Goodbye Post:

March 14th, 2020

Hey y’all, work’s been slowing down a lot with the outbreak and all. In fact, my whole department is on hiatus right now. I’m really happy to share something though… I’m getting promoted! It’s a special promotion and transfer to a national-level FBI team of detectives; I never would’ve thought they would really choose me out of all the candidates. Well anyway… the bad news is that since I’m working on rather confidential cases, I can no longer write to you all. My time on this site has been amazing, and I hope I’ve touched you all in a way that your writing has touched me. Good luck to everyone, and farewell!

Response 5:

March 14th, 2020

(in response to ScottWalsh’s 2/28 post)

Hi Scott, it’s frightening to think that a large scale transportation suspension, the virus is still projected to create an outbreak virtually across the whole nation. For you and me, seeing as we both live in California, we have a pretty high chance of being infected. Hopefully, you are in as good a shape as I am right now; being an active detective has forced me to stay in peak physical health. Furthermore, cases of confirmed infection within California have only been increasing. It’s only a matter of time until the percentage of our population that’s infected. In fact, I believe that the WHO has gone so far as to project that the percentage of the infected population could skyrocket to an upwards of 70 percent total infections.

Scott, I hope you do fine in San Francisco.  I hope that the funding you mentioned is used for essential services for the city. Namely things like cleaning supplies, testing, and support for the homeless shelters of the area. I hate to hear someone with such complex perspectives and ideas doesn’t have a place to call your own; if only you were in LA. Make sure to avoid anyone visibly sick, and to practice your hygiene. Best of luck brother.

It’s also quite funny that you mentioned the idea that the virus could be “the product of the earth trying to balance all of humanities wrongs”. First of all, it’s just funny that this screams the exact scenario that people would hear from crazy conspiracy theorists. Speaking of conspiracy theories, as of late the idea that China intentionally released covid as a sort of biological weapon; it’s even blowing up as a meme. Obviously, anyone with some basic detective skills could quickly deduce that it just makes no sense. Firstly, why would they harm such a large percentage of their own nation; not to mention that Wuhan served as an economic hub to China. I’ve seen the argument online that perhaps it was a sacrifice to hurt other countries, however unleashing a virus that’s only especially effective against children and seniors is extremely strange.

Speaking of economic impact, have you heard about the large drop in the stocks for the US? I heard it reached a full drop of around fifteen percent; a point that hasn’t been seen for about 40 years, if I recall correctly. Furthermore, has anyone stopped to think about the worth of companies that may actually be affected positively by the health crisis? A couple notable examples off the top of my head: Lysol, Zoom, Skype, Discord, ISP’s maybe? There’s just so many examples that are going to clearly stand out from the rest of businesses that will be very negatively impacted. Holding online meetings at this point is going to become the official norm (also probably tons and tons of emails). However, important supplies like preservable foods and cleaning supplies are almost out of stock everywhere now. I hope that these economic changes will not have a large effect on companies for time to come. Well, I’m off to get back to some cases. Good luck Scott and anyone else reading this.

6: Final Post

March 13th, 2020

Hey y’all, writing from my home as our work has been temporarily suspended in the wakes of the emerging virus. I hate to be writing about such an over flooded topic of discussion, but we just have to address the elephant in the room. Frankly, the virus is going to have many more consequences following just the actual infection. At this point, the virus has seeped into nearly all sectors of society, going so far as to impact the political, economic, and educational landscapes of nations world wide.

A major consequence of the health crisis is that people are now being advised to avoid public gatherings. This resulted in the cancellation of several major events that have already cost a fortune to plan. My biggest concerns lie in how this deficit is going to be handled for every event. Just to name a few of the MANY examples: the Olympics has been officially postponed despite the undoubtable hundreds of millions of dollars spent in planning for everything. This is also true for all large musical events, including SXSW, Coachella, and many more. In fact, even the NBA has cancelled all coming games until further notice; this will probably be the same for all sports.

Obviously, these misfortunes are going to cost money, but more importantly, this means that all those opportunities are lost to the attendees forever. Many look at Coachella and similar events as a special life experience; one that comes only a few times in their whole lives. I feel especially bad for anyone in this situation; even if these events come back after their postponing, they probably won’t be nearly as good.

Sadly, it’s not only major events that have been affected. Minor events attract no media attention, but it’s pretty much known that all of them must be cancelled as well. This goes anywhere from local/city events, to events organized by minor organizations/clubs. 

Probably the saddest consequence of this relates to student-run clubs and events. Obviously, these too have been shut down; however, the saddest part of this stems from the fact that these students lose far more than their planning and efforts: they lose the valuable experience they could have gained from planning these events. Furthermore, it’s often their participation in the planning of such events that stand out when looking for future employment. These kinds of events are precisely what teach people valuable leadership and planning skills. These skills are extremely difficult to learn under normal circumstances; this will only be exaggerated by the effect of having full online courses (not to mention this sort of cancellation is universal for schools across the world). I only hope that in the midst of everything, the health crisis won’t play a large effect on the capability of our younger generations.

Considering all that, 2020 is honestly starting off on a pretty bad foot, but things always get better. I hope you all stay safe during this epidemic, remember to practice  your hygiene well. Signing off.

Response 4:

March 12th, 2020

(in response to All American V8 Week 8 Post)

I’m so glad to see another person advocating for thinking things rationally as opposed to aligning with a partisan idea. In regards to your original question of whether or not someone can be immune to being accused of bullshit, I think i’d have to disagree. Being immune to the bullshit you’re accused of is very different from being immune to being accused of bull. I would definitely agree in saying that Trump and Bernie alike are pretty much immune to all the bullshit that they’re accused of. In fact, I’d go so far as to argue that most politicians wouldn’t go very far if they took all the bullshit they get seriously.

I definitely agree that people and especially media misuse quotes by putting them out of context, and in effect essentially put words into others mouths. Frankly, from time to time, even reputable publishers will slip up and practice this by accident. It just goes to show that we should always hold a bit of skepticism to what we read nowadays.

As of late, I’ve been thinking that more and more of the media I normally read seems to have a lot of skewed opinions that I don’t always agree with. I wish I could find a more moderate source for news, but I’m pretty unexperienced with new sources so i don’t know where to look. Would you happen to have any suggestions?

Anyway, speaking on skepticism, what has been quite interesting lately is the accidental spread of false information for handling the spread of coronavirus. All this really goes to show is that we need to handle the news and info we read more carefully; especially given everything online and on social media could be blatant lies. The contents of the misinformation goes anywhere from how long the virus stayed alive on a surface, to the wrong chemicals to disinfect with, and more impactful was the idea that supplies were running out. This was also paired with jokes that the end of the world was coming. These two factors together ultimately resulted in shortages of some essential needs all across stores (the most sought after item being toilet paper).

Living in the heart of Los Angeles myself, I wish I had more accessible testing for the virus. However, the president has clearly been dead set on treating the epidemic as a minor issue. His funding for the stoppage of the virus came only after he boldly announced that the virus was “nothing to worry about”. Barely swallowing his pride, he finally decided to fund the effort, but with an amount not suitable for all the precautions we might need later. Hopefully, the aid will be enough to help us all get through this predicament.

It’s pretty clear that the epidemic is already having some serious consequences, ranging from the global and national economy, to the health and well being of everyone, and even to institutions and schools. In fact, the virus has begun cancelling major events that are serious health hazards for the coronavirus spreading. Prime examples being SXSW and Coachella.

Anyway, I hope anyone reading this stays safe. Have a good one.

Response 3:

March 12th, 2020

(in response to Josiah Talbot’s 5th Post)

Hi Josiah, it’s good to see another user interested in stocks and the market like I am. Although, I would just consider myself an enthusiast and hobbyist in investing, the issue of the world economy tanking in response is surely a concept that many have forewarned about. Surely, like you pointed out, a good amount of production and industry is halted due to fears of the virus; however, it goes beyond just the local labor of a nation. The largest cause of this halt is definitely tied to specifically China’s labor force and all of the world wide businesses that they supply for. After all, China doesn’t simply create full products, it leads the world in the production of components and parts that are needed for products in other countries.

In regards to your stocks in Lockheed Martin, it sounds like since you have already kept the stocks through the fall, wouldn’t it be best to keep them until they rise yet again? After all, the fall was caused solely by the virus, so it only makes sense that the prices should rise again once the epidemic is finally over. Moreover, it’s not like the virus is impacting the work of the company by much, I assume.

I definitely agree that all of this probably wouldn’t have been as impactful if Trump had handled the situation better in any way. Trump has shown some serious incompetence over his handling of the health crisis. Just to name some horrible (and comedic) public appearances. The most obvious being how he initially brushed off coronavirus, saying “we were all fine” and there was “nothing to worry about, we have it under control”. Obviously, following such a statement, he had to eventually declare a public emergency for the virus. In that declaration, Trump made a public appearance where it was obvious that he literally had no fucks to give. He impatiently looked at the crowd and speaker by the side of the podium, and just walked off stage without saying anything. What’s even funnier is, he basically announced the firing or suspension of the government official responsible for handling the outbreak, at the actual meeting. It was absolutely hilarious watching the official break out into sweats and stumble over having just lost his position.

Lastly, when you talked about a koala being infected… that’s definitely a strange case, but I know that some dogs are now being infected with some sort of virus similar to COVID, so definitely be careful with your pets! Stay safe everyone.

5.

March 2nd, 2020

Hey y’all, how you doing? I hate to be so upfront about it, but it looks like the coronavirus is spreading into the US and is projected to get worse in the following months. Remember to wash your hands and use hand sanitizer! Even the CDC has stated that washing your hands is far more important in stopping the spread of the disease than wearing face masks; in fact, face masks barely help at all (unless you’re infected), so stop using them! Apparently, the virus is projected to infect up to seventy percent of the world population, so please be careful y’all. Even though seventy percent sounds very scary, the infection is far from an instantly mortal virus. As long as everyone does their part in stopping the infection, we should be good to go. I just pray for the less fortunate countries that have less access to good medicine practice and larger signs of infection.

Have you all heard about the new and extremely unsettling news regarding China’s “social re-engineering campaign”, or better known by many as their concentration camps. As many have been reporting for quite a while, China has been targeting the Muslim Uighur people on the northern region of China. These people need to see justice, their human rights are being completely violated. For context, these people are being separated from their families and forced into “cultural learning” where they’re housed and put under some kind of schedule against their will. They’re forced to learn things about Chinese culture in an attempt to erase their own culture and values. 

Frankly, this is anything but new news. The latest news about the subject is even more frightening however. It appears that China has begun to transition from just “educating” these people to putting them in forced labor factories. This is going to have a major impact on the global economy because it appears this labor is being enforced on many international brands; most namely, Nike, Adidas, Apple, etc. Obviously, if these companies (who claim to not have known about the labor) don’t support it, they will have to halt sales and imports all across the world. Moreover, that could potentially stop their production sources in China all together. Seeing as how China is likely a large part of their labor, this will undoubtedly have serious ramifications. Furthermore, if the companies actually chose to still produce from China, their ethical image will definitely shatter and likely even destroy their whole company image. Either way, these two scenarios will have pretty serious consequences.

China’s had some rather despicable deeds this past year, with their increasing tyrannic pressure on the people of Hong Kong, as well as their continued oppression of the Uighur people. I just hope that someone or something makes some changes soon.

Anyways, lunch break’s over. I have to get back to finishing up these cases as soon as possible. Things are looking good at work though! I think I might even have a shot at a promotion! Signing off, have a good one.

4.

February 14th, 2020

Hello everyone, how have you all been recently? I’ve got to say, work has been tearing me a new one this week. There seems to be a surge in criminals lately, and they’re not just some petty criminals; after all, a detective usually receives cases on more high profile crimes. So far this week, we’ve managed to put a good amount of scumbags in the slammer. These people were definitely a threat to society though, like this one serial killer we locked up. Thank god we caught him as early as we did; only at 19 years old, he was just beginning to show signs of changing into a full-fledged killer. I won’t give any more information than his age cause that’ll probably cost my job. Anyway, we believe this guy to have murdered one person, his abusive father. It’s frank to say that it’s common for developing psychopaths to kill someone that can agitate or stress them heavily. The worst part being, this is often the catalyst to their full degradation into a full-fledged murderer. Anyway, it’s tragic that his father couldn’t be saved, but knowing that the murderer is now getting professional psychiatric help is more reassuring.

Enough about work, have y’all heard about the nationwide vaping ban from Trump’s administration? Apparently, it will become federally illegal to sell any flavored disposable cartridges. From my research online, it appears this is not the same as banning all flavored vape juice. The flavored aspect only applies to disposable cartridges, meaning any juice that is bought in it’s pure form is still sellable. I’m glad to hear that regardless, our administration is taking measures to fight the widespread usage of nicotine with teenagers. Personally, I smoke a cig or two when I need; it really helps with the dark side of the job. Don’t get me wrong though, nicotine should definitely be kept away from the youth. After all, it’s still too early to tell the exact consequences of early use in one’s life. All I know is I’ve seen a lot of lowlifes smoking cigs early, I’d imagine the consequences of vaping would be pretty similar.

Regarding the recent coronavirus yet again, it appears that the recent strain has finally been officially named: COVID-19. The name stems from pretty logical information as I’ll show in text; COVID-19: COronaVIrus Disease 2019. Interestingly enough, when reading up on what seems to be such a shallow topic, I’ve learned that the naming process can actually be quite extensive. One would think that naming a disease like this would really have no foreseeable consequences, but if not careful, the name can be used as a way of harassing a group of people, animals, or region. Quoting the director-general of the World Health Organization: “We had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual, or a group of people”. Frankly, my friends of Asian or Chinese descent have been recently telling me of the discrimination some face regarding coronavirus. For example, a friend of mine works as a barista. He told me that a coworker of his jokingly said “if anyone was to give me coronavirus, it would be you”, simply because my friend was of Asian descent. Now imagine if COVID-19 had been named after anything relating to the people of Asia; I’m sure the consequences could be quite negative. 

Well, signing off y’all. Have a good one.

3.

February 7th, 2020

Hello my readers, how’s everyone doing? Work’s been pretty slow this week, nothing out of the ordinary really happened this week. Just a couple of petty criminals for cases.

Did y’all hear about the outrage in China over the death of a Chinese doctor? Supposedly, this doctor warned China of the coronavirus epidemic long before the outbreak reached the stage it has today. His primary method of communication were online discussions aimed at other doctors. China claims that his warnings “contained false information”, and thus censored his messages. Seeing as how the doctor was stationed at Wuhan (the source of the epidemic), he too was inevitably infected. Unfortunately, he passed quite recently; but not before releasing a statement stating had China not interfered, the situation of the quarantine and outbreak would be immensely less severe.

Clearly, this was a tragedy, but the most shocking part of the story follows after. Supposedly (this is even claimed from multiple credible sources), there came a large outcry of protest and revolt following the doctor’s statement. All in all, the state of the quarantine and the passing of the doctor proved too much for the people to stay quiet. The primary reason for which the Chinese government even censored him was in fear of damaging their public image (also the same reason they’ve withheld their true outbreak statistics). It only makes sense that those suffering would be outraged for essentially being sacrificed for such a petty reason. As of now, it’s difficult to tell where such an outrage could lead, but maybe it’s possible that this could be the tipping point for some kind of change in China.

Moving on from China, how about Trump’s acquittal? Personally, I wasn’t too optimistic about his impeachment given how the Republicans had the majority on the process. What’s interesting is that Mitt Romeny actually voted to impeach Trump; for those who don’t know, Romney is of the Reupblican party, so it’s definitely out of the ordinary for a politician to vote to impeach a fellow party member. Trump obviously had a LOT to say Romney. He even went so far to post an absolutely ridiculous video that portrayed Romney as an outright traitor (he even calls him an “infiltrator”).

Speaking of politics, the whole Iowa Caucus situation is quite interesting too. Essentially, the gist of the situation is that Pete Buttigieg prematurely announced his victory at the Caucus due to an error in vote counts; if I recall correctly, Bernie Sanders was at a close second and depending on the error in votes, could possibly be the winner as well. The error in the vote counts stemmed from “Shadow”, a new voting app that promised to revolutionize the voting process. Apparently they didn’t even test their product! Who the hell is in charge of this, how can anyone with a shred of competence even approve something so uncertain for such an important purpose? Well, apparently a government official has since ordered a recount of the votes to uncover who truly won. I’m sure the whole recount process will take a while though, considering how they’re probably going to have to consult engineers of some kind to find out what happened with the voting app and dissect the information.

Response 2:

In response to Post #3 from blue paint.

Hello, blue paint, it’s my first time looking around on your blog, and you seem like a really interesting person. I’m glad to hear that despite you being a blood-sucking vampire, you still care for humans. I mean, sucking blood sounds pretty illegal to me, so I may have had to arrest you otherwise. Anyways, regarding your post and advice on the newly found coronavirus, I find your experience and tips on combating them to be extremely insightful. Let me thank you on behalf of all humans!

As much as I wish that I was immune to diseases, death, and the such; I’m afraid I won’t be able to take you up on your offer of becoming a vampire. I’m glad to hear that there are only two cases in the U.S. A shocking piece of news I just received this morning, was that a chinese nurse leaked news internationally that China is attempting to censor the severity of the outbreak. Despite their small figures of infection, the nurse claims that there are 90000 plus infections at the moment. The figure is truly shocking to me. What’s more, I don’t even understand why China would want to censor such information. If anything, it would only have served to raise the severity of the issue and lead to international aid in fighting the disease.

I’d also like to say that our tendencies to lean towards traditional medicine or remedies is extremely interesting to me. What’s more insane, is that since we now have science, we have begun to analyze old remedies. This shows us which are viable for certain reasons, and which are just superstition. Was your past experience with remedies feel helpful? Personally, whatever superstitious medicines I’ve tried failed to really help me in any way. In regards to the tip you gave about milk and turmeric. I’m curious what it does to help symptoms of coronavirus? Or is it that the remedy helps soothe symptoms of it? I just don’t see how something so random could change anything. But then again, you’ve been alive for centuries, so you’re probably a lot more knowledgeable than me. Perhaps you’d be willing to share your secrets with us, I’m sure your knowledge could help us save enforcement and citizens alike.

I also was intrigued that symptoms of the virus now cover fatigue and diarrhea. I haven’t heard such news before. These symptoms sound unbefitting of a respiratory disease. I had only heard of more characteristic symptoms like pneumonia, trouble breathing, etc. Anyway, if there are any other tips you’d be willing to let a mortal in on, please let me know. Living in California despite hearing about the recent infection case here scares me. I’ve already settled down too long to be moving out just for some virus.

Well, I hope this response finds you well and we all avoid the virus safely. Also, I better not catch you sucking blood, or it’s time behind bars for you.

2.

January 24th, 2020

Greetings to my readers, how are you all doing? I’m writing this on my lunch break right now, but let me tell you how crazy this last case was. We had just gotten a tip from a concerned family member of a man who was planning to start a mass shooting in public. Thankfully, we intercepted him with the help of his family and prevented any harm. He was planning to unleash an automatic weapon at a crowded movie theater. It’s really just so sad to think that it’s dangerous for anyone to be out in public anymore; that this is the state of our society. Personally, I’m really on the fence about the whole issue of gun control. As an officer, my gun is an important part of my equipment and allows me to see how useful a firearm can be for self-defense. Don’t get me wrong, there’s loads of folks that shouldn’t be allowed to own guns at all. For example, those with criminal records of outstanding charges and those that might be deemed mentally unstable. As we can clearly see from the news, some of these people are getting a hold of them regardless. I’m going on a tangent at this point, but I feel our reaction to certain news stories nowadays is even more despairing than the concept of being in danger in public at all times. I mean, think about it, we probably see anywhere from three to six different shootings a month, and can barely afford to bat an eye anymore. It’s just so shockingly different from how I experienced our reactions to Columbine. Anyway, regarding my stance, I feel it’s so difficult for me to choose a side when I see the potential benefits of both perspectives.

Well, moving away from that tangent; are any of you feeling sick recently? I know I am, but what’s got me scared is the new cases of the new Coronavirus (broke out from Wuhan, China). Why is it that the symptoms are so closely related to the common cold? I’m honestly quite scared that I might have the virus. Sure, my relentless sneezing, coughing, and sniffling might just be a cold; but it might also be a DEADLY virus. The last thing I would want is to be on the job talking to people everyday. If that was the case, I’d be putting so many citizens at risk; I could never live with the guilt. Maybe it’s time to start using face masks. Well, seeing that there are confirmed cases around the globe at this point, it’s time to panic, right? Nope. Everyone needs to relax, the WHO (World Health Organization) still has yet to label it a global emergency. If things were really as bad as they seem, they wouldn’t be staying put. Well, stay safe and healthy everyone. I’ve heard that the virus more easily attacks those with a weak immune system and a dry throat. So make sure to stay hydrated and in general good health. Until next week everyone.

1.

January 17th, 2020

Good evening friends. Just giving an update on some of the cases I’ve worked recently. In particular, there’s a case that’s been bothering me as of late. This suspect is currently wanted for three suspected murders, not to mention how many potential unknown murders could soon be uncovered. For context, the assailant keeps barely escaping our grasp, having evaded enforcement for over 30 hours. Just yesterday, someone fitting his description was spotted late at night around the east side of downtown. Despite being explicitly told not to approach him carelessly, some rookies were too eager for action. The fools ended up setting him off and even let him escape through an alleyway. Classic rookie mistakes. 

Despite that, what’s really got me bothered is the fact that the suspect was way out of his previous hunting zone. Not to mention there are inconsistencies… no, it couldn’t be. Maybe the suspect is working in a team! That would explain why we can’t get a hold of any suspect, as they can too easily blend in and out with different hideouts. I need to get this to my team ASAP! 

Well, let me finish the post by ranting on the monotony of other “cases” I’ve had to take as of late. Despite how exciting and eventful the last case may have sounded, it’s certainly a rare case for my job. Lately, I’ve been tackling a whole other beast… otherwise known as: VAPING. Can you believe that I, the leader of a team of detectives would be reallocated to crack down on vaping at high schools? It’s absolutely ridiculous that I have to stoop to this level. 

To be fair, upon working on the issue, it has become apparent that vaping is a serious national concern. Seeing the data and effect first-hand absolutely shook me to the core. Alright, listen to this statistic real quick: an estimated 5.4 MILLION middle and high school students in the U.S recently used e-cigs. Here comes the real shocker: that is 20% of all students. Compared to the 4.3% that used cigarettes; think about it, that’s a 5-fold difference. Not to mention the stoppage of vaping on school campuses are also particularly difficult and most approaches have shown only a slight improvement. Alright, since I’m off that case at this point, I think that’s enough ranting.

You know what I would’ve loved to be included in though? Perhaps, gathering data or investigating for the Mueller report would’ve been a good fit for me. I know, I know, a  P.D. detective is the last thing they needed for something on such a large national scale, but my investigation skills really are top-notch! But honestly, I just wanted to have credit working on something as impactful as the 4th official impeachment of the U.S.; obviously, I’m talking about Donald Trump. Seeing as his impeachment has moved to the Senate and his trial is set to begin shortly, I just wish I had become a part of that history. Alright, well I ought to get back to catching that criminal, I’ll keep you all posted. Until then, farewell and stay safe.

Who Am I?

Hello, my name is Anthony Shemol and I’m a detective with L.A.P.D. One could say that my dream of becoming a detective comes from a trauma that I experienced as a child… My parents were taken away from me as a child at the hands of a serial murderer. I barely managed to survive the encounter myself, and obviously as a child I was blinded by rage and anger at the misfortune that had befallen me. The dark chapter of my life didn’t end there either, as the foster system I was placed in was far from comfortable. Nowadays, I live to lock up criminals like those that took my beloved family from me. Maybe one day, I’ll even catch my parents’ murderer that has eluded the authorities for so long.

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