UN GRAND MERCI À TOUS ET TOUTES ! Pour rendre ce texte plus facilement partageable aux non-francophones, les informations relatives au message lui-même ont été mises en fin de texte.
EDIT : ajout de segments sur la stigmatisation des musulmans et Dieudonné, n'hésitez pas à apporter corrections et précisions si besoin.
HOW DOES FREE SPEECH WORK IN FRENCH LAW ?
French law is simple: people have rights, ideas don't have any.
What that means is that:

French law forbids hate and defamation speech (or hate/defamation drawings...) when it's directed at people, or groups. For instance, if I say "Muslims are all barbaric", or "Jews are all hateful", or "Christians are all perverts", it's against the law.
French law allows "hate" speech, or any speech (and therefore any drawing) when it's directed at ideas - whether ideologies (communism, capitalism...), philosophies (existentialism...), religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism...), or any others. For instance, if I say "the Quran is a barbaric book", or "Judaism is a hateful religion", or "Christianity has a perverse philosophy", it is not against the law.

You can satirize, criticize, mock, do anything to ideas, symbols, etc. Only people are protected by the law. There are a very few exceptions to that principle, but religion is not one of them.
WHAT ARE THOSE EXCEPTIONS?
Three main exceptions:

Denial of crimes against humanity that have been sentenced as such by a french or international court (this, obviously, includes the holocaust). This law has been and is still discussed: some argue that the political power should not interfere in history discussions.
Glorifying terrorism (it's a very old law: 1881).
Insulting the national flag. This one is a very recent (2003) and controversial law - and its pretty limited: the Conseil d'État ruled that this law applies only to "disturbing the peace" ; insulting the french flag is allowed for those who "want to communicate, by doing this, political or philosophical ideas, or who do it as an artistic or creative act".

WOULDN'T IT BE BETTER TO RESTRICT FREEDOM OF SPEECH TO WHAT IS NOT OFFENSIVE FOR OTHERS?
It would be a bad idea.
First, free speech doesn't make sense if it only works to please everyone. If a dictator forbids free speech, it's because he usually doesn't want people to say bad things about him, not because he's afraid of receiving compliments...
But most of all, in a society in which free speech should bow to your feelings, a LOT of things would be forbidden... including religions. For a lot of people in modern society, some principles are sacred: for instance the idea that apostates, women who have sex before marriage, or same sex couples aren't guilty of anything. The holy books of the three religion are therefore deeply offensive to them: they could just as well ask to forbid those writings...
There is no logical reason for which, in a society, some citizens should be considered more "holy" than others, or their feelings more important than those of others.
The limitations in free speech laws are only made to protect people - their safety, or their reputation. Not their ideas, nor their feelings.
SO WHY DID SINÉ GET FIRED AFTER MAKING FUN OF JUDAISM?
Siné was fired from Charlie Hebdo after making, in a text, a remark on the marriage of Sarkozy's son with a jewish girl, suggesting he was choosing to convert to Judaism to marry a rich heiress. The chain of events is complicated (see the wiki page), and the Charlie Hebdo director from those years (Phillipe Val) who fired him is still very controversial.
The LICRA (association against racism and antisemitism) filed a complaint against him after this. Siné was acquitted of all charges.
To sum this up:

Siné was accused of stigmatization against Jews (people), not their religion (idea).
His being fired from Charlie Hebdo is the sole responsibility of the director of that period, not french laws.
France, through its judicial system, confirmed that Sine was free to say what he said.

AND WHY DIEUDONNÉ WAS FORCED TO STOP HIS SHOW WHEN HE MADE FUN OF JEWS?
Dieudonné is a talented stand-up comedian, which gradually made attacks on Jews his specialty - and as time went by, he became close to the far right (Soral, Lepen). There are two very different affairs about him.
Note that, in those two affairs, he was never accused of mocking the Jewish religion (idea), but of hate speech, racist insults and defemation against Jews (people), of glorifying terrorism, and of denial of crime against humanity.

The first affair is the one everybody heard of: the cancelling of his show. In 2013-2014, Dieudonné is presenting a new one-man-show, and some parts of it are considered borderline antisemitic. But wait for a trial to confirm that would have been long, and the politic power at that time (french minister Manuel Valls) didn't want to let the show still publicly attack Jews every night without doing nothing. So, through his departmental prefects (which obey to political power), he asked to stop the show for "trouble à l'ordre public" ("disturbing public order"). That's not really what "trouble à l'ordre public" is usually used for (it's mainly made for meetings judged dangerous), but it's still possible to do it for a show, through an unique case law of 1995 (case law, aka "jurisprudence", is decisive in french law). This decision opened a huge and violent debate in France, including between its different institutions (the administrative court of the city of Nantes canceled the canceling of the show, then the State Council canceled the cancel of the canceling of the show...). This decision is still debated today, and judged illegitimate by many.
That said, there is another affair, or several in fact, which are not known at all abroad: the fact that, on the same matter, Dieudonné was found guilty several times after proper trials. Between 2007 and 2020, he was convicted 11 times (for "call to hate", for "racist defamation", for "racial insult", for "apology of terrorism"...). Those convictions have been confirmed on appeal, and are not a french obsession: he has been also condemned for the same things in Belgium, in Quebec, and one of his french sentences has been confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights.

To sum this up:

Dieudonné was never convicted for attacks on Jewish religion, but for attacks on Jews, denial of crime against humanity, and glorifying terrorism.
He has been found guilty of this 11 times by french justice, but also by the judicial system of Belgium, of Quebec, and by the European Court of Human Rights.
Nevertheless, the political power of 2014 hasn't waited for a trial to stop one of his shows with antisemitic parts, and cancelled it in a way which, while still legal, was jugged abusive and problematic by a big part of french society, including some of its institutions.

BUT WHY DOES CHARLIE HEBDO ONLY TARGET ISLAM?
Note, before anything else, that Charlie Hebdo is an independent newspaper: the French government doesn't decide what is published in it. They're read by only a very small part of the population. It only represents itself. And anyone is free to file a complaint against them.
That said, Charlie Hebdo, which is a critical and satirical left-wing newspaper (anti-far-right, antimilitarist, anticlerical, propalestinian...), and the heir of an anarchist-libertarian french press, has a long history in making fun (and even being plain rude/disrespectful) of anything and anyone. This includes all religions, and Islam is far from being the main focus, as shown by this statistic of the front covers of Charlie hebdo during the ten years that preceded the killings: https://i.imgur.com/1CeIQwU.png
For those who think they are harsher on Islam, here is an example of a recent cover they made about Christianity: https://p1.storage.canalblog.com/28/07/177230/82450171.jpg
The three main religions are in fact often targeted together: https://jewpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/charliehebdoproces.Jewpopjpg.jpg
And for those who think they are nicer to the jewish community, here is one of their drawing on Isreal killing children in Palestine: https://p6.storage.canalblog.com/62/81/177230/100527364_o.jpg
The main target of Charlie Hebdo, that said, is mainly far right politicians like Le Pen, not religion.
BUT SOME CHARLIE HEBDO CARTOONS COULD BE CONSIDERED RACIST!
On decades and thousands of drawings, there are very few cartoons that have been considered racist. Their idea to be "bête et méchant" ("stupid and nasty") with everyone (the main equivalent, in the US, would not be The Onion, but more something like South Park) lead them to sometimes cross the line.
For instance with this drawing (which is not a cover) : https://www.actuabd.com/local/cache-vignettes/L450xH536/riss-aylan-382e8.jpg?1580041384
Don't think it got a free pass: this drawing, as well as some others, was heavily discussed at that time in French society. But no one filed a complaint: you still can, if you want to.
IF FREE SPEECH IS SO IMPORTANT, WHY DOESN'T FRANCE LET COUNTRIES BOYCOTT ITS PRODUCTS, OR ERDOGAN QUESTION THE MENTAL HEALTH OF MACRON?
As far as France didn't forbid anything (just reacted to it), the French statement demanding the immediate stop of boycotts in an authoritarian tone was indeed clumsy, to say the least. That said, the statement was also highlighting the fact that those boycotts were a reaction to lies and distortions of words. This would not contradict free speech laws in France: defamation, in France like in any other country, is a limit of free speech.
The reaction to Erdogan words were only due to the fact that a president literally insulted another one, a thing which never happens in diplomatic relationships even between unallied countries. The last political leader to do so was Duterte, who insulted Obama. Obama reacted by cancelling their meeting - at that time, nobody thought it was an abusive reaction.
IF FRANCE DOESN'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ISLAM, WHY DOES IT FORBID THE HIJAB?
The Hijab in general is not forbidden in France: you can wear it in the streets, in a concert hall, at your job on certain conditions (see below), etc.
But there are two exceptions. Note that those exceptions concern ALL ostensible religious signs (hijab, cross, kipas):

State-run school (primary school, middle-school, and highscool - college is not concerned). The school is considered a neutral ground, in which children must forge their own opinion, without outside pressure, without religious influence or influence from their parents. This doesn't only concern religion, it's a global principle of neutrality (religious, commercial, and political neutrality, which concerns teachers, but also students depending of the context : during an election time, a child woudln't be allowed to come in class with a t-shirt promoting his favorite presidential candidate, for instance). While the definitive law on the subject is recent, it has its roots deeper in french history: public education in France was born in a pretty harsh fight against religious catholic schools, more than a century ago.
State workers. In France, regarding religion, the State is totally neutral (there is no State religion or official religion). Therefore, all its workers (teachers, cops...) must be neutral too, as they represent the State in their interactions with its citizens.

As for jobs, it can only be forbidden in two cases: 1) a clause in the internal regulations of the company can demand than employees in contact with clients (and only them) do not show any personal convictions signs (whatever they are: religious, political, etc.), 2) it can be forbidden for safety, hygiene, or security reasons. But an employer can not ask a employee to not wear it just because he doesn't like it.
FRANCE STILL FORBIDS NIQAB AND BURQA EVERYWHERE!
Yes. And as much as all the other laws were designed for ALL religions, this one (which is very recent) is not. In concrete terms, this law forbids an individual to hide their face outside of certain contexts (for instance, it's allowed for sanitary reasons - the COVID mask is therefore not against the law).
This law was a reaction to niqab and burqa not as religious signs, but as political ones (the signs of a political/fundamentalist islam, associated with the Salafi movement). It was a huge debate here in France, and a lot of people, while being not very supportive of niqab, still think it was a bad move.
Note that France is not, by far, the only country to have forbidden these: Senagal, the Netherlands, Chad, Gabon, Austria, Cameroun and others have also forbidden them.
NEVERTHELESS, AREN'T MUSLIMS STIGMATIZED IN FRANCE?
We have to be more cautious here, as the answer that follows isn't based on something as factual as law. The short answer is "yes": they are stigmatized. But not by caricatures...
Muslims in France are for most or them Arabs, children or grandchildren of North Africans immigrants from the sixties and after. Like all immigrant waves before them (Italians, Portugueses...), they experienced racism, but there are several differences. Due to the time of their arrival in France, they settled in brand new suburbs buildings, in places in which they were not mixed with other frenchs: those places became with decades deserted by the State (regarding public services), and have now to deal with high unemployment, drug traffic, and the criminality which results from it. This led to very harsh confrontation with the Police, which took bad habits: a black or arab frenchman as 20 more chances to be controlled than a white one, as a national 2017 study shows. In addition to that, the colonial past of France, and especially all that concerns Algeria (its colonization, the Algerian war), took a long time to be recognized as such by the State - and as much as Macron recently qualified Algerian colonization as "crime against humanity" and a "barbaric act", this national work is still in process.
All that explains the easiness with which a more radical Islam took roots in some of those places, when salafi movements expanded in Europe: for a lot of young people living there, who feel hated by the State and the rest of society, "being Muslim" is the only identity and pride left. Therefore any attack on it (or law lived as an attack) is extremely badly experienced. This come-back of the religion in public spaces and of its demands, in a country which just finished to deal with his century fight against Catholic Church claims, provoked a vivid reaction on the other side.
This defiance against Islam became a tool for the far right in order to gain votes, then from the right politicians (including some current ministers) wanting to keep those votes. Religious extremists and racist people in France now take profit of the same kind of ambiguity: religious extremists say any limitation of their religious expression (due to the limitations of french free speech laws) are in fact an attack on Islam and Muslims ("Islamophobia") ; and the Far Right implies that every Muslims is an extremist who doesn't accept the french laïcité (an idea which is sadly encouraged by recent polls - even if pools, and the ambiguity of their questions, should always be read with caution). This confusion is helped by the fact that the political left, which in France is historically the keepewatcher of laïcité (a true laïcité, not a preference for Catholic church), is sometimes awkward with the subject concerning Islam, as it doesn't want to attack a religion whom believers already live discriminations as Arabs. And all that confusion is of course not helped by the 20 terrorist attacks made in the name of Islam that France lived in the last 8 years...
To sum this up: yes, it's not exaggerate to say there is a stigmatization of Muslims in France. But it has not a lot to do with the free speech law, or with the caricatures of the prophet, and favoring that confusion is playing the game of religious extremists on french soil. Left newspapers like Charlie Hebdo want to continue to fight racism AND to attack religions: to treat Muslims as equals (to attack their religion as any other one), not to patronize them. That's up to each person to decide if they're doing it right...
AND WHY DOES FRANCE HAVE BUSINESS DEALING IN WEAPONS OR OIL WITH EXTREMIST ISLAMIC STATES?
For cynical economic reasons. But as much as it is not a matter of pride, nor logical in a war against terrorism, it can not be used as an argument to invalidate french version of secularism, which is only about the separation of church and State. The same way we cannot invalidate the secularism legislations of all the countries which presently deal with China just because China locks Muslims into camps (among other niceties)...
SOME LINKS
Macron's speech for the national tribute to the beheaded teacher. This speech is the reason a part of the muslim world started boycotting France, and asked for apologies, pretending he attacked Islam in it. There is no such things in his speech (he only talks about radical Islam, and the liberty to caricature):

Al Jazeera interview with Macron :

SOURCES

Une explication simplifiée sur l'incitation à la haine, à la violence ou à la discrimination raciale, et la diffamation raciste : https://www.service-public.fparticuliers/vosdroits/F32575
Loi sur le negationnisme mise à jour en 2017 : https://www.legifrance.gouv.floda/article_lc/LEGIARTI000033975356/2017-01-29/
Un résumé sur le port du voile en entreprise : https://www.service-public.fparticuliers/vosdroits/F20367
Un résumé sur la neutralité de l'école publique : https://cache.media.eduscol.education.ffile/guide_pratique_directeurs_d_ecole/76/7/Guide_direction_ecole_1_principes_fondamentaux_service_public_education_462767.pdf
L'article d'où vient le graphique comptant les unes des Charlie Hebdo : https://www.lemonde.fidees/article/2015/02/24/non-charlie-hebdo-n-est-pas-obsede-par-l-islam_4582419_3232.html

POURQUOI CE MESSAGE, MISES À JOUR, ETC.
Hello tout le monde,
Comme pas mal ici, depuis une semaine, je passe mon temps à répondre aux mêmes questions, aux mêmes attaques mal informées ou fake news, aux mêmes comparaisons foireuses... Et quand je vais voir sur les subs étrangers, ce n'est pas mieux.
Je me demande du coup si ce ne serait pas utile de se faire un petit bilan, en anglais, auquel on puisse renvoyer, ou dont on puisse copiecoller des bouts pour répondre aux questions les plus habituelles. Même si au fond c'est une initiative qu'on aurait du prendre la semaine dernière, là c'est limite trop tard...
Le faire ensemble ici permettrait en tout cas de le corriger, de le sourcer, ~~de peaufiner l'anglais, de le rendre plus objectif et froid~~, de vérifier les affirmations auprès des juristes s'il y en a parmi nous, etc. (EDIT : j'ai eu plein de retours pour la reformulation que j'ai appliqués, merci à tous, restons-en à présent à ce qui pourrait être factuellement faux (questions de droits, affirmations) ou fautes d'anglais objectives !).
Il y aurait encore d'autres choses, sur des objections que j'ai aussi pu croiser : le fait que l'antisonisme ait intégré la loi sur l'antisémitisme, par exemple, ou encore sur la fermeture d'Hara Kiri, une explication de la pensée du modèle laïque français et de pourquoi il diffère tant des autres pays (y compris les raisons historiques), un petit bilan de la stigmatisation dont peuvent souffrir les musulmans en France pour bien faire le tri entre les attaques à la religion et les attaques racistes (mais à documenter sérieusement)...
D'autres questions ont été proposées en réaction à ce post, comme ici et ici : si vous voulez vous y atteler et soumettre vos textes au jugement des autres: attention à rester court et factuel, et à ne pas chercher à "défendre" le pays, mais à simplement refroidir le truc en coupant court aux ambiguïtés possibles, y compris si ça met en lumière des failles et problèmes du côté français.
J'ai bien conscience que c'est délicat au sens où on a nous-mêmes des avis différents sur ces questions. Ça peut être aussi l'occasion d'en discuter.
Voilà ce qui me vient pour l'instant, par rapport aux questions qui nous sont le plus posées... (j'édite le texte ci-dessous en fonction de vos remarques).
EDIT: questions en suspend : toujours une hésitation sur la prise en compte de l'esclavage ou non dans la loi contre le négationnisme (qui est un beau bordel), un redditeur travaille dessus.

Entitled Parent Demands A Free Painting And Then Flips Out When I Refuse

Okay, so for a little context- i am a high school student in my junior year and I've won various awards for my oil paintings. Some of my works are displayed in local galleries as well, and I take commissions which vary in price depending on the type of painting they want. Most of my patrons request biblical paintings, since I am best at painting in a renaissance-baroque style, and I love to paint scenes with lots of movement. that being said, i also paint a lot of portraits of families, local politicians, etc. basically if you pay me i will paint anything lol.
This all happened B.C (before covid) and I was displaying some of my work at my school's art fair. basically, the district rented a huge auditorium where various schools would display their best work and then auction it off for charity. it was a fun event and a surprising amount of people showed up.
now, here is where it starts. I had about five or six paintings on display, most of them were depictions of greek myths/stories with a few exceptions being a painting of Jesus's crucifixion and a painting of my girlfriend as a goddess (which she is lol)
I had some business cards that my dad had gotten for me which had some of my info just in case people wanted to commission me, along with a pamphlet of my prices and such. In comes the EP with her baby in a carrying thingy (i don't know what they're called. they look like baskets. i am sure you've seen one before). I must say, the baby looked pretty new, their face was all swollen and they looked pretty small. why she would bring a newborn baby to a crowded area with lots of noise? i don't know, but hey, I am not a baby expert.
She grabbed a business card and examined it, then looked back at my paintings.
EP- hey, these are pretty good! obviously nowhere near as good as the old masters, but a pretty close second i guess. though for a sixteen year old, they're pretty good.
Me- oh, thanks, i guess. ive been painting for a pretty long time and i am glad that people enjoy my stuff. i appreciate the compliment.
EP- oh, i see you do commissions! how much for one of me and my baby?
Me- well, it depends on what you want. what did you have in mind?
EP- maybe us laying in a field or something. i don't know, something cute.
Me- oh, i can do that. what size did you have in mind?
EP points to the jesus painting which was 16 x 20, so a standard medium-ish painting.
Me- okay, well, for two people normally it would be about $200, but since your baby is not a grown adult I can make it $125.
EP- what?! thats ridiculous! why are you charging so much for a painting anyways?
Me- well, usually a painting that size takes me about 20 hours at least, and the paint that i use are pretty expensive, not counting the canvas or paint mediums that can be pretty pricey too.
EP- i don't care about that stuff. why cant you just do it for free, huh? i am a single mother and i really want this painting done.
at this point i am floored. shes asking for 20+ hours of work for free when i have school on top of it?
Me- sorry, i don't think i can do that for you. It's just not worth my time. I have school to balance as well.
EP- I am a single mother and you are telling me to pay 100 dollars for this trash? do you have no heart? i have to work so hard to provide for my daughter, i can't believe that you could be so heartless.
at this point she is yelling at me pretty loudly. Her baby is surprisingly still sound asleep. the couple i was talking to earlier comes to my defense.
Girl- if you work so hard then you would understand that doing hours of work for no pay is not worth it.
Boy- yeah, if you worked 20 hours and then didn't get your paycheck, you would be pretty angry huh?
EP- that isn't the same thing. she is a high school student. she doesn't need the money. she can spare a few hours for me.
Me- what? no i can't. i am not giving you a painting for free, end of story. either pay for it or leave.
She gets red in the face at this point. she is seething in anger.
EP- you little bitch. i can't believe how fucking rude you are. you don't even care that i work so hard.
Me- you're right, i don't. now if you aren't going to commission me then can you please leave? you're making a scene when i have been nothing but nice to you.
EP- Fine. I will leave.
She then walked up to one of my paintings and took it off the wall. Her baby wakes up and starts to cry, probably from all the noise. She begins to shush her baby and speedwalk towards the exit, but not before a man, who i assume is a teacher or something, grabs her arm and attempts to take the painting back. she puts the baby carrier on the floor and attempts to wrestle it out of the guy's hands.
they fumble for a while, yelling expletives at each other while struggling with the painting.
i should probably note at this point that the painting didn't have a frame or any protective glass over it. i probably should have done that, but it was too late. She ripped the painting out of his hand and smashed it against the floor like a hard rock singer and his guitar. wood went flying everywhere. people were screaming at her. i was crying because i don't know how to handle my emotions.
She turned back to me, sweaty and red.
EP- See what happens when you are a rude little bitch? bad things. i hope you've learned your lesson.
at this point i don't respond. i am on the floor crying near my painting that i had put so much work into. The wood had pierced the canvas and now there was a huge hole in the middle of the painting. EP gets dragged out of the venue as various teachers and other students try to comfort me.
Eventually i calm down and the event goes on. i did get about five commissions so i guess it wasn't all bad, but i am still furious about what happened, i am just glad that i never get to see her again.
TL;DR- EP gets mad when i don't give her a free painting and destroys one that I had on display.
sorry for any mistakes, english is my third language.
edit: i called my principal and he said the district was suing for property damage and that the case is taking longer than expected since they had to take it to the school board first. he said he was going to tell me what happened a week ago but decided to wait until everything was finalized. he said i would be compensated for the loss and that i would need to give a statement. he also said that a teacher had filmed the ordeal on a phone and that EP was definitely going to court, so it's a win, lol!
thanks so much for the support and awards! i don't really understand the judicial system but i will be sure to keep you guys updated!
another edit: i am actually re-painting/redrawing the painting she destroyed since i really liked it. this is something that i am going to keep because i am doing it for myself, but when i finish it i will be sure to post it here!

Analysis of Ripple's Affirmative Defenses

Disclaimer: not a securities lawyer, just a litigator who is into crypto. Doing this for fun (and perhaps to gauge interest in betting XLM on various outcomes in this case). TL/DR - XRP is likely a security and Ripple had fair notice of this possibility.
In its Answer to the SEC, Ripple asserted seven affirmative defenses. For the most part, they're trash. It's important to remember that the SEC bears the burden of proof in the case at large. Ripple doesn't have to prove anything. But when a defendant asserts an affirmative defense, the burden of proof may shift. This means the court might ask Ripple to prove by a preponderance of the evidence (>50%) that XRP isn't a security, that its exempt from registration, or something similar. But regardless who has burden of proof, Ripple is in for a rough ride.
Here are the seven affirmative defenses:
1. Failure to state a claim.
Ain't nothin' here. If you take everything in the SEC Complaint as true, there is definitely an argument that Ripple offered an unregistered security. Likely, this was just boilerplate language.
2. XRP is not a security or investment contract.
This is the crux of the whole case. The definition of "security" is intentionally vague in order to protect people from all types of fraudulent schemes. Here's the most widely-accepted definition: "An investment contract for purposes of the Securities Act means a contract, transaction or scheme whereby a person invests his money in a common enterprise and is led to expect profits solely from the efforts of the promoter or a third party, it being immaterial whether the shares in the enterprise are evidenced by formal certificates or by nominal interests in the physical assets employed in the enterprise."
Ripple is the single entity controlling the XRP ledger and the software that allows XRP to be used as a digital currency. It sold XRP to raise money to develop the software to sue XRP. Ripple could argue that, hey, we sold a product and used that money to expand our business; people who bought XRP didn't rely on us to increase its value. I don't think that will work. If a baker sells a bunch of bread and uses the money to open more bakeries, the customers still get to eat the bread. They bought the bread to eat, not in reliance on any further action by the baker. But what if a baker sold a bunch of bread and then said, "You can't eat the bread until I open my special bread-eating cafeteria, which I'm funding with the profits from all the bread you bought"? The bread wouldn't have any value until the cafeteria opened. You'd only buy the bread in reliance on further action by the baker. The bread's value would increase based solely on the baker's actions.
Bitcoin isn't like this. No central entity. Value increases based on increased adoption and use. There is no one person or third party anyone is relying on to drive up the value. (And as a practical concern, who would the SEC sue for offering Bitcoin as an registered security? Satoshi?)
Ethereum is even less like this. Ethereum grows wheat, and lets you build your own ovens and develop recipes for your own bread.
This is my simple analogy. If you want more details, the SEC spent a gigantic chunk of their Complaint talking about why XRP was a common enterprise and why XRP buyers relied on Ripple to create value.
3. No likelihood of future violations.
Here, Ripple is asserting that the court can't permanently enjoin the sale of XRP because there is no proof that, even if XRP is a security, that Ripple will continue to make unregistered offerings. They may be right. Permanent injunctions are extreme remedies. If the court rules that XRP is a security, it would be much simpler to require registration before Ripple sells any more XRP in the US. This is also the more likely remedy because it will punish Ripple and Co., not your average XRP holder.
It's possible that the court may enjoin certain people from being involved in the sale of XRP after its registered, especially if there's evidence of shady conduct. But I'm pretty sure FINRA is the agency that decides who gets to trade securities. A court isn't likely to issue a permanent injunction on behavior regulated by another branch of the government, but I have no special knowledge of the administrative procedures that would be at issue. Maybe there is an appropriate judicial remedy here.
4. Lack of Due Process and fair notice.
I initially thought this defense had some teeth, but no more. The FINCen settlement states expressly that it is not binding on other federal agencies. This means Ripple can't defend the SEC claim with the earlier determination that XRP was a virtual currency. Maybe this sounds a bit unfair, but the plain language of the settlement shows that Ripple was on notice that another federal agency could make a contrary determination about XRP.
Ripple also says it reasonably relied on an SEC official's public statement that the agency was looking at the "present state" of Ethereum, rather than its fundraising. First, you're not Ethereum, my guys. Dude wasn't talking about you. Second, what you do is nothing like what Ethereum does. Third, maybe you shouldn't take as Gospel what a govt official says on a Yahoo Finance panel. Not exactly formal guidance.
I read the first paragraph of this defense as implying that Ripple didn't have fair notice because there's basically zero guidance on crypto regulation. That's a fair point. But Ripple's internal communications and legal advice from outside counsel show that the company was aware of the possibility that XRP could be classified as a security. Normal people go to jail for way less knowledge.
5. Exemption from registration.
I didn't feel like going down a statutory rabbit hole to figure out what exceptions XRP might fall under. But if anyone wants to do that research, please do!
6. Lack of extraterritorial authority.
There are circumstances where U.S. federal courts have jurisdiction over things that happen outside of the country. But these determinations are very fact-dependent and we simply don't have the facts to make an educated guess.
7. Statute of limitations.
The general statute of limitations on SEC enforcement actions is five years. But on December 8, 2020, Congress passed a bill extending that to ten years. The SEC filed its complaint on December 22, 2020. But the complaint does mention tolling agreements with Ripple going back to April 2019. Depending on the nature of those agreements, Ripple might be off the hook for any damages that accrued before April 2014. This will come down to when the court determines the enforcement action officially began.
Style note: The SEC Complaint was much better written than Ripple's Answer. I expected more from DVB & P.
Thanks for reading. Let's bang in the comments.

[Satire] Integrity

"When the water recedes, the stones emerge." - Traditional Chinese idiomatic expression
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The sound of waves crashing onto the rocks that laid at the foot of the cliff was ambient. So was the sea breeze that brought a tinge of salt to the back of the throat when it was breathed in. There stood a humble white building, slightly greyed from the weathering winds it endured on top of the cliff. The building was crowned with a cerulean dome that blended in well with the shades of the indigo sky and the azure sea. Sitting at the very top of it was a weathered white cross, which arms were of equal length. Swinging open its doors, the overwhelming odor of incense filled the air. Behind these doors were four modest benches in front of a basic altar where the Messiah was nailed to his cross. The man took a seat at the back row, placed his palms together, and closed his eyes.
“There isn’t mass today.” A deep voice from the side came to be. He opened his eyes to see a welcoming face hidden behind a densely-grown waist-length beard with a wooden crucifix cradled in it. His black robes fluttered in the air as he approached and he adjusted his headpiece as he noticed it was not straight. “Though you are always welcomed in the House of the Lord.”
“I’m definitely not very religious and I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to church. Strange that I find myself with a Bible in my hands recently.” Evangelos’ fingers crossed and alternated every few seconds. “I don’t know why I’ve decided to pick it up, but I think that’s the only way I can find solace at the moment.”
‘The Lord welcomes you with open arms.“ Reverend Georgios adjusted his robes to a more comfortable position. “What is bothering you, my child? Speak and I shall listen.”
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Such words were produced fluently from Evangelos’ mouth. “These words hit me hard, you know. It’s like they're speaking directly to me. They follow me wherever I go, whatever I do. They haunt me.”
“Galatians chapter 6. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.” The priest nodded as he stroked his curly beard. “But you seem to forget the next verse. He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. There is still hope in life, my child. It’s not too late.”
“Not too late? I’m afraid you don’t understand.” Evangelos turned to look at him in the eye. Sorrow and fear. Not another word needed and Reverend Georgios could understand his emotions immediately. What was in front of him was not a man in his early thirties, but a lost lamb desperate to find shelter and comfort as if it had lost his mother. As a shepherd of the Lord, it was his duty to guide those strayed from the path should they seek for directions back. Evangelos continued, “I don’t have much time left on earth. I was diagnosed with diabetes.”
Not exactly an expert in medical knowledge, Reverend Georgios had some idea of the disease he was talking about. He remembered in the days when his hair was not bleached grey and white by time, people who had it lived fairly normal lives. Somehow this was not the case anymore, he was not sure why.
“You see, I was a stupid boy. Left school as soon as I could. Wished I listened to my parents but oh well.” Evangelos shrugged and chuckled as he spoke. “I wanted quick easy money, so I got into the industry. Yes. That one.” He instinctively said as soon as the Reverend Georgios frowned and raised his upper lip.
“Handbags. That was pretty much the standard goldmine. You know how Chinese women fly all the way to Italy and France just to buy handbags because everything is fake in China and they think that’s where they could get the real stuff? That’s bullshit. More than half of that was still made in China. I saw it as a land of opportunities. I was young and decided that I would venture into an unknown world to seek my fortunes. Pulling strings here and there, I managed to work for this big shot in Shenyang you see. Head of the trade union in the Northeast. This Lao Zhang fellow sure had a certain gravitas in him and his face tells you he is not a man you can fuck around with. Heard that he managed to force a mole and his entire family into North Korea just by pulling strings with officials on both sides. This made sure no one stepped out of line. Scary shit that was.
“Fast forward a few years, I became one of his most trusted men running his supply chains. Everything that went to Europe was under me and my team. Things honestly couldn’t have gone any better, until that fateful night Zhang made me come along to this national trade fair in Shanghai. There I met Chen Zong, a dragon head, I mean triad leader, from Guangdong. See, both of them were party committees and the higher-ups definitely are against internal squabbles. They won’t hesitate to punish if someone made unnecessary drama. It’s bad for their image you see. Didn’t think much when both of them shook hands when they met, but there was a troublesome atmosphere whenever the two men were in the same room. Chen was constantly staring at me and I can never forget how it felt. It was like a wolf preying on a lamb.
“We were at the toilet together, he told me that he needed a man of my caliber to service him and offered a high ranking position for me. Couldn't do much but to ignore it at the time, the walls always have ears listening. Zhang was more and more weary of me because of this too, no matter how much I tried to show him my loyalty I felt that one day I would also end up being sent across the border. So one night, I sneaked on a plane to Shenzhen. That was a point of no return. Chen rewarded me with everything I sought for: gold watches, a mansion, three cars, and got married to a beautiful lady. Also his protection from Zhang’s Northeastern giants who were coming after me. Life was pretty good, not going to lie. What can I say? I’m Greek and where opportunity goes, I follow.”
“With all these assets in mind, so I thought, why stop here? Why not do clothes, watches, and all of that stuff. Then I vaguely remembered that supply and demand stuff they teach you at school. Why not do something that everyone needs?”
“And what would that be?” Reverend Georgios stroked his beard as he reached for his chin.
“Drugs.” Evangelos sighed in disappointment. “The legal ones mind you. No matter where you go, there are always sick people and sick people will need medicine. We built a basement underneath the factory we already had, used that as a cover, paid some university students to run the labs and we were good to go. Course we used cheaper alternatives since running an entire underground operation under another one was risky as fuck. Took a few years to get out of the red, but it sure was worth it. Back then I didn’t give a damn to those who took our drugs. What mattered was the dough. Even Chen had mixed thoughts on this, he was disgusted and delighted at the same time. Called me a ‘twisted shithead’, but as long as the revenue kept coming in, he was happy and that was all it matters.
“But then people started to ask questions. Some people who took our pills died and traces that I desperately wiped off went back to us. Bribed the fucking police and even the local judicial officers to get them to close an eye. Even hired artists to make more genuine packaging but the problem was still there. There was a mole. Turned out to be one of those students, Let’s say we took good care of him and everything was fine again.
“We also looked into essential items that don’t often come to mind you see. Everyone has to eat, that applies to babies as well. The milk powder market was lucrative because of that, so we decided to go there too. It wasn’t as profitable as we thought at first, there was so much we could do from just imitation. Just when we were going to drop the idea, a student figured out a formula that would wing out all the expensive shit to keep costs to a minimum. That girl was a fucking genius cuz’ it worked. But months later, a shitstorm brewed. The formula we used made babies have fucking massive heads and died soon after. I ain’t no scientist but I think it’s cuz’ there wasn’t enough nutrients or some shit, I don’t know. Luckily we dodged a bullet when the police cracked down on the real company.
“So after this, the government put a minimum limit to the nutrition of milk powder to stop that from happening. But fuck that, that shit wasn’t gonna stop us from rolling in more cash. The girl managed to come up with putting in some chemical that could raise the protein levels in the labs, but that shit ain’t proper protein man. What can I say? It was cheaper to do it like that than the proper way. Then surprise, surprise, more babies died. Apparently that shit fucked their kidneys up or something. It wasn’t just only China, but also Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. That shit went huge. Chen really covered that shit up back there good though. Not sure how much he put in the pockets of the Minister of Health there, but they didn’t report anything until it was months since the first case since, I quote, ”it wasn’t an infectious disease, so it's not absolutely necessary for them to announce it to the public.” What a fucking madman.
“Then my ex found out about all of this. I didn’t want to get her involved you see. As expected she didn’t take it well. All of this time, she was living in a bubble and thinking that all of the money was from a legit source. She was absolutely disgusted how I was exploiting what people actually needed to literally live. But I didn’t care because it didn’t affect me and all that I was after was the gold. Thought that everything could be bought with gold, honestly.” Hands up his eyes, it was not sure whether he was covering them from shame or whether his eyes were welled up in tears. “She... thought I betrayed her trust by not telling her all of this. She was sick of all of this. Everything associated with me was a fraud, a lie. Doesn’t take a genius to extend by logic the relationship was just as real as whatever came out of that factory. She left. I can’t blame her.”
“Our products are more or less homogenized into the global market. There was literally no telling what was real and what wasn’t. I thought with that woman out of the way I could concentrate on the business even more.” He let out a self-directed pitiful smirk. “Then one day I collapsed at home. Comatose. Got sent to ICU. The doctors said it was diabetes and it’ll get worse. Thing is, if not for all the fake insulin I’ve injected into the market..."
Reverend Georgios witnessed a full-grown man just break into tears. Men tended to hide their emotions as stereotypes tend to label those who did not to be weak and vulnerable. Men of Evangelos’ caliber surely had bottled up tremendous amounts to crack up like that. As empathetic he tried to be by listening to what he said, he could only pass him a box of tissues, which was welcomed.
“You truly...” Evangelos struggled to put words in his mouth, stiff from this unsightly presentation his companion had to witness. “Reap what you sow...
“I am a broken man, Reverend...” Evangelos looked at him red-eyed. “My entire life is literally a fraud… And it cost me so much to come clean… Money doesn’t mean anything to me anymore now... I closed down everything and donated all I had to charities. Even though that meant treason, that’s the most I can do with what I have left. To… To atone for my sins. I… I truly deserve to be burned... In the eternal flames of Hell...”
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Reverend Georgios threw his arms open. “Too long you have strayed away. Welcome back, my child.”
Minutes that felt like hours passed as Reverend Georgios allowed him to recompose himself. Sobs turned into snivels, snivels turned into sniffs, and silence once returned to the room.
“Don’t you think I’m wasting your time?” Evangelos glared at his watch, realizing how long it had been since he set foot in church.
“The last time I had a confession was probably years ago. People hardly do that nowadays.” Reverend Georgios gave a homely smile and patted him on the shoulder. “I've got some freshly ground coffee from this morning, why don’t you stay for a drink so it doesn’t go to waste?”
“Thank you for your offer.” But Evangelos stood up and headed for the door. “Don’t think I can stay here for long. The two largest Chinese warlords, they’ll know I’m here. I’m sorry I got you involved, Reverend. You are a good man. But I'm glad we had this conversation.”
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For more like this, please visit our sub RedTideStories or our blog on 64fd.wordpress.com.

Insurance For Beginners

INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the global business guide. In this context, we will be taking about the insurance industry, the general definition of insurance, adequate and precise explanation of the definition, brief talk about the history, the insurer, the insured, classes of insurance, the role of the underwriter in the industry and how you as an individual can benefit maximally when you get yourself, your car, your house, even that your business insure. We do hope you will enjoy reading this article and the essence of your quest for the topic above will be met.
Insurance is a financial institution classified as a non bank financial institution. They are important financial inter-mi diaries. It is believed to have originated from the ancient practices of inhabitants of the valleys of rivers Tigris and Euphrates in the present day Iraqi in about 4.000BC. History has it that in 1800BC, the Babylonians code of Hammurabi contained provisions which had elements of insurance in the laws that govern their commerce. But today what we have in the industry, both locally and internationally had moved from just an agreement between two persons into a very big industry across the globe.
Going by definition, we learn that insurance means a situation whereby someone protects his or herself against risk and reduce effects of uncertainties as well as distribute loss. Other explanation to this owe it to the situation whereby a certain amount of money when collected from someone by an insurance company agrees to pay a compensation or render services to that person if and whenever that person suffers the kind of loss specified in the insurance agreement; and from the explanation, this is where an insurance company comes into play since they are the people that will go into agreement with the person taking any insurance policy against any of his belongings. This industry has widely been believed as a means whereby people reduce the risk of unforeseen circumstances. As financial intermediaries, they act as middlemen between the surplus units and deficit units of the economy thereby sustaining the general growth of the economy.
One may ask, how do insurance companies generate the money used in compensating their policy holder when affected by any mishap? The answer to this question, will lead us into talking about the various means via which the insurance companies make their money and how their policy holders are compensated. The truth is that, the money they collect from their policy holder (i.e one that has an agreement with the insurance company) is invested in the form of premiums (an extra sum of money paid in addition to the normal cost of something. by BBC. Eng. dict) and that money is invested in Bonds, in stocks, mortgages (i.e house) and government securities (in our subsequent article, we will explain more of this: Bonds, stocks, mortgages and govt. securities). They generate income for themselves and those who are in their service. They invest their policy holder's money in better business that has short term maximum returns on investment and from there meet their numerous needs when needed in claims and losses. These funds themselves are invested, that not only do they earn interest to be added to the funds, but they also benefit the government, public authorities, and industries whose securities the investment are spread, because of the investment policy of the insurer (we will explain later), their reserve funds are not left idle butt are used productively.
Another way via which the insurance companies compensate those who are in their service is that the contribution of many is used to compensate the few among them who were affected by the misfortune insured against. So the loss of few people is share by many.
We hope that to this extend, you must have understood the above explanation about insurance company. Now the next thing we will be considering is the functions of the insurance companies.
Amongst other functions, the main function of the insurance company is risk bearing, the financial losses of individuals are judiciously distributed among many people, for example, in the case of fire, the policy holder in fire insurance pays a premium into a common pool, out of which those who suffer loss are compensated.
FUNCTIONS INCLUDE

The insurance industry encourages thrift (i.e money conservation) especially via it's life policies which provide funds for family, welfare and old age provisions. It provides employment opportunity for those that have the interest of working with the industry.

The insurance companies works hand in hand with commerce. It owes it's existence to commerce (i.e business in general both industrial etc) and commerce in return owes it's strong stability to insurance, this is because it helped in various ways to enhance the general trend in business.
Before we proceed further to other functions, let's explain this two terms: the insurer; the insured as it will aid us in our understanding.
The insured: This is the party affecting the insurance in other words, the individual or individuals which is taking the insurance policy. This can be done either directly or indirectly or via an agent or broker.
The insurer: This is the party providing the protection to cover by the policy. The insurer covers every other terms which includes the underwriter who is a senior official of an insurance company whose business lies in undertaking new business for the company.
The insurance company has a contract which promises to pay compensation at a future date for a consideration known as premium (i.e. the money paid by the insured to the insurer for the insurance cover provided in the policy). Like the way we have it in other contracts, i.e having it that contracts is based on the principles of offer and acceptance, consideration and capacity to contract. These contract, especially in insurance involves two parties i.e. the insurer and the insured.
FUNCTIONS 2
Insurer, by reason of their principal function accumulate large funds which they hold as custodians and out of which claims and losses are met. Like in some countries, their insurers operate in many parts of the world and earn vast sums in overseas market in terms of underwriting profit and investment income. This tells us that insurance forms a considerable part of that country's invisible exports.
As we continue in our functions, let's see the role of the insured and the insurer.
ROLES OF THE INSURED:
In insurance, when the proposer becomes insured the party effecting an insurance is known as the proposer throughout the negotiations, and until the contract is in full force. The insurer plays a vital role in making this aforementioned contract to come into force, knowing that in insurance contract, just like we said before is base on the principle of offer and acceptance, consideration and capacity to contract, the contracts are always evidenced in writing which is made up of various forms to be filled and signed. If the insured does not accept the insurance offer and giving meticulous consideration to that, there can hardly be capacity to contract i.e the insurance contract can never be. So, from this, we now learn that this two parties (i.e the insurer and the insured) must be involved before an insurance contract can becomes a policy.
ROLES OF THE INSURER
Here we are considering the roles of the insurer as a subsidiary functions of insurance; this is because in general sense (they have a very wide range of function), the insurer is the one providing the necessary insurance services, benefits to the insured, should any mishap, depending on the insurance policy undertaken. The insurer helps also in loss-prevention in the following ways:
We know that the extend to which loss prevention is seen, is mostly on property. An individual or a population can suffer great loss materially, if it were not for the intervention of loss prevention scheme by insurance companies to their policy holders.
The insurer also assists in boasting business venture: Many large -scale enterprise today can make their business in good faith, having transferred all their risk to the insurance company, in other words. The insurance companies help to maintain and to stabilize the atmosphere of the present day large-scale business and organizations.
Many questions had risen by on onlookers, as on how the policy holder can be compesated, should there be any mishap on the policy covered. It is better for us to note that the insurance company, when a loss is incurred to the policy holder can make for his or her loss, but that can only compensate him and make him return to his normal financial position before the occurrence of the incidence and not to profit him from the misfortune. This is generally because, no amount of financial compensation can pay adequately for the life and health of persons, so life and personal accidents are regarded as benefit policies. So let there be no misconception on this fact when mishap occurs, where the public is looking for the victim to be given everything lost, and having a meager compensation given to him or her. So let's not distrust insurance companies in this area, knowing that it's only the restoration to the exact position before the loss that is provided.
Now, as we have gone so far in understanding the functions of the insurance companies, the roles of the insured and the insurer, we will be proceeding forward to look at the various ways via which one can benefit from being insured in all spheres of life. For those who against all odds, accept insurance policy adequately, benefits, awaits them in areas like

pecuniary insurance
personal insurance
property insurance
liability insurance

We will take our time to give you enough explanation in all the sub-sections of these areas that will be of help to you.

PECUNIARY INSURANCE: This has to do with money or relating to something of such nature. This insurance policy benefits mostly company owners, directors, managers e.t.c This insurance policy provides cover to the employer against the loss of money unintentionally, or in a situation where an employee defrauds his or her employer on certain amount of money placed under his or her custody or in things relating to other occurrence/loss. Other policies under pecuniary insurance are; fidelity guarantee (known also as surety ship), legal expenses, credit insurance and business interruption insurance. All of these have their various function which in one way or the other relates to pecuniary. Like earlier stated, pecuniary insurance provides cover for C.E.O., M.D'S etc in case of loss of money either by intent or accident placed under the care of their employee or any officer of higher responsibility. These type of insurance cover, which their employee has will help to compensate them (i.e the employer's) and also ease the employee the fear and tension which the mishap might generate for him or her. It is therefore advisable you consider this policy very well as an MD, C.E.O. etc, especially with the assistance of your insurance broker so as to adequately know, and be directed properly on how to go about it.
PERSONAL INSURANCE

This involves all classes of life assurance and also accident policies. There are other types of person insurance, and the purpose of each is to meet the different need of individuals in their aim to provide for the future either for themselves or for their dependents. Other sub-divisions of personal insurance are:
i. Life assurance
ii. Personal accident and sickness insurance,
iii. Permanent health insurance,
iv. Social security
These sub-divisions has various similarities which come out at the end to meet the same aim, like in life assurance, personal accident and sickness insurance, this policy ensures that the policy holder when befallen by any misfortune, which resulted into permanent disability or death will still be able to fend for his or herself and also for his or her dependants in the case of death.

PROPERTY INSURANCE

Property insurance policy involves insurance cover for property should any risk of damage or loss by fire, accident, burglary or other risks that may occur. Under this, there are other sub-divisions which include:
i. Motor Insurance
ii. Marine Insurance
iii. Fire Insurance
iv. Burglary Insurance
v. Special peril Insurance
vi. All risk Insurance
In all these sub-divisions of property insurance, respective insurance cover is given to them all should there be any damage or loss relating to the type of policy the holder has.

LIABILITY INSURANCE

This provides cover for the insured against his legal liability to others. This can arise via negligence of the insured in failing to act in a reasonable manner. Such manners like crossing the road without properly looking on both side of the road which might result in accident. This may also arise via the insured's unlawful disturbance of another person in the enjoyment of his or property (i.e constituting a nuisance to them) or via the insured's trespass which is an unlawful act committed with force or violent on another person's property. Liability insurance is also sub-divided into employer's liability to his employee and public liability by the insured. The two sub-divisions of liability insurance owe their explanation to their respective liabilities, and since liability generally arises from lawsuits, liability policy covers only claims which the insured becomes legally obligated to.
We should also bear in mind that no insurance policy can prevent theft, fire, or other misfortune or the creation of legal liability, but can provide financial assistance in such situations. It does not also protect for example, the material property which is the subject matter of the insurance, but the financial interest of the insurer. This mean that the insurer can only get a financial compensation when any mishap happens to any thing insured against and not having the property restored back in case of fire or collapse (for building).
CONCLUSION
In all, we do hope that all these explanation will give you a better insight towards getting what you want on the good step to take while taking your insurance policy. But, always make sure that you don't do anything without first of all consulting your insurance broker ( who will take more time to tell you one-on-one the policy that will be suitable for you) before going to any insurance company knowing already that the cost of insurance is less than what would be the cost of insurance because the cost of insurance to industrialist for e.g is passed on to consumers along with other product cost and the consumers benefits from the existence of insurance via reduced prices. So make sure you get insured today. Till I see you again. Thank you.

How to tell if you are being spied on

How to Tell if You Are Being Spied On
Suspect you may be being spied on? Check out our guide for how to know for sure.
Are you feeling like you are being spied on? Well, we are sorry to be the bearers of bad news but you might actually be.
In the age of technology and all the electronic devices that are taking over, spying on someone is, in fact, easier than ever. Of course, we are not suggesting that every single person in this world is a victim of spies nor that traditional spying is not around anymore.
This is why we created this post so you can determine whether someone is spying on you or not.
But How Could You Be Spied On?
Back in the day, when spying became a whole business (and a whole science), there were just a few ways that someone could use and invade your privacy. However, after the first types of technology, like telephone devices, came out, these ways instantly multiplied.
Today, with the Internet, personal computers, our world which is under constant surveillance, the possibilities are literally endless. First, in this post, you will get to know the traditional spying methods which include:
Bugs Hidden cameras Breaking-in Second, we are going to examine all the latest methods spies (or aspiring spies) use today, such as:
Cell phone spying Computer hacking Webcam and phone camera hijacking So, sit back, relax and get ready to know if you are being spied on or not and how to catch someone spying on you. Let’s begin!
Eavesdropping
Eavesdropping might be one of the oldest tricks, and spies and investigators have been using it for years. Look for any signs of break-in around your telephone service box which is usually located outside.
If there is anything suspicious, you should immediately call an expert in eavesdropping detection services. A technician will arrive soon to see if there is a tap in the box. And if there is, you have a problem.
Hidden Cameras
Eavesdropping can also be achieved via hidden cameras too. After all, today there are manufacturers who make them so small they can literally fit in a wall crack.
However, no matter how hard it can be, you still need to know how to tell if there is a listening device in your home or a hidden camera watching you 24/7. Okay! Here are some basic tips:
Turn off the lights and see if there are any LED lights around you Examine your mirrors for any transparent spots so the camera can see through Buy and install one or more bug detectors There are many different ways to determine whether there are cameras or bugs in your home. Another great tip is to place a call on your cell phone, wave it around, and see if you can hear a clicking noise on the call.
However, today’s technology has made things much more difficult and the need of an expert is, most of the times, required. Click here for more information.
Breaking-in
Yes, technology has made things more complicated. However, not all people have the skills to break into a house unnoticed so they can install the equipment needed.
Look at your locks to see if they have been picked. Some indications include:
Bends in the keyholes Your keys are not working as smoothly as before New scratches Ask your neighbors to keep their eyes peeled and consider buying an outdoor surveillance video camera. It always works!
Cell Phone Spying
Now, we are talking about the more sophisticated, technology-oriented methods. Cell phone spying is one of them.
But how can you know if someone has been hijacking your phone? Well, the indications are simple but they are getting harder and harder to notice as technology evolves.
However, here are some basic signs to look for if you believe that your phone is not just an innocent mobile device anymore:
Check Your Battery
Tracking software running in the background requires energy. The only thing that can provide that energy is your phone’s battery. If none of your habits have changed (like you constantly playing an addictive game) and your battery keeps draining, you might be dealing with a spy.
A simple way to see whether your battery is working as it used to or not is to take a look at how much time it needs to charge. If it is taking longer than usual, a spying app might be running in the background.
Check Your Phone’s Temperature
Have you ever used your phone for such a long time that, eventually it just started feeling hot? This is because that’s what cell phones do when they run intense software.
However, if you are not running anything like that (nor charging it) and it still feels like it could fry an egg, again, some spy software might be running.
How Are Your Calls?
It is difficult to tell if your calls are being recorded while you are on your cell phone since there are many things to blame when your phone call quality is not that great. Problematic handsfree or bad reception are just two of them.
A small indicator, however, could be some echoing during calls. This could mean that someone might be hearing you.
What Can You Do?
Sure, there are applications that can help you get rid of some spy software. But not any spy software. Apps like Anti Spy Mobile and iAmNotified are good, but not as effective as a professional in the field.
Computer Hacking
Oh.
If you believe that your computer has been hacked, then we are talking about a really hard situation that you need to fix as soon as possible. Our computers contain every single detail of our lives –especially today when everything is synced across our devices.
Although we do not want to sound too pushy, when you believe that your computer has been hacked, you definitely need to work with an expert anti-hacker. Hackers have found so many different ways to act unnoticed that they can even bypass standard firewall software.
Check your computer password and see if it has changed. It never changes by itself. Take a look at your files and see if they have moved and look at your browser for any weird pop-ups or toolbars that you’ve never installed.
If the hacker is skilled enough, they can even control your computer remotely, so if you ever see your mouse cursor moving like someone else is in control, then, most likely, someone is.
Camera Hijacking
Nowadays it is all about cameras, isn’t it? Selfies, Facetime, Instagram… There are so many different apps which have permission to use your mobile or computer camera and hackers can access them in a matter of minutes.
If you are on a computer, the most popular clue is if the little LED light next to your camera is on, even when you’re not using it. This means that your camera is on and someone is watching you. However, this signal can be disabled by even an amateur attacker.
The most effective solution? Cover your camera with a piece of tape. Even Mark Zuckerberg does it.
If you are on a cell phone, the indicators are much more difficult to get but you can always go through your phone’s permissions and revoke access to apps that shouldn’t use your camera.
Let The Experts Do Their Job
If you feel like you are being spied on, there is nothing wiser than reaching out to a professional. And we might be the best on the market. Contact us today and get rid of any suspicion …or suspect.
https://www.spycatchersllc.com/blog/how-to-tell-if-someone-is-spying-on-you/
Signs Your Neighbors Are Spying on You:

They tell you stuff about yourself they shouldn’t know.
You find hints that they are listening or watching via some sort of device.
Your mail is being interfered with.
You see signs that someone has entered your home while you were out.
You often "catch" them watching you.
They stalk you on social media.
They seem to know your schedule How to Confirm You Are Being Watched You have to establish if your suspicions are true. There’s no point being constantly worried that you are being spied on if it isn’t actually happening.

Test for eavesdropping.
If they are the sort of people who seem to delight in letting you know that they are aware of what’s going on in your life, then test them. Have telephone conversations inside your home and car mentioning some untrue event (for example, you’ve booked a cruise ship vacation, you are thinking of buying a parrot, or you have invited a relative to move in with you; something preposterous). Then, see if your neighbor repeats this information back to you. If it is, then you have proof that they are listening to everything you say. Note: Don’t let them know that you are aware of their spying. Also be careful not to say anything that could damage your own reputation if it got spread around.
Test for mail tampering.
Send yourself some interesting-looking, but bogus mail. Check to see if the envelope has been opened or torn ‘accidentally’. Keep the evidence.
Use anti-spyware.
Use a simple and inexpensive bug-sweeping device to discover any hidden listening devices or cameras on your property or vehicles. Repeat your bug sweep every couple of weeks or so.
Keep a log.
Keep a log of dates and incidents. This is really important. If you ever have to give evidence against them, the fact you kept a detailed log will go in your favor.
Maintain records and collect proof.
Take photos of anything suspicious and keep them in cloud storage, such as Google Drive or Drop Box. Don’t let the folder where you keep your evidence sync to your computer (in case they have access to it remotely). Print out the photos and add them to your log, which you will keep safely hidden under lock and key.
How to Deal With Spying Neighbors
Don’t act like it bothers you. Don’t change your daily routines or look for reasons not to go outside.
Having said that, take extra precautions where your children are concerned. Ensure they can play safely and in privacy. Don’t let them play on the street. If your children or pets are the cause of your neighbor’s anger, then do your best to understand how irritating it is for some people to have to put up with constant screaming kids and barking dogs. Restrict outdoor play to reasonable hours and/or shut your dogs indoors. You have to be prepared to compromise for the sake of peace. Install spy cameras in your own home to find out if your neighbors make a habit of entering while you are at work. Make copies of videos of any suspicious activity and make sure they are kept somewhere safe.
Do regular bug sweeps of your property. Install outdoor security lights and cameras in full view, but also have one or two hidden cameras, too. Basic spy cameras like this HeimVision HMD2 Wireless Rechargeable Battery-Powered Security Camera are reasonably priced. We've installed two of them as a quick and easy precautionary measure at the back of our house. The fact we didn't have to wire them was a bonus. Invest in a full-on home security system, complete with monitoring and a panic button.
Keep gates, doors, and windows locked at all times.
Hire a private investigator, but be prepared, if s/he is to do their job properly, to have your life examined in detail. They will need to find out why your neighbors are showing such a keen interest in you.
Refuse to engage with them in any way whatsoever. If you use the "gray rock" method (in which you become as emotionally non-responsive as a rock), they might just lose interest.
Tell other neighbors what’s happening. You must have irrefutable proof, though. If you spread unfounded rumors, you could find yourself in trouble.
Don’t interact on social media. Additionally, make sure that they are not friends of friends who can see your posts. This may be the one source of the problem. Never announce where and when you are going out. Never post where you are. Change all your settings to the highest security level. Involve the law. If you have collected proof, then report them to the police and any other local authorities. If they are renters, then make a formal complaint via a lawyer to the rental agency or homeowner. You may also file a restraining order.
How to Deal With Nosy Neighbors:
Options
Nosy neighbors might not be as dangerous or scary, but they can be a nuisance. It’s irritating to have people noticing and commenting on your every move. However, you can reduce the effect they have on you.
Put up physical barriers. A decent, solid fence or some judicious conifer plantings will prevent them from seeing into your property. Screen your windows with mesh or stick-ons—we’ve just discovered how good (and pretty) this RabbitGoo decorative window privacy film is. Our windows are right on the street and this film prevents anyone, neighbors or otherwise, from getting a look inside.
Avoid them whenever possible. If you are walking down the street and see your nosy neighbor approaching, get out your phone and pretend to be talking to someone. If your neighbor tries to stop you, put your hand over the phone and tell him you are talking to your investment manager. Always be rushing off somewhere so that you look too busy to stop and chat.

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----JUnYE4yS;BljUFa ----dmzSLf31;sDiSOe
_-__-______________________________vyvjbhslvrykwgu___________________________________-__-___________________________________________nswqqvykbppdbzq______________________-__-_ _-__-______________________________fogxyfiuqdqihcq___________________________________-__-___________________________________________rujcjhnbaliuken______________________-__-_ _-__-______________________________zrvfhxmysmnvbuy___________________________________-__-___________________________________________tauvchkotdyhpmf______________________-__-_ _-__-______________________________cuobrgsmqnlbmzv___________________________________-__-___________________________________________puldbzzadvxhqbc______________________-__-_ _-__-______________________________iayovcoczalzwij___________________________________-__-___________________________________________xwnnzdfdgxobckv______________________-__-_ _-__-______________________________uiqjetxdveqfgxe___________________________________-__-___________________________________________ycwqvlifowhuztq______________________-__-_ _-__-______________________________medhywdcrdprqgt___________________________________-__-___________________________________________gmxgwdjwyqyyosk______________________-__-_ _-__-______________________________endwqmcdcjzcwpp___________________________________-__-___________________________________________qjzxkifbntxeoog______________________-__-_
----aSF4pICx;fsvfDt----0ZlwgXZb;wPqhMY ----ej6Oy6QU;LFLciO----CeSseepc;XoZDwg
Cardinal Station Newburg Center for Primary Care
215 Central Avenue, Suite 100 1941 Bishop Lane, Suite 900 215 Central Avenue, Suite 205
Louisville, KY 40208 Louisville, KY 40218 Louisville, Ky 40208
I:\FCM\Phyllis Harris\Forms\New Patient Pkg Components
UofL Department of Family & Geriatric Medicine
Dear New Patient,
Welcome to your University of Louisville Physicians Family practice! We
are offering patient-centered medical care and are enthusiastic about our
relationships with our patients. In order to better serve your needs, we are
enclosing several forms and ask that you completely fill each form out.
The first sheet will help us learn more about you; please completely fill out this
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Following, please completely fill out the Registration, Social Services & Consent
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Please make sure to bring all of these forms with you to your first office visit.
Do not mail them back to the office. Also, please remember to always
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If the patient is under 18 years of age he or she must be accompanied by an
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Please arrive 15 minutes ahead of your scheduled appointment time so that if
you have questions about these forms or we need more information, we can
address it all prior to your appointment.
We look forward to seeing you!
University of Louisville Physicians
UofL Family and Geriatric Medicine
----OUTHvLGA;KLVxTs----zaKQzddT;yhQtWD ----XBAAAtil;vNAFGY----lObvGWUV;loIJgW ----BpV7dTi6;BbpkCh----s8a5MGVW;WaIgNu ----4rclhOsq;DFBemo----qHN8Apfa;hxbRWb ----Zw1YGMJT;Ymhhnp----TyeSx9hr;KYfofy ----v51fqmxn;IZNTci----uw9FrJRX;POzdSS ----q9rjiZ3G;pDGTVw----hyNBUNfC;LxgnWo ----6SZuAuN3;LqKuym----PCX4W5se;rsojtX ----rC;dryv;qis
~~Voter Information~~
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Cardinal Station Newburg Center for Primary Care
215 Central Avenue, Suite 100 1941 Bishop Lane, Suite 900 215 Central Avenue, Suite 205
Louisville, KY 40208 Louisville, KY 40218 Louisville, Ky 40208
I:\FCM\Phyllis Harris\Forms\New Patient Pkg Components
UofL Department of Family & Geriatric Medicine
Dear New Patient,
Welcome to your University of Louisville Physicians Family practice! We
are offering patient-centered medical care and are enthusiastic about our
relationships with our patients. In order to better serve your needs, we are
enclosing several forms and ask that you completely fill each form out.
The first sheet will help us learn more about you; please completely fill out this
form about your family history. The next sheet is titled, “Authorization for the
use and/or Disclosure of Protected Health Information”, and you will need to
completely fill that out for our doctors to treat you to the best of their ability; it
gives us permission to review your medical records from your previous primary
medical facilities.
Following, please completely fill out the Registration, Social Services & Consent
Form. Next, you will find our Privacy Notice, followed by an acknowledgement that
you have received and understand our Privacy Policies. Finally, the last form is the
Office Acknowledgements and Policies form. Please read carefully and sign
your name at the bottom of the letter.
Please make sure to bring all of these forms with you to your first office visit.
Do not mail them back to the office. Also, please remember to always
bring your picture ID, current insurance cards and your co-payment. If your
health insurance requires you to select a primary care doctor please do so prior to
your office visit. Please bring in any and all medication you take, in their
original bottles, to your appointment.
If the patient is under 18 years of age he or she must be accompanied by an
adult and will need to bring a copy of their current immunization certificate.
Please arrive 15 minutes ahead of your scheduled appointment time so that if
you have questions about these forms or we need more information, we can
address it all prior to your appointment.
We look forward to seeing you!
University of Louisville Physicians
UofL Family and Geriatric Medicine
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I will be out of the office from Tuesday, February 18 through Friday, February 21. I will have access to email and will reply if necessary. All other emails will be returned on Monday, February 24. Thank you!
--
Services Manager
Recreation
573-874-7202
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----u4XDte2z;PFPsQM ----KI;msrr;guz
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Zipcode: Zipcode Thank for your order Previously ordered | Thank for your order Thank you - your order has been received. Your Graduation Coordinator will be in touch closer to graduation to let ----Sn;fxkb;qkl Bonjour, Nous vous remercions de la confiance et de l'intérêt que vous nous témoignez en nous proposant votre collaboration. Nous allons procéder à l'examen de votre dossier. Sans réponse de notre part sous un délai de trois semaines, veuillez considérer que nous ne pouvons donner une suite favorable à votre candidature. Nous vous remercions et vous prions d'agréer nos salutations distinguées. ----bxWc3Wm6;apaLbt
Welcome to ???//??\Okpv/??\????! We’re excited to have you on board. My name is NqRCxYGY, and I’ll be your onboarding assistant throughout your trial process. I’d love to learn more about your business, and in turn implement a strategy using our software to increase your sales and overall efficiency. Please reach out if you have any questions and I look forward to helping your eCommerce business grow using our software!
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( ) R 2. ( ) R 3. ( ) R ----dK;osbb;aoh Dear vCUWABwE; Registered Company Name: Trading Name: Registration Number: Registration Date: Business Type: (Pty) Ltd CC (Close Corporation) T/A (Sole Proprietor) Partnership Other Specify: VAT Registration Number: Physical Address: Code: Postal Address: Code: Telephone No: ( ) Facsimile No: ( ) Mobile No: Email Address: Approximate Monthly Purchase Amount: Finance Contact: Contact Number: ( ) Email Address: Banking Details: Name of Bank: Branch Code: Account Number: Trade References: Company Telephone Contact Credit Limit 1. ( ) R 2. ( ) R 3. ( ) R ----[2
I will be out of the office from Tuesday, February 18 through Friday, February 21. I will have access to email and will reply if necessary. All other emails will be returned on Monday, February 24. Thank you!
--
Services Manager
Recreation
573-874-7202
A];pjyt;nib ----zKKy5UGD;sCPOqL
Dear Prospective Ed.D., Higher Education Strand Applicant:
We are very pleased that you are interested in the Higher Education Strand of CCSU’s Doctor of
Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership, designed for current higher education professionals
who aspire to leadership positions on college or university campuses. We look forward to receiving
your application.
As you complete your application, keep in mind the following admission criteria:

Master’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education in a discipline or

professional field that is relevant to the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership.

A 3.00 or higher cumulative average (GPA) in all graduate coursework.
Two or more letters of reference from leaders in postsecondary education familiar with

your work. Ask your references to use the form on the next page.

Résumé that illustrates important work-related experiences with an emphasis on yo ur

work as a leader at postsecondary institutions of higher education.

Acceptable scores on the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) taken

within five years of your application.

A personal statement covering six important topics:

• Career goals
• Intended area of individual specialization
• Reasons for pursuing a doctorate
• Commitment to residency requirements (one three-day weekend in the first spring
semester, one full week each of the first, second, and third summer sessions)
• Commitment to enrolling in two cohort courses each spring and fall semester
• Commitment to summer enrollment during each 8-week summer session

If selected as a finalist, a satisfactory interview with the admissions committee.

We accept new students in alternate years only. Applications are due by October 1, 2017.
Admission standards are rigorous, and not everyone who meets our standards wil l be accepted.
Please note that the admission process calls for submission of materials to two locations. The last
page of this packet is a checklist of the various steps. Submit your Graduate Application and $50
application fee online. Transcripts from every college you have attended as an undergraduate and
graduate student should be submitted to Graduate Admissions in 102 Barnard Hall. In addition you
must send the following materials directly to the Ed.D. Program (attention Rouzan Kheranian) in 320
Barnard Hall:

Two letters of recommendation from educational leaders. Use the Reference Form (page

2 of this packet).

Your personal statement attached to the form on page 3 of this packet.
Your résumé.
Your GRE scores. When requesting that scores be sent, use GRE reporting code 3143 to

assure that the Ed.D. office receives your scores.
Cordially,
Peter F. Troiano, Ph.D.
Ed.D. Program Direct or, Higher Education Strand
----4lbWo60Z;pBYSes Based on a minimal definition of action as movement, we propose a framework for a stepwise study of human behavior that begins with the physical aspects of observed behavior, then expands to biological, and thereafter to social, cultural, and psychological attributes in search of explaining the remaining behavioral variations. A corollary to our definition is that the transition from physics to biology (and from biology to social and psychological exploration) calls for alternative, domain-specific, nonphysical formalizations. This perspective sketches out an initial blueprint for pursuing an agenda of considering actions in various domains/tiers in an overarching conceptual platform. It is our hope that this approach will produce a fruitful structure for stimulating interdisciplinary discussion of the existing methods of investigating behavior and generating new methods. From a methodological angle, our platform generates investigation potential akin to what reverse Bayesian analysis brought to Bayesian analysis 44,45,46. We emphasize that ours is not a reductionist proposal to claim that everything can be explained by physics or by anything else. Rather, we suggest that physical laws deserve the first chance to explain observations from animate and inanimate worlds because matter and energy included in biological domains do not lose their physicality by virtue of the added DNA, brain, higher faculties, and society in which individuals grow up and live. The benefit of starting at the physical core and remaining within the borders of this first tier is to eliminate the necessity for modelers who inevitably use physical forms to justify the relevance of this work to human behavior. This perspective is not intended as a guideline for others to follow. Instead, we attempt to consider new approaches to thinking, investigating and categorizing the study of human 16 behavior. Our hope is to elicit feedback, suggestions, and criticism that will further this objective. References 1. von Neumann, J., Morgenstern, O. Theory of games and economic behavior. (Princeton Univ. Press, 1953). 2. Savage, L. J. The foundations of statistics (Dover: John Wiley and Sons, 1972 edition of the original 1954). 3. Edwards, W. The theory of decision making. Psychological Bull. 51(4), 380-417 (1954). 4. Cherniak, C. Minimal Rationality (MIT Press, 1986). 5. Smith, V. L. Rationality in economics: constructivist and ecological forms (Cambridge, 2008). 6. Friedman, D., James, D., Isaac, R. M. & Sunder, S. Risky curves: on the empirical failure of expected utility (Routledge, 2014). 7. Simon, H. A. Rationality in Psychology and Economics. J. of Business 59(4), Part 2: The Behavioral Foundations of Economic Theory S209-S224 (1986). 8. Gigerenzer, G. Bounded and rational. in Contemporary debates in cognitive science (Ed Stainton, R. J.) 115-133 (Blackwell, 2006). 9. Jara-Ettinger, J., Gweon, H., Schulz, L. E. & Tenenbaum, J. B. The naive utility calculus: computational principles underlying commonsense psychology. Trends in cog. sci. 20, 589-604 (2016). 10. Johnson, A. T. Teaching the principle of biological optimization. J. Biological Engineering 7(6), 2013. 17 11. Balkenius, C., Tjøstheim, T. A., Johansson, B & Gärdenfors. From focused thoughts to reveries: a memory system for a conscious robot. Front. Robot. AI (2018). https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2018.00029. ----5MNQJLcQ;bIcjoO Home About Millikin About Millikin Welcome to Millikin University! Millikin is an independent, four year university that is privately funded and has an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students in traditional and non-traditional undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Located in Decatur, Illinois, you will quickly discover that the signature of a Millikin education is a unique experience we like to call Performance Learning. Since its founding more than 110 years ago, Millikin has operated under the philosophy of providing an education that combines theory with practice. While this was a radical idea at the time, we know today that practice is not enough. Today's students must perform their knowledge in order to be truly prepared for a successful career after college. Through immersive experiences such as internships, co-teaching, running a business, presenting research to experts, and performing in front of audiences – students find new ways to live out their learning and reap the rewards of their hard work. James Millikin was born in Ten Mile, Washington County, Pennsylvania, August 2, 1827, according to Dr. Albert Reynolds Taylor's research, which found considerable uncertainty as to exact dates. He was the son of Abel and Nancy (Van Dyke) Millikin, a moderately wealthy farmer in Western Pennsylvania. His grandfather came from Ireland as a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian in 1771. His mother was of Dutch origin, whose ancestors came to America in the seventeenth century. James Millikin would later name Van Dyke Street in northwest Decatur in her honor around 1880. Little is really known about his childhood. As a farm boy, James helped drive herds of steers to New York City. In the fall of 1846, he matriculated in Washington College (now Washington and Jefferson College), Washington, Pennsylvania. It was while attending Washington that he made the vow to found an institution of learning, if ever he were able, to fit youth for occupations. The lure of the west called James, and in 1849 he accompanied his father on a sheep drive into Indiana and again in 1850 to Danville, Illinois. During the winter of 1850, he was at Wabash College, although records are unclear as to what he studied, or how long. Returning to Pennsylvania in 1851 for more sheep, he again drove them to Danville with a partner named McFarland. During the 1850's, James continued to increase his flocks and herds. He rented many farms for grazing and was called "the cattle king of the Prairie State." He also started purchasing real estate, most of it from public domain. In 1856, James Millikin arrived in Decatur, where he continued in his livestock and real estate dealings. On January 1, 1857, he married Anna Bernice Aston, daughter of the Rev. Samuel M. Aston, pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Mount Zion since 1855. Mr. Aston was pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Ten Mile, Pennsylvania, when James was in his early teens, and Anna and her sister Nancy had been educated in Washington Female Seminary in Washington. James Millikin entered the banking business in 1860, placing his board J. Millikin & Co. in front of the building that was formerly home to the Railroad Bank, which had recently failed. He gradually reduced his livestock holdings and devoted his interests to real estate and banking, with some investments into local industry. He assisted in the organization of the Union Iron Works, serving as its president, as well as the Decatur Coal Company. His bank became the largest banking institution in Illinois outside of Chicago. In 1897, he reorganized his bank as the Millikin National Bank of Decatur. He served on various boards in the city, including as member of the Board of Supervisors and as an Alderman. While he ran for State Senator, a distrust of banks that was prominent in the Middle West defeated him. In 1876, he built a house at Pine and West Main Streets in Decatur. Following the founding of the university, Mr. Millikin continued in his banking business until his death on March 2, 1909 in Orlando, Florida. Mrs. Millikin died on July 29, 1913. To the city of Decatur she left her early benefaction, the Anna B. Millikin Home for aged women, which had been organized in 1879 as the Girls' Industrial School of Old Ladies' Home. In her will, she bequeathed her home and lot to be the home of the Decatur Art Institute, owned by the university and managed jointly by the university and the citizens of Decatur. She had participated in the selection of the university colors and served as chairman of the Women's Hall section of the Building Committee after July 7, 1908. Faculty committee and the Board of Managers would later name this dormitory Aston Hall for her family. The Millikins died without issue, besides the philanthropic gifts to the city of Decatur. Millikin's Vision What James Millikin envisioned when he founded Millikin University in 1901 was unique: a university that would embrace the "practical" side of learning along with the "literary and classical;" and, while affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, it would not be narrowly "sectarian" and would remain open to all. The result is one of the nation's first small, comprehensive universities that, a century later, has three professional schools and one for the liberal arts and sciences; a well-rounded university where programs in classical music vie in excellence with those in accounting and the health sciences. ----Tqhl8Mbx;mUwsen https://millikin.edu/admission-aid ----dVNKIH1L;zHHTeP

THE most comprehensive and resourceful article about Korea's social problems coming from a foreigner.

DISCLAIMER: Long, Long article. And thank you, Craig Urquhart for writing this article. I was getting really annoyed at inexperienced foreigners and self-hating Koreans (BTW, you'll find some of them in that Quora read.) writing pure bullshit.
https://www.quora.com/profile/Craig-Urquhart
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-dark-side-of-living-in-South-Korea-I-have-heard-from-multiple-people-that-the-country-has-a-huge-dark-side
(Link to full article above.)
I could not post the whole article, as it was simply too long for reddit. However I found some good points in writing that I wanted to share.
#1
Confucius what?
You’re going to hear a lot about Confucian values and hierarchy and order and family. A lot of people resort to this kind of lazy talk. The truth is that there’s nothing particularly Confucian in any meaningful sense about life in Korea. Sure, there may be a few rituals and some superficial age/status talk hanging around in the air like the fading memories of old photographs, but their cultural context is so twisted out of shape that, in essence, talking about confucianism in any serious sense is just a distraction.
I should be blunt: easily the laziest and most trite armchair-sociological analysis of Korean society is the lapse into talking about “confucianism”. It’s nonsense.
Whenever I hear people talk about confucianism in modern Korea, I feel like Yoda:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhnOB8PlMCY&feature=emb_title
When it comes to old people, for example, in Korean society older people are generally discardable. Despite the statistics for wealth, younger people have abandoned most Korean traditions and older people now die alone and in aching poverty at staggering rates. Also, the traditional deference given to the old (also according to class) is slipping away in all but superficial ways. The aged often have no connection to modern Korea, and you can see them hanging out in community and neighbourhood centres or sitting in unkempt parks, as passersby fail to even see them, shuffling around aimlessly in semi-abandoned neighbourhoods where nobody would ever condescend to give them a head-nod. It’s sad and disheartening, the kind of modern alienation that accompanies intense city life.
I feel genuinely awful, seeing these people frittering about and living on the psychological edges of a spasmodically changing world. A side story: There was an old guy outside my apartment building who fixed shoes, an ot-susan booth guy, he must have been eighty years old if he was a day. He sat there, day in, day out, in his ancient booth from a bygone economic period, perhaps the last lone straggler in a busy part of the city. I had him fix a few pairs of shoes when I discovered his charges were so low that it was almost a comedy - a handful of won to fix seriously damaged shoes. So I started to bring old broken shoes to him to fix, a couple of times not even my own, because we chatted when I did. He had little family and nobody to talk to. On my way home from work I’d occasionally stop to talk and we’d exchange a few sentences. It wasn’t much, and I wasn’t going out of my way, but he once said that he never knew foreigners were so friendly and one Christmas he asked if I wanted a pair of gloves he’d fixed and no longer needed. I shared a bag of mandarin oranges on a hot summer day when he wasn’t busy. I have no idea if he was rich or poor, decent or awful, or much else about him. But the first thing that occurs to me is this: the guy just wanted to be acknowledged as a human being, a member of our shared community, a human with value, and in Seoul, where social isolation is a real threat for many people, especially the elderly, this is a precious commodity. I was surprised and a sad when his booth closed up for a month, and then just disappeared. I have no idea what happened, but there again was yet another piece of Seoul passing into history. And this is often pretty anonymous, too. The people walking by were surely trying their best never to notice, at all.
Seoul doesn’t really exist in the present. It exists for the future. The present is just a staging ground for the future. If something passes out, then it’s forgotten almost immediately. This is true for people, too.
Welcome to the Modern World, dialed up to maximum, with a booster rocket.
#2
Cultural, Racial and Ethnic Chauvinism
This is a less cute and far more serious issue, especially for foreigners who aren’t white, or even, for that matter, for white foreigners. It’s true for Asian foreigners, often especially so, and it’s definitely true for SE Asian, black, African or any other non-Korean foreigners. You know, sadly, thinking about it, it’s even true for actual foreign-Korean-foreigners; they get shit all the time, too.
Korea has a tendency to be, not to put too fine a point on it, racist. There’s a lot of juvenile commentary on this, and it’s a complex sociological subject, but let’s just say that the “race-nation” is not a dead subject in Korea. Korean academics debate this endlessly: Racial nationalism’s roots may be deep, or may only be early 20th century, … it might often be odiously fascist in tone, or vital to the national fabric, but abandoning academic debates and before anyone gets all observational-wise when living there, note this: the study of this subject requires far more than armchair social commentary and familiarity with a few Wikipedia pages. The origin of Korean “Specificity” in cultural contexts is a hotly contested and deeply studied thing, perhaps one of the most intensely studied subjects in or about Korea, and requires nuance and lots of context to explore. Feel free to do your PhD in it. Your armchair observations are suitable for coming to the kinds of conclusions based only on your own personal experiences. Yes, there’s racism, but also yes, it’s incredibly complicated.
Want to know how complicated? Even for Korean-origin foreigners, there’s a rigid social hierarchy into which they fit, which can be contradictory and impossible to navigate. Do you speak Korean? What kind of Korean? How well? Do you behave properly as a Korean, or are you poisoned by “Foreign Expectations” or behaviours? Is this difference only a problem, or is it sometimes also an advantage for you, or both a problem and an advantage at different times? What if you’re ethnically Korean from China (old Manchuria), or Kazakhstan? Where do you fit in, and can you fit in at all? What about “mixed” people, and what the hell does that even mean? And we haven’t even gotten to other Asians, South Asians, Arabs, Westerners, black Westerners, Africans, etc. Before we get to them, we can get utterly lost trying to work out the multilayered discrimination against various types of people who somehow vaguely fit into the word “Korean”. PS: as if it wasn’t bad enough, there’s discrimination, too, against actual in-South Korea born Koreans; people from, say, Jeolla-do often find people in, say, Seoul badmouthing them.
So now that we’ve established that it’s hopelessly complex before we even step outside “racially Korean” Korean-ish types, we can move on to more clearly identifiable bona-fide “foreigners”.
As the new internationalist-minded generations move into prominence, racism is receding slowly, but the instinct to paint foreigners as dirty, disease-ridden, socially toxic invaders of the holy body politic is still present. From time to time, you’ll see MBC-TV reports about the likely-misrepresented depraved antics of (insert predictably dirty, disgusting socially toxic foreigners here). Ignorant Koreans are numberless, just like there are ignorant, self-satisfied jerks anywhere. There’s no special genius with social harmony or cultural understanding in Korea, and Korea is as filled with stupid and arrogant idiots as anywhere else.
But within the racialized social order, there’s a very clear hierarchy. The point for many foreigners is this: if you’re black, you’d better hope to God you’re American, because at least black Americans have the saving grace that they’re seen as “Western”. If you’re black and speak English and come from a reasonably well-respected country that’s wealthy and well-known, you’ll still suffer for being black, but you do get a few pluses for being, say, a Yankee. On the other hand, if you’re Nigerian, … (no) thanks for coming out.
Racial insensitivity is everywhere. In the end, Black or Asian or white, you’re just not of the “Minjok”; you are not Korean. For westerners with their own social brands of racism, it’s weird to see this operate against SE Asians and Chinese, too. The class differential can be pretty harshly applied to people not “of the body” who still look like locals. It’s also usually pretty easy to spot, say, Chinese living in Korea: different modes of dress, different ways of walking, modes of speech (even in Korean), accents, etc. And you can believe that these people are made to feel their “otherness” acutely.
Chinese will be treated as markedly inferior to Koreans and Westerners, perhaps one solid tier lower; this is actually a big drop and it’s highly noticeable. Some people love Japanese, some hate them unaccountably with a fervour that will shock you (and only peripherally has anything to do with the history of Japanese colonialism), and this anti-Japaneseness is the result of pretty intense social-cultural attitudes that still percolate pretty deeply in society, a kind of love-hate that can be hard to understand even if you’re Korean.
Education is no guarantee of liberal attitudes. In fact, here’s something that will surprise some foreigners but be oddly familiar to many others, especially those born into lower-class foreign families: once you introduce yourself to non-elite types in Korea, you may find that the lower classes, even if they’re more prone to stereotypes, are often more open to personal interaction and mutual trust. They can be more pragmatic, more personal, and less locked into rigid social norms. If you get to know them, the apparently ignorant lower classes often make amazing friends and even family. The idea that the lower classes in any country are subhuman troglodytes with regressive views may or may not be true, but the elite often harbour far more nasty social surprises than the proles. It’s usually upwardly mobile, often highly-educated types who will show off the greatest difficulties with breaking ignorant stereotypes. By the way, this is equally true in most Western countries, a fact rarely admitted by the upper classes; Korea turns out to be the same as anywhere else, a place where the educated elite believe a lot of myths about themselves and their “enlightened” place in the pecking order.
So it’s a good idea to, say, talk to local ajummas serving food or taxi drivers or to get to know the “proles”. They’re usually genuinely decent, law-abiding, charming and altogether good people, and even if they’re “racist”, like the lower classes anywhere else in the world, they may deal with you on a level of genuine interaction that the self-admiring, self-described “progressive” middle and upper classes won’t.
Anyway, you should remember something vital. Wherever in the world it is you came from before you arrived at Incheon and settled in somewhere in Korea, Korea is filled with normal people and it inevitably has a different variety of the same problems you had at home.
So suck it up and deal with it.
As much as you want to forge new social justice victories in your newfound home, in the end, the inertia and momentum of Korean society will trundle on with or without you. If racism is a problem for you, and if all you’re going to do is whine about the (highly selective and often contradictory) racism of Korean society, you really need to just live elsewhere. I’m not saying it’s a virtue to put up with crap or that you need to just tolerate it. Feel free to point it out and construct resistance or social workarounds. But Korean society is in a constant state of flux and change, and is perhaps one of the most dynamic places in the world - or ever to have existed. Whatever you say about Korea today may not be true tomorrow morning. More and more Koreans are essentially international citizens, and the generation gaps in Korea are more like vast, uncharted chasms. If politically correct activism is your bailiwick, you need to stuff that in a bag and keep it stashed in some deep corner. Unlike elsewhere, the word “dynamic” really means something in Seoul. So feel free to be constructive, but if you’re going to sally forth to fight dragons, you should know that in Korea they’re big, well-fed and temperamental.
Sometimes, the best thing is to absorb what abuse comes your way when you can and very carefully pick and choose your battles - or develop your own workarounds. Maybe you can play up your non-conformist weirdness; maybe your Korean boyfriend’s family will accept you more if you engage them differently. It sucks that you’re likely to experience some brand of racism, but, in all seriousness, welcome to the human race. Deal or leave. Maybe go back to the socially perfect place you came from.
I would never say you need to respect racism in Korea, or anywhere else, but you really need to decide how long and hard you want to fight this war.
You could pretend a certain detachment (even when racism impacts you), a kind of “win some, lose some” approach. The truth is that being able to see the human race for all its faults and joys, without the barrier of an officially-approved social-justice cultural/political dogma, is illuminating. Nothing moderates your own chauvinism or racism or classist assumptions better than seeing the irrationalities and ugliness of other racisms at play. You will most definitely get to see Korea’s racism and “irrationalities and ugliness” play out over time. be a survivor; the smart move is to resist where absolutely necessary and, otherwise, chalk it up to experience.
One good thing to do is to respect the local culture. Do this, and impress Koreans by *learning Korean*. A black American or British or Canadian man / woman who speaks Korean and has a good job in Seoul can count on a huge novelty bonus - you could actually have certain perverse social advantages. Given the negatives, you should use those advantages as best you can.
Also, when breaking down how racism affects you, try to distinguish between its different incarnations - cultural ignorance, chauvinism, racism and other forms of intellectual discrimination. These are related, they intersect, but they are not, in fact, the same things. In Korea, you have a great opportunity to parse them. The hard fact is that you’re going to have to do this if you’re going to navigate life here.
And remember: *You* are the foreigner. Your commentary may be sharp or correct or both of these and even very clever, but ultimately, you’re the observer, even when you’re participating and suffering. When you choose to participate, be smart about what you say. That absolutely doesn’t mean not challenging the status quo - by all means, do it, judiciously. But you need to try as hard as possible to understand what’s actually going on - really going on - before you dismiss the entire society. Yes, there’s racism, but what you think is racism may be another kind of “ism” (classism, selfish-ism, rude-ism, pissed-off-end-of-day-ism, crowded-ism, insecurity-ism, old-crotchety-person-ism, fetish-ism, etc. etc. etc). It takes energy to think about this and observe carefully.
My experience has been that Koreans welcome honestly meant, even deeply felt and harsh criticism, but only if it’s based on genuine interest and real observation. If you approach it tactfully and intelligently, they may engage you about it even if they find it uncomfortable. What won’t be welcome are crude, lazy criticisms that miss their mark, or empty generalizations and crude bitterness.
I know a black man from NYC who got by famously in Seoul, but did experience substantial racism, far worse than he’d ever experienced at home. On the other hand, he spoke excellent Korean, and at one point had a discussion with his boss; instead of being angry, he gently showed his boss why he had an issue, and believe it or not, the boss understood and changed his approach to the workplace. It can happen. Not everyone will be understanding, but many people will, if you don’t treat them like they’re diseased or the enemy.
Korea is a unique place, but it’s also a cauldron of living micro-societies with real people. Treat it and its people and even its very real problems with the respect and seriousness they deserve. As an outsider, this is the only approach that will get you traction when dealing with things like racism directed against you.
PS: I haven’t mentioned the racisms practiced by foreigners against other foreigners and Koreans; there’s a boatload of this, too. People from other countries don’t forget where they came from. But this is about Korea, not the incestuous society of foreigners and “expats”.
(This. I always wondered what was the real nature of racism in Korea. It's not the American-European concept of race, as the Chinese, Southeast Asians and Ethnic Koreans in China, who are all Asians, are all discriminated against. Seems like 'who is likely to cause trouble and refuse to blend in' is the standard by which expats are judged.)
These are a few of the negatives that will hit you after living there for about a decade. There are a lot more, just as with every other country in the world. And if you get outside of Seoul, you’ll have different experiences. Pusan has a very different energy, and is both more inwardly and outwardly focused, in different ways; Gwangju and its environs are slower and more laid-back, with beautiful countryside and a very different social environment, its people perhaps more congenial if more small-town. Taegu is a bit isolated within Korea, culturally (it’s not Seoul, and it’s not Pusan, and it’s not small, but not big - kind of in the middle zone of not having anything remarkable about it). Take a trip to Geoje-do or Mokpo or Sunchang or Jeju or Jeonju or, for a treat, the quaint town of Naju, and you enter into oddly parallel worlds that barely resemble big city life - or even each other. Some of these places will sit with you the rest of your life.
The islands in the south, off the coast, are stunningly beautiful. The mountains in the centre of the country and the north are green and hide picturesque valleys with waterfalls and meandering streams. There are temples on the crests and sides of mountains that look like they’re out of a traditional painting, and mist-drenched slopes flow majestically between rolling peaks covered in green, accompanied by the sound of bubbling streams trickling over rocks and cascades. Needless to say, the country as a whole is a remarkable place. It’s one of the gems of Asia, poorly explored and underappreciated. If you bring your attention span and some patience, this country will reward you with a kind of subtle sumptuosity you’re rarely going to find anywhere else.
But while its people are great and the culture one of the great chapters in the human mosaic, like many places involving actual humans, its social order leaves much to be desired. Some people love Korea, and will never hear a bad word said about it, as if they’d converted to a new religion, and it gets tiresome to hear them in their Korea-Boo!!!!!!! “Hoo-Rah!” phase aggressively defend every wart and blemish as if their lives depended on it. Some people hate Korea and life here and grumble constantly, and listeners get tired of wondering why they’re here; just leave, then, already, and go back to wherever the hell you came from.
If you want to see Korea for what it truly is - and appreciate it on that level - it makes sense to be neither blindly exuberant nor negative. Try to see Korea as another place with real people. See its good features for what they are, and yet, at the same time, be open to understanding the things that make it a tough place to be. See Korea in all its glorious triumphs and failures and understand it as a living world with a reality of its own.
Understand the people. Understand the place. Don’t spend too much time passing judgment, and make a place within it for yourself as best you can.
It’s a remarkable country, but in the end, it’s a place like any other. Koreans bleed red, just like you and me. We are united by the virtues and vices of our common humanity.
When thinking about potential negatives, I always try to remember this: no matter how bad a particular day might seem, Koreans are, by and large, wonderful people on their good days, and that’s true for everyone in the world.
We need to remember that.
C Yun asked a question below, and I decided to put it and my response in the original post, because it was interesting to put this down and I’m sure many people will disagree with me, so I wanted to draw attention to it.
C Yun: “My point was that you described several facets of life in Korea from the point of view of (someone whom I assume to be) a white Canadian expatriate who has settled in Korea. While you’re a foreigner, you’ve certain been extremely observant and your post described in much detail many uncomfortable but inevitable truths about life in Korea.You mentioned even ethnic Koreans from abroad face hardships there. You’re not wrong - a lot of Korean-Americans would never live in Korea, and not because they hate Korea or hate themselves, but because life is too difficult there. Having been born/raised in the U.S., it’s just too different. If you would be so kind, what difficulties do/did “actual foreign-Korean-foreigners” face based on what you witnessed?
My very imperfect and personal response:
I know a good number of foreign-born Koreans, from a few countries. By and large, here’s a brief and not comprehensive list of the sorts of things that hit home, based on the experiences of people I knew, and stories I heard, interestingly sometimes from both sides of the complaint. Note that there are a lot of stereotypes, stereotypes of how people stereotype, and assumptions about stereotpyes in this. I’m going to preface this with the qualifier that this is my own experience, what I’m remembering, what I saw and see, and this is possibly just me or the people I know; that it’s not comprehensive and countervailing info might be possible, because Korea and Seoul are horribly complex places with many strata and layers and social cliques, which could very well be different, and that even among foreigners, there’s huge disagreement about more or less everything. I know a lot of Koreans who are model international citizens, others who aren’t international at all but are weirdly accommodating, still more people who should be understanding and accommodating but are rigid, sneering nativist jerks, Koreans who are utterly unconcerned with your status, accent, or whatever, and don’t care to think about it, and others who find it endlessly fascinating and want to help you / learn English / introduce you to their daughteson/granddaughtegrandson / ask your opinion about their business marketing plan / watch you eat some weird food they think is uniquely Korean as they tell you about how uniquely Korean it is, or occasionally sell you something (like car insurance, …. no joke, believe me). Very possibly invite you to their church / temple, and have you accepted Jesus into your life yet? there’s a pretty half Korean girl from Utah about your age in our church you should meet, etc.
Then there are the street musician crowds where some non-Korean speaking foreigner just shows up and starts jamming with Hongdae locals he doesn’t know and strikes up friendships, in spite of his foreignness, or perhaps because of it. And the funky arts crowd, with their ultra-cool super-chill Korean artists who just date tall German girls. Or the Spanish artist guy whose Korean is better than a Korean linguistics PhD and who seems to have dated every artsy girl for 50 km and knows literally everyone. Or the haughty Korean painter who has spent half her life abroad in a dozen countries and knows every bar worth being seen in, in Chelsea and Kreutzberg and Soho anyway, and speaks English with a Franco-Korean accent. Or the 65 year-old foreigner who spent 40 years in Korea and has a huge clutch of doting Korean relatives (the older ones now dying, mostly) and is more or less some version of a Korean ajossi, talking to (other?) foreigners in a native language he only half remembers from half a century ago. And the pensive Indian guy who married a Korean woman, has two kids, who struggles with Korean because his brain is likely filled to bursting with the 72 Indian subcontinent languages he speaks, but who nevertheless won’t hear a bad word about Korea, and is addicted to Korean food and - and I mean, exclusively - wants to eat one of only three specific Korean meals at all times. And last, but not least, the Orthodox priest from the monastery in the Sinai in Egypt (!!!) who has a burgeoning tiny flock of various sorts and who invites you to come by and check out his church’s program. In all seriousness, I kid not one jot. Life in Seoul, supposedly the capital of “the hermit kingdom”, is very often like being in an Asian version of New York, and this gets more and more true every week.
Seoul is an utterly vast place, and this cannot possibly be overstated. It’s also a very international city, despite what its appearance may be. Its people, Korean and otherwise, are intimately connected into a fractal-like series of networks that span the globe.
The same Koreans who bitch and whine about Sri Lankan workers or Chinese Koreans committing fraud or dirty foreigners go on vacation to, …. Mauritius, China, Paris, London, Berlin. They date foreigners, or did before, or went to school in some foreign country, often multiple times, or themselves overstayed a visa by X years in Y country and had a completely alternate life far from Korea. Push buttons and the same contradictions and weird ideas will pour out that you find at your own “home”, because opinions live together in people’s brains in frozen conflict.
None of these people will fit any stereotype of behaviour, and before you dismiss them as some weird minority, a city like Seoul is often made up of whole subcultures of weird minorities. So, with that in mind, you operate on assumptions and stereotypes, and stereotypes of stereotyping, at your peril. Be prepared for a continuous self-generating list of exceptions. So with that cowardly qualifier thrown out there, I’m going to claw it back a bit and say that there are, indeed, patterns that are visible, even if they can’t be assumed to be “accurate” in a granular way.
#3
The Broken Zealots
There’s a hard-core, identity-obsessed minority of adoptees who are on a crusade, or a jihad, eitheor or both, or quite possibly something more obsessive and harsh for which I have no word. Ideologically driven by a soul-crushing weight of identity issues, mostly internal, my experience is that it’s important to identify this sort of person right away, and understand where the lines are drawn. In the end, I’ve decided that it’s impossible to meaningfully discuss cultural issues with them because they have so many unannounced, hidden tripwires, it’s like dealing with emotional landmines. They’re often riddled with hatreds, for example loathing for “white” people (though have often never traveled beyond one or two states in the USA), with only a comic-book understanding of Korea. They tend to have internalized a kind of racial-cultural essentialism, and have also magnified basic resentments of a bewildering number of things out of all conceivable proportion. Everything is seen as the result of other people’s vicious insensitivity, or racism, or classism, or ism-ism-ism, and this anger is directed not just at the typical arrogant colonialist oppressor white American male, but just as often at Korean-American women from LA who don’t understand their privilege at being culturally informed or balanced, Korean men who are insensitive to the specific cultural demands of the woman-seeking-cultural-and-racial-purity or social or cultural redemption, or the other foreigner who refuses to understand that seamless and sanctified racialist inclusivity is the single most important thing in the whole world and JUSTICE JUSTICE! or etc.
I’m going to say it: What’s weird is that this particular kind of returning adoptee tends to be cosmically more actually racist and discriminatory in any meaningful sense than every small-town Korean Ajumma who doesn’t like the sound of foreign languages. A misogynistic old-school Korean businessman who thinks foreign values are poisoning Korea will be both more reasonable and easier to deal with than this broken ideological identity zealot from the US. I don’t know why, but among the American adoptees who come to Korea, there seems to be a loud, screeching minority who have a lot of bones to pick, and they may attempt to extract them from those they interact with. I’ve met a few, and they tend to conglomerate together in formal groups. Sadly, a Korean American friend said to me once that she mostly avoided social interactions with adoptees entirely, because this aggressive and ideological minority is salted into the mix of adoptees and, in her words, they “go off” unexpectedly and often with hard social consequences. A couple of other Korean-Americans have said much the same thing to me. I know a few adoptees, and they’re fine, but even they talk about the sad cases of what appear to be a version of race-identity-social-justice bible-thumpers from the US who cause a lot of noise, especially online. God help you if you say something they dislike, and have the wrong skin colour, age, privileged background or whatever they pull out of their grab-bags of hate.
Note that the people who mention this and have a problem with the extremes are very often Korean Americans themselves, and Koreans, because they have the most contact with this kind of deranged identity seeker. I knew a Korean-Korean guy who dated a returning adoptee. He was just a normal job-working office Korean guy. The woman was so hard to deal with, with so many hair-trigger problems with so many things, trying to apparently cope with her own internal assumptions, expectations and disappointments, that this wasn’t even a problem of a cultural gap. His Korean-American friend had no explanation for her painful explosivity and sensitivity. So the result was that they broke up and he never understood how he could have done anything differently. He was broken up about it for some time, viewing it as his failure, which was (I thought) unfair.
Sadly, this group seems to entirely self-segregate and self-police. They’re aggressive online, and have been known to make adoptee communities politically fractious.
The thing is, while I’ve heard this and seen some limited amount of it, I’m not an adoptee nor do I move in these circles normally. But you hear stories on the periphery and Korean Americans are sometimes aware of this kind of thing.
I know all groups can have their nutcases, but in this case, the stories seem too consistent to me and my limited exposure seems too consistent to easily dismiss this core group as a real thing.
Upshot: These people do not do well in Korea. By and large, they’re going to find everything difficult and ultimately a disappointment, as well as all the people they meet, who won’t be capable of treating them in the way they want to be treated, or whose own behaviour will stray from what they expect. And the adoptees will never, ever be “local” enough to be fully included, which seems to be the real trigger. While most get on with their lives, some seem to be stuck on this identity agenda and can’t escape from it while they’re in Korea. I only knew a couple, but it was sad to see.
So that was the hardest and most controversial topic in this list.
(Now I finally understand where those seemingly impossible horror stories are coming from, damn.)

Nov/24/2020 news wrap-up: \\ War in Artsakh (Karabakh) \\ Russian reporter reveals details about last battles for Shushi, weapons used, drone warfare \\ soldiers' families receive aid \\ Red Cross to expand its work \\ politics & foreign affairs \\ economy \\ healthcare \\ other news...

Your 16-minute Tuesday report in 3971 words.

WarGonzo reporter Semyon Pegov shares info about Shushi, Armenian drones, Azeri snipers, Israeli tech:

Shushi battles
The battles for Shushi were very heavy. At some point, Armenians mobilized and brought many soldiers. Hundreds have died in and around Shushi. With the presence of peacekeepers, it's possible to recover the bodies. This is tedious work.
Armenians had some 200 soldiers in Shushi at the time of signing the document on November 9th. They were mostly in two areas: the hill with a cross and the prison building. The reinforcements with 400 soldiers were supposed to arrive in the morning but at 5 am they were told that the war was stopped.
When were Azeris able to infiltrate Shushi? On November 6th I was in Shushi and there was not a single Azeri, despite fake news from Azeri media about raising a flag. Around 4 pm we moved to outskirt near Qarin Tak, which was already a "buffer zone".
Army spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan was telling the truth about the battles around Shushi. I was there and saw it myself. We got caught up in a firefight when Armenians were cleaning up the outskirt on November 6th.
Around 20 special forces tried to infiltrate Shushi. Armenians used drones to locate and conduct airstrike against them. There were also Armenian drones with bombs that were supposed to be used. Around this time our group of reporters had to leave Shushi because it was dangerous.
Then another - much larger - group of infiltrator special forces were discovered. They attacked the highway and tried to infiltrate but were stopped. That night, on the morning of November 7th, around six professional snipers infiltrated the city and kept the street under fire.
Six snipers cannot control a city, yet Aliyev claimed the city was already under their control. Those snipers were countered with Armenian anti-sniper units. Some of the infiltrators were killed. On November 7th Shushi was "cleared" of these infiltrators.
More groups kept approaching Shushi through the Hell Gorge while being mauled by hundreds and hundreds of Armenian artillery strikes. As we know, Aliyev doesn't care about his soldiers' lives. When the Azeri public learns about their death toll, they will suffer not a mild but a real shock [gyorbagyor2020].
Huge forces were concentered on Shushi. They were brought there from Nakhijevan and other fronts. Azeris began retreating under Martuni because they couldn't sustain the entire front with so much focus on Shushi.
They gave over a thousand deaths to capture Shushi. On the rocky outskirt of Shushi, I saw over a hundred Azeri bodies in this location alone, in that day alone. There were battles in multiple routes towards Shushi.
The highway entering Shushi was captured by Azeris on November 8th. Armenians bypassed the captured area by going near Hell Gorge then moving north towards Shushi. Here, they killed hundreds of Azeris.
Armenians took positions near Shushi's radio towers about 2km away and shot at Azeris almost in a straight line. Not only artillery was being used, but also types of weapons I cannot disclose right now. I can only say SCUD was also used by Armenians.
Nonetheless, some Azeri groups managed to infiltrate on November 8th. It wasn't completely captured by them. Those who left Shushi upon the arrival of Russian peacekeepers can verify this. Shushi was likely lost politically. I don't say this to throw rocks at politicians.
I don't know for how long Armenian resources could defend Shushi, but they could hold on to it for some time. I don't know whether it would end with a bigger tragedy or victory, though.
About the talk that "Russia abandoned Armenia"
Russia couldn't get directly involved because of Artsakh's non-independent status and the need to be balanced as an OSCE mediator. Russia sent military aid, weapons, consultation during the war. Pashinyan also mentioned this.
I have reasons to believe that the air above Stepanakert was "closed" for Bayraktars with the help of Russia. No Russian forces would do this without the Russian govt's permission. It's my assumption. Although it was for a brief period, I think it helped to save Stepanakert and other parts of Artsakh.
plot twist: Israeli drones
The drones began working again around November 8th. It had a direct impact on the November 9th signing of the agreement. These drones, however, were not Bayraktars. The Israeli drones were earlier "hacked" and could be geolocated. Israelis found a way to close the hole and use these kamikaze drones again.
The defense needed time to bypass the new Israeli protections, but there was no time anymore. You could say Israeli weapons played a crucial role in this war.
who won?
Israel is the only true winner here. They sold drones, helped the ally, flew them close to Iran borders and "laid out groundwork" for future possible action against Iran. Erdogan is no friend of Iran considering his pan-Turkic nationalist agenda.
This will benefit Israel, which considers Iran its enemy. I believe Israel helped to locate Armenian air defense systems which allowed Azeris to strike them in the first days of the war.
Armenians and Artsakh lost lands but Azerbaijan did not achieve their final goal and they failed to achieve what they have today in the timeframe that they predicated. They used Turkey's and Israel's help and couldn't defeat a small republic in 45 days. On the ground, Armenian troops were no worse than Azeris.
Does Russia win? Today there are Syrian militants hostile to Russia, closer to Russian borders. This is not a win for Russia. Sure, our peacekeepers are there and thank god for that. Artsakh locals want and trust them. Artsakh residents are "more Russian" than many Russians who live in Russia.
how the agreement was signed
Putin made an ultimatum to Aliyev: either sign the document that we created together now, or "things will happen". Aliyev asked for 20 minutes to consult with Erdogan. He wanted Turkish peacekeepers stationed in front of Russian ones, on the other side of the line of contact.
In the end, no Turkish peacekeepers were stationed. This caused a serious conflict between Erdogan and Aliyev. Erdogan was expecting more.
who will live in the new adjacent lands?
Probably the jihadists and Turkomans. They are poor. Karabakh will look like heaven compared to what they have today. Many of them live in Idlib, Syria, and get bombed by Russia daily. Sooner or later Assad will liberate these areas, so what do you do with the pro-Turkish Syrians in the north?
This migration could end up being bad for Azerbaijan itself. Syrians and Azeris have different lifestyles. People who have been under Sharia law for 9 years will move to a secular Islamic state. We already know of conflicts between Syrian mercenaries and locals in bordering Azeri villages. When their population increases, so will their ideological expansion.
Azerbaijan would need to spend lots of resources and subsidies to move the Azeri population there. They don't even have a road to Shushi. They need time to build one. Even when it's built, I don't think Azeris will leave their cities en-masse to move to live in an area close to the conflict zone.
Rustam Muradov
The chief peacekeeper is the Hero of Russia Rustam Muradov. He is a fighter. He worked on peace between Ukraine and Donbas, has fought in Syria, helped to liberate Palmyra and Deir-ez-Zor (the toughest region with lots of ISIS). He fought against men whom Aliyev and Erdogan brought from Syria, so to suggest that he could be pro-Azeri just because he is from Dagestan is wrong.
partisans
I met a 60-year old Artsakhtsi grandpa with a rifle who was headed to the front line. If you think he will go to Yerevan, build a house, and forget about the loss of his home, then you have no idea who these people are. Expect a partisan war. I won't be surprised if Armenians infiltrate deep within Azeri-controlled regions and cause problems for local administration.
status
I don't know international law but I think Armenia or Artsakh should vote and recognize a legal status for Artsakh. Putin said it's hard to help Artsakh if Armenia hasn't officially recognized it. Russia helped Crimea after it voted for independence. It's my personal opinion.
https://youtu.be/xYXhAJEgzQc

videos: artillery strikes near Shushi

Armenian soldiers shared a video that claims that Iskander (or other sources say SCUD) and Smerch were used against Azeris on Shushi outskirts. [the fired general Movses Hakobyan had also claimed Armenians used Iskander but didn't specify when and where]
https://youtu.be/vPUb8Puf3E8
https://youtu.be/v29U_i3ANTY

Corruption Prevention Committee asks Parliament to suspend Tsarukyan

Pashinyan administration created the Corruption Prevention Committee (CPC) institute last year to fight corruption. It consists of 4 board members: 1 nominated by the ruling party, 2 by opposition parties, 1 by the judicial branch.
Its job is to find a conflict of interest and vet public officials. CPC has asked the Parliament to consider taking action against BHK leadeMP Gagik Tsarukyan.
The Parliament voted to ask the Constitutional Court to strip Tsarukyan from his MP mandate. Tsarukyan is accused of running a business empire (Multi Group, etc.), which is against the law that prohibits MPs from simultaneously being businessmen due to conflict of interest.
Tsarukyan argues his allies are running his companies and they make all the decisions, and that this is a political witch-hunt against him. His critics point out that he even "slipped up" a few times and "admitted" that he still runs the companies.
[Tsarukyan is Armenia's known wealthiest man and a former oligarch (many argue he still is) who runs multiple companies while maintaining political power. Earlier this year he was charged with buying voters in the 2017 elections and tax evasion. That investigation began in 2019 from an unrelated incident, in which a construction company, allied with Tsarukyan, paid a bribe to Yerevan official. The NSS raided the construction company and found paperwork, including names, allegedly showing that the company was paid by Tsarukyan to buy voters in 2017. There was at least one witness testimony.
In a separate incident, Tsarukyan's right-hand man Arustamyan was charged with paying a large bribe to the former regime (UCOM case) to exempt Tsarukyan's business from taxation. The same right-hand-man was also charged with stealing large sums from the budget meant for building the North-South highway in Armenia.]
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035742.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035800.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035809.html , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201575

politics & molitics

12:45: the former Constitutional Court judge Kim Balayan (the judge in WikiLeaks case who was reportedly influenced by Kocharyan regime in 2008) has joined opposition ARF leader Gegham Manukyan and will hold a hunger strike. He demands Pashinyan's resignation.
He believes Pashinyan did not have the right to sign the agreement without the Constitutional Court's approval. [other believe it's merely a statement rather than a legally binding agreement].
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035744.html , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201529
14:20: The Justice Ministry, Armenian representative in the European Court for Human Rights, the NSS, and the Central Bank held a meeting to discuss legal steps regarding Azerbaijan's involvement of Syrian jihadists in the war.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035757.html
14:40: Himnadram released a report about the donation fund. $53m has already been transferred to state coffers.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035761.html
15:07: the government shakeup continues. Finance Minister Tigran Khachatryan and deputy Defense Minister Makar Ghambaryan are out.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035765.html , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201558
15:10: Education Ministry will issue grants to nine schools located near borders to reinforce their security walls and built bomb shelters. The "Safe school" project was launched in 2019 and has helped 6 schools so far.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035767.html
16:17: Mother See of Holy Ejmiatsin church will form a new office tasked with working with international colleagues to protect Armenian religions and cultural sights that are under Azeri control.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035774.html
17:01: ruling QP party held a session. Artsakh President Arayik was also present to discuss the Artsakh aid topic. Opposition media had earlier circulated rumors that Arayik wants to resign, which is why he went to Moscow yesterday to discuss the "terms". The ruling party said no such topic was discussed during today's meeting.
The party discussed ways to keep families informed about missing soldiers. "Instead of having them go from one building to another, they should stay home and we should inform them twice a day about the progress," said a QP MP.
Three QP MPs will travel to Russia for meetings.
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201556 , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201553
18:28: Pashinyan presented the new Education Minister Vahram Dumanyan. "We need to reform our mentality to achieve our goals," said the Pashinyan.
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201566
21:38: when will the government end the Martial Law? When the army sends a clear signal that it's OK to do so, said a ruling party MP. They will hold a Parliamentary discussion tomorrow. The opposition parties have been asking for its suspension because it prevents them from holding legal demonstrations.
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201586
21:59: the police found Kalashnikov and 100 bullets in a car during a checkpoint stop in Yerevan. Several similar incidents were recorded across Armenia.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035811.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035807.html

Withdrawal from "Kelbajar"

Armenian troops began withdrawing from the north-western part, which is one of the 7 adjacent regions to Nagorno-Karabakh. They took the "Welcome to Artsakh" sign with them so Azeris wouldn't vandalize. The process is monitored by the Red Cross.
The army also blew up a military facility before leaving.
Boom: https://youtu.be/2grJnVYB47w
Withdrawal video: https://youtu.be/AXz1AWBTbg8
Patrick Lancaster interviews soldiers in Artsakh: https://youtu.be/-cpWoQ0AfpY
https://factor.am/313594.html

foreign response & diplomacy

The French city of Դեսին-Շարպիո has urged the govt to officially recognize Artsakh. The resolution mentions Azerbaijan's recruitment of Syrian jihadists and war crimes against Artsakh civilians.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035739.html
Spanish Congress has accepted another resolution from Jon Inarritu, who stayed in Artsakh during the war.
The resolution reaffirms deep friendship with the Armenian people, emphasizes the need to protect Armenian cultural and religious centers in the territories under Azeri control
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035726.html
MFA Ayvazyan discussed Artsakh topic with the Deputy Secretary of State Biegun.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035802.html
President Sarkissian visited Jordan where he met King Abdallah and the local Armenian community.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035781.html , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201514
Putin called Pashinyan and Aliyev to discuss Artsakh and details from the recent visit of the Russian envoy to AM and AZ.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035793.html

choo choo, mothe******r

Yerevan is still working on purchasing new buses so you won't bend over to a complete stranger for half an hour in marshutka. The competition to win a license to build the buses will begin next month.
Two companies participated in the first bid earlier. None were accepted due to poor technical specifications and lack of documents.
Meanwhile, Yerevan is also importing mid-sized 8-meter buses larger than marshutkas but smaller than the regular long buses.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035773.html

2021 is canceled, forever 2020

Yerevan municipality was supposed to spend $210,000 on New Year's celebrations. They decided to give it to Stepanakert for infrastructure repairs. Additionally, several organizations run by Yerevan will have their budgets slashed and redirected to Stepanakert.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035741.html

sappers & aid

Russian sappers continue to remove the mines from the main roads, settlements, and in between their outposts. The risky areas will be mapped. Sappers received equipment from Russia.
The second convoy of Russian humanitarian aid with 22 trucks has arrived in Artsakh.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035732.html , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201569

edited videos

NSS has found that some of the videos recently circulated from Azerbaijan, allegedly showing Armenian POWs, were fake. Some were designed for psychological warfare. The agency urges internet users not to take everything they come across on social media for granted.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035727.html

wine from Hadrut

"Kataro" wine is produced in Artsakh's Hadrut region which is occupied by Azerbaijan. The product is now considered scarcity, so those who own some bottles began selling it for 5x the price.
https://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/288039/

two churches

Dadivank and Amaras are two famous Armenian churches from the early Christian period. They are located outside of Nagorno-Karabakh territory per-1990s map, therefor the area has to go under Azeri control. Russian Kommersant outlet was able to verify that the two monasteries are under Russian peacekeepers' control.
www.civilnet.am/news/2020/11/24/Ամարասը-ռուս-խաղաղապահների-վերահսկողության-ներքո-է/409602

process to find missing soldiers & POWs

The process to find POWs and bodies continues. The Red Cross will spend $49m in the Karabakh area instead of the planned $11m. They'll hire 500 more workers.
"Both sides can find the bodies within their territories, but they cannot collect them from the buffer zone," said Red Cross. Today they visited Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan.
Families of missing soldiers gathered in front of the Defense Ministry then the Russian embassy with the hope to learn news about their relatives. They wrote a letter to Russia asking to secure the ability to collect bodies from areas under Azeri control.
"The process of exchanging prisoners depends first of all on the Azerbaijani side. We will work with international colleagues," said Artsakh HR Ombudsman Beglaryan.
Artsakh MFA met Red Cross representatives to discuss the process of finding missing soldiers.
Pashinyan met the family members of missing soldiers and POWs to discuss the location, identification and searching process.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035743.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035751.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035753.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035778.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035803.html , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201511 , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201592

20-year-long monthly aid for soldiers' families

104 families of fallen soldiers have already received aid from "1000plus" Soldiers' Insurance Fund. The Fund processes only several dozen cases a week because the process requires familial/marital relation verification and document collection. The local authorities will help to expedite the process.
Families of deceased or 1st-degree disabled soldiers receive a one-time 10 million Drams ($21,000), followed by a monthly $400-$600 payments for the next 20 years. Those with less severe disabilities receive half of the aforementioned aid. Those with over 3 children receive an extra $200/mo.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035754.html
Workers in Armenia are required to pay 1000 Drams from paycheck towards the "1000plus" Soldier's Fund. The Fund had earlier urged businesses to "double" the amount by matching whatever is paid by workers. Dozens of businesses join this initiative every week. "Some large businesses began responding. This could encourage others."
(you can donate at www.1000plus.am)
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035758.html

they protect the land

The army awarded several soldiers for acts of bravery. Lt Colonel Balayan organized a defense and reconnaissance, destroyed 1 tank, 1 armored vehicle, and 1 transport vehicle.
Private Verdyan evacuated wounded soldiers while under enemy fire.
Dozens more: https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201537
The History Museum of Armenia is collecting photos of soldiers who died fighting, as part of an archive to be presented later.
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201588

watch out, this kid will rip you off

$2 for a single walnut? NAY. $2 for a single walnut with proceeds donated to soldiers? SIGN ME UP.
Armavir resident Vahe has been selling walnuts. He collected 4 million Drams for soldiers.
Interview with Vahe: https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201580

nature protection

The Nature Ministry found 28 instances of businesses illegally exploiting or harming nature between November 2-13. They were issued 13 million in penalties.
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201572

regional kerfuffle

Erdogan is under internal pressure by opposition again over the worsening economy and COVID response. "If we don't implement a 2-week quarantine, things will go under control."
UNICEF 2020 placed Turkey at the bottom when it comes to working with children. A third of children are poor. Only 53% are happy with their lives; 90% in Netherland, 89% in Mexico.
720,000 kids are part of child labor, some as little as 5 years of age.
11,446 is the number of 16-year-olds who married last year. "Even in Ottoman Empire the age of marriage was 17 for girls and 18 for boys," says opposition.
Internal and foreign debt exceeded 1 trillion Liras in 2018, and 1.9 trillion in 2020. "Bad borrowing policy led to an extra 135 billion Lira debt. This is what Erdogan's presidential system and his son-in-law's stubbornness brought us."
Turkish Lira began strengthening after Erdogan's son-in-law Borat Albayrak left the Minister's position. However, Lira began declining again on November 23th, reaching 8.58 per $1.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035759.html , https://factor.am/313768.html

Armenia's GDP under COVID

GDP shrank by -9.1% in 3Q year-over-year.
It grew +39% (thirty-nine) in 3Q compared to 2Q, due to post-COVID lockdown recovery.
In the July-September period, the GDP Per Capita was $1,212.
Share of GDP by industry in 3Q: agriculture & fishing 17%, Manufacturing Industry 12%, trade & auto repair 11%, construction 7%, real estate 7%, financial & insurance 6%.
Full: https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035718.html

inflation & economy

As the economists predicted earlier, the COVID, war, and devaluation of neighboring countries' currencies will put pressure on the Armenian Dram. Too valuable means the products you produce are non-competitive abroad, while cheap Dram means social issues for the general population. It needs to be balanced.
Today $1 was worth 512 Drams, compared to 495 last month. The Central Bank says they're monitoring the trend and will take steps to keep the prices and financial stability.
"We also had some devaluation in the initial COVID period. Today we have some uncertainty, which contributes to devaluation. Investors are less likely to use the resources. However, inflation will be manageable. It's within the limit set by the Central Bank," said a Parliamentary official Artak Manukyan.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035734.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035791.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035791.html

free breast cancer drugs

Earlier this year, the Healthcare Ministry began providing free "Her2" breast cancer medication to women. 132 patients are being treated. "They receive treatment in accordance with international guidelines. In the coming years, will be healthy and return to their daily lives fully."
Before the medication became free, 40% of women would reject the treatment due to high costs. This would lead to metastasis within 2 years. A 12-month treatment will reduce the chance of metastasis by 50%.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035769.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1007671.html

don't waste water

A subsidized infrastructure upgrade in Lusaghbyur will allow villagers to expand irrigated lands by 35 hectares, reduce water usage and waste, restore a local water network. 98 farms will be connected to the network.
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201590

diasporans picking tomatoes

A group of Armenian diasporans visited Armenia to participate in a charity agricultural initiative.
https://youtu.be/s8VqOGztMSc?t=17
https://hetq.am/hy/article/124678

sports news

Something happened, and soccer star Henrikh Mkhitaryan began playing well again. 8 games, 5 goals, 4 goal passes for Parma. The fans declared him the best player in the match against Parma.
There is talk about extending his contract with Roma by the end of this year, says La Gazzetta Dello Sport.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035725.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035764.html
Skilling Open 2020 chess tournament continues among the top players. Levon Aronyan is at 12th place. Dutch Anish Giri continues to lead.
The tournament was created by Magnus Carlsen. Executive director Magnus Carlsen. Producer Magnus Carlsen. В главных ролях, Магнус Карлсен.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035724.html

COVID stats & news

+1977 tested. +813 infected. +26 deaths. +3845 healed. 26069 active.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035729.html
Healthcare Ministry: the numbers from the past week indicate a reduction of infections. We went from 2k daily cases during the war, to 1.4k nowadays. We saw this decline during the first wave, too. It's possible that it could rise again, so stay vigilant.
70-80% of the population would need to be infected for there to be a collective immunity. Our known cases are only 127k.
The WHO is aware of 6 instances of "double-infection". Its definition isn't clear right now. We don't know if they are were infected again or the first infection was never properly treated.
Already-infected people should also follow safety precautions: wash your hands, wear a mask, stay away from others. We're headed to the flu season in addition to COVID.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035721.html
Five experts from WHO traveled to Armenia to help treat patients in serious condition.
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/201565
New COVID rules for funeral services. The director will have to appoint a supervisor responsible for sanitizing the area, ensuring there is running water, air ventilation three times a day, etc.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035749.html
Russia will involve 40,000 volunteers this year to test the SPUTNIK 5 corona-vaccine. The initial results indicate a 91.4% success rate within 28 days and 95% within 42 days.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1035790.html

you can help Artsakh & Armenia

www.1000plus.am (soldiers' medical help)
www.HimnaDram.org (for Artsakh & Armenia)
www.ArmeniaFund.org (U.S. tax-deductible)

archive of older posts

Previous: https://www.reddit.com/armenia/comments/jzr2gk/nov232020_news_wrapup_war_in_artsakh_karabakh/
Armeniapedia has been archiving my daily threads:
http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Daily_Anti-Corruption_Reports

judiciously definition business video

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THE most comprehensive and resourceful article about Korea's social problems coming from a foreigner.

Nov/24/2020 news wrap-up: \\ War in Artsakh (Karabakh) \\ Russian reporter reveals details about last battles for Shushi, weapons used, drone warfare \\ soldiers' families receive aid \\ Red Cross to expand its work \\ politics & foreign affairs \\ economy \\ healthcare \\ other news...

WarGonzo reporter Semyon Pegov shares info about Shushi, Armenian drones, Azeri snipers, Israeli tech:

videos: artillery strikes near Shushi

Corruption Prevention Committee asks Parliament to suspend Tsarukyan

politics & molitics

Withdrawal from "Kelbajar"

foreign response & diplomacy

choo choo, mothe******r

2021 is canceled, forever 2020

sappers & aid

edited videos

wine from Hadrut

two churches

process to find missing soldiers & POWs

20-year-long monthly aid for soldiers' families

they protect the land

watch out, this kid will rip you off

nature protection

regional kerfuffle

Armenia's GDP under COVID

inflation & economy

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Definition Of Business Communication And Important Points ...