It is heartbreaking to see The Nigerian Police Force reduced to nothing. The police force in Nigeria is funded by taxpayers money so why should a private citizens or even celebrities be using our police force as Security get a bouncer!!
I came across a video of a couple who are driving from London to South Africa and they passed through Nigeria and they had three police convoy “escorting” them. Can we get access to the police force as a bodyguard in London or when we are in their country ?? the Nigerian police force needs to do better stop using Nigerian police force as personal bodyguard. Whoever is in charge. Should please do something.
You go on Instagram you even see Instagram influencers and celebrities using our police force that we taxpayers funded. imagine the police officer opening the door for civilian, this is an embarrassment to the Nigeria police force. Please do something about this.

Not even 8 days ago I had an experience with someone and I know who it is and I know there is no other culprit. I was told by a “couple” that I can be safe, comfortable and not worry about doing anything. I am a very kind person and am extremely understanding, so when I’m generally having calm conversations while having my pants downs in front of this stranger, I really thought I would be okay.
I’ve never had a cold sore but I definitely had one this week, it’s calmed down and is at its lower stage and about to reside. I’m not too worried about the facial herpes, I’ve had acne for a minute now and herpes come and go, a lot of us have them and I honestly couldnt even be for certain that it was given to me from last week. On the other hand, I’ve been having a slight burning sensation while urinating, now I have had an UTI before but this was more mild, not nearly as painful. Of course just to be sure I went and got my urine tested, they couldn’t find any signs of infection. They said most likely it would be an STD that would be causing me these issues, I just got my blood drawn and will be waiting for either a letter in the mail with results that prove negative, or a call from the office to let me know I need to begin treatment immediately.
I’m a very honest and real person. Done pretty much all of everything I could in my power to be a good person. I always had a dream and set a life time goal to make this world a better place for as many people as I could, even if it took me my whole life, I’d always reach for that one goal. I’m just afraid now that if I’m confirmed to have contracted an STD or “I”, and it being an incurable and more on the bad side, I will most likely let it take me down sooner. Life has always been stressful, and I’ve done my very best to be someone who’s left more good marks than any bad, and I’ve been fair to everyone and as respectful as I could be. Yet somehow the universe decided to put me into paths with people who decided I still needed to be punished with an awful experience I am in right now.
I have been calm, will remain calm, I’ve experienced enough in my life to know, I still believe myself to be consciously immortal so I don’t know how things will play out in full uncertainty. If I am to have gotten something incurable and lethal, I will remain calm and do nothing. Life has honestly been nothing but experiences I’m glad to live through once because damn do I not want to go through this shit again lol. Maybe I’m being too clam, maybe I’m so certain I’ll be okay. But if I’m not, I’ll still be okay. I’ll get away from it all finally without even having to do anymore of the work myself.
I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life like all people have done, mistakes were made and I do regret all of them, I try to never forget but learn to forgive, even for myself, and especially to all those who have wronged me, bothered me or just left. But nothing will be more of a regret to me but letting my own journey end sooner than my loved ones would hope. I know someone will see this and it’ll probably be too late, all I can say is I’m sorry, and please try and learn to forgive me. Just know, no matter what, I’ve always allowed myself to be happy.
Gosh I will look back in humorous content when I figure out in a couple days from now that I’ll actually be fine, but no one can ever truly know. Please take care of yourselves, I hope you live it well and make the most of it, and where condoms. We only live once. Bye. No update will follow, I’m coming and going.

Hello everyone,I 26F, have always had a deeply troubled relationship with my father. He is a mean, narcissistic, controlling person who has always dominated me, my mum and my sisters, leaving us feeling timid, obedient, and oppressed.
The emotional trauma is immense, and I'm struggling to even know where to begin.Throughout my childhood, I witnessed him constantly controlling my mother, making abhorrent misogynistic remarks, and treating her and us like his property. My mother is still battling depression after years of his mistreatment. Furthermore, Despite the fact that he is coming from a posh family, he never provided any financial support to me or my sisters.
His abusive behaviour has left an indelible mark on my heart since I've developed a strong distrust of men. I often feel that all men are out to oppress and mistreat me. While I don't hate men, I'm definitely not comfortable around them.
Now, my father wants to be a part of my life again. He was diagnosed with heart disease and according to his words felt the need to reconnect with his family. However I don't know if I can accept him since he was never there for me not to mention how he abandoned me during a major health crisis I went through a couple of years ago. Should I allow him back into my life?

Hi everyone! I'm a 25M working in tech as a Data Scientist, I wanted to find someone with similar interests or hobbies.
I'm primarily interested in all things related to tech, I game a lot as well (I love Sekiro and Lies of P, along with other FPS games like Apex Legends and Destiny2 - I did download FFXIV too) and also watch anime (a LOT)
Office commute usually drains me of all my energy so I don't have enough social battery to socialize IRL and I don't want to involve my IRL work connections with my personal life so I'm hoping to meet people over here instead.
Other stuff about me:

1. I enjoy listening to others' rants and sometimes giving my inputs as well
2. Love pets! Bonus if you have pets (though I haven't adopted one as I plan to travel far soon)
3. South Asian
4. Bit socially anxious IRL, but online I can communicate just fine with people having shared interests
5. Additional hobby I had years ago was as an amateur astronomer at a dept of science funded observatory

If these connect with you, shoot a chat/dm about yourself! (Please just don't say hi/hey and go silent)

This middle aged person at work likes to pretend that I don't exist. I am 100% sure that they are doing it deliberately, not really sure what the purpose is.
They always say goodbye before they leave when there are other coworkers in the room. But when it's only the two of us, they just walk past me, ignore my presence and go out of their way to only say bye to the people who are working on the other side of the office. If I say bye to them they don't even look at my direction. They've done this every single time.
One day they were asking me to clarify something about my major and I kept replying and instead of listening to what I said they kept looking at my boss for them to answer the question. Bare in mind that this person was standing right beside me. Like why would I be incapable of answering something about myself?
All of these things along with smirking to my coworkers whenever I reply when they talk to me
Can someone tell me if this is some sort of covert bullying and if it's really worth it to stay in a place like this? What would you do if you were in my position?
I'd like to mention that isn't someone I can't report to HR, hope that gives a little clue on who they might be.

Hi everyone!
I have a unique situation. I have a neurological disorder that prevents me from attending in-person classes due to frequent absences. For the past two years, I've been enrolled in online courses at a community college in San Diego, which offers a wide variety of online classes. Now that I'm ready to take upper-division courses, I need to transfer to a state university (not a community college) to earn my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
The challenge I'm facing is that the online programs at Cal State schools are self-supported, not state-funded. To use my Cal Vet benefits, the school and program must be state-supported. I've reached out to the Veterans County Office and multiple schools for assistance, but no one has been able to provide a solution.
Does anyone have any advice or know of any fully online programs covered by Cal Vet? Additionally, I'm curious if Chapter 35 benefits will cover unaccredited courses at institutions like Stanford or Harvard. Any information would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

Hi everyone!
I have a unique situation. I have a neurological disorder that prevents me from attending in-person classes due to frequent absences. For the past two years, I've been enrolled in online courses at a community college in San Diego, which offers a wide variety of online classes. Now that I'm ready to take upper-division courses, I need to transfer to a state university (not a community college) to earn my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
The challenge I'm facing is that the online programs at Cal State schools are self-supported, not state-funded. To use my Cal Vet benefits, the school and program must be state-supported. I've reached out to the Veterans County Office and multiple schools for assistance, but no one has been able to provide a solution.
Does anyone have any advice or know of any fully online programs covered by Cal Vet? Additionally, I'm curious if Chapter 35 benefits will cover unaccredited courses at institutions like Stanford or Harvard. Any information would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

For the past two years, as the Canadian Royal family enjoyed an upsurge of popularity following rhe successful end of the Ontario famine, the Emergency Provisional government had become little more than a rubber stamp for the Royals and their loyalists. Prince-Consort William Shatner, in particular, had gotten a little... egotistical... in his fantasies of himself as a great military leader, and the result was nothing short of disaster.
As soon as news of the disasterous expedition reahced Toronto, mass protests began in the streets of Toronto. Onatario had never really been fans of the monarchy, and had only tolerated Shatner's overbearing bravado due to the need of imported food from the monarchy-loving Maritimes. The rallying cry of the protestors was 'Common Sense Revolution', a phrase coined by a young student by the name of Mike Harris. The RCMP attempted to keep the protests contained, but were quickly losing control of the situation. When a fightened officer panicked and fired on the crowd, all hell broke loose.
Within days, the RCMP would be driven out of Ontario, which would soon declare itself the 'People's Republic of Ontario', and proclaim independenc from the Kingdom Canada. However, with Ontario still in need of salt cod shipments from the Maritimes to feed its prople, young Mike Harris was soon sent to South Sussex in order to arrange for the continuation of the food aid.
The Emergency Provisional Government would refuse to meet with the young revolutionary who had rejected Canadian sovereignty. However, this rejection would be seen as an opportunity by Premier Tom Landry of the United Maritimes. Landry would side-step the Emergency Provisional Government and would arrange an elaborate ceremony whereby young Mike Harris would swear fealty to Margaret as Queen of the United Maritimes (not as Queen of Canada), making Ontario legally a vassal of the Maritimes. Harris would then be sent back to Toronto with a treayy in hand. Ontario would be allowed to keep nominal sovereignty, but would be forced into economic dependence on the Maritimes in exchange for food guarntees. Ontario would also be forced to accept the 'protection' of the Queen's Army and the Royal Canadian Navy. The status quo had largely been returned, but with a new feudal coat of paint.

Hi, I am a personal assistant for someone in McLean, VA who is interested in having an in-ground pool and a Pickle Ball court added to their property. I have some leads, but does anyone have solid, trustworthy recommendations for contractors for either of these types of projects?

CURSED TECHNIQUE: Falling Mask Falling Star FMFS)
The basic form of FMFS allows the user to perceive all aspects of cursed energy in themselves, others, and objects. While perception and careful observation of the presence and flow of cursed energy is important for all sorcerers in combat, FMFS allows the user to instantly perceive the basics like presence and flow, but also the signature traits of cursed energy, however minuscule the variation in detail from one to another. FMFS’s extensions and maximum apply to both the user and any ally with whom they are in physical contact and choose to involve, to the extent the user’s cursed energy reserves can support more than one person.
EXTENSION: Pleasant Morning Greeting’s Negation (PMGN)
PMGN allows the user to divide their current cursed energy output in half, altering one half in such a way that it is the opposite of the other. Think of this in much the same way as active noise canceling headphones. By producing an equal but opposite resonance, the two are negated, removing any outward sign of cursed energy.
EXTENSION: Mockingbird’s Safe Nest (MSN)
MSN allows the user to alter the properties of their own cursed energy to become a mirror opposite of an incoming cursed energy attack, negating it from existence in the same way the user is able to negate their own cursed energy output with PMGN.
EXTENSION: Masquerading by Moonlight (MM)
MM allows the user to alter the signature properties of their own cursed energy to replicate the signature properties of cursed energy specific to other sorcerers, curses, and objects. This includes mimicking the rough cursed energy of Hakari or the electrified cursed energy of Kashimo. Detailed descriptions of the many facets of cursed energy are possible when given attention and care but are rare in the Jujutsu Kaisen canon simply because they have not advanced the plot.
MAXIMUM: Framing Portrait Defense (FPD)
FPD allows the user to instantly and perfectly mimic the cursed energy signature of a curse user or curse using a cursed technique that only targets objects and entities with cursed energy, thereby “tricking” the cursed technique attack into avoiding the user, mistaking them for the attacker.
This also applies to opponents manifesting a domain. If that domain contains an automatic sure hit effect that spares the one casting the domain, then FPD disguises the user from the automatic sure hit as long as FPD can be maintained.
LIMITATIONS:
When manipulating their cursed energy to negate cursed energy of their own or from an attack(er), some things cannot be mimicked. For instance, as with active noise canceling, amplitude can only be negated to the extent the device is powerful enough to produce it. Likewise, while the user of FMFS may be able to instantly and perfectly produce opposing cursed energy traits, the output volume may be too much to overcome from a powerful sorcerer or curse with an exceptionally high cursed energy output.
The defensive nature of FMFS creates few opportunities for offensive combat. The user should be adept at martial arts and use of cursed tool weapons, and use their stealth capability to make sneak attacks. The best offensive use of FMFS is mimicking cursed energy traits like Hakari’s roughness and Kashimo’s electrification to augment their combat impact.
This cursed technique does not currently have a domain expansion.

My father passed in June 2023. I have been severely mentally ill most of my life. My mother (86) and my brother (63) are what I have left. I am M(57).
I have been sober (cocaine) for nine months (woohoo!).
Since changing my living environment and life style change and everyone associated (to my old lifestyle) I am attempting to conquer mental illness without medication (i have been off medications for almost three years). I live alone with my dog (a rescue ~ we have a great positive friendship). We are helping each other get through trauma. I have a counselor (therapist). I see him once per week. We will be increasing to twice a week in July. He is the first person I have ever trusted (besides my dad but not for mental stuff). These "sessions" are helping. I am trying a different approach to mental illness. No meds ~ talk therapy. I am pushing towards group therapy once a week (general issues) and a substance abuse group once a week.
My outward symptoms have been under control for years. My depression is very big.
I believe it is working and that the future is promising. I hope to get a degree in forensic psychology when I feel the time is right. I have been accepted to Franklin University.
Here is one problem I cannot seem to get my head around (my IQ is high):
My mom and my brother seem to have a deep hatred for me. I think I am still trying to get love from these two people. Her hate overrides any love she ever showed. They both show signs of narcissism. That is why I am posting here.
My brother is a successful psychopath who, as an external factor, caused a lot of my problems in childhood and still does to this day.
My mom left me emotionally at a very early age. Cold mother syndrome. She is deep in denial about herself and feels guilty for my brother and his behavior. My brother has my mother completely brain washed into making this my fault.
My dad was my best friend and a normal father. Very successful and healthy. Military (Korea). As said he passed in June 2023.
I live in my mom's rent property (paid for).
Any ideas? I am stable but I want out of the hell that has been my life. I have a path to do this. I am a soldier (a marine). I will never surrender.
My mom calls me four times a day. My brother seems to be waiting to abuse me all the time.
Sometimes I feel I have all the answers. Sometimes I feel very overwhelmed (like now). Can anyone shine some light here?
Thank you!

Our offer was accepted on a home in town that we loved. We were the only offer and it was on the market for a month. The sellers disclosed they had a claim on the property for water damage which we were aware when making the offer.
When I started shopping for homeowners insurance, I was getting quite a few denials for undisclosed reasons. Finally my local farmers agent disclosed that there was not one, but two water damage claims within the last 3 years, plus a third claim (perils) in the last 5 years. We were not aware of that. He sent me the auto-response that he got from Farmers which showed the claim numbers.
Apparently what happened is that the two water loss claims were on back to back days. The first claim paid out "$0.00" and the second claim was paid out fully. I agree this looks like a clerical issue, but from the insurance agency's perspective, it's showing as two claims hence my many denials. Even their own insurance agent who they know personally and is insuring the house right now was unable to write a policy for me.
Of the 25 insurance companies I've called, I've only managed to get two quotes and they are prohibitively expensive (~$10k/yr for 1,600 sq ft. no fire zone no flood zone) because of the multiple claims. One of the quotes is an HO-1 policy which I don't think I'm comfortable with (and my lender might not approve). The other is from a non-admitted carrier which I also don't feel comfortable with (which my lender may also not approve).
If I can't find reasonable insurance in price and coverage due to the system showing multiple water damage claims, I may be forced to walk. They have threatened to sue if I walk, so I'm in a bit of a bind here. Any advice? Do I have standing to walk? Had I known they had multiple claims, I would have approached my offer completely differently.

Hello. I don’t actually know what to do now. I just want to share what is inside my chest because i don’t really have someone to tell what i am going through.
April - a whole week of nonstop working. I only have a maximum of 3 hours of sleep daily (for that whole week). Basically, 8am - 4am. Yes! That’s right. I was new and the responsibility was really big. For that week i felt so alone in the office. I was being threatened like if i were to make mistakes on the documents our head would tell that the owner of the company will shut down our houses and every time i ask for help they won’t answer me. Those things drained me that i only wanted to cry. The lack of sleep and the way they treat me was draining me. Then saturday on that same week i decided to stay in bed because i still want to sleep from that 4am out that same day. I went AWOL’ed. They were mad at me and i heard that they were saying bad words and cussing me while im out of the office. I don’t know what i did to offend them aside from leaving because it really felt personal to me. I was not really into socializing but i tolerated their nonsense until one time one of my coworkers nonsense was not funny anymore and keeps on bugging me. I ignored him. Then every time i go home at 8pm he’s looking at me like i did a crime. We don’t even have overtime on those days. He was so childish that if he’ll make fun of you it’s fine but if you’ll do the same to him he’ll get offended. I ignored him totally that every time i ask question about the work or task he will snob me and raise his hand on my face saying wait or don’t talk. I noticed how it was different from my other 2 coworker. He was being so nice to them but not with me. Those things affected me that i don’t wanna go to office anymore even though i needed the job and i don’t even know why that saturday i did not make an effort to prepare when i was already up but still in bed.
On that same saturday, midnight. I couldn’t sleep. I was so bothered by something. So i checked my boyfriend messenger and found some thing that made my world fall apart. I saw him chatting with other girls just recent having nudes from them i saw the pictures too. I was heartbroken. I was betrayed. I was damaged. I was mad. Now that doubled the misery. Was miserable.
I was not a controlling girlfriend. I don’t check phones. I trusted him. I thought i was special. I thought he loved me but it turns out he only love the presence and comfort i am giving him. How can you love those but not person though? It made me so insecure about my body. I am skinny and trying to gain weight but its really hard. I have small boob almost none. I have so many hyperpigmentation. I cannot fix those immediately but it does not mean i did not try. I am trying to fix those even for myself but i really couldn’t. Some of ways are not really effective. I am not his type really. He wanted someone masculine fem and i am not that.
Those damage made me sleep for days and weeks. I couldn’t eat nor bath. I was trying but its just heavy. Those messages i had read was playing in my head nonstop. I was crying for days and weeks. It hurts. Still hurts. I don’t how could ever recover to this. It made me misrable. It made me so insecure. It made me question my worth. It made me feels so small. It made me look all the things that is lacking to me.
You know what is the most worst response i heard was from his brother. He told me “atleast he’s going home to you” wtf???
It’s crazy. I am going crazy.

Due to some difficult circumstances that I’m still learning to navigate, (leaving an abusive marriage with no family or friends nearby, and no resources for abuse survivors like me in my area) I’m looking at the very real possibility that I might be camping long term/living outside in my tent for the next couple of months at least. I don’t have anyone I can talk to about these things and would really appreciate guidance as I’m in a period of personal crisis and can use all the support I can get.
I will likely be moving between a few local campgrounds and state parks, being sure to not overstay my welcome in any one place. In the Deep South, with high heat and humidity and golf ball sized mosquitos.
The good news is, I love camping and have lived in a tent for a few months at a time in the past (for internships when I was young, mostly—but always by choice.) While this feels like my only option right now, I’m trying to think of ways to make it feel more like a comfortable, life-giving choice that I’m making, rather than something I’m doing out of desperation.
Here are some areas that I’m looking to improve in my current camping set-up/gear:

1. Sleeping situation. I’ve used everything from an old army cot, an air mattress, and the cold, hard tent floor. Tried sleeping in a hammock for a few nights once, but mosquitos ate me alive and I’m too claustrophobic for a hammock with a mosquito net.

I’m hoping to have the funds to get an adequate bed/cot/etc. I’d like for it to last a while (at least for 6 months to a year of nightly sleeping) and feel like my semi-permanent bed, but be portable enough to pack in the backseat of my old sedan when I’m moving from one site to another (every 10-14 days, most likely.) Maybe something I could roll up and tie with ratchet straps.
Some have suggested using an XL/wide elevated cot, with a mattress topper as a mattress. Has that worked for anyone? Any other recommendations? For reference, I’m 5’6” and weigh 220 pounds. I’m a hot sleeper so need something that will keep me cool.

1. Hygiene: I’ll be working in a local healthcare office and need to stay clean and keep my work clothes clean. I’m good with campground showers but often find the trek from the campsite to the restroom takes more energy than I have capacity for (I’m disabled and have to conserve my energy wisely.) I’ll probably showeget cleaned up at camp and change into my scrubs when I get to the office, just to cut down on potential messes with my work clothes.

Wondering what hygiene/clean-up stations y’all have used and appreciated for longer camping trips? Any outdoor sinks with a foot pump or better ideas?

1. Cooking/food prep. I have a 2 burner Coleman camp stove. It works fine. I’d like to look into options for grilling over a firepit. The only thing i’ve used in the past is a cheap grill on 4 legs that I got from Walmart. Something that holds up and is easy to clean would be ideal. I’ve also used a tripod with a nice heavy cast iron pot for slower cooking and loved that.

— — —
Basically, I don’t have the funds to move into emergency housing or any kind of “traditional” indoor housing, and my budget in general is limited, but I’d like to make living outside as comfortable as I can. If there’s anything I’m not thinking of, please let me know!

The person who is my boss is a property manager for the complex we work at. They are the most toxic, condescending, dramatic person I have ever worked with. What is a way to get this specific person fired from our office?

Long story short, I've been trying to get on odsp for quite a few years. Having trouble because I don't talk on the phone due to my disabily. I have applied a few times and never hear back cause they always try to call. last summer my CS sent me a package in the mail. I filled it all out and got someone set up to talk on the phone with me since they say they cant do email for security reasons. My case worker told me to use my benefits to contact her with more information she needed. I cant login to my benefits cause I don't have an open case. My friend called them back and told them that and they set up a meeting in person. my case worker wasn't there and the lady that was didn't seem to know anything. Kinda making angry comments under her breath about my case worker. I'm really getting sick of this whole process.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I read about contacting legal aid and mpp. I sent an email to my case worker and to odsp office in my area about secure email but haven't heard back yet. Whats a timely response time for this? The meeting in person was a little more then 2 weeks ago.

11 minutes of Armenia coverage by Transcaucasian Telegraph. Follow for regular updates.

just how much rain did Lori province receive last month?

About as much as the Ararat Valley gets in a year: 250-270 mm.
source,

the heavy rains might prevent the mass growth of green algae in Lake Sevan this year: VIDEO

Experts are optimistic this year after the reported rise of water levels in Sevan. The additional water is expected to reduce the average temperature of the water, which could reduce the growth of algae.
The lake is still full of phosphorus and other pollutants that feed algae. The #1 culprit is wastewater coming from nearby communities, said an expert. That's over 100 tons of additional phosphorus per year.
When it comes to solutions against phosphorus, one expert is against using chemicals that react with phosphorus causing it to sink to the bottom of the lake; that could cause other issues at the bottom layer. They are also against banning the use of chemicals in household products. The best option is constructing a cleaning station to filter the water that pours into the lake.
video,

PM Pashinyan visited northern Armenia struck by floods in May: VIDEO

Videos show the damage and restoration activities, PM's meetings with local residents, and ice cream parties with children.
Pashinyan said the residents will be compensated for repairs per m² plus furniture subsidies. Separate effort will launch to address the buildings that sustained structural damage from floods.
The government will try to rebuild the area with new looks, "while preserving the local kolorit", to make them more appealing for tourism.
Karkop residents and rain, Lori, Marts, Sanahin, ice cream, Santa Claus, Chochkan residents, delimited borders on Baghanis-Kirants, destroyed Khashtarak bridge, the alternative road for Kirants, recap meeting,

dear leader so stronk he clears clouds and rains and makes us all happy and blessed with his presence

On the eve of the much-awaited revolution to get rid of Pashinyan's incompetent regime, the former governments' forces held a rally in Vanadzor:
REPORTER: Today Bagrat srbazan's movement is in Vanadzor. What are the hopes and expectations the residents of Vanadzor have from this movement? What is the mood in Vanadzor?
KYUREGHYAN (ARF MP): The residents of Vanadzor know about the lies of this government and how they gained power through lies. Literally an hour before this rally there was a downpour in Vanadzor; the entire town was covered in water and mud. Even the heavy rain gave way to Bagrat srbazan [⭐], even the clouds pulled back and srbazan entered Vanadzor. The sun came [⭐⭐] when srbazan entered Vanadzor. This is a very important message. Yes, srbazan will bring light [⭐⭐⭐] and peace [⭐⭐⭐⭐] with himself. The same happened in Yerevan at 4 pm, when the skies cleared up [⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐]. Today the residents of Vanadzor once again became convinced that the holy movement will bring sun [⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐] and salvation [⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐] . // [MY BOY 7-star Gen. Bagrat, couldn't you disperse the NATO cyclone that came from the Mediterranean and caused the floods?]
During the Vanadzor rally, Galstanyan said he will remove Pashinyan if the latter doesn't agree to resign. He called for everyone to join the big rally on June 9.
It's revolution time.
full, source, source, video compilation of failed microphone incidents during holy press conference,

la grande finale - the final battle begins

The former regime and its allies will launch a new, final, and decisive wave of nonstop acts of disobedience starting tomorrow, for the duration of 4 days, to oust PM Pashinyan and his team.
That was the message by protest co-leader Bagrat Galstanyan to his followers during the massive rally on June 9. He urged participants not to go to work or school, not to rest or sleep.
Galstanyan said he is sacrificing everything he has and that he hopes others will do the same. "It's now or never," he said.
Galstanyan urged parliament MPs to hold a session to demand Pashinyan's resignation. It might overlap with a regular parliamentary session where the MPs are supposed to discuss bills, so it's unclear how it'll work.
Galstanyan said there could be "other political solutions" if Pashinyan doesn't resign. When asked to clarify what he means by that, he said snap elections are an option. Azatutyun reporter noted that Galstanyan was against snap elections in the past.
When asked to comment on the constitutional incompatibility between his candidacy as PM and his dual Canadian citizenship, Galstanyan said they will find a solution "along the way".
Galstanyan urged to abandon the anti-Russian policies and "become a predictable and reliable partner" to "restore" relations with Russia while gaining new allies and friends.
ARAM SARGSYAN (Ex-PM): Restoring friendly relations with Russia requires abandoning the Euro-integration path, handing over the control of communications to Russia, removing EU's border observer mission and replacing them with CSTO which doesn't even recognize Armenia's borders, the end of army reforms and French weapons. "Restoring" relations with Russia means being in their pocket. //
The protest leaders insist the protest is not dying down. On May 9 they claimed there were approximately 120,000 people in the Republic Square, so presumably approximately as many people must have attended on June 9. (I cannot independently verify this.)
The meeting was scheduled for 6:30 pm but began around 7:10 pm. An NGO counted around 15,400 people as of 7:10 pm. That is not the peak number but the same organization has counted the participants with a similar methodology/timing in the past, so here is the trend:
May 9 (early hours): 34,000
May 26 (early hours): 23,000
June 6 (early hours): 16,000
Here is a video slightly later, at 8 pm: video,
Here is another drone video, presumably before the arrival of hundreds of thousands of people: video,
Galstanyan then led his followers to the area near government buildings but was blocked by a police wall. Things got heated and jabs were exchanged between Galstanyan and the police commander.
They decided to split the crowd. The one led by ARF MP Garnik Danielyan remained near the parliament while Galstanyan took the rest to Proshyan to enter Demirchyan from there. His path to Demirchyan was blocked from Proshyan, too. There was a mini-kerfuffle. The protesters accused the police of protecting "Turks". Galstanyan said he will camp there.
Relatively few people remained with Galstanyan after midnight. He told his followers "we have nowhere to retreat" and said that their numbers would "increase in the morning".
Pashinyan's Deputy Chief of Staff Chakhoyan mocked Galstanyan, naming his movement as "Քոքամաշ 2024" and suggesting that the number of followers has halved since May 9. "Thank you for reaffirming the legitimacy of the government," said Chakhoyan.
source, video, source, source, source, source, source, source, source,

ex-PM Aram Sargsyan criticizes the Church leadership for "double standards"

PETROS: Why did the Church get involved in these political processes?
SARGSYAN: The Church used to be the beneficiary of the former regime and felt like being part of the elites. After 2018, when democracy took over, the Church had to return to providing religious services to the population, which was not enough for them.
PETROS: It must have been difficult for them to lose the status of the elite. They developed friendships and "resolved problems" with the help of former administrations. The Church was basically a ministry in the government. They could make phone calls to resolve issues, they were standing next to state leaders during state ceremonies, they could influence the education policy in Armenia, they could resolve business issues, etc.
After 2018 they could only serve as an intermediary between the man and God, a big downgrade. They have decided to "fix" that. This is why the Church ignored the election fraud under former administrations. Do you remember this?
SARGSYAN: Of course. From 2003 to 12 April 2004, and on 1 March 2008, the Church did not intervene in those and didn't address the police conduct.
PETROS: I remember the destruction of April 12.
SARGSYAN: ... political offices were shut down, women were taken from offices and arrested. We had a girl from our party named Ani who lives in France today. She was beaten so much that she developed serious health issues and had to seek medical treatment abroad. The excessive use of force in the past and its disproportionality was very obvious, and on March 1 it turned into murders. Four political parties were shut down and sealed off: HZhK, Artashes Geghamyan, my party, ... We were just sealed shut and our property was taken away. The Church didn't intervene. They also didn't issue criticism after March 1. After March 1, Catholicos Garegin B went to visit Levon Ter-Petrosyan but the latter didn't accept him.
PETROS: That was followed by repressions, political arrests, and propped-up charges. There was no justice.
SARGSYAN: The Church didn't care. Today they say the residents of Kirants are protesting so its representative can join the protests, yet they didn't hear the complaints of residents in the past.
PETROS: The Church was also silent when the Armenian government figures appointed their chauffeurs as generals and plundered the army, while Azerbaijan was arming itself to capture Nagorno-Karabakh.
SARGSYAN: The military balance shifted in Azerbaijan's favor in 2004. Meanwhile, our leaders were busy praising the Armenian army as the best and most combat-ready army while relying on Russia to defend them. They began to falsify elections and earn profits through army schemes. The Church should have publicly declared that it's wrong to buy voters, to buy people's voice and soul for ֏5,000. The Church should have shamed those who sold their votes. After all, the Brible says not to spread false reports, which is similar to voting under the influence of a bribe. You sell your soul in exchange for the bribe money. The Church was silent.
PETROS: Galstanyan refuses to release the names of people in his cabinet if he becomes the PM.
full,

H1's video report on Arthur Brothers

Context and English articles in June 5 report.
video,

Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron made a joint statement about the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process

STATEMENT: The United States and France support the establishment of a fair and lasting peace in the South Caucasus, based on the respect of international law as well as the principles of sovereignty, inviolability of borders and territorial integrity. We support further regional integration in the South Caucasus for the benefit of all the region’s people.
source,
other statements on Georgia, Moldova, etc.

Moscow sends a note of protest to Yerevan after the visit of an Armenian delegation to Bucha, Ukraine, the city where the Russian army committed massacres after the invasion

Context in Friday report. The delegation was led by Armenia's Ambassador to Ukraine and the leader of Yerevan's Nor-Nork district. They donated medicine to Bucha hospitals.
The head of Nor-Nork district Tigran Ter-Margaryan represents the pro-West "Republic" party led by ex-PM Aram Sargsyan. In response to Moscow's protest, he said is ready to visit Bucha again. Margaryan said he is confident Ukraine will defeat Russia and that every Ukrainian sees the war as a fight for independence and sovereignty. He also ridiculed Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova for not knowing the difference between Armenia's parliament and a Yerevan district.
Now a quick survey for our readers. Which Armenian politician spits on faces better?
(A) Alen Simonyan
(B) Tigran Ter-Margaryan
The polls close in 24 hours and will not be rigged.
source, source,

Armenia will rewrite the Code on Administrative Offences that's so old it makes references to Soviet terminologies/institutions

The only thing this Code doesn't have is praise for Lenin papi. Efforts to replace it began a decade ago but it recently underwent some changes and was introduced to the public last year.
The justice ministry says it's necessary to ensure that the punishments envisaged under the Administrative Code are more lenient than the ones under the Criminal Code.
More thorough changes will be made in the punishments for legal entities and individuals who are a flight risk, as an example. 3-hour or 48-hour arrests could be imposed to prevent the flight or the repetition of the crime. For example, if you are drunk and cannot control yourself they could arrest you for 3 hours and check your sobriety every 3 hours to see if it's safe to release you. New forms of administrative punishment include revocation or suspension of various licenses. Instead of paying a fine, you could ask the authorities to do public work.
video, source,

parts from an interview with VOMA leader Vova Vartanov

• Context: Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to control lands that belong to one other on the Tavush-Gazakh border. This allows both countries to continue to use their roads (Armenian road passing through Azeri land east of Voskepar, and Azeri road passing through Armenian lands north of Berkaber). Vartanov believes Azerbaijan will delay the return/exchange of remaining lands.
• The military positions that Azerbaijan has gained in Tavush after this delimitation could be used by Azerbaijan for psychological pressure but would not make Armenia significantly more vulnerable in the event of war because the nearby Armenian positions are more dominant and turn the Azeri positions into a peninsula in some places, said Vartanov, repeating the opinion of deputy army commander Amirkhanyan.
• Vartanov called for the construction of more roads near Tavush borders and criticized bureaucratic delays in Armenia.
• There is still a risk of resumption of hostilities, even after a delimitation of borders, and the only real guarantee for peace is a strong Armenian army, said Vartanov.
• Russia and the United States have not been and cannot be real guarantors. None can be trusted, says Vartanov.
• Vartanov believes Russia had some kind of an "agreement" with Azerbaijan at the time of Azerbaijan's attack on Nagorno-Karabakh, but he doesn't know the specifics of the agreement. He mocks Russia for denying the existence of the RU-AZ agreement.
• Vartanov does not rule out the possibility of the West betraying Armenia and agreeing to ignore the ongoing occupation of Armenian territories by Azerbaijan in exchange for favorable energy contracts with Azerbaijan.
• Vartanov believes Armenia is currently exerting intense efforts to mitigate the threats "but it's not enough" as long as the society itself is not part of a comprehensive defense system, educated with military knowledge.
• Don't be չմոшник
• ազգ-բանակ
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from an interview with Bulgarian political expert Petrov

• MOD Papikyan recently visited a large international military expo held in Bulgaria. Papikyan and his Bosnian counterpart were the only two foreign Defense Ministers. Petrov believes it shows the level of Armenia's interest.
• Western HIMARs and armored vehicle Stryker were displayed, among other things. Bulgarian products were displayed.
• Bulgaria is not a manufacturer of heavy weapons but Armenia could be interested in Bulgarian-made ammunition. Bulgaria is one of the largest manufacturers of those in the European continent, said Petrov. Bulgaria has both Soviet products and lately learned to make NATO-caliber ammunition.
• MOD Papikyan met the Bulgarian MOD and President. No details.
• Petrov does not see the Bulgaria-Azerbaijan cooperation being an obstruction to a similar cooperation with Armenia.
• 90% of the Bulgaria-Azerbaijan cooperation is in the sphere of gas imports, and they don't have strong defense ties.
source,

Armenian and Turkish organizations team up to publish a book

Yerevan's Cultural & Social Narratives Laboratory [I need to meet the person who named it] and an Istambul-based research collective published a book about the Balat District and its Armenian cultural elements.

Balat is one of the oldest and most spectacular districts of İstanbul. The second you step foot along its narrow cobbled streets and historic buildings, you sense an atmosphere unlike anywhere else in İstanbul, and indeed the world.

watch,

video report in Western-Armenian presents the economic tensions in Lebanon exasperated by millions of Syrian migrants and refugees

Many Lebanese residents who believe the Syrians are economic migrants and not refugees are concerned about the impact on the economy, culture, and safety.
BAGRATUNI (Lebanese MP): International organizations provide massive amounts of financial assistance to Syrians in Lebanon registered as refugees but they take that money and visit Syria to meet their family members before returning to Lebanon for employment. We also have 500,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Almost half of the residents of Lebanon are foreigners today. //
Of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees, only 300,000 have official documents for employment, says the report.
RACHEL KARAM (reporter): Lebanon with its serious economic problems spent $49 billion in 2012-2022 for the needs of Syrian refugees. //
The report says Syrian-Armenians were relatively better off financially and have been more independent from foreign aid. They have been able to integrate into the Armenian communities of Bourj Hammoud, Antelias, and other towns. Local Armenian orgs and charities provide assistance to those in need.
Authorities are paying special attention to inter-ethnic incidents and crimes to prevent them from growing into another civil war, says the report.
video,

top 5 countries that send remittances abroad (2022 data)

United States $81.6B
Saudi Arabia $39.3B
Switzerland $33.6B
China $18.3B
Kuwait $17.7B
source,

Does anyone know what the, former, Vice Adrimial Rampart did before the Empire took over? I never heard him mentioned before Bad Batch s1. Was he perhaps a Navy Officer for the Republic?

Hello all I'm Vexas and my brother died suddenly this past Tuesday. He was over weight (severely), diabetic (likely), has had seizures (whole life but mostly in younger yrs), and had a form of bronchitis (known). These all combined into one of 2 most horrible and traumatic events in my life.
I had just gotten home from work and had begun my normal procrastination of doom scrolling through YT Shorts when my brother called me int the kitchen for some reason. When I got up and saw him he was sitting on our foldable chair and was sweating profusely and saying that he didn't feel good at all. (Writing this out makes me think he knew what was coming.) I went over and started with the "normal" qstns we had whenever this happened. "Have you had enough sleep? Enough to ear? Been dizzy earlier today?" Whatever qstns I could think of without having any legitimate medical training or learning. (I'm nearly 30 and have never had a serious issue other than a couple broken toes.) Then he slowly stopped making coherent sense and just garbled noises. Almost immediately after that he fell forward, and went limp except for some "minor" convulsing. He also started gasping for air. At this point I wasn't nearly as worried as I should have been. {30 sec mk}
I grabbed him and pulled him back into the chair and tried repeatedly to balance his head on his shoulders but it kept falling off to one side or another. I finally gave up and ran as quickly as I could to grab my phone. Rn idk y I didn't call 911 immediately but I called my oldest brother first and told him wat was happening. As u can imagine he told me to contact 911. As I did, my brother had stopped breathing as much and the time in between each breath was growing farther and farther apart and I had grabbed a cold wet towel to pat on his head and maybe make him breath more. It worked for a little bit. {3 min mk}
I called and explained what was happening and the lady said to try and get him on the ground. With him being around 350 to 400 lbs it was difficult especially with the stupid plastic chair practically suctioning to his body I had to lift him and shift our combined weight to one leg so I could kick the chair out from under him. I finally got him down and the lady was shouting over the noise to give him chest compressions. I tried for what felt like a century b4 the paramedics arrived and began banging on the door to be let in. I shouted as loud as I could to them that the door was unlocked and to come in but I guess they didn't hear me. Finally I bolted over to the door (only a couple steps) and opened it. They all rushed in and began setting up. {5 min mk}
Honestly it's a bit of a blur but they said the primary time to bring someone back to consciousness from this sort of medical problem was 30 min. After that.... well yeah. The time came and they couldn't bring him back. Since their arrival and the subsequent "calling it" I had kept a fairly straight face but it was painful to keep up. It's only because of my previous experience with my mother passing in the hospital that I had been able to "develop" the ability to use deep breathing to keep myself semi focused and cognitive during such painful times. Once they said they couldn't bring him back and that there was nothing to be done, I went back to my cluttered room and "slowly" but surely lost it. I kept deep breathing for... honestly no real reason and just cried..... {50 min mk}
When I came up for oxygen I called my oldest brother again and broke the news. When I got off the phone with him, I went to the cop on duty to wait for the funeral home I asked for, and asked if I could sit with my deceased brother while we waited. He gave the go ahead and I sat on the linoleum beside him. I removed the sheet from his left hand and just held it...... {1 hr mk}
After I think about 10 min I saw my older brother come around the corner to the kitchen and grumbled out "I thought I said stay at home" I hate that I said that because even though the two didn't really get along they were brothers long before I was even conceived. It wasn't fair. By this point the officer said the funeral home was on the way but it took them the better part of an hour to get to us. I sat there holding my brothers hand for another 30 to forty min b4 the ppl got there. {~2 hr mk}
When they went to work, I decided I couldn't hang around anymore and started walking to my favorite bar. On the way there, I called one of my uncles and his wife and talked with him about how his time and day were going. Again idk y I asked about this instead of coming straight out and saying that my brother passed but I did. After that I asked him if he knew my brothers favorite drink and he said Kraken Rum. I'm happy he knew because I had forgotten that I knew and was beating myself up about not knowing that one simple thing. After that I apologized for breaking such bad news on what was a "normal" day for him. We said our goodbyes and i continued trudging on to be blind drunk. {2.5 hr mk}
When I arrived I brought out 100 bucks that was planning on burning through to forget about life and my pain. Mr. B said that he can't legally serve me that much and asked about why I wanted to spend that much. I explained and he warned me about the dangers of what I was planning because he had had a similar experience in his past. I said ok how much can I get rn. He said I'll give a double on the rocks (Kraken). And I said yes pls and thx. I ended up downing 5 doubles this last Tues night. I got up and walked over to play some pool because I love it a lot. After a game of plying on my own I go to grab a other double but I met this other patron. And he had already gotten several mixed shots out for him and his friends and offered another to me and I accepted and said thx. To show my appreciation I asked if he wanted to play a game with me at my table and he accepted. As we r playing he gets to talking about how he had learned to play from his pops who was a champion and how he loved darts as well. I explained how I always wanted to learn how to play but never met anyone who could teach me and I asked if he would and he did try but when you teach ppl who r drunk off their asses they tend to not remember very well. Little bit later my oldest brother txtd and asked how I was doing and I typed in "Drunk as fuvk6" After that he came and tried to pick me up but I ended up puking all on the floor. Thankfully none of it hit the tables chairs or ppl. I was directed to the bathroom and continued throwing up for the next 30 something min. After that I don't remember. {4 hr mk}
TL:DR my brother died in my kitchen and I got so drunk I blacked out
Thank you all for reading this far. The main reason I'm posting about this so "soon" after his death is that he and I enjoyed a love for anime. Particularly isekai and the specific one he and I could never get enough of was Reincarnated as a Slime. With the new season being out, I want to watch it ths second but.... Idk if I should or can because my brother isn't here to talk with about it anymore.... idk if I even have the stomach to watch any isekai anymore. It's my all time favorite type but.... it feels unnatural in a way. I'd like some comfort and guidance from yall. And if u have any qstns pls pass them along I'll be happy to reply but do keep in mind I have ADHD so the "out of sight, out of mind" rule is a thing with me. If I don't reply it's not personal of course. Thnx again yall talk to yall tomorrow

A few years ago, I had a dog named Bear. A bit on the nose for a Newfoundland, I know, but the day I found him wandering around the street, I was more concerned with helping him than coming up with something clever. As such, the name started out as a joke, but when I was sure that I was gonna officially adopt him and the time came to actually give him a name, I had been using it so consistently that he responded to it. So, Bear it was.
He was a good dog. I never figured out how old he actually was - he didn’t look very big when I found him, but I’m not privy to dogs, especially ones this big, so I never could pin down an age. He was certainly a character - he barely ever barked, would sleep on my floor instead of the expensive bed that I bought him (just my luck), and would randomly get explosive bursts of energy that transformed him from a dog into a battering ram. He alternated between being afraid of his own shadow and being willing to die for me, all over a squirrel that scurried in front of us while we were out on a walk. I bought him a red collar that just barely fit him, and he made it his mission to try and discard it in the funniest ways possible, like rubbing his neck against walls and scratching at it with his hind legs. Despite his quirks, I loved him, and he certainly loved me.
If you really gave it some thought, he was odd in other ways than just his personality. I mean, on the day I found him, what was a Newfie doing in the middle of a toll road in the forests of California? I’d just assumed he was a puppy from a mill that got out, but it was cooler to imagine some crazy backstory for him. Bear, the vampire dog, who prowled the Six Rivers National Forest as its apex predator, was tamed one day by half a ham sandwich. It gave me a good laugh, if nothing else.
It was a couple of years after I got Bear that I started dating a girl I’d met at a coffee shop a few miles away. We’d hit it off to the point that we were staying at each other’s houses, and life was good. Bear seemed to like her, and since she had his seal of approval, she had mine. That’s just how it worked.
One day, I left her in charge of watching Bear while I ran errands. Given that he’d chewed through the bottom of a door the day prior (we were working on it), I couldn’t leave him by himself, and since the grocery store was a few miles away from my house, I thought she shouldn’t have any trouble with him. She was a vet tech, after all, and had given me plenty of pointers on how to deal with him.
I got back an hour later and found my date on the couch where I left her, watching the next episode of the show we were binging. I was a bit pissed that she went on without me, but was more concerned with where Bear was. When I’d left, he was at her feet, sound asleep. Now, though, he was absent. I searched the upstairs first, in hopes that he was actually using the dog bed for once, but to no avail. I walked back downstairs and into the kitchen, hoping that he was lying on the air vent that he liked. He wasn’t there, but I did find something that no pet owner wants to see. The chain on the back door was dangling, ripped out of the wall, and the door was pushed open. My stomach sank as I realized what happened, and I just sat there for a moment before my date walked into the kitchen and covered her mouth.
She profusely apologized, and I wasn’t really angry at her - sure, she should have been paying more attention, but I was sure that he didn’t get very far. I’d assumed that he had seen a squirrel through the backdoor and broke out to try to get after it, and hoped he’d tired himself out and was lying in the shade under one of the trees in the backyard. Still, I wanted to do more than just hope, so I grabbed the flashlights I kept in the utility drawer, and we walked out into the backyard, hoping to find him.
I lived on the edge of the aforementioned national forest, and Bear and I often went on walks through there, so if he wasn’t out back, he was certainly in the woods. I knew the area well, but it was still a lot of ground to cover, and we didn’t have a lot of time before it was pitch black. We searched for a few hours, and while I wanted to keep going, she was tired, and regrettably, I was too. We decided that he’d probably be fine for the night, and went back inside, intent on starting a new search bright and early.
We spent all of the next day searching. We spent all of the next week searching. Hell, it almost came up on a month, and I was starting to recognize the lichen patterns on specific trees before I had to face it. Bear was gone. I had put up flyers with reward money and scoured every area of the woods from top to bottom. I was heartbroken, to say the least.
I kind of shut myself off from the world a little bit after that. I stopped talking to the girl I was seeing - I didn’t really blame her, but I couldn’t build a relationship on a complete disaster like that. I started working from home instead of making the commute to the office, as even driving down the forested roads that I had spent hot afternoons frantically searching made me a bit queasy. I was a mess, and I didn’t get over it for a long time.
This all happened a little over three years ago, and I was mostly over it by this point. I’d since met and married my wife, and we were expecting our first child in a few months. We were still living in the same house - even if it had some sad memories attached to it, it was still a nice place, and I wasn’t willing to give up on it. I had hope that my new life with my family would help drown out some of the sadness that still stained the place. Part of me still wished that Bear was there to see it with me.
Ideally, that would’ve been the end of the story, or better yet, I wouldn’t even be writing this right now, but three weeks ago, everything changed. I woke up earlier than I usually would to get breakfast started, as it was a bit of a tradition between my wife and I to make pancakes every Saturday, and it was my turn that week. I was finishing up when I heard it, loud as day - a bark from the backyard. This scared the shit out of me, as it wasn’t something I’d heard from the backyard in years. I moved the pancakes to a plate, shut the stove off, and peeked out the window as I was transporting them to the dining table.
It sounds cliché, but I nearly dropped the plate onto the floor when I saw where the bark came from. It was Bear, standing in the middle of the yard. He looked remarkably clean, and it looked like he had finally managed to get the collar off. I started freaking out instantly, and yanked the back door open before running outside in just my bathrobe and slippers. I expected some fairy tale-esque reunion, with him jumping into my arms and knocking me down because of how heavy he was. I was ecstatic to see him, and I was expecting him to feel that same way.
Instead of running towards me, he turned and ran towards the tree line, growling. He turned around and got into an aggressive stance, his tail still and his eyes narrowed. I was stunned, but I figured that he had been in the woods for so long that he was probably scared to death by seeing me again. Regrettably, he might have also felt that I’d abandoned him, but that was a possibility I didn’t want to consider at that moment. He just needed some TLC, and he’d be my dog again just like that. I ran inside and grabbed the half-empty package of bacon from inside the fridge. I threw it on the stove and went back to the window, watching as Bear laid down in the yard. Oddly enough, he didn’t lie in the shade under the trees, like he usually would have, but right in the sun. Three years was a long time to be lost, so maybe his habits had been turned upside down by learning to survive.
I put the bacon in a paper bowl and walked outside. I shook the bowl, calling his name from the concrete porch. He didn’t budge, still lying in the middle of the yard. I figured I’d leave it sitting out, and he’d come get it when he felt more comfortable. My wife was up by this point, justifiably confused by me calling my lost dog’s name from the back of the house. I excitedly showed her that he’d returned, but she seemed less enthusiastic than me. She smiled upon seeing him, but she didn’t have the same connection to him that I did, so I couldn’t blame her for her diluted reaction.
I went to the store right away to grab new dog food, water and food bowls, and most importantly, parts for a doggy door. We lived in a safe enough area that I could install one without fear of a break in, and I wanted to ease Bear back into our house by letting him come in at his own pace. I spent the whole day installing it, glancing over my shoulder every few seconds to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble. He just laid in the sun, presumably napping.
The next morning, I walked into the kitchen to see if there were any signs that Bear had been in the house. Sure enough, there was a clump of black fur stuck in the corner of the doggy door, and the dry food I’d put in the bowl looked to be partially eaten. I told my wife as such when she got up, and she wasn’t fazed by it, instead grabbing my hand and leading me upstairs back into our bedroom. I hadn’t noticed when I got up, but one of the dog bones I’d left on the back patio was on our bedroom carpet, implying that he’d been in there last night, probably guarding us while we slept. My wife seemed a bit disturbed by this, but I was thrilled. To me, this just served as proof that part of my old Bear was still in him - he used to do that all the time, after all.
I sat down with my wife that night and started to discuss how we could make Bear feel more comfortable in our home, but she stopped me. She tried to reason that he had spent years presumably lost in the woods, and had probably become feral and unpredictable. As much as I wanted to cast those doubts aside and override her, she had a valid point; you don’t just spend years stranded and come back the same, human, dog, or otherwise. We met in the middle; if Bear was still hanging around the house in a month and showed signs of improved friendliness, we could try and reincorporate him into our lives. I would do anything to have him back, but I did have a pregnant wife to worry about, so I agreed. In the meantime, we agreed that I’d install a lock on the doggy door so that he or anything else couldn’t get inside. I made a mental note to go to the hardware store sometime next week, as the next day was a national holiday and it was closed.
I abruptly woke up at around 2 in the morning, and wasn’t sure what woke me at first. I thought that I might need water, so I started to head downstairs to get some from the tap. When I got into the kitchen, I started to retrieve a glass when I heard what sounded like scratching on the siding of the house. It was loud and rapid, as if something was trying to claw its way through the wall. Puzzled, I turned to look out the window, and almost choked on my water when I saw Bear’s head looking through the kitchen window. As soon as I saw him, the scratching immediately stopped. He wasn’t panting or anything, despite the fact that it sounded like he was trying to dig through the wall moments prior. He was just sitting at the window, staring at me. Admittedly, in the moonlight, he looked kind of creepy - just looking at me, motionless.
Before I could say his name to see if he would respond with a bark or any other noise, his head quickly sank below the window, in one fluid motion. Usually, when dogs dismount from a surface they’re looking over while standing on their hind legs, there’s a moment where they remove their first front paw and sort of stumble under their weight before moving the other one. That didn’t happen here, though - he just vanished without a sound. I was really creeped out by this point, but figured that he was just surveying the house to see if he felt more comfortable inside. I chalked his weird disappearance up to me being exhausted and it being too dark to fully see him moving.
The next morning, I told my wife that I thought Bear was getting more comfortable around us, and recounted the events of last night. She seemed a bit unsettled, and switched the subject to the doggy door, but I was too excited to take that into account. I told her I was going for a walk in the preserve, put on my running shoes, and left the house.
I was about two miles into the woods when I came across an open area that I hadn’t seen before. Odd, because I knew these woods like the back of my hand, but maybe some campers had come and illegally set up for the night. Several small trees in the area were snapped at the base, possibly in an attempt to free up space for a tent. Maybe this had been here and I just hadn’t noticed it?
That was the theory I was operating on at first, until I looked down at my feet and noticed what was going on. There were white objects poking out of the dirt, which I thought were just pebbles when I arrived. Now that I had actually stopped to look around, though, I noticed that they weren’t rocks at all, but little animal bones. I wasn’t really fazed upon seeing this - animals die in the woods all the time, and I’d probably just stumbled across a mountain lion’s work. That would have made sense, except for a few things.
For one, the bones seemed to be arranged in some sort of pattern. It didn’t look like any symbol in particular, just a set of interlocking circles. There was no way that an animal would arrange the bones of their prey like this, so I was already weirded out, but then I noticed that as the circles grew larger, so did the bones, to the point that some of them were bigger than my arm. I was sufficiently freaked out now, so I turned and went back the way I came, calling the park services helpline on my way home. They told me that I’d probably come across an area frequented by deer, and subsequently predators looking for a quick meal, and that it probably wasn’t anything to be concerned about. After I badgered them for a bit and explained the whole pattern thing, they agreed to send someone out to take a look at it, just in case. I was satisfied with that, so I continued home and tried not to think about it.
I caught glimpses of Bear in the backyard for a few weeks, but didn’t see him for a prolonged period of time until yesterday. I was sitting outside by our fire pit, reading, when I noticed his head poke out from behind one of the trees lining the path of the preserve. I couldn’t see the rest of his body, and that confused me, considering that his head was six feet above the ground. Given that my kitchen window was about the same height, I figured that he was once again standing on his hind legs, probably after some critter in the tree, and I couldn’t see his body because of the angle. That explanation made sense to me, so I didn’t really pay him any mind - if I chose to ignore him, maybe he’d feel like I wasn’t a threat, and would be more comfortable around me. At this point, I’d try anything.
I looked up again two minutes later, and he wasn’t at the tree anymore. I figured that whatever he was after jumped out of the tree and he’d hightailed it after them, so I went back to reading. The snap of a twig moments later grabbed my attention again, and I looked up to see his head poking out from behind another tree fifty feet away. He was at a different angle now, but I still couldn’t see his body, which should’ve been impossible considering how fluffy he was. I couldn’t tell from the newly increased distance, but I swore I saw a single one of his paws wrapped around the tree, almost like how a person would put their hand around a door frame for stability. I wasn’t sure if I was just seeing things, but I wasn’t in the mood to read anymore, so I went inside.
It hurt me to admit this, but at this point, I think I was accepting that Bear was too far gone, and I couldn’t really blame him for that. He was an animal who had been thrust into the cold, dark wilderness, and to expect him to be unchanged by that would be unfair. Still, I was building a family, and it was my duty to protect them. The next day, I got my opportunity to do just that when I spotted Bear once again lying in the center of the back lawn. I grabbed two baking sheets and walked outside, slapping them together and yelling. This loud display apparently worked, as he shot up and darted towards the tree line. I felt like absolute shit after doing this, but it was what needed to be done.
I thought that would be the end of it. I spooked him away, and now I could focus on getting our lives back to normal. Today was a Saturday morning, and instead of making pancakes, I intended on surprising my wife with breakfast from her favorite local donut shop, as she told me that she’d been craving them the night prior. I’m no dummy when it comes to hints, so I hopped into the car and peeled out onto the road, hoping I’d get there before all her favorite flavors sold out.
As I was speeding down the road, I saw it. Or, at least, I thought I did. Under one of the trees on the side of the road, I saw Bear. He was standing on his hind legs, with no support. He didn’t move his head to look at the car, or even show any kind of reaction to me passing him. He just sat there, doing nothing. I slammed on the brakes, and thank god there weren’t any other cars on the road at this time of day, because I would’ve caused an accident. I looked into the rearview mirror, and saw nothing under the tree. I jumped out of the car, looking around like a madman, and saw nothing. The woods were silent, save for the sound of wind and twigs snapping in the distance.
I got back into the car and took a moment before driving again. What I’d just seen, I wasn’t sure, and I was having a full-blown panic attack as a result. After I took some deep breaths, reason returned to me, and I figured that I was seeing things that weren’t there, in dark places in the light of dawn. I resumed driving, albeit at a much slower pace than before. I couldn’t exactly focus my full attention on the road.
When I got to the donut shop, I was met with a pleasant surprise - in line in front of me was the vet tech that I’d been seeing years ago. Even though we’d stopped seeing each other, we ended on fine terms, and didn’t harbor any bad feelings toward each other, as evidenced by the smile and hug we greeted each other with. She asked to grab a couple of coffees and donuts to catch up for a little bit before I returned home, and I agreed, wanting to get my mind off of things. She had done well for herself - she was a full blown vet now, and had been for some time. She was married and had a son, and gave me a bunch of jokey warnings about parenthood. The subject turned to pets, and even though I didn’t want to sour feelings between us, I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut about Bear.
I told her everything that happened, save for what I’d just seen fifteen minutes ago - I wasn’t even sure if I’d actually seen it. She looked concerned while I talked, and tried to interject a few times, but I just kept spilling my feelings. When the floor was finally hers, she hesitated for a second, and then spoke.
“That’s… impossible.”
“What?”
“I really didn’t wanna tell you this, because I didn’t wanna hurt you more, but a few months after we stopped talking, someone brought Bear into our office. He was hit by a car, and we did everything we could… but there was nothing we could do. I didn’t call you about it, because I didn’t think you wanted to hear that your dog was dead.”
I asked her how she was so sure. It couldn’t be. I’d seen my dog alive.
“His collar. He had his collar on when he came into the office. The red one with his name tag on it.”
I left the shop after that. I didn’t leave the parking lot, though. Not because I was afraid to go home, even if I was.
But because I was ashamed. I’m a bad husband. I forgot to get a lock for the doggy door.