I recently started watching the new Star Trek series, Starfleet Academy, which I'm so far finding to be a very fun and unique addition to the ever-growing Trek universe. For those unfamiliar with it, it's set in the 32nd century, directly after the final season of Discovery, and it reprises some of that series' characters. I was excited to see snarky engineer Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) among the academy's faculty, and Admiral Vance (Oded Fehr) is back as Starfleet's commander-in-chief. They've also dipped back into the past and brought back The Doctor, who has added an aging subroutine to his program but is otherwise much the same wisecracking, opera-loving hologram I came to know and love on Voyager.

Starfleet Academy is a departure from past Star Trek series in a number of ways. The name is a clue to a big one: its primary focus isn't the crew of a ship or station, but cadets in the newly reopened academy. While there was some space galavanting in the first episode (and may be more in the future, since the USS Athena is on-hand as a “mobile classroom”) the second and third are set entirely on the Starfleet Academy grounds in San Francisco, making it the first Star Trek series to use Earth as its primary setting. The overall tone of the show is different from other series, too. It still has that trademark Star Trek utopian optimism, though that takes on a unique flavor in the post-burn world of the 32nd century. At this point in the timeline, the Federation is rebuiding after having been nearly destroyed during the Burn, a catastrophic event that made warp travel impossible for roughly 120 years. In Discovery and Starfleet Academy, we're seeing a humbled Federation, one that's rediscovering its purpose after a long disruption, which honestly feels like the kind of message the world needs right now: that a hopeful future is possible, even after everything seemed like it was ruined irreparably.

That's one of the things I like the most about the recent shows, though—they're all unique and have a clear point of view that's distinctive from the rest. This is a departure from the TNG/DS9/Voyager era, where the three series flowed smoothly into each other and all had a similar flavor, even if they did each have a distinctive personality. The Star Trek shows of the 2020s span nearly a millennium of in-universe time (2256-3191) and their dominant tone ranges from fairly bleak and laced with regret (Picard) to straight-up comedy (Lower Decks). 

That variety also makes it a bit tricky to compare and rank them, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. Rather than trying to compare them from a quality or “how much I like it” standpoint, I considered them from more of the craft angle, focusing on things like the worldbuilding, narrative arcs, and character development. These go hand-in-hand with a sci-fi series like Star Trek, where alien cultures are established through their interactions with the crew. It's too early to know where Starfleet Academy will fit into the list (Star Trek series have historically not risen to their best within their first 3 episodes) and there are two animated series I haven't watched (the original animated series from the '70s and Prodigy). Otherwise, here's my ranking of every Star Trek TV show thus far, from the least effective from a craft standpoint to the best. 

9. The Original Series. 

The original Star Trek does get props for being the show that started it all. It also is definitely a product of its times. Viewer expectations in the '60s were different than they are today, especially when it comes to the seriousness-level of sci-fi as a genre. 

All that being said, objectively from a modern standpoint—it's not great. It's fun, campy, entertaining, and chock full of iconic moments that have become pop culture touchstones. But the character development is light even for the core crew, with much of their emotional arcs and histories developing more in the movies than the series, and it often takes a very surface, trope-driven approach to the various alien cultures that the Enterprise encounters on its travels. There are a lot of good reasons to watch the original Star Trek, but it's not the one I'd study for worldbuilding. 

8. Enterprise

I'm something of an Enterprise apologist. There are definitely some aspects of it that make it worth watching, and many of those are unique worldbuilding details. It gives a glimpse into the earliest years of human space exploration, before the existence of universal translators, when transporter technology is still new and somewhat buggy and an away mission needs to be followed by time in a decontamination chamber. They also spend some time developing the political landscape that leads up to the creation of the Federation, and it's fun to see an intergalactic landscape where humans are still down around the bottom of the pecking order, trying to prove themselves to more established neighbors like the Andorans and Vulcans. 

Where Enterprise struggles is in pretty much every other aspect of storytelling craft. A lot of that awesome worldbuilding potential I mentioned wasn't really utilized. The plots were sometimes convoluted, sometimes felt contrived, and were often poorly paced, and a lot of the dialogue is...rough, we'll say. Enterprise ends up being one of those shows that falls into the “neat idea poorly executed” category.

7. Lower Decks

Let me start off with saying: I adore Lower Decks. It strikes the perfect balance of having new characters to fall in love with and cameos from other series to keep the show connected to the broader Trek universe. In fact, from here on up in the list, every single show is one I'd recommend pretty much anyone to watch (one of the reasons I didn't want to bother with a pure enjoyment ranking). 

Lower Decks does a lot of things right. The humor is spot on, the characters are distinctive and likeable, and the storylines are exactly the level of convoluted and absurd that you want in a sitcom set on a starship. For anybody who writes speculative humor, I'd say that Lower Decks is a must-watch. But it mostly plays in the same parts of the Trek universe as previous series, rather than expanding it further. It's certainly not bad, but it doesn't demonstrate the same degree of craft as the higher-ranking series below.

6. Picard

Tonally, Picard is the least Trek-ish of the Star Trek series. The dominant vibe of most Star Trek series is a future-looking optimism. With Picard, we see our beloved captain now retired and reckoning with his past. Some new characters and ideas are introduced, but for the most part it travels over similar terrain as the rest of the Next Gen-era series and movies that preceded it. 

What gives Picard the edge over Lower Decks is the depth of its character development, which for me is the strongest aspect of this series. Some of the fan service-ey cameos were a bit clunky, but for the most part the characters are fully realized and play off of each other beautifully over the course of the series. I would say that Picard is the best Star Trek series to study for people who write literary or character-driven speculative fiction.

5. Next Generation

Putting Next Generation near the middle of the pack might be the most controversial rating on this list, because on most lists you'll find it up in the top slot. And with good reason—it's got strong characters, great dialogue, and some of the best storytelling across sci-fi television (with the exception of a few clunker episodes, but any show that runs for 7 seasons is going to have a few duds). 

The reason I have Next Gen a bit lower is simply because it doesn't have the same depth of world and character development as the shows in the top 4 slots. While there are some narrative arcs that span multiple episodes, the early seasons especially still take predominantly an episodic format. The character development is light and sporadic until later in the series, and many of the aliens encountered are one-offs with fairly shallow, trope-based identities. It does have some shining worldbuilding moments, including some for the conlangers of the world, but it’s not as consistently deep in that regard as series higher on the list.

4. Strange New Worlds

Strange New Worlds is another spin-off series that plays with familiar characters. It's set on the Enterprise in the years before Captain Kirk takes the helm, when it's still under the command of Captain Pike. But the main thing it does differently than spin-offs like Picard or Lower Decks is that it shows the familiar crew members from a new angle. We get glimpses of Kirk as a brash young officer, see Uhura come into her own as a promising cadet, and get fresh insights into Spock's background. The most interesting twist, though, is the character of Pike. From the start of the series, he knows his career will end with him paralyzed by a terrible training accident, foreknowledge that colors all of his choices and adds another layer to his character, beyond just a reinvisioning of a figure from the past. 

Strange New Worlds is on the other end of the spectrum from Picard—I would say it's the most Trek-ish of the modern Trek series. It truly embodies the spirit of the original, but with modern storytelling conventions, better dialogue, and deeper development of both the characters and the world they inhabit. The development of the Gorn as a multi-episode villain is one particular highlight, and though they have their share of alien-of-the-week episodes, even the cultures in one-off episodes tend to be more fully realized than they were in past series. 

3. Voyager

Though it takes place in the same general timespan as Next Gen and Deep Space 9, Voyager quickly found a very on-brand way to expand the Star Trek universe beyond the places past series had already trod. In the first episode, Voyager is suddenly transported to the Delta Quadrant, 70,000 lightyears away from Earth. This immediately gives the series stakes and a sense of direction that the other shows lacked. The crew of Voyager isn't just out exploring—they're on a mission to get home. 

On top of this, the exploration of the Delta quadrant gives Voyager a lot of opportunities to discover new species. It takes full advantage of this to introduce some unique characters, like the Undine (species 8472), who come from an external dimension known as fluidic space. They also do some new things with established species, like the introduction of Borg who have been freed from the collective. Altogether, I would say it's one of the richest of the Star Trek shows from a worldbuilding perspective, and matches the other series of its era for character development and storytelling. 

2. Discovery

I know Discovery has gotten some hate, and it did have a bit of a rough start (though it's certainly not the only Star Trek series I would say that's true of). When it comes to expanding the Star Trek universe, though, it's automatically at the top of that list. It filled in a key time period of the pre-Original Series era of the core Federation: the Klingon War, an event that's referenced often but was never shown to this level of depth. While the depiction of Klingons in the series was controversial, the extensive use of the Klingon language is a definite point in the series' favor from a worldbuilding perspective. On top of that, it took an extended foray into the Mirror Universe then zoomed hundreds of years into the future, to show the viewers a completely new era of the federation. 

And then there's the spore drive. Does it completely make sense according to actual science and the laws of physics? Not really. But it's a very cool and unique idea, and I also have mad respect for the deft maneuvering to introduce such an off-the-wall technology in a prequel and adequately explain within the show why that technology is never mentioned in other series that take place in the universe's future. When it comes to alien cultures, every worldbuilder should watch the arc around Species 10C and how it explores first contact communication. I would also say that Michael Burnham's character arc is one of the most dramatic of all the Star Trek protagonists, and many secondary characters like Tilly, Saru, and Hugh get similary strong and satisfying arcs.

1. Deep Space Nine

Deep Space Nine comes very close to being the perfect sci-fi television program. It has its fun, alien-of-the-week episodes, which admittedly do often utilize a similarly shallow culture building as Nex Generation in the early seasons. What catapults DS9 up to the top slot is the fact that it's set on a stationary space station. Because of this, it spends significant time exploring the Bajoran and Cardassian conflict, then later the various cultures involved in the Dominion War. Viewers are also introduced to the Prophets, an advanced species that lives inside the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant near Bajor. To the Bajorans, the Propets are essentially their gods, central to their theology. Past Star Trek series lightly explored religion in one-off episodes, but DS9 was the first one to explore the topic in-depth.

The rest of the craft in DS9 is as strong as its worldbuilding. Every member of the core bridge crew gets a satisfying arc over the course of the series, as do what might seem like peripheral characters, like Garak, Quark, Rom, and Jake. The dialogue is sharp, the pacing is on-point, and the finale is suitably epic for the scope of the story being told. If someone wants to study Star Trek at its best, I would say DS9 is the way to go. 

 See similar posts:

#StarTrek #Worldbuilding #SciFi #TV

In Summary: * Nearly halftime of the Rams – Seahawks game and the Rams are leading 13 to 10. Most noteworthy today is how San Antonio missed the brunt of this big Winter Storm that's complicating so much of the country. We've had some icing, but what the local weather guys are making a big deal about is the cold. Really? Tonight into Monday morning we may dip down to 18 degrees, and the same thing Monday night into Tuesday morning. But both days will see us up into the 30s. Huh. That's not so bad.

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. Details of that regimen are linked to my link tree, which is linked to my profile page here.

Health Metrics: * bw= 224.87 lbs. * bp= 145/88 (65)

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

Diet: * 07:00 – 1 HEB Bakery cookie * 08:00 – 1 ham sandwich, 1 banana, 1 HEB Bakery cookie * 10:30 – magic purple yam dessert * 11:40 – 1 more ham sandwich * 17:45 – fried vegetable patties

Activities, Chores, etc.: * 06:45 – bank accounts activity monitored * 07:10 – read, pray, follow news reports from various sources, surf the socials * 10:00 – tuned into the B97 – The Home for IU Women's Basketball, hoping to hear the Pregame Show then the call of this game between the Indiana University Women's Basketball Team and the Purdue University Boilermakers. * 10:30 – charged car battery jump start charger up to full * 14:20 – started the wife's car and let it run for a few minutes to make sure it'll start for her tomorrow morning * 15:00 – watching the NFL on CBS, Patriots vs Broncos, the game in progress, near the end of the 2nd Quarter * 17:10 – after the Patriots win, I've switched over to FOX to watch the Seahawks / Rams game.

Chess: * 11:20 – moved in all pending CC games

I know many people who use social media only to follow businesses they care about, so that they can hear about specials, promotions, events, and changes to hours. It's true that some businesses don't update their website or provide a newsletter, so I can understand the appeal of using social media to follow them. The situation seems to be getting better, though, with more and more businesses maintaining a healthy online presence outside of the big, centralized social platforms.

I don't want to be too cynical, but using social media for this purpose does seem like opt-in advertising on some level. It's too bad that many with these users will also be manipulated into liking, commenting, buying, sharing, following, radicalizing, and you know, dismantling democracy.

#Life #SocialMedia #Tech

another week cycle is nearing its end. It’s too cold for crocs outside, where the half moon stands pale and alone on a dark blue sky. The white ground is covered by hard-packed snow. Slippery like a sprung trap.

Because of my fitness class, where I arrived last minute to grab the last step board — there weren’t any spots left, except at the very front where you see the instructor only from the side; ”it doesn’t matter”, I said, ”I’m so good at this” — I got a mild headache. There wasn’t any time to fill my bottle.

And I have done some laundry

Some things I am thinking about is that my brain and my feelings have been running out of sync for a long time. Either I realise that I should be angry, instead I have a guilty conscience. Other times I feel strong reactions in my gut long before my brain understands why.

It’s exactly like in Neon Genesis Evangelion: an Eva pilot might face smilar synchronisation problems when running the Eva Unit! Sometimes the pilot is even rejected.

It’s exactly like this right now.

But that’s just how it is.

I’ll try to feel a bit sorry for myself now.

I think I have too much going for me to succeed.

I’m the luckiest man I know!

Beachings

A signal in this tall, White map To cavity with flow and then an arc Vibrations here and in the solemn land Faces wide to hear and speak in those oppressive shoals And cape to wonder A beam of will to each in sand- upon the look of war and chance survive Peaks of adoration in captive flow A hearse upon the water scaring shore into Mirrors of account to modest way survive Afraid of nothing but this fate of solemn death Peers astir in wreckage and the year Others in advantage to the hue of larksand be A sore of plenty spare and young release of tin Praying wonder to a time of Earthen cask to sorely few Sailings cast an unafforded sorry myth that time repeals Wagering the dawn of sync and flow as will someday become All watchmen to the hour and lonely grip Piercings of the tail fin for shore and warring’s length Understudy to the cure of proud betrayal in the water tree Refinements to the hour of chance’s word to play vacate Riddles for the French and others be to quip with roe and Derry solute tool A wedge in beauty to this dust behold my sorry man In tracts to favour all that cue the beings lost to deep And fewer at the solemn hour like this to ford the year A simple row to happenstance and praying for this lest Fear and tour its rope to this whole rain and sky before Bathing in at sea and catching simple hoarse and things to therefore heal Solemn rite to disassound bespoke to happentude as poly-will and three In pushed to harbours reunite at solemn cost but what to pod A river flow unto this whale we keep for nature’s heal A prayer for all who cease to know what comes of stranded cet’

Tasting The Blue Gravel

Single transponder on the menu I saw A piece of Rome to remember In ways of platinum echoing by day The currency I saw was gold And in each of the sharing- for this equal hand in marriage There were deliverances in meaning and tone And in accordance with a summons to Derry The palace of migrations was here In a space for unwar And thinking that night, In peace, there was lecture And less of a Tory but him Who questioned the easings- and sighted the flock To Southern poess and merry A drink by the escapade And a right of many years The fools in a house- stand around for better days But we knew the beginning- and it counts. So according to the press, we are merry to be here And citing new clothes- for the agent In the mercury set, an observable pulse And the name and number was bitumen And we prayed it was the rent And seeking all shines to the beginning In this bathtub of secrets The East of us had less But deserving new warmth- was a job- for an importance of entry And his skill with a bar Magma and vitriol in that box But easy access to the hat- which explained how it happened A place to get lost in the town And I suffered the virtues Like having no idea And how to eat A supercross to the veering mercy that was Rome In presence we knew- In the Bible an end- To at least certain glances- upon men So certain of Dalhousie We were wondered by truce And in them a handle for the aprieved Bits of electric And a fortune for Wayne We knew how to webwatch And roll coins The lucky of this first As a newborn of rhyme A simple entrance to the heights For all mercy- And redemption Inescapable to the derelict and custom And to appoint the fantastical betrothe Heavens between and in Adam A locus to nerve And the redemptions of quan A pay check to show appens- and rue So inavoidably cousin And costs to depend on We slaughtered a chicken While we wept And left fighting As all creatures due For the simian And the forgotten And new clothes just in time It was hypocrisy and disorder All for Sun- The big Oslo And a pittance for the dedicated Apostasy in grace- on the line While rowing for cover, Seeking small shoals to heal And we spent our last cousin- on a nightflight, To Venus we rang And left our legs to adventure This certainty of health- was now free And a fashionable fact That certainty is good Except when it’s not For a forest in a bog To this country of Bread We are sunk to the aged- who we love- in admiration’s will And departments of sanity Echoes to the Steppe And adversa Remains of the fetus Telling redemptorists approaching To malfease what we know And in this day For murder and inception Of the tall glass of science Early seeking to the prophet- for due And when it rains, An economy of death Sun irving and redemptorists- and the poem.

#fiction #movie

Warning: Contains spoilers

Hamnet is a Shakespeare movie, except it is not actually about Shakespeare. Sure, William Shakespeare (played by Paul Mescal) features, but a bit like Leonardo DiCaprio’s Bob Ferguson in One Battle After Another, he is neither its central character nor commands the majority of screentime. According to my local cinema’s blurb, Hamnet concerns ‘the healing power of art and creativity’. That is not untrue insofar as the movie culminates in a performance of Hamlet, which the movie portrays as Shakespeare’s means of processing his son’s death. Yet to interpret the movie by its finale alone seems to me to deny the centrality of Anne ‘Agnes’ Hathaway (played by Jessie Buckley), and her embodiment of the universal grief over the loss of those who die before their time.

Hamnet’s unflinching portrayal of visceral sorrow has ignited a debate among critics on whether the movie emotionally manipulates its audience to the extent that it could be considered ‘grief porn’. This is a surprising argument to me. Objecting that a movie about the death of a child centres grief feels like objecting that a Marvel movie contains superheroes and mediocre CGI. Rather than fault a movie for our discomfort, it is worth considering if it is not our cultural inhibitions around emotions that is to blame.

None of this matters yet at the beginning of Hamnet, when Agnes and William are just falling in love. Each in their own way, they are both outsiders. Like her hawk, Agnes is a forest creature, representative of a fading medieval tradition of herbalism and (witch)craft. Will is an aspiring poet by night, impoverished Latin teacher by day, who, as the audience knows, will become one of the foremost incarnations of the early modern period that is set to eclipse medieval norms and customers. We are witness to a transition where the rooted magic of plants and place will give way to the illusory magic of show and spectacle. And a transition that, it should be noted, was often carried out by violence against people like Agnes who stood accused of witchcraft.

Agnes’ second pregnancy symbolises this traumatic rupture with the Old Ways when she is forcefully denied giving birth in the forest and instead made to deliver at home – though a birthing stool is still more sensible than the methods 'modern’ science would inflict on future generations of women. Compounding Agnes’ distress is the sudden realisation that she is giving birth to twins, despite premonitions that she will be survived by only two children. From that moment, she is quietly convinced that her unexpected second daughter will pass before her time.

For a time though, things are go well for the Shakespeares, although Will is mostly absent from both his family and the screen, building his career as a playwright in faraway London, leaving it to Agnes and William’s extended family to care for their children. Their domestic life is beautifully captured by director Chloé Zhao and cinematographer Łukasz Żal, conveying a moderate yet not impoverished existence that feels plausible, which reminded me of similar scenes in 2023’s Znachor – despite the latter being set four centuries later.

Yet in the end, misfortune strikes as plague sweeps the land, afflicting first Judith but ultimately killing Hamnet instead. Buckley’s portrayal of Agnes’ grief over Hamnet’s death is raw and visceral, as is her depiction of Agnes’ subsequent bitterness at the absence of her husband, whose sorrow is more restrained and distant. This is where the debate over Hamnet’s emotional interaction with its audience, and its reliance on tropes of feminine and masculine ways of expressing grief comes most to the fore.

It is undeniably true that Hamnet seeks an emotional response from its audience, and that the death of a child is not exactly a subtle way to extract this. Some critics contend that this in and of itself invalidates any appeal the movie might make to our emotions. Viz. the BBC:

But as most of us already know that the death of a child is devastating, they seem more exploitative than insightful.

This is an odd line of argument. Most of us also already know that guns kill people, yet there is no shortage of movies containing copious amounts of gun violence. An entire franchise has been built on the premise that a man going on an intercontinental murderous rampage is a reasonable response to him losing his dog.

Rather than attributing our discomfort to Hamnet’s portrayal of tragedy, I wonder if it does not instead originate with our societal and cultural inhibitions on grief and mourning. The welcome triumphs of modern medicine over a host of lethal ailments are undeniable, but also seem to have engendered a collective need to disavow infirmity, illness and death altogether. Our desire to believe that science now holds the cure for any ailment, possibly driven by capitalist imperatives to forever be productive, means we must banish from sight any signs to the contrary. Hamnet is a timely reminder of our not-so-distant past when death was a more familiar companion.

For while Hamnet’s lure is that we are witnessing a grief that is special, its power lies in showing that it is universal. In the end, I’m not particularly invested in whether Hamlet really was Shakespeare’s way of processing his grief over Hamnet’s death. The movie posits rather than demonstrates the connection, and it makes for a satisfying and moving finale, but the story leading up to that point does not require it. Instead, the most poignant scene for me is a rather understated exchange between Susanna and Shakespeare’s mother Mary (played by Emily Watson), where we learn that she, too, has lost some of her children.

Here is universal, intergenerational sorrow. The silent pain, both individual and collective, over the loss of children taken before their time. Of generations of women dying in childbirth. Of brothers and sisters succumbing to mysterious plagues and diseases, chance infections or simple misfortune. Of family and friends taken by and natural calamity.

In The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction Ursula K. Le Guin persuasively argues there is an alternative mode of telling our stories and histories: the story of life, of the bag that carries home the food or medicine, the shelter that is home or community. Despite the centrality of death, Hamnet is what Le Guin would call a ‘life story’. A story about grief, and how we heal from it through community (as we saw in Small Acts of Love).

And it is a story about rage. Le Guin’s carrier bag is also a medicine bundle, representing human efforts throughout the ages to heal, to prevent suffering, or to ease pain where no cure was available. Grieving loss can transform into fury against uncaring gods or the vast universe for whom the death of our loved ones pales beyond insignificance, fueling resolve to spare future generations the same fate. Where these efforts are frustrated not by the impersonal obstacles of nature, but by human forces who seek to prevent or even negate our collective capabilities to prevent suffering, rage is surely the justified response.

At its best, Hamnet reminds us that while grief over the passing of those we love is an inseparable part of what it means to be alive, so is the ability to overcome it through connection, community and love. Rather than denying our mortality and its attendant sorrows by hiding its manifold expressions from our view, we must learn how collectively give them space and process them. Yet where our pain results not from blind, impersonal chance, but the choices of those who hold power over us, we must also resolve to do what we can to spare others from the same fate. To adapt the famous last words of Joe Hill: first mourn, but then organise.

Notes & Suggestions

• To contribute to efforts to provide care and minimise suffering right now, consider supporting Medecins Sans Frontieres, the International Committee of the Red Cross, or similar organisations.
• Joe Hill’s original, oft-quoted exhortation is of course “Don’t mourn – organise!”. However, as we saw in Hannah Proctor’s Burnout, refusing to mourn our losses impairs our ability to organise over the long run.
• Collective action through a union, tenants or neighbourhood organisation, political party, or other campaigning organisation can be a powerful antidote to grief or anxiety.

There are some things that Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, has done right. (Right means that I agree with it. If you disagree with it, then it would be wrong, right?) I would not have known about these HOA updates if it weren’t for Deborah Goonan’s website, Independent American Communities.

According to HB 1203:

The bill prohibits homeowners’ associations from issuing a fine or suspension for:

·     Leaving garbage receptacles at the curb or end of the driveway less than 24 hours before or after the designated garbage collection day or time.

·     Leaving holiday decorations or lights up longer than indicated in the governing documents, unless such decorations or lights are left up for longer than one week after the association provides written notice of the violation to the parcel owner.

The bill also provides that homeowners’ associations may not prohibit a homeowner or others from parking:

·     A personal vehicle, including a pickup truck, in the property owner’s driveway or in any other area where they have a right to park.

·     A work vehicle, which is not a commercial motor vehicle, in the property owner’s driveway.

·     Their assigned first responder vehicle on public roads or rights-of-way within the homeowners’ association.

These were some of the things listed in this lightweight bill. Not enough for real change. But enough to look like Floridian homeowners’ cries are being addressed.

We don’t need HOAs using our own money to punish us while applying the rules and consequences arbitrarily throughout the neighborhood. But it isn’t like Florida is known for good politics for the people…well, maybe some people…

Het gebrek aan spreekplicht voor beroepsgeheimplichtigen bij (seksueel) geweld op minderjarigen heeft tastbare gevolgen op het terrein. De parlementaire onderzoekscommissie “slachtoffers” uit 2023 stelde vast dat er “te veel dossiers {zijn} waarin werd gezwegen en niks gedaan werd”.

Het spreekrecht wordt op het terrein uit onmacht ten aanzien van het schuldig verzuim van de procureurs ingevuld als omerta rond kindermishandeling. Meer daarover in een toekomstig artikel.

Ter herinnering

Artikel 458 bis van het strafwetboek had er reeds een lange weg opzitten toen in 2020 het “wetsvoorstel tot wijziging van het Strafwetboek wat betreft de aangifteplicht van bepaalde misdrijven gepleegd op minderjarigen of kwetsbare personen” bij hoogdringendheid aan het parlement werd voorgesteld.

Het parlement heeft het voorstel tot hoogdringende behandeling toen weg gestemd op 15/10/2020 … omdat het een uiterst belangrijke aangelegenheid werd bevonden door de kamerleden die de noodzaak van een grondige behandeling in de commissie justitie bevestigden.

Valerie Van Peel (N-VA): “Hoe belangrijk is het dat wij de discussie nu beginnen en niet pas over een half jaar? Ik denk dat dat voor de hand ligt. Bij de verstrenging die voorligt, moeten de kinderen die we de vorige keer echt zijn vergeten – dat hebben de cijfers jammer genoeg duidelijk gemaakt –, onze eerste prioriteit zijn.”

Servais Verherstraeten (CD&V): “Een uiterst belangrijk voorstel dat een behandeling in de commissie voor Justitie verdient”

De Voorzitster: “Ik stel voor dat de fractievoorzitters zich over dit verzoek uitspreken.”

Stemden voor: Peter De Roover (NV-A); Barbara Pas (VB); Raoul Hedebouw (PVDA-PTB)

Stemden tegen: Servais Verherstraeten (CD&V); Benoît Piedboeuf (MR); Maggie De Block (Open Vld / Anders); Gilles Vanden Burre (Ecolo-Groen); Ahmed Laaouej (PS); Melissa Depraetere (Vooruit)

De urgentie wordt verworpen

De rest van de legislatuur werd er niks verder ondernomen, de CD&V had haar slag thuis gehaald en de omerta kon verder zijn gang gaan. Tot …

de POC slachtoffers van 2024

In de laatste sprint, vier jaar later, net voor het einde van de legislatuur, dook plots in het verslag van de “parlementaire onderzoekscommissie belast met het onderzoek naar de aanpak van seksueel misbruik, in de Kerk en daarbuiten, met inbegrip van de gerechtelijke behandeling, en de gevolgen op vandaag voor slachtoffers en samenleving” op 03/05/2024 een aanbeveling 90 op:

1. De federale regering dient de nodige initiatieven te nemen, zoals het onderzoeken van de mogelijkheid om het spreekrecht in artikel 458bis Strafwetboek (artikel 356 nieuw Strafwetboek) te vervangen door een spreekverplichting wanneer een minderjarige of kwetsbare persoon slachtoffer is of dreigt te worden van zeer ernstige misdrijven, zoals seksueel geweld. Rekening houdend met de bezorgdheden vanuit de praktijk, zou daarbij kunnen worden ingezet op een verplicht multidisciplinair casusoverleg tussen politie, justitie en hulpverlening ter bevordering van de informatiedeling. Daarnaast moet ook gewezen worden op het schuldig verzuim uit artikel 422bis Strafwetboek (artikel 300 en volgende nieuwe Strafwetboek) dat in bepaalde situaties ook tot een spreekverplichting leidt.

Slachtoffers vroegen in hun getuigenissen om beroepsgeheimplichtigen te verplichten aangifte te doen van seksueel geweld op minderjarigen, zoals ook internationale instrumenten België daartoe verplichten.

een “nieuw” wetsvoorstel

Pas weer een jaar later, 11/03/2025, wordt werk gemaakt van een nieuw “wetsvoorstel tot wijziging van het Strafwetboek voor wat betreft de aangifteplicht van bepaalde misdrijven gepleegd op minderjarigen of kwetsbare personen.”

de beroepsgeheimplichtige torpedo

Beroepsgeheimplichtigen steigeren, en komen op initiatief van de “Ligue Bruxelloise Francophone pour la Santé Mentale” (Franstalige Brusselse Liga voor Geestelijke Gezondheid) samen in een open brief op 28/04/2025, die werd aangepast op 28/05/2025, waarin zij eisen dat hun beroepsgeheim blijft bestaan. Geen meldingsplicht van seksueel geweld op minderjarigen aub !

De waslijst aan aangewende misplaatste excuses is een walgelijke spiegel van het omerta fenomeen waar seksueel misbruik op minderjarigen tot op vandaag systemisch aan onderhevig is in onze maatschappij. De boodschap van de hulpverleners is duidelijk: zwijg en onderga, wij niet-slachtoffers weten het beter.

Een week voordat het parlement het wetsvoorstel zou beginnen behandelen, barst de hel los in de pers. De belangen van de beroepsgeheimplichtigen worden gehuld in een vermeend belang te zwijgen bij (seksueel) geweld op minderjarigen.

de toekomst van het wetsvoorstel ?

Het parlement moet voor zulks door henzelf belangrijk en dringend bevonden onderwerp toch tonen dat ze iets doet.

De commissie justitie startte de werkzaamheden rond het wetsvoorstel op 24/06/2025, 5 jaar nadat het parlement vond dat het een “uiterst belangrijk voorstel dat een behandeling in de commissie voor Justitie verdient” en dankzij de CD&V naar de Griekse kalender verwezen werd.

De week erop, op 01/07/2025 bij de regeling van de werkzaamheden in de commissie wordt gedurende 15 minuten beslist tot hoorzittingen en schriftelijke adviezen. Er wordt gevraagd om namen aan het secretariaat door te geven, en men zou kijken wie al of niet beschikbaar zou zijn voor advies. De spanningen tussen politieke fracties wordt duidelijk voor wie tussen de lijnen kan lezen.

De uiteindelijke lijst van adviezen die het parlement zou solliciteren werd opgevraagd, en door het secretariaat van de commissie geweigerd. Geen publieke participatie (pottenkijkers in de ogen van het parlement) aub !

Hoorzittingen

Op 23/09/2025 werden gehoord:

• Nicolaas Vinckier, vertegenwoordiger van de Orde van Vlaamse Balies;
• Jean-Noël Bastenière, vertegenwoordiger van avocats.be;
• Patricia Innaurato en Isabelle Soenen, vertegenwoordigers van het College van de hoven en rechtbanken;
• Tom Goffin, professor aan de UGent;
• Benoît Dejemeppe, voorzitter, en Michel Deneyer, vice-voorzitter van de Orde der artsen;
• Tim Stroobants, directeur van het Vlaams Expertisecentrum Kindermishandeling.

Op 30/09/2025 werden gehoord:

• Christelle Trifaux en Valérie Devis, vertegenwoordigsters van de “Conseil Communautaire de la Prévention, de l'Aide à la Jeunesse et de la Protection de la Jeunesse”;
• Solayman Laqdim, “Délégué général aux droits de l’enfant”;
• Caroline Vrijens, Kinderrechtencommissaris;
• Isabelle Gilain, vertegenwoordigster van “SOS Enfants”;
• Céline Nieuwenhuys, secretaris-generaal van de “Fédération des Services Sociaux”.

De commissie wordt in deze hoorzittingen een bijna unaniem schaamteloos “experten” pleidooi voorgeschoteld ten voordele van de omerta. Nergens is het “te veel dossiers waarin werd gezwegen en niks gedaan werd” waarmee het wetsvoorstel werd ingediend te bespeuren. De experten zullen het wel beter weten …

Tijdens de hoorzittingen halen de experten tal van rechten door elkaar, en wordt een ware omerta mayonnaise, zonder dewelke de friet niet Belgisch is, geserveerd. De rechten en angsten van vrouwen en hulpverleners staan centraal. Het belang van misbruikte kinderen en slachtoffers is duidelijk ondergeschikt aan die van de volwassenen praxis.

Wat sinds dien?

Sinds deze hoorzittingen is het volstrekt stil, en blijven nieuwe gevallen van misbruik voortschrijdend verder gaan. Nu spreken schaakmat staat in functie van de “professionals”, is er weinig tot geen reden voor het parlement om iets aan de omerta te doen, tot … de volgende woede uitbarsting van het volk het probleem nogmaals op de agenda plaatst, om zoals gebruikelijk evensnel weer te verdwijnen.

Nochtans, Koen Geens over het onderwerp:

“Dat hoeft niet klikken te heten. Dat hoeft zorgen voor anderen te zijn. De angst dat wanneer men klikt het onmiddellijk gepenaliseerd wordt is natuurlijk een van de grote redenen waarom het ook niet gebeurt in veel gevallen.”

“later, wanneer een kreupele oude man met een rollator naar de beklaagde bank klimt, en men zegt hij is nog toerekeningsvatbaar… Dat is wat wij doen. Met overtuiging. En met verwijt. Vooral aan de anderen.”

De verplichte aanpak

De aanpak van de oorsprong van het probleem is nochtans de eenvoud zelve:

• spreekplicht voor alle beroepsgeheimplichtigen, en dus voor iedereen in de samenleving zonder “beroepsverschuiling”;
• bescherming en ondersteuning van slachtoffers en hulpverleners;
• persoonlijke verantwoordelijkheid voor schuldig verzuim, in bijzonder voor schuldig verzuim uitgaande van (de almacht van) procureurs.

Deze drie samen zijn essentieel. Over deze verplichtingen van de Staat wordt van zodra wij daar tijd voor kunnen vrijmaken gepubliceerd.

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alle informatie op deze site, zoals maar niet beperkt tot documenten en/of audio-opnames en/of video-opnames en/of foto's, is gemaakt en/of verzameld en gepubliceerd in het belang van gerechtigheid, samenleving en het Universele Recht op Waarheid

children for status is een onafhankelijk collectief dat schuldig verzuim door de Staat ten aanzien van seksueel geweld op minderjarigen en kinderhandel oplossingsgericht documenteert en aanklaagt

6 January 2026

Green wood: Originally conceived as an enlarging and flattening of a small scene reflected in a bulbous green vase at my new Wood Green house. Learned that “green wood” is the phrase for freshly-chopped wood that hasn't dried out yet (nice alignment with a cut flower stem). Floating feeling of little lights traveling from a surface tension to darker depths. But the painting itself became about dueling material impulses. Thick application versus thin staining, muted tones versus the strong light source(s), measured marks versus ones made with physical momentum. Palette indebted to Joe Brainard's Whippoorwill (1974, the one at The Met). A close examination of that painting, at least from what I can glean in reproduction, reveals a careful, considered back and forth between the warmth of the early layers and the cool topmost ones. The eye also boomerangs across the composition—controlling and playing with that movement is a way to work. And at the bottom of the image, the brown masses that are the floor and the sofa frame sandwich the loveliest slivers of color in the tiny space between them—I hoped something similar would happen in my work, and I think it kind of did in a more obvious way with some red watercolor peeking through. That handling of color, of restrained use in small space, is attractive and something in itself. Happened in On diversion too.