• Britain's free speech problem: hate speech laws that forbid giving offence, and an incentive for people to claim to be offended - hampers public debate
• Mexico: Claudia Sheinbaum's Mexico's president will enact a populist reform of the country's justice system that will undermine the rule of law, poisoning Mexico's economic prospects and weaking its young democracy - elected judges will be a feeble check on the ruling party and drug lords
• Beware the AI manager: 1. The risk of over-aggressive cost-cutting, lay-offs
• China-Russia relations, Russia needs China more than China needs Russia: Russia supplies oil, gas and other energy exports, accounting for 80% of total Russian shipments to China. While China accounted for 34% of Russia's total trade in 2024, Russia made up just 4% of China's (bc of Wes...

• propensities
• instigate
• insurrection (organised rebellion against authority)
• revolt
• mutiny (rebellion against authority)
• tumult (state of confusion/disorder)
• acrid (unpleasant; bitter; pungent)
• captious (raising petty objections; easy to find fault)
• reproved (criticize/correct someone gently or with kindness)
• wonton (cruel/violent action- deliberate and unprovoked)
• aversion (repugnance towards with desire to avoid or turn from it)
• incredulous (disbelieving)
• reproach (express to someone disapproval/disappointment
• disposed (inclined; willing)
• acrimonious (bitter)

• Aneurysm
• Propensity
• Luminosity (not that obscure I admit, but eh- it looks and sounds cool)
• Iridescence
• Ascetic
• Congeal
• Pragmatic
• Encumbered
• Acrimonious

political instability and dictatorship

• sycophantic towards Sam in the retreat
• cabinet meeting in chapter 1

Political upheaval:

• socio-economic: neighbor losing his life (lutrell), annette and antoinette falling in status

racial and social upheaval vs political upheaval Erosion of traditional values and moral decay -> disastrous for society: Obeah that helps everyday issues in the carribean, but is feared by the west (wss), disregard for tribal culture for white culture, beatrice, preference for white culture in Chris and Sam (dictator he is is based off a white dictator), society is divided further due to the loss in moral and traditional values (anthills)

non-fiction books recommended by rebecca bloom

• games people play - eric berne:
• invisible woman - caroline criado perez: inequality is impersonal
• thinking in systems - donella meadows: think in loops, rather than linearly
• conversational intelligence - judith e. glaser: neuroscience/tools for communication

CHIM WORDS

• UNPREPOSSESSING: UNAPPEALING; UNATTRACTIVE
• COSSETED: CARED FOR IN AN OVERINDULGENT WAY; PAMPERED
• MENARCHE; MENSTRUATION
• INSUBSTANCIAL; LACKING PHYSICAL EXISTENCE
• INSUPPORTABLE: UNABLE TO SUPPORT OR JUSTIFY; INTOLERABLE
• PRETERNATURAL: BEYOND WHAT IS NORMAL OR NATURAL
• tumult: a state of confusion or disorder.
• indefatigable: persisting tirelessly adj.
• discomfited: make someone uneasy or embarrassed
• infamy: state of being well known for a bad quality or deed

• convoluted
• sophisticated
• alienation
• otherness
• altercation
• docile
• subservient
• grapple
• radical counterpoint
• desolation
• vindictive
• corroborate
  • confirm or give support to (a statement, theory, or finding).

"the witness had corroborated the boy's account of the attack"

• faux pas (embarrassing blunder in social setting)
• crème de la crème (the creme de la crem...

covid-19

• women experienced an increase in domestic violence according to UN women, seven in 10 women say that they went through and verbal abuse. This has been amplified by the lack of access to social services.
• they also reported to have higher rates of depression and anxiety due to the increase in the burden of the caregiving role

Stereotypes continue to affect the roles that women occupy

• that may be the stereotype that women should occupy the caregiver roles. This might limit professional options, which contribute to the underrepresentation of women in male dominated sectors.
• women may also have to internalise stereotypes which might undermine their confidence and aspirations, which will also discourage them from pursuing challenging rol...

Things we can watch (very important hehe, all rated 10/10 or above on my list)

Animated movies ;

• rinowa
• K-pop demon hunters - 11/10 (perfect blend of good songs, comedy, and very heartwarming message - it’s good to celebrate our achievements, but even our darkest sides can be beautiful.)(A world-renowned K-Pop girl group balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters.)
• Ultra man rising - 10/10 (When Tokyo is threatened by giant monsters, an all-star athlete reluctantly returns home to take on the mantle of Ultraman, and become a legendary hero.)
• Encanto (The Madrigals are an extraordinary family who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia in a charmed place called the Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has ...

• contentious (adj) - causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial. "a contentious issue"
• democratize (v) - make (something) accessible to everyone. "mass production has not democratized fashion"
• propensity (n) - an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way. "his propensity for violence"
• meditative (adj) - relating to or absorbed in meditation or considered thought. "meditative techniques"
• congenial (adj)(of a thing)- pleasant or agreeable because suited to one's taste or inclination. "he went back to a climate more congenial to his cold stony soul"
• ostentatious - showy, pretentious
• fastidious - dressed with particular care to detail 'she dressed with fastidious care'

Language scorer:

• rhetorical questions
• indubitably, evidently,

totalitarianism: