Christina Engela

_ Scientific and medical studies, research or evidence is either distorted and misrepresented, or disputed or outright ignored by opponents whose views are threatened by the facts, in public shows of articles, statements, websites and even legislation. Scientific facts are ignored or dismissed as being __ liberal agenda_ or __erely propaganda_.

Not being treated as equal IS oppression

Isn't it odd that some groups view being legally equal to other groups as 'oppression'?

All it takes to be a voice against injustice, is to say something against it.

Disagreeing with someone does not mean that they have to be enemies or opponents.

Attention, aboard the shuttle! You are under arrest! Surrender immediately! Come out slowly, in single file, with your hands behind your heads! Leave all weapons behind. Comply and your lives will be spared!

Even when you're down, there is still hope. No matter how bad things get and no matter how small a hope there is, anything is better than nothing, No matter how bad things get, they can always, ALWAYS get worse. Take my word on that.

This was his first trip on the Ossifar Distana, his first real splash in life. Look what it got him. Mister Smiff liked anonymity. He kept a low profile, often traveling under assumed names, claiming to be anything from a banker to a (very) successful life insurance salesman. He__ never broken the law, at least not irreparably. He was quite generous, well liked, sponsoring many charities anonymously _ which is why it was so surprising to find him floating face down in the private spa in his apartment, murdered. He had been murdered, unless it was a freak shaving accident. Those old razors weren__ called cut-throats for nothing. Yikes.

Life as a private investigator, slash bounty hunter wasn__ all Gary Beck wanted it to be. There weren__ any big mansions on a palm beach owned by an affluent writer generous enough to let him live rent-free and use his spare Ferrari. But then you have to ask yourself, what could you expect living on a planet like Deanna? As a third-rate colony in the Terran Empire, Deanna had more than its fair share of dull moments. It orbits a star called Ramalama. If you think that__ funny, Deanna__ two moons are called Ding and Dong, respectively (this is a local joke) and one of them falls down occasionally.

Nobody can take your faith away form you. Faith is something you have to lose for yourself.

Cautiously, he moved further out, checking the roofs, doors, windows. Nothing. He walked out further, keeping against the wooden wall of a building, just in case. His heart was pounding in his ears. Strange, isn__ it? You could be in hundreds of fights, but everyone always seemed like the first time. A million different things could happen, go completely wrong. Then it might well be his last. Where is he? Which building?

How many innocent victims of hate crime does it take before it becomes wrong?For us, one is already too many. For them, a thousand is not enough.

Nothing unusual was noted during the voyage, in fact everything ran smoothly until Security alerted Biscay about the stiff in cabin 407. Nobody heard or saw anything suspicious. None of the passengers were missing or acting suspiciously. No airlock doors were opened or any transports allowed since their last stop four days prior. There were no notorious names on the passenger list, nor any unsavory persons among the ranks of his crew. In fact, the ship__ commander had never even seen a dead body in real _ um, life before. And yet, almost magically, there it was.

Being the commander of a Ruminarii war vessel meant that he had risen to the rank by means of assassination and ruthlessness and was therefore implicitly distrusted by the Tidhii Mah____ai (Naval Command, that is The Queen Of Suth Herself.) He was expected to mete out, in generous portions, brutality to conquered subjects and to act swiftly and mercilessly in dealing with alien encounters. In short, he was expected to be a bad example.

Some might claim that like the secret of flying is missing the ground, the secret to immortality is simply not dying.

On any given day, Ossifar Distana carried around 5000 passengers, the actual figure varying slightly depending on where she was on the vast elliptical cruise that took her around the Terran Empire. When she entered the system she carried 4984 passengers, 500 crew, one dead body and one very puzzled Captain.

He slumped down in the command seat and shut off the irritating alarm. He sighed again. It seemed to be a wonderful day for Mykl d__ngelo, captain and owner of the __ramp_ freighter Pegasus. As wonderful days went on his personal scale, this one was rated one of the best.

The Imperial Senate, ever conscious of the weight of public opinion resting on the tip of the pencil come voting day, wanted to be fair and just _ or at least appear that way. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, there was little love lost between Imperial troops and the locals who viewed each other with little short of open hostility, and often through the sighting devices attached to weaponry of various diverse descriptions.