And the Crowd Goes Wild...

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”

— Matthew 24:12

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en español al final.

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There is something I need to acknowledge.

When I wrote Make America Good Again, I tried to look beyond the anger, the slogans, and the politics to understand the people beneath them.

I still believe that was necessary.

People can be manipulated by fear. They can be convinced that someone else is responsible for everything they have lost. They can become so desperate for change that they overlook things they might once have found unacceptable.

Some people were deceived.

Some were afraid.

Some believed the promises.

Some convinced themselves that the ugliness was simply the price of getting the results they wanted.

And some have since looked around and begun to question what they supported.

Grace should leave room for those people.

But grace does not require us to lie about what happened.

Because not everyone was deceived.

Some people saw the cruelty clearly.

And they cheered.

They cheered the insults.

They cheered the humiliation.

They cheered when people they had been taught to fear were treated as though dignity belonged only to the right kind of American.

They watched power being used against people they disliked and called it strength.

And somewhere along the way, cruelty stopped being an unfortunate side effect of the politics.

For some, it became part of the appeal.

That is harder to reconcile.

It is easier to believe that everyone simply misunderstood what they were supporting. Easier to imagine that if we could just explain the consequences clearly enough, show one more story, present one more fact, people would recoil.

Some will.

Some have.

But eventually we have to confront an uncomfortable truth:

There are people who understand perfectly well that someone is being hurt and still approve because they believe that person deserves it.

There are people for whom the suffering of the other side feels like victory.

And when that happens—

There is something deeply dangerous about a society learning to celebrate another person's pain.

Not merely tolerate it.

Not reluctantly accept it.

Celebrate it.

Because cruelty rarely begins with everyone agreeing that cruelty is good.

It begins by deciding that certain people are exceptions to the rules we claim to believe in.

They are criminals.

They are illegals.

They are traitors.

They are parasites.

They are the enemy.

And once someone has been sufficiently reduced to a category, we no longer have to imagine their mother waiting for the phone to ring.

Their child wondering when they are coming home.

Their fear.

Their confusion.

Their humanity.

We only have to remember the label.

Then whatever happens to them becomes easier to watch.

Eventually, easier to applaud.

That should disturb us.

But there is another danger here, and this one belongs to those of us who are disturbed by what we see.

Jesus warned that when iniquity abounds, the love of many shall wax cold.

I have always found the second half of that verse more unsettling than the first.

Iniquity will abound.

We expect evil to exist.

But Jesus warned about what living in the presence of it can do to us.

Because it is possible to become so disgusted by cruelty that we begin becoming cruel toward the cruel.

It is possible to oppose dehumanization while quietly beginning to dehumanize the people responsible for it.

It is possible to spend so much time staring at someone else's hardened heart that we fail to notice our own becoming harder.

That does not mean remaining silent.

It does not mean pretending every disagreement is reasonable.

It does not mean refusing to call cruelty cruel.

And it certainly does not mean that accountability is somehow un-Christian.

Grace does not require us to lie about what happened.

There are things that should be opposed.

There are lines that should be defended.

There are moments when silence becomes complicity.

And there are choices for which people should be held accountable.

But accountability is not hatred.

Discernment is not contempt.

Mercy is not weakness.

And loving our enemies has never meant pretending they have done nothing wrong.

A soft heart does not require a soft spine.

That distinction matters now.

Because contempt is seductive.

Once we convince ourselves that another group of people is beneath our compassion, almost anything can be justified.

We know that when we see it happening to immigrants.

We know it when we see it happening to the poor.

We know it when we see it happening to people whose race, religion, sexuality, nationality, or politics have made them convenient targets.

But we must also recognize it when it begins happening inside us.

When another person's misfortune makes us smile because they voted the wrong way.

When suffering becomes acceptable because the person experiencing it once celebrated someone else's suffering.

When we begin thinking:

Good.

Now they know how it feels.

That is the moment to pay attention.

Because cruelty wins twice when it harms its victim and then teaches the witnesses to become cruel themselves.

I do not want that victory handed over so easily.

I want to be able to say that something is wrong without needing the person responsible to become less human in order for me to say it.

I want justice without vengeance masquerading as justice.

I want accountability without hatred.

I want enough courage to stand against cruelty and enough humility to remember that hatred can find a home in any human heart—including mine.

I want a soft heart and a strong spine.

Maybe that is part of what it means to endure.

Not merely surviving what happens around us.

Not merely resisting abuses of power.

But refusing to allow what we oppose to reproduce itself within us.

Some people were deceived.

Some were afraid.

Some will eventually realize what they helped create.

And yes—

some saw exactly what was happening.

Some understood who would be hurt.

Some wanted it anyway.

We should tell the truth about that.

We should oppose it.

We should protect those caught beneath it.

We should demand accountability for it.

But we must never allow their applause to become the reason our own love grows cold.

Because if we do,

eventually there will be another person suffering,

another enemy beneath someone's boot,

another crowd gathered to watch

and we may discover that somewhere along the way,

as the crowd went wild,

we joined the cheering.

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Explore more writing from Silent Sentinel →

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© SilentSentinel, 2026. All rights reserved. Excerpts may be shared with attribution.

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Y la multitud enloquece...

Y por haberse multiplicado la maldad, el amor de muchos se enfriará.» — Mateo 24:12

Hay algo que necesito reconocer.

Cuando escribí Hagamos que Estados Unidos vuelva a ser bueno, intenté mirar más allá de la ira, los eslóganes y la política para comprender a las personas detrás de todo aquello.

Sigo creyendo que era necesario.

Las personas pueden ser manipuladas por el miedo. Se les puede convencer de que alguien más es responsable de todo lo que han perdido. Pueden llegar a estar tan desesperadas por un cambio que pasan por alto cosas que antes quizá habrían considerado inaceptables.

Algunas personas fueron engañadas.

Algunas tenían miedo.

Algunas creyeron las promesas.

Algunas se convencieron de que la fealdad era simplemente el precio que había que pagar para obtener los resultados que querían.

Y algunas, desde entonces, han mirado a su alrededor y han comenzado a cuestionar aquello que apoyaron.

La gracia debe dejar espacio para esas personas.

Pero la gracia no nos exige mentir sobre lo que ocurrió.

Porque no todos fueron engañados.

Algunas personas vieron claramente la crueldad.

Y aplaudieron.

Aplaudieron los insultos.

Aplaudieron la humillación.

Aplaudieron cuando personas a quienes les habían enseñado a temer fueron tratadas como si la dignidad perteneciera únicamente al tipo correcto de estadounidense.

Vieron cómo se utilizaba el poder contra personas que no les agradaban y lo llamaron fortaleza.

Y en algún momento, la crueldad dejó de ser una consecuencia lamentable de la política.

Para algunos, se convirtió en parte de su atractivo.

Eso es más difícil de aceptar.

Es más fácil creer que todos simplemente malinterpretaron aquello que estaban apoyando. Es más fácil imaginar que, si pudiéramos explicar las consecuencias con suficiente claridad, mostrar una historia más, presentar un hecho más, la gente retrocedería horrorizada.

Algunos lo harán.

Algunos ya lo han hecho.

Pero tarde o temprano tenemos que enfrentarnos a una verdad incómoda:

Hay personas que entienden perfectamente que alguien está siendo lastimado y aun así lo aprueban porque creen que esa persona se lo merece.

Hay personas para quienes el sufrimiento del otro bando se siente como una victoria.

Y cuando eso ocurre—

Hay algo profundamente peligroso en una sociedad que aprende a celebrar el dolor ajeno.

No simplemente tolerarlo.

No aceptarlo a regañadientes.

Celebrarlo.

Porque la crueldad rara vez comienza con todos estando de acuerdo en que la crueldad es buena.

Comienza cuando decidimos que ciertas personas son excepciones a las reglas en las que afirmamos creer.

Son criminales.

Son ilegales.

Son traidores.

Son parásitos.

Son el enemigo.

Y una vez que alguien ha sido reducido suficientemente a una categoría, ya no tenemos que imaginar a su madre esperando que suene el teléfono.

A su hijo preguntándose cuándo volverá a casa.

Su miedo.

Su confusión.

Su humanidad.

Solo tenemos que recordar la etiqueta.

Entonces, cualquier cosa que les suceda se vuelve más fácil de contemplar.

Y con el tiempo, más fácil de aplaudir.

Eso debería perturbarnos.

Pero existe otro peligro, y este nos corresponde a quienes nos sentimos perturbados por lo que vemos.

Jesús advirtió que cuando la maldad abunde, el amor de muchos se enfriará.

Siempre me ha parecido más inquietante la segunda mitad de ese versículo que la primera.

La maldad abundará.

Esperamos que el mal exista.

Pero Jesús nos advirtió sobre lo que vivir en presencia de ese mal puede hacernos a nosotros.

Porque es posible sentir tanto rechazo ante la crueldad que comencemos a ser crueles con quienes son crueles.

Es posible oponernos a la deshumanización mientras, silenciosamente, comenzamos a deshumanizar a quienes son responsables de ella.

Es posible pasar tanto tiempo contemplando el corazón endurecido de otra persona que no nos demos cuenta de que el nuestro también comienza a endurecerse.

Eso no significa permanecer en silencio.

No significa fingir que todo desacuerdo es razonable.

No significa negarnos a llamar crueldad a la crueldad.

Y ciertamente no significa que exigir responsabilidades sea de alguna manera contrario al cristianismo.

La gracia no nos exige mentir sobre lo que ocurrió.

Hay cosas a las que debemos oponernos.

Hay límites que debemos defender.

Hay momentos en los que el silencio se convierte en complicidad.

Y hay decisiones por las que las personas deben rendir cuentas.

Pero exigir responsabilidad no es odiar.

El discernimiento no es desprecio.

La misericordia no es debilidad.

Y amar a nuestros enemigos nunca ha significado fingir que no han hecho nada malo.

Tener un corazón sensible no requiere tener una columna vertebral débil.

Esa distinción importa ahora.

Porque el desprecio es seductor.

Una vez que nos convencemos de que otro grupo de personas está por debajo de nuestra compasión, casi cualquier cosa puede justificarse.

Lo sabemos cuando vemos que les sucede a los inmigrantes.

Lo sabemos cuando vemos que les sucede a los pobres.

Lo sabemos cuando vemos que les sucede a personas cuya raza, religión, sexualidad, nacionalidad o política las ha convertido en blancos convenientes.

Pero también debemos reconocerlo cuando comienza a suceder dentro de nosotros.

Cuando la desgracia de otra persona nos hace sonreír porque votó de la manera equivocada.

Cuando el sufrimiento se vuelve aceptable porque quien lo está padeciendo alguna vez celebró el sufrimiento de otra persona.

Cuando comenzamos a pensar:

Bien.

Ahora saben lo que se siente.

Ese es el momento de prestar atención.

Porque la crueldad vence dos veces cuando lastima a su víctima y luego enseña a quienes la presencian a volverse crueles también.

No quiero entregar esa victoria tan fácilmente.

Quiero poder decir que algo está mal sin necesitar que la persona responsable sea menos humana para poder decirlo.

Quiero justicia sin venganza disfrazada de justicia.

Quiero responsabilidad sin odio.

Quiero suficiente valor para enfrentarme a la crueldad y suficiente humildad para recordar que el odio puede encontrar un hogar en cualquier corazón humano, incluido el mío.

Quiero un corazón sensible y una columna vertebral firme.

Quizá eso sea parte de lo que significa perseverar.

No simplemente sobrevivir a lo que ocurre a nuestro alrededor.

No simplemente resistir los abusos de poder.

Sino negarnos a permitir que aquello a lo que nos oponemos se reproduzca dentro de nosotros.

Algunas personas fueron engañadas.

Algunas tenían miedo.

Algunas acabarán dándose cuenta de lo que ayudaron a crear.

Y sí—

algunas vieron exactamente lo que estaba ocurriendo.

Algunas entendieron quiénes resultarían lastimados.

Algunas lo quisieron de todos modos.

Debemos decir la verdad sobre eso.

Debemos oponernos a ello.

Debemos proteger a quienes quedan atrapados bajo su peso.

Debemos exigir responsabilidades por ello.

Pero nunca debemos permitir que sus aplausos sean la razón por la que nuestro propio amor se enfríe.

Porque si lo hacemos,

algún día habrá otra persona sufriendo,

otro enemigo bajo la bota de alguien,

otra multitud reunida para mirar,

y quizá descubramos que, en algún momento del camino,

cuando la multitud enloqueció,

nosotros nos unimos a los aplausos.

In Summary: * It's almost time for the opening kickoff of tonight's Memphis Tigers vs E. Carolina Pirates college football game. First round of the night meds has been taken and I plan to finish the night prayers at halftime. And a good Thursday winds down.

Prayers, etc.: * I have a daily prayer regimen I try to follow throughout the day from early morning, as soon as I roll out of bed, until head hits pillow at night.

Health Metrics: * bw= 212.86 lbs. * bp= 128/78 (56)

Exercise: * morning stretches, balance exercises, kegel pelvic floor exercises, half squats, calf raises, toe raises, wall push-ups, BP breathing exercises, pilates

Diet: * 06:15 – 1 peanut butter sandwich * 06:50 – 1 banana _ * 07:05 – mashed potatoes and gravy * 09:40 – 1 more peanut butter sandwich * 12:00 – biscuits and gravy, fried chicken * 16:25 – 1 fresh apple

Activities, Chores, etc.: * 05:00 – listen to local news talk radio * 05:50 – bank accounts activity monitored * 06:20 -read, write, pray, follow news reports from various sources, surf the socials, take daily meds, unpack, organize * 10:00 – listen to Jack in 60 minutes * 12:00 – eat lunch at home with Sylvia * 13:30 – unpack, sort, organize * 15:00 – listening to The Jack Show * 16:30 – tuned into 98.9 FM “The ROAR of Memphis,” ahead of tonight's college football game between the Memphis Tigers and the East Carolina Pirates. Wow! A college pregame show starting 2 hours ahead of kickoff. Lots of news about the other American Conference teams.

Chess: * 10:05 – moved in all pending CC games

I won! Mwahaha! I won! I won! I won! I won! Did I mention I won? 😉😹

That's all I got for today. It is enough. 😸

© 2026 AnOublietteofThought. All rights reserved.

🇨🇦 • 🇹🇷 • 🏳️‍🌈 • 🏳️‍⚧️

And They for known notations The petrified and weary Witnessing to glory

And in redeem, He knows Our God in Heaven Assembler of the rain

In Christ’s redemption- of Canada abroad

College Football Tonight.

Tonight the Memphis Tigers football team from the American Conference will be hosting the East Carolina Pirates in a game scheduled to start at 6:30 PM CT. I intend to follow the radio call of that game.

Sure, NFL's Thursday Night Football has the Patriots playing the Bears tonight, too. But that will only be a fall-back option for me if I'm unable to bring in a college game.

And the adventure continues.

I was happy with setting up a simple blog as a static website on Vercel fed from GitHub, but I never wrote much. And then the Vercel CEO came out as hot for genocide and Vercel went “Agentic AI” and Github is turning into a LLM-boosting garbage show so it's time for another reset. I'm trying this as a simple text-based WriteFreely blog now to enable faster publishing and lower quality.

Ma grand-mère est en fin de vie. Alzheimer. J’essaie de me souvenir de la dernière fois où on a eu une vraie discussion. La dernière fois où on a partagé un repas. La dernière fois que l’on a pris une photo ensemble.

On se souvient des premières fois. Mais les dernières fois sont tout aussi précieuses. Sauf qu’on ne les aperçoit pas. Elles passent sans prévenir...

Il y a peut-être eu aujourd’hui dans ma journée une dernière fois.

In recent weeks, I’ve been able to share a visualization exercise with several people about two important temporal postures that can dramatically affect our own sense of well-being and our relationship to the world around us. The visualization uses two concepts to help a person orient themselves in space-time.

Facing

Facing refers to the current orientation of our attention and focus. Our intention, care, and observer energy are directed at this time period. There are three fairly concrete directions and one esoteric/mystical direction. We can be past, present, future, or timeless facing.

Past facing involves the conscious intention to examine the past through memory, feeling, story, body-memories, and conversation. This can be as academic as reading and researching history and as deeply personal as a moment of grief or savoring a past triumph. Past facing holds gently that these things have already happened as far as we can tell, and that while we might be able to reframe or change the interpretation, we cannot change the reality of what did happen. The question for this space is “so what really happened?”

Present facing involves conscious intention to give our attention to the present moment. This may be through a focused activity like doing the work in front of me, or a more gentle awareness like mindfulness, noticing, meditation, or body work. It can even be deeply embodied like savoring the meal you are eating right now, mindful sipping of coffee or tea, or the enjoyment of physical connection with another person. Our attention is here and now. The question for this space is “so what’s here now?”

Future facing is our conscious effort to imagine what has not happened yet. It can be as goal oriented as practicing for a concert, taking an exam for a job, or filling out a planner for the month ahead. It can also be more soft focused, like imagining a plot for a book, daydreaming about an upcoming event, or mutual conversation about a shared dream for a good thing that has yet to come. The question for this space is “so what comes next?”

Timeless facing is the potential for incredible stillness that allows us to let go of time as a construct, experiencing, however briefly, a taste of eternal now where all sense of linear, cyclical, or spiral movement simply ends. It’s sort of the absolute zero of consciousness and a rare state that some of us might never be aware of experiencing. There are no questions here because thought is still.

In each of these modes, what moves is attention, intention, and focus. In the fourth, even attention itself dissolves like a spoon in the Matrix.

Dwelling

This aspect of our temporal posture is less about attentiveness and more about the felt sense of time in our bodies. Here we engage the sense of motion, velocity, gravity. Which phase is pulling us in and won’t let go.

Past dwelling can looks like rumination on what happened, time traveling body memories from previous overwhelming experiences, nostalgia, or even the forgetfulness that can come as we age- “In my imagination I’m 35 year old me”. In it’s most extreme form it can look like despair, “my best days are in the past, everything good is already behind me”, or “Everything has already been so hard, and I’m so beat up that I can’t even imagine a future.” Some forms of dementia leave a person permanently past dwelling because those synapses are what still works and the present is unintelligible.

Present dwelling is the embodied awareness that I am right here, right now. Its best version is an embodied mindfulness that marries movement and action with awareness and curiosity. Present dwelling can go off the rails though, when it becomes impulsive and arbitrary, behaving as if now won’t have consequences then. We have some many ways in popular culture to describe this phenomenon, fear of missing out (FOMO), You only live once (YOLO), do what feels good, I’ll be mellow when I’m dead. Successful present dwelling in contemplative life needs to be paired with the ability to shift through the different facing postures.

Future dwelling is the sense of racing ahead of everyone into the future. In it’s best sense it can be a space of wild innovation and creativity, being able to connect the dots and write the plans as if the moment had already arrived. At the same time, this race into the unknown can leave us anxious, fearful, constantly scripting entire dramas of what may be with no anchor in what is possible or likely. In the most somber sense, future dwelling is always racing on to what’s next without examining what happened or what is, it is finally, a race to the finish line, which for a human life is our final breath and the stillness of death.

Timeless dwelling is a way of articulating that not only has attention and awareness of time dissolved, but that the sense of the self as a separate container has dissolved as well, therefore the relationship of self to time becomes a non sequitur. This is a rare occurrence. The kinds of experiences related to this kind of dwelling are very intense moments of ego-dissolution, like near death experiences, profound psychedelic medicine journeys, mystical union through contemplation where the self and the Godself become indistinguishable spatially and temporally, and also the harrowing experiences like forms of psychosis, total catatonic dissociation, and traumatic psychedelic journeys.

Combination Move

We’re curiously complex creatures, and so we are capable of dwelling in one space and facing another. If I set an intention to prepare my schedule for the week ahead and look at how that will affect the prayer and meal schedule for the house, I can be simultaneously present dwelling and future facing. If I meet with a novice and we review their past month and the outcomes of their rule and what they learned in that time, we can be present dwelling and past facing together to help surface wisdom.

For folks who have endured instances or chronic traumatic stress, they can end up past dwelling and future facing at the same time. Everything that was too much, too fast, too soon in the past overwhelms any sense of the present and the future looms large as an ever present deliverer of new threats.

Sometimes during the healing and integration process, we borrow energy from our dwelling space and lend it to another space through our facing. For example, the felt sense of community in the present can be offered to a lonely past self through past facing attention and kindness.

As an exercise

This framework gives us an opportunity to tease out whether thoughts and feelings about a particular part of our story are a form of conscious attention and intention, or a felt sense of being “somewhen”. Even drawing awareness to the distinction, and then to the interplay, and the ways we can use different combinations to show deep compassion to both the dwelling place and the focus of attention for every part of ourselves can be a real help. Relativity teaches us that space and time are like a unified fabric, meaning that each somewhere is different, even if we return to a place, because it is a different somewhen. Mindfully relating to the mystery of time is another way to bring a contemplative lens to the actions of our everyday life.

As you practice today, can you notice the subtle shifts in your facing? What about your dwelling? Does that stay more steady? If your sense of dwelling changes, can you pay attention with loving curiosity to what is happening in those moments? How does understanding your temporal posture open your heart to telling a merciful story about what it’s like to be you today?

De dichter des vaderlands*

Dit stuk plak ik daar op dan moet hier nog een laag overheen dit afvoergat vul ik met een rubberstop voor deze opening rol ik een dikke grote steen die scheur daar smeer ik helemaal vol die tochtgaten nagel ik met lakens dicht die stroom trage prut moet worden gestold op dat luik takel ik een enorm zwaar gewicht daar komen duizenden hekwerken verderop een paar smalle bruggen met tolpoorten de dijken ga ik driedubbel versterken bij de grens vijfhonderd extra uitkijktorens bij iedere toegang minstens twee grenswachten op alle manieren onze wereld stevig isoleren alleen nog maar politiek bedrijven met uitzendkrachten en iedereen van buiten blijven afweren tot ze het hier naartoe komen afleren die naad plak ik nog een keer extra af dat hol moet met aarde worden gevuld een muur moet er komen tussen koren en kaf er moet direct een einde komen aan alle uitgaande en inkomende flauwekul niemand mag meer met vaten communiceren alleen bekenden mogen nog worden bemind het tij mag vanaf dit moment niet eens meer keren en dat allemaal omdat ik vanaf dit moment de zelf verklaard dichter des vaderlands ben.

*letterlijk

The people of Earth develop nuclear power. Naron, a long-lived Rigellian who serves as the Keeper of galactic records, notes this achievement and records humanity as having reached maturity. Until he discovers something else... Despite the seriousness of the subject, Asimov keeps a light touch in this very short story.

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A 1-minute read.

Naron of the long-lived Rigellian race was the fourth of his line to keep the Galactic records.

He had the large book which contained the list of the numerous races throughout the Galaxies that had developed intelligence, and the much smaller book listing those races that had reached maturity and had qualified for the Galactic Federation. In the first book, a number of those listed were crossed out; those that, for one reason or another, had failed. Misfortune; biochemical or biophysical shortcomings; social maladjustment, etc., took their toll. In the smaller book, however, no member listed had yet blanked out.

And now Naron, large and incredibly ancient, looked up as a messenger approached.

“Naron,” said the messenger. “Great One!”

“Well, well, what is it? Less ceremony.”

“Another group of organisms has attained maturity.”

“Excellent. Excellent. They are coming up quickly now. Scarcely a year passes without a new one. And who are these?”

The messenger gave the code number of the Galaxy and the coordinates of the world within it.

“Ah, yes,” said Naron. “I know the world.” And in flowing script, he noted it in the first book and transferred its name into the second—using, as was customary, the name by which the planet was known to the largest fraction of its populace. He wrote: Earth.

He said, “These new creatures have set a record. No other group has passed from intelligence to maturity so quickly. No mistake, I hope.”

“None, sir,” said the messenger.

“They have attained to thermonuclear power, have they?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, that’s the criterion.” Naron chuckled. “And soon their ships will probe out and contact the Federation.”

“Actually, Great One,” said the messenger, reluctantly, “the Observers tell us they have not yet penetrated space.”

Naron was astonished. “Not at all? Not even a space station?”

“Not yet, sir.”

“But if they have thermonuclear power, where then do they conduct their tests and detonations?”

“On their own planet, sir.”

Naron rose to his full twenty feet of hight and thundered, “On their own planet?”

“Yes, sir.”

Slowly, Naron drew out his stylus and passed a line through the latest addition in the smaller book. It was an unprecedented act, but, then, Naron was very wise and could see the inevitable as well as anyone in the Galaxy.

“Silly asses,” he muttered.

#asimov

JOURNAL 22 octobre 2026

Ka chan a mangé avec nous. On a de la chance le temps permet qu’on s'entraîne dehors et c’est ce que je trouve le mieux. La tante de T chan est arrivée dans la matinée elle a une heure de voiture c'est bien. T était très heureuse les deux très émues aussi. Sa tante l'aime beaucoup, elle s’est toujours inquiétée pour elle avec ce père toxique dont elle s’est toujours méfiée, d'où l'éloignement de sa sœur. Elle a cru que T partie mise dehors pratiquement après une scène affreuse, on ne la retrouverait jamais, elle était morte d'inquiétude. Notre coup de téléphone l’a rendue folle de joie. Elle a convaincu la mère de lui confier T de toute façon son salaud de père n’en veut plus. En fait il est persuadé qu’elle n’ est pas sa fille. Vous voyez l'ambiance.

Cette tante est veuve, elle a entre quarante et cinquante ans, jamais eu d'enfant. Son mari lui a laissé de quoi vivre à l’aise, il était seul héritier d’une famille de commerçants. Elle vit de placements financiers. Elle nous a raconté tout ça pour nous rassurer, elle a tout de suite compris à quel point on serait attentives. Elle ne sait pas comment nous remercier, T lui a raconté qu'on l’avait sauvée d’un sale type ça l’a beaucoup impressionnée. La meilleure façon de nous remercier c’est d'aider T chan à devenir une adulte belle dans son âme et libre. Gros programme. Mais on lui a assuré qu’on l'aidera. Elle a gagné 8 grandes sœurs dans l'affaire, ça aussi ça a beaucoup impressionné la tante. Elle a l'air d'une bonne personne. On lui a rendu sa nièce sans crainte. Échange de téléphones puis adieux avec quelques larmes et très gros câlins 🥲 Sitôt arrivée T nous a appelées. — bien arrivée il y a un chat. Elle est heureuse 😍 on se reverra

#Tchan

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Avec ça j'oublie que A avait rendez-vous au ministère, au sous sol. Elle a revu le type qui lui avait proposé la mission. Il lui a donné des instructions orales, comme moi, des conseils etc. On n’aura droit qu’aux bagages à main pas de valise, genre sac à dos sac de sport ça suffira. Des vêtements pratiques genre sport et chauds. Sur place on sera équipées selon les circonstances. On sera averties du départ la veille. On viendra nous chercher. À partir du 30 il faut qu’on soit prêtes à tout moment. D'ici là elle est dispensée de venir au ministère, et d’autres trucs pratiques et merci pour votre participation nous sommes conscients du service que vous acceptez de rendre au Japon. Même insistance sur le mot. Un détail important : on ne se munit pas de nos passeports, pas de papiers d'identité, ils s'en occupent. Au revoir madame. Poignée de main, pas d'inclinaison.

Puis elle est montée à son bureau pour prendre deux trois trucs. Elle a croisé les habituels collègues et tous y compris ses supérieurs la saluaient avec ce qui lui a semblé une nuance de respect. C’est très subtil l'art du salut au Japon, je lui ai donné des cours du soir, elle sait saisir des nuances très légères qui échappent à des occidentaux non formés et qui sont pleines de sens pourtant. Donc nous voici en vacances et libres comme l'air jusqu'au 30, après arrivera ce qui doit arriver… J'avoue un peu d'excitation et beaucoup de curiosité.

Maintenant ma chérie me tire par mon yukata, nous avons à faire, c’est privé.

#Ukraine

Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel

Panel Info: https://glostext.gloucestershire.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=650

Date of meeting: 11th September 2026

Summary of Meeting

The Panel received four substantive items: the Constabulary's Words Matter reporting guidelines, an update on the Combatting Drugs Partnership from Deputy PCC Nick Evans, the OPCC Community Engagement Strategy, and progress on the recruitment of a permanent Chief Constable. The Chief Executive's report covered the force financial position, Raneem's Law, the Sentencing Act 2026 and the Government's policing White Paper.
On Words Matter, the guidelines set reporting standards for police communicators on male violence against women and girls, requiring the active voice, precise naming of offences (for example “rape” rather than “serious sexual assault”), and language that does not shift responsibility onto victims. During question time I introduced the peer-led StopWatch study, Girls and Young Women's Research Project, which examined the experiences of young women and girls subjected to stop and search and strip search. I raised concern that many participants were not given records of the searches, were not told the reasons for the encounter, and in some cases experienced procedural failings apparently inconsistent with statutory requirements. I asked how local scrutiny arrangements, including stop and search scrutiny panels, legitimacy panels and the new Youth Advisory Group, would identify and respond to similar issues in Gloucestershire, referencing the former Community Complaints Trigger which referred matters for community scrutiny after a single complaint. Current arrangements differ from that policy. I asked for a considered response; this request does not appear in the draft minutes and I am querying it. The PCC responded on stop and search find rates, but the matter was not resolved at the meeting.

The Combatting Drugs Partnership was established in 2022 following Dame Carol Black's independent review. It brings together Public Health, the Constabulary, education, youth justice, treatment providers and people with lived experience, working to three national priorities: breaking drug supply chains, delivering a world class treatment and recovery system, and reducing demand. Since 2022 the county has moved to the provider Via, increased the number of adults and young people in treatment, and achieved retention rates in the top national quartile. Continuity of treatment for prison leavers remains difficult as the county has no prison within its borders; the rate of prison leavers entering community treatment within three weeks is 35%, meeting the current target, with an ambition of 44% in 2026/27. Ketamine use among young people was identified as a serious emerging concern and prompted a dedicated task and finish group. School-based prevention was acknowledged as the area of least progress, with a stronger focus planned in the 2026 to 2029 work programme.

The Community Engagement Strategy sets four priorities: increasing public understanding of the OPCC and Constabulary roles, building trust and confidence, ensuring diverse community voices are heard, and expanding engagement across all communities. The Trust and Confidence Survey identified women, people aged 16 to 35, and ethnic minority communities as underrepresented in current samples. Focus group work with the Gloucestershire Deaf Association is planned over coming months, and a Youth Advisory Group for ages 16 to 25 is being recruited through schools, colleges and community events. This discussion referenced work on strip search procedures where issues have been identified.

Recruitment of a permanent Chief Constable follows the retirement of the substantive post holder in July 2026. The timetable is: national advert live 3 September 2026; applications close 24 September 2026; shortlisting 28 September 2026; stage 3 interviews at the Sabrina Centre 12 October 2026; final interview panel 13 October 2026; Panel confirmation hearing 20 November 2026. A community consultation survey is being run for the first time, with responses themed to inform the first stage of interviews.

The Chief Executive's report noted a projected force overspend of £0.5m on a £185m budget to the end of July. Efficiency savings are forecast at £7.1m against £9.0m assumed in the budget, offset by £1.5m of savings in minimum revenue provision due to lower capital spend in 2025/26. On national developments: Raneem's Law will place domestic abuse specialists in force control rooms, with just over £100,000 secured for two specialists in the Force Control Room (domestic abuse is approximately 20% of recorded crime); key provisions of the Sentencing Act 2026 are implemented, including a presumption that custodial sentences of 12 months or less will normally be suspended and a Progression Model allowing release after roughly one third of sentence, with £195k offered to each PCC through a Surge Fund for victim support; and the White Paper, From Local to National: A New Model for Policing, remains under development. The PEEL inspection assessment is due to be published within weeks.

Key Issues for Members to Note

• Financial pressure: a £0.5m projected overspend and a £1.9m shortfall in efficiency savings against budget assumptions.
• Demand and vulnerability: domestic abuse at approximately 20% of recorded crime, and new funding for two control room specialists under Raneem's Law.
• Emerging risk: ketamine use among young people, with school-based prevention identified as the weakest area of the drugs programme.
• Scrutiny of police powers: identified failings in strip search procedure and the absence of a single complaint referral mechanism for community scrutiny.
• Legislative change: Sentencing Act 2026 provisions on suspended sentences and earlier release, with associated victim support funding.
• Governance: the policing White Paper may alter local governance and funding arrangements; the PEEL assessment is imminent.
• Leadership: appointment of a permanent Chief Constable, subject to Panel confirmation on 20 November 2026.

Future Meetings: 20th November 2026 Report Submitted By: Gareth Kitchen Date: 23rd October 2026

The chair that was eagerly awaited for so long remains underutilized, because we are back in the throes of the 1000mph club where I will likely stay until the end of the year.

Alas, settling into my old age will have to wait.

Chain used to hang my floorlamp has been replaced with a rope, which I think looks much nicer now.

Okay, back to work.

#journal

“Görünen bu, şimdilik: İki denizkestanesi; öyle yosunlu kayalara tutunmuş, suyun yüzeyine çok yakın. Tam böyle denilebilir mi acaba?” —Adalet Ağaoğlu, Ruh Üşümesi

“Kafasında binbir insan güzelliğiyle gezen birisi de agora arar, agora bulur. Aradığı agoraları bulabileceği sayılı kentlerden birisi İstanbul’dur. Sana doğup büyüdüğüm Kadıköy sokaklarından bahsedeceğim.” —Hulki Aktunç, İstanbul’u Bul Bana

“In this novel we are prompted to see how time works changes, transforming love into hate, beauty into ugliness, loyalty into treachery (…) ”

“Mahfouz gives us instead an evocation of what has happened to their features, their bodies, the looks in their eyes, the despair in their hearts.” —Naguib Mahfouz, Wedding Song, Tate