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Unfortunately, most (if not all) do not know the real back story here ...
It might be wiser to stop sympathizing towards this cad ...
Forgive if you like, but never forget.
As far as being a survivalist and bouncing back, the resiliency of
another narcissist comes to mind ... If you get my drift.
Come on, Fred, we all know Bill Ryan has made mistakes ─ just like we all have. And if you're in a, shall we say, "high-profile" situation, then your mistakes weigh in heavier with the masses ─ never even mind whatever good things you do, because by tomorrow everyone has already long forgotten about that. It's the mistakes that the masses remember, because ─ as I wrote elsewhere earlier ─ most people find it easy to forgive themselves and hard to forgive the other, which is exactly the opposite of how it should be.Quote:
Originally posted by Fred Steeves
Fact is that this Jean-Marie person was trouble. We know that from other things she was involved with, and which were confidentially shared with us in the mod room by the person who was directly affected by Jean-Marie's actions. We all know the tale of the wolf in the sheep's clothing, and it would appear that Jean-Marie is such a person. When Bill brought her into the mod room, little did he realize he had just reeled in the Trojan Horse.
Of course, there are things that make it all look even worse than it is, such as Paul Jackson stepping down as the main administrator at Project Avalon, but Paul had obviously already wanted to do that for longer, and his resignation as a staff member had nothing to do with the intrigues revolving around Jean-Marie ─ of which there were two separate ones, if I understood Bill correctly: the first one having to do with a witch hunt against Dennis Leahy, and the second one having to do with the vilification of Constance.
Shit happens, man. We've had our share of it over here as well, and I'm sure that somebody somewhere will blame it on the current management of The One Truth ─ or in any case, on me. I've heard those accusations before. I'm a humble man, but I am very much aware of the changes I've introduced to The One Truth ─ changes that were badly needed in order to make this forum into a well-organized and peaceful place.
Whatever you do, the one thing you can be sure of is that somebody somewhere isn't going to like it. Bill is a human being with qualities and flaws, just as I am, and as you are, and as we all are. And some of those flaws have become amplified because of Bill's higher profile within the so-called alternative community. But let's not go hyperbolic and blame Bill Ryan for everything that ever went wrong at Project Avalon, because that would be equally unjust.
Wherever there is a large group of people together, you will find intrigues. We've even had some (minor) intrigues over here at The One Truth. But Project Avalon has almost 12'000 members, whereby the number of active members sits about ten times higher than what we get over here at The One Truth. The mod team over there was until recently also larger ─ as required by the circumference of the forum ─ and so that introduces yet another possible field of contamination with personal intrigues. And in this case, that's exactly what has happened.
Just as with bipartisan politics, there's always a grander vision, Fred. ;)
Unwitting mistakes are one thing, but "mistakes" the likes of Saddam's infamous no weapons of mass destruction, or Al Qaida links, are of a whole other breed. Of course light years apart in scale, but it's the underlying intent that separates mistakes, from "mistakes". I make mistakes, just as you make mistakes, but neither of us make "mistakes".Quote:
Originally posted by Aragorn
Aragorn you're a good guy and I respect you, you definitely live by an honor code as advertised. Just that something weird happened when you saw Bill's "warning" to this forum about Chris coming over here. Just because you two had some subsequent amiable exchanges doesn't negate the very real possibility that he would still throw you under the bus (in a heart beat!), if he thought it could help maintain his meticulously crafted public image of the battered warrior for truth and justice.
Your original observations and instincts were correct. It was just a bit overboard in taking it so personally. I think you've now over compensated.
Now this cuts down to the heart of it. How is it that everyone automatically takes his word, HIS side of ANY given story, as the gospel truth. Every single time, with out question. Why do we never hear other sides, other possible versions of events? Or at the least, why is there never even any evidence put forth indicating that his side of the story is indeed likely the correct version?Quote:
Originally posted by Aragorn
I think that's a damn good question.
The following short video is exactly what I'm getting at, although it can be done via print as well on a forum. This guy is one of the main cop watchers I've followed over the years, and recently there's been riffs in that community just as happens from time to time in this community. Notice how he actually *demonstrates* his side of the story with good old fashioned documentation, and doesn't just assume everyone will believe his severe allegations at face value.
It's not that difficult. Unless you can't actually produce the content...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqChuel8lWE
No, I am nothing like him, and neither are you whether you realize it or not my friend.Quote:
Originally posted by Aragorn
Now as an aside, what's the deal with charging a personal fee for these meet ups? It raised an eyebrow when he charged a fee for going to Laughlin, but now he's doing it again for nothing but sitting at home in Ecuador waiting for everyone else to spend all kinds of money to come to his back yard?
WHO DOES THAT!
Look Bill I'm sorry your dog's eye got fucked up and your roof has mold. But for chrissake man The Project already pays your bills, and puts food on the table, why are they now expected to pay for life's inevitable emergencies as well. Why not pick up a part time job or something like everyone else would do?
Do you just not like to work for your money? You spend enough time mountain climbing so there are obviously no physical hindrances, and you're obviously not mentally hindered in any way other than still not bothering to learn the native language, so I don't see any handicaps that would prevent you from doing that. You're a smart guy, you could figure something out if you really wanted to.
But hey, they're more than willing to pay, so why the hell not?
Personally though I could not imagine myself even *contemplating* such an ask, much less casually pulling the trigger on it.
Who's pain body we actually talking about lol.
I have not responded to Fred's post higher up, because of several reasons. First of all, Fred and I have been discussing this matter further via private messages, and secondly, I felt that his last post on this thread here was so far off track that I couldn't bring myself to list all of the reasons why I didn't agree with him.
Thirdly however, there has been a new development that some of you are already aware of by now, and which has already prompted a few of you to start talking libelous about me behind my back ─ you know who you are, and perhaps even more importantly, I know it too. :mad:
:watch:
Anyway, over the course of the past couple of days, I have been in contact with Bill Ryan again via email. The contact was initiated by Bill himself, partly in response to the discussions here at The One Truth regarding the recent events as they have unfolded over at Project Avalon. As always, the exchange was very cordial and amicable.
In said exchange, Bill once again apologized for his mistake in the Simon Parkes affair, emphasizing that I had been right and that he had been wrong. He then also realized that my account over at Project Avalon was still listed as "unsubscribed" ─ which is the same thing as "banned" over here ─ and he first offered me to switch it over to the honorable retirement status, but then a few lines farther down, he offered to reactivate my account so that I could return to Project Avalon as an active member, should I wish to do so.
I decided to accept Bill's gracious offer, and so now I am an active member again over at Project Avalon. Bill also announced this on Project Avalon's members-only "MODERATOR ACTIONS" thread, and he added another apology to that ─ publicly this time.
Now, don't get me wrong. My reason for accepting Bill's offer does not imply in any way, shape or form that I would be stepping down as administrator here at The One Truth, nor does it mean that I've sold out to Bill Ryan ─ again: you know who you are, you backstabbing liar who said this about me ─ but instead, I have accepted Bill's offer to return to Project Avalon in order to be an official liaison between both forums and, through us here, also between Project Avalon and our sister forum Eye-Rise.
Some of you may not like that. Some of you unfortunately revel in the idea of competition and animosity. But I do not, nor do the other staff members of The One Truth. In fact, Malc is quite happy with my decision, as is my brother Wind. Kathy hasn't seen my report in the mod room yet, and the two other ladies have not been online yet either, because Dreamtimer is currently traveling with her husband, and Elen's internet connection ─ which ran above ground ─ was severed by a tree that got knocked over by a storm, and that barely missed the house she lives in. But I am either way quite certain that they will all applaud Bill's offer and my decision to accept it.
The One Truth's motto is and has always been that together we make a difference. If you remember, back in May 2017 I had a strange but nice dream about The One Truth and Project Avalon being two physical places, and of how I ran into Bill on the fields in between them and ended up having a few beers with him here at The One Truth. I do often have prophetic dreams, but they are usually very cryptic. And right now, it would appear that this dream about The One Truth and Project Avalon was also a prophecy ─ one that has now come to materialize.
In the end, there is always a grander vision. Some of us were hurt by Project Avalon a while ago ─ I myself was one of those people. But just as today's The One Truth is no longer the The One Truth of 2015 and earlier, so is today's Project Avalon no longer the Project Avalon of the same vintage. Things change. People change, and most importantly, so do their opinions and their level of wisdom and experience. Because the clock keeps on ticking, and with every passing second, new information enters your mind and gets stored in your memory cortex ─ information that will present itself back into your awareness in due time, and that will cause you to see things differently.
None of us are perfect. None. Sure, we have in the past had a few people here who were under the false impression that they themselves were perfect ─ Christopher the narcissist springs to mind, and a character from back in 2015 who went by the name Anarp (which is "prana" ("life"/"live") spelled backwards ("evil")) and who was equally pompous. In fact, they may have been one and the same person for all I know.
But nobody on this Earth is perfect, least of all me, even though I obsessively try achieving perfection in everything I do, because I consider that my duty. It is my firmest belief that we should all strive to become the best we can offer to our fellow human beings, although I will also accept that not everyone shares that conviction.
If this liaison between The One Truth/Eye-Rise and Project Avalon works out as I hope it would ─ and remember: yesterday was only the beginning of this endeavor ─ then the so-called alternative community at large will become bigger and stronger because of it. There has been too much divisiveness in the last couple of years, not in the least caused by the controversial election of Donald Trump as the president of the USA. And some people felt good about that, because they absolutely love El Donaldo the Banana Republican™ (© giovonni), while others felt equally good about it because they passionately hate the guy, and so they now had something to focus their aggression on and vent about.
For many, the divisiveness became a kind of social addiction. It had a very bad influence on The One Truth ─ cfr. turiya and his buddy Steven ─ and it has had an equally bad influence on Project Avalon, where Paul Jackson stepped down as administrator and retired his own account because people were raising legitimate concerns regarding how his pro-Trump and pro-QAnon stance affected his duties as an administrator. And indirectly, this then also led to the situation where Jean-Marie, Kristin and Sierra began hounding their fellow staff member Dennis Leahy and badmouthing their other fellow staff members Mike and Constance.
We all have divisive thoughts to some extent, and I myself am no stranger to that either. I'm a warrior, and a warrior fights for a cause, which means that there's an enemy. But in all personal exchanges, even with my (real or perceived) enemies, I will always treat them with respect, because of who and what they are. Everything in existence has a purpose, and is therefore sacred to some extent, how repulsive it may be. And as repulsed as I myself may be by some people, I will always respect them for existing, and I will always attempt to reach out to that little spark of good within them, no matter how small. Because if I can connect with that little spark, then there is a harmony, and harmony is constructive. The whole universe is connected by harmonic vibrations. Music is all about harmonic vibrations.
The above in mind, I acknowledge that I am a warrior fighting for a cause, but at the same time, I am also aware of the grander vision, in which everything has purpose and everything makes sense, even if I don't agree with it. And that is why I would rather build bridges than blow them up.
I had a brief private exchange with Project Avalon moderator Mike last night, in which he described to me something very beautiful and yet very tragic at the same time, namely how in wartime, when one submarine destroys another submarine, the crew of the submarine that destroys the other one will always mourn over what they just had to do. Because above the surface of the sea, there may be a war going on, but below the surface, they are all human beings locked up inside of a large metal tube deep down in the water, and it doesn't matter whose side you're on. Warriors respect one another. This was also already the case among the ancient samurai of Japan, and Gene Roddenberry incorporated it into the psyche and social culture of the Klingons.
In a way, it is comparable to the experience of the astronauts who went to the moon and who were looking upon the Earth from all the way up there. Earth is our home, and we are all brothers and sisters, regardless of our creed, religion, nationality, language, gender, eye color, clothing, sexual orientation or whatever other difference identifies us as individuals.
Mahatma Gandhi said that you must become the change you wish to see in the world, and he was right. Always be true to yourself, but never forget that you are not alone on this planet, and that we all need each other. Cooperation and harmony are what builds bridges, not competition or strife.
I'm trying to make a difference for the greater good. What about you guys? ;)
:lets make:
:group hug:
P.S.: Brian Brainwash™ has been permanently banned from Project Avalon as of last night, after he was indulging in yet another bullying spree against a Project Avalon member whom he had already been hounding on several occasions earlier. He was first banned from the thread itself by Hervé, shortly thereafter followed by a complete ban from the forum by Bill himself, because ─ and I'm quoting Bill now ─ "he had the sensitivity of a cross between an armadillo and a rattlesnake."
I couldn't help but chuckle, first when Hervé put him in his place, and then when Bill wrote the above. :p
Congratulations !
While all this comes as a momentary shock (but not a total surprise to me) ...
Not having anything to do with any of this forum (front and back room) intrigue ...
I will have to seriously weigh out and reevaluate my participation any further here.
There is no intrigue, Gio. It is all very honest, and the integrity of neither The One Truth as a whole nor that of its management have been compromised. Both The One Truth and Project Avalon will remain completely autonomous entities, with their own atmosphere, their own mission and their own management style. But now there is at least a pathway between both forums that allows us to communicate with them and for them to communicate with us in an official manner. It's not merely a cease-fire, but a peaceful coexistence with mutual respect. And considering the Cold War scenario that had existed in the past, I'd say that's one hell of a progress.Quote:
Originally posted by giovonni
It is not dissimilar to how Kerry Cassidy is also a member ─ note: a regular member, not a staff member ─ at Project Avalon, even though Bill and Kerry have their serious differences of opinion in many matters. But it allows Kerry to respond to some of the questions from or statements by Project Avalon members on account of her own work over at Project Camelot, without requiring those particular members to actually sign up at Project Camelot.
When I am over at Project Avalon, then I am merely a guest at Bill's house, but I'm a guest whose phone number he has ─ metaphorically speaking ─ in case he needs to clarify something or wants us to clarify something to him. There's a paved and illuminated path between our campus and theirs now, instead of a minefield and barb wire. And that's a Good Thing™.
Nothing has changed on account of yourself or any other member here, Gio, and nobody is going to ask or demand that you set your own feelings regarding Project Avalon or Bill Ryan aside. You are sovereign in your emotions and thoughts, and you are still free to post whatever you like, just as you always have.Quote:
Originally posted by giovonni
Furthermore, your presence here on the forum is and has always been constructive, and food for thought. I always enjoy your posts, and as you will have seen, I often reply to them as well. I consider you a valuable and contributing member, and it would be a shame if you were to interpret this recent peace treaty between The One Truth and Project Avalon as enough of a threat to your sovereignty to push you into withdrawing from the forum. :hmm:
Hmmm, Interesting turn of events...
For the record, I really like Mike over at PA, he was always decent and kind to me. For those that don't remember the events of last year, my sending an entity to do healing on his friend was what set the chain of events in motion that led to my eventual banning at PA and my joining TOT, which also played a significant part in these current events. God(dess) works in mysterious ways, eh?
I think it's a good thing that PA and TOT are co-operating, friendly relations between the two forums are never a bad idea. Can't say I'm the biggest BR fan in the world after some nasty business between us, but I'm not one to hold grudges and my opinion of him has certainly mellowed over the past year.
Still, Dart Hatman bashing is a lot of fun and I sure miss a certain retired member who was very good at it. One of the appeals of TOT for me has always been the way it provided refuge for ex-PA members and a place to vent their frustrations, even if it was unfair at times.
I noticed upon my return that Mike was on my friends list ─ along with a bunch of people whom I don't even remember anymore, because four years is a long time, and Project Avalon already had thousands of members back in 2015 ─ and Mike was the second person to welcome me back by way of a private message. He's a good guy, and I'm sure he's a good moderator as well. I don't think he was a moderator yet back during my first tenure at Project Avalon, but he's definitely someone I would recommend to Bill as a candidate moderator if he hadn't been one already by now. ;)Quote:
Originally posted by Chris
Judging by the passive-aggressive refusal of some to thank my last couple of posts here on the thread whereas they otherwise would have, I find it crystal clear that some people here do still hold grudges against Bill Ryan in person or against Project Avalon in general. And what's even worse is that they then project their negative sentiments toward Bill Ryan upon me and declare me guilty by association.Quote:
Originally posted by Chris
Even more telling is how little faith these people have in myself, in spite of the fact that I have already proven my integrity to them time and time again for as long as they've known me. How much more evidence do they need that not everyone has a nefarious agenda? :hmm:
It's like I said earlier ─ even though I don't remember right now whom I said it to or where I said it ─ but people are very quick to forget the good things you've done, and then when you happen to do something they don't like (or don't understand), then they sure have their way of making you firmly aware of it. And not in the nicest of ways either. :scrhd:
Humans... I guess will never understand them. :frantic:
The particular member you are referring to had quite a habit of bashing everyone, and sometimes in very tasteless and rude ways, but when I then gave him just a little taste of his own medicine back, he immediately requested his retirement, and he did not rescind that request within the 24-hour grace time we extended him.Quote:
Originally posted by Chris
My advice to people like that is that if you can't stand the heat, then you should stay away from the fire. What goes around comes around, and if you keep on insulting people "just for fun", then you should be willing and prepared to cash in when someone calls you out on your bovine excrement. And at his age ─ he's about 14 years older than I am ─ he should have known that already. In addition to that, he also spoke with a voice of authority about many things that he actually didn't have any idea about, but that he had learned from "trustworthy sources" ─ ahem! ─ like David Wilcock. :rolleyes:
We do welcome refugees, from everywhere, if they are good people. You have so far been an exemplary member here, and so even if Bill Ryan does not think that you are a suitable member for Project Avalon, we over here at The One Truth do think you are a suitable member at our own campus. The One Truth is not Project Avalon, just like I am not my neighbor who lives in the same building as I do.Quote:
Originally posted by Chris
Every forum has its own identity, and its own rules, whether these forums are working together or not. That has always been the case, everywhere on the internet. It is therefore quite plausible for certain people to not belong at one forum, while they do perfectly belong at another one.
Another thing is that not only is there a difference between someone who was banned and someone who was retired, but there is also a difference between them as individuals, so that some members whose account was voluntarily retired will never be welcomed back here, while others who have been banned in the past ─ whether by myself or by one of my predecessors ─ could possibly be given a second chance, if only they are being honest with us. It all depends on the individual in question.
But what we don't like here are members who stab you in the back, who are belligerent, who are disruptive, or who are genuinely malevolent. And given that the forum is a private entity with partial public access, we reserve the right to deny access to certain individuals of whom we feel as a team that they would harm either the forum as an entity and/or individual members of our community. Bill Ryan maintains a similar attitude toward the members over at Project Avalon, but his criteria are somewhat different. We don't have to agree with him on that, nor do we have to argue with him over it, exactly because Project Avalon is Bill's domain, and The One Truth is ours.
Both Project Avalon and The One Truth are sovereign entities, and it is the respect for each other's rules that serves as one of the backbones of this new working relationship we have with Project Avalon. Bill respects our rules, and we respect his. ;)
augggghhhhh! I burned that bridge because I never suspected this could happen. You am my buddy Aragorn...and now you will be having fun without me over at PA...I guess I should have had that prophetic dream. I did think Aianawa was being mistreated...But I can live with it...I have a sister that has written 2 books...I'm cool enough as it is... :)
When are you gonna write yours?
I feel like I should write a series of short stories.
But right now I'd rather stitch.
I wish I had the talent, the patience, and/or anything else it takes to write... :)
Aragorn, once again to the casual observer, it's going to look like you're lumping me into a category that I do not belong in. Especially in conjunction with this portion of your more recent post belowQuote:
Originally posted by Aragorn
It's perfectly fine that we disagree on this particular matter, as I was perfectly fine with letting you have the above final word, but you never let on how cordial and mutually respectful our conversation was. I'm by no means implying that any of this is intentional, but coupling these two quotes together together can easily paint a landscape that is simply not there.Quote:
Originally posted by Aragorn
Let's stop this reading of the tea leaves through the Thank You button, shall we?
Again, it's the casual observer that can easily misconstrue this type of thing.
Gio, you're content postings are extremely good...allow Aragorn to see his own way and just keep going. I don't see Aragorn selling out anybody on this forum.Quote:
Originally posted by giovonni
I think everyone ─ well, that is to say, everyone outside of the mod room of The One Truth ─ seems to be misinterpreting this newest development in our relationship with Project Avalon. I have only returned to Project Avalon so as to be a liaison between our two forums, or actually three forums, because Eye-Rise is our sister forum and perhaps this may benefit Eye-Rise as well. I'm not over at Project Avalon to have fun, or to be away from The One Truth, or to betray our members' deepest and darkest secrets to Bill Ryan.Quote:
Originally posted by NotAPretender
I am there because apologies have been offered and accepted, and because my presence at Project Avalon will eventually benefit the so-called alternative community at large. The One Truth is not going to merge with Project Avalon ─ we haven't even merged with Eye-Rise, and there are no plans for that either ─ and we have not sold our souls to Bill Ryan.
I do read some of the threads over there, but only those threads that I find of immediate interest, and I have so far made three posts over there since my return, all of a technical nature ─ two with regard to a change to the forum that Bill wants to introduce so that the politically polarizing stuff becomes an opt-in choice, so that those who do not want to have anything to do with politics or the QAnon nonsense will no longer have to see that junk being posted if they don't want to, and one other post on a thread regarding the surveillance/tracking features that Google put in the Chrome browser. And I've replied to a couple of PMs as well.
I may and probably will post on other threads in the future, but it would never be the same as my activity over here at The One Truth. Furthermore, The One Truth is my home, and Project Avalon's traffic is going way too fast for me. It, and the circumference of the forum, are both driving me dizzy, and I mean that.
My brain can't process all of the information, because I am the sole administrator here, I am one of the administrators at Eye-Rise, I am a member at the Manjaro GNU/Linux forum ─ where I have recently (and automatically) been granted limited moderation abilities because of the frequency by which I visit the forum and help out ─ and I am also regularly visiting the PCLinuxOS forum, where I am also a member and where I also help people with technical issues (if I can). And now there's Project Avalon on top of that, and in between, I still have several Usenet discussion groups to read and occasionally post to. It's a goddamn daytime job, and I'm doing it all without being paid for it. I am doing it because I want to help people with their problems.
Lastly, it is perfectly fine if you guys still want to hold a grudge against Project Avalon and/or against Bill Ryan himself over things that happened a long time ago, because you are free to think and feel what you want to feel and think. Such is your prerogative, and I understand that some people need more time to process their pain and/or grief. It is perfectly fine! But then at least have the courtesy ─ and I'm not talking to you specifically now, NotAPretender, but to the knee-jerking passive-aggressive members here ─ to not judge me over things you do not understand or do not agree with because of your unprocessed grudge against Bill or his forum. Because declaring someone guilty by association is wrong.
I really don't think I would have anything left to prove anymore on account of my integrity, my sincerity, and my staying true to my word, so if you guys can't trust me now after all of these years, then you never will, and then there's no point in all of this passive-aggressive behavior, let alone talking behind my back and telling people I've sold out to Bill Ryan. Because that is not what's going on here, and for the record, Malc has given me his full support.
And that's because Malc does trust me unconditionally. For chrissakes, I have the passwords to the cPanel ─ which includes access to the server's email inbox ─ and to the Admin Control Panel, as well as to Malc's support account over at vBulletin. Do you think Malc would have given any of those passwords to me if there were even a remote chance that I would be abusing his trust? No, of course not, because Malc is no fool. And he too was once banned by Bill Ryan, but Malc is a bigger man than you naysayers, and he has already long been willing to bury all hatchets.
When I reached out to Eye-Rise in order to help Kathy, after all of the invective and false allegations from Ria and Breeze/Realeyes regarding that Malc would have been hacking their server, Malc gave me his full blessing. And now that the Shanolytes™ (© Sammy) have gone, Eye-Rise is our sister forum. And all staff members of The One Truth have been kept in the loop regarding my email exchanges with Bill Ryan ─ just as Bill himself always copies in his staff members whenever he communicates as the founder of his forum ─ and they all agree with my decision to accept Bill's offer. They trust me, and they've been trusting me for now well over four years.
So go ahead and wallow in your grudges against Bill Ryan and Project Avalon if you must, because that's between you and Bill, but don't make me part of your problem, and don't hate me for simply getting along with Bill now and maintaining a respectful relationship with him, his staff, and the members of his forum. Your frustrations over having been banned from Project Avalon are your own. You are not me and I am not you.
Ahh, the supposedly enlightened members of the so-called alternative community... :rolleyes: Have you learned nothing in all this time? :fpalm:
</rant>