The painting was commissioned around 1639 by Captain Banninck Cocq and seventeen members of his Kloveniers (civic militia guards). Eighteen names appear on a shield, painted circa 1715, in the center-right background, as the hired drummer was added to the painting for free.
Schutterij refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire.
They also patrolled the streets at night to keep the city safe,
but according to Grok did not arrest criminals.
Did the Schutterij Arrest Criminals? No, the Schutterij did not have a primary or dedicated role in arresting criminals.
Criminal apprehension and prosecution were handled by the schout (sheriff or bailiff), a judicial official appointed by local lords or city councils.
The schout's duties explicitly included:
Investigating crimes.
Apprehending suspects.
Presenting them to magistrates for trial.
Enforcing sentences (e.g., executions).
In contrast:
Schutterij members, as part-time volunteers, occasionally supported these efforts indirectly—such as aiding in crowd control during disturbances or guarding prisoners—but this was not their core function.
and like many groups, their civic duties gradually were replaced by professionals and the groups became a social club.
By the 18th century, the schutterij had largely become ceremonial and ineffective for active policing, leading to its replacement by professional forces under King William I in the 19th century
Rembrandt's famous The Militia Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq, better known as The Night Watch (1642), was an ambitious and not entirely successful attempt to show a group in action, setting out for a patrol or parade
and here is a video lecture about the actual painting.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was, "deeply alarmed and profoundly shocked" by reports of "horrifying atrocities and immense suffering to which people from el-Fasher are being subjected."
Late Tuesday, Tedros called for the release of four doctors, a nurse and a pharmacist reportedly abducted from the hospital.
The massacre took place as the RSF took control of the city of el-Fasher after a brutal 18-month siege marked by mass starvation and heavy bombardment.
The European Union on Wednesday condemned Sudan's paramilitary RSF after the group captured the strategic city of el-Fasher in North Darfur.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement that civilians had been targeted based on ethnicity, underscoring the "brutality" of the RSF.
,,,
Sudan: WHO 'appalled' by RSF maternity ward massacre,
.@WHO is appalled and deeply shocked by reports of the tragic killing of more than 460 patients and companions at Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, #Sudan, following recent attacks and the abduction of health workers.
to me this is personal: The communist insurgents killed a lot of my friends in the name of establishing a communist utopia in Zimbabwe. And later, the greedy soldiers did the same in Liberia, which later descended into a decade long civil war.
But no one cares.
there is an old book The Dogs of War, about how such things can happen: behind it is the search for mineral wealth. In the Sudan, the Wagner group were there to steal gold for Putin. That story was from 2022. But after the head of the Wagner group tried to overthrow Putin, they disbanded, but are still in the Sudan under a different name:
Every time I read about the millions of migrants who want to settle into Europe or the USA, one is of course sympathetic to them.
Except some might not be able or willing to assimilate: more of a problem in Europe where the migrants who might be willing to assimilate are often shunned by locals into ghettos with unemployment etc. so their children are being groomed by Islamicist radicals.
In contrast, in the USA, Hispanics often assimilate with earlier Hispanics who are proud US citizens. Which is why ICE raids are upsetting to many normal Yanks, who would back ICE getting rid of gangs but not their hardworking neighbors.
But whenever immigration is discusssed, the clueless don't see a problem, and indeed the USA manages to accomedate all sorts of immigrants and the fight over immigration of outisiders resemble the Knownothing riots against the Irish more than what is actually going on.,.
But when it comes to Europe, I see the Gothic refugees from the Huns asking Rome to let them in to live in safety.
The emperor allowed them in if they assimilated and obeyed Roman laws. Which worked until a famine hit.
Read the whole thing: But essentially the tribes ended up rebelling and conquering/destroying Rome.
The events of 376-382 AD represented a pivotal turning point in European history.
The Visigoths’ admission had been intended as a controlled solution to frontier defense, but instead exposed Rome’s vulnerability to mass migrations.
Several critical lessons emerged:
1. The Limits of Assimilation: Rome’s traditional strength in absorbing foreigners faltered when facing entire nations retaining arms and identity. '
2. Military Revolution: Adrianople demonstrated cavalry’s dominance over infantry, foreshadowing medieval warfare.
3. The Foedus System’s Danger: Theodosius’ settlement created the template for later barbarian kingdoms that would fracture the West.
4. Chain Migration Effects: Hunnic pressure didn’t cease with the Gothic settlement, continuing to displace other tribes into Roman territory....
Read the whole thing.
The article concludes:
Ultimately, the Gothic crisis proved that even calculated imperial policies could unleash uncontrollable forces when dealing with mass migrations. The lessons resonate through history, from the Viking Age to modern refugee crises—when desperation meets political miscalculation, the consequences can reshape civilizations.
for three years, the pacifists have been screaming about Gaza.
But they didn't seem to notice what was going on a couple dozen miles away.
Here is a short film from a Japanese network that sort of mentions it: titled the dark secret of Assad's Syria:
...
you know it's hard to find a summary of that war: Most of the videos on youtube are 9 years old, so it's not like this is a new story.
here is a discussion of the numerous countries who were manipulating the war: Yes the CIA, but also Russia, Iran, Saudi etc. The Kurds were a wild card: hated by the Turks but allies of the US in Iraq.
And not mentioned: A lot of the Syrian refugees fled to Turkey...
and horrible atrocities on all sides.
that is a MYGO analysis of what was going on.
ISIS took over the rebels, and eventually won, which is not a good sign.
wikipedia page estimates casualties and refugees. Biased? WHo knows.
Total deaths
656,493+[20][21]
Civilian deaths
219,223–306,887+[h][24][25]
Displaced people
6.7 million internally
6.6 million externally (refugees) (March 2021)
I did a long post about my birthday party, my granddaughter's birthday party, and about the rigamarolle of renewing my retirement visa here in the Philippines.
I added two anecdotes about immigration problem where I didn't cross my ts and dot my i s corrrectly. And I posted how my daughte rin law became a proud US citizen under Regana's amnesty.
But within five minute Google censored it as hate speech.
Seiji Ozawa (小澤 征爾, Ozawa Seiji; September 1, 1935 – February 6, 2024) was a Japanese conductor known internationally for his work as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and especially the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), where he served from 1973 for 29 years.
his Evening at Symphony was broadcast on PBS, which is one reason that PBS should include government funding, at least for cultural programs.
it includes a discussion of Mahler's music and the culture that inspired Mahler. I can't excerpt it because it is a bit technical, but if you like Mahler it is interesting because it points out the culture of music evolving (devolving?) in Vienna at those times and how various folk music etc. are embedded in his music.
,,,,
the ClassicReview discusses Mahler's Symphony No. 9: an ode to sorrow: at a time when he was mourning the death of a daughter and facing his own mortality. And the review explains the movements on how this was structured: again too long to excerpt but read the whole thing.
TROPICAL CYCLONE BULLETIN NR. 8 Tropical Storm #RamilPH (FENGSHEN) Issued at 8:00 AM, 18 October 2025 Valid for broadcast until the next bulletin at 11:00 AM today.
RAMIL DECELERATES WHILE MOVING WEST NORTHWESTWARD OVER THE SEA EAST OF SORSOGON. pic.twitter.com/sYeEqmNwN6
we had a big party last night, celebrating the birthday of myself and my granddaughter. No our birthdays are not now, but she has a week off of teaching in Thailand and so we decided to celebrate it early since she won't be here for her actual birthday.
The problem? Some of those invited couldn't come due to sickness. There is an influenza epidemic here in town, and also gastroenteritis, which is common in the hot season, either viral or from food not stored safely, so they are either sick or caring for their sick loved ones. Some came for the meal, but couldn't stay for the music etc and others didn't come but we will send them food.
They bought me my favorite: Roast beef (the beef here is not very good, and indeed, until an epidemic in pigs made pork expensive we never ate beef at all. But now they do sell beef which our cook stews for us. Decent steak or roasted beef means buying expensive imported beef because the local beef is tough and we always buy locally). Kuya also made a small dish of mashed potatoes for me. Yes we have potatoes but usually in stews, not mashed.
We also had lots of pancit, BBQ, fried rice, lechon pork, two cakes (Ruby cooked a carrot cake. Yum). etc.
>{{......... strong ones in the Visayas/Cebu and Mindanao/Davao city. But one medium quake in Pampanga and another near Baguio and another in the north near the ocean.
the Catholic bishops have been promoting prayer rallies for the last six months so it's not just inspired by Kirk...
this might not embed but EWTN is streaming the Eucharistic procession in NYC: Where the priest carrying the Holy Sacramen lead a crowd praying
On October 14, 2025, thousands of people participated in the Eucharistic procession in New York City, with estimates suggesting around 3,500 attendees. The event included a Mass at Saint Patrick's Cathedral followed by the procession through Midtown Manhattan
if this was a demonstration it would be headlines of course
one does not have to be a believer to notice that there is a big story perculating out there, but except for Selena Zito few outside local reporters are noticing it.
I am watching streaming on youtube from the BBC and they are actually saying nice things about Trump making peace.
Heh.The MSM and especially the press in Europe hate Trump.
It is an ongoing story so I can't post a video which would be out of date in a few hours.
In my prayers.
.......................
update: Hamas is already trying to reneg on returning the bodies of the hostages, and there is news that they are shooting the clan leader's gangs. Sigh.
BREAKING NEWS The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2025 #NobelPeacePrize to Maria Corina Machado for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to… pic.twitter.com/Zgth8KNJk9
a good peace prize for a human rights activist that is sort of being ignored by the MSM because they are too busy talking about Trump getting a peace prize... but of course the peace deals by Trump may yet explode, whereas the fight for Democracy in Venezuela is ongoing.
“She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela, and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” said the Norwegian Nobel Committee, awarding the prize on Friday at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo.
Hailing Machado as one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America, it added that she had been a “key unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided – an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government”.
Reacting to being announced the winner, Machado said her award was an “immense recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans”.
“We are on the threshold of victory and today more than ever we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our main allies to achieve freedom and democracy,” Machado said in a post on X......
People just don't realize as of 2020 that 5 million people have fled that country, something that rarely was noticed by the MSM in the US....until recently when some of them decided to migrate from where they are living in nearby countries to the USA for better opportunities.
Alas the open border policy of Presiden Biden also allowed too many gangs and drugs in the country along with unvetted refugees who deserved asylum (e.g. Venezuela and Haiti). So voila, there is a lot of support for Trumpieboy's the immigration deportation policy which deports both the good, the bad, and those who simply didn't get around to getting proper papers...., which is why I feel both pro and against this policy: It will enable quick deportation of the criminal and those who are not really refugees, but will harm a lot of innocent people and in the long run it is that second part that will be remembered long after the streets are safer.
Sigh.
Backstory: the drug cartels moved from Colombia into Venezuela when the right wing government of Colombia was smashing them and the public opinion went against the gangs.
Then things changed: Alas, a former cartel leader is now president there, partly because people resented the deaths by the hit squads fighting against the drug cartels, former FARC fighters who took amnesty, and innocents who they suspected were associated with the FARC/drug cartel groups...
some worry that an active war against the boats smuggling drugs by the Trump administration won't work and might not be legal by US or international law of course (AlJ report here.)
On the other hand, those in the USA whose families and neighborhoods suffer from drug and gangs will cheer on Trumpieboy, in the same way the most Filipinos cheered on Duterte's war against druggies and drug cartels, something that not only made the streets safer for the average Pinoy who lives outside of gated communities, but also stopped the country into becoming a narco state.
but like Duterte or the previsous president of Colombia found out, their aggressive killing did slow down the cartels, but killed innocent or semi innocent.
As a result, there was blow back against the practice
You see, when things will evolve back to normal people forget how bad it was before the bad guys were killed.
but on the other hand, the end result of all of this is that the level of violence will be lower for the average person, so that the place is peaceful enough for the the next generation tries to restore rule of internaional law standards.
Well, anyway, the Nobel peace prize might encourage the peaceful opposition to the narco state in Venezueala, and hasten the recovery to rule of law so that they can revive the economy.
that is the third earthquake: A lot of damage in the Visayas but our friends and relaives okay there, but need to fix things. Now our relatives in Davao are busy sending us photos of all of the damage in Davao.
Sigh.
Tatlong malalakas na lindol ang tumama sa Cebu, La Union at Davao Oriental nitong nakaraang mga linggo.
Bagaman magkakasunod, nilinaw ng Phivolcs na hindi magkakaugnay ang mga naturang pagyanig.
Filmed in 1985 so a bit out of date. But it is a bit of nostalgia for me since my medical school was around the corner from where this was filmed in Philadelphia.
The white Mamadog has had five puppies... she delivered them beneath my bed, but we moved her into the Bathroom and put a sheet to make her a nest beneath the cabinet there. They are all very small so probably not all will live. But so far so good.
Her daughter, Sophie, the black dog, has her nest in the hallway closet and her one living puppy is doing well.
Kuya is puttinig the air conditioner back into the guest room, and removing a lot of the boxes stored in there. Ruby, my granddaughter is coming for fall break next week, and so they will clean it up for her to use.
We call that room the cats room because it was a sitting room when Lolo was alive, and we usually kept the kittens I had rescued and was nursing in the bathroom there. But now we have too many dogs so only the feral cats are wandering around.
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The news is as crazy as ever, but I know from past experience that half of it is not accurate. However the latest is that Trumpieboy has pulled a rabbit out of a hat and has gotten both sides to agree with a peace deal in Gaza.
...
Since they have been fighting there for 4000 years, one doubts it will last long, but we do pray that it will settle down.
Canada has eagarly embraced killing people: and it has almost became black humor in the memes.
So where are the people condemning the fact that some are being pressured into dying, or even being killed by relatives without asking for it?
But hey, like the selling of baby parts from second and third term abortions (something that got Project Veritas sued for exposing the illegal practice), the next profit making venture might be getting organs from the handicapped killed by MAID.
well at least Planned Parenthood had enough shame to keep it a secret.
In Canada they are harvesting organs from those asking to die. And they aren't even ashamed enough of this that they are willing to let it be discussed in the National Post.
What is the problem?
Depressed people will more willingly agree to die if they see their death will benefit others
An American man dying of heart failure received the heart of a Canadian man with ALS who chose a medically assisted death in what is being described as a landmark case of a heart transplant following euthanasia.
Organs have been donated after MAID before, involving liver, kidney or lung transplants.
“Here we report the first case of a successful cardiac transplantation after MAID,” a team of doctors from The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and The Ottawa Hospital report in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation .
Hole on a second.
Shouldn't it be illegal for American hospitals to do this?
When I lived in western Pennsylvania 30 years ago, we often sent our car accident victims to U Pitt: And the EMTs used to cynically call these transfers Body Runs, implying that they were not being sent for neurosurgery but so that when they were declared brain dead, their organs would be harvested.
we were cynical but had enough trust in the hospital not to see this as a way to exploit the injured, but merely a side effect since we trusted them to try their best to keep the person alive before asking for their organs.
HHS Finds Systemic Disregard for Sanctity of Life in Organ Transplant System says the headline, and RFK Jr says he plans to fix it.
but just admitting this was not an urban legend but really happened resulted in a lot of people not filling out organ donor permission on their driver's licenses.
Meaning fewer organ donations until the trust in the medical system is restored.
but now apparently they can transplant another source of organs: from people wanting to kill themselves.
This isn't legal in the USA, and most terminally ill patients are not candidates to donate organs. But hey, Canada is nearby and they are busy ignoring legal guidelines so they can expand the criteria to include young depressed people, those with brain damage, or the handicapped, all of whom are an excellent source of organs.
Of course, this would not work in the USA since drug overdoses are usually used to kill people in assisted suicide, and the disease that may or may not be terminal but made you decide to end your life may also preclude decent organs.
But as Canada extends the boundary from terminal patients to the depressed and handicapped, well, voila: More organs.
Hmmm... wonder who is making money off of this? No one of course. /s
most books about tranplantion are optimistic, and written from the point of view of the patients given new life.
Yet recent stories about premature diagnosis of brain death (which were always dismissed as an urban legend or paranoid story) have now been confirmed: and of course, in today's post covid world, we are seeing less trust in modern medicine.
And this latest story, using organs from handicapped patients who were killed, is not going to help-if people know about it.
but of course they won't know about it will they?
excuse me for being cynical: it only a matter of time until what is done in China secretly is done openly and cheerfully in the west? After all, Canada is already doing it. no not on prisoners but on vulnerable people who live in a culture where their lives are seen as useless.....
China harvests organs from prisoners. Not a lot of stories about this of course.
Ironically, it was Dean Koontz, a writer of horror stories, who exposed the practice in one of his books where the rich protagonist received a stolen heart from a Chinese prisoner as the plot.
And a news story from last week says Putin and Xi were caught laughing about getting organ transplants to stay young.
I am a contrarian, so can and often do argue the opposite side of an argument, especially when someone cherry picks and distorts what is going on to push an agenda.
Item one: I am pro Israel. Not because I support everything they do, but because those who run Gaza etc are extremists who took over what should have been a democratic opposition, and then pushed hatred and propaganda while stealing money to get rich off of western aid.
In war atrocities happen, often fueled by anger or accidental misjudgement. A press that knows nothing about the lethality of urban warfare makes thins worse: because if Israel wanted to commit genocide, the death rate would have been ten times what is it (and the best neutral number is 50 thousand out of a population of two million, two thirds of which are military age men).
And when the western press assumes Hamas propaganda via Al Jezeerah is the same as a neutral truthful report, it shows how naive they are about press manipulation.
or is it because the left in the US runs the MSM and prefers to go along with propaganda? Or is it because the NGOs that usually try to report on human rights abuses are leftist and sometimes cherry pick their data?.
THat said, there are atrocities in Israel against the Palestinians: by the settlers who want to live in the west bank and pressure locals to let them live there.
this has not gotten a lot of publicity for some reason, except for scattered reports
So StrategyPage, a site that I trust because they get things right about foreign countries where I have personal knowledge about what is going on, has a report about Israeli settler atrocities.
:Since late 2023, nearly a thousand Palestinians have been killed by settlers. Between late 2023 and the end of 2024, there were nearly 1,900 incidents of settler violence. That’s about four incidents a day. The many Israeli soldiers stationed in the West Bank to keep the peace rarely interfere.
and that, not the distorted propaganda out of Gaza written by activists, is the real atrocity problem by Israelis.
So I urge President Trump to intervene and insist that Israeli police and military stop these civilians who are committing atrocities.
Heck if Trumpieboy is willing to stop Antifa and their minions who are destroying American cities, he should be willing to tell Israel to do the same against their civilian groups that attack other civilians
You should read the entire StrategyPage article that goes on to put these actions into perspective by telling the history of the region including repeated peace plans that were turned down by the Arab countries or Palestinian leaders who preferred hatred to compromise that might make them able to live in peace
One problem with the SP article: They left out the hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens who had gone there after being forcibly thrown out by various Arab or Iranian governments.
A Google search for “1948 refugees” produces about 6 million results. All but a few (at least through page six) are about the Palestinian Arab refugees, as if they were the only refugees of 1948. But it is estimated that from the beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War through the early 1970s, up to 1,000,000 Jews fled or were expelled from their ancestral homes in Muslim countries.
The young black dog went into labor under my bed, and I woke up when I heard her fighting with her (pregnant) mother, who had taken the puppy away from her and was licking it.
I moved the black dog into the hall closet, where she ended up having eight puppies... all small, which was not a good sign.
one tiny one died quickly, but the disaster was that on day two, the grandmother got in and killed four if the puppies. Sigh. And then over the next few days, two of the puppies died from weakness: stopped nursing and died. So we are left with one puppy.
In the meanwhile, Kuya is cleaning out the boxes from the side bedroom to use it again as a guest bedroom: my granddaughter is coming next week (school break) and can stay there instead of upstairs in the guest room there.
They will have to get an airconditioner and fix up the bathroom too.
In other news, lots of local folk are working at the solar panel project, meaning the men we usually use to fix things are not available. I am sceptical about the solar panels because they are placing it on good rice growing land, but for locals it is a job so they can stay home and not have to migrate to Manila or overseas to find a good paying job.
"I just want you, have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you... Got me dreaming about a driveway with a basketball hoop," she sings on the dreamy "Wish List."
No I am not a Swiftie but my granddaughter is. But apparently it is now okay to say you want to settle down and have a family, and that this won't destroy your creativity or get you canceled by the woke Karens who run the culture of me me me:
"I used to have this dark fear that if I ever were truly, like, happy and...nurtured by a relationship -- what happens if the writing just dries up?" Swift told BBC Radio 1. "And it turns out that's not the case at all.
there is light wind and heavy rain on and off right now, but it is going to get worse tonite. Hopefully the wind won't be strong enough to rip off the roof or destroy the rice crop.
Our house is on high ground so we should be okay with flooding. But we are downstream from the mountains so that water will be going through tonite and tomorrow which puts pressure on the irrigation dams. If they open the irrigation dam gate and increase the water in the nearby river we could flood.
We have a second floor and the business offices are up there with the computers etc. but if it is too high the cars could flood. Last time this happened, we have six inches of water in our first floor...we opened the gate to the meeting hall so our neighbors could put their cars there, about 18 inches higher than street level, so the engines were safe from being flooded.
So a mess but not dangerous for us. However, the poorer neighborhoods near the river might have to be evacuated: most will go to friends or relatives but the city Gym, down the street near us, is the formal evaculation center.
The maid asked for extra money to get in extra food just in case. And we sent extra money to the cook's family in the Visayas to repair their house after the earthquake.
The transgender madness had infiltrated society in a way that resembled group hysteria behind the witch hunts or the group hysteria behind the Tulip Mania.
What made it worse for those of us living in the Third world was how the US/EU/UK and big business were pushing it on us. Pope Francis called this cultural imperialism, and I agree.
Even the Cass Report that exposed the fraud was criticized not just by the usual leftist journals but by the BBC and Scientific American.
This of course is not the only hysteria in recent years: Dr Campbell who vlogs on public health and Covid deceptions has this explanation of the phenomenum:
But the trans hatred silenced anyone who opposed it, and the pressure to stay quiet despite experience in the past resulted in the silencing of anyone pointing out that this grooming of depressed often gay kids into becoming trans was an artificial phenomenum with no scientific basis...
and to make things worse, parents were often pressured to agree by threatening them to be the cause of their child's suicide if they refused to allow the treatments.
these aggressive attacks on the heretics who refused to go along with the trans hysteria was not limited to mean tweets, but morphed into people losing jobs and death threats to those who dared to point out this was a fad that harmed people, especially girls.
And the huge number of normal people who gleefully celebrated the death of Charlie Kirk shows a more disturbing problem, one backed by polls, showing that a large minority would approve of similar murders of those refusing to bow to the fad.
In Kirk's case, what is worse is the lies by activists that misquoted him and pushed a fake narrative about what he said to justify his murder.
The quiet outpouring or prayer, not riots, following his death may or may not have popped open the delusional bubble, but one hopes it might be a turning point.
Which brings up to JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series.
Mark Twain once wrote: “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.”
JK Rowling dared to take a stand against transgender craze based on her personal experience of being poor and not part of the establishment....her protest against the trans agenda was not against individuals who just wanted to live and let live, but on those pushing the agenda on others in a way that harmed women: by forcing women to be unable to have privacy or forcing them to compete against a trans whose muscles and bone structure give them an unfair advantage against women. And this doesn't even include the perverts in who claim being transgender to be peeping Toms or who get arousal by exposing themselves to young girls.,.
The vitriol against Rowling was terrible, but what was worse was the threats of violence against her and her family. She made a lot of people rich with her writings, including the actors in her films. Yet when the social shaming of Rowling started, even when the death threats were very real, none of them bothered to even tweet support for her or protest against those who threatened her.
It came to the head when several of those who literally became rich and famous due to Rowlings gleefully joined those trying to destroy her reputation, income, and even her life.
But now that the tide is starting to turn against this group hysteria, one of them figured a short private note would wash away literally years of this betrayal.
Rowlings did not become a best selling author by being quiet, so the entire story is here on X;
I'm seeing quite a bit of comment about this, so I want to make a couple of points.
I'm not owed eternal agreement from any actor who once played a character I created. The idea is as ludicrous as me checking with the boss I had when I was twenty-one for what opinions I should… https://t.co/c0pz19P7jc
Emma's 'all witches' speech, and in truth, that was a turning point for me, but it had a postscript that hurt far more than the speech itself.
Emma asked someone to pass on a handwritten note from her to me, which contained the single sentence 'I'm so sorry for what you're going through' (she has my phone number).
This was back when the death, rape and torture threats against me were at their peak, at a time when my personal security measures had had to be tightened considerably and I was constantly worried for my family's safety...
Rowlings then goes on to point out something that is taboo to mention in the UK: class prejudice. The dirty little secret behind the silence against the rape gangs there is the abused girls were mainly working class whites. So the government officials, even the Labour party which was founded to support the working class, did not intervene.
And Rowlings throws this fact into the hypocrite's face:
Like other people who've never experienced adult life uncushioned by wealth and fame, Emma has so little experience of real life she's ignorant of how ignorant she is. '
She'll never need a homeless shelter. She's never going to be placed on a mixed sex public hospital ward. I'd be astounded if she's been in a high street changing room since childhood. Her 'public bathroom' is single occupancy and comes with a security man standing guard outside the door. Has she had to strip off in a newly mixed-sex changing room at a council-run swimming pool? Is she ever likely to need a state-run rape crisis centre that refuses to guarantee an all-female service? To find herself sharing a prison cell with a male rapist who's identified into the women's prison?
....I wasn't a multimillionaire at fourteen. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous. I therefore understand from my own life experience what the trashing of women's rights in which Emma has so enthusiastically participated means to women and girls without her privileges...
traditional Pancit uses thin rice noodles, with vegetables, pork, shrimp, and liver.
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If thicker wheat noodles are used, it is called pancit Canton, and indeed the lazy way to make Pancit is to use the noodles from a ramen noodle pack as the base.
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then you have Pancit Palabot...use subtitles for this video and go to youtube for the recipe.
...
this video discusses Pancit as made a century ago:,
Phivolcs has logged the intensity reports from the Magnitude 6.9 earthquake this Tuesday, September 30, 2025.
Shaking felt as strong as Intensity V in Argao, Cebu; City of Sipalay in Negros Occidental; City if Lapu-Lapu; City of Tacloban. | via @Beatrice_Cuadrapic.twitter.com/t4ZPvSmjHs
a magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit Near Cebu, not near our home....but we have family in the Visayas.
Awaiting more reports. Right now we only are learning about it in the news, but tomorrow we probably will find out more.
Intensity IV felt across multiple provinces, including parts of San Fernando, Cebu; Bulan, Bulusan, and Casiguran in Sorsogon; Roxas City, Capiz; Himamaylan, Negros Occidental; Ubay, Bohol; Lawaan, Eastern Samar; Laoang, Northern Samar; City of Dipolog, Zamboanga Del Norte.…
