Xiu Chang Saga

[Guilleuma Deeken]

TheXi Chang Saga is a series of short stories originally posted to /r/HFY by /u/hume_reddit. The series begins only days prior to the Vancouver Incident and follows the first few years of Canadian abductee Xi Chang following her abduction.The Xi Chang sagaAuthor/u/hume_redditCanon statusCanonFirst PartDate2014-09-25Final PartDate2015-02-14The final part of the Saga was posted to reddit in February 2015. Consequently, the narratives of the various characters, including Xi, Regaari, Ayma and Yulna were continued in The Deathworlders.

Last November, the High Court ordered Chang extradited to the US and then denied the Mozambique government leave to appeal the decision. Maputo then applied to the Constitutional Court, but that motion was denied in June this year. Maputo did not give up. It appealed directly to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which is now deciding whether or not to hear the appeal.

The article conjectures that Maputo and Chang have almost reached the end of the legal road and that he will soon be en route to New York. Another lawyer who has been involved in the case is not so sure, suggesting to ISS Today that there could be more twists and turns in the long legal saga.

The ostensible aim was to launch a tuna fishing industry and fend off other illegal international fishing boats with the patrol vessels. But the US indictment against Chang and others says it was just a scam to elicit loans, much of which were siphoned off in bribes, including to Chang.

Nyusi was defence minister at the time, and the three parastatals that received the US$2 billion were involved in defence and security. So many observers believe he must have known about the shady deal.

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Dear Reader: I am reviewing multiple elephant facilities in Thailand. This is the first of several pieces outlining what I found. This is primarily for those who plan to visit this part of the world and who have baby ellies on the brain for photo opportunities, or similar. Many of them make patently outrageous claims because folks are desperate and money is scarce. To save you some time I have include a number of relevant articles which might be useful if you're planning a trip here and want to choose a good operator. Even so, it's almost impossible to identify the best places. So....Buyer beware, please.

Some years ago, I trained as a mahout in Laos, using only voice, knees and heels for commands. That may anger some, but here's what to know. An elephant can safely carry up to ten percent of its body weight at the strongest point right behind the head. In that regard, I am a flyweight and no danger to the creature. I did some research and found a place which would teach me everything from wound care to physiology as well as history of the Asian elephant without ever using anything other than gentle interaction and food rewards.

There are virulent purists who say that you cannot safely ride an elephant; I patently disagree. Many of those same kinds of purists will say the same thing about horses. The truth is likely somewhere inbetween, but it takes some work to find the balance. That said, I am familiar with far more issues regarding Asian elephants than the average traveler. While that doesn't make me an expert (nothing does, frankly) it does give me context that most don't possess. I work on large animals and care deeply about their future, which in too many cases is dim.

You can see the problem. For this story, I picked four outfits, three in Chiang Mai. Two of those were at random and one I chose because my taxi driver, once a Buddhist monk, told me about an outfit that appeared to be doing things very differently.

Many tourists ask their drivers, believing they can get the inside skinny and pay less. What they may not realize is that those very drivers are partners (as was mine) with the outfits they are pitching to you. This isn't always a bad thing, but you really need to understand how interwoven this all is. That story follows under separate cover.

Tourism is one of the ways that those very animals can survive, for as long as people want to see animals, then governments, ever mindful of money and self-interest, will at least do the minimum to protect its voters' businesses, if not the animals.'

There are about 3500 elephants in the forests of Thailand right now (please note these numbers seem to always be shifting). The forests in Southeastern Asia are shrinking, in part due to extensive logging which cruelly uses those very elephants to remove their own habitat. But don't get me started.

Anything for a selfie, right? Too many tourists care far more about a selfie that gets them likes than doing the research which might expose the cost of that selfie to the animal. In this regard, I completely understand why the purists tell us to observe from a distance.

As with tigers, as logging has destroyed habitat, domesticated elephants face starvation. Covid made that situation far worse. The Thai government has passed multiple laws in an effort to protect this very special and sacred animal to the Thai people, but that doesn't always mean ethical treatment

You see the problem. As many have told me here, well-meaning governmental officials will impose laws without bothering to explain why to the people such laws affect. They also don't provide alternatives, education and other options. So the laws are ignored, if for no other reason than people are desperately poor, and will use any means available to make money.

The first is run by a "Mr. Lucky," or "CM Lucky." I can't find him on Trip Advisor but he's known to the hotels. He's a taxi driver, fruit farmer and much more, which to me is part of the problem. An energetic and sincere man, he is stretched across too many concerns, and as a result his efforts at an elephant experience are problematic at best and abusive at worst.

Just as an aside: Positive reviews on Trip Advisor, which these outfits will feature prominently, are NOT an endorsement of safe and ethical procedures. Too many of us, and I have done it myself, use these reviews to choose, when a more thorough investigation might unearth something else entirely.

-On arrival, we were subjected to wholly unnecessary long lectures. If the lectures had focused on animal welfare and safety, safety around the animals as well as the days' events and safety procedures, that would have been different. This was a waste of time.

-Second, basic people safety. The muddy river and riversides are slippery, the boat small and water-logged, the river current strong and unpredictable. We were in unstable flip flops. I changed to hiking boots, which was wise.

-A big male ellie was chained by one let in the open, in the heat, no shade, no access to the river. Ellies have to cool off, they get sunburned; that's why they love mud and water. Nobody responded to my repeated questions.

You can see the challenge. The NYT article points out how hard it is even for a journalist like me to identify the better outfits. Many operators refuse to be inspected, possibly and likely because they know they will not pass muster. Such inspections identify what are inevitably costly changes and upgrades.

You and I know that to be patently untrue. Mr. Lucky's outfit is a perfect example of how simply asking at the front desk of your hotel can get you to spend money on an outfit that any thoughtful and caring traveler wouldn't dream of supporting.

If my work appeals to you, may I kindly invite you to consider joining those Patreon supporters whose generosity keeps the gas in my tank as it were. Those supporters get to dictate my content calendar, we engage as a community, and this website and its content acts in service to our collective best selves.

In game I click on My Profile. I click the little camera in the picture icon. It takes me to the King website. I click 'Add Picture', then pick one from my gallery. Then I click 'Save Picture', it uploads and then... it's the exact same generic pic the game automatically assigned me. Like no matter how many times I try to add my own pic it somehow doesn't save on the website. I'm not sure what else to do since I'm doing everything right?

I've tried changing my profile pic and click on the camera icon like you've mentioned. It did bring me to the King's external website avatar. You either click the "+" sign on the King's avatar or click on the green button that says "Add Picture". Either one you click, there is a pop up message where you can choose pictures from your phone camera or files in your phone.

Thank you for your help. I tried what you suggested. I logged out, cleared the cache and restarted. But the exact same thing happened just like in the picutes I posted. It says picture saved but continues to show my old profile pic. Is this a problem in Kings end?

Hi @thekirstin and thank you for sharing the step by step procedures as per your screenshots. Thank you for your patience and I hope Crazy Cat Lad will have an answer for you when he's back on Monday. ?

This tool allows changing a grid's no-data value or value range definition. It does not change the cell values of the grid. Its main purpose is to support this type of operation for tool chains and scripting environments.

Nine years after the release of Mad Max: Fury Road, it doesn't feel too soon to call it one of the greatest Hollywood action movies ever made. We may have seen all the elements before in previous Mad Max movies: the post-apocalyptic setting and the grief-stricken road warrior, caught up in another desert demolition derby. But the director George Miller had never mashed them together with this much sustained excitement or sheer verve.

One of the movie's most delightful surprises was that Max himself, played by Tom Hardy, wasn't even its best character. That honor fell to the brilliant and brooding Imperator Furiosa, played by a staggering Charlize Theron in one of her best performances.

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