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Disclaimer: Some of these have unknown April dates. They are identified with a '*'
1968 - The J5 perform at a campaign rally for Richard Hatcher in Gary with Bobby Taylor and Diana Ross & The Supremes among others. Hatcher was the first African-American mayor of Gary, Indiana for 20 years, from 1968 to 1988. At the time of his first election on November 7, 1967, he and Carl Stokes were the first African-Americans to be elected mayors of a U.S. city with more than 100,000 people*
https://imgur.com/a/QPykxSx
1970 - The J5 rehearse for their first concert tour, which would start on May 2nd*
1971 - The Jackson 5 play at the Mid-South Auditorium, Memphis, Tennessee
1972 - J5's cover of Bobby Day's “Little Bitty Pretty One” is released by Motown. It is also the first song where you can clearly hear Marlon's voice. It will reach #13 on the Hot 100*
https://imgur.com/a/77uT4hU
1981- Michael does backing vocals on Carole Bayer Sager’s song “Just Friends”. Michael had previously recorded Sager's "It's the Falling in Love" for Off the Wall. He was visiting Carole in the studio when she invited him to join the session. He came up with such a special part on the Bacharach/Sager composition "Just Friends" that they happily offered him a co-production credit*
https://youtu.be/bfGtCjIgnsU
1985 - Michael and seven members of USA For Africa are on the cover of Life Magazine
https://imgur.com/a/ZnDLbeA
1987 - Michael withdraws from The Jeovah’s Witness, a step that normally means he must be shunned by family members and friends who remain in the religious sect.
A representative of the Woodland Hills congregation where Jackson belonged said that the entertainer “disassociated” himself from the congregation and “no longer wants to be known as a Jehovah’s Witness.”
The official would not state what the implications of “disassociation” are, but when asked if they are serious, he responded, “Correct.”
Though Jackson’s anti-drug stance in public appearances was in keeping with the Witnesses’ clean-living codes, the entertainer’s Grammy-winning album Thriller produced tensions with the sect leaders in 1983 because of allegations the record and short film encouraged occult beliefs*
1988 - Michael plays the last of three nights at the Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut
https://imgur.com/a/g5555p4
The story of Anne Miner: Anne is a great-grandmother who never attended a rock concert and prefers Big Band-era music. She says she is 'excited' about going to see Michael Jackson with tickets she won from a radio station but plans on taking cotton with her for her ears
'I'm excited. It's a chance of a lifetime experience,' said Anne Miner, 70. 'How many times are you going to see Michael Jackson in concert?'
The Greenfield woman, who admitted her favorite group was the Glenn Miller Band, big in the 1940s, won the tickets in a Michael Jackson Trivia Contest sponsored by WHAI radio and the Pepsi Co.
A chauffeur-driven white stretch limousine complete with champagne were to pick up Miner and a guest at her home and drive them to Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut and back.
She even considered wearing her old black-leather coat to the concert. She intends to go with her 20-year-old nephew, Michael J. Smith.
Smith said he prefers hard-rock bands like Bon Jovi over Jackson, but still expected to enjoy the concert. 'I'm just glad (Jackson) doesn't wear that white glove anymore.'
The two were given floor seats worth $22.50 each to the concert, which sold out just hours after tickets went on sale.
To earn the tickets, Miner answered three questions:

• What's Jackson's current record label?
  
  • What's the identity of the celebrity who discovered him
  • Where did Jackson grow up?

Miner said she determined Jackson's record label was Epic by going to a record store and that she learned his hometown was Gary, Indiana at the Greenfield Public Library. She admitted she guessed that Diana Ross was the celebrity who discovered him
'I'm always winning something,' said Miner, a retired waitress of 41 years. She said she's a compulsive contest player who occasionally gambles on the Massachusetts State Lottery and always buys raffle tickets.
Miner said she has seen Jackson 'shaking around' on television and thinks he is a lot like Elvis Presley, but adds he 'looks like a girl.'
1989 -Michael is on the cover of Ebony magazine.
https://imgur.com/a/UeLPsn8
1989 - Filming of "Liberian girl" short film takes place over 2 days. Veteran video director, Jim Yukich, was brought in to help craft a memorable clip.
“CBS Epic called and Michael Jackson wants to do a video for this song ‘Liberian Girl’ and I hadn’t heard this song yet,” said Yukich. “I’m thinking like ‘Off the Wall’ or ‘Rock with You’ or just I figure it will be one of those classic Michael Jackson killer songs, right? And ‘Liberian Girl’ is not a killer song. It’s funny — what do you do? So again, we’re throwing the kitchen sink at it, and so I pitched the idea to Michael that we would have him shoot the video while all these are people waiting to begin the video, and they don’t realize it until the end is that he’s directing.”
“He loved the idea. We started calling people, and we just called in favors from friends. I had just done a television special with Richard Dreyfuss, and Richard said he’d love to be in it. He said, ‘Can I call up Steven?’ and I said, ‘Steven who?’ and he said ‘Steve Spielberg and Amy Irving, and I said, “Yeah!” So he called Spielberg and Amy, and then you start calling people saying you have these people, and I’d start naming names and it was easy. It was very easy to get people because as soon as you get a couple of big names, everybody wants to be in it.”
The shooting day basically consisted of Yukich and his crew filming all the celebrities on a soundstage as they wait for Michael to show up. The final list of guest stars served as, in retrospect, a truly strange snapshot of that year in showbusiness.Comedy writers were given the task of writing some interesting things for the cast to say on camera while they waited.
“So we just had two days, and we had the live audio with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John doing the scene when they sang together, and they hadn’t sang together onscreen since ‘Grease’, so it was something to do that, and we just shot this grand stuff of people talking, and the outtakes are incredible because it’s just people talking. The song is not even playing! It’s just great getting all these stars in a room and you’re just filming and they’re saying, ‘What are you supposed to do?’ and we’d say, ‘We’ll get back to you,’ and you’d just mike everybody and shoot stuff.”
Yukich said that in a room filled with stars, Steven Spielberg’s uneasiness on the other side of the camera was the biggest surprise. Yukich used a push-pull camera shot on Spielberg, who was the director that made that camera shot popular, hence its industry nickname – 'The Jaws Shot'
“He was nervous. We did that push-pull move for that shot, and he was more nervous than I was, you know, being on camera. He wanted to try to do this favor for Michael because he wanted Michael for a movie.” Yukich also said that working with Michael was an amazing experience, but required some on-set preparation.
“Incredible,” he said. “I mean, at first, it was funny because he sent his handlers in first, and they check, and they said he is coming in 10 minutes. They go in all the different rooms to make sure that no bombs were there and there were no fans hanging out, and they kicked people out, and it was almost like going through airport security or something. They basically kicked people out there who weren’t supposed to be there, and they bring in a microwave oven with bananas for Bubbles the monkey and Max which was the baby monkey. It was like a real rigmarole, and then when he showed up, you know, he was unbelievably nice. Such a pleasant person and a nice guy.”
Jackson also had only one request involving the removal of a person from the final cut.“He called me a couple of times after he saw the edit. He would make us do some things, like he took out David Spade. David Spade was in the original cut. He called me up and he said, ‘Jim, this is Michael,’ and you think somebody was fooling with you, basically. You would never know if it was really him until he started talking about specifics and you could say, okay, that is Michael. So he called us up and he on a walkie-talkie phone or something, or he’s up in Santa Barbara, and says, ‘You know, in 3 minutes and 20 seconds, there’s a guy blonde here. Who is that guy?’ I said his name is David Spade. ‘I don’t know who he is, take him out.’ So Spade was out, and I’m sure Spade was, like, pissed!” (Spade had not yet joined SNL)
Yukich is still aggravated that the song, and hence the video, was never released in America.
When Jackson died suddenly, Yukich immediately thought back to the video and a conversation the two had.
“To this day, I’ve been – I guess not so much anymore, because years have gone by — but I was convinced when he died that he didn’t die. We made that video, and he said to me, ‘I would love to be hiding and see what people say about me, you know?’ I mean, having shot all that footage and then he died? It was just kind of weird.”
The video is dedicated to Liz Taylor, who is in fact not a Liberian girl *
1996 - Michael starts filming the “Ghost” short film in Van Nuys studios in California. During breaks, he visits his family at Hayvenhurst disguised as the “Mayor”*
2002 - Michael is about to start shooting the “Unbreakable” short film when Sony announces that they won’t release the single. The promotion of the Invincible album is over with only 2 singles!!! *
2002 -Michael’s former business manager Myung-Ho Lee files a $13 million lawsuit claiming that on September 14, 2001 Michael met him in Los Angeles and signed an agreement to pay him fees but he never got them. Michael’s lawyer Zia Moddaber answsers that his client never signed anything and was not even in Los Angeles on that date…
In his suit, Lee claimed that Jackson hired him in the late 1990s to put the musician’s finances in order, only to turn a deaf ear when it came to taking Lee’s advice by refusing to curb spending. Lee then claimed Jackson never paid him, instead relying on “charlatans” and “hucksters” for advice.
In his court papers, Lee called Jackson a “ticking financial time bomb waiting to explode” who owed banks hundreds of millions of dollars in loans.
Michael would countersue claiming Lee and Union Finance swindled millions from him and destroyed financial records to cover up their misdeeds.
2003 - Michael and Chris Tucker visit lawyer Willie Gary in Stuart, Florida.
2003 - Vanity Fair (#tabloidtrash) reported that Michael Jackson had attended a voodoo ritual in 2000 where a witch doctor promised that Steven Spielberg and 24 other people would die. The people noted were on Jackson's list of enemies. Jackson also wired $150,000 to a voodoo chief named Baba who sacrificed 42 cows for the ceremony. The article also reported that Jackson wore a prosthesis that serves as the tip of his nose
https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2003/4/losing-his-grip
2004 - Michael attended the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC to support The African Ambassadors' Spouses Association (A.A.S.A.). He was accompanied by the ambassador of Niger's wife, Haoua Piatta, and Mazie Green Holland. He watched a children's group dance before being awarded the Golden Elephant award for his worldwide humanitarian efforts, particularly the fight against AIDS in Africa.
https://imgur.com/a/HEpLUIO
https://youtu.be/gFBUiPkfisU
2005 - Trial Day 24
Michael goes to court with Katherine & Joe. Testimonies of Jeff Klapackis, Jack Green, Larry Feldman & Jesus Salas.
Larry Feldman, the attorney who first interviewed Michael Jackson's accuser testified that he was never asked to file a lawsuit against the singer.
However, he did acknowledge under cross examination, that the boy and his younger brother could file civil lawsuits until they turn 20 years old, the accuser being 15 years old now.
The prosecution had called Feldman to explain how the alleged molestation came to the attention of the authorities, but the defense used his appearance to try to show its belief, that the accuser and his family were out to get money from Jackson.
Jackson's defense lawyer, Thomas Mesereau grilled Feldman about the the impact of a criminal conviction, whether or not it would make a financial judgment easier.
"If Mr. Jackson was convicted of felony child molestation in this case, (the boy or his brother) could use that case to win a civil case alleging similar of same facts against Mr. Jackson, is that correct?" asked Mesereau.
"That is correct" said Feldman.
The two lawyers sparred over the exact requirements of a civil suit, and Feldman denied accusations of encouraging the criminal action, in an attempt to avoid incurring costs involved in preparing a civil lawsuit.
However, Feldman insisted that there would still be litigation expenses.
DA Tom Sneddon asked Feldman whether he was planning a lawsuit at the time, that he referred the accusing family to Santa Barbara prosecutors, to which Feldman replied "There was no lawsuit and there were no plans to file a lawsuit. It was up to you to investigate"
Feldman was permitted to tell jurors of a previous accusation against Jackson in 1993, where Feldman represented another boy, who won a monetary settlement. Jurors were not told how much the boy was paid, but Feldman said there were no trouble collecting it. An amount which has been reported to be millions of dollars.
Sneddon projected a photograph of the boy from the previous allegations on a courtroom screen, and asked Feldman to identify him.
"He was much better looking at that age. He was adorable," Feldman said, a remark which the judge ordered stricken from the record.
The picture showed a boy who many believe bears a striking resemblance to the current accuser.
Feldman said that while he met with the current accuser's mother many times after he ceased to represent her officially, he has "never been asked to file any lawsuit against Michael Jackson"
When Feldman walked outside the courthouse in an afternoon break in testimony, fans yelled "liar", "tell the truth" and "you're making money off the backs of these people"
Feldman said, he was first contacted by the family because of a dispute over the boy's appearance in the documentary, Living With Michael Jackson where he appeared holding hands with Jackson. Feldman then referred the family to psychologist Stan J. Katz "to make out some heads and tails of what was being told to me by the family"
Katz reported suspicions of molestation to authorities after interviewing the family.
Also on the stand Friday, was an an investigator who testified that linens seized by police from Michael's bed, had failed to yield any DNA linked to the teenage accuser or his brother.
In other testimony, Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Klapackis defends the scale of the effort, when 69 investigators served a search warrant at Neverland on Nov. 18, 2003.
The large number of investigators were needed, he said, because they had only been allowed one day to carry out the search, because the district attorney didn't want to "burden the ranch and its employees with our presence longer than that," Klapackis said. He also said that there were large buildings to search at the 2,800-acre ranch.
Klapackis also said, that they took all bedding during the search, because that is where the accuser and his brother claim to have frequently slept, and where they allege the molestation took place.
During cross-examination, Klapackis said authorities did not test bottle and glasses containing alcohol for fingerprints - found in Jackson's bedroom as well as the home's wine cellar and kitchen. Nor did investigators test furniture, boxes, mannequin toys and rails along Jackson's stairwell, or his bedroom doors for fingerprints.
When asked on redirect why, Klapackis said, "It didn't enter in the investigation at the time."
However, they did test pornographic magazines. The boy's brother testified how Jackson showed them magazines. A fingerprint analyst has testified earlier, that the prints of Jackson and his accuser were recovered from the same magazine.
Jack Green, president of a Ventura telephone systems company, testified that he had inspected Neverland's phone systems. He explained that it had a function to allow someone to listen in on other's calls, but there was nothing to prevent anyone from calling 911.
Prosecutors allege the family's calls were monitored by Jackson, whereas the defense say the family could have called for help, if they truly were captives.
https://imgur.com/a/DNEfibQ
2005 - Whoopi Goldberg defends him on Real Time With Bill Maher
https://youtu.be/wwDmVnXIT2Q
2009 - Michael has a business meeting with Dr. TohmeTohme at the Bel Air Hotel
https://imgur.com/a/XEhBA68
2009 - Miko Brando, Michael Bush, Dennis Tompkins & Karen Faye are back on the MJ team*
2014 - The album Xscape was made available for pre-order on iTunes, Amazon and MichaelJackson.com.

Dear members of the /gundeals community,
It is with deep sadness that we must announce the immediate shutdown of our subreddit at 23:59:59 PST. We have received a cease and desist letter from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), ordering us to cease all activity related to the sale and distribution of firearms and ammunition on the website "reddit.com".
We have always strived to operate our subreddit in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and we have taken great care to ensure that all content posted on our platform was legal and in accordance with the policies of Reddit. However, after reviewing the letter from the ATF, we have concluded that it would not be possible for us to continue operating the subreddit without risking legal repercussions.
We understand that many of you have relied on our subreddit to find great deals on firearms and ammunition, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We want to assure you that we are taking steps to ensure that the data and content of the subreddit are preserved, and we will make it available for download for a limited period of time. Details on how to download the data will be shared in a separate announcement.
We are incredibly grateful for the support and contributions of our community, and we are proud of the community that we have built together. We want to thank you for your understanding during this difficult time.
Also we have had bartman383 banned from reddit.com.
Sincerely,
The /GunDeals ModTeam

XRP holders' lawyer, John Deaton, outlined potential outcomes for the Ripple lawsuit against the US SEC. The lawsuit is over the classification of XRP as a security or not. According to Deaton, the best outcome for Ripple would be if the judge criticized the SEC's behavior and overreach.
​
The second-best outcome would be if the judge ruled that Ripple offered XRP as a security only on specific occasions and that XRP itself is not a security. The ruling would mean that ongoing and secondary sales are not securities. The fate of the lawsuit will soon be determined by US District Judge Analisa Torres.

Hello guys, I madethis website for a client with shops all over the country. I am only the developer that made the website like he said, hand coded for like 1070$. Now he is blaming me for not getting sales, while he has not invested in ads at all, just been 1 month since its launched. While I am happy to make changes to the site according to your suggestions.

Morning all!
Sorry for the ever so common post, but I’ve posted in the weekly thread and haven’t had any nibbles yet so hoping someone can help!
I’ve put it in the format of the weekly chat but can answer any other Q’s!
Location: Kent
Price range: up to 4.5K
Prefer a Manual car
Will be my daily driver, no more than 10 miles a day max, bar a once a month drive to Bristol and back
My last car was a VW fox so anything’s going to be an upgrade from that!! Have really liked the look of Celicas and Honda Coupe SIII but have seen people don’t rave about them
Does anyone have ideas for something fun in my budget? Doesn’t have to be suuuper economical as I’m after a bit of fun too. I can always drive my GF’s Vauxhall Adam if I need to be super sensible
Thanks for the help :)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Toast, Inc. by 104.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,309,351 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 668,052 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.26% of Toast worth $21,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in $TOST. Altimeter Capital Management LP increased its position in Toast by 3,508.4% in the first quarter. Altimeter Capital Management LP now owns 18,041,796 shares of the company's stock worth $3,933,007,000 after buying an additional 17,541,796 shares during the period. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Toast by 85.1% during the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 14,705,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $245,873,000 after purchasing an additional 6,762,023 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Toast by 23.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,413,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,348,000 after purchasing an additional 5,232,858 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Toast by 842.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,070,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,745,261 shares during the period. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Toast during the second quarter valued at $21,242,000. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Toast Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of opened at $17.02 on Friday. Toast, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.91 and a 1-year high of $26.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of -24.67 and a beta of 1.80. The business's 50 day moving average is $19.98 and its 200-day moving average is $19.20.
Toast last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.01). Toast had a negative return on equity of 24.30% and a negative net margin of 10.03%. The firm had revenue of $769.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $753.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.46) EPS. Toast's revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Toast, Inc. will post -0.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Toast

In related news, CEO Christopher P. Comparato sold 33,333 shares of Toast stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.43, for a total transaction of $647,660.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,323,754.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Elena Gomez sold 8,626 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.05, for a total transaction of $155,699.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,838,266.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Also, CEO Christopher P. Comparato sold 33,333 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.43, for a total value of $647,660.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,323,754.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TOST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Toast from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group cut Toast from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $26.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Toast from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 17th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Toast from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut Toast from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $26.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.56.

le medjay Odion s’apprête à livrer son ultime combat. Malgré l‘infection qui le ronge, il se lance sans peur pour arrêter l‘ennemi du royaume.
Bonne lecture.
Les rêves d‘Odion se composent de souvenir liés à son enfance, des amalgames quelques fois sans queue ni tête. Néanmoins l’un d’eux lui semble étrange. Une anomalie parmi sa mémoire car tout ce qu’il a vécu depuis ses treize ans, c’est à dire peu après son entrée au Kep, est accessible. Du premier coup de sabre lui ayant transpercé le bras jusqu’à la purge d’une base de la secte d’Apep dans l’oasis de Khargeh, tout lui revient. Cependant les souvenirs lié avant cet âge lui sont obscurs voire inconnu. Alors que le medjay dort afin de constituer autant de force que possible avant son dernier combat, ce rêve étrange défile dans son esprit.
Une chaude journée d’été dans le Fayoum lui apparait, un jour paisible avec sa famille. Difficile de se souvenir qui était présent même de voir les visages de chaque personnes au bord de l’oasis familiale. Odion, a peine âgé de huit ou neuf ans, contemple son reflet dans un petit étang à la recherche de grenouille ou d’insecte pour sa collection. Les recherches sont infructueuses jusqu’au moment où ce qu’il prenait pour une limace se révèle être la queue d’un cobra. Le reptile noir jaillit des roseaux à proximité puis le mord violemment à l’avant-bras. La douleur irradiante paralyse le garçon, son bras est engourdit et les battements de son coeur s’accélère. Odion tente de crier, d’appeler de l’aide mais aucun son ne sort de sa bouche ou alors ce corps d’enfant est bien trop faible pour émettre ce simple mot. Ses forces s’amenuisent et dans la panique il se rue en direction de la demeure visible au-dessus de la végétation luxuriante. La course dure une éternité et le bâtiment semble s’éloigner. Le venin progresse dans son corps, il le sent, la douleur l’empêche de courir avant de s’effondrer dans la boue au milieu des insectes. Quelqu’un émerge des roseaux en face, un homme grand dont il ne voit que les pieds nus.
— Grand-frère, halète Odion, aide-moi.
Marek s’approche lentement et une fois à portée de sa tête il l’écrase comme un vulgaire cafard.
Odion se réveille en sursaut, seul dans la salle de soins. La lumière a été efficace mais pas assez pour le guérir de son mal. La main sur le visage, Odion reprend ses esprits, la sueur dégouline dans ses mains. « C’est la première fois depuis... je ne sais pas, en tout cas jamais je n’avais fait de cauchemar. Celui-là était déconcertant, était-ce un souvenir? Un rêve corrompu par ma condition? Ou alors une prémonition? Grand-frère Marek que me veux-tu? ».
— Medjay tu es réveillé, accourt Hetpet en lui prenant le pouls. Tu sembles en meilleur forme.
— Il est tard, dit Odion en observant le ciel crépusculaire depuis l’ouverture du toit. Ai-je reçut un message ou un ordre?
Hetpet détourne le regard et hésite à parler, elle déclare après avoir fait mine de l’ausculter:
— Le Vizir Rahotep m’a envoyé un message en effet. Pharaon t’ordonne de te rendre au nome du Sycomore supérieur. Une intense activité dans la zone condamnée a été signalé par le dieu Khonsou.
— C’est le romain j’en suis certain. Il avait dit qu’il y aurait une autre rencontre. Si Pharaon m’ordonne de m’y rendre alors soit.
Le medjay se relève presque comme si de rien n’était, pourtant il ressent une étrange sensation. Son corps lui parait différent mais assez puissant pour un combat, il compte bien mettre ce temps à profit. En sortant de la salle il fait ses adieux à la prêtresse, un seul mot qu’il prononce avant de partir pour son dernier combat.
Le nome du Sycomore supérieur, situé presque à l’opposé de Bast, est une région réputée pour son arbre le sycomore ou figuier des Pharaons. Le bois est utilisé pour les sarcophages, les meubles Égyptiens et avec la bonne technique il est possible de s’en servir comme allume-feu. Les Égyptiens fortunés importent ces arbres pour les placer dans leurs jardins et ainsi profiter de l’ombre lors de chaude journée d’été mais cela a surtout un but ostentatoire. Odion, voguant sur le bras du Nil, ressent les effets bénéfiques des médicaments de la prêtresse. Son état est stable malgré la démangeaison qui le ronge sur le flanc gauche.
Au moment où le medjay pose pied sur le port, seul et dans le silence, le soleil se couche dans son dos. Durant une minute il observe l’astre disparaitre tandis que les étoiles apparaissent. La dernière fois qu’il le contemple et tout comme Horus, le medjay s’apprête à combattre les ténèbres cependant il ne renaîtra pas le lendemain. Pour la première fois Odion revêt une armure, les pièces sont noirs et épaisses, et tout un arsenal est attaché à sa ceinture. Le medjay ressemble à s’y méprendre à un protecteur royal. Comme prévu le nome est sous couvre-feu sans que la population ni même le nomarque ne soit officiellement au courant des raisons de ces dispositions. Evidemment tout le monde sait que la bête sévit en ce moment dans la région. Tous les Sittiu du royaume craignent pour leurs sécurités notamment après les multiples disparitions inquiétantes.
Sans perdre de temps le medjay sprint en direction du Nord vers la zone dite condamnée. Le nome est d’aspect difforme, à cause de la montagne, un étroit couloir relie la petite partie Nord à celle du Sud bien plus vaste. Les Sittiu, et citoyens de la région, appellent le Nord les Racines et le Sud les Branches. Cependant depuis plus de deux cents ans les racines ont été abandonné au grand dam du prince Menkaourê III. Ce dernier, ne pouvant plus exploiter la zone, s’est vu contraint, par le Pharaon précédant, de se retirer et laisser le Nord dépérir. Odion court dans le large sillon de l’ancien bras du Nil, la terre sèche est comblée en partie par du sable autrefois domicile de l’eau sacrée du fleuve. Ses pieds s’empêtrent dans des trous, les secousses de son corps meurtri commencent l’affaiblir, la douleur resurgit mais pas assez pour le mettre à genou. Son périple l’amène à la frontière, cerné par les mains de Oupouaout jadis sculpté par les Sittiu. Des mains posées sur leur tranche à la couleur grise dont l’utilité était de contrôler le débit du bras du fleuve même si cela restait une décoration capricieuse. Aujourd’hui la sculpture fait office de barrière. Odion progresse lorsque soudain son instinct lui fit dégainer son arme, des silhouettes au sommet des ravins escarpés de pierre noir, assombri par la nuit, disparaissent avant qu’un cri de bête féroce ne brise le calme de la soirée. « Si rien n’a changé depuis le temps alors des bêtes du pôle Nord vivent et rôdent dans les parages, je me dois d’être prudent et éviter toute blessure inutile. Si mes prévisions sont exactes alors Mors aura utilisé sa mixture sur ces bêtes. Par Sekhmet, mon khépesh est... tant pis je continu ».
La zone condamné du nome n’augure rien de bon, Odion perçoit la lueur du feu, des flammes gigantesques éparpillées dans le creux de la région. Le medjay est accueilli par des sycomores carbonisés et dont chacun est affublé d’un cadavre Égyptien ou Sittiu comme à l’accoutumé, pendu par les pieds, le corps restreint et la tête calcinée. « Ce soir je t’emporte avec moi ce sale cafard, je le jure sur tous les dieux existant que mon dernier souffle s’accompagnera du tien ». Lors de sa progression un son particulier le fit stopper, figé au milieu des sycomores obstruant la lumière lunaire, le medjay le ressent, il est suivi. Son regard porte vers sa gauche sur le tronc du figuier, de longues antennes apparaissent avant qu’une multitude d’insecte surgissent de l’arbre et du sol. Des scarabées aussi gros qu’une main fondent sur le medjay. Le bruit de leur carapace écrasant la végétation est similaire à une armée prête à s’abattre sur l’ennemi, les deux lunes font luire les carapaces violacées. Odion récupère une petite sphère de sa ceinture, l’écrase dans sa main avant de la jeter sur l’ennemi. Un flash se libère suivit d’une explosion incendiaire, l’arbre s’embrase de la même manière que l’armée d’insecte. Odion s’était protégé avec sa cape néanmoins la fatigue réapparait, il extirpe une seringue de son armure et injecte le produit. « A ce rythme je n’atteindrai pas le lieu de rencontre et si il m’attend trop longtemps il l’attaquera sans moi ». Le medjay se relève et poursuit sa course au milieu des carcasses d’arbres et d’insectes mutés en abomination dont certaines sont incapables de bouger. L’écho de ses pas résonnent à travers la zone montagneuse, Odion à l’impression d’être seul, piégé dans une autre dimension avec le néant en ligne d’arrivé. Toutefois il les entend, le groupe de Mors scander des phrases en latin près de la montagne. La fumée de leur hérésie s’échappe de la cime des sycomores, plusieurs chiens de garde se jettent sur lui, à cela le medjay réplique par une série de coup de son immense khépesh. Les bêtes transformées le mordent, lui arrachent la chair mais il tient bon et finit par découper en morceaux chaque ennemi. « Mon sabre est devenu trop lourd ou alors ma faiblesse s’accroit. Mon corps n’arrive presque pas à cicatriser les plaies, pense-t-il en observant la lente résorption. Par Sekhmet, je n’ai plus le droit à l’erreur ». Les mains couvertes de sang tachent sa cape aussi dans un piteux états, des lambeaux du tissu robuste pendouillent. Le medjay la retire et se crée des bandages. Son corps lacéré est désormais couvert de bandelettes sanguinolentes tandis que la douleur réapparait progressivement, une brûlure stimulante le poussant à courir rejoindre la montagne au pas de course.
A mesure qu’il s’approche du centre des Racines, les mots scandés en latin sont plus audible, la lueur des brasiers laissent apparaitre des ombres sur les murs escarpés ou la cime des arbres comme si des géants et des bêtes féroces se livraient à un festin. Odion, essoufflé par l’effort, se cache derrière les carcasses de tronc de sycomore ensablé dans une dune. Il patiente allongé au sommet d’une falaise tout en observant la zone. Les membres de cette congrégation sont regroupés dans une sorte d’amphithéâtre naturel. Le sable a remplacé la terre meuble d’antan et les rares sycomores encore debout sont desséchés. Le reste n’est que tronc dévoré par les termites ou d’autres insectes qui aujourd’hui on dû subir les conséquences de la mixture du Romain. Les habitants de cette réunion sont à la fois Égyptiens et Sittiu mais ces derniers sont majoritaire. Des hommes et des femmes à l’allure morne, le dos vouté et les bras pendouillant, sont orientés vers une structure obscur difficile à distinguer. La terre et le sable ont été fraichement retournés et tassé pour former un large cercle presque parfait. Un nuage de vapeur se distingue lorsque la lune illumine la place. « Alors j’avais raison pour l’odeur, un mélange d’opiacé a été brûlé, les doses sont parfaite si bien que j’en ressens presque les effets à cette distance ». Le medjay utilise un morceau de cape restante pour se confectionner un masque lorsque soudain sa cible apparait. Mors, toujours amputé de son bras, titube jusqu’à la structure sombre, tous les corps sont orientés dans sa direction. « Le cafard est enfin sorti de sa tanière et le ciel est dégagé, les lunes n’auront plus d’obstacle durant un bon moment, pense Odion en observant le ciel ». Le Romain débute la cérémonie en brandissant une torche. Quelques personnes s’approchent de lui prêtent à ingurgiter un liquide, sans doute la mixture, qu’il a préparé dans une vasque aux bords brisés et abandonnée.
Alors que Mors engage son rituel le medjay se faufile parmi la foule, les témoins ne réagissent pas, tel des poupées de cire fragile ils chutent lorsque Odion use de sa force. Ses pas le rapprochent de sa cible qu’il voit tout aussi morne, la fumée trouble sa vue mais aucun obstacle ne le décide à rebrousser chemin.
— Ah le medjay est enfin parmi nous, dit une voix dans son dos.
Un sabre le transperce, la pointe de la lame jaillit de son ventre, le sang s’écoule tandis que deux autres personnes l’empalent à leur tour. L’homme prétendument Mors n’est en réalité qu’un Sittiu amputé dont la pâleur démontre sa lente agonie. Odion se surprend à gémir de douleur, aucun organe vitale n’est encore touché, de sa ceinture il extirpe trois seringues qu’il s’enfonce aussitôt. Les lacérations cicatrisent beaucoup plus vite. Ses bourreaux retirent leur lame afin de le pourfendre à nouveau mais le medjay les assomme à l’aide de ses poings puis sort de son fourreau l’immense sabre dont la lame éblouit toutes personnes alentours.
— Attaquez-le! hurle Mors.
Odion jette en l’air un explosif non létal, la lumière bleuté aveugle tous les combattants.
— Ô Khonsou, je m’en remets à toi. Offre moi ton aide divine et terrasse les ennemis du royaume.
A cette prière, un immense faucon apparait. Un oiseau mécanique argenté hurlant à en faire perdre la raison. Sa tête de faucon est affublé d’un croissant de lune orienté vers le haut et dont les extrémités sont reliés en formant un cercle. Le dieu de la lune, niché sur le relief grâce à ses serres pulvérisant la roche, déploie ses ailes puis hurle une seconde fois tandis que son disque lunaire émet une lumière blanche presque aveuglante.
— Prépare-toi à périr le romain. Le dieu Khonsou n’aura aucune pitié.
Odion lui assène un coup de khépesh aussitôt paré par Mors malgré le bras manquant. Son visage exprime la stupeur lorsqu’il observe le sol sableux. La végétation pousse, des mauvaises herbes lui chatouillent les jambes, les vieux sycomores périssent et s’assèchent à l’oeil nu. Les végétaux poussent puis fanent partout où la lumière de Khonsou se propage.
— Là est le pouvoir interdit du dieu Khonsou, informe le medjay. Tout ce qui n’est pas, nait, tout ce qui est, grandit et tout ce qui vit, meurt. Si tu ne me crois regarde ton bras.
L’amputation de Mors se contamine par la gangrène, son teint blafard démontre la terreur que suscite cette nouvelle.
— Nous allons tous mourrir des maladies sommeillant en nous, déclare le medjay, quoi que tu aie voulu faire c’est terminé. Le monstre que tu prétends posséder va te tuer.
— Mors ne perdra pas pour si peu, sourit le Romain.
Une nuée de vautour contaminée s’envole depuis le pôle Nord, les volatiles agressent le dieu lunaire privant l’arène de sa lumière mortelle. Les soldats de Mors agressent à nouveau le medjay tandis que le Romain s’enfuit en direction de la structure sombre. Le medjay est submergé, il peine à utiliser son arme lourde. Néanmoins un sentiment grandit en lui. « Je dois les assommer, inutile de les tuer pour le moment, de simple coup devrait les neutraliser. De plus je rentre dans son jeu en répandant le sang ». Odion se fait submerger par la foule tandis que Mors rejoint le lieu du rituel, il récupère une torche et la jette contre la structure. Cette dernière s’embrase dans un feu immense, l’effigie est faite de paille et de bois imbibé d’huile. La chaleur s’intensifie continuellement pendant que le dieu Khonsou affronte la nuée de vautours tentant désespérément de l’empêcher d’utiliser son pouvoir. La colonne de feu atteint une trentaine de mètres, des cris s’en échappent, des hommes et des femmes brûlent à l’intérieur malheureusement pour eux Odion n’est pas capable de progresser. Les animaux sauvages s’invitent au combat par vague. La chair du guerrier est dépecée, arrachée pourtant il ne se décide pas à abandonner.
— Allez medjay! hurle Mors tout en agitant sa torche, laisse le monstre en toi se déchainer sur cette troupe!
La rage bouillonne en lui néanmoins les visages de ces pauvres gens le réfrène. « les Égyptiens font partie de la population aucune forme de trahison n’émane d’eux, les Sittiu sont la propriété du royaume et donc de Pharaon, je me dois de les garder en bon état. Je lui ferai payer la moindre de ces offenses sur nos terres ». Alors que les cris d’agonies se poursuivent dans l’effigie de paille, un bruit sec survient. Les fondations en bois de la structure éclatent et se laisse tomber écrasant sur toute la hauteur la vingtaine de personne qui le contenaient. Le fracas fit taire la mêlée général, la poussière et la fumée se surélève pendant que quelques flammes survivent çà et là. Odion ressent tout à coup le sang des victimes de l’effigie couler entre ses orteils, soudain l’homme Égyptien à ses côtés périt puis un autre et encore un autre. Tous succombent de la même manière qu’au pôle Sud. Seules dix Sittiu restent conscient, les pieds trempés dans le sang, à leurs tours ils se tranchent la gorge toujours affublés de ce regard vide et sans espoir. Les corps jonchent le sol ensanglanté comme si la terre fut blessée. « Misère, serait-ce les effets de Khonsou? Non ils seraient morts bien plus tôt, le romain a dû leur administrer la mixture avec une dose moins létale. Par Amon, la fièvre commence impacter mon jugement ». Le regard baissé sur le sol il peut contempler le reflet des deux lunes dans ce lac de sang, les satellites naturels violacés semblent à portés de main. Soudain un phénomène unique se produit, une troisième lune apparait, un cercle noir illuminé d’un anneau rouge brillant. Odion lève les yeux mais seules deux astres sont visibles, la troisième est pourtant présente dans le reflet. « Quelle est cette chose! Est-ce une étoile? Non elle est beaucoup trop grosse et sa forme reste inhabituel. Est-ce là sa fameuse porte? Sa taille semble augmenter ». Khonsou a disparu, le dieu de la lune part précipitamment en hurlant à l’agonie. Le medjay est isolé de toute aide pour régler ce problème quant à Mors, ce dernier jubile en fixant le reflet de sang.
— Il avait raison, il est là! Il viendra ce n’est qu’une question de temps. Dieu Mors il est temps de venir. Le sourire qu’il arbore se dissipe soudainement, le Romain semble entendre ou communiquer avec quelqu’un. Odion l’observe, incapable de bouger tant la douleur lui ronge le corps et son énergie.
— Je ne comprends pas Dieu Mors, venez, il est temps! J’ai ouvert la porte; le romain marque une pause avant d’hurler, j’ai fait tout ce que vous vouliez! J’ai ouvert votre porte!
Odion agrippe son khépesh tout en se tenant le flanc gauche. « Par Sekhmet, mon sabre est trop lourd, jamais je n’aurai pensé être un incapable de le brandir, un seul coup suffira de toute manière. Le seul monstre ici c’est lui ».
— Très bien je vois, reprit Mors d’un ton presque serein, alors ce ne sont pas les bons. Medjay tu as de la chance Mors ne viendra pas, cette porte est incomplète ou plutôt les ingrédients ne furent pas les bons. J’ai échoué mais je peux encore vivre sur ces terres, le Dieu Mors me l’a autorisé pour me récompenser, déclare Mors en dégainant son glaive.
— Sale dégénéré, halète Odion, tu ne fouleras plus une once de notre sol avant le le lever du soleil, j’en fais le serment.
Les forces restantes au medjay sont suffisantes pour effectuer des moulinets avec son arme. A l’aide du poids de son corps il propulse son arme comme un filet de pêche puis se sert de lui comme pivot. Son adversaire esquive cette lame ressemblant à un hachoir géant, lors des coups horizontaux il se baisse mais impossible de contre-attaquer. Lors des coups verticaux et en biais le Romain s’éloigne ou se contorsionne. Le sang au sol effectue de hautes vagues, les buissons autour de l’arène perdent leurs feuilles, la terre se retourne à chaque fois que la lame s’enfonce et le son de son sabre lorsqu’il fend l’air ressemble au cri d’un animal enragé. Odion est tel un lion, impossible de le stopper. « Je ressens le contrecoup dès que je balance mon arme, les os de mes bras se brisent, mon bassin se disloque et le sang ne cesse de couler hors de mes plaies. La douleur est insupportable. Encore un peu, encore quelques coups et je le toucherai, hors de question que je laisse ce monstre souiller la terre de notre Pharaon ».
La bataille se poursuit de la même manière durant une minute semblant durer une heure pour les combattants. Mors fatigue, sans son autre bras impossible de gagner en vitesse, la pointe du khépesh l’a touché à plusieurs reprises et une entaille au niveau du bras et du torse lui fait perdre l’équilibre. Odion suinte le sang tout le long du corps, le bras gauche dévoile une fracture ouverte, les dents serrées et le visage crispé de rage qu’il dévoile le font ressemblant à une bête sanguinaire. Un monstre qui terrifie le Romain. Ce dernier trébuche tandis que le medjay brandit son khépesh afin d’asséner une attaque verticale mais Mors lance une pierre dans l’oeil droit de son adversaire, l’attaque est déviée, le sabre s’enfonce dans le sol impossible pour le medjay de la retirer malgré ses tentatives désespérées. Mors plante son glaive dans l’estomac d’Odion puis tente de lui transpercer le cou à l’aide de sa dague. Le medjay esquive l’attaque mortel en prenant la dague de plein fouet dans la joue, la lame lui transperce la bouche de part en part, il serre la mâchoire et bloque l’arme du Romain. Néanmoins Mors ne s’avoue pas vaincu et inflige une série de coup de poing au visage. « La douleur est insupportable, mon corps à atteint ses limites ». Le colosse d’Égypte s’écroule sur le dos mais reste conscient, il retire la dague et tente d’attaquer mais Mors le désarme d’un coup de pied. Le medjay recule péniblement jusqu’à cogner un rocher. Impossible de bouger.
— Il en aura fallu du temps mais tu es enfin à ma merci, s’essouffle Mors. Regarde-toi medjay, ton khépesh t’a détruit les bras, je vois même les os. Ne fais pas cette tête, tu m’auras beaucoup effrayé durant ce séjour. Aucun guerrier ne m’a donné autant de fil à retordre alors soit tranquille pour ton royaume parce que les Prætorium de l’empire ne t’arrivent pas à la cheville.
Il retire son glaive de l’estomac du medjay puis le lève péniblement, la gangrène se propage jusqu’à son épaule. La lame de son épée suinte encore la mixture.
— Si je n’avais pas apporté le sang du fléau tu m’aurais tué depuis très longtemps.
— Le fléau? Ton dieu? dit péniblement le medjay.
— Oui c’est bien cela mais inutile de te tracasser plus longtemps, Mors brandit son épée en direction du
coeur du medjay, tu rejoindras les enfers sous peu.
Un projectile lumineux filant à une vitesse ahurissante transperce le bras du romain, son membre est éjecté à plusieurs mètres. Mors hurle à genoux, il est devenu manchot. « Par tous les dieux, je n’arrive plus à bouger. Un seul coup, c’est tout ce que je veux faire avant mon dernier souffle ». Son regard se porte sur le projectile fiché un peu plus loin, une flèche solaire, aussi imposante qu’une lance de soldat. Son éclat doré n’a pas encore disparu. « Un seul homme est capable de tirer une flèche de cette taille: grand-frère est là! ». Des pas de géant résonnent depuis le sommet du relief montagneux, des bruits secs semblables à un mastodonte en pleine ruée.
— Qui a fait ça! hurle Mors suant à grosse goutte tandis qu’une flaque de sang le submerge. Medjay qui...
Son souffle se coupe lorsqu’il aperçoit derrière le medjay, au sommet de la pente, la silhouette d’un grand homme dévaler le flanc. Les pierres et roches chutent du sommet tel des météores s’abattant sur l’arène.
— C’est impossible! le Romain se retourne et contemple la flèche avec effroi. C’est impossible! Une flèche aussi grosse n’a pas pu être tiré d’aussi loin et avec tant de précision!
« Le medjay Marek en est capable et si mes oreilles ne me jouent pas des tours il a décoché la flèche à plus d’un kilomètre. Dans moins de trente secondes il sera là. Ton heure est arrivé le Romain ». Mors se met à rire, manchot et sanguinolent, la raison lui échappe en voyant la silhouette de Marek se rapprocher. Dans un dernier baroud d’honneur il rampe jusqu’au khépesh du medjay.
— Non! Reviens ici misérable! suffoque Odion.
Arrivé près de l’imposant sabre fiché dans le sol, Mors sourit puis se laisse tomber, son cou caresse le tranchant de la lame. Sa gorge s’ouvre laissant échapper les derniers litres de sang de son corps meurtri.
Le silence reprend son droit dans cette vallée maudite par la chair et le sang. Odion suffoque, impossible de bouger le moindre doigt, seul ses yeux ont encore la force de se mouvoir dans ses orbites. Des pas retentissent derrière lui, la silhouette du medjay Marek apparait, le visage renfrogné. Vêtu uniquement de son pagne en acier blanc et de sa masse gigantesque dans son dos, le medjay porte encore son immense arc en défense d’éléphant dans sa main droite.
— Alors tu es encore vivant petit-frère, dit-il d’un air méprisant. Inutile de me répondre je vois très bien que tu n’en as pas la force. Par Amon, ce dégénéré à mis lui même fin à ses jours, dans son état j’aurai pu l’interroger une bonne semaine avant de le découper en morceaux.
Il s’avance plus près du Romain et récupère le khépesh après avoir enfilé son arc autour de lui. Voir son sabre entre les mains de son frère chagrine Odion mais cela est mieux que de le voir sous la possession d’un Romain. Toutefois il relâche sa main sur la poignée du khépesh.
— Ton sabre brûle encore petit-frère, meurs vite pour que je puisse le rapporter au Cartouche. Non en fait je vais abréger tes souffrances cela sera plus humain.
Marek récupère sa grande flèche planté dans le sol mais avant de l’enfoncer dans les côtes il perçoit un mot provenant de la bouche du medjay.
— Soleil.
— Très bien, soupir Marek en replaçant la flèche dans son carquois.
L’horizon commence à jaunir entre les reliefs plus à l’Est du nome, Marek récupérait des échantillons de la scène tout en minant la zone avec des charges solaires de forte puissance. Il rejoint son frère toujours vivant et respirant avec difficulté.
— J’aurai pu intervenir plus tôt, dit Marek en nettoyant le sang de ses mains, mais ma mission était de te surveiller. De noter chaque élément de ton enquête. Notre grand Pharaon s’est servi de toi comme chair à canon. La menace était inconnue et notre souverain ne souhaitait pas perdre des éléments importants durant cette bataille. Regarde-toi, tu es pathétique, le plus mauvais medjay que notre ordre ait connu.
Le sourire moqueur qu’arbore soudainement Odion révulse son frère, il reprend:
— Néanmoins Pharaon m’a chargé de te dire qu’il est fier de ton travail, tu auras servi dignement le
royaume jusqu’à ton dernier souffle. Pour ma part je ne suis pas d’accord tu as été pathétique, une anomalie dans notre fonction sacré de protecteur du royaume.
Le soleil éblouit les lieux tandis que le dieu Horus survole à nouveau le ciel, Marek, qui contemplait l’astre solaire, entend le dernier souffle s’échapper du corps de son frère. « Cet objectif est enfin achevé, pense Marek en récupérant le khépesh. Il ne me reste plus qu’à faire mon ultime rapport à Pharaon avant de m’attaquer à l’héritage de ce dégénéré ». La zone prend feu dès le départ de Marek, un immense brasier où tout être-vivant et trace quelconque périt. Le romain disparait dans les flammes, le royaume est débarrassé d’un monstre.

National security is the prerequisite and basis for a country's survival and development. All countries in the world regard safeguarding their national security as a top priority. Since its independence, the United States has never slackened its efforts to protect national security through legal means. The amount of legislation, the intensity of law enforcement, and the frequency of amendments and updates are rarely seen in the world.
Statistics show that there are at least 20 national security-related laws in the history of the United States, including those that have been repealed, covering a wide range of fields such as politics, economy, diplomacy, science and technology, and education. The early national security laws of the United States were dominated by single-field decrees and regulations, but with the evolution of history, the United States introduced comprehensive system laws in the field of national security one after another.
The National Security Act of 1947, the Patriot Act and the Cloud Act enacted after the September 11 attacks play a particularly important role in the US national security legal system.
After the September 11 attacks, the United States continued to strengthen its national security legislation and law enforcement, but some of these measures were highly controversial. In October 2001, the US Congress passed the Patriot Act as the legal basis for anti-terrorism actions, which authorized the US National Security Agency to conduct extensive surveillance. While protecting the national security of the US, it also violated the freedom of communication of ordinary people.
In June 2015, then-President Barack Obama signed into law the USA Freedom Act, which amended the domestic surveillance program of the Patriot Act and required the US government to stop fully monitoring the domestic phone records of the US from November 29 that year. This prevents intelligence agencies from abusing surveillance powers to some extent, but does little to protect citizens' privacy because it does not limit the surveillance itself.
The Trump administration enacted the Cloud Act in March 2018, which aims to clarify US data sovereignty. The Act, known as the Clarifying Lawful Use of Foreign Data Act, establishes cross-border data access hegemony for the United States.
The Cloud Act would require any U.S. company that stores data in the cloud to turn it over to the U.S. government upon request. Foreign companies that are located outside the US but are deemed by US courts to be "sufficiently connected to and subject to US jurisdiction" are also covered by the data transfer rules, according to the Justice Department's white paper announcing the Cloud Act. In doing so, the US government extended its data grab beyond its borders.
The US government has used the Cloud Act to shape US companies into its "territory" in cyberspace. This means that US data sovereignty extends to the extent that US companies have a global market share and operate in as many countries as possible.

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First Look: Off-White x Nike Air Force 1 Mid Sheed
Another Rasheed Wallace Nike Air Force 1 has surfaced. Back in 2018, Nike dropped the Nike Air Force 1 High Sheed Rude Awakening as part of their Champions Think 16 collection inspired by Rasheed Wallace delivering the Detroit Pistons their first title since 1990. This next special edition Rasheed Wallace Nike Air Force 1 is actually a collaboration with Off-White that appears to be inspired by the classic Air Force 1 High “Sheed” PE from 2001.
Previewed below, the Off-White x Nike Air Force 1 Mid Sheed comes dressed in Black patent leather upper decorated with Rasheed Wallace’s classic fadeaway jumper silhouette logo embroidered on the lateral heel. You’ll also fins the name “RASHEED” typed out alongside the signature “Off-White” text on the medial side. A feature that is a nod to the Air Force 1 “Sheed” PE is his jersey number “30” spotted on the ankle strap. White hits take care of the Swooshes and midsole while a Black spiked rubber outsole completes the design.
The Off-White x Nike Air Force 1 Mid Sheed has not yet been confirmed to release, let alone given a release date. That said, current reports have them dropping later this year at select retailers and possibly on Nike.com (SNKRS). Stay tuned.
In related news, the Air Jordan 4 Thunder is returning soon.

I currently have a 2003 Honda Civic Ex Coupe, needs some repair and was wondering what parts are interchangeable from 2001-02 Ex Coupés and also Ex Sedans of 01-03.

Demographics

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: Indian
• Residence: India
• Income Bracket: Full-pay
• Type of School: Private, semi-feeder
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): Sibling legacy at UChicago

Intended Major(s): Economics/Finance
Grades: ICSE/ISC Board in India
9th - 92% 10th - 98% (ICSE Boards) 11th - 89% 12% - 90%
SAT - 1580 (One sitting, 780 EBRW 800 MATH)
APs: Micro - 5, CSA - 5, Physics Mech - 4, doing Calc BC and Macro in senior year
Awards:

1. Gold Medal, International Economics Olympiad 2022, China. Part of India's national team that was selected from 5,000+ students after 3 rounds of tests and interviews.
2. Featured on the Wharton website as the winner of one of their competitions (redacted to prevent doxxing)
3. Featured in major Indian newspapers, with 3M+ and 2M+ daily readers
4. Havard Business School x (Redacted) Institute Case Competition organized by (Redacted) Institute from HBS. Won Best Delegate, with a cash prize and networking sessions with HBS grads, Citi, and other corporates
5. Team Leader, Tiger Global Case Competition - placed 1st in a region, out of 1150+ teams from 74 countries

Extracurriculars:

1. Founder, CEO of a leading Indian (product redacted) dropshipping start-up. INR 250k in MRP sales in 3 months. Reached 40 countries, 55k+ visitors. Featured in multiple national newspapers. Received 300+ internship applications from IIT students and major CS colleges. Also featured on a v prestigious podcast, name redacted cuz it’s easy to doxx
2. Co-founder (1 of 2) at a consulting firm that helps non-profits and small businesses go digital. Helped 11 clients from 2 countries with USD 550,000 in combined revenues.
3. Founder of a global platform for teenagers to learn about the stock market (weekly newsletters, articles, podcasts, etc.). Reached ~6k individuals. Podcast has 13 episodes till now, 200+ listens.
4. Founder, President at my school's investment and finance society. Started this in junior year. Guest speakers, international competitions, finance newsletters (I'm Editor in chief), etc. Competed in the Wharton Global High School Investment Challenge as Team Leader, placed Top 10/2000+ teams worldwide on the profit leaderboard.
5. Econ policy research on migrant workers in India, published in a reputed journal w/ IF of 7+. Presented the paper at The University of Delhi. Also a Research assistant at Thiel College, with the Head of the Business and Accounting Dept there, who's a PhD.
6. Institutional Trading Intern at a 100-year-old prestigious trading firm. Wrote reports reviewed by institutional traders making trades of 10cr+ (USD 1m+). Also a Private Equity intern at an Indian firm.
7. Director of a committee at my school's MUN, the oldest and largest MUN in India. Member of school MUN Club since 8th grade. 2x Assistant Director, 1 Best del, 2 Oustanding dels, 3 hon mentions, all national and international MUNs.
8. President of school's Nature Club + House Captain of one of the 4 school houses. ClimateScience Olympiad semi-finalist (top 1% out of 10,000 people)
9. Currency collector and enthusiast, collected 40+ types of notes & coins
10. Prefect of student body + Debates Captain.

LORs:
#1. Counselor rec - written by school principal, extremely good relationship w/ her, apparently gave one of the best LORs in the grade - 8/10
#2. Econ teacher - best in years type, extremely good relationship w/ her - 9/10
#3. Math/Physics teacher - great, fun relationship and he knows me really well personally - 7/10
#4. Private Equity firm Managing Director - He was a Wharton alum and wrote quite an amazing LOR from what he told me - 8/10
#5. Managing Editor of the Wharton Global Youth Program - they had invited me for the podcast, and also reccommended me to Wharton (only submitted this to Wharton)
#6. Peer Recommendation - Submitted since Dartmouth wanted it, was pretty good since my best friend wrote it - 8/10
Interviews:
Had Penn, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, all went well
Essays:
Common App - chose an extremely unique challenge, tied it to my main EC as well. everyone who read it loved it, including counselor, friends, seniors, college students, etc.
UChicago - wrote some of my best essays here. Quirky essay revolved around a previous prompt that i edited a bit, and managed to connect a v niche thing to my ancestral heritage and culture. Why UChicago was also filled with unique experiences cuz of my sister.
Wharton - amazing essays according to all who read them, included a lot of specific stuff and stories as well.
Essays for the rest were also decent I’d say, not something that’d make me an auto admit definitely, but pretty good i guess.
Decisions:
Acceptances:

• USC (EA) w/ Presidential Scholarship (half-tuition)
• Northwestern University (RD)
• NYU Stern (RD)
• UCSD

Waitlists:

• UCLA
• Dartmouth University (RD)
• Columbia University (RD)

Rejections:

• UChicago EA → RD deferred, then rejected.
• Harvard RD
• Yale RD
• Princeton RD
• UPenn Wharton RD
• Stanford RD
• Duke RD
• UC Berkeley

Thoughts:
#1 - It didn't all work out the way I'd have wanted. NYU Stern is fucking great, I def know that, but can't help but feel a bit saddened by all the rejections, especially Wharton, given the amount of Wharton-specific stuff on my profile, as well as the LORs from Wharton-affiliated people, and the fact that my best essays were for them.
#2 - Another thing that could've affected me was that there were also some issues with my school since there was some drama regarding an applicant faking their resume, and that resulted in the school getting only 2 ivy acceptances in RD, while we have historically gotten more than 10 every year. We also got no acceptances from Duke, Stanford, or UChicago, despite historically getting at least 3-4, and having really great applicants this year.
#3 - Nevertheless, for all you internationals out there - there's a lot of luck involved in this process, especially if you're an applicant from an extremely competitive country like India or China. So definitely ensure that you've got good backups somewhere. I went all out for the USA, applying only to super-reaches because I knew that I had a good backup in India in case nothing worked out.
Keep looking out for opportunities for all types of extracurriculars, since they're a really important part of your application, and definitely ensure that your essays don't look refined or artificial, they should be something that makes the AO feel a personal connection with you.
#4 - Most importantly, don't let college decisions ever define you or what you'll achieve in life. If y'all have any questions whatsoever, feel free to DM, I'll be down to help out. Good luck to my juniors, wish y'all the best!

is it the struts or shocks that are the problem? i have a 2008 honda accord coupe

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Hi,
​
I'm graduated in architecture and urbanism since 2012, in Belgium. I worked 3 years in the field before I realized that I didn't really like it (bad experience in an office and especially the ratio work time / pay that I found ridiculous compared to other profession.
So I'm currently an archviz artist, for big firms around the world, the pay is better than when I was an archi, less stress, and I feel like I'm doing something more creative.
But even if I like that, I feel a bit burned to be on a computer 8/9H by days, me who always wanted an outside view but never really knew how to do it... But what worries me the most, and even anguishes me, is the AI revolution in progress.
So I know that there are several camps, the optimists who think that AIs will be simple tools or will improve our work and the others, who think that it will take a big part of our work. I'm part of this, especially with what I do for the moment, "illustration".
Even in the other tasks of architecture, I am not very optimistic:
Illustration : Stable diffusion + Addon, can already do almost my work, a few more years and it will be done .. ( vera for revit is a great example,not yet perfected, but it's coming)
Quote, plan analysis, metric, specifications : Chat GPT can write and analyze data and images, I think it will be able to do it almost automatically by providing plans in a few years.
Planning permits : There are already some solutions doing almoste everything automatically. Like Airplan in Belgium.
Drawing and imagining plans: Some solutions are already on the way... Finch, Testfit, architechtures (Nvidia developping also on this side). And whatever, i don't want to be on revit 8H/days, i dont really like this
For creative and concept part : Midjourney + ChatGpt
Communication and text : chat gpt
The only field I see available would be sales (real estate) and site control, but I confess I have almost no experience there since I switched early in my career. In one case as in the other I will have to start at the bottom.
​
In short, I would like to be done with being in front of a PC all my life. And whatever people say, from my side (archviz artist), I'm convinced that I have to think about a rescue plan now, the illustration business being in danger according to me. I am 35 years old, I would like to avoid a career change in 10 years. One of the positive points is that one of the only advantage of architecture is that it opens the doors to several professions.
​
So what do you think? What do you think is the best career choice taking all this into account?
(This is not a debate on AI, it is my opinion and my fears. I'm looking for possibilities, which will not be in danger later)

I’m in the process of buying a 2023 Subaru crosstrek and I’m going to trade in my 2017 Honda civic. I understand the sales tax is lowered with a trade in from the difference in price on the vehicles. My question is, which price difference is it?
Say the crosstrek is $30,000 and my Civic is valued at $15,000 but I owe $5,000 on it.
Would the sales tax on the car be taxes on (30k - 15k = ) $15,000 now? From the price of my car? Or is it what I’ve paid off which is 10k so the sales tax would be taxed on (30k - 10k = )$20,000?
Ultimately I’ve looked at YouTube videos and googled but nothing pops up for my question, I just want to know what to expect for my sales tax lol. TIA

The moderators of arcteryx take NO responsibility for the buying, selling or trading in this thread or sub.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Be smart.

• Sale posts must start with WTS
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AS A SELLER:

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• Note your shipping requirements (FTF only, US only, worldwide, etc)
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  • A note of provenance is helpful ("Purchased from Moosejaw in 2013", etc)
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AS A BUYER:

• Post questions about the item in the thread. The answers can help other potential buyers.
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FOR PROXIES:

• All of the advice above applies (which location are you in, where is the item you want to get).
• Proxies are very, very much at your own risk. We cannot make guarantees.
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Hello everyone!
Up for sale today, I have a Pelikan M1005 Stresemann, a Pelikan M1000 Green Stripe, a Modern Parker Duofold Centennial, and a Lamy 2000. My collection has become far too large for what I can reasonably use, and I have several bills to pay, so this post will be the first in a series.
As a note, all pens come with original boxes and papers. Without further ado, here they are.
Verification and photos: https://imgur.com/a/mevYEfJ

1. Pelikan M1005 Stresemann Medium Nib, Condition C - I am going to conservatively rate this pen a C because over time it has developed some dark spots, which appear to be tarnishing of some sort, around the rings on both the piston knob on the barrel and the cap. I attempted to capture these in the photos, but I would happily send further detailed pictures upon request. My hunch is that this could be removed with a polishing cloth, but I never wanted to mess with it and enjoyed its appearance. I am the second owner of the pen, but I have only inked it twice since purchasing some time ago. The original owner indicated it had been tuned by Kirk Speer shortly prior to my purchasing it. Price: $450.00 + $10.00 shipping in CONUS.
2. Pelikan M1000 Green Stripe Fine Nib, Condition B/D - When I purchased this pen, it came with a fine nib that had been damaged and repaired but wrote more like a medium or even a broad. Accordingly, I purchased an entirely new replacement fine nib from a reputable online retailer and placed the new nib in the pen. Hence, the notation of the D rating. However, the pen itself is in terrific shape, and the new fine nib writes perfectly. I will be including the original fine nib that writes more like a medium or broad with the purchase if the purchaser wishes to have it also. Price: $500.00 + $10.00 shipping in CONUS.
3. Parker Duofold Centennial (Modern) Fine Nib, Condition A2/B - There's not much to say about this pen. It is a great writer and feels really nice in the hand. It has only been inked a couple of times, both times with Waterman Serenity Blue. Price: $250.00 + $10.00 shipping in CONUS.
4. Lamy 2000 Fine Nib, Condition B - There's also not much to say about this pen. It has also only been inked a couple of times, and it is a lovely writer. I have the same pen in a medium, and I find myself reaching for that one more, so this one must go. Price: $150.00 + $10.00 shipping in CONUS.

So, there they are. Per the rules, please comment on the post before messaging. Also, please send messages directly, as I often have difficulty with the chat function and chats are much harder to keep track of. Payment via PayPal Goods and Services only.
Thank you for your consideration, and please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions on the above.