Another IG distribution update that you totally didn’t ask... for. It’s been about 5 days since I started putting serious effort into content and paid ad distribution for JKIndex.io. The IG account went from around 7 followers to 40. Obviously still tiny numbers, but nearly 6x in five days. Instagram is one of the channels I specifically called out in my JK distribution thesis because collectors are already doing the exact thing JK Index is built around there. It also probably explains why this content hasn’t done nearly as well here on X. There just isn’t the same concentration of grading specific content and communities here that already exists on Instagram and Reddit. On IG, some people post guess the grade content. Others crack slabs and regrade cards. Others rip packs and ask what a potential hit could grade. > People watch > Call PSA 8, 9 or 10 in the comments > Debate over it > Sometimes return later for the grade reveal This is already an event. In a loose sense, it is already a market. It just doesn’t have a surface. 1⃣ There’s no lasting record of who actually knows how to grade. 2⃣ Hundreds of opinions never become a market price. 3⃣ The owner still has no way to protect themselves if the 10 they expected comes back a 9. That’s what Before the Slab is being built around. None of this behavior depends on JK Index existing. That’s what makes it interesting. Collectors are already doing it every day. Anyway, back to the numbers, because they at least give us something concrete. Over the latest IG reporting window, the JK Index IG had: > 29,238 views from 20,959 viewers > 99.5% of those views came from non followers > 373 interactions > 511 profile visits More importantly, since I refactored /preview a few days ago so people could play without creating an account, 262 unique guest sessions have landed on the page. 249 of them arrived with UTMs. Only 8 started a run and 5 completed one though. Regardless, finally reaching the audience I thought I could reach. Now the problem of moving them from watching someone guess a grade on Instagram to making the call themselves on JK Index. The GTM agency I hired also started this week, so I’m excited to see what we learn and whether we can actually move those numbers. Anyway, I’ll probably force another one of these updates onto your feed next week. Good day.show more

"PRICE IS WHAT YOU PAY. VALUE IS WHAT YOU... GET." I keep buying $Kekec and I have a strong conviction. Here's Why: While the market is down, and Kekec is declining with it, there are data points that few are considering. Kekec borned in October and since then has been posting a different and original 30-second video every day, which I find extremely funny. For the past couple of months, they have also been posting daily on Instagram, and the attention on Kekec (which doesn't present itself on social media as a memecoin) is growing, moreover, it's increasing exponentially. The number of followers is increasing by about 500-1000 a day. This is largely due to the fact that they are not just focused on the main account but have several others that post reels and redirect to the main one. In short, an excellent strategy to keep growing more and more. Instagram link: Guess What? Not only are the followers increasing, but the team's workload is also growing. In fact, for a little over a month, they have also started pushing on YouTube, and the data here is promising as well. YouTube link: If we want to make a comparison, we can take Pudgy Penguins as an example, which has shown it can reach millions and millions of users without mentioning that they are a WEB3 company that owns an NFT collection. Or, if we want to be more appropriate by comparing one memecoin to another, we could take PONKE. Thanks to the use of social media and the quality of their content, they managed to achieve incredible numbers, which then translated into an increase in the coin's price. Kekec came before PONKE, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's better than PONKE. I believe PONKE is unbeatable in terms of content, but I want to make you reflect on an important point. PONKE came after KEKEC, and after PONKE's success, many coins have emerged trying to imitate it. One of KEKEC's strengths, in my opinion, is precisely the fact that it leverages social media without being a copy-paste. Instead, it is a unique meme derived from a 90's film, and it uses a unique form of content. In short, KEKEC > KEKEC and no one else. I want to conclude by suggesting you follow them on Instagram and evaluate not only the exponential growth of their followers day by day but also observe how the views of each reel increase accordingly. Pay special attention to the comments. Many of the people commenting have no idea what it is, and you can see from the comments how Kekec generates particular emotions in people—strange but still emotions. Personally, I believe that when something is unique and even very strange, it needs time to be adopted. However, once it happens, it usually explodes and spreads like never before. A few days ago, a Kekec video was posted by a very popular meme page. They probably don't know what Kekec is about but thought the video could spark interest among their followers. How many other pages will do the same? Lastly, but not least, I want to point out how Kekec maintains a good market cap despite everything that has happened in the crypto world since October 2023. As far as I know and have personally observed, everything is extremely organic. There is no cabal behind it, and the quality is not reflected in a single jpeg but in work that has been ongoing daily for months. Every day they work harder, and the quality of their videos grows as well. I have no affiliations with the team, but I believe that Kekec truly deserves more in this world where we push celebrity or cabal-backed coins to hundreds of millions in market cap. I keep buying because the numbers suggest so. Don't just evaluate the chart (price), evaluate the data (value). BÂLKÂN DWÂRFshow more

I really learnt from the best If your content... is averaging 700 views it’s of two things 1. It’s either you did not warm up your account well to the hashtag you are posting with 2. You have a general content problem , you need to find content that has been pushed in the last 1 month max and post I have 4 iPhones , 3 iphone 8 and 1 iPhone 7 , I post content on all everyday been doign this for the past 2 years I use the iPhone 7 to post for one of my brands And I use the 3 iPhone 8 to post for one brand The most important thing is , find what works for one phone and spread it across others It took me years to learn this One big lesson, don’t tell your vpn to X , you will hate yourself , not telling people the vpn I am using so they don’t overcrowd it If you post a content in your main niche, you should be averaging 1k+ - 5k+ views Trust me it’s a lot of work I also started posting on instagram and YouTube and they work differently , don’t post the same video content on both without observing hashtags I also posted on lemon8 , one of my post average 10k+ views Daily I get around 50 users , I have gone viral several times, one of my biggest virality is 700k+ views I really want to buy more iPhone 7 and 8 , It costs me arround $50-70 for each locally here Recently I have been thinking of how do I get clippers locally to do this and train them but it looks like it’s hard because you have to train them Taking advice from the legend Alex Nguyen I have not made a lot but trust me , it works This is proof from one of the apps , we ask during onboarding where they find usshow more

This has got to be one of the BEST... stories in sports card history, and it happened to me this morning. Warning: this story involved a $35,800 transaction, a German wedding, and Lamine Yamal This morning, I woke up and saw a Lamine Yamal /10 Base Prizms Gold NFT for sale on the #PaniniBlockchain for $35,800. I felt that the price was fair and I purchased at 5am. Seconds later, I get a dm from the anonymous seller on Instagram. “Hey this is Brian”. A German guy, few followers. What I learned next is nothing short of f*cking legendary. I’ll let him tell the story from here, and I’ll accompany the epic tale with photo and video proof. Sit down, and buckle up. “Two days before my wedding, the four of us—my best man, my wife, my cousin, and I—went out and bought a few Panini packs together. Just for fun, we agreed that each of us would keep one pack sealed and save it for the wedding day. The plan was to open them together after the ceremony and see what we got. What made it even more special was that my best man had never opened a trading card pack in his life. It was also my wife's first real experience with the hobby. My cousin and I had opened cards before, but none of us expected anything crazy. Our friend from Prime Collectors was there as well. Since he creates card content, he had his camera rolling the entire time, so every reaction you see in the video is completely genuine. After the ceremony, we all sat down and started opening our packs. My best man went first—nothing special. Then my wife opened hers—a few nice cards, but nothing huge. My cousin was next, and again, nothing out of the ordinary. Then it was my turn. I started going through the cards one by one until I saw a flash of gold. The moment I saw it, I knew it could be something big. When I turned the card over, it was a Lamine Yamal Panini NFT numbered 8/10. For a few seconds, nobody said a word. Then everyone completely lost it. You can hear in the video the exact moment everyone realizes what had just been pulled. Even Prime Collectors, who has seen countless incredible pulls, couldn't believe he had just captured that moment on camera. but honestly, the value wasn't the most important part. What made it unforgettable was that it happened on my wedding day, from the one pack I had intentionally saved two days earlier. It's also important to mention that the wedding was already fully paid for, so this wasn't a story about "paying for the wedding" with the card. It was simply an unbelievable coincidence and one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments that you could never plan. Looking back, I honestly don't think I'll ever experience another moment quite like it. On the same day that I married the love of my life, I also pulled one of the biggest cards I've ever held in my hands. That's what makes this story so special.” Panini Americashow more

This is not what we Ukrainians would want to... see from our windows in winter. It would be better if the voices and laughter of children making snowmen or playing snowballs echoed from the courtyards of residential areas. One could step out onto the balcony and watch that very scene while sipping a warm tea or coffee, rather than the sights we see now. You cannot distract yourself from thoughts of the war for long; it continues, and everything around us tries to remind us of that. Over the years, the brain tries to pretend it has adapted to everything happening around it - to what the ears hear and the eyes see, to the various situations that occur here every day. But sanity is always on guard, and an inner voice says without words: this is not a normal life for a human being; if only everything could return to the way it was before. But is it even possible to return to the life we had, carrying such an experience on our shoulders? … Now, in the "points of warmth," you can see beds. You might ask: are these for overnight stays? The beds are intended for people who need assistance in the event of an emergency or for medical reasons, as well as for temporary rest if a person is in need of it… but people are still forced to return to their apartments.show more

As I sit here in DC this week, we... are closer to something I was not sure I would ever see. I have been working in this industry since 2015. For most of those years, the defining feature of crypto in Washington was not policy. It was the absence of it. A gray zone where serious people built serious things under a constant cloud, never quite sure which rules applied or whether the ground would move beneath them. This week the CLARITY Act sits on the Senate calendar. A federal framework for digital asset market structure, the thing this industry has wanted for the better part of a decade, is closer than it has ever been. It is not law yet, and there are real hurdles left. But the distance between where we stood a few years ago and where we are sitting today is hard to put into words. I keep thinking about the work that got us here. Over the past year I watched Chainlink move from outside these conversations to inside them. Sergey at the White House for the signing of the GENIUS Act. The Department of Commerce putting government economic data onchain. Meetings with the SEC that became real interpretive guidance. Conversations with the lawmakers now writing the rules. None of that happens by accident. It happens because people keep showing up, year after year, and make the case in rooms where it is not yet obvious. And there is something fitting in it. The entire premise of what we build is verification. Making truth provable. Removing the question of what is real. The work here in DC is the same thing in a different form. Trading a decade of ambiguity for something the industry has never actually had. We are not at the finish line. But sitting here, it is hard not to feel the weight of it. The gray zone is ending. What comes next is something this industry has never had. Clarity.show more

See what I did there? Creating a second step... to view the content you desire is annoying, isn’t it? Give it a couple hours and look at the impressions of the first post versus this one. People are deterred by inconvenience. It is my opinion that users will gravitate to these platforms where the live reaction default is already in place. A two-click process to change the default settings seems quite simple, something I did myself the moment I noticed the deployment, but not everyone’s social media habits are the same and this task could very-well pose enough of an obstacle to direct a user to Reddit, YouTube, Twitch, or any other network prioritizing live content instead. Simplicity is never overrated, especially with attention span sizes in 2025. Once enough of these users leave, X is no longer the unique utility platform that it once was nor will it have the communities living here who utilized it. Niche communities won’t just suddenly leave overnight, they will move on in silence after drowning in apathy. The remaining content on here will be presented by popularity, similar to Instagram, and transmitted by algorithmic recommendations. Some people prefer it that way, and god bless you! I’m not trying to tell you what you should/shouldn’t like, more so speaking as an early-stage user who has been creating content on this platform regularly since 2009, seen CEOs/ownership groups come and go, the timeline reformat hundreds of times, worked with previous employees closely to optimize user experience, and wants to see it evolve. For that to happen: X needs to always be the live microblogging hub of the world. No matter what bullshit has happened on here or to the site, Twitter/X’s live utility was ALWAYS the business’ cornerstone. As long as it had this market cornered, it would survive its growing pains. So if you’ve made it this far, and have some sort of influence over the UX here, I am hoping you consider just one minor revert to retain the site’s influence: change the ‘Following’ tab default back to ‘Most recent’ from ‘Popular’. You don’t even need to delete the new option, but removing this additional click hurdle will go a long way in preserving what makes this place so intriguing. Until then, here is a video of my dog Skip sleeping to entice the algorithm to consider this content ‘Popular’.show more

The Sabotaging Practice of Over Supply and Sameness in... the NFT Space. The current zeitgeist of the NFT space is that the same artists are doing the same kind of work five times a year, with project after project leaving a trail of disappointment and discontent among collectors and all of us watching in disbelief as huge resources are extracted from the space over work that feels like it could be left as an "artist study." I understand that you can do what you want with your money as collectors, but we are killing the whole space with this incestuous practice. No artist is that prolific to be able to do 5 collections of 100+ pieces each every year and actually deliver innovation and some kind of creative evolution. Of course, they can pretend play that the work has something new, but there is no precedent nor proof that that has ever happened in the speed that it happens in the NFT space. Again, people are free to through away their resources on whatever they want but with this way of doing things, we more and more are going to start seeing the consequences. Oh! There are consequences? Yes. Maybe unintended, but there are. Let's see. Let's start with the loss of belief in the NFT space as somewhere where emerging artists can come and find support for their experiments. Why even bother to bring experiments, innovation, and new ways to think of art on the blockchain if the same people have all the collectors hypnotized with their magical flutes? Why even try to come to a space where taking risks and challenging the status quo (the mission of art!!!) is overlooked? This makes the NFT space a social club and not a space for art. I guess it is fine, but IMO it is a recipe for disaster. New collectors stay away because the art will slowly but surely become stale and un-challenging. Why even bother to come and see what is happening here if you can't, as a collector, see new weird and up-and-coming artists? The amount of noise emitted by the same artists doing the same art over and over, drowns out any new voices. Again. A recipe for disaster. The NFT space is becoming a space of disappointment and doubt. We think that collections going to zero one after the other, over and over, is not damaging? I feel we are kidding ourselves. Disappointment piles up, and again, the people who will hurt are the emerging artists, the new blood, the ones who are willing to risk the most and, in return, put fire in this cold space of sameness. I love this space—don't get me wrong—it has changed my life, and I believe it has a ton of potential, but things need to change for it to become a beacon of light in art. But we need to support new voices. We need to support new ideas. The challenge is huge. I hope to contribute all I can to this change. I hope more and more see how exciting it is to go out and try to discover what else is out there and move this space forward. But again, I understand the leaps of faith needed, but if there is a space that is based on that, it's the NFT space...so there is hope. We will see. 📺by Boldtronshow more

This is the moment when Israeli Arab Yoseph Haddad... was thrown out of the Oxford Union after people stamped on the photo of Israeli Arabs who are being held hostage. This is what he writes: ‘I’ll tell you more about what happened at Oxford when I confronted these liars and I’ll also upload clips from my speech there, but one thing I can say for sure - Oxford has been taken over by terror supporters. 90% of the participants are clearly anti-Israel propagandists who admire Nasrallah and Sinwar and believe Israel has no right to exist. During the biased discussion, extreme statements flew such as praising and glorifying the October 7th massacre and claims that it was a “heroic act of an oppressed people.” When a speaker in the audience cried for the residents of Gaza in a forced and unbelievable way, I pulled out a picture of the Muslim hostages Yousef and Hamza al-Ziyadna and asked if she was crying for them too. One of the participants in the audience took the picture and threw it on the floor and others stepped on it. I endured curses, boos, and threats during the confrontation, but there was one thing I was not willing to endure: the humiliation of our hostages. I demanded that they be removed and I refused to continue the discussion, even when the anti-Israel chairman, who actually took part in the confrontation himself, warned me and finally decided to have me removed from the venue. In front of the hostile terrorist-supporting audience, just before I left the hall, I did one last thing - over my official tuxedo, I wore a T-shirt that I had brought. It has a picture of Nasrallah with a large X over it and the caption "Your ‘heroic’ terrorist is dead, we killed him" 🇮🇱✌🏻’show more

The first video only lived on Team Liquid IG... stories for the day, so I wanted to post it here to give it a permanent home. What started as simple flat renders turned into a small animations experiment. I used a basic rig and filmed myself as reference (because that’s what animators actually do, reference is everything), and just went for it. The funny part is, once I took that risk, the creative ideas started flowing. Pushing past the safe option is what made this feel more alive and if I hadn’t tried, this videos would never have existed. It’s simple, but I’m genuinely proud of how it turned out, especially since this is far outside my comfort zone. Sometimes the best growth comes from just trying. If you play VALORANT, check out the new TL Classic skin, it looks gorgeous and it supports the team at the same time 💙🤍 2D graphics by the great Staceyshow more

VTubing is for everyone! I don't like to bring... this up, but recent events in the VTuber community made some people really vile. I had my M&G at HolMat last week and had people come up and just yell at me for being a girl in the "womans world", that is VTubing, no idea about who I was, or why I was there. I had the same group return to my handler multiple times, I felt really worried about the person carrying me around having to deal with this repeatedly and tried to steer them away from the group. It seems they found my YT and left me a handful of the same comments, luckily all caught by moderation tools. While I will refrain from M&G's for a little until this calms down I want to say this; I have been managing for over 1.5 years now, I deliberately take on male VTubers to show them that they can still do it. I take on people that have babiniku accounts, those that are changing from one gender presentation to another and want help, and those that have no gender presentation in their avatar. A lot of male VTubers struggle to find a manager because the stereotype is that all male VTubers are evil and it perpetuates a stereotype that extends beyond entertainment industry subcultures like streaming. VTubing has always been a medium, while character and marketing matters, it's about what makes you happy, YOU are the person that makes the content. Use whatever you want as an avatar, use a voice changer if that's what you want to do. Every month I have a male client bring up they can't do it the same way, that it's easier if jiggle physics or a cute voice is the answer to fast growth. And I tell them yeah, I can also do ASMR, I can do drama content, collab with a larger person, and get to x amount of viewers. There are shortcuts in every entertainment profession and subculture. Does it last? Do quick fixes for anything ever last? Yes, great physics and an expensive model can get people in, but if your value, your way of interacting with people, your content plan and marketing is ass, you can pack up. Most of us start on a small budget, premade or resold models, and it's the same in the big league entertainment industry too. Can I take out a loan and put myself on a billboard tomorrow, can I pay the most expensive model artist and rigger and get in along corporate VTubers tomorrow? Sure. Will it last, will it be genuine, will people trust me? Hell no. Genuine communities and growth build trust. I think streaming, creative industries, entertainment, are full of people, regardless of gender, that will see success and call it "easy", because of what they see as the end product. They don't see most VTubers working a second job, they don't see the managers, they don't see 100+ hours a month going into content production, years invested in singing and voice lessons, model redebut after redebut. I think a lot of male VTubers get a bad rep, because so many boys are raised without putting emphasis on empathy and creativity, watching my brothers be told they should not pursue art, that theatre class is a waste of time, and that they needed to go study x or y to make money for their families in the future was heartbreaking. Nobody should have to look at others and feel so much hatred for society they turn against a whole group of people. If you want to pursue entertainment, please do. If you want to grow and try and make a name for yourself, you should start there, not with yelling about how you already failed. "Oh but I can't", "Oh but the odds are stacked against me", look at the big streamers, look at Ironmouse who overcame everything with hard work, look at Kiara who rose from the ashes, look at everyone that fights against their odds every day and give it your all. If you already think you lost, then you have nothing to lose. Don't give up on your dreams because others tell you to.show more

We have over $250k in scheduled jobs just in... April alone A 5x increase over last April. Our biggest and most frustrating challenge by far is speed to scale. I could add another $250k with the click of a button, and I could press this button 30x over every 4 months. I could expand the service area and amplify it even more. But I can’t, because we can’t fulfill more than that without more equipment. I can’t just infinitely buy equipment either, it takes time to build up. The thought of taking on an investor has been discussed many times, but that’s another challenge, because it needs to be the right investor. Money alone isn’t the right investor. We need one that understands the industry and is well connected in it. We also have over 100 people ready to buy into a franchise model. A model that has already been built over the Winter. The possibilities are endless, but the decisions have become much more complex and more impactful.show more

I mean you do have a very good point,... however I hope you can understand where I come from. (Sorry I’m advance for the long tweet back) This is exactly what I use to do when I was their age. We didn’t have the luxury of an independent scene we do now and even if we did I was 14 years old, I was only allowed to go to a training school to learn the basics. But I had an enormous passion for the business & if I wasn’t allowed to work shows I’d do it myself. - and I’d argue that because of this I had a head start on a lot of the people I trained with when I finally turned 18 From there I’ve been lucky enough to have the support of friends, peers & fans to push me into what I am today. The fact I’ve still had that same style for now 17 years and this is my first surgery, I think I’ve looked after my body. Think about it 17 years this is my first major injury. You think this is stupid, I would say it’s equally as stupid as to fall off a scaffolding breaking both your legs. And while I’m sure there’s a few people that wished you landed on your head, I for one hope you’re doing well & not in too much pain from your injury. But to me, it showed the care that you have for the industry at that time. I see myself in these guys that are finding any outlet to do what they love. Their bumps are solid & basing is great. Like I said I understand there is a level of danger doing this so I hope none of them get hurt but I can’t help but root for these guys and hope I one day see them in a ring. Once again sorry for the long arse tweet and hope the message finds you well boss.show more

I’m probably one of the only Teslanaires out there,... if not one of the very few, still cutting my own hair. I cut my own hair again today, and it reminded me that becoming a multi-millionaire usually isn’t a random coincidence. People see the $ and think it just happened. What they usually don’t see are the small habits behind it. Of course, I could go spend $25–$50 on a haircut that probably looks better than the one I give myself. But that’s not really what matters to me. I don’t care that much about looking perfect. I care about controlling my time. I care about staying grounded. I care about keeping the kind of habits that helped me build wealth in the first place. And honestly, I enjoy doing it. I’ve been cutting my own hair for so many years that I don’t even think about going to the barber anymore. It’s just normal to me now. It saves time, keeps me frugal, and reminds me that wealth is usually built in the small choices nobody claps for. That’s the part people miss. A lot of people see wealth and assume it was luck. But a lot of the time, it’s really the result of small disciplined habits repeated for years. Not wasting $ just bc you can. Not wasting time just bc other people do. And the funny part is, one day my fleet of Tesla Bots will probably be doing it for me anyway. But until then, I’m good doing it myself. Bc to me, being wealthy was never about trying to look rich. It was about building a mindset. A mindset that values time, discipline, and freedom more than appearances. And once you really live that way, it shows up in a lot of things, even something as simple as cutting your own hair.show more

It’s been a year since the company I helped... start shut down. It was one of those ideas that felt truly “net-positive” for the world, and truly helped people on a personal level. So, over this last year I worked on 2 things — searching for an idea that feels net-positive and something people could connect with on a deep, personal level. That led me to build + launch 2 apps at the beginning of the year: 1. Lyrics: Daily Music Widget - an app that shows you song lyrics from your favorite artists, right on your home screen 2. one year - another app that shows how many days of growth you’ve had in a year Both of these apps had their ups and downs, but they made me realize some pretty cool things: - I want my apps to feel great to use - I want me apps to do one thing really well - I want my apps to feel like a human made them - and, I want my apps to always be made with other people So, two months ago I took those concepts, went to visit in SF, and started on an idea that I truly felt could change the way people live their daily lives. And, it’s launching today. This is Find Your Faith, an iPhone app that helps you discover a spiritual path that resonates with you, or helps you dive deeper into a faith you already practice. We started this as a way to help us with our own spiritual journeys. We wanted to explore different faiths in a way that was authentic to us. The beauty about spirituality is there is no deadline on when you should “figure out what you believe in” lol. It’s really something to check in on during the different seasons of your life. And, there isn’t just one way to do it. Some people may enjoy reading religious text, or others may prefer being in the presence of something greater than them. At the end of the day, these are just ways to give yourself the space to explore really tough questions and concepts. That’s what Find Your Faith (or fyf) does — helps you understand where you are on your journey, no matter where you may be, and gives you the space to sit in these questions every day. This is just the beginning for us, and hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed building it :).show more

Horrendous. Heartbreaking news from Amsterdam. Is this what we... have become? Modern day pogrom as we are remembering Kristallnacht. I am in Texas and it is middle of the night here as I write. Friends from Europe are texting and calling me about the horrendous situation in Amsterdam. In the night of November 7 in Amsterdam there were widespread and terrible raids on Jewish people. After the soccer game Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv, large groups of radical moslims violently attacked Jews, injured them, ran over them with cars… 💔 How is this possible? Why did it take the police so long to get there ? Even on European soil we fail to protect human dignity. Is this what we have become ? It's just terrible! Revolting! Imagine you are Jewish. And you know this: as soon as you walk out of your house to go running, go grocery shopping, go to school or to the synagogue, this can happen to you. How would you feel? I spoke about this situation of terrible discriminations this week in parliament. Worrying about antisemitism is not an exaggeration. Fighting it is our responsibility. The Dutch local government has failed. My thoughts are with the victims. I am furious with the Dutch local government. This is what we have become. Because we have forgotten that this violence is still possible if we are not honest, vigilant and decisive. If people who live in Europe are capable of this horrible attacks, it says a lot about how europe failed to impose its values even on its own soil. And there are still people who will think speaking of hatred against jewish people is an exaggeration. It is not. This is the week of the Kristallnacht commemorations. October 7 was until now the Kristallnacht of our time. November 7 must be the last one. Assita Kankoshow more

Usually I don’t speak on political issues often however... Charlie Kirk’s death (RIP) hits a little too close to home. Perhaps it is because anyone who has some resemblance of a following who is outspoken against any narrative online has probably received some sort of threat in their inbox. (I know I have) It is baffling to me that one could harbour such a large amount of hate inside of them to want to have another silenced for having differing opinions than their own. I think about all my outspoken friends who are in positions faced to the public and of course myself and what this potentially means for all of us. This of course, would never stop me from speaking out to what’s right, so perhaps that is also why I wanted to make a comment. To me it is disgusting behaviour to mock/be happy about the death of people you disagree with that have done nothing wrong. I think about all my friends, family who could be wrongfully persecuted based off the delusions of perceived “sides”. The amount of hate manufactured and projected onto you for just living your life and not complying to a certain ideal is insane. I don’t like fear mongering but I also think it’s important to stay vigilant to what’s going on around you. It is a very real reality that there are people out there that hate you just for simply being you and what you represent to them. We’ve seen evidence of this twice this week and I suspect more to come unfortunately. I am always hopeful so I will leave this message on a positive note, that just as much hate has also been met with just as much love. There are many amazing kind hearted people out there standing up for what’s right and building community, coming together. Even if they are moving in silence behind the scenes or in front stage, I see you and I honour your work.show more

This sort of situation isn’t new. Indeed, I have... seen this exact scene - a white person being assaulted by a group of people (most or all being black and/or ethnic minority) but somehow ending up being the only person to get into trouble - play out previously. It happens to police officers who are assaulted too, btw, not just members of the public. This is why I sometimes find it difficult to criticise policing (or at least, frontline policing and the Federated ranks), because I know how difficult the Job is for frontline officers, and I also know that even when they are assaulted, the Job will throw them under a bus if the circumstances are convenient. But, the repeated examples of this behaviour are inexcusable and clearly policing has reached a point of no return - the murder of Henry Nowak was probably that point. Though, you could argue that the cover up of the Pakistani Muslim grooming gangs - which goes as far back as the 1960s and the supposed halcyon days of policing - was when policing truly failed ordinary people (we just didn’t know it then). Serious reform and a return to Peelian policing is required. At present, however, there just doesn’t appear to be the political will to do what is required.show more

Some videos don’t just make you uncomfortable. They make... you stop and ask what kind of society we’ve become. I watched this and felt a deep sadness settle in my chest. Not anger first. Not political rage. Just grief. Grief for the little ones who never get the chance to take a breath, and grief for the women who are being told this is empowerment when it looks a whole lot more like something darker. Scripture doesn’t dance around the value of life. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” “Children are a heritage from the Lord.” “You shall not murder.” We’ve reached a place where some celebrate the decision to end a life that is already fully formed, already capable of feeling pain, already made in the image of God… and they smile while they do it. That should never feel normal. It should never feel progressive. It should never feel like freedom. Real freedom is the courage to protect the weakest among us. Real strength is the woman who chooses life even when it’s hard. Real progress is a culture that refuses to sacrifice its children on the altar of convenience. I’m not here to shame anyone who’s already walked through this pain. God’s mercy is bigger than our worst decisions. But I am here to say out loud what too many are afraid to say: This is not healthcare. This is not compassion. This is not the America our grandparents fought to protect. Vote for life. Pray for life. Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Because if we stay silent while the most innocent are discarded, we will answer for it. Lord, give us hearts that break for what breaks Yours. Restore the fear of God in this land. And protect every child still waiting to be born.show more