The 20 Richest YouTubers in the World (Updated for 2020)

This is part II ! Read part I first if you haven't done it already.
Next we get to Louis XVI's trial, and OS is already doing as if Robespierre was the ultimate dictator of France, with him playing chess against Austria and Prussia. Yet at this point he's a mere conventionnel. A popular one, sure, but he is in no way more powerful than any of his 748 co-workers at this point. And he was far from being the only one advocating for Louis' death; maybe he didn't even have the most influential speech in this direction, as that title could be attributed to Saint-Just. 29 errors. This emphasis on Robespierre is completely unjustified : again, he is a mere deputy at this point, and he's part of the opposition at that. What's next ? Ah, OS peddles the idea that Louis' fate was decided by one vote - it was not. There was an absolute majority of just one vote not in favor of death, but in favor of death without conditions - 70 other deputies voted for death with a conditional sentance, making a total majority of 431 for death against 290 for all other options. 30 errors.
Surprisingly, OS says nothing egregiously wrong after that - until he says "so as the Revolution turned increasingly violent and anti-christian" : again this is caricatural as it doesn't take the slightest nuance into account and hammers how horrifically violent the Revolution was - the reality is that it was not violence per se that apalled the conservative, but violence against refractory priests. But let's be lenient for once, because was indeed perceived rabidly anti-clerical, albeit things are always more complex. Still his introduction of the Chouannerie and the Vendée rebellion are approximately correct. But then he confuses the royalist insurrections with the federalist insurrections, the latter being actually republican. In Toulon, it was originally a federalist revolt that was later taken over by royalists; for the other cities and regions in revolts - Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux and Normandie, all these regions saw federalist insurrections, but as OS doesn't introduce the federalist revolts (to sum it up briefly, a violent reaction of certain departements to the eviction of tne Girondins) them and just paint France in two colors, we're left misguided. 31 errors.
"The republic sent a relatively unknown young captain by the name of Napoléon Bonaparte (of course his face is comically ugly, why do you even ask, it's the French Revolution, all of its protagonists were ugly !) to help stage the siege of the city."
Not really. The Republic sent general Carteaux, and latter Dugommier; Bonaparte was only their subordinate and not the commander-in-chief. 32 errors.
"General Jean-Baptiste Carrier committed brutal atrocities. [...] [He] was later found guily of war crimes."
He was not a general, but a civilian; specifically, a Représentant en Mission, aka an envoy of the Convention whose task is to apply the Convention's laws in the regions. As for him being found guilty of war crimes, that's stricltly impossible since war crimes became a legal charge more than a century afterwards, as conferences, such as the Hague's and Geneva's set up rules for warfare. So this is an anachronism. 34 errors. Otherwise, yeah, the repression in Vendée was indeed gruesome.
Back to Paris, where OS butchers the complete story of the Girondin's expulsion from the Convention. His chain of events is :
the government is increasingly unpopular -> Marat calls for the elimination of the traitors in the Convention and his put on trial -> Robespierre calls to insurrection.
Both the timeline and the facts are thrown in the trash : Marat was indeed tried, but in april, and he was acquitted on the 24th of that month, more than a month before the eviction of the Girondins. Many other events made them unpopular : they had created a commission to investigate the Paris Commune, that they suspected of treason, which logically didn't please the sans-culottes who hold the Commune. They were also holding to their old motto that property and economic liberalism were both sacred, even though food was still very costly and many sans-culottes demanded price fixing. What really lit the fuses though is that on may 25th, feeling that there might be an insurrection, Isnard, the girondin president of the Convention, threatens to have the entire city razed to the ground - really, I'm not making that up. That's exactly like the Brunswick manifesto. That's why Robespierre indeed called for an insurrection a few days later : he feared that a violent purge coming from the right may happen soon, and while it is easy to dismiss it as sheer paranoia, remember that all these men had lived through the Champ-de-Mars massacre, during which two men who were considered as heroes, Lafayette and Bailly (the guy who prononced the Tennis Court Oath first and the National Assembly's first president, it's him you see standing above everyone else in David's painting of the event) odered the National Guard to fire on the crowd. When even supposedly dedicated revolutionaries betray you, it's easy to think that others might do the same. I also want to add that the Girondin were not instantly executed : they were merely placed under house arrest, allowing many to flee Paris for province, where they would spark the federalist revolts I mentioned earlier.
Anyway, one error for all this. 34 errors.
"Robespierre and his radicals would be in almost total control of the government."
Good thing you said almost, because it's not the case. Even in the most dire moments of the French Revolution, the government, or the Committee of Public Safety that more or less acts as a government needs the approval of the Convention to pass any decree. This is no governmental dictatorship. 35 errors.
"In death, he became an even more powerful inspiration for the extreme levels of violence that were about to rip throughout the new republic".
While this is true, OS' heavy insistance about how horrifically violent the Revolution was falls under the paragraphs I've written above about the violence of the Revolution. But indeed, Marat's assassination confirmed the suspicions many had about traitors within their ranks. I want though to heavily insist myself on one point, and OS is going to introduce it for me.
The Reign of Terror. I want to introduce to you a new theory that has emerged at least in french academic research : the idea that the Republic basically became a totally centralised and dictatorial regime officially promoting Terror at this point is... wrong. More on that later. But first let me dump the inaccuracies that OS put in his account : the Committee of Public Safety was established on april 6th 1793, and the Revolutionary Tribunal was established on march 10th 1793; both were established as the Girondins were still firmly sitting in the Convention and government. Now the factual inaccuracies : the CPS (if you allow the abbreviation) was not a dictatorship, and Robespierre was not at its head. It needed the approval of the Convention to pass anything, and it couldn't force his will on all the other committees. Because it was not alone. There was a committee of finances, a committee of public education, a committee of the navy and the colonies, etc. The CPS simply led and coordinated the whole thing.
Internally speaking, its 12 members were strictly equal. Robespierre was not at its head - there was no "head of the committtee" and decisions needed to be approved by the majority of its members. If Robespierre is in the minority, he is powerless. So he was not, I repeat he was NOT a dictator; he has never been more than one of the 12 members of one of the executive branch, albeit the main branch. And he needed, like all the members of the CPS, to be reelected each month to keep his seat. So OS' heavy insistance on what Robespierre wanted is completely off the mark since Robespierre's personal desire don't matter that much.
Now onto the Revolutionary tribunal. Contrary to what OS depicts, and to a popular conception of it, the Revolutionary Tribunal was a real tribunal, not a sham : there were procedures, attorneys, exhibits, and half, half of the people who passed before it were acquitted. In total, that already makes five more errors : we're already at 40.
But now we get onto the interesting part. OS claims that Terror was proclaimed to be the order of the day. What does that mean exactly ? It means that in early september, after hearing of the betrayal of the admirals who gave Toulon to the Coalition forces, a group of sans-culottes entered the Convention and demanded that Terror be the order of the day. And by that, I mean the order of the day of the Convention, the official topic of today's debate in the assembly. And yet... it never happened. Historians such as Jean-Clément Martin dug into the Convention's (rigorously organised) archives and found no trace of the word Terror in the Convention's order of the day on september 5th 1793, nor in any other day of the French Revolution. That's right : there has never been any official reign of Terror. When Terror was indeed applied, it was largely the result of local iniatives that the Convention couldn't control, such as some Representatives in mission's crimes (Fouché in Lyon, Carrier, in Nantes, Barras and Fréron in Toulon), or the results of political moves to eliminate rivals and please the radical part of the public opinion. The conclusion that Martin and others like Michel Biard draw is that far from being a hyper-centralised and bloodthirsty dictatorship, France during the "Terror" was actually in a state of anarchy, to put it bluntly; the decisions the Republic then took in terms of internal traitors hunt ought not to be compared with, say, the USSR, as it is commonly depicted, but to the decisions France took again during WW1, when deserters where being shot, the press' freedom was being suppressed and the opposition parties were forced into a Sacred Union for the sake of maintaining a unified and efficient war effort. This is, according to Martin, and I'm firmly inclined to believe him, a far better comparison than François Furet's old song about the Revolution being the mother of totalitarianism, a theory that is nowadays out of favor. So OS now has 41 errors. To be specific, when the sans-culottes asked for Terror to be the order of the day, Thuriot, President of the Convention, answered "you're right : justice is the order of the day"². The central government never claimed to rule with Terror during the actual "Reign of Terror"; even Robespierre's famous speech about Virtue and Terror is not enough to prove the contrary, as Robespierre here is simply defining the principles of the Revolutionary Government in times of crisis : remember that he and the rest of the Conventionnels were dedicated republicans who had advocated for more liberty and equality during the days of the Constitutional Monarchy; their hands were forced by a one of the most dire crisis of French history, with civil war and external war in which France was alone and on the verge of collapse, but they were all clearly saying that laws like the suspect laws were exception laws, and that they would be removed once the dust would have settled. Terror was rarely mentioned by those members of the Revolutionary Government, and when it was, it was either to condemn it or to call it a necessary evil. None of these men were "bloodthirsty" : we don't live in a fairy tale with bad guys rubbing their hands and preparing plans to dominate the world. It was after the Terror supposedly ended that the Thermidorians, men such as Fouché and Barras who had defintely ruled with Terror in their proconsulships, absolved themselves of all their crimes by creating this false narrative of an almighty and bloodthirsty Robespierre overseeing mass executions all across France. OS is blindly listening to these sympathetic men when he says :
"Fear had become an official government policy."
This is a myth. Don't get me wrong though : it is neither the actual violence, nor the death toll I'm questioning (though the death toll will always be a complex question), it's the way violence was implemented. 42 errors.
So what does OS have to say about what's coming ?
The usual story of Robespierre being a psychopath who personally oversaw the spying and executions, even though he was neither a dictator, nor even a member of the Committee that actually took charge of the spying : the Committee of General Security, whose president Vadier, hated Robespierre and played a key role in his elimination. 43 errors. Also, the 40 thousands execution OS quote still leaves me skeptical, but as I couldn't find a death toll that was both more precise and more convincing, I'll go with it. I'll be happy to hear a more recent calculation though.
OS then arrives to Marie-Antoinette, and that allows me to jump on another topic : remember that quote from Danton ? "We must be terribe so the people don't have to" ? Well that was the spirit behind the infamous "loi des suspects", the law of suspects, that allowed the government to imprison anyone deemed suspect; if we don't take such decisions, there will be new September massacres : that's the logic behind it. It's a way of institutionalising a practice that would otherwise happen illegally, thus more violently, at the expense of the government's image. It is also to please the sans-culottes that the revolutionary tribunal launched a wave of executions of celebrities now labelled as traitors in october and november 1793 : Marie-Antoinette of course, but also Bailly, the Girondins, former conservative member of the Constituant Assembly such as Barnave, royal princes such as Philippe Egalité, who happened to be the king's cousin and the father of a deserter, and even Louis XV's last mistress, madame du Barry !
The idea behind these trials (those one being indeed show trials, unlike the trials faced by non-celebrities) was to satisfy the radical's demands for harsh punitive measures while also eliminating old enemies, or simply people whose death doesn't cost much to the Convention. They were, to put it bluntly, feeding the popular movement with heads they could afford to chop.
"Robespierre had saved the Revolution through Terror."
Wrong on both accounts. The revolutionary government as a whole managed to save the French republic from collapsing, Robespierre again wasn't alone in the government, nor was he at its head. Just for the anecdote, Furet calculated that the members of the CPS worked between 16 and 18 hours a day. The guys spent gigantic quantities of energy on reorganising the nation's whole war effort for victory. At least, OS somewhat acknowledges that. Still, 45 errors. We arleady adressed the question of Terror.
"Even the french military has got to act together again and pummeled the Allies at the Battle of Fleurus. For Danton and his followers, the time was right to try to normalize the French Republic."
This is probably the most scandalous timeline inaccuracy of te whole videos, since OS presents Danton's demand for clemency as a consequence of the Battle of Fleurus. However, Danton was executed in early April, and Fleurus was won in late June. You see how distorted the chronology is here ? That's seriously an hallucinating inaccuracy, doing ten seconds of actual research would have prevented it. What's even more infuriating is that OS twists the timeline seemingly only because he wants to show Robespierre was a bloodthirsty monster. This passage is one of the worst of the entire videos, OS, tell me, how the hell did you arrived at such a catastrophically inaccurate result ? 46 errors.
So apparently Robespierre alone decided to sent the Dantonists to the guillotine because he wanted the war and the Terror to continue. Robespierre was advocating for a quick end to the war; that's even what led Carnot, fellow member of the CPS partially in charge of the military matters, to actively take part in Thermidor, because Carnot was all for a war of conquest - and plundering I should add. So the war point doesn't stand. I'll repeat it : at this point, peace was not an option, unless France was to surrender to the Coalition. 47 errors. And as we saw, Robespierre was not the almighty dictator OS' seems to think he is : 48 errors.
Now a complex question must be asked. Why were the Dantonists tried (in what was clearly a show trial) and executed ? The popular explanation is that Robespierre was a mad psycho and that he killed them all by sheer sadism or lust for power. An explanation more accurate is the one given by Martin. It is essential to know that before the Indulgents/Dantonists, another group had been elminated : the Exagérés/Hébertistes, who were actually further left than most of the CPS, including Robespierre. These two groups both criticized the government for opposite reasons : the Hébertistes wanted more heads and less churches, and the Dantonists advocated for the abolition of the "exception laws" and the release of all prisoners - while the situation was still dire, because France could not be considered safe from invasion until the victory at Fleurus in late June. Here, it is extremely important to remember that Robespierre was no dictator and that decisions didn't come from him alone. He was indeed in agreement with the rest of the CPS that both groups needed to be eliminated; the most right-wing members of the committee, like Carnot and Barère opposed Hébert's atheism and revolutionary zeal, while the most left-wing, Billaud-Varenne and Collot d'Herbois, opposed Danton's penchant for corruption and leniency. It also didn't helped that Danton refused to disscoiate from fis close friend Fabre d'Eglantine, whose reputation had just been badly marred by the East India Company scandal. Robespierre was not the driving force here, and McPhee even argues that he seems to have been "cajoled" into signing Danton and co's arrest wanrrants. So it was decided that both groups would be eliminated one after the other : first the Hébertistes, and then to reassure the sans-culottes who loved Hébert and might feel betrayed, the Dantonist soon followed. It's as simple as that : the CPS wanted to eliminate two potential rival (or even insurrection callers) from both sides of the political spectrum in order to maintain a central position and please everyone - because again, the government aimed at forming a "Sacred Union" avant la lettre. In this regard, the elimination of the Dantonists can be compared to the Bonnet Rouge trial : in 1918, Clémenceau had a bunch of journalist and politicians advocating for a compromise with Germany arrested, tried and condemned, for the sake of maintaining a "Sacred Union" that would be hell-bent on winning no matter what. The Great War with Indy Neidell had some episodes about that trial.
"Robespierre went "a bit mental"."
Classic old song about Robespierre being a bloodthirsty and almighty psychopath. It's still egregiously wrong, but OS' is still clinging to it, probably because it was more difficult to do actual research than to produce dumb memes. I have already said it, and anybody who has the patience and the willingness to read a good biography of Robespierre, such as Hervé Leuwers' or Peter McPhee's : Robespierre was neither a bloodthirsty psycho nor an almighty tyrant. 49 errors. But what about the Cult of the Suprem Being ? Clearly that was Robespierre creating a crazy cult because he was a megalomaniac madman ! Well, not really. First let's remember one thing : deism, Robespierre's spiritual belief, was vastly widespread in the 18th century. Several american Founding Fathers, such as Jefferson and Thomas Paine (and possibly Washington), as well as several philosophers of the Enlightenment era such as Voltaire and Diderot were deist. To sum it up very briefly, it means believing in a super-human entity from which the universe is originated, but all the dogma and rites of Christianity are swept aside (that's really an oversimplification though). There was no darwinist theory of Evolution, no Plate Tectonics theory, no Big Bang Theory (no, not the series !). So being deist made sense, and it was not Robespierre's personal sect. Now what about the festival ? First, Robespierre presided it... because he was President of the Convention at this moment. That doesn't give him any special powers, and besides the presidency of the Convention changed every three or two weeks. He sure pushed for the thing, but the initiative came from the Committe of public instruction, not from him, and it was NOT, as OS' ridiculously portrays, a cult to Robespierre. This passage is one of the most blatantly and wholly inaccuracte passage of the videos, and yet there is some serious competition, as I think now is pretty clear since we're already at 50 errors !
What exactly was this cult ? It was three things :
- a new civic form of spiritualism that didn't include any rite or clergy, so it was NOT a religion; its goal was to make principles of equality, liberty and fraternity truly sacred.
- an appeal to the still catholic peasantry who can see in this "catholicism with extra steps" and forgive the Republic about the harsh treatment of the refractory clergy.
- a pretext to organize great national festivities to unite the people of France as they had been united by the Fête de la Fédération organized by the Constitutional monarchy on July 14st 1790. What's that ? Ah, yes, OS didn't even mention it back then, even though it was a crucial moment in the history of the French Revolution. 51 Errors.
Then comes Thermidor. This post is getting too long by now, so let's make it quick (or as quick as possible) : as insanely frustrating as it is to admit it, OS' account of Thermidor isn't inaccurate. It's thoroughly lacking, but the channel is called Oversimplified after all. He however really misses what happens after Thermidor. Because Thermidor was not the revenge of the moderates against the extremists : it was mainly a new internal purge inside the Montagne, the left side of the Convention. Not like Danton's and Hébert's elimination, but similar to that of the Girondins : a vague group, the robespierrists, who is partially (only partially, through Robespierre and his allies) in charge of the government, and who is suddenly - and violently (in the 48 following Robespierre's death, more than a hundred people were sent to the guillotine, which is the deadliest moment of the whole period, and it happens AFTER Robespierre's death, so OS' grandiloquent sentence about Robespierre being "the last victim of the moustrous system of Terror he had created" is pure nonsense : 52 errors) by a loose coalition that will soon break away. Indeed, "a more moderate group called the Thermidorian took over the Convention", but it actually took them a few weeks; Billaud-Varenne and Collot d'Herbois, the most radical members of the CPS, will not be forced to resign before early September, a full month after Robespierre died. To sum it up very basically, Thermidor was an internal purge within the Montagne, which left it too weakened to face the increasingly powerful centre-right, especially as the danger of invasion seemed to fade away. Some montagnards will switch sides, such as Fouché and Barras, and other stayed true to their conviction : they were slowly but steadily eliminated between Thermidor and the creation of the Directory. That's why more than a year passes between Thermidor and the Directory. It was not a sudden turning point.
To add insult to injury, this period saw an gigantic black legend appear, as everyone now charged Robespierre (who couldn't defend hismelf anymore) with every crime he could think of to make evryone forget their own crimes. Vadier, president of the Committee of General Security, even had a false seal with a fleur-de-lys fabricated and hidden in Robespierre's room so that Robespierre could be accused of wanting to marry Louis XVI's daughter to become King, as ludicrous as it sounds. Sadly, this black legend is still the popular conception of Robespierre. I'm not saying he was a saint, but damn, posterity has really been unfair with him, more than with anyone else I can think of, and this kind of video is exactly what allows this black legend - this complete myth of a bloodthirsty pyscho dictator that doesn't hold any ground - to still thrive. 52 errors.
"[The Directory had] the purpose of preventing power from falling into the hands of a single individual - again."
For the last time, Robespierre has never been a dictator. I think I made it pretty clear. 55 errors. What actually prompted the thermidorian to adopt such a "careful" constitution was more the fear of seeing monarchy restored through legal means, as royalist were rapidly gaining ground via elections; they won the legislative elections of 1797 and almost restored monarchy. Having five Directors sharing the executive power meant that several sincerely republican directors could nip in the bud any such attempt to restore the monarchy. That's what happened in 1797, during the coup of Fructidor, which led to entire elections being cancelled because people had not voted correctly - which of course spurred a wave of disgust for the Republic in France, understandably so. Ironically, the thermidorian legend succeeded way beyond the thermidorians' expectations, as it ended up tainting the image of the Republic as a whole, which also resulted a decline in republicanism.
[Talking about the crushing of the royalist insurrection of Vendémiaire] "From this moment on, the people of Paris would never again be able to stage a popular uprising and lost their control over the Revolution."
OverSimplified...? Are you even conscious of what is written in your script ? *"*Never again be able to stage a popular uprising" ? Ever heard of the July 1830 and 1848 Revolutions, of the Paris Commune, and all ? Okay, okay, he's only talking of the French Revolution, and it is true that there was no longer any major insurrection in Paris after that, but then, choose the right words, because "never again" means "never again", not "for the next 35 years".
There is then a whole passage about custom relaxing, and it's true that old religiosity lost some of its grip on everyday life. Suicide and divorce for example became more and more common despite being of course completely condemned by the Church. I guess that "It was social anarchy" is some weird and exaggerated way of seeing things, but frankly, after all the avalanche of nonsense that was the previous part, I'm inclined to be lenient towards that.
Surprisingly enough, OS then goes on to describe pretty accurately the last years of the Directory, even though it is of course hugely simplified - at least it's not the sheer inaccuracy we saw earlier.
However, OverSimplified eventually claims to take stock of the French Revoluion as a whole, and boy, this is the grande finale :
"The French Revolution ! Born with great promises of liberty and equality. The commone people dared to challenge an oppressive system that had existed for centuries."
For now, all seems alright.
"Before they knew it, they found liberty sidelined by Terror, equality that possibly didn't hit the mark, and an absolute monarchy replaced with an absolute dictator."
It's tiring by now. We get it, it was violent. But I repeat it : it was NOT exceptionally violent. And what it achieves surpasses what it costed. For all the talks about the revolutionaries being sadistic and bloodthirsty monsters, the guys actually had sane and human programs : the revolutionary government, along with the representatives in mission, even some of the most criminal ones, redistributed the lands of the expelled and executed, sometimes even freely and to the poorest like with Saint-Just's decrees of Ventôse 13th, created taxes directed at the richest ones, rebuilt and reinvigorated the army, not only saving France from invasion but also laying the foundations of Napoléon's Grande Armée, they began implementing free public school as much as they could given the circumstances, before the Directory decided to focus on education for the wealthiest classes, they made the food crisis less severe, they abolished slavery and proclaimed full equality of rights for all citizens, no matter their skin color, on February 4th 1794; the Republic saw France's first elections being held with universal male suffrage, the constitutional monarchy having only accepted census suffrage. While on August 4th 1789 the Constituant assembly had agreed to authorize the peasantry to pay their nobles to get rid of the old feudal dues, in August 1793 the revolutionary government abolished feudalism altogether, without condition. Now of course, not all of this was implemented efficiently : the abolition of slavery for example was impossible to force upon french islands in the Indian ocean who were out of reach, and these measures were often accompanied by a brutal repression. I'm not denying the violence. I'm trying to explain it rather than just patronizingly judge it as the result of dirty savages being bloodthirsty. I'm sick of seeing videos like this that paint the Revolution as little more than a giant bloodbath. It's both egregiously simplistic and reductive, and an inuslt to the generations of historians who worked and are still working to truly understand this incredibly complex event. If you zoom back and include the "respectable" part of the Revolution, going from 1789 to 1792, it is also the final abolition of the three orders and their inequalities, the birth of nationalism, the creation of a modern administration, and in general the creation of a modern France. If the French Revolution is generally considered to be the starting point of a new era, it's not without reasons. 53 errors.
"He (Napoléon) restored the Catholic Church"
For the last time : no, the French Revolution has never abolished the Church. Napoléon didn't "restore" anything, he just gave a new regime for the Church, in the Concordat of 1801. 54 errors.
"and got rid of that crazy calendar."
Laugh all you want a this "crazy calendar"; for many people it had a true sense, and this patronizing attitude does you no credit at all, OS. 55 errors.
And then we have a cliffhanger.
In my final assessment about Oversimplified's videos about the French Revolution, I must conclude that they're neither funny, nor instructive. They manage to be completely wrong on almost every single thing or person they talk about, while indulging in a generally conter-productive, moralizing and patronizing narrative, that doesn't do anything else than strengthening an outdated, ridiculous and completely erroneous vision of the French Revolution. I don't know if it's laziness, ignorance, or even dishonesty, or the three combined that led OverSimplified to produce such bad videos, but what I'm sure of is that with them, he well earned the nickname of OverFalsified. And since, according to seemingly everyone on this sub, his other videos are good, I beg OverSimplified's team to do something, anything to repair the damages, even a simple tweet would be welcome : the first part has 19M views, the second one has 14M. Looking at the comments and like/dislike ratio, one has to admit that what is being told in this videos is blindly believed by a majority. Take a little walk at HistoryMemes and search "French Revolution", "Terror" or "Robespierre": you'll see that this insultingly simplistic take on the French Revolution, that of a mere bloodbath led by a megalomaniac psychopath, is broadly accepted. And this is discouraging to say the least. Thanks, OverSimplified.
And thank you for reading this huge wall of text, I didn't think it would be that long.
Sources :
Nouvelle Histoire de la Révolution Française, Jean-Clément Martin, 2019
La Terreur : Vérités et Légendes, Jean-Clément Martin, 2017
Le Dictionnaire des Révolutionnaires français, Pierre Brasme, 2014
Robespierre, Hervé Leuwers, 2014
Les Sans-Culottes parisiens en l'an II, Albert Soboul, 1958
¹: La Terreur : Vérités et Légendes, p. 23
²: La Terreur : Vérités et Légendes, p. 27

If you haven't seen the Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland franchises, you are missing out on some seriously good reality TV. What makes these shows so great is that the women genuinely don't care about how they come across. They will tear each other apart, in the nastiest ways possible, without blinking an eye. Although they can get very mean, they also know how to have fun, and let loose. They are up there with RHONY and RHOA when it comes to dragging each other. This makes for almost constant fun, drama, and iconic TV moments. Here's a rundown, if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing these shows:
RHOMelbourne-
It's right up with the best seasons of RHONY, RHOA, and RHOBH. It's so much better than any of the recent American RH seasons. It's what the whole RH franchise should be, at its best. What makes the show great is that each HW has a certain persona that someone will like. If you want a sharp, quick-witted Bethenny type, there's Janet. A dumb, delusional, pot-stirring housewife who lives in her own bubble, but can still somehow be charming? Lydia. A glamorous, smart, narcissistic steamroller of a housewife? Gina. If you prefer a Martha Stewart type peacekeeper, there's Chyka, or a hippie-dippy psychic? Jackie. All the best parts of Brandi Glanville, without the messiness and general grossness? Gamble. The queen of narcissists? Pettifleur. Even the more bland ones, like Susie and Sally could give us some nice lifestyle porn. They all have something to offer to the audience, and many of them have known each other for decades. That means that their relationships are genuine, and their friendships and hostilities are mostly real. Although the show is known for the drama, the girls also know how to have fun and be silly. They're funny, brutal, and haven't had a bad season yet. Season 5 comes out later, this year.

RHOAuckland
- Unfortunately lasted one season, but it's one of the best first-seasons of any HW franchise (not counting the unfortunate incident that got it cancelled). The cast is incredible, it's full of lifestyle porn, and the show was able to stay very entertaining, even after the major controversy. There are six housewives:
Louise (the Weakest Link lady)- An old-money alpha who trolls the other HWs for fun. Louise is the epitome of IDGAF. When called out, she'd be the first to say "Yes, I called her a gold-digging homewrecker and here's a list of reasons why." She was at the top of her game through the whole season, and was able to win every fight she was in. Her tagline is "I earned my money the old fashioned way. I inherited it.". Really sharp, funny, and a great villain type.
Gilda- A Persian Queen who is stylish, interesting, and brilliant. Gilda runs like seven different companies, and wrote a kids book about cosmology. She spends most of the season arguing with the show's main "villain". Gilda has ice in her veins, and it's really funny to watch her reactions to everything. She dropped one of the best HW burns of all time with "do you know what I heard about you...not a fucking thing". Mic drop. Erika Jayne wishes she was Gilda.
Michelle- A former model, who's basically New Zealand's answer to Naomi Campbell. She's very stylish, smart, and gorgeous. She can be rude and bitchy to the housewives she hates, and throws shade like a seasoned pro. Her friendships with Gilda and Anne was a highlight of the show.
Anne- Probably the only person who can make "classist old-money snob" seem cute and charming. She's really fun to watch, and is obsessed with cats and champagne. Anne is much older than the others, and sometimes seems like she's stuck in another era. In her freetime, she feeds stray cats all over Auckland. She's like a very likable, friendly, and less bitchy version of LVP. I liked that she was able to hang with the younger, fashionable women and have fun. I also enjoyed how she got along with Michelle, who was like a polar opposite to her in every way.
Angela-The main villain throughout the show, Angela is a very good "fun" villain. She's not dangerous, or malicious. She's very fun to hate, because of how delusional she is. Every scene she has, Angela is dripping with delusion, and has a fake serial killer smile plastered on her face. She truly thought she was New Zealand's answer to Oprah. It's really fun to watch Gilda and Louise tear her down, because she brings it on herself, with the things she says. She would constantly go up against the other big personalities on the show, just to get shut down every time.
Julia- Trash. Literally the reason why the show was canceled in the first place. She was a terrible HW from the second episode, when she goaded Anne into saying that Gilda was a gold-digger, during a private conversation. Then, she went to Gilda, and snitched on Anne. A huge dick move. She was a major gossip. Later, she lost a huge fight with Louise, and spent the rest of the the season holding a silly grudge against her. The worst thing she did was refer to Michelle (a black lady) as a "boat n-word". I don't want to spoil the show, but she called Michelle that, and tried to apologize in the worst ways possible. She even said it again, in her confessional. That was the only episode where even delusional Angela was a surprising voice of reason. The other HWs, and the show itself handled the situation remarkably well. The other women condemned what Angela said, and explained why her actions were inexcusable. Even Anne, who most would assume to be the "problematic" one, because of her age and sometimes old-timey ways, was appalled at Julia's behavior. I liked how the women either rallied around Michelle or went after Julia for what she said. The four episodes after the dreaded "n-word" one were amazing, and the show was still able to have lots of great moments. Julia and her husband later tried to sue the show, for including the scene where she says the "n-word". Unfortunately, Julia's awful behavior was what got the show canceled. The show had a very high rating throughout the whole season, and was sure to get picked up. Hopefully, they can give it a second try, without Julia. They could just replace her with two new amazing Auckland HWs. It's sad to see a franchise with so much potential fail like that, but try to see the first season if you can. It's really funny, and has lots of great moments.

RHOSydney
It was probably the most volatile, aggressive RH show of all time. Each episode contained at least one major blow-up. The show was considered to be so controversial that it never aired in the US. Like Auckland, it was cancelled after one season, because of how mean these women were to each other. Many of them have huge personalities, and egos, which made them fight at the drop of a hat. Athena, Victoria, Krissy, and Lisa were at the center of most of the fights. It's a really funny show, if you like to see housewives fighting. At least the show never got boring.

Athena X, who lives on her own plane drove most of the women crazy, while Lisa was just awful to everyone. Victoria would attack anyone, and threw Athena's weird cape-thing into Sydney Harbor in the first episode. Krissy and Nicole were a lot like Salt Lake City's Lisa and Meredith in that they are brunettes who look alike. Krissy got into fights a lot, and Nicole acted like she was above everyone, because she was the richest and kinda looks like Jackie Kennedy. Melissa, a former one-hit-wonder from the 90s was kinda boring because she didn't add much, and Matty, who owned a plastic surgery clinic, seemed fun and smart. If you want nonstop drama, and just plain chaos, this is the show for you.

Here are some Sydney highlights, if you want to see 2:17 minutes of pure chaos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=789Dd06XeUs
Tl, dr: RH Melbourne, Auckland, and Sydney are some of the best RH franchises ever. You can watch Auckland and Melbourne on and Sydney on Apple TV. Melbourne and Auckland are also on youtube tv.

I just saw a video on Youtube claiming that millennials who don't want to have kids are selfish because the world needs the younger generations to keep the wheel of economy and development running. When I heard this I was so infuriated, this is the most incorrect statement I have ever heard against antinatalist people. And it's actually the total opposite. Think about it, most people want to have kid for one of these reasons: * They are lonely and/or lacking love and company so they decide let's have children to love me. * They feel like their life is meaningless so they have kids to give a purpose to their life. * They surrender to the pressure coming from their family and relatives, especially from boomers. * They are afraid to grow old lonely and with no one to take care of them. * They have kids to show them off in front of their friends, family, neighbors or any fucking person, some parents even take it as a competition to raise the best kid in the neighbor. * We all are genetically and psychologically programmed to have kids and stick to the norms of the older generations.
Why You should not have children: * You will only bring a conscious human being into this world of pain, despair, killing, rape, pollution, envy, hatred, psychopaths, and evil people. * The parents can die at any time and any day and they will inevitably leave behind them those orphans that will only suffer in this world without their parent's love and protection. * Children can grow to be psychopaths or killers and just bring more evil to this world. * Children can be born with any physical or mental disability and will suffer for the rest of their lives for it. * The parents who are supposed to take care of the kids can't even take care of their fucking life, they have no idea what they're doing, they are drowning in debts and poverty, still can't achieve their dreams in life, they're not even properly raised for them to raise a child. * This world is already fucked up: overpopulation, pollution, malnutrition, wars, crimes, natural disasters, lack of meaning etc...
tldr: If you're not one of the richest 1% in this world, then you are absolutely selfish for bringing a human to this planet.

TLDR in vid form - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUqX_8dPXtM
Preface
Hey everyone! Today I'm going to tell you the story of someone rather infamous in the EVE online community before his ban a few years ago. I personally played EVE for years before winning the game and haven’t been back since, but the legend of Erotica 1 has stayed with me all of that time. Erotica 1 was known throughout the game as the most prolific isk-doubler of his time. If you’re unfamiliar with EVE, isk is just money. Isk-doublers would stay docked in popular trade centers with an offer of doubling any amount of money sent to them. Now, if you have half a brain, you would realize this is an obvious scam. However, there are quite a few players of EVE online who need to learn the hard way and will giddily send their money to Erotica 1 and many other scammers like him. These scammers would frequently employ the tactic of actually doubling your money the first few times until you sent them an amount they were pleased with. Now, this is all within the game rules, as scamming is perfectly allowed and the general consensus surrounding the victims is that they should have been smarter and now ya’ know better.
The Bonus Room
With all that explained, let’s get into what made Erotica 1 infamous throughout New Eden. Located normally in Jita, Erotica 1 would spam the chat looking for marks to scam. When he found a good victim, he would use his charisma to convince the person to transfer all of their assets to him. After he got everything they owned, he would promise to only double it if the mark made it through what he called the bonus round. Now, this isn’t too special. Many isk-doublers would make themselves stand out by creating small but usually difficult games to actually win, so that people would say they were legit in chat. This also gave them an out when people called them a scammer, they could just claim that the person lost their game fairly. Erotica would seek out the most gullible or innocent of the eve community before selecting them for the bonus round, others would simply just walk away once they realized it was a scam before they got in too deep. Those selected for the bonus room would be instructed to send everything in the game they had to Erotica 1 and his brokers, this included money, ships, materials, PI goods, any holdings they had in EVE gambling sites. Now, you’re probably thinking why on earth would anyone do this? Erotica would promise bonus round participants that he would quintuple their net worth. For many greedy players, this was too much to pass up. There was also plenty of innocent, naive or just plain stupid players who fell into this trap. After Erotica was satisfied that he had control of all of their assets, the player would proceed to part 2 of the bonus room. This part often varied from player to player, but was consistently horrible for the scamee. Players would be prodded into reading hours of boring text, singing song after song over voice chat while Erotica and his friends egged them on, promising to pay out after just a few more songs.
Jester's Blog
Eve blogger Jester made a long post about the horrors of Erotica 1 and how he tormented a player. The victim in Jester’s post had a speech impediment, when Erotica and his fellow interrogators noticed it they jumped on him for it. Making him repeat a word he could not pronounce again and again. Then they decided he would need to read the word and its definition over and over. Following this, they forced him to read the entire Russian history entry of wikipedia all while mocking his speech impediment. After about an hour and a half of reading, Erotica had decided it was time for this player to move to phase 3 of the bonus room. Like many others, the contestant is forced to sing song after song while he is mocked by interrogator after interrogator, each popping in after the other is forced to mute themselves due to their laughter. After about 3 hours of the bonus room, the contestant snaps. He begins screaming, cursing and shouting at the interrogators who all burst into laughter. He has completely lost it at this point, the scamees wife can be heard trying to calm him down before she herself devolves into a panic attack at her husband's state. All the while Erotica and his gang are in hysterics at the situation, they have stolen everything from this man and now have pushed him into a manic state of mind. Eventually, they disconnect, taking everything the player owned. Erotica would then publish the recording of this event online, humiliating the player further. When people talk about the sociopaths or truly fucked up people that play EVE online, you need look no further than Erotica 1. Jester’s post would make major waves, the story would be picked up by Massively.com, Eurogamer, EveNews 24 and discussed wildly across the EVE subreddit. Jester, at the time, was also a member of the CSM which is a group of players selected to be in close contact with game developer CCP, so it isn’t a stretch to think that he likely brought this to their attention as well. Erotica had made waves before, when he used to force players to be repeatedly killed in their alpha pod, until they lost all of their skill points. For non-EVE players, this means Erotica would force the player to be killed in a state in which they lost skills or levels, over and over again, wiping out possibly years of progress that they could not just get back, all the while dangling all of their assets in front of them.
The playerbase chooses sides
When the recording and blog post dropped, the community split into two factions. Those pro and anti Erotica 1. Many players were appalled by his actions while others found it hilarious, bombarding him with both support and hate mail. The New Order or CODE, a group of hi-sec griefers being one of Erotica’s staunchest supporters. Though this is not surprising, Erotica’s scamming had made him one of the richest players in EVE and he had funnelled billions of his isk into supporting the CODE. Erotica, once a long time member of the Goonswarm or CFC as they were known at the time, was recently kicked before the recording due to creepy behavior and crossing the line one too many times so he found no support in his old allies. In the end, after thousands of posts for and against Erotica 1, CCP chose to permanently ban him from the game. After around 100 or so bonus rounds, years of scamming and attention whoring, EVE’s most infamous scammer was finally brought down. Erotica would make a long post on the eve subreddit post regarding his ban, promising to essentially whine to every gaming media site he could find about his unfair treatment and how he was simply trying to protect the sandbox, but in the end, his ban stood.
EVE prides itself on being a tough, roguish game where you are expected to just get up and dust yourself off after even the worst disasters so it is understandable that some players would side with Erotica in seeing those who fell for his scams as foolish or greedy.
However, Erotica 1 just took it too far. There are thousands of scammers within EVE online who are able to practice their craft without even so much as a warning from CCP. It’s an accepted and beloved part of the game, At the end of the day, you need to think about the other, real life person on the other side of the game. Scam them and move on, don’t push them and torment them for a few laughs because you “outsmarted” them. Honestly, I’m glad he’s gone, the game is certainly better for it.
This has been the tale of Erotica 1, EVE onlines most infamous scammer and one who remains banned to this day. What do you think about it? Does he deserve his ban? Did those who participated in the bonus room deserve it for being so gullible?
https://jestertrek.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-bonus-round.html - The original blogpost that caused all the drama

Inspired by this post...

I have no idea what this game is going to be about and I don’t want to know what this game will be about.

... I decided I did want to know what the game would be about as far as the setting goes. This led me down quite a few rabbit holes (I even streamed it, although no one showed up!).
What follows is a rather long non-spoiler summary of the state of the world, the United States, and Night City up to 2077. However, I end with information on Johnny Silverhand that I could envision potentially ruining some reveals/twists in Cyberpunk 2077 about him, although it's all background information someone would easily know from the source material just like a player would know more about Geralt, Yenn, Ciri, etc and make guesses about story points if they had read the Witcher books.
I'll conclude with a TL;DR.
The World
(Note: Mike Pondsmith created and released the world of Cyberpunk during the '80s, which flavors some of the setting.)
As time progressed in our world, corporations continued to expand, grow richer, and buy one another out. Eventually several reached "megacorp" status. However, as their wealth and influence grew, so too did their need for personal security and ability to protect themselves from social and government upheaval. With this physical and monetary power, they invariably came into not only commercial and political but physical conflict. They used this power and expertise to wage a series of wars on one another.
First Corporate War
The first large-scale open corporate war was over competing offworld trading companies - cargo and passenger flights to off-world colonies such as the Crystal Palace geosynchronous space station or Tycho city on Luna (the Moon), not to mention future potential in the various lunar bases popping up across Mars' moons. Two companies attempted to buy out another failing transport company, but each attempted to block one another, resulting in a failed kidnapping and then war.
From 2004 to 2006, Euro Business Machines (EBM) and Orbital Air fought over control of this company and the future of the transworld transport and supply industry. In the end, Orbital Air won, and has since monopolized this service. They have "Orbital Air Space Centers" - which act as transport hubs to various colonies for business or pleasure - in most major cities, including Night City.
Second Corporate War
Petrochem and SovOil, both huge oil and fuel companies - including the new fuel that began to replace all gasoline and diesel, CHOOH2 (choo-too) - came into intense, open verbal conflict. Then a Petrochem oil platform in the South China Sea exploded. Blaming it on SovOil, they destroyed a SO oil platform in the South China Sea as well. War began, expanding to other locations, until much of each belligerents' infrastructure and facilities were destroyed, polluting massive tracts of water and land, particularly the South China Sea. It, and much of the Pacific Rim, became a chemical wasteland while oil became scarce. CHOOH2, however, was produced from an engineered wheat, and becomes the primary source of fuel across the world.
The war lasted from 2008 to 2010, ending with SovOil as the pyrrhic victor.
Third Corporate War
The third war between megacorps was between Merrill, Asukaga, & Finch (MA&F), an investment firm, and the private investment group the Rothstein Fund. It was the first war to see significant netrunner conflict, data, secrets, and deaths being exchanged on the Net. NetWatch also joined, trying to limit the collateral damage. This caused the companies to take the fight into the physical world, still targeting Net physical assets.
Fought from 2016 to 2017, it resulted in Rothstein dissolving.
Fourth Corporate War
This war began between Corporation Internationale Nauticale et Oceanique (CINO) and Ocean Technology & Energy Corporation (OTEC) over the bankrupt Internationale Handelsmarine Aktiengesellschaft (IHAG). It was a conflict over the future of the sea transport industry and nautical technology.
Coming to a stalemate, each side hired mercenary companies, a fast-growing industry in the uncertain future. OTEC hired Militech, and CINO Araska.
Arasaka and Militech both being producers of advanced military technology and fielding significant mercenary forces, the war quickly escalated, involving other companies as well as governments, resulting in significant damage to various cities (Rio De Janeiro being destroyed) as well as the Net, with both parties releasing destructive viruses.
The 2021 to 2023 war ended with the United States nationalizing Militech and a mini-nuke detonating in the City Center of Night City, destroying Arasaka's US headquarters and killing hundreds of thousands of others downtown. Japan, being home to Arasaka's primary HQ, worried the conflict would come there next and encouraged surrender, despite much of its Diet (congress/parliament) being controlled by Arasaka.
Following this, an investigation into the bombing concluded that Arasaka set it off themselves to prevent the winning Militech from acquiring their HQ and data there. Arasaka claimed it was a Militech operation. In response, the US government banned Arasaka and its trade from the United States, severely weakening their influence and income.
This was the last massive war between corporations. With the harm to so many major cities, infrastructure, and manufacturing, the world entered a new era. The political power of megacorps waned as governments reasserted dominance while markets and the environment flagged. It would take these megacorps decades to recover financially.
The United States
Much of the US's resources were spent on the War on Drugs and Communism in South and Central America during this time. The Gang of Four - the FBI, CIA, NSA, and DEA - grew in power and influence, eventually taking control of the US government entirely in a coup. However, as the USSR began to open up (glasnost), the US continued its economic and political blockade, the growing European Economic Community (EEC) departed from this tactic and began to aid the Soviet Union, putting the US and EEC (EU) at odds.
Combined with the world's natural resources dwindling and oil and oil products taking severe hits from the Second Corporate War in addition to nuclear war in the Middle East, the US and the world economies were struggling. In response, the US began to secretly manipulate the world market and its own currency compared against the growing new Eurodollar. The EEC discovered and revealed this, causing a collapse of the US economy in 1994, followed by collapse of the world economy.
Dustbowls and drought wracking the country and world, the economy in shambles, expensive foreign wars in the Americas, and a leadership crisis when both the president and vice president were assassinated in 1996, the country entered martial law as it collapsed. Add to this a counter-coup to oust the Gang of Four, and the addition of the Corporate Wars, the release of bioengineered plagues, and war that included flinging meteorites against cities, the US experienced a second civil war where six states fought for independence from the United States while large groups joined roving clans of "Nomads."
The civil war ultimately resulted in a compromise, the New United States (NUSA) remaining whole but the six rebellious states (Texas, Alaska, North California, South California, Utah, and Nevada) obtaining autonomy. This lasted for decades until 2069, where NUSA attempted to force these states to fully rejoin the federal government. War began again and continued until NUSA targeted Night City, the most populous city in the US. Afraid, the city council contacted Arasaka and begged for protection. They obliged. Concerned over a large escalation in the conflict, NUSA came to the table and the Free States agreed to rejoin the federal system, but with semi-autonomous status.
Night City
Night City was founded as Coronado City (crowned) by Richard Night, a wealthy developer. He bought the small, decrepit town of Morro Bay in order to build a corporate utopia city. He succeeded. A perfectly planned city with no crime or poverty... until Night was assassinated by unknown assailants. What followed was chaos: gangs, corporations, and the Mob vying for power. While the city was renamed in Night's honor, the Mob ultimately won. But with swiftly growing crime and profits decreasing, the city council and corporations allied to violently wipe out the Mob for good. It took time, but they succeeded. Unfortunately, the Fourth Corporate War also saw the detonation of a mini-nuke in Corpo Plaza, destroying a significant and important part of the city. What followed was also the new global dark ages of the '20s-'40s, when environmental, government, Net, and corporate degradation caught up with the world. Night City, and the world, was in rough shape.
Over time, the city rebuilt itself. Meanwhile, Arasaka was invited back to protect the city from NUSA, turning it into an international "free city," an autonomous area within the Free State of Northern California. It stands as the largest city in the US as well as one of the richest, power shared among the City Council (under the Mayor), the various megacorps with regional headquarters there, and the dozens of gangs.
Corporations
In Cyberpunk 2077, megacorporations and government still compete for power. Many of these have offices in Night City. EBM is the richest, Araska the most powerful, and Militech the strongest. Each sports hundreds of thousands (if not a million+) employees, hundreds of billions in assets, private armies, and connections across the world.
Although open corporate wars have ended, secret wars still exist, utilizing netrunners and assassins. Arasaka was invited back to Night City to protect it, and it never let go. Its second CEO, Saburo Arasaka (158 years old), has bought out most of Night City's council, although still must share power with others within the city... for now.
Johnny Silverhand (warning: may spoil some story reveals)
Born Robert John Linder, he fought in the Central American wars of the '00s on the side of the United States. Upon his return after desertion, sans his left arm lost in battle (which was replaced by a bionic one manufactured by Araska), he changed his name and turned to music to express his outrage over what he experienced - imperialism, corporate greed, testing drugs on troops, and extreme destruction from violence as well as bioengineered plagues (to wipe out poppy and coca plantations). He formed the band Samurai to express his bitterness, gaining great fame. However, it suddenly ended when a band member killed her abusive boyfriend, landing her in prison while the band dissolved in 2008. Johnny then went solo, directly singing about what he saw in Central America, gaining even more fame but animosity from the government and corporations.
During his solo career, Johnny met and began to date Alt Cunningham, a skilled netrunner. She developed a program for her employer, ITS. It allowed the transfer of people's minds/personalities, which the company further developed into the Soulkiller program: one which could imprison one's mind. However, after concluding and leaving a concert in 2013, Johnny and Alt were attacked by a gang. Johnny was left for dead and Alt kidnapped. However, Johnny's friend saves him, and Johnny spends his time investigating and then planning revenge.
Silverhand eventually learns Arasaka was behind the kidnapping, to force Alt to redevelop the Soulkiller program for them. In response, Johnny hosts a concert outside the Arasaka building he believes Alt in being held in, and rouses the crowd into a riot, which overruns the Arasaka complex. While inside, Johnny confronts those holding Alt, killing them but also losing Alt (who, unbeknownst to Johnny, still resides in the Net digitally). Johnny vows eternal revenge on Araska.
In 2022, Arasaka and Militech come to blows during the Fourth Corporate War. Johnny and others (including big names from the lore like Morgan Blackhand, Rogue, and Spider) are hired by Militech to fill strike teams to infiltrate Arasaka's US headquarters in Night City. Johnny's team works its way deep into Arasaka Tower, and finding its Soulkiller lab, proceeds to destroy it. However, Adam Smasher, also a former soldier from the Central American wars, has been employed by Arasaka and heads off Johnny's team. Johnny decides to fight him to buy his team time to escape, however, is shredded by gunfire from Smasher.
Meanwhile, Morgan Blackhand's team has also fought its way inside and planted a mini-nuke. On their way out toward the roof, Smasher, having killed Johnny, also challenges Blackhand, declaring metal is better than meat (he is almost entirely made of bionics and cyberware even at this time). They fight, but then the bomb goes off, collapsing the building and much of the surrounding area. Silverhand, Blackhand, and Smasher are all missing, presumed dead.
This leads us to question: How is Smasher alive in 2077? How is Johnny on a chip if the Soulkiller lab was destroyed and his physical body killed? Why did the mini-nuke go off before they all could escape?
TL;DR
The World

Corporations gain wealth and power, eclipsing governments
With intense competition eventually comes outright war
With so much environmental, city, and manufacturing destruction, governments begin to wrest some political control back from the megacorps
Due to the above, the '20s-'40s are a "dark age" of technological stagnation
Droughts and superstorms wrack the Earth, the land and sea are badly polluted, bioplagues kill targeted crops, and resources begin to run thin

The United States

A soft coup of government agencies takes over the United States (FBI, CIA, DEA, NSA)
The US fights wars in Central and South America to root out drugs and communism
Much of Europe unites under the political body EEC, and forms the Eurodollar (eddie)
The US's economy and currency is hurting, so it manipulates its currency and the market
The EEC discovers the manipulation, causing first the US and then world markets to collapse
Six states (Texas, Alaska, North California, South California, Utah, and Nevada) fight for independence but come to a compromise. They gain autonomy under the New United States (NUSA)
A counter-coup removes the "Gang of Four"
NUSA waits decades, but then tries to invade the Free States. It begins to win, but when trying to invade Night City (largest city in the US), the city invites Arasaka to help defend them, who accepts. NUSA backs down and the Free States agree to a compromise of semi-autonomy

Night City

Richard Night founds Coronada City to build a utopian corporate city
Night is assassinated, the Mob takes over, but the city council and corps eventually destroy them
During the Fourth Corporate War, Araska and Militech are hired by opposite sides. A mini-nuke goes off at Corpo Plaza in Night City, destroying Arasaka's US headquarters, ending the war
Night City rebuilds over time
Following the compromise with NUSA, Night City becomes a "free city" within the Free State of North California. All companies and people are allowed there

Johnny Silverhand

Joins the US military and is sent to Central America
Losing an arm in battle, it is replaced by a silver bionic made by Arasaka
Horrified by what he sees, he deserts, changing his name from Robert John Linder to Johnny Silverhand
He forms a band called Samurai back in the US, singing emotional and anti-establishment songs
Samurai is disbanded, but he goes solo, gaining even more fame as he sings out the US's actions in detail
Arasaka hires a gang to kidnap his girlfriend, Alt Cunningham, a skilled netrunner. He nearly gets killed
He infiltrates Arasaka and fights his way to her, where she is being forced to recreate the Soulkiller program she originally developed. He fails to rescue her
Unknown to the world, Johnny and others are hired by Militech during the Fourth Corp War to infiltrate Arasaka's HQ in Night City. The teams destroys the Soulkiller lab and plants a mini-nuke, but a security team led by Adam Smasher kills Johnny, then the suitcase bomb goes off, killing everyone in Arasaka Tower and hundreds of thousands of others in the dense Corpo Plaza

Sources
Cyberpunk wiki
Cyberpunk 2077 lore videos by GameSpot
The World of Cyberpunk 2077, a comic book style book by Dark Horse and CDPR

Ex Muslim here. I recently started researching more on Islam. Is there really proof that Islam is made up? Can you really deny the scientific miracles? They don’t seem like coincidences. I have also seen YouTube videos of people trying to prove the miracles are incorrect but they did not really disprove them and we're making a few mistakes. A lot of the posts I see on this subreddit are wrong and very misleading. Please don't downvote i'm just trying to learn more.
Examples:
Here is one I copy and pasted from a user
ACCORDING TO THE QURAN, THE EARTH WAS CREATED BEFORE THE EXISTENCE OF STARS
Allah first created Earth then the seven heavens –
Quran 2:29 - "It is He who created for you all that is in the earth. Then turned He to the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is knower of all things."
THE EARTH IS 4.543 BILLION YEARS OLD MEANING IT WAS FORMED AFTER THE EXISTENCE OF STARS AND NOT BEFORE MEANING THE QURAN IS WRONG!
^
what he said is wrong because the verse says "It is He who created for you all that is in the earth". He didn’t say the earth was created before the stars.
Here’s another one:
HUMANS ARE CREATED FROM A FLUID COMING FROM THE BACKBONE AND RIBS
Quran 86:5 - “So let man observe from what he was created.”
Quran 86:6 - “He was created from a gushing fluid”
Quran 86:7 - “ Emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.”

Obviously we know humans are not created from a fluid coming from the ribs of a woman and the backbone of a man.
^
We know the fluid is created in the testes. The Qur’an said “emerging from between the ribs and the backbone”. It did not say created from between the ribs and the backbone.
others:
Beating wife: In the Quran in 4:34 it mentions the verse about striking your wife and people interpret it as meaning to hit your wife. The word used can also mean strike/protest without hitting. Also, the prophet himself never hit a woman and forbade beating one's wife so how can this verse mean hitting the wife?
Homosexuality: neither muslims, jews or christians support homosexuality. There is nothing against you if you are attracted to the same gender. Acting on your desires is when you transgress and it's the same for unmarried straight people. If you are gay you still deserve respect.
Apostasy: just because you disbelieve doesn't mean you should be killed. Not every Muslim who falls into kufr is a kaafir and apostate. There are reasons why a Muslim may be excused and not judged to be a kaafir, for example: ignorance, misunderstanding, being forced, and making mistakes.
Other small things like: oppression of women but it's not really oppressive. Or marrying before puberty, many minds automatically jump to love and sex, which is the American depiction of marriage. Apparently Islam allows sex only with pubescence people and both the male and female must consent to getting married and if anything is forced then the marrige is invalid.
Some say the prophet invented islam. This is not possible. He could not read or write. He could not have known about scientific facts in the quran. What about the predictions the prophet made.
Examples:
Power and authority will be given to wrong people. - how did trump become president lol
Naked, destitute, barefoot shepherds will compete in building tall buildings - arabs used to be very poor now they are one of the richest countries
When people begin to compete with others in the construction of taller buildings - same as 2
A man will pass by a grave and wish that he was in their place. - suicide rates are high
The consumption of intoxicants will be widespread. - alcohol and bars are everywhere
Adultery and fornication will be prevalent - this one is clear especially in western countries
Rain will be acidic or burning - reference to acid rain / global warming
Great distances will be traversed in short spans of time - planes, vehicles
People will believe in the stars. - astrology and horoscopes
Men will begin to look like women and women will begin to look like men. - transgender / men wearing dresses/makeup
The muslims go through so much oppression, getting killed for their faith, bullied in school. If any other civilisation was treated like this it would have collapsed a long time ago. How did it grow from 1 person to 1.8 billion today. After looking at it twice I'm not sure if this could come by chance. Let me know what you all think. There is not any concrete proof i can find that islam is fake. What if islam is true and there is a god? I'm just concerned I'm not willing to gamble with my life
I'm not sure if leaving Islam was the right thing anymore. Did this universe just come from nothing? Assume there is no god, there would be no point in us living just so we can die. There has to be something else. Let me know what you think in the comments

We more often than not regret or apologize only after our actions have come back to haunt us. So, what do you do, when you pay the price for trying to make everyone happy through those actions?
Her name is Kim. She first transferred to my school in the 6th grade, and I didn’t know her so naturally I never thought anything of her. But now, she’s probably the greatest person I’ve ever known. She has my sense of humor, she’s smart, has a big love for music just like me, loved nature, is very independent and honest. She’s short with a very thin frame and dark brown hair down to the middle of her back. We started talking in our junior year of high school. We were paired in our shared art class and I didn’t think of her as anything more than a classmate who I honestly thought was kind of pretty. She wore these expensive looking, but still casual clothes. Some nice earrings and what looked like the latest iPhone. So she was wealthy I assumed, at least more than most. I walked to her table and sat down next to her. It was about 2 minuets of painful silence before the first words were said.
K “So, what do you wanna paint” She asked
D “oh uhm, it’s up to you I guess” I responded
K “really, c’mon”
D “I have nothing seriously”
She heavily sighed and said “fine, I say we paint the shire”
D “The what?”
K “No, you’re joking”
D “uhh no I’m not”
K “The lord of the rings!!!”
D “ohhhhhhhhhhh, I haven’t seen it”
K “Watch it!! You’ll never forget your first time watching the whole trilogy”
That was pretty much our first conversation, it wasn’t until the last week of our junior year when I thought of her as a friend, and we were somewhat close. So, I saw no problem in asking her to hang out after school. I was so nervous even though I thought of her as a friend, and I wanted my invitation to be as friendly as possible. So, I simply said “hey do you wanna stay after school and go on a walk?” I couldn’t just ask to go to her house as she lives with her aunt, and because I’m pretty poor so I didn’t have access to a car. And to my surprise she said yes. I honestly felt butterflies when she said it, and I let out an uncontrolled sigh of relief afterword. It went great, and it was tons of fun. It started kind of awkward. I mean we’re friends but this just felt different than sitting in a classroom and making jokes.
We walked to the mall, and just walked around in it not buying anything but still going in every store. We talked the whole time about, well life. We basically bonded that day, and ever since I’ve felt a little different after that. I think we’ve all had that day, where we have a different feeling towards someone we’ve known for a while. I didn’t understand it at first, but after that day, I kind of looked forward to seeing her every day. I did binge “the lord of the rings” trilogy, she insisted the extended edition, we went to the mall once a week to buy basically nothing, and… It was honestly the happiest I’ve ever been. But at the time I wish I could’ve told her about my “night hobby.” Now I only wish, I knew about hers.
Oh yeah, I didn’t tell who I was. My name is Daniel, I'm now in the middle of my senior in high school, and I'll be honest, I went down the wrong path early. I personally think it's justified, but I understand it's still bad. It’s just me and my mom that live in our home 30 minutes away from school and civilization. It’s in the middle of nowhere and our nearest neighbor lives 20 minutes away. Mom would drop me off every morning at the bus stop, and she would leave to work as I waited. But when she left, I would sometimes not wait for the bus, but rather leave and go off and do uhm… not good things. See this night hobby I mentioned, well what I would do was… I would… break into houses at night.
It sounds bad I KNOW, but I want to at least tell why I did it. My mom is very poor because she never seems to keep a job, I’ve spent too many nights listening to her soft sobs of frustration with life through the walls. But she always gave a smile and love to me. Of course, I give her it in return. One night in my sophomore year, before I ever met Kim, I was super depressed and felt life was nothing anymore. I know my mom felt the same, because I could hear her cry down the hall. I was fed up, and decided to do something. My logic, take something from someone with way more money. I mean… they have enough wealth to replace something small. I just want to take a small load off my mom.
So, the next morning I planned to skip school after my mom left me at the bus stop, and go off to one of the many suburban neighborhoods in the city and just, take something. The plan was set, and once my mom did drop me off with the other students waiting, I sat down till she drove around the corner, then I got up and just started walking. For about an hour I walked. I didn’t want to go to the nearest neighborhood, so I went to the second one down. I made it and my feet were killing me. I saw a kid on a bike riding around and I thought “why isn’t he in school” and, a bike would be amazing right now. I then went behind a house and waited, luckily no one saw me just standing around a corner stalking this guy on a bike. I played the waiting game and I won.
He eventually set the bike on the wall of his house and walked inside. With so many nerves, and anxiety. I sprinted towards the house, got on the bike, and peddled straight for the exit. I didn’t look back and peddled all the way back to the bus stop. Obviously by then the students were at school, so I took the bike further to the Walmart about 10 minutes away. I stole a can of black spray paint, bought a soda to avoid suspicion, and left.
When I rode back to the bus stop, I went into the woods that lead to my house and spray painted the light blue bike completely black. I got pretty high on the fumes; I didn’t know that would happen. Karma, I guess. That was my first, and second time stealing something and it honestly… felt good. The adrenaline was like a drug and I wanted to do it again.
After that I didn’t take the bike home because mom would notice, so I hid it in some branches, leaves, and other stuff around in the woods I could find. I hid it near the bus stop so when I wanted to skip school, I had a ride. Once a week I would go and ditch school completely to steal something new. What I consider as my first big robbery was a car. It was a 2014 toyota and I just looked up how to unlock doors on youtube, and after some practice on mom’s cheap car, I tried it on this Toyota. It worked like a charm and I ended up with 200 dollars in the glove compartment. Pretty lucky because who just leaves cash laying around in the car.
I robbed nothing but cars for about three more months, ending up with mostly small necessities and about 700 dollars. I never ended finding a jackpot like my first car though. It was so exciting every time I did it. By that time mom found a small job and I honestly felt like I was helping by secretly giving her some of the money I stole. Sneaking it into her purse when she was away from it. But I knew it wasn’t enough in the long run and I finally set my sights, on a house.
That was at the start of my junior year, and nearly the same time I met Kim. I found myself riding my bike to the same neighborhood I stole the bike from and started looking for a house I felt didn’t have much security, and/or the owner had a lot of money. I found one near the end which was nice for a quick escape, and with only one car out front I assumed it was one or two people inside. I told myself that I will only do 10 robberies, because I was already cutting it close with everything else. And after about a week of looking I found the perfect house.
The yard was right up against the tree line to the woods, which would be my get away. That Friday night I told mom I was gonna spend the night at my best friend Charlie’s house, I packed my bag full of stuff I was going to use, and she dropped me off at the bus stop where I told her my Charlie was going to pick me up. I got her to leave by saying they were about two minuets away, then I dug up the bike and rode to get into position. I wanted to wait till at least 2am, so I waited and waited listening to Linkin Park and Guns and roses to hype myself up. I downed an energy drink and hopped the fence into the back yard. Went up to a window and using my car experience I got it open and climbed inside.
I didn’t know where to go first, I didn’t think I’d make it this far. I went into one bedroom and just opened a few drawers; thank goodness this room was empty. I went to the next room across the hall and went into the closet to look around. I was so filled with so much excitement and adrenaline, that I’m surprised I remained so quiet. While moving my hand across the top of the closet, I felt a small metal box on top. I pulled it down and tried to get it open quietly. I decided “screw it, I’m out” and just took the whole box.
Once I got back outside and over the fence, I felt the most immense joy overcome me. I loved the rush and thought “I’m in the clear, lets break this thing open.” Using a hammer I bought, I smashed the lock and looked inside. It was over 2000 dollars in cash, and beside it was about 10 grams of weed and a shot bottle of some alcohol. I get the most INSANE luck on my first runs it seems. I then went to the bench by the bus stop and just fell asleep. That was my first house break in and I basically paid for almost all our bills that month, mom thought she did, but I saved her a lot of money for her to use on herself. She seemed happier and it made me happier.
Life was great at the end of my junior year, I was falling in love with this amazing girl, had nine robberies under my belt with one to go, and I was able to provide for me and my mom. The downside was our city had caught on to the increase of houses being robbed, and social media wouldn’t let me escape the reality of what I had been doing. I’d been in the local newspapers and the anxiety was building. I thought about quitting while I was ahead because I was pretty lucky to not have already been caught. But was unsure.
That wasn’t the only pebble in my shoe. At the start of my senior year, I was urning to tell Kim how I felt, I didn’t like holding it in and I was confident she felt the same way. That’s a lie I wasn’t confident at all I was terrified she didn’t like me back. The thought of rejection was almost more nerve racking than preparing for a robbery. Nonetheless I was to much of a chicken to tell her.
One thought I had in the back of my mind was, I take from people, and some could be like Kim. It made me start to regret a little. We both joined the next art class just called Art ll, and I got to see her every day. We were also fortunate to be partners again. Our first project was to paint some sort of portrait of ourselves. So, we took a selfie and tried to paint it as best as we could. Kim and my mom were making my world go round and it was an amazing period. I was feeling pretty good about life and felt invincible, and that’s a very bad feeling to have.
Kim’s birthday was coming up and when I asked her what she wanted she just said that I don’t have to get her anything. She said she “had enough already” but I wasn’t going to listen to that and I wanted to get her something nice. I’m terrible at gifting, plus I’m poor. She loves the lord of the rings franchise and the band Queen, I mean who doesn’t love both of those things. So, I had my eye on getting her the extended edition box set, and a vinyl of Queens “A night at the opera” it’s my favorite album and I hope she’ll like it. Furthermore, back at home mom told me that she was looking at trading in her car, and she was going to save up money for a while to do so. But I thought “well, I can most certainly help with that.” But I was still broke, and I needed to get good gifts, AND help pay for a car.
I started to hate myself more and more before each new job. Each time I entered a house I thought of Kim. What would she think of me if she found out? I promised myself ten jobs and I was on nine. I kept telling myself again that these people could afford to lose the small amount I took (well small for them). I said I was loving life, and I was, but only the outside of what I did at night. I was already feeling the guilt hanging above my head before the last robbery. But was also relived that it was almost over, and I could pursue a normal way of getting money like a part time job. I could sleep at night again, and grow more with Kim. But the only way to get to that chapter of my life, I would have to finish writing the one I was on. It was time to start planning for my biggest, and final job.
I was going to do this last one differently, instead of a house with little guests and bad security, I was going to go to a bigger house on the higher end of one of the richest neighborhoods. I was getting cocky and wanted to go out on a banger.
Nonetheless I still had rules, one of them being they had to be near the forest line, and another being the house had at most two cars in the lot. The truth behind the cars rule was I was hoping it wasn’t a full family I was robbing, only one or two rich people. It doesn’t make much sense but again I was hoping for it. I gathered info on my last house, two stories, twelve windows, six cameras on the outside, but almost no blind spots but one, and I was going to exploit it. See they pan left and right, and there are two that at the exact same time pan to opposite directions. So, the middle would be clear for about five seconds, in that time I would try to sprint to get underneath the cameras. I was going to use a crowbar to unhook the side window to the living room and climb inside. Then so on, going in a room, looting boxes, drawers, and maybe safes quietly. After that, back out the window and wait for my five second window and leave. Maybe the camera would catch me for a second, but that would be on my way out, and thus too late.
The date was set, and soon enough on Friday, October 10th I would make my move. I sat in art class around 12 o clock, the anticipation and nerves were immeasurable. The teacher was explaining the assignment but I didn’t hear a word of it. My thoughts ran wild and I began to doubt myself throughout the day.
“Hey, you okay?” said Kim
D “Oh shi- uhh yeah I’m fine, just didn’t get much sleep”
K “Aww whys that, what’s her name?”
D “What?!”
She giggled “just kidding, but seriously what’s wrong”
D “I guess I’m just stressed about stuff”
K “Like?”
D “You know, school”
K “That makes sense, but just don’t get behind this early, then you’ll be stressing hard”
D “Trust me I know what that feels like, I’ve only done it all three years”
K “I… believe in you, I mean that, your hard work will pay off”
I looked in her eyes after that and, just was amazed, I honestly wanted to marry this girl, she couldn’t possibly know what was going on, but her belief in me calmed and motivated me. This was for her and my mom. I was going to finish this and move on. It was in that moment I decided while looking into her beautiful eyes, that I was going to tell her how I felt on her birthday. I thought of it as a cherry on top for her gift. The day went by and I saw Kim after school again, and she said her parents were going to pick her up as she was going to stay at their place over the weekend.
D “So, when are they getting here?”
She looked at her phone “I don’t know, mom said her and dad left the house and would be here in about 5 minutes, and that was 10 minutes ago.”
D “Damn, that kind of sucks”
She sighed, “yeah it does. Dan, I don’t want to look dumb here alone can you stay with me please? We could drop you off at home”
D “oh wow, I mean you don’t have to do that but…”
K “No seriously I’m sure my mom won’t mind”
D “Okaaaay”
K “yes! okay I see the car”
D “Well, that’s convenient”
She then pointed towards this black car, and I couldn’t believe it honestly, it was a Bentley Continental GT. I was in shock, not only because that meant that her parents were pretty wealthy, but the car was beautiful. I finally got to meet her parents and they were very nice to me. Her dad intimidated the hell out of me though. But they agreed to give me a ride back to the bus stop where my mom would get me, and on the way, we broke the ice with talks of school. But I also thought her dad was interrogating me, he asked about my plans after school, my grades, colleges, hobbies, and more. When we got to the stop, I said bye to Kim and her parents and they rode off. I immediately felt just how poor I was once I stepped out of the vehicle, that was a different feeling being in there. From there my mom picked me up and took me home, where I would make my final preparations for the night ahead.
It was around 10:30pm when mom fell asleep, once I was sure she was sound, I locked my door, grabbed my bag, and was off. Using my bike that I hid around the perimeter of my house for this occasion I started the ride. The normally 30-minute drive was so much longer now that I was on a bike, and so around 11:50pm I made it to my stop.
I waited for two more hours until about 2am, listening to a creepypasta narrated by mrcreepypasta while waiting, and once my alarm went off, I jolted up in a panic. This was it. My last one. It will finally be over. Putting on my balaclava and black fingerless gloves, I thought about Kim. I felt immediate shame after that, but there was no turning back. I looked at the security cameras waiting for my window to pounce. About two minutes had went by and my chance went by a few times. I was waiting for the right moment, the one made for me. Then it hit, the cameras went outward in opposite directions for what felt like the thousandth time, but I knew this was the one.
I jumped the fence, and as I hit the ground I landed badly on my left ankle. It hurt like hell but I had to move quickly. I ran as fast as I as I could towards the wall. Each step more painful that the last, at this speed I wasn’t going make it. So, in the last second before the camera panned back my way. I dolphin dived for the wall, just nearly missing the cameras by about half a second and planting hard on my shoulder. I got up relived, but still in so much pain. My ankle was done, but the job wasn’t, so I had to keep going. I maneuvered towards the side window and put my crowbar near the latch. I slightly pried it open and used a wire to unhook the latch. Once it was open, I slowly pulled it up and crawled inside, trying to make as little noise as possible.
I was in. It was dead quiet and nearly pitch black, with the only light being the back-porch light leaking in through the window and casting my shadow onto the living room wall. I carefully walked towards the hallway before seeing nice a JBL speaker by a lamp. I grabbed it and put it into my bag, and kept walking. Once in the hallway, I put my ear up to the first door, I heard snoring. So, there was no going in there. I went to the next, and heard no sound. So, I tried the door, and it turned with a slight creek. I went in and had the dresser in my sight. I walked over to in and opened the first one, it was just panties. So, a girl stayed in this room, I saw airpods on top and I put those in my bag as well. Then I found a purse and without looking at the ID I grabbed the money. But what caught my eye next was gold.
A jewelry box, and judging by the look of this house, it held some expensive stuff. I opened the jewelry box, and found a beautiful necklace. This was perfect, who knows how much this is worth! I was getting excited till I felt something loose underneath the box. I turned it over and saw that it had a secret compartment underneath. That only means even more valuable stuff. I had completely forgot about being quiet and why I was there, when I heard something, from behind me.
It was a shuffle, and what sounded like someone tossing and turning, in a bed. THERE WAS SOMEONE IN HERE. The dread and chills hit me hard. I’m such an idiot. I got to caught up in seeing the dresser I forgot to check my basic surroundings. I didn’t move for what felt like minutes but couldn’t have been more than ten seconds. But then I heard her voice.
“Who are you?”
Her voice was so calm and collected, like she was greeting me. I started to shake in fear. But her voice sounded familiar. It was over. I started to turn around when she spoke again.
“I hope you know we have a gun, and you won’t get far”
She sounded like she was putting herself above me, like she had more power. I now looked at her. And… it was Kim. No, no no no. It all hit me like a bullet. The fancy car, expensive clothes, earrings, and technology. They were from her rich parents, and this was their house. I stared at her but what she did terrified me. She put her finger up to her lips, and shushed me.
“Don’t move, or I’ll scream as loud as I can. My dad will hear, and will grab his gun and find you.”
I stared her down with anger in my eyes, but my real emotion was heartbreak, I had broken into Kim’s parents’ house, but those emotions had to wait. She had me in a tight situation. How the hell was she so calm and in control, she was never like this ever with me, or even showed signs of this behavior. She was always so nice and would never hurt a fly, or at least that what she showed around me. This wasn’t her; this person was basically threatening that her dad would kill me. The Kim I thought I knew would never put anyone into harm. But this wasn’t my first time doing this, of course I had planned an escape, and I was about to use it. I still had my hands on the box behind my back, and I thought that pretty necklace would do just fine. But it was Kim, I couldn’t. Thoughts ran through my head, guilt, pain, and regret swallowed me. I stared at the floor, waiting for what she said next.
“That box you have there, it’s very important, could you put it down please”
Without responding in any way. I dashed for the door with the box in hand. And true to her word, she let out a horrific scream that pierced through every wall in this big house. Trying to be quiet wasn’t an issue anymore. I ran down the hallway and into the living room, but while turning. My sprained ankle reminded me I wasn’t going far. Putting all the weight on it trying to turn, I collapsed in agonizing pain. I held in a scream of pain and tried to get back up. But it wasn’t happening, I wouldn’t get far like this.
I crawled to the kitchen next to the living room. While there I heard loud footsteps behind me, it was her dad, and he was hunting me. There was a door in the back of the kitchen I saw and I decided to go there. I opened it and crawled in; it was pitch black. Almost as soon as it closed, I heard her dad reach the living room. He cocked his weapon to let me know he was armed. I turned on my phone flashlight I had to better see. It flipped on, but what I saw next, made me sick to my stomach. What lied ahead of me only lit by my small phone flashlight. Was a board, and on it. Were dozens of teenage boys, all of them with Xs drawn over them, and written in red beside their names, was one word. Sold. But at the bottom of the list, the only one without an X or sold, was an all too familiar name. It was mine.
“What the fu” and before I could finish my sentence, I heard Kim’s dad stomping towards the door. “Crap” I told myself, I flipped my phone to the camera, and took a photo with the flash on. I then got up on my good leg and hopped over behind a box. The door swung open and he reached for a light. The light pierced the room and so did silence. I closed my eyes thinking I was going to die. He was looking but wasn’t entering the room. “Did anyone come in here?” He spoke, but no response. He scoffed, turned the light back off, and closed the door. I’ll be honest I was crying in that room after that. What was that board? Who were those names? What happened to them? It all ran in my mind when clouding reality when…
“He’s gone”
I nearly screamed when I heard those words. I covered my mouth to avoid it.
“It’s okay, he’s gone, get out of here.”
I was so confused; I turned my light back on in the direction of the voice. It was a boy, in a little cage in the corner. He was so frail and looked like he hasn’t seen light in days, because he covered himself when I put the light on him.
“What the hell is this” I asked
“This is hell” he said with nothing but pain in his voice
“What happened to you?”
“She happened to me”
D “Who’s she?”
“The girl, Kim”
D “what I don’t underst…”
“Leave here now, they have the police, the town on their side, there’s no winning just leave”
D “I can’t just leave y…”
“Go, before it’s too late”
D ‘What’s your name, at least tell me that”
“It’s Joseph”
By then I heard sirens in the distance, I had to get out somehow.
“Ill come back for you Joseph”
J “please don’t” he said hopelessly
I left Joseph and limped towards the door. I opened it slowly and could still hear Kim’s dad, but he was now upstairs, presumedly looking for me. I limped towards the window practically throwing myself out of it. I didn’t care about the cameras anymore. Painfully I walked through the backyard towards the fence. Thank God no one saw me. I hopped the fence and hit the ground hard. I landed on the bag I had on and it hurt like hell. Which reminded me, I still had the box. I hopped on my bike and rode into the woods. There was no way I would get far going my usual route back home. My best bet I thought was to ride into the woods for a while till it was clear.
After about an hour of straight woods I stopped. I got off and dropped to the floor exhausted. Still in tears I wondered about Kim. This wasn’t how I usually thought of her though. My feelings were running wild and I didn’t know what to think. Did I still love her? Did she even love me? After being in misery for a little bit I got back up and started the ride back home. It was 6:00am by the time I got back home. I had never felt so physically and mentally exhausted in my life. I climbed back through my window, threw my bag into my closet, and collapsed into bed.
When I woke up, I had a text message from Kim, it read “Dan, my parents house was broken into last night, it was crazy, I woke up to this dude in my room and when I screamed he ran off.” I messaged back, “WTF that’s crazy, are you okay.” She replied, “yeah I’m okay don’t worry, police didn’t catch him which sucks, but I’ll tell you the whole thing next time we meet.” My last message was “Sounds good, I’m glad you’re okay, be careful.”
I remembered I took a photo after that, and it was nearly a perfect photo of the whole board. I’m making a guess but I don’t think I’m far off. I think they were running some sort of slavery business. It had names of sellers, buyers, and those who were sold or still on the market. I remember one thing Joseph said to me, he said that ‘they’ had the police and town on their side. So, this could go deeper than I ever imagined. He also said that Kim did this to him. But how I don’t know. As for the box, well, besides a necklace and earring worth over 20,000 dollars, were pictures of me. One of them of me walking home, one of my house, another of me at the bus stop. They were stalking me, which raises the question, do they know about the robberies?
Everything you read happened regarding my last robbery was on October 10th through the 11th. It’s now May at the time I’m writing this. I’m at my lowest point in life. All I wanted to do was help out my mom, I got selfish, and I regret what I’ve done. Every time I see Kim or her parents I think of that night. Nonetheless I still talk to Kim, but it has gotten to be more of practice for my acting, since I can’t look at her the same. I can’t allow her to know that I know what her and her family do. My poor mother worries for me, I can’t tell her why, and that hurts. Hopefully ill just move away and hope I never see them again. Or worst-case scenario, I end up like Joseph. Ill update if anything goes down, stay safe everyone. Dan

Previous Results

1945 – Sir Archibald Sinclair (Liberal)
1950 – Clement Davies with 50% of the vote
1951 – Clement Davies with 58% of the vote
1955 – Sir Anthony Eden with 67% of the vote
Last week the results were: Sir Anthony Eden (Conservative) 67%, Clement Attlee (Labour) 33%
Putting these seats into the electoral calculus based on the 1955 boundaries we get:
Conservatives: 560 Seats
Labour: 68 Seats
The Actual results from 1955 were:
Conservatives: 345 seats, 49.7% of the vote
Labour: 277 seats, 46.4% of the vote

Profiles

Harold Macmillan is the 64 year old current Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative party, a post he has held since January 10th 1957
Hugh Gaitskell is the 53 year old current Leader of the Labour Party, a post he has held since December 14th 1955

Background

1955 – The election of 1955 was a very successful one for the Conservatives who grew their share of the vote and gained in seats. This was also significant because it was the first election since 1945 where the Conservatives have won more votes than the Labour party. After the result of 1955 Macmillan (then Foreign Secretary) wrote optimistically about the future. In his view Labour had campaigned primarily on fear of mass unemployment and a return to the 30s under the Conservatives and had avoided any discussions on socialism. Macmillan believed if they could get to the next election without some explosion in unemployment that the Conservatives could flip things and make the next election all about attacking Labour.
Suez – One of the biggest issues in this election is the Suez Crisis which led to the downfall of Anthony Eden. So what is the Suez canal? It’s a strip of water through Egypt that allows for boats to sail through it instead of all the way around Africa to get to Asia, and boats going through are charged. When the UK withdrew from Egypt it maintained control of the strategically and financially important canal, but in 1956 Egyptian leader Colonel Nasser nationalised the canal. Nasser had been agitating the British years before this but now openly seized what in British minds was their territory.
Eden’s dilemma – I discussed this last week but Eden’s bread and butter has always been foreign affairs, and Eden was involved in the foreign affairs of the 30s and the backlash over appeasement in the 40s. Eden’s own political star had risen the highest when he abstained from the Munich agreement and opposed Italy. Eden compared Nasser to both Hitler and Mussolini and viewed his Arab nationalism as not so different to the nationalism he had tackled in the 30s. But Eden is also a man who has been straining to be leader for about 11 years now, and in some views is just desperate to do something big to secure his legacy. He’s also in and out of illness and drugged up which affects his decision making
The Conflict over Suez was initially deferred to the UN, but from July to October there was virtually no progress as the UN moved at a glacial pace. With national newspapers demanding firm leadership, his cabinet arguing for military intervention (Macmillan being the first to do so) and even Labout leader Hugh Gaitskell seeming to imply he’s in favour of a military solution (while maintaining the UN is the correct mechanism to resolve the conflict) Eden engaged in secret collaboration with Israel and France over using military force to seize the canal. Militarily speaking the operation was actually very successful and met its goals, however the international response scuppered Eden. Most obviously the Soviet Union and Arab world in general both came out strongly against the UK, but so did America. America had not been consulted prior to military action. Not only was this an election year but at the very same time America was criticizing the USSR over invading Hungary. In Eisenhower’s view he could not support the British invasion of Egypt whilst protesting the USSR. Moreover he worried that this could swing the entire Arab world over to the Soviet Union. The US proposed a UN resolution asking for a ceasefire which passed 64 to 5. The US also sold great amounts of sterling they had in reserve and blocked the UK from receiving a loan from the IMF. With Eden retiring to Jamaica with poor health Rab Butler took over cabinet meetings and organised a withdrawal from Egypt.
Macmillan’s ascent – Macmillan’s role in the Suez Crisis is quite controversial. He was “first in, first out” in that he was the first cabinet member to advocate for military action and the first for withdrawal. He also seemed to exaggerate the economic strain American actions placed the UK under towards the end of the crisis (Macmillan at this point is Chancellor of the Exchequer). Some accounts claim that Macmillan basically gave Eden the rope to hang himself with, by foreseeing how badly Suez would go and pushing him into it, before changing track and being seen as the only Conservative to call for an early withdrawal. But Macmillan’s diary seems to indicate he was in favour of intervention initially. Macmillan had worked with Eisenhower in 1942 as the British political representative in the Mediterranean and Eisenhower had liked working with him, finding Macmillan personally competent and honest. Macmillan was also half American and met many times in secret with the US ambassador. Macmillan was therefore able to present himself as the natural candidate to repair relations with America. Macmillan’s obvious rival was Rab Butler, but Butler had been moved by Eden to the less prestigious position of Lord Privy Seal, and his wife had recently died, making Rab unable of reaching out and dazzling other members of the Conservative party, by contrast Enoch Powell compared Macmillan to some devilish actor, meeting with every member and expertly playing upon their fears and prejudices. The party overwhelmingly backed Macmillan who upon being called by the Queen to become Prime Minister told her he believed his government would last 6 weeks. Labour were up 13 points in the polls, and Macmillan took his chief whip Edward Heath out for a supper of oysters and champagne to hype his man up for what he foresaw as a short and tumultuous time as Prime Minister.
Gaitskell and Bevan – The past few posts have mentioned the conflict between Bevan and Gaitskell but they take on a new (and more conciliatory) form this time. Attlee finally stepped down after the 1955 election. Some put this down to Attlee not being a particularly astute man-manager and being unable to recognise the need to cultivate and promote younger members of the party, whereas another explanation is that Attlee believed his deputy Hugh Morrison would win any leadership contest and Attlee disliked Morrison so he stayed on to frustrate his chances. At the leadership election Gaitskell beats both Morrison and Bevan to become leader. While Gaitskell is firmly on the right of the Labour party he does not do as some suspect and attempt to purge the left wing. He offers old rival Bevan the position of Foreign Secretary as an olive branch which Bevan accepts, and tries to placate much of the left, while still sticking to some of his own more rightward views such as the idea that nationalisation does not necessarily need to be extended.
Labour’s policies – But this causes problems of its own. Labour has been struggling for a while to come up with a convincing programme for government and Gaitskell’s blend of right and left leaning policies seems to create some confusion over what Labour actually stands for or wants. Many cabinet members also complain that Gaitskell very quickly makes decisions without consulting others and then strictly enforces this view on cabinet, expunging anyone who disagrees and treating them as idiots for challenging him. Bevan is also causing more infighting but for a different reason. In 1957 he gives a speech denouncing unilateral nuclear disarmament which causes large amounts of controversy on the left.
SuperMac – in 1957 Macmillan was misquoted as boldly snapping “You’ve never had it so good” during a speech (in actuality he said “Most of our people have never had it so good” and went on to question whether economic growth could continue and warn about inflation). The oft repeated and mocked quote was intended to be used by the opposition to show Macmillan’s incredulous remarks and that he had little grasp of economics, but the quote seemed to strike a chord, seeming bold and confident. Similarly, in 1958 a cartoonist satirised Macmillan as “Supermac” to mock his positivity and seeming ability to have a solution for every problem. While it intended to mock Macmillan as arrogant (particularly after he shrugged off the resignation of his entire treasury team after announcing an extra £50m in public expenditure after criticizing inflation) it proved incredibly popular with his supporters.
The Age of Affluence – I mentioned this last week but it becomes increasingly important this week: this time period in British history is known as the age of affluence because of the rising levels of economic prosperity. Wages are increasing very rapidly, rationing has ended, taxes have been cut, and the availability of consumer goods is much greater than ever before, with around 70% of people now owning televisions. Vacuum cleaners, modern cookers, refrigerators, and foreign holidays are also now becoming widely available. While commentators mocked Macmillan many people do genuinely feel like they’ve never had it so good, and this also causes problems for Labour as they have to tackle with how a socialist party can survive in a nation with a rapidly rising standard of living.
Tax – During the election a seemingly pivotal moment was when Hugh Gaitskell claimed he could pay for Labour’s programme of increased spending and higher pensions through growth and that he would not raise income tax. A few days later he also announced he would remove the purchase tax from essential goods. These claims were met with widespread skepticism. A conservative paper asked “What’s next? Free fags?” and Macmillan responded with “If this is an auction I am not in it”. Nye Bevan after hearing the news muttered to a colleague “he has thrown it away”. While Labour entered the election up solidly in the polls, Gaitskell spoke to audiences in the tens of thousands and triumphantly announced “The spirit of victory is in the air” his poll numbers have started to slip
TV and radio – with that increased prosperity has also come an increased focus of TV and radio in this election. Gaitskell hired an advertising company to help run Labour’s campaign and ensure it was slick and modern. Macmillan is a deeply shy and sensitive man but was one of the earliest British politicians to notice the importance of TV and radio and has cultivated a particular public image of an upstanding gentlemen with a Guards’ tie and White’s Club mannerisms. Many politicians see this as the underhanded trickery of an actor, but Macmillan in constantly on the TV and radio, and his appearances have drawn very high ratings, higher than Labour.

Issues

Conservatives:

A commitment to the “3 essential conditions of success” a strong pound, expanding trade, and national unity
Aims for an industrial free market covering all of western Europe, increased trade with America
Meetings with trade unions to consider afresh the modern problems workers face
Powers to deal with high unemployment concentrated in local areas through grants to existing industries, subsidies for new government built industries and subsidies for renovating old factories. Special help for aircraft industry, and Lancashire cotton industry
new government funded workers training centres and advanced business schools to help equip workers with new skills
New ministry for science to help with technological advances and innovation, new money to modernise rail system, roads, sewage, water, and electricity supplies for rural citizens, the expansion of telecommunications, and a new telephone link between the UK and Commonwealth countries
No further nationalisation
Transfer of administrative work away from London and support for local democracy and special provisions for Scotland and Wales
New training colleges for teachers, money for renovating schools, aim of 40% of children staying in education after reaching 15 by 1965
Continuation of the clearing of slums and renovating older houses, new legislation to encourage larger houses to be built to relieve overcrowding
New national campaign for road safety, offering of polio vaccine to all under 40s and at-risk groups, continued use of clean air act
16 new hospitals, expansion of 50 existing hospitals, new national council to assist in training social workers
New pensions scheme to assist poor, enable richest to put more into their pension, increased protection for children, widows, disabled, expansion of “meals on wheels” and holiday rest homes for elderly
Increased money for youth clubs, public libraries, museums, and galleries
Expansion of legal aid, penal reforms to encourage the reformation of criminals, action against the sale of sub-standard goods
Support for decolonisation and self-governance in commonwealth, nationhood for Nigeria in 1960, expansion of education across colonies to allow for democratic countries which respect the rights of minorities, encouragement of professionals to travel to other countries within Commonwealth and assist them to no harm to their careers at home
Grants and loans for Commonwealth development, substantial increase in UK contribution towards UN special fund for economic development
Support for disarmament, eventual abolition of all nuclear weaponry, meetings with Russia and UN to establish system of international control over nuclear disarmament, abolition of nuclear tests of all kinds

Labour:

Raise in pensions from £2. 10s to £3 a week, increase of further £1 for widows
National pension scheme to be paid 5% by employer, 3% by employee and 2% by government.
Reduction of class sizes to 30, abolishment of 11+ examination, improved system of maintenance grants to allow children to go to fee-paying schools
Reinstitution of rent controls, new rent tribunals to give renters right of appeal, reform of leasehold laws to allow those who lease their house to purchase it outright, lowering of interest rates
With reasonable exceptions, local councils shall take over houses which were rent-controlled before 1 January, 1956, and are still tenanted. They will repair and modernise these houses and let them at fair rents, renters will however be allowed to purchase house from council
A minimum of £50m a year every year for redeveloping hospitals, reduction in maximum patients a doctor can have, free chiropody for elderly
Option between increased money and increased leisure to be negotiated between unions and employees, more money for sport and theatre, increased powers for national parks services, end of commercial TV
Increased money for youth clubs, commitment to lowering the voter age subject first to meetings with other parties to discuss this
No rise in taxation over next 5 years, but changes to tax laws to prohibit tax-dodging and benefits free of taxation
Nationalisation of steel and transport. No other plans for nationalisation but the government reserves the right to take over industries which fail the public interest
Reintroduction of price controls
Tax breaks for industries which wish to modernize, new workers charter to protect workers
Protection for cotton and ship-building industries
increase in unemployed pay to £3 a week, establishment of payment during sickness scheme
Improvement of rural amenities
New Secretary of State for Wales
New world-wide comprehensive disarmament treaty which would reduce arms, manpower and military expenditure, destroy all stocks of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, abolish all chemical and biological weapons, and provide new safeguards against surprise attack
three principles of the Labour Party's Colonial policy: first, that the peoples still under Colonial rule have as much right as we have to be governed by consent; secondly, that 'one man, one vote' applies in all parts of the world; thirdly, that racial discrimination must be abolished. 1% of national income a year to go to helping underdeveloped regions of the world

Read the full manifestos here:

Conservatives
Labour
The BBC’s 1959 election coverage
Macmillan election broadcast
Labour party broadcast

Vote here: https://rankit.vote/vote/4Zjz6fWKKlIWOwp5fqyZ

Please try to vote as if you are a British citizen in 1959 without knowledge of what will happen after the election.

The 20 Richest YouTubers in the World (Updated for 2020)

who is the richest youtube person

who is the richest youtube person - win

OverSimplified's videos on the French Revolution are still completely wrong on everything

Cyberpunk best settings guide to go beyond 60 fps for AMD and Mid-range users

https://matthewscouch.wordpress.com/2020/12/16/run-cyberpunk-at-60-fps-on-amd-hardware-a-comprehensive-look-into-cyberpunk-2077s-graphics-settings-and-why-they-matte

GUIDE PROPER

BENCHMARK POINT

HUGE DISCLAIMER!

SETTINGS WITH NO PERFORMANCE IMPACT

A NOTE ON CPU-BOUND SETTINGS

SETTINGS WITH SUBSTANTIAL PERFORMANCE IMPACT

Local Shadow Quality

Cascaded Shadows Resolution

Volumetric Fog Resolution

Volumetric Cloud Quality

Screen Space Reflections

Ambient Occlusion

Color Precision

Mirror Quality

Static FidelityFX CAS

UPDATE: Dynamic FidelityFX CAS Works Now

USE TRIXX BOOST INSTEAD OF STATIC FIDELITYFX

OPTIMIZED SETTINGS SUMMARY:

YOU FORGOT ABOUT CPU-BOUND SETTINGS

THE INFAMOUS HEX EDIT OF THE GAME'S EXE

Memory Pool Budget Adjustment (Possible placebo for me)

RESULTS TIME! drum rolls

MY OTHER ALTERNATIVES FOR CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE

SAD UPDATE:

Real Housewives of Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland are Masterpieces. TV Gold

Bringing a child to this world is the most selfish thing you can do in your life.

The Tale of EVE Online’s Most Infamous Scammer

[Eve Online] The Tale of Eve Online's Most Infamous Scammer

Cyberpunk 2077 setting overview

Please read

I broke into my crushes house, now I'm scared of her

/r/Neoliberal elects the British Prime Ministers - Part 5: Harold Macmillan vs Hugh Gaitskell in 1959