Does tm lewin ship to usa

Case History
38 Year Male, Software Professional. Desk Job
· 2018: Foot injury
Active, played Volleyball and Cricket.
Aichiles Tendonitis left foot/ankle following a sports injury. X-Ray showed bone growth.
Lasery Therapy late in the year. Immense pain on walking, standing. Starting using right foot more. Used insoles, which reduced pain.
· 2019: Start of Groin Pain, Right Leg
March – Kidney stone. Intraveneous Opiod in Chicago IL, USA. Post that developed groin pain in right. Urologist ruled out kidney related pain. No sports.
Laying on left caused pinching pain in right thigh/groin.
November2019: X-Ray/MRI of Pelvis : Nothing abnormal
Dr daignosed HIP IMPINGEMENT FAI Right Hip, based on symptoms. Redced motion in right leg
· 2020: Covid, WFH. Pain: 2-3/10
Sedentary Lifestyle recoverng after Covid weakness. Ease in foot pain, due to limited motion.
No more groin pain, put it shifted to front thigs. Never really tested range of motion.
· 2021: Grade-III Fatty Liver, HT, Metabolic Syndrome, Insulin Resistance
Back to India. Sedentary. Weight 107 Kgs by December. Working from Home. Back stiffness. Pain: 2-3/10
· 2022: Weight Loss Journey. Very less Pain

• Lost 19 Kgsin 6 months by June-2022. Low Carb diet, Walked 6-10 Kms daily with No Exercise.
• Muscle loss in calves.
• Blood work great. BP in control. Borderline Diabetes reversed.
• No more back stiffness.
• July-Dec: Reduced walking, steady weight gain, mostly muscles: 93 Kgs by December.
• Hips hurt while long hours of sitting. Tail Bone Pain
• No Hip Pain while laying on left (as earlier). Overall stiffness in right front thigh on sitting 2/10.

2023: Bilateral FAI with bony spurs. Reduced angles. Early arthritis changes?
CURRENT: Daily activities hurt.

• Laying on left side hurts.
• Laying Straight hurts. ROM Limited. Laying in right doesn’t hurt.
• Stretched right lower back(psoas?) while doing lateral heavy band mobilisation.
• Pain in lower right back Walking hurts after 15 mins. Tried PT. Increased pain. RT > LT

In Short, Resting/sitting Hurts. Standing doesn’t. walking after a while hurts. Pain: 5-6/10. Need to find postures that don’t hurt while sleeping/sitting.
I am not looking for medical advice but DO I really need surgery? All reports attached.
Will arthroscopy(shaving) be helpful or THA? My Ortho Dr has referred me to a sports specialist, which I am yet to visit. My Dr doesnt do arthroscopy. He does THR of HIP and Knee.
CT Pelvis
​
MRI Pelvis
📷
Left Hip
​
Right Hip
​
https://preview.redd.it/xga2e5if3m3b1.jpg?width=1232&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4149407c7d00481c06033c5ba5281cb6f791d51

I apologise to those who I have let down by not answering these questions. I have been rather busy, as some may have figured by my resignation as First Minister of Wales. I am now able to answer, and will do my best below.

Would the minister address whether this Government has plans for supporting the transition to greener shipping?

While I do not currently have plans to do this, I can of course work with the member to do so. Shipping as of now relies on fossil fuels, but i’m sure that scotland can work on this with the other members of the government

Would the minister support the introduction of licensing for carriers transporting fuels within Scottish ports?

I would support this and would be happy to work with the honourable member in doing so

Would the Government work to adopt similar global emission caps on vessels registered and partaking in activities in Scotland?

I am sure that we will be able to achieve this, as reducing emissions is always at the forefront of my policies

Does the government have plans to improve the regulatory framework surrounding the operations of ports in Scotland?

At this moment in time, I do not have such plans. Should this matter need a response, I will provide one

Could the Minister confirm whether this Government would support increased high speed rail connections between Scotland and the rest of the UK?

Personally, I would support this project, however this would come at a great cost to the taxpayer. I of course reside over Transport issues in Westminster also, and so have had a look at this before

As the Cabinet Secretary will no doubt be aware, the entirety of Scotland's trunk road system is the responsibility of the Scottish Government. The M8 through Glasgow is due to have a temporary 40mph speed reductions brought in between junction 25 & 25a and given that the M8 at this point is going through a built up area, would the Secretary consider making this speed restriction permanent, in the interest of promoting better urban air quality?

A review will be made into the feasibility of keeping these restrictions, however they will remain temporary for the time being

I asked the First Minister what he is doing about arranging a temporary provision for the currently out-of-action Corran Ferry which is essential to keeping local businesses running. Lacking an answer from them, I will direct the same question to the Transport Secretary. What are they doing to resolve this problem, and have they considered approaching the MoD for military assistance?

Military assistance will not be needed in this case. A replacement for the ferry would be far more suitable, and I can provide this in due course

Will the infrastructure strategy proposed in the PfG be completed this term?

It is likely that not all parts of the expected progress in my department will be made this term. Time constraints and other issues have led to this. They will of course be completed as soon as I am able

Does the Cabinet Secretary support the expansion of the Railways (Electrification) Act to Scotland?

Yes, I do. Electrification is our best way forward

How will the government improve transport access for rural and island communities?

As I have done in Wales, I will be encouraging the expansion of local transport networks, such as buses and small rail lines

Does the government have any prevailing plans in relation to the extension of high speed rail to Scotland?

Please see my answer above. This would be a great cost as of now, but I will continue to assess the feasibility

I would like to raise a crucial issue in Scotland to the Cabinet Secretary. In Scotland, on the A93, landslides can occur and block crucial access to roads and transport links. How will the government resolve to reach a solution to this evident ecological and isolationary issue?

This is not an ideal situation to face, however a more permanent solution must be found. I will be assessing the possibility of creating a new route for vehicles to use in the event of such incidents on the A93

Would the transport secretary agree with me that there is a case for a car ferry service between Helensburgh and Greenock, avoiding a 50 minute, 33 mile car journey?

I would agree with the member. Cutting journey lengths also cuts emissions, and so I would be happy to work with the member on rectifying this

What new projects are being developed to support commuter towns like Bathgate, in particular young professionals who commute into Edinburgh or Glasgow?

The expansion of scottish bus networks is something I would like to see, and so an increased investment into public transport will be my solution for this

The new government has continued to make promises regarding introducing cheaper fares for public transport across the country. In the Programme for Government, a general term of 'reform' is used, alongside discussions of free travel for under 18s and smartcard access. To ask the Secretary what those reform plans mean in detail?

These plans have since been released, and so the member can refer to the new legislation put forward by the First Minister

I would like to draw members attention to the dire state of road quality and safety in Scotland. In Edinburgh as an example, roads have deteriorated to such a state that not even pedestrian areas remain stable. It is imperative that the issue of potholes and other hazards are properly handled. So I therefore ask, how will this government ensure local governments properly manage this?

I will be increasing funding for the repaving and fixing of roads that are deemed to be unsafe for either road users or pedestrians. Local governments will receive a chunk of money to use specifically for fixing their lowest quality roads.

How much is the Government’s plans for lower fares and price caps costing the Scottish Treasury please, do they believe that money is being spent well?

I would like to remind the member that I am not the finance minister and so do not have the specific costings. This money is of course being spent well, as with all of this government’s projects

Has the Government recently assessed the suitability of the bus network across Scotland, and if so what are they doing about it? Have they been working with local authorities, and if so which ones?

I have assessed this issue. Bus networks need expanding and at a rapid rate, both to reduce emissions and to take more cars off of the road. I can update the member on the full details on a later date

What steps has the Transport Minister taken this term to increase the speed of our transition to a wholly green transport network?

As i have in Wales, I will be ensuring the full transition to electric buses and vehicles in the next 20 years. I hope this answer satisfies the member

Has the Transport Minister undertaken any work on coast paths and cycle routes this term, to support our move to a low carbon nation? If so, what exactly has been done?

I have not currently done so, however I can promise the member that work will be made on this

A major factor in accessibility to rail services especially in rural areas is the ability to access a bus link to the rail station, with a timetable that meets the train services. For many of my constituents, and of course many across Scotland, whether there is a suitable bus link to their nearest station can make the difference between using the train or driving their car and contributing to congestion and pollution. To ask the Secretary what steps they are taking to ensure as many residents as possible are linked with appropriate bus connections to their nearest train service? Most people in Scotland already have this connection available. If the member would like to inform me of the places where this is not possible, please reach out to me and I will find a solution with the local authority
Would Transport Scotland/Còmhdhail Alba consider a trial of new transport technologies such as responsive transport in rural and island communities like mine?

I would be happy to trail such technologies, as they will eventually be the future of rural transport

To ask the Secretary what they see the future of the port at Cairnryan and how it fits in with the rest of Scotland's transport network?

As of now, I have no plans for adapting or changing this port

Does the Cabinet Secretary agree that the Edinburgh Suburban Line should be reopened, potentially as a tram-train, to serve the good people of Gorgie, Craiglockhart, Morningside, Blackford, Newington, Duddingston, Craigmillar, Brunstane, Portobello, Piershill, and Abbeyhill, and to allow them to avoid the traffic of central Edinburgh?

I can certainly see why the member wishes to reopen the Edinburgh Suburban Line. I will support this while in office

Does the Cabinet Secretary agree that we should explore turning Scotland's urban motorways into boulevards, or perhaps even axe them?

No. This would make traffic far worse and would benefit almost nobody

What has this government done, and what will it do, for active travel?

Please see the latest legislation submitted by First Minister

What has the Minister done to reduce rail fares this term, if anything?

Please see my answer above

As mentioned by other members the motorways through the heart of the Glasgow city centre have had extreme speed restrictions placed on them. Walking through Glasgow around Charing Cross, you can see traffic backed up for as far as you can see. Obviously this is not how a motorway should function. To ask the Secretary if they consider the extension of motorways through Glasgow centre decades ago, in hindsight, a failure and mis-step in planning?

Perhaps it was. Traffic congestion is a severe issue in Scotland, and this government will work to fix this

To ask the Secretary how they believe links to the Islands, including via ferries, can be improved?

The islands are a unique situation, where not much else other than more ferries can fix transport links. The only thing I would be able to do is increase the frequency in ferry services through subsidies

The West Highland Line is at risk of disruption from rock fall due to its position in the terrain. Furthermore, indication of such an event is only provided by a decades old wiring system that is maintained by bodges upon bodges. To ask the Secretary if they will commit to improving safety on the line by looking into new technologies in this area?

New technologies will not fix this issue. Scotland has a rugged terrain, and there is little this government can do about it.

Company Name	Title	City
BigOTires	Automotive Service Technician	Minneapolis
Delta Airlines	Flight Attendant	Minneapolis-Saint-Paul
VSI Construction Inc.	Traveling Superintendent	Minneapolis
The Hershey Company	Consultant Target Front End	Minneapolis
Clean Energy Fuels	Service Technician 1	Minneapolis
Allied Universal®	Security Officer - Hiring Immediately	Minneapolis
Intersection Co.	Account Executive	Minneapolis
Allied Universal®	Security Guard - Overnight	Minneapolis
Donaldson Company, Inc.	Senior Project Manager - Supply Chain Operations CoE	Minneapolis
Marmon Holdings, Inc.	Manager, Shipping and Receiving Operations	Minneapolis
Border States	Warehouse Associate - Wire Cutter	Minneapolis
Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota	Forklift Operator - Outlet - Brooklyn Park, MN - (Full-Time)	Minneapolis
Border States	Warehouse Associate - Seasonal	Minneapolis
Manpower USA	Medical Packaging Technician 3rd shift $23.00 - Direct Hire	Minneapolis
Tommy Bahama	Stock Associate	Minneapolis
Owens Corning	Outside Warehouse Forklift Driver	Minneapolis
Pro Staff Brainerd	Forklift Operator - 1st Shift	Minneapolis
Capstone Logistics	Warehouse Unloader	Minneapolis
Ingersoll Rand	Warehouse Associate	Minneapolis
MyWorkChoice	Warehouse Associate – Work with Robots + Flexible Scheduling	Minneapolis
Genuine Parts	Warehouse/Truck Loader	Minneapolis

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in minneapolis. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

"Butterflies"
November 27, 2001 - 3rd single from Invincible
https://youtu.be/csvNBRZfFpo
Written by Andre Harris & Marsha Ambrosius. Produced by Michael Jackson & Andre Harris
This track appears on Jackson's tenth studio album, Invincible, and is his final single from a studio album. The song also appeared on 2004's The Ultimate Collection
It was written by Andre Harris and Marsha Ambrosius, who is one half of the London bred neo-soul act Floetry. Michael first met Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart, who is also a member of Floetry, through John McClain, who was DreamWorks's senior urban executive and Jackson's manager.
Stewart said she was surprised that Jackson invited her and Ambrosius to a studio and asked for their input on the recording of the track. She recalled in an interview with LAUNCH magazine:

"It was incredible because he asked, he continually asked, 'Marsh, what's the next harmony? Girls, does this sound right? What do you think? Is this what you were looking for? He was so open".

When Ambrosius first met Jackson, it took her a few minutes to calm down. She recalled:

"To begin with, I was kinda shook. Because you don't realize how you're going to feel until you're put in that situation. I had the tears in my eyes and got kinda nervous. But as I got into it, I realized it was work, it was a job. I had to vocally conduct a legend."

Harris commented on the single:

"He's showing you, I'm still the Michael Jackson that did 'Billie Jean' and 'Rock With You' because 'Butterflies' really falls along those lines."

The song was inspired by Marsha Ambrosius' own butterflies, as told to The Boombox in 2014:

"I had a crush on a guy In London and I had butterflies in my stomach. I was too shy to tell him. The song came easy. I was in the studio with Michael about two months after I arrived in America from England. Unbelievable."

It was only released in the US to radio airplay. Butterflies" entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early November 2001, at #60. The single eventually peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending 1/26/02. It also charted within the top ten, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart on 1/26/02; it was held from the top position from Ja Rule & Ashanti's "Always on Time". In 2002, "Butterflies" also peaked at #36 on the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream chart. It was also released as a promotional single internationally but did not chart on any music charts outside of the US.
Butterflies" is a mid-tempo love ballad that received generally positive reviews from music critics. Vaughn Watson of the Providence Journal noted that the track is a "velvety old-school soul ballad" with "elegiac horn riffs" and "simple '70s-style David Ruffin soul."Stephen Thomas Erlewine, a writer for AllMusic noted that "Butterflies" had "Bacharach-styled horns."Lonell Broadnax, Jr., a contributing writer to the Daily Helmsman Online felt that "Butterflies" is a soulful song which takes Jackson back to his "rhythm and blues roots". Ben Rayer of the Toronto Star felt that the song was an "oozy slow jam"
Ken Barnes of USA Today described the song as being a "hopelessly sappy ballad oozing with fuzzy sentiments. I'd say it's more like caterpillars."Frank Kogan of The Village Voice, citing the lyrics, "I would give you anything baby, just make my dreams come true/Oh baby you give me butterflies" wrote "so, would he give her, like, caterpillars in exchange? birds?" and added that what grabs his attention about a song like "Butterflies" is not the "melody but the weirdly ringing wrench-against-faucet clang on the backbeat." Christie Leo of the New Straits Times gave the track a more positive review, calling the song a "luxuriant" ballad. Pop music critic Robert Hilburn, writing for the Los Angeles Times, described "Butterflies", and another song from Invincible ("Speechless"), as being "as woefully generic as their titles". A journalist of the same publication felt that track was about romantic "jitters". Darryl Frierson of University Wire felt that songs like "Butterflies" can set the "mood for any romantic interlude". Joel Rubinoff of The Record said that "Butterflies" was one of the "only good songs" from Invincible, while a writer for The Atlanta Journal cited the song as being a "decent track"
A writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution viewed "Butterflies" as being "laid-back". Mark Anthony Neal of PopMatters wrote in his music review for Jackson's 2002 album, entitled Love Songs, that in song's such as "Butterflies", it shows the "essence" of Jackson's "genius has been in the boy's uncanny ability to perform, even the mundane, outside of the box."Elliot Sylvester of The Independent felt that ballads on Invincible such as "Speechless and "Butterflies" are "almost to a formulaic fault." Chicago Tribune rock music critic Greg Kot said that Jackson is not "convincing as the vulnerable ladies' man on drippy ballads" such as "Butterflies". Stephen Thomas Erlewine, a writer for Allmusic, commented that Invincible was "highlighted" by "lovely ballads" such as "Break of Dawn" and "Butterflies". David Browne of Entertainment Weekly wrote in his review for Invincible that, "The ballads are a squishy bunch with glaringly banal lyrics, pleasantries like 'Butterflies' and 'Break of Dawn' that could emanate from just about" anyone. A journalist for The Philadelphia Inquirer called the track "gorgeous" and Bomani Jones of Salon.com called "Butterflies" a "sparkling" track. Ben Rayer of the Toronto Star wrote that Jackson "fares best" on "Butterflies"
Catherine Halaby of the Yale Daily News said that songs on the album like "Heaven Can Wait", "Butterflies", and "You Are My Life" "fulfill the quota for sugary ballads". Jon Pareles, writing for The New York Times, said that tracks on Invincible like "Butterflies"' and "Don't Walk Away" are "melting love ballads". Pareles noted in his review for the album that songs on it are recurring themes present on Jackson's albums, such as love ballads, as well as tracks pertaining to making the world a better place. Tim Perzyk of the Duke Chronicle wrote, "By the time 'Butterflies' spins on track seven, it's unclear why Michael didn't record a collaborative boxed set with Mariah Carey, whose 'Heartbreaker,' 'Breakdown' and 'Butterfly' would fit quite nicely" into Jackson's Invincible album. Pop music critic Craid Seymour of the Buffalo News wrote that "another winning tune" on the album is the "dreamy 'Butterflies,' which flows along at a groovy midtempo pace." Kevin C. Johnson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch described "Butterflies" as being about the "feeling that special someone gives him." Music critics writing for the South Florida Sun Sentinel said that the track shows the "shy, loving, gentle side" of Jackson
Unlike the previous singles released from Invincible, a music video was not made to promote the song. There was a Track Masters remix released that featured rapper Eve.
A year after this appeared on Invincible, Floetry's original version was included as a bonus track on the English version of their debut album Floetic

Name of FF: KoR
Shipping Line: AIR-DDP (UPS Local Delivery)
Paid: 5/19
Label Created: 5/22
Delivered: 6/1
Destination: USA (California)
Duration: 11 days
Weight: 5kg
Cost: 410 CNY
Review: Honestly KoR saved me on this one. I had an item with some sensitive things, and PandaBuy tried to charge me ~1200 CNY shipped. I was going to let it rot in my warehouse, but I found this Reddit and KoR. I'm happy boys :)

I just got my flaneurz yesterday so I can't do a full review but so far, skating around the house I like them a lot, comfortable, sizing correct, feels very light and secure, attaching/detaching works as expected, and looks great but I thought I'd make a post for those curious of what the NYFI plate is like I was and couldn't find any info online lol. From some research after seeing and taking it apart, I'm pretty sure this "NYFI" plate is an unbranded Crazy Skates Apollo plate. The design, material, features, cushions all appear to be the same, it just doesn't have the logo.
It doesn't explicitly say so on the site though it is in the pictures but it did also come with roll line toe stops with American thread which they don't sell on their site, only the ISO thread one. And you need an Allen key to adjust it, does not come with. I kind of feel like for the price it should come with tools like the premium does but didn't really matter since I already had them. I thought it was kind of funny that instead of saying what the cushions are or selling replacements, the site just says you don't need to replace them. I might eventually replace with softer but I like how they are now actually, not too hard.
I wear a 5 in suregrip boardwalks, 6.5 w normally, and for these I got the veja v15 jade in 37 (6 us) and it errs on the side of slightly loose for me so size down I think if you're between sizes.
A minor thing, I watched a lot of videos before purchasing and one of them showed premium vs iconics and the iconic has grip tape and premium doesn't and I kinda wish iconics also didn't have it if it's not necessary for secureness (locking system same for both). When struggling to attach or detach the skate part it kind of feels like I'm sanding the tread off my own shoe lol. To detach you have to wiggle the front and it rubs against the grip tape and the sound of sanding makes me cringe a bit. There's also a bubble under the grip tape that runs along the back of the front hook of one of them that I pressed down but it came back up. Which tells me I could probably easily take it off and I might end up doing that.
There's an imperfection in one of the front hooks for mine, a slight indent that changes the edge of the hook a bit. The indent itself also has a slight ledge to it that I can feel with my finger. That side was harder to detach and when I first saw it I was afraid I had damaged the hook in my struggle. Maybe the indent got caught on the side of the hole but it also seems a pretty minor thing that I won't notice in the long run as I get used to detaching it. Or I end up sanding the ledge of the indent smoother if it becomes a lingering issue. Don't think I want to ship it all the way back to France for this though it definitely is a disappointing thing considering the price.
Some other people said they feel the metal parts when walking but I actually don't, the sole is very comfortable for me.
I ordered May 21 and received June 1. It arrived like 3 days after it was shipped from France to the US, which surprised me.

Someone said the oxycutter works but I tried it on my own ship and it doesn’t seem to do anything from the outside. Does anyone have any suggestions on what works?

I know this seems like a poor financial decision, but hear me out. I owned a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Sahara for 5 years and was happy enough with it. It started to "death wobble" (if you're not aware, do a quick search) when I was driving in it with my toddler, and I decided right then and there I had to ditch it. It scared the bejesus out of me, and it's a known issue with Wranglers that can be difficult to fix.
I was passing through a LR dealership for a wedding and decided to check out the Defenders. I ended up trading the Jeep in for one right then and there (got $30k on trade for the Jeep, Defender was $80k, at MSRP). Taxes were maybe about $3k after trade. Fast forward 3 months. I'm really not happy with the Defender or, more accurately, what I spent on it. We are making a cross country move here in a month, and I'm going to be taking a pay cut, as it's more a lifestyle move and to be near family. My wife is flying out with our little one, so we need to ship one vehicle if we have two ($2k for open transport, $3k for closed for reliable trucks). The Defender hasn't had issues, is a mean looking car, very nice ride and interior. But to be honest, it's too nice for me- it's all black and I'm freaking out over every scratch in the paint (black shows EVERYTHING). I'm also thinking I really wouldn't want to keep it past warranty (less than 4 years remaining) since just to replace a headlight on one of these is apparently $4k or something. And I'd rather have a vehicle I'm comfortable keeping 5+ years. I'm very concerned about the depreciation in that time, despite the fact they're holding their value well for now (not sure when this post-COVID auto market will bottom out).
I've considered trading it in for something else, especially to cut down on taxes, but I'm not exactly sure what I want, and I don't want to rush into something again. So what I'm considering is just selling the LR here and getting another vehicle after the move, so we wouldn't have to ship one. I have an offer from a dealer to buy my vehicle for $79k (just $1k less than I paid). I'd be out taxes, but I also put 3400 miles on it and wouldn't have to ship anything cross country, so it seems like pretty much a wash? We can get by with one car for a while until we figure out something cheaper to buy. Does this seem like a good plan? Nuts?

Yes, i do believe Bonney will be the next one to join. Having in mind in mind her relationship with Kuma and the StrawHats, and the pattern we had with the female members, this is how i think it'll go:
​

• Bonney will pass out after the effort of reliving Kuma's memories.
• Saturn arrives to Egghead.
• Laffitte arrives to Egghead.
• Luffy finds her unconscious.
• Saturn goes after Bonney while Laffitte does the same.
• Laffitte DF reveal.
• Battle.
• The SHs evacuate egghead with the VPs.
• Bonney wakes up in the Sunny.
• Shows off her DF (name reveal, probably written with 29-29) everybody is impressed.
• Bonney explains how she lost her crew and decides to tag along to the way to Momoiro Island.
• Bonney and the SHs start bonding.
• First take a stop in Elbaf.
• Dorry and Brogy explain Shanks, also what happened with Barto Club.
• Strawhats realize they need a Staff Officer.
• Vivi, Morgans and Wapol arrive to Elbaf.
• Holy Knights come to Elbaf seeking for Bonney, VP, Morgans Wapol and Vivi.
• Vivi + SHs reunion.
• Holy Knights abduct Bonney.
• They split in two groups: one goes for Bonney, the other one takes the VPs and Vivi to Momoiro Island.
• Group A follows HK to new WG island.
• Bonney past revealed.
• Bonney posses Staff Officeradio skills showed in flashback.
• Luffy invites Bonney to join.
• Group A rescues Bonney.
• Reunion in Momoiro Island. Luffy meets Dragon and Nefertary D Lili's secret.
• VP, Stussy and Caribou stay and joins Revolutionary Army.
• Bonney is offered to join RA aswell.
• RA offers to shelter Vivi/take her back to Arabasta.
• Dragon meets Bonney and gives her a Kuma's bible/a letter from him. Finds out real reason why he helped the SHs.
• Dramatic scene, SHs about to leave, Bonney follows and jumps to the ship.
• Bonney straw hat now and everybody happy.
• Next arc beggins.

Company Name	Title	City
USPI	Registered Nurse (RN)	Jacksonville
Paul Fulghum O.D.	Patient Care Coordinator	Jacksonville
Canam Steel Corporation	2nd Shift Industrial Maintenance/Electrical Tech ($2000) Signing Bonus)	Jacksonville
Brambles USA Inc	Pallet Repair Operator	Jacksonville
RTI International	Field Interviewer - NSDUH	Jacksonville
Ushealth	Junior Account Manager	Jacksonville
USPI	RN	Jacksonville
Swisher International, Inc	Controls Engineer	Jacksonville
American City Business Journals	Account Executive	Jacksonville
Tommy Bahama	Marlin Bar Stock Associate	Jacksonville
Ferguson Enterprises, LLC	Warehouse Associate	Jacksonville
Nordstrom, Inc.	Retail Stock - Jacksonville Rack	Jacksonville
CJ Logistics America, LLC	Forklift Operator	Jacksonville
C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc.	Shipping Clerk	Jacksonville
Usagov	Supervisory General Supply Specialist	Jacksonville
HD Supply	General Warehouse Associate	Jacksonville
Bedrosians Tile and Stone	Warehouse Associate - Distribution Center	Jacksonville
Applied Industrial Technologies	Driver / Warehouse	Jacksonville
Genuine Parts Company	DriveWarehouse	Jacksonville
Xponential Fitness	General Manager - CycleBar	Jacksonville

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in jacksonville. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

Hello everybody!
I've argued with many pro-police people for various reasons, and have acquired a decent-sized library of their common talking points in support of the police and in opposition to movements like ACAB. Today, I will address the most interesting of these talking points and debunk them, with sources. The format of this post will be FAQ style. I'm not the best when it comes to researching so if anybody has suggestions for alternate/additional sources I'm all ears. Please share this with your friends and loved ones who are on the fence or maybe completely support police, maybe this'll change their minds.

My Beliefs

The system of policing we see in the United States and many other nations is plagued by corruption, violence, and extortion. While these issues may be seen as worse/better when you compare different nations, it's all still the same and tier-listing misery will get us nowhere. For the purposes of this essay, I will be addressing police specifically from an American's perspective, as I'm American. I also will be operating on these premises:

• Police officers are not designed for the majority of the things they're tasked with handling.
• Police officers show little agency in what laws they choose to enforce, this includes unjust laws that cause more societal harm than good. (Example, drug laws). This however doesn't apply to their own, which I'll demonstrate later.
• This results in most interactions with police following obvious "dialogue trees" and any attempt to steer away from it, either by questioning their motives and logic or just showing distaste for their treatment of you, will result in unjustifiable escalations of force.

With these details in mind, I believe that the second a would-be cop dons that uniform, they have lost their humanity in my eyes, and their lives are forfeit. They have become obedient, robotic agents of the state, and as long as workers of this country struggle against the state, this stance will be firmly unchanged.
Does this mean that well-meaning people don't exist in law enforcement? Absolutely not. There are many cops who see the injustices in the system and either through culture shock or naïveté, attempt to bring consequences to their fellow pigs. This often results in retaliation including but not limited to: firing, harassment, refusal of backup, or just straight up murder.
The only good cop is either a dead one, or one that turns to our side.
Now with all that out of the way, let's begin my straw-man.

When you say "agents of the state", what does that mean?

There's a story from my own life I can share with you:
A while ago when I used to work at McDonald's I found out that our boss was sabotaging other workers' interviews for other jobs, in an attempt to force them to stay at the job. Me, being still quite young at the time, thought that the police should do something about this, as I researched this and it is illegal for an employer to do this. The only response I got back was "This isn't a police matter"
So then me, confused, wonder why not? If what she's doing is against the law where I am, why can they not investigate? Now this was before I knew about the Department of Labor and all that, so I never followed through with this incident, but this story planted a seed in my mind.
This seed grew into a beautiful plant in my mind once I learned the Labor Theory of Value, Marxism, the usual "commie shit". All this made me realize that the reason that incident wasn't a police matter, is because police work for capital, not us. The capital owners are the ones who use the police to keep workers in check. This is a dynamic that goes all the way back to the police's original intended purpose of catching runaway slaves, eventually leading to violently suppressing worker uprisings during the Industrial Revolution. They don't willfully go after the elites, much less their own, because they're on their fucking leash.

So who do you expect to keep you safe?

I don't know, I don't have that expectation now. Wanna know why? Because, if the Uvalde Shooting wasn't evidence enough, police are not legally obligated to protect anybody.

What if somebody breaks into your house?

Let's use the common example of Chicago for this one. Chicago's police response time averages from any range between 95 seconds to 9 minutes.
Now let's assume this burglar is actually a threat to you, as in, they actively want to kill you. Do you think the police will be there to save you in time? Best to defend yourself.
Did the burglar leave with your valuables? Hope you had insurance! Property crimes (which includes burglary) are only solved about 16-20% of the time.

This must mean they don't have enough officers or funding to respond faster

Another myth. Police have plenty of funding. So much in fact that not enough is going to actually important institutions, like schools and fire departments. This is a hard thing to find proof for since most of the cities in the USA have some sort of law enforcement apparatus, but I'll give you some homework. Try and find out the police funding for your city/hometown. Compare that to the taxes that go to the actually useful stuff.

What about the mass shooters and serial killers?

Well, I already made fun of the cowards in Uvalde so I'll just say this:
Those are the things armed police SHOULD be charged in handling.

Wait, did you just say armed police? As in, you want to disarm them?

Hell yeah brother. The United Kingdom, for example doesn't give their street cops guns. They're trained in hand-to-hand combat and disarming techniques. They still have armed units with which they deploy for [fire]armed threats.
In the United States meanwhile, we have pussy cops using guns against people with melee weapons. They have the numbers and the equipment (stun guns, mace, batons) to take down this kind of threat and instead they take the easy way and shoot them. So yes, take their fucking guns away.

Wouldn't that make them easy targets?

I would argue that their behavior makes them targets, "fuck around and find out" as they say.
Be that as it may, disarming the police would be nigh impossible and incredibly illogical with how easy weapon procurement is in the USA, which is why gun laws need to be restricted too. But that's a whole other discussion I don't feel like having. So for this I will give you a +1.

My Proposed Solution

To conclude this essay, I share my proposed alternative to policing at it is now, which would coincide with extensive prison reform as well:

• Abolish qualified immunity. This used-napkin of a law has been weaponized time and time again to allow police to beat/kill suspects (that they agitate into resisting) with impunity, among many other things like destroying an entire city block, which killed five children and six adults. Police officers need to know that they have a powerful position and abuse of that power will not be tolerated by any means.
• Remove cop patrols. Patrolling cops just look for trouble. Stay the fuck out of our business, bitch.
• Stop using K9 units. They circumvent our fourth amendments rights against unlawful search and seizure but allowing a "hit" to search you even if you refused. Cops fake alerts all the time, and are also used to circumvent use-of-force policy since you can't control how a dog decides to fucking maul you half to death
• Stop utilizing police testimony in court cases where there's no physical evidence to back their word up. Juries are hopelessly biased towards pigs and will take their word as gold. Which is scary since they lie in court all the time
• Most importantly, STOP SENDING POLICE TO EVERY FUCKING 911 CALL. I shouldn't even have to provide evidence that police kill the mentally ill. Police should be dispatched ONLY when an armed threat is present. Period.

Have a great day everybody!

Hey everyone,
I'm a 28M marine engineer. I have been doing this job for about 2 years now. It's a cool job and get awesome leave and pay. I basically maintain machinery on board ships for 6 weeks at a time and then get 6 weeks off.
Just recently I've been feeling there's a big void. As a teenager I always thought I was going to join the army and have a wicked life. I was talked out of that by my parents and brother (who served 11 years) upon finishing high school.
When I'm on coffee break at work I find myself thinking about extreme things I could do in my time off. Or flat out quitting my job and joining the French foreign legion. I don't know if I'm in the right job or if this is a normal feeling. I don't feel like I've experienced any true adventure in my life. I want to be tested as a man. I want to feel pure adrenaline and experience proper comradery.
Has anyone else ever felt the same? How do you fight off these feelings? How does one experience pure adventure?
Thanks in advance.

"Bump" of previous post last week. All have been unused/untouched since March 1st, just sitting there or in boxes, except the monitor.
$650 for everything (list 1 and list 2). Not parting out due to payment method precluding shipping.
TL;DR quick overview of all parts
one i5-12400 w/stock cooler, 1 downdraft cooler, 3 120mm tower coolers
two B660m ddr4 motherboards, one win10pro key, and one anti-bending lga 1700 bracket
two kits 3200c16 ddr4, one 2x8gb singlerank other 2x16gb dualrank
one RX460 4gb gpu
two nvme m.2 drives; 500gb sn770, 2tb 970 evo plus
two cases, one matx nr200 clone, other atx lancool 216 and 5pack of arctic p12 pwm fans
two psu, one sfx 600w platinum (w/ 1 cable extension), other atx (300)w F-tier
one 24'' 1920x1200 60hz monitor with a desk clamp arm
cheap mouse and keyboard(keyboard w/RGB!!!....sry)
one set entry level professional speakers and an old sound card
webcam, xbox360 controller, microphone
​
Local cash only, no paypal(don't have one), quakertown-doylestown area in bucks county.
Timestamps
pet/[email protected]/[email protected]/scent free household, and do not eat near computer area. The second hand items from the 12400 guy exude much less fragrance compared to when they were obtained (assuming his household laundry detergent or similar had fragrance as the source), and I doubt you'd sense it if your own living arrangements have any sort of scented items. They come with all original cables, boxes, manuals, etc I still have. If you want more information about anything, feel free to ask and it will be added. Selling because old 2010 pc with phenom ii x3, gtx460, and 8gb is sufficient for my use case, try for modern hardware again some other time.
​
Tabulated/Itemized/Descriptors:
​

Part Name	Detailed Comments/Condiiton	Currently/Personally Valued at x 1 month ago
	CPU
i5-12400	2nd hand. H0 stepping, not the more power hungry C0 (C0 is a partially disabled 8core die), and is AVX-512 capable going by the production date(did not verify; see motherboard notes). small blemish/ding(?) from previous owner's cooler on ihs, but can't tell if it was permanent indent or rubbed off hard bit of dried paste. includes box and cooler.	140/140
	Coolers
unknown 6 heatpipe thermalright cooler - possibly the burst assassin non-argb model without fan	2nd hand from the 12400 guy. tower only. has blemish/nick on contact surface. his laundry detergent had fragrance, so i couldn't use it. he also didn't clean the paste off and shipped it in a ziplock bag. i cleaned it as well as i could and replaced the bag.	15?/10
noctua s12b redux 1200rpm	2nd hand from the 12400 guy. same scent problem. can't remember testing it.	10?/5
arctic alpine 17 co	BNIB, but box looks beat up	13/8
id cooling se-224-xt-basic	used to cool a 3800X for a few months before the faulty mobo went kaput and sold the other parts of it. no 1700 mounting hardware because it was produced before alder lake. the win10pro key from the msi pro mobo is written on a slip of paper tucked inside the instruction manual.	25?/15
Thermalright Assassin X 120 refined SE	mounted 90 degrees clockwise for bottom-to-top airflow in sama case	20/15
	Motherboards
msi b660m mortar wifi ddr4	mobo vrms have coil whine crackle-hum using turbo boost, most likely related to powerstate/frequency switching (disappears when fully loaded or not doing anything) or concurrent with putting load on the integrated graphics, tried a whole bunch of bios settings to stop it, C1E enabled reduces it. integrated graphics culprit unverified due to case and difficulty with it; haven't tested a discrete card to eliminate igpu cause. latest bios(v19) at the time is flashed, need earlier bios version for avx512 capability, tried to get that instruction set working but found out it involves tainting my kernel and i don't use windows but if you do, the only os-side step is to move the specific intel microcode file out of system32. replaced the ilm with the thermalright one. includes right angle usb3 header adapter.	100/100
msi b660m a pro ddr4 wifi	2nd hand from 12400 guy. has smudge on backside near cpu bracket from alcohol solubility test on the paint; backside is alcohol soluble. has same scent as others from him. he did a bad paste job on cpu area and shipped it that way, i cleaned it up (no socket pins got paste on them thankfully because he didn't remove cpu from the board) tested and it works. comes with windows 10 pro key. the m.2 wifi card was worked, but putting it back in this board... i didn't have enough finger dexterity. one of the contact n!pp!es is bent, needs to be bent back. can't get it back out to do that, stuck. includes piece of factory glue that goes between the contacts and holds the leads in place. treat as non wifi version with potential bonus for trying hard enough. anti static bag on one side MAY have trace of urushiol due to being blown away when airing out onto a patch of cracked concrete where two weeks previously had been a sprout which had been disposed of then the area alcohol-doused then two rainstorms. includes right angle usb3 header adapter.	80/70
thermalright 1700 anti-bending ilm silver	comes with thermal paste(used once) and original ilm of the mortar mobo	9/8
	RAM
teamgroup 2x8gb 3200 c16	2nd hand from 12400 guy, works, had somehow strongest scent of them all.	32//25
timetec 2x16gb 3200 c16	dual rank with hynix 8gigabit jjr ic's (lower binned cjr) remember to lock in the voltage to safe level for that ic instead of auto. partially manually overclocked, enabled xmp then increase to gear1 3466mt/s (what i can tell, max speed with the locked vcssa without loosening timings) and the few timings changed are: command rate to real 1N; did not test tighter than tRRD to 6, tRRD_L to 6, and tFAW to 24; tREFI should be able to be higher than 24960 but didn't test; tRFC has errors at 460, can't remember what 480's result was, and 500 is stable. stressapptest for an hour after each change made, no errors. may go tighter, less than 10 attempts worth of tweaking.	70/65
	Storage
western digital sn770 500gb	2nd hand from the 12400 guy, but didn't notice scent(was under heatsink). has been secure erased. smart data said 2.4tbw.	30/25
samsung 970 evo plus 2tb	2nd hand from best buy geek squad refurbished. smart data indicated literal open box condition. has been secure erased. smart data says 3.28tbw.	98/80
	GPU
xfx rx460 4gb	2nd hand from a miner in 2021. was dirty but cleaned it, had mining bios, and the standard bios or other custom bios don't seem stable, but it works with a rx560 bios i modded to rx550 clocks. thought i saw something spherically, iridescently marbled green-yellowgreen falling from it when putting it back together after cleaning but couldn't find the drop or where it may have dropped from, capacitors look ok. single fan version. has annoying blue led. requires 6-pin pcie power even though it draws less than 75w.	45/35
	Cases
sama im01	hohboy, man oh man, this case.... removing the front panel carefully according to the manual causes the top clips to break(so that's why it includes two spares), and is difficult to work in even though all sides but the back come off. can't put a discrete gpu in because it can't go into the slot all the way; something about the mobo tray being depressed or pci slot design prevents it. front left usb3.0 defective (blips then doesn't work) but the right one is functional. pci slot magnetic swinging screw cover hinge is a bit bent because the top and bottom packaging foam were switched in factory(foam cutouts did not align). matx mobo prevents bottom from having second fan if not want to risk mobo header bending.	60/30
lian li lancool 216 black non-rgb model	opened the box and took out the inner accessory box on top but put it right back because became busy and never got around to using it. did not take out the case. almost literally open box. do not know state of tempered glass but jiggling box does not make broken glass sound.	100/90
arctic p12 pwm pst 5 pack	2 used in the sama im01, 3 unused	30/25
	PSU
corsair sf600 platinum	3 months use. powered the 12400 using integrated graphics, don't think total system power exceeded 150w from the wall.	110/110
thermaltake tr2 430np	don't know if it was 2nd hand or not. used to power a windows xp office machine which was bought without one. Don't use more than 350 watts; here is a review of the unit showing why- https://www.hardwaresecrets.com/thermaltake-purepower-430w-np-power-supply-review/ its F-tier but would personally trust it in a system pulling less than 100 or so from the wall. one cable with 20+4-pin motherboard connectors one cable with 6-pin pcie connector one cable with 4-pin 12v connector one cable with 3 molex connectors two cables with 3 molex and 1 floppy connector one cable with 2 sata connectors one molex-to-sata converter	20/5
cablemod black modflex EPS 4+4 pin 45cm extension	sf600 needs the extension to reach the mobo receptacle in the sama case	9/9
	Peripherals/Accessories
hp zr24w + ergodepot J2 monitor arm	60hz, 1920x1200, 24inch. 12 years use. ccfl backlight has been on for ~3.3 years. came with a scratch not noticeable when on most of the time. has smudges from over a decade of use, not trusting myself to clean it without scratching. includes J2 monitor arm (desk clamp), but makes it skew a little. when powered on, it knocks channel 6 out of the airwaves until it is turned off. flickers below 100% brightness.	50+40?(90?)/50+20(70)
tecknet um013 mouse	awful scroll wheel. defaults to the lower of the two dpi settings every time it loses power; does not save setting. 2 months use.	6/3
redragon karura k502 rgb keyboard	2nd hand. works, but did not verify all keys.	20/8
presonus eris E3.5 studio monitors	were on my desk for 10 days and powered on at low volume for under an hour, may be low amount of specks of dust, and the speaker wire had been connected, but otherwise is as if you opened up a new one. didn't like the space they took up and preferred my headphones, but B&H would not take these back because i told them i used the included speaker wire. no joke.	90/80
samson go mic	2nd hand. works, good shape. usb condenser with omni/-10/cardioid switch and 3.5mm jack. has sticker covering the led to diminish the brightness.	25/15
xbox 360 wired controller	didn't use it often, but owned it for a really long time. the left thumbstick has worn down, is low tension, and can drift slightly if off center to the northwest.	10/4
asus xonar dx	2nd hand. used for a few months in 2011 but was too close to gpu intake so put it away.	30/18
logitech c600 webcam	model V-U0007	12/5
Summary	first number taken from recent reasonable hardwareswap/ebay sales and amazon(when first two no/little results) and second number what i'd pay for the item in question if I was someone else, based on what is known of the condition. Paid 1300+ for just the parts bought in the last year, so imo this is a super deal if you are in the area.	Total: 1299/1073

Our current plans for the monthly theme contest are:
Someone will be selected AT RANDOM as the "Winner" and they will get a choice of the sponsor's gift or a $25 gift card/certificate to the puzzle company of their choice (must be a true puzzle company not someone like Amazon). This would still allow UK and EU dissectologists or countries that would prefer $25 USD over the sponsor's donated prize (shipping costs, don't ship to their country, prefer another company's puzzles, etc.)
If the "Winner" does NOT choose the sponsor's gift (and they want a $25 gift card/certificate from the company of their choice) then another theme contest entry will be selected and asked if they would like the sponsor gift. If they would like it great. If they don't (for whatever reason) then they don't get anything and we will keep selecting someone until someone would like the sponsor gift.
The choices are:
Continue having puzzle companies donate gift cards and puzzles for the monthly theme contest. jigsawpuzzles sub users would not have to donate as much money to use for gift cards/certificates since puzzle companies would be donating gifts.
Stop having puzzle companies donate gift cards and puzzles for the monthly theme. Go back to 100% of jigsawpuzzles sub users donating money to use for gift cards/certificates.
Please cast your vote. I will keep the poll open for 7 days.
View Poll

When a ship is commissioned, whoever or wherever it’s named after traditionally donates silver to the ship. The Navy does not own this silver, and whoever donates it still own it. When the family can be found it is returned to them when the ship is decommissioned. A lot of times the navy doesn’t know who to return it to. It’s more confusing when a state or city donates it. We try to find museums to give it to, but that is hard. When it has nowhere to go it ends up in the vault. The best/biggest set was from the USS California. It was a battle ship. I don’t have pictures, but I still sometimes dream about the silver. I am glad security was so tight on it all. If it wasn’t, I am sure I would have been tempted to borrow some.

As described here, ITTL Weimar Germany suppressed the rise of Nazism and stayed democratic, just with a monarchical restoration and various political reforms. It managed to settle all its domestic issues and reasonable territorial claims (Austria, Sudetenland, Danzig, West Prussia, Upper Silesia) to its satisfaction without a general war. The divergence also allowed fascist Italy to fulfill its not-so-destabilizing ambitions (Ethiopia, intervention in Spain, Albania, partition of Yugoslavia) in a similar way. Japan got defeated by the USSR and expelled from Manchuria and China (although it managed to keep Korea and Sakhalin). The shock enabled a moderate regime and foreign policy change.
However, the vacuum created by the lack of the Nazi threat and success in East Asia drove Stalin and the USSR to turn more aggressive. A chain of Soviet aggressions against Japan, Nationalist China, Poland, the Baltic states, Romania, and Finland pushed the European powers and the Japanese to form an anti-Communist united front, then declare war. The USSR answered by staging a pre-emptive strategic offensive in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia together with its PRC allies. The USA stayed neutral, at least at the beginning, but pledged to provide all support to the Allies short of war, including a Lend-Lease equivalent. Let's say an American intervention is bound to happen somehow.
However, there is the issue of a proper casus belli that can rouse America to belligerance. Japan is in the Allied coalition, so no equivalent of Pearl Harbor can reasonably happen. I have tried to think of reasonable alternatives:
a) Naval incidents between American merchant shipping and Soviet submarines.
b) Discovery of the Soviet espionage network in America (it seems in the cards with the Western world in a wartime Red Scare atmosphere) and some 9-11-style act of Communist sabotage of the Lend-Lease effort that somehow causes a serious amount of damage and loss of lives.
c) Attempted Commie destabilization (coups, uprisings) of Latin American countries (which ones?).
d) Some mix of the above.
What do you suggest?
Let's assume that due to TTL circumstances, FDR did not seek a third term in 1940 and was succeeded by an anti-Communist Democrat (e.g. Cordell Hull, James Farley, Truman) or less likely an internationalist Republican (e.g. Dewey).

Previous First
Wiki ​ ​
Chapter 41
Subject: Ship-Head Uleena
Species: Urakari
Description: Reptilian humanoid, no tail. 5'3" (1.6 m) avg height. 135 lbs (61 kg) avg weight. 105 year life expectancy.
Ship: RSV Lowelana {Fights with Honor}
Location: Sol
​
"It's been more than three hours, ship-head. When can we stand down?" asked Kriin.
"We'll be able to stand down when they tell us to stand down, sister," replied Kraan in my stead.
Kriin made a face and hissed softly at him. This playful exchange did a lot to ease the tension that had settled over the bridge as time had dragged on. It even got a smile out of Liwna.
It was still unnerving to be on standby so long after the battle had ended, though. I'd asked for an explanation but received no response, which indicated something was happening or had happened. The OU had consistently increased their numbers with each wave, so I desperately hoped it wasn't going to be another attack. Maybe we'd received orders from the Republic to go home. One could dream.
A soft bing from my terminal nearly made me jump. All heads turned to me as I opened the message, desperate to know if we were in the clear. I nibbled my tongue as I softly pressed the notification to open the message.
--
Ship-Head Uleena
RSV Lowelana and her crew are to stand down but remain in a state of readiness. You are summoned to meet with Admiral Heckett and myself. A guide will meet you in the bay.
Fleet Leader Onaya
--
I looked around at the faces of my bridge crew. They were all hoping I would be giving the order to stand down, to tell them we were in the clear. The anticipation was brutal, and I found myself considering a little prank. If I were to simply say that the message was nothing, the looks of disappointment would be pretty great. Although, the fleet leader wouldn't appreciate waiting...
"Stand down, but stay ready," I said and then sighed audibly, "I'm off to meet with command."
"You have my sympathies, sir," Liwna said.
"I'm sure it won't be that bad, ship-head. Maybe they want to give you a medal," Kraan said cheerily.
"Don't get your hopes up, sir. We didn't really do anything medal-worthy. But maybe we'll get to see one of the planets we've been protecting," Kriin said excitedly.
"That's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is 'one of the planets we put at risk'," Kraan replied with air quotes.
"That's rich, coming from the cloaca that put the planets at risk in the first place!"
"Hey! I was following procedure! Why don't you..."
"That's enough," I interrupted, trying to keep a straight face. "I'll go find out what they want. You just stay ready for our next move."
I stood and left as the two siblings began whispering insults at each other. As I exited the ship, I wondered how long I'd have to wait for the guide. To my surprise, the guide was actually waiting for me. A seven foot tall human wearing olive drab armor and carrying a rifle that was the size of my leg. That's a bad sign.
"Ship-head Uleena. This way please," the marine gestured.
"Of course," I said as I began to follow.
We walked past a crew of gont engineers and one of them waved at me. I waved back. Must be Plinas, but it's hard to tell them apart at a distance. We continued into a corridor and I began to have questions. I worked up my nerve to ask the giant death machine that was guiding me to my destination.
"So, why isn't Tim guiding me this time?" I finally asked.
"I don't know, sir," he replied.
"Do you know Corporal Simmons and Lance Corporal Johnson?"
"I know a few Corporals named Simmons and a few lances named Johnson, sir."
"They're the ones who were assigned to our rescue detail."
"Oh. Then they're probably part of a ship crew. Or maybe MARSOC," he said. "So I probably don't know them."
"What's MARSOC?"
"Marine Special Operations Command. It's special forces. They get assigned to whatever needs a specially trained marine, and usually whatever's closest to wherever they happen to be."
"So they probably wouldn't still be on the Thanatos, then?"
"Sir, I'm not qualified to even begin to wager a guess," the marine said with a chuckle. "There's plenty of MARSOC marines aboard, but I'm not one of 'em. Just a home-grown, corn-fed grunt, at your service."
"Corn?" I asked. "What's corn?"
"Huh?" He stopped to look at me. "Oh, right. It's a type of vegetable that's kinda sweet. Small yellow kernels that grow on a cob are the edible part, but some people use the leaves to store their food for some added flavor."
"I see... So you eat a lot of corn?"
"Yes, sir. It's good for muscles if you have it with meat," he said as he began to guide me again. "The phrase corn-fed refers to someone who's normal, though. Like, there's nothing special about them."
"But aren't you one of those... um..." I said as I struggled to remember the term.
"A gen-alt? Nope," the marine replied with laugh. "Believe it or not, some of us humans naturally get this big."
"Really?" I asked, my eyes widening in shock.
"Oh yeah. The genetic augmentation just swaps around certain genomes that we all already have, or something like that," the marine said. "Technically, every human has a chance to be born with all the benefits of being a gen-alt. It's a pretty low chance though."
It was with this shocking information that we boarded a bus. The ride was spent in silence as I digested what I had just learned. Humans were odd, to be sure. Despite their soft skin and disarming features (which I'm pretty sure has a lot to do with how much of their face actually moves), they were a warrior race.
I remembered how nervous I had been to meet my first Isolan. Now THEY look the part of a warrior race. Muscles that ripple and bulge with every movement, a natural scowl, and elongated canines that can definitely tear into most throats with little to no effort. Their military was very disciplined as well, to the point that horror stories about disciplinary action have spread throughout the fleet. Still, the Republic would have been able to handle the Isolan without much problem if they went rogue.
I can't say the same about humanity, though. Maybe if the Republic had found them early on in their development, we could have taken them. On the other hand, I get the dreadful feeling that we would have lost a lot of people in the attempt. I couldn't help but imagine what life would have been like if humanity had joined the Republic without a fight, though. We'd have a lot more in the way of technology, that's for sure.
They like to give a lot of credit to the knuknu and the gont for their current level of tech, but it's obvious that the majority of it comes from humans. The other species likely sped things along, but humanity would have gotten to the point they are now on their own eventually, and still much faster than us. Although I wonder how much of that is due to their bloody history, and how that history would have changed as part of the Republic.
"We've arrived, sir. Just inside those doors is where the debrief is," the marine gestured.
"Understood, thanks," I replied.
I stepped towards the doors and they opened with a slight hiss. Inside the room was a table with plenty of chairs and several US and Republic officers. I immediately recognized Reynolds and Wong, as well as fleet-leader Onaya. I snapped to attention.
"Ship-head Uleena reporting as ordered, sirs!"
"Sit down, Uleena," Onaya said with smiling eyes.
I took my seat as introductions went around the table. Most of the people here were higher officers of the fleets protecting Sol, but there were also a couple of diplomats from both sides. Not my sister, though. Thank the sun. I'm sure she tried to be here, but I'm willing to bet that our father blocked her attempts. Far too dangerous.
"There's one more that we need to introduce, but he's been delayed somewhat," Admiral Heckett said as the doors hissed.
I turned to look and saw a short human in the black directorate armor with two marines flanking it. It took me a second to realize that the human looked short because the marines were so damned tall. I'll never get used to that.
"What impeccable timing," Heckett said with a grin. "Everyone, meet Director 3. I'm sure he already knows who you are."
"Correct," Director 3 said as he took a seat. "Ship-head Uleena, pleasure to see you again."
"Likewise," I replied.
"Oh, hey Uleena!" one of the marines said with a familiar voice. "Good to see you again."
"Simmons, we're on duty. We can say hi later," the other marine said.
I smiled and replied, "Hi Corporal Simmons and Lance Corporal Johnson. Good to see you too."
I was glad to see the two of them alive and well. So glad that I almost didn't notice the rest of the Republic officers giving me a sideways glance. As I deflated slightly under their gaze, I noticed that the human officers were doing the same to the two marines. I guess we're more alike than I thought.
"Okay. Well, with all of the pleasantries out of the way, I'm going to turn things over to Director 3," Admiral Heckett said.
"Thank you, Admiral," Director 3 said with a nod before turning to look at the Republic side of the table. "The invasion of the Omni-Union stronghold was a success."
Clapping and some light cheering erupted from both sides of the table, but Director 3 quickly held up a hand to quiet things down.
"That's the only good news, I'm afraid. What I am about to tell you has already been relayed to the Republic's senior leadership, and they will be communicating with you in regards to whether they consider the information classified or not. Until they do so, I recommend treating it as classified," he said.
After a round of nods, he continued, "First, some of you may already know this, but we have a superweapon called the USSS Nidhogg. It's a dreadnought class ship that has the capacity to destroy a solar system by causing a star to go supernova."
"What?" one of our officers asked in shock. Several senior officer's eyes immediately darted towards the offending individual, who quickly quieted down.
"Your shock is understandable. To clarify, the Nidhogg was built in response to our conflict with the Daluran, as a deterrence to any further xenocidal action taken against the United Systems and its member species. Frankly, many of us hoped to never use it. But we were forced to use it against the Omni-Union during the invasion."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was like the room got smaller somehow. A superweapon that can destroy an entire solar system, something the likes of which the Republic would likely never get close to. And they USED it. Wait hold on, did he say...
"Apologies, Director, but what do you mean you were forced to use it?" Fleet-Leader Onaya asked.
"Exactly that. One of our AI infiltrated their planetary systems, as planned, and retrieved mission critical intelligence. The next step of the plan would have been to cripple the OU's planetary activities by any means possible and move on to the next planet," Director 3 said. "However, it turned out that the planet wasn't actually a planet at all. It was a massive machine containing an Artificial Intelligence of unknown origin. And it was heavily armed."
Silence filled the room as images taken from US ships began to display. A planet filled our view. It looked like any other planet, but something was off about it. The images scrolled until they reached a short video of the planet firing, and two US ships exploding. My blood ran cold. Two US ships, ships with the most advanced shielding and hulls that I've ever seen, with one shot.
As much as I hated to admit it, I was grateful that they had that superweapon. The Republic was pursuing an offensive war against the Omni-Union even now, and if we would have run into this thing... Sun preserve us.
"This AI was called Prime 29 and the machine itself is a Mobile Prime Platform. During the confrontation with our AI, Prime two-niner was able to extract actionable intelligence from the AI. Thankfully, prior to this confrontation our AI managed to disable their communications which prevented Prime two-niner from being able to communicate said information with the Omni-Union. We were able to keep it trapped in the system using our own warp-jamming technology," Director 3 said. "The reason that we used the Nidhogg was to make certain that it didn't have enough time to eliminate the warp-jammers or escape their range."
"If we had tried to eliminate that thing with standard tactics, our casualties would have been in the tens of thousands," Admiral Heckett said. "As it stands, we lost 2,316 ships and more than one million marines."
"The Republic's casualties would have easily exceeded one hundred thousand ships. If we were even able to take it out at all," Fleet-Leader Onaya said, looking somewhat deflated.
"Was this the only Mobile Prime Platform, sir?" I asked, knowing damned well what the answer would be.
"No," Omega said, his avatar appearing where the images were previously. "We found intelligence in the form of a list that shows a total of 114 Mobile Prime Platforms. The intel indicated that at least one was damaged beyond repair prior to Prime 29's destruction, and that one is currently being built. Since we couldn't confirm if the other four planets in the stronghold system were MPPs or not, we will go on the assumption that there are now 111."
"Why don't we know if the other four planets are MPPs?" Onaya asked. "They didn't attack, so isn't it likely that they weren't?
"I suspect that the platforms require immense amounts of power, and so they stay in a sort of hibernation until something forces them out of it. Since the OU didn't awaken the MPP, it's reasonable to assume that they might not be able to. Prime 29 also had its communications cut, so it wouldn't have been able to wake them up, either," Omega said. "We had to go on the assumption that the other four planets were also MPPs, which is why we utilized the Nidhogg."
"So what's the plan to deal with them?" I asked.
"We're working on that," Director 3 interjected. "Obviously, we don't want to be running around causing supernovas everywhere."
"I guess it's time to come up with another 'bigger gun', eh?" Tim asked.
"Or a lot of little ones," John replied, appearing next to Omega.
A lot of our officers began to look nervous. Until very recently, AI was seen as the enemy and it's hard to kill old habits. They all looked to fleet leader Onaya to judge what their reactions should be. He didn't react, so they didn't either.
A bigger gun, or even a lot of little ones, would probably take quite a while to come up with. The US has amazing manufacturing procedures, but not nearly as many shipyards as the Republic. It was arguable whose engineers were better. The US had come up with some amazing things, but they had the benefit of necessity driving their creativity. Our engineers came up with what they created out of pure speculation. If the two worked together...
"Omega, if I may ask, how long would it take the US to create a new fleet?"
"One of ours or one of yours," the AI asked with a hint of smugness.
"One of yours," I replied.
"Factoring in material procurement, at least a year and a half. Assuming everyone working at capacity and nothing went wrong, which isn't a very realistic assumption," Omega said.
"What about us, fleet leader? How long to manufacture five million ships?" I asked.
"Or primary delay would be material procurement, but we managed to do eight million in seven months at the beginning of the OU war," Onaya replied.
All of the US officers eyebrows rose at this. I took a little pleasure at being able to surprise them, for once. Our manufacturing capability was borne from nearly every species already having at least one shipyard prior to joining the Republic, and maintaining those shipyards even now. If we were able to apply US manufacturing standards to those shipyards, the OU wouldn't stand a chance.
"We have a lot more shipyards than the US does," I began. "If the US were to make use of those shipyards, both sides would benefit massively."
"While that may be true, there's always the risk of us turning on each other after the OU is dealt with," Omega said.
"That's a bit pessimistic," John said.
"But historically accurate!" Tim cheerily exclaimed.
"That may be the case, but there are ways to prevent that. Bolstering the US fleet and shipyards to meet the same size as the Republic's, for instance. It would take quite a while for the US to catch up to the Republic's ship count on its own, and we've got barely any chance of catching up to your tech on our own," I said, holding my hands up to quiet the AI.
"This is true," Onaya began, "and your corporations would even fall in line. Greed is their primary motivator, and this deal would require a lot of trade and chance for profits."
Director 3 looked deep in thought before he finally spoke up, "Is this something that the Republic would agree to?"
"Probably," I said. "I'm not an official diplomat so I can't say with 100% certainty, but the US is more likely to say no than we are."
"I'll bring it to the Directorate, and we'll convince the senate of the necessity," Director 3 said with a nod.
"And I'll get have the diplomatic corps draw up an official agreement, and I'll push the proper buttons to get the votes on our end," Onaya said with smiling eyes. "Also, Uleena, you actually are an official diplomat now. The RSV Lowelana is our first armed diplomatic vessel. The decision came down yesterday."
"What?" I asked in shock.
"Your temporary post as liaison has become a permanent one. You'll be starting your training as soon as we can spare you. Same with your crew," Onaya said, the smiling eyes turning ever so slightly malicious.
Ah, I see. The Sun has forsaken me for some grave, unknown sin. Woe be unto me.
​Previous First
Support me and get early access to new chapters and bonus content!
Patreon Ko-fi
New chapter every Monday on Patreon/Ko-fi and Friday on Reddit!

People are all sensitive if they get called a name (on and off Reddit) The overall mood of Reddit seems to be a bunch of cry babies who can’t stand up for themselves. I can’t figure it out. It’s not like your life is being threatening.
I guess a better question would have been when did people stop standing up for themselves? Or just letting shit go ?
Edit: personal context was at a pub last night talking to a semi close friend and their friend who I don’t know and all I said was that the USA economy was better under their prior president. You would of sworn I started a war and now my friend thinks we should go separate ways. Total fine he wasn’t a close enough friend to care….Ohh and the kicker …. We don’t even live in the USA so why the hell does it matter what we say about their presidents ?