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The Book Of Boba Fett continues to be amazing as a stealth Mandalorian series.

Last weeks episode of The Mandalorianer, The Book Of Boba Fett was outstanding.

Mostly, thats because it was all about Mando (Pedro Pascal) rather than Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) despite this being a show ostensibly about the older bounty hunter. Boba Fett used to be the coolest bounty hunter in Star Wars, now Im not even sure he makes the top five.

In this weeks episode we get two of the most badass bounty hunters: Mando, again, as he searches for Baby Yoda; and the infamous bounty hunter, Cad Banea ruthless, cold-blooded killer from the Clone Wars and The Bad Batch voiced here once again by Corey Burton.

This episode was even better than last weeks for all sorts of reasons, but on a very personal level it was the return of Luke Skywalker, once again, and his interactions with Grogu. Written and directed by Clone Wars creator Dave Filoni (who co-created The Mandalorian with Jon Favreau) Chapter 6 takes this show to a whole new level.

Once again, we get Mandobut we get lots of other characters from the wider Star Wars universe as well.

Mando heads to an unnamed forest planet where he meets some old pals. R2-D2:

R2-D2

And Ashoka Tano (Rosario Dawson):

Mando and Ashoka

Hes here to see Grogu and bring him his Beskar steel gift, but Ashoka tells him that he has to make a choice. If he sees Grogu, hell disrupt the little guys training. Grogus ability to remain detached from loved ones will be tested and potentially his training will be stopped in its tracks, and there will be nothing Luke can do to salvage it.

She offers, instead, to deliver the gift for him.

But Ive come all this way! Mando says, his voice brittle with sadness. I just want to see him.

Poor Mando. In the end, he chooses not to see his baby, flying off in his fancy Naboo N-1 Starfighter while Grogu looks on from afar, making this expression:

Baby Yoda

Okay just stop it with the cuteness, Grogu. Sheesh.

Luke and Grogu

Speaking of cute, the entire segment with Luke and Grogu was adorable but also more than that. For me, it was a little bit like being a kid again, more so even than the end of The Mandalorians second season, when Luke shows up to save the day.

Here we have the inverse of Lukes training with Yoda on Dagobah. A whole lifetime later. The Empire Strikes Back came out the year before I was born (1980, I was born June of 1981). This is where we first meet Yoda in his swamp and he teaches Luke to Do or do not, there is no try.

I was two years old when Return Of The Jedi came out and spent my childhood watching and rewatching those movies. When I was very young I never really wanted new movies in the Star Wars universe, but as I got older and read some comics and books, I started to wonder why there werent more movies about these characters. What did Luke and Leia and Han Solo do after winning the war against the Empire? What came next?

Well, George Lucas had other plans. He wanted prequels. He wanted to drench them in CGI and boring discussions about trade embargos and dry politics. He had some good ideas woven throughout the prequel films, but mostly as a teenager and young man, I was crushed by the prequels.

I found a new hope when A Force Awakens came out. It was far from perfect, but it felt like the Star Wars I remembered as a kid. Practical effects, a sense of humor, the right aesthetic throughout. If only it had been followed by two more movies that enriched all the characters that film introduced and gave fans what theyd been hoping for all these years.

Instead, the sequel trilogy was disjointed, rushed and never felt like it had any real purpose. I enjoyed the transformation and redemption of Kylo Ren, but every other character got the short end of the stickand if I want a really good redemption story, I can just rewatch Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Even The Force Awakens feels week in hindsight. The repetitive Death Star plot. The fact that they had to rip everything good from Han Solo and Leiatheir marriage, their son, their happiness. Han dying like that. Luke going out in The Last Jedi (which I liked for some reasons and hated for others).

The point is, todays episode of The Book of Boba Fett reminded me why I fell in love with Star Wars to begin with. It gave us Luke Skywalker in his primea Jedi Master, before his transfomration to defeated hermit in the sequels, but after his heros journey in the original trilogy. Here he was training Grogu, just as Yoda trained him. A circle was completed. I felt a profound joy watching these scenes.

I wont lieI became quite emotional. It surprised me. This felt like coming home to something I didnt know Id left, or that had left me. Watching Luke run with Grogu on his back, leaping and flipping. Watching Baby Yoda train with the floating ball. This hit me a lot harder than I expected.

I think it just brought me back to that time as a kid when Star Wars was just so important and exciting and beautiful, before it became this battleground its become today. Now, Star Wars has been subsumed by the culture wars. Now if youre a fan who has anything bad to say about The Last Jedi, youre a troll and probably a GamerGater; and if you liked that movie youre probably some woke SJW.

We cant just love Star Wars anymore. Like so much else, its become a cultural totem we use to score points and argue about Trump. Its absurd and Im sick of it, and for this very brief moment I was transported back to a time when none of that existed (for me, at least).

I was a kid again, hanging out with Luke Skywalker.

Luke Skywalker

And my god how the wizards and Industrial Light & Magic have done this with Luke is beyond me. Its staggering. Ive been a pretty harsh critic of the Uncanny Valley effect weve seen in past iterations of Star Wars characters. Moff Tarkin in Rogue One looked almost right, but just off enough to not be.

Even in The Mandalorian, Luke felt too stiff. And that wasnt long ago at all!

But here? Here he feels real. He looks and moves and sounds real. Its close enough to perfect that I now really want Lucasfilm to make a Thrawn movie trilogy (or Disney Plus show) with Luke as the main protagonist just like in the books (though change them enough to bring in Askhoka and Bo Katan and other newer characters). Its an exciting prospectif mostly wishful thinking.

Cad Bane

Elsewhere, the war over Tatooines future heats up. The Pyke Syndicate isnt messing around. They dont really care about gaining control over Mos Espa so much as they do control over their spice routesand anything, or anyone, who stands in their way.

The episode opens with yet another familiar face from The Mandalorian: Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens:

Cobb Vanth

Just kidding! Its Cobb Vanth, the Marhsal of Mos Pelgonow called Freetown under Vanths stewardship.

Vanth doesnt take kindly to a group of Pykes loading up a container of spice in his territory and tells them to make like a tree and get the hell out of there. When they draw blasters instead, he makes short work of three of the four. The fourth he allows to live, but only after unloading the spice.

This is worth more than your town, the Pyke sneers. Maybe Ill retire, then, Vanth shoots back.

Later, when Boba Fett and his minions are discussing the Pyke Syndicates burgeoning threat, Mando arrives and says he knows where to get some muscle. He goes to Freetown and tries to enlist Vanth and his people, who have their own reasons to want the Pykes gone.

When Mando leaves, the titular stranger from the episodes title shows up.

The blue-faced alien is none other than Cad Bane, one of the most fearsome, terrifying and evil bounty hunters in the Star Wars galaxyexactly the kind of badass everyone was expecting Boba Fett to be, but worse.

Cod Bane

In fact, Dave Filoni had an entire Clone Wars arc worked out for Bane and Fett, where Bane would teach a young Boba Fett the ways of the bounty hunter as his apprentice following his father, Jangos death at the hands of Mace Windu. This was never put to screen, though Fennec Shand and Cad Bane had a showdown in The Bad Batch.

Now, it appears well get the Boba Fett / Cad Bane face-off we never knew we wanted. Unfortunately, it comes after a pretty tragic gunfight in Freetown.

Bane shows up making threats. His new employerthe Pyke Synidicateis flexing its muscle. Bane makes it clear hes not there to talk. He pushes his coat aside, hand hovering over his blaster. You can almost hear the whistling from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly play over the drifting sand.

Vanths deputy draws first, forcing Vanth to draw as well. Bane is faster than either of them. Both men fall to the dirt, though its not entirely clear if theyre dead or not. We dont get a lot of character deaths in Star Wars but I think its possible Timothy Olyphant will not be reprising this role.

"Tatooine belongs to the syndicate," Bane growls. "As long as the spice keeps flowing, everyone will be left alone."

Back in Mos Espa, a pair of Pykes go into the Sanctuary. The cantinas owner, Garsa Fwip (Jennifer Beals) eyes them worriedlyand with good reason. They leave and a moment later the place blows up. Were getting into Narcos territory here, with the Syndicate taking on the role of Pablo Escobars cartel.

Next week is the series finale of The Book Of Boba Fett, and well see where the chips fall. Its been a weird show, transitioning from one thing into a pre-season Mandalorian in the space of two episodesnot that Im complaining. Its just odd and Im not sure what the point of doing it this way was, when you could really have saved Mando and Grogu and Luke for The Mandalorians third season instead.

Luke gives Grogu a choice

While things are heating up on Tatooine, Luke and Grogu are still training on the forest planet where Lukes droids are building a new Jedi school.

Luke shows Grogu the gift Mando brought for him: Mithril mail!er, sorry, a Beskar Steel shirt of chainmail that Grogu will grow out of in about a hundred more years.

But Luke doesnt give him the armor. Instead, he gives him a choice. He whips out Yodas adorable little lightsaber and tells him that he has to choose between it and Mandos gift.

If he chooses the laser sword, hell become Lukes first student at his new Jedi academy. If he chooses the Beskar, however, hell return as Mandos foundling and never be trained in the ways of the Force.

Grogu's new sword.

This is, once again, all about the Jedi and their insistence on not forming attachments, which is kind of rich given how close Luke is to Leia and Han Solo and Chewbaccas and C-3PO and R2-D2. Luke has lots of friends and loved ones who hed happily kill or die for, but Grogu isnt allowed to receive a gift from Mando?

Granted, this is during training, so I suppose different rules apply. And Luke makes a very good point: Grogu will live hundreds of years. A short time for him is a lifetime for Luke or Mando. He may very well never see Mando again if he trains with Luke. On the other hand, if he goes with Mando hell outlive him by centuries and forego his Jedi training.

The episode ends before we get a chance to see which choice he makes. Maybe we wont find out until The Mandalorian airs. Maybe well find out next week. As much as it pains me, sticking with the Jedi is clearly the right choice and the safest option for the little guy. But its sad.

What did you think of this episode? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook.

You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook and support my work on Patreon. If you want, you can also sign up for my diabolical newsletter on Substack and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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'The Book Of Boba Fett' Episode 6 Recap And Review: Dave Filoni To The Rescue - Forbes

It happened every time a school board member spoke up about changes to the Central York School Districts COVID-19 plan. Meow! a group of four people would taunt from the back of the room. Cat!

Amelia McMillan, a parent in the Pennsylvania district, recognized the four people. Theyd supported Central Yorks recent (and now overturned) ban on certain school books, many of them about race. After the mid-January meeting ended, McMillan said she saw the group corner a local father in a hallway.

They were yelling at him about his kid being a furry, McMillan told The Daily Beast. The group cited an email someone sent to the board about furries. I heard him say, Leave my kid out of this. Two administrators from the school broke up this interaction and shuffled the four aggressors out of the building, and then asked the father if he was alright. He told everyone standing there (myself included) that they were calling his child a furry and he asked them to stop.

Furries are a subculture of people who craft alter-egos as anthropomorphized animals. A furry might draw himself as a cartoon tiger, or dress up as a dragon at a convention for fellow enthusiasts. Its a decades-old genre and, relative to other available subcultures, fairly wholesome.

So why are school boards attendees in a panic about supposed furries in the classroom?

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In Pennsylvania, Maine, Michigan, and Iowa in recent months, school board meetings have been disrupted by allegations that educators are giving special treatment to furry students. While false, the widespread hoaxes play into a broader right-wing effort to discredit and demand further control over public education.

Its culture war, its control, and its not about protecting kids, Patch OFurr, proprietor of the furry news site Dogpatch Press, told The Daily Beast. If you actually look at whos doing this, at some of the political groups getting involved, theyre all far right.

The rumors simmered for months in districts like Central York last year, where a concerned parents Facebook group promoted fears that furries could be in your childs classroom hissing at your child and licking themselves.

Theyre demonizing minorities by proxy, with a target behind the target.

But it was in Michigans Midland school district, not Central York, that the claims finally caught fire.

Yesterday I heard that at least one of our schools in our town, has in one of the unisex bathrooms a litter box for the kids that identify as cats, a speaker at a school board meeting said, in a video that went viral in January. And I am really disturbed by that.

Michigan GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock soon amplified the cat scat claims. Kids who identify as furries get a litter box in the school bathroom, Maddock wrote on Facebook. Parent heroes will TAKE BACK our schools.

Midland Public Schools do not provide litter boxesunisex or otherwise. The districts superintendent debunked the rumor in a scathing email. (It is unconscionable that this afternoon I am sending this communication, his email to parents began.)

Nevertheless, the allegations soon spread to Texas, where a GOP candidate (and activist with the right-wing parents group Moms For Liberty) added her own baseless claims about special privileges for furry students. Cafeteria tables are being lowered in certain @RoundRockISD middle and high schools to allow furries to more easily eat without utensils or their hands (ie, like a dog eats from a bowl), she tweeted.

That allegation wasnt true, either. In fact, chatter about litter boxes and doggie bowls display a misunderstanding about the furry community, which eats and poops like everyone else, says Sharon Roberts, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo and member of the academic research team Furscience.

Its limited fantasy, Roberts told The Daily Beast of furrydom. Its not escapism, its not a departure from reality. People who are furries are not like, I am my anthropomorphized character. Thats not what happens.

Furries do not literally believe they are non-human animals, Roberts said. Instead, a furry might play-act the role of a cartoon animal, but when nature calls, shell step out of character and remove her costume to use a normal toilet. (Furscience set the bathroom record straight in 2016, when they made a tongue-in-cheek video about the impossibility of using a toilet in a fursuit.)

OFurr, who has traced the origins of the litter box urban legend, dates the hoax to at least 2008. Thats when a local news story about a Pittsburgh furry convention led to unfounded speculation that hotel staff would have to clean up convention-goers poop.

Those rumors appear to have resurfaced with the start of the 2021-2022 school year. In August, for instance, an anonymous grandparent told Kentuckys WLKY that her grandchildren were being bullied in class by students who made hissing noises. The districts superintendent told the station that a small number of students had violated the dress code by wearing cat ears or tails, and that the situation was under control.

But the rumor metastasized in other states, especially when picked up by conservative voices. Blogs in Iowa and Idaho promoted the stories this fall, claiming that furry students were either being granted special litter boxes, or were being exempted from homework (cant grip pencil with paws). The blogs noted that schools had denied the allegations, but the authors went on to say theyd heard more rumors from locals and people at the Clay County GOP booth at the county fair.

Such rumors, if true, threatened to weaken the U.S. military, an Iowa commentator wrote. As China threatens to invade neighbors, were cringing when someone tells us hes an antelope and we better acknowledge hes got hooves whether or not visible, he opined. How could we possibly win a war with an army filled with dogs and cats?

Not all of these queries have been warmly received in the furry community. In early November, an aspiring educator took to Reddits r/teachers board to relay rumors about students in her hometown demanding litter boxes in school. I went to r/furry to ask for advice and their opinion on how to handle this situation but got permanently banned, wrote the Redditor, who is in school to become a teacher.

By October, furry fears were making their way into school board meetings. In Skowhegan, Maine, where Redditors were already sharing litter box rumors, a speaker at a school board meeting spoke requesting information regarding the districts stance on allowing students who identify as animals (furry), to be an exception to dress code (hats, etc), according to the meetings publicly available minutes.

A parent raised a similar concern at an Iowa school board meeting that month, and the query took on a more political tone at a board meeting in Minnesota. Another topic many parents would like addressed are furries, a speaker said. Why are kids being allowed to dress up like animals in our schools? Theyre being allowed to growl and bark at their teachers. Theyre allowed to wear leashes and collars and tails and they just bark but God forbid a kid wears a Trump hat to school; theyre told to take that off immediately. (Most schools dont allow hats.)

The politicization of furry school rumors comes amid a sweeping conservative assault on public schools and how they approach issues like race and gender. School board meetings, sometimes attended by members of far-right paramilitary groups, have become theaters for culture wars, with GOP figures like Maddock calling on parents to TAKE BACK our schools from the specter of liberal educators.

Sometimes, as in the case of Central York, the same people who supported book bans are the same people now promoting furry rumors.

Furries make a convenient target for people looking to lash out at marginalized identities, particularly the LGBT community, which has a higher-than-average representation among furries, OFurr noted. Multiple litter box hoaxes make explicit reference to gender-neutral litter boxes (a parallel to battles over gender-affirming bathroom choices in schools) or claim that students identify as furries (a phrasing uncommon in furry media, but with parallels to how conservative media often describes transgender youth).

Theyre demonizing minorities by proxy, with a target behind the target, OFurr wrote in a recent blog post. Its a cousin to transphobic memes like I sexually identify as an attack helicopter using weirdos to make it easier to swallow.

The director of the Public Schools Branch in Prince Edward Island, Canada, took a similar stance when furry hoaxes flooded his districts social media in October.

It seemed to me like it was a backlash against some of the progressive things that our schools are doing, director Norbert Carpenter told the CBC, and we would have many that would say this is rooted in hate and transphobia and homophobia and that message needs to be clear, its not acceptable.

Thats not to say furries arent in schools. A recent Rolling Stone article showcased a thriving, TikTok-based furry youth scene. Its a space for creativity and play, young furries and their parents explainedand like any youth subculture (see: goths and MySpace queens of decades past) some of the allure is in furrydoms inscrutability to adults.

But efforts to cast anthropomorphized animals as a niche issue are misguided, anyway. Last week, a Tennessee school board banned the Holocaust graphic novel Maus, ostensibly on the grounds that its illustrations of unclothed mice were inappropriate. Meanwhile, conservative commentators accused the left of attempting to destroy the fabrics of our democracy for drawing Minnie Mouse in a pantsuit instead of her usual short dress. These dueling debates over mouse attire dont illustrate some deep American angst over rodent dress codes; anthropomorphized animals, imbued with our own anxieties, have long acted as our proxies in culture wars, regardless of whether we own fursuits.

Roberts, the furry expert, said the furry community can act as a safe home for young people who might be jeopardized by efforts to ban school books about autism and LGBT issues (like Central York schools did earlier this year).

The furry movement is disproportionately LGBT and neurodiverse, yet we see that furries are thriving in this community, Roberts said. Its because they have a strong bond and connection thats rooted in creativity.

But with a fixation on nonexistent litter boxes and lunch tables, the furry panic turns a thriving subculture into a cudgel against public schools and their students. Ironically, OFurr said, its the rightnot furrieswho wont stop talking about cat shit.

It shows a complete failure to understand how kids think, what they care about, what they want, he said. Theyre targeting the places kids have a little bit of privacy in schools, like their lunch or their bathroom breaks. Its about control.

Read more:
Furry Panic Is the Latest Dumb GOP Attack on Public Schools - The Daily Beast

The News Herald/USA TODAY NETWORK| The News Herald

PANAMA CITY The Naval Support Activity Panama City will participate in an annual Navy-wide, anti-terrorism force protection exercise, dubbed Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain,beginning Mondayand will run through Feb. 11.

According to a news release from NSA PanamaCity,two exercises will occur back-to-back and include reality-based situations.

Citadel Shield focuses on security personnels response to simulated threats, while Solid Curtain uses simulated events to test incident command and communications between units. In compliance with Navy policy, the specifics of the exercises as well as any information of that nature will not be released.

Hurricane recovery: Panama City approves final payment on marina bulkheads damaged by Hurricane Michael

Previously: Panama City approves final payment on marina bulkheads damaged by Hurricane Michael

During the exercise, delays should be expected when entering orexiting the base or moving about the installation.NSA Panama City Commanding Officer Cmdr. Keith Foster stressed the use of extreme caution while driving as first responders may be in the roadways directing traffic or responding to a scenario.

Exercise Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain will test our ability to execute our mission and ensure the protection of our people, equipment and facilities, Foster said.

From 2021: Naval Support Activity Panama City hosts 9/11 Wreath Ceremony

TheCitadel Shield-Solid Curtain is not in response to any specific threat and is an annual scheduled exercise. The U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Commander, Navy Installations Command, have held Exercise Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain on all Navy installations in the continental U.S. since 2008, the release said

These scenarios ensure we train like we fight, fight like we train. Its important to practice these drills so we are ready to respond to real world events, Our community neighbors, base personnel and family members may experience increased traffic along Thomas Drive or delays at the gate. We ask for your patience and understanding during the next two weeks. Foster explained.

For any additional informationabout potential impacts due to the exercise, visit the NSAPC'sFacebook page.

See the rest here:
If you run into extra traffic near the NSA Panama City base this week, this is likely why - The News Herald

Law and policy

What, in general terms, are your governments policies and practices regarding oversight and review of foreign investment?

The investment regime in Norway is liberal and open, and the government encourages foreign investments. The governments general policies and practices regarding oversight and review of foreign investments are limited to the National Security Act. However, the ability to review a transaction is not contingent on the nationality of the acquirer, rather the Norwegian regime is based on assessing a national security impact that applies in all circumstances, including acquisitions by Norwegian companies. Naturally, the identity of the acquirer will be relevant in a substantive assessment of whether the investment generates a risk with regard to national security. In this sense, an assessment will be made of the nature and type of activities of the target with regard to their inherent sensitivity from a national security perspective. This will be reviewed against the identity of the acquirer and whether there are any risks that can be linked to it.

Norway has no currency restrictions. However, there are several other regulatory approval schemes linked to transactions, including merger control by the Competition Authority.

What are the main laws that directly or indirectly regulate acquisitions and investments by foreign nationals and investors on the basis of the national interest?

The review of acquisitions and investments by foreign nationals and investors on grounds of national security in Norway are governed by the Norwegian National Security Act of 1 June 2018 No. 24 (NSA). The NSA is intended to help prevent, detect and counter activities that present a threat to national security, and ensure that security measures are implemented in accordance with the fundamental legal principles and values of a democratic society. The NSA is meant to exist as a dynamic framework for the most critical security interests in our society, without detailed safety regulations.

The key provisions of the NSA are:

Outline the scope of application of these laws, including what kinds of investments or transactions are caught. Are minority interests caught? Are there specific sectors over which the authorities have a power to oversee and prevent foreign investment or sectors that are the subject of special scrutiny?

The NSA does not distinguish between foreign and domestic investments. The rules of ownership control in the NSA are applicable regardless of the acquirers nationality, namely, the rules apply to both foreign and domestic acquirers without discrimination.

There are two facets to the Norwegian regime. This includes, on the one hand, the mandatory notification of investments in companies that have explicitly been made subject to the NSA, and, on the other, a broad general provision to order the notification of investments of concern.

First, as regards mandatory notification, investments must always be notified when the target is a company that has been made subject to the NSA by way of decision issued by a government ministry under section 1-3 NSA. Each ministry has a delegated authority, within its field of competence, to issue administrative decisions rendering a company subject to the NSA. This authority is discretionary, but limited to situations where a company:

Prior to issuing a decision, a ministry must first give notice to the company in question. The company is given the opportunity to present its comments to the ministry.

Examples of undertakings that are covered by the provisions on ownership control are companies in the defence, telecommunications, transport and energy sectors, food and water supply and health services. However, there is no public list or record of which companies have been made subject to the NSA.

Second, as regards the general prohibition, section 2-5 NSA allows the government to adopt decisions necessary to prevent activities that present a not insignificant threat to national security. This provision is purposefully broad and is designed as a safety valve to ensure a means of reviewing and, possibly, blocking transactions that raise national security concerns. However, the preparatory works to the NSA clearly state that it should only be used in limited and serious situations. To date, the provision is only publicly known to have been applied once.

How is a foreign investor or foreign investment defined in the applicable law?

The provisions on ownership control in the NSA are not directed specifically towards foreign investors or foreign investment as such, and apply both to foreign and domestic acquirers without discrimination. As a result, the NSA does not define terms such as foreign investor or foreign investment. Rather, the objective of the NSA is to guard against investments that raise a national security concern.

Are there special rules for investments made by foreign state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs)? How is an SOE or SWF defined?

There are no specific rules for investments made by foreign SOEs or SWFs. The provisions on ownership control are applicable regardless of the acquirers nationality.

Which officials or bodies are the competent authorities to review mergers or acquisitions on national interest grounds?

The competent authority to review mergers or acquisitions on national interest grounds is the individual ministry with competence for the sector in which the relevant undertaking is engaged. If the company does not fall within the sector of any ministry, the Norwegian National Security Authority has competence to conduct the review.

The ministries and the Norwegian National Security Authority have the power to approve an acquisition, but they cannot prohibit an acquisition. If an acquisition is to be prohibited, the decision must be taken by the government.

Notwithstanding the above-mentioned laws and policies, how much discretion do the authorities have to approve or reject transactions on national interest grounds?

The NSA is intended to provide a dynamic framework to address the most critical security interests in Norway, and although there is a not insignificant margin of discretion, any prohibition decision must still be adopted according to general principles of administrative law.

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Snapshot: foreign investment law and policy in Norway - Lexology

The K-drama Snowdrop has been a rollercoaster fictionally and in real life. Set during the '80s uprising for democracy in South Korea, it is Blackpink Jisoos first major acting role. She was cast opposite melodrama favorite Jung Hae-in. It started off with a bunch of controversies as the general public and activists called it out for its insensitive portrayal of the uprising and the relations between North Korea and South Korea. But it has finally ended with a high rating.

After the court and the Blue House (South Koreas presidential office) vetoed the cancelation petitions and lawsuits and gave their approval for the dramas broadcast, netizens finally gave the Jisoo-starrer K-drama a chance. Well, they did more as invested viewers are now torn over the ending which took place on January 30. This weekend was full of emotions as the production decided to air the last three Snowdrop episodes in 48 hours. And fans have a lot of questions like Su-hos death, the NSAs consequences, Young-ros fate and more.

READ MORE'Snowdrop': Stocks, viewership ratings increase after court rules in favor of K-drama

The problem with 'Snowdrop': Why South Koreans want Blackpink Jisoo's K-drama canceled

In Snowdrop, Jung Hae-in plays the North Korean spy Su-ho who has doubts about his mission after his party decides to kill him for hindering their plans. Blackpinks Jisoo plays student Young-ro who mistakes him for a student activist and who then unwillingly holds her hostage to protect his team. He decides to go rogue earning the wrath of his comrades and the NSA who have partnered up with North Korea. Su-ho teams up with the hostages, his comrade, Doctor Kang and NSA officer Gang-mu to ruin the political plans between North Korea and South Korea.

It is established that the North want to kill their spies for foiling the mission while the South want to kill all of the student hostages as it will get them sympathy votes which will help them win the upcoming election. In exchange, the South is ready to give 300 million dollars to the North. In Episode 15, it seems like Su-hos plan is working as Doctor Kang gets the money, comes back to flee the country with the comrades and help the hostages escape without the NSA killing them all.

However, we get the biggest plot twist in the finale which is Episode 16. While, Su-ho, Doctor Kang and his two comrades try to escape with the money, it turns out there was another sleeper agent in the hostel that foils their plans. Kim, the old doddering dorm manager who cowered in the beginning and was even beat up by the comrades, turned out to be a North Korean spy who is woken up to kill Su-hos team for failing their mission. He kills the two comrades Gyeok-chan and Eung-cheol but dies while trying to kill Su-ho.

Doctor Kang tries to convince Su-ho to continue with their escape plan, however, he decides to go back and save the student hostages escape alive as the NSAs Nam Tae-il brutally raids the place. Doctor Kang flees alone with the money and promises to take care of all of their families. The NSA is sent in to kill the students after the hot-headed Ha-na tells the public about South Koreas election scheme. Young-ros father Eun Chang-su who is NSAs president recovers from his gunshot that was ordered by Nam Tae-il and helps Ha-na escape with the students.

Ha-na takes the student hostages and leaves in a bus. However, Young-ro, headmistress Ms Pi, Bun-ok and cook Oh are left behind in the hostel. Oh accidentally sets off a bomb and the rest try to help her out. Su-ho saves them as they are surrounded by NSA agents but gets shot multiple times in the process. The three women leave except Young-ro who stays by the injured Su-ho. To make sure she is also not killed by Nam Tae-il, he tells the NSA where the 300 million is being kept and adds that the password to access it is only known to Young-ro.

The plan mildly backfires as Nam Tae-il orders the officers to anyway shoot them. Su-ho is fatally injured and gives Young-ro the tape he had recorded in response to her confessing she had fallen in love with him at first sight. He also says that he loves her and asks her to live her life. The NSA officers take away Young-ro as Su-ho watches. He dies after she leaves.

The election scheme fails anyway and the opposing party wins. The NSA leaders including Young-ros father is jailed. Her stepmother escapes with a hidden stash of money. In the meantime, Gang-mu and Ha-na are seen leaving everything behind and going off in their cars together. Young-ro is at the cafe where she had first seen Su-ho and listens to his tape while imagining the alternate life they could have had together.

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'Snowdrop' Ending Explained: Suhos escape plans and the NSAs raid clash - MEAWW