This ruling class of administrative state, big tech, corporations: all of these people think that they can get rid of Trump and we'll go back to normal. They're wedded to a broken system that has sold out the American people. And now they're going to try to sell out the American people and the middle class especially. They're not going to fix immigration; they're not going to fix trade deals; they're not going to break up big tech; they're not going to do any of these things. Continue reading →

Darryl Cooper, AKA @MartyrMade, is a podcaster who had a Twitter thread go viral with 13k retweets and 20k likes of the first Tweet alone. This one is 36-Tweets long. It makes very cogent arguments of not only why millions of Trump supporters believe the 2020 election was stolen, but also why we are justified to believe it. Continue reading →

THE SECURITY STATE HAS EXISTED SINCE THE END OF WORLD WAR II. THEY'VE BEEN OPERATING IN SECRET AND WITH NO DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EIGHT OR NINE DECADES NOW. DWIGHT EISENHOWER WHEN HE LEFT OFFICE WARNED THE COUNTRY ABOUT THE DANGERS THAT THEY POSE. Continue reading →

FBI CIA NSA are not only spying on American citizens but also are illegally unmasking their identities to journalists who support our fascist government Continue reading →

And so that is what I call the birth of this woke industrial complex. It is a new leviathan, a new monster, that is far more powerful than what Thomas Hobbes might have envisioned 400 years ago, and it is the biggest threat to individual liberty today. It is not big government alone. Its conservatives are reciting lines that they memorized in 1980, thinking that big government was the threat to individual liberty. Maybe it was in 1980. It's not today. It is this new hybrid of big government and big business and big government not just in the United States but big government in places like China, co-mingled with big business creating the actual threat to our liberty and our prosperity. Continue reading →

Carlson: So now we’re arming the Taliban and marooning our own citizens in Afghanistan. Who could possibly have seen that coming. Glenn Greenwald is one of the few journalists who did see it coming. He writes for Substack where all … Continue reading →

THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE USING JANUARY 6TH. IT'S DEMENTED TO COMPARE 9/11 AND JANUARY 6TH BUT IT'S SO CENTRAL TO THE AGENDA OF THE SECURITY STATE, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, TO ESSENTIALLY INITIATE A SURVEILLANCE REGIME, A DETENTION REGIME, AGAINST PEOPLE ON THE RIGHT WHO ARE AGAINST THE ESTABLISHMENT. AND THEY’RE ALREADY DOING IT. AND THEY PUT PEOPLE ON THE NO-FLY LIST, THE KIND OF DEFINING FEATURE OF THE FIRST WAR ON TERROR, THEY WANT TO DO NEW LEGISLATION THAT GIVES THE FBI AND THE CIA NEW POWERS, SPENDING MORE MONEY ON LAW ENFORCEMENT. THIS WAR ON TERROR IS CRUCIAL TO THEM. Continue reading →

Glenn Greenwald: "So you have huge number of journalists who believe that, they have the right to lie and even when they get caught, they don't care because they know their audience won't hold it against them." Continue reading →

Joe Biden said, if you're fully vaccinated, the chances that you can get severely ill, not even die just get severely ill, are very low. And the statistic that he gave is, out of every 160,000 people who have been vaccinated, only one ends up going to the hospital with a serious illness. So the risk if you're vaccinated is almost zero, which means what danger do unvaccinated people pose to people like me who listened to that and went and got the vaccine? Continue reading →

Pollstar, ведущее отраслевое издание индустрии живых развлечений, с радостью объявляет номинантов на 36-ю ежегодную премию Pollstar Awards. Эти награды - главное событие трехдневной конференции Pollstar Live!, крупнейшей в мире встречи профессионалов индустрии, эти награды признают и отмечают самых инновационных и успешных артистов, туры, компании, площадки и руководителей.

Победители будут объявлены на церемонии награждения в отеле Beverly Hilton в Лос-Анджелесе 19 февраля 2025 года. Среди знаменитостей, которые в прошлом были ведущими церемонии и участвовали в ней, - Dave Chappelle, Dave Grohl, Sir Elton John, Don Henley, Sebastian Maniscalco, Lars Ulrich и другие.

В номинации "Rock Tour Of The Year" на награду претендуют:

Blink-182’s “The More Time Tour”
Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band’s “2024 World Tour”
Coldplay’s “Music Of The Spheres World Tour”
Foo Fighters’ “Everything Or Nothing At All Tour”
Green Day’s “The Saviors Tour”
Metallica’s “M72 World Tour”

В категории "Residency Of The Year" на награду претендуют:

Adele at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace/Neue Messe München
Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden
Dead & Company at The Sphere
Eagles at The Sphere
Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit at Ryman Auditorium
U2 at The Sphere
#Metallica #ModernRock #Modern_Rock #AvantgardeRock #Avantgarde_Rock #HeavyMetal #Heavy_Metal #ProgressiveMetal #Progressive_Metal #SymphonicMetal #Symphonic_Metal #ThrashMetal #Thrash_Metal #AvantgardeMetal #Avantgarde_Metal

В дни предсезонных тестов, которые сейчас проходят в Испании, заводская команда Maserati представила свою новую машину, получившую название Tipo Folgore...

Команда MP Motorsport объявила, что Ричард Ферсхор сядет за руль одной из её машин в оставшихся гонках сезона, а также будет выступать в 2025 году...

В 2025 году на старт марафона «24 часа Ле-Мана» Porsche выставит три гиперкара 963, и в одном из экипажей, в который входят Ник Тенди и Фелипе Наср, есть вакансия. Директор заводской программы Porsche LMDh Урс Куратле допустил, что место за рулём получит Себастьян Феттель.

Years ago we were doing some work in the roofing business. In one study, we were working on the asphalt shingle roofing manufacturing business. At the time, this was a terrible business. Returns were low, growth rates were modest, at best, and there was a good deal of overcapacity in the industry. Then the industry caught a break. A shortage in asphalt developed. This shortage of asphalt rolled through the asphalt shingle plants and restricted their output. Immediately, prices jumped, returns became attractive and industry participants breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, this asphalt shortage did not last very long. The industry shortly returned to its previous hostile condition. (See the Perspective, “What Ends Hostility?” on StrategyStreet.com.)

A shortage in any component, or labor, will restrict industry capacity and tend to raise prices. A labor shortage is, in part, responsible for some of the high prices in mining today. Miners work in areas that are often hard to reach. They also are skilled employees. The run-up in commodity prices, especially those related to ores such as silver, gold and copper, has increased the demand for these skilled miners. In addition, the mining industry faces competition for skilled workers from the oil and natural gas industries, which are also growing.

Mining companies are now going to great lengths to attract and retain these skilled workers. Some of these miners are now earning 25% more in compensation than they were a year ago. Some companies are flying workers to and from remote mines. For example, BHP Billiton plans to fly 500 workers from Brisbane, about 500 miles away, to a coal mine site that they are opening and then fly them back home after a couple of weeks.

If this commodity boom continues, the industry’s total capacity will be determined more by labor availability than by its more traditional measures of capacity. (See “Audio Tip #117: Capacity Constraints and Pricing” on StrategyStreet.com.)

The newspaper industry has faced a mighty challenge over the last few years. There is so much “free” content to complete with them. Newspaper revenue continues to plummet. Internet users are reluctant to pay for content. All the free content, supported by advertising revenue, has decimated the newspaper industry. The industry’s cousin, the magazine industry, is not far behind.

This trend can’t continue forever. Already, many people are asking themselves how much they can trust the information on the internet. The need for Reliability drives the demand for Snopes.com. How many “free” web sites can earn enough from advertising to pay all their bills? An effective industry answer to “free” may be forthcoming in the News Corp online newspaper called “The Daily.” The Daily will cover general news, sports, arts and opinion in a format dedicated to the Apple iPad. In addition to the written content, the product will carry high definition video and 360 degree photos. The same product will be available in a few months for the Android-based tablet computers.

The Daily will sell for $.99 a week, or $39.99 a year, a very low price compared to newspapers. With this model, the product receives revenues both from the subscribers and from advertisers. Subscribers have the Reliability benefit of knowing that the content producer cares about facts, accuracy and readable writing style. Advertisers pay for eyeballs that follow a Reliable product.

The Daily is what we call a Next Leader product. This is a product that offers much better than industry standard performance for a low price to a specific subset of industry customers. The Next Leader can offer the very low price because it has a much lower cost structure than is typical in the industry. There are two basic types of Next Leaders. The first are Reformer products. This type of Next Leader product reduces the benefits for the user (usually Function benefits) while increasing the benefits for the buyer (usually Reliability and Convenience benefits) compared to the industry Standard Leader product. The second of the two types of Next Leader products are Transformer products. These products increase the benefits of the user but offer, at least initially, fewer benefits to the buyer than the Standard Leader product offers. The Daily is a Reformer product. It offers the Convenience of formatting fit for a tablet computer so it provides easier access for a segment of the industry’s customers. Its low cost structure results from its elimination of printing presses and distribution costs.

If this new tablet-based product offers a quality read, it will hasten the day when virtually every newspaper and magazine is offered first online and only secondarily in hard copy. The online versions will come at a fraction of the cost of the hard copy versions. Readership is certain to grow.

The home appliance market has been a difficult place to compete during several periods over the last thirty years. It is tough again today. Sales of large appliances have fallen steadily since 2007. Competition is intensifying with the pressure of the South Korean competitors, LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics, on Whirlpool Corp and Electrolux AB. Whirlpool and Electrolux are suffering from rising costs for steel, copper, plastics and other raw materials. To offset these cost increases, the two companies plan price increases of 8% to 10% in the spring.

The problem: the Koreans aren’t playing ball. The two South Korean firms are pricing aggressively and have been doing so since Thanksgiving 2010.

The South Koreans are formidable competitors. At one time, LG was known as Lucky Goldstar, a seller of low-end, cheaply made, products. Today, it has a much better brand name and sells quality products. Samsung does as well. It is a leader in the large screen TV market. The products that the South Korean companies are pricing aggressively are not the low-end products. They are the mainstream, heart-of-the-market, products.

The domestic U.S. market is slow growing. So is the market in the rest of the world. The North American market is growing 2% to 3% a year. Europe is growing 2% to 4%, while Latin American and Asia grow in the 5% to 10% range. Large appliance companies will have no trouble supplying all the capacity the market needs at these demand growth rates. The industry is likely to have excess capacity for the foreseeable future.

If the two Western competitors institute their price increases without the two South Korean companies in a lock-step march, they will be in a Leader’s Trap. A Leader’s Trap occurs when one or more of the leading companies in an industry hold its prices high in the mistaken belief that customers will stay loyal despite the lower prices of competition. Leader’s Traps rarely end well. Either the Western competitors will lose market share or they will ultimately rescind their price premiums.

These four giant large appliance competitors are peers of one another. The only way to stop the Koreans from discounting against the Western competitors is to have a cost structure that scares them out of the discounts. The discounting competitors have to see that their discounts will only cost them margins because the other peer competitors in the market will match their low prices since they have equally low cost structures.

Lighting with flash can give you more than just the ability to control the quality of your light. With the inherent consistency of light from (manual) flash, you can layer in slices of time as well. 

But first, you’ll want to lock down two things: the ambient light portion of your exposure, and your camera’s physical position.

She hoped that I could be a therapy dog because I’m little, sweet, cute, and I know lots of tricks. But, that hasn’t happened because I’m still just a little too afraid of the world. Maybe it will happen someday for me, but in the meantime, I take agility classes for fun and entertainment. Unfortunately, I don’t bend through the weave poles like a border collie because I’m shaped like a pig. And I wouldn’t miss the weave pole entry on the first try if my teammate would just queue me correctly. Jeez, lady.
Here I am in my very first agility trial being sort of fast despite my pig-like physique. She seemed happy about the ribbons I won, but I didn’t really care. I’m a dog and I do it because it’s fun to run.

Accessing the power of the Heart -- Intuition -- is fundamental to surviving the 2012 Transition.

As we've seen, the intellect can't function as the dominant modality any longer. The human brain doesn't have the ability, and even more important, it no longer has the prerogative.

The intellect (logic, rationality, materialism) has been the unchallenged overlord for millennia. But it has a number dire and insurmountable intrinsic flaws... It knows only what it sees/hears/touches/feels -- locked into material reality as the only thing of consequence. It is the slave to the ego's drive for comfort, control, and immediate physical survival at any cost. It is adept at rationalising even the most destructive, evil actions.It is designed to see what it wants and expects to see.It is cut off from Divine Wisdom and the ways of compassion.It is limited to a functional speed that is too slow to deal with the current speed of life.What other modality could have brought the entire planet to the brink of destruction? You can be sure that this is the paradigm that will also take us right over the edge, if we allow it.

We can't afford the intellect's self-delusions anymore.

If we are looking to prevent an apocalypse, we will need something completely different. As Einstein said, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it."

If the intellect can no longer guide us, what source of information is left?

Only our intuition.

Luckily, that's more than enough.

Intuitive insights are the new dominant modality of thought. Without them, you won't be surviving the 2012 Transition very well. Because this Transition is all about liberating the Power of the Heart, and intuition is the Heart's Voice.

The intuition speaks through the spiritual Heart. You might perceive it through your body's sensations. It may appear as an idea, a sound, or words. The important thing to know is, it doesn't originate in your own brain.

Intuition accesses the Source of all knowledge.

Everything that can be known, is known by this Source -- past, present, future, alternate dimensions, etc. It is the source of infinite knowledge.

So the question is no longer, "What is the logical choice?"

The fundamental question is, "What does your deepest Heart tell you?"

That is the Voice of the Divine.

Learning to distinguish this Voice from the urges of the ego/mind is the tricky bit.

That's what we'll look at next.

Learning to hear and understand the quiet Voice of your intuition takes practice. It's a little like developing an ear for music -- at first, you're not really sure what to listen for, or what a good one is like. With practice, you learn to hear more clearly.

Really, you can only learn by doing.

Follow your intuition!

Start with little things. Don't use your intuition, the very first time, to decide to move across the country or adopt a child or something. Because in the beginning, it's trial-and-error. Sometimes you will hear your intuition precisely. But sometimes you may not.

But begin paying attention to it. Your intuition knows more than you think!

There have been studies on women who've been attacked on the street, and every time, it seems, something inside of them was warning them -- but they ignored the warning because it seemed impolite to just walk away or whatever. And if you've heard stories about people who survive cataclysmic events, they usually say they "just had a feeling" and they followed it.

Your inner Voice knows infinitely more than your logical brain ever could!

As we proceed with the 2012 Transition, it's really time to access this source of infinite knowledge.

The biggest difficulty is that we also have another voice inside of us -- the voice of the personality/ego ... and it definitely has its own agenda.

Learning to differentiate between these is the real key to accessing intuition.

When you first begin trusting your intuitive guidance, you may find that it seems to lead you astray at times. What's really happened, of course, is that your ego has tricked you into thinking it was Divine guidance.

Nothing is as tricky as the ego!

There's also an element of deep trust that is needed, though. Sometimes even the best intuition will lead you into an unpleasant situation. But I can guarantee it's because that unpleasant situation will turn into something you really needed.

The biggest block to accessing intuitive guidance is a cluttered mind. When there are a lot of thoughts, worries, plans, grudges, desires, etc. taking up space, how could you even notice when the Divine quietly offers a bit of advice?

Clear your thoughts and quiet your mind.

Clear your emotions.

Only when your mind is empty of the ego's thoughts and drives, can you clearly hear the Divine's advice -- and be sure of it. Then your intuition will seem much more obvious, and it will not lead you astray.

Meditation is a perfect practice for this. That's why intuitive ideas so often pop up when you are meditating.

A Mind-Watch, or Purging Papers, as well, are wonderful for clearing the mind and emotions. Reflection (spiritual journalling) and working with symbolisms like in dreams and with Animal Spirit Guides are also extremely beneficial. There are some things you can do that are like exercises for developing your intuitive muscles.

Divination helps develop this skill. Tarot or runes or palm-reading, even astrology or numerology? anything that offers you guidelines to follow (like in a book) gives a great starting place for developing intuition.

As you begin to interpret your divination readings, you can rely on what you remember, or what jumps out at you, that you read in the book.

After a while, you will realise that you will remember or notice the precise bit that is most relevant. Your sixth sense is already at work, and without any pressure it can work most effectively.

Gradually, you will start to extrapolate... using what you read as a starting point and making intuitive leaps from there.

Eventually, you may notice that most or all of your reading becomes intuitive.

With Bright Blessings,

REVIEW – When you live in a somewhat secluded wooded area like I do, you want to be able to monitor your property when you’re home and away from home. I’ve had multiple security cameras around my house for years, but only in the past year have I “graduated” to PoE cameras, and I love […]

NEWS – If you’re a Harry Potter fan and also love writing, the new LAMY Harry Potter fountain pens will be a magical addition to your pen collection! These special edition fountain pens combine the charm of Hogwarts with high-quality craftsmanship, making them perfect for jotting down your own stories or doodling your favorite characters. […]

REVIEW – There seems to be a number of different form factors popping up with projectors recently. Very slim projectors, portable cubes, and today’s variation which looks more like a spotlight than a projector at first glance. The XGODY Gimbal 3 projector looked like a fun projector to try out and looked very portable. Read […]

NEWS – Everyone and their brother has probably purchased or at least tried flying a drone at some point. Instead of flying a drone, how about diving with one. The PowerDolphin Wizard is an underwater drone that features a dolphin-inspired sleek, streamlined shape that allows it to zip through water at an impressive 4.5m/s. But […]

We’ve had our eye on Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated since its debut in 2019 from Renegade Game Studios. In our house, we love legacy games and we own most of the other Clank! editions, so it seemed like a good fit.

Boy, was it ever! We finally got the game a couple of weeks ago, and immediately fell for it so hard during the first few minutes of the game that we played it nearly every day with our 11 year old twin sons, Max and Locke.

In Clank! Legacy: AI, designed by Andy Clautice and Paul Dennen, players take on the role of employees at a small organization. At the beginning of the legacy campaign, the organization is in the process of applying to become a franchise of Acquisitions Incorporated, a megacorp famed for its for-profit adventuring services. We loved the narrative and appreciated the touches of authenticity,  like the franchise charter agreement.  We’ve played through other legacy campaign games over the past year where the narrative fell flat at times (I’m looking at you Aeon’s End Legacy), but Clank! Legacy: AI doesn’t suffer from that problem. Every game session (mission) introduces new and compelling twists in the ongoing storyline and is able to hold our interests. And the gameplay - including choices, restrictions, and goals-  makes sense within the narrative universe Clautice and Dennen have constructed for us. We found that the narrative so captured our kids attention that they were better about staying in the game each mission long enough to explore the terrain to everyone’s satisfaction as compared to their more typical race to the finish behavior when playing the standard edition of Clank! .  I was very pleased with that aspect of this edition as I really enjoy exploring the far reaches of the board.

The game mechanisms here are based on those in the base game (primarily deck building and point to point movement), with players descending into lower depths on the central board, tasked with obtaining rewards and escaping to safety before the game ends. But the legacy edition of this midweight strategy game introduces additional non-player characters, rewards, perils, and side quests as play unfolds. Spaces on the board have narrative icons indicating passages, from the Book of Secrets, which are to be read when a player lands on the space for the first time. These passages will often direct players to apply stickers to the game board, cards, or the rule book.  They may also reveal new game components such as additional cards or tokens. Clank! Legacy: AI  also utilizes both sides of the central game board, providing a lot of real estate for legacy modifications.

I didn’t notice a lot of analysis paralysis during our plays of Clank! Legacy: AI. The requirement to play all cards each hand coupled with the movement restrictions on the board provided only a few reasonable options to choose from each turn in terms of movement. Occasional delays were seen when players selected cards to recruit using skill points, but even then, it was never more than a few moments of hesitation. Each game session wraps up in a couple hours or less.

The components (the central board, the cards, cardboard tokens, etc) are of average quality for the price point. Our franchise board (where you deposit clank, hold market items for purchase, track dragon rage, and track player damage) arrived slightly warped and seems to have warped further as it has sat out on our game table (we’ve had some wild temperature swings here in snowy Iowa), but otherwise everything arrived in and remains in excellent condition.

The artwork (implemented by a full team of artists, including Clay Brooks, Anita Burrell, Derek Herring, Raul Ramos, Nate Storm, and Alain Viesca) is on point. It reinforces the narrative, is kid-friendly, and is generally unobtrusive, which is just what I’m looking for in this price range. It also blends seamlessly with the artwork in the base game, so when the legacy campaign is finished and players want to mix components of this game with the base game, it works visually.

The rulebook was generally clear and we didn’t need to look up much online, although we did have a few questions about some of the language on the cards that we didn’t feel the rulebook addressed (and we also couldn’t find a clear answer online, so it might just have been a brain block unique to us).

Every aspect of Clank! Legacy: AI  has been well planned and executed by Clautice and Dennen. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing this edition with my family and I’m hoping they’ve got additional legacy campaign expansions in the works for this IP as I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Solid storytelling, from start to finish.

   -------------------------------------------------

Publisher: Renegade Game Studios
Players: 2-4 (We played with 4)
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 90 minutes per game
Game type: deck building, point to point movement, legacy, campaign
Retail Price: $75-100

Rating:

Jenni’s rating scale:
OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.
OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.
OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.

What follows is the true and unredacted account of my tour of duty as a command leader for the Yin Brotherhood.

Map: 5p POK Kazadoom’s Notch Map generated on https://ti4-map-generator.derekpeterson.ca/

Factions: Yin, Yssaril, Nekro, Vuil’raith, Hacan.

Round 1 objectives: Engineer a Marvel (R1-1); Push Boundaries (R1-2)

Five experienced leaders gathered this weekend to prove themselves worthy. As the Yin, I found myself wedged between the Hacan (around the corner of a notch in the galaxy) and the Yssaril. Word had come down to the Blessed on Darien through our ambassadors and spies that both nearby factions were set on amassing larger fleets and armies, but to what end we were unsure. The Blessed discussed the matter at great length and decided our best defense was to rebuild our flagship the Van Hauge and to take control of as many planets as we could (more, at least, then our neighbors). That would allow us to stand firm in the face of any aggression.

As a command leader, I had heard the rumors not only of these rising neighbor armies, but also of some truly terrifying events taking place on the other side of the galaxy. The horrific Vuil’raith were actively recruiting with empty promises; telling factions whatever they wanted to hear to forge alliances. Left unchecked, they would surely seize and destroy our entire galaxy planet by planet. The Nekro Virus was also gaining strength on a planet nearby the Vuil’raith and while it was unclear who would come out the victor in the inevitable head-to-head match between them, I shuddered at the idea of either of them heading our way. Because I viewed Nekro and the Vuil’raith both as bigger threats to our Yin than Yssaril or Hacan, I decided to put all my efforts into leading my crew to Mecatol Rex as fast as possible. I knew that if we could successfully land and build up a presence, we could stand as a line in the sand against the wave of Nekro or Vuil’raith forces that would inevitably come crashing down upon us.

As time went on, I congratulated myself on recruiting warfare strategy experts and prioritizing our expansion to Mecatol Rex over building the flagship. It was the right choice. It had allowed me to maneuver our fleet onto the doorstep of Mecatol Rex. I had to explain to my Blessed brothers why we hadn’t built our flagship yet as ordered, but I pointed out that settling the planets along the way between Darien and Mecatol was in line with the orders given to seize control of new planets. Granted, we did not have more planets than our neighbors yet, but we did have more than we started with. I was sternly reminded to prioritize the flagship, especially since our spies had spotted the Hacan flagship (R1-1), but otherwise the matter was dropped.

End of R1 scores: Yin(0), Yssaril(0), Nekro(0), Vuil’raith(0), Hacan(1)

Round 2 objective: Erect a Monument (R2-1)

To provide the assistance I needed, I hired some well respected leadership strategy consultants. Their job was to provide me guidance on getting more out of my command, using the influence I’ve cobbled together. I’d been given a new objective by the Blessed – I was to gather the resources needed to build a monument to the brotherhood on one of our newly settled planets. I thought it absolutely ridiculous at a time like this. Word was that Hacan was also heading to Mecatol with a settlement force and the Blessed wanted me to make time for fundraising? Forget it. In my meetings with my brothers, I nodded and agreed on the importance of the monument, but secretly planned to prioritize what I deemed most urgent instead. Back at command, I forged ahead and reached Mecatol (MR1) before Hacan could do so. Built a space dock on her right away once construction was authorized, and then began amassing troops on the surface. At the same time, I was diligently managing the build of our flagship (R1-1) by our production teams back home on Darien.

Yssaril also finished their flagship (R1-1) and through some swift imperial strategy, settled enough new planets to control more than their neighbors (R1-2). Hacan got word that Vuil’raith had taken over a legendary planet in a distance sector (VS1) and in response intensified their own settlement efforts. In doing so, Hacan also found themselves controlling more planets than their neighbors (R1-2). Our ambassadors’ reports were increasingly worrisome – war was brewing and they were unsure where it would break out. And while the Vuil’raith were clearly planning something, the Nekro had gone completely silent. Our scientists on Darien continued their research, our production teams added more ships to our fleet, and we all waited for whatever was coming next.

Having established a settlement on Mecatol Rex, I called for an inaugural council meeting with the other leading factions. At this first meeting, we took up a couple of interesting proposals and passed a new law implementing technology that allowed all Alpha and Beta wormholes to connect.

End of R2 scores: Yin(2), Yssaril(2), Nekro(0), Vuil’raith(1), Hacan(2)

R3 objective: Discover Lost Outposts (R3-1)

Pleased with the completion of the Van Hauge, the Blessed advised that our intel had intercepted some encrypted communications about an objective the other factions’ were working on – to conduct in-depth explorations of their new settlements and identify any undocumented resources, pockets of political influence, or technology specialties. Any gains discovered during exploration were to be documented and written up in attachments to the planetary profiles faction leaders kept on hand for reference. I was told to keep on the efforts to settle more planets than our neighbors and to emphasis exploration of any new settlements. I was to report back when I’d successfully identified at least two different planets with enhancements worthy of documentation attachments. There was no more mention of the monument, and I was glad to have that off my to-do list. I decided to hire some tech strategy consultants to help develop new tech that could aid our explorations.

Soon after I’d turned my attention to new settlements and exploration, the Nekro launched a direct attack on my fleet guarding Mecatol. I’m not the best negotiator and had been unable to secure the contractors needed to implement an imperial strategy, but holding onto Mecatol was still imperative for blocking the advancement of Nekro or the Vuil’raith toward Darien. Additionally, we had built a good rapport with everyone on Mecatol and their influence on the council was powerful. So I dug my heels in and fought. A couple of my destroyer pilots kamikazed their ships into the Nekro fleet, but it was not enough to stop them. They held the airspace above Mecatol while at the same time building their flagship in another production facility they controlled elsewhere (R1-1). Luckily for us, they underestimated the fortitude and persuasiveness of our infantry. We were able to turn at least one of their advancing infantry against them and through the strength of our troops, we held the planet. Still, they did not leave the system, so we had to make peace, at least temporarily, with their looming presence above us.

There was a skirmish between the Nekro and the Vuil’raith as well, and there also, the Nekro had come out ahead. After the battle, Vuil’raith regrouped and turned their efforts toward building their flagship (R1-1). Nekro had also been reported to be gathering relic fragments as they conquered and explored, only instead of holding onto them to reassemble a relic, our spies came back with word they were purging them (NS1). While all of this was going on, Yssaril was quietly continuing to settle and explore planets. Our spies kept a close watch on them and every step of progress they made was immediately relayed to the Blessed. Eventually, my superiors sent me a reprimand via encrypted message wanting to know why I still hadn’t made more progress with the attachments when Yssaril had already done so (R3-1). Worse, the Hacan commander had managed to submit 2 attachments for planetary profiles under their control (R3-1) AND build a monument to their leadership (R2-1). Now the Blessed were jealous and angry and every communication from them I received reflected that. I had faith in my strategy, but I was going to have to have something more to show for myself when I spoke with my brethren. When I got word from my construction team that we’d build a third space dock across our systems in record time (YiS1), I forwarded the progress report directly to the Blessed, hoping it would soothe them.

Another council meeting was called, and even though I wielded the most influence of any leader present, none of the proposed legislation before the council interested me much. Certainly nothing to really shake things up in favor of the Yin. I mostly abstained from voting and mentally prepared for my upcoming status report meetings with the Blessed.

End of R3 scores: Yin(3), Yssaril(3), Nekro(2), Vuil’raith(2), Hacan(4)

R4 objective: Raise a Fleet (R4-1)

I really wanted to implement the famous imperial strategy I’d heard so much about, as when a faction holds Mecatol, it’s especially rewarding for them. But you need the right experts who know how to do it and Hacan always managed to grab that team it each time their contract came up for renewal. One time, even after they’d agreed to go work for another faction, Hacan pulled out some fancy datahub tech and persuaded them to come back over to work with them. So I never got my turn with them. After my research consultants rolled off their contracts, I reached back out to our warfare experts who were on the market again. I wanted to bring them back under contract for guidance in troop redeployments. We had a problem with ship crews’ that fulfilled a deployment order and then wanted to rest on location for an extended amount of time before being redeployed. They’d gotten their union involved and it was a mess and I hoped the warfare strategy team could persuade at least one of our most essential crew teams to head back out sooner than they’d planned.

At my next status meeting, my brothers were frank with me. They were encouraged by my construction feat, but I was not back in their good graces yet. They told me I was to build my fleet up to 5 in at least one system (R4-1), but preferably in as many systems as possible. They were also interested in the spoils from the cultural planets my crews had been settling and asked me to have at least 4 under my control (YiS-2). I was easily able to do both of these things, and so our working relationship was going very well. With the Blessed giving me some breathing room, I took time for planning my own goals and priorities.

Hacan had been making a lot of noise about taking over Mecatol and the Vuil’raith leveraged the general atmosphere of distrust and anxiety to approach me directly about a potential alliance. It might be just what I reported before – that the faction knows how to say whatever you want to hear to get you on their side. But it also might be that the rumors of their all consuming evil were vastly overdramatized. All I know is they gave me some useful tech that allowed my production teams to go above and beyond their production limits. And I agreed to look the other way should they decide they wanted to stomp out Hacan or Nekro. And why shouldn’t I make such a deal? They never did anything to me or our people whereas Nekro had attacked us. There were also confirmed reports that the Nekro had built an impressive monument to themselves on one of the planets they had recently assimilated (R2-1). And Hacan needed to be stopped before they got any more powerful. Recently they had amassed 5 ships in one system (R4-1), won a battle with their flagship (HS1), and come to control enough planets to give them 12 influence votes on the council (HS2). No doubt the Blessed would have been thrilled with the Hacan commander, were he set up to answer to them.

At our third council meeting, Yssaril, Nekro, and Vuil’raith reported they now each had at least one 5 fleet system to serve as deterrents (R4-1) for aggression. Thank God I’d prioritized that myself or the Blessed would have really been up my ass. Nekro passed around pictures of the monument they recently built. It was absolutely hideous. I made no bones about saying so and they deflected with slander that I was just salty about their blockade of Mecatol. As we brought each agenda item up for consideration, Nekro pushed hard to get a seemingly dull law passed. I should have figured out their angle sooner, but I was distracted by the Vuil’raith who were on me to pay back that tech share by voting for them on an upcoming agenda item. At the end of things, the law Nekro was pushing was passed (NS2) and with my influence, the Vuil’raith was selected by the council as the elected beneficiary of a boost to their military operations (VS2).

End of R4 scores: Yin(5), Yssaril(4), Nekro(5), Vuil’raith(4), Hacan(7)

R5 objective: Command an Armada (R5-1)

In my next debrief with the Blessed, I told them all that had happened at the council meeting. I warned them especially of Hacan’s growing power, but they didn’t take me as seriously as I’d hoped. The Hacan had not attacked us in any memorable fashion (perhaps an accidental ship collision here or there) and wouldn’t it be better for them to come out on top versus Nekro or Vuil’raith, the destroyer of worlds? I didn’t have the heart to tell them I’d already made some preliminary deals with the the Vuil’raith. Their minds were made up on the more pressing threat. The Blessed presented me with my latest assignment – build up my fleet to 8 ships in a single system. A show of force to deter Vuil’raith and Nekro. I tried to remind them our great strength was in our infantry and holding the ground (especially with our Yin Spinner tech), not our pilots, but they didn’t care to listen. They sensed my reluctance and offered up double the cash incentive if I could get it done before the next council meeting. I told them I’d work on it, but as usual, I had other plans.

As always, Hacan lured away the Imperial strategy experts when they came off their contracts so I reached out to our on again off again leadership consultants. I also focused on settling more planets, including a few intrusions into Yssaril territory. They were in the midst of a monument building project (R2-1) and completely distracted so there was no retaliation even though I’d braced for it. The Nekro and Vuil’raith faced off against each other aggressively again. The tension between all of the factions was growing but despite our petty grievances with each other, all of us kept our eyes fixed on Hacan.

Just before the council met again, word came in that Hacan, Yssaril, and Nekro had each managed to build up a fleet of 8 powerful ships (R5-1) within a system they controlled. Dammit! The Blessed were going to be upset with me again. At least I’d settled enough additional planets to outnumber my neighbors as they’d asked me to do eons ago (R1-2). The Vuil’raith had done this also (R1-2), facing the increasing threat of the Nekro at every turn. While I didn’t have the fleet count the Blessed had asked of me, all my planet settling and incursions into Yssaril territory had given me control of planets in the same system as other factions (YiS3), which provided great accessibility for continuing covert operations. The Vuil’raith commander reported to me through back channels that Yssaril was creeping into systems neighboring their home planet in our galaxy (YsS-1). Yssaril had also formed a loose, informal alliance with the Nekro. Under friend of my enemy logic, that made the Yssaril a new enemy of the Yin.

The fourth council meeting was extremely stressful. Hacan was confronted regarding their massive fleet build up and asked of their plans. Instead of answering the question, they reminded us how they’ve always been generous in trading with us all, and how they had rarely shown any aggression. But we weren’t buying it. The continual build up of their fleet and infantry had to point to something big they were planning. Hacan was given a mandatory military reduction directive from the council. They would be sent back out from the council meeting with a limit of 3 command actions, 3 ships max in any fleet, and only permitted to conduct two strategic actions until we met again, unless they could gain more influence through better leadership. It passed by a wide margin, and I have to say Nekro looked especially pleased. As much as I fear and hate Nekro, I do not trust Hacan and the Vuil’raith commander had said that was wise on my part.

End of R5 scores: Yin(7), Yssaril(8), Nekro(7), Vuil’raith(5), Hacan(9)

R6 objective: Manipulate Galactic Law (R6-1)

Nekro announced a bold move – they had instigated a scheme their lawyers had crafted to force their consultants into an automatic follow-on contract. Each other faction was now doing the same, utilizing a fine print clause to make it so. I knew the Blessed would be disappointed if I released our teams, so I let our contractors know I was exercising the fine print as well and they belonged to us for a little while longer, whether they liked it or not. I needed to keep the Blessed content. My ears still stung from the berating comments my brothers had laid into me during our last status meeting following the fourth council. How had I let so many other factions get ahead of us on fleet size? Didn’t I see the danger? Did they need to replace me or could I get my head on straight and get us into a position of power? If Hacan or another faction were to take control of everything, there was a good chance they’d shut down our genetic cloning operations. They were prejudiced against our ways. They didn’t understand the threat of Greyfire.

It was true that Hacan was exceedingly close to seizing control of everything, but I couldn’t see an easy path for me or my fleet to stop them. Perhaps if I had built up the fleet as the brothers had ordered, but it was probably too late for that to make a difference now. What I did do, was send a message out across all channels – even to the Nekro – that I pledged my support in temporary alliance to all who would seek to destabilize Hacan.

Nekro moved first, easily taking control of multiple Hacan systems (although Hacan managed to hold the planets). Vuil’raith charged in next, infiltrating the Hacan home system and taking an entire planet hostage until Vuil'raith agreed to stand down.

Meanwhile, I’d gotten an urgent dispatch from the Blessed. If I couldn’t take Hacan out militarily, the Blessed counseled that I needed to gain enough influence to impose even greater consequences on them during the next council meeting. To do this, according to their calculations, I needed to amass at least 16 votes of influence. So while all of the military operations against Hacan were going on, I moved into more of Yssaril territory to capture more planets so that we’d have a greater voice on the council. I also made a far reaching jaunt into Nekro systems thanks to one of our command heroes. I was bound and determined to collect enough planets under Yin control so that I would have the strength to stop Hacan. I also prioritized building out our fleet to 8 ships (R5-1). Better late than never.

Just before the fifth council meeting, both Vuil’raith and Nekro publicly announced they’d raised enough influence among their settlements to be in a position to heavily influence the next wave of galactic laws (R6-1). Nekro had also beaten up Vuil’raith badly in an anomaly (NS3) equidistant between their areas of control. And Yssaril had brought in a report of some new strategic tech they’d adapted (YsS2). As for Hacan, they came into the council meeting with their head down and shoulders slumped. They hadn’t been able to accomplish much of anything lately with the constant onslaught of attacks from all sides and the Vuil’raith hovering over their home planets. Did I feel sorry for them though? While I considered it, the Vuil’raith commander gave me a wink across the table. No, I did not feel bad for them at all. Yssaril proposed we give an official support of power vote to the faction that most aided the Hacan disruption. We were all in favor of that and passed the measure, but when it came time to decide who should receive the award, there was contention. Nekro made a good case for themselves, but we felt the honor belonged to the Vuil’raith and gave it to them instead (A1).

End of R6 scores: Yin(9), Yssaril(9), Nekro(10), Vuil’raith(7), Hacan(9)

R7: Subdue the Galaxy (R7-1)

I took news of all these developments (leaving out the wink from the Vuil’raith commander) back to the Blessed. They were extremely happy to hear the Hacan had stalled, even if it was temporary. We discussed the new problem – Nekro was gaining power and now they were on the verge of becoming unstoppable. In fact, they had assimilated not only our faction tech but Hacan’s! They were now able to seize control of any strategic contract team when needed during strategy contract negotiation windows. We could be faced with Hacan peeling away imperial strategy experts away from us and then Nekro peeling them away from Hacan. I told the Blessed that we had one last hope. The latest round of contract negotiations was approaching, and I was slotted last to recruit. My plan was to grab some strategic contractors who weren’t of any value to Hacan, but whose priority rank meant that I’d be given audience in my bid for total control before the other council members. If we could prove ourselves worthy, we could take control of the new empire before any of the other factions even got up to speak. I explained this would be possible because Yssaril always preferred to hire research contractors, Nekro would hire imperial strategy experts as it was the only way for him to win ultimate control, Vuil’raith would hire whomever they chose (they weren’t a threat to us), and then Hacan would take something they didn’t care too much about that was a higher number and then force Nekro to switch. The Blessed approved of my plan and suggested I continue to settle new planets – at least 11 outside of Darien – to give me firm footing on seizing total control. They didn’t have any new secret objectives to hand down to increase my power, but they said intel reports advised some of the relics could increase my power if I happened upon the best ones.

When strategy consultant negotiations began, I found I was wrong about Yssaril – their commander hired warfare experts instead of tech. But I was right about Nekro. And Hacan chose to hire tech experts instead of stealing away the imperial experts from Nekro. This was probably because they realized Nekro would just lure them back. So I hired some trade experts, knowing Hacan would not want to steal them from me. It was hard to leave the leadership consultants on the table, but I couldn’t risk losing them to Hacan if I hired them.

Based on my hiring choices, I held a better initiative than anyone else in the council except Vuil’raith. If everyone could just keep Nekro held back until the council was ready to meet again, and if I managed to find a powerful relic, I could seize control for the Yin.

With limited command actions due to a lack of leadership strategy consultants, everyone was careful with their actions. Except for the Yssaril of course, who kept stalling, as is their way. The faction commanders plotted in the open how to stop Nekro. It wasn’t going to be that hard. They didn’t have a massive fleet yet (they had the capacity but not the build out), nor did they have 11 planets outside their home system. They’d have to work for either. And work for them they did, but they were stymied at every turn by the Vuil’raith and perhaps once even by myself. The Nekro commander boasted about finally having more planets than their neighbors (R1-2), but that was truly too little, too late. Having neutralized the Nekro, and seeing the Hacan was still too weak to assume power, everyone’s attention turned toward Yssaril and our people, the Yin. It looked hopeless for me, so the focus remained on Yssaril who still held secret objectives that could bring them a measure of power.

I spent my time shoring up troops and ships on Mecatol and Primor, and as I turned in a handful of relic fragments, I prayed for a power granting relic. Nope. I pulled a relic that allowed me to destroy a planet. I would have to eventually face my Blessed brothers and explain to them why I had failed. My hopes dashed, I sent out my trade consultants. At least I could gather some trade goods to bring back to Darien. To my surprise, Hacan offered to give me 6 commodities in exchange for 2 trade goods and 2 commodities. It seemed to be for no particular good reason, but I suppose they needed the trade goods to continue rebuilding their fleet. They were not giving up yet on themselves. I accepted the trade as they truly seemed repentant and in no position to harm me.

To finish things up what I assumed would be my last tour of duty, I looked for a high value target to destroy. Something with a lot of infantry or some structures. Then, at least I could tell the Blessed I went out with a bang and the event would be listed in my biography. I found it in a Vuil’raith system adjacent to their home. I called a 1:1 meeting with the Vuil’raith commander. While he watched, I unrolled a map of our galaxy and pointed to one of the planets bordering his home system. “I choose this planet”, I announced, as I showed him mercy with an advanced warning to evacuate. With a horrified look in his eyes, the Vuil’raith commander said, “Please don’t”, and pledged the support of the Vuil’raith for a Yin Brotherhood throne (SFTT1). Adrenaline surging, I agreed in earnest. I had not seen this coming and it was going to make all the difference.

Suddenly the factions were buzzing again. We picked up the chatter on every channel we interception. Now *I* would have the first audience in a bid for the thorne. I had 12 planets outside my home system, proving the Yin brotherhood worthy of ruling. Could they stop me? Only Nekro and Yssaril were still under normal operations at the time; the Vuil’raith and Hacan leaders had gone on holiday until our next council meeting. Vacation or not, they were still in communication with Nekro and Yssaril. Scheming together, the entire council plotted against me. They tried to work out the easiest planets to take from our people to bring our planet count below 11. Nekro made an incursion into one my systems and took a planet. Then came wave after wave of Yssaril attacks. After reducing our territory to just 9 planets outside our home system, there was a pause. The pause and the realization I had been calmly waiting for. The Yssaril commander called for a 1:1 with me, and when I arrived she wanted me to answer a burning question. Had I already submitted proof to the Blessed that I had completed the objective I’d been given to produce 16 votes of influence? “I have not”, I replied with a smile. “And how much influence does the Yin hold at this moment?” “TWENTY-SIX votes of influence”, I replied, with an even bigger smile. There wasn’t enough attacking and stalling in the world for Yssaril to knock us down below 16. I could buy 9 votes in trade goods alone, 4 from my heavily guarded home system patrolled by our suicide leaning flagship, and much more spread across the 6 or seven systems I controlled.

The Yssaril commander studied the situation from every angle. It was impossible. She had overlooked the key information – that I had finished my last tour of duty meeting both public objectives and she’d only stripped one of them from me. There was nothing she could do. She ended her tour of duty, dejected. Just before our next scheduled council meeting, Vuil’raith called a press conference on the steps of the council building to announce that they had won a measure of power by completing a secret objective they’d been given. (VS3). He also announced he had two planets with attachments under his control (R3-1). The crowd cheered for him. Everyone was really warming to these alleged monsters of the galaxy. And then I took to the steps and announced that our faction - the Yin brotherhood - who had peacefully resettled Mecatol and reinitiated the galactic council, were leaning on our 16 votes of influence to seize complete and total control of the galaxy. A gasp was heard from the crowd. And then cheering. Immense cheering from all sections of the crowd.

And that is how Yin took the unexpected Win.

End of R7 scores: Yin(12), Yssaril(9), Nekro(11), Vuil’raith(10), Hacan(9)

City Hall [US, Frederick Wiseman, 4] The latest of Wiseman’s distinctive epic-length observational documentaries studies the quotidian, procedural and human moments of human life as seen through the processes of municipal government in Boston, as held together by the thoughtful charisma of Mayor Martin Walsh. Improbably absorbing as always, this institutional cross-section offers a beguiling vision of an oasis of good government in the USA.

In a normal year I’d wait for the four and a half hour Wiseman documentary to arrive on television rather than taking up two time slots to watch it from the confines of a cinema seat at TIFF. But this is not such a year and with a digital screening you get a pause button when you need it. This is bound for PBS and due to the breadth of its subject matter will serve as an excellent introduction to those unfamiliar with this pillar of the documentary form. Or track down 2017’s Ex Libris, about the New York Public Library. In North America Wiseman’s filmography can be found on the Kanopy platform, which you may be able to access through your public library system.

The Father [UK, Florian Zeller, 4] Retired engineer (Anthony Hopkins) struggles to piece together the confusing reality of his living circumstances as his daughter (Olivia Colman) copes with his progressing dementia. Impeccably performed stage play adaptation puts the viewer inside the contradictory shifts of the protagonist’s subjective viewpoint.

Forget Draculas and Cthulhus. This is the real terror.

Summer of 85 [France, Francois Ozon, 4] Love between two young men in a French beach town leads to a bizarre crime. Teen emotions run high in a sunlit melodrama of Eros and Thanatos.

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I have been assigned the task of researching and compiling our forthcoming map of Cuba. During the early stages of my research, I hit the cartographic jackpot—the possibility of two new provinces forming in 2011. Not only were we going to be publishing a map of Cuba for the first time since 1906, we were also going to be among the first to showcase its new administrative structure. This is considered an exciting event for cartographers here at the National Geographic. Why? Because before any element is mapped, we need to assure that it portrays the most up-to-date information.

My first stop was Cuba’s official government website. Unfortunately, it was a bit difficult to navigate, especially since the English version of the site was “under construction.” My next stop was the Cuban Embassy—well, not exactly since Cuba and the U.S. have not had formal diplomatic relations since 1961. But there is the Cuban Interests Section embedded within the Embassy of Switzerland here in Washington. It was there that I was able to obtain the official document (Gaceta Oficial de la Republica de Cuba, No. 023) spelling out the upcoming changes to Cuba’s new administrative divisions—Artemisa and Mayabeque provinces.

As Cuba is organized administratively by province and municipality, we were able to delineate the new provincial boundaries pretty easily by using a map of municipalities contained in the most recent Nuevo Atlas Nacional de Cuba. In the latter stages of my research I was able to reconfirm the delineation of these boundaries with the Cuban statistics office, La Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas, as they were now providing statistics for these two new provinces.

Now I have to keep abreast of the deepwater oil exploration off the northern coast of Cuba. If possible, we would like our map to also showcase the location of such prospective oil fields.

—Julie A. Ibinson
Map Researcher & Editor
National Geographic Maps

1. NSW Boosts Support for Severe Menopause Symptoms  Mirage News
2. How Reena found relief when GPs hesitated to treat her symptoms  Sydney Morning Herald
3. What you need to know about perimenopause  Kidspot

1. Sols 4362-4363: Plates And Polygons  Mirage News
2. Sols 4359-4361: Ideal Rover Road Trip Spot  Mirage News

1. New prime time kings as AFL’s 2025 Thurs night blockbusters revealed  Fox Sports
2. Three Thursday night fixtures revealed  Collingwood
3. What we know about the 2025 fixture: Thursday nights back with a bang, Smith to face Dogs in blockbuster  The Age

1. All-time reaction to coaching ‘disaster’; Steph’s stunning clutch moment: NBA Wrap  Fox Sports
2. Bike rides and Balkan music: Klay Thompson is embracing a fresh start with the Mavericks  ESPN Australia
3. 10 unforgettable Klay Thompson moments with Warriors ahead of return  NBA.com
4. Dub Hub: Warriors players share ‘welcome back’ messages for Klay Thompson’s return  Golden State of Mind

1. Apple reportedly releasing a wall-mounted smart home tablet in 2025 - and yes, it does AI  Yahoo Finance Australia
2. Apple’s next device might make your home a lot smarter  Sydney Morning Herald
3. Apple's Next Big Move Could Be Home Security Cameras  PCMag AU

1. Corporate regulator sues Cbus over unresolved insurance claims  Sydney Morning Herald
2. VIDEO Cbus taken to court accused of failing to pay thousands of claims  ABC News
3. Super fund in strife over $20m in delayed payments  The Canberra Times

1. Cop 29: Leaders to address summit after report finds climate pledges not kept – live updates  The Guardian
2. Live Briefing: Greta Thunberg calls site of COP29 climate summit ‘beyond absurd’  The Washington Post
3. COP29 gets underway in Azerbaijan  ABC News
4. Oil and gas are ‘a gift of God’: COP29 leader  The Australian Financial Review

John Pesutto chalks up a first-time victory over Jacinta Allan in latest Resolve poll  The AgeView Full coverage on Google News

1. Car crashes with another outside pub during police chase in Sydney’s southwest  7NEWS
2. ‘Flying past me’: Two hurt as car smashes into fence after police chase  Daily Telegraph
3. Critical incident investigation into crash following police pursuit  Sydney Morning Herald
4. Violent carjacking linked to Sydney crash that split car in two, police say  9News
5. Update on crash after police chase  news.com.au

Now and then I hit a wall with my calling. That's when its time to hit the bookstore. Two of my recent purchases are: "The 7 Seven Triggers To Yes" (The New Science Behind Influencing People's Decisions),by Russell H. Granger, and Perfect Phrases For The Sales Call" by William T. Brooks.

I'll write a short review of each in another post; its enough to say now that each of these books affirmed my experience as a fundraiser. phone donors give to people who can quickly establish rapport and credibility with them and, if time is short, then by all means choose rapport only.

So how does a Fundraiser build rapport in the first ten seconds of a call and secure a donation by the third minute? Here are my thoughts.


10) Speak with people, not at them. Telling strangers what they should do hardly ever works.

9) Allow the donor to speak. Don't interrupt or override, especially if a person is initially hostile. become a sounding board and allow the donor to vent long enough for you to understand their mindset. understanding and confirming a persons concerns is the quickest way to alleiviate those concerns.

In the case of repeat donors, you're allowing a person who has committed themself to a cause having little to no input over how their chosen organization carries out its work. A Fundraiser is often the only point of contact with an organization that a donor will ever have.


8) Know your cause. inside and out. study the issues and be prepared to be questioned on them. Memorizing a script isn't enough. internalizing key points won't allow you to speak with the authenticity of someone who knows a cause. In the first minute of a call many donors can tell the difference between a fundraiser who has memorized talking points and one who is a kindred spirit.

More to come...

As most fundraisers know, building rapport with donors keeps them on the phone and listening to your request. Rapport isn't a clever trick; it is a means of showing donors that you are interested in them and that you have at least some small things in common. We build rapport in almost every conversation we have whether on or off of the phone. Building rapport with someone you've just called for the first time can be a little harder, but it is certainly possible.

One simple technique for rapport building is knowing the state nicknames or motto's of the states that you're dialing into. Asking a donor how things are going in the Equality State rather than simply how things are going, makes your question more intimate. Donors really do open up when you take a personal interest in them. Listed below are the state nicknames.