigo."
Eventually, Kaori upsets him and he showed a tremendous strength boost. His voice even changed to a more serious tone. Kaori begins to see what's going on. He returns to his regular self. Acting like he didn't know what he did. Kaori" It seems he has a problem maintaining himself. He can't focus." Daigo smashes the ground repeatedly. The ground shakes and tears. Kaori said something that upsetted him. Daigo" You're being mean again." He chunks a piece of the ground at her and at full force. Great speed went behind it and connected. Daigo" I'm sorry! I didn't mean to." When he gets mad, he gets stronger. Kaori uses Special Queen Cannon(Spirit Cannon/sounds like Special Beam Cannon). Has a different look and is purple. It starts off as a combo. It puts a hole inside Daigo. Daigo" You put a hole in me. Now you're going to pay!!!" He screams to the top of his lungs in anger. He transforms into a more larger and deadlier form. He has a different power this time. Explosion power. He stumps the ground and multiple of explosions go off.
Kaori summons Hinge #53: Medusa. She tries cutting him but won't. She says positive things and it actually works. She catches him and uses, Now Gaze. Medusa's finisher. He turns into stone and she breaks him. Daigo is dead. A flashback of his life is shown. 4 strong Soul Snatchers left. Kaori's has one braid in the back. Next fight. Tadashi is up and is taking on Masako. He is big and strong. Has brown hair. The tallest Spirit Guardian as of now. Has a dark brown beard. He's getting an upper hand on Masako early on. He hits her so hard, she becomes gooey. Tadashi" This is going to be difficult. I can't even do any damage to her. What can I do?" Masako" Just as I thought. He'll never get out of this one. Watch him struggle." Tadashi uses his Spirit Cannon but it only made her in more pieces. Red color and is wavy/medium in size. He summons Hinge #63: Perseus. A large blade. Tadashi" Time to get serious now!" Masako" As if it matters. You spirit beings taking out our people. I won't be next." Ending. Masako sticks to his back. Tadashi uses an ability that freezes his body along with hers. He releases the technique.
She tries her power but isn't working. Masako" What is this!?" He uses his finisher. Aegis shield of Perseus. During Greek weapon finishers, the symbol of person will appear. His blade glows and becomes Aegis. He begins to charge and spears her. Masako is dead. Flashback shows her life. The Spirit Guardians aren't waiting to fight. They are fighting at the same time. 3 strong Soul Snatchers left. Next fight. Akahiro is up and is taking on Jimmu. He is big and strong. Has a light blue hair color. Mustache. Dragon marking on left side of his face. Akahiro" I want you to know this. You could either surrender or continue. The choice is yours." Jimmu" Now why would I surrender? I hadn't gotten the chance to test myself." Akahiro" I just happened to be the strongest spirit being in the Spirit World without including Lord Spyro and King Spiro. And my rank is Major General. And again there are only 2 people who outrank me. Those two are the lord and the Spirit World(he pointed at them). All of this means you have no chance at winning." Jimmu" Wow. That was a mouthful. I'm glad you got it out." Akahiro summons his bow and uses it. He has a great accuracy. He doesn't miss target spots.
He hasn't missed a single hit. He's on defense. Akahiro" I feel sorry for you. I don't miss." Jimmu uses Killer Instant . Used hand signs. Allows Akahiro to not use any previous moves. Doesn't know about it yet. He can't shoot arrows anymore. He uses a small sized Spirit Cannon. When hit, it gets bigger. It wears off and Akahiro continues to use arrows. He summons Hinge #67: Kratos. A Mornimg Star Weapon. A club type weapon with spikes on the ball part. He twirls it around and shows off his strength. Jimmu" Hey you're pretty good with that." Akahiro" I'll show you more." Jimmu uses his second ability. Krazy Feet. Grants the person speed on their feet. Feet has spirit energy. It wears off and Akahiro uses his finisher. Strength and Power: Mighty Smash. He hits the ground so hard, it breaks. Jimmu's body splits and shatters because of the impact. The ground is no more. Akahiro" Woops. Think I overdid it a little. Well, shouldn't have fought me. Warned him." Jimmu is dead and a flashback shows his life. 2 strong Soul Snatchers left.
Sid does something cool with his blade. He gets on it and rides it like a surfboard. He shoots flames out of the blade. Trying to keep his balance. Surfing Blade. Next fight. King Spiro is up and is battling Suiko. He has a mustache and beard combo. King Spiro has his blade ready. Suiko" I know about that blade of yours. With static and paralyzing power." King Spiro" Well then. I'll just have to avoid using it then." King Spiro does a 2 handed blast Spirit Cannon. Suiko uses her power and stops it. Freeze(pause) Ray. Her fingers shoot out a beam. Whatever it hits will become still. You'll be able to Command that person like a controller. She pauses King Spiro then rewinds him. He manages to break free somehow. She uses her final Technique. Hypnosis. King Spiro gets caught in it. Suiko" Now you're finished! I've finally got you." King Spiro transforms into his Veronimusha Form. Body has static around it. Hair is frizzy and sticking up. He doesn't pick up his blade. His speed has increased. He appears behind her at lightning speed and touches her gently. She is paralyzed then gets shocked and Suiko is dead. Static is much stronger. Flashback shows her life. There is only one left. Shi is still fighting the others. The Soul Snatchers are officially dead. The Spirit Guardians are waiting.
God Spyro challenges Shi. Has long beard. Shi" It's about time. Some real competition. Those other guys bored me." God Spyro" You better not disappoint me. I expect good from you. You're the last one." Shi" Of course. I am the strongest." Rundown: God Spyro uses an extra large Spirit Cannon with one hand. He summons Hinge #2: Zeus' Wrath. His summoning has lightnig effect. Lightning style blade. Shi uses his blade. Uses lightning style(with or without the blade). He reaches into beard and grabs Hinge #1: Shinoji. He cuts into the air(on ground) where Shi is standing. The Soul Snatchers get cut in half and not Shi. This is a lesson. Shinoji's special is it can cut through the thickest and strongest items/objects. Is made of about 3 swords in one and is very heavy. uses his Tiger God Fist. Shi uses Eye Of The Storm. Allows his eyes to know his opponents move. Has a time limit. Last ability is 100 Styles. Will be able to copy and use styles. Can use the style when they want to. He uses God Spyro's Tiger God Fist and much more. Bosu appears in the area. Bosu" I'm getting hungry. You know what to do." Shi" Yes sir." He eats the souls.
Bosu" I won't be needing your help. You're dismissed." His tube stabs him then eats his soul. Everyone does not know what is going on. 20 tubes appear and sucked out everybody's life. The Soul Snatchers are even gone. Sid, Phil and Fasha's too. That's right. When the main character's soul is taken, that's how you know it's getting serious. I went there. Bosu magically disappeared. The Spirit Guardians were holding back. The fights were getting shorter and shorter. It is too late to have the fights in details.There are only four survivors. God Spyro, King Spiro, Eyashi and Zushi. Spyro didn't survive. God Spyro" It seems we're the last beings here. We have to put an end to this little war." King Spiro" It's up to us to find the boss and take him out." Zushi" Yes. Understood." Eyashi" Be on our way." They split up in two's. Eyashi and Zushi spot Bosu first. He walks around wondrously. He looks confused. Eyashi" Remember what that Soul Snatcher said about the souls. Zushi" Yeah but how are we going to pull that off? He's huge." Zushi tries to sneak hin but he catches her. He stumps the ground and it caves in. He sees Eyashi and Zushi. Bosu" Still alive?"
Eyashi" Hey Zushi. Do you hear that? I can hear Phil and the others." Zushi" Yeah I can hear them." Bosu bends over and screams in pain while holding his stomach. Zushi's" He can't hold the souls anymore. He's just like a large soul. When souls keep eating and getting bigger, they usually explode. He's much bigger. Eyashi" Look he's starting!" Bosu charges his body but Zushi prevents him from continuing. Bosu" You look tasty!" He swallows Zushi whole. Eyashi" Zushi!" Eyashi charges at at his fastest speed. He delivers a punch so hard; he spits out Zushi and he catches her. Eyashi" It's time." Zushi" Whenever you're ready. Eyashi you're on the wrong side." Eyashi" Oh yeah. It's been a minute. Double." Zushi" Raika." Both say" Buster!" They are forming the Dual Raika or Double Raika Buster while running. It connects and all of the souls come rushing out. Life is back in the world. Eyashi and Zushi sees Bosu. On the ground. Bosu" Thank you for freeing me from this cycle. Good luck with your journey."
He dies. Eyashi and Zushi weren't expecting this from Bosu. God Spyro and King Spiro thank them . A Spirit Guardian appears named Quainga Stogona. Brown hair and goatee. He uses a device that fixes damages. He uses it on the other places as well. Earth is truly in peace now. Some demons have two color eyes. Kissiske's eyes were red(left) and orange(right). While on earth, demons have pink colored skin when they're in disguise. Eyashi has closed two back to back Arcs but this time with Zushi. The word close means when the main villain is defeated. When the main villain is defeated, there will be extra things to do despite being finished. It let's me help other characters out. The masters were the main characters of the last arc. I was being fair with my characters and gave Eyashi a lot of screen time. He was even the main character of the Arc. Eyashi isn't the only person who is going to close an Arc. This is why I like Blaze 3. When my characters are fighting, they have a variety of moves to use rather than the same technique. Also the fights have a pattern where they start off without weapon then it'll be introduced but not all of the time.
The Soul Snatcher's names came from Japanese emperors and emperoress except for Shi and Bosu. The Spirit World's name come from a game called Tak and the Power of Juju. I was trying to find an S word like in Soul Society. Tried making Blaze too much like Bleach but the name Spirit World was a cool name. Morph comes from the game Ape Escape 3. You catch monkeys with a net and they have other gadgets to. They had transformations called Morph. The Shinoji was used by 3 previous gods. Character rant. There were way too many characters at one time. Team Earth had too many members. I didn't know how to utilize so many characters. I should've started them off with their original 5(including Corroshi) members then have them get more along the way. I should have did the original story where Geo was supposed to be trapped then found. Geo was going to ask them to find the others. I didn't give the characters enough scenes or dialogs. What would this character say to that character? During the meetings, I didn't know who would talk. Those were the issues. Black Widow appeared late and had minimum appearances. I had big plans for Black Widow but I don't know what happened.
Other things: Fasha challenges Eyashi to a game of Mahjong. He accepts and the streak is on the line. It is a close game but Fasha has won and the streak is over. Fasha has gained a little streak of her own. Next. Sid will challenge Phil and Fasha. They want to see who's master is Superior. Phil is the victor. Team Blaze works on their charging attacks. Spid's lightning is getting stronger and he is getting better with his Reaper Sajettus. He creates a brand new move. Spit Lightning Attack. Works with fire(combined together). Team Blaze works on color elements. Fasha learns Ice Morph. She has a form now. At school. Korr is sitting next to Cumi and finds her attractive and talks to her. They're set to go out. A demon begins to stalk her. She gets this vision of the demon and knows where it is. Korr appears and saves Cumi just in time. He's finishes the demon. He explains his powers. The next night Cumi is able to see souls and it freaks her out. She goes to see Korr and he comforts her. Cumi has psychic power. I finally found somebody for Cumi. Black Widow gets a new leader. The 501st leaader. Odd number. They must be careful. Mayuni is doing much better. The others are as well. It is a female leader.
Haden masters purple lightning. A mysterious being is spawn from dark smoke. Has a black samurai armor. Geo sees it taking out people and tries to stop it but is no match. Domay has finally mastered red wind. Team Earth gets into a dispute. Geo and Eyon begin to butt head. The others are having a trouble cooperating. Corroshi steps in and wants them to practice with Team Blaze because of their leadership. Eventually they get better. Team Earth enters the Lightning Blaze Tournament and win. 2012 winners. Trios tournament. CJ is at a flower shop. A demon appears and backs her to the corner. It is going to kill her. She flinches and says leave me alone. Flowers comes from her hands. She uses it and the demon flees. Now she has power just like the others. The demon returns but Team Blaze kills it. She explains her power. Now she can really train with the others and she does. CJ tells her family. New Team Blaze member. This was a good and fun Arc. Hopefully the next Arc will be better. Blaze 3: Arc 3: Soul Snatchers over.

An Analysis of Global Sex Trafficking
https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/40117819/OBrien_sex_trafficking_article-libre.pdf?1447801679=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DAn_Analysis_of_Global_Sex_Trafficking.pdf&Expires=1717037463&Signature=ZzQCsaResXGz0OZoNH69cLPKD7MFIDYFW1tDB1XzncCRmUggI~dcf4NnS-f3shVsSd0clCNc-Yd8GlSqjU~bv8~DY~IVWJoppNX71DIGXrVpWIzcpUXuOi1iH31INISiDg~DjNy~CmV5hH~susI~ENdImAxt2E-j6ApYG5nnvmtetC~6yUlUHJ-mzjPysQHLX2UamYjpHDyw-wXzYZkp8VJmxlGgwL0rDprUzpNdpVyl4VzIeLgBXIel-I3ShFhz0H9-zzTs5Xcewf7WnuY3iW0~cNHbYakOzWI2Yg4oAv55eKG7ZCN-YJvDBG86t6tUiPz5BiUng~ZmLakHeOh1jA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
Globalization has caused collective economic devastation that has stripped whole countries of their non-sexual assets forcing young women into prostitution, often on purpose.

1. Globalization’s neoliberal market economy, transnational movement, consumerist agenda, and feminization of poverty have created a breeding ground for sex trafficking. I posit that globalization’s effects on (particularly “developing”) economies, such as Thailand, and the environment has created a supply and easy movement of trafficked women and children; that Western-dominated and patriarchal approaches contribute to a feminization of poverty and gendered division of labor, which includes sexual services; and that the commodification of the female (and child) body through the mass media has increased a demand for sex trafficking.

Sweden’s approach targets the demand and refuses to victim blame having a strictly abolitionist approach.

1. Finally, I argue that Sweden’s approach represents the best practice toward ameliorating sex trafficking by targeting the demand.

Traffickers use violence, threats, coercion and murder to instill fear in victims. Globalization increases violence, threats, coercion and murder in areas that traffick in the most prostitutes globally. Washington state may be one such instance.

1. Sex trafficking victims suffer physical, psychological, and economic abuse in this modern-day slavery; traffickers use violence, threats, coercion, and murder to instill fear in victims. Why have an increasing number of women and children (mostly girls) fallen victims to sex trafficking? This article analyzes sex trafficking and its connections with globalization, and then considers what policy approach best serves to deter this gender-based crime.

The true problem lies with the buyers, the customers, and the 99% purchasers being men

1. “[W]e can see where the true problem lies—it lies with the buyers, the customers, the men” (Torrey, 2004; 74). In short, inclusion of controls on demand for the sex trade is the keystone to drafting improved legislation to combat sex trafficking.

Sex trafficking is a form of violence against women and girls.

1. Primarily victimizing females, sex trafficking is a form of violence against women, and feminist theory calls for an examination of all violence against women and girls

Sex industry has been kept invisible to allow for rationalization of its continuance clearly in the public eye

1. Why has demand for the sex industry been afforded a near invisibility in policy and research (Salter 2003; 4, 76)? Since heteropatriarchy “privileges heterosexual, promiscuous masculinity,” feminist theory can challenge the demand for sexual services of women and children (Kempadoo, 2004; 9).

Colonialization includes a superiority-inferiority narrative used to rationalize rape and human trafficking as something that “doesn’t count” or “is deserved”.

1. Socialist feminism can critique the commodification of the female body that supports this demand; Third World feminism can bring insight into sex trafficking as a continuance of colonial industry that exploits females on the basis of race, class, and nationality.

Women face an imbalance of power which increases as the demand for sexual services increases. This is usually hegemonized through horrific financial gaps.

1. I utilize an abolitionist feminist perspective toward the sex industry, which profits from a demand for sexual services supplied mostly by women, who face an imbalance of power within a patriarchal system. This demand for sexual services fuels sex trafficking

Globalization, through trying to source cheap labor, has fueled human trafficking and normalized it everywhere where labor trafficking and sex trafficking intersect for cheap services.

1. Globalization’s international trade with a neoliberal market economy, its transnational movement through outsourcing and processing zones, its consumerist agenda, and its feminization of poverty (especially in developing nations) and labor (particularly exploiting women of color) 3 have created a breeding ground for sex trafficking.

Traffickers benefit from corrupt authorities and may pay off investigators to keep trafficking. They may even install particularly corrupt investigators to not investigate obvious human trafficking

1. effects on (particularly “developing”) economies and the environment has created a supply of women and children to be trafficked, and an easy movement of people by traffickers, who benefit from corrupt authorities

Commodification of the woman has increased demand by men often fed by powerless exotic women with no capital and no access to schooling that will provide the defenses they need from this predation.

1. commodification of the female (and child) body through the mass media and the Internet has increased a “demand” by men for sexual commodities at the expense of “others,” especially “foreign, exotic” women.

Increasing economic inequality and disadvantaging the poorest of the poor purposefully takes away all money-created assets a person has to force them into selling their bodies.

1. While the feminization of poverty and gender-based violence exist worldwide, environmental injustice and unfair economic policies disproportionately harm poor women and girls in developing nations. A system favoring developed nations in the name of globalization, which promotes “free” trade, contributes to global sex trafficking by increasing economic inequality and disadvantaging the “poorest of the poor.”

Globalization devastated the local land so that Thai people could not rely on the land to survive and had to begin sex trafficking to survive.

1. One may examine Thailand’s environmental destruction to understand globalization’s increase in migration and urbanization, which contribute to sex trafficking. Transnational corporations in need of land for fast-growing trees (like rubber and eucalyptus) or industrial shrimp farms for their own harvesting have been displacing indigenous Thai people (who typically lack land titles) from their homelands, causing deforestation, flooding from soil erosion, and a lack of food and resources (such as mushrooms and fish) to sell for the local people’s income

Loan and debt creation was the primary entry red flag into being a target for human trafficking

1. One elder Thai woman explained how the market economy encroached upon villages, creating a consumer culture, luring the youth to the city, and creating a loan and debt cycle for people who wanted more market economy goods as propelled by the media (Usher, 1994; 16). After the military presence during the Vietnam War and the resulting sex tourism industry, more young women and girls left their villages to sell their bodies (all they had left to sell in the market economy) to support their poor families back home, because they could no longer produce sufficient food from the environmentally damaged lands and they were forcefully removed from other lands,

China trafficks Thai, Myanmar, Macau and Vietnamese peoples to Western nations as “exotic” luxuries. Up to two million people, including children, are being fed to this demand by Western nations

1. In addition to environmental injustice that disadvantages people within developing nations, such as Thailand, globalization’s “opening” of borders for goods and “products” includes people, thereby increasing opportunities for sex trafficking through lax controls and checks. Traffickers easily move victims across borders into and out of Thailand, a supplier and user of sex trafficking victims. In China, for instance, women and children are trafficked across regional borders into Thailand, Myanmar, Macau, and Vietnam, as well as from Thailand to Western nations for the sex trade. Statistics vary on Thailand’s sex industry, but they range from 86,000 to two million women and children prostituting in this global sex market (Usher, 2004; 18).

The Contagion in 1997 forced Thailand to devalue their currency which then couldn’t support their people. They then applied for an IMF loan that imposed policies and debt upon the Thai people that paved the way for human trafficking.

1. some, while harming the interests of many local people. In 1997, the Contagion (part of the Asian financial crisis) first struck Thailand, forcing the Thai government to devalue their currency, causing a rapid decline in salaries, job losses, and setting the scene for an IMF loan, which imposed policies and a debt upon the Thai government.5

IMF used this debt to control their policies

1. This neocolonialism destabilized their economies, made them poorer, devalued their currencies, forced them to borrow and become indebted, thereby allowing the IMF and other lenders to control their national policies. In December 1997, the Contagion reached Korea, which turned to the IMF when it neared default on Japanese and U.S. loans. Due to pressure, the banks rolled over their loans and Korea received the largest loan, $55 billion, in world history from the U.S.

There is definitely a pattern of causing financial crises in a country and then moving in to create a trafficking market there

1. “Countries as diverse as Vietnam, Cuba, and those in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union—all beset by acute financial crises while becoming market economies in varying degrees—are witnessing a tremendous increase in trafficking and prostitution”

Thailand attempts to pay off debts imposed through rigid ignorance of the differences between types of countries by prostituting women. Debt and debt servicing starts the machine of human sex trafficking.

1. By not fairly including developing nations in the global economy and essentially closing markets to them in the guise of IMF-World Bank-WTO policies, we fail to ameliorate an economic cause of global sex trafficking. Prostitution through sex tourism has become one of Thailand’s major financial resources as it helps the government pay off debts, which form a part of the cycle of economic abuse in globalization. Indeed, Saskia Sassen states, “Debt and debt servicing problems have become a systemic feature of the developing world since the 1980s” causing the creation of “shadow” or illicit economies of globalization (Saunders, 2004; 94). In order to combat sex trafficking, the global community should eliminate economic policies that create conditions ripe for an illicit sex trade.

Officials are bought off and are disturbing indifferent. In fact in Vietnam, 70% of people caught in sex acts are police. An Australian diplomat was another one.

1. 6 corruption among law enforcement officials and government agencies plays a key role in the successful operation of the criminal networks that traffic in human slave labor (King, 2004; 20). Officials can be bought off, laws against trafficking are weak in many countries, and attitudes7 toward violence against women are indifferent at best in many places. In Vietnam, “70% of those caught in brothels are reported to be state officials” (Enriquez, 2006; 4). Corruption exists within all nations, but rather than placing full blame on local officials, we must also hold non-locals colluding in sex trafficking accountable. For instance, “[f]ormer Australian diplomat Robert Michael Scoble was arrested March 2004 in Thailand in a joint operation conducted by the Royal Thai Police and Australian Federal Police…charged for promoting Thailand for sex tourism, child pornography, and trafficking of boys” (Cullen, 2004).

Young girls are “initiated” into prostitution by their pimp surprise raping them. Seeking help they are returned to their pimps and beat. The pimp convinced the girl of her worthlessness and tried to convince her she deserved her fate.

1. Sold at the age of fourteen to a brothel, Siri was “initiated” into the sex industry by a pimp raping her.8 She was now a prostitute—a sex slave. Though she escaped and sought help, a policeman returned Siri to the brothel owner, who beat her; brothel owners pay police to ignore sex trafficking. Physically enslaved and sexually servicing about three hundred men per month, Siri also suffered psychological abuse. “It did not take long for the pimp to convince Siri of her worthlessness, and for Siri to accept the view of herself as a mere female who deserved her fate” (King, 2004; 26). Like Siri, trafficked women and girls are victims of a modern slavery, aided by corrupt authorities, including government workers, and the new global economy’s circuits and movement of money and people.

Men in the military will try to attract women to their barracks; that failing they will actually kidnap them. That failing, they will sexually abuse their own female compatriots.

1. d a push for sex tourism to fulfill the demand of a hypermasculine and market-driven ideology that permeates globalization. Despite an increased supply of women drawn into the sex industry due to economic conditions under globalization, “this ‘supply’ would never be used for sex trafficking purposes without the creation of demand” (Nikolic-Ristanovic, no date; 1). In general, men in armed forces (whether “armies, militias, or groups of bandits”) either “attract commercial sex workers to their barracks, kidnap women [and girls] from villages to provide sexual services in their camps, or harass women serving in their own ranks” (Silliman, 1999; 96). The Balkans, for example, reveals a rise in sex trafficking due to the military presence during and after the ethnic conflicts, and calls attention to the corruption involved in the sex trade, as United Nations and NATO 9 forces committed sex trafficking crimes in the Balkans.

These behaviors lead to an increase in prostitution wherever these militaries are found.

1. The presence of a military base in a region, regardless of war, expands prostitution, thereby creating a larger demand for sex trafficking as evidenced in the Philippines and Korea.

During the Vietnam war this hid under the narrative of rest and relaxation.

1. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Department of Defense had a contract with the Thai government to provide "Recreation & Relaxation" [R&R or “rest and relaxation”] for U.S. soldiers. With money from the U.S. government, local Thai prostitution organized and expanded into a major industry

Here men are supposed to control others and act like pimps and acts like they are entitled to their bodies in a way they are not.

1. Hypermasculine denotes a sense of entitlement to women, the “Other” (Beauvoir, 1949), and a violent masculinity (like militaries) aimed at controlling others.10 Enriquez (2006) critiques the framework of globalization as masculinist based “on the gender division of labour, with women subsidizing reproductive work, and with neo-liberalism basing itself on the idea of competitiveness and domination” (Enriquez, 2006; 1). Heteropatriarchy encourages a viewpoint of masculinity that endorses men’s domination over and entitlement to women’s bodies, and certain groups of women fare worse due to race or other factors.

Women in both the North and South are purposefully disadvantage economically to make them vulnerable to human sex trafficking

1. While recognizing a greater impoverishment in the global South, Enriquez links patriarchy, capitalism, and economic inequality in the North and South, stressing that in both hemispheres women are disadvantaged economically and are harmed by globalization more than their male counterparts

Extremes of sexual receptivity are enforced on targets of sex trafficking, women and girls being groomed for sex trafficking, or actual human sex trafficking victims

1. “In Western industrialized societies, hegemonic masculinity is characterized by work in the paid labor market, the subordination of women and girls, heterosexism and the driven and uncontrollable sexuality of men” (NikolicRistanovic, no date; 4). Further connecting “hegemonic masculinity” to a demand for women’s sexual services, Robert Connell stresses that “emphasized femininity complements hegemonic masculinity,” which emphasizes the “sexual receptivity” of “younger women” (Nikolic-Ristanovic, no date; 4).

Governments profit from the pimping of women when male demand and economies in crisis coincide

1. Male demand, female inequality, and economies in crisis—among other factors—lie at the nexus of sex trafficking” (Hynes, 2002; 197). Governments, depending on the illicit economy of the sex trade, profit from the pimping of women (Saunders, 2004; 91).

Australia and Netherlands have legalized prostitution which ironically drives a huge market to bring in “exotic” new women whose homes and lives are destroyed to displace them to meet the demand

1. The increasing demand for the global sex industry. The governments of Australia and the Netherlands have benefited from the lucrative sex trafficking economy by legalizing prostitution, which creates a demand for the illegal recruitment of women from the global South.

Japan and Australia are loathe to investigate because their economies make so much money on it. This may lead to unconscionable representation.

1. In Australia, where prostitution has been legalized, the government seeks to maintain its new “taxpaying, profitable sex industry,” by denying sex trafficking and saying they have only a problem with illegal immigration (Torrey, 2004; 71). In 1999, a brothel owner in Australia profited “at least $1.2 million from the services of” 40 trafficked Thai women, and licensed brothels in Victoria, Australia, reportedly “earned around $1 million a week from the sex slave trade” (Cwikel, 2005; 315). Within “Japan, the world’s second largest economy, the sex trade brings in $400 million per year” (King, 2004; 21).

Criminal groups are turning to women as high-profit, low risk commodity. They literally refer to them as a commodity.

1. Yet, sex tourism is incredibly profitable for governments that unofficially accept or legalize prostitution, and “criminal groups are turning to women as a high-profit, low-risk ‘commodity’” (Weiss, 2002; 2).

A horrifying phenomenon has been witnessed where if a woman goes to the police or doesn’t want to be trafficked anymore they may try to make some final money on her in a snuff film.

1. Globalization’s commodification of the female (and child) body through the mass media, pornography, and the Internet has increased a demand for sexual commodities at the expense of the “Other,” especially “foreign, exotic” women. Within a market-driven, masculinist economy, sex trafficking thrives by treating women and girls as cold-cash commodities, which unlike drugs, can be sold for many years at a high profit to criminal networks. Yet, due to a large supply of poor women, trafficking victims are disposable products. If a woman complains too much, she is killed or sold to another brothel, and some women, particularly women of color, are raped and killed in “snuff” videos.

Pornography increased the commodification of women and callousness towards women.It increases the demand to levels that would not be so high without it.

1. “The more the subjects were exposed to pornography, the more they showed callousness towards women, the less they believed in the women’s liberation movement, and the less time they thought rapists should spend in jail” (Torrey, 2004; addendum 4). Some feminists argue that pornography objectifies women and increases the demand for the sex industry, which then uses sex trafficking to satisfy the increased demand (MacKinnon, 2005).

Auctions of men considering a woman and seeing if they want to buy her happen repeatedly and often, horrifyingly enough

1. In a photo by Kimberlee Acquaro for a sex trafficking article (Landesman, 2004; 24-35), a young girl stands outside a hotel in Mexico, surrounded by a circle of men of various occupations, deciding whether or not they want to purchase her body. Such a sex “auction” presents this girl as a commodity to fulfill a heteropatriarchal demand

Johns possess a neo--colonialist mentally that permits sexual violence that viewed women as products to satisfy them

1. Reflecting a sense of entitlement to women’s bodies, this neo-colonialist mentality of johns permits sexual violence similar to that perpetrated by colonial slave owners, who viewed purchased women as promiscuous products to sexually satisfy them (Eisenstein, 2004; 88).

99% of clients in the sex trade are male

1. “Ninety-nine per cent of clients in the sex trade are male. Boys are trained to be offenders and girls to be victims” (Seabrook, 2001; 168).

An article on prostitution saw weaponized fact checking that increased threefold when speaking on a store that included human sex trafficking, and false reasons for eliminating criticizing the demand side, showing extreme rationalization. Clearly trying to squash the story.

1. Many have participated in the sex industry at some point, so examining demand leads many to question their own involvement in or indifference to the sexual exploitation of women and children.12 The resistance to examining the demand side of the sex industry is evident in Peter Landesman’s testimony. At a human trafficking conference at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Landesman (2004) stated that his sex trafficking article (published in the The New York Times Magazine in 2004) was greatly criticized by men, including four prominent journalists “whose names most Americans would recognize.” It took three weeks of fact-checking his article rather than the regular one week maximum fact-check typically required. Lastly, he was told by the (male) editors that he could not research and write an article about the “demand side” for their magazine. Demand, of course, would focus on the men who demand sexual services from women and children (mostly girls). This refusal by editors to consider publishing the demand side of sex trafficking exemplifies the lack of questioning regarding the demand that contributes to a profitable, gender-based crime within a masculinist economy

Johns created demand by saying that was the girls’ only way of eating. They showed no intelligence in getting them schooling and jobs that could generate lifetime capital that was mutually healthy for everyone involved, especially the girls. They claim the girls would starve to death if they didn’t do this. Taking away food is a way to force them into sex trafficking.

1. The majority of global sex trafficking victims are from Third World countries, and Western johns create a demand for sex workers during business, military, or tourist trips. One U.S. john says of his trips to Thailand, “These girls gotta eat, don’t they? I’m putting bread on their plate…They’d starve to death unless they whored” (Torrey, 2004; 31).

Women are so disrespected by society that even when prostitutes, they need pimps to be respected whereas men who engage in the exact same prostitute behaviors do not run the same problems.

1. While poverty is certainly part of the supply side, poor men in Third World nations are not trafficked for sexual purposes as women are, and most men who prostitute do not have pimps as opposed to most women prostitutes.

Selling white women as Russian and white eastern European women garner the “highest profit” for traffickers showing that an influx of these types with no safety nets suggest an extremely illegal human trafficking “investment”

1. While Russian “Natashas” and white eastern European women garner the “highest profits” for traffickers, “[g]lobally, prostitution and sex trafficking victims are overwhelmingly female, overwhelmingly women of color, and overwhelmingly poor” (Torrey, 2004; 27). Racism and economic inequality exist between who supplies the majority of “sexual services” and who demands them (Kempadoo, 2007; 138-139). Many johns believe that “what you do to a foreign woman is different, it doesn’t count” (Seabrook, 2001; 89).

Photos of bare-breasted girls were illegally distributed to drive tourism to an area. Truly disgusting.

1. Globalization creates a growing competition within the sex industry that demands an “import” of “younger and younger women from more ‘exotic’ backgrounds, thus victimizing our indigenous or aboriginal girls” (Enriquez, no date; 4). While living and working in Ethiopia (2005), I learned that indigenous girls from a southern Ethiopian tribe had been abducted and found in brothels. Based on my observations, several tourism billboards and posters throughout the capital and large towns seem to sexualize these culturally bare-breasted girls, whose poses or looks at times could appear to men as sexually inviting—yet, I did not see posters of this tribe’s women or males, cultural icons in their own right.14

Slave owners tried to gain total access to slaves and rationalized it with inferiority narratives that were enforced by stripping them of their right to equal justice in the courts as an enforcement of the rationalizations that facilitated their sex trafficking.

1. In the colonization of the Caribbean, white slave owners had the “right to total sexual access to slaves…and concubinage and prostitution were institutionalized”; such sexual arrangements indicated an “inferiority” of “the conquered and colonized non-Western Others” (Kempadoo, 2004; 30-31). Similarly, prostitutes are the sex trade’s inferior “Other.”16

Sweden criminalizes pimps, brothel owners, recruiters and transporters as the ones who demand services.

1. Instead of criminalizing the prostitute, Sweden utilizes a “trafficking paradigm,” in which the johns, “pimps, brothel owners, recruiters, [and] transporters” are criminalized as “the ones who demand services, are enriched by the proceeds of commercial sex, and are the ones who control, and often even enslave, the women providers” (Schauer, 2006; 159).

Sweden has a successful democracy that full cooperates in ending human sex trafficking for the most part.

1. Seeking a “democratic society where full gender equality is the norm,” Sweden has a history of activism “against prostitution and trafficking” (Ekberg, 2004; 1188). Moreover, there is a history of collaboration between the public and private sectors: the government, including the Division for Gender Equality, public authorities, the women’s and shelter movements, and other NGOs (Ekberg, 2004; 1190).

Traffickers still hide in clandestine locations but it has successfully become unattractive to human traffickers, protecting and valuing its own

1. While traffickers may hide women in clandestine locations, “Sweden no longer is an attractive market for traffickers” due to its abolitionist policy against the demand for prostitution, which relies on the sex trade (Ekberg, 2004; 1200).

Neocolonialist policies imposed on developing nations have created debt

1. “Neocolonialist” policies imposed on developing nations have created debt and contributed to the feminization of poverty associated with global sex trafficking. U.S. media “accounts have generally lacked an analysis of the structures that account for women being trafficked into prostitution, namely, the global sex industry, the subordination of women, the gendered labor market, and the multiple economic crises and inequalities that underlie women’s lives” (Hynes, 2002; 200). Further, increased immigration controls in a global economy that demands migration will contribute to a reliance on “traffickers to cross the border,” thereby increasing women’s chances of becoming sexual slaves (Saunders, 2004; 99).

US doesn’t examine itself or other countries like Saudi Arabia for being part of creating demand

1. Western “powers” like the United States rank23 developing nations in a paternalistic, “unilateral” fashion regarding their efforts to reduce sex trafficking. Yet, the U.S. does not fairly rank certain (militarily or economically strategic) nations, such as Saudi Arabia, nor the U.S. itself, for their part in creating and continuing sex trafficking, and until 2005, the U.S. did not significantly address demand, such as whether or not a country “encourag[es] sex tourism” (Tiefenbrun, 2006-2007; 270-271).

Most women don’t have a chance, pimped and put up for sale the second they run away from childhood sex abuse

1. . Lastly, I acknowledge that some women may choose to enter sex work, but based on research, the majority of "consenting" sex workers do so for economic survival and/or based on past abuse (Cwikel, 2005; 307-308). Childhood sexual abuse is common for females in the sex industry. OJJDP (2003) reports that a large percentage of prostitutes ran away from sexual abuse. While many poor and/or abused women do not choose sex work, others may view it as their only or best choice given their circumstances/experiences that socially construct their identities and options within a patriarchal system.

Most prostitutes are extreme victims of DV, abused, threatened and killed if they try to leave. Strippers forced to have sex with their clients are common, and punished if they don’t act enthusiastic. They are broken in through rape and stripping.

1. Many assume that prostitutes choose to prostitute and can leave whenever they want. Based on my experience with Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive (H.I.P.S.) in Washington, D.C. (1996-1997) and other social work (domestic and international), I disagree with that assumption, because many prostitutes are trafficked from their hometowns, coerced/ forced to prostitute, abused, threatened, and killed if they try to leave. Domestic trafficking may include strippers who are forced to have sexual relations with customers/owners, or runaways who enter an abusive relationship with a recruiter, who first "breaks her in" for prostitution through rape and/or stripping. Moreover, since the sex industry is gendered in terms of supply and demand, it presents its exceptions of women who enjoy sex work

Forced slavery is at its greatest when there are weak economies and war in destabilized regions

1. King (2004; 9) writes, "The profit potential of forced slavery is at its greatest when there are weak economies and war in destabilized regions."

Initially, men try to evade new laws on prostitution citing they would be too difficult to enforce. However, when they spend time with the John school material, defending the atrocious becomes pretty much impossible and most of them want to walk back their original defenses of the situation.

1. improve enforcement of prostitution/ trafficking laws. In Sweden, police (mostly men) were "being asked to enforce a [new anti-prostitution] law that seriously threatens traditional male values" (Ekberg, 2004; 1196). Thus, police representatives were initially "critical of the law, suggesting that it would be difficult to enforce" (1196). Yet, after receiving education on prostitution and trafficking, including its violence, their attitudes changed and the "initial criticism of the law as being difficult to enforce has ceased" (1196). In contrast to the norms or attitudes promoted by Sweden's Law, "[i]n countries where prostitution is legalized or tolerated, the idea that women are objects for male sexual pleasure and, therefore, can be sold and bought, is normalized" (1197). Tiefenbrun (2006; 270) agrees that "cultural attitudes" are important and "can be changed."

Raping girls is seen to break the girls, and pimps often deliberately father children with the women not out of interest in a relationship but to have collateral to leverage with them. Initiation rapes are often videotaped to blackmail the girls into servitude and distributed, often under false and unrelated narratives, to keep the girl being groomed/trafficked in line. She is told not to “grow roots” so that she can’t get help in any given city. If she does stay, she is constantly removed to different residences or everyone she talks to is isolated and turned against her.

1. 8 Based on my experience with H.I.P.S., raping girls is a common initiation by pimps and traffickers to "break" the girls, and pimps often deliberately father children, so the children can be used to keep the prostituted mothers in line. Initiation rapes or forced sexual services are often videotaped to blackmail the girl into servitude. She must "work off' her debt through prostitution until the pimp/traffickers are finished with her body; she is often traded from city to city to ensure that she does not become familiar with her surroundings or people who may enable her escape.

NATO forces were seen engaging in prostitution as were UN peacekeepers, trying to keep it from coming to light that the women weren’t trafficked so that they could abide by vague and permissive laws that said they would allow it as long as it wasn’t clear or not whether the girls were being trafficked, incentivizing extremes of court corruption and evidence hiding.

1. UN peacekeepers have "engag[ed] in sexual misconduct while deployed" in Cambodia, East Timor, W. Africa, Bosnia-Herzegovina; NATO's Stabilization Force included soldiers involved in "actually ‘buying' trafficked women and actively participating in the trafficking of women into prostitution by forging documents, recruiting, and selling women to brothel owners" (Alfred, 2006; 6-7). Dismally, the UN "reportedly responded to Bosnian abuses of the late 1990s with something akin to denial... [I]nvestigators experienced an astonishing cover-up attempt...None of the peacekeepers involved in these offenses suffered any punishment greater than repatriation" (7). NATO has since implemented a weak policy that allows troops to buy "prostitutes as long as it is unclear that the prostitutes have been trafficked" (15). In May 2002, U.S. Forces Korea was accused of "protecting" "establishments that employed trafficked women" through "courtesy patrols" (12). Resultant U.S. military "off-limits" policy for sexual services "has been effective in dissuading businesses from engaging in these practices" due to the negative economic impact of policies that forbid soldiers from frequenting such places (13).

Prostituted in Germany are aggressively and horrifically victim blamed in stark contrast to the excellent Swedish model.

1. Prostituted women in Germany are "frequently subjected to immediate detention and deportation, denied health services, and are viewed as illegal immigrants who have committed a crime, rather than individuals in need of support" (1954). Here, legalized prostitution does not adequately provide health benefits to prostituted women.

The internet is a primary way for pimps to prostitute in the Philippines, with many buyers of trafficked Filipino girls from China and Japan only possible to sell them to through the internet

1. In the Philippines, "[t]he Internet is the main recruitment tool for the sex tourist industry to bring in rich western tourists to the impoverished South. It is the advertising arm of this sex industry" (Cullen, 2004).

Capitalism destroys natural resources on purpose so the women are forced to commodify themselves, this is similar to someone destroying someone’s career and taking all their property to try to force them into sex work.

1. Luxemburg argues that capitalism destroys natural resources, so people will become impoverished and will depend on capitalism as workers.

Streetwalker districts lower the price for all the girls favoring only the pimps and expose the women to extreme violence

1. The competition among women in streetwalker districts...leads to low prices for sex services, unprotected sex, violence from the side of the clients, and fights among women" (49)

Pimps will attack the worth of their victims when they are not sexually receptive to the culture or clients as a way to “punch” them and control them as well. They can be witnessed in an aggressive influx of extremely abusive behavior when they refuse to go to someone the person is trying to groom them to go to, disgustingly enough.

(Chifuyu)
Chifuyu: The brigadier of the Japanese military was basically my father figure.
(Ichika)
Ichika: Chifuyu and her close friends were basically my moms, while Tabane……..was actually kind of a father figure to me if I’m going to be honest, as she helped teach me about technology and robotics…..
(Madoka)
Madoka: I have no need for parental figures!
Autumn: AHEM!
Squall: Who again were the two women who raised you?
Madoka: …….okay fine I do have two adoptive mothers.
Rain: And with that you’re also technically my adopted sister.
Madoka: SHUT UP RAIN!

DAY: MAY 28 2024
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COUNTRIES AT ODDS OVER HOW TO REIGNITE PANDEMIC AGREEMENT

5-28-2024

SILIBININ, AN OLD AND NEW MOLECULE

5-28-2024

NEW REPORT REVEALS FATHERHOOD’S HIDDEN HEART HEALTH TOLL

5-28-2024

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AUDITORY CUES AFFECT BODY REPRESENTATION AND VICE-VERSA?

5-28-2024

TARGETING ‘MONSTER CANCER CELLS’ COULD REDUCE RECURRENCE RATES AFTER CANCER THERAPY

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS PROPOSE SURGICAL ALGORITHM FOR NASAL ALAR DEFECTS IN ASIAN PATIENTS

5-28-2024

EFFECTIVE LYMPH NODE TRANSFER EASES ARM SWELLING IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS

5-28-2024

INVESTIGATING HYPERACTIVATION OF MEMORY CIRCUITS AND ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE RISK

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS DEVELOP 3D MODEL TO BETTER TREAT NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS

5-28-2024

EXTERNAL VENTRICULAR DRAINAGE TIMING IN TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY MAY RESULT IN BETTER LONG-TERM FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS GENETICALLY MODIFY E. COLI BACTERIA WITH PART OF HIV VIRUS IN BID FOR SUCCESSFUL VACCINE

5-28-2024

NEW STUDY SHOWS ABDOMINAL OBESITY AND MUSCLE WEAKNESS IN 8-YEAR-OLDS

5-28-2024

EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK-WAVE LITHOTRIPSY, ENDOSCOPY BENEFICIAL FOR PANCREATITIS

5-28-2024

CONSIDERABLE VARIATION SEEN IN MORTALITY RATES FOR SUSPECTED SEPSIS

5-28-2024

CONJUGATED EQUINE ESTROGEN MAY INCREASE RISK FOR OVARIAN CANCER

5-28-2024

RISING COSTS OF HEALTH CARE COVERAGE CONTINUE TO PUT FINANCIAL STRAIN ON EVEN THE PRIVATELY INSURED

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS URGE IMMEDIATE ALCOHOL REGULATION TO CURB VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, KIDS

5-28-2024

STUDY OF DEADLY AUSTRALIAN JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS VIRUS STRAIN PROMPTS PUSH FOR NEW VACCINE

5-28-2024

STUDY FINDS TEXT REMINDERS HELP IMPROVE HEALTH CARE WORKERS’ MENTAL HEALTH

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS DEVELOP MINIMALLY INVASIVE SCAFFOLD DELIVERY SYSTEM USING DYNAMIC THERMOSET POLYURETHANE

5-28-2024

MIGRANTS MUST BE A FOCUS OF CATCH-UP VACCINATION CAMPAIGNS, WARN GLOBAL HEALTH EXPERTS

5-28-2024

SPECIFIC MICROBIAL HALLMARKS IN VAGINA COULD INDICATE GYNECOLOGICAL CANCERS

5-28-2024

PEOPLE COMING OFF ANTIDEPRESSANTS ARE LOOKING FOR HELP ONLINE, UNDERSCORING A GAP IN TRADITIONAL CLINICAL PRACTICES

5-28-2024

CASES OF BACTERIAL DISEASE RISE IN BRAZIL’S FLOODED SOUTH

5-28-2024

MEASLES CASES SURGING AGAIN IN EUROPE: WHO

5-28-2024

ETHICAL APPROACHES TO MITIGATE H5N1 BIRD FLU

5-28-2024

PHARMACISTS PROVE EFFECTIVE, LESS COSTLY CARE OPTION FOR MINOR ILLNESSES

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY PROMISING PROTEIN CANDIDATE FOR METABOLIC DISEASE TREATMENT

5-28-2024

NEXT-GEN KNEE TRAINING MODEL HEADS FOR GLOBAL MARKETS

5-28-2024

POTENTIAL FUTURE TARGET FOR TREATING PRIMARY HEADACHE DISORDERS IDENTIFIED

5-28-2024

GENETIC MOSAICISM MORE COMMON THAN THOUGHT, STUDY SHOWS

5-28-2024

NEW SEQUENCING METHOD ANALYZES LUNG MICROBIOMES TO PREDICT MORTALITY IN CHILDREN FOLLOWING BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT

5-28-2024

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS URGENT NEED TO TACKLE HEALTH CHALLENGES FOR MIGRANTS IN EUROPE

5-28-2024

ONE IN EIGHT PREGNANT PEOPLE HAVE A DISABILITY, BUT REPORT SHOWS GAPS EXIST IN THE PROVISION OF ACCESSIBLE CARE

5-28-2024

BINGE-EATING DISORDER NOT AS TRANSIENT AS PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT

5-28-2024

SAN DIEGO’S BIGGEST MEDICAL PROVIDER IS ALL IN ON ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGERY

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS REFORMULATE ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS WITH COATING THAT MITIGATES WEIGHT GAIN, BOOSTS SEROTONIN

5-28-2024

STUDY DEMONSTRATES HOW CYTOKINES PRODUCE LONG LASTING HUMORAL IMMUNITY FOLLOWING VACCINATION

5-28-2024

ENGINEERED CAR T CELLS REPRESS SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF ALLERGIC ASTHMA IN MICE FOR A YEAR

5-28-2024

NEW SWEAT MONITORING DEVICE DOESN’T REQUIRE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

5-28-2024

MATHEMATICAL MODEL EXPLOITS CANCER CELL PLASTICITY TO GUIDE ADAPTIVE THERAPY

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS DISCOVER NOVEL METHOD TO PREDICT EFFECTIVENESS OF MESENCHYMAL STROMAL CELLS FOR CARTILAGE REPAIR

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY ‘DEGREES OF KEVIN BACON’ GENE IN WELL-CONNECTED FRUIT FLIES

5-28-2024

STUDY POINTS TO NEW COMBINATION STRATEGY FOR PANCREATIC CANCER

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS ESTABLISH MICROFLUIDIC CONTROL TECHNOLOGY FOR BLOOD TESTING DEVICES

5-28-2024

PROTEOMIC SIGNATURES MAY INDICATE MRI-ASSESSED LIVER FAT

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS ESTABLISH MICROFLUIDIC CONTROL TECHNOLOGY FOR BLOOD TESTING DEVICES

5-28-2024

PROTEOMIC SIGNATURES MAY INDICATE MRI-ASSESSED LIVER FAT

I heard apparently the way us casting works particularly with anime or Japanese media dubs is that it becomes impossible for say an actor that's lets say 45 to get cast as young age 23 and under. I hear this also leads to actors in anime roles getting recast once they reach a certain age. Voice actress Michelle ruff in recent months has been passionately criticizinf this heavily and calling it ageism. She said that she should still despite being 55, get roles of 16 year olds because she says she can still create a youthful tone in her voice to make new voices. What's your opinion on this? I hear this effects women more than men.