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--- Hr3101m973S’s perspective---
---Tuesday, 31st of October, 2682 Terran Calendar---
---Southwestern Scotland---
I ride the speeder at an altitude of 307m over the rural landscape.
I have 158 other bodies making similar deliveries across Britain right now, as well as 29 in Ireland and 11 in Doggerland. Though, none of them have quite as spectacular a view as this one does so, for the moment, this is the body whose sensory feed I’m paying the most attention to.
I see a large herd of mammoths walking at the edge of the Galloway Forest.
Though it has a better view, the news I’m carrying with this body is just as grim as all the rest.
In hindsight, it’s probably a good thing that I was such a spendthrift with regard to my fleet of courier bodies… If I hadn’t been, if I’d selected abilities that let them do much more than deliver things, they may well have been requisitioned for military use… which, I suppose, they were anyway… but there’s a big difference between delivering notices on Earth and fighting on some distant planet!
Still, if sacrificing my replaceable bodies would save even a single irreplaceable life, I would definitely have done it.
The city comes into view.
Calling it a ‘city’ may be a little generous… it only has 2,507,963 inhabitants.
That may have been a respectable city in the 22nd Century but, for context, nearby Dumfries has 7,491,509 and Glasgow has 24,339,192!
Stranraer occupies a rare middleground between the historic hamlets that are allowed to exist in the countryside and the megalopoleis where around 98.32% of people on Earth live.
I land in the northern part of the town and step off my speeder.
I get some raised eyebrows as I walk from the landing pad to the residential home.
I don’t blame them!
Before the War, every single one of my courier bodies had a full suit of elastomer over their entire body, to make them seem more lifelike… Now, though, that’s considered a luxury and, so, this particular unit is walking around with its metal endoskeleton bare, bar its uniform.
The effect can be a little offputting… though, in truth, it may also have to do with the news they’ve inferred me to be delivering to some unlucky soul.
I cross the wall into the garden and begin walking up the steps, through the mosslawn shrouded by pinus sylvestris trees, to the house on top of the little hillock.
It takes me 12 seconds to reach the door from the gate… I can’t rush, I need to give this girl her due respect.
I rap on the door 3 times and hear the knocks echo through the cavernous hall behind.
A man opens the door.
I begin, speaking in the most popular local dialect of Lallans Scots that I know to be this man’s primary speech register “Greetings, Mr Baird. I don’t know if you remember me but…”
“I remember you! I’m organic, not daft! You’ve been here enough times already…” interrupts the residential care manager, his demeanour gruff and no-nonsense “…Come in, Hermes… You can wait in the kitchen while I go get her.”
I step into the building, passing below the lowest of 5 balcony walkways into an open space with a skylight ceiling, allowing in the natural light.
I let the man lead the way to a large kitchen.
He pulls out a chair for me.
“Thank you, Sir, but I believe I ought to remain standing to make this delivery.” I respond, politely.
“Suit yourself…” he shrugs before walking off, presumably to fetch the girl he knows I’m here for.
I wait several minutes before he reappears.
The girl he has in tow is the perfect match of the file photo (though a few years older). She is average height, 178cm, and has an average build. Her skin is pale, her eyes are emerald green and her hair is long, absurdly voluminous, curly and vividly red.
She looks to be in fine physical health and is making no pretence of illness or injury, though she is scowling at me.
The grey bearded man shuts the door, leaving me alone with the girl.
“Could you tell me your name, please?” I ask, already knowing.
“Esme Reid.” she answers, truculently.
“And your date of birth, Ms Reid?”
“31st of October, 2664. Come to give me a birthday present, have you(?)” she says, folding her arms, pursing her lips and looking away to the kitchen counter by the window.
“Thank you…” I say, reaching into my bag to withdraw a letter and a large holopad with a stylus attached.
I hold the letter out to her and say “This is your conscription notice, Ms Reid. Please sign receipt of it here.” indicating the holo.
Her eyes flick from the paper to the screen before she drily answers “I don’t suppose, if I don’t take that or don’t sign for it, that’d mean I couldn’t be drafted, would it(?!)”
I shake my head and respond “I’m afraid that no such loophole exists, Ms Reid… If you have a conscientious objection to fighting, you could request a nonmilitary national service. However, you would be asked to provide some proof of your conscientiousness and…”
“I’m no bleeding heart…” she says, snatching the letter from my hand, irritably “…I’ll sign for my bloody death warrant!” scrawling her name on the pad.
Without looking at the pad, I check the signature she provided against the one on file and find it a close enough match to proceed.
“Thank you, Ms Reid. Please report to your local recruitment office in Stranraer within 14 days for your physical and psychological fitness assessments. They’ll then interview you regarding your preferences for training and deployment and they’ll try to take those into account when assigning them.
“Great(!) Maybe if I can convince my evaluator that I’m cracked enough in the head, I won’t get sent off to die like my mam and dad did(!)” she quips, sarcastically.
“I don’t think you’ll have much luck with that strategy, Ms Reid… Sol’s government have had quite the interest in weeding out malingerers these past few years… I would put the odds of success below 1%.” 0.75619902%, actually, but that’s too many decimals for most biologicals’ patience(!)
She frowns up at me and demands “I’m being such a brat about this… Why are you still being so friendly!?”
I laugh “Ms Reid, though I strongly encourage you not to express the same demeanour to your drill instructors as you are with me, you are far from the worst person I’ve delivered this news to in even the last half hour!… Right now, I’ve got a draftee in Leeds who’s explaining a hairbrained scheme involving unethically cloning a replacement to fight in his stead, I’ve got one in Bristol who’s trying to beat up my body but only really succeeding in hurting herself, I’ve got one in Edinburgh that’s run away in an attempt not to be served… by comparison, a bit of scowling and sarcasm is rather tame!”
“Huh!… Guess I’m not quite the bad girl Ms. Larch always told me I was, am I(!)”
“It seems you shall simply have to work harder(!) I believe there is a leather jacket emporium in Stranraer that still does business…”
She smiles and laughs for the first time that I’ve seen.
That’s the real reason I don’t get touchy about the attitudes expressed to me by draftees: It makes my job so much easier when I soften the blow with good manners and good humour.
As unfair as it is that so many choose to shoot the messenger, it’s understandable when you consider the messages I carry.
“Ms Reid…” I start, seriously but softly “…if you truly do not wish to fight, you know there are alternatives? You can discuss them with your recruitment officer but…”
“I got no special skills, Hermes… Nothing I can do that an AI couldn’t do faster and better… The Merchant Navy’s basically as dangerous as the Navy Navy, just less armed… the Humanitarian corps has a waiting list so long that the War’d be over (one way or another) long before they got to the point of considering me… I know where I’m going… no use in fighting it…”
“Alright, Ms Reid… I wish you the best…” I say, turning to leave.
Mr Baird shows me out of the house.
Rather than walking back to the landingpad, to retrieve my bike, I walk the other way.
My bag is still heavy with conscription notices… it only makes sense to deliver all the ones in this town first…
---Oskar’s Perspective---
---Southern Doggerland---
The evening sun plays off of the calm waves of the North Sea.
It should be raining on a day like this…
This gorgeous weather is slapping me in the face and telling me to be happy, to be content…
I know the weather does not care for the happenings of people… I know that, if it rained everywhere and every day there was a funeral, the whole world would flood… I know this… and still… I hate this contrast between my grim, internal misery and the tranquil sun drenched beach where I stand, this autumn day… There’s barely even any snow on the grass…
When this War started, I was fourteen and had two loving parents…
My Father was too old to serve, at 51…
At 37, my mother was not…
Yet, it’s not my mother’s funeral I am attending right now. That was two months ago.
No… the strongly built 55 year old man, dressed in a long white robe and clutching a Norse langsverð, despite having been a fishfarmer and not a warrior, is my father… Lars ‘Walker’ Taylor.
His eyes are closed and he lies within a wooden boat, around 80cm wide and 3m long.
This boat was never meant to touch the water… I bought it from a supplier in Bankland that specialises in funerary boats for Doggerland’s Forn Siðr community.
I already recited a poem… there’s nothing else for me to do until the singer begins.
I’m not listening to the Goði prattle on about Valhalla and Ragnarök… I’m just looking at my father’s face… oscillating between hating him for doing this to me and hating myself for doing this to him.
The sermon concludes and a blonde woman, like everyone else present, dressed in snow white funeral clothes, steps forward.
One of the three men behind her brings his bow to the three strings of his tagelharpa, another raises a flute carved out of a cow’s leg bone to his lips, the last begins banging out a slow beat on his drum.
The band would definitely be larger if so many of the Hof’s musicians hadn’t been called up to serve.
The men begin playing a mournful tune and the woman begins a wailing, melismatic melody, not in English, the first language of most here, not in my father’s native Frisian, not even in New Norse, the liturgical language of his faith…
She sings in a strain of Norwegian that was spoken centuries ago, when there were barely any Forn Siðr practitioners living.
mf♫ Eg songane søkte
Eg songane sende
Då den djupaste brunni
Gav meg dråpar så ramme
Av Valfaders pant♫mf
I have a final part to play in this ritual.
The Goði picks up the torch and lights it against a flaming brazier before beckoning to me.
I step forward from the small crowd.
In contrast to most, whose clothes are pristine white robes and tunics and such, I wear the same simple white suit that I wore two months ago.
I may be a nonbeliever but no one at my father’s Hof challenged the idea that I was the most fitting person to perform this last rite for him.
I take the torch from the man and walk to my father’s side.
I hesitate before I touch it to one of the mounds of high energy, smokeless fuel that surround his body… but only for a moment…
The flame quickly takes and, before the current verse of the song is even finished, the entire boat is engulfed in fire.
I toss the torch in and step back from the conflagration.
Minutes pass as I watch the inferno consume the entire pyre.
I barely notice the music stop.
I barely notice the crowd thinning as people leave.
I just watch as the man’s existence is wiped from the Earth.
“Have you thought about what you’re going to do now, brother?” asks a voice from beside me.
Without looking at the Pagan cleric, I dully answer “I have.”
“And, what is that… if I may ask?”
“My birthday’s in January… I’ll be drafted… but I don’t have to wait… I’m going to go to the recruitment office and request an early start to my training… by the time it’s done, I’ll be 18 and they’ll be legally able to deploy me.”
“I… see… that’s certainly… an option… Have you thought about…?”
“I haven’t, Tormund. This is what I’m doing.” I state, still looking at the blaze.
“I see… I wish you well then, Oskar…” Tormund says, sincerely.
---
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TWBS Previous Next

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 61%. (I'm a bot)

PARIS - Global negotiators have agreed to craft an initial draft treaty to end plastic pollution, a preliminary but crucial step toward tackling one of the most lasting sources of human waste.
Environmental advocates cautiously welcomed the outcome of five days of U.N. talks in Paris on plastic pollution, but expressed concern that the petroleum industry and some governments would water down the eventual treaty.
The committee is charged with developing the first international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, on land and at sea.
A coalition of "High-ambition" governments led by Norway and Rwanda, along with environmental groups, want to end plastic pollution altogether by 2040 by slashing production and limiting some chemicals used in making plastics.
Stew Harris, senior director for global plastics policy at the American Chemistry Council, argued for allowing each government to "Use the right tools based on their unique circumstances." In a statement to The Associated Press as the talks wrapped up, he said that circularity - or reusing plastics - was "At the forefront of the negotiations as a means to tackle pollution and be more sustainable in producing and consuming plastics. We agree that's the best path."
Plastic waste produced globally is set to almost triple by 2060, with about half ending up in landfill and under a fifth recycled, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: plastic^#1 produce^#2 talks^#3 pollution^#4 treaty^#5
Post found in /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

Hi guys, been loving the game so far and having a lot of fun!
Does anyone have any tips on defeating the final boss, dog thing at the end of Haunted Caverns?
I'm able to get to the end of the level fairly comfortably now with both the warrior and the exterminator, but the final boss hits me with that curse and I'm dead in 40 seconds!
Am I missing something or am I simply just not ready to beat him? (5 hours in, minimal gear and about 2 or 3 notches into each blessing).

Hello,
I (f33) met this guy online via bumble about 2 months ago. When I startet to write to him I didn't expect much. It was only one month after I got my heart broken by someone else and he didn't have much on his profile yet. But I liked his face and his hobbies seemed to match mine, so I matched him.
Well he turned out to be a really nice guy. We quickly switched to discord and have very long voice-chat-sessions at least once a week and in most cases they are at least 4 hours long (once we even managed to talk 8 hours until 6 am). I find myself very attracted to him, as he is very intelligent, a very good listener who remembers a lot of details, he is a very understanding person and he is just very sweet. It's very comfortable to talk to him. I even think that I started to have some feelings for him. I think I really want to get to know him and a good thing is, that he for once doesn't live that far away (I am used to long distance relationships, but he only lives 20km away).
Thing is, I am thinking of asking him out for like 3 weeks now. But I just can't. I thought about asking in voice chat, but whenever I see an opportunity to ask him I can't get a word out and I chicken out. Now I think about just asking him with a text, but I am so nervous about it, that I end up crying.
My confidence and self-esteem got destroyed in my past relationships (especially my last one which was 2 years ago). I can laugh and smile a lot, but I have mental problems. My new psychiatrist said to me last week "you don't seem to be very cheerful" and gave me a diagnosis test for depression. I am afraid that he will find me offputting. I am afraid that it will be like the last time where I fell in love with someone which was only 3 months ago, where the other guy told me, that he thinks I am great but something is lacking and he can't catch feelings for me. I wouldn't know how to endure something like this for a second time. But I am also afraid of letting go of a chance. He might find someone else if I don't ask him.
I feel so numb over this whole situation. On the one hand I think if he wasn't interested at all, he wouldn't talk to me so much. On the other one, I don't think he is shy at all and I think he is a guy who would ask a woman out, so maybe I am already put away in his mind as "good online friendship" or something. But maybe he also is just considerate and takes into account that I said at the beginning that I need a few weeks before going on a date with someone. Maybe he is actually waiting for me to give him a sign or ask him out.
Sorry about this confusing post. I just needed to get this off my chest as I don't really have someone to talk about stuff like this. I am sure I am overthinking this too much and that I have to figure this out more quickly. Thanks for reading.

What if you met someone online who pretends to be so great herself but isn't, well I'm not even that mad at that, but from the start she made me feel like I have bad intentions, I could be a kidnapper and just fake overall. Yes I get that overthinking about what a person really is like is natural when people have not met irl yet. I had tried to meet her, but it took 7 months until she mentioned her cities name and prices of flights have more than doubled. Im talking about the 18 hour flights including stops, no direct flight. I would even get a little cheaper 26 hour travel if i really felt this was right, but thats not the point. The point is she only likes someone successful and from the start she besides being amazing, she made me feel so doubted and inhuman that i had litteraly kept having these in my mind all the time of how she treated me occaisionally and how she does not accept my full ambition of working hard towards a relationship, but wants me to work only for myself (which i can understand, but it does not work with my mindset to be so motivated to still work towards such a difficult attempt of forming a real relationship in future). Getting to the main problem, I have had it really hard since corona, like many, except i isolated myself more than any other collegue and i didnt get myself to study as well althogh i can focus best in my study groups in uni, but i havent gone to study with them together since. And I'm so ashamed to be stuck in life while everyone else managed to do better, im certain i can do great, i know that, but i just hoped the person im interested in and think so greatly of, would actually be supportive instead of destructive to my situation, she made me extra anxious and emotionally crazy. I'm ashamed I had not been honest to some friends about how uni was going, because i was good in my study life all along and i know i can do well to get myself out of this situation, i hate to lie. And she made me feel all the extra misreable emotions and i have ended up not attending my first exams, which caused me to go more insanly anxious about the next exams, i have studied but never got to study so well that i was confident to write a single exam... my worst semester ever and i cant get myself to tell her that she was an influence towards that because she had a hard time herself and ive been supportive and do not want to bother her, neither want her to think of me as a loser and hate me for making her hopes, that i actually could have kept if she was not bad to me, but a person that is supportive back and not treating me as if im a kidnapper. I HAVE LIED to her and Im not the person to lie and i hate myself so much, i cant tell her that i had not attended the exams of how everything got into a domino effect starting with how she made me feel from the start of the semester. I can either tell her and she will hate me for her whole life and maybe even want to harm me, she knows my friends and parents contact i know nothing about hers. nor even her normal name. she litteraly drove me crazy and i cant stand that anymore and i dont want her to have any hope we can still work out, because she missed her chances to help me be the person i had planned to become, but instead made it worse. she has such a bad life and wants me to visit her now...and give it a chance now.. when eveything is already ruined. at the start she said she needed time and i told her i do not have any time to procrastinate to do the best for me to achieve my goals, and not ruin my mood every day from all the silly switching up my words making me look evil. WHAT DO I DO NOW? She had tried to leave me many times and she came back. I have tried to tell her its best to go ways apart and that she was amazing, its just me who cant be the person she wants. but she does not want us to seperate because at home she has it even worse. I dont want to let her down at this time when she is crying because of what her family does to her. but i can also not focus on my life and studies except when we seperate. so either i support her now and fail my life, or she lets me go and we both can try things on our own. litteraly the days she had left me were my most productive days, i know that this is the solution to me not being so crazy and hating myself anymore because of the lie about my exams, everything else i was honest about, trust me i just was desperately trying to make it work out but she never had anything go as i asked her to, so no wonder my plans and goals fail and then she pressures me to talk about exams, i know i should never lie, but it would hurt her to tell her that she was a cause to that and i tried to end it with telling her other reasons why we are better apart.

My MIL brushes off my fibromyalgia and ADHD often. I’m currently unemployed and have been looking for work but can’t find anything that is accommodating. I also haven’t been feeling great mentally and physically. I have also been struggling with chronic fatigue. Unfortunately I can’t find a job (I’m in a foreign country and struggle to learn the language) that is for English speakers that doesn’t involve working night shifts to be online for US hours. I also can’t find anything that is close to home or work from home. I have an office admin diploma and background but that’s not enough to get me into hi-tech. Doing customer service is hard as typing too much causes me a lot of pain and big offices is a sensory overload nightmare. I’ve also been struggling to function, my speech impediment has gotten worse as I’ve been burned out and I can’t focus. Ritalin has helped but not enough. Im currently a stay at home mom so it’s not like I’m staying in bed all day (I don’t get to sleep in or nap so no bed for me).
I usually try to avoid visiting my MIL who lives a 5 min walk away from me because she likes to rag on me about not being who she wishes her son would be with. When I try to explain about my struggles she says I’m too young or she doesn’t believe me, just calls me lazy. My husband does defend me but also tells me to just ignore her. It’s kind of hard because her words hurt and I already feel like a failure.

Basically my father growing up was inarguably an abuser, not just to me, but to everyone. Imagine someone who would go up to a doctors office front desk after being impatient, looking at the front desk worker in the eye and stating “if you don’t call me up in 5 minutes, I’m leaving”, or initiating an argument with an elderly couple in a park for not seeing that a tennis ball rolled onto their court, ultimately ending in a face to face argument with my father screaming “F*** YOU” into the elderly husbands face. It’s this type of person (just trying to illustrate the extent of how inconsiderate he was. It was truly another level). This attitude was on a daily basis, and these are one of hundreds if not thousands of examples.
That being said, he’s also said a lot of truly hurtful things, which were unprovoked (like for doing poorly in tennis, etc); things like “if I could do it again, I wouldn’t have kids” or “you are NOT my son” - as a grown up I look back on these things, and the way he is now, and I don’t think he truly meant these words particularly, but they do also stick with me to an extent (although it’s not like I dwell on it. It’s more subconscious than anything)
That being said, he’s actually not like that anymore. He’s ignorant in his beliefs but he’s definitely not as overtly vicious as a person. But for some reason I just naturally tend to not want to associate with him at all anymore; I literally feel bad even having to talk to him. Is this selfish of me you think, since he’s changed? There’s no right or wrong but curious to hear your thoughts!

I want to propose an idea for a next class of clothing/gear items:

• Higher than Ultimate
• Extremely difficult to get
• Insanely beneficial to the player

So far, we have Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Ultimate quality of gear; with a 2% chance of getting ultimate gear per event and only in event boxes. I would assume most of us like the challenge and award which we have already. But, what if I was to tell you there’s only 1 complete outfit out there that would demolish every other competitor?
As a 0.5% chance of getting this item from the event box, it would include All Workers bonuses of some of the most sought-out advantages: walking speed, chance to prepare food instantly, and change to make perfect food.
With four events, you would get 4 items: head, body, hand, and pet. Each event is specific to each item. For an example: the head item would be found only in Moon Events, Body item only in Mine Event, hand item only in Seaport Event, and pet only found in Middle Ages Event. Of course, these arrangements would be made by the developers.
With a 0.5% chance of obtaining the full outfit, you would be the best cook who has ever lived. You’d show off your Flawless attire to the world, using Ultimate items and Legendary knowledge to forge your way to the top -even obtaining the blueprint alone isn’t enough to find yourself lucky.
With a head piece that bonuses all workers with 300% walking speed and 50% chance to prepare food instantly, a jacket or even a romper that awards all workers with 50% chance to prepare food instantly, 50% chance to prepare perfect food, and walk 100% faster, and a special tool in hand that give all workers a 50% to prepare perfect food and [food is made 200% faster (to fill space)]; you would become a Flawless master chef who would make Gordon Ramsey himself start self-criticizing about the art of cuisine. Each base Profit % would be 500%
But what about the pet I’ve mentioned? Well, not only would this loyal beast contribute to a grand Profit % like it’s item-counterparts or collect tips every 5 seconds, but it would even multiply the profit from tips 3-4 times its original amount! What could this pet be? Well, maybe it’s a dragon- or maybe it’s Tinker Bell.
TL;DR

• New clothes/item/gear proposal.
  
• 4 new items total. Each event holds only 1 item type. 0.5% chance of getting item from event box. Ex: Moon Event box only awards 0.5% chance for head item; Seaport Event box only awards 0.5% chance for hand item.
  
• Blueprint requires specific Ultimate item + Legendary item(s), and maybe Epic (devs decision).
  
• Total bonuses from the COMPLETE outfit: 400% walk speed, 100% instant food, 100% perfect food, 200% faster food. All bonuses to All Workers.
  
• Pet: collects tips /5 sec + multiplies tip amount.
  
• Base 500% Profit.
  

DISCLAIMER:
This could be an end game idea. So, be aware if you support the game and the developers. There may be no way to continue adding to this game if something like this would exist.
I personally enjoy the game. I enjoy the challenge/award system the devs provide us with. I know having something like this would be majorly satisfying, but after a while the award feeling could disappear.
This is just my idea as a creative person! Criticize or give your opinions! Please be respectful

I recently had to cut my dad out of my life cause he touted his big religion "viewpoint" and told me that the life I'm leading is wrong and sinful and I'll never be happy living this way. when I was trying to get some time to sit down and talk with him about life and truly open up about being trans(turns out he already knew). he's sent me an apology letter since but it was quite half-assed and "don't blame me for being a parent" and loaded with misgendering. plus i doubt i would have even gotten a letter had it not been my birthday. frustrating. (I also came out as pan/bi a while back and it was met with disgust. same with painted nails for some reason)
My step-dad has said nothing on the matter of being trans and continues to misgender me(unintentionally?? idk)
and my mom.. I've been out as nonbinary(when my egg was slowly cracking now I'm transfeminine genderfluid) for over a year and used they/them pronouns for the whole time she still uses he/him (unintentionally?) ALL THE TIME. I mean like I correct her and so does my sister ALL DAY LONG and it STILL happens. she says its cause "it's not proper and she's not used to it". actually both her and my step-dad have used that excuse multiple times and I've called them out and pointed at reasons why they're objectively wrong(they've done the whole run into the point and miss it multiple times). and I've had a deep talk with her and explained everything and then today she goes "I'm hurt that you don't go by your original name. it's pretty enough to be a girls name. I know it has nothing to do with me but I feel insulted. blah blah I've had a couple drinks so I'm being honest blah blah."
I'm just ridiculously frustrated. I feel like there's been adequate time to adjust to simply using the right words. I get that they may not understand being trans and thats fine cause i know for myself it's even confusing. but my pronouns and the langueage to use for me havent changed in over a year.
I have a lot of supportive people in my life and feel very lucky to be supported enough to be out publicly (partially done in order to expose my very bigoted family to it all. I've kinda been a "favorite" so this is a big needed shock to the family) so I feel lucky but I'm also extremely frustrated with the fact that the sole people who are supposed to be there for me no matter what are the biggest issues I've run into in my transition.
I'm really a patient person. and I've historically been a huge people pleaser so I'm very used to getting my buttons pushed and smiling through it. but I'm just feeling tired of it all and I know you all can relate. cause tbh I have it easy compared to a lot of y'all. sure I get shamed from tons of family but I have at least 3 siblings who wouldn't dream of doing so and love me deeply. and i have quite a few friends who do the same.
I feel frustrated and then I feel guilty for feeling frustrated. which makes me frustrated.
but on a happier note, I love y'all. this subreddit has helped me SOOO much and I feel lucky to be a part of this community. as an elder Gen z, I do my best to break down the barriers around me so the rest of yall can run free and I have an army of allies that fight by my side. for me. and for you. happy pride month! be proud of yourself and like my grandpa basically said: it takes bravery to introduce yourself when that doesnt align with people's expectations. be brave. be proud.

Hello
First of all I'm not english. I'll try to make this accurat but some words could be different in my language and I don't really know what to use instead. Sorry for that.
So, I got a Dacia Sandero from 2016. Since I'm not driving much, it only got 15 000 km since. I never did maintenance before with it but it was becoming necessary (even without driving much) and I need to do 700 km next week. Everything went okay except for the oil filter. They said they couldn't change it since the... dome ? I don't know, the thing protecting it is too tight and they can't remove it without risking to break it. They did the oil change and told me to go to my seller. They said they can do that, open it, put the new filter and replace if it breaks, but my appointment is at the end of july.
I still need to drive 700 km next week. So is it safe to drive like that ? I mean I know the new oil will be dirty because of the filtrer but... Is there any real risk ?
Thanks !

Why does my drinking Bud Light offend you?
May 30, 2023 4:39 pm • Last Updated: May 30, 2023 4:41 pm
By Mike DiMauro
Day Assistant Sports Editor
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
News item: Anthony Bass, a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, shared a video Monday via Instagram endorsing an anti-LGBTQ boycott of brands such as Target and Bud Light.
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"Here's the reason biblically why I believe Christians have gotta be boycotting Target, Bud Light, and any other corporation that's pushing the things they're pushing,” Bass said. “I think a lot of people make this into a political issue, or they say, 'Oh, what's the big deal?’
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“This is evil, this is demonic, we won't stand for it, we're not going to go to the stores anymore and we're not going to give you our money.”
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It would be impolite to wish that Mr. Bass, who throws a ball for a living, blows out his elbow. Perhaps then he could simply blow it out his tailpipe.
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Because I’ve grown tired of sanctimonious and hypocritical moral outrage over what Target and Bud Light are “pushing,” while it’s permissible that Bass and his ilk get to “push” their beliefs on the rest of us.
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Example: In the last two months or so, I’ve been questioned a half dozen times in public as to why I’m drinking Bud Light. Seems people like Bass have objected to Anheuser Busch’s marketing partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Their boycott of Bud Light has led to a decrease in sales both locally and nationally. (Local bar and restaurant owners say Bud Light sales are down almost 30 percent.)
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It is their right, of course, to boycott the product. I’m just curious as to why what I’m drinking is their business. I drink Bud Light because I like it. And I’m still drinking Bud Light because I will not marginalize people based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. I’m respectful enough to support someone else’s desire to evolve into another gender. And I’m not stupid enough to believe that my decision to drink Bud Light changes who I am or what I stand for in any possible way.
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But I wonder why it’s so important for people — and the questions to me haven’t all come from men — to announce their disdain for a bottle of beer, tacitly implying their sexuality is “normal.” Remember this one and write it down: If you are truly comfortable with who you are, you needn’t announce anything to anyone.
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And yet to further illustrate how screwed up this country really is, there’s this: Anheuser-Busch hasn’t merely been accused of alienating its traditional customer base with the partnership, but some LGBTQ+ campaigners have also criticized the company for not defending its ties with Mulvaney.
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Amid all the finger-pointing and fear-fanning, the truth hides in the corner, too scared to emerge. The truth is that we are supposed to think critically, weigh evidence from both sides and then make up our own minds. Instead, we’ve become a country hell bent on legislating whatever cause we think is right and just, while burying the other side from all consideration.
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It’s political tribalism. All or nothing. One side or the other. If you’re not in agreement with every morsel of the transgender movement, you are a snarling, hating, infidel. If you’re not in total agreement with Anthony Bass and his beliefs, you’re going to wither in hell.
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But what if — and hold on to your ascots here — two conflicting positions can still be true? Example: What if I support Bud Light’s decision to use a transgender influencer, but also believe that transgender high school athletes belong in their own division?
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I disagree with the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s policy complying with a state law that requires all high school students be treated according to their gender identity. We should consider a sports-centric law that acknowledges sports' unique challenges and accommodates the physical component for success that exists virtually nowhere else in society.
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Sex discrimination in education, health care, housing and financial credit have no place in this country. But we must — must — realize and accept that sports require a physical component to succeed that calls for different guidelines.
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Put it this way: Applying to a school or for health care, housing or financial credit requires no physical component to succeed. Sports require speed, strength and agility and do not fit under the same umbrella. And yet sports are routinely shoved into the same arguments about unfair treatment. Injustices get piled on for rhetorical usefulness, even though they're not applicable.
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The male born composition has inherent physical advantages, rare exceptions noted. But in the aggregate, there are physiologic differences between biological males and females. I don’t believe writing that makes me transphobic. We should respect a person’s pronoun of choice. But that doesn't mean we have to blindly agree with claims that are not supported by science.
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Yet that appears to be the new end game in this country. Blind agreement. Their side or yours. And here I sit, sipping my Bud Light, trying to figure out why so many of us act like the last three letters of Anthony Bass’ last name.
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This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro
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Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
READER COMMENTS
Philip BroseJune 1, 2023 at 16:30Report
Robin great points the right can’t even keep track on who to be mad at. Why are they so sensitive? I here Chick-fil-a is evil now for they “ensuring equal access,” “valuing differences,” and “creating a culture of belonging,” under the title, “Committed to being Better at Together.” what monsters!
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Philip BroseJune 1, 2023 at 16:27Report
William Peter the guidance councilor?
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Joseph B De La CruzJune 1, 2023 at 15:15Report
This article pretty much sums up exactly how I feel about the situation. Bud Light basically sent someone a can with her image celebrating a milestone. The fact it turned the beer into enemy number one doesn’t surprise me considering the vitriol that has become commonplace in our country. I have had plenty of private messages regarding a video I posted supporting a beer, and more importantly a human being. Most have been vehemently against my support of both and relish the chance to send me a screen shot of Bud Lights stock on a daily basis with a “Go woke, Go broke” ending. I believe much of the vitriol comes from news and talk radio which is why Spotify now fills my vehicle with music instead of talk. I ask everyone to limit their news intake to 30 minutes per day regardless of your party affiliation to center your life. Sometimes my radio will land on a “news station”, and I can feel my blood pressure rise as the most divisive topic of the day is being discussed with a majority of the facts not being considered. I am not recommending folks to ignore what’s happening in our world, but would point out that our country has survived many decades without the need for “up to the second” news reports. Most of the things we worry about will never happen and it seems our country is living in a constant state of fear which is certainly to blame for the vitriol. There will never be a point where everyone in the country will collectively say we are all happy with everything, but I still have a deep believe that with constructive conversations and true empathy we can get us close. When I get my boat in the water I would love to have an ice cold Bud Light while listening to my relaxing boat playlist, and of course talking with my favorite sports writer. That’s an invitation Mike. Great article.
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Robin DaudaJune 1, 2023 at 13:41Report
“Bud Light sales are down between 26% and 35% nationwide additionally Budweiser and other AB brands (Michelob Ultra, Busch Light and Natural Light to name a few) have also taken a hit of around 11%.”
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All the more reason to explain what set this off. Completely unhinged.
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“My take, buy Coors stock now”
And that statement reinforces my point since Coors has been a decades long supporter of LGBT rights probably the biggest supporter (it all began with a workegay alliance boycott ironically… or not)
“Coors Light has been a sponsor of The Center and Denver PrideFest for decades,” says Rex Fuller, CEO of The Center on Colfax. “The work we have been able to do at The Center over the last four decades would not be possible without this support and we are grateful for it.”
Beyond supporting Denver PrideFest, Molson Coors has a distinguished history of supporting LGBTQ communities across the country, with significant support for organizations such as Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Matthew Shepard Foundation, National Amateur Gay Athletics Association of America, National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, LGBT Victory Institute, Out & Equal, and One Colorado.
In addition to these partners, Molson Coors works with local LGBTQ organizations in key communities through its Tap Into Change program. Annually, the summer program donates more than $100,000 to these organizations with a consistent growth in impact each year. Events take place in each city to help raise additional funds, awareness, and support for the missions of these local organizations. Over the past 10 years, Tap Into Change has raised nearly $600,000 for local LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS nonprofits.
https://denverpride.org/coors-light-supports-the-lgbtq-community/
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This is even though like 2006, 2010 and 2014 they had to go through boycotts for this. And they did shrink back in response, but also came right back and didn’t move backwards for long.
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And what will I do?
Continue drinking Corona because I drink what I drink.
It’s damn near impossible to do a successful boycott long term. The web of corporate connections means when you think you’re hurting one, it’s actually benefitting another one connected to it.
The beverage brand that owns Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois, is suing US beer-maker Constellation Brands for using the Corona brand name in a hard seltzer, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
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Beverage giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) acquired Corona’s parent company, Grupo Modelo, in 2013, but US antitrust regulators required it to sell the company’s US-based business to Constellation. AB InBev retained rights to the products in other markets, and the deal gave Constellation the rights to produce Corona and other Modelo brands in the US.
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William PeterJune 1, 2023 at 13:36Report
The virtue signalers didn’t like my harmless comment. I guess being offended by an opposing view is reason enough to silence someone in 2023
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Richard GoldenJune 1, 2023 at 12:57Report
Robin- not certain this article nor all the comments will move the needle. Bud Light sales are down between 26% and 35% nationwide additionally Budweiser and other AB brands (Michelob Ultra, Busch Light and Natural Light to name a few) have also taken a hit of around 11%. Bud Light has been the best selling beer in the USA for over 20 years and the normal volume of sales is 27 million barrels a year or 1134 million gallons. A 30% drop equals a loss of 340 million gallons a year. My take, buy Coors stock now
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Chris JawakaJune 1, 2023 at 10:12Report
People are allowed to drink or not drink whatever beer they want and for whatever reason they choose. End of story.
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Robin DaudaJune 1, 2023 at 09:05Report
Do people realize that Bud Light sent a pack of specially made cans with the person’s face on it and did a minute long or so bit released on like TicTok? It wasn’t some big nationwide PR campaign yet it rubbed someone the wrong way (or so they would like us to think) and it snowballed into this.
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I don’t ever want to hear about people calling “the libs” snowflakes or use their center liberal stances as a weakness. These champions of “conservatives” are gullible whiny babies.
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I watched in real time a bunch of idiots blow something up out of nothing and then saw them flocking to the internet people with their influencer pages and podcasts and publications where immediately they were being hawked “anti-woke” beer and all these other wares, often made by the same places they are boycotting for double the price.
There is a whole market opening up to people that will only get their businesses off the ground (temporarily for a quick cash grab) by using these outrage tactics and capitalizing (literally) on impaired brains that as Mr. DiMauro correctly observed “Blind agreement. Their side or yours”
Bless your little void of empathy and common sense hearts. Don’t spend all your money in one place now, spread the wealth to these people selling you overpriced junk.
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Paul LevasseurJune 1, 2023 at 07:47Report
Mike is discussing one of this election cycles right wing culture war hot spots.
If you can’t get elected because of your governing skills you’re going to have to try to get elected by getting people angry and hateful. The right wing loves doing that. It’s their bread and butter.
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TOM DONNEEJune 1, 2023 at 06:46Report
Preaching hate and preaching tolerance ARE NOT the same Evan
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DANIEL STORMSJune 1, 2023 at 05:56Report
I always liked this formulation: “In the first place, what makes it any of you business? And in the second place, my reasons for saying yea to [whatever it is that offends you] are at least as valid (and maybe more so) than yours for nay. And in the third place, what makes it any of your sodding business in the first place?” I agree wholeheartedly with your plea for reason and tolerance. Not to seem argumentative but rather to add information to the discussion, though, you might be interested in this blog post from a biologist about the supposed physiologic advantages a trans man or woman has over a cis athelete: https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2023/05/31/we-hunted-the-rabbit/
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Evan AndriopolousJune 1, 2023 at 03:10Report
For me… Bud Light as a “beer” sucks. I would rather support local breweries that provide far better beers. As far as this column… as far as AB selecting this influencer in their campaign I have no opinion on it or that person. Up to each to decide for themselves.
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Regarding this column actually Mike what you are writing is basically the same as the boycott and the changes in attitudes (political divide) of the country. Often used by politicians on BOTH sides of the aisle screaming to be open, defending one´s right to choose, freedom of speech etc.. and this is the most important part..”unless it does not validate their opinion or view”. This is exactly what you are writing. So if someone elects to boycott something and we know the WOKE police and Leftists enjoy not only condemning opposing viewpoints to the point of boycotting, attacking employers for the “views” of their employees etc… and demanding they be removed from the position their are in. So if someone boycotts something let them… I would ask you… why does it offend you that others are using their constitutional right by boycotting (freedom of speech). I always respect other´s opinions and even when we do not agree. Sadly we live in a world where people are afraid to speak up due to the potential ramifications. None of us will always agree and I know the powers to be are trying to “force” us to all be uniform in our opinions which is sad. And btw Bud Light is terrible anyway… How about you focus on sports.
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Benoit BenoitMay 31, 2023 at 20:12Report
Ironic you drink because you like it but will continue to drink it because “ I will not marginalize people based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.” Not just because you like it.
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William PeterMay 31, 2023 at 17:46Report
This comment has been removed for violating The Day’s commenting policy.
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JAY DEMPSEYMay 31, 2023 at 16:53Report
TY Mike….. I drink Bud Light most all the time unless in Ireland…and support Levine Distributors in our area and my friends that work there. I think the cancel culture is terrible whatever your political party of choice is. Very sad that social media has done this to us. I have good friends that I can no longer talk politics with because of the “great divide” that enriches social media giants.
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ROBERT WARNERMay 31, 2023 at 16:45Report
I suppose a similar question could be asked, “Why does a person wearing a MAGA hat bother some people?”
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David NowakowskiMay 31, 2023 at 14:30Report
great column, Mike. I’d like to think there are far more folks who see this subject and all its nuances the way you do…but you are probably right again in saying that it is tough to go against your chosen tribe on any component, regardless of how you might actually feel. thanks again!
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Andrew RogersonMay 31, 2023 at 13:33Report
Mike DiMauro – well said sir, on all counts.
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Lynn YoungMay 31, 2023 at 13:28Report
Drink what you like. Be who you are. Live and let live.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 12:36Report
Light Beer is like Sex on the Beach….****ing near water.
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Paul NUNESMay 31, 2023 at 11:44Report
Does anyone remember the first light beer and the commercial featuring a slice of bread?
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 11:05Report
Richard, must have been some other brand light. Bud Light? It was probably 10 years ago. But he could have been messing with me.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 10:17Report
Malcolm- The moral of the story is; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 10:16Report
Thomas- as far as I knew and as far as I can tell Guinness is the most popular beer in Ireland holding a full 25% of the market share. Bud Light does not even show up in the top ten (https://www.beer100.com/best-selling-beers-ireland/) I think the guy was pulling your leg. Bud Light only became available in Ireland in 2020.
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Malcolm JulesMay 31, 2023 at 09:32Report
A corporation decided to target one of their products to a specific community and failed….end of story.
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Margaret KliseMay 31, 2023 at 09:12Report
Agree/agree. Good article, Mike.
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SUSAN HOTCHKISSMay 31, 2023 at 09:06Report
I always enjoy Mike’s opinion pieces. In total agreement about the transgender athlete issue.
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 09:00Report
Tom, hope all is well with your daughter.
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 08:57Report
A Bud Light story: Several years ago while in Ireland my son and I toured the Guinness brewery. Of course there’s a pub on the top floor and while getting a pint of Guinness the bar I notice several taps Bud Light. I asked the bartender “why in God’s name are you serving THAT stuff in here?” He replied that it’s the best selling beer in Ireland. Go figue!
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 08:51Report
Good column Mike. These anti “woke” zealots claim to support democracy but would be no different from the Taliban if they had their way.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 08:42Report
All this talk of beer makes me thirsty…but I have found that drinking beer has become an unwelcome undertaking. No beer allowed at the beach, nor while night fishing in Waterford, nor surf fishing at Avery Point, nor at any state boat launch, nor is state parks- try walking down the street with a cold one….
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Chris JawakaMay 31, 2023 at 08:08Report
IMO The left loves their cancel culture but gets all grumpy when the right does the same. Hey it can go both ways. That said I really don’t care about the Bud thing. Its not like they sold beer with its face on it.
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Matther TookerMay 31, 2023 at 07:35Report
Thoughtful piece as always Mike. Perhaps the best offset for the 30% decrease in Bud Light sales would be a 30% increase in church attendance. I am betting that won’t happen. (Matt Tooker)
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KEITH J. ROBBINSMay 31, 2023 at 06:11Report
You drinking Bud-Lite does not offend me, although it is a horrible beer. What is my concern is a guy using the ladies room that my nieces use!
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TOM DONNEEMay 31, 2023 at 05:55Report
Agree Phil. Well done Mike!! Waiting for my daughter to come out of surgery. Then we’ll stop for a cold one, think I’ll make it a Bud Lite!!!
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Philip BroseMay 30, 2023 at 16:59Report
Mr. DiMauro is always thoughtful and intelligent. The best writer at the day. Give the guy a raise.

TLDR: Wife is Lebanese so C2 French and native arabic/English. I'd love to start learning both and her family wants me to learn Arabic, we have some fun atm when they teach me a few words etc. I'd love to start learning mainly for when we have children.
For French I'll just do duolingo because I understand it's pretty comprehensive (?B1) and that would get me to a good enough level to where I can start to just learn from native content etc.
With Arabic I have no idea where to get started and specfically i'd love to learn her dialect (Levantine).
This isn't a as fast as possible type thing, this is over 5-10 years and essentially life long learning, so there's no rush.

Right now, all I want is an opinion, advice, or just someone to read this and have their say!! I (18f) had been clean from sh for over five months. Im in a relationship with my boyfriend (26m) who has also sh in the past. After a confronting couple of weeks and I horrid day at work, I relapsed the other night and I’m in a new relationship with a man that I am falling for HARD and as far as I’m aware, he is too. We have had a relatively fast moving relationship and both have several kinds of trauma that affect us in different ways. (My trauma is still very relevant in my life) We have similar interests, similar goals in life and a similar sense of humour. We have fantastic chemistry and an amazing sex life; he respects me, is patient with me and has done many things to prove to me at this point in our relationship that he is not just fucking around and is very serious about me. He ticks so many more boxes but you get the point…
I had a couple of hours worth of a panic attack this night and after trying to go out and nobody reciprocating my attention, I turned my focus onto the fact that my boyfriend had not contacted me for quite some hours before and after he knew I had finished work and wanted to see him that night. I ended up contacting him after noticing his snap score go up while I was left on opened and told him I had messed up (because I did royally, on myself) and after a long conversation over the phone right after I relapsed, he told me he was coming over tonight to see me, cook for me, cuddle me, and make sure I was okay… He has been acting off and not messaging me the same all day, and after letting him know that I had finished work today and was about to pick him up, he let me know that he was going out drinking with the boys at his football club instead. I felt/feel shattered! How could he be okay doing this, how am I not a priority, how could he think this would help me?! I simply couldn’t believe this almost imperfectly perfect man would pull what I felt/feel to be one of the scummiest things a man could do, specially since I had previously called of a very personally important event to make sure he was okay after having a hard night and struggling emotionally to let me in. Anyway, I made him call me, almost ready to call it off, knowing I deserve better and to be a priority in my partners life; and to kind of sum things up, I explained how much of a choice I felt and how I deserve to be a priority and that I felt even more alone then when I initially relapsed. In response he told me this is how it was going to be if I do this to myself, that he feels heartbroken that I’ve done this to myself again, that it hurt him, made him feel like he wasn’t making me happy, like he wasn’t enough, and that he won’t reinforce me doing it again by giving me the best attention and showering me with affection when I do it. After an emotional conversation where we communicated clearly and calmly, I told him back and forth how devastated and hurt I was and that he was showing me that he didn’t care as much as he claimed, and his actions didn’t match up with his words. He explained to me he was sorry I felt this way and ended up saying how much I mean to him and that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me and that he wants to prove that I am the biggest priority in his life, that he has never felt like this for someone and just wants to be able to make friends being in a new town and wants me to have a life as well and reach out to friends. I explained how his actions showed none of that but we got to some sort of conclusion. We came to some sort of peace point in the conversation where he said he was planning on coming over tomorrow night, when I finished work early and didn’t work the next day, and we ended up saying our goodbyes; (me still sulking) I was/am still hurt after not contacting me again all night, but he left the conversation saying the words “I love you” before hanging up the call. he’s never said that before and I was left with my jaw on the floor and didn’t have time to reply. It felt like time stood still and now I’m so confused. We’ve had conversations where he explained how he felt about me, like he is in love but he is almost so scared to say that word because he’s been bruised by it so much in the past and doesn’t want to scare me away by saying it. (I assured him it wouldn’t since I desperately want to say it too) and he just said it. This is a big deal…
I hate texting, he isn’t good at texting and we both have ADHD. Communication when we aren’t together is always stressful for me specially since I have an anxious attachment style and am a chronic over thinker, and he seems to be a bit more avoidant, but when we are together or have a clear understanding in a space or on a situation, it’s golden and he feels like home.
Am I wasting time with a man who doesn’t care about me as much as I care about him? Is this a gaslighting and an emotionally abusive situation? Is he just stringing me along for sex and attention when he gets bored and lonely? Is he just being a bit of a man who needed time to process everything and I should cut him some slack? Or is this the kind of tough love that I need hear, to be able to pull my head out from my ass??
Please, I have no one to go too. If you’ve made it this far, give me something to work with, anything is appreciated at this point…

In an earlier dev stream, the devs mentioned if they'd add new missions, they'd love to explore possibilities for simple mission types such as mining morkite or eggs. So why not explore these 3 simple mission types?;
Pest Control On the map, there exist between 2 // 3 // 4 hives each belonging to a specific creature type. Disturbing the hive triggers an artificial swarm of that one creature type. Destroying the hive entirely or grinding your way through the swarm ends it and succeeds clearing that hive.
Stabilization Part of dwarven life, and part of diving into Hoxxes, is of course to ensure the planet doesn't collapse onto your fellow dwarves. 3 // 5 // 7 locations within the cave are marked as unstable. The goal is to summon a supply drop containing fortifications (Carried item) and construct them. 1 // 2 // 3 of the spots among them however may trigger a swarm when summoning the supply drop.
Containment Containment is a 'flashback' mission that will deal with past, but also new, season threats. You're basically the 'clean-up' crew of remnants that once threatened hoxxes. The objective is to clear out 2 // 3 // 3 "Season Event spawns" (Giant Lithophage Meteor, Rival Comms Router, etc). On long misssions, rather than a fourth event spawn, the mission will instead always house the hazard associated to that type (Rival Pressence // Lithophage Outbreak)
Meteor Hunt A zone is marked for continuous meteor impacts that bear valuable metals DRG needs for R&D. In the map, there will be 2 // 2 // 3 areas where a couple of Fragmented Meteors (reskinned from fragmented lithophage meteors) have landed, with another 1 // 2 // 2 Fragmented Meteor Storms landing as the mission progresses. The objective is to mine the meteor fragments for their metals, and get out.

One of today's most common methods of communication is video conferencing or virtual meetings. Businesses have seen a decrease in travel expenses and an increase in productivity. Additionally, businesses use video conferencing to communicate with clients, partners, and staff members worldwide.
The technology has existed for a while, but only recently has it experienced a surge in popularity as a result of its capacity to offer simultaneous real-time contact among many individuals.
What is Video Conferencing?
The use of audio and visual technology to communicate among numerous participants is known as video conferencing.
Regardless of their actual location, users can participate in meetings, presentations, and other activities with video conferencing solutions.
It's a fantastic approach to communicating with those who are far away. Without leaving your home office, you can have meetings with clients or coworkers who live elsewhere. Because you can instantly share files and screen information, video conferencing also makes it simpler to cooperate with teams that are located across the county or around the world.
1. Increases Team Efficiency
Efficiency gains for teams are one of video conferencing's main advantages. Teams have more time to concentrate on their task because they can travel less. Additionally, more effective communication and decision-making lead to increased accountability and productivity.
2. Instantaneous Communication
An excellent approach to communicating with people who are in various places is through video conferencing. Unlike asynchronous methods of communication like email and phone conversations, it provides real-time communication. People's body language and facial expressions are visible. Additionally, you can view their surroundings, which clarifies their context.
This will keep everyone on the same page and ensure that nothing is lost in translation, making it particularly helpful for business meetings or brainstorming sessions.
3. Increases productivity
Would you rather connect through a video conference and have a virtual face-to-face talk with a client than send them an email and wait for their response? The latter method, using the screen-sharing capability for interactive meetings and webinars, is the most popular.
By enabling employees to work remotely from any location, video conferencing solutions help to increase productivity. The flexibility allows workers to maintain a work-life balance, whether they are in coffee shops, on the beach, or in the mountains.
4. Translation for multilingual meetings
Nowadays, the majority of companies serve customers from other countries, and communicating remotely to discuss business plans and strategies has become customary. Of course, a language barrier is a problem that arises. But there is a fix in the cloud.
Companies can use Skype and Microsoft Teams, which have tools for text or voice translation. It enables communication in different languages by transcribing spoken words and translating them in real time for everyone to hear and comprehend.
5. Saves Time
When it comes to time-saving, video conferencing offers several advantages. One reason is that face-to-face meetings can take longer than virtual ones. People can remain seated at their workplaces and participate in the conference via video chat rather than travelling across the neighborhood or the nation. The majority of us travel for 30% of the workday, so this adds up to a lot more lost time overall!
Choosing from one of the best video conferencing companies can reduce overhead costs by omitting costly venue rents and catering expenditures, in addition to saving money on travel expenses and lost productivity from waiting in traffic.
6. Facilitates the Global Approach of Businesses
The capability of video conferencing to enable global corporate expansion is one of its most significant advantages. A firm can utilize video conferencing to collaborate with other enterprises and enhance customer service, both of which contribute to a better overall customer experience.
7. Establishing a Powerful Professional Network
Create a powerful professional network, video conferencing has grown to be a crucial tool for business professionals. Everything from job interviews to fostering ties with partners and clients to simply catching up with video conferencing companies around the world uses video conferencing.
8. Promotes Better Decision Making
Everyone on your team can see each other's faces when you're all in the same room, which facilitates communication. Because you don't have to wait for your coworkers to respond by email or text, you may have more productive interactions with them. Additionally, you won't have to rely just on one person's opinion because you will hear several points of view from those seated around you. This will help you to grasp issues better and make deft decisions.
Conclusion
Businesses can benefit greatly from using video conferencing solutions in Australia because it increases productivity and efficiency. It is impossible to exaggerate how useful this technology is because it gives workers infinite options for collaboration and goal-achieving.

Samuel Gornan. An interesting character in the lore that we don't actually know much about.
Featured mainly in PS2 Chronicles - Acquisition March 23rd, 2849, being introduced as a VS defector.
Excerpt: [ First thing, I will need protection from the Vanu Sovereignty. If given the chance, they will destroy me for this betrayal. Along with the research, I can provide ongoing value to the NC. The data I’m prepared to hand over will be useful to you much more quickly if I help your people interpret what they are looking at. ]
Supposedly, his data could have allowed the NC to get rebirth technology before even the VS.
Excerpt: [ You do understand the full potential of this technology, do you not? This will change everything. The leadership of the VS find more interest in deciphering the culture of a dead alien race than the practical application of the alien technology. Their funding and people are spread thin across dozens of research projects. If the New Conglomerate focused its considerable resources, you could beat the Sovereignty to a functional system by months. The Terran Republic by years. With luck, that will be enough time to end this conflict. ]
He was also willing to go to the TR if the NC didn't agree to his terms. But he would have been assassinated by the NC if he tried.
Excerpt: [ Insufficient. The TR will find a way to pay what I ask. Even if they don’t, the New Conglomerate will crumble. If the assassinations continue unabated, your corporate leadership will break. ]
Other excerpt: [ Felix led the defector towards the lift as Karin reached for her comm. link.
“Davis, you copy?”
“Yes, ma’am. What’s the word?”
Karin waited a moment, letting the two men get to the lift. As Felix and Gornan disappeared behind the lift doors, she responded.
“Have the snipers stand down. We got him.”
“Roger that, boss.”]
Samuel Gornan was later mentioned again in PS2 Chronicles - Acquisition: Rebirth June 12th, 2850 where he was killed off by a TR hit squad.
Excerpt: [ The details of the attack came back to me slowly, and then all at once. I had watched Felix die. I had watched Sam die. Security personnel whose names I still can’t remember laid their lives down to protect me, but they all had failed.]
[I should be ecstatic. We did it. What started with the acquisition of Sam Gornan and his stolen Vanu rebirthing research had reached conclusion. Rebirthing is a reality, and as far as we know, we’re way out in front of both the VS and TR. We’ve changed the game.
But I... can’t shake the guilt. It only saved me. Rebirthing is still far too costly to plug in more than a couple dozen people at a time. As the head of the project, I was the only one in my research division deemed important enough to get plugged in to the early prototypes. Felix is dead, and he doesn't get to come back. Sam is gone, too, when he was the one who had brought this tech to the NC in the first place! And he was, after everything, one of my closest friends.
I guess all I can do now is make it cheaper in the next iteration - find a way for it to protect more people. One day, I swear, we’ll have every New Conglomerate soldier plugged in, and we’ll all be spared the grief that comes with losing the people closest to us… but that wasn't today. Knowing that Sam and Felix could have kept their lives somehow has made everything so much harder.]
------------------------
So here comes a few questions. Did the NC actually beat the VS to rebirth technology? (while we know Henry Briggs underwent rebirth long before; we don't know when the VS was able to replicate it)
Vanu Sovereignty propagandists love to claim that the VS gave rebirth technology to the NC; but it almost seems as if the lore contradicts it. But are the propagandists actually right? Since we don't actually know when the VS reproduced rebirth technology; it is entirely possible that they finished it even before Samuel Gornan "defected".
Samuel Gornan might have acuatally been a VS double agent, whose objective was to give the NC rebirth technology, in order to prolong the war. He might even still be alive; if the VS had rebirth technology way before everyone, and he was plugged in before he went to "defect".
The reason why the double agent hypothesis is so compelling is because we don't even know if it is possible for VS to defect after becoming "enlightened" through "imprinting". Technology covered in: PS2 Chronicles - To Advance and Protect Humanity August 30th, 2846
Excerpts: [ Absolutely. Along with implants, discreet cybernetics, and some flash imprinting, you’ll be better than ever. ]
[ It’s better if we wait to address your questions. Things will be clearer for you after we begin the imprinting.]
[ Look, I’m sorry, you aren’t ready for this. I should have waited until after the imprinting, but here we are. Mr. Clay, you don’t get to see your family, not until we’re through with you. You aren’t prepared, and they are not yet part of the Sovereignty. ]
[ Oh, we count on it, Mr. Clay. You’ll likely recruit your wife yourself once you understand. Assuming she can be made to see reason we’d welcome her with open arms. If she can’t be made to see the truth, it’s tragic, but she’ll burn with all the rest. Your little girl is already ours, she just doesn’t know it yet. With our process, by the time Anni’s an adult, she’ll be an amazing specimen, a true paragon of the cause.]
So in short, it seems imprinting might be a form of brainwashing; or the very least 'data transfer'. We don't know how effective it is, nor whether every member of the VS undergoes it. The imprinting tech is utilized in 2846; several years before Samuel Gornan defected in 2849.
Also just to go over timelines, Henry Briggs drops his cover in February, 2845, and VS seemingly officially formed in June, 2845 by Chairman Willis Scott (I say seemingly since it gives Sandy Jones the title "Vanu Sovereignty Chief of Research and Development", but it is unknown whether he got that title that day or whether he had it prior; if he had it prior that would mean the VS officially formed prior to the date.)
Excerpt: Willis Scott's speech: [ We’re not siding with either of them, if that’s what you mean. But we can’t stay out of this any longer. They're going to destroy all of us, and take the whole damn planet down with them. To save the world that Vanu once ruled so that humanity can reach its full potential, we have to eradicate the threat. Today will declare our sovereignty - a Vanu Sovereignty. If only one force can live on Auraxis, it must be us.]
--------------------
Anyways, back to the subject. If Samuel Gornan was actually a defector; that means either VS imprinting wasn't done on everyone, or wasn't full mind control. Both these options I like since it means that the VS cult might not have a complete stranglehold on all of its members.
But the other option is that Samuel Gornan wasn't an actual defector; instead he was a double agent. But why give NC rebirth technology? Even if the TR wiped out the NC, that would mean the VS has one less opponent; they now just need to beat the TR who doesn't have rebirth technology yet.
But what if the VS want a forever war? Sure it is contradictory to their supposed goals; but their actions so far have been contradictory to their goals. Is it possible that the Vanu Aliens are manipulating the VS to produce a forever war for their enjoyment? This would actually fill certain plot holes. The Vanu Alien claims to Briggs never lined up in my opinion.
Regardless I find this all fairly interesting. Figured this would be a fun discussion regardless. I'm interested in reading more lore, so if anyone has links feel free to post them.

Ramifications of Plato's Cave

I think people have talked a lot about the nature of Plato's Cave and not enough about the ramifications of Plato's Cave.
If we are all stuck in a subjective view of the world, and we become illusioned by ourselves, and we rarely ever want to throw away this illusion (ie pursue enlightenment), what does that say about us?
We don't merely think in terms of narratives. We like narratives. We prefer the cave. We live our lives as though it were a narrative. We probably couldn't even stop this if we wanted to, to a certain extent.
What does it mean when we absorb this? What are we doing for ourselves at the point in time when we start thinking about these topics?
In short, we're unhappy with the narrative. It's literally like waking up from a nightmare. We're scared or upset about the nature of reality, so our goal is to recraft a new narrative that will put us back to sleep. That's the concept of "peace". That's the concept of "non-disturbance", which is something we've been chasing ever since we were born and wished to return to the womb, which was a period of forever sleep and forever peace.
All of the learning in the world starts with wanting to understand the world's parameters, so we can more effectively craft dreams for ourselves, so we can live out the narrative that will make us happy.
Neo in the Matrix is the "hacker" who wants to know deeply about the universe because he is someone who wants to craft the greatest dream of all, for himself and for his love (Trinity). Neo ends up sacrificing himself to save his love, which means he "dies" and so does the ever-present evidence of the Matrix existing (Agent Smith everywhere). This is again proof that he prefers the dream, although he also believes that he will one day overcome all of the ancient, deprecated "code" (memes, genes, traditions, culture, etc) inherent in human individuals and in human society.
This is representative of the mythology around christ consciousness. It is about sacrificing one's self for future reward, which comes in the form of a richer, more pleasurable, and more real story. Perhaps one in which we are all happier, healthier, and more prosperous. This is the summary of the entire mythos around Neo, Jesus, and many other individuals.
I think one of the main reasons old psychedelic aficionados will say "you didn't take enough" if you have a bad trip is that one of the main goals of trips is to remember why you went. Not just "what information are you trying to extract" from this trip, with altered consciousness, but why do you need this info? What are you really doing with your life?

Traumatic rituals

Another implication from this...
What is the purpose of traumatic rituals, perhaps some we might call satanic?
If we induce fear in someone, we can get them to keep waking up (not just in terms of sleep, but in terms of consciousness), and when they do that, they have a chance to advance themselves. It's totally abused though, and they aren't trying to create enlightened individuals so much as highly trained tools who can do things that ordinary sleepwalkers couldn't.

Sex Magick

This is related to operant conditioning. basically, the reward centers are so activated from sexual activity (or even masturbation) that it helps get you to agree and purify yourself before an idea.
Sexual activity puts you in a very suggestible and controllable state. If someone else is providing you with the sex and ideas at the same time, they can control you with this process. That being said, you can use sex to actually meditate and change your own mind as well, but this would not be broadly taught due to the inherent risk in doing so (only works as well as the individual makes good choices during it).
As I will get into later, the idea that thoughts and ideas are like lives, so the "lives" which learn to desire and crave sexuality find themselves to have complete and utter control over your body at times. The only way to cure such an addiction is to go around and exterminate these lives. It's not just about deciding to do it, nor is it about living in the vain belief you even do decide on a moment to moment basis what you do. You actually have to consciously do work to kill those devils. Also for this reason, sex magick is not widely taught.

Curiosity

There is this concept of simply "noticing the birds". Jesus was even quoted saying something along the lines of "make sure to smell the flowers".
Why though? We usually decipher this as just "enjoy your life" and don't think more about it. I have an alternative explanation.
Acts such as this are what keep you awake. They retain your consciousness. By continuing to be curious, your mind stays alive. And furthermore, it is the healthier alternative compared fear, which I said would keep you awake in a more nightmare-like state.

Waking up

As I said, we are all living out narratives. The question is, who is the narrator and the story planner? In a healthy, conscious adult, you are your own god. You are your own narrator and story planner. What does the entertainment/education/media complex attempt to do? It wishes to subvert your narrator and story planning, so that it is now in control, and you are merely observing something outside of yourself. This is mind control. Now, consciousness is always observing something, since it has a rather passive role in cognition, but the point is that it's no longer observing internal processes so much as an external "man behind the curtain", representative of all of entertainment/education/media available today. We do have a name for this complex. We call it "The Cathedral".
While it's certainly true that entertaining content has a market value, it's absolutely crucial for you to understand that The Cathedral is not an organic institution made up of profit seekers. The Cathedral is an ideological organization that is not concerned with making money. Why? The Cathedral is ran by the people who already own half the world. They run finance. They are the bankers. The purpose of the Cathedral is not to make profit, but to ensure their primary modes of business continue to profit them. It is disinformation. Yes, there are subcontractors who seek profit in the Cathedral complex, but these are not the people who run the system.
There are a ton of avenues for exploring this. We could talk about how old oil money was the primary means by which radio as a medium was researched in the early 1900s (The Radio Project, funded by Rockefellers). We could talk about how identity politics scarcely existed just 10-15 years ago, and when the Occupy Wall Street movement started gaining momentum, suddenly identity politics existed as a distraction from anything those nasty Wall St executives and their lackeys were doing. People seem to get angry because they think Disney is attempting to create a profit from selling the new Mermaid to a wider range of audiences than before, but they should be even more angry if they realize Disney ultimately doesn't care about making money from Mermaid. They simply are doing what they are told, to drum up conflict and loss of social cohesion, so that the real powerbrokers can operate unimpeded.
Yes, it is about money, but not necessary movie money. Not necessarily tech bro money either. Even Facebook showed up at the exact time that DARPA was shutting down an exploratory project called LifeLog that did the exact same thing. Did Zuckerberg "magically" pull himself up by his bootstraps, or was he connected like Bill Gates was connected, whose father was powerful in the intelligence community and who was a member of the early equivalent of the WEF dating back to the 1960s? Microsoft was a ploy for the government to have a backdoor into all computer systems. Facebook was a ploy for the government to have a backdoor into everyone's social lives. Google has become a ploy to control all searches (I have not found evidence to suggest it began this way though — not to say it doesn't exist).
You might ask yourself... Does it feel like something is missing in your life? Would you call it "meaning" or "spirit"? Is it possible you have lost communication with the center of yourself which has the answers for meaning and the feeling of spirit? And could this lost communication be due to the Cathedral's attacks on your mind?
The problem isn't necessarily waking up / not waking up. This is a false dichotomy. Simply change what you are dreaming about.
However, "waking up" could be considered an honorable task, since you are in effect becoming the lightbearer for everyone else. For that path, the most important thing to realize is that there are different reasons to wake up. It's really just like dreaming. You could wake up from a nightmare, or you could stay up all night out of curiosity for a thing that you just can't put down. "Waking up" out of fear isn't very productive (except insofar as you change your dreams, per my first point), but waking up out of curiosity and creativity is... simply world-changing.

Is that why they're banning books in Florida?

Which books are they banning? Those that serve curiosity, creativity, intelligence, and growth as a human being, or those that serve darker forces such as perverse sexuality?
People are equipped with limited options to fight the tyranny of the Cathedral. Book banning is a last ditch effort to stop the mind control put upon us.

Even if you don’t believe in conspiracy….. his words ring very very true

This is an interesting, albeit naive, place to be. You blame all bad things on the nature of people, rather than the actions of people.

Free Will

If we consider that language is composed of symbols, which indicate concepts, and that concepts seem to always be a compressed version of something that's beyond the logical mind's ordinary ability to work with, then it follows that free will is just such a symbol.
Further, our conceptual mind apparently gives all concepts their meaning by way of relating them to opposite symbols — e.g. free will has no conceptual usefulness in the absence of the concept of "fate" or "destiny", etc. I propose that neither free will nor destiny exist as anything other than concepts which aren't mapping the situation realistically.
Specifically they are symbols, and "we" exist within those symbols so long as there is an automatic assumption that if neither exists, something must take their place. If you tell someone they have free will, you automatically introduce the concept of destiny, and vice versa. If you tell someone who doesn't know themselves that they have free will, exactly who have you granted such "freedom" to?
All of these symbols are like "lives" themselves, and as long as they exist within us, they live and state their cases to be known. When you fully decide against something, you kill it within yourself. You kill the idea, which ends its life at least with you.
Consciousness isn't so much about "thinking" as it is deciding which lives to keep and which to kill. You're choosing which symbols to associate with. You're choosing which subconscious processes to follow.
That is perhaps the function of the thing we call free will. So in that sense, it's not so much that it is free will vs destiny, but it is this tiered concept of cognition. There are the "lives" existing within you, then there is the "god" who allows them to live or die.
This also frames the idea of destiny, which you might say is the assumption of a "life" within you existing forever. In other words, would it even be "your" destiny if parts of yourself could literally be created and destroyed? Perhaps we are like the ship of theseus in more ways than we realize. It's not even so much about destiny as it is the idea of object permanence or realism in the first place.
This description of symbols living within us is the concept of the noosphere, by the way. It's a "sphere" similar to a biosphere or ecosphere, which exists on top of conscious beings. There is our body (the hardware), then there is "the spirit" or whatever you want to call the "immaterial" (technically electrons are material but very hard to measure in large structures) resting on top of it, and the collection of all of these immaterial beings exist in the noosphere.

"Hey! Be careful with that fire!" the old merc shouted while taking cover. "Rick, you are boring… you know I can heal you back up, right?" the younger merc in the middle of the hallway answered. Rick just muttered, "Without becoming a giant tumor? Damn Magicians…" "We have a medical station on board, and you know it.", the young one snickered. With a scoff, the senior returned to kill the intruders.
The two Private Security Contractors were doing their job of guarding the cargo bay of the CLF Vessel. Xenith pirates boarded the ship after a lucky hit to the engine. While Joshua threw small fireballs, Rick struck down any eager Xenith with his repeating gauss rifle. Then a faint stomping sound could be heard from afar. Rick cried out to the magician, "Joshua! Watch out!" The devil has just arrived at the end of the Hallway. "I have… OH FUCK!" The bioengineered beast sprinted through the long hallway. Its 5 claws leave marks on the composite floor plating. The unnatural scream of the abomination even drowned out the kinetic fire of the now desperate Rick. "Rick! I need a grenade! Now!" Joshua just ordered him. "No! You can't do that!" screamed the man back. Now angrier than everything else, Joshua coldly threatened Rick, "Right now." With no hesitation, the older merc just threw the grenade at the Magician. While flying through the air, the grenade disintegrated into a fine mist, while making its way to Joshua's hand. Even in a stressful situation like this, he knew he could turn this primitive weapon into a deadly piece of art. He just hoped it wouldn't destroy any important part of the ship. After a couple of seconds of strange movement of the mist, he was ready. The magician laid out his trump card. The ball of death whirled down the hallway. Before it made contact with the malformed beast, the Bulkhead was closed violently, the metal of the door warped under the stress, but it was sealed shut. The mercs felt the explosion, then heard fading screaming. Then the lights cut out. Rick was now standing, illuminated by the red shimmer of the backup lights, helmet in his hands, quietly muttering. Joshua asked, "What are you doing, old man?" "Making peace with my gods, you should do the same.", the old merc answered quietly.
The two were entombed in a now-dead ship. After some months of searching, the ship was cataloged as MIA, the precious cargo safe but lost in space.

Ramifications of Plato's Cave

I think people have talked a lot about the nature of Plato's Cave and not enough about the ramifications of Plato's Cave.
If we are all stuck in a subjective view of the world, and we become illusioned by ourselves, and we rarely ever want to throw away this illusion (ie pursue enlightenment), what does that say about us?
We don't merely think in terms of narratives. We like narratives. We prefer the cave. We live our lives as though it were a narrative. We probably couldn't even stop this if we wanted to, to a certain extent.
What does it mean when we absorb this? What are we doing for ourselves at the point in time when we start thinking about these topics?
In short, we're unhappy with the narrative. It's literally like waking up from a nightmare. We're scared or upset about the nature of reality, so our goal is to recraft a new narrative that will put us back to sleep. That's the concept of "peace". That's the concept of "non-disturbance", which is something we've been chasing ever since we were born and wished to return to the womb, which was a period of forever sleep and forever peace.
All of the learning in the world starts with wanting to understand the world's parameters, so we can more effectively craft dreams for ourselves, so we can live out the narrative that will make us happy.
Neo in the Matrix is the "hacker" who wants to know deeply about the universe because he is someone who wants to craft the greatest dream of all, for himself and for his love (Trinity). Neo ends up sacrificing himself to save his love, which means he "dies" and so does the ever-present evidence of the Matrix existing (Agent Smith everywhere). This is again proof that he prefers the dream, although he also believes that he will one day overcome all of the ancient, deprecated "code" (memes, genes, traditions, culture, etc) inherent in human individuals and in human society.
This is representative of the mythology around christ consciousness. It is about sacrificing one's self for future reward, which comes in the form of a richer, more pleasurable, and more real story. Perhaps one in which we are all happier, healthier, and more prosperous. This is the summary of the entire mythos around Neo, Jesus, and many other individuals.
I think one of the main reasons old psychedelic aficionados will say "you didn't take enough" if you have a bad trip is that one of the main goals of trips is to remember why you went. Not just "what information are you trying to extract" from this trip, with altered consciousness, but why do you need this info? What are you really doing with your life?

Traumatic rituals

Another implication from this...
What is the purpose of traumatic rituals, perhaps some we might call satanic?
If we induce fear in someone, we can get them to keep waking up (not just in terms of sleep, but in terms of consciousness), and when they do that, they have a chance to advance themselves. It's totally abused though, and they aren't trying to create enlightened individuals so much as highly trained tools who can do things that ordinary sleepwalkers couldn't.

Sex Magick

This is related to operant conditioning. basically, the reward centers are so activated from sexual activity (or even masturbation) that it helps get you to agree and purify yourself before an idea.
Sexual activity puts you in a very suggestible and controllable state. If someone else is providing you with the sex and ideas at the same time, they can control you with this process. That being said, you can use sex to actually meditate and change your own mind as well, but this would not be broadly taught due to the inherent risk in doing so (only works as well as the individual makes good choices during it).
As I will get into later, the idea that thoughts and ideas are like lives, so the "lives" which learn to desire and crave sexuality find themselves to have complete and utter control over your body at times. The only way to cure such an addiction is to go around and exterminate these lives. It's not just about deciding to do it, nor is it about living in the vain belief you even do decide on a moment to moment basis what you do. You actually have to consciously do work to kill those devils. Also for this reason, sex magick is not widely taught.

Curiosity

There is this concept of simply "noticing the birds". Jesus was even quoted saying something along the lines of "make sure to smell the flowers".
Why though? We usually decipher this as just "enjoy your life" and don't think more about it. I have an alternative explanation.
Acts such as this are what keep you awake. They retain your consciousness. By continuing to be curious, your mind stays alive. And furthermore, it is the healthier alternative compared fear, which I said would keep you awake in a more nightmare-like state.

Waking up

As I said, we are all living out narratives. The question is, who is the narrator and the story planner? In a healthy, conscious adult, you are your own god. You are your own narrator and story planner. What does the entertainment/education/media complex attempt to do? It wishes to subvert your narrator and story planning, so that it is now in control, and you are merely observing something outside of yourself. This is mind control. Now, consciousness is always observing something, since it has a rather passive role in cognition, but the point is that it's no longer observing internal processes so much as an external "man behind the curtain", representative of all of entertainment/education/media available today. We do have a name for this complex. We call it "The Cathedral".
While it's certainly true that entertaining content has a market value, it's absolutely crucial for you to understand that The Cathedral is not an organic institution made up of profit seekers. The Cathedral is an ideological organization that is not concerned with making money. Why? The Cathedral is ran by the people who already own half the world. They run finance. They are the bankers. The purpose of the Cathedral is not to make profit, but to ensure their primary modes of business continue to profit them. It is disinformation. Yes, there are subcontractors who seek profit in the Cathedral complex, but these are not the people who run the system.
There are a ton of avenues for exploring this. We could talk about how old oil money was the primary means by which radio as a medium was researched in the early 1900s (The Radio Project, funded by Rockefellers). We could talk about how identity politics scarcely existed just 10-15 years ago, and when the Occupy Wall Street movement started gaining momentum, suddenly identity politics existed as a distraction from anything those nasty Wall St executives and their lackeys were doing. People seem to get angry because they think Disney is attempting to create a profit from selling the new Mermaid to a wider range of audiences than before, but they should be even more angry if they realize Disney ultimately doesn't care about making money from Mermaid. They simply are doing what they are told, to drum up conflict and loss of social cohesion, so that the real powerbrokers can operate unimpeded.
Yes, it is about money, but not necessary movie money. Not necessarily tech bro money either. Even Facebook showed up at the exact time that DARPA was shutting down an exploratory project called LifeLog that did the exact same thing. Did Zuckerberg "magically" pull himself up by his bootstraps, or was he connected like Bill Gates was connected, whose father was powerful in the intelligence community and who was a member of the early equivalent of the WEF dating back to the 1960s? Microsoft was a ploy for the government to have a backdoor into all computer systems. Facebook was a ploy for the government to have a backdoor into everyone's social lives. Google has become a ploy to control all searches (I have not found evidence to suggest it began this way though — not to say it doesn't exist).
You might ask yourself... Does it feel like something is missing in your life? Would you call it "meaning" or "spirit"? Is it possible you have lost communication with the center of yourself which has the answers for meaning and the feeling of spirit? And could this lost communication be due to the Cathedral's attacks on your mind?
The problem isn't necessarily waking up / not waking up. This is a false dichotomy. Simply change what you are dreaming about.
However, "waking up" could be considered an honorable task, since you are in effect becoming the lightbearer for everyone else. For that path, the most important thing to realize is that there are different reasons to wake up. It's really just like dreaming. You could wake up from a nightmare, or you could stay up all night out of curiosity for a thing that you just can't put down. "Waking up" out of fear isn't very productive (except insofar as you change your dreams, per my first point), but waking up out of curiosity and creativity is... simply world-changing.

Is that why they're banning books in Florida?

Which books are they banning? Those that serve curiosity, creativity, intelligence, and growth as a human being, or those that serve darker forces such as perverse sexuality?
People are equipped with limited options to fight the tyranny of the Cathedral. Book banning is a last ditch effort to stop the mind control put upon us.

Even if you don’t believe in conspiracy….. his words ring very very true

This is an interesting, albeit naive, place to be. You blame all bad things on the nature of people, rather than the actions of people.

Free Will

If we consider that language is composed of symbols, which indicate concepts, and that concepts seem to always be a compressed version of something that's beyond the logical mind's ordinary ability to work with, then it follows that free will is just such a symbol.
Further, our conceptual mind apparently gives all concepts their meaning by way of relating them to opposite symbols — e.g. free will has no conceptual usefulness in the absence of the concept of "fate" or "destiny", etc. I propose that neither free will nor destiny exist as anything other than concepts which aren't mapping the situation realistically.
Specifically they are symbols, and "we" exist within those symbols so long as there is an automatic assumption that if neither exists, something must take their place. If you tell someone they have free will, you automatically introduce the concept of destiny, and vice versa. If you tell someone who doesn't know themselves that they have free will, exactly who have you granted such "freedom" to?
All of these symbols are like "lives" themselves, and as long as they exist within us, they live and state their cases to be known. When you fully decide against something, you kill it within yourself. You kill the idea, which ends its life at least with you.
Consciousness isn't so much about "thinking" as it is deciding which lives to keep and which to kill. You're choosing which symbols to associate with. You're choosing which subconscious processes to follow.
That is perhaps the function of the thing we call free will. So in that sense, it's not so much that it is free will vs destiny, but it is this tiered concept of cognition. There are the "lives" existing within you, then there is the "god" who allows them to live or die.
This also frames the idea of destiny, which you might say is the assumption of a "life" within you existing forever. In other words, would it even be "your" destiny if parts of yourself could literally be created and destroyed? Perhaps we are like the ship of theseus in more ways than we realize. It's not even so much about destiny as it is the idea of object permanence or realism in the first place.
This description of symbols living within us is the concept of the noosphere, by the way. It's a "sphere" similar to a biosphere or ecosphere, which exists on top of conscious beings. There is our body (the hardware), then there is "the spirit" or whatever you want to call the "immaterial" (technically electrons are material but very hard to measure in large structures) resting on top of it, and the collection of all of these immaterial beings exist in the noosphere.