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Repost - One Goal, Many Paths - Next Steps After Not Matching Residency Intended Audience: Residency Applicants Panel: Beju Shah, David Vu, Brian Fung, Tony Dao 36% of all participants did not match this year for ASHP Match Day: https://natmatch.com/ashprmp/stats/2025applstats-ph1.pdf Check out Brian's Listing of Phase 2 Residencies via Unscripted Rx: https://www.unscripted-rx.com/phase2
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Women making bad decisions. Cáel to the rescue? What? In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand. Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected.. “There is nothing wrong being a Lucky Bastard. It is wrong to rely on it.” They were all psychopaths and murderers after all, so death was becoming a vocational hazard. Me refraining from having as many sexual liaisons as possible wasn't realistic. I wasn't going to be willingly castrated and that was the only way out. The one benefit I could see was me working in a target-rich environment. "Now that I have had my turn stymieing Cáel's chaotic yet well-meaning attempts to educate us in the dangers and rewards of free-ranging masculinity," Tessa regarded the assembly, "I am getting out with my victory intact. Good luck, Sisters. You'll need it." Tessa exited, order was restored and; oh yeah, Elsa had brought me here for a sadistic love-fest, sans the sex. "I don't know what to make of you," Elsa smiled warmly, "I don't understand you and I find you to be very interesting." Let me make this clear; all three of those statements can be very bad, or very good. 'I don't know what to make of you' means I want to make it with you. 'I don't understand you' is 30% bad and 70% good. When bad, it is a prelude to a break-up. What she means is 'you aren't trying to understand me', thus the end of the relationship. On the beneficial side it means 'I've totally bought into your seduction and I'm ready to screw'. Ah, 'interesting'. Two types of women find a man 'interesting'; women who have to have you, and stalkers. Somewhat redundant. The main difference is how they respond to the Restraining Order and how much fun the erotic side of the relationship will be. The first kind of woman has a public screaming fit if you take out a RO on her. Let them build up to an incinerating level, then fuck them; it's so worth it. Stalkers ignore ROs. That's okay. Now you can legally trap them. They'll do whatever you want. Not because they are afraid of you. It is an RO for God's sake; one night in jail, maybe. No, they'll do whatever sex act you request because that's why they are stalking you in the first place; the sensual/emotional connection. When she starts making bizarre requests of you, subtly direct her to another 'more interesting' guy. Try not to use a friend. That's kind of cold. For the next few weeks, make sure the latest victim doesn't end up as a Missing Person. After that, you've done your civic duty so you can move on guilt-free. "Elsa, I need ten minutes to stretch first," I requested. She nodded. Off came the shirt. I retreated to a gymnastics mat and began stretching out my kinks. Five minutes in, I did one of my favorite maneuvers; the backwards human bridge completed when your wrists touch the Achilles tendons. Not only does this extended your abdominal muscles, it exhibits your hard-on and suggest all kinds of pages from the Kama Sutra are, in fact, possible. My performance highlighted my musculature, flexibility and numerous scars. My left thigh still had a light bandage wrapped around it. Whatever the Amazon medics were using was working gangbusters on me. Elsa had retreated to her end of the mat so I glided to my axes then promptly got off the mat. I didn't trust any Amazon, not even Aya and I'd let my heart be cut out if it would save her life. I got the feel for these axes, spun them around a few times then made to get back on the mat. "Put the loops around your wrist," Elsa directed. "Why?" I retorted. We were back to 'why are we letting a male question our orders.' "You are not allowed to throw them," Elsa allowed. I nodded. I didn't loop them. No, I walked onto the mat, weapons held axe-head down. I walked in five steps, knelt and placed the axes on the mat by my side. "Cáel, defend yourself," Elsa stated firmly. "Which is it? Do I defend myself and I act in a manner allowed by axe-work, or do I accede to your demands and be automatically defeated?" I responded. "Do you believe my spear technique is that superior to your own, made-up style?" Elsa smirked. "I think you are cheating. Worse, I think you are being a bully. If you want this to be the 'Elsa is a Bad-Ass' show, congratulations, you've won. I'm not going to fight you. I kneel before you, weapons on the mat, acknowledging that your cheating ways have defeated me," I mocked. "Savor this magnificent victory." "Your opinion of my martial prowess is not what is at question here today," Elsa spoke. I stood up, turned away and walked off the map, interrupting the rest of her speech. She was coming for me this time. I opened my towel, took out my phone and began texting away. "What are you doing?" Ngozi rumbled. *Buffy; job complete. Need to shower before next mission in queue* I hadn't hit 'send' yet. "Please correct me if I'm wrong. This was supposed to be a weapon's exhibition. That implies a study of your opponents training and capabilities. Elsa's prowess, along with my own, are the question here to today," I insisted. "Otherwise it is a waste of time for every non-sadist here." "Is it absolutely crucial that you throw an axe at Elsa?" Traska questioned. "No. It is absolutely crucial that Elsa fight under the handicap that I might throw an axe," I instructed her. "It changes the range dynamic. If I can hit her from; oh, five meters out, she has to keep close. If she has to keep close, my axes can engage her hand-to-hand." "Since Elsa chose a long spear, throwing it is clumsy, thus reducing her options," I stated. "Any range over six meters and she can probably dodge, or deflect, my throw. So we are both range limited, as it should be for a good exhibition." "I bow you reasoning," Elsa gave me a respectful nod of the head. Fucker; she liked me more, not less, despite my verbal reticence. We went to our corners. I charged first. Oh God; Elsa was super-great at spear. Less anyone forget, the spear has not only a sharp point; it also has a 20 cm bladed surface on each side plus a sold, oak shaft for blocking, poking and smacking. Elsa swung the spear around her body in lightning quick arcs. She could fight long shaft, or short shaft, as the range dictated. Long shaft was like fighting a dagger on a stick; cut and thrust. Short shaft was mainly thrusting, but was good for holding me back if I got inside her 'long' guard. Elsa's advantages were life-long experience, tons of natural talent, and being quicker than me. Our staminas were evenly matched. The drain of Elsa's fluid style equaled my two-weapon use. I had her in bulk and brawn. Elsa and I were at the top of the spectrum for our respective genders; physically and mentally better off than the majority. This meant I had her on brute strength and reach. That was genetics talking. My only other advantage was the uniqueness of my style. Elsa hadn't faced it before, though I'm sure she'd watched Constanza and Crewe's fight with me on video. Elsa figured out quickly that a left-handed battle axe made a poor shield. It covered far less area and took more energy and concentration for the assaulted to defend themselves. As soon as she put that bit of knowledge into her arsenal of tricks, I showed her another one. An axe is an axe, and when she slapped that spear against my guard one too many times, my right-handed axe chopped into the shaft, severing the spear blade from the rest of the spear. This was the point where an Amazon would have pressed the attack. I was deciding to take as little of a beating as possible. I fell back, knelt and put my axes down. There was a hush. "Elsa, do you wish to retrieve another spear?" I inquired. This was an exhibition after all. Actually, this was Elsa proving she was better than me, but she a script to stick to. "To your starting place," Elsa commanded. "Get some water." I picked up my axes and withdrew; backwards. Oneida had crept around to my side. "I know what you did this morning," Oneida gave me some water to drink. "It was very clever of you to send me away for my safety. It makes me adore you even more." I reached out with one finger and poked her nose. "You're silly," I sighed. "No," she giggled like a school girl. I was going to Hell for this one. "You are an 'Ash Man' reborn. I read about it." I had no clue that was and Elsa was waiting. The rest was pre-ordained. I got a few light cuts while not leaving a mark on Elsa. I scored major points by disposing of Elsa's second spear though I lost both axes in the endeavor. She swept my feet out from under me, I rolled away from her follow up kick and quickly went to my knees, palms flat on the mat and head lowered. Only the mentally handicapped would have thought I'd won any part of the martial contest. I'd drawn the first time. My ability to defeat Elsa with the equivalent of a staff was undecided. I had been disarmed and disarmed Elsa the second time; technically a draw, but it wasn't. Why? Because Elsa had been trying NOT to kill me, or even injury me (too much). I had been doing the same. If by some calamity I'd killed Elsa, I would have been lucky to fall on my own axes before the crowd butchered me. No, mine had been an amateur effort. I had missed Elsa mostly because I never got close. Elsa had to hold back from slicing me up and running me through. Elsa walked right up to me; I mean Right up to me. She tapped my head, indicating I should look up. There was her cunt maybe 2 inches away with only her skintight shorts between us. "As this demonstrates, we need to continue to work and update our styles," Elsa addressed the throngs. "Cáel put forth his usual exceptional effort; for the gifted amateur that he is." "Thank you for your attention today, my sisters," Elsa concluded. End of lesson. Traska picked up her medical kit and came my way. Oneida and a half dozen other Amazons closed in as well. Elsa didn't move a millimeter. Her fragrance wafted in my face. When Traska tried to shift me around so she could better access my wounds, Elsa stopped me with her hand on my head. Traska found it odd for a second then they all clued in. Elsa was making a statement. This wasn't Amazonian mannerisms coming to the fore. This was throwing down a gauntlet; Elsa's intention to win this competition; me. Amazons were inherently competitive, being tested and testing themselves against previous achievements and each other. Before Buffy opened her big mouth an hour ago, any contest for me had been a joke; the whole 'hunt me down in X-number of days'. Buffy had beaten Elsa to me. You don't get to be a 3000 year old secret society by letting one setback force you to admit defeat. No; Elsa was stepping up her game. The amazing transformation that had confused the women around us was that, according to Elsa, my opinion suddenly mattered. Buffy had made a point of me finding a way to be with her. My choice. Better yet, I'd made my choice to be with her while my life was on the line. Once again, 'I laugh at death' is an incredible turn on. Elsa hadn't changed her stance about men being armed. She was letting me train so she could summon me whenever she wanted me; unless Katrina put her foot down. Katrina wasn't going to do that often. Elsa was a useful subordinate and Katrina finally had her test dummy; me; on the firing range, which she had wanted all along. Katrina is scary-smart. You don't think so? Who kept throwing me and Buffy together knowing of the Buffy/Elsa rivalry? Who approved my sex weekend with Buffy? Who approved my firearms training once she had Elsa's endorsement? As you might recall, that was something Elsa swore she'd never do, yet here we were; a male being trained with firearms at Havenstone. Katrina didn't know when I'd figure out a way to sleep with Buffy, but she had faith in me that once I got to know Buffy, I'd figure something out. I'm far easier to read than the US Tax Code, or the Affordable Care Act. I liked sex with women, I liked being seen as a good guy, I liked trying to be a good guy; roughly in that order. Katrina knew that. I didn't particularly mind being used by her either. That was her job; to protect the security and integrity of Havenstone. Now Buffy was happy, Elsa was letting me train and by dint of my outrageous behavior, I was assisting Katrina in her plot to restore stability to the traditional Amazon bloodlines. Traska slathered this synthetic goo over my lacerations. It stung, but it aided in the healing process and was flexible enough to barely restrict movement. I winced and 'stumbled' forward face-first into Elsa's crotch. My nose ridge pressed deep into her camel toe, certainly pushing down on her clit. "I apologize," I said softly. I didn't move. Elsa didn't see fit to move me, even with her hand still in the hair on the top of my head. "Finished," Traska sighed. "Let me help you up," Oneida jumped to my aid. She helped me stand, but Elsa didn't seem to mind. Getting out of the gym alive was easy. My heartfelt pledge to myself to never return was futile. Sweaty chicks hang out at gyms. As a kid, I played D and D. If I was a Ranger, gyms would be my favored terrain. Okay, maybe bars then gyms. Fine, rock concerts, bars then gyms. I almost made it to the locker room. Coming from the other direction; the non-blooded gym; was Felix. "Hey Felix," I greeted him. Here I was with several fresh wounds and ten steamy ladies who all appeared to have a definite interest in my physique, if not my well-being. Felix was alone. That would not do, not for a man like Felix. "What happened to you?" he asked. "Figure-skating accident," I lied. "It seems I'm clumsy on ice." He didn't buy if for a second. "Oh; maybe Brooke can help patch you up tonight," he grinned. Asshole. The only flaw in his game plan was that the chicks around me didn't give a rat's ass about outsider women. They certainly weren't going to be jealous of them. "Good idea," I nodded. "Where are my manners? This is Oneida, Elsa, Traska and; well, I can't say I've been able to catch everyone's names yet." The unknown women didn't bother introducing themselves. Why? Felix was only a male. They had no immediate need of him, so they didn't bother being civil. Felix was an Alpha's Alpha. He didn't give up that easily. We made it to the showers. Buffy, having not worked out, waited by my locker. Mystically, Elsa appeared in the showers at the exact same time as me. Felix was right behind her. "Felix Melena," he offered his hand to Elsa. She shook it then went back to showering. "I'm better than Cáel." Elsa gave him a quick sneer. "What gives you that idea?" she murmured. "Why don't you let me prove it," he turned to face her, giving Elsa the complete Felix Melena aesthetic. He was a centimeter, or two taller, I was maybe three kilograms heavier and we both lavished attention on our bodies. He was perhaps a bit longer, but narrower down there. As long as it wasn't aimed at my mouth, or ass, I didn't care. By the lack of reaction in Elsa's body tempo, she didn't care either. "If you were a team bodyguard and an assassin appeared to be trying to kill myself and Hayden, who would you protect with your life?" Elsa posed. "I'd kill the assassin," Felix came back immediately. Felix was a winner. "Cáel?" Elsa said. "Hayden," I responded. "I'm a bodyguard. From the top down; protect, secure, return fire." "Cáel, you are trained as a bodyguard?" Felix smirked. "Nah. That was the common sense answer to the question she asked," I shrugged. Shampoo time. Felix was going to make me pay for that comeback. "Felix, would you ever work at Havenstone; off the clock?" Elsa continued. "Yeah," he grinned. I know what he wanted to work on; off the clock. Good luck, you bastard. "Cáel?" "I'm never off the clock, damn it," I snorted. "This job is a 24/7 crimp in my sex life." "Bro," Felix coughed. "Be careful. That's close to sexual harassment." Btw, Felix was serious. He was actually cautioning me. See, me being deported meant he couldn't crush me. "Elsa, would you please shoot me in the head?" I replied. "No," she smiled warmly at me. "I love you too," I said, dripping with sarcasm. Felix's eyes bugged out for a second. "That, Felix Melena, is why Cáel is a better man than you," Elsa looked like an angel sitting in judgment of Felix, finding him flawed and substandard. "Cáel joking around makes him better than me?" Felix mocked. The mistake here had to be Elsa's. "Your lack of understanding is not my problem," Elsa dismissed him. "Cáel, wash my back." "Fine, I'll do it, but I'm massaging your ass too," I groused. "Get it over with," she sighed with exasperation. "Damn. Felix; day in, day out. Always washing naked women. This job is killing me," I muttered. Felix wasn't one to give up easily. By the time I had totally soaped up her back, ass and upper thighs; back and front, he had exited the field. He caught me exiting the locker room. "Cáel, why don't we go out for some drinks after work?" he offered. Ah, he was going to beat me up with Brooke. "Sure," I agreed. I'm a dog. Felix was going to sleep with Brooke to show me he was the superior male. He was going to rub it in my face. I hadn't told anyone about knocking boots with Brooke. It wasn't their business. Felix would crow it to the Heavens, because pissing me off was what mattered, not how Brooke felt. I couldn't even save Brooke because Felix was in her socio-economic group and she'd make the same mistake with him she'd made with Trent; thinking they cared about her. (Monday later) Buffy had finally dismissed me when Katrina summoned me to her office. Ignoring me getting into an altercation; in the Full-Blood gym; yet again, I had a good day. No property damage, lost items, or physically damaged employees. Ragged by most people's standards, but a good day for me at Havenstone. I still had a chance to walk out under my own power. Katrina motioned me to come to her desk. Upon my arrival, she slid a tablet over to me with a single icon on the screen. I tapped it. Aya's face appeared as the vid-mail began. She was glowing. There was tent fabric in the background so I had no idea of her geographic location. I didn't care. "Hey!" she squeaked. "I'm doing great at camp. I met three girls who are as small as me and we've formed our own squad; the Fatal Squirts." I chuckled. I had encouraged her to steal strength from her perceived weaknesses. She had to believe in herself then take that as she built up her skills. I had faith in her when no one else did. "I showed some of my councilors a picture of you. I think you would get into trouble if you came here. I want you to come, but I thought it was only fair to warn my favorite bed-buddy," she giggled. "Send me a message when you can. I understand there will be a delay as the messages have to be physically delivered. I know you are doing okay. If not, hold off your vengeance until I can return and guard your back. I love you, Cáel. Be well," she smiled as her picture faded into darkness. "Ah damn," I whispered. Aya looked good; confident, upbeat and spirited. "Katrina, can I make a message for her right now?" I begged. "Of course," she gave me an approving tilt of the head. "I think the courier is still in the building." "Cool. What do I do?" I urged. "Use the webcam; make a message and forward it to my computer," Katrina told me. "I'll take it from there." I made the message, pretty much updating her on my latest exploits with limited editing. Aya was a surprisingly innocent yet worldly 9 year old. Much of that came from being Katrina's and Desiree's niece; mainly Katrina's. It gave her access to tidbits of sensitive data from time to time. Not so much she was a real security threat. Enough so that she got some things confused; like what sex was truly about. I felt in my soul she'd be a great Amazon one day. I didn't remind her of that much. She had enough pressure for a kid her age. "You are seeing Oneida now?" a frosty voice unnerved me. It was Buffy. "Fuck," I jumped up. "Damn Buffy, stop sneaking up on me like that, or I'm going to start thinking you are a stalker." "I am stalking you, Einstein," Buffy menaced. "I'm glad we got that out of the way," I rolled my eyes. "Oh look! It's Daphne coming to my rescue. I am so out of here," I exulted. I edged passed Buffy, slipped her attempt to grab my arm and raced for the 'new hires' at the elevator. "Get back here, you Cock-sucker!" Buffy howled as she chased me down. May miracles never cease. Daphne, Violet and Tigger formed an Amazon (I wasn't sure if I could consider them 'human' yet) shield between my frail form and the hulking brute that was Buffy. "Calm down, Buffy," Daphne pleaded. "He fought Elsa today; again." "Get out of my way," Buffy snarled. "Thank God you stopped her," I huffed to Dora. "I hope to she never finds out that I soaped up Elsa's entire body while we were sharing a shower together." Daphne turned and gave me an incredulous look. "Cáel, you are a Dumb-ass," Daphne sighed. Looking to Buffy as she stood aside. "Have at." "Are you mental?" Fabiola chimed in. The elevator doors finally opened, Buffy shoved me in and the rest of the posse followed. Helena joined us at the last second. "He's taunting me," Buffy responded to Fabiola while using her middle finger to poke my chest. "At this rate I am going to have to devastate a dozen male escorts so I can make it the remaining the 69 more days until he's mine again." "Is he really that good?" Paula wondered. Buffy twisted around to confront her. "He hammered me so hard, I thought he'd dislocate my hips. Later, we spent an entire hour, naked, wrapped up in each other's bodies with no actual penetration; touching, tasting and whispered affections," Buffy curled her lip. "He's better than you could possibly imagine." "You realize we have 27 seconds left, right?" I reminded Buffy. "Really?" Buffy's head snapped back to me. I nodded and she jumped my bones. She had her hand down my pants, pulling on my rod, and the other grabbing the back of my head to deepen our kiss. For my part, I had my left hand on her breast and the right down the back of her pants, fondling a panty-covered ass cheek. In a culture where you summoned a male, ordered him to perform and he did so the same exact way he'd done a dozen times before, what Buffy and I were doing didn't make sense. The two of us didn't give up an ounce of control yet meshed perfectly. Our pleasure was obvious, vocal and we didn't give a damn about the crowd around us. Buffy and I had created our own little lust-bubble. The chimer went off. We settled down and straightened up our clothes. "Fuck it all; that's some good dicking," Buffy mumbled. That was an inside joke between me, Timothy, my big, gay, buff tattoo-artist roommate, and the few women he chose to share that descriptive with; 'a good dicking'. We tumbled out of the elevator. "Is he always like that?" Fabiola mumbled. "He's a whole lot better with his clothes off," Buffy sneered at Fabiola. Sometimes I'm a super-selfish bastard; I want life to cut me some slack. Waiting for us was Oneida; in biker clothing. That would have merely been bad, dangerous and creepy except I was dressed in work clothes. I was planning to meet some of the guys (all two of them) for some after-work drinks. The encounter went from not-good to horribly awkward. Oneida had checked up on me, been told how I got to and from work as well as when I left. Unfortunately, she hadn't checked my social calendar; mainly because I didn't keep one; sophomore year mistake. If a girl is in your apartment, she will find the thing you don't want her to find; every single time. I burned my diary and unfriended everybody after that final, hospital-resulting episode. "Hi," I greeted Oneida. She'd figured out she'd screwed up something fierce. "What bike do you use? I have a Specialized STSE hybrid. Maybe we can use some paths one weekend." I was trying to diffuse her embarrassment. We were two bikers talking about bikes. Nothing wrong with that. "I have a Specialized Source;” she got out then realized how BAD that sounded. She had the exact same bike as me; how bizarre? Unless you had somebody come down and take a look at what I bicycle I used. Time to save the day. "Do you want to make a date for 6:30 am on Saturday?" I suggested. "Provided this wacky place hasn't offed, or misplaced me by then." "Ah; that would be nice," Oneida rebounded happily. "The date, that is." "Whoa Oneida, what are you doing with this guy?" Brian derided me as he walked up. I wanted to say, 'Brian, you've insulted a princess of the Amazon people. Please continue making an ass of yourself and give Trent and Khalid my regards'. I didn't. "This is Cáel Nyilas. He's a real player," Brian smirked. "You can do better than him." Oh yeah, Oneida and Brian were co-workers; 'new hires' in Acquisitions. "Brian, it took you three days to even use my name," Oneida gave Brian a neutral stare. "I love Cáel. He saved my life and he sees the real me." For the love of all that's holy, someone shoot me in the head right now. I could hear the nearly subsonic growls emanating from Buffy. Brian looked at me, laughed and went to put an arm around Oneida's shoulder. After all, if I could pick her up, it should be effortless for him to take her away, right? Dumb-shit. Laughing at me was okay. Laughing at; then I noticed the two chicks in black leather standing about doing their best (until a second ago) to go unnoticed. Cáel had gotten away with such familiarity because Cáel had risked his life to save their Princess. Brian Fung? He barely knew her name and they worked together. These weren't even SD chicks; they were something else. My guess was Arinniti House Guard. Did Katrina's House Epona have a house guard? Sure, I imagine they did. They were probably with the rest of House Epona where ever they lived. It wasn't like the whole kit and caboodle was here in NYC. That would have been foolish. If Caitlyn, Aya's mom, had a security issue, she called us at Havenstone HQ, less than four kilometers away. Without a doubt, Elsa would stop by and kick ass for her. I gave Brian this much; he had a working set of eyes. The second those two harbingers of death began closing in, Brian back-pedaled. "Hey Brian, let's go grab some drinks," I offered him a graceful exit. "Sounds good," Brian tried to sound cool. "Oneida, take care," I nodded to my new romantic stalker. "Ladies," to my 'new hire' crew. "Buffy," to my sometimes boss, "remember you are still hot for a; mature chick." "You are going die a long, torturous and extremely painful death," Buffy sizzled. "What? Are you going to make me eat your cooking?" I laughed. Buffy didn't articulate a counter before Brian and I slipped outside. "Cáel, who was that woman?" Brian whispered. "Which one? You need to be more specific. My erotic malfeasances are terribly confusing." "The one you insulted," Brian said. "The last one you insulted," he clarified. "Buffy. She's one of my bosses," I grinned. "She loves me. She's even promised to play the bagpipes at my funeral. Personally I think that's because she doesn't want to risk anyone hearing me pounding on the coffin lid, trying to get out." "You are not going to make it the full 84 days with that attitude," Brian lectured me. "Trent has already been promoted," Brian continued. "I am regularly referred to as indispensable in my work reviews. Felix works closely with Ms. Pharos at all times. You seem to be the only one of us having; issues with Havenstone. Hell, they even shot you and you sat back and took it. I doubt your complacent attitude impressed anyone much." No mention of poor Khalid. How quickly they forget. Trent had been 'promoted' to Southeast Asia alright. I looked it up; there are around 10,000 islands between Indonesia and the Philippines. Sure some were small spits of land with a few trees. I had little doubt one of the good-sized one was a jungle of a different sort. Certainly Executive Services sent Trent's belongings somewhere. I'd never tried to find out. What would I have done with the knowledge? Brooke didn't care and I didn't know his family. Brian and I went to the same yuppie bar as last time. I was with Brian this time, so I abandoned him as quick as I could. Why? At the far end of the bar, talking the bar-back was my Delivery Girl; aka the person who did the home liquor delivery to Libra's place. Half way down the bar, she sensed me looking at her. The bar-back followed her gaze. He wasn't happy with me. DG simply didn't recognize me so I held up my valise over my groin. Confusion; surprise; acknowledgment that despite our surroundings, I wasn't worried about being seen with her. She had her hand truck; she had to make a front door delivery this time. "Remember me?" I smiled. "Cáel Nyilas; the Pillow Guy," she snickered. "How did that work out for you?" The bar-back was broadcasting his displeasure at some upper class shmuck cutting in on his action. DG caught that. "Jason, this is Cáel," she introduced me. "We last met under unusual circumstances." "What kind of name is Cáel?" Jason remarked. "An unfortunate one," I snorted. "You try explaining to your kindergarten teacher that it is 'c-a-e-l'. Of course, I wasn't 'Bomophoto' either. She had it worse than I did." Jason searched me out to see if I was pulling one over on him. I wasn't. Bomo and I bonded over our linguistic misfortune. She moved to Santa Fe in the third grade. I wonder if she grew up to be hot looking. Oink. "I'll give you that," he chuckled. "Why did you get branded?" "Mom was Irish, my Dad was in love with her so I got the cultural emersion, minus the Guinness," I shrugged. "By the way;” I looked back to the lady. "Katy Lee Baker," she batted her eyelashes. We shook hands. "How did it go?" I picked up her question. "Sex, chopped fruit, your drinks, more sex and back to the clinic before eleven." "Have you talked to them since?" Katy inquired somewhat seductively. "Perhaps. I don't like to kiss and tell," I evaded. "I'm curious because two of the three arrived five minutes before you did and they appear somewhat unhappy with you right now," she smirked. "You can look over your shoulder if you don't believe me." Sure enough, there was Felix, Brian, Brooke, Libra and; I think her name was Gina. I waved then turned back to my current two conversationalists. "So Jason, what do you like to do?" I asked the guy. "Huh; what? I work," he replied. "I mean bike, try ethnic food, go to the gym; stuff like that," I teased him. "I work six days a week; but usually one or two are afternoon shifts. Me and some buddies play some pick-up basketball," Jason told me. "Great. You'd pick a sport I suck at," I set the bait. If Jason thought I sucked, he'd invite me to play. That's how it worked. I was pretty good at basketball considering I'd spent the last four years playing with girls; on the court. Girls play some mean ball. They also didn't shy away from putting an elbow into my nuts if they felt like it. "I'm not sure I live in a neighborhood you'd be comfortable visiting," Jason threw up a roadblock. I had him on this one. I showed him my ID. It had the right address; wrong apartment number. "Shit dude, that place is about as rough as my home turf." "I get paid a quarter million a year to taste test for hexafluoride in Chinese imports," I joked. "Really?" Katy chuckled. "It's a growth industry; if you consider tumors to be growth," I was faux-serious. "Mr.; Cáel," Jason looked over my shoulder. "I think one of those chicks is about to come over here and kill you. You best hop to it." "Which one? The brunette, or the russet-colored (Libra)?" I inquired. "The brunette wants attention and the russet wants to push a red hot poker up your ass," Jason gave me his experienced opinion. Heading over there was going to be 'fun'. "Give me a call some time, Jason. Nice to see you again, Katy Lee," I waved good-bye. "You know the staff here?" Libra spat. "That was the girl who delivered the liquor to your place, Libra," I sighed. "I said 'hi'." "It takes you an awful lot of words to say 'hello'," Brian gave a false smile. Libra was positioned next to Brian. Her anger with me plus his 'sexy' put her there. Brooke shifted as I joined their chair-less center table. She was putting enough distance between us to show everyone she was independent yet close enough to give warning signs to other woman that I was in her sights, if not her outright possession. I was better looking than Brooke had counted on. More 'fun' was coming down the pipeline. Gina was here on another date with Felix, or so she thought. Poor Gina. Felix was most likely an excellent fuck. What she didn't appreciate was that Felix was not only a competitor, he was the kind of athlete who had to win. Second place was what you called the first loser. Gina was about to be educated in this personal idiocentricity. Now that I was on stage, Felix made his move on Brooke. Gina? He'd let her in on a three-way if he was feeling personally Hernán Cortés-like. Felix had to have Brooke. I hadn't dumped Brooke, according to Gina, so he wasn't getting my castoffs; he was stealing my prize. The flaw in this plan was my whole viewpoint on monogamy. I didn't much care for it. Brooke was a grown woman and could make her own choices. Felix made his move. Damn, he was smooth. He had Brooke wrapped up and pulled tight without Gina even being aware she'd been dumped. Enter the train wreck named Nicole. She was the criminal defense attorney who I'd fucked in a stall in the women's bathroom of this place. She hadn't tried to contact me and I hadn't worried about her. Hook-ups were like that. She'd been close by, respecting Brooke's signs and not stopping by to say hello. Then Felix launched his master plan and I was suddenly freed up. Nicole had gotten a rough fucking and liked it, I could tell. "Cáel Nyilas," Nicole swooped in. "How have you been?" "The normal. Menace to society, disrespectful of authority and being annoying to random strangers," I teased. "You?" "I'm a lawyer fighting the irresistible lure of evil. The usual," she joked back. "What have you been doing wrong? As I recall, last time you were doing everything right?" Yes, a good dicking indeed. I was going to relate this encounter to Timothy just so he could shoot me with his Nerf gun. He'd shoot me anyway, but it was nice of me to give him an excuse from time to time. "I've been sending sexually suggestive letters to ADA Feinstein," I offered. "Does that count?" "Oh really?" she seemed surprised. "Why don't you come by my table real quick and let me introduce you to some of my colleagues." I wasn't going to be rude. "Gang, this is Nicole," I introduced her to my table. "She's an attorney at a prestigious law firm that probably has more dead partners than living ones and offices in Papua New Guinea and a few dozen other places you've never heard of. I'll be right back." "You are a nut," Nicole bumped me as we weaved our way to her buddies. "Ladies, this is Cáel Nyilas. I think I mentioned him once." By the looks on their faces, once had been enough. "This is Zelda, Marsha, Phyllis, and Rivka; Rivka Feinstein, ADA for New York County," (that's Manhattan for us hicks). "Ah crap," I exclaimed. That wasn't what they expected. "I confess," I looked at Nicole, "I saw the name in an article on the back of the Village Voice. Sadly, they had R. Feinstein and I stupidly assumed it was a guy." "Oh my God! You're gay?" Zelda and Phyllis despaired. "While my life would a whole lot easier if I was, I'm straight; not even bi-curious. My roommate, Timothy; never Tim; is and he was reading it while I was working out. It sort of stuck in my mind," I admitted. "How did my name come up in conversation?" Rivka inquired. "Cáel is a pathological liar," Nicole teased me. "Not true," I protested. "I'm allergic to excessive honesty. That's totally different." "I'd like to put you on the witness stand," Zelda gave me those bedroom eyes. "You and about a 150 other women," I groaned. "150?" Rivka choked. "Yep. The rest already know I'm guilty," I muttered. "Are you of weak moral fiber?" Phyllis joined the game. We were all having a blast. "Sorry, but no. I'm saving up for some. Currently I'm without morals; or scruples. Any suggestion which one I should purchase first?" "You are a great guy," Rivka snickered. "Why aren't you dating somebody?" "Shall we revisit my lack of morals and scruples?" I answered. "So you are a player?" Nicole nudged me. She wanted to play alright. "How to put this; I'm a wonderful lover and a lousy boyfriend," I told them. "I was an eighteen year old virgin. In the past four years, I have betrayed every woman I've ever dated, save one; my first love," I explained. "Why didn't you betray her?" Phyllis prodded. "Don't tell me she's dead." "No, she's fine," I replied. "She was the one who told me to date other women." "That's harsh," Zelda commiserated. She thought Kimberly had dumped me. "Oh no," I corrected her. "We stayed together until I graduated last month. Four of the best years of my life. When she told me to date other women it was because I was killing her. I have a voracious sexual appetite and she was desperate for a full night's sleep." "Do you ever go home alone?" Marsha joined in. "Does leaving a woman's house at 1 a.m. count?" I requested. "Did she throw you out?" Rivka interrogated. "No. She and her sister were exhausted so I picked up my roommate and left," I exaggerated. "Wait!" Nicole held up her hand. "Sisters; and you told us your roommate was gay?" "Morals and scruples," I repeated. "See, I was dating one sister and the other sister wanted a date so I talked my gay roommate into being my wingman so I wouldn't end up sleeping with them both. It didn't work out so well. The second, older sister was horny, so my guy pretended to pass out." "Have you ever considered you are a horrible person?" Marsha studied me. "Yes. Not only have I thought about, I've been told that a few dozen times. It usually is accompanied by 'I'm going to kill you', or 'you had better make it up to me'." "Have you ever been hurt?" Phyllis appeared concerned. "My body is a roadmap of poor decision making," I responded. "What was the worst thing to ever happen to you?" Rivka grinned. Her ability to be deceptively pretty had to have made her a frightening lawyer. "When they were happening, I was a bit more concerned with what might happen to me as opposed to rating them," I informed her. "Except for being shot with an arrow, being chased around naked with a hot poker and having my bed dowsed with lighter fluid while I was still in it were probably the worst," I nodded. "I've been stabbed a few times, tasered, occasionally thrown out of a window not on the first floor and had bookcase dropped on me once, so I consider myself a connoisseur of ex-girlfriend vengeance." "Have you ever been involved with a police proceeding?" Rivka became a tad bit more intense. "Nah," shook my head. "I had it coming. As you said, I'm kind of a horrible guy." "Domestic violence is no joking matter," Nicole also became serious. "That's unfair," I countered. "I'm not so slavishly devoted to the law that I'd ruin some girl's life because I was a total bastard." "Domestic Violence laws are supposed to protect the innocent from the abusive," I added. "I haven't lied to you about my misadventures, but you should understand I chose to handle most of my problems myself. By the looks on your faces, you are about as disappointed in me as the policewoman I am currently seeing. This is who I am and I'm not going to apologize for it." "Mind you, I'm not some gun-toting, roughneck Libertarian," I clarified. "I believe in law, order and the justice system. If someone pulls out an AK-47 on me at a corner bodega, I'm making 9-1-1 my bitch on speed-dial. I don't want to be a hero, or fulfill my organ donor card. I just don't equate that to a girl kneeing me in the nuts because I slept with her best friend in her lingerie." There was a pause as the ladies looked around. They were making an assessment of how much trouble I'd cause versus how much fun I would be. They all smiled at me. They always do. "Who was wearing the lingerie?" Zelda smirked. "I've worn women's lingerie before, but it really wasn't my thing," I mused. "I'll go through a lot for good sex," I winked. "It was my girlfriend's lingerie on her best friend." "Wait," Rivka noted. "Didn't the best friend know you were dating the first girl?" "Yeah. I'm not sure why that never stops them," I shrugged. "Around the fifth time I stopped worrying about it." "Wow, do you have any idea how many women you've been with?" Rivka asked. "Do you always use protection?" Phyllis piled on. "Yes; 223 as of Friday. I'm hoping to break 300 before work replaces me with those guys from 'Hamster Dance'," I told them. "And yes, I always use protection." "I may not know where my partner has been, but I know where I've been and it scares me," I snickered. "That's why I always carry ten." "Ten?" Nicole snorted. "Do you regularly check the expiration date, or are you that ambitious?" "Ambitious? I'd carry more except it's hard to hide more than ten in a wallet; I've tried," I sighed. "Have you ever run out?" Marsha snickered. Our snickering, chuckling and laughter were drawing stares. "Run out? Hell, I've gone door to door in a women's dormitory at 2 a.m. trying to find some," I related. "Ran into an old girlfriend doing that." I slipped into a dreamy smile. "Why do I think that despite it being 2 a.m. in her dorm with you seeking a condom for use with a different woman, she wasn't pissed?" Rivka giggled. "Oh God no," I waved off. "She was freaking furious. That was some of the most intense 'I'm lonely and it's all your fault' sex I have ever been through." "You have names for different kinds of sex?" Nicole was almost crying from laughing so hard. "Oh yeah. The first time I run across a different sexual experience, I slap a name on it so when it happens again, I know what to do," I explained. "Isn't every woman unique?" Zelda sniffled. "That sounds nice in a love song, but 'no'," I smiled. "Women, and men, have a finite number things; needs and responses. Women can have different erogenous zones, but there all on the human body. Admittedly, it can be a bit like predicting the weather at times. It is not a perfect system by any means." "What's my 'thing' then?" Nicole taunted. She didn't think I could do it. "Sex has to be an accomplishment with you, Nicole," I informed her. "You need to be engaged mentally as much as anything else. You need a poet who runs marathons. Otherwise you end up staring at the ceiling after sex wondering what better use you could have made of your time." Silence. That was the norm for that kind of revelation. Women hated to be laid bare. They hated being misunderstood even more. "Nicole?" Rivka prodded her friend. Nicole remained silent. I knew that look. "Nicole, I'm bad news. Wouldn't you prefer to keeps thing simple?" I hoped. I was wrong to hope. I kept praying they would go 'hey, great, mindless sex; let's not blow it', but they never did. I hated giving lame erotic encounters, despite the guarantee of anguish that always followed. "We could go out on a date and see how that works?" Nicole offered. Doom. "Cáel Nyilas; I'm in the book and I work for Havenstone Commercial Investments," I stupidly replied. "You probably have a killer workload were as I spot-check children's toys for WMDs. Give me a call when you have a night free." How was it going to turn out? Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex; let's make a commitment; you cheating fuck-nut! I hate you. Girls weren't predictable; I was. "Cáel, we are going out to dinner, if you remember who you are supposed to be with," Libra seethed as she and the others passed Nicole's table. "Yup, gotta go where I'm not wanted. Nice seeing you again, Nicole," I grinned. "Ladies, I hope it was a pleasure. It was for me. Good night." Dinner; was; bad. Felix, hemorrhoid that he was, squashed Gina's feeble attempts to draw him back to her as he made crystal clear that he was taking Brooke home; to fuck her into Paradise; instead of letting her go home with me. Problem being; Brooke wasn't mine to take; never had been. For the first time in his life, I thought Brian was about to be screwed. Libra was past uber-bitchy by the fifth glass of wine. Brian held a pair of Jokers and thought he was the boss, like always. Libra had four Queens and would be screaming my name when she orgasmed; Brian was sexually proficient. He was also a misogynist, I was now sure, and Libra was going to make him squeal. Then she was going to grab up her clothes, storm out of Brian's place and never want to talk with him again. It wasn't that I was that unforgettable. I was that I knew what she wanted and had given it to her and not getting it Saturday afternoon while Brooke did was frosting her ass. What did that mean for me? For the first time in a long, long time, I was pissed with another guy. Trent really wasn't worth my time, but Felix was about to cross my here-until-now unforeseen line of what guys did to girls. It was dawning on me that this was the result of me. Someone was doing something wrong to a girl because of me. It wasn't my fault. Felix was being a jerk. That would be of cold comfort for Brooke. We split up after dinner. I didn't have the heart to pick up Gina, who was easy prey right then. It was too much like what Felix thought he was doing to me. I took a cab to Havenstone, changed clothing and biked home. I barely had dinner ready for Timothy when he came through the door. "That's not a look I'm used to seeing," he remarked. "I should have beaten someone up," I frowned, "but I didn't and now some girl; Brooke; is going to have her heart kicked because of it." "Was it something you did?" Timothy asked. "No. There is this guy at work who is using her to alpha-dog me," I muttered. "Brooke?" Timothy was confused. "You hardly like her. What a sleaze (Felix). If it was Odette, first I'd slap you around for still being here. Then we'd go get him." "I'm not even sure why I feel bad about this," I grunted. "As you said, I hardly like her." "It is called a conscience, Dimwit," Timothy snorted. That didn't help much. Conscience? Man, I'd stop my bike to run across a highway to move a tortoise off the road. I used to feed some of the Bolingbrook wild hares during the winter. I did humiliating crap for charity. I was never mean to a girl; only dishonest and unfaithful. Introspection got me nowhere. I was a cad. I'd been happy to be a cad for four years. I was going to be damned if my post-college life was going to be any different; all 68 remaining days of it. In my bedroom I discovered Odette had moved in during my absence. I doubted Timothy had been ignorant of all the stuff she deposited. What was going on with my life? I woke up when I heard keys in the door. It was a bit past eleven. I got up to check and sure enough, it was Odette. Timothy had given her a key. Odette had lived through a harrowing night, her boss was a dick and some of the customers were pure hell. I cuddled with her on the sofa while she unwound then we went to bed together. We didn't have sex; (Tuesday) Around 1 a.m. I miraculously found myself awake and alert in bed. Odette was happily dreaming away. Something was gnawing at the back of my mind. I put a name to the emotion and a face to the fear. I called Brooke. "Hey Brooke," I greeted her eight tries later. She was tired of sending me to voice mail. "What do you want?" she answered in a voice devoid of soul. "Fuck if I know," I replied. "I suddenly woke up from a sound sleep thinking of you." "I'm not interested," she sighed. "I'm going to go out on a limb here. You don't want to talk to anyone yet you want someone to help you understand what you are going through," I gambled. That created a tiny tear in her shroud of depression. After five minutes, I got her to give me her address. She told me she wouldn't answer the door. I told her I at least had to try. That got me to her place, 90 seconds of knocking got me inside and four minutes later, we were lying in bed with her sobbing on my chest. Half an hour later, she offered me sex. I told her to stop tempting me and if she only wanted me for sex, I wanted to be paid in chocolate. She giggled, took a few deep breaths and fell to sleep. Wow, I was in two different women's beds in one night and not having sex in either. My watch alarm went off at 4:50 a.m. That meant no 'Marilyn' call tonight. "Mmm;” Brooke moved toward wakefulness. "Work?" "Afraid so," I yawned. "We haven't had sex," he reminded me. I couldn't stop being me. "That's not why I came over here, Brooke," I rolled onto my side so that our bodies were very close. "Never think I don't want to have sex with you, but that's not why I showed up last night," I continued. "Why did you show up then?" she worried. "I have no clue. I'm like Felix; a player. Listen Brooke, I don't consider you my woman," I stated. "We had sex; we are lovers, but we've been thrown together by dire misfortune, not out of any common thread," I reminded her. "I don't expect you to have any sense of loyalty to me." That phrase freed her up philosophically. That meant she could fuck me and not feel obliged to consider and discard any future for us because there was no realistic future that socially glued us into any acceptable form. "So I needed a shoulder to cry on and you showed up," she mused. "Brooke, you are independent and strong-willed. The next guy you chose will be your choice," I led her along. "Felix though; Felix is a serious player and he felt the need to add you to his list of conquests. I saw it happening and did nothing. Now I feel like crap for sitting back and ignoring the consequences." "You knew Felix would turn me into a hash mark?" Brooke seemed depressed, not angry. "I knew he was trying to get at me," I confessed. "He didn't accept that you and I aren't an item. A blonde co-worker; a high ranking supervisor actually; treated him like a bug in the communal showers yesterday while keeping close contact with me. Felix had to win. He had to show me he is the top dog." "And I was the prize?" Brooke moped. "Not to me," I whispered. Brooke looked hurt. "You are a woman. While you would look delectable in a big red ribbon, that's not who you are. I don't keep hash marks. I have a thing called a heart cord and it is solely for my use. Each binding represents a liaison; like a Quipus; an Incan memory knot." Brooke really didn't care. It sounded neat, it was romantic and the act was not demeaning to her. I could savor the memory of our encounter as long as I didn't share it with my buddies. She wasn't one of 'those' girls. "You are very intelligent," she murmured seductively. She didn't care if I was the reincarnation of Benjamin Franklin, or some schmo in Afghanistan who made his living digging up (hopefully) spent ordinance of battlefields. Smoking hot, sexy, well-educated debutantes like Brooke could fuck finely-sculpted, 'smart' guys like me. She could delude herself that I was rapidly upwardly mobile. My turn. "Brooke, I don't want to get mixed up about us," I evaded. 'Us'? There was no 'us' and we both knew it. "If I caved in right now, I'm not sure I could forgive myself." Yes I could. "I just want to feel like someone gives a damn about me," Brooke whimpered. Good acting. We wrestled around; me trying to leave, but clearly not wanting to, while she physically enticed me. We ended up, me on top, pinning her wrists to either side of her head. Her legs were trapped between mine. "Make it up to me; please," she pouted. She humped her pelvic bone playfully against my cock. "I know you want to help me out." Good word usage on her part. "Brooke, this isn't going to happen," I gritted my teeth in frustration. Yes, it was going to happen. Her right leg began exerting steady pressure against my 'weak' left leg. It slowly 'surrendered' to her advance. Now she had on leg on the outside. My right leg held out a little longer yet Brooke was persistent. Now she could ground her finely groomed landing strip against my pulsating rod. I really, really wanted to fuck her now. I took my hands off her wrists, turned them into fists and placed the beneath each of her underarms. "Damn you," I cursed her. Brooke was gyrating her crotch all over mine. With her hands released, Brooke could leverage her body up and trap my cockhead between her labia. They were thoroughly soaked with her honey so after my 'capture' she drew more and more of my length in until I was completely incased. Brooke had won! She knew she'd won. Fuck Felix and his hash marks. I didn't care so why should she? I made on last energetic yet futile effort to get away. Oddly, Brooke somehow end on top at the end of my exertion. I must be an awful wrestler; "No you don't," Brooke purred only millimeters from my lips. "You are not getting away." That was Brooke tossing good ole Felix under the emotional bus. Felix the Player? She'd chalk it up to too much to drink and the hype being more than the man. How was this possible? Look at her. She'd thrown a known sexual dynamo down on her bed and was working his shaft over every G-spot in her vagina. Brooke still preferred a long, rough fucking to get her off. At the moment, she need reassurance more. Felix most assuredly made Brooke ride him. He kept her perpendicular to his hips and came up to suckle her teats when he wanted to, or watch them bounce as he lay back. He was great at sex, no doubt. The girl had to scream and howl; forgetting every other male she was ever with and making every other guy she'd be with later an automatic failure. To him, that was how he rated success. This resulted in me keeping Brooke close so I could make quick kisses to her very close lips. She'd playfully pull away; to put me in my place and remind me she was in charge; then she'd initiate the kiss. Our love-making was more rhythmic; less frantic. She was getting close. "Next; next time you fuck Felix," I gasped. "Tell him; " "What makes; makes you think I'd; every sleep with him; again?" Brooke got feisty. "I bet he was good in bed and now that you have his measure," I assured her. "You can take what pleasure you want and leave." Brooke liked that. It was the whole independent woman thing. "Won't you be jealous?" she panted. "I cannot constantly keep up with your sexual desires, Brooke," I grunted. "I've been neglecting Libra." Oh yeah, Libra. The girl she, Brooke, initially set me up with. Her Vassar classmate. "What about Felix," she huffed and huffed. She was real close. "Off-handedly comment that he's developing male pattern baldness," I grinned. "Just to fuck with his head." Felix was gorgeous. Better yet, Felix knew he was gorgeous. Hit him where it hurts. Brooke tried to giggle, but the surge of triumph overcame her and off she went. The problem was I was getting close and I didn't have a condom on. "Brooke," I inhaled deeply. She'd come to rest on my chest. "I'm about to; " "Oh," she sighed happily. She reversed to the side as she slithered down my body. My cock went down her throat and I started petting her flank. Brooke wasn't the very best, but, man o man, she was going to town on my dick. There was no doubt in my mind that her vaginal secretions didn't bother her. I had to rush the experience because if I was late to work, Constanza make me stand beside the targets while she shot at them. If she was really pissed, she'd have me hold up targets in front me instead. I shot off, Brooke caught it all in her mouth then spit it into two tissues before tossing them in the trash. I caught her look. Trent and now Felix made her swallow. I didn't care; which was yet another choice Brooke was free to make when making love to me. I jumped her. We had a little, tickle-nibble fight that ended in some kisses. I had to leave and Brooke made sure she was poised extra-sexy the last time I turned around to say goodnight and cut off the lights. "Ah damn," I moaned before I left. I didn't really like Brooke yet, by choosing to engage her in sex, I had accepted the task of making her happy. That was the reason Felix and I were going to fight. He'd use another human being to strike at me instead striking at me directly. To me, this was more than low character, it was an insult to my lifestyle. Felix should have checked his baggage at the door. Competing for the same lady was fine; even fun. Picking one to punish another; not cool. I had to think about my response as I barely made it in for my Constanza time. Wisely, I left my baggage at the door. These were firearms we were dealing with; a danger to me and the people around me. I was in my biking outfit today. More looks. The decision was that I'd go for my Glock-22, a 38 Ruger LCR back-up, a South Korean-made shotgun that looked like an M-16 and a very unhealthy looking device called a Heckler and Koch UMP 40 (which I had never even heard of). Wait; it got worse. I was scheduled for knife fighting training at 3 p.m.; every day for the foreseeable future. Constanza didn't w
With all the fighting and sex, my work reviews should suck. In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand. Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected.. “Saving a life isn't about worthiness. It is about instinct and guts.” (Friday) Since I liked to think that life encouraging me with bruises, punctures, cuts and concussions made me smarter, I had scheduled some eleven o'clock gym time most of the week so to avoid the whole lunch and after-work crowds. Aya and I went to the 'Others' gym, which was nice, but wasn't as complete as the Full/Pure-blood one. Most notable was the lack of weapons. Aya's and my trip to the 'Other' gym on Friday hit a snag. Aya clued in on the fact that I was avoiding the Pure-blood facility. We talked about it. I explained I wasn't a Pure-blood. Her counter-argument was she was and I should confront my fears. Yes, I lost an argument with a nine year old. I have talked a nineteen year old, promise-ring virgin into nameless sex in an airport stall. Aya was an unassailable wall of resolve that dashed all of my ploys into so many useless words. I found myself entering the real 'No Man's Land' twice in less than a week. Not only was I hard-headed, I was also obviously soft-hearted. At the last moment, I imagined I had a reprieve. I didn't have to tell Aya how I got in the first time; grabbing an open door. I could swipe my card, have it rejected and move on to safer pursuits. Sure enough, my card failed. Aya's didn't; mother-puss-bucket! Upon entering, the twenty, or so women in the place looked at me; and Aya. I recognized somebody. It was Constanza, Elsa's chief evil henchwoman. Our eyes met. She smiled in a way that assured me she vividly recalled our last encounter. It should be of no surprise that I insulted her somewhere in the process. It's how I roll. I smiled back at Constanza and gave her a nod before setting up Aya and me for our workout routine. Constanza was not mollified in the slightest. She was patiently waiting; for something. I decided that Aya would be my sole focus and banished the other women from my mind. The munchkin could tell the difference and relayed that to me with her happiness. After twenty minutes, she decided her time with the machines was done and her minutes were better spent resting against, or sitting on, me. My cock was reminding me that it was approaching 36 torturous hours without sex. It was also pointing out that there were thirty available, sexually inquisitive women achingly close. I reminded my penis that being relocated was probably as fun-less as it sounded. That bought me some time. We finished up our sojourn by walking the wall, going over the weapon racks. Mainly we went over the ones various members of her family were proficient with. Aya still had problems with even the most basic ones. The words 'let me help you' spilled out of my mouth. There were two problems; Aya's tiny size and the fact that all the weapons were very dangerous. Even the leaf-shaped short blade was too heavy for her so we ended up screwing around instead. I picked up two Iron Age style axes. The blades were more of a thick wedge than the broad axe heads of medieval fame. They were less effective in delivering damage, compensating somewhat in their reduced weight. I've convinced a Jewish girl to have sex in a synagogue despite me not being Jewish yet this child was twirling me around her pinkie finger. I was entertaining her with some exotic, flamboyant moves wielding two axes while Aya clapped her hands and giggled when I felt a stranger approach me on the sparring mat. I had been hopping around keeping all my weight on my right leg until that moment. I turned to face the woman, putting my left behind me yet while keeping it firmly on the ground. I also drew my axes up, crossing them over my chest, blades pointing past my shoulders. "I have never seen that technique before," she addressed me. That and what followed was all in the Amazon tongue. "It is more of a fantasy creation. I had a love affair with pseudo-archaic movies that always do the crazy, two-weapon stuff so my mentor helped me create this method," I explained. "Has it ever been tested?" she continued. "I am Cáel Nyilas," I answered, "and yes, my mentor preferred using a poleaxe, or a mace/shield combo against me." "Oneida," she seemed amused. "We will see how well you have been tested." "May I request a favor?" I tried to keep my cool. She pulled out one of those damn spears. "Yes," she seemed intrigued. "Can you call someone over to sit with Aya? I don't want her to accidently set foot on the mat," I beseeched. "Drusilla, please aid me," Oneida summoned an observer. The woman had heard my appeal and settled beside the nervous, kneeling Aya. "Cáel, please be careful," Aya pleaded. "Who me?" I chuckled. "I'm impervious to all man-made contrivances." "Every weapon in this room was crafted by women," Oneida snorted. "That would certainly explain my full-body bruising and the hole in my leg," I grinned back. I caught Oneida trying to sneak closer to me. My axes came to a ready position and I charged. I was sure some sort of medic would punish me for this later. She got off two jabs then I was all over her. I knew how to fight a two and a half meter spear. She had no clue how to plot out two incoming weapons with an extra meter of reach. The first time I drove her off the mat. The second time, I got inside her guard and clocked her in the temple with the back end of an axe head. I quickly hopped back three paces, knelt and put my axes on the mat. The rush to get me was stillborn. A few did come to stand over me while two others checked on Oneida who quickly came around. "What happened?" were Oneida's first, shaky words. "He hit you," one of her companions answered. "With what; the Moon?" Oneida mumbled as they helped her up. "My ears are still ringing." "My turn," Constanza announced. She went for a spear, blade, and round leather-covered, wicker shield. "Give Cáel a moment to rest," Aya appealed. "He has been fighting longer." No such luck. I was halfway to exhausted as well. Fighting with two weapons pretty much means just that; twice the fight. Kinetically speaking, I was burning around 80% more calories than my one weapon opponents. I was wielding axes, not fighting sticks after all. In my favor was a deep wellspring of stamina and my Will reinforced by my desire to not upset Aya. What little time I was given wasn't out of charity. A second Amazon was joining the struggle. I could back off, but I felt Constanza would enforce an intense level of groveling solely to grind up Aya emotionally. She didn't hate Aya. Aya was an avenue to really hurt me and we both knew it. For a second, when I hobbled off the mat, there were chuckles. I had fled. That ended as I began retrieving some select weapons from the wall racks. Sword harnesses came in two varieties; belted and shoulder slings. I took two shoulder slings and two more axes. I affixed my two 'spare' axes with leather straps. As I turned to the mat, Constanza had decided to be clever. She and her buddy had closed to within three meters of the edge. They would box me in as soon as my second foot touched down on the mat. "Please back up," I requested. Constanza smiled with supreme confidence. I smiled back. This was going to be dangerous, agonizing and unorthodox; totally me. I began backing up. "Cáel," Aya murmured. "Don't let them hurt you." "Running away?" Constanza sneered. "Aya, wickedness is the expedience of the weak," I nodded her way. "Do you think I can win?" "Of course," Aya sighed happily. "I am by your side." I laughed. I charged. The Amazons did the precisely wrong thing; the stepped up to meet me. You keep thrusting weapons, like spears, aimed at the central part of the body. This allows you to deviate your projection anywhere from the thighs to the face. This does imply you know where the central part of the enemy will be. This was not playschool. Real weapons; real damage; real death. They didn't have to kill me. It didn't mean they wouldn't. I leapt. I didn't leap at them, I leapt over them. Let's not forget I'm pretty freaking strong. My left leg shot-gunned pain straight to the brain but held it together. I sailed over their thrusting spear points, flipped my axes down so that they would impact the mats first. The flat tops of the axe heads impacted the mat and my body rose up and then flipped over them. This gave me an extra meter and a half on my back flip. I turned that maneuver into summersault, giving three more meters of space. I rolled over to my side and rode the momentum to my feet, facing my adversaries. Now they were the ones in the corner of the mat with their enemy pinning them in and I wasn't done yet. With all my might, I hurled my right-handed axe at Constanza's companion. She did exactly what I thought she'd do. She saw the throw halfway in motion and raised her shield up; right where I wanted it. Amazon shields aren't what most people think shields are today. They think medieval knights, or more appropriately, the shields of the Greek hoplites. The Amazons date back 700 years before those Greeks and they weren't heavy infantry anyway. Amazons moved light and fast. Consequently, their shields were light; wicker constructs with layers of leather stretched over the frame. Great for deflecting light weapons; not so great for what I was about to do. The steel axe head shattered the top half of the wicker frame. It saved her life, but now she had this useless object strapped to her arm. It also had the added bonus of knocking her back while Constanza engaged me alone. Her first jab forced me to jump back, but I still was able to draw my first spare axe. My luck with women held up a little longer. The other Amazon hesitated just long enough to remove her shattered shield. Alone with Constanza, I attacked. She thrust, I captured her spear head between my axe handles and yanked her forward. We kicked out simultaneously. Her off-balanced strike brushed past my abused left leg. My right kick hit her shield and knocked her down. Her grip on the spear slipped and I propelled it somewhere behind me. Constanza pulled off a reverse summersaulted while drawing her short blade. A really nice move. Unfortunately, it moved her away from the chick with the spear, who hesitated again. This time she took the thrown axe straight to the head; back end impacting. I didn't want to kill her. Constanza anticipated my next action. It came down to position, distance, and stride length and they all favored me. We raced to the downed companion. My left-handed axes flat side slammed into her forehead, rendering her unconscious, and I kicked her spear off the mat; out of bounds. I slowly backed away from Constanza and readied my second spare axe. "Retire from the field," I panted. I was physically failing fast. "Why should I?" Constanza glared. "You are about to fall over." "Aya won't let me fall," I stared her down. "You couldn't beat me with a companion and a spear, Constanza. Do you really think a shield and sword will work any better." "Let's find out," she charged. I really needed the short breather to recover somewhat. The short Amazon blade was an excellent close-in weapon. I never let her get close enough to use it. Tandem axes allowed me to shred her shield while keeping her at arm's length. My axe bit into her upper left arm right above the elbow. Constanza hissed instead of screaming. She did stagger back. I hopped back three steps, knelt and placed my axes on the mat at my side. "No!" Constanza howled. She came at me while I remained still. Her hand drew back for a killing thrust. I waited. Sparing my life didn't stop her. The looks of her fellow Amazons held back her wrath. They wouldn't stop her from slaughtering me, but that was exactly what it was; a butchery. Two things occurred to me: Aya was showing remarkably better control today than on Saturday, and I figured out a way to sleep with Buffy tonight. Being killed? Nah, worry about the things you have control over. "Constanza, he was instructing me," Oneida stood up. She took up Constanza's discarded spear and stepped toward us. What disturbed the gathering was how Oneida held it; sidewise, not ready for combat. "You do not intimidate me, Oneida," Constanza growled. "You misunderstand," Oneida intoned. "I would do this out of shame and despair." "I will shear my hair, burn it and take myself to the cliffs to die childless," she continued. "I leave whatever contempt you might possess for me to be conveyed to my House when they learn your actions have killed one of their last breeding females. The death of some male will not concern them. My death will. The shame I bear for killing a teacher will certainly interest many of our people." "You wouldn't dare," Constanza scoffed. The spear dropped. Fuck that noise. I snatched the last quarter of the shaft before it hit the ground. No one seemed to understand what to do about that. Apparently my reaction was unique. "Yay!" Aya cheered. "He's the best Daddy ever," she loudly announced to the crowd. "Oneida, my apology, but Katrina has put her faith in me and the New Directive," I adlibbed. "I am here to aid the recovery of your people, not diminish them. For the sake of Katrina's honor, please reconsider." "Cáel Nyilas," Oneida smiled sadly, "this is not a pledge that can be retracted." "Ah; doesn't it only take effect when the weapon hits the ground?" I struggled. "I mean, otherwise dropping the weapon would be pointless; right?" I repeat, apparently this had never come up before. "This is kind of awkward. Can someone take this?" I meant the spear. I was worn to the bone and holding a long spear from one end, with one hand. Quickly calls went out to Hayden as well as a few department heads. "Constanza," one of the Amazons spoke up, "if you attack the male, you will be actively sealing Oneida's Death Pledge. Far fewer of us will understand that." "How is it that you are so damn lucky?" Constanza growled at me. "You are asking this of a man, on his knees before you with your sword at his throat?" I countered. "Lucky isn't you sparing my life. Lucky is me never having heard of this place; Except for Aya. She makes the rest of this hellish experience worthwhile." "Best Daddy ever," Aya chirped. "Hayden is on her way," a different Amazon called out. Already a passel of newcomers were swarming the scene. Truly curious was the group looking mournfully at Oneida. One stepped forward. "Male, do you need something? Water?" she asked. I gave it some thought. "Could you sing?" I requested. "A nice soothing song of hope would be nice." Blink. Like all panicked moments, nothing came to mind for several seconds. Oneida's people rapidly bantered about some names then the questioner began singing. By the third song I was crying and shaking like a leaf. Constanza had fallen back enough to get her arm tended to. Twice Aya had tried to get me, lending me the tiniest bit more strength. Wisely, her minder kept her away from the possible conflict. There was a whole different level of commotion when Hayden arrived this time. "To bear a weapon in my presence is Death, Cáel," Hayden stated. "I apologize for being a disappointing Male," I grunted. "Pass on my regrets to Katrina." "Drop the weapon and you will be spared. You will only be beaten," Hayden gave a hint of a smile. "If I drop it, she dies," I hissed. The ache in my right arm was exceeding that in my left leg. "I'm afraid I will have to decline," I concluded. "If I kill you, the spear will drop and she'll die anyway," Hayden pointed out. "Sucks to be both of us, I guess," I gasped. "Oneida, step on the spear. Push it down," Hayden ordered. Hush. Oneida raised her foot. "You are stepping in the wrong place," I huffed. She looked at me. My eyes flashed to the short side between my grip and my side. "Do you really think you can hold it up?" she questioned. "I know I'll fail if you step anywhere else," I tried to grin. "No matter what happens, you will die," she murmured. "Not my chief concern right now," I grunted. "Hurry." Oneida put her foot on the short end. "It will help your balance if you place a hand on his shoulder," Hayden noted. We both flashed Hayden a shocked look. Oneida stepped on the spear. It trembled and sunk down, barely millimeters off the mat. Her hand came to rest on the crux of my neck and shoulder. I felt my body about to tip over. I was at my limit. I almost missed the gasps whispering around the assembly. Oneida had her body off the ground. Hayden lowered herself so that she could witness there was a distance between the spear and the earth. "The spirits have not heard your pledge, Oneida," Hayden declared as she regained her regal posture. "I suggest you weigh your words with greater care in the future. Retrieve your spear." She turned and started to leave the gym. Oneida dismounted and snatched up her spear. "What of the male?" one of the spectators inquired. I didn't care. I had fallen on my back. "At a moment of such great spiritual significance; the ancestral rejection of a Death Pledge, the action of any one male does not concern me," Hayden remarked coldly. It wasn't praise. It was a 'don't fuck with him'. Around me a cultural conundrum was taking place. Not only could Oneida's house not thank me because I was a male, they couldn't thank me because, by Hayden's decree, there was no life to be saved. Oneida bent over me on one knee. "You really shouldn't be so eager to toss your life away, Cáel," she smiled warmly. I was essentially immobile. "You have the most gorgeous blue-grey eyes," I moaned. "You are thinking about that at a time like this?" she snorted. Her relatives were shockingly amused as well. "No time like the present. Besides, in 75 days you can all go out to some nature preserve and hunt me down with non-lethal weapons. Great way to spend a weekend." I heard an authoritative cough. I looked up from my still prone position to see Katrina. "Cancel that Oneida. I'm about to get relocated to Antarctica where I'll be tasked with teaching penguins how to arm wrestle," I sighed. "Cáel, why do you think I'd be so nice to you after all the hell you cause me on a daily basis?" Katrina looked all menacing. "You recall how much I like winter sports?" I pleaded. "Hey; wait. I was good on Friday. Wasn't I good on Friday?" "I don't recall you having a good day yet, but I may double check. Can you stand?" Katrina asked. "Is that a question, or veiled order?" I muttered. "If the former; no. If that latter, I'll die trying." Using a combination of my right leg and left arm, I managed to struggle my way upright. By that time, Aya had circled the practice mat and was at Katrina's side. "He was very brave," Aya insisted. One of Oneida's senior women coughed. "Nothing happened so nothing has changed," Katrina stated. It was a lie and both sides knew it. It was the whole loyalty/martial valor thing. Inside their closed little minds a balancing act had taken place; my worthlessness as a male against Oneida's value to her people. Aya was easy to discount as she was of Katrina's house. I had no clue who Oneida was yet still rallied to her when she desperately needed help; Hayden's obfuscation be damned. Yeah, Oneida had been young and foolish. Her challenge had been given to make Constanza back off. When Constanza called her bluff, pride took over. Oneida had been foolhardy and overly status conscious. Constanza had played Russian roulette with their House's future and almost 'won'. She'd be wise to avoid darkened corridors for the next few weeks too. There was not only Oneida's house but the houses allied to it to worry about despite Hayden's expunging of the official record. For me, it was time to be dragged over to my cute doctor friend. I had been slashed twice by the spears during my jump and not noticed it; adrenaline no doubt. "Congratulations, you and Aya are forbidden to work. I thought keeping you in the building would be safer. I'm mature enough to admit I was wrong," Katrina conceded. "No place is safe for you, or from you. I'm sending you home, under guard." "Can I choose Buffy?" I perked up. Katrina arched an eyebrow. "I also need something," I kept slaloming down toward Hell. "I need a six hour dispensation from you on the whole sex thing with employees." "Oh Goddess," Katrina laughed. "What part of me wanting you to stay alive have you missed?" "Are you going to sleep with my Mommy now?" Aya grinned. "No," Katrina answered for me, "he's going to play with Buffy." Right on the money. One scary-smart woman without a doubt. "Best of all, I'll let you assign Buffy to be your security for the night and you can tell her the good news when you get home. Aya, that means Cáel does, not you." "Yes Aunt Katrina," Aya moaped. She wanted me to be banging Caitlyn; her Momma. We would make love, Caitlyn would take me as her mate and I'd be Aya's Daddy for real. She'd kill me a month later for my twelfth indiscretion. I'm not a fortuneteller. I'm a bookie and I knew the odds of me staying faithful were a sucker's bet. The only questions were how many and with which one Caitlyn would kill me with. I wasn't sure how to break that reality to Aya. After getting bandaged/tortured my doctor, cleaned up and redressed, I managed to survive the rest of the day without catastrophe. (Later) "Cáel, do you realize that you've been wounded more than most Security Detail recruits do during their basic training?" Violet teased me. Buffy was too furious for coherent speech. "It isn't his fault, Buffy," Aya pleaded. "He wasn't seducing a woman, or anything like that. Oneida tried to sex him up all on her own." Huh? "Constanza's nipples were very aroused and we all know what she wanted." I really was worrying about the twisted sexual education Aya was getting. She knew the terms, but was missing out on the complete meaning of what she was saying. "Oneida? Who the hell is Oneida?" Buffy growled. "She's one of the new hires with Acquisitions," Violet answered. Brian Fung's group. "What were you making eyes at her for?" Buffy snarled possessively. "He didn't," Katrina swept into the office. "She made a Death Pledge and Cáel, acting as a vessel for our Ancestors, refused it; so the youngest breeding female in House Arinniti gets to keep living." I grunted because I knew who Arinniti was, or had been. "Vessels for the Ancestors?" Violet gasped. "Arinniti; that name rings a bell," Buffy mumbled. "She's one of the twenty founding bloodlines," Aya gladly provided. Katrina took her seat behind her desk and regarded me with something between amusement, annoyance, and pride. Oh, and sex. "Violet, Cáel held a weapon in the presence of Hayden; the spear that Oneida had dropped to seal her pledge. If he was a male acting alone, he would have to be killed. Is that the course of action you wish to recommend to the High Priestess?" Katrina suggested. "Ancestors work for me," Violet gulped. "You can't take back a Death Pledge," Buffy turned to Katrina. "It is a Death Pledge." "It appears you can if Cáel is in the room," Katrina smirked. "Best Daddy ever!" Aya yipped. "He caught the spear before it hit the ground and held it until Hayden came by and read the signs from the Ancestors that Cáel was supposed to retract Oneida's words. Hayden even had Oneida stand on the spear, but Da; Cáel didn't let it fall." "Maybe the Ancestors think Cáel is sexy too," Aya added. Groan. "They had better not," Buffy spun back to me threateningly. Fine, if some undead man-haters thought I was hot; sigh; that might entail there would be no rest for me even in the afterlife. "Buffy, do you have plans for this weekend?" I glared. "Why?" she snapped. "Great. Katrina, I want Buffy to be my bodyguard for this weekend," I looked to my boss. Aya almost slipped up, but bit her lip to hold herself back. "Fine," Katrina grumbled. "I promised you that you could choose your guardian. I was truly hoping you would pick among the candidates from SD I suggested, but so be it." "I have to be around him all weekend?" Buffy howled. "Yeah," I exhaled happily, "and I plan to have sex all weekend long." From the look on Buffy's face, she knew she was going to die. She was going to see me having sex with someone else, snap, kill me then kill herself out of shame and grief. Yep, she was going to die. It turned out Aya was off to Amazon Summer Camp for Squirts. We quickly arranged a series of smoke signals she could use to send for me if she was in danger. Desiree rolled her eyes, hefted Aya's luggage and left with my tiny boon companion. I sobbed. "Katrina, can I go see her when she's at camp?" I turned to my boss. "Cáel Nyilas, this is a place where we send our greatest treasure; our children," Katrina smirked. "We will not discuss the abuse of power it would be for me to reveal the location to you." "Cool; Daphne, where is it?" I turned to my closest female new hire. "I won't tell you and it changes every year," Daphne smiled. "But you know where it is this year," I persisted. "I didn't say I didn't," Daphne beamed. "Fine. Come home with me. While my ogress henchwoman holds you down, I'll tickle the truth out of you," I menaced. "Buffy don't!" Tigger shouted. Buffy was about to brain me with my reading lamp. I was fearless. "Okay, Bubbles," I beamed vindictively. "Go get us a car and make it snappy." There was a hush. "What? Did I use any words that were too big for you to understand?" Buffy's screamed caused people to reach for their sidearm three floors away. She stormed out, thankfully not running over anyone. "Do you want to die?" Violet tugged my sleeve. "Let the 'Lost Blood' (Old Kingdom Hittite) deal with him," Fabiola sneered. "They are both annoyances." I took a deep breath. "Fabiola, your laws regulate what I can and can't say to you," I stared at her. "Instead, I beseech you to never insult a 'Runner' (Old Kingdom Hittite) in my presence again." "Buffy is a 'Lost Blood' (Old Kingdom Hittite)," Fabiola defied me. I took another deep breath then hobbled over to Katrina's desk, retrieved a pen, piece of paper and a nice, soapstone-encased lighter. By the time I got back to my desk, I certainly had the new hires' attention. Since Fabiola was a Latin name, I had to guess at what it would look like in the Amazon alphabet. "Daphne, is this right?" I asked. She shook her head. She wouldn't give me the answer. I got it on the third try. I showed Fabiola her name on the paper then burned it. I rubbed the ashes between my palms then showed Fabiola my blackened palms. "What does that mean?" Paula inquired. She was worried. I was both flamboyant and hardcore at the same time. "Who cares?" Fabiola mocked me. "'Ghost'" I said in Old Kingdom Hittite. It took them a few seconds to realize it had a second definition; invisible. I had no doubt Katrina fully understood the implications of my actions. "Cáel, I will have to consult with Hayden over this," Katrina mused. I gave a nod, collected my stuff and headed for the elevator. "Katrina, what did he do?" Dora chimed in. "He murdered Fabiola," Katrina enlightened them. "In his mind, she no longer exists." "Can he do that?" Violet wondered. Fabiola took after me. "Cáel," she called out. I ignored her. She caught up. "Cáel." Ignored. Then she shoved me from behind in the shoulder. I kept walking. "Don't you ignore me!" she seethed. Daphne was coming up fast. "Leave him alone," Daphne insisted. Fabiola shoved me again. I was almost at the elevator. "Don't," Helena came up. She was aiming for Daphne because Daphne was about to kick Fabiola. "She's insulting you!" Daphne reacted to Helena while pointing at Fabiola. "He is a man," Helena explained. "We don't fight over men." Meaning that couldn't be the primary excuse, not that it never happened. "Katrina, make me Cáel's boss," Fabiola shouted. Well, I would never dare shout at Katrina unless her life was on the line. Also, technically Fabiola couldn't be my boss, being a 'new hire' and all. "Cáel Nyilas, Fabiola is your boss for the next five minutes," Katrina intoned. Oh fuck. "Cáel, to my side," Fabiola gloated. I looked past her to Katrina, sighed and punched the elevator button. "Don't turn your back on me," Fabiola snarled. A tug of war developed. She kept trying to turn me away from the elevator doors and I refused to be budged. Fabiola drew her blade. Shit. "You cannot run far enough away that I will let you get away with that," Daphne seethed in Old Kingdom Hittite. Fabiola was about to meet that challenge. "What are you doing?" Katrina had been coming out of her office when she caught the exchange. "I;” Daphne stammered. She'd screwed up. "Apologize," Katrina commanded. Daphne apologized grudgingly. The doors opened. "Cáel, hold the door." I did. "Cáel, to my side," Fabiola repeated. She thought she was about to win. I stayed where I was. "Fabiola, he can't hear you," Katrina pointed out. "Of course he can hear me," Fabiola rebutted. "No; no he can't," Katrina remained calm. "You have rendered yourself dead to him. Since he is not a priestess, or augur, he cannot hear the voices of the dead." "He cannot willfully decide he can't hear me," Fabiola demanded. "Oh, I agree. That would be wrong for him to willfully ignore any Havenstone female. Conversely, he can't allow any of our women to be harmed either," Katrina explained patiently. "So, when he witnessed an assault on the spirit of our women, he attempted to address it." "He approached the perpetrator and politely asked them to refrain from that activity. He was rebuffed. It wasn't like he could physically resolve the issue. To resolve that internal conflict; to defend his sisters but not attack a sister, he symbolically killed the problem. This allowed him to constantly and continuously forget the cause of this disruption." "He can't do that," Fabiola persisted. "Actually, it is pure Cáel," Katrina smirked. "I personally unaware of any scripture, bylaw, or statute that forbids him from doing this. I have given you a reasonable argument that explains his actions. He is essentially working through two conflicting orders." "Now Fabiola, as a perspective leader, what do you suggest he do? Let you force him to be relocated when he breaks your jaw? Let you insult half of Havenstone's staff until one day, one of them snaps and you end up in a Newark landfill? That would be wrong of him to do as he is supposed to lay his life down for us," Katrina kept at it. "What do you suggest?" "How do you resolve the crisis? Before you answer that, consider the fate of Leona," Katrina gave a predatory twist of the lips that would make a Momma T-Rex proud. "This male is making us fight amongst ourselves," Fabiola complained. "I'm not fighting just for the male," Daphne growled. "I'm fighting to have offspring that are strong in both body and mind." "Hey," Helena snorted, "can you imagine how much tougher the women in Acquisitions and Business Management have it? We get to talk about the New Directive without fear of weirding Cáel out." "Please believe me," I chuckled. "I'm still weirded out. There is simply nothing I can do about it so I get on with my day." "I don't understand any of you," Fabiola protested. "Fabiola, will Aya die?" Katrina asked. "Yes." "Why?" Katrina continued. "She is small, weak and hyperactive," Fabiola explained. "Cáel, will Aya die?" "No." "Why?" Katrina gazed at me. "Isn't she small, weak and hyperactive?" "Sure, she's small now, but she's only nine. Look at the size of all the other women in her house. None of them are super-tall either," I answered. "She's not hyperactive. She is very bright with a very active imagination. Once she finds her 'stillness'; her center; she'll do fine. If anything, she's too smart. She figures out that her guardians are worried, why they are worried and has to fight against their disappointment every time she does anything." Fabiola snorted, proving yet again she was clueless to her surroundings. "After all, Katrina, she's related to you and you are one of the scariest-smart people I've ever had the pleasure to know," I smiled. I could reply to Fabiola while not replying. "Cáel, go. You are unlikely to survive Buffy as it is," Katrina directed. Buffy was indeed apoplectic. She did manage to let me retrieve my bike before driving me home. Since I was dragging both all my business clothes, toiletries and my bike upstairs with crutches, it was painfully comical. A furious Buffy relented and took a few of my things. We had barely made it in the door when my phone rang. Buffy dumped my belongings in the center of the living room. "Hey," I answered the phone. "Hey, it's Odette," she greeted me happily. "Are you still in the HQ?" "Nope Odette," I grinned at Buffy. "I'm home. Do you want to come over?" "Sure; it's not going to be a problem, is it?" she asked. "I have a good friend over, but if you can stand my illicit behavior, you are more than welcome," I informed her. "Cool," she chirped. "I'll be over in about an hour." "See you soon. Until then Odette," I said. "Now I have to watch you fuck a whore?" Buffy stared at the ground. I wasn't going to go after for the 'whore' thing. She was at the end of her endurance. I knew that. I limped in front of her and pulled out her phone. She was too angry to look up at me so I knelt down. "Buffy," I showed her the text from Katrina about my six hour sexual exemption. She looked up and read it. "So? What does this mean?" Buffy looked ready to explode in tears and fists. "It means that when Constanza had her sword aimed at my throat I figured out a way to ease some of your fears," I stated. She blinked. "You worried that I'd be dead by the end of the month, and I did promise to try and make you the first Havenstone woman I made love to," I explained. "Constanza was about to kill you and you were thinking of me?" is what Buffy got out of all that. "Yeah. I also realized that Aya was far calmer than she was last Saturday, but the major thing was how to ask Katrina for the exemption and lure you here for the weekend," I told her. "Weekend?" Buffy studied me intently. "Yeah," I grinned seductively. "See, I figure we time everything. When we start something naughty, we flip on the timer and the moment we are done, we flip it off," I met her gaze. "That way we squeeze as much out of the six hours as possible; if that's what you want to do?" Buffy hugged me suddenly. "You were about to die and I was the one you were thinking about," Buffy wept. By that, I meant she fell apart emotionally. I had always seen Buffy so fierce that I was caught off-guard by this open vulnerability. I hugged her back and snuggled her close. She sniffled for several seconds. "This doesn't count, does it?" she hiccupped. "This is purely platonic. I'm bonding with my supervisor; team-building," I stated firmly. "Oh Goddess, you are crazy, you are crazy, you are crazy," she murmured into my shoulder. "Okay, I'm crazy. I also really want to have sex with you," I pushed her back so we could look eye to eye. "Or, are you going to make me beg like a big baby?" "I really want to have sex with you too," Buffy smiled; romantically. The fiery freakiness was gone to be replaced by a deeply sensual, gentle spirit. What the hell? "Let's go to the bedroom," I suggested. "We can try out the sofa later." "Is your leg going to be okay?" she suddenly worried. "Which one? Two of the three are working fine," I teased. No anger. "I love your sense of humor," Buffy snickered. I repeat; Huh? We stripped down then crawled under the sheets. Buffy was demure, calm and at peace. "Buffy, I don't want to ruin the mood," I said as I pulled her close. "But you are not acting normal and I don't know what to make of it," I completed. "I won," Buffy stroked my cheek lovingly. "I beat out everyone else for you. I gave it everything I had, you recognized that and came to me. This is me being happy, Cáel. Would you prefer me to be combative?" "I prefer you," I teased. The 'thank you' hovered right on the other side of unspoken. It wasn't in her. She was starting to get amorous. I pulled away to Buffy's momentary confusion then the condom came out, I ripped open the packet, slipped on the prophylactic and returned to my lover. I was about to slip into Buffy, missionary style. "Wait!" she stopped me. She hit two buttons on her wrist watch. "Timer," she explained. In I went. Buffy gasped slightly then began moving her legs up along my thighs. Years of experience made this a slow, gentle screw. This wasn't me wasting time; Buffy wanted savagery later. For her triumphal moment, she wanted to savor every second of this first time with her prize; me. Tender kissing and nuzzling were the signs of our affection. She ran her hands over my shoulders, back and ass. I would balance on my right arm while I coaxed delightful hums from Buffy. This was not Buffy's first time. By the level of stimulation she was giving me, this was unlikely to even be her 100th time. She knew her stuff. She had mentioned me physically and cerebrally engaging her being a reason she was so desperate to 'have' me. I had misinterpreted that. Buffy wanted a sex partner that could keep up in a way that went far beyond stamina; she hungered for matching skill and maturity. She could give me subtle clues with her body and I'd pick up on them, folding them back into my own actions and signals. There aren't too many that can meet me orgasm for orgasm. Buffy did. She crested first, but I was only seconds behind her. Before my final blasts, I rolled us over so that she was on top. I tried wiggle out of her. Buffy resisted. "Don't pull out yet," Buffy requested. "If I pull out, we can stop the clock," I insisted. "Oh," she giggled, "me lying naked on top of you in your bed isn't 'inappropriate behavior'?" "I won't tell if you won't," I snickered. Buffy cut of the timer on her wristwatch. Buffy was bringing her breathing under control and getting comfortable with our sweatiness. "If you hadn't been as good as your hype," Buffy whispered after a minute, "I think I would have fallen apart; and killed you; then probably myself." "Whoa," I reacted. "Explain that. Girls wanting to kill me is fine. Girls killing themselves for anything remotely involving me isn't." She mulled that over. She wasn't going to apologize yet felt a need to share something. I had to be patient. I've been with a lot of girls and a few guys who didn't take rejection well. That rarely had anything to do with the actual rejection. It was some festering wound much deeper and older than their encounter with me. "In high school I discovered the wonders of sex. I loved it. Not the lover, but the carnal act. I'd screw anyone, as long as it was something new and different," Buffy confided. "After a few bad incidents, my parents; my stepfather and my mother; threw me out because they thought I was a bad influence for my two younger sisters. I went to a city and did the only thing I was good at. I met this guy; you know the story. He would protect me, love me, blah, blah, blah," Buffy recalled painfully. "Slowly the sex stopped being fun. It was money and not my money at that. One night I got sick of it. 'He' wanted me to perform, I told him I was leaving so he and two buddies raped me. They raped me a lot over the next two days while they smoked meth and drank," she continued. "Finally, when they all passed out, I went to the place where he had his gun." "That wasn't going to be good enough for me," she tilted her head up to study my eyes. "I got his baseball bat instead and knocked them all out real good. I found a few garbage bag twist ties, tied their hands behind their backs and went at all three with a knife. I gutted them a bit so they were awake and in a shitload of pain; then I hacked their cocks and balls off." I was less revolted than I thought I'd be. I still felt my dick shrivel and my balls trying to retract into my bodies. I certainly wasn't going to joke about it; this was a serious sensitive moment for her. I stroked her hair. I could live with this revelation. I wasn't sure why I could, but my heart and mind weren't freaking out, so I went with my instincts. "I had barely finished up when the cops came bursting in. I had taken far longer torturing them than I imagined and their screams had been heard all over the housing complex. They Tasered me, I went to jail and finally to trial. My defense attorney argued an 'Insanity' Plea and I ended up in a mental facility," she was clearly relieved that I wasn't terrified. "A few months later, Katrina showed up," Buffy continued. "She wasn't where she is today. We talked a great deal, but there were only two crucial questions for her. 'Do you regret killing those men?' and 'Can you have sex again?' I answered 'no' and 'yes' after some thought. Two weeks later, I was transferred to a Havenstone facility, they cleaned me up, trained me, and I was stationed here." "What is with you and Elsa?" I prodded a handful of minutes later. "Don't go there, Cáel," Buffy muttered. "Do you seriously want me to confront her not knowing the whole score?" I countered. "She is a complete and total racist Bitch," she grumbled. "Please don't tell me it was a sex contest," I groaned. "If she is better than you, I'm going to die." Her grumbling lack of an explanation allowed me to crack a joke. Buffy 'punished' me by kissing my chin. "No, it wasn't a cunt-thing. If she can fuck you better than me, you have my permission to die," she smiled playfully. Scary. I was so used to her being scary, Buffy not being scary was scaring me. Push? "Well, the only thing I can do then, is a Buffy-Elsa-Cáel three-way," I sighed. "Okay," Buffy murmured. "Stop it!" I shouted. "You are freaking me out." Buffy giggled. I was howling off into madness on the inside. "I think you have company coming soon. We should get clean and put some clothes on," she exhaled joyously. By dressed, Buffy meant putting on my dress shirt; unbuttoned. She was like that, cross-legged on the sofa, eating Cheese Puffs and watching 'Real Housewives of Mumbai' when Odette arrived. It took Odette a second to realize this Buffy was the same firecracker from the last time they met. "Hi; um," Odette started. "We are fine. He fucked me. I'm in a state of grace," Buffy explained pleasantly; without a hint of menace, or fury. "Buffy; Odette Sievert," I made introductions. "Odette; Buffy Dubois." Odette strode right over to the sofa and plopped down beside Buffy. I had to struggle to not flinch. "He gives an incredible dicking, doesn't he?" Odette bubbled. "Yes," Buffy purred, "Yes, he does that and more. You are new to this whole 'love-making thing, aren't you?" "Pretty much," Odette openly admitted. "He gave me my first orgasm. I didn't realize how good sex was until I met Cáel." "I didn't realize how good sex was until I met me either," I joked. "Trust me," Buffy patted Odette's thigh, "I know a great deal about sex and I can assure you he's really, really good." "You are not wearing underwear," Odette noted. Life only got more bizarre. "Why don't you go into the bedroom, get one of his used dress shirts and put it on; and nothing else," Buffy advised. "It is a wonderful experience." "Oh God, don't I know it," Odette exulted. She jumped up and skipped into my bedroom. "Don't play with her," I cautioned Buffy. Buffy studied me then gave me a glowing look. "I'm trying to be a better companion Cáel," she told me. "I know I've put you through hell. I'm not going to apologize. I like the look of fear in your eyes. It is only matched by that look that says 'I'll get you for this'," she chuckled. "Just for that, its reverse cowgirl for you the next time we make love," I threatened. "How is that a threat?" Buffy teased. "I am absolutely positive you like my ass." "I bet he likes all of you," Odette sang out as she came out twirling in another one of my dressed shirts and nothing else. Odette had change really quick. I knew she came over bra-less. I was suspecting no underwear, or socks too. She sat down tightly next to Buffy. "So, how is this 'sharing' thing going to work?" Odette looked back and forth between us. "Have you ever been with a woman?" Buffy asked. "Don't be embarrassed about curiosity." "Ah; well, a little," Odette stammered. "Here is how it works," Buffy patted Odette's nervous hand. "I can only have sex with Cáel for five and a half more hours for the entire weekend. Since I like sex and you are here, I'm certainly interested in you." "Odette," she reassured my bed-buddy, "there is no pressure. I have gotten the most important thing; quality time with Cáel. Everything else is a bonus." "Oh; I'm okay with that," Odette nodded. Then she leaned in to kiss Buffy; maybe I should create a 'Sex for Beginners' CD. I was working gangbusters on expanding Odette's sexual horizons. Buffy wrapped a hand in Odette's hair and drew her into a steamer kiss. I settled in behind Odette, switching kisses between the back of Odette's head and Buffy's hand. "Wow," Odette panted. "You taste different than any guy I've kissed. I like it, but I like Cáel better." Before anyone thinks this never happens, or 'only in Hollywood (West Hollywood, that is), please understand I went to a rural college with a 70% female student enrollment. Convincing a girl to engage in a little girl-on-girl action to 'get me extra aroused' is insanely easy. The few times a lady has asked if I'd kiss a guy to get her 'extra aroused', I said 'for her and only for her'. Works every time. I've kissed a few guys, but only for charity. Fine; I've kissed a few guys in gay bars because Timothy intimated that we'd get our asses kicked if I didn't. He may have been playing me, but for all the shit I put him through, I can live with that. Back to the story: we had Odette in my bed in no time. I was on the bottom, Odette was lying on me, back to my chest and I was using my hips to piston into her while she moaned on top of me. Buffy was alternating between tantalizing Odette's clit and teasing her nipples. Using a very liberal definition for 'touching me', we decided that this wasn't consuming any of our 'exemption' time. Three orgasms later, Buffy poured an uber-contented Odette into her/my shirt and I carried her to the sofa. I put Odette's head in Buffy's lap, Buffy twirling Odette's forelock and Odette humming a happy tune. I was getting some apple and orange juice when Timothy's keys jangled in the door. He walked into the apartment and soaked up the scene. I took in that it was barely 8:30 and Timothy was in his date clothes. A seriously not-good situation. I diverted to him, drinks in hand, and hugged him. "Sorry Bro," I murmured. He hugged me back. "Buffy DuBois, this is Timothy." "Buffy? The crazy chick who wanted a hug?" Timothy chuckled. "She's not;” Odette mumbled. "Yes, that would be me," Buffy grinned sedately. Timothy looked down and shook his head. "That is some dick," he groused. "Damn Bro, "Timothy regarded me with some amusement, "did you bother to get her panties off, or was the mere thought of sex with you enough to cause a complete personality reversal?" "Cáel," Odette raised a shaking arm and commanded loftily, "put the drinks down and get us some ice cream. It is Bonding Time." She meant commiserating with Timothy over his dating failure. Timothy trundled off to his bedroom muttering something about 'getting into something more comfortable' and I delivered the drinks then doubled back for the ice cream and four spoons. Timothy ended up on the floor with his head resting against Odette's stomach. I offered to take the bottom spot. Timothy accepted the gesture then pointed out I was the guy with the bum leg. I ended up with Odette's feet in my lap. The flavor of the night was Cherry Vanilla and we were all making inroads into the supply quickly. Timothy dialed up Ninja Assassin on Netflix. Ten minutes in I realized why. There was this Asian actor who was really hot and extremely physically fit. Odette agreed. "You two can't believe any of this is real," Buffy commented shortly after. "This is absurd. Nothing and no one kills like that." She had professional pride after all. It hadn't taken me three days to figure out that the Executive Service babes' main purpose in life was not laundry delivery. They went everywhere and saw everything; just like a secret police force. Odd, huh? "Speaking of absurd and unreal," Timothy snickered. "Cáel, two ladies screaming Extreme High Maintenance showed up this morning. Apparently you weren't answering your phone, work said you were out of the office, and some spooky chicks at Havenstone showed them the door with something akin to a threat of lethal violence," he continued. "From long experience as your roommate, I could tell you'd fucked them to Nirvana and they wanted more." "From long experience'?" Buffy wondered. "You haven't known him two months yet." "Lady, this happens at least once a week with this guy. You are playing with the hair of one of those women right now," Timothy told her. "Yeah," Odette sighed happily. I was still wrapping my mind around the fact that Buffy hadn't threatened me with violence in the past four hours. Not even a glower. "So, what did you tell them?" I asked my bud. "I looked terribly put out then informed them you'd decided to become a Dominican and gone to a monastery in Italy to train," Timothy smirked. "What did you really say?" I thumped his head with my spoon. Before anyone goes 'iew, don't eat with that', I would remind you how pervasive hair is in a bachelor pad. Vacuum and you'll find out. "I told them you work in Looney Tunes Central; which they bought surprisingly easily; and that you would give them a call the moment your destiny was returned to you," Timothy said. I was willing to bet he used those exact words too. "What has Cáel told you about Havenstone?" Buffy prodded. "No way, Buffy," Timothy shook his head. "You are still one of those crazy bitches. Cáel hasn't told me the real deal, but when he looked me in the eye and said you ladies might kill me, I knew he wasn't playing around. He was afraid for my life." "Do you really think we would hurt you?" Buffy persisted. "You put an arrow in my boy; and he's got the magic dick. Since I'm not likely to put out for you ladies, I pretty much believe you'll put one through my heart without batting an eye," Timothy countered. "What would you do if he simply stopped showing up one day?" Buffy mused. "Not ask," Timothy snapped off his reply. "I trust Cáel enough to heed his warning and get on with my life." "Cáel has a big heart," Buffy regarded me warmly. "It is one of the many things that makes him a great prize." "Salmon; Angel Falls," Timothy taunted me. Before I even started at Havenstone, he had warned me that I had no chance of making it in that women-dominated Hell. He was right and he loved rubbing it in; the Bastard. To clarify: a salmon is a stupid fish who follows his penis to his death and Angel Falls in Venezuela is the Earth's longest, continuous waterfall; that's 807 meters for those who don't want to use Wikipedia. "Timothy, if there was any doubt, there will be no mention of Tuesday night and what came afterwards," I urged my guy. "Way ahead of you," Timothy chuckled. That was Rhada we were talking about. "If you are going to hang around Cáel, you will have to get used to all the other ladies," Odette sighed comfortably up at Buffy. "I know," Buffy stroked Odette's ear. "Also, if you see me outside of Cáel's home, be afraid of me because if you aren't, bad things might happen to you. Do we understand each other?" "No," Odette hesitated to respond. "Don't worry about it; just do it," Buffy warned her; affectionately. I was going mad. For the rest of the movie, everyone behaved. We emptied the ice cream container. Timothy went for beers. He bought back three. "Where is mine?" Odette inquired. "I don't think you are old enough to drink," Timothy told her. "Odette, if you give Buffy a kiss steamy enough to curl her toes, I'll give you mine," I offered. Odette weighed the offer, rolled over and crawled into Buffy's lap. The kiss was classic me; teasing contact; light tongue; full kiss; re-arrangement of tonsils. I was so proud of my girl. "That was exceedingly pleasant, Odette," Buffy grinned once the French kiss eventually ended. I handed Odette my beer. She remained straddling Buffy's lap, perfectly at ease. "Dude, do you have any guy friends you can bring over and make gay?" Timothy pleaded with me. We knew that didn't happen. "Fine, bi will do," he grinned. "I'm not a lesbian," Odette wiggled in Buffy's lap. "I just like Buffy." "Buffy likes you," Buffy placed a light kiss on Odette's lips. "Let's go to the bedroom." Acid test time. "Sure," Odette hopped up. She took Buffy's hand and pulled her up. Hand in hand they went to my room. I rose to follow. "We'll call you when we are ready," Buffy teased me. They went into my boudoir and shut the door. "Now you know how I feel," Timothy sighed. "Not really," I patted his shoulder. "In thirty, or forty minutes, I'm going to go in there and do some serious boning. Personally, I don't know how you take sleeping alone so often." Timothy and I sat down on the sofa. "You are an asshole," he grumbled. "Considering what you do to assholes, I don't know how to take that," I joked. He hit me. "Being gay would be the only thing that would make you more fun," Timothy laughed. I wondered how Katrina would take my sexual conversion. I deciding telling her would be unwise. I had another rescue flare about how out of control my life had become; Odette had seen my latest series of bandaged wounds and hadn't forced me to create some lie to explain them away. Damn. To be continued in Part 11 By FinalStand for Literotica.
Cáel's tombstone: For the love of women, women put him here.In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand.Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected..
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Supreme Court decisions on presidential immunity in Trump v. United States and the administrative state in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo as well as the future of Joe Biden's nomination to be re-elected president. Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Supreme Court of the United States: Opinions of the Court – 2023, including Trump v. United States, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors, and SEC v. Jarkesy Matt Gluck, Hyemin Han, and Katherine Pompilio for Lawfare: The Supreme Court's Presidential Immunity Decision Perry Stein for The Washington Post: Justice Sotomayor dissent: ‘The President is now a king above the law' Gary J. Schmitt and Joseph M. Bessette for the American Enterprise Institute: The Hamilton-Madison Split over Executive Power Dan Pfeiffer for The Message Box: Why the Dem Panic over the Debate is Getting Worse ‘Will Rogers Today': Will Rogers on Politics Tim Miller for The Bulwark: Dear Dems: The Gaslighting Isn't Helping Matters Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court strikes down Chevron, curtailing power of federal agencies and Mark Walsh: Consider the wild gray squirrel, Kagan rebukes her colleagues as court overrules Chevron Mark Sherman for AP: The Supreme Court rules for a North Dakota truck stop in a new blow to federal regulators How to Save a Country from The New Republic: The Administrative State Is Under Attack Congressional Research Service: The Major Questions Doctrine Eric Berger for Dorf on Law: Is Loper Bright a Big Deal? and Michael C. Dorf: Could Congress Reinstate Chevron? Tierney Sneed, Jeanne Sahadi, Tami Luhby, Brian Fung, Ella Nilsen, Jen Christensen, and Katie Lobosco for CNN: How the Supreme Court's blockbuster ‘Chevron' ruling puts countless regulations in jeopardy Here are this week's chatters: Emily: Paul Sabin of Yale University and City of New Haven: East Rock park John: Dave McMenamin for ESPN: Lakers pick Bronny James in NBA draft; LeBron ‘emotional' David: City Cast DC and Ross Andersen for The Atlantic: The Search for America's Atlantis Listener chatter from Jen in Denver, Colorado: Brandy Zadrozny and Jon Schuppe for NBC News: Who tried to steal Graceland? For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the joys of summer. See Merry Maids: 15 Fun Things to Make the Most of Summer 2024; NBC: Olympics Paris 2024; and epicurious: Summer. See also Produce bluebook: Nectarine Market Summary and Lemonada Media: Julia Gets Wise with Patti Smith. In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot: A Novel. And Gabfest Reads now has its own site! Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Supreme Court decisions on presidential immunity in Trump v. United States and the administrative state in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo as well as the future of Joe Biden's nomination to be re-elected president. Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Supreme Court of the United States: Opinions of the Court – 2023, including Trump v. United States, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors, and SEC v. Jarkesy Matt Gluck, Hyemin Han, and Katherine Pompilio for Lawfare: The Supreme Court's Presidential Immunity Decision Perry Stein for The Washington Post: Justice Sotomayor dissent: ‘The President is now a king above the law' Gary J. Schmitt and Joseph M. Bessette for the American Enterprise Institute: The Hamilton-Madison Split over Executive Power Dan Pfeiffer for The Message Box: Why the Dem Panic over the Debate is Getting Worse ‘Will Rogers Today': Will Rogers on Politics Tim Miller for The Bulwark: Dear Dems: The Gaslighting Isn't Helping Matters Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court strikes down Chevron, curtailing power of federal agencies and Mark Walsh: Consider the wild gray squirrel, Kagan rebukes her colleagues as court overrules Chevron Mark Sherman for AP: The Supreme Court rules for a North Dakota truck stop in a new blow to federal regulators How to Save a Country from The New Republic: The Administrative State Is Under Attack Congressional Research Service: The Major Questions Doctrine Eric Berger for Dorf on Law: Is Loper Bright a Big Deal? and Michael C. Dorf: Could Congress Reinstate Chevron? Tierney Sneed, Jeanne Sahadi, Tami Luhby, Brian Fung, Ella Nilsen, Jen Christensen, and Katie Lobosco for CNN: How the Supreme Court's blockbuster ‘Chevron' ruling puts countless regulations in jeopardy Here are this week's chatters: Emily: Paul Sabin of Yale University and City of New Haven: East Rock park John: Dave McMenamin for ESPN: Lakers pick Bronny James in NBA draft; LeBron ‘emotional' David: City Cast DC and Ross Andersen for The Atlantic: The Search for America's Atlantis Listener chatter from Jen in Denver, Colorado: Brandy Zadrozny and Jon Schuppe for NBC News: Who tried to steal Graceland? For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the joys of summer. See Merry Maids: 15 Fun Things to Make the Most of Summer 2024; NBC: Olympics Paris 2024; and epicurious: Summer. See also Produce bluebook: Nectarine Market Summary and Lemonada Media: Julia Gets Wise with Patti Smith. In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot: A Novel. And Gabfest Reads now has its own site! Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Supreme Court decisions on presidential immunity in Trump v. United States and the administrative state in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo as well as the future of Joe Biden's nomination to be re-elected president. Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Supreme Court of the United States: Opinions of the Court – 2023, including Trump v. United States, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors, and SEC v. Jarkesy Matt Gluck, Hyemin Han, and Katherine Pompilio for Lawfare: The Supreme Court's Presidential Immunity Decision Perry Stein for The Washington Post: Justice Sotomayor dissent: ‘The President is now a king above the law' Gary J. Schmitt and Joseph M. Bessette for the American Enterprise Institute: The Hamilton-Madison Split over Executive Power Dan Pfeiffer for The Message Box: Why the Dem Panic over the Debate is Getting Worse ‘Will Rogers Today': Will Rogers on Politics Tim Miller for The Bulwark: Dear Dems: The Gaslighting Isn't Helping Matters Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court strikes down Chevron, curtailing power of federal agencies and Mark Walsh: Consider the wild gray squirrel, Kagan rebukes her colleagues as court overrules Chevron Mark Sherman for AP: The Supreme Court rules for a North Dakota truck stop in a new blow to federal regulators How to Save a Country from The New Republic: The Administrative State Is Under Attack Congressional Research Service: The Major Questions Doctrine Eric Berger for Dorf on Law: Is Loper Bright a Big Deal? and Michael C. Dorf: Could Congress Reinstate Chevron? Tierney Sneed, Jeanne Sahadi, Tami Luhby, Brian Fung, Ella Nilsen, Jen Christensen, and Katie Lobosco for CNN: How the Supreme Court's blockbuster ‘Chevron' ruling puts countless regulations in jeopardy Here are this week's chatters: Emily: Paul Sabin of Yale University and City of New Haven: East Rock park John: Dave McMenamin for ESPN: Lakers pick Bronny James in NBA draft; LeBron ‘emotional' David: City Cast DC and Ross Andersen for The Atlantic: The Search for America's Atlantis Listener chatter from Jen in Denver, Colorado: Brandy Zadrozny and Jon Schuppe for NBC News: Who tried to steal Graceland? For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the joys of summer. See Merry Maids: 15 Fun Things to Make the Most of Summer 2024; NBC: Olympics Paris 2024; and epicurious: Summer. See also Produce bluebook: Nectarine Market Summary and Lemonada Media: Julia Gets Wise with Patti Smith. In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Sierra Greer about her new book, Annie Bot: A Novel. And Gabfest Reads now has its own site! Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A bill is quickly moving through Congress that supposedly would “ban TikTok.” While it is clearly aimed at TikTok, this bill is really about creating a new Presidential power to remove Americans' access to apps, websites, games and other entire tech platforms. In this episode, using the text of the bill itself, we examine how exactly this new censorship power would work if the bill passes the Senate and becomes law. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes The Not a TikTok Ban Bill Drew Harwell et al. March 13, 2024. The Washington Post. David E. Sanger. March 13, 2024. The New York Times. Aamer Madhani. March 8, 2024. AP News. Opposition to the bill Jenna Leventoff. March 13, 2024. ACLU. Access Now et al. March 12, 2024. ACLU. How we got here Dan Primack. March 12, 2024. Axios. Samantha Delouya and Brian Fung. November 30, 2023. CNN. Emily Baker-White. August 21, 2023. Forbes. November 20, 2023. Reuters. Brian Fung. December 30, 2022. CNN. James K. Jackson. February 14, 2020. Congressional Research Service. Grindr Echo Wang. May 13, 2019. Reuters. Jeff Farrah. April 15, 2019. TechCrunch. ByteDance Lily Kuo and Annabelle Timsit. March 13, 2024. The Washington Post. April 16, 2023. TikTok. Censorship and Spying Jonathan Vanian. January 22, 2024. CNBC. May 16, 2023. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Public Affairs. Marielle Descalsota. December 27, 2022. Business Insider. Lily Hay Newman. May 7, 2019. Wired. Israel and AIPAC Camille Bressange. March 16, 2024. The Wall Street Journal. Kate Linthicum. March 13, 2024. The Los Angeles Times. Celine Alkhaldi et al. March 8, 2024. CNN. December 3, 2023. Velshi on MSNBC. Rep. Mike Gallagher. November 1, 2023. The Free Press. Mater Dei High School. TikTok September 20, 2021. BBC. The Bill Audio Sources House Floor March 13, 2024 Clips 19:00 Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY): There was there were some people who were legitimately concerned that this was an overly broad bill and they got an exclusion written into the bill that I want to read. It says the term "covered company" does not include an entity that operates a website or application, whose primary purpose is to allow users to post product reviews, business reviews, or travel information and reviews. Why is this exception in the bill? Why did somebody feel like they needed this exception if the bill itself only covers social media applications that foreign adversaries are running now? 21:15 Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ): While this bill establishes a national security framework that could apply to other applications, much of the public attention is focused on TikTok. 23:15 Rep. Michael Gallagher (R-WI): Mr. Speaker, TikTok is a threat to our national security because it is owned by ByteDance, which does the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party. We know this because ByteDance's leadership says so and because Chinese law requires it. This bill, therefore, would force TikTok to break up with the Chinese Communist Party. It does not apply to American companies. It only applies to companies subject to the controlof foreign adversaries defined by Congress. It says nothing about election interference and cannot be turned against any American social media platform. It does not impact websites in general. The only impacted sites are those associated with foreign adversary apps, such as TikTok.com. It can never be used to penalize individuals. The text explicitly prohibits that. It cannot be used to censor speech. It takes no position at all on the content of speech, only foreign adversary control of what is becoming the dominant news platform for Americans under 30. 25:55 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): This divestment requirement is not new. It's not without precedent. When the app Grindr, a popular LGBTQ app, was acquired by a Chinese company, and the United States government determined that sensitive data of LGBTQ members of the military and US government officials got into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, they required divestment. This happened quickly. Why? Because Grindr was a very valuable social media company. The same is true with regard to TikTok, and there will be no disruption to users, just as there was with Grindr. 27:25 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): Last week, under the leadership of the Chairwoman and the Ranking Member, they brought up for consideration our bill before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. On the morning of that vote, TikTok, delivered a push notification and a pop up to thousands of users across the country. They used geolocation data targeting minor children to then force them to call congressional offices in order to continue using the app. And in doing so, these children called and they asked the question: what is Congress? And what is a Congressman? This influence campaign illustrates the need for this bill. 29:20 Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH): The people sponsoring this bill today claim that the real issue is ownership. But who owns this company? It's not 100% owned by Bytedance. 60% of it's owned by investors, including American investors. 20% are owned by the founders and 20% are owned by over 7000 employees. The company's headquarters is not in China, it's in Singapore. And the American user data isn't housed in China. It's housed in Texas, controlled by a database owned by Oracle. 30:20 Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH): So if we think we can address the privacy concerns, what's left to address? Frankly, content moderation. Remember, before Elon Musk bought the crime scene at Twitter, it was all a conspiracy theory that these algorithms were silencing and canceling people. You guys are crazy. Now when Elon Musk bought Twitter, he did keep it operating with 80% fewer employees. But what we found is a lot of the employees were trying to do content moderation, shape who sees what and how they see it, which algorithms are used, how does it promote certain people and, and filter others? So really, what you're saying here is if you're not fully engaged with America's three letter agencies in content moderation, we plan to 'TikTok' you. And this bill isn't just limited to TikTok. It's a coercive power that can be applied to other apps like Telegram, Tor. Things that provide privacy would be targeted by this bill. 34:20 Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): First of all, this is not a ban on TikTok. I'm a grandmother of teenagers, I understand the entertainment value, the educational value, communication value, the business value for some businesses on this. This is not an attempt to ban TikTok. Its an attempt to make TikTok better. Tic Tac Toe. A winner, a winner. 41:00 Brett Guthrie (R-KY): I was asked, does this just affect TikTok? And no, it's any foreign adversary, or any app that is owned, controlled or unduly influenced by any foreign adversary. We must protect our national security and help keep America's private data out of the hands of our foreign adversaries. I urge support of this bill, and I yield back. 51:55 Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN): After hearing from national security experts last week, it is clear the prolific use of media platforms controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign adversaries poses a danger to our country. 53:15 Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA): This bill would greatly expand the Executive's authority to ban tech companies with zero congressional oversight. I cannot sign a blank check to some future president who would easily and dangerously weaponize this legislation to profit in silence. 55:20 Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL): We aren't banning a company, as the high paid lobbyists for Bytedance - which is owned by China - would lead you to believe. We aren't infringing on constitutionally protected speech or growing the size of government. All we're saying is, Break up with the Chinese Communist Party. 1:02:30 Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY): Who's going to be prosecuted by this bill? Is it Bytedance or TikTok? Will they be taken to court? No. I mean, they're the target of this, but how do you elicit or effect a ban on them? By prosecuting Americans? The only way you can ban TikTok and the other companies from being here is to say what this bill says, which is the government will bring a civil action suit against you, if you so much as host them here. If you have an app store that allows them to be here, you're an American or an American company and you will be the target of this bill. Those are the only people who can be pursued under this bill and I know it's in order to go after TikTok, or so they say. Music by Editing Production Assistance
Repost - One Goal, Many Paths - Next Steps After Not Matching Residency Intended Audience: Residency Applicants Panel: Beju Shah, David Vu, Brian Fung, Tony Dao 25% of all participants did not match this year for ASHP Match Day
Episode 200! Thanks to all the listeners here to celebrate this milestone. In this episode we're talking about the coming tax season (never too early right?). A lot of tax headlines to discuss this episode:IRS announces that this coming filing season, taxpayers may be able to file most documents and returns electronically and by 2025 the IRS will digitize all paper file returns when they are receivedIRS might push for an early end to the employee retention tax credit as the number of "legitimate claims" declinesTreasury Inspector General for Tax Administration says that while the IRS has done a good job of addressing cyberthreats, it needs to do a better job with documentation New tech being built called IVIX, the first AI powered platform to help governments address financial crimes and tax evasionTax prep companies like H&R Block and TaxSlayer have for years been sharing Americans sensitive financial data with tech giants like Meta and Google in a potential of violation of federal lawI speak with Steven Lyon, Senior Manager, Product Specialists with SafeSend to discuss all these updates and how to meet challenges as practitioners. ResourcesSteven Lyon LinkedIn ProfileAP News article, "IRS aims to go paperless by 2025 as part of its campaign to conquer mountains of paperwork", by Fatima Hussein Accounting Today article, "IRS good at addressing cyberthreats, but not documenting them" by Chris GaetanoIVIX websiteCNN article, "Tax prep companies shared private taxpayer data with Google and Meta for years, congressional probe finds", by Brian Fung
309. Health Tech and Interoperability feat. Dr. Brian Fung Intended Audience: Everyone In this episode, we had the privilege of sitting down with Dr. Brian Fung, delving into the fascinating journey of his transition into the realm of healthcare technology. Driven by a profound passion for advancing healthcare interoperability, he shared his invaluable insights on navigating the intricate web of technical intricacies. With his guidance, we embarked on a thought-provoking exploration of the pathways leading to the elusive dream world of seamless healthcare data exchange, highlighting the pivotal role of acquiring and applying technical expertise and pharmacist knowledge in this noble pursuit. Dr. Fung's journey serves as an inspiring testament to the transformative potential of combining healthcare expertise with technological acumen to unlock the future of healthcare interoperability. Visit Brian Fung's website at https://www.briankfung.com Disclaimer: Views expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which speakers have been, is now, or will be affiliated. New to LinkedIn and not sure where to start? Download my free ebook, "Professional Networking Unlocked", at https://www.tonydaopharmd.com/ebook Follow us on social media! Twitter: @pharmacyitme Instagram: @pharmacyinformatics LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharmacyitme/ Website: Pharmacy IT & Me Email: tony@pharmacyitme.com Follow Tony's personal Twitter account at @tonydaopharmd Network with other pharmacists at Pharmacists Connect!http://pharmacistsconnect.com For more information on pharmacy informatics, check out some of the following useful links: ASHP's Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology: https://www.ashp.org/Pharmacy-Informaticist/Section-of-Pharmacy-Informatics-and-Technology/ HIMSS: https://www.himss.org/resources/pharmacy-informatics-and-its-cross-functional-role-healthcare Disclaimer: Views expressed are my own and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.
Repost: One Goal, Many Paths - Next Steps After Not Matching feat. Drs. Brian Fung, Beju Shah, David Vu, Tony Dao Today's episode is a REPOST to 2019's special episode about next steps after not matching. The four of us have had different stories on what we did after not matching and want to let you know that it's OKAY. There's still Phase 2, there's still other pathways to get to where you want to go. Original Shownotes from 2019: This year, over 4000 thousand applicants matched for a PGY1 or PGY2 pharmacy residency program. These individuals are moving on to an amazing opportunity where they can continue to expand their skillset and evolve their knowledge. But… over 2000 applicants did NOT get this chance. If you were one of the individuals who did not match, know that you are NOT alone. Know that it's OKAY. Know that there are MANY different pathways to achieve your end goal. On today's special episode, Dr. Beju Shah, Dr. Brian Fung, Dr. David Vu, and Dr. Tony Dao all share their stories of how they did not match for residency and talk about the next steps they took that eventually navigated them into their DREAM careers. We encourage anyone who's listening to share your story and let everyone know that they are NOT alone. Please share your stories on any social media outlet using #OneGoalManyPaths #YourPharmacyStory . Panel Contact Info: Beju Shah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/medicationsafety/ Brian Fung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkfung/ David Vu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vcudavidvu/ or vud@vcu.edu Tony Dao: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonydaopharmd/ Additional resources: 2019 residency stats: https://natmatch.com/ashprmp/stats/2019applstats.pdf 2023 residency stats: https://natmatch.com/ashprmp/stats/2023applstats-ph1.pdf Disclaimer: Views expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which speakers have been, is now, or will be affiliated. New to LinkedIn and not sure where to start? Download my free ebook, "Professional Networking Unlocked", at https://www.tonydaopharmd.com/ebook Follow us on social media! Twitter: @pharmacyitme Instagram: @pharmacyinformatics LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharmacyitme/ Website: Pharmacy IT & Me Email: tony@pharmacyitme.com Follow Tony's personal Twitter account at @tonydaopharmd Network with other pharmacists at Pharmacists Connect!http://pharmacistsconnect.com For more information on pharmacy informatics, check out some of the following useful links: ASHP's Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology: https://www.ashp.org/Pharmacy-Informaticist/Section-of-Pharmacy-Informatics-and-Technology/ HIMSS: https://www.himss.org/resources/pharmacy-informatics-and-its-cross-functional-role-healthcare Disclaimer: Views expressed are my own and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.
Women making bad decisions. Cáel to the rescue? What?By FinalStand. Listen and subscribe to the podcast at Steamy Stories.-There is nothing wrong being a Lucky Bastard. It is wrong to rely on it-(Monday later)Buffy had finally dismissed me when Katrina summoned me to her office. Ignoring me getting into an altercation…in the Full-Blood gym…yet again, I had a good day. No property damage, lost items, or physically damaged employees. Ragged by most people’s standards, but a good day for me at Havenstone. I still had a chance to walk out under my own power.Katrina motioned me to come to her desk. Upon my arrival, she slid a tablet over to me with a single icon on the screen. I tapped it. Aya’s face appeared as the vid-mail began. She was glowing. There was tent fabric in the background so I had no idea of her geographic location. I didn’t care.“Hey!” she squeaked. “I’m doing great at camp. I met three girls who are as small as me and we’ve formed our own squad; the Fatal Squirts.” I chuckled.I had encouraged her to steal strength from her perceived weaknesses. She had to believe in herself then take that as she built up her skills. I had faith in her when no one else did.“I showed some of my councilors a picture of you. I think you would get into trouble if you came here. I want you to come, but I thought it was only fair to warn my favorite bed-buddy,” she giggled.“Send me a message when you can. I understand there will be a delay as the messages have to be physically delivered. I know you are doing okay. If not, hold off your vengeance until I can return and guard your back. I love you, Cáel. Be well,” she smiled as her picture faded into darkness.“Ah damn,” I whispered. Aya looked good; confident, upbeat and spirited. “Katrina, can I make a message for her right now?” I begged.“Of course,” she gave me an approving tilt of the head. “I think the courier is still in the building.”“Cool. What do I do?” I urged.“Use the webcam; make a message and forward it to my computer,” Katrina told me. “I’ll take it from there.” I made the message, pretty much updating her on my latest exploits with limited editing. Aya was a surprisingly innocent yet worldly 9 year old.Much of that came from being Katrina’s and Desiree’s niece; mainly Katrina’s. It gave her access to tidbits of sensitive data from time to time. Not so much she was a real security threat. Enough so that she got some things confused; like what sex was truly about. I felt in my soul she’d be a great Amazon one day. I didn’t remind her of that much. She had enough pressure for a kid her age.“You are seeing Oneida now?” a frosty voice unnerved me. It was Buffy.“Fuck,” I jumped up. “Damn Buffy, stop sneaking up on me like that, or I’m going to start thinking you are a stalker.”“I am stalking you, Einstein,” Buffy menaced.“I’m glad we got that out of the way,” I rolled my eyes. “Oh look! It’s Daphne coming to my rescue. I am so out of here,” I exulted. I edged passed Buffy, slipped her attempt to grab my arm and raced for the ‘new hires’ at the elevator.“Get back here, you Cock-sucker!” Buffy howled as she chased me down.May miracles never cease. Daphne, Violet and Tigger formed an Amazon (I wasn’t sure if I could consider them 'human’ yet) shield between my frail form and the hulking brute that was Buffy.“Calm down, Buffy,” Daphne pleaded. “He fought Elsa today; again.”“Get out of my way,” Buffy snarled.“Thank God you stopped her,” I huffed to Dora. “I hope to she never finds out that I soaped up Elsa’s entire body while we were sharing a shower together.” Daphne turned and gave me an incredulous look.“Cáel, you are a Dumb-ass,” Daphne sighed. Looking to Buffy as she stood aside. “Have at.”“Are you mental?” Fabiola chimed in. The elevator doors finally opened, Buffy shoved me in and the rest of the posse followed. Helena joined us at the last second.“He’s taunting me,” Buffy responded to Fabiola while using her middle finger to poke my chest. “At this rate I am going to have to devastate a dozen male escorts so I can make it the remaining the 69 more days until he’s mine again.”“Is he really that good?” Paula wondered. Buffy twisted around to confront her.“He hammered me so hard, I thought he’d dislocate my hips. Later, we spent an entire hour, naked, wrapped up in each other’s bodies with no actual penetration; touching, tasting and whispered affections,” Buffy curled her lip. “He’s better than you could possibly imagine.”“You realize we have 27 seconds left, right?” I reminded Buffy.“Really?” Buffy’s head snapped back to me. I nodded and she jumped my bones. She had her hand down my pants, pulling on my rod, and the other grabbing the back of my head to deepen our kiss.For my part, I had my left hand on her breast and the right down the back of her pants, fondling a panty-covered ass cheek. In a culture where you summoned a male, ordered him to perform and he did so the same exact way he’d done a dozen times before, what Buffy and I were doing didn’t make sense.The two of us didn’t give up an ounce of control yet meshed perfectly. Our pleasure was obvious, vocal and we didn’t give a damn about the crowd around us. Buffy and I had created our own little lust-bubble. The chimer went off. We settled down and straightened up our clothes.“Fuck it all; that’s some good dicking,” Buffy mumbled. That was an inside joke between me, Timothy, my big, gay, buff tattoo-artist roommate, and the few women he chose to share that descriptive with; 'a good dicking’. We tumbled out of the elevator.“Is he always like that?” Fabiola mumbled.“He’s a whole lot better with his clothes off,” Buffy sneered at Fabiola. Sometimes I’m a super-selfish bastard; I want life to cut me some slack. Waiting for us was Oneida…in biker clothing. That would have merely been bad, dangerous and creepy except I was dressed in work clothes.I was planning to meet some of the guys (all two of them) for some after-work drinks. The encounter went from not-good to horribly awkward. Oneida had checked up on me, been told how I got to and from work as well as when I left. Unfortunately, she hadn’t checked my social calendar; mainly because I didn’t keep one; sophomore year mistake.If a girl is in your apartment, she will find the thing you don’t want her to find…every single time. I burned my diary and unfriended everybody after that final, hospital-resulting episode.“Hi,” I greeted Oneida. She’d figured out she’d screwed up something fierce. “What bike do you use? I have a Specialized STSE hybrid. Maybe we can use some paths one weekend.”I was trying to diffuse her embarrassment. We were two bikers talking about bikes. Nothing wrong with that.“I have a Specialized Source…” she got out then realized how BAD that sounded. She had the exact same bike as me…how bizarre? Unless you had somebody come down and take a look at what I bicycle I used.Time to save the day.“Do you want to make a date for 6:30 am on Saturday?” I suggested. “Provided this wacky place hasn’t offed, or misplaced me by then.”“Ah; that would be nice,” Oneida rebounded happily. “The date, that is.”“Whoa Oneida, what are you doing with this guy?” Brian derided me as he walked up. I wanted to say, 'Brian, you’ve insulted a princess of the Amazon people. Please continue making an ass of yourself and give Trent and Khalid my regards’. I didn’t.“This is Cáel Nyilas. He’s a real player,” Brian smirked. “You can do better than him.”Oh yeah, Oneida and Brian were co-workers; 'new hires’ in Acquisitions.“Brian, it took you three days to even use my name,” Oneida gave Brian a neutral stare. “I love Cáel. He saved my life and he sees the real me.” For the love of all that’s holy, someone shoot me in the head right now. I could hear the nearly subsonic growls emanating from Buffy.Brian looked at me, laughed and went to put an arm around Oneida’s shoulder. After all, if I could pick her up, it should be effortless for him to take her away, right? Dumb-shit. Laughing at me was okay. Laughing at…then I noticed the two chicks in black leather standing about doing their best (until a second ago) to go unnoticed.Cáel had gotten away with such familiarity because Cáel had risked his life to save their Princess. Brian Fung? He barely knew her name and they worked together. These weren’t even SD chicks; they were something else. My guess was Arinniti House Guard. Did Katrina’s House Epona have a house guard?Sure, I imagine they did. They were probably with the rest of House Epona where ever they lived. It wasn’t like the whole kit and caboodle was here in NYC. That would have been foolish. If Caitlyn, Aya’s mom, had a security issue, she called us at Havenstone HQ, less than four kilometers away. Without a doubt, Elsa would stop by and kick ass for her.I gave Brian this much; he had a working set of eyes. The second those two harbingers of death began closing in, Brian back-pedaled.“Hey Brian, let’s go grab some drinks,” I offered him a graceful exit.“Sounds good,” Brian tried to sound cool.“Oneida, take care,” I nodded to my new romantic stalker. “Ladies,” to my 'new hire’ crew. “Buffy,” to my sometimes boss, “remember you are still hot for a…mature chick.”“You are going die a long, torturous and extremely painful death,” Buffy sizzled.“What? Are you going to make me eat your cooking?” I laughed.Buffy didn’t articulate a counter before Brian and I slipped outside.“Cáel, who was that woman?” Brian whispered.“Which one? You need to be more specific. My erotic malfeasances are terribly confusing.”“The one you insulted,” Brian said. “The last one you insulted,” he clarified.“Buffy. She’s one of my bosses,” I grinned. “She loves me. She’s even promised to play the bagpipes at my funeral. Personally I think that’s because she doesn’t want to risk anyone hearing me pounding on the coffin lid, trying to get out.”“You are not going to make it the full 84 days with that attitude,” Brian lectured me.“Trent has already been promoted,” Brian continued. “I am regularly referred to as indispensable in my work reviews. Felix works closely with Ms. Pharos at all times. You seem to be the only one of us having…issues with Havenstone. Hell, they even shot you and you sat back and took it. I doubt your complacent attitude impressed anyone much.”No mention of poor Khalid. How quickly they forget. Trent had been 'promoted’ to Southeast Asia alright. I looked it up; there are around 10,000 islands between Indonesia and the Philippines. Sure some were small spits of land with a few trees. I had little doubt one of the good-sized one was a jungle of a different sort.Certainly Executive Services sent Trent’s belongings somewhere. I’d never tried to find out. What would I have done with the knowledge? Brooke didn’t care and I didn’t know his family. Brian and I went to the same yuppie bar as last time. I was with Brian this time, so I abandoned him as quick as I could.Why? At the far end of the bar, talking the bar-back was my Delivery Girl; aka the person who did the home liquor delivery to Libra’s place. Half way down the bar, she sensed me looking at her. The bar-back followed her gaze. He wasn’t happy with me. DG simply didn’t recognize me so I held up my valise over my groin.Confusion; surprise; acknowledgment that despite our surroundings, I wasn’t worried about being seen with her. She had her hand truck; she had to make a front door delivery this time.“Remember me?” I smiled.“Cáel Nyilas; the Pillow Guy,” she snickered. “How did that work out for you?”The bar-back was broadcasting his displeasure at some upper class shmuck cutting in on his action. DG caught that.“Jason, this is Cáel,” she introduced me. “We last met under unusual circumstances.”“What kind of name is Cáel?” Jason remarked.“An unfortunate one,” I snorted. “You try explaining to your kindergarten teacher that it is 'c-a-e-l’. Of course, I wasn’t 'Bomophoto’ either. She had it worse than I did.”Jason searched me out to see if I was pulling one over on him. I wasn’t. Bomo and I bonded over our linguistic misfortune. She moved to Santa Fe in the third grade. I wonder if she grew up to be hot looking. Oink.“I’ll give you that,” he chuckled. “Why did you get branded?”“Mom was Irish, my Dad was in love with her so I got the cultural emersion, minus the Guinness,” I shrugged. “By the way…” I looked back to the lady.“Katy Lee Baker,” she batted her eyelashes. We shook hands.“How did it go?” I picked up her question. “Sex, chopped fruit, your drinks, more sex and back to the clinic before eleven.”“Have you talked to them since?” Katy inquired somewhat seductively.“Perhaps. I don’t like to kiss and tell,” I evaded.“I’m curious because two of the three arrived five minutes before you did and they appear somewhat unhappy with you right now,” she smirked. “You can look over your shoulder if you don’t believe me.” Sure enough, there was Felix, Brian, Brooke, Libra and…I think her name was Gene. I waved then turned back to my current two conversationalists.“So Jason, what do you like to do?” I asked the guy.“Huh; what? I work,” he replied.“I mean bike, try ethnic food, go to the gym; stuff like that,” I teased him.“I work six days a week…but usually one or two are afternoon shifts. Me and some buddies play some pick-up basketball,” Jason told me.“Great. You’d pick a sport I suck at,” I set the bait. If Jason thought I sucked, he’d invite me to play. That’s how it worked. I was pretty good at basketball considering I’d spent the last four years playing with girls; on the court. Girls play some mean ball. They also didn’t shy away from putting an elbow into my nuts if they felt like it.“I’m not sure I live in a neighborhood you’d be comfortable visiting,” Jason threw up a roadblock. I had him on this one. I showed him my ID. It had the right address; wrong apartment number. “Shit dude, that place is about as rough as my home turf.”“I get paid a quarter million a year to taste test for hexafluoride in Chinese imports,” I joked.“Really?” Katy chuckled.“It’s a growth industry; if you consider tumors to be growth,” I was faux-serious.“Mr.; Cáel,” Jason looked over my shoulder. “I think one of those chicks is about to come over here and kill you. You best hop to it.”“Which one? The brunette, or the russet-colored (Libra)?” I inquired.“The brunette wants attention and the russet wants to push a red hot poker up your ass,” Jason gave me his experienced opinion. Heading over there was going to be 'fun’.“Give me a call some time, Jason. Nice to see you again, Katy Lee,” I waved good-bye.“You know the staff here?” Libra spat.“That was the girl who delivered the liquor to your place, Libra,” I sighed. “I said 'hi’.”“It takes you an awful lot of words to say 'hello’,” Brian gave a false smile. Libra was positioned next to Brian. Her anger with me plus his 'sexy’ put her there.Brooke shifted as I joined their chair-less center table. She was putting enough distance between us to show everyone she was independent yet close enough to give warning signs to other woman that I was in her sights, if not her outright possession. I was better looking than Brooke had counted on. More 'fun’ was coming down the pipeline.Gene was here on another date with Felix, or so she thought. Poor Gene. Felix was most likely an excellent fuck. What she didn’t appreciate was that Felix was not only a competitor, he was the kind of athlete who had to win. Second place was what you called the first loser. Gene was about to be educated in this personal idiocentricity.Now that I was on stage, Felix made his move on Brooke. Gene? He’d let her in on a three-way if he was feeling personally Hernán Cortés-like. Felix had to have Brooke. I hadn’t dumped Brooke, according to Gene, so he wasn’t getting my castoffs; he was stealing my prize. The flaw in this plan was my whole viewpoint on monogamy. I didn’t much care for it. Brooke was a grown woman and could make her own choices.Felix made his move. Damn, he was smooth. He had Brooke wrapped up and pulled tight without Gene even being aware she’d been dumped. Enter the train wreck named Nicole. She was the criminal defense attorney who I’d fucked in a stall in the women’s bathroom of this place. She hadn’t tried to contact me and I hadn’t worried about her. Hook-ups were like that.She’d been close by, respecting Brooke’s signs and not stopping by to say hello. Then Felix launched his master plan and I was suddenly freed up. Nicole had gotten a rough fucking and liked it, I could tell.“Cáel Nyilas,” Nicole swooped in. “How have you been?”“The normal. Menace to society, disrespectful of authority and being annoying to random strangers,” I teased. “You?”“I’m a lawyer fighting the irresistible lure of evil. The usual,” she joked back. “What have you been doing wrong? As I recall, last time you were doing everything right?”Yes, a good dicking indeed. I was going to relate this encounter to Timothy just so he could shoot me with his Nerf gun. He’d shoot me anyway, but it was nice of me to give him an excuse from time to time.“I’ve been sending sexually suggestive letters to ADA Feinstein,” I offered. “Does that count?”“Oh really?” she seemed surprised. “Why don’t you come by my table real quick and let me introduce you to some of my colleagues.” I wasn’t going to be rude.“Gang, this is Nicole,” I introduced her to my table. “She’s an attorney at a prestigious law firm that probably has more dead partners than living ones and offices in Papua New Guinea and a few dozen other places you’ve never heard of. I’ll be right back.”“You are a nut,” Nicole bumped me as we weaved our way to her buddies. “Ladies, this is Cáel Nyilas. I think I mentioned him once.” By the looks on their faces, once had been enough. “This is Zelda, Marsha, Phyllis, and Rivka; Rivka Feinstein, ADA for New York County,” (that’s Manhattan for us hicks).“Ah crap,” I exclaimed. That wasn’t what they expected.“I confess,” I looked at Nicole, “I saw the name in an article on the back of the Village Voice. Sadly, they had R. Feinstein and I stupidly assumed it was a guy.”“Oh my God! You’re gay?” Zelda and Phyllis despaired.“While my life would a whole lot easier if I was, I’m straight; not even bi-curious. My roommate, Timothy; never Tim; is and he was reading it while I was working out. It sort of stuck in my mind,” I admitted.“How did my name come up in conversation?” Rivka inquired.“Cáel is a pathological liar,” Nicole teased me.“Not true,” I protested. “I’m allergic to excessive honesty. That’s totally different.”“I’d like to put you on the witness stand,” Zelda gave me those bedroom eyes.“You and about a 150 other women,” I groaned.“150?” Rivka choked.“Yep. The rest already know I’m guilty,” I muttered.“Are you of weak moral fiber?” Phyllis joined the game. We were all having a blast.“Sorry, but no. I’m saving up for some. Currently I’m without morals…or scruples. Any suggestion which one I should purchase first?”“You are a great guy,” Rivka snickered. “Why aren’t you dating somebody?”“Shall we revisit my lack of morals and scruples?” I answered.“So you are a player?” Nicole nudged me. She wanted to play alright.“How to put this…I’m a wonderful lover and a lousy boyfriend,” I told them.“I was an eighteen year old virgin. In the past four years, I have betrayed every woman I’ve ever dated, save one; my first love,” I explained.“Why didn’t you betray her?” Phyllis prodded. “Don’t tell me she’s dead.”“No, she’s fine,” I replied. “She was the one who told me to date other women.”“That’s harsh,” Zelda commiserated. She thought Kimberly had dumped me.“Oh no,” I corrected her. “We stayed together until I graduated last month. Four of the best years of my life. When she told me to date other women it was because I was killing her. I have a voracious sexual appetite and she was desperate for a full night’s sleep.”“Do you ever go home alone?” Marsha joined in.“Does leaving a woman’s house at 1 a.m. count?” I requested.“Did she throw you out?” Rivka interrogated.“No. She and her sister were exhausted so I picked up my roommate and left,” I exaggerated.“Wait!” Nicole held up her hand. “Sisters…and you told us your roommate was gay?”“Morals and scruples,” I repeated. “See, I was dating one sister and the other sister wanted a date so I talked my gay roommate into being my wingman so I wouldn’t end up sleeping with them both. It didn’t work out so well. The second, older sister was horny, so my guy pretended to pass out.”“Have you ever considered you are a horrible person?” Marsha studied me.“Yes. Not only have I thought about, I’ve been told that a few dozen times. It usually is accompanied by 'I’m going to kill you’, or 'you had better make it up to me’.”“Have you ever been hurt?” Phyllis appeared concerned.“My body is a roadmap of poor decision making,” I responded.“What was the worst thing to ever happen to you?” Rivka grinned. Her ability to be deceptively pretty had to have made her a frightening lawyer.“When they were happening, I was a bit more concerned with what might happen to me as opposed to rating them,” I informed her.“Except for being shot with an arrow, being chased around naked with a hot poker and having my bed dowsed with lighter fluid while I was still in it were probably the worst,” I nodded. “I’ve been stabbed a few times, tasered, occasionally thrown out of a window not on the first floor and had bookcase dropped on me once, so I consider myself a connoisseur of ex-girlfriend vengeance.”“Have you ever been involved with a police proceeding?” Rivka became a tad bit more intense.“Nah,” shook my head. “I had it coming. As you said, I’m kind of a horrible guy.”“Domestic violence is no joking matter,” Nicole also became serious.“That’s unfair,” I countered. “I’m not so slavishly devoted to the law that I’d ruin some girl’s life because I was a total bastard.”“Domestic Violence laws are supposed to protect the innocent from the abusive,” I added. “I haven’t lied to you about my misadventures, but you should understand I chose to handle most of my problems myself. By the looks on your faces, you are about as disappointed in me as the policewoman I am currently seeing. This is who I am and I’m not going to apologize for it.”“Mind you, I’m not some gun-toting, roughneck Libertarian,” I clarified. “I believe in law, order and the justice system. If someone pulls out an AK-47 on me at a corner bodega, I’m making 9-1-1 my bitch on speed-dial. I don’t want to be a hero, or fulfill my organ donor card. I just don’t equate that to a girl kneeing me in the nuts because I slept with her best friend in her lingerie.”There was a pause as the ladies looked around. They were making an assessment of how much trouble I’d cause versus how much fun I would be. They all smiled at me. They always do.“Who was wearing the lingerie?” Zelda smirked.“I’ve worn women’s lingerie before, but it really wasn’t my thing,” I mused.“I’ll go through a lot for good sex,” I winked. “It was my girlfriend’s lingerie on her best friend.”“Wait,” Rivka noted. “Didn’t the best friend know you were dating the first girl?”“Yeah. I’m not sure why that never stops them,” I shrugged. “Around the fifth time I stopped worrying about it.”“Wow, do you have any idea how many women you’ve been with?” Rivka asked.“Do you always use protection?” Phyllis piled on.“Yes; 223 as of Friday. I’m hoping to break 300 before work replaces me with those guys from 'Hamster Dance’,” I told them. “And yes, I always use protection.”“I may not know where my partner has been, but I know where I’ve been and it scares me,” I snickered. “That’s why I always carry ten.”“Ten?” Nicole snorted. “Do you regularly check the expiration date, or are you that ambitious?”“Ambitious? I’d carry more except it’s hard to hide more than ten in a wallet; I’ve tried,” I sighed.“Have you ever run out?” Marsha snickered. Our snickering, chuckling and laughter were drawing stares.“Run out? Hell, I’ve gone door to door in a women’s dormitory at 2 a.m. trying to find some,” I related. “Ran into an old girlfriend doing that.” I slipped into a dreamy smile.“Why do I think that despite it being 2 a.m. in her dorm with you seeking a condom for use with a different woman, she wasn’t pissed?” Rivka giggled.“Oh God no,” I waved off. “She was freaking furious. That was some of the most intense 'I’m lonely and it’s all your fault’ sex I have ever been through.”“You have names for different kinds of sex?” Nicole was almost crying from laughing so hard.“Oh yeah. The first time I run across a different sexual experience, I slap a name on it so when it happens again, I know what to do,” I explained.“Isn’t every woman unique?” Zelda sniffled.“That sounds nice in a love song, but 'no’,” I smiled. “Women, and men, have a finite number things; needs and responses. Women can have different erogenous zones, but there all on the human body. Admittedly, it can be a bit like predicting the weather at times. It is not a perfect system by any means.”“What’s my 'thing’ then?” Nicole taunted. She didn’t think I could do it.“Sex has to be an accomplishment with you, Nicole,” I informed her. “You need to be engaged mentally as much as anything else. You need a poet who runs marathons. Otherwise you end up staring at the ceiling after sex wondering what better use you could have made of your time.”Silence. That was the norm for that kind of revelation. Women hated to be laid bare. They hated being misunderstood even more.“Nicole?” Rivka prodded her friend. Nicole remained silent. I knew that look.“Nicole, I’m bad news. Wouldn’t you prefer to keeps thing simple?” I hoped.I was wrong to hope. I kept praying they would go 'hey, great, mindless sex; let’s not blow it’, but they never did. I hated giving lame erotic encounters, despite the guarantee of anguish that always followed.“We could go out on a date and see how that works?” Nicole offered. Doom.“Cáel Nyilas; I’m in the book and I work for Havenstone Commercial Investments,” I stupidly replied. “You probably have a killer workload were as I spot-check children’s toys for WMDs. Give me a call when you have a night free.” How was it going to turn out? Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex; let’s make a commitment; you cheating fuck-nut! I hate you.Girls weren’t predictable; I was.“Cáel, we are going out to dinner, if you remember who you are supposed to be with,” Libra seethed as she and the others passed Nicole’s table.“Yup, gotta go where I’m not wanted. Nice seeing you again, Nicole,” I grinned. “Ladies, I hope it was a pleasure. It was for me. Good night.”Dinner; was; bad. Felix, hemorrhoid that he was, squashed Gene’s feeble attempts to draw him back to her as he made crystal clear that he was taking Brooke home; to fuck her into Paradise…instead of letting her go home with me. Problem being; Brooke wasn’t mine to take; never had been.For the first time in his life, I thought Brian was about to be screwed. Libra was past uber-bitchy by the fifth glass of wine. Brian held a pair of Jokers and thought he was the boss, like always. Libra had four Queens and would be screaming my name when she orgasmed; Brian was sexually proficient. He was also a misogynist, I was now sure, and Libra was going to make him squeal.Then she was going to grab up her clothes, storm out of Brian’s place and never want to talk with him again. It wasn’t that I was that unforgettable. I was that I knew what she wanted and had given it to her and not getting it Saturday afternoon while Brooke did was frosting her ass. What did that mean for me?For the first time in a long, long time, I was pissed with another guy. Trent really wasn’t worth my time, but Felix was about to cross my here-until-now unforeseen line of what guys did to girls. It was dawning on me that this was the result of me. Someone was doing something wrong to a girl because of me. It wasn’t my fault. Felix was being a jerk.That would be of cold comfort for Brooke. We split up after dinner. I didn’t have the heart to pick up Gene, who was easy prey right then. It was too much like what Felix thought he was doing to me. I took a cab to Havenstone, changed clothing and biked home. I barely had dinner ready for Timothy when he came through the door.“That’s not a look I’m used to seeing,” he remarked.“I should have beaten someone up,” I frowned, “but I didn’t and now some girl; Brooke; is going to have her heart kicked because of it.”“Was it something you did?” Timothy asked.“No. There is this guy at work who is using her to alpha-dog me,” I muttered.“Brooke?” Timothy was confused. “You hardly like her. What a sleaze (Felix). If it was Odette, first I’d slap you around for still being here. Then we’d go get him.”“I’m not even sure why I feel bad about this,” I grunted. “As you said, I hardly like her.”“It is called a conscience, Dimwit,” Timothy snorted. That didn’t help much. Conscience? Man, I’d stop my bike to run across a highway to move a tortoise off the road. I used to feed some of the Bolingbrook wild hares during the winter. I did humiliating crap for charity. I was never mean to a girl; only dishonest and unfaithful.Introspection got me nowhere. I was a cad. I’d been happy to be a cad for four years. I was going to be damned if my post-college life was going to be any different; all 68 remaining days of it. In my bedroom I discovered Odette had moved in during my absence. I doubted Timothy had been ignorant of all the stuff she deposited. What was going on with my life?I woke up when I heard keys in the door. It was a bit past eleven. I got up to check and sure enough, it was Odette. Timothy had given her a key. Odette had lived through a harrowing night, her boss was a dick and some of the customers were pure hell. I cuddled with her on the sofa while she unwound then we went to bed together. We didn’t have sex…(Tuesday)Around 1 a.m. I miraculously found myself awake and alert in bed. Odette was happily dreaming away. Something was gnawing at the back of my mind. I put a name to the emotion and a face to the fear. I called Brooke.“Hey Brooke,” I greeted her eight tries later. She was tired of sending me to voice mail.“What do you want?” she answered in a voice devoid of soul.“Fuck if I know,” I replied. “I suddenly woke up from a sound sleep thinking of you.”“I’m not interested,” she sighed.“I’m going to go out on a limb here. You don’t want to talk to anyone yet you want someone to help you understand what you are going through,” I gambled.That created a tiny tear in her shroud of depression. After five minutes, I got her to give me her address. She told me she wouldn’t answer the door. I told her I at least had to try. That got me to her place, 90 seconds of knocking got me inside and four minutes later, we were lying in bed with her sobbing on my chest.Half an hour later, she offered me sex. I told her to stop tempting me and if she only wanted me for sex, I wanted to be paid in chocolate. She giggled, took a few deep breaths and fell to sleep. Wow, I was in two different women’s beds in one night and not having sex in either. My watch alarm went off at 4:50 a.m. That meant no 'Marilyn’ call tonight.“Mmmm…” Brooke moved toward wakefulness. “Work?”“Afraid so,” I yawned.“We haven’t had sex,” he reminded me. I couldn’t stop being me.“That’s not why I came over here, Brooke,” I rolled onto my side so that our bodies were very close.“Never think I don’t want to have sex with you, but that’s not why I showed up last night,” I continued.“Why did you show up then?” she worried.“I have no clue. I’m like Felix; a player. Listen Brooke, I don’t consider you my woman,” I stated.“We had sex; we are lovers, but we’ve been thrown together by dire misfortune, not out of any common thread,” I reminded her. “I don’t expect you to have any sense of loyalty to me.” That phrase freed her up philosophically. That meant she could fuck me and not feel obliged to consider and discard any future for us because there was no realistic future that socially glued us into any acceptable form.“So I needed a shoulder to cry on and you showed up,” she mused.“Brooke, you are independent and strong-willed. The next guy you chose will be your choice,” I led her along. “Felix though; Felix is a serious player and he felt the need to add you to his list of conquests. I saw it happening and did nothing. Now I feel like crap for sitting back and ignoring the consequences.”“You knew Felix would turn me into a hash mark?” Brooke seemed depressed, not angry.“I knew he was trying to get at me,” I confessed. “He didn’t accept that you and I aren’t an item. A blonde co-worker; a high ranking supervisor actually; treated him like a bug in the communal showers yesterday while keeping close contact with me. Felix had to win. He had to show me he is the top dog.”“And I was the prize?” Brooke moped.“Not to me,” I whispered. Brooke looked hurt. “You are a woman. While you would look delectable in a big red ribbon, that’s not who you are. I don’t keep hash marks. I have a thing called a heart cord and it is solely for my use. Each binding represents a liaison; like a Quipus; an Incan memory knot.”Brooke really didn’t care. It sounded neat, it was romantic and the act was not demeaning to her. I could savor the memory of our encounter as long as I didn’t share it with my buddies. She wasn’t one of 'those’ girls.“You are very intelligent,” she murmured seductively.She didn’t care if I was the reincarnation of Benjamin Franklin, or some schmo in Afghanistan who made his living digging up (hopefully) spent ordinance of battlefields. Smoking hot, sexy, well-educated debutantes like Brooke could fuck finely-sculpted, 'smart’ guys like me. She could delude herself that I was rapidly upwardly mobile. My turn.“Brooke, I don’t want to get mixed up about us,” I evaded. 'Us’? There was no 'us’ and we both knew it. “If I caved in right now, I’m not sure I could forgive myself.” Yes I could.“I just want to feel like someone gives a damn about me,” Brooke whimpered. Good acting. We wrestled around; me trying to leave, but clearly not wanting to, while she physically enticed me.We ended up, me on top, pinning her wrists to either side of her head. Her legs were trapped between mine.“Make it up to me…please,” she pouted. She humped her pelvic bone playfully against my cock. “I know you want to help me out.” Good word usage on her part.“Brooke, this isn’t going to happen,” I gritted my teeth in frustration. Yes, it was going to happen. Her right leg began exerting steady pressure against my 'weak’ left leg. It slowly 'surrendered’ to her advance. Now she had on leg on the outside. My right leg held out a little longer yet Brooke was persistent.Now she could ground her finely groomed landing strip against my pulsating rod. I really, really wanted to fuck her now. I took my hands off her wrists, turned them into fists and placed the beneath each of her underarms.“Damn you,” I cursed her. Brooke was gyrating her crotch all over mine.With her hands released, Brooke could leverage her body up and trap my cockhead between her labia. They were thoroughly soaked with her honey so after my 'capture’ she drew more and more of my length in until I was completely incased. Brooke had won! She knew she’d won. Fuck Felix and his hash marks. I didn’t care so why should she?I made on last energetic yet futile effort to get away. Oddly, Brooke somehow end on top at the end of my exertion. I must be an awful wrestler…“No you don’t,” Brooke purred only millimeters from my lips. “You are not getting away.” That was Brooke tossing good ole Felix under the emotional bus.Felix the Player? She’d chalk it up to too much to drink and the hype being more than the man. How was this possible? Look at her. She’d thrown a known sexual dynamo down on her bed and was working his shaft over every G-spot in her vagina. Brooke still preferred a long, rough fucking to get her off. At the moment, she need reassurance more.Felix most assuredly made Brooke ride him. He kept her perpendicular to his hips and came up to suckle her teats when he wanted to, or watch them bounce as he lay back. He was great at sex, no doubt. The girl had to scream and howl; forgetting every other male she was ever with and making every other guy she’d be with later an automatic failure. To him, that was how he rated success.This resulted in me keeping Brooke close so I could make quick kisses to her very close lips. She’d playfully pull away; to put me in my place and remind me she was in charge; then she’d initiate the kiss. Our love-making was more rhythmic; less frantic. She was getting close.“Next…next time you fuck Felix,” I gasped. “Tell him…”“What makes; makes you think I’d; every sleep with him; again?” Brooke got feisty.“I bet he was good in bed and now that you have his measure,” I assured her. “You can take what pleasure you want and leave.” Brooke liked that. It was the whole independent woman thing.“Won’t you be jealous?” she panted.“I cannot constantly keep up with your sexual desires, Brooke,” I grunted. “I’ve been neglecting Libra.” Oh yeah, Libra. The girl she, Brooke, initially set me up with. Her Vassar classmate.“What about Felix,” she huffed and huffed. She was real close.“Off-handedly comment that he’s developing male pattern baldness,” I grinned. “Just to fuck with his head.” Felix was gorgeous. Better yet, Felix knew he was gorgeous. Hit him where it hurts. Brooke tried to giggle, but the surge of triumph overcame her and off she went. The problem was I was getting close and I didn’t have a condom on.“Brooke,” I inhaled deeply. She’d come to rest on my chest. “I’m about to…”“Oh,” she sighed happily. She reversed to the side as she slithered down my body. My cock went down her throat and I started petting her flank. Brooke wasn’t the very best, but, man o man, she was going to town on my dick.There was no doubt in my mind that her vaginal secretions didn’t bother her. I had to rush the experience because if I was late to work, Constanza make me stand beside the targets while she shot at them. If she was really pissed, she’d have me hold up targets in front me instead. I shot off, Brooke caught it all in her mouth then spit it into two tissues before tossing them in the trash.I caught her look. Trent and now Felix made her swallow. I didn’t care; which was yet another choice Brooke was free to make when making love to me. I jumped her. We had a little, tickle-nibble fight that ended in some kisses. I had to leave and Brooke made sure she was poised extra-sexy the last time I turned around to say goodnight and cut off the lights.“Ah damn,” I moaned before I left. I didn’t really like Brooke yet, by choosing to engage her in sex, I had accepted the task of making her happy. That was the reason Felix and I were going to fight. He’d use another human being to strike at me instead striking at me directly. To me, this was more than low character, it was an insult to my lifestyle.Felix should have checked his baggage at the door. Competing for the same lady was fine; even fun. Picking one to punish another…not cool. I had to think about my response as I barely made it in for my Constanza time. Wisely, I left my baggage at the door. These were firearms we were dealing with; a danger to me and the people around me.I was in my biking outfit today. More looks. The decision was that I’d go for my Glock-22, a 38 Ruger LCR back-up, a South Korean-made shotgun that looked like an M-16 and a very unhealthy looking device called a Heckler & Koch UMP 40 (which I had never even heard of). Wait…it got worse. I was scheduled for knife fighting training at 3 p.m.; every day for the foreseeable future.Constanza didn’t want to help me breath, much less train. That was okay. I left my shirt in the weapons’ room so the second I hit the shooting booth Magical Amazon Fey appeared to impart their wisdom, and body shapes to me. Oh God! I dropped a clip between my feet. The two ladies nearly head-butted in a race to get.The loser frowned. The winner was able to determine my ankles were strong, my calves were implant free; guys do that occasionally, and my thigh was definitely recovering. Without a doubt, my rod was happy to feel her hand. I retrieved my magazine from her unresisting hand. Then I did some shooting. With three clips I proved to be faster yet less accurate, more accurate yet slower and lastly a balance between the two.I wasn’t better than yesterday. It was yesterday. I did marginally worse with the .38 Ruger, better with the shotgun and I had a blast with the H&K. Was I accurate? NO…but this killing machine was loads of fun to fire off a clip at full-auto. According to 'my’ Amazons I looked so adorable pouting when I was told I’d fired off the last magazine. I repeat; loads of fun.Amazons are a dedicated martial culture, I was definitely a delicious male bouncing up and down gleefully while begging 'Fuck Me! Fuck Me!’ Not actually. I was enthusiastically asking for another clip, but I could tell how my words were being echoed inside their brains.“Behave yourself, Male!” Constanza snapped angrily. I fell on my knees, hands presented in supplication.“Please, please, please, please,” I begged.“Oh, give him another magazine,” two of my shooting companions requested.“I can’t believe we are in the same unit,” Constanza sneered, “rubbing against him like over-drunk un-casted.” Hmmm, that probably meant teenagers; before they chose a profession.“Constanza, they are all aggressive, dominant members of the Host,” I rose (verbally) to their defense. “They are not afraid of their sexuality and they are certainly not afraid of me. What are they doing wrong? They are helping me concentrate (totally false) on the task at hand. I would think you would be pleased that I’m receiving such encouragement, meaning you are more likely to succeed at your task.”“You don’t even know why you are here,” she glared.“I imagine you are here for the same reason I am; to serve our superiors,” I replied. “Do you think that I don’t want to sleep in an extra hour…,” I looked to my new buddies, “Okay, I used to want to sleep in that extra hour, but the point is the same.”“These are our hours. Why not make the most of it as opposed to letting the circumstances make us miserable?” I reasoned.“Constanza,” Naomi, the only shooting buddy to give me a name so far, “you are out of line. He is on our side now and he has the battle scars to prove it.”“Never,” Constanza growled out her challenge.“That is not your decision to make,” Naomi met that challenge. “He is down here. He is courageous, loyal and undaunted.”“Besides, if you hate him that much, getting a hunting license for him like the rest of us.”Fantastic (sarcasm), I was popular with Amazonia’s professional military.“Just remember, I get to hunt you ladies right back,” I grinned. They thought that was funny. “If I capture you, you are mine all-weekend long; yummy. Then, on Monday, it’s back to normality and me running for my life.”“Do you really think you can take any of us?” Naomi chuckled. The others laugh. Even Constanza was darkly amused.“Let me see…I was never a Boy Scout, I’m not ex-military, or even a backwoodsman,” I mused. “Still, I never thought I’d be shot with an arrow, or stabbed with a spear either, so I’m actually upbeat about my chances.”“Besides, I’m going to wear a black bear suit as camouflage.” Pause. “Damn it. I probably shouldn’t have told you that,” I grimaced. More chuckles.“I’ve watched um…Dual Survival…most of one episode…I’ve been so lost in the wilderness to the point I couldn’t see the road…I’ve made love to a Park Ranger…I’ve been so drunk that I hunted a grown moose with a ballpeen hammer…that’s about it for me.”“I am going to enjoy being the first one to catch you,” Naomi purred.“Be careful, Naomi,” I cautioned her. “I’m part lemur. It was the same experiment that made Constanza part Tasmanian Devil; those are some cranky-ass bitches.”“Are you really going to run fast?” another Amazon teased me.“Hell yeah,” I nodded as I stood. No extra magazines for me today. “I’m going to pick some compass point and run at it with everything I have.”“You are lying,” Naomi nudged me. They weren’t pissed; this was 'warfare’ thus deception was not only allowed, it was expected.“Without a hint of regret,” smiled at her. We were suddenly really close again. “I may run, I may hide, or I may double back. That is the prey’s advantage.” This was fine to the ladies around me. I was prey. I was fine with being prey. I was having fun being prey which made the promised encounter to be new and exciting.Amazons didn’t hunt turtles; they hunted dangerous things that hunted other things. Was I dangerous? Constanza was a living testimonial of that; the scar just above her left elbow. This didn’t imply respect and acceptance; no way, no how. It was impossible to believe I would ever replace one of…craptastic. Katrina was too damn smart; far smarter than me for sure.I wouldn’t have figured it out this soon except for something Oneida said; 'The Ash Men’. Who were they and why was calling someone that a good thing? A few more live-fires with a bit of instruction. With all the 'sisters’ willing to show me improved stance and firing techniques, Constanza felt the desire to be in another room.As I was finally departing for my real job, an Amazon with clear Amerindian blood, put a hand to my chest before I could exit out the hallway door.“How much of disaster is he?” she asked Naomi. I seriously thought about doing a takedown then I reasoned I really didn’t want to see Traska’s teary-eyed face looking down at my shattered form.“He’s passable for a beginner,” Naomi answered.“What are you talking about?” I protested. “I’m freaking awesome. I point the boom-stick at…whatever you call them…pull that trigger-thingy and the bullets go in a direction that doesn’t hurt me. Honestly, this crap is easy.” The copper chick grabbed my chin quick as a snake.“Your opinion was not solicited,” she menaced, “you ignorant toad-turd.” On second thought; I hit her. I’m pretty quick too. My fist connected with her diaphragm because she was not only not expecting me to lash out, she masked my movements by having her right limb holding my chin. She recoiled, I assumed my boxing stance and Naomi clubbed me down from behind.Let’s not forget who, what and where I was. I was dogpiled, yanked up then had Bitchy Amerindian chick pop me twice in the gut.“You are going to be caned for that,” she hissed.“Fuck you!” I shouted back. Fist to the head. That was going to leave a mark.“I look forward to hearing you scream,” she threatened.“Huh? What? You are still here? Something swished past me and I thought it was you leaving,” I joked.“Do you want to die?” Naomi hissed in my ear.“Let me go and we’ll all find out,” I replied.“Let him go,” Bitchy chick ordered. They let me go. That was not a good sign.“I’m Cáel Nyilas. I; ah…I’m from the Magyars,” I introduced myself.“I don’t care,” she glared.“Fine. Do you want to take this to the mats upstairs, or do you prefer we fight in a room full of firearms?” I asked.“This won’t take long,” she assumed a stance I’d never seen before. I didn’t know its official name, but it had 'pain’ written all over it.“A little room here?” I prodded the five Amazons standing behind me. My important unknown assailant waved them back to the walls. Constanza was livid, so I could already count this as a victory of sorts. My opponent swiveled on the ball of her left foot. It was a feint. I feinted too; I acted like I was going to fight. I ran away as she made her low, sweeping kick.I vaulted the table before she could catch me. Now she had a dilemma. If she came over the top, she’d be limiting her mobility and I was gambling hers was a very fluid style. If she moved around the table…as she did, it gave me time to grab my Glock and some ammo and keep running. I put a bullet in the chamber right as Constanza and her two feminazis drew there 9mms.I was staring down the sight of my .40 S&W Glock at copper chick. Oh, she wasn’t afraid in the least. She was pissed.“Right, or left?” I inquired.“Put the gun down, or you are dead!” Constanza commanded.“I’m confused,” I stated calmly. “Do I do what she says (copper chick); she is clearly someone important, or do I do what you say, Constanza?”“PUT IT DOWN!” Constanza screamed. Copper chick waved the guns down slowly.“Right, or left?” Copper chick inquired. (dead word spoken) St. Marie,“ she gave me her name.Mistress of the Golden Mare had to be something so not good."Right, or l
Women making bad decisions. Cáel to the rescue? What?By FinalStand. Listen and subscribe to the podcast at Steamy Stories.-There is nothing wrong being a Lucky Bastard. It is wrong to rely on it-(Monday later)Buffy had finally dismissed me when Katrina summoned me to her office. Ignoring me getting into an altercation…in the Full-Blood gym…yet again, I had a good day. No property damage, lost items, or physically damaged employees. Ragged by most people’s standards, but a good day for me at Havenstone. I still had a chance to walk out under my own power.Katrina motioned me to come to her desk. Upon my arrival, she slid a tablet over to me with a single icon on the screen. I tapped it. Aya’s face appeared as the vid-mail began. She was glowing. There was tent fabric in the background so I had no idea of her geographic location. I didn’t care.“Hey!” she squeaked. “I’m doing great at camp. I met three girls who are as small as me and we’ve formed our own squad; the Fatal Squirts.” I chuckled.I had encouraged her to steal strength from her perceived weaknesses. She had to believe in herself then take that as she built up her skills. I had faith in her when no one else did.“I showed some of my councilors a picture of you. I think you would get into trouble if you came here. I want you to come, but I thought it was only fair to warn my favorite bed-buddy,” she giggled.“Send me a message when you can. I understand there will be a delay as the messages have to be physically delivered. I know you are doing okay. If not, hold off your vengeance until I can return and guard your back. I love you, Cáel. Be well,” she smiled as her picture faded into darkness.“Ah damn,” I whispered. Aya looked good; confident, upbeat and spirited. “Katrina, can I make a message for her right now?” I begged.“Of course,” she gave me an approving tilt of the head. “I think the courier is still in the building.”“Cool. What do I do?” I urged.“Use the webcam; make a message and forward it to my computer,” Katrina told me. “I’ll take it from there.” I made the message, pretty much updating her on my latest exploits with limited editing. Aya was a surprisingly innocent yet worldly 9 year old.Much of that came from being Katrina’s and Desiree’s niece; mainly Katrina’s. It gave her access to tidbits of sensitive data from time to time. Not so much she was a real security threat. Enough so that she got some things confused; like what sex was truly about. I felt in my soul she’d be a great Amazon one day. I didn’t remind her of that much. She had enough pressure for a kid her age.“You are seeing Oneida now?” a frosty voice unnerved me. It was Buffy.“Fuck,” I jumped up. “Damn Buffy, stop sneaking up on me like that, or I’m going to start thinking you are a stalker.”“I am stalking you, Einstein,” Buffy menaced.“I’m glad we got that out of the way,” I rolled my eyes. “Oh look! It’s Daphne coming to my rescue. I am so out of here,” I exulted. I edged passed Buffy, slipped her attempt to grab my arm and raced for the ‘new hires’ at the elevator.“Get back here, you Cock-sucker!” Buffy howled as she chased me down.May miracles never cease. Daphne, Violet and Tigger formed an Amazon (I wasn’t sure if I could consider them 'human’ yet) shield between my frail form and the hulking brute that was Buffy.“Calm down, Buffy,” Daphne pleaded. “He fought Elsa today; again.”“Get out of my way,” Buffy snarled.“Thank God you stopped her,” I huffed to Dora. “I hope to she never finds out that I soaped up Elsa’s entire body while we were sharing a shower together.” Daphne turned and gave me an incredulous look.“Cáel, you are a Dumb-ass,” Daphne sighed. Looking to Buffy as she stood aside. “Have at.”“Are you mental?” Fabiola chimed in. The elevator doors finally opened, Buffy shoved me in and the rest of the posse followed. Helena joined us at the last second.“He’s taunting me,” Buffy responded to Fabiola while using her middle finger to poke my chest. “At this rate I am going to have to devastate a dozen male escorts so I can make it the remaining the 69 more days until he’s mine again.”“Is he really that good?” Paula wondered. Buffy twisted around to confront her.“He hammered me so hard, I thought he’d dislocate my hips. Later, we spent an entire hour, naked, wrapped up in each other’s bodies with no actual penetration; touching, tasting and whispered affections,” Buffy curled her lip. “He’s better than you could possibly imagine.”“You realize we have 27 seconds left, right?” I reminded Buffy.“Really?” Buffy’s head snapped back to me. I nodded and she jumped my bones. She had her hand down my pants, pulling on my rod, and the other grabbing the back of my head to deepen our kiss.For my part, I had my left hand on her breast and the right down the back of her pants, fondling a panty-covered ass cheek. In a culture where you summoned a male, ordered him to perform and he did so the same exact way he’d done a dozen times before, what Buffy and I were doing didn’t make sense.The two of us didn’t give up an ounce of control yet meshed perfectly. Our pleasure was obvious, vocal and we didn’t give a damn about the crowd around us. Buffy and I had created our own little lust-bubble. The chimer went off. We settled down and straightened up our clothes.“Fuck it all; that’s some good dicking,” Buffy mumbled. That was an inside joke between me, Timothy, my big, gay, buff tattoo-artist roommate, and the few women he chose to share that descriptive with; 'a good dicking’. We tumbled out of the elevator.“Is he always like that?” Fabiola mumbled.“He’s a whole lot better with his clothes off,” Buffy sneered at Fabiola. Sometimes I’m a super-selfish bastard; I want life to cut me some slack. Waiting for us was Oneida…in biker clothing. That would have merely been bad, dangerous and creepy except I was dressed in work clothes.I was planning to meet some of the guys (all two of them) for some after-work drinks. The encounter went from not-good to horribly awkward. Oneida had checked up on me, been told how I got to and from work as well as when I left. Unfortunately, she hadn’t checked my social calendar; mainly because I didn’t keep one; sophomore year mistake.If a girl is in your apartment, she will find the thing you don’t want her to find…every single time. I burned my diary and unfriended everybody after that final, hospital-resulting episode.“Hi,” I greeted Oneida. She’d figured out she’d screwed up something fierce. “What bike do you use? I have a Specialized STSE hybrid. Maybe we can use some paths one weekend.”I was trying to diffuse her embarrassment. We were two bikers talking about bikes. Nothing wrong with that.“I have a Specialized Source…” she got out then realized how BAD that sounded. She had the exact same bike as me…how bizarre? Unless you had somebody come down and take a look at what I bicycle I used.Time to save the day.“Do you want to make a date for 6:30 am on Saturday?” I suggested. “Provided this wacky place hasn’t offed, or misplaced me by then.”“Ah; that would be nice,” Oneida rebounded happily. “The date, that is.”“Whoa Oneida, what are you doing with this guy?” Brian derided me as he walked up. I wanted to say, 'Brian, you’ve insulted a princess of the Amazon people. Please continue making an ass of yourself and give Trent and Khalid my regards’. I didn’t.“This is Cáel Nyilas. He’s a real player,” Brian smirked. “You can do better than him.”Oh yeah, Oneida and Brian were co-workers; 'new hires’ in Acquisitions.“Brian, it took you three days to even use my name,” Oneida gave Brian a neutral stare. “I love Cáel. He saved my life and he sees the real me.” For the love of all that’s holy, someone shoot me in the head right now. I could hear the nearly subsonic growls emanating from Buffy.Brian looked at me, laughed and went to put an arm around Oneida’s shoulder. After all, if I could pick her up, it should be effortless for him to take her away, right? Dumb-shit. Laughing at me was okay. Laughing at…then I noticed the two chicks in black leather standing about doing their best (until a second ago) to go unnoticed.Cáel had gotten away with such familiarity because Cáel had risked his life to save their Princess. Brian Fung? He barely knew her name and they worked together. These weren’t even SD chicks; they were something else. My guess was Arinniti House Guard. Did Katrina’s House Epona have a house guard?Sure, I imagine they did. They were probably with the rest of House Epona where ever they lived. It wasn’t like the whole kit and caboodle was here in NYC. That would have been foolish. If Caitlyn, Aya’s mom, had a security issue, she called us at Havenstone HQ, less than four kilometers away. Without a doubt, Elsa would stop by and kick ass for her.I gave Brian this much; he had a working set of eyes. The second those two harbingers of death began closing in, Brian back-pedaled.“Hey Brian, let’s go grab some drinks,” I offered him a graceful exit.“Sounds good,” Brian tried to sound cool.“Oneida, take care,” I nodded to my new romantic stalker. “Ladies,” to my 'new hire’ crew. “Buffy,” to my sometimes boss, “remember you are still hot for a…mature chick.”“You are going die a long, torturous and extremely painful death,” Buffy sizzled.“What? Are you going to make me eat your cooking?” I laughed.Buffy didn’t articulate a counter before Brian and I slipped outside.“Cáel, who was that woman?” Brian whispered.“Which one? You need to be more specific. My erotic malfeasances are terribly confusing.”“The one you insulted,” Brian said. “The last one you insulted,” he clarified.“Buffy. She’s one of my bosses,” I grinned. “She loves me. She’s even promised to play the bagpipes at my funeral. Personally I think that’s because she doesn’t want to risk anyone hearing me pounding on the coffin lid, trying to get out.”“You are not going to make it the full 84 days with that attitude,” Brian lectured me.“Trent has already been promoted,” Brian continued. “I am regularly referred to as indispensable in my work reviews. Felix works closely with Ms. Pharos at all times. You seem to be the only one of us having…issues with Havenstone. Hell, they even shot you and you sat back and took it. I doubt your complacent attitude impressed anyone much.”No mention of poor Khalid. How quickly they forget. Trent had been 'promoted’ to Southeast Asia alright. I looked it up; there are around 10,000 islands between Indonesia and the Philippines. Sure some were small spits of land with a few trees. I had little doubt one of the good-sized one was a jungle of a different sort.Certainly Executive Services sent Trent’s belongings somewhere. I’d never tried to find out. What would I have done with the knowledge? Brooke didn’t care and I didn’t know his family. Brian and I went to the same yuppie bar as last time. I was with Brian this time, so I abandoned him as quick as I could.Why? At the far end of the bar, talking the bar-back was my Delivery Girl; aka the person who did the home liquor delivery to Libra’s place. Half way down the bar, she sensed me looking at her. The bar-back followed her gaze. He wasn’t happy with me. DG simply didn’t recognize me so I held up my valise over my groin.Confusion; surprise; acknowledgment that despite our surroundings, I wasn’t worried about being seen with her. She had her hand truck; she had to make a front door delivery this time.“Remember me?” I smiled.“Cáel Nyilas; the Pillow Guy,” she snickered. “How did that work out for you?”The bar-back was broadcasting his displeasure at some upper class shmuck cutting in on his action. DG caught that.“Jason, this is Cáel,” she introduced me. “We last met under unusual circumstances.”“What kind of name is Cáel?” Jason remarked.“An unfortunate one,” I snorted. “You try explaining to your kindergarten teacher that it is 'c-a-e-l’. Of course, I wasn’t 'Bomophoto’ either. She had it worse than I did.”Jason searched me out to see if I was pulling one over on him. I wasn’t. Bomo and I bonded over our linguistic misfortune. She moved to Santa Fe in the third grade. I wonder if she grew up to be hot looking. Oink.“I’ll give you that,” he chuckled. “Why did you get branded?”“Mom was Irish, my Dad was in love with her so I got the cultural emersion, minus the Guinness,” I shrugged. “By the way…” I looked back to the lady.“Katy Lee Baker,” she batted her eyelashes. We shook hands.“How did it go?” I picked up her question. “Sex, chopped fruit, your drinks, more sex and back to the clinic before eleven.”“Have you talked to them since?” Katy inquired somewhat seductively.“Perhaps. I don’t like to kiss and tell,” I evaded.“I’m curious because two of the three arrived five minutes before you did and they appear somewhat unhappy with you right now,” she smirked. “You can look over your shoulder if you don’t believe me.” Sure enough, there was Felix, Brian, Brooke, Libra and…I think her name was Gene. I waved then turned back to my current two conversationalists.“So Jason, what do you like to do?” I asked the guy.“Huh; what? I work,” he replied.“I mean bike, try ethnic food, go to the gym; stuff like that,” I teased him.“I work six days a week…but usually one or two are afternoon shifts. Me and some buddies play some pick-up basketball,” Jason told me.“Great. You’d pick a sport I suck at,” I set the bait. If Jason thought I sucked, he’d invite me to play. That’s how it worked. I was pretty good at basketball considering I’d spent the last four years playing with girls; on the court. Girls play some mean ball. They also didn’t shy away from putting an elbow into my nuts if they felt like it.“I’m not sure I live in a neighborhood you’d be comfortable visiting,” Jason threw up a roadblock. I had him on this one. I showed him my ID. It had the right address; wrong apartment number. “Shit dude, that place is about as rough as my home turf.”“I get paid a quarter million a year to taste test for hexafluoride in Chinese imports,” I joked.“Really?” Katy chuckled.“It’s a growth industry; if you consider tumors to be growth,” I was faux-serious.“Mr.; Cáel,” Jason looked over my shoulder. “I think one of those chicks is about to come over here and kill you. You best hop to it.”“Which one? The brunette, or the russet-colored (Libra)?” I inquired.“The brunette wants attention and the russet wants to push a red hot poker up your ass,” Jason gave me his experienced opinion. Heading over there was going to be 'fun’.“Give me a call some time, Jason. Nice to see you again, Katy Lee,” I waved good-bye.“You know the staff here?” Libra spat.“That was the girl who delivered the liquor to your place, Libra,” I sighed. “I said 'hi’.”“It takes you an awful lot of words to say 'hello’,” Brian gave a false smile. Libra was positioned next to Brian. Her anger with me plus his 'sexy’ put her there.Brooke shifted as I joined their chair-less center table. She was putting enough distance between us to show everyone she was independent yet close enough to give warning signs to other woman that I was in her sights, if not her outright possession. I was better looking than Brooke had counted on. More 'fun’ was coming down the pipeline.Gene was here on another date with Felix, or so she thought. Poor Gene. Felix was most likely an excellent fuck. What she didn’t appreciate was that Felix was not only a competitor, he was the kind of athlete who had to win. Second place was what you called the first loser. Gene was about to be educated in this personal idiocentricity.Now that I was on stage, Felix made his move on Brooke. Gene? He’d let her in on a three-way if he was feeling personally Hernán Cortés-like. Felix had to have Brooke. I hadn’t dumped Brooke, according to Gene, so he wasn’t getting my castoffs; he was stealing my prize. The flaw in this plan was my whole viewpoint on monogamy. I didn’t much care for it. Brooke was a grown woman and could make her own choices.Felix made his move. Damn, he was smooth. He had Brooke wrapped up and pulled tight without Gene even being aware she’d been dumped. Enter the train wreck named Nicole. She was the criminal defense attorney who I’d fucked in a stall in the women’s bathroom of this place. She hadn’t tried to contact me and I hadn’t worried about her. Hook-ups were like that.She’d been close by, respecting Brooke’s signs and not stopping by to say hello. Then Felix launched his master plan and I was suddenly freed up. Nicole had gotten a rough fucking and liked it, I could tell.“Cáel Nyilas,” Nicole swooped in. “How have you been?”“The normal. Menace to society, disrespectful of authority and being annoying to random strangers,” I teased. “You?”“I’m a lawyer fighting the irresistible lure of evil. The usual,” she joked back. “What have you been doing wrong? As I recall, last time you were doing everything right?”Yes, a good dicking indeed. I was going to relate this encounter to Timothy just so he could shoot me with his Nerf gun. He’d shoot me anyway, but it was nice of me to give him an excuse from time to time.“I’ve been sending sexually suggestive letters to ADA Feinstein,” I offered. “Does that count?”“Oh really?” she seemed surprised. “Why don’t you come by my table real quick and let me introduce you to some of my colleagues.” I wasn’t going to be rude.“Gang, this is Nicole,” I introduced her to my table. “She’s an attorney at a prestigious law firm that probably has more dead partners than living ones and offices in Papua New Guinea and a few dozen other places you’ve never heard of. I’ll be right back.”“You are a nut,” Nicole bumped me as we weaved our way to her buddies. “Ladies, this is Cáel Nyilas. I think I mentioned him once.” By the looks on their faces, once had been enough. “This is Zelda, Marsha, Phyllis, and Rivka; Rivka Feinstein, ADA for New York County,” (that’s Manhattan for us hicks).“Ah crap,” I exclaimed. That wasn’t what they expected.“I confess,” I looked at Nicole, “I saw the name in an article on the back of the Village Voice. Sadly, they had R. Feinstein and I stupidly assumed it was a guy.”“Oh my God! You’re gay?” Zelda and Phyllis despaired.“While my life would a whole lot easier if I was, I’m straight; not even bi-curious. My roommate, Timothy; never Tim; is and he was reading it while I was working out. It sort of stuck in my mind,” I admitted.“How did my name come up in conversation?” Rivka inquired.“Cáel is a pathological liar,” Nicole teased me.“Not true,” I protested. “I’m allergic to excessive honesty. That’s totally different.”“I’d like to put you on the witness stand,” Zelda gave me those bedroom eyes.“You and about a 150 other women,” I groaned.“150?” Rivka choked.“Yep. The rest already know I’m guilty,” I muttered.“Are you of weak moral fiber?” Phyllis joined the game. We were all having a blast.“Sorry, but no. I’m saving up for some. Currently I’m without morals…or scruples. Any suggestion which one I should purchase first?”“You are a great guy,” Rivka snickered. “Why aren’t you dating somebody?”“Shall we revisit my lack of morals and scruples?” I answered.“So you are a player?” Nicole nudged me. She wanted to play alright.“How to put this…I’m a wonderful lover and a lousy boyfriend,” I told them.“I was an eighteen year old virgin. In the past four years, I have betrayed every woman I’ve ever dated, save one; my first love,” I explained.“Why didn’t you betray her?” Phyllis prodded. “Don’t tell me she’s dead.”“No, she’s fine,” I replied. “She was the one who told me to date other women.”“That’s harsh,” Zelda commiserated. She thought Kimberly had dumped me.“Oh no,” I corrected her. “We stayed together until I graduated last month. Four of the best years of my life. When she told me to date other women it was because I was killing her. I have a voracious sexual appetite and she was desperate for a full night’s sleep.”“Do you ever go home alone?” Marsha joined in.“Does leaving a woman’s house at 1 a.m. count?” I requested.“Did she throw you out?” Rivka interrogated.“No. She and her sister were exhausted so I picked up my roommate and left,” I exaggerated.“Wait!” Nicole held up her hand. “Sisters…and you told us your roommate was gay?”“Morals and scruples,” I repeated. “See, I was dating one sister and the other sister wanted a date so I talked my gay roommate into being my wingman so I wouldn’t end up sleeping with them both. It didn’t work out so well. The second, older sister was horny, so my guy pretended to pass out.”“Have you ever considered you are a horrible person?” Marsha studied me.“Yes. Not only have I thought about, I’ve been told that a few dozen times. It usually is accompanied by 'I’m going to kill you’, or 'you had better make it up to me’.”“Have you ever been hurt?” Phyllis appeared concerned.“My body is a roadmap of poor decision making,” I responded.“What was the worst thing to ever happen to you?” Rivka grinned. Her ability to be deceptively pretty had to have made her a frightening lawyer.“When they were happening, I was a bit more concerned with what might happen to me as opposed to rating them,” I informed her.“Except for being shot with an arrow, being chased around naked with a hot poker and having my bed dowsed with lighter fluid while I was still in it were probably the worst,” I nodded. “I’ve been stabbed a few times, tasered, occasionally thrown out of a window not on the first floor and had bookcase dropped on me once, so I consider myself a connoisseur of ex-girlfriend vengeance.”“Have you ever been involved with a police proceeding?” Rivka became a tad bit more intense.“Nah,” shook my head. “I had it coming. As you said, I’m kind of a horrible guy.”“Domestic violence is no joking matter,” Nicole also became serious.“That’s unfair,” I countered. “I’m not so slavishly devoted to the law that I’d ruin some girl’s life because I was a total bastard.”“Domestic Violence laws are supposed to protect the innocent from the abusive,” I added. “I haven’t lied to you about my misadventures, but you should understand I chose to handle most of my problems myself. By the looks on your faces, you are about as disappointed in me as the policewoman I am currently seeing. This is who I am and I’m not going to apologize for it.”“Mind you, I’m not some gun-toting, roughneck Libertarian,” I clarified. “I believe in law, order and the justice system. If someone pulls out an AK-47 on me at a corner bodega, I’m making 9-1-1 my bitch on speed-dial. I don’t want to be a hero, or fulfill my organ donor card. I just don’t equate that to a girl kneeing me in the nuts because I slept with her best friend in her lingerie.”There was a pause as the ladies looked around. They were making an assessment of how much trouble I’d cause versus how much fun I would be. They all smiled at me. They always do.“Who was wearing the lingerie?” Zelda smirked.“I’ve worn women’s lingerie before, but it really wasn’t my thing,” I mused.“I’ll go through a lot for good sex,” I winked. “It was my girlfriend’s lingerie on her best friend.”“Wait,” Rivka noted. “Didn’t the best friend know you were dating the first girl?”“Yeah. I’m not sure why that never stops them,” I shrugged. “Around the fifth time I stopped worrying about it.”“Wow, do you have any idea how many women you’ve been with?” Rivka asked.“Do you always use protection?” Phyllis piled on.“Yes; 223 as of Friday. I’m hoping to break 300 before work replaces me with those guys from 'Hamster Dance’,” I told them. “And yes, I always use protection.”“I may not know where my partner has been, but I know where I’ve been and it scares me,” I snickered. “That’s why I always carry ten.”“Ten?” Nicole snorted. “Do you regularly check the expiration date, or are you that ambitious?”“Ambitious? I’d carry more except it’s hard to hide more than ten in a wallet; I’ve tried,” I sighed.“Have you ever run out?” Marsha snickered. Our snickering, chuckling and laughter were drawing stares.“Run out? Hell, I’ve gone door to door in a women’s dormitory at 2 a.m. trying to find some,” I related. “Ran into an old girlfriend doing that.” I slipped into a dreamy smile.“Why do I think that despite it being 2 a.m. in her dorm with you seeking a condom for use with a different woman, she wasn’t pissed?” Rivka giggled.“Oh God no,” I waved off. “She was freaking furious. That was some of the most intense 'I’m lonely and it’s all your fault’ sex I have ever been through.”“You have names for different kinds of sex?” Nicole was almost crying from laughing so hard.“Oh yeah. The first time I run across a different sexual experience, I slap a name on it so when it happens again, I know what to do,” I explained.“Isn’t every woman unique?” Zelda sniffled.“That sounds nice in a love song, but 'no’,” I smiled. “Women, and men, have a finite number things; needs and responses. Women can have different erogenous zones, but there all on the human body. Admittedly, it can be a bit like predicting the weather at times. It is not a perfect system by any means.”“What’s my 'thing’ then?” Nicole taunted. She didn’t think I could do it.“Sex has to be an accomplishment with you, Nicole,” I informed her. “You need to be engaged mentally as much as anything else. You need a poet who runs marathons. Otherwise you end up staring at the ceiling after sex wondering what better use you could have made of your time.”Silence. That was the norm for that kind of revelation. Women hated to be laid bare. They hated being misunderstood even more.“Nicole?” Rivka prodded her friend. Nicole remained silent. I knew that look.“Nicole, I’m bad news. Wouldn’t you prefer to keeps thing simple?” I hoped.I was wrong to hope. I kept praying they would go 'hey, great, mindless sex; let’s not blow it’, but they never did. I hated giving lame erotic encounters, despite the guarantee of anguish that always followed.“We could go out on a date and see how that works?” Nicole offered. Doom.“Cáel Nyilas; I’m in the book and I work for Havenstone Commercial Investments,” I stupidly replied. “You probably have a killer workload were as I spot-check children’s toys for WMDs. Give me a call when you have a night free.” How was it going to turn out? Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex; let’s make a commitment; you cheating fuck-nut! I hate you.Girls weren’t predictable; I was.“Cáel, we are going out to dinner, if you remember who you are supposed to be with,” Libra seethed as she and the others passed Nicole’s table.“Yup, gotta go where I’m not wanted. Nice seeing you again, Nicole,” I grinned. “Ladies, I hope it was a pleasure. It was for me. Good night.”Dinner; was; bad. Felix, hemorrhoid that he was, squashed Gene’s feeble attempts to draw him back to her as he made crystal clear that he was taking Brooke home; to fuck her into Paradise…instead of letting her go home with me. Problem being; Brooke wasn’t mine to take; never had been.For the first time in his life, I thought Brian was about to be screwed. Libra was past uber-bitchy by the fifth glass of wine. Brian held a pair of Jokers and thought he was the boss, like always. Libra had four Queens and would be screaming my name when she orgasmed; Brian was sexually proficient. He was also a misogynist, I was now sure, and Libra was going to make him squeal.Then she was going to grab up her clothes, storm out of Brian’s place and never want to talk with him again. It wasn’t that I was that unforgettable. I was that I knew what she wanted and had given it to her and not getting it Saturday afternoon while Brooke did was frosting her ass. What did that mean for me?For the first time in a long, long time, I was pissed with another guy. Trent really wasn’t worth my time, but Felix was about to cross my here-until-now unforeseen line of what guys did to girls. It was dawning on me that this was the result of me. Someone was doing something wrong to a girl because of me. It wasn’t my fault. Felix was being a jerk.That would be of cold comfort for Brooke. We split up after dinner. I didn’t have the heart to pick up Gene, who was easy prey right then. It was too much like what Felix thought he was doing to me. I took a cab to Havenstone, changed clothing and biked home. I barely had dinner ready for Timothy when he came through the door.“That’s not a look I’m used to seeing,” he remarked.“I should have beaten someone up,” I frowned, “but I didn’t and now some girl; Brooke; is going to have her heart kicked because of it.”“Was it something you did?” Timothy asked.“No. There is this guy at work who is using her to alpha-dog me,” I muttered.“Brooke?” Timothy was confused. “You hardly like her. What a sleaze (Felix). If it was Odette, first I’d slap you around for still being here. Then we’d go get him.”“I’m not even sure why I feel bad about this,” I grunted. “As you said, I hardly like her.”“It is called a conscience, Dimwit,” Timothy snorted. That didn’t help much. Conscience? Man, I’d stop my bike to run across a highway to move a tortoise off the road. I used to feed some of the Bolingbrook wild hares during the winter. I did humiliating crap for charity. I was never mean to a girl; only dishonest and unfaithful.Introspection got me nowhere. I was a cad. I’d been happy to be a cad for four years. I was going to be damned if my post-college life was going to be any different; all 68 remaining days of it. In my bedroom I discovered Odette had moved in during my absence. I doubted Timothy had been ignorant of all the stuff she deposited. What was going on with my life?I woke up when I heard keys in the door. It was a bit past eleven. I got up to check and sure enough, it was Odette. Timothy had given her a key. Odette had lived through a harrowing night, her boss was a dick and some of the customers were pure hell. I cuddled with her on the sofa while she unwound then we went to bed together. We didn’t have sex…(Tuesday)Around 1 a.m. I miraculously found myself awake and alert in bed. Odette was happily dreaming away. Something was gnawing at the back of my mind. I put a name to the emotion and a face to the fear. I called Brooke.“Hey Brooke,” I greeted her eight tries later. She was tired of sending me to voice mail.“What do you want?” she answered in a voice devoid of soul.“Fuck if I know,” I replied. “I suddenly woke up from a sound sleep thinking of you.”“I’m not interested,” she sighed.“I’m going to go out on a limb here. You don’t want to talk to anyone yet you want someone to help you understand what you are going through,” I gambled.That created a tiny tear in her shroud of depression. After five minutes, I got her to give me her address. She told me she wouldn’t answer the door. I told her I at least had to try. That got me to her place, 90 seconds of knocking got me inside and four minutes later, we were lying in bed with her sobbing on my chest.Half an hour later, she offered me sex. I told her to stop tempting me and if she only wanted me for sex, I wanted to be paid in chocolate. She giggled, took a few deep breaths and fell to sleep. Wow, I was in two different women’s beds in one night and not having sex in either. My watch alarm went off at 4:50 a.m. That meant no 'Marilyn’ call tonight.“Mmmm…” Brooke moved toward wakefulness. “Work?”“Afraid so,” I yawned.“We haven’t had sex,” he reminded me. I couldn’t stop being me.“That’s not why I came over here, Brooke,” I rolled onto my side so that our bodies were very close.“Never think I don’t want to have sex with you, but that’s not why I showed up last night,” I continued.“Why did you show up then?” she worried.“I have no clue. I’m like Felix; a player. Listen Brooke, I don’t consider you my woman,” I stated.“We had sex; we are lovers, but we’ve been thrown together by dire misfortune, not out of any common thread,” I reminded her. “I don’t expect you to have any sense of loyalty to me.” That phrase freed her up philosophically. That meant she could fuck me and not feel obliged to consider and discard any future for us because there was no realistic future that socially glued us into any acceptable form.“So I needed a shoulder to cry on and you showed up,” she mused.“Brooke, you are independent and strong-willed. The next guy you chose will be your choice,” I led her along. “Felix though; Felix is a serious player and he felt the need to add you to his list of conquests. I saw it happening and did nothing. Now I feel like crap for sitting back and ignoring the consequences.”“You knew Felix would turn me into a hash mark?” Brooke seemed depressed, not angry.“I knew he was trying to get at me,” I confessed. “He didn’t accept that you and I aren’t an item. A blonde co-worker; a high ranking supervisor actually; treated him like a bug in the communal showers yesterday while keeping close contact with me. Felix had to win. He had to show me he is the top dog.”“And I was the prize?” Brooke moped.“Not to me,” I whispered. Brooke looked hurt. “You are a woman. While you would look delectable in a big red ribbon, that’s not who you are. I don’t keep hash marks. I have a thing called a heart cord and it is solely for my use. Each binding represents a liaison; like a Quipus; an Incan memory knot.”Brooke really didn’t care. It sounded neat, it was romantic and the act was not demeaning to her. I could savor the memory of our encounter as long as I didn’t share it with my buddies. She wasn’t one of 'those’ girls.“You are very intelligent,” she murmured seductively.She didn’t care if I was the reincarnation of Benjamin Franklin, or some schmo in Afghanistan who made his living digging up (hopefully) spent ordinance of battlefields. Smoking hot, sexy, well-educated debutantes like Brooke could fuck finely-sculpted, 'smart’ guys like me. She could delude herself that I was rapidly upwardly mobile. My turn.“Brooke, I don’t want to get mixed up about us,” I evaded. 'Us’? There was no 'us’ and we both knew it. “If I caved in right now, I’m not sure I could forgive myself.” Yes I could.“I just want to feel like someone gives a damn about me,” Brooke whimpered. Good acting. We wrestled around; me trying to leave, but clearly not wanting to, while she physically enticed me.We ended up, me on top, pinning her wrists to either side of her head. Her legs were trapped between mine.“Make it up to me…please,” she pouted. She humped her pelvic bone playfully against my cock. “I know you want to help me out.” Good word usage on her part.“Brooke, this isn’t going to happen,” I gritted my teeth in frustration. Yes, it was going to happen. Her right leg began exerting steady pressure against my 'weak’ left leg. It slowly 'surrendered’ to her advance. Now she had on leg on the outside. My right leg held out a little longer yet Brooke was persistent.Now she could ground her finely groomed landing strip against my pulsating rod. I really, really wanted to fuck her now. I took my hands off her wrists, turned them into fists and placed the beneath each of her underarms.“Damn you,” I cursed her. Brooke was gyrating her crotch all over mine.With her hands released, Brooke could leverage her body up and trap my cockhead between her labia. They were thoroughly soaked with her honey so after my 'capture’ she drew more and more of my length in until I was completely incased. Brooke had won! She knew she’d won. Fuck Felix and his hash marks. I didn’t care so why should she?I made on last energetic yet futile effort to get away. Oddly, Brooke somehow end on top at the end of my exertion. I must be an awful wrestler…“No you don’t,” Brooke purred only millimeters from my lips. “You are not getting away.” That was Brooke tossing good ole Felix under the emotional bus.Felix the Player? She’d chalk it up to too much to drink and the hype being more than the man. How was this possible? Look at her. She’d thrown a known sexual dynamo down on her bed and was working his shaft over every G-spot in her vagina. Brooke still preferred a long, rough fucking to get her off. At the moment, she need reassurance more.Felix most assuredly made Brooke ride him. He kept her perpendicular to his hips and came up to suckle her teats when he wanted to, or watch them bounce as he lay back. He was great at sex, no doubt. The girl had to scream and howl; forgetting every other male she was ever with and making every other guy she’d be with later an automatic failure. To him, that was how he rated success.This resulted in me keeping Brooke close so I could make quick kisses to her very close lips. She’d playfully pull away; to put me in my place and remind me she was in charge; then she’d initiate the kiss. Our love-making was more rhythmic; less frantic. She was getting close.“Next…next time you fuck Felix,” I gasped. “Tell him…”“What makes; makes you think I’d; every sleep with him; again?” Brooke got feisty.“I bet he was good in bed and now that you have his measure,” I assured her. “You can take what pleasure you want and leave.” Brooke liked that. It was the whole independent woman thing.“Won’t you be jealous?” she panted.“I cannot constantly keep up with your sexual desires, Brooke,” I grunted. “I’ve been neglecting Libra.” Oh yeah, Libra. The girl she, Brooke, initially set me up with. Her Vassar classmate.“What about Felix,” she huffed and huffed. She was real close.“Off-handedly comment that he’s developing male pattern baldness,” I grinned. “Just to fuck with his head.” Felix was gorgeous. Better yet, Felix knew he was gorgeous. Hit him where it hurts. Brooke tried to giggle, but the surge of triumph overcame her and off she went. The problem was I was getting close and I didn’t have a condom on.“Brooke,” I inhaled deeply. She’d come to rest on my chest. “I’m about to…”“Oh,” she sighed happily. She reversed to the side as she slithered down my body. My cock went down her throat and I started petting her flank. Brooke wasn’t the very best, but, man o man, she was going to town on my dick.There was no doubt in my mind that her vaginal secretions didn’t bother her. I had to rush the experience because if I was late to work, Constanza make me stand beside the targets while she shot at them. If she was really pissed, she’d have me hold up targets in front me instead. I shot off, Brooke caught it all in her mouth then spit it into two tissues before tossing them in the trash.I caught her look. Trent and now Felix made her swallow. I didn’t care; which was yet another choice Brooke was free to make when making love to me. I jumped her. We had a little, tickle-nibble fight that ended in some kisses. I had to leave and Brooke made sure she was poised extra-sexy the last time I turned around to say goodnight and cut off the lights.“Ah damn,” I moaned before I left. I didn’t really like Brooke yet, by choosing to engage her in sex, I had accepted the task of making her happy. That was the reason Felix and I were going to fight. He’d use another human being to strike at me instead striking at me directly. To me, this was more than low character, it was an insult to my lifestyle.Felix should have checked his baggage at the door. Competing for the same lady was fine; even fun. Picking one to punish another…not cool. I had to think about my response as I barely made it in for my Constanza time. Wisely, I left my baggage at the door. These were firearms we were dealing with; a danger to me and the people around me.I was in my biking outfit today. More looks. The decision was that I’d go for my Glock-22, a 38 Ruger LCR back-up, a South Korean-made shotgun that looked like an M-16 and a very unhealthy looking device called a Heckler & Koch UMP 40 (which I had never even heard of). Wait…it got worse. I was scheduled for knife fighting training at 3 p.m.; every day for the foreseeable future.Constanza didn’t want to help me breath, much less train. That was okay. I left my shirt in the weapons’ room so the second I hit the shooting booth Magical Amazon Fey appeared to impart their wisdom, and body shapes to me. Oh God! I dropped a clip between my feet. The two ladies nearly head-butted in a race to get.The loser frowned. The winner was able to determine my ankles were strong, my calves were implant free; guys do that occasionally, and my thigh was definitely recovering. Without a doubt, my rod was happy to feel her hand. I retrieved my magazine from her unresisting hand. Then I did some shooting. With three clips I proved to be faster yet less accurate, more accurate yet slower and lastly a balance between the two.I wasn’t better than yesterday. It was yesterday. I did marginally worse with the .38 Ruger, better with the shotgun and I had a blast with the H&K. Was I accurate? NO…but this killing machine was loads of fun to fire off a clip at full-auto. According to 'my’ Amazons I looked so adorable pouting when I was told I’d fired off the last magazine. I repeat; loads of fun.Amazons are a dedicated martial culture, I was definitely a delicious male bouncing up and down gleefully while begging 'Fuck Me! Fuck Me!’ Not actually. I was enthusiastically asking for another clip, but I could tell how my words were being echoed inside their brains.“Behave yourself, Male!” Constanza snapped angrily. I fell on my knees, hands presented in supplication.“Please, please, please, please,” I begged.“Oh, give him another magazine,” two of my shooting companions requested.“I can’t believe we are in the same unit,” Constanza sneered, “rubbing against him like over-drunk un-casted.” Hmmm, that probably meant teenagers; before they chose a profession.“Constanza, they are all aggressive, dominant members of the Host,” I rose (verbally) to their defense. “They are not afraid of their sexuality and they are certainly not afraid of me. What are they doing wrong? They are helping me concentrate (totally false) on the task at hand. I would think you would be pleased that I’m receiving such encouragement, meaning you are more likely to succeed at your task.”“You don’t even know why you are here,” she glared.“I imagine you are here for the same reason I am; to serve our superiors,” I replied. “Do you think that I don’t want to sleep in an extra hour…,” I looked to my new buddies, “Okay, I used to want to sleep in that extra hour, but the point is the same.”“These are our hours. Why not make the most of it as opposed to letting the circumstances make us miserable?” I reasoned.“Constanza,” Naomi, the only shooting buddy to give me a name so far, “you are out of line. He is on our side now and he has the battle scars to prove it.”“Never,” Constanza growled out her challenge.“That is not your decision to make,” Naomi met that challenge. “He is down here. He is courageous, loyal and undaunted.”“Besides, if you hate him that much, getting a hunting license for him like the rest of us.”Fantastic (sarcasm), I was popular with Amazonia’s professional military.“Just remember, I get to hunt you ladies right back,” I grinned. They thought that was funny. “If I capture you, you are mine all-weekend long; yummy. Then, on Monday, it’s back to normality and me running for my life.”“Do you really think you can take any of us?” Naomi chuckled. The others laugh. Even Constanza was darkly amused.“Let me see…I was never a Boy Scout, I’m not ex-military, or even a backwoodsman,” I mused. “Still, I never thought I’d be shot with an arrow, or stabbed with a spear either, so I’m actually upbeat about my chances.”“Besides, I’m going to wear a black bear suit as camouflage.” Pause. “Damn it. I probably shouldn’t have told you that,” I grimaced. More chuckles.“I’ve watched um…Dual Survival…most of one episode…I’ve been so lost in the wilderness to the point I couldn’t see the road…I’ve made love to a Park Ranger…I’ve been so drunk that I hunted a grown moose with a ballpeen hammer…that’s about it for me.”“I am going to enjoy being the first one to catch you,” Naomi purred.“Be careful, Naomi,” I cautioned her. “I’m part lemur. It was the same experiment that made Constanza part Tasmanian Devil; those are some cranky-ass bitches.”“Are you really going to run fast?” another Amazon teased me.“Hell yeah,” I nodded as I stood. No extra magazines for me today. “I’m going to pick some compass point and run at it with everything I have.”“You are lying,” Naomi nudged me. They weren’t pissed; this was 'warfare’ thus deception was not only allowed, it was expected.“Without a hint of regret,” smiled at her. We were suddenly really close again. “I may run, I may hide, or I may double back. That is the prey’s advantage.” This was fine to the ladies around me. I was prey. I was fine with being prey. I was having fun being prey which made the promised encounter to be new and exciting.Amazons didn’t hunt turtles; they hunted dangerous things that hunted other things. Was I dangerous? Constanza was a living testimonial of that; the scar just above her left elbow. This didn’t imply respect and acceptance; no way, no how. It was impossible to believe I would ever replace one of…craptastic. Katrina was too damn smart; far smarter than me for sure.I wouldn’t have figured it out this soon except for something Oneida said; 'The Ash Men’. Who were they and why was calling someone that a good thing? A few more live-fires with a bit of instruction. With all the 'sisters’ willing to show me improved stance and firing techniques, Constanza felt the desire to be in another room.As I was finally departing for my real job, an Amazon with clear Amerindian blood, put a hand to my chest before I could exit out the hallway door.“How much of disaster is he?” she asked Naomi. I seriously thought about doing a takedown then I reasoned I really didn’t want to see Traska’s teary-eyed face looking down at my shattered form.“He’s passable for a beginner,” Naomi answered.“What are you talking about?” I protested. “I’m freaking awesome. I point the boom-stick at…whatever you call them…pull that trigger-thingy and the bullets go in a direction that doesn’t hurt me. Honestly, this crap is easy.” The copper chick grabbed my chin quick as a snake.“Your opinion was not solicited,” she menaced, “you ignorant toad-turd.” On second thought; I hit her. I’m pretty quick too. My fist connected with her diaphragm because she was not only not expecting me to lash out, she masked my movements by having her right limb holding my chin. She recoiled, I assumed my boxing stance and Naomi clubbed me down from behind.Let’s not forget who, what and where I was. I was dogpiled, yanked up then had Bitchy Amerindian chick pop me twice in the gut.“You are going to be caned for that,” she hissed.“Fuck you!” I shouted back. Fist to the head. That was going to leave a mark.“I look forward to hearing you scream,” she threatened.“Huh? What? You are still here? Something swished past me and I thought it was you leaving,” I joked.“Do you want to die?” Naomi hissed in my ear.“Let me go and we’ll all find out,” I replied.“Let him go,” Bitchy chick ordered. They let me go. That was not a good sign.“I’m Cáel Nyilas. I; ah…I’m from the Magyars,” I introduced myself.“I don’t care,” she glared.“Fine. Do you want to take this to the mats upstairs, or do you prefer we fight in a room full of firearms?” I asked.“This won’t take long,” she assumed a stance I’d never seen before. I didn’t know its official name, but it had 'pain’ written all over it.“A little room here?” I prodded the five Amazons standing behind me. My important unknown assailant waved them back to the walls. Constanza was livid, so I could already count this as a victory of sorts. My opponent swiveled on the ball of her left foot. It was a feint. I feinted too; I acted like I was going to fight. I ran away as she made her low, sweeping kick.I vaulted the table before she could catch me. Now she had a dilemma. If she came over the top, she’d be limiting her mobility and I was gambling hers was a very fluid style. If she moved around the table…as she did, it gave me time to grab my Glock and some ammo and keep running. I put a bullet in the chamber right as Constanza and her two feminazis drew there 9mms.I was staring down the sight of my .40 S&W Glock at copper chick. Oh, she wasn’t afraid in the least. She was pissed.“Right, or left?” I inquired.“Put the gun down, or you are dead!” Constanza commanded.“I’m confused,” I stated calmly. “Do I do what she says (copper chick); she is clearly someone important, or do I do what you say, Constanza?”“PUT IT DOWN!” Constanza screamed. Copper chick waved the guns down slowly.“Right, or left?” Copper chick inquired. (dead word spoken) St. Marie,“ she gave me her name.Mistress of the Golden Mare had to be something so not good."Right, or l
With all the fighting & sex, my work reviews should suck.By FinalStand. Listen and subscribe to the podcast at Steamy Stories.-Saving a life isn’t about worthiness. It is about instinct and guts.-(Friday)Since I liked to think that life encouraging me with bruises, punctures, cuts and concussions made me smarter, I had scheduled some eleven o'clock gym time most of the week so to avoid the whole lunch and after-work crowds. Aya and I went to the ‘Others’ gym, which was nice, but wasn’t as complete as the Full/Pure-blood one. Most notable was the lack of weapons.Aya’s and my trip to the 'Other’ gym on Friday hit a snag. Aya clued in on the fact that I was avoiding the Pure-blood facility. We talked about it. I explained I wasn’t a Pure-blood. Her counter-argument was she was and I should confront my fears. Yes, I lost an argument with a nine year old.I have talked a nineteen year old, promise ring virgin into nameless sex in an airport stall. Aya was an unassailable wall of resolve that dashed all of my ploys into so many useless words. I found myself entering the real 'No Man’s Land’ twice in less than a week. Not only was I hard-headed, I was also obviously soft-hearted.At the last moment, I imagined I had a reprieve. I didn’t have to tell Aya how I got in the first time - grabbing an open door. I could swipe my card, have it rejected and move on to safer pursuits. Sure enough, my card failed. Aya’s didn’t - mother-puss-bucket! Upon entering, the twenty, or so women in the place looked at me…and Aya.I recognized somebody. It was Constanza, Elsa’s chief evil henchwoman. Our eyes met. She smiled in a way that assured me she vividly recalled our last encounter. It should be of no surprise that I insulted her somewhere in the process. It’s how I roll. I smiled back at Constanza and gave her a nod before setting up Aya and me for our workout routine.Constanza was not mollified in the slightest. She was patiently waiting - for something. I decided that Aya would be my sole focus and banished the other women from my mind. The munchkin could tell the difference and relayed that to me with her happiness. After twenty minutes, she decided her time with the machines was done and her minutes were better spent resting against, or sitting on, me.My cock was reminding me that it was approaching 36 torturous hours without sex. It was also pointing out that there were thirty available, sexually inquisitive women achingly close. I reminded my penis that being relocated was probably as fun-less as it sounded. That bought me some time. We finished up our sojourn by walking the wall, going over the weapon racks.Mainly we went over the ones various members of her family were proficient with. Aya still had problems with even the most basic ones. The words 'let me help you’ spilled out of my mouth. There were two problems; Aya’s tiny size and the fact that all the weapons were very dangerous. Even the leaf-shaped short blade was too heavy for her so we ended up screwing around instead.I picked up two Iron Age style axes. The blades were more of a thick wedge than the broad axe heads of medieval fame. They were less effective in delivering damage, compensating somewhat in their reduced weight. I’ve convinced a Jewish girl to have sex in a synagogue despite me not being Jewish yet this child was twirling me around her pinkie finger.I was entertaining her with some exotic, flamboyant moves wielding two axes while Aya clapped her hands and giggled when I felt a stranger approach me on the sparring mat. I had been hopping around keeping all my weight on my right leg until that moment. I turned to face the woman, putting my left behind me yet while keeping it firmly on the ground.I also drew my axes up, crossing them over my chest, blades pointing past my shoulders.“I have never seen that technique before,” she addressed me. That and what followed was all in the Amazon tongue.“It is more of a fantasy creation. I had a love affair with pseudo-archaic movies that always do the crazy, two-weapon stuff so my mentor helped me create this method,” I explained.“Has it ever been tested?” she continued.“I am Cáel Nyilas,” I answered, “and yes, my mentor preferred using a poleaxe, or a mace/shield combo against me.”“Oneida,” she seemed amused. “We will see how well you have been tested.”“May I request a favor?” I tried to keep my cool. She pulled out one of those damn spears.“Yes,” she seemed intrigued.“Can you call someone over to sit with Aya? I don’t want her to accidently set foot on the mat,” I beseeched.“Drusilla, please aid me,” Oneida summoned an observer. The woman had heard my appeal and settled beside the nervous, kneeling Aya.“Cáel, please be careful,” Aya pleaded.“Who me?” I chuckled. “I’m impervious to all man-made contrivances.”“Every weapon in this room was crafted by women,” Oneida snorted.“That would certainly explain my full-body bruising and the hole in my leg,” I grinned back. I caught Oneida trying to sneak closer to me. My axes came to a ready position and I charged. I was sure some sort of medic would punish me for this later.She got off two jabs then I was all over her. I knew how to fight a two and a half meter spear. She had no clue how to plot out two incoming weapons with an extra meter of reach. The first time I drove her off the mat. The second time, I got inside her guard and clocked her in the temple with the back end of an axe head. I quickly hopped back three paces, knelt and put my axes on the mat.The rush to get me was stillborn. A few did come to stand over me while two others checked on Oneida who quickly came around.“What happened?” were Oneida’s first, shaky words.“He hit you,” one of her companions answered.“With what - the Moon?” Oneida mumbled as they helped her up. “My ears are still ringing.”“My turn,” Constanza announced. She went for a spear, blade, and round leather-covered, wicker shield.“Give Cáel a moment to rest,” Aya appealed. “He has been fighting longer.”No such luck. I was halfway to exhausted as well. Fighting with two weapons pretty much means just that - twice the fight. Kinetically speaking, I was burning around 80% more calories than my one weapon opponents. I was wielding axes, not fighting sticks after all. In my favor was a deep wellspring of stamina and my Will reinforced by my desire to not upset Aya.What little time I was given wasn’t out of charity. A second Amazon was joining the struggle. I could back off, but I felt Constanza would enforce an intense level of groveling solely to grind up Aya emotionally. She didn’t hate Aya. Aya was an avenue to really hurt me and we both knew it. For a second, when I hobbled off the mat, there were chuckles. I had fled.That ended as I began retrieving some select weapons from the wall racks. Sword harnesses came in two varieties; belted and shoulder slings. I took two shoulder slings and two more axes. I affixed my two 'spare’ axes with leather straps. As I turned to the mat, Constanza had decided to be clever. She and her buddy had closed to within three meters of the edge.They would box me in as soon as my second foot touched down on the mat.“Please back up,” I requested. Constanza smiled with supreme confidence. I smiled back. This was going to be dangerous, agonizing and unorthodox - totally me. I began backing up.“Cáel,” Aya murmured. “Don’t let them hurt you.”“Running away?” Constanza sneered.“Aya, wickedness is the expedience of the weak,” I nodded her way. “Do you think I can win?”“Of course,” Aya sighed happily. “I am by your side.” I laughed. I charged. The Amazons did the precisely wrong thing - the stepped up to meet me.You keep thrusting weapons, like spears, aimed at the central part of the body. This allows you to deviate your projection anywhere from the thighs to the face. This does imply you know where the central part of the enemy will be. This was not playschool. Real weapons - real damage - real death. They didn’t have to kill me. It didn’t mean they wouldn’t.I leapt. I didn’t leap at them, I leapt over them. Let’s not forget I’m pretty freaking strong. My left leg shot-gunned pain straight to the brain but held it together. I sailed over their thrusting spear points, flipped my axes down so that they would impact the mats first. The flat tops of the axe heads impacted the mat and my body rose up and then flipped over them.This gave me an extra meter and a half on my back flip. I turned that maneuver into summersault, giving three more meters of space. I rolled over to my side and rode the momentum to my feet, facing my adversaries. Now they were the ones in the corner of the mat with their enemy pinning them in and I wasn’t done yet.With all my might, I hurled my right-handed axe at Constanza’s companion. She did exactly what I thought she’d do. She saw the throw halfway in motion and raised her shield up - right where I wanted it. Amazon shields aren’t what most people think shields are today. They think medieval knights, or more appropriately, the shields of the Greek hoplites.The Amazons date back 700 years before those Greeks and they weren’t heavy infantry anyway. Amazons moved light and fast. Consequently, their shields were light - wicker constructs with layers of leather stretched over the frame. Great for deflecting light weapons; not so great for what I was about to do.The steel axe head shattered the top half of the wicker frame. It saved her life, but now she had this useless object strapped to her arm. It also had the added bonus of knocking her back while Constanza engaged me alone. Her first jab forced me to jump back, but I still was able to draw my first spare axe.My luck with women held up a little longer. The other Amazon hesitated just long enough to remove her shattered shield. Alone with Constanza, I attacked. She thrust, I captured her spear head between my axe handles and yanked her forward. We kicked out simultaneously. Her off-balanced strike brushed past my abused left leg. My right kick hit her shield and knocked her down.Her grip on the spear slipped and I propelled it somewhere behind me. Constanza pulled off a reverse summersaulted while drawing her short blade. A really nice move. Unfortunately, it moved her away from the chick with the spear, who hesitated again. This time she took the thrown axe straight to the head - back end impacting. I didn’t want to kill her.Constanza anticipated my next action. It came down to position, distance, and stride length and they all favored me. We raced to the downed companion. My left-handed axes flat side slammed into her forehead, rendering her unconscious, and I kicked her spear off the mat - out of bounds. I slowly backed away from Constanza and readied my second spare axe.“Retire from the field,” I panted. I was physically failing fast.“Why should I?” Constanza glared. “You are about to fall over.”“Aya won’t let me fall,” I stared her down. “You couldn’t beat me with a companion and a spear, Constanza. Do you really think a shield and sword will work any better.”“Let’s find out,” she charged. I really needed the short breather to recover somewhat.The short Amazon blade was an excellent close-in weapon. I never let her get close enough to use it. Tandem axes allowed me to shred her shield while keeping her at arm’s length. My axe bit into her upper left arm right above the elbow. Constanza hissed instead of screaming. She did stagger back. I hopped back three steps, knelt and placed my axes on the mat at my side.“No!” Constanza howled. She came at me while I remained still. Her hand drew back for a killing thrust. I waited. Sparing my life didn’t stop her. The looks of her fellow Amazons held back her wrath. They wouldn’t stop her from slaughtering me, but that was exactly what it was - a butchery.Two things occurred to me: Aya was showing remarkably better control today than on Saturday, and I figured out a way to sleep with Buffy tonight. Being killed? Nah, worry about the things you have control over.“Constanza, he was instructing me,” Oneida stood up.She took up Constanza’s discarded spear and stepped toward us. What disturbed the gathering was how Oneida held it - sidewise, not ready for combat.“You do not intimidate me, Oneida,” Constanza growled.“You misunderstand,” Oneida intoned. “I would do this out of shame and despair.”“I will shear my hair, burn it and take myself to the cliffs to die childless,” she continued. “I leave whatever contempt you might possess for me to be conveyed to my House when they learn your actions have killed one of their last breeding females. The death of some male will not concern them. My death will. The shame I bear for killing a teacher will certainly interest many of our people.”“You wouldn’t dare,” Constanza scoffed. The spear dropped. Fuck that noise. I snatched the last quarter of the shaft before it hit the ground. No one seemed to understand what to do about that. Apparently my reaction was unique.“Yay!” Aya cheered. “He’s the best Daddy ever,” she loudly announced to the crowd.“Oneida, my apology, but Katrina has put her faith in me and the New Directive,” I adlibbed. “I am here to aid the recovery of your people, not diminish them. For the sake of Katrina’s honor, please reconsider.”“Cáel Nyilas,” Oneida smiled sadly, “this is not a pledge that can be retracted.”“Ah…doesn’t it only take effect when the weapon hits the ground?” I struggled. “I mean, otherwise dropping the weapon would be pointless - right?” I repeat, apparently this had never come up before. “This is kind of awkward. Can someone take this?” I meant the spear. I was worn to the bone and holding a long spear from one end, with one hand.Quickly calls went out to Hayden as well as a few department heads.“Constanza,” one of the Amazons spoke up, “if you attack the male, you will be actively sealing Oneida’s Death Pledge. Far fewer of us will understand that.”“How is it that you are so damn lucky?” Constanza growled at me.“You are asking this of a man, on his knees before you with your sword at his throat?” I countered. “Lucky isn’t you sparing my life. Lucky is me never having heard of this place - Except for Aya. She makes the rest of this hellish experience worthwhile.”“Best Daddy ever,” Aya chirped.“Hayden is on her way,” a different Amazon called out. Already a passel of newcomers were swarming the scene. Truly curious was the group looking mournfully at Oneida. One stepped forward.“Male, do you need something? Water?” she asked. I gave it some thought.“Could you sing?” I requested. “A nice soothing song of hope would be nice.” Blink. Like all panicked moments, nothing came to mind for several seconds. Oneida’s people rapidly bantered about some names then the questioner began singing. By the third song I was crying and shaking like a leaf. Constanza had fallen back enough to get her arm tended to.Twice Aya had tried to get me, lending me the tiniest bit more strength. Wisely, her minder kept her away from the possible conflict. There was a whole different level of commotion when Hayden arrived this time.“To bear a weapon in my presence is Death, Cáel,” Hayden stated.“I apologize for being a disappointing Male,” I grunted. “Pass on my regrets to Katrina.”“Drop the weapon and you will be spared. You will only be beaten,” Hayden gave a hint of a smile.“If I drop it, she dies,” I hissed. The ache in my right arm was exceeding that in my left leg.“I’m afraid I will have to decline,” I concluded.“If I kill you, the spear will drop and she’ll die anyway,” Hayden pointed out.“Sucks to be both of us, I guess,” I gasped.“Oneida, step on the spear. Push it down,” Hayden ordered. Hush. Oneida raised her foot.“You are stepping in the wrong place,” I huffed. She looked at me. My eyes flashed to the short side between my grip and my side.“Do you really think you can hold it up?” she questioned.“I know I’ll fail if you step anywhere else,” I tried to grin.“No matter what happens, you will die,” she murmured.“Not my chief concern right now,” I grunted. “Hurry.” Oneida put her foot on the short end.“It will help your balance if you place a hand on his shoulder,” Hayden noted. We both flashed Hayden a shocked look.Oneida stepped on the spear. It trembled and sunk down, barely millimeters off the mat. Her hand came to rest on the crux of my neck and shoulder. I felt my body about to tip over. I was at my limit. I almost missed the gasps whispering around the assembly. Oneida had her body off the ground. Hayden lowered herself so that she could witness there was a distance between the spear and the earth.“The spirits have not heard your pledge, Oneida,” Hayden declared as she regained her regal posture. “I suggest you weigh your words with greater care in the future. Retrieve your spear.” She turned and started to leave the gym. Oneida dismounted and snatched up her spear.“What of the male?” one of the spectators inquired. I didn’t care. I had fallen on my back.“At a moment of such great spiritual significance - the ancestral rejection of a Death Pledge, the action of any one male does not concern me,” Hayden remarked coldly. It wasn’t praise. It was a 'don’t fuck with him’. Around me a cultural conundrum was taking place. Not only could Oneida’s house not thank me because I was a male, they couldn’t thank me because, by Hayden’s decree, there was no life to be saved.Oneida bent over me on one knee.“You really shouldn’t be so eager to toss your life away, Cáel,” she smiled warmly. I was essentially immobile.“You have the most gorgeous blue-grey eyes,” I moaned.“You are thinking about that at a time like this?” she snorted. Her relatives were shockingly amused as well.“No time like the present. Besides, in 75 days you can all go out to some nature preserve and hunt me down with non-lethal weapons. Great way to spend a weekend.”I heard an authoritative cough. I looked up from my still prone position to see Katrina.“Cancel that Oneida. I’m about to get relocated to Antarctica where I’ll be tasked with teaching penguins how to arm wrestle,” I sighed.“Cáel, why do you think I’d be so nice to you after all the hell you cause me on a daily basis?” Katrina looked all menacing.“You recall how much I like winter sports?” I pleaded. “Hey - wait. I was good on Friday. Wasn’t I good on Friday?”“I don’t recall you having a good day yet, but I may double check. Can you stand?” Katrina asked.“Is that a question, or veiled order?” I muttered. “If the former - no. If that latter, I’ll die trying.” Using a combination of my right leg and left arm, I managed to struggle my way upright. By that time, Aya had circled the practice mat and was at Katrina’s side.“He was very brave,” Aya insisted. One of Oneida’s senior women coughed.“Nothing happened so nothing has changed,” Katrina stated. It was a lie and both sides knew it. It was the whole loyalty/martial valor thing. Inside their closed little minds a balancing act had taken place - my worthlessness as a male against Oneida’s value to her people. Aya was easy to discount as she was of Katrina’s house.I had no clue who Oneida was yet still rallied to her when she desperately needed help - Hayden’s obfuscation be damned. Yeah, Oneida had been young and foolish. Her challenge had been given to make Constanza back off. When Constanza called her bluff, pride took over. Oneida had been foolhardy and overly status conscious. Constanza had played Russian roulette with their House’s future and almost 'won’.She’d be wise to avoid darkened corridors for the next few weeks too. There was not only Oneida’s house but the houses allied to it to worry about despite Hayden’s expunging of the official record. For me, it was time to be dragged over to my cute doctor friend. I had been slashed twice by the spears during my jump and not noticed it - adrenaline no doubt.“Congratulations, you and Aya are forbidden to work. I thought keeping you in the building would be safer. I’m mature enough to admit I was wrong,” Katrina conceded. “No place is safe for you, or from you. I’m sending you home, under guard.”“Can I choose Buffy?” I perked up. Katrina arched an eyebrow.“I also need something,” I kept slaloming down toward Hell. “I need a six hour dispensation from you on the whole sex thing with employees.”“Oh Goddess,” Katrina laughed. “What part of me wanting you to stay alive have you missed?”“Are you going to sleep with my Mommy now?” Aya grinned.“No,” Katrina answered for me, “he’s going to play with Buffy.” Right on the money. One scary-smart woman without a doubt. “Best of all, I’ll let you assign Buffy to be your security for the night and you can tell her the good news when you get home. Aya, that means Cáel does, not you.”“Yes Aunt Katrina,” Aya moaped.She wanted me to be banging Caitlyn; her Momma. We would make love, Caitlyn would take me as her mate and I’d be Aya’s Daddy for real. She’d kill me a month later for my twelfth indiscretion. I’m not a fortuneteller. I’m a bookie and I knew the odds of me staying faithful were a sucker’s bet.The only questions were how many and with which one Caitlyn would kill me with. I wasn’t sure how to break that reality to Aya. After getting bandaged/tortured my doctor, cleaned up and redressed, I managed to survive the rest of the day without catastrophe.(Later)“Cáel, do you realize that you’ve been wounded more than most Security Detail recruits do during their basic training?” Violet teased me.Buffy was too furious for coherent speech.“It isn’t his fault, Buffy,” Aya pleaded. “He wasn’t seducing a woman, or anything like that. Oneida tried to sex him up all on her own.” Huh? “Constanza’s nipples were very aroused and we all know what she wanted.”I really was worrying about the twisted sexual education Aya was getting. She knew the terms, but was missing out on the complete meaning of what she was saying.“Oneida? Who the hell is Oneida?” Buffy growled.“She’s one of the new hires with Acquisitions,” Violet answered. Brian Fung’s group.“What were you making eyes at her for?” Buffy snarled possessively.“He didn’t,” Katrina swept into the office. “She made a Death Pledge and Cáel, acting as a vessel for our Ancestors, refused it - so the youngest breeding female in House Arinniti gets to keep living.” I grunted because I knew who Arinniti was, or had been.“Vessels for the Ancestors?” Violet gasped.“Arinniti - that name rings a bell,” Buffy mumbled.“She’s one of the twenty founding bloodlines,” Aya gladly provided. Katrina took her seat behind her desk and regarded me with something between amusement, annoyance, and pride. Oh, and sex.“Violet, Cáel held a weapon in the presence of Hayden - the spear that Oneida had dropped to seal her pledge. If he was a male acting alone, he would have to be killed. Is that the course of action you wish to recommend to the High Priestess?” Katrina suggested.“Ancestors work for me,” Violet gulped.“You can’t take back a Death Pledge,” Buffy turned to Katrina. “It is a Death Pledge.”“It appears you can if Cáel is in the room,” Katrina smirked.“Best Daddy ever!” Aya yipped. “He caught the spear before it hit the ground and held it until Hayden came by and read the signs from the Ancestors that Cáel was supposed to retract Oneida’s words. Hayden even had Oneida stand on the spear, but Da - Cáel didn’t let it fall.”“Maybe the Ancestors think Cáel is sexy too,” Aya added. Groan.“They had better not,” Buffy spun back to me threateningly. Fine, if some undead man-haters thought I was hot…sigh…that might entail there would be no rest for me even in the afterlife.“Buffy, do you have plans for this weekend?” I glared.“Why?” she snapped.“Great. Katrina, I want Buffy to be my bodyguard for this weekend,” I looked to my boss. Aya almost slipped up, but bit her lip to hold herself back.“Fine,” Katrina grumbled. “I promised you that you could choose your guardian. I was truly hoping you would pick among the candidates from SD I suggested, but so be it.”“I have to be around him all weekend?” Buffy howled.“Yeah,” I exhaled happily, “and I plan to have sex all weekend long.” From the look on Buffy’s face, she knew she was going to die. She was going to see me having sex with someone else, snap, kill me then kill herself out of shame and grief. Yep, she was going to die.It turned out Aya was off to Amazon Summer Camp for Squirts. We quickly arranged a series of smoke signals she could use to send for me if she was in danger. Desiree rolled her eyes, hefted Aya’s luggage and left with my tiny boon companion. I sobbed.“Katrina, can I go see her when she’s at camp?” I turned to my boss.“Cáel Nyilas, this is a place where we send our greatest treasure - our children,” Katrina smirked. “We will not discuss the abuse of power it would be for me to reveal the location to you.”“Cool…Daphne, where is it?” I turned to my closest female new hire.“I won’t tell you and it changes every year,” Daphne smiled.“But you know where it is this year,” I persisted.“I didn’t say I didn’t,” Daphne beamed.“Fine. Come home with me. While my ogress henchwoman holds you down, I’ll tickle the truth out of you,” I menaced.“Buffy don’t!” Tigger shouted. Buffy was about to brain me with my reading lamp. I was fearless.“Okay, Bubbles,” I beamed vindictively. “Go get us a car and make it snappy.” There was a hush. “What? Did I use any words that were too big for you to understand?”Buffy’s screamed caused people to reach for their sidearm three floors away. She stormed out, thankfully not running over anyone.“Do you want to die?” Violet tugged my sleeve.“Let the 'Lost Blood’ (Old Kingdom Hittite) deal with him,” Fabiola sneered. “They are both annoyances.”I took a deep breath.“Fabiola, your laws regulate what I can and can’t say to you,” I stared at her. “Instead, I beseech you to never insult a 'Runner’ (Old Kingdom Hittite) in my presence again.”“Buffy is a 'Lost Blood’ (Old Kingdom Hittite),” Fabiola defied me. I took another deep breath then hobbled over to Katrina’s desk, retrieved a pen, piece of paper and a nice, soapstone-encased lighter.By the time I got back to my desk, I certainly had the new hires’ attention. Since Fabiola was a Latin name, I had to guess at what it would look like in the Amazon alphabet.“Daphne, is this right?” I asked. She shook her head. She wouldn’t give me the answer. I got it on the third try. I showed Fabiola her name on the paper then burned it. I rubbed the ashes between my palms then showed Fabiola my blackened palms.“What does that mean?” Paula inquired. She was worried. I was both flamboyant and hardcore at the same time.“Who cares?” Fabiola mocked me.“'Ghost’” I said in Old Kingdom Hittite. It took them a few seconds to realize it had a second definition - invisible.I had no doubt Katrina fully understood the implications of my actions.“Cáel, I will have to consult with Hayden over this,” Katrina mused. I gave a nod, collected my stuff and headed for the elevator.“Katrina, what did he do?” Dora chimed in.“He murdered Fabiola,” Katrina enlightened them. “In his mind, she no longer exists.”“Can he do that?” Violet wondered. Fabiola took after me.“Cáel,” she called out. I ignored her. She caught up. “Cael.” Ignored. Then she shoved me from behind in the shoulder. I kept walking.“Don’t you ignore me!” she seethed. Daphne was coming up fast.“Leave him alone,” Daphne insisted. Fabiola shoved me again. I was almost at the elevator.“Don’t,” Helena came up. She was aiming for Daphne because Daphne was about to kick Fabiola.“She’s insulting you!” Daphne reacted to Helena while pointing at Fabiola.“He is a man,” Helena explained. “We don’t fight over men.” Meaning that couldn’t be the primary excuse, not that it never happened.“Katrina, make me Cáel’s boss,” Fabiola shouted.Well, I would never dare shout at Katrina unless her life was on the line. Also, technically Fabiola couldn’t be my boss, being a 'new hire’ and all.“Cáel Nyilas, Fabiola is your boss for the next five minutes,” Katrina intoned. Oh fuck.“Cáel, to my side,” Fabiola gloated. I looked past her to Katrina, sighed and punched the elevator button.“Don’t turn your back on me,” Fabiola snarled. A tug of war developed. She kept trying to turn me away from the elevator doors and I refused to be budged. Fabiola drew her blade. Shit.“You cannot run far enough away that I will let you get away with that,” Daphne seethed in Old Kingdom Hittite. Fabiola was about to meet that challenge.“What are you doing?” Katrina had been coming out of her office when she caught the exchange.“I…” Daphne stammered. She’d screwed up.“Apologize,” Katrina commanded. Daphne apologized grudgingly. The doors opened. “Cáel, hold the door.” I did.“Cáel, to my side,” Fabiola repeated. She thought she was about to win. I stayed where I was.“Fabiola, he can’t hear you,” Katrina pointed out.“Of course he can hear me,” Fabiola rebutted.“No - no he can’t,” Katrina remained calm. “You have rendered yourself dead to him. Since he is not a priestess, or augur, he cannot hear the voices of the dead.”“He cannot willfully decide he can’t hear me,” Fabiola demanded.“Oh, I agree. That would be wrong for him to willfully ignore any Havenstone female. Conversely, he can’t allow any of our women to be harmed either,” Katrina explained patiently. “So, when he witnessed an assault on the spirit of our women, he attempted to address it.”“He approached the perpetrator and politely asked them to refrain from that activity. He was rebuffed. It wasn’t like he could physically resolve the issue. To resolve that internal conflict - to defend his sisters but not attack a sister, he symbolically killed the problem. This allowed him to constantly and continuously forget the cause of this disruption.”“He can’t do that,” Fabiola persisted.“Actually, it is pure Cáel,” Katrina smirked. “I personally unaware of any scripture, bylaw, or statute that forbids him from doing this. I have given you a reasonable argument that explains his actions. He is essentially working through two conflicting orders.”“Now Fabiola, as a perspective leader, what do you suggest he do? Let you force him to be relocated when he breaks your jaw? Let you insult half of Havenstone’s staff until one day, one of them snaps and you end up in a Newark landfill? That would be wrong of him to do as he is supposed to lay his life down for us,” Katrina kept at it. “What do you suggest?”“How do you resolve the crisis? Before you answer that, consider the fate of Leona,” Katrina gave a predatory twist of the lips that would make a Momma T-Rex proud.“This male is making us fight amongst ourselves,” Fabiola complained.“I’m not fighting just for the male,” Daphne growled. “I’m fighting to have offspring that are strong in both body and mind.”“Hey,” Helena snorted, “can you imagine how much tougher the women in Acquisitions and Business Management have it? We get to talk about the New Directive without fear of weirding Cáel out.”“Please believe me,” I chuckled. “I’m still weirded out. There is simply nothing I can do about it so I get on with my day.”“I don’t understand any of you,” Fabiola protested.“Fabiola, will Aya die?” Katrina asked.“Yes.”“Why?” Katrina continued.“She is small, weak and hyperactive,” Fabiola explained.“Cáel, will Aya die?”“No.”“Why?” Katrina gazed at me. “Isn’t she small, weak and hyperactive?”“Sure, she’s small now, but she’s only nine. Look at the size of all the other women in her house. None of them are super-tall either,” I answered. “She’s not hyperactive. She is very bright with a very active imagination. Once she finds her 'stillness’ - her center - she’ll do fine. If anything, she’s too smart. She figures out that her guardians are worried, why they are worried and has to fight against their disappointment every time she does anything.”Fabiola snorted, proving yet again she was clueless to her surroundings.“After all, Katrina, she’s related to you and you are one of the scariest-smart people I’ve ever had the pleasure to know,” I smiled. I could reply to Fabiola while not replying.“Cáel, go. You are unlikely to survive Buffy as it is,” Katrina directed.Buffy was indeed apoplectic. She did manage to let me retrieve my bike before driving me home. Since I was dragging both all my business clothes, toiletries and my bike upstairs with crutches, it was painfully comical. A furious Buffy relented and took a few of my things. We had barely made it in the door when my phone rang.Buffy dumped my belongings in the center of the living room.“Hey,” I answered the phone.“Hey, it’s Odette,” she greeted me happily. “Are you still in the HQ?”“Nope Odette,” I grinned at Buffy. “I’m home. Do you want to come over?”“Sure…it’s not going to be a problem, is it?” she asked.“I have a good friend over, but if you can stand my illicit behavior, you are more than welcome,” I informed her.“Cool,” she chirped. “I’ll be over in about an hour.”“See you soon. Until then Odette,” I said.“Now I have to watch you fuck a whore?” Buffy stared at the ground. I wasn’t going to go after for the 'whore’ thing. She was at the end of her endurance. I knew that. I limped in front of her and pulled out her phone. She was too angry to look up at me so I knelt down.“Buffy,” I showed her the text from Katrina about my six hour sexual exemption. She looked up and read it.“So? What does this mean?” Buffy looked ready to explode in tears and fists.“It means that when Constanza had her sword aimed at my throat I figured out a way to ease some of your fears,” I stated. She blinked.“You worried that I’d be dead by the end of the month, and I did promise to try and make you the first Havenstone woman I made love to,” I explained.“Constanza was about to kill you and you were thinking of me?” is what Buffy got out of all that.“Yeah. I also realized that Aya was far calmer than she was last Saturday, but the major thing was how to ask Katrina for the exemption and lure you here for the weekend,” I told her.“Weekend?” Buffy studied me intently.“Yeah,” I grinned seductively.“See, I figure we time everything. When we start something naughty, we cut on the timer and the moment we are done, we cut it off,” I met her gaze. “That way me squeeze as much out of the six hours as possible - if that’s what you want to do?” Buffy hugged me suddenly.“You were about to die and I was the one you were thinking about,” Buffy wept.By that, I meant she fell apart emotionally. I had always seen Buffy so fierce that I was caught off-guard by this open vulnerability. I hugged her back and snuggled her close. She sniffled for several seconds.“This doesn’t count, does it?” she hiccupped.“This is purely platonic. I’m bonding with my supervisor - team-building,” I stated firmly.“Oh Goddess, you are crazy, you are crazy, you are crazy,” she murmured into my shoulder.“Okay, I’m crazy. I also really want to have sex with you,” I pushed her back so we could look eye to eye. “Or, are you going to make me beg like a big baby?”“I really want to have sex with you too,” Buffy smiled…romantically. The fiery freakiness was gone to be replaced by a deeply sensual, gentle spirit. What the hell?“Let’s go to the bedroom,” I suggested. “We can try out the sofa later.”“Is your leg going to be okay?” she suddenly worried.“Which one? Two of the three are working fine,” I teased. No anger.“I love your sense of humor,” Buffy snickered. I repeat - Huh? We stripped down then crawled under the sheets. Buffy was demure, calm and at peace.“Buffy, I don’t want to ruin the mood,” I said as I pulled her close.“But you are not acting normal and I don’t know what to make of it,” I completed.“I won,” Buffy stroked my cheek lovingly. “I beat out everyone else for you. I gave it everything I had, you recognized that and came to me. This is me being happy, Cáel. Would you prefer me to be combative?”“I prefer you,” I teased. The 'thank you’ hovered right on the other side of unspoken. It wasn’t in her. She was starting to get amorous. I pulled away to Buffy’s momentary confusion then the condom came out, I ripped open the packet, slipped on the prophylactic and returned to my lover. I was about to slip into Buffy, missionary style.“Wait!” she stopped me. She hit two buttons on her wrist watch. “Timer,” she explained. In I went. Buffy gasped slightly then began moving her legs up along my thighs. Years of experience made this a slow, gentle screw. This wasn’t me wasting time; Buffy wanted savagery later. For her triumphal moment, she wanted to savor every second of this first time with her prize - me.Tender kissing and nuzzling were the signs of our affection. She ran her hands over my shoulders, back and buttock. I would balance on my right arm while I coaxed delightful hums from Buffy. This was not Buffy’s first time. By the level of stimulation she was giving me, this was unlikely to even be her 100th time. She knew her stuff.She had mentioned me physically and cerebrally engaging her being a reason she was so desperate to 'have’ me. I had misinterpreted that. Buffy wanted a sex partner that could keep up in a way that went far beyond stamina - she hungered for matching skill and maturity. She could give me subtle clues with her body and I’d pick up on them, folding them back into my own actions and signals.There aren’t too many that can meet me orgasm for orgasm. Buffy did. She crested to her climax first, but I was only seconds behind her. Before my final ejaculations, I rolled us over so that she was on top. I tried wiggle my cock out of her vagina. Buffy resisted.“Don’t pull out yet,” Buffy requested.“If I pull out, we can stop the clock,” I insisted.“Oh,” she giggled, “me lying naked on top of you in your bed isn’t 'inappropriate behavior’?”“I won’t tell if you won’t,” I snickered. Buffy cut of the timer on her wristwatch. Buffy was bringing her breathing under control and getting comfortable with our sweatiness.“If you hadn’t been as good as your hype,” Buffy whispered after a minute, “I think I would have fallen apart…and killed you…then probably myself.”“Whoa,” I reacted. “Explain that. Girls wanting to kill me is fine. Girls killing themselves for anything remotely involving me isn’t.” She mulled that over. She wasn’t going to apologize yet felt a need to share something. I had to be patient.I’ve been with a lot of girls and a few guys who didn’t take rejection well. That rarely had anything to do with the actual rejection. It was some festering wound much deeper and older than their encounter with me.“In high school I discovered the wonders of sex. I loved it. Not the lover, but the carnal act. I’d screw anyone, as long as it was something new and different,” Buffy confided.“After a few bad incidents, my parents - my stepfather and my mother - threw me out because they thought I was a bad influence for my two younger sisters. I went to a city and did the only thing I was good at. I met this guy - you know the story. He would protect me, love me, blah, blah, blah,” Buffy recalled painfully.“Slowly the sex stopped being fun. It was money and not my money at that. One night I got sick of it. 'He’ wanted me to perform, I told him I was leaving so he and two buddies raped me. They raped me a lot over the next two days while they smoked meth and drank,” she continued. “Finally, when they all passed out, I went to the place where he had his gun.”“That wasn’t going to be good enough for me,” she tilted her head up to study my eyes. “I got his baseball bat instead and knocked them all out real good. I found a few garbage bag twist ties, tied their hands behind their backs and went at all three with a knife. I gutted them a bit so they were awake and in a shitload of pain…then I hacked their cocks and balls off.”I was less revolted than I thought I’d be. I still felt my dick shrivel and my balls trying to retract into my bodies. I certainly wasn’t going to joke about it; this was a serious sensitive moment for her. I stroked her hair. I could live with this revelation. I wasn’t sure why I could, but my heart and mind weren’t freaking out, so I went with my instincts.“I had barely finished up when the cops came bursting in. I had taken far longer torturing them than I imagined and their screams had been heard all over the housing complex. They Tasered me, I went to jail and finally to trial. My defense attorney argued an 'Insanity’ Plea and I ended up in a mental facility,” she was clearly relieved that I wasn’t terrified.“A few months later, Katrina showed up,” Buffy continued. “She wasn’t where she is today. We talked a great deal, but there were only two crucial questions for her. 'Do you regret killing those men?’ and 'Can you have sex again?’ I answered 'no’ and 'yes’ after some thought. Two weeks later, I was transferred to a Havenstone facility, they cleaned me up, trained me, and I was stationed here.”“What is with you and Elsa?” I prodded a handful of minutes later.“Don’t go there, Cáel,” Buffy muttered.“Do you seriously want me to confront her not knowing the whole score?” I countered.“She is a complete and total racist Bitch,” she grumbled.“Please don’t tell me it was a sex contest,” I groaned. “If she is better than you, I’m going to die.” Her grumbling lack of an explanation allowed me to crack a joke. Buffy 'punished’ me by kissing my chin.“No, it wasn’t a pussy-thing. If she can fuck you better than me, you have my permission to die,” she smiled playfully.Scary. I was so used to her being scary, Buffy not being scary was scaring me. Push?“Well, the only thing I can do then is a Buffy-Elsa-Cáel three-way,” I sighed.“Okay,” Buffy murmured.“Stop it!” I shouted. “You are freaking me out.”Buffy giggled. I was howling off into madness on the inside.“I think you have company coming soon. We should get clean and put some clothes on,” she exhaled joyously. By dressed, Buffy meant putting on my dress shirt - unbuttoned. She was like that, cross-legged on the sofa, eating Cheese Puffs and watching 'Real Housewives of Mumbai’ when Odette arrived.It took Odette a second to realize this Buffy was the same firecracker from the last time they met.“Hi - um,” Odette started.“We are fine. He fucked me. I’m in a state of grace,” Buffy explained pleasantly…without a hint of menace, or fury.“Buffy - Odette Sievert,” I made introductions. “Odette - Buffy Dubois.” Odette strode right over to the sofa and plopped down beside Buffy. I had to struggle to not flinch.“He gives an incredible dicking, doesn’t he?” Odette bubbled.“Yes,” Buffy purred, “Yes, he does that and more. You are new to this whole 'love-making thing, aren’t you?”“Pretty much,” Odette openly admitted. “He gave me my first orgasm. I didn’t realize how good sex was until I met Cáel.”“I didn’t realize how good sex was until I met me either,” I joked.“Trust me,” Buffy patted Odette’s thigh, “I know a great deal about sex and I can assure you he’s really, really good.”“You are not wearing underwear,” Odette noted. Life only got more bizarre.“Why don’t you go into the bedroom, get one of his used dress shirts and put it on - and nothing else,” Buffy advised. “It is a wonderful experience.”“Oh God, don’t I know it,” Odette exulted. She jumped up and skipped into my bedroom.“Don’t play with her,” I cautioned Buffy. Buffy studied me then gave me a glowing look.“I’m trying to be a better companion Cáel,” she told me. “I know I’ve put you through hell. I’m not going to apologize. I like the look of fear in your eyes. It is only matched by that look that says 'I’ll get you for this’,” she chuckled.“Just for that, its reverse cowgirl for you the next time we make love,” I threatened.“How is that a threat?” Buffy teased. “I am absolutely positive you like my butt.”“I bet he likes all of you,” Odette sang out as she came out twirling in another one of my dressed shirts and nothing else.Odette had change really quick. I knew she came over bra-less. I was suspecting no underwear, or socks too. She sat down tightly next to Buffy.“So, how is this 'sharing’ thing going to work?” Odette looked back and forth between us.“Have you ever been with a woman?” Buffy asked. “Don’t be embarrassed about curiosity.”“Aaahhh…well, a little,” Odette stammered.“Here is how it works,” Buffy patted Odette’s nervous hand. “I can only have sex with Cáel for five and a half more hours for the entire weekend. Since I like sex and you are here, I’m certainly interested in you.”“Odette,” she reassured my bed-buddy, “there is no pressure. I have gotten the most important thing - quality time with Cáel. Everything else is a bonus.”“Oh - I’m okay with that,” Odette nodded. Then she leaned in to kiss Buffy…maybe I should create a 'Sex for Beginners’ CD. I was working gangbusters on expanding Odette’s sexual horizons.Buffy wrapped a hand in Odette’s hair and drew her into a steamer kiss. I settled in behind Odette, switching kisses between the back of Odette’s head and Buffy’s hand.“Wow,” Odette panted. “You taste different than any guy I’ve kissed. I like it, but I like Cáel better.”Before anyone thinks this never happens, or 'only in Hollywood (West Hollywood, that is), please understand I went to a rural college with a 70% female student enrollment. Convincing a girl to engage in a little girl-on-girl action to 'get me extra aroused’ is insanely easy. The few times a lady has asked if I’d kiss a guy to get her 'extra aroused’, I said 'for her and only for her’.Works every time. I’ve kissed a few guys, but only for charity. Fine…I’ve kissed a few guys in gay bars because Timothy intimated that we’d get our butts kicked if I didn’t. He may have been playing me, but for all the shit I put him through, I can live with that. Back to the story: we had Odette in my bed in no time.I was on the bottom, Odette was lying on me, back to my chest and I was using my hips to piston into her while she moaned on top of me. Buffy was alternating between tantalizing Odette’s clit and teasing her nipples. Using a very liberal definition for 'touching me’, we decided that this wasn’t consuming any of our 'exemption’ time.Three orgasms later, Buffy poured an uber-contented Odette into her/my shirt and I carried her to the sofa. I put Odette’s head in Buffy’s lap, Buffy twirling Odette’s forelock and Odette humming a happy tune. I was getting some apple and orange juice when Timothy’s keys jangled in the door. He walked into the apartment and soaked up the scene.I took in that it was barely 8:30 and Timothy was in his date clothes. A seriously not-good situation. I diverted to him, drinks in hand, and hugged him.“Sorry Bro,” I murmured. He hugged me back. “Buffy DuBois, this is Timothy.”“Buffy? The crazy chick who wanted a hug?” Timothy chuckled.“She’s not…” Odette mumbled.“Yes, that would be me,” Buffy grinned sedately. Timothy looked down and shook his head.“That is some dick,” he groused. “Damn Bro, "Timothy regarded me with some amusement, "did you bother to get her panties off, or was the mere thought of sex with you enough to cause a complete personality reversal?”“Cáel,” Odette raised a shake arm and commanded loftily, “put the drinks down and get us some ice cream. It is Bonding Time.” She meant commiserating with Timothy over his dating failure. Timothy trundled off to his bedroom muttering something about 'getting into something more comfortable’ and I delivered the drinks then doubled back for the ice cream and four spoons.Timothy ended up on the floor with his head resting against Odette’s stomach. I offered to take the bottom spot. Timothy accepted the gesture then pointed out I was the guy with the bum leg. I ended up with Odette’s feet in my lap. The flavor of the night was Cherry Vanilla and we were all making inroads into the supply quickly.Timothy dialed up Ninja Assassin on Netflix. Ten minutes in I realized why. There was this Asian actor who was really hot and extremely physically fit. Odette agreed.“You two can’t believe any of this is real,” Buffy commented shortly after. “This is absurd. Nothing and no one kills like that.” She had professional pride after all.It hadn’t taken me three days to figure out that the Executive Service babes’ main purpose in life was not laundry delivery. They went everywhere and saw everything - just like a secret police force. Odd, huh?“Speaking of absurd and unreal,” Timothy snickered.“Cáel, two ladies screaming Extreme High Maintenance showed up this morning. Apparently you weren’t answering your phone, work said you were out of the office, and some spooky chicks at Havenstone showed them the door with something akin to a threat of lethal violence,” he continued. “From long experience as your roommate, I could tell you’d fucked them to Nirvana and they wanted more.”“From long experience’?” Buffy wondered. “You haven’t known him two months yet.”“Lady, this happens at least once a week with this guy. You are playing with the hair of one of those women right now,&rdqu
With all the fighting & sex, my work reviews should suck.By FinalStand. Listen and subscribe to the podcast at Steamy Stories.-Saving a life isn’t about worthiness. It is about instinct and guts.-(Friday)Since I liked to think that life encouraging me with bruises, punctures, cuts and concussions made me smarter, I had scheduled some eleven o'clock gym time most of the week so to avoid the whole lunch and after-work crowds. Aya and I went to the ‘Others’ gym, which was nice, but wasn’t as complete as the Full/Pure-blood one. Most notable was the lack of weapons.Aya’s and my trip to the 'Other’ gym on Friday hit a snag. Aya clued in on the fact that I was avoiding the Pure-blood facility. We talked about it. I explained I wasn’t a Pure-blood. Her counter-argument was she was and I should confront my fears. Yes, I lost an argument with a nine year old.I have talked a nineteen year old, promise ring virgin into nameless sex in an airport stall. Aya was an unassailable wall of resolve that dashed all of my ploys into so many useless words. I found myself entering the real 'No Man’s Land’ twice in less than a week. Not only was I hard-headed, I was also obviously soft-hearted.At the last moment, I imagined I had a reprieve. I didn’t have to tell Aya how I got in the first time - grabbing an open door. I could swipe my card, have it rejected and move on to safer pursuits. Sure enough, my card failed. Aya’s didn’t - mother-puss-bucket! Upon entering, the twenty, or so women in the place looked at me…and Aya.I recognized somebody. It was Constanza, Elsa’s chief evil henchwoman. Our eyes met. She smiled in a way that assured me she vividly recalled our last encounter. It should be of no surprise that I insulted her somewhere in the process. It’s how I roll. I smiled back at Constanza and gave her a nod before setting up Aya and me for our workout routine.Constanza was not mollified in the slightest. She was patiently waiting - for something. I decided that Aya would be my sole focus and banished the other women from my mind. The munchkin could tell the difference and relayed that to me with her happiness. After twenty minutes, she decided her time with the machines was done and her minutes were better spent resting against, or sitting on, me.My cock was reminding me that it was approaching 36 torturous hours without sex. It was also pointing out that there were thirty available, sexually inquisitive women achingly close. I reminded my penis that being relocated was probably as fun-less as it sounded. That bought me some time. We finished up our sojourn by walking the wall, going over the weapon racks.Mainly we went over the ones various members of her family were proficient with. Aya still had problems with even the most basic ones. The words 'let me help you’ spilled out of my mouth. There were two problems; Aya’s tiny size and the fact that all the weapons were very dangerous. Even the leaf-shaped short blade was too heavy for her so we ended up screwing around instead.I picked up two Iron Age style axes. The blades were more of a thick wedge than the broad axe heads of medieval fame. They were less effective in delivering damage, compensating somewhat in their reduced weight. I’ve convinced a Jewish girl to have sex in a synagogue despite me not being Jewish yet this child was twirling me around her pinkie finger.I was entertaining her with some exotic, flamboyant moves wielding two axes while Aya clapped her hands and giggled when I felt a stranger approach me on the sparring mat. I had been hopping around keeping all my weight on my right leg until that moment. I turned to face the woman, putting my left behind me yet while keeping it firmly on the ground.I also drew my axes up, crossing them over my chest, blades pointing past my shoulders.“I have never seen that technique before,” she addressed me. That and what followed was all in the Amazon tongue.“It is more of a fantasy creation. I had a love affair with pseudo-archaic movies that always do the crazy, two-weapon stuff so my mentor helped me create this method,” I explained.“Has it ever been tested?” she continued.“I am Cáel Nyilas,” I answered, “and yes, my mentor preferred using a poleaxe, or a mace/shield combo against me.”“Oneida,” she seemed amused. “We will see how well you have been tested.”“May I request a favor?” I tried to keep my cool. She pulled out one of those damn spears.“Yes,” she seemed intrigued.“Can you call someone over to sit with Aya? I don’t want her to accidently set foot on the mat,” I beseeched.“Drusilla, please aid me,” Oneida summoned an observer. The woman had heard my appeal and settled beside the nervous, kneeling Aya.“Cáel, please be careful,” Aya pleaded.“Who me?” I chuckled. “I’m impervious to all man-made contrivances.”“Every weapon in this room was crafted by women,” Oneida snorted.“That would certainly explain my full-body bruising and the hole in my leg,” I grinned back. I caught Oneida trying to sneak closer to me. My axes came to a ready position and I charged. I was sure some sort of medic would punish me for this later.She got off two jabs then I was all over her. I knew how to fight a two and a half meter spear. She had no clue how to plot out two incoming weapons with an extra meter of reach. The first time I drove her off the mat. The second time, I got inside her guard and clocked her in the temple with the back end of an axe head. I quickly hopped back three paces, knelt and put my axes on the mat.The rush to get me was stillborn. A few did come to stand over me while two others checked on Oneida who quickly came around.“What happened?” were Oneida’s first, shaky words.“He hit you,” one of her companions answered.“With what - the Moon?” Oneida mumbled as they helped her up. “My ears are still ringing.”“My turn,” Constanza announced. She went for a spear, blade, and round leather-covered, wicker shield.“Give Cáel a moment to rest,” Aya appealed. “He has been fighting longer.”No such luck. I was halfway to exhausted as well. Fighting with two weapons pretty much means just that - twice the fight. Kinetically speaking, I was burning around 80% more calories than my one weapon opponents. I was wielding axes, not fighting sticks after all. In my favor was a deep wellspring of stamina and my Will reinforced by my desire to not upset Aya.What little time I was given wasn’t out of charity. A second Amazon was joining the struggle. I could back off, but I felt Constanza would enforce an intense level of groveling solely to grind up Aya emotionally. She didn’t hate Aya. Aya was an avenue to really hurt me and we both knew it. For a second, when I hobbled off the mat, there were chuckles. I had fled.That ended as I began retrieving some select weapons from the wall racks. Sword harnesses came in two varieties; belted and shoulder slings. I took two shoulder slings and two more axes. I affixed my two 'spare’ axes with leather straps. As I turned to the mat, Constanza had decided to be clever. She and her buddy had closed to within three meters of the edge.They would box me in as soon as my second foot touched down on the mat.“Please back up,” I requested. Constanza smiled with supreme confidence. I smiled back. This was going to be dangerous, agonizing and unorthodox - totally me. I began backing up.“Cáel,” Aya murmured. “Don’t let them hurt you.”“Running away?” Constanza sneered.“Aya, wickedness is the expedience of the weak,” I nodded her way. “Do you think I can win?”“Of course,” Aya sighed happily. “I am by your side.” I laughed. I charged. The Amazons did the precisely wrong thing - the stepped up to meet me.You keep thrusting weapons, like spears, aimed at the central part of the body. This allows you to deviate your projection anywhere from the thighs to the face. This does imply you know where the central part of the enemy will be. This was not playschool. Real weapons - real damage - real death. They didn’t have to kill me. It didn’t mean they wouldn’t.I leapt. I didn’t leap at them, I leapt over them. Let’s not forget I’m pretty freaking strong. My left leg shot-gunned pain straight to the brain but held it together. I sailed over their thrusting spear points, flipped my axes down so that they would impact the mats first. The flat tops of the axe heads impacted the mat and my body rose up and then flipped over them.This gave me an extra meter and a half on my back flip. I turned that maneuver into summersault, giving three more meters of space. I rolled over to my side and rode the momentum to my feet, facing my adversaries. Now they were the ones in the corner of the mat with their enemy pinning them in and I wasn’t done yet.With all my might, I hurled my right-handed axe at Constanza’s companion. She did exactly what I thought she’d do. She saw the throw halfway in motion and raised her shield up - right where I wanted it. Amazon shields aren’t what most people think shields are today. They think medieval knights, or more appropriately, the shields of the Greek hoplites.The Amazons date back 700 years before those Greeks and they weren’t heavy infantry anyway. Amazons moved light and fast. Consequently, their shields were light - wicker constructs with layers of leather stretched over the frame. Great for deflecting light weapons; not so great for what I was about to do.The steel axe head shattered the top half of the wicker frame. It saved her life, but now she had this useless object strapped to her arm. It also had the added bonus of knocking her back while Constanza engaged me alone. Her first jab forced me to jump back, but I still was able to draw my first spare axe.My luck with women held up a little longer. The other Amazon hesitated just long enough to remove her shattered shield. Alone with Constanza, I attacked. She thrust, I captured her spear head between my axe handles and yanked her forward. We kicked out simultaneously. Her off-balanced strike brushed past my abused left leg. My right kick hit her shield and knocked her down.Her grip on the spear slipped and I propelled it somewhere behind me. Constanza pulled off a reverse summersaulted while drawing her short blade. A really nice move. Unfortunately, it moved her away from the chick with the spear, who hesitated again. This time she took the thrown axe straight to the head - back end impacting. I didn’t want to kill her.Constanza anticipated my next action. It came down to position, distance, and stride length and they all favored me. We raced to the downed companion. My left-handed axes flat side slammed into her forehead, rendering her unconscious, and I kicked her spear off the mat - out of bounds. I slowly backed away from Constanza and readied my second spare axe.“Retire from the field,” I panted. I was physically failing fast.“Why should I?” Constanza glared. “You are about to fall over.”“Aya won’t let me fall,” I stared her down. “You couldn’t beat me with a companion and a spear, Constanza. Do you really think a shield and sword will work any better.”“Let’s find out,” she charged. I really needed the short breather to recover somewhat.The short Amazon blade was an excellent close-in weapon. I never let her get close enough to use it. Tandem axes allowed me to shred her shield while keeping her at arm’s length. My axe bit into her upper left arm right above the elbow. Constanza hissed instead of screaming. She did stagger back. I hopped back three steps, knelt and placed my axes on the mat at my side.“No!” Constanza howled. She came at me while I remained still. Her hand drew back for a killing thrust. I waited. Sparing my life didn’t stop her. The looks of her fellow Amazons held back her wrath. They wouldn’t stop her from slaughtering me, but that was exactly what it was - a butchery.Two things occurred to me: Aya was showing remarkably better control today than on Saturday, and I figured out a way to sleep with Buffy tonight. Being killed? Nah, worry about the things you have control over.“Constanza, he was instructing me,” Oneida stood up.She took up Constanza’s discarded spear and stepped toward us. What disturbed the gathering was how Oneida held it - sidewise, not ready for combat.“You do not intimidate me, Oneida,” Constanza growled.“You misunderstand,” Oneida intoned. “I would do this out of shame and despair.”“I will shear my hair, burn it and take myself to the cliffs to die childless,” she continued. “I leave whatever contempt you might possess for me to be conveyed to my House when they learn your actions have killed one of their last breeding females. The death of some male will not concern them. My death will. The shame I bear for killing a teacher will certainly interest many of our people.”“You wouldn’t dare,” Constanza scoffed. The spear dropped. Fuck that noise. I snatched the last quarter of the shaft before it hit the ground. No one seemed to understand what to do about that. Apparently my reaction was unique.“Yay!” Aya cheered. “He’s the best Daddy ever,” she loudly announced to the crowd.“Oneida, my apology, but Katrina has put her faith in me and the New Directive,” I adlibbed. “I am here to aid the recovery of your people, not diminish them. For the sake of Katrina’s honor, please reconsider.”“Cáel Nyilas,” Oneida smiled sadly, “this is not a pledge that can be retracted.”“Ah…doesn’t it only take effect when the weapon hits the ground?” I struggled. “I mean, otherwise dropping the weapon would be pointless - right?” I repeat, apparently this had never come up before. “This is kind of awkward. Can someone take this?” I meant the spear. I was worn to the bone and holding a long spear from one end, with one hand.Quickly calls went out to Hayden as well as a few department heads.“Constanza,” one of the Amazons spoke up, “if you attack the male, you will be actively sealing Oneida’s Death Pledge. Far fewer of us will understand that.”“How is it that you are so damn lucky?” Constanza growled at me.“You are asking this of a man, on his knees before you with your sword at his throat?” I countered. “Lucky isn’t you sparing my life. Lucky is me never having heard of this place - Except for Aya. She makes the rest of this hellish experience worthwhile.”“Best Daddy ever,” Aya chirped.“Hayden is on her way,” a different Amazon called out. Already a passel of newcomers were swarming the scene. Truly curious was the group looking mournfully at Oneida. One stepped forward.“Male, do you need something? Water?” she asked. I gave it some thought.“Could you sing?” I requested. “A nice soothing song of hope would be nice.” Blink. Like all panicked moments, nothing came to mind for several seconds. Oneida’s people rapidly bantered about some names then the questioner began singing. By the third song I was crying and shaking like a leaf. Constanza had fallen back enough to get her arm tended to.Twice Aya had tried to get me, lending me the tiniest bit more strength. Wisely, her minder kept her away from the possible conflict. There was a whole different level of commotion when Hayden arrived this time.“To bear a weapon in my presence is Death, Cáel,” Hayden stated.“I apologize for being a disappointing Male,” I grunted. “Pass on my regrets to Katrina.”“Drop the weapon and you will be spared. You will only be beaten,” Hayden gave a hint of a smile.“If I drop it, she dies,” I hissed. The ache in my right arm was exceeding that in my left leg.“I’m afraid I will have to decline,” I concluded.“If I kill you, the spear will drop and she’ll die anyway,” Hayden pointed out.“Sucks to be both of us, I guess,” I gasped.“Oneida, step on the spear. Push it down,” Hayden ordered. Hush. Oneida raised her foot.“You are stepping in the wrong place,” I huffed. She looked at me. My eyes flashed to the short side between my grip and my side.“Do you really think you can hold it up?” she questioned.“I know I’ll fail if you step anywhere else,” I tried to grin.“No matter what happens, you will die,” she murmured.“Not my chief concern right now,” I grunted. “Hurry.” Oneida put her foot on the short end.“It will help your balance if you place a hand on his shoulder,” Hayden noted. We both flashed Hayden a shocked look.Oneida stepped on the spear. It trembled and sunk down, barely millimeters off the mat. Her hand came to rest on the crux of my neck and shoulder. I felt my body about to tip over. I was at my limit. I almost missed the gasps whispering around the assembly. Oneida had her body off the ground. Hayden lowered herself so that she could witness there was a distance between the spear and the earth.“The spirits have not heard your pledge, Oneida,” Hayden declared as she regained her regal posture. “I suggest you weigh your words with greater care in the future. Retrieve your spear.” She turned and started to leave the gym. Oneida dismounted and snatched up her spear.“What of the male?” one of the spectators inquired. I didn’t care. I had fallen on my back.“At a moment of such great spiritual significance - the ancestral rejection of a Death Pledge, the action of any one male does not concern me,” Hayden remarked coldly. It wasn’t praise. It was a 'don’t fuck with him’. Around me a cultural conundrum was taking place. Not only could Oneida’s house not thank me because I was a male, they couldn’t thank me because, by Hayden’s decree, there was no life to be saved.Oneida bent over me on one knee.“You really shouldn’t be so eager to toss your life away, Cáel,” she smiled warmly. I was essentially immobile.“You have the most gorgeous blue-grey eyes,” I moaned.“You are thinking about that at a time like this?” she snorted. Her relatives were shockingly amused as well.“No time like the present. Besides, in 75 days you can all go out to some nature preserve and hunt me down with non-lethal weapons. Great way to spend a weekend.”I heard an authoritative cough. I looked up from my still prone position to see Katrina.“Cancel that Oneida. I’m about to get relocated to Antarctica where I’ll be tasked with teaching penguins how to arm wrestle,” I sighed.“Cáel, why do you think I’d be so nice to you after all the hell you cause me on a daily basis?” Katrina looked all menacing.“You recall how much I like winter sports?” I pleaded. “Hey - wait. I was good on Friday. Wasn’t I good on Friday?”“I don’t recall you having a good day yet, but I may double check. Can you stand?” Katrina asked.“Is that a question, or veiled order?” I muttered. “If the former - no. If that latter, I’ll die trying.” Using a combination of my right leg and left arm, I managed to struggle my way upright. By that time, Aya had circled the practice mat and was at Katrina’s side.“He was very brave,” Aya insisted. One of Oneida’s senior women coughed.“Nothing happened so nothing has changed,” Katrina stated. It was a lie and both sides knew it. It was the whole loyalty/martial valor thing. Inside their closed little minds a balancing act had taken place - my worthlessness as a male against Oneida’s value to her people. Aya was easy to discount as she was of Katrina’s house.I had no clue who Oneida was yet still rallied to her when she desperately needed help - Hayden’s obfuscation be damned. Yeah, Oneida had been young and foolish. Her challenge had been given to make Constanza back off. When Constanza called her bluff, pride took over. Oneida had been foolhardy and overly status conscious. Constanza had played Russian roulette with their House’s future and almost 'won’.She’d be wise to avoid darkened corridors for the next few weeks too. There was not only Oneida’s house but the houses allied to it to worry about despite Hayden’s expunging of the official record. For me, it was time to be dragged over to my cute doctor friend. I had been slashed twice by the spears during my jump and not noticed it - adrenaline no doubt.“Congratulations, you and Aya are forbidden to work. I thought keeping you in the building would be safer. I’m mature enough to admit I was wrong,” Katrina conceded. “No place is safe for you, or from you. I’m sending you home, under guard.”“Can I choose Buffy?” I perked up. Katrina arched an eyebrow.“I also need something,” I kept slaloming down toward Hell. “I need a six hour dispensation from you on the whole sex thing with employees.”“Oh Goddess,” Katrina laughed. “What part of me wanting you to stay alive have you missed?”“Are you going to sleep with my Mommy now?” Aya grinned.“No,” Katrina answered for me, “he’s going to play with Buffy.” Right on the money. One scary-smart woman without a doubt. “Best of all, I’ll let you assign Buffy to be your security for the night and you can tell her the good news when you get home. Aya, that means Cáel does, not you.”“Yes Aunt Katrina,” Aya moaped.She wanted me to be banging Caitlyn; her Momma. We would make love, Caitlyn would take me as her mate and I’d be Aya’s Daddy for real. She’d kill me a month later for my twelfth indiscretion. I’m not a fortuneteller. I’m a bookie and I knew the odds of me staying faithful were a sucker’s bet.The only questions were how many and with which one Caitlyn would kill me with. I wasn’t sure how to break that reality to Aya. After getting bandaged/tortured my doctor, cleaned up and redressed, I managed to survive the rest of the day without catastrophe.(Later)“Cáel, do you realize that you’ve been wounded more than most Security Detail recruits do during their basic training?” Violet teased me.Buffy was too furious for coherent speech.“It isn’t his fault, Buffy,” Aya pleaded. “He wasn’t seducing a woman, or anything like that. Oneida tried to sex him up all on her own.” Huh? “Constanza’s nipples were very aroused and we all know what she wanted.”I really was worrying about the twisted sexual education Aya was getting. She knew the terms, but was missing out on the complete meaning of what she was saying.“Oneida? Who the hell is Oneida?” Buffy growled.“She’s one of the new hires with Acquisitions,” Violet answered. Brian Fung’s group.“What were you making eyes at her for?” Buffy snarled possessively.“He didn’t,” Katrina swept into the office. “She made a Death Pledge and Cáel, acting as a vessel for our Ancestors, refused it - so the youngest breeding female in House Arinniti gets to keep living.” I grunted because I knew who Arinniti was, or had been.“Vessels for the Ancestors?” Violet gasped.“Arinniti - that name rings a bell,” Buffy mumbled.“She’s one of the twenty founding bloodlines,” Aya gladly provided. Katrina took her seat behind her desk and regarded me with something between amusement, annoyance, and pride. Oh, and sex.“Violet, Cáel held a weapon in the presence of Hayden - the spear that Oneida had dropped to seal her pledge. If he was a male acting alone, he would have to be killed. Is that the course of action you wish to recommend to the High Priestess?” Katrina suggested.“Ancestors work for me,” Violet gulped.“You can’t take back a Death Pledge,” Buffy turned to Katrina. “It is a Death Pledge.”“It appears you can if Cáel is in the room,” Katrina smirked.“Best Daddy ever!” Aya yipped. “He caught the spear before it hit the ground and held it until Hayden came by and read the signs from the Ancestors that Cáel was supposed to retract Oneida’s words. Hayden even had Oneida stand on the spear, but Da - Cáel didn’t let it fall.”“Maybe the Ancestors think Cáel is sexy too,” Aya added. Groan.“They had better not,” Buffy spun back to me threateningly. Fine, if some undead man-haters thought I was hot…sigh…that might entail there would be no rest for me even in the afterlife.“Buffy, do you have plans for this weekend?” I glared.“Why?” she snapped.“Great. Katrina, I want Buffy to be my bodyguard for this weekend,” I looked to my boss. Aya almost slipped up, but bit her lip to hold herself back.“Fine,” Katrina grumbled. “I promised you that you could choose your guardian. I was truly hoping you would pick among the candidates from SD I suggested, but so be it.”“I have to be around him all weekend?” Buffy howled.“Yeah,” I exhaled happily, “and I plan to have sex all weekend long.” From the look on Buffy’s face, she knew she was going to die. She was going to see me having sex with someone else, snap, kill me then kill herself out of shame and grief. Yep, she was going to die.It turned out Aya was off to Amazon Summer Camp for Squirts. We quickly arranged a series of smoke signals she could use to send for me if she was in danger. Desiree rolled her eyes, hefted Aya’s luggage and left with my tiny boon companion. I sobbed.“Katrina, can I go see her when she’s at camp?” I turned to my boss.“Cáel Nyilas, this is a place where we send our greatest treasure - our children,” Katrina smirked. “We will not discuss the abuse of power it would be for me to reveal the location to you.”“Cool…Daphne, where is it?” I turned to my closest female new hire.“I won’t tell you and it changes every year,” Daphne smiled.“But you know where it is this year,” I persisted.“I didn’t say I didn’t,” Daphne beamed.“Fine. Come home with me. While my ogress henchwoman holds you down, I’ll tickle the truth out of you,” I menaced.“Buffy don’t!” Tigger shouted. Buffy was about to brain me with my reading lamp. I was fearless.“Okay, Bubbles,” I beamed vindictively. “Go get us a car and make it snappy.” There was a hush. “What? Did I use any words that were too big for you to understand?”Buffy’s screamed caused people to reach for their sidearm three floors away. She stormed out, thankfully not running over anyone.“Do you want to die?” Violet tugged my sleeve.“Let the 'Lost Blood’ (Old Kingdom Hittite) deal with him,” Fabiola sneered. “They are both annoyances.”I took a deep breath.“Fabiola, your laws regulate what I can and can’t say to you,” I stared at her. “Instead, I beseech you to never insult a 'Runner’ (Old Kingdom Hittite) in my presence again.”“Buffy is a 'Lost Blood’ (Old Kingdom Hittite),” Fabiola defied me. I took another deep breath then hobbled over to Katrina’s desk, retrieved a pen, piece of paper and a nice, soapstone-encased lighter.By the time I got back to my desk, I certainly had the new hires’ attention. Since Fabiola was a Latin name, I had to guess at what it would look like in the Amazon alphabet.“Daphne, is this right?” I asked. She shook her head. She wouldn’t give me the answer. I got it on the third try. I showed Fabiola her name on the paper then burned it. I rubbed the ashes between my palms then showed Fabiola my blackened palms.“What does that mean?” Paula inquired. She was worried. I was both flamboyant and hardcore at the same time.“Who cares?” Fabiola mocked me.“'Ghost’” I said in Old Kingdom Hittite. It took them a few seconds to realize it had a second definition - invisible.I had no doubt Katrina fully understood the implications of my actions.“Cáel, I will have to consult with Hayden over this,” Katrina mused. I gave a nod, collected my stuff and headed for the elevator.“Katrina, what did he do?” Dora chimed in.“He murdered Fabiola,” Katrina enlightened them. “In his mind, she no longer exists.”“Can he do that?” Violet wondered. Fabiola took after me.“Cáel,” she called out. I ignored her. She caught up. “Cael.” Ignored. Then she shoved me from behind in the shoulder. I kept walking.“Don’t you ignore me!” she seethed. Daphne was coming up fast.“Leave him alone,” Daphne insisted. Fabiola shoved me again. I was almost at the elevator.“Don’t,” Helena came up. She was aiming for Daphne because Daphne was about to kick Fabiola.“She’s insulting you!” Daphne reacted to Helena while pointing at Fabiola.“He is a man,” Helena explained. “We don’t fight over men.” Meaning that couldn’t be the primary excuse, not that it never happened.“Katrina, make me Cáel’s boss,” Fabiola shouted.Well, I would never dare shout at Katrina unless her life was on the line. Also, technically Fabiola couldn’t be my boss, being a 'new hire’ and all.“Cáel Nyilas, Fabiola is your boss for the next five minutes,” Katrina intoned. Oh fuck.“Cáel, to my side,” Fabiola gloated. I looked past her to Katrina, sighed and punched the elevator button.“Don’t turn your back on me,” Fabiola snarled. A tug of war developed. She kept trying to turn me away from the elevator doors and I refused to be budged. Fabiola drew her blade. Shit.“You cannot run far enough away that I will let you get away with that,” Daphne seethed in Old Kingdom Hittite. Fabiola was about to meet that challenge.“What are you doing?” Katrina had been coming out of her office when she caught the exchange.“I…” Daphne stammered. She’d screwed up.“Apologize,” Katrina commanded. Daphne apologized grudgingly. The doors opened. “Cáel, hold the door.” I did.“Cáel, to my side,” Fabiola repeated. She thought she was about to win. I stayed where I was.“Fabiola, he can’t hear you,” Katrina pointed out.“Of course he can hear me,” Fabiola rebutted.“No - no he can’t,” Katrina remained calm. “You have rendered yourself dead to him. Since he is not a priestess, or augur, he cannot hear the voices of the dead.”“He cannot willfully decide he can’t hear me,” Fabiola demanded.“Oh, I agree. That would be wrong for him to willfully ignore any Havenstone female. Conversely, he can’t allow any of our women to be harmed either,” Katrina explained patiently. “So, when he witnessed an assault on the spirit of our women, he attempted to address it.”“He approached the perpetrator and politely asked them to refrain from that activity. He was rebuffed. It wasn’t like he could physically resolve the issue. To resolve that internal conflict - to defend his sisters but not attack a sister, he symbolically killed the problem. This allowed him to constantly and continuously forget the cause of this disruption.”“He can’t do that,” Fabiola persisted.“Actually, it is pure Cáel,” Katrina smirked. “I personally unaware of any scripture, bylaw, or statute that forbids him from doing this. I have given you a reasonable argument that explains his actions. He is essentially working through two conflicting orders.”“Now Fabiola, as a perspective leader, what do you suggest he do? Let you force him to be relocated when he breaks your jaw? Let you insult half of Havenstone’s staff until one day, one of them snaps and you end up in a Newark landfill? That would be wrong of him to do as he is supposed to lay his life down for us,” Katrina kept at it. “What do you suggest?”“How do you resolve the crisis? Before you answer that, consider the fate of Leona,” Katrina gave a predatory twist of the lips that would make a Momma T-Rex proud.“This male is making us fight amongst ourselves,” Fabiola complained.“I’m not fighting just for the male,” Daphne growled. “I’m fighting to have offspring that are strong in both body and mind.”“Hey,” Helena snorted, “can you imagine how much tougher the women in Acquisitions and Business Management have it? We get to talk about the New Directive without fear of weirding Cáel out.”“Please believe me,” I chuckled. “I’m still weirded out. There is simply nothing I can do about it so I get on with my day.”“I don’t understand any of you,” Fabiola protested.“Fabiola, will Aya die?” Katrina asked.“Yes.”“Why?” Katrina continued.“She is small, weak and hyperactive,” Fabiola explained.“Cáel, will Aya die?”“No.”“Why?” Katrina gazed at me. “Isn’t she small, weak and hyperactive?”“Sure, she’s small now, but she’s only nine. Look at the size of all the other women in her house. None of them are super-tall either,” I answered. “She’s not hyperactive. She is very bright with a very active imagination. Once she finds her 'stillness’ - her center - she’ll do fine. If anything, she’s too smart. She figures out that her guardians are worried, why they are worried and has to fight against their disappointment every time she does anything.”Fabiola snorted, proving yet again she was clueless to her surroundings.“After all, Katrina, she’s related to you and you are one of the scariest-smart people I’ve ever had the pleasure to know,” I smiled. I could reply to Fabiola while not replying.“Cáel, go. You are unlikely to survive Buffy as it is,” Katrina directed.Buffy was indeed apoplectic. She did manage to let me retrieve my bike before driving me home. Since I was dragging both all my business clothes, toiletries and my bike upstairs with crutches, it was painfully comical. A furious Buffy relented and took a few of my things. We had barely made it in the door when my phone rang.Buffy dumped my belongings in the center of the living room.“Hey,” I answered the phone.“Hey, it’s Odette,” she greeted me happily. “Are you still in the HQ?”“Nope Odette,” I grinned at Buffy. “I’m home. Do you want to come over?”“Sure…it’s not going to be a problem, is it?” she asked.“I have a good friend over, but if you can stand my illicit behavior, you are more than welcome,” I informed her.“Cool,” she chirped. “I’ll be over in about an hour.”“See you soon. Until then Odette,” I said.“Now I have to watch you fuck a whore?” Buffy stared at the ground. I wasn’t going to go after for the 'whore’ thing. She was at the end of her endurance. I knew that. I limped in front of her and pulled out her phone. She was too angry to look up at me so I knelt down.“Buffy,” I showed her the text from Katrina about my six hour sexual exemption. She looked up and read it.“So? What does this mean?” Buffy looked ready to explode in tears and fists.“It means that when Constanza had her sword aimed at my throat I figured out a way to ease some of your fears,” I stated. She blinked.“You worried that I’d be dead by the end of the month, and I did promise to try and make you the first Havenstone woman I made love to,” I explained.“Constanza was about to kill you and you were thinking of me?” is what Buffy got out of all that.“Yeah. I also realized that Aya was far calmer than she was last Saturday, but the major thing was how to ask Katrina for the exemption and lure you here for the weekend,” I told her.“Weekend?” Buffy studied me intently.“Yeah,” I grinned seductively.“See, I figure we time everything. When we start something naughty, we cut on the timer and the moment we are done, we cut it off,” I met her gaze. “That way me squeeze as much out of the six hours as possible - if that’s what you want to do?” Buffy hugged me suddenly.“You were about to die and I was the one you were thinking about,” Buffy wept.By that, I meant she fell apart emotionally. I had always seen Buffy so fierce that I was caught off-guard by this open vulnerability. I hugged her back and snuggled her close. She sniffled for several seconds.“This doesn’t count, does it?” she hiccupped.“This is purely platonic. I’m bonding with my supervisor - team-building,” I stated firmly.“Oh Goddess, you are crazy, you are crazy, you are crazy,” she murmured into my shoulder.“Okay, I’m crazy. I also really want to have sex with you,” I pushed her back so we could look eye to eye. “Or, are you going to make me beg like a big baby?”“I really want to have sex with you too,” Buffy smiled…romantically. The fiery freakiness was gone to be replaced by a deeply sensual, gentle spirit. What the hell?“Let’s go to the bedroom,” I suggested. “We can try out the sofa later.”“Is your leg going to be okay?” she suddenly worried.“Which one? Two of the three are working fine,” I teased. No anger.“I love your sense of humor,” Buffy snickered. I repeat - Huh? We stripped down then crawled under the sheets. Buffy was demure, calm and at peace.“Buffy, I don’t want to ruin the mood,” I said as I pulled her close.“But you are not acting normal and I don’t know what to make of it,” I completed.“I won,” Buffy stroked my cheek lovingly. “I beat out everyone else for you. I gave it everything I had, you recognized that and came to me. This is me being happy, Cáel. Would you prefer me to be combative?”“I prefer you,” I teased. The 'thank you’ hovered right on the other side of unspoken. It wasn’t in her. She was starting to get amorous. I pulled away to Buffy’s momentary confusion then the condom came out, I ripped open the packet, slipped on the prophylactic and returned to my lover. I was about to slip into Buffy, missionary style.“Wait!” she stopped me. She hit two buttons on her wrist watch. “Timer,” she explained. In I went. Buffy gasped slightly then began moving her legs up along my thighs. Years of experience made this a slow, gentle screw. This wasn’t me wasting time; Buffy wanted savagery later. For her triumphal moment, she wanted to savor every second of this first time with her prize - me.Tender kissing and nuzzling were the signs of our affection. She ran her hands over my shoulders, back and buttock. I would balance on my right arm while I coaxed delightful hums from Buffy. This was not Buffy’s first time. By the level of stimulation she was giving me, this was unlikely to even be her 100th time. She knew her stuff.She had mentioned me physically and cerebrally engaging her being a reason she was so desperate to 'have’ me. I had misinterpreted that. Buffy wanted a sex partner that could keep up in a way that went far beyond stamina - she hungered for matching skill and maturity. She could give me subtle clues with her body and I’d pick up on them, folding them back into my own actions and signals.There aren’t too many that can meet me orgasm for orgasm. Buffy did. She crested to her climax first, but I was only seconds behind her. Before my final ejaculations, I rolled us over so that she was on top. I tried wiggle my cock out of her vagina. Buffy resisted.“Don’t pull out yet,” Buffy requested.“If I pull out, we can stop the clock,” I insisted.“Oh,” she giggled, “me lying naked on top of you in your bed isn’t 'inappropriate behavior’?”“I won’t tell if you won’t,” I snickered. Buffy cut of the timer on her wristwatch. Buffy was bringing her breathing under control and getting comfortable with our sweatiness.“If you hadn’t been as good as your hype,” Buffy whispered after a minute, “I think I would have fallen apart…and killed you…then probably myself.”“Whoa,” I reacted. “Explain that. Girls wanting to kill me is fine. Girls killing themselves for anything remotely involving me isn’t.” She mulled that over. She wasn’t going to apologize yet felt a need to share something. I had to be patient.I’ve been with a lot of girls and a few guys who didn’t take rejection well. That rarely had anything to do with the actual rejection. It was some festering wound much deeper and older than their encounter with me.“In high school I discovered the wonders of sex. I loved it. Not the lover, but the carnal act. I’d screw anyone, as long as it was something new and different,” Buffy confided.“After a few bad incidents, my parents - my stepfather and my mother - threw me out because they thought I was a bad influence for my two younger sisters. I went to a city and did the only thing I was good at. I met this guy - you know the story. He would protect me, love me, blah, blah, blah,” Buffy recalled painfully.“Slowly the sex stopped being fun. It was money and not my money at that. One night I got sick of it. 'He’ wanted me to perform, I told him I was leaving so he and two buddies raped me. They raped me a lot over the next two days while they smoked meth and drank,” she continued. “Finally, when they all passed out, I went to the place where he had his gun.”“That wasn’t going to be good enough for me,” she tilted her head up to study my eyes. “I got his baseball bat instead and knocked them all out real good. I found a few garbage bag twist ties, tied their hands behind their backs and went at all three with a knife. I gutted them a bit so they were awake and in a shitload of pain…then I hacked their cocks and balls off.”I was less revolted than I thought I’d be. I still felt my dick shrivel and my balls trying to retract into my bodies. I certainly wasn’t going to joke about it; this was a serious sensitive moment for her. I stroked her hair. I could live with this revelation. I wasn’t sure why I could, but my heart and mind weren’t freaking out, so I went with my instincts.“I had barely finished up when the cops came bursting in. I had taken far longer torturing them than I imagined and their screams had been heard all over the housing complex. They Tasered me, I went to jail and finally to trial. My defense attorney argued an 'Insanity’ Plea and I ended up in a mental facility,” she was clearly relieved that I wasn’t terrified.“A few months later, Katrina showed up,” Buffy continued. “She wasn’t where she is today. We talked a great deal, but there were only two crucial questions for her. 'Do you regret killing those men?’ and 'Can you have sex again?’ I answered 'no’ and 'yes’ after some thought. Two weeks later, I was transferred to a Havenstone facility, they cleaned me up, trained me, and I was stationed here.”“What is with you and Elsa?” I prodded a handful of minutes later.“Don’t go there, Cáel,” Buffy muttered.“Do you seriously want me to confront her not knowing the whole score?” I countered.“She is a complete and total racist Bitch,” she grumbled.“Please don’t tell me it was a sex contest,” I groaned. “If she is better than you, I’m going to die.” Her grumbling lack of an explanation allowed me to crack a joke. Buffy 'punished’ me by kissing my chin.“No, it wasn’t a pussy-thing. If she can fuck you better than me, you have my permission to die,” she smiled playfully.Scary. I was so used to her being scary, Buffy not being scary was scaring me. Push?“Well, the only thing I can do then is a Buffy-Elsa-Cáel three-way,” I sighed.“Okay,” Buffy murmured.“Stop it!” I shouted. “You are freaking me out.”Buffy giggled. I was howling off into madness on the inside.“I think you have company coming soon. We should get clean and put some clothes on,” she exhaled joyously. By dressed, Buffy meant putting on my dress shirt - unbuttoned. She was like that, cross-legged on the sofa, eating Cheese Puffs and watching 'Real Housewives of Mumbai’ when Odette arrived.It took Odette a second to realize this Buffy was the same firecracker from the last time they met.“Hi - um,” Odette started.“We are fine. He fucked me. I’m in a state of grace,” Buffy explained pleasantly…without a hint of menace, or fury.“Buffy - Odette Sievert,” I made introductions. “Odette - Buffy Dubois.” Odette strode right over to the sofa and plopped down beside Buffy. I had to struggle to not flinch.“He gives an incredible dicking, doesn’t he?” Odette bubbled.“Yes,” Buffy purred, “Yes, he does that and more. You are new to this whole 'love-making thing, aren’t you?”“Pretty much,” Odette openly admitted. “He gave me my first orgasm. I didn’t realize how good sex was until I met Cáel.”“I didn’t realize how good sex was until I met me either,” I joked.“Trust me,” Buffy patted Odette’s thigh, “I know a great deal about sex and I can assure you he’s really, really good.”“You are not wearing underwear,” Odette noted. Life only got more bizarre.“Why don’t you go into the bedroom, get one of his used dress shirts and put it on - and nothing else,” Buffy advised. “It is a wonderful experience.”“Oh God, don’t I know it,” Odette exulted. She jumped up and skipped into my bedroom.“Don’t play with her,” I cautioned Buffy. Buffy studied me then gave me a glowing look.“I’m trying to be a better companion Cáel,” she told me. “I know I’ve put you through hell. I’m not going to apologize. I like the look of fear in your eyes. It is only matched by that look that says 'I’ll get you for this’,” she chuckled.“Just for that, its reverse cowgirl for you the next time we make love,” I threatened.“How is that a threat?” Buffy teased. “I am absolutely positive you like my butt.”“I bet he likes all of you,” Odette sang out as she came out twirling in another one of my dressed shirts and nothing else.Odette had change really quick. I knew she came over bra-less. I was suspecting no underwear, or socks too. She sat down tightly next to Buffy.“So, how is this 'sharing’ thing going to work?” Odette looked back and forth between us.“Have you ever been with a woman?” Buffy asked. “Don’t be embarrassed about curiosity.”“Aaahhh…well, a little,” Odette stammered.“Here is how it works,” Buffy patted Odette’s nervous hand. “I can only have sex with Cáel for five and a half more hours for the entire weekend. Since I like sex and you are here, I’m certainly interested in you.”“Odette,” she reassured my bed-buddy, “there is no pressure. I have gotten the most important thing - quality time with Cáel. Everything else is a bonus.”“Oh - I’m okay with that,” Odette nodded. Then she leaned in to kiss Buffy…maybe I should create a 'Sex for Beginners’ CD. I was working gangbusters on expanding Odette’s sexual horizons.Buffy wrapped a hand in Odette’s hair and drew her into a steamer kiss. I settled in behind Odette, switching kisses between the back of Odette’s head and Buffy’s hand.“Wow,” Odette panted. “You taste different than any guy I’ve kissed. I like it, but I like Cáel better.”Before anyone thinks this never happens, or 'only in Hollywood (West Hollywood, that is), please understand I went to a rural college with a 70% female student enrollment. Convincing a girl to engage in a little girl-on-girl action to 'get me extra aroused’ is insanely easy. The few times a lady has asked if I’d kiss a guy to get her 'extra aroused’, I said 'for her and only for her’.Works every time. I’ve kissed a few guys, but only for charity. Fine…I’ve kissed a few guys in gay bars because Timothy intimated that we’d get our butts kicked if I didn’t. He may have been playing me, but for all the shit I put him through, I can live with that. Back to the story: we had Odette in my bed in no time.I was on the bottom, Odette was lying on me, back to my chest and I was using my hips to piston into her while she moaned on top of me. Buffy was alternating between tantalizing Odette’s clit and teasing her nipples. Using a very liberal definition for 'touching me’, we decided that this wasn’t consuming any of our 'exemption’ time.Three orgasms later, Buffy poured an uber-contented Odette into her/my shirt and I carried her to the sofa. I put Odette’s head in Buffy’s lap, Buffy twirling Odette’s forelock and Odette humming a happy tune. I was getting some apple and orange juice when Timothy’s keys jangled in the door. He walked into the apartment and soaked up the scene.I took in that it was barely 8:30 and Timothy was in his date clothes. A seriously not-good situation. I diverted to him, drinks in hand, and hugged him.“Sorry Bro,” I murmured. He hugged me back. “Buffy DuBois, this is Timothy.”“Buffy? The crazy chick who wanted a hug?” Timothy chuckled.“She’s not…” Odette mumbled.“Yes, that would be me,” Buffy grinned sedately. Timothy looked down and shook his head.“That is some dick,” he groused. “Damn Bro, "Timothy regarded me with some amusement, "did you bother to get her panties off, or was the mere thought of sex with you enough to cause a complete personality reversal?”“Cáel,” Odette raised a shake arm and commanded loftily, “put the drinks down and get us some ice cream. It is Bonding Time.” She meant commiserating with Timothy over his dating failure. Timothy trundled off to his bedroom muttering something about 'getting into something more comfortable’ and I delivered the drinks then doubled back for the ice cream and four spoons.Timothy ended up on the floor with his head resting against Odette’s stomach. I offered to take the bottom spot. Timothy accepted the gesture then pointed out I was the guy with the bum leg. I ended up with Odette’s feet in my lap. The flavor of the night was Cherry Vanilla and we were all making inroads into the supply quickly.Timothy dialed up Ninja Assassin on Netflix. Ten minutes in I realized why. There was this Asian actor who was really hot and extremely physically fit. Odette agreed.“You two can’t believe any of this is real,” Buffy commented shortly after. “This is absurd. Nothing and no one kills like that.” She had professional pride after all.It hadn’t taken me three days to figure out that the Executive Service babes’ main purpose in life was not laundry delivery. They went everywhere and saw everything - just like a secret police force. Odd, huh?“Speaking of absurd and unreal,” Timothy snickered.“Cáel, two ladies screaming Extreme High Maintenance showed up this morning. Apparently you weren’t answering your phone, work said you were out of the office, and some spooky chicks at Havenstone showed them the door with something akin to a threat of lethal violence,” he continued. “From long experience as your roommate, I could tell you’d fucked them to Nirvana and they wanted more.”“From long experience’?” Buffy wondered. “You haven’t known him two months yet.”“Lady, this happens at least once a week with this guy. You are playing with the hair of one of those women right now,&rdqu
In the last week and a half, Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, has appeared on Tucker Carlson's show on Fox News, been photographed with far-right provocateur Candace Owens wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt, and tweeted that he was going “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE” (which landed him in social media jail). Redacted footage from the Fox interview revealed that Ye made a number of antisemitic comments there too, referring to Hannukah as a vehicle for “financial engineering” and casting Black people as the real Jews, with non-Black Jews as imposters. In the wake of these comments, Jewish organizations have raised the alarm about worsening antisemitism; meanwhile, tensions have been rising online between some Black and Jewish people, playing out familiar grievances about acknowledgement and allyship. What, if anything, can we learn from this instance of high-profile antisemitism and this latest round of Black–Jewish discourse? And is there any path to solidarity between those targeted by Ye's anti-Black and antisemitic ideas? Jewish Currents contributing writer Rebecca Pierce, Atlantic staff writer Adam Serwer, and Currents editor-in-chief Arielle Angel discussed Ye's antisemitism. Note: This episode was taped on Friday, October 14th, before it was announced that Ye plans to buy the right-wing social media platform Parler. Stay tuned at the end of the episode for a postscript from Pierce and Angel on this new development. Articles and Tweets Mentioned: “https://www.vice.com/en/article/3ad77y/kanye-west-tucker-carlson-leaked-footage-antisemitism-fake-children (Watch the Disturbing Kanye Interview Clips That Tucker Carlson Didn't Put on Air),” Anna Merlan, Vice “https://johnganz.substack.com/p/musk-and-west-inc (Musk and West, Inc.),” John Ganz's Substack “https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/deep-shtetl/63433940fb1fdd003629c72c/kanye-jews-anti-semitism-twitter/ (What Kanye Can Teach Us About Anti-Semitism),” Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic Kimberly Nicole Foster's https://twitter.com/KimberlyNFoster/status/1580327175575998464?s=20&t=QF2dL0ceJMYh0lTKSca0fQ (tweets) about https://twitter.com/KimberlyNFoster/status/1580632026608463872?s=20&t=Fd2693sClHwzW_VS1bk7Gg (antisemitism) “https://jewishcurrents.org/black-antisemitism-is-not-inherently-left-wing (Black Antisemitism Is Not Inherently ‘Left Wing),'” Rebecca Pierce, Jewish Currents “https://jewishcurrents.org/beyond-grievance (Beyond Grievance),” Arielle Angel, Jewish Currentshttps://jewishcurrents.org/beyond-grievance ( ) Sarah Silverman's https://twitter.com/SarahKSilverman/status/1579179927848759298 (Jewish grievance tweet) “https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/17/tech/kanye-west-ye-parler (Kanye West to acquire conservative social media platform Parler),” Brian Fung, CNN Business “https://jewishcurrents.org/an-antisemitic-judge-a-white-supremacist-system (An Antisemitic Judge, a White Supremacist System),” Rebecca Pierce, Jewish Currents Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”
WE'VE GONE AND DONE IT! EIGHT HOURS LATER, THE MONSANTO SEASON IS COMPLETE! This episode goes over Bayer's disastrous acquisition of Monsanto, how the antitrust division of the US government is simply set up to fail, and we have a look back on all of the hee-hees and haw-haws of the Monsanto season. After sitting in that studio for hours on end with Bluid and Amy, I think we deserve a little retrospective as a treat. I hope you're all feeling emotionally ok after this season. Drink some water. Hug your besties. I hope to see as many of you at the live show as possible this Saturday, and if not, I'll catch you in Season 4! Should be out by the end of 2022. Kissies! Follow @BlenderBluid and @HelloAmyDo LIVE SHOW TICKET LINK OCTOBER 1 PLEASE COME! PATREON LINK SOURCES: https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/1066656/download Bayer Tightens Control Over the World’s Food Supply, Carin Smaller, International Institute for Sustainable Development 2016. Bayer raises Monsanto cash takeover offer to $65bn, Rob Davies, The Guardian 2016 Justice Department approves Bayer-Monsanto merger in landmark settlement, Brian Fung and Caitlin Dewey, WP 2018 How Bayer-Monsanto Became One of the Worst Corporate Deals—in 12 Charts, Ruth Bender, WSJ Aug 2019 Bayer Investor Sues Top Officials for ‘Disastrous’ Monsanto Deal, Chris Dolmetsch, Claims Journal 2020 Seed monopolies: Who controls the world's food supply?, Charli Shield, DW 2021
Beju Shah, PharmD co-founded the Pharmacy Informatics Academy along with Tony Dao, PharmD, Brian Fung, PharmD, and David Vu, PharmD. During our interview, Beju talks about his background, how Informatics Pharmacists are problem-solvers, the 2 courses offered by the Pharmacy Informatics Academy, and more. My Back-to-School Series features interviews with 9 pharmacists who teach online courses. (Since it's back-to-school time, I created a Back-to-School series on my podcast!). Check out the series, and get inspired to either learn or create! Thank you for listening to episode 166 of The Pharmacist's Voice ® Podcast! To read the full show notes, visit https://www.thepharmacistsvoice.com Click on the podcast tab, and search for episode 166.
Hey everybody, I'm Joe Miller and here's what's going on in the world of online safety and free speech this week. Amazon's $3.9bn One Medical bid Washington Post. Privacy experts worry about how Amazon will use healthcare data if the acquisition goes through – a deal that's subject to Federal Trade Commission approval. The agency has already launched an aggressive campaign to rein in Amazon's market power. YouTube to ban abortion misinformation Clare Duffy at CNN Business reported that YouTube will stop allowing its users to post information on alternative ways to seek abortions, as well as misinformation regarding abortions. The move comes in the wake of the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, and trepidation about potentially facilitating abortions in violation of individual state laws prohibitting it. Car warranty calls now banned: FCC order The annoying calls you've been getting about your auto warranty are now illegal. Hopefully, a new order the FCC dropped on Thursday will make them stop for good. The order requires carriers to prevent certain companies that make the bulk of these calls from being able to reach you. These warranty calls made up the number one complaint at the Commission. Brian Fung has the story at CNN. TikTok parent kicks up lobbying spending So if you didn't know already, TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, Bytedance, which you should worry about since there's no way of knowing how Bytedance shares that data with the Chinese government. And that may be your kids' data. Lauren Feiner writes over at CNBC that Bytedance has kicked up its Washington lobbying efforts by some 130 percent, bringing its spending to over $2 million in the last quarter alone. The company opposes bipartisan antitrust and privacy bills gaining traction on Capitol Hill. Uber to pay $2 million for violating disabled users rights Finally, Itzel Luna reports for the LA Times that, in a settlement with the Justice Department, Uber will pay $2 million to disabled users it screwed over by charging them wait time fees. The company applied the surcharge for keeping drivers waiting for more than 2 minutes. That's it for this week. You can find links to all of these stories in the show notes. Stay safe, stay informed, have a great weekend. Ciao.
Top Associated Press editor Julie Pace joins Brian Stelter to discuss. Plus: Danielle Belton, John Harwood, Robby Soave, Brian Fung, and more. Amy Doyle shares memories of her father Mark Shields, the longtime PBS and CNN analyst who died at age 85. Ibram X. Kendi addresses the media's coverage of race education. And Kaya Yurieff explains why "everyone wants to be TikTok." To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy
Throwback - One Goal, Many Paths: Next Steps After Not Matching feat. Drs. David Vu, Brian Fung, Beju Shah, Tony Dao Intended Audience: Everyone Today's episode is a THROWBACK to 2019's special episode about next steps after not matching. The four of us have had different stories on what we did after not matching and want to let you know that it's OKAY. There's still Phase 2, there's still other pathways to get to where you want to go. Original Shownotes from 2019: This year, over 4000 thousand applicants matched for a PGY1 or PGY2 pharmacy residency program. These individuals are moving on to an amazing opportunity where they can continue to expand their skillset and evolve their knowledge. But… over 2000 applicants did NOT get this chance. If you were one of the individuals who did not match, know that you are NOT alone. Know that it's OKAY. Know that there are MANY different pathways to achieve your end goal. On today's special episode, Dr. Beju Shah, Dr. Brian Fung, Dr. David Vu, and Dr. Tony Dao all share their stories of how they did not match for residency and talk about the next steps they took that eventually navigated them into their DREAM careers. We encourage anyone who's listening to share your story and let everyone know that they are NOT alone. Please share your stories on any social media outlet using #OneGoalManyPaths #YourPharmacyStory . Panel Contact Info: Beju Shah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/medicationsafety/ Brian Fung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkfung/ David Vu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vcudavidvu/ or vud@vcu.edu Tony Dao: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonydaopharmd/ Additional resources: 2019 residency stats: https://natmatch.com/ashprmp/stats/2019applstats.pdf Disclaimer: Views expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which speakers have been, is now, or will be affiliated. New to LinkedIn and not sure where to start? Download my free ebook, "Professional Networking Unlocked", at https://www.tonydaopharmd.com/ebook Follow us on social media! Twitter: @pharmacyitme Instagram: @pharmacyinformatics LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharmacyitme/ Website: Pharmacy IT & Me Email: tony@pharmacyitme.com Follow Tony's personal Twitter account at @tonydaopharmd Network with other pharmacists at Pharmacists Connect!http://pharmacistsconnect.com For more information on pharmacy informatics, check out some of the following useful links: ASHP's Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology: https://www.ashp.org/Pharmacy-Informaticist/Section-of-Pharmacy-Informatics-and-Technology/ HIMSS: https://www.himss.org/resources/pharmacy-informatics-and-its-cross-functional-role-healthcare Disclaimer: Views expressed are my own and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.
We talk to award-winning journalist Laurie Segall about her new book, Special Characters, My Adventures with Tech's Titans and Misfits, which pulls back the covers on the exclusive world of billionaire founders, entrepreneurs, and mainstream media. Plus, we take a look at what the Big Tech companies are doing about Russia's attack on Ukraine with CNN's Technology Reporter Brian Fung. Also, the World Centre Kitchen (WCK) is one of the first organizations to arrive in a crisis to provide meals to families in need. We have the CEO, Nate Mook, join us to share how they are serving thousands of fresh meals to those fleeing Ukraine and those who are remaining at home. In Socially Speaking, we talk about the worst to come out of social media during the USA's State of the Union address. Find out more information from our guests here: Laurie Segall: https://dotdotdotmedia.com/ (dotdotdotmedia.com) Brian Fung: https://www.cnn.com/profiles/brian-fung (cnn.com) Michael Maher: https://my.captivate.fm/www.spoke.world (spoke.world) Nate Mook: https://wck.org/ (wck.org) You can also find both https://twitter.com/ambermac (AmberMac) and https://twitter.com/MBancroft80 (Michael B) on Twitter. Time Stamps for Segments: 7:36 – Laurie Segall CEO of Dot Dot Dot Media 18:58 - Apptastic 25:13 - Brian Fung CNN Technology Reporter 33:53 – Nate Mook World Centre Kitchen 46:15 – Socially Speaking
In today's episode of the Nerd Bits we will be discussing Netflix Games, a massive internet outage, the Freedom Phone, Apple supposedly making a display with a neural engine, and people getting malware from fake Windows 11 installers. Sorry for bad mic quality for Urjith on the past couple episodes. It should be fixed by the next episode. Thanks! Works Cited Business, Brian Fung and Clare Duffy, CNN. “Massive Internet Outage: FedEx, Delta and McDonald's Go Down.” CNN, 22 July 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/07/22/tech/website-outages-akamai-oracle-disruptions/index.html. Accessed 24 July 2021. Fahey, Rob. “Netflix's Games Won't Be the Netflix of Games.” GamesIndustry.biz, 23 July 2021, www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-07-23-netflixs-games-wont-be-the-netflix-of-games. Accessed 24 July 2021. Holland, Patrick. “Freedom Phone: Why You Should Avoid It and What Else to Know.” CNET, 24 July 2021, www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/freedom-phone-why-you-should-avoid-it-what-else-to-know/. Accessed 24 July 2021. Smith, Dale. “Apple Testing New External Display with A13 Chip and Neural Engine, Report Says.” CNET, 23 July 2021, www.cnet.com/tech/computing/apple-testing-new-external-display-with-a13-chip-and-neural-engine-report-says/. Accessed 25 July 2021. Woods, Rich. “People Are Getting Malware from Fake Windows 11 Installers.” Xda-Developers, 23 July 2021, www.xda-developers.com/malware-fake-windows-11-installers/. Accessed 24 July 2021. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nerdbits/message
A sweeping internet disruption on Thursday briefly took out a wide range of major corporate websites — from FedEx and Delta Air Lines to HSBC and McDonald's.The outages coincided with reports of system disruptions from Akamai and Oracle , two key providers of internet infrastructure services.Oracle said Thursday afternoon that its outage was the result of Akamai's service disruption."We are monitoring a global issue related to a partner Edge DNS that is impacting access to many internet resources, including Oracle cloud properties," Oracle said.Akamai's Edge DNS service helps route web browsers to their correct destinations and also provides a security service.At approximately 12:50 pm ET — less than an hour after the outages began cropping up — Akamai said: "We have implemented a fix for this issue, and based on current observations, the service is resuming normal operations. We will continue to monitor to ensure that the impact has been fully mitigated."Later Thursday afternoon, Akamai explained that the outage was caused by a "software configuration update triggered a bug in the DNS system." It confirmed that the disruption lasted "up to an hour" and was not the result of a cyberattack.Among the affected websites were Fidelity, the US Securities and Exchange Commission's document search site, Airbnb, British Airways and others. Most of the sites were back up and running in under an hour.This is the third major internet outage in two months, and the second involving Akamai. In early June, dozens of websites including Target, the New York Times and a UK government website went down for around 50 minutes because of a widespread failure at content delivery network Fastly. Ten days later, airlines, banks, stock exchanges and trading platforms suffered brief outages, which Akamai said was the result of a bug in a service that helps mitigate distributed denial-of-service attacks.Major website and app outages happen from time to time and typically don't last long. Internet service providers, content delivery networks and other hosting services are built with multiple redundancies and a global network of backup servers designed to reduce disruptions when things go haywire. However, the recent outages have caused some experts to warn of the risks of the internet's reliance on a relatively small number of core infrastructure providers.Text by Brian Fung and Clare Duffy, CNN
Amazon announced Tuesday it supports the federal legalization of marijuana, and that the company is revising a controversial workplace policy critics say has been used to keep employees working at a breakneck pace.The twin announcements, Amazon said, are aimed at reiterating the company's commitment to being an attractive employer.In a blog post, Dave Clark, CEO of Amazon's worldwide consumer division, said changing state laws on marijuana mean Amazon will no longer include the substance in the company's pre-employment drug tests and that the drug will now be treated the same as alcohol.Positions subject to regulation by the US Department of Transportation will still include the marijuana test, Clark said, adding that the company will "continue to do impairment checks on the job and will test for all drugs and alcohol after any incident."Clark went on to say that Amazon is endorsing a federal marijuana legalization bill, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act. "We hope other employers will join us, and that policymakers will act swiftly to pass this law."Time off policy changeAmazon is also taking a closer look at its so-called Time off Task policy, which automatically tracks workers' productivity by analyzing the time they spend on breaks. Critics have said that Time off Task contributes to a stressful work environment that treats workers as cogs in a machine rather than as people.On Tuesday, Clark appeared to acknowledge that criticism even as he claimed the policy is easily "misunderstood.""The primary goal of the Time off Task metric is to understand whether there are issues with the tools that people use to be productive, and only secondarily to identify under-performing employees," he wrote. "Starting today, we're now averaging Time off Task over a longer period to ensure that there's more signal and less noise—reinforcing the original intent of the program, and focusing Time off Task conversations on how we can help. The goal is to re-focus the conversations on instances where there are likely true operational issues to resolve. We believe this change will help ensure the Time off Task policy is used in the way it was intended."- text by Brian Fung, CNN
Throwback - Next Steps After Not Matching; One Goal, Many Paths Intended Audience: Everyone Today's episode is a THROWBACK to 2019's special episode about next steps after not matching. The four of us have had different stories on what we did after not matching and want to let you know that it's OKAY. There's still Phase 2, there's still other pathways to get to where you want to go. Original Shownotes from 2019: This year, over 4000 thousand applicants matched for a PGY1 or PGY2 pharmacy residency program. These individuals are moving on to an amazing opportunity where they can continue to expand their skillset and evolve their knowledge. But… over 2000 applicants did NOT get this chance. If you were one of the individuals who did not match, know that you are NOT alone. Know that it’s OKAY. Know that there are MANY different pathways to achieve your end goal. On today’s special episode, Dr. Beju Shah, Dr. Brian Fung, Dr. David Vu, and Dr. Tony Dao all share their stories of how they did not match for residency and talk about the next steps they took that eventually navigated them into their DREAM careers. We encourage anyone who’s listening to share your story and let everyone know that they are NOT alone. Please share your stories on any social media outlet using #OneGoalManyPaths #YourPharmacyStory . Panel Contact Info: Beju Shah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/medicationsafety/ Brian Fung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkfung/ David Vu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vcudavidvu/ or vud@vcu.edu Tony Dao: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonydaopharmd/ Additional resources: 2019 residency stats: https://natmatch.com/ashprmp/stats/2019applstats.pdf ========== Interested in learning more about pharmacy informatics? Check out the FREE Introduction to Pharmacy Informatics course at www.pharmacyinformaticsacademy.com ! New to LinkedIn and not sure where to start? Download my free ebook, "Professional Networking Unlocked", at https://www.tonydaopharmd.com/ebook Follow us on social media! Twitter: @pharmacyitme Instagram: @pharmacyinformatics LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharmacyitme/ Website: Pharmacy IT & Me Email: tony@pharmacyitme.com Follow Tony's personal Twitter account at @tonydaopharmd Network with other pharmacists at Pharmacists Connect!http://pharmacistsconnect.com For more information on pharmacy informatics, check out some of the following useful links: ASHP's Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology: https://www.ashp.org/Pharmacy-Informaticist/Section-of-Pharmacy-Informatics-and-Technology/ HIMSS Pharmacy Informatics Community: https://www.himss.org/library/pharmacy-informatics Disclaimer: Views expressed are my own and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.
General Counsel for The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), Benjamin Bull, guides us through the recent lawsuit against Mindgeek — the parent company of Pornhub — accused of hosting content containing child sex abuse. Also, we talk to the president of Orangetheory Fitness Canada, Blake MacDonald, about their interactive virtual coaching platform that brings real-time coaching from local and certified coaches to a small group setting. Plus, Reese Mozer, co-founder and CEO of drone developer American Robotics, reveals FAA approval to operate its fully-automated "Scout" drones without on-site humans. Next, CNN's Technology reporter, Brian Fung, predicts the future of social media moderating and ban protocols. In Socially Speaking, we sift through the good, the bad, and the ugly coming from TikTok. Find out more information from our guests here: endsexualexploitation.org orangetheory.com american-robotics.com Brian Fung You can also find both AmberMac and Michael B on Twitter.
Fresh off of another successful peaceful transition of power in the U.S.—and despite attempts to the contrary two weeks earlier—Don and Amy enjoy the moments of joy that broke through the clouds in the form of President Joe Biden's inauguration, even as they acknowledge the problems that persist. The highlight of that event for many came from poet Amanda Gorman, whose words spoke of the messy and unfinished nature of this country. Their conversation also touches on the cult of QAnon, a new podcast where a man listens to women, growing up in the Bicentennial, and the two degrees of separation that connect them to the T.V. show "Glee."Additional resources:"The shock and awe of Donald Trump's final days" (Salon, by Heather Digby Parton, January 22, 2021)https://www.salon.com/2021/01/22/the-shock-and-awe-of-donald-trumps-final-days/?fbclid=IwAR1C3XVD28cUaL0Pkru37XNxPwtKzM3ZW1HjbMZ9WPVKIVqe-TLIFyBmGXw "QAnon believers are in disarray after Biden is inaugurated" (CNN Business, by Brian Fung and Karen Yurieff, January 21, 2021)https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/tech/qanon-believers-inauguration-reaction/index.html "How Stuart Watson became 'A Man Listening' to women" (WBUR, January 19, 2021)https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/01/19/stuart-watson-man-listening "Poet Amanda Gorman reads 'The Hill We Climb'" (YouTube, ABC News, January 20, 2021)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz4YuEvJ3y4 "READ: Transcript of Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem" (The Hill, January 20, 2021)https://thehill.com/homenews/news/535052-read-transcript-of-amanda-gormans-inaugural-poem "The Story of the 1975-1976 AMERICAN FREEDOM TRAIN" (by Larry Wines)https://www.freedomtrain.org/american-freedom-train-home.htm "Choir director earns Lifetime Achievement Award" (The Republic, by Brian Blair, June 3, 2016)http://www.therepublic.com/2016/06/04/a_salute_to_the_choirmaster/ "From 'Nip/Tuck' to High School 'Glee'" (NPR Fresh Air, by Terry Gross, May 15, 2009)https://www.npr.org/transcripts/104199257 "Chicago native uses real life for 'Glee' inspiration" (Chicago Tribune, September 9, 2009)https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-09-09-0909090178-story.html "Biden inheriting nonexistent coronavirus vaccine distribution plan and must start 'from scratch,' sources say" (CNN, by MJ Lee, January 21, 2021)https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/21/politics/biden-covid-vaccination-trump/index.html Buy "Your Racist Friend" by They Might Be Giants on iTunes
Facebook will ban President Donald Trump's account from posting for at least the remainder of his term in office and perhaps "indefinitely," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a blog post. "We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great," Zuckerberg wrote in the post. "Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete."The decision marks a major escalation by Facebook as it and other platforms have come under intense pressure from advocacy groups and prominent figures to ban Trump following his inflammatory rhetoric encouraging insurrection.Facebook and Twitter took the extraordinary step on Wednesday of temporarily locking President Donald Trump's account on their platforms after his supporters stormed the Capitol building to protest the election.If the latest restrictions hold, Facebook could be the first major platform to remove Trump permanently.Facebook's move now raises expectations for Twitter, known for being the president's preferred social media platform, to follow suit. Twitter has confirmed that Trump deleted several tweets in order to regain his tweeting privileges sometime on Thursday, though the company declined to say when precisely he would be able to tweet again.Twitter also said that "future violations... will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.""There's this element of all the companies hand-wringing until one of them takes a step, and then in a few minutes, everyone does it," said Adam Sharp, Twitter's former head of news, government and elections. "Nobody wants to be the first, and they just take turns on who is going to be the first one to go that time around. Then they all 'Thelma and Louise' it and make the call."The underlying problem facing most tech platforms, he said, is that the gravity of Trump's misconduct goes far beyond the companies' efforts to build standardized systems for punishing misbehavior.In his blog post Thursday, Zuckerberg said Facebook had determined that Trump's recent posts were "likely" intended to escalate the violence rather than the opposite.Trump has shown he "intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden," Zuckerberg wrote.Facebook has already described the events surrounding Trump's posts this week as an emergency. Now, Zuckerberg has finally revealed where Facebook will draw the line for Trump — at nothing less than a deadly assault on Congress.text by Brian Fung, CNN
Brian Fung reminisces on the "Golden Age" of Gator Football and talks about how he went from playing World of Warcraft to becoming an Informatics Pharmacist. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Burnout Stories with Dr. Brian Fung Exciting project Brian is working with the Pharmacy Informatics Academy Team to launch a FREE introductory course into pharmacist informatics. See more information here. Full podcast notes & summary Join the FREE Workshop Schedule a complimentary call to see if coaching is a fit for you with Dr. Jessica Louie _________________________________________________ *If you enjoyed this topic, will you take a screenshot of this episode and share it on your Instagram stories and tag me in the post. I'll re-share it on my own stories.If you haven't already connected with me, I'm most active on Instagram and LinkedIn – send me a friend invite and tell me what podcast episode has been your favorite! *Have you given our podcast a review on iTunes? Write us an honest review. This really has helped other pharmacists and healthcare professionals find this podcast, learn from it and grow our community together! Note, my views are my own and are not associated or representative of my employer(s). This podcast is for educational purposes only and not medical advice.
229. The Journey from Student to Resident to Informatics Pharmacist feat. Youtuber Dr. Brian Fung Intended Audience: Everyone "A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step." - Lao Tzu On today's episode, I finally get to speak with my colleague and friend, Dr. Brian Fung, on his vast journey through pharmacy and into his current role as a medication management informaticist. Some of the topics of this episode include: Early personal discovery of pharmacy informatics Getting structured training through residency Becoming a specialist in infectious disease informatics The soft skills for success The purpose of the ImproRx YouTube Channel YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/brianfungrx Reach out to Brian: https://forms.gle/GqkPLgHR1yLXMBU57 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkfung/ Interested in learning more about pharmacy informatics? Check out the FREE Introduction to Pharmacy Informatics course at www.pharmacyinformaticsacademy.com ! New to LinkedIn and not sure where to start? Download my free ebook, "Professional Networking Unlocked", at https://www.tonydaopharmd.com/ebook Follow us on social media! Twitter: @pharmacyitme Instagram: @pharmacyinformatics LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharmacyitme/ Website: Pharmacy IT & Me Email: tony@pharmacyitme.com Follow Tony's personal Twitter account at @tonydaopharmd Network with other pharmacists at Pharmacists Connect!http://pharmacistsconnect.com For more information on pharmacy informatics, check out some of the following useful links: ASHP's Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology: https://www.ashp.org/Pharmacy-Informaticist/Section-of-Pharmacy-Informatics-and-Technology/ HIMSS Pharmacy Informatics Community: https://www.himss.org/library/pharmacy-informatics Disclaimer: Views expressed are my own and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.
Preliminary Injunction Hearing Day in "Epic vs Apple" maybe didn't go so well for Epic. But is that the end of the story? I don't think so. It's always okay to be skeptical...in Virtual Legality. CHECK OUT THE VIDEO AT: https://youtu.be/I3ROYZKnr4k #Epic #Apple #Injunction *** Discussed in this episode: "Epic vs Everyone: The Fortnite Antitrust Lawsuits" YouTube Playlist - Hoeg Law https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1zDCgJzZUy-lb7ReoUqL5_dTcM8ngmfV "This is a brutal hearing for Epic. The judge is very skeptical." Tweet - September 28, 2020 - Brian Fung (@b_fung) https://twitter.com/b_fung/status/1310634589828845573 "Apple-Epic hearing started a few minutes early." Twitter Thread - September 28, 2020 - Patrick McGee (@PatrickMcGee_) https://twitter.com/PatrickMcGee_/status/1310618271675105282 "Thanks to the incredible [leah_nylen] the press is able to view the remote proceedings now underway in Epic Games v. Apple." Twitter Thread - September 28, 2020 - Brian Fung (@b_fung) https://twitter.com/b_fung/status/1310624008979783685 *** "Virtual Legality" is a continuing series discussing the law, video games, software, and everything digital, hosted by Richard Hoeg, of the Hoeg Law Business Law Firm (Hoeg Law). CHECK OUT THE REST OF VIRTUAL LEGALITY HERE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1zDCgJzZUy9YAU61GoW-00K0TJOGnPCo DISCUSSION IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. INDIVIDUALS INTERESTED IN THE LEGAL TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS VIDEO SHOULD CONSULT WITH THEIR OWN COUNSEL. *** Twitter: @hoeglaw Web: hoeglaw.com Blog: hoeglaw.wordpress.com STORE: https://teespring.com/stores/hoeg-law-store
Many students have had their upcoming rotations cancelled due to COVID-19 and many have been forced to find virtual opportunities. On this episode, Brian Fung from the Pharmacy Informatics Academy interviews Richard Waithe, President of VUCA Health to discuss details, tips and advice for preceptors and students about virtual rotations. YouTube Video of Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK_a6O8G2aM APPE Google Sheet of Virtual Sites https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/137bUzFRceBM03QwQz-Uf1GJqRzxFEK8SzbCSpnR_wc8/edit#gid=92517136 Connect with Brian Fung https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkfung/ PhIA Website https://pharmacyinformaticsacademy.com/ Music by: Richard Waithe Richard's book, The First Time Pharmacist, is now available on Amazon. Get it here: www.amazon.com/dp/1732381402 Like Rx Radio on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RxRadio.fm Check out our memes on Instagram: instagram.com/rxradio.fm Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/rxradiofm Host: Dr. Richard Waithe www.twitter.com/richard_waithe www.facebook.com/pharmacydude www.instagram.com/richiewaithe Podcast episodes are powered by VUCA Health, a company that has the largest library of medication education videos that serves to enhance patient engagement and provide an on-demand extension of pharmacists and other healthcare providers. Learn more at vucahealth.com
183. Getting Virtual APPE Rotations & Check Out Brian Fung's Livestream with Richard Waithe Intended Audience: EveryoneStudents everywhere are having problems with completing their APPE hours. We know. Pharmacy Informatics Academy is working on getting a list of preceptors that are willing to precept virtual rotations.View list here: https://pharmacyinformaticsacademy.com/virtualrotations/Dr. Brian Fung will be doing a livestream with Dr. Richard Waithe this Saturday, April 4th at 11:00 AM PST/ 1:00 PM EST about tips and advice on Virtual Pharmacy APPEs. Tune in here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK_a6O8G2aMFor preceptors who are interested in precepting, please fill out the form here. Once completed, the information will be immediately published: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdv18Bej2fZBe1r4tHOsEZCQPxiDbIBx1hiCPOUClanaAkvyA/viewform Follow us on social media! Twitter: @pharmacyitme Instagram: @pharmacyinformatics LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharmacyitme/ Website: Pharmacy IT & Me Email: tony@pharmacyitme.com Follow Tony's personal Twitter account at @tonydaopharmd Network with other pharmacists at Pharmacists Connect!http://pharmacistsconnect.com For more information on pharmacy informatics, check out some of the following useful links: ASHP's Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology: https://www.ashp.org/Pharmacy-Informaticist/Section-of-Pharmacy-Informatics-and-Technology/ HIMSS Pharmacy Informatics Community: https://www.himss.org/library/pharmacy-informatics Disclaimer: Views expressed are my own and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.This podcast is powered by Pinecast.
Throwback - New Grads in Health IT feat. Dr. David Vu Intended Audience: EveryoneSince we first recorded this episode, Dr. David Vu and I have had the pleasure of working together with Dr. Brian Fung and Dr. Beju Shah on increasing the awareness of pharmacy informatics. Today's episode is throwback of the first time I interviewed Dr. Vu on my podcast. Original Shownotes: On this episode, we speak with new grad Dr. David Vu, PharmD, CPHIMS on his role as a quality assurance engineer and ambassador of OpenEMR.You can reach David at the following: Email: vud@vcu.edu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vcudavidvu/ Follow us on social media! Twitter: @pharmacyitme Instagram: @pharmacyinformatics LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharmacyitme/ Website: Pharmacy IT & Me Email: tony@pharmacyitme.com Follow Tony's personal Twitter account at @tonydaopharmd Network with other pharmacists at Pharmacists Connect!http://pharmacistsconnect.com For more information on pharmacy informatics, check out some of the following useful links: ASHP's Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology: https://www.ashp.org/Pharmacy-Informaticist/Section-of-Pharmacy-Informatics-and-Technology/ HIMSS Pharmacy Informatics Community: https://www.himss.org/library/pharmacy-informatics Disclaimer: Views expressed are my own and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.This podcast is powered by Pinecast.
Throwback: Next Steps After Not Matching Intended Audience: EveryoneToday's episode is a THROWBACK to last year's special episode about next steps after not matching. The four of us have had different stories on what we did after not matching and want to let you know that it's OKAY. There's still Phase 2, there's still other pathways to get to where you want to go. Original Shownotes from 2019: This year, over 4000 thousand applicants matched for a PGY1 or PGY2 pharmacy residency program. These individuals are moving on to an amazing opportunity where they can continue to expand their skillset and evolve their knowledge.But… over 2000 applicants did NOT get this chance.If you were one of the individuals who did not match, know that you are NOT alone. Know that it’s OKAY. Know that there are MANY different pathways to achieve your end goal.On today’s special episode, Dr. Beju Shah, Dr. Brian Fung, Dr. David Vu, and Dr. Tony Dao all share their stories of how they did not match for residency and talk about the next steps they took that eventually navigated them into their DREAM careers.We encourage anyone who’s listening to share your story and let everyone know that they are NOT alone. Please share your stories on any social media outlet using #OneGoalManyPaths #YourPharmacyStory .Panel Contact Info: Beju Shah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/medicationsafety/ Brian Fung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkfung/ David Vu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vcudavidvu/ or vud@vcu.edu Tony Dao: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonydaopharmd/Additional resources: 2019 residency stats: https://natmatch.com/ashprmp/stats/2019applstats.pdf Follow us on social media! Twitter: @pharmacyitme Instagram: @pharmacyinformatics LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharmacyitme/ Website: Pharmacy IT & Me Email: tony@pharmacyitme.com Follow Tony's personal Twitter account at @tonydaopharmd Network with other pharmacists at Pharmacists Connect!http://pharmacistsconnect.com For more information on pharmacy informatics, check out some of the following useful links: ASHP's Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology: https://www.ashp.org/Pharmacy-Informaticist/Section-of-Pharmacy-Informatics-and-Technology/ HIMSS Pharmacy Informatics Community: https://www.himss.org/library/pharmacy-informatics Disclaimer: Views expressed are my own and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.This podcast is powered by Pinecast.
164. Last Week in Health IT for February 7th, 2020 Intended Audience: Everyone - Friend of the show Brian Fung and his colleague Dennison Lim's ASK ME ANYTHING to be LIVE today, Friday, February 7th, 2020 at 8 PM EST at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAUa17lfPew - Welcome to another episode of Last Week in Health IT where we talk about some of the significant Health IT-related news items that occurred in the past week. Follow us on social media! Twitter: @pharmacyitme Instagram: @pharmacyinformatics LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharmacyitme/ Website: Pharmacy IT & Me Email: tony@pharmacyitme.com Follow Tony's personal Twitter account at @tonydaopharmd Network with other pharmacists at Pharmacists Connect!http://pharmacistsconnect.com For more information on pharmacy informatics, check out some of the following useful links: ASHP's Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology: https://www.ashp.org/Pharmacy-Informaticist/Section-of-Pharmacy-Informatics-and-Technology/ HIMSS Pharmacy Informatics Community: https://www.himss.org/library/pharmacy-informatics Disclaimer: Views expressed are my own and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.This podcast is powered by Pinecast.
One Goal, Many Paths: Next Steps After Not Matching feat. Drs. Beju Shah, Brian Fung, David Vu, and Tony Dao Intended Audience: Pharmacy Students and anyone who did not match for residency This year, over 4000 applicants matched for a PGY1 or PGY2 pharmacy residency program. These individuals are moving on to an amazing opportunity where they can continue to expand their skillset and evolve their knowledge. But… over 2000 applicants did NOT get this chance. If you were one of the individuals who did not match, know that you are NOT alone. Know that it’s OKAY. Know that there are MANY different pathways to achieve your end goal. On today’s special episode, Dr. Beju Shah, Dr. Brian Fung, Dr. David Vu, and Dr. Tony Dao all share their stories of how they did not match for residency and talk about the next steps they took that eventually navigated them into their DREAM careers. We encourage anyone who’s listening to share your story and let everyone know that they are NOT alone. Please share your stories on any social media outlet using #OneGoalManyPaths #YourPharmacyStory . Panel Contact Info: Beju Shah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/medicationsafety/ Brian Fung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkfung/ David Vu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vcudavidvu/ or vud@vcu.edu Tony Dao: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonydaopharmd/ Additional resources: 2019 residency stats: https://natmatch.com/ashprmp/stats/2019applstats.pdfFollow us on social media! Twitter: @pharmacyitme Instagram: @pharmacyinformatics Website: Pharmacy IT & Me Email: tony@pharmacyitme.com Follow Tony's personal Twitter account at @tonydaopharmd Network with other pharmacists at Pharmacists Connect!http://pharmacistsconnect.com For more information on pharmacy informatics, check out some of the following useful links: ASHP's Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology: https://www.ashp.org/Pharmacy-Informaticist/Section-of-Pharmacy-Informatics-and-Technology/ HIMSS Pharmacy Informatics Community: https://www.himss.org/library/pharmacy-informatics Disclaimer: Views expressed are my own and do not reflect thoughts and opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.This podcast is powered by Pinecast.
Brian Fung explains Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s push to crack down on tech companies. Aaron Gregg delves into the tragic crash of a commercial Boeing plane in Ethiopia. And Simon Denyer revisits Fukushima, the site of one of Japan’s worst nuclear disasters.
During this episode, you'll learn how a pharmacist is combining his passions for informatics and antimicrobial stewardship. Dr. Brian Fung, who shares about life as an informatics pharmacist on his YouTube channel (link below), will cover the following in this episode: - Day to day activities of pharmacy informatics - Current state of pharmacy informatics - Future state of pharmacy informatics Connect with Brian: a. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkfung/ b. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ufbfung/ c. Website: www.BrianKFung.com d. YouTube: www.youtube.com/BrianFungRx Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD www.pharmacyadvisory.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/ @talktoyourpharmacist for Instagram and Facebook @HillBlackburn Twitter★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Washington Post Tech Reporter, Brian Fung, joins Armstrong & Getty to discuss the $57 million fine imposed on Google by the French government. Will Google be forced to change the way they operate in the U.S.?
Joseph Kane: The Impact of Automated Vehicles on Your White Collar Job (Ep. 165) Brookings' Joseph Kane joined Joe Miller to talk about how automated vehicles could impact your white collar job--not just those of drivers. Bio Joseph Kane (@jwkane) is a senior research associate and associate fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. Kane’s work focuses on a wide array of built environment issues, including transportation and water infrastructure. Within these areas of research, he has explored infrastructure’s central economic role across different regions as well as its relationship to opportunity and resilience. Across several projects, he has concentrated on the use of innovative datasets, combining them with other qualitative measures to better assess current and future infrastructure needs. From the exploration of metropolitan freight trends to the first-ever analysis of infrastructure jobs at a metropolitan level, he has coordinated the production of new metrics and developed other interactive content to better inform decisions by policymakers and practitioners across the country. Prior to Brookings, Kane was an Economist at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. He holds a master’s degree in urban and environmental planning from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in economics and history from the College of William and Mary. Resources Metropolitan Policy Program @ Brookings How big could the AV industry be? 9.5 million workers and counting by Joseph Kane and Adie Tomer Why the Garden Club Couldn't Save Youngstown by Sean Stafford News Roundup Consequences Facebook’s poor engagement with people of color taking root The consequences of Facebook’s poor engagement over the years with people of color began to take hold last week. On Tuesday, USA Today’s Jessica Guynn reported on a former black Facebook employee – Mark Luckie – who says the company has a deep seated race problem both internally and on the platform. Luckie wrote an internal blog post on Facebook earlier this month—to management and employees—that later went public—saying the platform itself actively works against black people. He says that Facebook works against attempts by black users to create safe spaces on Facebook, amplifies some users over others using class-based criteria, which effectively dilutes black voices, and fails to hire a workforce that reflects the demographics of its user base. Color of Change CEO Rashad Robinson met with Sheryl Sandberg on Thursday. Politico reported that it was a victory, but then went on to talk about all of the ways in which it really wasn’t. For example, Facebook hasn’t committed to release records on its work with Definers Public Affairs to engage in promoting far right, anti-Semitic attacks against George Soros. It was a campaign that also targeted Color of Change. Robinson also told Politico that Sandberg defended Joel Kaplan. Apparently Sandberg, according to Politico’s account of the meeting, offered a sincere apology and Mark Zuckerberg popped his head in. But really, who cares. Sandberg did agree to a civil rights audit that Color of Change would conduct and agreed to have a public debate on the results of the audit. But that’s really non-negotiable since they have to do something to prevent a boycott. Also, a New York Times report out the same day Robinson met with Sandberg suggested that Sandberg directed the communications team in their research of George Soros’s financial interests and actually sent an email asking if Soros had shorted Facebook’s stock. A lot of people are just sort of wondering why Sheryl Sandberg, Mark Zuckerberg and Joel Kaplan should keep their jobs. But would that solve Facebook’s race issues? Mattis says Russia interfered in midterms Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said over the weekend during an interview at the Ronald Reagan Public library that Russian operatives attempted to interfere with the U.S. election. He said the Trump administration’s relationship with Russia has deteriorated. Mattis’ remarks came a couple of days after Trump canceled his scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit amidst Michael Cohen’s guilty plea for making misstatements to Congress in the investigation into the Trump administration’s business dealings with Russia during the 2016 presidential election. Marriott hack affects 500 million guests Marriott reported a hack that apparently affected some 500 million of its Starwood guests, exposing personal information including home addresses, passport numbers, drivers’ license numbers, names, and other personal details. New York State Attorney General Barbara Underwood is investigating the breach. The company has known about the breach since early September. Nexstar to acquire Tribune Nextstar has announced plans to acquire Tribune Media for $4.1 billion, making it the largest tv station owner in the U.S. The merger would add 42 stations to Nexstar’s portfolio bringing its total number of stations to 216 in 118 markets, just under the FCC’s 39% ownership threshold. The deal comes after Sinclair failed in its bid for Tribune earlier this year. Delrahim for AG? CNN reports that President Trump may be considering Makan Delrahim to replace Jeff Sessions as US Attorney General. Currently, Delrahim is the Assistant Attorney General who sued AT&T to stop its acquisition of Time Warner—he lost. That deal went through. Some are still debating whether the president directed Delrahim to stop the merger. Delrahim denies this. But if he did act at Trump’s behest, the Attorney General job would be a big reward—ya think? FBI Charges 8 in Ad-fraud scheme The FBI charged eight individuals last week in an ad fraud scheme. The men face 13 charges for allegedly scheming to infect 1.7 million computers and drive traffic to counterfeit websites serving up ads. Craig Silverman has a detailed report in BuzzFeed News. DOJ Indicts 2 Iranians for Ransomware Attacks The Department of justice indicted 2 men in connection with an alleged Iranian ransomware plot since 2015 that has caused some $30 million in financial damage to city universities, governments and hospitals, including the City of Atlanta. Officials say the scheme, known as SamSam, affected more than 200 victims and led to some $6 million in ransom payments. Brian Fung has the story in the Washington Post. Google employees pledge $200k to help striking employees Some Google employees have banded together to create a $200k fund to help striking engineers who are opposing Google’s work on a censored search engine in China. The project is known as Project Dragonfly and hundreds of engineers oppose the effort and signed a letter to that effect last week.
The Washington Post’s Brian Fung talks with eBay CEO Devin Wenig about how his company is affected by government regulation and the forces of global competition.
Brian Fung explains how Gab started and the controversy surrounding it.
During this episode of Armstrong & Getty, Joe brings us some of the ridiculous new CA laws and Jack rips on web-based health studies. Plus, Brian Fung tries in vain to explain 5G.
x Alex J. Wood -- Liberator or 'Boss from Hell'?: The Gig Economy's Double Edge Oxford Internet Institute Researcher Alex J. Wood discusses the gig economy's double edge from the perspective of workers themselves. Bio Alex J. Wood (@tom_swing) is a Researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute. He is a sociologist of work and employment, focusing on the changing nature of employment relations and labour market transformation. Alex is currently researching new forms of worker voice and collective action in the online gig economy as part of the iLabour project. Alex previously researched online labour markets and virtual employment relations in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia as part of the “Microwork and Virtual Production Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia” project. This project investigates the economic and social implications of new forms of economic activities in the context of ICTs for development. Alex completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge Department of Sociology where he also worked as Research Associate on an ESRC impact acceleration project to evaluate potential ways of reducing workplace stress resulting from insecure scheduling. Alex’s PhD (2015) is titled the “The insecure worker: workplace control in the 21st Century”. His PhD focuses on the changing nature of flexible and insecure forms of work such as zero hour contracts. New patterns of working-time flexibility and how this relates to insecurity, well-being, and issues of workplace control and resistance being central to account developed. He also has a long standing interest in the relationships between industrial relations, union renewal and emerging forms of workplace representation and new patterns of class and inequality. Previously he received his MPhil in Sociology from the University of Cambridge (2011) with distinction. He received a first class BSc (hons) degree in Politics and Sociology, from Aston University (2009). Resources Oxford Internet Institute Good Gig, Bad Gig: Autonomy and Algorithmic Control in the Global Gig Economy by Alex J. Wood, Mark Graham and Vili Lehdonvirta News Roundup New Facebook breach affects 50 million users Facebook reported a data breach that began to take effect in July of 2017 when Facebook updated its View As feature which allows users to see how their profile looks to specific friends. The company said it didn’t discover the breach until September. While the company didn’t dislose exactly which user data was stolen or who stole it, it did reveal that the hackers obtained access tokens that enabled them to manipulate user accounts. Facebook says it has notified affected users and required them to log back into their accounts. Elon Musk steps down as Tesla over tweets/SEC fraud investigation Elon Musk has stepped down as the Chairman of Tesla and will need to pay a $20 million fine for his tweet last month saying he had “funding secured” for a $420 per share buyout of the company. The SEC had sued Musk for the tweet saying it misled investors. The SEC said that the $420 stock price was a weed reference—intended to impress his girlfriend, rapper Grimes. He was also smoking up on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Obviously he was confused and bewildered—talking in tongues and rapping freestyle. Federal prosecutors are now probing the ad industry Federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into ad agencies who buy advertising time on behalf of large corporate brands. A recent Association of National Retailers report found that media outlets have been offering ad agencies rebates—cash back after they meet spending threshholds -- but that the money hasn’t been making its way back advertisers. Suzanne Vranica and Nicole Hong report in the Wall Street Journal. Environmental Protection Agency to dissolve science advisory office The EPA will be dissolving its science office and ostensibly rolling it into the agency’s Office of Research and Development. This is the same agency that has basically censored the terms “climate change” from its website, speeches and all of pr collateral. It has also stopped giving climate change awards and is working to roll back full efficiency standards. Federal preemption is trending The doctrine of Federal pre-emption took center-stage this week in three different areas: net neutrality, privacy, and 5G buildout. Remember the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution makes federal law the supreme law of the land. On the net neutrality front, the state of California passed its own set of net neutrality rules that mirror the ones the FCC passed in 2015 but that Ajit Pai’s FCC repealed earlier this year. The Department of Justice is now suing the state of California, claiming the federal preemption doctrine. On privacy, Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, AT&T, Charter, and Twitter told the Senate Commerce Committee last week that they would support federal privacy regulation that would preempt California’s privacy law, set to go into effect in 2020, which would give California consumers more control over their data. But a national privacy framework that would preempt state privacy rules has support from both sides of the aisle. And on 5G … the FCC passed new rules last week that would minimize the role of local and state authorities in the review process to build out 5G wireless infrastructure, by limiting fees that local and state authorities charge carriers in order to deploy 5G and capping the shot clock to require local authorities to approve 5G applications within 60 to 90 days. Verizon begins 5G rollout in 4 cities Five days following the FCC’s order to limit local and state oversight of 5G deployment, Verizon announced that it would be deploying 5G in Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento. This makes Verizon the first company in the world to offer 5G on a commercial basis to individual consumers. Brian Fung has more in the Washington Post. Federal court rules against Uber drivers suing as a class Finally, the federal District Court of the Northern District of California has ruled to de-certify a class of nearly 240,000 Uber drivers who are suing Uber, saying that they should be considered employees rather than independent contractors. This would entitle them to better benefits and things like reimbursement for gas. The decision was long expected since the US Supreme Court ruled back in May – in Epic Systems v. Louis – that courts are required to honor arbitration agreements that gig workers sign up for. All 240, 000 drivers would now have to pursue their claims individually.
During this episode of Armstrong & Getty, Joe brings us some of the ridiculous new CA laws and Jack rips on web-based health studies. Plus, Brian Fung tries in vain to explain 5G.
Progress on Cancer? Cheri Preston joins A&G for an update on the efforts being made to cure and treat cancer. Plus, Brian Fung joins the show to talk about Cryptocurrency (doin't know what it is? Brian explains).
Progress on Cancer? Cheri Preston joins A&G for an update on the efforts being made to cure and treat cancer. Plus, Brian Fung joins the show to talk about Cryptocurrency (doin't know what it is? Brian explains).
Progress on Cancer? Cheri Preston joins A&G for an update on the efforts being made to cure and treat cancer. Plus, Brian Fung joins the show to talk about Cryptocurrency (doin't know what it is? Brian explains).
Does the administration have power to regulate the information technology companies distribute? Post technology reporter Brian Fung, technology ethicist David Ryan Polgar and law professor Genevieve Lakier explain how far Trump can take his concerns.
Chelsea Barabas: How to balance AI and criminal justice (Ep. 136) MIT Research Scientist Chelsea Barabas and Joe Miller discuss how to balance AI and criminal justice to affect better defendant outcomes. Bio Chelsea Barabas (@chels_bar) is a research scientist at MIT, where she examines the spread of algorithmic decision making tools in the US criminal justice system. Formerly, Chelsea was the Head of Social Innovation with the MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative. She has worked on a wide range of issues related to the use of emerging technologies to serve the public good around the world. Chelsea’s graduate research at MIT was on understanding the U.S.’s ongoing struggle to cultivate and hire a diverse technical workforce, and she conducted her graduate thesis in partnership with Code2040. She attended Stanford as an undergraduate, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology. Resources Chelsea Barabas, Karthik Dinakar, Joichi Ito, Madars Virza, and Jonathan Zittrain. 2018. Interventions over Predictions: Reframing the Ethical Debate for Actuarial Risk Assessment. In Proceedings of the Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAT*) conference (FAT* 2018). ACM, New York, NY, USA. Virginia Eubanks, Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor (2018) News Roundup T-Mobile and Sprint announce merger plans T-Mobile and Sprint have announced merger plans again. It’s a $27 billion deal that would include Softbank giving up control of Sprint. The combined company would be called T-Mobile and, with 98 million subscribers, the combined company would become the second largest wireless carrier, behind Verizon’s 116 million. Brian Fung and Tony Romm report in the Washington Post. Comcast launches bidding war against Fox for Sky Comcast announced that it would seek to acquire European pay TV provider Sky for $31 billion. The Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox already has a bid for Sky on the table, but it’s $15 billion lower than Comcast’s, even though Fox already has a 39% stake in Sky. 21st Century Fox had rejected a separate bid by Comcast to acquire Fox’s entertainment assets, which Disney is now planning to purchase for $52.4 billion, which was also lower than Comcast’s proposal. Shalani Ramachandran, Amol Sharma and David Benoit report in the Wall Street Journal. EU investigates Apple’s Shazam bid EU antitrust regulators are investigating whether Apple’s bid for music identification service Shazam is anticompetitive. Apple had announced back in December that it was looking to acquire Shazam for an undisclosed amount. The EU is concerned the acquisition could limit consumer choice. Foo Yun Chee has more at Reuters. Senate confirms Nakasone to Lead NSA/Cyber Command The Senate unanimously confirmed U.S. Army Command Chief Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone to serve as both the head of the National Security Administration and U.S. Cyber Command. He’ll replace Mike Rogers. Nakasone will also get a fourth star. SEC fines company formerly known as Yahoo! $35 million The Securities and Exchange Commission fined Altaba, the company that now owns Yahoo!’s remaining assets, over $35 million. The fine is for failing to disclose a 2014 data breach that compromised the data of over 500 million Yahoo! users. Jacob Katrenakes reports in the Verge. FTC warns app firms about collecting children’s data The Federal Trade Commission has warned app firms in China and Sweden about collecting the data of U.S. children. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act prohibits the collection of such data and applies to foreign companies. The China based- Gator Group and Sweden-based Tinitell, both sell smartwatches to children. In other news related to Children's privacy, YouTube has announced new parental controls for YouTube kids. Parents will now be able to limit recommendations and suggestions will now be made by humans. Did Diamond and Silk commit perjury? In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee last week, conservative African American internet personalities Diamond and Silk said under oath that President Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign never paid them. But there’s a 2016 Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing showing that the campaign paid them $1,275 for “field consulting”. Harper Neidig reports in the Hill. CBC members to meet in Silicon Valley to discuss diversity The Congressional Black Caucus is sending the largest delegation of lawmakers it has ever sent to Silicon Valley to discuss diversity. Just 3% of Silicon Valley tech workers are black, according to a Center for Investigative Reporting study. Shirin Ghaffary reports in Recode. Facebook warns SEC about more data misuse In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Facebook indicated that additional reports of the misuse of user data are likely forthcoming. The social media giant said it is conducting a third-party audit which it anticipates will reveal additional improprieties. Google’s Sergey Brin warns about AI threat Finally, Google co-founder Sergey Brin warned in the company’s annual Founders’ Letter about the future of AI and the fact that it is already transforming everything from self-driving cars to planetary discovery. Brin said he is optimistic about Artificial Intelligence and said that Alphabet is giving serious consideration to the ways in which AI will affect employment, how developers can control for bias in their algorithms, and the potential for AI to “manipulate people.” James Vincent notes in the Verge that Brin’s letter does not discuss the dangers of using AI for military intelligence, although the company has said its technology would be used for “non-offensive purposes only”. Still, several employees at the company are urging Alphabet to withdraw from its plans to work with the Pentagon.
Joe Jerome: An overview of GDPR requirements (Ep. 130) Bio Joseph Jerome (@joejerome) is a Policy Counsel on CDT's Privacy & Data Project. His work focuses on the legal and ethical questions posed by smart technologies and big data, and he is interested in developing transparency and accountability mechanisms and procedures around novel uses of data. Prior to joining CDT, Joe was an associate in the cybersecurity and privacy practice of a major law firm. His practice focused on advertising technologies and privacy compliance in the health and financial sectors. Additionally, he worked on a wide range of consumer privacy issues at the Future of Privacy Forum and has written articles about data ethics, trust in the online gig economy, and emerging technologies in video games. Joe has a J.D. from the New York University School of Law, where he was an International Law and Human Rights Student Fellow, and a B.A. from Boston University. Resources enter for Democracy and Technology (CDT) Top 10 operational impacts of the GDPR (via IAPP) Top 10 operational responses to the GDPR (via IAPP) Security, Privacy & Tech Inquiries Blog by Lukasz Olejnik World without Mind by Franklin Foer News Roundup Trump fails to act on Russian cyberattacks U.S. Cyber Command head Admiral Mike Rogers told the Senate Armed Services Committee that President Trump has yet to give an order to implement measures that would prevent further Russian cyberattacks. This is despite reports last week of Russia's deepening efforts to interfere with American politics. For example, the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology released a report saying that between 2015 and 2017, accounts on social media that were linked to Russian propagandists, tried to influence policies that would undermine U.S. efforts to sell natural gas in Europe where Russia has considerable market share. Also, Reddit reported that thousands shared Russian propaganda on its site, prompting demands for more answers from the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Tumblr. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is also said to be pursuing a case against Russians who conducted cyberattacks against Democrats during the 2016 election. These charges would be in addition to the ones Mueller has already brought against Russians accused of spreading propaganda on social media, according to NBC News' Ken Dilanian. But despite the absence of specific directives from the White House to U.S. Cyber Command, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats claimed before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that the White House is taking a “whole government approach” under which the president has tasked the 17 agencies Mr. Coats oversees with addressing the Russian cyber threat. John Bowden at the Hill reported that Russians also collected Americans' personal data from social media platforms during the 2016 campaign. On Monday top Democrats including Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Dianne Feinstein wrote a letter to President Trump urging him to extradite the 13 Russian nationals FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted last month for allegedly using social media to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that the extradition would never happen. Ninth Circuit will hear consolidated net neutrality appeal The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is based in San Francisco, will hear the multidistrict litigation initiated by 22 state attorneys general to appeal the Federal Communications Commission's decision to repeal the Obama-era net neutrality rules. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict litigation chose the Ninth circuit at random. Trump blocks Broadcom acquisition of Qualcomm President Trump has blocked Singapore tech giant Broadcom's acquisition of Qualcomm, citing national security concerns. At $117 billion, the merger of the two chipmakers would have been the biggest tech deal in history. The Verge reports that Broadcom is in the process of moving its headquarters to the U.S. by April 3rd. Twitter cracks down on ‘Tweetdeckers Twitter purged several accounts for “tweetdecking”, a violation of Twitter's spam policy in which users mass tweet each other's tweets using platforms like Tweetdeck. Some of the accounts that were suspended had millions of followers. A new MIT study also released last week found that fake news travels some 6 times faster on Twitter than the truth. White House holds video game violence meeting Harper Neidig at the Hill reported on the White House's meeting with video game industry representatives. The president convened the behind-closed-doors meeting to discuss the role of video games in promoting mass shootings. In attendance were representatives from the Parents Television Council, Entertainment Software Association, as well as executives from game makers Rockstar and ZeniMax. The Verge reported that the meeting was largely unproductive and Activision announced the release of its latest ‘Call of Duty' installment on the same day the White House meeting took place. FBI paid Geek Squad employees to inform on Child Pornography Laurel Wamsley at NPR reported that the FBI paid informants at Best Buy's computer repair service unit Geek Squad to flag child pornography found on their customers' computers.The Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the FBI last year about these searches and the new documents illustrate more about the nature of the relationship between the FBI and Geek Squad. FBI Agent Tracey Riley testified in a Jefferson County Kentucky Circuit Court last week confirming that that FBI agents paid Geek Squad workers in a Best Buy store in Kentucky when they found child pornography. FCC Proposes $1 billion for Caribbean hurricane recovery efforts FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposed over $1 billion in funding to aid in the recovery of communications networks in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Sixty-four million would go immediately towards restoring networks. The rest, or $954 million, would go towards longer-term projects to enhance broadband networks in the Caribbean. Harper Neidig reports in the Hill. Congressional Black Caucus pushes tech on lobbying diversity The Congressional Black Caucus wrote a letter to the Internet Association, CTIA, NCTA and US Telecom urging them to hire and retain more black lobbyists given African-Americans' widespread use of mobile devices. White House joins push for internet sales tax The White House is joining in states' push for the Supreme Court to overturn a 1992 precedent, Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, that held that many online retailers don't have to add sales tax to the prices their customers pay. Thirty-five states support overturning the decision. Online retailers who oppose doing so claim that it would be too onerous to collect taxes from fifty different states. Jess Bravin reports for the Wall Street Journal. Number of Americans affected by Equifax breach keeps growing Equifax's interim Chief Executive Paulino do Rego Barros Jr. announced on Thursday that an additional 2.4 million consumers were affected by their massive data breach last year. It brings the total up to 147.9 million. Brian Fung reports in the Washington Post. House reauthorizes the FCC The House voted to reauthorize the Federal Communications Commission with legislation that seeks to develop 5G networks and invest funds for the spectrum incentive auction. If the bill passes Congress, it will be the first time since 1990 that Congress has reauthorized the Commission. Harper Neidig reports in the Hill. Amazon offering 54 percent discount to Medicaid recipients Amazon announced last week that, for Medicaid recipients only, it would cut the monthly Prime subscription down to $5.99 per month. This is $7.00 less than the standard $12.99 fee. The move is seen as an effort by Amazon to attract Walmart customers. MIT study finds Uber & Lyft drivers earn less than minimum wage A new MIT study found that Uber and Lyft drivers earn less on average that minimum wage workers. The report found a median profit of $3.37 per hour before taxes. Ashley May has the report in USA Today.
Joining A&G this hour, WaPo Tech guy Brian Fung explains why AT&T wants a net neutrality law. Plus, more on the Secret Society and Jack's important life hack.
Joining A&G this hour, WaPo Tech guy Brian Fung explains why AT&T wants a net neutrality law. Plus, more on the Secret Society and Jack's important life hack.
Joining A&G this hour, WaPo Tech guy Brian Fung explains why AT&T wants a net neutrality law. Plus, more on the Secret Society and Jack's important life hack.
Rupert Murdoch has proposed that Facebook pay a "carriage fee" to publishers in exchange for distributing their news articles. Amol Rajan is joined by the former Culture Minister John Whittingdale, Krishnan Guru-Murthy of Channel 4 News, Eleanor Mills of The Sunday Times, Mark Di Stefano of BuzzFeed, and Brian Fung of the Washington Post. The podcast version of this programme contains an extended interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy. Presenter: Amol Rajan Producer: Richard Hooper.
Bio Monica Anderson is a research associate at the Pew Research Center. Her work focuses on internet and technology issues. Much of her recent work focuses on the impact of the digital divide, growing role of automation in everyday life, and the role of online activism in the age of social media. She has a master's degree in media studies from Georgetown University, where her work focused on the intersection of race, politics and social media. Resources Americans and Automation in Every Day Life by Aaron Smith and Monica Anderson Pew Research Center The Next America: Boomers, Millennials, and the Looming Generational Showdown by Paul Taylor News Roundup Communications Workers Union sues companies for discriminatory Facebook employment ads The Communications Workers of America, the nation's leading union representing telecommunications industry workers, is suing several companies for placing job ads on Facebook that targeted users under age 40 and, in some cases, under 38. The complaint alleges that T-Mobile, Amazon, and Cox Communications placed job ads on Facebook and placed age caps on their audience target. Sharon Bernstein reports for Reuters. Twenty-six Senators plan to block FCC's net neutrality repeal The likelihood that the Republican-controlled Congress will pass legislation to overturn the FCC's repeal of the 2015 net neutrality rules seems like a long-shot. Nevertheless, as many as 26 Senators support Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey's effort to undo the vote using the Congressional Review Act. Colin Lecher reports in the Verge. Republicans also announced their own version of a net neutrality bill. Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn unveiled the Open Internet Preservation Act, which would restore two of the repealed net neutrality rules including the rule against throttling and the rule against blocking. However, the bill doesn't bring back the rule against paid prioritization. Without that, ISPs would be free to charge website operators exorbitant fees for access to internet fast lanes. Brian Fung reports on this in the Washington Post. AT&T announces layoffs To celebrate Congress' passage of the tax overhaul, AT&T announced that it would pay $1,000 bonuses to its 200,000 employees. Then the company turned around and announced that it would be laying off more than a thousand workers. Carlos Bellesteros reports for Newsweek. White House: Facebook, Microsoft thwarts cyber threats The White House announced that Microsoft and Facebook disabled North Korean cyberattacks earlier this year. White House homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert said that Facebook and Microsoft disabled the WannaCry virus that disabled critical institutions such as hospitals and banks earlier this year, as well as several other ongoing cyberattacks. Dustin Volz reports for Reuters. Tax overhaul benefits Silicon Valley The new tax overhaul has major benefits for Silicon Valley independent contractors, executives and investors. Many top tech executives will see more take-home pay, and some contractors will as well. Tech giants will see major tax cuts and will be able to bring back money earned overseas at a lower tax rate than they had been able to previously. Blue collar workers in the Valley, such as security workers, will see some tax benefits but nowhere near as substantial as those of higher paid workers. Paresh Dave, Heather Somerville and Jeffrey Dastin report for Reuters. DHS conducting unauthorized face scans at U.S. airports In a new report, the Georgetown University Center on Privacy and Technology found that the Department of Homeland Security is scanning the faces of American citizens traveling internationally and comparing it to a national database. The report found that this program affects as many as 1 in 25 international travelers. Homeland is implementing the face scanning program at eight airports in Boston Logan, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Chicago O'Hare, Las Vegas McCarran, Miami International, Hobby International in Houston, New York's JFK, and Washington Dulles. Although it has approved the use of biometrics for screening foreign nationals who are entering the country, Congress has not yet authorized the practice of face-scanning American citizens who are exiting. Harrison Rudolph, Laura Moy, and Alvaro Bedoya authored the report, which you can find at airportfacescans.com.
On Thursday, the FCC voted to approve Chairman Ajit Pai's plan to eliminate the so-called net neutrality rules preventing Internet service providers from speeding up access to some websites while slowing down or blocking others. On a straight party-line vote of 3 to 2, the five FCC commissioners didn't just do away with net neutrality regulations passed under the Obama administration, but went a step further, voiding the original document supporting a free and open online experience. In this week's TrumpWatch, host Jesse Lent speaks to Washington Post reporter Brian Fung about what happens now that net neutrality has become a thing of the past in the US.
On Thursday, the FCC voted to approve Chairman Ajit Pai's plan to eliminate the so-called net neutrality rules preventing Internet service providers from speeding up access to some websites while slowing down or blocking others. On a straight party-line vote of 3 to 2, the five FCC commissioners didn't just do away with net neutrality regulations passed under the Obama administration, but went a step further, voiding the original document supporting a free and open online experience. In this week's TrumpWatch, host Jesse Lent speaks to Washington Post reporter Brian Fung about what happens now that net neutrality has become a thing of the past in the US.
On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to approve Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to eliminate the so-called “net neutrality” rules preventing Internet service providers from speeding up access to some websites while slowing down or blocking others. On a straight party-line vote of 3 to 2, the five FCC commissioners didn’t just do away with net neutrality regulations passed under the Obama administration, but went a step further, voiding the original document supporting a free and open online experience, the 2005 “Internet policy statement.” So, how will this affect your own personal online experience? In this week’s “TrumpWatch” on WBAI, host Jesse Lent speaks to Washington Post reporter Brian Fung about what happens now that net neutrality has become a thing of the past in the US. Brian wrote the Dec. 15 article “The never ending battle over net neutrality is far from over. Here’s what’s coming next.”
WaPo tech reporter Brian Fung sets the record straight on net neutrality. Plus, Disney's crazy Trump robot, and why Christmas is bad (but gay hook-ups are OK) in DC.
How will the FCC's decision on net neutrality change your internet experience? Washington Post Tech Reporter Brian Fung provides A&G with his insights!
WaPo tech reporter Brian Fung sets the record straight on net neutrality. Plus, Disney's crazy Trump robot, and why Christmas is bad (but gay hook-ups are OK) in DC.
How will the FCC's decision on net neutrality change your internet experience? Washington Post Tech Reporter Brian Fung provides A&G with his insights!
Bio Carmen Scurato (@carmenscurato) is Vice President, Policy and General Counsel at the National Hispanic Media Coalition, where she leads NHMC's policy and government affairs office in Washington, D.C. She is responsible for developing policy and legal strategies that encourage open and affordable communications, innovation, competition, and diversity. Carmen represents NHMC in meetings with decision makers in Congress and at federal regulatory agencies. She has spoken extensively on the ways that communications policy impacts people of color and regularly appears in outlets such as Fast Company, Fortune, The Root and the Guardian to highlight NHMC's policy and advocacy efforts. Carmen coordinates organizational responses to regulatory proposals that threaten to widen the digital divide and has co-authored several notable filings for Voices for Internet Freedom highlighting the importance of Net Neutrality and the Lifeline program for communities of color. In 2017, Carmen was the architect of Freedom of Information Act requests that compelled the FCC to release more than 50,000 consumer complaints, previously undisclosed, that drew renewed attention to the importance of preserving the 2015 Open Internet Order. Carmen also supervises NHMC's legal fellowship program, which provides an opportunity for select students throughout the country to experience media, technology, and telecommunications law and advocacy. Before joining NHMC, Carmen worked at the Department of Justice and assisted in Medicare fraud investigations, including a False Claims Act case that resulted in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars. She also worked at the DOJ Office of Legislative Affairs on large document requests received from congressional oversight committees. Carmen, a native of Puerto Rico, earned her J.D. from Villanova University School of Law and her B.A. cum laude from New York University. Carmen also serves on the public policy advisory council to the American Library Association and is a member of the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee. She also sits on the Advisory Board for Full Color Future and was named as one of 2017's Full Color 50. Carmen is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar, Hispanic National Bar Association, and the Federal Communications Bar Association. Resources National Hispanic Media Coalition Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil News Roundup Despite deeply flawed public record, FCC still plans net neutrality repeal The FCC is poised to repeal its net neutrality rules this Thursday despite tens of thousands of fake or fraudulent comments in the record. Both Democratic FCC Commissioners, several members of Congress, and protesters have called on the FCC to delay repealing the rules. However, Chairman Ajit Pai and his Republican colleagues are planning to overturn the rules anyway. The FCC on Monday announced a so-called framework under which it and the FTC would ostensibly work in partnership to weed out bad actors on the internet. However, this is more likely to be political maneuvering by the two agencies' Republican leadership, since FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeney wrote a widely-read op-ed in Quartz last week stating that the FTC does not have the expertise to regulate internet service providers. Additionally, Brian Fung noted in the Washington Post that a case that's currently pending in the 9th Circuit could restrict those who wish to file grievances against their internet service providers even further. In FTC v. AT&T Mobility, the court will decide, within days, whether a parent corporate entity can escape being classified as a common carrier even if one or more of its smaller subsidiaries is classified as such. This is important because the FTC does not have jurisdiction over common carriers--only the FCC does. So if the court defines AT&T as a common carrier, the notion that the FTC would have any kind of authority to enforce net neutrality principles against ISPs, is a joke, basically--since AT&T would be able to claim an exemption from FTC enforcement based on the fact that its subsidiary is classified as a common carrier. And, as Brian explains, overturning the net neutrality rules would effectively remove AT&T from the FCC's common carrier definition. Taken together, a decision in the 9th circuit that's favorable to AT&T, combined with the FCC overturning the net neutrality rules, would make it a great week for AT&T, as it would mean that the company isn't subject to regulation by either agency. House Democrats, including Elijah Cummings, are calling on the Government Accountability Office to investigate the fake comments. Former National Security Officials say Trump voter database could be hacked In an amicus brief filed in the DC Circuit in support of Common Cause's lawsuit against the Trump Administration, Former National Security officials are worried that the Trump administration's proposed database that's designed to prevent so-called voter fraud would be susceptible to large-scale hacking. The former officials, including former National Intelligence Director James Clapper say exposing the personal information of millions of Americans online would invite hacking by both nation-states and criminals. Cloudflare CEO backtracks on 'Daily Stormer' takedown Remember when Cloudflare decided to stop hosting the neo-Nazi website 'Daily Stormer' for mocking the woman who was mowed down during Charlottesville riots in August? Now, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince says that was a mistake because he's almost a "free speech absolutist" and that he let his emotions get the better of him. He says he's going to try not to be so impulsive next time. And, in the future, if the Southern Poverty Law Center reaches out to him to complain about hateful content Cloudflare is hosting, he's just going to delegate it to the Electronic Frontier Foundation--a privacy-focused non-profit that's based on the West Coast--and let those two duke it out. He's too busy to help curtail hate speech, basically. Meanwhile, Google announced that it will be hiring 10,000 people to help stamp out extremist content on YouTube. SEC Crypto unit files first charges The Securities and Exchange Commission's new division that's focused on cryptocurrencies filed its first charges last week. They're against a company called PlexCorps, which was about to hold an initial coin offering (ICO) for which it claimed investors would receive 13 times their investment. The SEC alleged fraud and froze the company's assets. Meanwhile, the price of a single Bitcoin has jumped to over $17,000, from around $1,000 in January. Bitcoin futures also launched on the New York and London exchanges on Monday. Many experts are predicting that Bitcoin will eventually crash. Facebook kids messenger app raises privacy red flags Facebook released a new app last week called Messenger Kids which lets kids under 12 "connect with people they love but also has the level of control parents want." Almost immediately, Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumentahl raised concerns, saying that the app raises privacy and security concerns. So they're asking Facebook for more clarity on how the app works. White House says warrantless NSA surveillance can continue after statute expires The NSA's warrantless surveillance program will expire on January 1st if Congress doesn't pass an extension. However, the White House says that it has the authority to keep the program going because the FISA court met on April 26th and made changes that would remain in place for a year. Charlie Savage reports in the New York Times. Google blocks Youtube on Amazon devices Google has blocked YouTube on Amazon's streaming devices. Google says Amazon refuses to offer Amazon Prime through Google gadgets and has recently halted the sale of Google's Nest. AT&T/Time Warner merger trial set for March The trial between the Department of Justice against the AT&T/Time Warner merger is set to begin on March 19th. This is unlikely to meet that April 22 deadline for the deal to close, on which AT&T would have to pay Time Warner $500 million.
The Internet plays an essential role in our modern society and yet the way the Internet will be governed is still unclear. In anticipation of an impending Federal Communications Commission vote to reverse the so called “net neutrality” regulation implemented during the Obama administration, we look at the law which the FCC is trying to enforce. We also examine our current lawmaker’s plans for Internet governance by listening to highlights of three hearings featuring testimony from lawyers from Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Please Support Congressional Dish Click here to contribute using credit card, debit card, PayPal, or Bitcoin Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Bills H.R. 3989: Amend Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 S. 652 (104th): Telecommunications Acto of 1996 Additional Reading Article: House foreign surveillance turf war heats up as law sunset nears by Daniel R. Stoller, Bloomberg, December 1, 2017. Article: Colorado warns families to be prepared in case congress doesn't come through on CHIP funding by Kimberly Leonard, Washington Examiner, November 27, 2017 Article: Congress confronts jam-packed December with shutdown deadline looming by Mike Debonis and Ed O'Keefe, The Washington Post, November 26, 2017 Article: States prepare to shut down children's health programs if congress doesn't act by Colby Itkowitz and Sandhya Somashekhar, The Washington Post, November 23, 2017. Article: Here's how the end of net neutrality will change the internet by Klint Finley, Wired, November 22, 2017. Article: What is net neutrality? by Aaron Byrd and Natalia V. Osipova, NY Times, November 21, 2017. Article: Will the Telecommunications Act get a much-needed update as it turns 21? by Richard Adler, Recode, February 8, 2017. Article: Cable tv price increases have beaten inflation every single year for 20 years by Nathan McAlone, Business Insider, October 31, 2016 Article: 20 years after the Telecommunications Act of 1996, rekindling Congress's political will by Stuart N. Brotman, The Hill, February 8, 2016. Article: The city that was saved by the internet by Jason Koebler, Motherboard, October 27, 2016. Article: This was 1995: A pop culture snapshot by Patricia Garcia, Vogue, September 1, 2015. Article: Why your internet prices are bound to go up by Brian Fung, Washington Post, July 23, 2015. Report: In a nutshell: Net neutrality, CBS News, March 1, 2015. Report: AT&T buys DirectTV for $48.5 billion by Roger Yu, USA Today, May 18,2014. Article: Federal appeals court strikes down net neutrality rules by Brian Fung, Washington Post, January 14, 2014. Article: Legal gymnastics ensue in oral arguments for Verizon vs. FCC by Jennifer Yeh, Freepress, September 10, 2013. Report: Comcast completes NBC Universal merger, Reuters, January 29, 2011. References Bill Resources: H.R.1555 Communications Act of 1995 Bill Roll Call: H.R. 3989 Vote Roll Call FCC Resources: Telecommunications Act of 1996 Mission Statement: AIPAC - America's Pro-Israel Lobby Network Map: Community Networks Publication: Public Law 104 Telecommunications Act of 1996 Publication: The USA Liberty Act Report: Akamai's State of the Internet 2017 Report: FCC Fact Sheet Support Page: AT&T HBO Channels Visual References Cable Prices vs. Inflation, 1995-2015 Sound Clip Sources Senate Select Intelligence Committee: Facebook, Google and Twitter Executives on Russian Election Interference; November 1, 2017 (Senate Social Media) Witnesses: Colin Stretch - Facebook Vice President & General Counsel Sean Edgett - Twitter Acting General Counsel 1:49:24 Sen. Roy Blunt (MO): Mr. Stretch, how much money did the Russians spend on ads that we now look back as either disruptive or politically intended? It was at $100,000. Is that— Colin Stretch: It was approximately $100,000. Blunt: I meant from your company. Stretch: Yes, approximately $100,000. Blunt: How much of that did they pay before the election? Stretch: The— Blunt: I’ve seen the— Stretch: Yeah. Blunt: —number 44,000. Blunt: Is that right? Stretch: So— Blunt: 56 after, 44 before. Stretch: The ad impressions ran 46% before the election, the remainder after the election. Blunt: 46%. Well, if I had a consultant that was trying to impact an election and spent only 46% of the money before Election Day, I’d be pretty upset about that, I think. So, they spent $46,000. How much did the Clinton and Trump campaigns spend on Facebook? I assume before the election. Stretch: Yeah. Before the elec— Blunt: They were better organized than the other group. Stretch: Approximate—combined approximately $81 million. Blunt: 81 million, and before the election. Stretch: Yes. Blunt: So, 81 million. I’m not a great mathematician, but 46,000, 81 million, would that be, like, five one-thousandths of one percent? It’s something like that. Stretch: It’s a small number by comparison, sir. 2:19:55 Sen. Tom Cotton (AR): Do you see an equivalency between the Central Intelligence Agency and the Russian Intelligence Services? Sean Edgett: We’re not offering our service for surveillance to any government. Cotton: So you will apply the same policy to our Intelligence Community that you apply to an adversary’s intelligence services. Edgett: As a global company, we have to apply our policies consistently. Cotton: This reminds me of the old line from the Cold War, of one who did not see a distinction between the CIA and the KGB on the other hand, because the KGB officer pushed an old lady in front of an oncoming bus, and the CIA officer pushed the old lady out from the path of the oncoming bus, because they both go around pushing old ladies. I hope that Twitter will reconsider its policies when it’s dealing with friendly intelligence services in countries like the United States and the U.K. as opposed to adversarial countries like Russia and China. House Select Intelligence Committee: Facebook, Google and Twitter Executives on Russian Election Interference; November 1, 2017 (House Social Media) Witnesses: Kent Walker - Google Senior Vice President & General Counsel Colin Stretch - Facebook Vice President & General Counsel Sean Edgett - Twitter Acting General Counsel 39:05 Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ): Social-media platforms have the responsibility of striking a balance between removing false information and preserving freedom of speech. Can you give us some brief detail of how each of your companies plan to target perceived false news while protecting the robust political discourse? Kent Walker: Let me take that because that was the sort of next stage to my answer to Mr. Shift’s question. We are taking a number of different steps beyond advertising to focus on fake news. We are working to improve our algorithms, to provide additional guidance and training to the Raiders who provide quality feedback for us, and to look at a wider variety of signals to improve the ranking of authentic and genuine news on our sites and to demote sites that we feel are deceptive or misleading. We are also making broader use of fact-check labels, working with third parties, for both Google Search and Google News. And when it comes to advertising, we’ve taken steps to disallow advertising on sites that misrepresent their nature or purpose, and to add to our policies around or against hate speech, incitement of violence, and the like. Colin Stretch: I would group our efforts with respect to false news into three buckets. First, we find that most false news is financially motivated, and we’re making efforts to disrupt the financial incentives. That, we think, will make a big dent in it. Second, we’re looking to stop the spread of it. So when we have information that’s been disputed by independent fact-checkers, we limit the distribution and we alert users who are attempting to share it that it has been disputed. And third, we’re engaged in a number of user-education efforts to help, particularly around the world, users approach some of the content they see with a more discerning eye. Sean Edgett: We’re tackling this challenge in a few ways, and I think the way this was characterized is correct: it’s a balance between free speech and what’s real and what’s false. And we often see there’s a lot of activity on the platform to correct false narratives, and one of those things, for example, is the text-to-vote tweets that we turned over to you, which we took off our platform as illegal voter suppression. The number of tweets that were counteracting that as false and telling people not to believe that was, like, between eight and 10 times what we saw on the actual tweets. But we’re working on the behavior. That’s where we’re focused right now. We’ve had great strides in focusing on that for things like terrorism and child sexual exploitation. We’re trying to figure out how we can use those learnings to stop the amplification of false news or misinformation, and think we’re making great strides there, but it’s a definite balance. We also have work we’ve done, just like my peers, around ads transparency that, I think, is going to help educate the consumer about who’s paying for an ad, what else they’re running, what they’re targeting, what they’re after—especially around electioneering ads, who’s paying for it, how much they’re spending. We are also working with third parties. We have a Trust and Safety council of experts, academics, around the world who are helping us think through the things that we’re trying to employ to tackle these issues and how they will impact the debate and free speech on our platform. So we’re working hard on this, but it’s a challenge. 59:39 Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL): I submit to you that your efforts have to be more than just about finding malicious and deceptive activity, that you have a responsibility—all of you have a responsibility—to make sure that we are not adding to the problem by not being as rigorous and as aggressive as we can in terms of vetting the content and in terms of making sure that we are being really dynamic in doing that. And I also want to just say that I think it’s ridiculous that a foreign entity can buy a political ad with rubles but can’t give a political contribution to me—a Russian person can’t give me a political contribution. There seems to be some legislation that needs to be had here, is all I’m saying. 1:16:05 Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL): Let’s look at unpaid content for a second. Sometimes these fake accounts are pulled down, but the fake story takes the false claims of widespread voter fraud, for example, generated by these accounts have spread thousands of thousands of times, often picked up by legitimate news accounts. What do you do to flag that? What do you sense is your responsibility? And before any of you answer, let me just notice this, that if we’re asking is, are we still in this situation? As of just a short time ago—and I’m talking about when this meeting started—on Twitter, if you clicked on the hashtag “NYCTerroristAttack,” which is “trending,” marked with a red button saying “live,” the top tweet links to an Infowars story with the headline, “Imam: I Warned De Blasio About New York City Terror; He was Too Busy Bashing Trump.” This is a real-time example of when we talk about this information being weaponized. How quickly can you act, and what’s your responsibility to set the record straight so that the people who saw this know that it’s fake news and at least at some point in time it can’t keep spreading like some sort of virus through legitimate world? Sean Edgett: That’s something we’re thinking about all the time because it’s a bad user experience, and we don’t want to be known as a platform for that. In your example, in for instance, the system self-corrected. That’s not—that shouldn’t be the first tweet you see anymore. It should be a USA article, the last time I checked. Quigley: But you saw this. Edgett: USA Today. At lunch I did, yeah, and I also saw the system correct it. Quigley: Can you give me a really good guess on how long it was top? Edgett: We can follow up with you and your staff on that, and I don’t have the stat in front of me. Quigley: Yeah. Edgett: So I don’t know. But we are, like we said earlier, trying to balance free speech with making the information you see on the system—especially around trends that we direct you to, so if you’re clicking on a hashtag, we want to make sure you’re seeing verified accounts and accurate information and reporting. Sometimes it doesn’t work as we intended. We learn from those mistakes and tweak and modulate going forward. Quigley: Beyond the correction, do you have a responsibility to flag something as “this was fake news”? Edgett: We see our users do that a lot. We’re an open, public platform with respect to journalists and other organizations who point these things out. You may have seen that on this instance, for example. Quigley: Yeah, if someone’s breaking the law, you’ve got to feel like you have a responsibility to do something about that. It’s not—as you said, this is a—with this extraordinary gift, this platform of free expression, comes the responsibility you all talked about. So, if you know something’s illegal, you know you have the responsibility to do something. At what point does this become something where you can’t just correct it; you’ve got to say to the public, this isn’t true. Edgett: Right. And we take swift action on illegal content, illegal activity, on the platform. A good example of this is the text to vote, voter suppression tweets that we’ve turned over to this committee. We saw swift action of the Twitter community on disputing those claims; and Twitter actively tweeted, once it discovered these things were on the platform, to notify our users that this was fake information, that you could not, in fact, vote by tweet, and pointing people to a tool that would allow them to find their nearest polling place. That tweet— Quigley: Is this [unclear] because that was illegal activity, or is this—if something’s just fake, do you think you have an equal responsibility? Edgett: We took that down because it was illegal voter suppression. We are actively working on, how do we balance what is real and fake, and what do we do in the aftermath of something being tweeted and re-tweeted, like you said, and had people even seen it and how do we make sure that they’re seeing other view points and other facts and other news stories. Quigley: Do you have a policy right now where if you know something’s out there that’s not true, of saying so? Edgett: We do not. We have a policy that fosters the debate on the platform. We have a policy that takes down a lot of that content because it comes from automated malicious accounts or spammers. That stuff we’re removing and acting on as quickly as we can. Quigley: And I understand how you’re trying to distinguish that, but the fact is if something’s fake, it doesn’t matter if it’s from a fake account or some bot or something. If it’s just not true and it’s wildly obvious, before it goes viral and gets picked up legitimate, you must feel like you have some responsibility. Edgett: We are—we are deeply concerned about that and figuring out ways we can do it with the right balance. 1:57:39 Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA): RT, Russia Today, on your platform, has 2.2 million subscribers. Fox News, on your platform, has 740,000 subscribers. CNN has 2.3 million subscribers. The Intelligence Community assessment that was made public in January spoke about RT, and it said, “RT conducts strategic messaging for Russian government. It seeks to influence politics and fuel discontent in the United States.” So my question to you is, why have you not shut down RT on YouTube? Kent Walker: Thank you, Congresswoman. We’ve heard the concerns, and we spoke briefly about this previously. We recognize that there’re many concerned about RT’s slanted perspective. At the same time, this is an issue that goes beyond the Internet to cable, satellite television and beyond. We have carefully reviewed RT’s compliance with our policies. We’ve not found violations of our policies against hate speech and incitement to violence and the like. Speier: It’s a propaganda machine, Mr. Walker. The Intelligence Community—all 17 agencies—says it’s an arm of one of our adversaries. Walker: And we agree that— Speier: I would like for you to take that back to your executives and rethink continuing to have it on your platform. Walker: Yes. We agree that transparency’s important for all of these different sources of information. We are working on additional ways to provide that for all government-funded sources of information, including Al Jazeera and a range of government organizations. 2:05:27 Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC): Is it constitutionally protected to utter an intentionally false statement? Colin Stretch: So, it depends on the context, but there is recent Supreme Court precedent on that. On Facebook— Gowdy: On which side: that it is or is not? Stretch: That it is, in most cases, protected. However, on Facebook, our job is not to decide whether content is true or false. We do recognize that false news is a real challenge. The way in which we’re addressing it is by trying to disrupt the financial incentives of those who are profiting from it, which is where most of it comes from. Most of this, most of the fake-news problem is coming from low-quality websites that are trying to drive traffic on every side of every issue, and by disrupting the financial incentives, we’re able to limit the distribution. We’re also trying to make sure that users do know when a story has been disputed by a neutral third party and alerting users to that fact— I’ll stop. I’ll stop there. Gowdy: Well, I’m smiling only because on the last break a couple of my colleagues and I were wondering who those neutral fact-checkers are, and I really do appreciate your desire to want to have a neutral fact-checker. If you could let me know who those folks are, I’d be really grateful, because people in my line of work might take exception with the neutrality of some of the fact-checkers. So, if I understand you correctly, the authenticity of the speaker is very important; the accuracy of the content, less so. Stretch: That’s how we approach it. That’s exactly right. Gowdy: All right. For the life of me, I do not understand how a republic is served by demonstrably, provably, intentionally false information. And I get it, that you don’t want to be the arbiter of opinion—I don’t want you to be, either—but today’s not Thursday, so if I say it is, I swear I don’t understand how my fellow citizens benefit from me telling them something that is demonstrably false, and I am saying it with the intent to deceive. I just—for the life of me, I don’t get it, but I’m out of time. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism: Facebook, Google and Twitter Executives on Russian Disinformation; October 31, 2017 (Social Media) Witnesses: Colin Stretch - Facebook Vice President and General Counsel Sean Edgett - Twitter Acting General Counsel Richard Salgado - Google Law Enforcement & Information Security Director Clint Watts - Foreign Policy Research Institute, National Security Program Senior Fellow Michael Smith -New America, International Security Fellow 38:25 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI): And I gather that all of your companies have moved beyond any notion that your job is only to provide a platform and whatever goes across it is not your affair. Colin Stretch: Senator, our commitment to addressing this problem is unwavering. We take this very seriously and are committed to investing as necessary to prevent this from happening again. Absolutely. Whitehouse: Mr. Edgett? Sean Edgett: Absolutely agree with Mr. Stretch, and this type of activity just creates not only a bad user experience but distrust for the platform, so we are committed to working every single day to get better at solving this problem. Whitehouse: Mr. Salgado? Richard Salgado: That’s the same for Google. We take this very seriously. We’ve made changes, and we will continue to get better. Whitehouse: And ultimately, you are American companies, and threats to American election security and threats to American peace and order are things that concern you greatly, correct? Stretch: That is certainly correct. Edgett: Agree. Salgado: That’s right. 52:15 Sen. Dianne Feinstein (CA): Mr. Salgado, why did Google get preferred status to Russia Today, a Russian propaganda arm, on YouTube? Richard Salgado: There was a period of time where Russia Today qualified really because of algorithms to participate in an advertising program that opened up some inventory for them, subjective standards around popularity and some other criteria to be able to participate in that program. Platforms or publishers like RT drop in and out of the program as things change, and that is the case with RT. They dropped out of the program. Feinstein: Well, why didn’t you revert RT’s preferred status after the ICA came out in January 2017? It took you to September of 2017 to do it. Salgado: The removal of RT from the program was actually a result of, as I understand it, is a result of some of the drop in viewership, not as a result of any action otherwise. So, there was nothing about RT or its content that meant that it stayed in or stayed out. 2:03:15 Sen. Mazie Hirono (HI): So, Mr. Stretch, you said that there are 150 people at Facebook just focused on the content of what’s on your platform. How many people do you have, Mr. Edgett, at Twitter to concentrate on the content and ferretting out the kind of content that would be deemed unacceptable, divisive? I realize there are a lot of First Amendment— Sean Edgett: Right. Hirono: —complicated issues, but how many people do you have? Edgett: Well, we harness the power of both technology, algorithms, machine learning to help us, and also a large team of people, that we call our Trust and Safety team and our User Services team, it’s hundreds of people. We’re at a different scale than Facebook and Google, obviously, but we’re dedicating a lot of resource to make sure that we’re looking at user reports about activity on the platform that they think is violent or activity on the platform they think is illegal, and prioritizing that accordingly. Hirono: So, you have fewer people than Facebook. Facebook has 150; you said you have hundreds. Edgett: Yeah, we have hundreds— Hirono: Hundreds. Edgett: —across User Services and Trust and Safety, looking at the issues of content on the platform. Hirono: What about you, Mr. Salgado? Richard Salgado: Google has thousands of people. There’s many different products, and different teams work on them, but internally we’ll have thousands of people working on them. We also get a good deal of leads on content that we need to review for whether it’s appropriate or not that come from outside the company as well. Hirono: You have thousands of people just focused on the content— Salgado: On various types of content. Hirono: —as Mr. Stretch indicated to us that he has at Facebook? You have thousands of people dedicated? Salgado: We have thousands of people dedicated to make sure the content across our—and remember, Google has many different properties within it—but, yes, the answer is we have thousands that look at content that has been reported to us as inappropriate. Hirono: So, in view of that, Mr. Stretch, do you think 150 people is enough people? Stretch: Senator, to be clear, the 150 people I mentioned earlier is people whose full-time job is focused on addressing terrorism content on Facebook. In terms of addressing content on the site generally, we have thousands. And indeed, we have a Community Operations team that we announced earlier this year that we were going to be adding additional thousands to the several thousands that are already working on this problem every day. Hirono: I think it’s pretty clear that this is a whole new sort of use, or misuse, of your platform, and you may have various ways to address terrorist content, but this is a whole other thing. 2:32:10 Clint Watts: Account anonymity in public provides some benefits to society, but social-media companies must work to immediately confirm real humans operate accounts. The negative effects of social bots far outweigh any benefits that come from the anonymous replication of accounts that broadcast high volumes of misinformation. Reasonable limits on the number of posts any account can make during an hour, day, or week should be developed and human-verification systems should be employed by all social-media companies to reduce automated broadcasting. 2:33:07 Clint Watts: Lastly, I admire those social-media companies that have begun working to fact-check news articles in the wake of last year’s elections. These efforts should continue but will be completely inadequate. Stopping false information—the artillery barrage landing on social-media users comes only when those outlets distributing bogus stories are silenced. Silence the guns, and the barrage will end. I propose the equivalent of nutrition labels for information outlets, a rating icon for news-producing outlets displayed next to their news links and social-media feeds and search engines. The icon provides users an assessment of the news outlet’s ratio of fact versus fiction and opinion versus reporting. The rating system would be opt-in. It would not infringe on freedom of speech or freedom of the press. Should not be part of the U.S. government, should sit separate from the social-media companies but be utilized by them. Users wanting to consume information from outlets with a poor rating wouldn’t be prohibited. If they are misled about the truth, they have only themselves to blame. 2:44:20 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI): Mr. Watts, you’ve been a U.S. Army infantry officer, you’ve been an FBI special agent on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, you’ve been executive officer of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, and you’ve been a consultant to the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division and National Security Branch, so you clearly take American national security very seriously. It is, and has been, your life’s work. So, when you say, ”The Kremlin disinformation playbook,” which we’re talking about here, “will also be adopted by authoritarians, dark political campaigns, and unregulated global corporations who will use this type of social-media manipulation to influence weaker countries; harm less-educated, vulnerable populations; and mire business challengers,” you’re not just talking about the Russian election-manipulation operation getting worse and having to be contained. You’re talking about it as if it’s a technology that other bad actors can adopt and have it metastasized entirely into new fields of dissimulation, propaganda, and so forth. Clint Watts: Yes. Whitehouse: Correct? Watts: Everybody will duplicate this if they don’t believe in the rule of law, if they want to destroy democracies from the inside out. Anyone with enough resources and time and effort, if they put it against us, they can duplicate this. I could duplicate it if I chose to. Whitehouse: So, if we don’t stop it now, it’s going to get exponentially worse. Watts: Yes. And I think the one thing that we should recognize is even in the U.S. political context, if we don’t put some sort of regulation around it, if bodies like this don’t decide how we want American politics to work, everybody will be incentivized to use this same system against their political opponents, and if you don’t, you will lose. 2:51:35 Sen. John Kennedy (LA): The First Amendment implications of all of this concern me as well. I mean, what’s fake news? What do you think fake news is? Clint Watts: Fake news, over the years since I’ve been involved and talking about this, is any news the other side doesn’t like, doesn’t matter what side it is. Kennedy: That’s right. Michael Smith: Senator, if I may. I’m teaching undergrads a course at Georgia State University this semester titled Media, Culture, and Society; and we’re about to start classes focused on fake news later this week. I would submit that fake news might best be defined as deliberate mis- or disinformation, which is tailored or engineered to achieve a particular outcome in the way of behaviors, to persuade perceptions in a manner that lead to behaviors such as perhaps a vote for or against somebody. Kennedy: Well, that’s a good definition, but I’ll end on this: in whose opinion? Watts: But I think there are parameters that we could come around. I mean, reporting versus opinion is a key point of it. I think also in terms of fact versus fiction, I’ve actually set up rating systems on foreign media outlets before the U.S. Government’s paid me to do that, you know, in the Iraq/Afghanistan campaigns. House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee: FCC Oversight; October 25, 2017 Witnesses: Ajit Pai: FCC Chairman 14:00 Rep. Greg Walden: Ultimately, Congress is the appropriate forum to settle the net neutrality debate. I think you hear a little of that passion here on both sides. And I’ve been continuing my efforts to negotiate a compromise. Although my staff continues to engage in the various affected parties in productive discussions toward that end, my colleagues in the minority have, unfortunately, seemed largely uninterested at this point. Love to see that change, by the way. Door remains open. We’re willing and able to codify net neutrality protections and establish a federal framework in statute for providing certainty to all participants in the Internet ecosystem. I don’t think we need Title II to do that. 1:31:45 Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH): Voice-activated virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are becoming an increasingly popular consumer gateway to the Internet. Some day soon they might even become consumer-preferred interface with the Internet, leaving the age of the desktop Google Search behind. You get Yelp results in Siri, OpenTable in Google, TuneIn radio from Alexa. These interactions are occurring through private partnerships among these companies to have their apps interact. However, it creates a situation where, by definition, the consumers’ access to other Internet content is limited or completely blocked. It’s the question of, who answers Siri’s question when you ask Siri something? Chairman Pai, can the FCC do anything about this? Ajit Pai: Congressman, under our current Internet regulations, we cannot. Those do not apply to edge providers. 1:36:12 Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA): Will you commit to us that you’ll apply or consider applying broadcast-transparency requirements to state-sponsored media outlets like RT? And if not, why not? Ajit Pai: Congresswoman, thank you for the question. As I under— Eshoo: Uh-huh, you’re welcome. Pai: As I understand the law— Eshoo: Uh-huh, mm-hmm. Pai: —there is no jurisdictional hook at this point, no transfer of a license, for example, that allows the FCC to a certain jurisdiction. Eshoo: But what about those that have a license and carry them? Do you have—doesn’t the FCC have any say so in that, or is this, as the Intelligence Community said, that they are a principle international propaganda outlet? So are they just going to operate in the United States no matter what? Pai: Congresswoman, again, under the Communications Act and the Constitution, the First Amendment, we do not have currently a jurisdictional hook for taking and doing an investigation of that kind. If you’re privy to, obviously, classified or unclassified information that suggests that there might be another agency that has, obviously, a direct interest in the issue—and we’re, obviously, happy to work with them—but at the current time, as I’ve been advised, neither under the First Amendment nor under the Communications Act do we have the ability to— Eshoo: Well, First Amendment applies to free speech in our country. It doesn’t mean that the Kremlin can distribute propaganda in our country through our airwaves. I just—I don’t know if you’re looking hard enough. 1:40:05 Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY): In 2013, and I was one of the households affected by this, there was a carriage dispute between CBS and Time Warner Cable. And CBS blocked Time Warner Cable Internet customers from viewing its shows online through a CBS.com website. So I couldn’t get any of CBS or SHOWTIME or any of that on TV. If you went to the website, because Time Warner Cable was our cable provider and Internet service provider, you couldn’t go to CBS.com—it was blocked. Or SHOWTIME to watch any of the shows that was coming out. And that was when some new ones were coming out that August, so we were trying to find that. But some members of Congress said, bring this up, and I think Chairwoman Clyburn was acting chairwoman at the time and said that she didn’t believe the agency had the jurisdiction to intervene in this situation. And Chairman Pai, do you think if it happened now, do you think the FCC would have the opportunity to intervene in a similar case? Ajit Pai: Congressman, I think the legal authorities have not changed to the extent that the FCC gets a complaint that a party is acting in bad faith in the context of retransmission dispute, then we would be able to adjudicate it. But absence to such a complaint or additional authority from Congress, we couldn’t take further action. Guthrie: But currently the Title II, open Internet, is still in effect. Is that—how would that affect it? Pai: Oh, currently, yes. Just to be clear, I should have added was well then, our Internet regulations would not apply to that kind of content to the extent you’re talking about, the blocking of online distribution of [unclear]. Guthrie: Because it only applies to the service provider, not to the content provider? Pai: That is correct, sir. Federal Communications Commission: Open Internet Rules; February 26, 2015 (Open Internet Rules) Witnesses: Agit Pai: FCC Commissioner 38:05 Ajit Pai: For 20 years, there has been a bipartisan consensus in favor of a free and open Internet. A Democratic president and Republican Congress enshrined in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 the principle that the Internet should be a vibrant and competitive free market “unfettered by federal and state regulation.” And dating back to the Clinton administration, every FCC chairman—Republican and Democrat—has let the Internet grow free from utility-style regulation. The results speak for themselves. But today the FCC abandons those policies. It reclassifies broadband Internet access service as a Title II telecommunications service. It seizes unilateral authority to regulate Internet conduct to direct where Internet service providers, or ISPs, make their investments and to determine what service plans will be available to the American public. This is not only a radical departure from the bipartisan market-oriented policies that have serviced so well over the past two decades, it is also an about-face from the proposals the FCC itself made just last May. So why is the FCC turning its back on Internet freedom? Is it because we now have evidence that the Internet is broken? No. We are flip-flopping for one reason and one reason only: President Obama told us to do so. Barack Obama: I’m asking the FCC to reclassify Internet service under Title II of a law known as the Telecommunications Act. Pai: On November 10, President Obama asked the FCC to implement his plan for regulating the Internet, one that favors government regulation over marketplace competition. As has been widely reported in the press, the FCC has been scrambling ever since to figure out a way to do just that. The courts will ultimately decide this order’s fate. Litigants are already lawyering up to seek a judicial review of these new rules. And given this order’s many glaring legal flaws, they’ll have plenty of fodder. 40:46 Ajit Pai: This order imposes intrusive government regulations that won’t work, to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, using legal authority the FCC doesn’t have. Accordingly, I dissent. 1:03:15 Ajit Pai: And I’m optimistic that we will look back on today’s vote as an aberration, a temporary deviation from the bipartisan consensus that has served us so well. I don’t know whether this plan will be vacated by a court, reversed by Congress, or overturned by a future commission, but I do believe its days are numbered. Telecommunications Bill Signing: February 8, 1996 (Bill Signing) 4:59 Vice President Al Gore: I firmly believe that the proper role of government in the development of the information superhighway is to promote and achieve at every stage of growth, at every level of operation, at every scale, the public interest values of democracy, education, and economic and social well-being for all of our citizens. If we do not see to it that every project, every network, every system addresses the public interest at the beginning, then when will it be addressed? How can we expect the final organism to express these values if they are not included in its DNA, so to speak, at the beginning? For that reason, in 1993, on behalf of the president, I presented five principles that the Clinton administration would seek in any telecommunication reform legislation: private investment, competition, universal service, open access, and flexible regulations. Telecommunications Act Conference: December 12, 1995 (Conference) 22:15 Rep. Rick Boucher: In the very near future, most homes are going to have two broadband wires that will offer the combination of telephone service and cable TV service. One of those will have started as a telephone wire; the other will have started as a cable television wire. The programming that is affiliated with the owners of those wires obviously is going to be available to consumers in the homes, but other programmers may very well be denied access. And if access to other programming is denied, consumers will be deprived of video offerings to which they should be entitled. Telecommunications Act Conference: December 6, 1995 (Conference) 27:14 Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL): No one has a right to give pornography to children. While we have not previously criminalized this area on the federal level, it’s necessary to do so now. This is because of the advent of the Internet, which enables someone in one location to instantly send or make available pornography to children in every city in America. Children don’t have the right to buy pornography in any store in America, yet some would argue there’s a right to give it to them free, delivered to their home by computer. Telecommunications Act Conference: Telecommunications Reform Act of 1995; October 25, 1995 8:58 Sen. John McCain: I believe the Senate bill in its present form is far too regulatory. Any bill that gives 80 new tasks to the Federal Communications Commission, in my view, does not meet the standard that we have set for ourselves of trying to allow everyone to compete in a deregulated—in an environment that is changing so quickly that none of us predicted five years ago that it would look like it is today. And today we have no idea what the industry will look like in five years. 32:00 Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN): One thing that does please me is when I think about one of the last renaissance of electricity, electricity goes to the big cities and leaves out the rural areas, and then we have to come up with the REMCs. When we move America to the World Wide Web, though, we’re not allowing cherry-picking and to move to the great resources in the big cities, but the rural areas will be included in the World Wide Web. And so I congratulate both of you to making sure that that happens, that some of the strength of this country lies in the heart of America, and I think that’s pretty exciting. House Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance: Telecommunications Act Part 1; May 11, 1995 1:25:36 Rep. Dan Schaefer (R-CO): Unlike the case for telephone service, every American household has access to at least one, and soon many more, competitive video providers today. The case simply has not yet been made that the federal government has a duty to do anything other than provide for access to alternative in the case of a purely entertainment service like the upper tier of cable. We have provided that access. We will expand that access in this bill. It is time we focus on the real issues addressed by 1555, the building of advanced broadband networks and the benefits that it will bring to all Americans. House Energy & Commerce Committee: Cable Television Deregulation; February 2, 1994 Witnesses: Bill Reddersen - Bell South Corporation Senior Vice President Jeffery Chester - Center for Media Education Executive Director Edward Reilly - President of McGraw-HIll Broadcasting 7:27 Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA): As telephone companies are able to offer cable TV service inside their telephone-service areas, they’ll have the financial incentive to deploy the broadband technology that will facilitate the simultaneous transport of voice and cable TV service and data messages, building out the infrastructure, creating the last mile of the information highway, that distance from the telephone company’s central office into the premises of the user homes and businesses throughout the nation. 24:36 Bill Reddersen: It is our goal to have you pass legislation this year that enables us to deploy a second broadband network that will compete effectively with cable and bring consumers new and innovative educational healthcare information and entertainment services. 25:12 Bill Reddersen: However, unless you eliminate the competitive advantages this bill confers upon cable companies, our industry will not be able to compete effectively against companies that already have a dominant, if not monopoly, position in programming markets, nor will the bill encourage telephone companies to make or continue the substantial investments required for widespread development of broadband networks. Cable companies are formidable competitors and do not need protection. Cable is a 21-billion-dollar-a-year-gross business, passing over 90% of U.S. homes. According to a recent survey, only 53 out of over 10,000 cable systems compete against a second cable operator. Cable has vertically integrated and diversified into multi-billion-dollar programming and communications businesses. Cable companies and the emerging cable telco alliances clearly do not need protection from telephone companies that currently have no video programming market share, virtually no broadband facilities to the home, and little or no operational experience in the video marketplace. 37:55 Jeffrey Chester: While we share the goal of this committee that every community be served by at least two wires, there are no guarantees that this will be achieved in the near future, even with the proposed legislation. We are also troubled by the unprecedented wave of mergers and acquisitions taking place in the media industries. Serious concerns are raised by the emergence of new media giants controlling regional Bell operating companies, cable systems, TV and film studios, newspapers, broadcasting properties, and information service providers. Without federal intervention, control of the nation’s media system will be in the hands of fewer and less-accountable companies, possessing even more concentrated power. 40:45 Bill Reddersen: Just as we have established private librar—public libraries—and public highways, we need to create public arenas in the electronic commons in the media landscape. A vibrant telecommunication civic sector will be an essential counterbalance to the commercial forces that will dominate the information superhighway. 2:24:38 Bill Reddersen: The common carrier requirements of this legislation are essentially, if executed the way they have in the telephone industry, the second model that you articulated, and that is that if additional capacity was required and someone shows up, we build. Okay? That is the fundamental premise underlying common carrier regulation. 2:30:04 Rep. Michael Oxley (R-OH): Does it really matter if BellSouth builds the wire, the limitless wire, or the cable industry builds the limitless wire if indeed it is essentially a limitless technology that is open to everyone who wants to sell his or her product, including Mr. Reilly, on that particular technology? If you have the common carrier status and you have the ability to deliver your programming, is it really relevant whether BellSouth owns the wire or Mr. Angstrom owns the wire, and if it is indeed relevant, why is it relevant, Mr. Reilly? Edward Reilly: Well, it’s relevant in any instance where the company that owns the wire is also engaged in the programming business at all. If someone is prepared to build a wire and agree that they would never want to be in the programming business, and that we were given very strong safeguards— Oxley: Why is that a problem? Reilly: Well, because we end up inevitably competing with our programming— Oxley: Of course you do. Reilly: —against someone who owns both the wire and the programming content that goes on that wire. Reilly: Why is it relevant, though, if BellSouth owns the wire and you’ve got limitless access and limitless capacity, why does it make any difference that the people who supposedly own the wire are competing against you? They’re competing head to head. You are simply paying the same shelf space for your product as the owner of the product that’s providing that kind of service. Oxley: Well, we have—we believe that there is ample opportunity in that type of environment for a number of anti-competitive activities that would certainly damage our ability to try and be an equal player. Where we get positioned on the wire, what comes up when the menu first comes up, how the billing is organized—there’s a whole host of issues that go along with owning the wire and setting up the infrastructure that can create a significant competitive advantage to someone who chooses to use that for their own program service. 2:38:47 Rep. Billy Tauzin (D-LA): I think the key for us here is to guarantee that there are comparable providers of services and how they get it to us, as long as it’s comparable and we have choice and all people have access to it. If we guarantee that kind of policy for America, we don’t much have to worry about the risk. Consumers take over from there as long as we guarantee, if we do have common carriage on a line, that the owner of the line can’t discriminate; can’t play games with the competitors who own that line; that you can’t play bottleneck games, as publishers are complaining about in the other bill we’re going to debate pretty soon on MMJ; that, in fact, there’s fairness on the playing field. Here’s a question for you in regard to that fairness: If the telephone companies or the utility companies can in fact do what you can’t do—produce their own programs and send them over those lines, even if we restrict them in the number of channels they can use, which I really have a problem with, as Mr. Boucher does—are we going to make sure that the same provisions of program access apply to those producers of programs that we’ve applied to the cable producers? You raised the issue in your testimony. You talked about the problems we had in cable where they own both the software and the hardware—in essence, the content and the conduit—and the problems consumers had as a result of that. Are we going to require the cable companies make 75% of their channels available to competitors? Are we going to require that the utility companies, when they build lines, fiber optic lines, are going to be similarly required to make access available to their competitors? If we’re talking about a real competitive world here, are we going to build a world where some have obligations others don’t have? Some must carry and some don’t? Some must give access to their programs to competitors, as cable is now required to do because of the bill we successfully passed over the president’s veto last year, and over cable’s objection? Are we going to make that same requirement now available—enforced upon other competitors who build wires, or who build some other systems, who decide to deliver it under some particle-beam technology we haven’t dreamed of yet, or the satellite delivery systems that are coming into play? Are we going to create some real equality in this competition, that’s going to give consumers comparable choices? That’s the key word to me—comparable choices. Are we going to do that? Or are we going to dictate the technology, confine you to so many channels, not require you to carry what others have to carry, put requirements on one competitor—the cable company can get on the telephone company’s lines, but the telephone company can’t get on the cable system’s line? Come on. It seems to me if we’re going to build policy that gets consumers real, comparable choices out there, we have to answer all those questions. Video: What the world looks like without net neutrality Video: Net Neutrality II: Last Week Tongight with John Oliver Special Thanks! To Adam Hettler for performing The Most Dangerous time of the Year! See more of Adam here! Background music for The Most Dangerous Time of the Year. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)
Bio Danielle Keats Citron (@daniellecitron) is the Morton & Sophia Macht Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law where she teaches and writes about information privacy, free expression, and civil rights and was the recipient of the 2005 “Teacher of the Year” award. Professor Citron is an internationally recognized information privacy expert. Her book Hate Crimes in Cyberspace (Harvard University Press 2014) explored the phenomenon of cyber stalking and how law and companies can and should tackle online abuse consistent with our commitment to free speech. The editors of Cosmopolitan included her book in “20 Best Moments for Women in 2014.” Professor Citron has published more than 20 law review articles appearing in California Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Harvard Law Review Forum, Boston University Law Review, Fordham Law Review, George Washington Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, Texas Law Review, Washington University Law Review, Southern California Law Review, Washington & Lee Law Review, Wake Forest Law Review, Washington Law Review, UC Davis Law Review, among other journals. Her opinion pieces have appeared in media outlets, such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, Slate, Time, CNN, The Guardian, New Scientist, ars technica, and New York Daily News. In 2015, the United Kingdom's Prospect Magazine named Professor Citron one of the “Top 50 World Thinkers;” the Daily Record named her one of the “Top 50 Most Influential Marylanders.” Professor Citron is an Affiliate Scholar at the Stanford Center on Internet and Society, Affiliate Fellow at the Yale Information Society Project, and Senior Fellow at the Future of Privacy, a privacy think tank. She is a technology contributor for Forbes. Professor Citron has advised federal and state legislators, law enforcement, and international lawmakers on privacy issues. She has testified at congressional briefings on the First Amendment implications of laws regulating cyber stalking, sexual violence, and nonconsensual pornography. From 2014 to December 2016, Professor Citron advised California Attorney General Kamala Harris (elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016) on privacy issues. She served as a member of AG Harris's Task Force to Combat Cyber Exploitation and Violence Against Women. In 2011, Professor Citron testified about online hate speech before the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Anti-Semitism at the House of Commons. Professor Citron works closely with tech companies on issues involving online safety and privacy. She serves on Twitter's Trust and Safety Council and has presented her research at Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft. In addition, Professor Citron is an advisor to civil liberties and privacy organizations. She is the Chair the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Board of Directors. Professor Citron is on the Advisory Board of Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, Without My Consent, Future of Privacy, Teach Privacy, SurvJustice, and the International Association of Privacy Professionals Privacy Bar. She is a member of the American Law Institute and serves as an adviser to the American Law Institute's Restatement Third Information Privacy Principles Project. Professor Citron has presented her research at federal agencies, meetings of the National Association of Attorneys General, the National Holocaust Museum, Wikimedia Foundation, the Anti-Defamation League, major universities, and think tanks. Professor Citron has been quoted in hundreds of news stories including in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Wired,USA Today, HBO's John Oliver Show, HBO's Vice News, Time, Newsweek, New Yorker, New York Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Barron's, Financial Times, The Guardian, Vice News, and BBC. She is a frequent guest on National Public Radio shows, including All Things Considered, WHYY's Radio Times, WNYC's Public Radio International, Minnesota Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Radio, WYPR's Midday with Dan Rodricks, WAMU's The Diane Rehm Show, and Chicago Public Radio. Resources Hate Crimes in Cyberspace by Danielle Keas Citron (Harvard University Press, 2014) Constitutional Coup: Privatization's Threat to the American Republic by Jon D. Michaels (Harvard University Press, 2017) University of Maryland Carey School of Law News Roundup DOJ sues to block AT&T/Tribune Merger The Department of Justice has sued to block AT&T's proposed $85 billion acquisition of Times Warner. The complaint states that the merger would violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act. It refers to AT&T's objection to Comcast's previous acquisition of NBC/Universal, back in 2011, which was also a so-called vertical merger. AT&T argued that a "standard bargaining model" could have been used to show the harmful effect the merger would have had on pricing. If the case reaches the Supreme Court, it will be the first time a vertical merger case has reached the Court since 1972, in the Ford-Autolite case. The Trump administration has been vocal about opposing the AT&T/Time Warner merger and the president himself has railed repeatedly on Twitter about CNN's coverage of his administration. AT&T says it would not rule out using the judicial process in order to obtain correspondence between the White House and the DOJ which would help illustrate that the DOJ's lawsuit is politically motivated. Brian Fung reports in the Washington Post. FCC rolls back media regulations, Lifeline, cracks down on robocalls In its monthly meeting last week, the Federal Communications Commission killed long-standing media ownership rules, including the Newspaper/Broadcast Cross-Ownership rule which, since 1975, had prevented the owner of a tv station from owning a newspaper in the same market. The Commission also eliminated the so-called eight-voices test, which required at least eight independently owned TV stations to remain in the market before any entity could own two stations in the market. Critics say the rules were cancelled simply to pave the way for Sinclair Broadcasting, which has proposed to acquire Tribune Media for $4 billion. Two high-ranking Democrats--Frank Pallone and Elijah Cummings--are calling for an investigation into Ajit Pai's relationship with Sinclair. The Commission also restricted Lifeline support--that's the $9.25 per month subsidy for qualified customers who use it to help pay their internet bill. It restricted that support on tribal lands. The Commission is also seeking comment on a proposed plan to cap Lifeline expenditures. The Commission also voted unanimously to crack down on robocallers by giving phone companies more authority to block annoying phone calls from marketers who play a pre-recorded message when you answer the phone. Also at the November meeting, the Commission voted to expand broadcasters' ability to experiment with the Next Generation Broadcast Standard, which will enable closer targeting of viewers for advertising. The Commission also adopted several other rules and proposed rules ostensibly geared toward stimulating broadband infrastructure investment and deployment. In December, FCC Chair Ajit Pai is expected to overturn the net neutrality rules passed during the Obama administration. Wall Street Journal: Comcast seeks to acquire 201st Century Fox Comcast has joined a long list of companies, including Verizon, that are seeking to buy 21st Century Fox, according to the Wall Street Journal. Fox is looking to sell off everything except its news and sports assets. Verizon and Disney also also rumored to be potential suitors. Federal Elections Commission opens rulemaking on political ads The Federal Elections Commission put out a rulemaking for public comment on revisions to the political ad disclosure rules to apply them to internet companies. The rulemaking follows allegations of Russian efforts to sway the election in favor of Donald Trump by placing ads and sponsored content on on Facebook and Twitter. China's supercomputers surpass the U.S. The U.S. has dropped to second place, behind China, in its total number of super computers. The U.S. has 144 compared to China's 202. The number of China's supercomputers rose by 43 over just the last 6 months, compared to a drop in the U.S. by 25.
Bio Mary Madden (@mary_madden) is a veteran technology researcher, writer and public speaker, having studied trends in American internet users' behaviors and attitudes for more than a decade. With the support of a grant from the Digital Trust Foundation, she is currently leading a Data & Society initiative to understand the privacy and security experiences of low-socioeconomic status populations. Mary is also an Affiliate at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University where she has collaborated with the Berkman Center's Youth and Media Project to apply quantitative and qualitative research methods to study adolescents' technology use and privacy management on social media. Prior to her role at Data & Society, Mary was a Senior Researcher for the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. She is a nationally recognized expert on privacy and technology, trends in social media use, and the impact of digital media on teens and parents. Mary is also a member of the National Cyber Security Coalition's Data Privacy Day Advisory Committee and the Research Advisory Committee for the Future of Music Coalition's Artist Revenue Streams Project. Resources Data & Society Privacy, Security and Digital Inequality by Mary Madden (Data & Society, 2017) Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When No One Has the Time by Brigid Schulte News Roundup Social media giants tidy up ahead of big day on Hill Ahead of appearances before the House and Senate intelligence Committees this coming Wednesday, social media giants appear to be tidying up. Reddit has announced that it will now ban content from Nazi and alt-right groups. Twitter announced that it will now ban the online media outlets RT and Sputnik. Twitter says the two sites are platforms for Kremlin messaging. Both Facebook and Twitter said that they will be more transparent about who is placing political ads on their platforms. The companies said they will begin to include links and other information enabling users to know who sponsored a political ad. The companies will also vet advertisers to weed out bots. But some Senators, including Virginia's Mark Warner are noting that explicit ads may only represent a tiny percentage of ad spend. Many expenditures, they say, are coming from content that appears to be legit--organic content designed to stoke emotions in favor of a political party. Mark Zuckerberg also upped his pr game last week. The Hill reports that Zuckerberg will be investing $45 million of his own money to address mass incarceration and the housing crisis. Still, however, Facebook is expected to reveal at Wednesday's hearings that the number of views Russia-sponsored ads garnered is closer to 126 million. This is compared to the 10 million views it initially reported. And Politico reports that in August and September of 2016, Twitter made a bizarre change to its privacy policy amidst research into the way in which Russian operatives may have been manipulating the platform. The company updated its privacy privacy to require all users associated with deleted accounts to clear their tracks by deleting the content on their end as well. Also revealed last week by the Senate Intelligence Committee--Twitter actually pitched RT to buy ads during the 2016 campaign season--the problem is that the company didn't disclose it. Congresswoman Maxine Waters is also demanding that Twitter turn over information about Russia-linked accounts that targeted her. The Congresswoman said that she noticed several mysterious accounts tweeting lies about her every time she tweeted something negative about Donald Trump. On top of everything else, Axios and Survey Monkey released a study saying 54% of Americans think the issue of Russian meddling is a "serious issue". However, those results were along party lines with Democrats tending to think the issue is more serious than do Republicans. Apple doesn't want shareholders to tie senior executive diversity to CEO performance Apple is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to step in and prevent a shareholder proposal from taking effect which would base the assessment of the CEO's performance, in part, on the diversity of the ranks of Apple's senior executive team. The shareholder cohort that is pushing for the measure is said to hold almost $10 billion in Apple shares. Ali Breland reports in the Hill. Georgia wipes out election data after being sued for voting violations On July 3rd, election reform advocates concerned about the impact of Russian influence on the 2016 election filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia which attempted to force the state to retire its antiquated election technology. And then Kennesaw State University, which runs the state election system, wiped everything on the voting system clean. The FBI is said to have taken a back-up image of the system back in March. But advocates say the State of Georgia must have had something to hide. Frank Bajak reports for the Associated Press on widespread concerns that outdated election systems in voting districts throughout the country may already be compromised by Russian actors and others seeking to undermine the electoral system. Facebook by lawsuit saying the company attempted to evade overtime pay rules Former Facebook employees are suing the company for deliberately evading overtime pay laws by misclassifying them as managers. David Kravets reports in Ars Technica. Uber faces yet another discrimination lawsuit Uber is facing yet another discrimination lawsuit. This time, Latina engineers accuse Uber of not promoting or paying them at a rate that is comparable to their male, white and Asian counterparts. Joel Rosenblatt reports for Bloomberg. U.S. widened surveillance of "homegrown extremists" under Obama U.S. Air Force training slides obtained by a surveillance researcher at Human Rights Watch pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request show the U.S. expanded its surveillance of suspected "homegrown violent extremists" in August of last year. The guidance states that physical or digital surveillance of such suspects is authorized whether or not they're tied to a foreign terrorist organization. Dustin Volz reports in Reuters. FCC to roll back media ownership rules/Lifeline The FCC announced its agenda for its November 16th Open meeting. Trump's FCC plans to eliminate the media ownership rule that prevents a company from owning a full power TV station and newspaper in the same market. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai also wants to place a cap on Lifeline subsidies for low-income broadband subscribers. That subsidy now stands at $9.95/month. The cap would limit the availability of Lifeline support to new subscribers. Brian Fung reports for the Washington Post and Jon Brodkin reports for Ars Technica. Tech industry releases AI self-regulatory framework The Information Technology Industry Council, which boasts tech giants Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft and others as members, released a set of guiding principles around the industry's development of artificial technology. ITI President Dean Garfield says the framework is intended to eliminate harmful bias, prejudice and discrimination from AI algorithms. Will Yakoqicz reports in Inc. SoftBank drops bid for T-Mobile SoftBank is ending its plan to merge its Sprint unit with T-Mobile, according to a report in the Asian Review. This is the second time Softbank has abandoned its effort to acquire T-Mobile. The first time was during the Obama administration when the deal would have been faced with much harsher scrutiny.
It's Thursday. We made it. Today on the Dispatch: Brian Fung - Calling Equifax is more difficult than it sounds Gaby del Valle - The campus rape debate doesn't have ‘many sides' Hosted by Sam Thonis. Produced by John Lagomarsino. Brian Fung's article on Equifax at the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/09/13/i-called-equifax-with-a-simple-question-this-is-what-happened Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
8 AM - 1 - Trump poll numbers. 2 - Washington Post reporter Brian Fung on his piece: "These 42 Disney apps are allegedly spying on your kids". 3 - The News with Marshall Phillips. 4 - Plandids are planned candids.
8 AM - 1 - Trump poll numbers. 2 - Washington Post reporter Brian Fung on his piece: "These 42 Disney apps are allegedly spying on your kids". 3 - The News with Marshall Phillips. 4 - Plandids are planned candids.
8 AM - 1 - Trump poll numbers. 2 - Washington Post reporter Brian Fung on his piece: "These 42 Disney apps are allegedly spying on your kids". 3 - The News with Marshall Phillips. 4 - Plandids are planned candids.
8 AM - 1 - Brian Fung from the Washington Post on his piece: "Why Tesla needs the Model 3 to thrive in a future it helped create". 2 - Entertaining texts on stuff; Jack's puppy pees in the house. 3 - The News with Marshall Phillips. 4 - What do Gwynnie Paltrow and Alex Jones have in common?.
8 AM - 1 - Brian Fung from the Washington Post on his piece: "Why Tesla needs the Model 3 to thrive in a future it helped create". 2 - Entertaining texts on stuff; Jack's puppy pees in the house. 3 - The News with Marshall Phillips. 4 - What do Gwynnie Paltrow and Alex Jones have in common?.
8 AM - 1 - Brian Fung from the Washington Post on his piece: "Why Tesla needs the Model 3 to thrive in a future it helped create". 2 - Entertaining texts on stuff; Jack's puppy pees in the house. 3 - The News with Marshall Phillips. 4 - What do Gwynnie Paltrow and Alex Jones have in common?.
Wednesday's edition of Trending Today USA was hosted by Liftable Media's Ernie Brown.In this half hour, the guests and topics discussed were:1. The Top 5 Trending Stories2. Jim Gilmore (68th governor of Virginia) -- Recently, President Trump announced a $1 trillion plan to fix the nation’s roads, bridges, dams, and airports. The New York Times just did an article about their city’s aging 112-year-old subway system.3. Tom Hinchey (Liftable Media) -- Many median-income Americans are stretching their budgets beyond their means to buy a new car at today’s prices.4. Chris Chmielenski (director of content and activism for NumbersUSA) -- This week, the House set to vote on H.R. 3003, the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act.5. Brian Fung (technology reporter, Washington Post) -- One of the nation’s biggest rental-car companies will be supporting Google’s latest venture into self-driving cars. Avis Budget Group, the company that owns the Avis, Budget, and Zipcar brands, has signed a deal to help maintain Google’s self-driving car fleet in Phoenix, Arizona.Like us on Facebook!Image credit: Evan El-Amin / Shutterstock.com
America's History of Recalcitrance De jure discrimination Racism online is evolving in a way that is consistent with the way racism has always evolved--from explicit to subtle. Plaintiff-side civil rights lawyers have found it easiest to win -- if civil rights cases can ever said to be "easy"-- in cases in which they can convincingly demonstrate defendants' explicit discriminatory policies. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the United States Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and their subsequent cases and amendments comprise the bulk of American civil rights law. The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Brown held segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. In interpreting a statute, judges will consider Congressional intent, which includes the circumstances under which Congress enacted the law. Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act in an era of widespread de jure segregation in the South. Every 6th grader knows that, prior to Brown, state and local authorities in the South required "colored" and "white" students to attend segregated schools. Black students usually attended inferior schools with old books and in dilapidated buildings. Southern authorities also required colored and white citizens to use separate facilities such as water fountains, restrooms, waiting rooms, and buses. They also enabled most private establishments, such as restaurants and hotels, to segregate as they pleased. Following Brown, Southern racists remained undeterred. For example, on June 11, 1963, fully 9 years after Brown, Alabama Governor George Wallace famously "stood in the schoolhouse door" to prevent Vivian Malone and James Hood from entering and registering for classes at the University of Alabama. President Kennedy deployed the National Guard to remove Wallace, which they did. Virginia's response to Brown is also illustrative of the Southern response to it. Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. and his brother-in-law, Virginia General Assembly leader James M. Thomson, together pursued a "Massive Resistance" strategy to oppose desegregation. Under Massive Resistance, the Virginia Assembly passed laws to prevent and punish local school districts for integrating in accordance with Brown. Further, Virginia authorities continued to enforce Massive Resistance initiatives well into the 1960s, even after federal and state courts ordered them to end their recalcitrance. The Civil Rights Act finally codified the nation's civil rights policy. Given the context in which the Civil Rights Act was enacted, courts are most likely to strike down laws and policies that contain explicit "suspect" classifications; namely, those that refer to race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Indeed, courts subject such de jure discrimination statutes and policies to the Constitutional "strict scrutiny" standard--the highest standard of judicial review. Paradoxically, laws designed to help traditionally marginalized groups, and which mention those groups explicitly, are also subject to strict scrutiny and thus likely to be struck down. (The intricacies of the strict scrutiny standard go well beyond the scope of this post. However, if you are interested in learning more about strict scrutiny and the other levels of scrutiny courts are likely to apply in interpreting the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause, click here.) De facto discrimination After many years of resisting civil rights laws, racists in the North and South had an a-ha moment. If they could figure out a way to maintain their supremacy using things that looked like something else, but achieved the same ends, they were golden! And so de facto discrimination--laws and policies that are not discriminatory on their face, i.e. they are facially neutral, but have discriminatory effects, have been the order of the day ever since. Stop-and-frisk? Check. Insanely long prison sentences for minor offenses? Check. School segregation based on merit? Check. Proposed cuts to Medicaid? Check. Voter re-districting? You get the point. Welcome to the age of stealth racism. "I thought this post was about racism online." It is. The same racist ideologies that prevailed in 1964 prevail today. Since 1964, opponents of the Civil Rights Movement, many of whom are still alive today, and their descendants and allies, have persisted in their efforts to preserve their supremacy. They have taken racism online. This is the story of some of the measures the tech sector has taken, such as Google's Conversation AI, to curtail racism online and how defiant hate speakers have evaded those measures by creating their own code language. Hate speech is indeed protected speech and that's the problem. Researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology peeled back the top layer of the internet and found hate speech teeming underneath. My guest today is Rijul Magu (@RijulMagu). Rijul co-authored, along with Shitij Joshi and Jiebo Luo at the Rochester Institute of Technology, a report entitled "Detecting the Hate Code on Social Media". He's the lead author. Rijul is currently a Masters Student at RIT and he earned his undergraduate degree at Jaypee Institute of Information Technology in Noida, India. Resources University of Rochester School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Department of Computer Science (homepage of Graduate Studies Faculty Advisor Jiebo Luo) Detecting the Hate Code on Social Media by Rijul Magu, Kshitij Joshi, and Jiebo Luo Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel News Roundup The New York State Commission on Forensic Science has adopted a new controversial policy regarding the use of suspects' DNA evidence. The Commission voted 9-2 to allow police to collect not just suspects' own DNA evidence, but also the DNA evidence of close relatives. While the measure has the support of prosecutors, opponents of the bill pointed out procedural flaws with some describing the new policy as a kind of genetic stop and frisk. Nathan Dempsey has the story at Gothamist. A Department of Homeland Security official --Jeanette Manfra, acting deputy undersecretary of cybersecurity and communications for the agency's National Protection and Programs Directorate -- told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee last week that Russia targeted election systems in 21 states during last year's presidential election. Ranking Member Mark Warner wrote Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to make public the names of the states that were targeted. However, Secretary Kelly has thus far not released that information claiming that to do so would harm national security. Edward Graham covers this in Morning Consult. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has resigned following the fallout from former Attorney General Eric Holder's report on the company's frat boy culture. However, several employees have attempted to have Kalanick reinstated. Rebecca Savransky has the story in the Hill. The Congressional Black Caucus wrote a letter Monday to Uber leadership urging them to improve racial and ethnic diversity in hiring and promotions at the company. A new Politico and Morning Consult report shows 60% of Americans either strongly or somewhat support the FCC's current net neutrality rules the new Trump-era FCC under Ajit Pai appears to be in the process of overturning. Two-thousand and fifty one registered voters were surveyed. The FCC has recommended a $122 million fine on a suspected robocaller--the highest-ever FCC fine. Officials suspect the alleged robocaller, Adrian Abromovich, a Florida man, made some 100 million robocalls over three months. Harper Neidig has the story in The Hill. The FCC also unanimously passed a rule change last week that will allow law enforcement to bypass blocker called IDs belonging to callers making imminent threats. Harper Neidig has this one in The Hill as well. We may soon be able to access Internet via an internet connection made from space. Doing so would significantly speed up upload and download speeds. The FCC approved a plan of Greg Wyler who plans to link up 720 satellites to deliver high speed broadband from space as soon as 2019. Brian Fung has the full story in the Washington Post. President Trump met with tech executives, including drone developers last week. The president said he'd work to give tech companies the "competitive advantage they need" and "create lots of jobs". David Shepardson covers the story in Reuters. In a unanimous 8-0 decision, the Supreme Court ruled last week that a North Carolina law that prevents registered sex offenders from going on Facebook is unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Lydia Wheeler covers this in the Hill. FCC Chaiman Ajit Pai testified at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing last week about the agency's budget. Pai recommended a budget cut of over 5.2% since last year, or $322 million, which Chairman Pai conceded would come from the elimination of over 100 Commission jobs.
What is a SLAPP Suit? Let's say you own a small business called "Policy Town Fajitas". You think your business is second-to-none. You've invested in it--time, sweat, money and otherwise ... But then, all of a sudden, one of your customers doesn't fancy your business as much as you do. So they post a negative review about your business on a site like Yelp. They say your "chicken fajitas taste like pigeon and that's how I know it's not authentic Mexican food." If you're like most businesses, you try to improve (such as by switching to chicken meat). But some businesses try to turn the tables by putting the reviewer on the defensive. Let's call the reviewer Mrs. Davis. So you file a lawsuit against Mrs. Davis that is simply designed to drive her absolutely nuts. Eventually, you hope, Mrs. Johnson will decide to delete her review. That lawsuit is called a "strategic lawsuit against public participation", but we just call them SLAPP suits. Now, we know you would NEVER serve up pigeon fajitas. But what are the policy implications of SLAPP suits, particularly as they relate to online freedom of speech? Here to discuss SLAPP suits is Laurent Crenshaw (@LCrenshaw), Yelp's head of Federal Public Policy in Washington DC. At Yelp Laurent has championed the company's federal efforts to protect consumer freedom of speech on the Internet, and worked to implement Yelp as a tool for the federal government. Prior to joining Yelp in 2013, Laurent worked in the House of Representatives for over 11 years. During his tenure he served as the Legislative Director for Representative Darrell Issa focusing on technology policy issues, particularly in the areas of intellectual property, telecommunications and Internet law; and also worked in the offices of the House Majority Whip and House Republican Conference. Laurent successfully worked on numerous legislative efforts including the passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act in 2011 and the fight to defeat SOPA and PIPA in Congress. Additionally, Laurent also serves on the board of directors for Public Knowledge and as a member of the American Library Association's Public Policy Advisory Council. Laurent obtained his undergraduate degree in International Relations from Stanford University in 2002 and his Juris Doctor degree from American University's Washington College of Law in 2010. Resources Yelp's Public Policy Blog SPEAK FREE Act (Congressional Anti-SLAPP Suits legislation) Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel News Roundup Amazon is acquiring Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. Experts see the move as a direct hit on big box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, whose shares tumbled sharply on news of the announcement. Analysts see it as a significant step by Amazon to substantially expand its warehouse and local supply chain operations. Laura Stevens has more at the Wall Street Journal. One interesting thing to note is that on May 30th, Amazon filed a patent for technology that allows it to block customers from using their phones to "window shop", or check the prices of other stores, while they're on site at an Amazon property. Brian Fung reports on that in the Washington Post. President Trump has officially nominated former Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to return to the agency. Rosenworcel has strong Democratic support. Her previous four-year term ended last year when the Senate failed to reconfirm her term before it expired. Still open at the FCC is the third Republican seat. Brendan Carr--a current advisor to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai -- is considered the front-runner for that seat although, as of Monday evening, the White House has not yet made the official nomination. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security released a joint announcement saying North Korea has been executing cyberattacks against institutions worldwide since 2009. North Korean government actors calling themselves "Hidden Cobra" are the culprits, according to the statement, and they have been attacking aerospace, financial and other institutions in the U.S. and around the world. Deb Reichmann reports for the Associated Press. Verizon has completed its $4.5 billion acquisition of Yahoo. Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer resigned with a $23 million package. Alina Selyukh has the story at NPR. The Federal Trade Commission will be opposing the proposed merger of DraftKing and FanDuel--the two largest fantasy sports sites. In a statement released Monday, the FTC wrote that the combined company would control more than 90% of the market. The families of prison inmates could see their phone charges for calling incarcerated loved ones shoot back up to as much as $14 per minute. The Obama-era FCC had placed caps on those calls that ranged to between 14 and 49 cents per minute. But the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that the FCC did not have the authority to regulate those rates. The Court ruled that the FCC lacked the authority to regulate those rates because they pertained to intrastate calls, and not interstate calls, and thus they fall outside the FCC's federal jurisdiction. Zoe Tillman covers this for BuzzFeed. The Indian woman who was raped by an Uber driver in India is suing the company in the U.S. for violating her privacy and for defamation of character. The plaintiff, a Texas resident, has filed as a Jane Doe. Apparently, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick had said publicly that the company would do everything it could to ensure the rapist would be brought to justice. However, behind the scenes, the victim alleges that Uber obtained her medical records in India and then worked to use the information to claim the rape was all a ruse that was orchestrated by Uber's main competitor in India. Julia Carrie Wong summarized this story in the Guardian. Uber has been embroiled in numerous controversies of late. These culminated last week in Kalanick being placed on an indefinite leave of absence and top ranking executives being let go. These latest developments were in response to a report spearheaded by former Attorney General Eric Holder that recommended these and other changes at Uber. Facebook has outlined a strategy for weeding out terrorist content on its platform. The company released a blog post last week saying that it has about 150 people on staff nationwide whose job it is to remove all content posted by or in support of terrorists. The company also uses artificial intelligence and other technology to take down content that promotes terrorism on Facebook and its other properties, according to the post. Finally, remember President Trump's Twitter typo a few weeks ago, when he tweeted the word "covfefe" instead of "coverage"? Well, The Hill's Harper Neidig noticed last week that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had more than 30 trademark requests containing the word "covefefe" since the flub.
Tuesday's edition of Trending Today USA was hosted by Liftable Media's Ernie Brown.In this half hour, the guests and topics discussed were:1. The Top 5 Trending Stories2. Tom Delay (former House majority leader) -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions is appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee today in a public session.3. Chris Pegula (author) -- How to be a better father in the first two years after having a child4. Brian Fung (technology reporter, Washington Post) -- Uber's board of directors shook up the company's leadership over the weekend in an effort to revive their ride-sharing service.Like us on Facebook!Image credit: MikeDotta / Shutterstock.com
Privacy, Searches, Seizures and the Law The digital age is challenging the way our judicial system balances privacy against the needs of law enforcement. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” Our devices, as well as cloud-based services like Dropbox, have revolutionized our concept of what information should be considered private. For example, in U.S. v. Graham, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland applied the so-called "third party doctrine". In that case, the court held that the Fourth Amendment does not protect historical cell site location data. Therefore, law enforcement officers do not require warrants to obtain access to that data. The court reasoned that the defendant communicated the data to a "third party", namely the cell phone provider. These technologies also pose significant Constitutional challenges. For example, who should set the standard of what constitutes a "reasonable expectation of privacy" in the first place? Should judges or the public determine such reasonableness? My guest today is Professor Bernard Chao --a professor at the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law, where he co-Directs the law school's Empirical Justice Program. Chao has written that, up until now, judges have had to guess about what constitutes reasonableness. Historically, judges have had to place themselves in the shoes of a hypothetical reasonable person. However, according to Chao, judges are now in a position to gather empirical data via public surveys. This data has the potential to inform judges about what members of the public actually think constitutes reasonableness in a given context. Further, the demographic characteristics of most judges in no way reflects the far more diverse demographics of the population as a whole. Judges are often white, male and wealthier than the average citizen. Thus, their notions of reasonableness exclude other diverse perspectives. Indeed, some of Chao's research has shown that members of certain minority groups had higher standards of privacy than did the control group. Professor Chao is the lead author of a forthcoming California Law Review article he is co-authoring along with Catherine Durso, Ian Farrell and Christopher Robertson entitled "Why Courts Fail to Protect Privacy: Race, Age, Bias, and Technology". Resources Denver Empirical Justice Institute HUGO Consulting Intellectual Privacy: Rethinking Civil Liberties in the Digital Age by Neil Richards News Roundup Uber, as you know, has a laundry list of controversies ... Susan Fowler a former Uber engineer, accused the company of fostering a hostile, sexual harassment culture. Google is suing Uber for stealing trade secrets from its self-driving car unit, Waymo. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has been caught on video berating an Uber driver. The company has been hemorrhaging money, showing billions in losses, in quarter after quarter, despite revenue growth … Now, Covington and Burling Partners Eric Holder-- who is former President Barack Obama's former Attorney General-- and Tammy Albarrán are wrapping up an independent investigation they've been conducting on behalf of the company. It looks like Uber may be on the brink of requiring Kalanick to take at least a 3 month leave of absence. We'll know more when Uber releases Holder's report to employees on Tuesday. But the Board has already indicated that it would be accepting all of Holder's recommendations. One of the recommendations is to fire Emil Michael--Kalanick's chief deputy. In the meantime, you can check out Ali Breland's complete summary in the Hill. -- Tony Romm at Recode reported that current FCC General Counsel Brendan Carr and former FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel are the two front-runners President Trump is considering to fill the two remaining Commissioner slots at the FCC. - The federal government is accusing yet another NSA contractor with leaking classified information to the public. Last week, federal agents arrested twenty-five year old Reality Leigh Winner, who had a top secret security clearance. The feds have accused Winner of sending information about Russian hacking activities to the Intercept--the online newspaper. She had served in the Air Force for 6 years prior to becoming a contractor at Pluribus International Group in Augusta, Georgia. The leaked documents revealed that Russia may have hacked a U.S. voting system manufacturer just prior to last year's presidential election. Madison Park has a full summary at CNN.com. -- Finally, Jon Brodkin reported in Ars Technica on comments made by FCC Chair Ajit Pai and Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson on WTMJ Radio last week in which both Pai and Johnson called net neutrality a “slogan”. Johnson seemed to advocate for fast lanes (paid prioritization). But paid prioritization is a practice the Wheeler-era net neutrality rules specifically prohibits. The DC Circuit has upheld those rules, and the current FCC is now in the midst of a proceeding to overturn them. Brian Fung reports in the Washington Post that several tech companies including Etsy, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Reddit, Y Combinator, and Amazon will change their websites on July 12th to protest the FCC's apparent plan to reverse the net neutrality rules.
8 AM - 1 - Washington Post technology reporter Brian Fung talks to us about the WannaCry ransomware attack. 2 - Caitlyn is a much less popular baby name nowadays. 3 - The News with Marshall Phillips. 4 - Miss USA is against universal healthcare or something; People are marrying themselves; Texting while driving.
Roberta Rincon is the Society of Women Engineers' (SWE) Manager of Research. Before joining SWE, Roberta Rincon was a Senior Research and Policy Analyst at The University of Texas System. She has over 15 years of experience in higher education policy research, coordinating various award and faculty recruitment programs, analyzing the impact of state legislative actions, and preparing white papers on topics ranging from classroom utilization to student success. Roberta received her B.S. in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, an MBA and an M.S. in Information Management from Arizona State University, and recently completed her Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning from UT Austin. In this episode we discussed how to: reduce gender bias in STEM. prevent the attrition of women away from STEM fields. improve the representation of women in tenured, full-time STEM professorships. improve school compliance with Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding). Resources Title IX at 45 Chapter on Women and STEM (National Coalition for Women and Girls in STEM, 2017) Bossy Pants by Tina Fey NEWS ROUNDUP The FCC announced the winners of its wireless spectrum auction last week. The auction involved creating incentives for broadcasters to sell their spectrum back to the FCC, with the FCC, in turn, auctioning that spectrum to wireless carriers hungry for spectrum to expand their networks. T-Mobile won the most licenses after spending $8 billion for the spectrum, followed Dish at $6.2 billion, Comcast at $1.7 billion, and 59 other bidders. Maggie Reardon has the story in CNET. Remember the Wheeler FCC's plan to allow travelers to make mobile phone calls in-flight? Well, it looks like you're going to have to keep that phone in airplane mode when you fly. Current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai put an order on circulation that would kill the plan, and since the FCC still only has 3 commissioners instead of the usual five, and 2 are Republican, the order is likely to pass. Laura Hautala reports in CNET. CIA Director Mike Pompeo pledged to crack down on sites like Wikileaks and activists like Edward Snowden. Pompeo said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event last week that these so-called transparency activists "champion nothing but their own celebrity." Pompeo did not state specifically what specific measures the CIA would take, but said the agency's approaches will be constantly evolving. Catch the story in next.gov. The man who continued to robocall consumers on the Do-Not-Call registry will have to pay at least $65,000 to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC announced the settlement on Thursday. Justin Ramsey will have to pay up to $2.2 million if the agency finds that he and his company lied about their finances. Brian Fung has the story in the Washington Post. Microsoft reported that the number of foreign intelligence surveillance requests it received from the federal government for the first 6 months of 2016 was nearly double what it was the previous year. The number of requests last year stood between 1,000 to 1,499. Dustin Volz reports in Reuters. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an order banning commercial and hobby drones from flying over 133 U.S. military bases. The drones can come within 400 feet but no more. Penalties will include fines and prosecutions. David Krevets reports in Ars. In Google's lawsuit against Uber for allegedly stealing trade secrets pertaining to Google's autonomous vehicle technology, Uber attempted to claim Fifth Amendment protection for the due diligence report it put together when it was developing its self-driving car initiative. But the Court isn't buying it and the due diligence report will be admitted. Google claims the report will prove Uber stole 14,000 files from Google. Johana Bhuiyan and Tess Townsend have the story in Recode.
7 AM - 1 - Washington Post reporter Brian Fung on his piece: "The House just voted to wipe away the FCC's landmark Internet privacy protections". 2 - Sancutary city stuff. 3 - The News with Marshall Phillips. 4 - Sean and Vince get to talk about the Nintendo Switch; Wonder Woman's lack of armpit hair.
Author of The Kutherian Gambit series Interview starts at 10:15 and ends at 43:51 "When I originally put out Book 1 I had no idea if anyone cared about my stories. I didn't want to invest a lot of time, money, and effort if nobody wanted to read it." News “Site of Amazon's Cloud glitch made it especially disruptive” by Angel Gonzalez at The Seattle Times - February 28, 2017 “The embarrassing reason behind Amazon's huge cloud computing outage this week” by Brian Fung at The Washington Post - March 2, 2017 “Summary of the Amazon S3 Service Disruption in the Northern Virginia (US-EAST-1) Region” - Amazon Web Services statement “Amazon Cloud Snafu Snarls Web Traffic” at WSJ What's News podcast - March 1, 2017 “Amazon Unveils First East Coast Bricks and Mortar” by Alex Green at Publishers Weekly - February 28, 2017 “Amazon plans to release new Alexa devices that can make phone calls and work as intercoms” by Jason Del Rey at Recode - March 3, 2017 Tech Tip Lazy-Hands grip for tablet and e-readers Interview with Michael Anderle The Kutherian Gambit series by Michael Anderle Stephen Campbell's interviews with Michael Anderle at The Author Biz on November 15, 2016 and January 25, 2016 Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell Her Royal Runner (The Courier Chronicles Book 0) by Joey Anderle Next Week's Guest Patricia Cornwell, author of Ripper: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD. Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!
Ajit Pai, President Donald Trump's choice to lead the Federal Communications Commission, is taking a page from his boss' book and moving quickly to roll back regulations. In the process, he's raising questions about the future of equal access to the internet. That equal access is known as "net neutrality." Pai's actions, within days of becoming chairman — plus previous comments he made when he was a commissioner at the FCC during the Obama administration — have consumer advocates worried. Previously, the FCC had approved nine companies to provide low-income people with discounted internet service, but he reversed that decision, saying it had been rushed through before the election. But he has also taken steps that could increase transparency at the independent agency, which regulates television, radio, cable and wireless service. This week on Money Talking, host Charlie Herman discusses the new chairman and the future of internet access with Cecilia Kang of The New York Times and Brian Fung with The Washington Post.
Alexandria McBride is Director of Environment and Sustainability at ITI. Alexandria develops and advocates positions on domestic and international policies related to energy efficiency and environmental priorities. She currently serves on the Board for the Center of Diversity and the Environment and is the Chair of the NAACP-DC Climate and Environmental Justice Committee. Prior to ITI, Alexandria coordinated the re-launch of the Tishman Environment and Design Center, an academic hub based at The New School that utilizes design, policy and social justice approaches to solve pressing environmental issues. She was also a manager at The Engine Room, an international NGO using technology and data to support social and environmental causes. Alexandria was formerly the Chief Financial Officer at Groundswell, a D.C.-based nonprofit aimed at unlocking communities' economic power to grow sustainability on the local level. As the CFO and Executive Management Team member, Alexandria oversaw the organization's financial and operational functions and worked closely with program directors to identify and implement systems that improve the efficiency and quality of Groundswell's impact. Prior to joining Groundswell, Alexandria served in multiple project and operational management roles at the ExxonMobil Environmental Services Company, where she helped steward environmental cleanup projects across the Mid-Atlantic. She also managed the transfer of environmental responsibility during ExxonMobil's multimillion dollar divestment of properties in New York and New Jersey. In addition to this work, Alexandria was nominated to support ExxonMobil's STEM education and diversity efforts. Alexandria holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Environment from Howard University and a M.S. in Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy. In this episode, we discussed the top 3 environmental tech policy issues policymakers should be focusing on. a review of environmental legislation ITI is advocating for. how advocates can work most effectively with a potential Scott Pruitt Environmental Protection Agency. Resources ITI Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes News Roundup Tech sector leaders reacted in strong opposition to Trump's immigration ban on immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries. The leaders of major tech companies cited not just the effect the ban would have on their bottom lines, but on what they personally felt. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said it is time for the nation to link arms and that the ban is un-American. Lyft CEO Logan Green said the ban runs counter to Lyft's inclusive culture and said the ban conflicts with both Lyft and the nation's core values. Google's Sergey Brin, whose family fled Russia in 1979, participated in the protest at San Fracisco International Airport saying that he too is a refugee. The company also released statement. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg released a statement opposing the measure, as did Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who is an India-native. But President Trump has not budged, although Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham -- both Republicans -- publically opposed the executive order on Monday. -- Journalists covering violent protests during Trump's inauguration parade were arrested and charged with felony rioting. Journalism advocates have been denouncing the charges. Jonah Engles Bromwich has the story in The New York Times. -- As late as Wednesday, Trump Senior Advisors Kellyanne Conway, Jared Kushner, Sean Spicer and Steve Bannon had active private email address on the Republican National Committee domain. While there is nothing illegal about using an RNC domain to keep political and state business separate--the George W. Bush administration was accused of using RNC domains to quote-unquote "lose" 22 million emails. And the Trump campaign of course accused Hillary Clinton of breaking the law when she used her own private email domain for official State Department Business. The RNC was also hacked into last summer, raising questions about the security of the RNC's email server. Nina Burleigh covers this for Newsweek. -- FBI Director James Comey will be staying on under Trump. Comey is 4 years into his 10-year term. Matt Zaptosky and Ellen Nakashima at the Washington Post note that it would be extremely unusual for a president to remove an FBI director, even though Comey is see by many in Washington to have interfered with the U.S. election by making public specious claims about Hillary Clinton's emails just 11 days before the election. -- The White House ordered the Environmental Protection Agency and Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Health and Human Services to stop making social media posts, blogging, and updating official content until getting approval from White House officials, according to a report by the New York Times' Coral Davenport. So-called black ops websites of the White House and the National Park Service, which claim to be operated by actual federal employees posting to Twitter anonymously, emerged following the order. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer denies the White House gave any such directive. The black ops Twitter handles include @RoguePOTUSStaff and @AltUSNatParkService. -- Russian officials have arrested on suspicion of treason a Russian cyberintelligence official whom Americans said oversaw hacks that interfered with the U.S. presidential election. It's not clear what Sergei Mikhailov, a senior officer of the Federal Security Service, or F.S.B.,--basically the new KGB--actually did, but Andrew Kramer has the story in the New York Times. -- Verizon is reportedly making a bid for Charter Communications. Charter is valued at around $80 billion. Charter acquired Time Warner Cable last year. Shalani Ramchandran, Ryan Knutson and Dana Mattioli have the story in the Wall Street Journal. -- Finally, Brian Fung reports for the Washington Post that Trump has named Maureen Olhausen acting Federal Trade Commission Chair. Olhausen, a free-market Republican, has been with the agency since 201. Her term expires in 2018.
Melinda Epler (@changecatalysts) is Founder and CEO of Change Catalyst, a certified B Corp whose mission is to empower diverse, inclusive and sustainable tech innovation through education, mentorship and funding. Change Catalyst won a Certified B Corporation "Best for the World” award for community impact in 2014 and “Best in the World” overall in 2015. Melinda has more than 20 years of experience elevating brands and developing business innovation strategies for social entrepreneurs, mature social enterprises, Fortune 500 companies and global NGOs. As Founder & CEO of Change Catalyst, Melinda empowers diverse, inclusive and sustainable tech innovation through events, education, mentorship and funding. Through Tech Inclusion, an initiative of Change Catalyst, she partners with the tech community to solve diversity and inclusion together. Her work spans the full tech ecosystem, from Education to Workplace, Entrepreneurship and Policy. Melinda speaks, mentors and writes about diversity and inclusion in tech, social entrepreneurship, women entrepreneurs and investing. She is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker – her film and television work includes projects that exposed the AIDS crisis in South Africa, explored women's rights in Turkey, and prepared communities for the effects of climate change. She has worked on several television shows, including NBC's The West Wing. In this episode, we discussed: building bridges toward inclusiveness in tech after a damaging and divisive presidential campaign season key areas the diversity and inclusion and policy communities should focus on in a Trump administration. Resources Insight Timer Headspace Tara Brach Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg NEWS ROUNDUP Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and members of the intelligence community want President Obama to fire National Security Agency Director Admiral Mike Rogers, according to Ellen Nakashima at The Washington Post. Clapper and Rogers cite numerous instances of security breaches under Rogers' watch, including one by Booz Allen Hamilton contractor Harold T. Martin III, who was arrested in August for the largest ever theft of classified government data. There was also another breach in 2015 allegedly carried out by an individual whose name has not been disclosed, but who has since been arrested. President-elect Trump is considering putting Rogers in charge of all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies, and Congressional Republican leaders have come out in support of Rogers, including California Representative David Nunes who also serves on Trump's transition team, who praised Rogers in the Washington Post. Rodgers is also the head of U.S. Cyber Command. Ash Carter has not been impressed with Rogers' performance in that role, either, as the cyber command's operations in Syria and Iraq have been largely unsuccessful, according to Carter. Further annoying Carter and Clapper is the fact that Rogers met with Trump last week unbeknownst to the White House. Further complicating matters, Clapper and Carter are also looking to split Cyber Command from the National Security Administration, a move opposed by Senate Republicans including John McCain. Meanwhile, as Mallory Shelbourne at The Hill reports, at a news conference in Peru last week, President Obama called Rogers a "patriot". In separate comments, Obama told German newspaper Der Spiegel that he had no plans to pardon Edward Snowden. The president said Snowden would first need to appear before a court. -- Mark Jamison, a member of Trump's tech policy transition team, suggested in a blog post last week that maybe the FCC shouldn't exist. Jamison wrote, "Most of the original motivations for having the FCC have gone away." He also said there are few monopolies in telecom, an assertion with which FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has disagreed. Brian Fung has this story in the Washington Post. -- A new Stanford University report found that most students from Middle School to college are unable to tell the difference between sponsored content and real news. The study of 7,804 students found 82% could not tell what was sponsored and what was real. Seventy percent of middle schoolers also found no reason to distrust a finance article that was written by the CEO of a bank. Amar Toor has the story on The Verge. -- Downloads of the encrypted messaging app Signal have soared by 400% since Donald Trump's election, according to Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike. Governments have the ability to tap unencrypted text messages for intelligence gathering. Paresh Dave has the story in the LA Times. -- Following a successful effort to get the FCC to clear its entire November meeting agenda, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and Senate Commerce Committee Chair John Thune have now asked Federal Trade Commission Chair Edith Ramirez and Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Elliott Kaye not to move forward on any controversial regulations. Upton and Thune wrote that the American people decided to make a change on November 8th and that agencies should this refrain from passing new regulations. Trump, of course, lost the popular vote by over 2 million. -- Finally, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai issued a statement last week praising Trump's Department of Justice nominee Jeff Sessions. The Washington Post reports that Sessions is widely seen as a climate change skeptic and his entire career has been dogged by accusations that Sessions is a virulent racist, which cost him a federal judgeship back in '86. Sessions has been quoted as saying that he thought the Ku Klux Klan was "okay, until he learned that they smoked marijuana." Pai is reportedly on the short list to become Trump's nominee to Chair the FCC.
David Robinson (@dgrobinson) is a Principal at Upturn, a public interest technology and policy consulting firm. Prior to co-founding UpTurn, David was the Associate Director of Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy. He also launched The American, a national magazine of business and economics at the American Enterprise Institute, growing The American's website to more than 1.5 million unique visits in its first year. David holds a JD from Yale, was a Rhodes Scholar, and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Philosophy from Princeton. In this episode we discussed: what predictive policing is. how predictive policing technologies fall short of their marketing claims. how predictive policing enables disparities within the criminal justice system. what policymakers should consider as they incorporate predictive policing technologies into their law enforcement activities. Resources: UpTurn Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey Asana NEWS ROUNDUP Julia Angwin and Terry Parris Jr. at Pro Publica raised a lot of red flags last week when they reported that Facebook allows advertisers to exclude audience segments on the basis of race. Angwin and Parris discovered a chilling echo of race-based redlining in real estate where African Americans and other minority groups were prevented from buying real estate in predominantly white neighborhoods. Angwin and Parris purchased an ad on Facebook targeting Facebook users who are house hunting and allowed them to exclude anyone who was African American, Asian-American or Hispanic. But the Fair Housing Act of 1968 makes it illegal “"to make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.” Facebook says it does what it can to prevent discrimination. ---- Did FBI Director James Comey break the law when he announced 11 days before the election that his agency was re-opening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails? Several leading experts say it was. Passed in 1939, the Hatch Act limits federal employees, with a few exceptions, such as the President, from engaging in activities that would impact the outcome of an election. Legal experts such as former Chief White House Ethics attorney Richard Painter, who filed a formal ethics complaint against Comey and the FBI last week, think there was no other reason for Comey to make the disclosure other than to impact the outcome of the election. Comey did, however, announce to members of Congress on Sunday that the agency will not recommend charges against Hillary Clinton based on the emails discovered on former Congressman Anthony Weiner's computer. Lauren Hodges has the story reporting for NPR. You should also read Painter's Op-Ed in The New York Times. ---- 1.4 million people “checked in” to Standing Rock on Facebook, even though they weren't actually there, to support opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Rumors had spread that the police were monitoring Facebook to crack down on protesters. But how exactly do the police use social media data to surveil protests? Jeff Landale has the analysis in Christian Science Monitor. ---- A new University of Washington and Stanford study of 1,500 rides found Uber and Lyft drivers discriminate against black passengers. For example, blacks waited 30% longer for rides--5 minutes and 15 seconds--versus 4 minutes for white passengers, according to the study. The ride cancellation rate was also 6 points higher, or 10.1 %, for black sounding names compared to white sounding names. Elizabeth Weise has the story at USA Today. ---- Mobile browsing as surpassed desktop browsing for the first time. This is according to a new report from StatCounter. Mobile browsing now accounts for over 51% of all online browsing actvitiy. Check Samuel Gibbs' story in the Guardian. ---- Black Lives Matter is opposing the Trans Pacific Partnership arguing the trade deal would further disenfranchise blacks by sending capital to nations with lower wages and poorer working conditions, allowing employers to avoid domestic courts, increase mobility for workers with higher paying jobs but no one else, and prevent the formation of unions. ---- AT&T had a tough legal and regulatory week The Dodgers Channel, owned by Time Warner Cable, offered customers exclusive access to live Dodgers games. Even though Time Warner Cable owned the Dodgers Channel, the company attempted to license it to other cable providers, which would have provided each licensees' customers access to the games. But, as Brian Fung reports in the Washington Post, the Department of Justice is now suing AT&T and its subsidiary, DirectTV, for colluding with their LA competitors, including Cox and Charter, to make sure none of them agreed to license the Dodgers Channel from Time Warner Cable. This way, the three companies could take comfort in knowing they wouldn't lose subscribers. Charter of course has now acquired Time Warner Cable. ---- Finally, the FCC says AT&T incorrectly interpreted FCC rules when it sued the City of Louisville in federal court for granting Google access to utility poles in order to build out its fiber network. AT&T had said the FCC's pole attachment rules pre-emept state rules. However, the FCC submitted a statement of interest to the Department of Justice saying the federal pole attachment rules do not pre-empt state rules at all and, in fact, defer to state regulations where states show they have the situation under control with its own regulations. John Brodkin has the story in Ars Technica.
8 AM - 1 - Washington Post reporter Brian Fung talks about his piece: "For some safety experts, Uber's self-driving taxi test isn't something to hail". 2 - . 3 - The News with Marshall Phillips. 4 - Brangelina fallout continues.
Nicole Reitz-Larsen (@reitzlarsen) is a secondary classroom teacher with 15+ years teaching experience. She has taught everything from AP/IB Computer Science, to German, Multimedia and Business related courses. She loves working with students and is passionate about equity in education and providing opportunities for all students to be successful. She works with teachers nationwide on the CS10K.org site and with Code.org to promote the importance of computer science, assist districts in implementing computer science K-12 in schools to broaden participation of underrepresented students of color and females. You can often find her facilitating Computer Science workshops nationwide, presenting at teacher conferences or meet ups because she loves working with educators to provide them with resources, and teaching strategies around equity and inquiry, while creating an environment that is inclusive of all students, as well as in the classroom which she calls home. In this episode, we discussed: the key challenges students face in the computer science classroom and best practices for helping them overcome them. tools parents can use to help their kids learn computer science. Resources: Code.org CS10K Made with Code Scratch Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg NEWS Anonymous hackers some experts believe have Russian ties released a trove of tools the National Security Agency uses to exploit bugs on the Internet to conduct spying operations. For years, the NSA has resisted efforts by institutions to reveal the bugs it was exploiting so they could be fixed. Now, those bugs are on full display for all the world to see. Ellen Nakashima covers this story at the Washington Post and Andy Greenberg is covering it for Wired.----Hackers believed to have Russian ties also got into billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Foundations' files last week, according to Julian Hattem at the Hill. Two thousand documents were released giving an inside look into how the powerful Democratic supporter and his Foundations operate. ---- Google isn't out of the woods yet regarding the way it scans emails to serve up ads. Google scans not just Gmail messages, but also anyone interacting with Gmail, from any domain. The plaintiffs sued Google in the Northern District of California alleging that the company's email scanning practices violate wiretapping provisions of both the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and California's own state privacy laws. Google argued the practice is within the ordinary course of business. But US District Judge Lucy Koh disagreed, ordering the case to move forward. Joe Mullin covers this for Ars Technica.----It looks like internet service providers are going to have to start putting some of its users on blast for copyright infringement-even before they have been convicted of it. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled last week that Cox must pay $25 million to BMG Music for failing to notify users that they had infringed music copyrights by participating in illegal file sharing. BMG enlisted a 3rd party to monitor Cox' users for infringement and when it found infringement, notified Cox. But Cox then prevented its users from receiving notifications. So the court ruled Cox now owes BMG a $25 million penalty. Brian Fung has that story at the Washington Post. ---- Univision has won the bid for Gawker Media's bankruptcy assets. Gawker announced last week it would be ceasing operations. The announcement was made after months of speculation about the fate of the company, following a devastating $140 million judgment against Gawker in favor of Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan sued Gawker for posting a video showing Hogan having sex with radio Bubba the Love Sponge's wife. Keepin it classy, baby! Anyway, Univision's bid for Gawker's assets was $135 million, pending approval by the Bankruptcy Court. Lukas Alpert has the story in the Wall Street Journal.----Finally, The DOJ and FTC are seeking comment on proposed rules to update the guidelines we use to license intellectual property. The comments are due September 26th.
Why do we love driving? Mike Williams asks if we would miss driving, as auto-piloted cars are tested in cities around the world. He talks to Dr Lisa Dorn, psychologist and associate professor of driver behaviour, Dr Zia Wadud an associate professor in transport studies, technology reporter Brian Fung, racing team owner Eddie Jordan and top gear presenter Sabine Schmitz. (Photo: White driverless car on road. Credit:Noah Berger/AFP/Getty Images)
8 AM - 1 - Washington Post technology reporter Brian Fung talks about his story: "A court is about to make one of the most important decisions in the history of the Internet" about net neutrality. 2 - $15 an hour sign spinner; Marshall talks about his $100 hat. 3 - The News with Marshall Phillips. 4 - Polygamy has been banned in Utah again.
7 AM - 1 - Washington Post technology reporter Brian Fung talks about Apple getting into self-driving cars. 2 - Is North Korea the 2nd Korean war?. 3 - The News with Marshall Phillips. 4 - Potholes, penises, and felt in a tree.
Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research Interview starts at 14:38 and ends at 41:53 It's not about Amazon Echo, it's about putting microphones in various contexts in your life. Plug one in, like a Glade air freshener, into your bathroom, one next to your bedstand, one in the hallway, one in the laundry, and pretty soon you don't need Dash buttons. All you have is Alexa everywhere in your home. And you can have Alexa on your phone or in your car if you want, but but most of what Amazon sells you are thinking of in your home, in specific contexts. And so long as you have that microphone sitting everywhere, listening for you to wake it up by saying “Alexa,” that gives you frictionless commerce opportunities that are astonishing, really, compared to what we think of Amazon in 1998 when they were starting to do things like single-click ordering, and you think, “Wow, that was convenient.” We are so far past that now. News Amazon Flex “What Amazon's Uber-like delivery service means for the sharing economy” by Brian Fung at The Washington Post - September 30, 2015 “Why I Work for Amazon: A Response” by Maria Renz at re/code - September 25, 2015 You can help the Kindle Chronicles by purchasing your new tablet using these links (thanks!): Fire and case Fire HD 8 and case Fire HD 10 and keyboard case “First Look: Amazon's $50 Fire tablet” by Chris Meadows at TeleRead - October 2, 2015 Tech Tips Listener Tom Semple's tip for accessing the diagnostics screen an original Kindle: Go to Settings page, then type ALT-4-1-1. The first line will say something like 'The FRAS, FIRS, WEBSITE, TODO, CDE server is UP, UP, UP, UP, UP' when everything is working. These will all be 'DOWN' if wireless is turned off or some mix of UPs and DOWNs when there is some other issue (again the meaning is not particularly clear other than 'UP' is good and 'DOWN' is not good). ALT-5-1-1 initiates a 'loopback test', which always seems to fail on my Kindle. No idea what it is for. Finally there is ALT-6-1-1, which seems to show absolutely nothing. If I remember, it was sometimes necessary to switch cellular networks, maybe that is what it is for. Click here to buy a $25.95 replacement battery for the original Kindle. (via Tom Semple) Interview with James McQuivey Content Starts at 41:57 and ends at 44:28: Excerpts from my conversation with Gabby Wallace, author of the forthcoming Kindle book, Go Natural English: Learn to be Fluent in 15 Minutes a Day . Recorded on September 25, 2015 at the Agents of Change conference in Portland, Maine. Next Week's Guest Alexandra Alter, publishing industry reporter at The New York Times Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Persepctive" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD. Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!