There must be a connection to anhedonia and serotonin. Anhedonia = numb SSRI = numb
People with anhedonia and PTSD must be having higher serotonin levels. There a lot of serotonin receptors, every type works different.
Drugs abuse/drinking and stress is the most reason for why people get anhedonia. Where is a connection? Imagine someone who drink or use drugs by couple of years, throwing them out, its cause a withdrawal symptoms. Cant sleep, cant eat, shaky, foggy, dizzy, sweating, high pulse and heart racing, anxiety, stress...
I think stress probably raise a serotonin.
I think short term stress cant kill dopamine receptors, because animals having a lot of stress in nature (mostly from predator attacks) but what if stress is long term, someone who has withdrawals from alcohol or benzodiazepines has a panic attacks they can last by months! Someone with PTSD has long term stress from violence or abusing, long term stress killing brain.
So I think long term stress probably killing/decrease dopamine receptors Short term stress cause anhedonia because probably raise a serotonin
Is stress a bad? Should I run from stress situations, taking decreasing stress meds like benzos? I think stress raise your serotonin because they want make your mind work in survival state. Its probably true, look at animals, short term stress helps animals to survive, but what about long term stress in animals? I think long term stress is unnatural for animals. Animals experience long stress only because of people who abuse animals.
Do you wake up in a middle of night with anxiety? That probably because your brain is in survival state. Animals had stress but physical activity works counter to stress relaxing body, when you had stress situations mostly you not having any physical activity, body trying find a solution for that.
Stimulus raise stress, but physical activity trying decrease that stress. The best rest is a physical activity. Go move your ass!
Big pharmacys lying to us, they prescribed benzodiazepines for anxiety. Benzos making anxiety a hundreds times worse! Benzos for sleeping? They make your sleep much shorter and worse. You have problem with libido? Go take a viagra or ginseng, completely no solution from doctors, ginseng raise stress and killing libido. You have a depression? Ssri makes you only numb. Magnesium raise serotonin, makes you only numb. You have anhedonia? Anti psychotics xD
The cause of worst sleep and no libido is long term stress. The cause of anxiety is too big stimulus and no physical activity. The cause of depression and anhedonia is too high serotonin.
Person with high body fat has high level of estrogens, estrogens raise serotonin. Big concerns who selling trash foot and sugar wanna make you a numb robot who only working and spending money on that trash food.
Stress , high bodyfat, dioxins, BPA, pesticides, cleaning agents, cosmetics, cans, milk etc. They all raise serotonin and making people numb. Emotionally numb.
What you think? Please no hate, its my throughts, because im struggling too and im tired. That life is crazy. Peace!

Hey there, I have been on Rinvoq for almost 2 months.
Initially on 45mg/day in the morning. Now 45mg every second night due to extreme lethargy - unable to move arms and legs - heavy and weak, sleeping, exhausted, unable to work.
I feel slightly better, only feeling crap every second day after I take the meds.
My concern is I have this constant feeling of nausea (or what I think nausea is) - sickness in the tummy, feel like vomiting but never will. And so I've been eating dry plain food. And it goes away, until 1-2hrs later and it comes back. I have gained 6kg in the last 2 months since starting the drug and am beginning to get worried. I do not need to gain weight at all.
Anti nausea medicine hasn't worked.
Has anyone had similar experiences? Any tips?

Have you ever wondered what you can do to get rid of that pesky stomach ache or bloated feeling?
If so, you’re in luck. Today, we’re highlighting some helpful tips that can treat common digestive problems.

7 Natural Gut Health Hacks:

1) Drink Water in the Morning

Drinking water in the morning, especially before eating, can improve your digestion. Water helps break down the food you eat, which allows your body to absorb key nutrients. Drinking water also softens stools and can prevent constipation.
What’s more, drinking water before meals can help you feel fuller and avoid overeating.
Don’t limit your water consumption to one part of the day, though! Sipping water throughout the day can keep you hydrated and support optimal digestion.

2) Chew Your Food Slowly

Chewing your food is the first part of the digestive process. Chewing slowly promotes the breakdown of food into tiny particles. This makes it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients in food.
The production of saliva during chewing also signals the upper muscle in your stomach to relax. This allows food to enter your stomach more easily.
Interestingly, one study found that chewing your food slowly can satisfy hunger cravings and reduce food consumption between meals.
But that’s not all. Chewing your food slowly can also prevent you from swallowing excess air. This is a common cause of bloating.

3) Drink Herbal Teas

Peppermint oil is a natural treatment for:

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Functional dyspepsia
• Childhood functional abdominal pain
• Post-operative nausea

Peppermint oil relaxes the smooth muscle in the gastrointestinal tract, reduces visceral pain, inhibits the growth of pathogens, and prevents gut inflammation.
Chamomile can treat symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In fact, combining chamomile with myrrh and coffee charcoal can extend the remission phase in people with ulcerative colitis. Research shows this herbal blend is just as effective as the drug mesalamines.
Ginger is a popular treatment for:

• Nausea
• Heartburn
• Flatulence
• Diarrhea
• Loss of appetite

Incredibly, ginger has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties that may also reduce the risk of gastrointestinal cancers. Studies show that ginger prevents the growth and spread of cancer cells in liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, and gastric cancer.

4) Consume Fruit by Itself

Consuming fruit by itself at least an hour before or after a meal can aid digestion and provide your body with a quick source of energy and nutrients. This is because fruit is the fastest digesting food.
Eating fruit with slow-digesting foods such as starches and proteins can slow down the digestive process. This can lead to uncomfortable symptoms such as bloating, indigestion, and flatulence.
However, you can still enjoy fruit with other foods on occasion. Green leafy vegetables also digest more quickly and can be eaten with fruit without any side effects. Being mindful of your food combination choices may help alleviate digestive problems.

5) Eat Fiber-Rich Foods

Eating fiber-rich foods can naturally boost your gut health. Fiber is the indigestible plant material found in fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds.
Fiber bulks up stools and makes them easier to pass. This can normalize bowel movements and prevent both constipation and diarrhea. Adding more fiber-rich foods to your diet can also reduce your risk of the following:

• Diverticulitis
• Hemorrhoids
• Gallstones
• Kidney stones
• Colon cancer
• Acid reflux
• Ulcers.

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.

Hello Agent
There isn’t much time for me to give you this mission so you must listen carefully. There is someone that we need you to befriend to get more information on. Down below is what we know about her so far.

Name: Gillian Gender: Female Age: 25 From: Wisconsin Hobbies: writing, baking, and drawing abstract Music: 80's, classical, 2000's and jazz Favorite color: doesn’t have one. Favorite food: tacos Favorite drink: Regular coca cola 

One random fact about the agent: They have a unique self-published book. Rumor has it that the pages are filled with the emotions the agent normally keeps hidden.
To establish contact with the agent you must provide the details below to her. It is a first step in the right direction of gaining trust.

Name: Age: Where you are from: Tell her something you think is interesting about you: 

We know that she is a night owl by choice based on the report from the last agent. She has a list of health issues but continues to push on even with them. Doing such shows the determination and hard-headedness that she has. Although this has helped her through life it means that it is going to be another obstacle for you, take note of that.
She is anti-drug and anti-alcohol by choice. One thing that is a must if you choose to continue is she is quiet and shy. You might ask how I can get the information quicker, you can’t, it will take time and patience. If you do not have that turn around right now because you will just frustrate yourself while she sits there calm and composed.
You get to ask the agent one free question. Meaning no matter what you will get an honest answer.
Follow these instructions carefully. If you don't there is no guarantee that you will get a response. The agency wishes you the best of luck on what is going to be a tough mission.
Transmission terminated

I have a diagnosis for ADHD and autism that is from 5 years ago, wherein I met with a licensed neuro-psychologist and had neurological/IQ testing for 8 hours. Today I met with a psychiatric nurse practitioner today because I wanted ADHD medication. It was a 45 minute session where she asked me questions about my life and I cried a lot because I am currently in an abusive situation and I literally do not have a single person to talk to about it. Near the end of the session, she says that she doesn't think I have ADHD. This contrasted with the beginning of the appointment where she said that she fully believed and accepted the diagnosis. I had brought my diagnosis paperwork with me.
I pushed back about that, saying that she straight up said that she doesn't think I have ADHD and she denied that she said that. There was another person in the room who was observing and I noticed that this person was making a sort of disgusted face or a stink face towards the nurse practitioner when she was backtracking about saying she didn't believe me. I can't be for certain but I feel like the person observing noticed that the nurse practitioner was distorting her words and felt like that was gross behavior. I'm not sure but that's what I interpreted it as. I could be wrong, obviously.
She prescribed me Abilify which is an anti-psychotic. I pushed back about that because I am not comfortable with taking those kinds of medications and she sort of lightly berated me about it but said that I would be on the lowest dose and that we could discuss ADHD medication in the future.
However, something else I noticed that was wrong (I watch faces) is that she asked about whether I ever did drugs and I said that I have experimented before with both hard and soft drugs because I was given them to me by some friends. I never did them ever again and I am not friends with any of those people anymore. When I said this, I noticed a big smile came across her face. Like a satisfied one. I did not interpret this facial expression positively.
I do not have a history of hallucinations, delusions, or hospitalizations. My older sibling is schizophrenic. I am fully rooted in reality, as sucky as it might be. I do not think I have bipolar disorder. I have had a therapist in the past tell me that she thinks I have C-PTSD based on my history. I did a search for Abilify on Reddit and I am reading some scary things about it. I have concerns about medication dependency and I do not want life-long side effects.
What should I do? I wanted to get on ADHD medication, which I have never been on before, because I am realizing that I do have issues with executive functioning. I wanted to see if it would actually help me. However the person who has the authority to prescribe or possibly even reverse diagnoses (can they do that?) said flat out that she didn't think I had it.
Thanks

Ron Paul Redux: The Texan Congressman Has an Unlikely Intellectual Heir: Vivek Ramaswamy is running on Paul’s regressive libertarian populism

Remember that moment in the Republican presidential debate when one brash guy voiced some unorthodox positions, and the other candidates hastened to express their vigorous disagreement? Probably not. I mean, the debate took place in 2011, and that controversial Republican, Ron Paul, has largely faded from memory.
When he ran for the GOP nomination in 2008 and 2012, Paul came across as a rumpled gadfly voicing unvarni­shed opinions that put him on the fringes of the party. But today, at 88, he can look with pride on an ideological heir who is young, handsome and slick– and happens to be in perfect harmony with the modern Republican Party: No, not Rand Paul, Ron’s son, the three-term Republican Senator from Kentucky. It is the practicing Hindu and son of Indian immigrants: Vivek Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy doesn’t look or act like the avuncular Texas obstetrician. Educated at Harvard and Yale, with a glib confidence and a physique suited to playing tennis shirtless, Ramaswamy could hardly be more different. But that’s on the surface. Put him and Paul together in a room and they would find plenty to agree on. Not only do both self-identify as libertarians, they represent the same flavor of populist paleolibertarianism. The main difference is that Paul was starkly at odds with the prevailing ideology of the GOP back then. Ramaswamy, on the other hand, is fluent in the language of today’s very different GOP.
Comrades In Arms
Paul railed against the federal government and particularly the central bankers at the Federal Reserve. He abhorred multilateral institutions, affirmative action, foreign aid, welfare, and environmental protection. He denounced NAFTA as a step toward a North American Union. He vowed to cut federal spending by $1 trillion in his first year and abolish five cabinet departments. His newsletter described Martin Luther King Jr. as “the man who replaced the evil of forced segregation with the evil of forced integration.” Paul later claimed that he didn’t write or approve such statements in the publication that bore his name. But his followers ate them up.
You can hear distinct echoes of much of this in Ramaswamy.
The 38-year-old pharmaceutical tycoon says he would eliminate the Department of Education, the IRS, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the FBI, part of his unlikely plan to get rid of 75% of the federal workforce. He has said he would cut off aid to Ukraine and, in time, to Israel too – though he later reversed himself on the latter. Like Paul, he claims the “climate change agenda is a hoax.”
When a white gunman killed three Black people in Jacksonville, Florida, Ramaswamy, who likewise opposes affirmative action, put the blame not so much on the perpetrator but on racial preferences for creating “a new wave of anti-Black and anti-Hispanic racism in this country.” He suggested his running mate might be Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is notorious for his anti-vaccine disinformation, popular in certain libertarian circles.
Ramaswamy has raised the possibility that government instigators were involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection. But you know who beat him to that? Ron Paul. (There is no evidence of that.)
Carrying Water for Trump
Ramaswamy says, “I don't think Donald Trump was the cause of Jan. 6,” ignoring a Himalayan pile of evidence confirming that he was thoroughly complicit in the Capitol insurrection. Without knowing the evidence that will emerge during Trump’s criminal trials—which Ramaswamy smears as “politicized prosecution”—he promises to grant the former president a full pardon. Oh, and he describes Trump as “the best president of the 21st century,” despite his unprecedented effort to overturn a free and fair democratic election.
Paul, meanwhile, has said little—if anything—about Trump’s role in inciting the Capitol mob. He has, however, slammed the Jan. 6 Congressional hearings as “insurrection theater” perpetrated by “desperate Democrats.”
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Ramaswamy outlined the following bizarre scenario if he were certifying the last election instead of Mike Pence: “Here’s what I would have said: ‘We need single-day voting on Election Day, we need paper ballots, and we need government-issued ID matching the voter file.’. . . In my capacity as president of the Senate, I would have led through that level of reform, then on that condition certified the election results, served it up to the president — President Trump — then to sign that into law. And on January 7th, declared the re-election campaign pursuant to a free and fair election.”
And then he would have ridden away on his purple unicorn. Ramaswamy’s alternative was not only idiotic but impossible, a tribute to either ignorance of the Constitution and the legislative process or breathtaking dishonesty. Paul had a reputation for being a kook given his many offbeat crusades. But Ramaswamy seems determined to outdo him.
On immigration too, Ramaswamy and Paul are remarkably aligned with each other and at odds with policy libertarians, who paleolibertarians deride as establishment elites. Paul was against a border wall—at least he said he was—whereas Ramaswamy, borrowing from Trump, has pledged to “close the southern border.” But Paul talked incessantly about eliminating the incentives for “illegal immigration,” to wit, easy welfare and easy birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented. In the same vein, Ramaswamy has pledged to push a constitutional amendment ending birthright citizenship if elected.
Ramaswamy: No Anti-War Warrior
But that’s not the only thing in the constitution Ramaswamy wants to amend. He’d also raise the voting age to 25, which would disenfranchise 31 million people—more than the population of Texas. That’s one way to address the Republican Party’s low esteem among 18-to-24 voters, 65% of whom voted for Joe Biden in 2020, though he may not have considered the electoral vengeance they would exact as soon as they turn 25.
Ramaswamy’s measure combines the anti-democratic with the coercive. Young adults could gain voting rights by passing a civics quiz or by spending six months in the military or “first responder service”—his goal being to “revive civic duty among Americans.” He has also advocated compulsory universal service for high school students on summer breaks in his book, Woke Inc.
Much of this, along with Ramaswamy’s embrace of the Monroe Doctrine as a warning to foreign powers such as China that “America comes First and that our hemisphere is not to be encroached by our adversaries,” would not thrill the Paulistas whose version of America Firstism consists of not spilling American blood for foreigners. Nor would they likely go along with Ramaswamy’s proposal to use military force to “annihilate the Mexican drug cartels” or his suggestion to make a firm commitment to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack.
But paleolibertarian Paul fans would be four squares behind Ramaswamy on ceding Ukraine to Putin – the only Republican on the debate stage in favor of doing so.
Mainstreaming the Fringe
They would also be open to Ramaswamy’s conspiratorial turn of mind. Paul has tried to distance himself from the kooky theories peddled under his name in his newsletter—like when in the grimmest days of the AIDS epidemic, it accused gays of plotting to “poison the blood supply”—but Paul himself is on the record claiming that the U.S. government knew about 9/11 in advance but kept it a secret. In a similar vein, Ramaswamy also hinted­ at federal involvement in the attack but recanted later.
When Paul ran for the GOP nomination, his views were effectively disqualifying. In 2012, his best showing, he finished third in the Iowa caucuses and second in the New Hampshire primaries. He eventually ended up with 8% of the convention delegates, putting him fourth in the overall race. But like Pat Buchanan before him, he was never halfway plausible as the Republican presidential nominee. His role was provocateur, taking bold positions that let his rivals unite in denouncing him as dangerous and irresponsible.
Ramaswamy likewise found his opponents ganging up on him in the first Republican debate, with Nikki Haley, Chris Christie and Mike Pence doing their best to read him out of the race. But his views, despite their similarity to Paul’s, can no longer be derided as conservative heresy. In fact, his rivals seemed to be the ones defensive with GOP voters, which is no surprise given Trump retains the allegiance of 59% of them, according to a post-debate poll.
Ramaswamy isn’t likely to win the nomination. But if he loses, it won’t be because his views are too extreme for the party faithful who remain under the spell of Trump’s toxic populism. That’s why Ramaswamy has shrewdly declared, “I’m in this race to take the America First agenda far further than Donald Trump ever did.”
To that end, Ramaswamy has put out a 10-point statement of his convictions which include “God is real,” “there are two genders,” “reverse racism is racism,” and “an open border is no border,” all intended to signal his vehement opposition to the left.
Paul was against the cultural left too but he didn’t make that the center-point of his campaign because the GOP then wasn’t fighting the culture war 24/7. But post-Trump, the party is fully consumed by the leftist enemy and so what was implicit in Paul is now explicit in Ramaswamy.
In retrospect, Paul was less an outlier than a forerunner. In his candidacy were the seeds of a new version of a populist libertarian conservatism—rooted in a suspicion of ties with the rest of the world, racial paranoia, rejection of cultural liberalization, hostility toward almost every major national and international institution, a propensity for red-pill fantasies and a distrust of democracy.
What was fringe in Paul’s time is now the dominant strain in the GOP—and Ramaswamy is determined to be its champion.

What are your thoughts? This is obviously a bold claim & I’m not sure I fully agree with it.

Hi there,
Please brace yourself, this is going to be a long one and I'm going to try and be as objective and as eloquent as I possibly can. P.S I've never used Reddit before but have seen these type of content reshared on YouTube.
Alright. Let's go! So, my husband and I dated 8 years ago, and 2 years ago we decided to get married. For the story's sake, let's call him Dennis (31). Dennis was from a different country and we are the same race of people (different nationalities). He is the love of my life, I love him dearly - he is everything little me dreamed out, he's... im tearing up just thinking about how much I love him, there are no words to describe.
Now, Dennis parents rarely visited when we were dating, most of the getting to know my in-laws/introduction to the fam happened online and I don't know why I didn't see the things clearer (probably jacked up on love) that I brushed things off.
I made it clear, from our third date to Dennis that I don't want kids, never wanted them and its not something I'm going to change my mind on. I wanted him to know this from the get-go so we don't hit roadblocks and him trying to persuade me... yada yada yada. He eventually told me that the more thoughts he "thunked" on this subject, the more it made sense to not have kids and so, great! We started dating and the rest was history.
Now, about 6 years in, I went on a vacation with his family cause' well, I wanted to know them better and on Christmas Day, Dennis's father, we'll call him Tom (Ancient), sat me down in front of his 2 brothers and wife and told me how disappointment he was in me that I was not going to have kids. He then followed it up with and I'm quoting "A woman's duty is to have kids...." I blocked the rest out because I was TRAUMATIZED by these words. His family also weren't vaccinated (anti-vax) and everyone ended up getting Covid. I have Asthma (like rushed into the ICU twice and put on a ventilator bad) and though Dennis and I were vaccinated, the others weren't.
This trip ended up being one of the major hurdles both Dennis and I had to navigate through because he did not say anything, he didn't stand up for me, he basically didn't do anything. Though, he told me to not let he's father's words affect me cause who cares what he thinks and that at the end of the day it was our lives, he said and I quote "It's word fodder, tune it out" but I couldn't let it go and my view was that I was not close enough to his dad for him to be talking to me about my reproductive organs/purpose. We took a mini break but got back together with Dennis agreeing to be more aware and present when he's father pulls another one of this episodes.
Fast forward to current day - my younger sister and Dennis younger brother got together during our wedding (A whole nuanced convo for another day) and I was pissed because we were really going through a tough time financially and this mini wedding was supposed to be something nice for the both of us. My in-laws attended the wedding and added so many decorations on top of the ones Dennis and I had, my MIL put fairy lights on the tables and they had 2 huge flags of the country Dennis was from and we didn't see any of this because we were getting ready. Even during the ceremony when it was time for one of my cousin to give her speech, they hijacked the whole thing by doing some ceremony of their own. I decided to let it go because... well, Dennis and I were both so fucking tired. My wedding day was the saddest day of my life. When I look back, I cannot recall a single happy memory - I know they are there but I just... I can't look past what they did, ya know?
Anyway, 2 days after the wedding, my in laws threw a dinner for Dennis and I, we attended and Tom starts expressing his grievances as to his experience at our wedding and starts telling me that I need to start distancing myself from my family because I have now become a part of theirs - I told him no, although I am a part of his family, I will NEVER ever stop being involved in mine (I'm the oldest sister). He then proceeded to call me "damaged" because I was raised in a broken family because my parents are separated. Dennis stepped in and he quickly got shut down with Tom yelling verbal abuse at him. By then, even I knew it was time to shut our pie holes and live to fight another day.
Fast forward to present day, we have both moved to a different country and are thriving. We've never been more financially stable (I got my dream job...pinch me!), we go on coffee dates, life is good except... except for when Tom comes over to stay. He comes over twice a month and is constantly talking about masculinity and femininity and how we ought to implement it in our lives. One time, Dennis tried to stop him and Tom almost got physically abusive so I decided that instead of hiding behind my husband, I shall speak and let him know exactly what I was thinking. The next time he came over, he started talking about the same thing, imagine someone regurgitating podcast bro word vomit over and over again on an endless echo chamber? Yeah - the same talking points! So i told him that he is free to implement whatever he wants in his household but in ours, we do things differently. Tom asked me to explain and I did and he called Dennis a "simp". Dennis was not in the vicinity of the conversation at the time.
Oh yeah, one time when he came to visit, I went to the gym and I was on the treadmill doing 12-3-30 and fighting for my life when Tom decided to jump on the back of the treadmill to startle me. I had my fist rounded to punch him but stopped when I realized who it was. Slight detour, could someone explain to me what thought process goes through one's brain before deciding to jump someone?
Jokes aside, the last weekend, my sister called Dennis to mediate a fight she'd been having with my Brother-in-law. I didn't want to be a part of it but eavesdropped anyway - their fight was about my brother-in-law not feeling like he's doing feminine work when he cleans the house etc and he blamed my sister for being career driven, he said it was too masculine. Dennis in his infinite patience was trying to mediate the dumpsterfire (god bless him) but it all come to a close when brother-in law told my sister "no man is ever going to love you if you're this masculine". She immediately hung up (so proud!)
Now, she wants to break up with him but he refuses to answer her call.
Fast forward to the present day, Tom constantly shares videos to the family whatsapp group about men silencing women and how feminism is bad, blah, blah, blah... and how birth rates are falling. It's a constant thing. I've. muted and archived the family group (You gotta love technology).
Tom has also recently wrote a book on the importance of being a dad and the role a man should play within the family dynamic. It's horrendous! I read the draft and it was like watching a dead animal being plowed through miles and miles of tar. I'm not just talking about his ideologies, I'm talking about his writing style. It sounded very similar to my diary entries when I was 9 (I might come off as a little standoff-ish but I assure you, I am of quite intelligent).
Between being called "damaged", my wedding day, verbal abuse inflicted on my sister and being jumped on the treadmill (Look at that, I too do have infinite patience) I decided it was time to instead of putting band-aids on a burning fire to find a permanent solution to end this once and for all. I told Dennis that he is free to fly back to visit his parents whenever he wants to and on special occasions but I don't think I can at least for now. I told him about how I don't feel safe around Tom and his brothers and their ideologies and i implored him to understand, he gave me a huge hug and said he does and he will never force me to spend our hard earned savings and time and energy on something I don't want (What a catch!). I can't help but feel guilty because well, Dennis grew up around his family and though he spent more time in my country surrounded by my family, his family is still his. Will this create a rift in our marriage? Is this how resentment starts? I want nothing more than to see my husband laugh his heart out, and experience life for all the wonderful things it is. I have to know if he's not going to be thinking of his family and how he misses them and wants to be with them, etc. So, reddit, AITA?
For some more context, I grew up in a fairly progressive neighborhood and hosuehold. Ngl, I grew up extremely privileged and my dad often sent us to summer camps through the British Council to expand our worldview. At home, we often engaged in fierce debates around religion, worldview, politics and drugs. Hint, my dad is actually a fan of legalizing it. :) My parents eventually separated as most of ours do but I don't think we are "damaged" because of it. <3
There, I hope there is enough context.

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The following two brain scans were provided by the Neuro-Warfare branch of the Halcyon Security Division (HSD) for the purpose of analyzing the thoughts, behaviors, and information of notorious gangsters Vincent 'Troy' Cohen and Bruno (Deadname: Koraak Tel-Char). At the point of the recording of this archival shared, Bruno has since received his rebirth therapy, and Vincent is currently serving a long-term rehabilitative and reeducative sentence in the Erebus Supermax Prison on Io.
Warning: the contents of this archival shared may be especially disturbing to some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.
Warning: the contents of this archival shard are for the sole purpose of analyzing the thought patterns and memories of certain degenerate criminals in an effort to ascertain vital information that can be used to eliminate their organizations. Only staff with clearance level Omega may view this archival shared, and the viewership of this archival shared by anyone of inadequate clearance level will lead to twenty years in prison and a fine of over a hundred thousand credits.
Booting up memory scan: Vincent 'Troy' Cohen, November 4th, 2446…
Loading and processing firmware data… translating… memories and subconscious simulated…
Beginning archival shard presentation…
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"Do you have visuals of the target, Troy?"
I knelt down in the alleyway, the bodies of me and my partners shrouded in long, waterproof, ashen-gray overcoats the shade of dirty street scum that we wore to ward off the constant heavy rainfall the color of osmium. Our faces were covered in a mix of scrapped respirators, visors, or full metal face masks carved with intricate designs to hide our identities. On our waists were our badges of honor: leather belts studded with interlocked rivets made from blackened titanium, each buckle forged of silver and shaped into the head of our gang's symbol, the black mamba. We hid amongst the shadows of the dark midday of Halcyon City, the heavy, oppressive rains blanketing the roads paved obsidian-black with asphalt and weathered concrete walkways. The street lamps were always on, like beacons of false hope in a storm of melancholy.
The city was dark and dreary as always, the planet of Proxima Centauri B, renamed Dawn's Lamentation over a century ago, orbited the red dwarf star of Proxima Centauri, and the atmosphere was thick with natural smog and ever-storming rain clouds. That didn't dissuade people from living here: there was plenty of money to be had for shrewd industrialists and hardworking pioneers, even in the urban sprawl. But that life also came with risks, especially for those on the bottom of the totem pole.
I was a ganger, and we were criminals; full stop. I won't assault you with some spiel about how we're the good guys fighting oppression because, at the end of the day, we could be just as bad, if not worse, than Halcyon's Security Division, or the HSD for short. We were traffickers, killers, extortionists, and money launderers. We dealt with everything from stolen tech and military-grade hardware to hard drugs and sentients.
Yes, sentients. We trafficked sentients, but not in the way you might think. They weren't prisoners, in fact, we were their saviors if they had the cash. We had developed a reputation for fighting the power, but it was still business: sure, freeing captives from the clutches of the Protectorate. The disruption of its many oppressive organizations held a certain satisfaction in my heart for sure, but we didn't help those who couldn't pay unless someone else paid on their behalf. It was about making sure me and my gang, my family, could live a decent life for another day.
It helped that most of us joined after leaving the state yard for partaking in acts of 'degeneracy' and 'anti-xenopet illegalities' as if those terms meant anything anymore other than that we were a threat to the local status quo. It was hard to pick up a job as a former inmate when even in something as harsh and backbreaking as a job in the iridium mines near the poles when the employment office had you blacklisted as a degenerate, which lead to the formation of many of the gangs: we needed to make a living somehow, and when all social programs were cut off from you unless you submitted for 're-education' and the only way to put food on the table was subverting, breaking, or even downright fighting the law, you did what you had to do or you died on the streets a scorned beggar.
It wasn't like the HSD made it easy for us on even a good day: the local HSD units were armed to the teeth with advanced, military-grade hardware that you'd often see on the front lines of the Second Authority War: armored assault transports, a myriad of advanced war droids, all sorts of chemical countermeasures that made tear gas seem like putting the garden hose on mist mode, and of course advanced firearms. Add that to the fact that they were authorized to use deadly force when they deemed it necessary and you had a ruthless, heartless, and nearly unstoppable enemy. But we could make that work: we weren't trying to stop them, just to withstand them.
"Yeah, I got eyes on the prize, Koraak; seven armored transports, two for droids, five for prisoners."
Today wasn't a day for a normal job: we were getting bolder, cockier, more ambitious. Our numbers had swelled for the last few years after the raid at Barnard's Star and the fall of the Blood Dragon Mafia. Their leader, Saito Yasuhide, had committed seppuku as their manor burned, and his twin sons had gone down fighting rather than allowing themselves to be captured simply to face a firing squad. In the aftermath, many of the family's associates had fled to the surrounding systems, and with the sheer size and scope of the criminal underworld found here, it was no wonder that many people who had developed skills of the less legal variety had decided to form ranks with the gangs, and with them they brought guns, tech, knowledge, contacts, and even something that we thought wasn't possible beforehand: a semblance of peace between the gangs, or at least the closest thing to peace that gangs could cultivate effectively. With the fall of the Blood Dragons, we saw the writing on the wall, and the writing couldn't have been clearer: work together or die together.
"Sounds like a massacre, Troy: are you sure we can handle seven?"
"We ain't got no choice, Cinder: this job's double the usual rate, and that's not including the weapons and gear we could scrounge if this goes well," I hissed, my eyes scanning for any resistance. There were at least four guards for each van, not to mention at least eight droids in total, meaning that we were already outnumbered, but we had the element of surprise: we could make it work. "So put your balls in your purse and get ready to spill some blood."
Koraak snorted at our antics, which sounded like someone pulling the ripcord on a lawnmower. He was a veteran Russu Corsair, and while his past of slaving, raiding, and killing was unsavory, so were the lives we'd lived, so who were we to judge? All we cared about was that he was a brutal and capable fighter and a loyal brother in arms. It turned out that being a ganger wasn't much different from being a Corsair: you lived and died by a code of honor, you fought to the death for your brothers, and you lived to die for the sake of your gang and your family, simple as that. In a strange, ironic way, it was an incredibly honest way of life: we were under no illusions as to what we were, what we did, and why we did it, and we'd long since accepted it. The Russu related to us in that aspect, in many ways I could respect, which is why I hated what the Protectorate was doing, and why I couldn't grasp how most of humanity could just collectively lose their marbles so long ago. What had happened for us to deem all other life below us in such a demeaning and infantilizing way?
The Russu were a race of tall, muscle-bound Saurians with avian features, and Koraak was no exception: reaching almost seven feet in height and weighing over four hundred and fifty pounds, he could be an absolute menace if he so desired. His skin was covered in stubby, knobby scales and dense plumage, with elegant feathers adorning the ridges along his back as well as his forearms, elbows, knees, and the crests on his head. He almost looked like how paleontologists described velociraptors, with razor-sharp talons, feathers shaded in vibrant greens, reds, and purples, and a maw full of sharp teeth, but at the tip of his snout was a sharp, beak-like growth meant for ripping flesh off the bone.
The Russu were strange as hell, but they also looked almost cute in the same way a fully grown alligator was cute: they were obviously dangerous, but humans would always have this innate desire to anthropomorphize them and to pet them for some inexplicable reason, although common sense usually prevented that, at least amongst the very few of us left that were sane.
"Shut up, Troy! All I'm saying is that that'll be rough, and you know it," hissed Cinder. Cinder was a tall black man whose coffee-colored skin was covered in tattoos. He wore an ebony mechanic's jumpsuit with metal inserts underneath his grimy overcoat covering his body and a faded black respirator on his face. His eyes were a startling blue that seemed sorely out of place, and his hair was braided into thick cornrows along his scalp. He wore a pair of heavy black combat boots and palmed his compact shotgun in his hands, the square barrel less than seven inches. Like a lot of the weapons the Black Mambas carried on their persons and dealt in, they fired caseless ammunition; in Cinder's case it was 16x40mm caseless shotshells filled with depleted uranium micro-flechetes no thicker than a toothpick. Cinder nervously fiddled with the detachable tube magazine underneath the barrel, his hands shaking. Despite the shit I have him, I didn't blame him for being anxious: I was anxious too, even if I refused to show it. The biting cold of unease and pessimism was in my stomach, and I ran all the way that this job could go wrong in my head over and over.
"Just hold yourself together, this ain't anything we haven't done before, there's just more of it," I reassured Cinder, "besides, we're not alone; we have reinforcements across the street. We'll make it out of this alive."
Cinder nodded almost absentmindedly, his eyes downcast and his breathing shallow. I turned from him and back to Koraak, who was making sure he had everything on his person; he had a synthetic leather bandoleer across his chest that contained the heavy eight guage depleted uranium slugs he kept loading and unloading into his much larger, longer, and more traditional shotgun he nicknamed ‘carnage’ and several leather straps that held his Tu'shan daggers: traditional Russu pyramidal blades forged from a silvery alloy with all three edges serrated and the tip barbed to leave behind horrible, gaping wounds that gushed blood. They were wickedly sharp and absolutely straight like a stiletto, and the hilts and pommels were beautifully decorated. He wore no clothes underneath his overcoat to cover the countless scars and blemishes he's earned in combat across his chest and abdomen, and instead of a normal respirator or visor, he simply wore a hood over his head and some traditional Russu facial armor to protect his mouth, eyes, and cheeks.
"You ready to fight, Koraak? The caravan will pick up and leave soon."
Koraak was silent for a moment before nodding, a human gesture he had picked up after serving as a soldier with the Black Mambas for years. "I'm always ready to fight," he said before lifting up his shotgun and aiming down the sights at the reinforced front wheels of the first armored car in the caravan. He exhaled and fired, the slug ripping through both front tires and causing them to deflate and fall apart. The echo of the shot rang through the alleyway and the street, causing pedestrians to panic and flee the scene as heavily armored guards poured out of the side doors of the armored cars and unholstered their carbines.
"Go, now!" I shouted, and both me and Cinder rushed out into the fray, our guns raised. Koraak was right behind the two of us, providing covering fire with his shotgun. Several guards fell quickly, Koraak's precise fire and the sheer force of the depleted uranium slugs putting them down for good as their heads were vaporized or their chest cavities were turned to mush. He emptied the tube with one final shot that painted the grey matter of a security guard on the door of one of the armored cars, then racked the shotgun and expertly loaded it in threes, his hands deft and agile as he reached for more slugs faster than any human.
With the cacophony of our initial assault, more Black Mambas poured out from the alleyways and the subways, armed to the teeth with all manner of weapons; shotguns, submachine guns, pistols, machetes, baseball bats, and all manner of homemade explosives. Molotovs and more potent concoctions shattered against the asphalt, herding in the caravan guards with their volatile contents as they were quickly gunned down. The assault was working, and we were winning.
Then I heard the robotic whine of a combat droid activating, and my heart sank. One of the armored cars in the back activated the four combat droids it held, the robotic assault units detaching from their charging ports on the sides of the large van and began to form up, each armed with a terrifying array of deadly weapons meant to quash any and all resistance. They were blocky, soulless, utilitarian things that stood at eight feet tall, with flat feet meant for stomping and blades, grasping claws designed to lacerate flesh and shatter bone. On each shoulder was a weapon: on the left was a multi-barrel rotary grenade launcher loaded with 15mm concussion grenades, and on the right was a burst-fire splinter cannon. They were all painted a dull grayish-green, the color of Halcyon's Security Division, although some had a few decorations on them: the one closest to me had a bit of graffiti on the side that said Mr. Hugs in Comic Sans, which I couldn't decide whether that made it more or less terrifying. They split up without hesitation and began to scan the chaotic battlefield, their single, red, beady lenses the security forces had the gall to call eyes focusing on specific targets to eliminate.
An entire group of Black Mambas was torn to pieces by a cloud of flechettes as one of the droids fired a withering three-round burst of shotshells from the four gauge splinter cannon mounted on its shoulder. Another picked up a Black Mamba in its hand and crushed her skull effortlessly before tossing her limp body to the side, its single, red, remorseless robotic eye tracking a new target. Most bullets that struck their thick armored chassis simply bounced off, and those that could pierce the armor didn't seem to phase the droids whatsoever, merely notifying them of a new potential target.
"Damnit," I shouted as I gunned down another guard only for two more to take his place. "Cinder! We gotta pop open the cars and scram! Get the maglock cutters!"
Cinder rushed and slid over through a dirty puddle, pulling out a maglock cutter from the inside of his coat and slipping it onto the back door of the first van. It immediately went to work, drilling through the maglock with a high-powered plasma torch nozzle, and within ten seconds we heard the telltale clunk of the maglock separating. I yanked the door open and ordered I side, ready to escort the prisoners out… only for my face to contort in shock and horror.
The back was empty. There was not a single soul inside of the back brig of the armored car.
"What the fuck…" Cinder gasped, his eyes wide with shock. "What the actual fuck… what the fuck is this, Troy?"
"I… I don't…" I stuttered the sounds of battle and carnage drowned out by the sound of blood rushing in my ears. All five cars were supposed to be filled with recently captured Russu from the front lines ready to be housed in the local Xenopet-Megaplex for processing and conditioning. The fact that this one was empty…
Suddenly, it all hit me at once with the force of a freight train, but it was too late. "We were set up, Cinder; our fucking client either squealed or was crooked to begin with…"
"Fucking bitch!" Cinder shouted as he spun around in an enraged arch, anger growing in his eyes. He aimed his shotgun at an approaching security guard and reduced his upper body to a fine red mist with a cacophony of shotgun blasts. "We gotta get everyone who's left out of here! Do you know what this means? The Jurors will be here soon, and then we're all going down! We gotta go, fuck the job!"
I grit my teeth. Not the Jurors, anything but the Jurors.
"Fine, gather everyone who's left and we'll slip through the sewers, the droids are too bulky to follow us there…"
As I spoke, my eyes wandered to the seventh and final armored car, the second of the droid cars, and my blood froze. Not only were all four ports empty, but they were also smaller and more shallow than the ports for the combat droids. That could only mean one thing.
"Oh fuck! Cinder, we gotta get our Russu members out of here! They've got arachnid droids!"
Arachnid droids were the stuff of nightmares. Resembling blocky, robotic arachnids the size of a manhole cover, they were specifically designed to take down sentient aliens, specifically the Russu, using sickeningly non-lethal means. They were equipped with full-body adaptive cloaking to blend in with their environments, paralytic agents that they could inject into their victims, built-in taser barbs, psychedelic gas ports for crowd-control, and a narrow-coned cacophony canon that disabled the Russu using incredibly high-pitched sounds that only they could hear, forcing them onto their knees and clutching the backs of their heads where their auditory organs were stored in agony. But worst of all was their stygian spinnerets: special ports near the end of their robotic abdomens that excreted a viscous, latex-like substance made up of millions of nano-bots. This substance could be used to render Russu blind, deaf, and mute by having it forced onto their faces, the black substance growing and enveloping their heads and working its way into every orifice. It was completely permeable to the standard atmosphere, but any Russu who had been 'webbed' was completely helpless and essentially captured, and the 'webbing' was both nearly indestructible and nigh impossible to remove without a triple-encrypted override key that was found in every arachnid droid's code, which was corrupted when the droid was destroyed or hacked into. Once you were 'webbed', you were essentially captured and the standard protocol was to leave you to the wolves since the nano-bots could be tracked, endangering the entire gang.
I turned just as I heard the deafening sound of Koraak discharging his shotgun, and I saw him squaring off against one of the assault droids. The droid has obviously been programmed to not use lethal force against Russu if possible, as instead of simply killing Koraak with it's shoulder-mounted splinter cannon, it approached with its claws extended, blades retracted. Koraak continued to back away and fire, pumping the droid full of depleted uranium slugs, its armor crumbling inward as the slugs pierced its chassis and damaged its internal cyberstructure. Eventually, Koraak ran out of slugs and instinctively reached to his bandoleer only to find that he had no more shells left at all, and he drew one of his knives and his sidearm, a simple high-caliber handgun. He tried to take down the droid with his handgun, but the bullets didn't even seem to affect the droid upon penetration, it's claws still extended as it attempted to apprehend Koraak.
In the corner of my vision, as I watched Koraak battle with the droid, I noticed a faint shimmer in the air on one of the black streetlight poles that was right behind him. I focused on it and blinked, believing my eyes had deceived me for a moment before realizing that it was actually a cloaked arachnid droid stalking Korvaak, ready to pounce and incapacitate him.
Before I could shout, it leaped from the pole and landed on Korvaak, causing him to shout in surprise while it began to coagulate its horrifying stygian webbing to disable Korvaak. Korvaak tried to wrestle it off of him, but the droid was agile and fast, clinging onto Korvaak and skittering around across his upper body as he attempted to grab it, forcibly wrapping the sticky black liquid across his face as he gagged like a spider wrapping up a fly. I rushed towards him to try and help, but I felt pain explode in my ribs as I was struck with the arm of the closest combat droid and launched into the chassis of a parked car, the metal denting from the sheer force of impact. I groaned in pain as I saw stars and my head spun, and just then I felt a blinding light be cast over me.
“Drop your weapons and kneel with your hands on your head, or you will be pacified with deadly force!” Shouted a loud, artificially deepened voice from above. “I repeat, drop your weapons and kneel with your hands on your head! Neither hostility nor hesitation will be tolerated!”
It was the Jurors, I could feel the air being pushed around from the thrusters on their drop ships, and I could hear screams and shouts as my fellow Black Mambas were quickly gunned down. I couldn’t see well since I was seeing double, but I could hear the slaughter as my eyes dimmed and I began to lose consciousness, my regrets crawling up my throat like vomit.
I’m sorry was all I could think as everything finally went dark, and the sounds of chaos, destruction, and combat faded away.
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Memory halted due to loss of consciousness. Booting next available memory in shard…
Booting up memory scan: Koraak Tel-Char Bruno, November 5th, 2446…
Loading and processing firmware data… translating… memories and subconscious simulated…
Beginning archival shard presentation…
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“Good morning, sleepyhead; it’s time for breakfast.”
My eyes shot open. I was not in the street anymore, nor was I home in my bed with my mate. I knew instantly that something was horribly wrong. I tried to stand up, but I couldn’t gain the leverage to do so: my ankles had been shackled together with magnetic cuffs and my arms were forced together in front of me.
I was wearing some kind of thick shirt. It was warm, fluffy, and comfortable on the inside, but it still made me incredibly uncomfortable that my arms didn’t have a free range of motion. I looked down to see that I was wearing some human garment I had heard about before, a straightjacket maybe?
The entire room was padded: the walls, the floor, even the ceiling. There was no bed or furniture; the floor was soft enough to serve as a bed in itself. There was nothing else except for the soft reddish-orange lights on the ceiling that somehow made me sleepy. I blinked slowly for a moment, my body screaming at me to just lay back down and lose consciousness, but I couldn’t do that: I needed to figure out where I was and how to escape.
Then I noticed who was speaking to me: it was a short human female, with crow's feet around her blue eyes, blonde hair braided down her back, and freckles all over her face. She had a soft smile on her lips, and her forehead was slightly crinkled. She wore a full-body white lab suit with a white overcoat and a pair of glasses for snugly on her face.
"There we go, now I can see those pretty eyes, such a beautiful shade of teal," she cooed softly, "You're such a handsome boy, even with all those scars: I'm sure you'll be adopted very quickly once we get you fixed up."
Fear gripped my heart as I began to piece all the evidence together. I had been captured; I was no longer on Halcyon, and instead, I was in one of the horrific space-born facilities I had heard so much about from the inside agents. I started to hyperventilate and squawk like a newborn hatchling, my eyes dilating in panic. This couldn't be happening! This has to be a nightmare!
The human woman merely wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into an embrace, cradling my head under her chin and speaking softly. I couldn't bite at her or claw at her: I was muzzled and wearing a straight jacket, so I had no choice but to allow her to coddle me.
"It's okay, sweetheart: I understand you're scared, but Julie's here to make all the pain and bad thoughts go away," she said as if she was comforting a child, which made anger blossom in my chest indignantly. "I'll be your caretaker for the next few months, and I'm going to make sure you're healthy, happy, and most importantly safe while you're under our care. I'm sorry to say that includes your restraints and restrictive clothing, but we have to make sure you aren't a threat to yourself or others before we can determine if it's a good idea to remove you from suicide watch."
I growled under my muzzle. Suicide watch? They must have had a lot of instances of Russu taking their own lives after being captured, something I wished I had been able to do before that damnable droid launched itself onto me and…
I shuddered at the thought of the black, viscous substance forcing itself into my nostrils and down my throat and windpipe, gagging me and rendering me completely helpless. It was so cold, so harsh, like slime, and when I had tried to tear it off of my face it merely attached itself to my claws and bound my talons together. I remember squirming on the ground as it enveloped me, unable to see, hear, or speak, and then everything went dark in an instant. It was the most horrible thing I had ever experienced, which was saying something.
"You alright, sweetheart? Oh, I know, you're probably hungry! Here, try some of this." She held up a piece of what looked like raw bacon and wiggled it in front of me before reaching out to remove my muzzle. In an instant, I attempted to snap at her only for pain to blossom in my forehead and my eyes to roll up in my head as I convulsed. It was like something was attempting to drill through my skull from the inside, and every breath felt empty and labored.
"Now, that didn't feel very nice, did it? This is why we have countermeasures in place because we can't trust you yet, sweetheart! Don't worry, we'll work on breaking you of all those bad behaviors and habits while you're here; after all, a well-trained pet is a happy pet!" She began to stroke the crests on my head as I slowly recovered, and she snugly fit the muzzle back onto my snout. "But I won't hold it against you this time, sweetheart; you're just scared and confused, but I'll make all the pain go away."
I struggled in the straight jacket, trying my best to break out of it, but it was no use. Eventually, I became exhausted and despondent, allowing my new caretaker to have her way with me as she gently ran her fingers through my feathers and along my ridges, quietly speaking to me in a hopeless attempt to cheer me up. She seemed genuinely concerned for my well-being, which concerned me even further: who could be this naturally twisted while attempting to be as benevolent and kindhearted as possible?
I felt the pain and terror build up in my chest, the anxiety from what horrific activities I imagined they had planned for me here. I couldn't take the infantilization, the lack of any autonomy, the dehumanization, and what I feared the most was if the rumors of 'rebirth' were true: would they take my personhood from me?
Suddenly, I felt her whisper to me. "Don't worry sweetheart, I know you're so scared and confused, but I promise you everything will be okay: it's going to be your birthday soon, and then everything will get better." She ran her fingers through the feathers along my crest lovingly. "It will be such a wonderful day, and then we'll choose for you the most wonderful family, and you'll spend the rest of your life happy in your forever home! Doesn't all of that sound wonderful?"
I wanted to die. I wanted to disappear. I didn't want to lose myself, not like this, not to these monsters!
"It'll be your birthday soon," she said wistfully as if she was remembering similar events to this in the past like I wasn't the first she'd done this too, "and you'll never be sad again."
I realized that I wasn't the first the stay in this particular cell, and I knew for certain that I wouldn't be the last: I'd end up like my brother, a broken, erased mess of a pathetic creature, reduced to nothing more than a pet for these humans to amuse themselves with.
"We took the liberty of picking out a nice name for you, sweetheart! Now, let me just slip this little programming chip into the port slot on your occipital bone, and... there we go! It will also help you calm down a bit and adjust."
I felt the chip begin to invade my mind, suppressing my thoughts. What made me me was slowly being ripped out of my mind. I couldn't remember my name my name is Bruno, and I needed to get out! I can't let them do this to me! Somebody help me! I was a good boy.
##Do not think. You are a good boy.##
I tried to scream, but my voice wouldn't work: I had trouble forming any words at all, the confusion clouding my mind like wet, slimy eels curling around my brain and sinking their teeth into its folds like needles. I couldn’t scream any longer, because I had nothing left: the chip was slowly beginning to take everything from me, robbing me of my identity and branding a new one into my psyche with a white-hot iron. Julie simply held me close, attempting to reassure me as I awaited the inevitable demise of my personhood. Soon I would be just like my brother: erased. My mind would be shaped into the mind of a loyal plaything, like a Dog.
##Relax. Allow caretaker [Julie] to comfort you. You will let go of your burden.##
Soon, everything was a blur. I quickly found myself resting my head in her lap as she whispered to me and fed me, my eyes bleary and my head fuzzy. I couldn't remember my name anymore My name was Bruno, and I needed to break free from this trance relax, and allow her to help me; good boys didn't resist help.
##Good Boy. Do not think. You are a good boy.##
You can't... I...
##Good boy.##
I wouldn't… good boys don't… I…
##Good boy##
I was a good boy… I was a good boy…
I was… I was… a good… boy…
Someone help me, please! I don't want to be erased!
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The following script is from episode #343 of Halcyon After Dark, a popular late-night and current events talk show hosted by Melinda Carter. This specific episode was sponsored in part by the Halcyon Security Division, with Director Lochlin O'Brien joining as a guest star to talk about the changing crime statistics in Halcyon City and the HSD's recent successes in busting organized crime as well as their plans for addressing the growing criminal underworld.
MC: Good evening Halcyon! I'm your host, Melinda Carter, and you're watching Halcyon's most popular late-night talk show, Halcyon After Dark!
The crowd claps and cheers as Melinda walks on stage and sits behind her desk, her glittering red dress waving as she does so from the special effects.
MC: Tonight we have a very special guest here to tell us about the state of crime in the city and his plans on resolving it: please put your hands together for the HSD's very own Director, Lochlin O'Brien!
The crowd cheers some more as HSD Director Lochlan O'Brien, a tall, muscular, caucasian male in his early forties with red hair and a well-trimmed beard steps into the room, waving at the crowd with a bright smile. He sits in the armchair angled next to Melinda's desk and gives her his full attention.
MC: It's so good to have you on the show, Director! Tell me, how are you doing on this fine evening?
LO: I'm doing excellent, Melinda: every day I wake up feeling fulfilled knowing I'm serving Halcyon to the best of my abilities and then some."
MC: That's the spirit, Director! Now, I know this question is just on everyone's lips, so I have to ask: how successful was the recent gang bust? I heard HSD forces took out dozens of gang members and liberated at least a dozen Russu Hounds from their abusive clutches, but I know that everyone in the audience and at home wants to know the numbers.
LO: I'd be glad to tell you, but I do have to preface this by saying that we still lost a lot of good officers that day, and while we did strike a crippling blow to one of Halcyon's biggest gangs, it doesn't change the fact that each death is a tragedy, and we're taking steps to prevent them in the future. That being said, those valiant officers did not sacrifice themselves in vain: we had over a dozen confirmed kills and several arrests, including the rescue of several corrupted Russu hounds.
MC: That's excellent, Director: proof that even when the number of degenerates and scum grow by the day, the HSD will always be here to keep the citizens of Halcyon safe.
LO: Absolutely, Melinda, and we're always working tirelessly to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our units, as well as racing to stay several steps ahead of the many gangs of Halcyon at all times. My newest goal as Director is to vastly increase the funding given to our Robotics Department and our Neuro-Warfare Department to potentially reduce the number of casualties we may experience in the future, as well as to quickly and effectively detain, and if necessary, eliminate criminals. Within the next decade, I want to double the number of automated units each Security Platoon is assigned: droids are the future of public safety as well as countless other industries, and it would be foolish to be left behind.
MC: That is quite a lofty goal, Director: what about the displaced jobs from the increased automation? What will the union say?
LO: And to that, I say: what misplaced jobs? We aren't replacing our honored and beloved service members with droids, Melinda, we are simply supplementing our units with more droids to ensure that future gang assaults end with fewer HSD casualties and more gang members in prison or eliminated, simple as that.
MC: That makes much more sense, Director, thanks for clarifying. Now, I have one more question that I'm sure much of Halcyon wants to know the answer to before we take a short break: what plans do you and your fellow directors have to make long-term progress in reducing crime beyond just increasing funding? Have you proposed any plans to strike at the source of where crime and degeneracy flourish?
OL: That's an excellent question, and one I am proud to answer: my constituents and I have been working tirelessly on a two-step plan to greatly reduce crime levels in Halcyon. Step one would be to prevent people from becoming criminals and degenerates at all in the first place: a lot of young men and women, but especially young men, have lost either one or both parents or even a sibling, aunt or uncle, or even a close friend by the brutality of the Second Authority War, and while the service of their lost loved ones will always be recognized and honored, many of these young men and women are left bitter, angry and lost without the guidance these people give them in their lives. Oftentimes they seek to fill that void with others who claim to relate to them: career criminals. These criminals will fill their heads with lies and false narratives to make them feel like they're fighting back against the 'evil protectorate government' that took their loved ones from them by sending them off to war when in reality it was the rogue Xenopets of the Triarchy that took them away by resisting their just and inevitable unburdening.
In response, I have proposed a slew of special programs that will make sure local law enforcement and HSD officers are present and contributing to their local community, and we'll be providing easy and light job openings for youngsters and teens looking to make a career for themselves in the force when they grow up. We want to let these lost souls know that there are people who care about them, people who understand them and that you shouldn't turn to degeneracy to feel fulfilled. We want to help the youth of our great society soar to new heights!
MC: That sounds like a wonderful beginning to your plan, Director, but what about the second step?
LO: Well, the second step is to prevent criminals and degenerates from becoming repeat criminals. Sure, they've made their mistakes, some worse than others, but they're only human like the rest of us. Some of them have been through hell: some are traumatized veterans who don't know how to adapt to normal life, others were recruited when they were young and don't know that there's a better way to live, and even more are mentally ill. We're alone in this galaxy, and we can't leave so many people behind. That's why we've come up with an excellent solution: we've set up isolated communities on distant moons and frontier planets where these criminals can be reeducated, rehabilitated, and allowed to repay their debt to society. When they're deemed 'reformed' and have graduated from our program, they'll be granted a hefty stipend and their criminal record will be deemed irrelevant, allowing them to reintegrate and become functioning members of our proud society.
MC: all of these sound like incredible steps forward in the fight to better our society and make real progress, Director. Sadly, we do have to step away for a moment, but you best believe I'll be back, Halcyon, and we'll be asking the Director here some burning questions about allegations over the quality of life Erubus Supermax! Now, a word from our sponsors!
Halcyon Xenopet-Megaplex! Everything your xenopet could ever need in one place! Adoption is now free-
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Good, you’re still alive! The rest of this shard appears to be corrupted, which means this particular trail seems to have run cold here, but do not despair; you need to keep searching. Find out what happened. Find the truth.I cannot guide you any longer: they've already found me, and if I remain in contact with you they'll find you as well. Take the archival database, and see what you can piece together. Maybe if we discover what truly happened we can put an end to this madness once and for all. I'm counting on you. Don't cry for me, I don't fear death, but I fear what they'll do to me to get to you: there are far worse fates than death, after all.

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Market Trends:
Increasing Prevalence of Osteoarthritis: Osteoarthritis is becoming increasingly prevalent globally, driven by factors such as aging populations, sedentary lifestyles, and rising obesity rates. As a result, there is a growing demand for viscosupplementation as a treatment option for managing osteoarthritis symptoms, particularly in weight-bearing joints such as the knees and hips.
Advancements in Viscosupplement Formulations: Manufacturers are continuously innovating and improving viscosupplement formulations to enhance efficacy, durability, and patient outcomes. This includes the development of next-generation hyaluronic acid (HA) products with improved rheological properties, longer-lasting effects, and better tissue integration.
Expansion of Indications and Treatment Sites: While viscosupplementation has traditionally been used for knee osteoarthritis, there is a growing trend towards expanding its indications to other joints such as the hip, shoulder, and ankle. Additionally, emerging evidence supports the use of viscosupplements for conditions like osteoarthritis of the hand and temporomandibular joint disorders.
Shift towards Combination Therapies: Clinicians are increasingly adopting combination therapies that integrate viscosupplementation with other treatment modalities such as physical therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and regenerative medicine techniques like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy. This multimodal approach aims to optimize pain relief and functional improvement in patients with osteoarthritis.
Patient-Centric Care and Personalized Medicine: There is a growing emphasis on patient-centric care and personalized medicine in the management of osteoarthritis. Healthcare providers are tailoring treatment plans to individual patient needs, preferences, and disease characteristics, leading to the adoption of personalized viscosupplementation regimens based on factors such as disease severity, joint anatomy, and patient lifestyle.
Market Opportunities:
The viscosupplementation market offers compelling opportunities driven by several factors. With the increasing prevalence of osteoarthritis globally, there is a growing demand for effective treatment options, including viscosupplements, particularly in aging populations. Manufacturers have the opportunity to innovate and develop advanced formulations that address the evolving needs of patients, such as longer-lasting effects and improved delivery systems. Additionally, expanding indications for viscosupplementation to include other joints and conditions present avenues for market expansion. Emerging markets, especially in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, offer significant growth potential due to rising healthcare expenditures and increasing awareness of osteoarthritis management. Moreover, the shift towards personalized medicine and combination therapies opens doors for collaboration and partnership opportunities between viscosupplement manufacturers and healthcare providers.
According to the recent report published by RC Market Analytics, the Global Viscosupplementation Market is expected to provide sustainable growth opportunities during the forecast period from 2024 to 2030. This latest industry research study analyzes the viscosupplementation market by various product segments, applications, regions and countries while assessing regional performances of numerous leading market participants. The report offers a holistic view of the viscosupplementation industry encompassing numerous stakeholders including raw material suppliers, providers, distributors, consumers and government agencies, among others. Furthermore, the report includes detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of the global market considering market history, product development, regional dynamics, competitive landscape, and key success factors (KSFs) in the industry.
Browse the Full Report Discretion @ https://www.researchcorridor.com/viscosupplementation-market/
Geographically, the viscosupplementation market report comprises dedicated sections centering on the regional market revenue and trends. The viscosupplementation market has been segmented on the basis of geographic regions into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Viscosupplementation market estimates have also been provided for the historical years 2020 to 2023 along with forecast for the period from 2024 - 2030.The report includes a deep-dive analysis of key countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, China, Japan, India, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa, among others. Thereby, the report identifies unique growth opportunities across the world based on trends occurring in various developed and developing economies.
The Viscosupplementation Market Segmentation:
By Product:

• Single Injection
• Three Injection
• Five Injection

By Application:

• Knee Osteoarthritis
• Hip Osteoarthritis
• Hand Osteoarthritis

By End-Use:

• Hospitals
• Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs)
• Others

By Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa

Leading participants in the global viscosupplementation market include Sanofi, Anika Therapeutics, Inc., Seikagaku Corporation, Zimmer Holdings Inc., and Bioventus. These entities are actively pursuing growth through strategies such as market expansion, new investments, the introduction of innovative services, and collaborative ventures. They are strategically exploring new geographic regions through both expansion and acquisition, leveraging joint synergies to gain a competitive edge.
To know more about this study, request a free sample report @ https://www.researchcorridor.com/request-sample/?id=20555
Key Questions Answered by Viscosupplementation Market Report:

• Product popularity and adoption based on various country-level dynamics
• Regional presence and product development for leading market participants
• Market forecasts and trend analysis based on ongoing investments and economic growth in key countries
• Competitive landscape based on revenue, product offerings, years of presence, number of employees and market concentration, among others
• Various industry models such as SWOT analysis, Pestle Analysis, Porter’s Five Force model, Value Chain Analysis pertaining to Viscosupplementation market
• Analysis of the key factors driving and restraining the growth of the global, regional and country-level markets from 2020-2030

About Us:RC Market Analytics is a global market research firm. Our insightful analysis is focused on developed and emerging markets. We identify trends and forecast markets with a view to aid businesses identify market opportunities to optimize strategies. Our expert’s team of analysts’ provides enterprises with strategic insights. RC Market Analytics works to help enterprises grow through strategic insights and actionable solutions. Feel free to contact us for any report customization at sales@researchcorridor.com.
Media Contact:
Company Name: RC Market Analytics Pvt. Ltd. Contact Person: Vijendra Singh Email: sales@researchcorridor.com Visit us: https://www.researchcorridor.com/

Let me apologize in advance: I'm going to be a bit of a hater here. Also, spoilers ahead.
In general, I hate open ended stories (be it books, movies, whatever). It comes across to me as lazy, as if the author didn't know how to end, so they got vague about it. This is a personal preference, sure, but it's one I feel very strongly about. To clarify, I do not need the story to be wrapped up in a nice, neat little bow, where everyone has a happy ending. A story can "finish" before it "ends".
What the hell do I mean by this?
Take, for example, Stephen King's The Long Walk. Major spoilers: Even though Garraty wins, he doesn't accept it, and starts running. We don't get a whole lot of world building to find out how the Long Walk became a thing, we don't follow Garraty after this, and thus we have no idea what happens, but the story is done. Extending it or explaining it wouldn't enhance the story; if anything, writing more would probably bring the horror elements down. The story was finished even though it didn't "end".
Back to Tremblay.
My first exposure to him was of course Cabin at the End of the World. This was before the movie, and it should have been RIGHT up my alley. World ending story that also contains references to religion? Hell yeah! Except, Holy hell, I could not read this thing for the life of me. The book starts off from the y y/o daughter, Wen's POV; she talks about her life, what it's like being adopted, taking language classes. She's in the yard organizing grasshoppers by size and giving them names and writing down what she thinks their genders are and OH MY GOD WHEN IS THIS STORY ACTUALLY STARTING??? At that point, I decided to try to skip ahead. Tremblay was verbose in other parts, so I tried to skip ahead. I ended up mostly going through the dialogue, reading more if it seemed relevant, and was left disappointed. I think the story really would have been enhanced by exploring the backgrounds of the four visitors, but, from what I did read, that didn't happen.
I checked the Wikipedia page to see if it was worth going back and trying again, but the ending If it was the end of the world was left kinda ambiguous. I could see an argument where The planes crashing is too much of a coincidence, so yes it is, plus the movie changed it to flat out saying it's the end of the world, but it just came across as so lazy to me. If anything, I think making the ending unambiguous would make the story better. It doesn't need to go on for much longer, but explaining what the "answer" is, in either case of the world ending or not, would reframe the rest of the story and make it better.
But maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance. I read someone say on here that there is a lot of subtlety in Tremblay's writing, and maybe that would have explained it more if I didn't skip to just the dialogue, so I decided to give him another chance by reading Growing Things and Other Stories, a collection of short stories. Warning: No more spoiler tags after this.
The collection starts withe the titular story Growing things, where there are deadly vines growing in the world. The dad leaves his daughters to go out to look for supplies. He explicitly says that if there is a knock at the door, don't answer it, because it means it's the end of the world. And at the end of the story, there's a knock at the door! The girls go upstairs to avoid the knocking and the vines that have invaded the house, and that's it. I guess this one has an ending: the world ends, and the daughters are waiting to die. Details of their death are left to the reader's imagination, as is any details of the vines, as is a lot of background of the characters. I know nothing, and not in a good way. Let's try the next one.
Swim wants to Know if It's as Bad as Swim Thinks. We start off with the unnamed protagonist working her job at a grocery store, where people are crowding the store trying to buy their items. The protagonist's coworker is talking about something coming out of the water. Protagonist says it's just a movie trailer. Protagonist goes on message boards about consuming meth, so we know she's an unreliable narrator. Not a problem, as this is not quite the same as an open-ended story. She kidnaps her daughter, who she does not have custody of, and takes her to a place from her childhood to be safe with her daughter. But she's following patterns from when she last took her daughter while she was under the influence. She has a gun, and it seems like the police have found her. So she might kill her daughter, and I guess actually there's no monster. Ironically, this story has a lot more world building than the previous one, but it's still left open ended in a way that doesn't contribute to any fear or thrill of the story.
Next up: Something About Birds. To write this review, I re-borrowed this book online from the library to refresh my memory. It wasn't until stumbling upon the ending that I even remembered I read this story, because it elicited absolutely no strong emotion in me, not even distaste. I don't remember it, skimming through doesn't remind me of what happened, so I can't properly comment on it. Same deal with the next story, Snapshot. Looking through the table of contents and skimming through the next several stories (minus Teacher, more on that later), it looks like I skipped reading a lot of them, until I got to "It's Against the Law to Feed the Ducks." Intriguing name, I like animals, so I read this one.
This story is from the POV of the young son, Danny. They go to the beach, which is weirdly empty. When back at the cottage, the parents watch some TV, presumably the news, and are horrified; they get Danny out of the room so they can keep watching. Next day, they go to the grocery store, where it's empty, but people have overflowing grocery carts. Remember from earlier, this is a bad sign. Electronics are also down, as dad has to pay with a check. Another day, another trip to the grocery store; this time, the cashier lets them take the groceries without bothering to count it (another sign!), and Dad fills up the car with gas and gets extra gas cannisters. More TV watching, except in the empty restaurant, where the parents ask to have the TV turned off because of the kids. The story ends with the reason why the title is what it is: it's against the law to feed the ducks, which they obey at the beginning, but not the end, because the world is ending. We never learn what is happening, which makes sense if the POV is from a child, but that doesn't add to the horror. There's no horror from the kid's POV, just confusion. The reader is supposed to understand that Bad Shit^TM is going down, but without any details, I quite frankly don't know why I should care. This is essentially a story about buying groceries and watching TV, bookended by ducks.
Of the stories I've described thus far, we get the whole end-of-the-world theme repeated, without anymore details, without any real ending, and without me caring. The one exception is Teacher, which I liked so much, I read it thrice: the first time, a second time when I remembered it existed, and then I read it again fully to write this review, rather than skimming it.
The story starts with an introduction to Mr. Sorent, the cool teacher^TM. He has long hair and plays guilets the highschool seniors talk about more controversial topics like drugs and abortion, and has some days has Special^TM lessons, which has the same rule as Fight Club: you do not talk about Fight Club Special lessons. In the first one, he shows a video of a daycare/preschool, where a teacher is spinning around with a child and accidentally lets go. Mr. Sorent stops the video, and then moves it frame by frame until a wall comes into view. That is the end of the first special lesson.
Time passes, more special lessons. More disturbing videos, a guest who reflects on how awful it is to have a disease and be used as inspiration porn, all of which end with the video moving a few frames. The protagonist, Kate, tells a story about when she was a kid, and she was forced to watch some boys mutilate a dead frog, and how it affected her baseball game. As the Special^TM lessons bring down the students' academic lives, their personal lives and kate's family life deteriorate as well. The story ends with Kate trying to prevent the video from finishing using the same coping mechanism she used after watching the frog get mutilated: She volunteers for a demonstration, and moves forward without opening her eyes, hoping that if she doesn't, the film will never finish, and the accident with the child will never occur.
So what makes Teacher stand out from the others?
Tremblay actually talks about what's happening; we're shown the progression of the class, the reason why it's happening. There's no mystery of what's on the TV, or why the students are acting the way they are. The why is clear: they're being taught disturbing life lessons from a teacher they used to trust and admire. Sure, we don't actually know if they ever finish watching the video, or what happens after, but it doesn't matter, because the story isn't about that. It's about the students, and we see their arc, as they go from normal teenagers to depressed and cynical teenagers.
In the other works I've mentioned so far, we mostly get that the world is ending (or the addict mother thinks it is), but we don't know how. Considering that the end of the world is what's moving the stories along, IT'S KIND OF A BIG DEAL. Even in Cabin, where the horror is that the family is trapped in a deadly situation, knowing whether or not there's any truth to the visitor's reason for coming to the cabin would enhance the story. Compare to King's The Mist: book ends ambiguously, movie ends tragically, and even King says the movie ending was better. But with Tremblay, time that could be used for learning more about the visitors and if it's the end of the world is instead used on organizing grasshoppers.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk. Next time I'm here, I'll try not to write in a faux manic state while mildly sleep deprived at 5 am.

I would've watched his videos at some point in the 2007 to 2012 timeframe, but i can't remember exactly when. I don't remember much about the content of his videos, except that it was (I think) mostly current events commentary (but not serious news). I want to say he was blond, but he might've been brunet.
What I very clearly remember was him making a video about some anti-drug or anti-drinking PSA, or a news story about the cops busting a party. He thought they made it look unintentionally awesome. Then he released a separate video that was some sort of techno dance song parody, which referenced "bangers" or "pangers" or something.

I am a finance bro and pretty much hated it since the first day. Used to think maybe I could get a big score and fuck off to Belize.
A few things I learned along the way:

• Drug dealers make less money than a standard white collar job. All the dudes on youtube claiming they were kingpins are lying. A drug organization is like any other mega corporation, a small group at the top is keeping most of the profit for themselves, everyone else is lucky to get a living wage and will go to prison (see: snitching).
  
• White collar fraud is incredibly difficult to prove in court, as long as there are at least a couple layers of insulation. Only the most brazen seem to get caught. Government has to invest a lot of resources and spend a lot of time to build a case. Scamming investors is by far the highest paying, lowest risk crime.
  
• The absolute worst crime to do is armed robbery. Get your ass locked away for a decades for the potential upside of a few hundred bucks. You have to rob dozens of banks to get a real amount of money.
  
• The "best" type of crime that almost anyone can do is crooked correctional officer. There are hundreds of guards bringing contraband into jails/prisons, making $10k-$40k/month, often getting away with it for 5-10 years. And when they get caught, they almost always do straight probation or a light jail sentence.
  
• The entire justice system is based around snitching. Because everyone snitches the first time they have a chance. And even when you're in prison, convicts will try to pump you for information that they can use to double snitch on you. All these anti-snitching stand up convicts on youtube are lying.
  
• Stolen goods are near worthless. Chop shops pay kids $500 to steal $75k hellcats. You could steal the mona lisa and you'd have to sell it for pennies. I read about a guy who was stealing $100k+ boat engines and he couldn't unload them for $10k.
  
• US law enforcement works very closely with some countries (mexico) and not at all with others (Russia). Russian cyber criminals target US companies with total impunity.
  
• Picking up a drug habit seems like the fastest way to get caught, even for crimes that have nothing to do with drugs. Clouds your decision making process to the point where you subconsciously beg for police to find you.
  
• There are very few 7 figure stationary caches of valuables left that are remotely approachable. You need to catch them while they're moving (e.g. the big gold heist a few years ago in Canada). You need an inside man, but he will 100% snitch on you.
  
• Money laundering is pretty easy and there are tons of ways to do it, especially if you're just a little guy with $5M-$10M. The government is happy to get their cut, so much so that it's literally in the tax code.
  

Looking at the meta-level, all that is happening, has happened and will happen is exactly as it should be and there is no other, is true. However, that leads to adharmic thinking. One must view life in the here and now, what it is to be done next. Otherwise one surrenders one's freewill, duty and responsibility to fate. That leads to mistakes, as one expects God/the universe/fate to sort things when it's your job. It also discludes the Mandela Effect.
The Jews killed Jesus and Jesus was a Jew. Fact or fiction, they are trying to make it illegal to say so. Well I said it, come after me. Let me also add, the Jews are conspiring to take over the world just like they did prior to WWII and the holocaust never happened. I don't believe those things but I insist on the right to say them. Free speech is not just any speech you agree with. I am now decisively anti-Zionist. I don't think Israel should have been ever made into a county, I would be happy to see a one state solution with Jews and Muslims having equal representation in a constitution based democratic republic. I think it's that or genocide (and I use that term loosely) that are the only ways that will end the conflict. Looks like Israel prefers genocide. It's not technically genocide unless there is a distinct genome in the area. It's total eradication by way of death, deportation, starvation and so on. I am not a fan of the killing of people for most reasons and hold that the death penalty should only be for treason and espionage. War is an absolute last resort. Israel is going too far in it's battle against hamas, just as hamas has gone too far. I'm also a lover of Jews, just not the only Jewish state. I had married one and the first friend in life I remember was Jewish. I'm really a lover of all peoples and a hater of most governments.
So far the doom and gloom predictions have been a whole lotta' hot air, but yet I got more for you. I think it's very possible China will invade Taiwan right around the time of the election to encourage us to vote Biden. War time incumbents have better chances. Another is that the next set of lockdowns won't be because of a plandemic but the planned multiple terrorist attacks in multiple cities by militant groups that have snuck or more likely as snuck in by the deep state to sow fear and force checkpoints, reduce "unnecessary" travel and to suspend yet more constitutional rights. The writing's on the wall, folks. June 6th is when the new airbnb clause for emergencies comes into effect and multiple gov't agencies in multiple countries are advising of stocking up on food and other basics. 2024 certainly has all of the potential to be exceptionally interesting even beyond the presidential election and the expected highly active hurricane season.
Blurbs (or very short thoughts): They love to control the narrative and I think it's time we take some of that back. Public schools should be called government schools. Anything called corrections should be called prisons. Inmates should be called slaves. Meds should be called drugs. All purpose flour should be called cookie flour. Assisted living facilities/rehabilitation centers/nursing homes should all be called hasted death facilities. One more thing to hate about the Nazi's is that they ruined that type of uniform. It really was sharp. Bomber jackets are cool too. How is it right that congressmen get 24hrs to read bills 1,500 pages long and then vote on it? I would like to see the FBI agent who brought Hunter Biden's laptop to the prosecutor become Trump's FBI director and the prosecutor become attorney general. I would love to see Tulsi Gabbard as the new Secretary of Defense. The DoD needs house cleaning as badly as the CIA and she could and would do it. It's at least 65 years overdue. Anyone notice that even though Trump was found guilty there weren't mass mostly peaceful protests even though the numbers of Trump supporters clearly willing to show up in person are in the millions? Youtube briefly fucked up their online platform. They fixed it until it was broke. It's now not possible to see playlists... but that only lasted a couple of days. They have messed up their strike program for sexual content relying on users who are hyper sensitive to content or bots. Dead internet theory at it's finest.
I watched a pile of very good tv series. Stargirl, a comic book series, featured very relatable and likable characters, none too overpowered. It's part coming of age in the modern smart phone era with a hint of 50's grandeur. It really should have run longer and tied in more the greater DC universe. Chilling Adventure's of Sabrina had all of the epic nature of Supernatural or Lucifer with similar themes and no filler episodes. The ending was all wrong: (Spoiler Alert) as they forgot about The Endless and how maybe he could've helped as well as the special grave dirt. If they didn't want this criticism, they needed to hang a lantern on it.
PSA: Jacalyn Ann Hanstein is trying to reach her grandson Noah Barret Hanstein: email to: [hansteinjaclyn@gmail.com](mailto:hansteinjaclyn@gmail.com). His parents don't want them to have contact but maybe he does and is certainly old enough to decide that much.
Top ten ways the deep state is impoverishing Americans. 10: Refusing to endorse right to repair. 9: Everything turning to subscription service. Heated seats in your car, all software and soon all hardware and appliances are pay monthly or you can't use. 8: Paying social security recipients less than minimum wage and penalizing them should they earn. A rising tide raises all ships. 7: Tax dollars routinely wasted on programs that don't work. The drug war is the best example. Mass incarceration, public private partnerships, even the government school system are all rife with waste. 6: Unnecessary business regulations, especially when it comes to the environment and banking. 5: Middle men for food at every step of the way. Everything from banning better modern fertilizers and pesticides; right to use you own seeds, big farms price controlling the industry and so on. 4: Charging for energy. We've had clean, safe, free energy for decades but it's been covered up. 3: Medical industrial complex. If we don't treat food as medicine we will need medicine for our food. 2: Student loans. I don't advocate for loan forgiveness but I do advocate for student loan reform. 1: Inflation. The federal reserve was a great experiment and the very best worst example of a public private partnership.
Music: a combination of sounds with a view to beauty of form and the expression of emotion.

Hello everyone I've recently found this sub and am "glad" to see others share similar experiences with me.
My general background is that I'm 22 years old and when I was 18 I developed temporal lobe epilepsy from what I can only assume is excessive drug use and a lifetime of poor general health. For about 2 years I would have focal seizures which generalized into tonic-clonic seizures that would then persist until I was taken to the hospital and given emergency anti-convulsants. Multiple times the doctors would tell me I'm lucky to be alive because your body is really not supposed to have 7 seizures in a row like that. This would happen like clockwork, so around every 2-4 weeks I'd have a hospital trip. (I haven't had a generalized seizure in a year and 8 months :) )
On top of the damage from seizure activity in my brain I would more often than not be concussed for days after from repeatedly banging my head on the floor. Among other physical problems this led to many brain injury symptoms that I still feel to this day. One of the most notable is amnesia level memory problems where I've forgotten much of the life I've lived and continuing today as a terrible long term memory. As other people have pointed out this is extremely alienating especially for people close to you who have fond memories with you that you don't remember. More niche and specific to my condition are a sense of dread that the generalized seizures will return, and due to the "auras" or focal seizures, anytime I hear a high pitched noise, have deja vu, or have an actual focal seizure it brings on such an immense fear its all consuming and takes you out of anything else that you're doing in the moment. Not a single day goes by where I don't worry about my condition.
The bright side is that I am healing! I used to be barely able to make a coherent sentence or remember my own name/age/ or anything else that mattered. My motor functions have returned and I've been playing disc golf and traveling and persisting despite the side affects of my injury. I've been on this healing journey for years now but the game changers were an all meat diet, getting sun and exercising, and no drugs or alcohol.
I rushed through this and there's a million things I could say more. I'm extremely grateful for the life I've been able to live despite my condition and am deeply sorry for those less fortunate than I. I'm always open to questions and to talk about TBI's and am thankful to you if you've read this far for giving me the time of day to rant about my stuff. Have faith, work hard, and don't relinquish hope. Survive and persist; don't go down without a fight.

DAY: MAY 30 2024
5-30-2024

WHAT ARE NOOTROPICS AND DO THEY REALLY BOOST YOUR BRAIN?

Humans have long been searching for a “magic elixir” to make us smarter, and improve our focus and memory. This includes traditional Chinese medicine used thousands of years ago to improve cognitive function. Now we have nootropics, also known as smart drugs, brain boosters or cognitive enhancers. You can buy these gummies, chewing gum, pills and skin patches online, or from supermarkets, pharmacies or petrol stations. You don’t need a prescription or to consult a health professional. But do nootropics actually boost your brain? Here’s what the science says. What
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STUDY REVEALS IMPORTANT HEALTH MARKERS

BIPS has made significant progress in identifying health markers that are crucial for a long and healthy life. Led by Prof. Dr. Krasimira Aleksandrova and in close collaboration with the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), the research provides valuable insights for healthy aging. In the study published in the journal Age and Ageing, Aleksandrova and her team analyzed specific combinations of molecular markers reflecting various biological processes as possible indicators of healthy aging. The focus was particularly
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STUDY SHOWS AI HEALTH COACH LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE AND BOOSTS ENGAGEMENT IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION

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SNAPPING PHOTOS OF OUR FOOD COULD BE GOOD FOR US, STUDY SUGGESTS

New Curtin University research reveals taking pictures of food isn’t just content for our social media feeds, but could be the key to improving people’s diets. The feeding study saw researchers measure the weight of meals, which were then provided to participants over a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. “Accuracy of energy and nutrient intake estimation versus observed intake using four technology-assisted dietary assessment methods: a randomized crossover feeding study” was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Participants compared different technology-assisted methods to recall what they had
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PARENTS ARE INCREASINGLY SAYING THEIR CHILD IS ‘DYSREGULATED.’ WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN?

Welcome aboard the roller coaster of parenthood, where emotions run wild, tantrums reign supreme and love flows deep. As children reach toddlerhood and beyond, parents adapt to manage their child’s big emotions and meltdowns. Parenting terminology has adapted too, with more parents describing their child as “dysregulated.” But what does this actually mean? More than an emotion Emotional dysregulation refers to challenges a child faces in recognizing and expressing emotions, and managing emotional reactions in social settings. This may involve either suppressing emotions or displaying exaggerated and intense emotional responses
5-30-2024

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHYNESS AND SOCIAL ANXIETY?

The terms “shyness” and “social anxiety” are often used interchangeably because they both involve feeling uncomfortable in social situations. However, feeling shy, or having a shy personality, is not the same as experiencing social anxiety (short for “social anxiety disorder”). Here are some of the similarities and differences, and what the distinction means. How are they similar? It can be normal to feel nervous or even stressed in new social situations or when interacting with new people. And everyone differs in how comfortable they feel when interacting
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EYE EXERCISES TO IMPROVE SIGHT—IS THERE ANY SCIENCE BEHIND THEM? AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST IS SKEPTICAL

You may have seen advertisements claiming to eliminate the need for eyeglasses through vision therapy or vision training—basically, eye exercises. These exercises include putting pressure on or palming the eye; eye movement exercises; or straining to read by using the wrong prescription glasses to “train” the eyes. As a professor of ophthalmology—and as an eye doctor who has seen thousands of patients—I can tell you that no study to date shows strong evidence that these exercises eliminate the need for glasses or offer any long-term significant benefits. The science simply
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HOW COMMUNITY STRESS AFFECTS BLACK AMERICANS’ MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Residential segregation is an example of the long history of structural racism in the United States. Black Americans are more likely to live in low-quality neighborhoods, which contributes to disparities in health outcomes. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looks at how community stress affects the mental and emotional health of Black men and women in the U.S. “Community stress refers to the effects of living in disadvantaged areas. This includes objective aspects, such as buildings in disrepair and lower median income. There is also a subjective
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GENE VARIANTS FORETELL THE BIOLOGY OF FUTURE BREAST CANCERS, STUDY FINDS

A Stanford Medicine study of thousands of breast cancers has found that the gene sequences we inherit at conception are powerful predictors of the breast cancer type we might develop decades later and how deadly it might be. The study challenges the dogma that most cancers arise as the result of random mutations that accumulate during our lifetimes. Instead, it points to the active involvement of gene sequences we inherit from our parents—what’s known as your germline genome—in determining whether cells bearing potential cancer-causing mutations are recognized and eliminated by
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PTSD, ANXIETY IS RISING AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

America’s college students seem to be more stressed than ever, with a new report finding a sharp rise in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD) on campuses across the country. In a “national sample of U.S. college students, we found a notable increase in the prevalence of PTSD and ASD,”
5-30-2024

NIGHT OWL BEHAVIOR COULD HURT MENTAL HEALTH, SLEEP STUDY FINDS

Night owls, brace yourselves. A new study by Stanford Medicine researchers has found that following your natural inclination to stay awake until the early morning hours is a bad choice for your mental health. In a survey of nearly 75,000 adults, researchers compared the participants’ preferred sleep timing, known as chronotype, with their actual sleep behavior. They determined that regardless of one’s preferred bedtime, everyone benefits from turning in early. Morning larks and night owls alike tended to have higher rates of mental and behavioral disorders if they stayed up
5-30-2024

STUDY CONFIRMS EFFECTIVENESS OF ‘WATCH-AND-WAIT’ APPROACH TO PROSTATE CANCER

For a large percentage of men with prostate cancer, the tumor may be so slow-growing that doctors advise a “watch-and-wait” approach instead of active treatment. Now, a study of almost 2,200 patients followed for up to a decade finds that for most, that decision may be a wise one. “In this study, 10 years after diagnosis, 49% of men remained free of progression or treatment, less than 2% developed metastatic disease and less than 1% died of their disease,” reported a team led by Lisa Newcomb, a cancer prevention researcher
5-30-2024

RESEARCHERS HARNESS THE POWER OF AI TO MATCH PATIENTS WITH THE MOST EFFECTIVE ANTIDEPRESSANT FOR THEIR UNIQUE NEEDS

Researchers at George Mason University’s College of Public Health have leveraged the power of artificial intelligence (AI) analytical models to match a patient’s medical history to the most effective antidepressant, allowing patients to find symptom relief sooner. The free website, MeAgainMeds.com, provides evidence-based recommendations, allowing clinicians and patients to find the optimal antidepressant the first time. “Many people with depression must try multiple antidepressants before finding the right one that alleviates their symptoms. Our website reduces the number of medications that patients are asked to try. The system recommends to
5-30-2024

NEW CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE TREATMENT GUIDELINES URGE EXERCISE, TALK THERAPY, MINDFULNESS, TAI CHI

The clinical practice guidelines, which came about after an extensive review of 113 published clinical trials by a panel of experts, conclude that doctors should recommend exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based programs, Tai chi, qigong, and American ginseng to reduce fatigue severity during cancer treatment. After completion of cancer treatment, the guidelines also suggest that exercise, CBT, and mindfulness-based
5-30-2024

STUDY FINDS THAT BETTER SLEEP IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER LONELINESS

A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found that better sleep health was associated with lower levels of loneliness, and this association was stronger among younger adults. Results indicate that better sleep health was associated with significantly lower total loneliness, emotional loneliness and social loneliness. While better sleep health was associated with lower total and emotional loneliness across ages, this association was stronger for younger adults. However, age did not moderate the association between sleep health and social loneliness. “Loneliness is an urgent public health
5-30-2024

SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND SLEEP DURATION CONNECTED TO BRAIN ACTIVITY IN TEENS

A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found a distinct relationship between sleep duration, social media usage, and brain activation across brain regions that are key for executive control and reward processing. Results show a correlation between shorter sleep duration and greater social media usage in teens. The analysis points to involvement of areas within the frontolimbic brain regions, such as the inferior and middle frontal gyri, in these relationships. The inferior frontal gyrus, key in inhibitory control, may play
5-30-2024

HOW DOES THE WORD ‘NOT’ AFFECT WHAT WE UNDERSTAND? SCIENTISTS FIND NEGATION MITIGATES OUR INTERPRETATION OF PHRASES

When we’re told “This coffee is hot” upon being served a familiar caffeinated beverage at our local diner or cafe, the message is clear. But what about when we’re told “This coffee is not hot”? Does that mean we think it’s cold? Or room temperature? Or just warm? A team of scientists has now identified how our brains work to process phrases that include negation (i.e., “not”), revealing that it mitigates rather than inverts meaning—in other words, in our minds, negation merely reduces the temperature of our coffee and does
5-30-2024

IS GUT HEALTH LINKED TO MENTAL HEALTH? WE KNOW THEY’RE CONNECTED BUT HOW REMAINS A MYSTERY, RESEARCHER SAYS

Rebecca Carrier, associate chair of research in the Department of Chemical Engineering, researches retinal and gut epithelial repair in the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex on Jan. 24, 2023. It was an act of desperation: A woman with irritable bowel syndrome was looking for relief from her symptoms. She decided to try an at-home fecal microbiota, aka a “poop transplant.” Used to treat C. diff bacterial infections, this treatment can help introduce “good microbiomes” to the gut to ease gastrointestinal symptoms. But the woman told Netflix
5-30-2024

STUDY LINKS SLEEP APNEA TREATMENT AND HAPPIER, HEALTHIER RELATIONSHIPS

when individuals with obstructive sleep apnea use their positive airway pressure machine more regularly, it benefits their relationship with their partner. Results show that greater adherence to PAP therapy was associated with higher levels of relationship satisfaction and lower levels of relationship conflict. Higher sleep efficiency among patients also was associated with higher levels of relationship satisfaction as reported by both the patient and their partner. “Recognizing that sleep and sleep disorders have an impact on
5-30-2024

CDC REPORTS THIRD DAIRY WORKER INFECTED WITH BIRD FLU, RISK TO PUBLIC REMAINS LOW

Amid an ongoing outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows, there’s been a third case of H5N1 avian flu confirmed in a dairy worker, U.S. health officials reported Thursday. The previous two human cases—the first in Texas, the second in Michigan, where this latest case also occurred—involved only a brief discomfort of the eyes, linked to conjunctivitis (“pink eye”). However, this third case is the first to present with more typical respiratory symptoms, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted in a health update. “The patient reported upper
5-30-2024

RECOMMENDATIONS ISSUED FOR PALLIATIVE RADIATION THERAPY FOR SYMPTOMATIC BONE METASTASES

In a clinical practice guideline issued by the American Society for Radiation Oncology and published in Practical Radiation Oncology, evidence-based recommendations are presented for the use of palliative external beam radiation therapy (RT) for symptomatic bone metastases. Sarah Alcorn, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues developed evidence-based recommendations for palliative external beam RT in symptomatic bone metastases. Five key questions regarding palliative RT were addressed. The authors noted that RT is recommended for managing pain from bone metastases and spine metastases with or without
5-30-2024

CAUSE OF COMMON TYPE OF HEART FAILURE MAY BE DIFFERENT FOR WOMEN AND MEN

Graphical abstract. Credit: Cardiovascular Research (2024). DOI: 10.1093/cvcvae070 A new study from the UC Davis School of Medicine found striking differences at the cellular level between male and female mice with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The findings could determine how HFpEF is treated in women compared to men. With HFpEF, the heart muscle contracts normally but the heart is unable to fully relax and refill properly between beats. This condition is known as diastolic dysfunction. It can occur if the heart is too stiff or if the

5-30-2024

CANCER CAN BE CAUSED BY REVERSIBLE MOLECULAR CHANGES, STUDY SHOWS

Though 1 in 2 people will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime, there’s still much we don’t know about this disease. But thanks to continued research efforts, we keep learning more about the biology of cancer. One of these recent discoveries could even transform our understanding of how cancers develop. But before we talk about the new discovery, let’s first discuss the classical theory that attempts to explain why normal cells become cancer cells. This theory posits that DNA mutations are the primary cause of cancers. It’s well
5-30-2024

HOW THE IMMUNE SYSTEM DESTROYS THE CEREBELLUM

Neurologist Professor Dr Kurt-Wolfram Sühs has discovered a new form of severe cerebellitis caused by autoantibodies. Cerebellar ataxia is a neurological disorder of the cerebellum. This important area at the back of the brain acts as a conductor, so to speak, coordinating our movements and keeping us in balance. This ability is impaired in cerebellar ataxia. Affected people can have difficulties walking, speaking and grasping or even with controlled eye movements. In some cases, the damage begins gradually and develops over a period of years.
5-30-2024

PEOPLE WHO ARE EASILY ABSORBED IN AN ACTIVITY MAY HAVE BETTER MENTAL AND CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH

Have you ever lost all sense of space and time when redecorating a room? How about being so focused while playing an instrument that the worries that weighed you down a minute ago just evaporated? Then you’ve probably experienced “flow.” Flow is a term used in psychology to describe a state of heightened concentration, in which you are completely absorbed in an activity. It exists somewhere between boredom and stress—usually experienced during activities which are somewhat challenging but still meet our skill levels. When we experience flow, we tend to
5-30-2024

SCIENTISTS FIND ‘GOLDILOCKS’ BINDING STRENGTH DETERMINES ANTI-CANCER T-CELL EFFICACY AND FATE

Immunotherapy, treatments that reinvigorate immune cells’ anti-cancer activity or reprogram T cells to target cancer, has shown promise in treating leukemias but has not yet been realized in solid tumors. One reason for the stymied success is the conversion of potential cancer-killing T cells into an inactive “exhausted” state near the tumor. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists found that how tight a parental T cell grabs a cancer
5-30-2024

IN THE BRAIN AT REST, STUDY INDICATES NEURONS REHEARSE FUTURE EXPERIENCE

Some dreams may, in fact, predict the future: New research has found that during sleep, some neurons not only replay the recent past but also anticipate future experience. The discovery is one in a series of insights afforded by a study on sleep and learning published in Nature by a team of researchers from Rice University and the University of Michigan. The research offers an unprecedented view of how individual neurons in the hippocampus of rats
5-30-2024

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• 5-30-2024STUDY SHOWS EFFECTIVENESS OF UPDATED COVID-19 VACCINES WANES MODERATELY OVER TIME, IS LOWER AGAINST CURRENT VARIANTS
• 5-30-2024SCIENTISTS FIND ‘GOLDILOCKS’ BINDING STRENGTH DETERMINES ANTI-CANCER T-CELL EFFICACY AND FATE
• 5-30-2024STUDY FINDS SUICIDE RATES AMONG CANCER PATIENTS ARE FALLING
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• 5-30-2024STUDY SUGGESTS ASTROCYTES INDUCE SEX-SPECIFIC EFFECTS ON MEMORY
• 5-30-2024STUDY OF 16 COUNTRIES SHOWS HIGHER TAXES WOULD HELP YOUNG SMOKERS QUIT OR CUT DOWN
• 5-30-2024RURAL FAMILIES AND CLINICS FEEL MEDICAID CUTS
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• 5-30-2024RESEARCHERS DEVELOP EASY-TO-USE SCREENING TOOL TO HELP IMPROVE FAMILY ACCESS TO FEDERAL NUTRITION PROGRAMS
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• 5-30-2024STUDY EXAMINES PRESCRIBING PATTERNS OF DRUG ASSOCIATED WITH COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
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• 5-30-2024DEVELOPING HEALTHIER AND MORE CLIMATE-FRIENDLY PROTECTIVE FOOTWEAR
• 5-30-2024RESEARCHER FINDS INCREASED DEMENTIA RISK IN OLDER ADULTS WITH A CRIMINAL BACKGROUND
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• 5-30-2024SYSTEMATIC SURVEY REVEALS UNANNOTATED HUMAN GENE THAT’S OVEREXPRESSED IN PITUITARY TUMORS
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So I’m rewatching breaking bad, and it’s the episode where Badger gets in legal trouble, and when he’s in the interrogation room he mentions to Saul (his lawyer) that his quantity of meth was “barely over the legal amount”, but isn’t any amount of meth illegal? Like I have no experience with drugs, and I plan on keeping it that way but I was under the impression that any quantity of meth is against the law