#1. Upon arriving in Berlin

[rauthschild]

First and Foremost, I would like to publicly state that my response to Judge Joe Brown, is with no malicious intent and design to degrade, offend or humiliate my Brotha.

My response is merely to reeducate Black Judges and lawyers who unconsciously accepted the indoctrination of the Anglo-Saxon Nazi Zionist Jewish controlled foreign corporate judicial system, to wit:

Judge Joe Brown X Tweet

"'"As July 4, 2024 arrives, we should reflect on certain historic realities as we recognize the emergence of our United States of America

We commemorate the 235th year of the ratification of our Constitution

It must always be understood that when we say state, we mean something quite similar to nation (state is in fact a synonym for nation) and—just as we now have the Euro Union—the North American Union of rebel English colonies was formed in 1789

The entities now designated as states are still effectively semi-sovereign nations—even after the initial agreement of the original rebels to unify into a collective whole was effectuated upon ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1789

Like many individual European nation-states are now United in the Euro Union, the original 13 rebel states (that were formerly colonies of England) formed into a conglomerate now known as the United States of America—or perhaps more accurately in contemporary terms—the United Nations of North America

Note that ‘states’ is plural

[Up until the Civil War, the appropriate language was (e.g.): 'the United States ARE ... ' (expressive of a plurality)

After the Civil War, the correct form of address is: the United States IS ... ' (expressive of a singular unity)]

The entities defined as states are still effectively semi-sovereign nations even after agreeing to unify into a collective whole e.g. This is why we have such things as the ‘Electoral College’ to select the President

Just as it would be totally unrealistic to expect the multitude of nation-states in the Euro-Union to surrender to the dictates of Berlin/Paris/Rome … it is unreasonable to expect Tennessee/Florida/Virginia/Montana to surrender to the dictates of Los Angeles/New York/Chicago

The Electoral College functions to even things out—it is effectively functioning as a Board of Directors to select the Chief Executive … i.e. President

As Stock Holders vote for a Board of Directors, the citizens vote for a Board of Electors (Board is effectively a synonym for ‘College’)

No … the U.S.A. is not a corporation … but modern corporations are modeled on the structure of the U.S. Government Corporations are fictional persons created by state decree—they have the same rights as all other persons

They were the creations of ingenious businessmen and thinkers in the mid-19th Century

The idea was to develop something like the limited liability entities chartered by the English Crown … the LTD thing we hear so often in conjunction with English business firms

Another very aptly demonstrated incentive to preserve state authority/autonomy/power is to avoid a civil war

Though the term is thrown around with abandon these days—as is the term insurrection—the reality is far more grave

e.g. The casualty count for the 1861-1865 war far exceeds the total of all the rest of the wars in which the U.S.A. has been involved (including WW I/WW II/Korea/Viet Nam/Middle East/etc)

e.g. Gettysburg had ≈ 51K casualties over 3 days

Vicksburg (both battles ending July 4, 1863) had ≈ 19.2K

Total for U.S. Civil War ≈ 1.5 million

(The population of the U.S.A. at the time was only about 1/5-1/6 the current population)

At the 1861-65 casualty rate, the current count would be ≈ 7.5–9 million casualties for a comparison … something to think about

All such things must be taken into account when there is a discussion of governance and the associated realities

We cannot allow the current fslide into totalitarianism/fascism to continue as it is going

The press—and our currently constituted government—both seem determined to sacrifice the national legacy for their selfish degeneracies

We cannot let that happen

Remember that when you hear the fireworks

---------------------------------------------

Ernest Rauthschild's Response

Uncle Judge Joe Brown,

This is wonderful and heartfelt, but wrong -- just confused, like so many Autochthonous Black and Brown Judges and Lawyers still are.

The Union wasn't formed in 1789. It was formed in 1776.

The Federation wasn't formed in 1789 either. It was also formed in 1776.

The Confederation wasn't formed in 1789 --- it was formed in 1781.

All the above were formed during The Revolutionary War, not the so-called War Independence. All three are totally American.

These are formed and stand under The A Declaration of July 4th, 1776.

The Constitutions are service contracts.

There are three "Federal" service contracts, therefore three Constitutions and three service providers.

The States pay for the services and the three Federal Subcontractors are supposed to provide the Enumerated Services while we delegate the Enumerated Powers necessary to perform those services.

The Autochthonous Black and Brown people of North America don't stand under any Constitution. Our Federal Employees stand under Constitutions.

Here are the three Constitutions and their respective Contractors:

The Constitution for the United States of America issued in 1787 to the American Subcontractor known as the Federal Republic.

It was staffed and populated by Autochthonous United States Nationals from 1787 to 1861. It ceased functioning because the States of America (which are doing-business-as name of the original Confederation) which was awarded the American service contract ceased functioning. It lost the quorum necessary to conduct business in April of 1861. This Constitution went dormant and the other Federal "service providers" took over the Federal Republic's functions and duties.

The Constitution of the United States of America issued in 1789 was issued to the British Territorial United States Government doing business as the United States of America, Incorporated, and was populated by U.S. Citizens. This British Territorial organization still exists as the USA, Inc., a British Crown Corporation named after our Autochthonous American Federation of States which is an unincorporated Federation that has done business as The United States of America since 1776.

Notice that the only difference between the British Crown Corporation doing business as the United States of America (Incorporated) and The United States of America (Unincorporated), our Federation of States, is the article "the" --- the incorporated entity takes the indefinite article "the" and the unincorporated Federation of States takes the definite article "The" and makes it part of its name.

Finally we have The Constitution of the United States issued in 1790 to the Holy Roman Empire and staffed by Municipal citizens of the United States. You might recognize this language from the 14th Amendment to The Constitution of the United States of America -- the British Subcontractor's Constitution noted above.

Both the British Territorial Constitution and the HRE Constitution are still in print.

All these Federal Subcontractors live (or lived in the case of the missing Federal Republic) under their respective Constitutions, but the Federal Employees are not protected by the Constitutions they live under, because they are not parties to any of the Treaties that these Constitutions implement nor to the Constitutions themselves.

Webster's Dictionary of 1824 clearly lists "federal" as a synonym for "contract". When you see "Federal Government" think "Contract Government" --- a government created by contract.

Judge Brown, makes the common mistake/assumption that Americans stand under the Constitution--- or "a" Constitution, but no.

The Constitutions implement the power-sharing agreements mandated by all the various Peace Treaties that ended The Revolutionary War. You can read the Peace Treaties and see this for yourself if you have a lot of patience.

Another common mistake is to read The Definitive Treaty of Paris (1783) and think, based on verbiage contained therein, that the British won the war -- Moorish King George is described as the Prince of the United States of America (the British Crown Corporation version) and Arch-Treasurer thereof --- and the entire document is about the British Territorial United States Government. The only mention about the Autochthonous Black and Brown people of North America is a single line in which King George mentions us as "the free, sovereign and independent states". Our Treaty isn't the Treaty of Paris.

Our Treaty is the Treaty of Versailles.

Knowing these things is paramount information every Autochthonous Black and Brown American everywhere should know, so I just send it along to each of you and whoever you wish to share it with.

[ifreakingloveroyals]

1 December 2014 | Queen Letizia of Spain and German First Lady Daniela Schadt chat upon their arrival at Schloss Bellevue presidential palace in Berlin, Germany. King Felipe and Queen Letizia are on their first state visit to Berlin since assuming the Spanish throne. (c) Sean Gallup/Getty Images

[blackberryjamboree]

This is a short story I wrote for my language class. TW: murder, child abuse, suicide attempt

Luna’s Lament

By E.H, aka Blackberry Jamboree

As she walked through the dark forest outside of town, Luna thought about her life, her horrible, horrible, life.

She had been a study abroad student who came to America all the way from Germany for the entirety of her high school years. She had mastered English at 14 years of age and was able to hide her accent, she got exceptional grades, she even was good in self-defense. Luna had a very hard life before everything, she had been sent to an orphanage when she was only 7, her mother killed her older brother in frustration and Luna had ran away, her mother was later declared missing and Luna never heard from her again. Luna’s brother, who’s name was Todd, basically raised her and kept her safe from her mother, always wearing a smile on his face and doing everything in his power to make his younger sister happy. Without Todd, Luna was filled with despair and misery, never feeling much joy again as when Todd was alive. The other kids at the orphanage were freaked out and disturbed by the way Luna never smiled, and she was constantly bullied for it. By the time she was 13, Luna was offered to take a study course in America after graduating middle school.

Since Luna had nothing better to do, she accepted the offer and was sent to a small house 1 year later. Upon arriving at the house, Luna became face-to-face with her new bubbly new roommate, named Alex, who ended up coming from the same abroad program. Alex came from Berlin, the biggest city in Germany, and turned out to have come from an orphanage just like Luna.

Luna soon befriended Alex and they became close friends, as both of them never really had friends before. From then on they were inseparable, Alex being known as “The cheerful ball of sunshine” and Luna was known as “The emotionless follower”. Luna always went along with Alex’s plans, as she did not have any special interests herself. As Luna kept walking into the forest, she came across what she was looking for, a sturdy oak tree. She began to climb up the tree as she thought about the last few weeks.

Luna and Alex had become senior year students and Alex changed drastically, she started getting more distant to Luna, and even said horrible things about her to her other friends. One day, Luna found out, and she argued with Alex about everything. Alex proceeded to say very hurtful stuff about how Luna “lacked emotions” and could never be happy. Luna ran off to her room afterwards. Luna mentally deteriorated afterwards, she stopped talking and just stared into space, the stuff Alex said that day broke her. That evening, Luna wrote a note on how she would take a walk in the forest and not return, she taped the note to the kitchen table and ran out the door. And here we are now, Luna climbs to the top of the tree and looks up to the sky, she prepares to jump to her death.

The tree was about 75 ft and shook with the wind. She stares at the ground, was she scared? Luna seemed to shake, did she really want to do this? Stuff could change, Alex could apologize. Luna thinks about her life again, but not the downs, instead she thought about the ups, like when Todd sang her old lullabies, or when Alex took her on picnics.

Luna climbed down the tree and prepared to walk home, as she looked up from the ground, which had not left her eyes, her eyes met Alex, who had read the note and ran out of the house looking for her.

“I-” Alex started to say, but was interrupted by Luna, who quickly ran to embrace her. “I'm sorry…. I didn’t think right…” For the first time in years, Luna cried. Alex was sobbing as well, happy to know her best friend is alright. “I should have never said those awful things, you really mean a lot to me y’know?” Alex said quietly. “Can we go home and forget this ever happened?” Luna asked while wiping her tears. “Of course, let's go...” Alex grabbed Luna’s hand and walked her out of the forest, vowing to never leave her side.

Everything was back to being fine at last.

[yesgermany-manish]

How to Prepare for Your First Year of Study in Germany

Studying abroad can be a transformative experience, and starting your first year in Germany brings exciting opportunities, challenges, and adventures. Known for its exceptional education system and vibrant culture, Germany is a top destination for international students. Here’s a guide to help you prepare for your studies in Germany, from getting familiar with the German lifestyle to understanding academic expectations.

1. Research and Understand the German Education System

Germany’s education system might be different from what you’re used to, especially if you’re coming from outside Europe. German universities emphasize independent study, research, and practical experience, allowing students to gain in-depth knowledge in their fields. If you're attending a semester abroad in Germany, familiarize yourself with your program structure and credit requirements, as they may vary based on the institution and field of study. Courses often focus on self-directed learning, so it’s essential to adapt to a more autonomous approach to education.

2. Financial Planning and Budgeting

Germany is known for its affordability compared to other European countries, but you’ll still need a solid financial plan. Start by calculating your monthly expenses, including accommodation, food, transport, and study materials. International students can also apply for scholarships or part-time jobs to support their finances. Many universities offer guidance on budgeting and cost-effective living. Some students enrolled in master programs in Germany may find scholarship opportunities directly through their universities, so be sure to explore these options early.

3. Language Preparation

While many German universities offer programs in English, knowing some basic German will help you integrate into the community and make daily tasks easier. Enroll in a German language course before your arrival, or take advantage of free resources to learn foundational phrases. Having a basic grasp of the language will ease your transition and make everyday interactions smoother. If you’re considering a Master of Science in Germany, remember that many advanced programs might include some German coursework or involve interactions with German-speaking professionals, so language skills are beneficial.

4. Accommodation Search

Securing a place to live should be high on your priority list, as student housing in popular German cities can fill up quickly. You can choose from dormitories, shared apartments, or private accommodations. University residence halls are usually more affordable and located close to campus. Begin your search as soon as you receive your acceptance letter to avoid any last-minute hassles. Websites and student forums are helpful resources for finding housing, as are local student organizations, which often have networks and tips on affordable housing.

5. Getting to Know Your City

Whether you’re heading to Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, or a smaller university town, every city in Germany has its own charm. Research local attractions, transportation options, and cultural highlights to get an idea of what your new home has to offer. Knowing the area around your university will also help you find essential services like grocery stores, pharmacies, and medical clinics, so you feel more at ease upon arrival.

6. Understand German Culture and Etiquette

German culture is known for its directness, punctuality, and orderliness. While Germans are welcoming, understanding local etiquette can help you navigate social situations better. For instance, punctuality is highly valued, so always aim to be on time for classes and appointments. Additionally, Germans appreciate privacy and may appear reserved initially, but are warm once relationships are established. Take the time to immerse yourself in the culture, as it will enrich your study experience.

7. Academic Preparedness

German universities are known for their rigorous academic standards. Be prepared for a more self-directed learning style, where you’ll be expected to manage your coursework and projects independently. Reading materials are usually provided in advance, so make use of these to stay ahead. For students pursuing a Master of Science in Germany, understanding the curriculum’s research components and laboratory work will help you succeed in your program.

8. Join Student Networks and Organizations

Connecting with fellow students is a great way to feel part of the community. Many German universities have student associations, clubs, and networks where you can meet people from diverse backgrounds. These groups often organize events and activities that can help you socialize, share experiences, and make lasting friendships.

9. Manage Your Health Insurance and Documents

Health insurance is mandatory for all students in Germany, and you’ll need to ensure you have valid coverage before enrolling at your university. Many universities provide guidance on selecting suitable health insurance plans for international students. Additionally, keep copies of essential documents, such as your passport, visa, admission letter, and health insurance information, both digitally and physically.

10. Embrace New Experiences and Enjoy Your Journey

Starting your studies in Germany is a unique journey filled with personal growth and exploration. Be open to new experiences, explore the country’s diverse landscapes, and enjoy local traditions and festivities. Adjusting to a new country might come with challenges, but each experience adds to your global perspective and helps shape your future.

Preparing for your first year in Germany might feel overwhelming, but with careful planning, you’ll settle into this new chapter smoothly. From academic adjustments to exploring the country’s rich culture, Germany offers a fulfilling educational journey that equips you for success both in and beyond the classroom. Enjoy this exciting opportunity to learn, grow, and discover all that studying in Germany has to offer!

[ethercvl]

‘ laura berlin, cisfemale, she/her, 30 / 300 , high fae ’ ― cauldron save you. it seems PERSEPHONE GALATHANEA has finally made it to the capital, the LADY from THE DAWN COURT is said to be LOYAL and is said to describe themselves with WHAT IS RIGHT IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT IS GOOD, LOYALTY BEYOND COMPARE, THE RUPTURE OF YOUR HEART and with all of this in mind their AVOIDANT nature always seems to get them into trouble. may the mother hold them as they navigate this unthinkable time.

general details.

full name: persephone galathenea name meaning: bringer of destruction nicknames: posy, effie age:  300   place of birth: the dawn court current location: the dusk court ethnicity: high fae gender: cisfemale pronouns: she/her sexual orientation: heterosexual

physical appearance, etc.

faceclaim:  laura berlin hair color and style: long brown hair often up eye color: blue tattoos:   none piercings:  few ear lobes

personality.

positive traits:  loyal negative traits: avoidant moral alignment: true neutral

family, relationships, etc.

mother: father: deceased significant other: has been in love with suho for years best friend: ?? exes: ?? sibling(s): 1 older brother, 2 younger siblings children: one son ( 6 ), ares galathanea.

head canons and/or backstory.

raised as her brother's back up, she was immediately trained by the best tutors the court had to offer along with her siblings. the pressure to perform the best that she could when it came to their abilities and their studies. it was never really what persephone was interested in though. attention drifting during her studies, constantly under fire for gazing out the window. being a constant disappointment to her parents led to the second eldest to run from the court as soon as she was old enough. years and years spent travelling around the continent. exploring each of the courts at a leisurely pace. spending the most time in the autumn court. which was where she met suho. knowing he didn't want to settle she had entered into a more casual relationship but she wasn't cut out for that. leaving the male when he still refused to settle down with her. doing what she does best and ran away from the male. it was upon her initial return to the dawn court after autumn that she discovered that she was with child. once again in her avoidant nature, she took off from the court once again. fear of being a disappointment for having a child out of wedlock. fleeing to the only person that she knew she could trust to help her in situation she went to the night court. her sister striking a bargain with her to keep her secret of who the father of the child was, and keeping her hidden for the duration of her pregnancy. only returning to the dawn court after the arrival of her son. returning to the dawn court for the final time with her son in tow wasn't easy, but she wasn't going to be able to hide it from the court and her family for long. raising her child on her own in her home court from then on until they found themselves in the capital and then in the dusk court.

[thponders]

Santa Claus is Comin' to East Berlin

It's December 12, 1970. You are a child living in the suburbs of Chicago and are anxiously counting down the days until Christmas break arrives, with its presents and sledding and sweets. And while it isn’t quite Christmas break yet, this particular Saturday is a special one. Tonight, the new Rankin and Bass Christmas special, Santa Claus is Comin' To Town, is premiering on ABC. You've been waiting for this moment ever since you saw Frosty the Snowman last year and were enchanted by the magic and whimsy. You sit down with your mug of hot cocoa, you annoying little sister on the other side of the couch, as the show opens up with a news real, telling you what you already know:

"Today, children everywhere are making preparations for an event of world-shaking significance: the annual visit of Santa Claus."

You are then greeted by a postman who calls himself "Special Delivery Kluger… S.D. for short" with a smooth voice that you're sure sounds just like Fred Astaire. And he makes you a promise: "I can answer all your questions because I know everything about Santa."

A little under an hour later, the credits roll. You sit there, mouth agape, sad, upset, confused. You've just realized something you can't unrealize. It will haunt you for the rest of your days:

The Rankin and Bass 1970 Christmas special Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is Cold War propaganda, and the resolution of its conflict betrays the flawed consequences of the anti-communist propaganda machine, and the rot in the heart of the Western imperialist ideology.

———

There is an initial burden of proof to overcome when trying to analyze propaganda. Before it can be analyzed, it has to be identified. We have to prove that the media in question is actually trying to influence the sympathies of its audience towards a specific political agenda. But most propaganda is subliminal by necessity, a chameleon against the media it exists in, and the media surrounding it. Attempts to identify it will be met by cries of over-examination and conspiratorial fancy. Moreover it's easy to classify media whose narrative subtext we disagree with as propaganda, while defending media whose narrative subtext we align with from the same accusations.

But the real problem with making this claim about about a movie like Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, is that it has to be first agreed upon that media can exist within a machine of propaganda, and be propaganda, without explicitly being created as such. [^1] Which is to say, I do not think Richard Nixon sat in a monitoring room in the studio and picked up a private phone whenever he had notes for Rankin and Bass.

But I do think Rankin and Bass saw an opportunity to frame their Christmas story within some of the details of the larger geopolitical crisis of their time, specifically in Berlin. To do this, they chose to adopt commonly used narratives and tropes that reinforced the sympathies of their audience towards the political agenda of anti-communism— which is propaganda, as I have defined it above.

But let's go back to the beginning. S.D. Kruger tells us the story of the sad, gray village of Sombertown, full of sad, gray people, (Sombertons?) ruled by a sad, gray man with a German accent named Burgermeister Meisterburger.

Sombertown is bordered by the Mountain of the Whispering Winds, an uncrossable terrain haunted by the Winter Warlock, that separates it from Rainbow River Valley, where the Kringle elves live, making an endless supply of toys that they can't take anywhere because of the aforementioned uncrossable terrain. But even if they could cross the Mountain of the Whispering Winds, they'd have no one to deliver their toys to, as Burgermeister Meisterburger has outlawed toys after tripping on a wooden duck and breaking his funny bone.

To make a long story short, Kris Kringle, who was delivered to the Kringle elves as an orphan in a basket by the Whispering Winds alla Moses, grows up to bravely cross the mountains and deliver toys to Sombertown. When he gets there and finds the sad, gray children condemned to a lifetime of chores, he makes it his life's work to thwart Burgermeister Meisterburger, delivering toys to the children over and over again, overcoming every new declaration and hurdle Meisterburger throws in his way. [^2]

Throughout the special, all of the traditions of Christmas are revealed one by one. Kris can't deliver the toys during the day lest he be caught, so he has to come at night. Meisterberger makes a decree that all of the doors in the town must be locked at night, so he has to go in through the chimneys. Meisterberger starts breaking into people's homes and ransacking them to find the contraband toys, so Kris hides the toys in the kids stockings that are hanging by the fire.

There are two methods of propaganda at work in Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. The first is the card stacking, or cherry picking, that was and still is the foundation of all western anti-communist propaganda. The end goal is to homogenize the material and political conditions of all communist countries, without regard to any other geopolitical factors or contexts. Most relevant to our discussion is painting the entire Eastern Bloc as a world of cultural destitution and poverty— sad, gray people in sad, gray towns. This characterization simultaneously overlooks the global factors that lead to increased poverty in the agrarian communities of the Eastern Bloc, and ignores the thriving urban centers of the time— specifically in Easter Germany and Poland. Once this entire collection of countries and governments are collected under one narrative, we can use a town run by a mayor with a German accent as a stand-in for what life is like in all of Eastern European and Soviet communism. The reality was, of course, much more complex. [^3]

The second method of propaganda used here, which builds upon that initial card stacked characterization, is transfer propaganda. Transfer propaganda is a process of connecting the desired idea or outcome to an already commonly agreed upon idea. It can be a positive association— we trust Tom Hanks, so if Tom Hanks says it, it must be true— or a negative association— we all hate men who are perverts, so if trans people are just perverts in dresses, we must also hate trans people. And in the case of Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, it can be comparative— Santa Claus and the Christmas spirit are good, cities that demand conformism and are separated by impenetrable barriers are bad. [^4]

But the two methods of propaganda, transfer and card stacking, can also work together. Have the evil German man in Sombertown act a lot like another evil german man you might know, by always wearing his war medal and having a public bonfire of children's toys, and you've made a transfer that seems on the nose to us today, but opens up a much more layered idea when you consider what it means for the people watching this in 1970.

Through the widespread cultural machine of anti-communist card stacking, the economic and material conditions of the Eastern Bloc communist countries are homogenized, equating the hardships of the more agrarian countries with those of more industrial countries, including East Germany. Then, through Santa Claus is Comin' To Town, associations are drawn through various details between the Germans across the wall today and the evil Germans who were there 30 years ago. And thus you have arrived at the intended idea, the desired political agenda— that all communists in Eastern Europe are actually nazis, and that you, the viewer in 1970, are one of the good people, because you believe in Santa Claus, and Santa Claus sticks it to the reds by bringing toys to the kids, even when he is told not too. [^5]

But what about the ending? After Miss Jessica uses Winter Warlock's magic corn to make the reindeer fly, so she can break Winter, Kris, and all the Kringle elves out of prison, they find a wanted poster in the woods with Kris' image on it. In order to avoid detection Kris grows the worst chin strap imaginable and changes his name to Claus. [^6] And the children ask the important question: What happened to Burgermeister Meisterburger? What happened to the law against toys? When did they stop calling Santa Claus an outlaw? Fred Astaire, the narrator provides us with the answer, chuckling all the way through:

"Well, as time went by, that changed. You see, the Meisterburgers… They kind of died off and fell out of power. And by and by, the good people realized how silly the Meisterburger laws were. Well, everybody had a wonderful laugh and then forgot all about them. Yes, sir. The older he got, the more famous he became, and the more folks loved him."

A fairly anticlimactic ending for a movie whose villain literally arrested children, broke into and ransacked the homes of innocent civilians, and threw children's toys into a bonfire in front of them. But I guess that's nothing a good laugh can't fix.

It initially struck me as odd that the Burgermeister Meisterburger doesn't get a redemption ending. He's given a yoyo when Kris first arrives in Sombertown that he plays with for a moment before proceeding with his dastardly ways. But there's no chance for him at the end, no Scrooge or Grinch moment to be had. Meisterburger and his old ways must simply fall away, unaffected by anything but time. I think that there are possibly a few reasons for this.

One answer is that a children's Christmas special in 1970 simply cannot end with a coup, a regime change, an amendment to secure the civil liberty of play for the children of Sombertown. It just doesn't match the whole peace on earth and good will towards men vibe. Which is to say nothing of the fact that societal upheaval and revolution is, at least in 1970's America, a political tactic only used in countries that are trying to become communist. [^7] Revolutions in the 20th century no longer happen under the banner of democracy, or so they'd like the story to go.

But this compounds into an even darker reason. In Sombertown, the political system is not one of an evil tyrant oppressing the people. It's an evil tyrant oppressing the children, with full corroboration and cooperation from the military and the adults. The people of Sombertown are not the victims, because the people of communist countries cannot be victims of authoritarian regimes. Communism, according to its critics, allows for and invites the worst in people. Communists must be evil. They must be complicit, must be an active part of the suffering they have brought upon themselves by being communists.

But even that goes one step deeper, and actually arrives at the rot in the heart of conservative ideology, even to this day: the death cult. The other side deserves death. It's the genocide of Indigenous people in America, the use of the atomic bomb on civilians in Japan, all the way to what we're seeing right now in Gaza. It doesn't matter if you are military or civilian, adult or child, death is a consequence of being on the wrong side. Scrooge and the Grinch are simply hardened hearts. Burgermeister Meisterburger is deeply entrenched in a piece of propaganda that sets him up on the other side of the Berlin wall. If we give him a toy and he has a change of heart, it means that the answer to geopolitical conflict isn't war or death. The answer is peace and compassion for our enemies. That doesn't serve the capital gained by imperialism, war profiteering, and colonialism, so it cannot be the ending.

And I don’t think ABC would let Santa Claus and the Elves launch a full scale invasion of Sombertown, so the Meisterburgers just have to die off.

Anyways, tune in next year for my essay on how Frosty the Snowman is actually a terf. Happy holidays!

———

Authors Note:

While it has been documented elsewhere on the web that Fred Astaire and I are bitter rivals, I would like to say that I have done my best to be impartial and set aside my emotional hatred of the man in favor of a more reasoned and logical analysis.

Also thank you to Riley Breakell who messaged me asking about this very topic three years ago. It has been stuck in my head ever since and I'm glad to finally have it written down somewhere.

———

Footnotes:

[^1]: For the sake of academic or philosophical transparency, I want to make it clear that I am taking this as a postulate and not providing a rigorous philosophical proof, lest this fun little essay about a kids movie and propaganda become a book.

[^2]: He continues this process despite the fact that every time the children get toys, they take them outside and play with them, get caught, and get their toys confiscated and thrown into a bonfire. These children are idiots.

[^3]: I highly recommend Chapter 2 of Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism by Richard D. Wolff if you're interested in a primer on the missing pieces and the complexities I've left out here.. That's not what the book is really about, but that chapter is a well written explanation of American intervention in communist experiments.

[^4]: If you're interested in a very interesting case of transfer propaganda that results in a desired outcome, rather than a desired idea, I highly recommend the documentary Angry Inuk by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril. It details the efforts by many animal rights organizations to "stop seal hunting" as an easy way to get public donations, without drawing a distinction between subsistence hunting (which is the foundation of many Inuit community economies) and commercial seal hunting. It's a fascinating watch.

[^5]: Just a fun historical fact: Herbert Fechner, the mayor of East Berlin at the time, was actually a member of the SDP. The SDP were the Marxist (distinction from Communist) party in Germany, one of the oldest Marxist influenced political parties in the world, and the only party to oppose the Enabling Act of 1933, which dissolved the checks of the Weimar Republic, and gave all legislative powers to the Chancellor, who was, you guessed it, Adolf Hitler. The SDP was, unsurprisingly, dissolved during the German Reich. It's unclear from my limited research (read wikipedia) what Fechner's political alliances were prior to WWII, and he did serve in the German Army, but he joined with SDP when it was reestablished after the war, where it served as a staunch rebuttal of Nazi principles. However, by the time Fechner had reached the office of mayor, the SDP had abandoned its commitment to Marxist ideology, and was instead just a center-left party. (Which it still is to this day.) So I guess you could think of Herbert Fechner as a Joe Biden type. A far cry, I feel, from the Burgermeister Meisterburger, but we've yet to see how Biden reacts to tripping on a toy duck while walking down the steps of the White House. We could be careening towards the communist hellscape that Conservatives have been warning us about for decades, and Santa Clause might be our only hope.

[^6]: A wild detail that we don't have time to unpack. He and Jessica are married on Christmas day, explaining to the children listening to how she became Mrs. Claus. Which leads to an incredible moment minutes later, when Claus decides that it's too much work to deliver presents every night, and he needs to just pick one night, so he PICKS THE NIGHT OF HIS WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO BE THE ONLY NIGHT WHERE HE GOES OUT OF TOWN FOR WORK. Wild.

[^7]: Let's just set the civil rights movement and the American left off to the side. We can talk about that later.

[happyaliving]

4 Essential Things To Look Into Before Relocating to Germany

Germany, known for its rich cultural history, robust economy, and high quality of life, is a popular destination for expatriates from around the world. Whether you're drawn by career opportunities, educational prospects, or the allure of living in a country with a rich cultural tapestry, moving to Germany can be a life-changing decision. This article aims to provide an in-depth understanding of how to move to Germany, navigate the education system in Germany, and the pathway to obtaining permanent residence in Germany.

1. How to Move to Germany

Moving to Germany involves several key steps, starting from obtaining the right visa to settling into your new German life. The process can vary depending on your reason for moving – whether it's for work, study, or family reunification.

Obtaining a Visa: The first step is to apply for a German visa. Germany offers different types of visas, including student visas, job seeker visas, work visas, and family reunion visas. The application process typically requires submitting various documents, such as proof of financial stability, health insurance, and, in some cases, a letter of invitation or job offer from a German company.

Finding Accommodation: Securing a place to live is another crucial step. Germany offers a range of housing options, from urban apartments to suburban homes. Websites like Immobilienscout24, WG-Gesucht, and eBay Kleinanzeigen are popular for finding rental properties. It's important to start this process early, as the housing market in cities like Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg can be quite competitive.

Setting Up Essentials: Upon arrival, you'll need to register your address at the local registration office (Bürgeramt), open a bank account, and set up essential utilities. Learning basic German is also recommended to navigate daily life more smoothly.

2. Education System in Germany

The education system in Germany is renowned for its quality and accessibility. It offers various educational pathways catering to different skills and interests, making it an attractive option for expatriate families and international students.

Kindergarten and Schooling: Education in Germany starts with kindergarten (for children aged 3-6) and then progresses to primary school (Grundschule) and secondary school (Gymnasium, Realschule, or Hauptschule). The German school system emphasizes holistic development, combining academic rigor with vocational training and extracurricular activities.

Higher Education: Germany is home to world-class universities and technical colleges (Technische Hochschulen). The country offers a wide range of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs, many of which are taught in English. What’s more, public universities in Germany charge very low tuition fees, even for international students.

Vocational Training: Apart from traditional academic routes, Germany is famous for its dual vocational training system (Ausbildung), which combines apprenticeship in a company with vocational education at a vocational school.

3. Permanent Residence in Germany

Obtaining PR in Germany is a goal for many expatriates as it offers stability and a host of benefits. Permanent residence permits, or Niederlassungserlaubnis, allow you to live and work in Germany indefinitely, and it can be a pathway to German citizenship.

Eligibility Criteria: To qualify for permanent residency, non-EU nationals typically need to have lived in Germany for a certain number of years (usually five), have a secure livelihood, and possess adequate German language skills. Other requirements include having health insurance and a sufficient living space.

Application Process: The application for permanent residency involves submitting documents such as proof of income, employment contract, and evidence of German language proficiency to the local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde). The process may vary slightly depending on individual circumstances and the specific federal state.

4. Integrating into German Society

Moving to Germany is not just about logistical arrangements; it's also about cultural integration. Germans are known for their punctuality, direct communication style, and value for privacy. Adapting to these cultural norms can be crucial for a smooth transition.

Social Integration: Participating in local community events, joining clubs or groups aligned with your interests, and engaging with neighbors can help in building a social network. Many cities in Germany also have expatriate communities, which can be a valuable support system for newcomers.

Learning the Language: While many Germans speak English, learning German Vocabulary is key to integration. It not only facilitates daily interactions but also opens up more job opportunities and helps in understanding local customs and media.

5. Conclusion

Moving to Germany can be a rewarding experience, offering a blend of cultural richness, high-quality education, and professional opportunities. Whether your aim is to benefit from the education system in Germany, seek long-term stability through permanent residence in Germany, or simply explore a new life chapter, Germany offers a welcoming and dynamic environment. With the right preparation and an open mind, your transition to

[umichenginabroad]

Week 1: Adjusting to my new life!

Dobrý den! I’ll start off by saying… Jet lag is the worst! I arrived at the airport and the CEA team met me there and took me to my apartment. The apartment is much better than what I imagined, and it is in a really good location. I like the area where the apartment is because it is not in a “touristy” place, which means I get to practice the 3 words I know in Czech a little bit. I met my roommates and they were very very nice and I get along with them very well. The first day was a recovery day of the long 15 hour trip. I went to the supermarket nearby and got a few groceries so that I would be able to cook something for dinner. 

The next day was orientation! On the way there, my roommates and I got an acai bowl and stumbled upon a very cute park. At orientation, we got a little info session on Czech culture, and then we had a mini tour of some parts of the old town (it is GORGEOUS!). At night, we got together with some friends that live in the same building, and some that live across the street. They were all very nice and we had a good time getting to know each other and talking about what we want to do during our time abroad (spoiler alert: we are going to Berlin this weekend!). 

Classes have been great, and we have a group of around 5 girls that walk together to the CEA education center, which is around a 25-30 minute walk. The walk is nice and I get to learn how to navigate myself in this city! My calculus class is around 15 people, and right after I have the golden city of Prague class which is really fun. Each class we go on field trips around the old town. We have already visited the Jewish town, St. Agnes Convent, and tomorrow we are going to Prague Castle! In each class we discuss the history behind each art piece and the architecture of the places we visit, which is actually pretty interesting. 

During the weekend, I went to the old town and explored all the shops and markets that were around. I wanted to buy everything I saw, but I managed to have self control and only bought myself some strawberries that were great! We also had dinner with some of the girls at a place nearby called Zluta Pumpa, which had Mexican food (it was very good).

I look forward to sharing more of my experiences with you!

Čau!

Mariana Pardo

Biomedical Engineering

Engineering in Prague

[9jahitbase]

France promises Zelensky weapons after EU honours Ukraine fight 'for Europe'

France on Monday promised Ukraine dozens more light tanks and armoured vehicles after President Emmanuel Macron met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris as Kyiv readies for a widely expected counter-offensive.Fresh off stops in Rome and then Germany, Zelensky dined with Macron at the Elysee Palace on Sunday night, where the pair discussed boosting military aid."In the coming weeks, France will train and equip several battalions with tens of armored vehicles and light tanks including AMX-10RC," they said in a joint statement afterwards.They also called for fresh sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine "to weaken Russia's ability to continue its illegal war of aggression."After months of stalemate, Ukraine has been preparing to retake ground captured by Russia and has been stockpiling Western-supplied munitions and shoring up support on a diplomatic tour.Zelensky's arrival in Paris came hours after European Union leaders in Germany presented him with a prize for the Ukrainian people for fighting for the bloc's freedom and values."Ukraine incarnates everything the European idea is living for: the courage of convictions, the fight for values and freedom, the commitment to peace and unity," said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen at the Charlemagne award ceremony in Aachen.For German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Russia's war on its neighbour had "cemented one clear realisation: Ukraine is part of our European family".Upon arriving at the Villacoublay airbase southwest of Paris on Sunday, Zelensky tweeted: "Ties with Europe are getting stronger, and the pressure on Russia is growing.""Paris. With each visit, Ukraine's defense and offensive capabilities are expanding."- Germany 'a true friend' -Zelensky was awarded the Charlemagne Prize during his first trip to Germany since Russia's invasion, a day after meeting Italian leaders and Pope Francis in Rome.The weekend diplomatic tour comes ahead of an EU summit in Reykjavik and a gathering of G7 leaders in Japan.Story continuesZelensky won extended standing ovations at the Aachen ceremony, during which EU leaders also vowed to support Ukraine on its road to joining the bloc.Calling Germany a "true friend and reliable ally" to Ukraine as it battles to repel Russian invaders, Zelensky held separate talks with Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.Berlin is preparing a new military package for Kyiv worth 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), its biggest yet for Ukraine and hailed by Zelensky as a "powerful support"."Now is the time for us to determine the end of this war this year. This year, we can make the aggressor's defeat irreversible," said the Ukrainian leader.Germany, once accused of reticence in supplying military gear to Ukraine, has become the second-biggest contributor of tanks, rockets and anti-missile systems to the country, after the United States.- 'As long as necessary' -Early in the conflict, Kyiv had accused Germany of being too accommodating to Russian President Vladimir Putin.But on the eve of Zelensky's visit, Berlin said it would send Ukraine more firing units and launchers for the Iris-T anti-missile system, 30 additional Leopard 1 tanks, more than 100 armoured combat vehicles and over 200 surveillance drones.Scholz on Sunday reiterated Berlin's backing. "We will support you for as long as it is necessary," he told Zelensky.Zelensky said he would urge Scholz to support Ukraine's bid for fighter jet deliveries, though he did not specify if he was seeking aircraft directly from Germany.Ukrainian forces have been training troops and readying weapons that analysts say will be key to reclaiming territory in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the south.- 'Inaction' -On the front line, Kyiv said Ukrainian forces had captured more than 10 Russian positions on the outskirts of the flashpoint town of Bakhmut.Russia said two of its military commanders had been killed in combat near the town, where fighting has been raging for days.The head of Russia's private Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin again accused the Russian army of inaction around Bakhmut.In a post published by his press service, Prigozhin slammed the "airborne forces" for not backing his men as the defence ministry had claimed."I didn't see them... I don't know where they are and who they are helping," said Prigozhin.Elsewhere, Moscow said Russian forces had struck Western arm depots and Ukrainian troops in the western city of Ternopil and the eastern town of Petropavlivka.bur/lb/qan Source link Read the full article

[archietransdrews]

[ID 1 : Recent attention to inanimate objects, from Jennifer Terry’s work on the love of inanimate objects such as the Eiffel Tower and the Berlin Wall to news coverage of men having serious emotional relationships with their dakimakura pillows, represents certain kinds of reversals of expectation regarding a kind of vitality that objects are afforded within humann worlds. Thinking beyond the rubric of fetishism, it is useful to build upon this work to ask questions of the subjects facing those objects and to consider how to mark their subjectivity as such or why we do so. Consider, for instance, the example of my couch, with which my relationally is made possibly only to the degree that I am not in possession of human sociality. We might indeed let go of an attachment to the idea that social states or capacities are possessed by one animate entity and think rather in terms of transobjectivity. Transobjectivity releases objectivity from at least some of its epistemological strictures and allows us to think in terms of multiple objects interspersed and in exchange. Stacy Alaimo’s term transcoporeality suggests we think beyond the terms of the bodily unit and affirm the agencies of the matter that we live among. The sentience of the couch, in our meeting and communing, then becomes my own sentience as well. 

ID 2: My question then becomes: What is lost when we hold tightly to that exceptionalism which says that couches are dead and we are alive? For would not my nonproductivity, my nonhuman sociality, render me some other human’s “dead,” as certainly it has, in case after case of the denial of disabled existence, emotional life, sexuality, or subjectivity? And what is lost when we say that couches must be cathected differently from humans? Or when we say that only certain couches as they are used would deserve the attributions of a sexual fetish? These are only questions to which I have no ready answers, except to declare that those forms of exceptionalism no longer seem very reasonable. Indeed, the literary scholar John Plotz’s careful review essay on new trends in materiality theories, “Can the Sofa Speak? A Look at Thing Theory,” itself never seems to arrive at confronting the possibility of the sofa’s speech, seeming to presume that the question of sofas remains at the level of humorous titular play, no explanation needed. end ID]

mel chen, from following mercurial affect in animacies.

[hraeth-ethile]

Kirchewasser Deletia, Church Water Deleting, or just Deletia, is an extremely rare genetic condition inherited by the offspring of a union between a sapient and feral of the same species. While a 1-in-1,000,000 chance keeps most from becoming pregnant after such a union, those that survive pregnancy are always stricken with deletia. The effects of deletia often come with leukodystrophy, most commonly VWM disease. On their own already considered extraordinarily rare, the diagnosis of deletia always pairs with a kind of leukodystrophy. In addition to the effects of VWM disease, deletia includes dysnomia, extreme confusion with more pronounced effects, and a much more rapid degeneration by leukodystrophy. Only 3 historic cases exist of an infant born with deletia surviving into childhood until deletia and its related conditions ended their lives, and only one of those cases could be confirmed with the life and death of Deuzą. Deuzą was a victim of the Battle of Berlin, and was discovered only after a post-battle casualty intake.

The history of the condition is mired in contention and misinformation, which has led to religious disputes, murders, and even a minor war, but first appears in a paper notice from the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter of Köln, dated 1355 CE, about healing waters discovered in its basement. According to the notice and the legends that came from it, the waters of the church had the ability to restore eyesight. Three locals and one traveller were reported of having the capacity to see with their eyes where they could not before.

The traveller, a merchant from Norfolk County, England, had only impartial vision before the miraculous cure that was applied to his eyes with a wash. He reported that, when his vision was perfectly restored, that he had a vision of God warning him of a threat that someone was intending to befoul the holy pools within Saint Peter's cellar, and that this person would have the Antichrist within their belly.

Terrified and incensed, the religious population of Köln, which was most of its residents at the time, began an inquisition, and a letter to the Vatican was sent requesting ecclesial support. Support came in the form of an apostolic visitor by the name of Vicar Ecclesiastes, a ruthless and unpopular man who had great favour with the pope. Upon arriving in Germany, the vicar, rather than investigating the rumours and stories, initiated a moral panic that started with an immediate roundup of every pregnant woman in the city. They would be put through a series of intense questions in public and then either let go or burned at the stake. While most left exhausted and distressed but unharmed, several women and their unborn children were murdered by the vicar.

The last of these women, who was also to be put to death, was Astrid die Nette - a widely respected vixen and adored young baker who had just recently been wed to a French chevalier. A crowd threatened to revolt against the vicar until Astrid's water broke messily and everywhere, and she soon gave birth to an unusual child. The infant fox, stillborn at birth, was observed to have an unusually narrow and small shape, much closer to that of a feral fox and not a sapient one.

Vicar Ecclesiastes declared that the unusually large water break was a satanic mockery of the pure healing waters of the church, and that the infant was indeed the Antichrist that was foretold in the traveller's warnings. The large crowd, which nearly revolted on behalf of Astrid, quickly turned on her and murdered her, and her and her stillborn were put to fire together. Their ashes were summarily buried in an undisclosed location in the nearby German countryside. Thinking the matter put to rest, the vicar returned to Rome.

On the following morning, the healing pools of Saint Peter's were discovered to be dried-up and missing when an altar boy went down to open it for the needs of more of Köln's blind.

[theculturedmarxist]

The "no the Communist countries weren't living hell on earth you fucking idiot" starter pack.

>The experience of African Americans who traveled to or settled in Russia was overwhelmingly positive, descendants said. In turn, they made valuable contributions to Soviet society, said Blakely, the professor. Agricultural specialists helped devise different uses for materials, such as rope made from hemp. They also helped develop plant species that were cheaper to cultivate. Their contributions provided a boost to the Soviet economy.

>Tynes, who was sent to various Soviet republics to teach people how to raise ducks and other waterfowl, became a nationally recognized expert on poultry. Golden helped develop a cotton industry in Uzbekistan. And the African Americans introduced Russians to blues and jazz.

>When people ask me what it was like growing up behind the Iron Curtain in Hungary in the Seventies and Eighties, most expect to hear tales of secret police, bread queues and other nasty manifestations of life in a one-party state.

>They are invariably disappointed when I explain that the reality was quite different, and communist Hungary, far from being hell on earth, was in fact, rather a fun place to live.

>The communists provided everyone with guaranteed employment, good education and free healthcare. Violent crime was virtually non-existent.

>But perhaps the best thing of all was the overriding sense of camaraderie, a spirit lacking in my adopted Britain and, indeed, whenever I go back to Hungary today. People trusted one another, and what we had we shared.

>In the Soviet Union, remnants of national and racial prejudices from the old society were attacked by education and law. It was a crime to give or receive direct or indirect privileges, or to exercise discrimination because of race or nationality. Any manifestation of racial or national superiority was punishable by law and was regarded as a serious political offense, a social crime.

>During my entire stay in the Soviet Union, I encountered only one incident of racial hostility. It was on a Moscow streetcar. Several of us Black students had boarded the car on our way to spend an evening with our friend MacCloud. It was after rush hour and the car was only about half filled with Russian passengers. As usual, we were the objects of friendly curiosity. At one stop, a drunken Russian staggered aboard. Seeing us, he muttered (but loud enough for the whole car to hear) something about “Black devils in our country.”

>A group of outraged Russian passengers thereupon seized him and ordered the motorman to stop the car. It was a citizen’s arrest, the first l had ever witnessed. “How dare you, you scum, insult people who are the guests of our country!”

>What then occurred was an impromptu, on-the-spot meeting, where they debated what to do with the man. 1 was to see many of this kind of “meeting* during my stay in Russia.

>It was decided to take the culprit to the police station which, the conductor informed them, was a few blocks ahead. Upon arrival there, they hustled the drunk out of the car and insisted that we Blacks, as the injured parties, come along to make the charges. At first we demurred, saying that the man was obviously drunk and not responsible for his remarks. “No, citizens,* said a young man (who had done most of the talking), “drunk or not, we don’t allow this sort of thing in our country. You must come with us to the militia (police) station and prefer charges against this man*

>The car stopped in front of the station. The poor drunk was hustled off and all the passengers came along. The defendant had sobered up somewhat by this time and began apologizing before we had even entered the building. We got to the commandant of the station. The drunk swore that he didn’t mean what he’d said. “I was drunk and angry about something else. I swear to you citizens that I have no race prejudice against those Black gospoda (gentlemen).*

>We actually felt sorry for the poor fellow and we accepted his apology. We didn’t want to press the matter. “No,* said the commandant, “we’ll keep him overnight. Perhaps this will be a lesson to him.”

>This study compared capitalist and socialist countries in measures of the physical quality of life (PQL), taking into account the level of economic development. The World Bank was the principal source of statistical data for 123 countries (97 percent of the world's population). PQL variables included: 1) indicators of health, health services, and nutrition (infant mortality rate, child death rate, life expectancy, population per physician, population per nursing person, and daily per capita calorie supply); 2) measures of education (adult literacy rate, enrollment in secondary education, and enrollment in higher education); and 3) a composite PQL index. Capitalist countries fell across the entire range of economic development (measured by gross national product per capita), while the socialist countries appeared at the low-income, lower-middle-income, and upper-middle-income levels. All PQL measures improved as economic development increased. In 28 of 30 comparisons between countries at similar levels of economic development, socialist countries showed more favorable PQL out-comes.

>Socialist countries out-performed capitalist countries in nearly every area, according to the study by Howard Waitzkin, UCI professor of medicine and social sciences, and Shirley Cereseto, professor emeritus of sociology at Cal State Long Beach. The study, which looked at infant and child death rates, life expectancy, the availability of doctors and nurses, nutrition, literacy and other educational factors, is in the current issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

>The study did not include the United States or other high-income capitalist countries in the comparisons because there were no equivalent socialist countries, the researchers said.

>While the quality of life appeared to increase with the wealth of the country, socialist or capitalist, the differences between the two categories were most "profound" in comparing the low-income countries, according to the report.

>Public health and education provided in the low-income socialist system "seem to overcome some of the grueling deprivations of poverty," according to the report. While wealthier capitalist countries have "enjoyed the fruits of public health and educational improvements," the poorer capitalist countries provide inadequate health and educational services, the report said.

>"Our findings indicate that countries with socialist political-economic systems can make great strides toward meeting basic human needs, even without extensive economic resources," Waitzkin and Cereseto wrote. "When much of the world's population suffers from disease, early death, malnutrition and illiteracy, these observations take on a meaning that goes beyond cold statistics."

[...]

>In interviews Friday, Waitzkin and Cereseto acknowledged that socialist countries have problems in other areas.

>"But they don't have starvation," said Cereseto, a retired professor who lives in Anaheim.

>The socialist countries demonstrate that "even under conditions of poverty, a national coherent plan to deal with public health and education can make a marked impact," Waitzkin said.

[...]

>Socialist countries in each level of development had infant mortality and child death rates two to three times lower than the corresponding capitalist countries, according to the study. Socialist countries consistently showed higher numbers of health professionals per capita than capitalist countries at equivalent economic levels.

>Waitzkin said he can only speculate as to why the socialist countries fared better, but believes that socialist countries consider health care "a basic human right. It is an issue of basic human entitlement," he said. They institute public health programs, immunizations, prenatal and perinatal care, provide proper sanitation and assure adequate nutrition, he said.

>"Their priorities are in that direction," Cereseto said. "The first thing a country does when it becomes socialist is improve the health care and education and feed the people. . . . There are other things they don't do well, but this is their goal, to feed their people and get them health care and education."

>The low-income capitalist countries "do atrociously" in those areas, Cereseto said. Even in the middle-income capitalist nations, there are huge gaps in the quality of life for the haves and have-nots, Waitzkin said.

>"Finding doctors and affording health care, all you have to do is go to Mexico or Africa to see this problem," he said. "There is a small population of very wealthy who are able to buy medical care but the rest do not have access to preventive or curative care, or basic things like sanitation and proper nutrition," Waitzkin said.

>Capitalist countries can learn from the study, the researchers said.

[...]

>One public health observer, who asked not to be named because he had not fully reviewed the study, agreed that socialist countries such as Cuba and North Korea tend to provide more uniform health and education services, while they suffer in production and wealth. But the observer questioned whether the study might be skewed by classifying the Soviet Union as upper-middle-income, because the country is more developed than many of the capitalist nations in the same category.

>Waitzkin and Cereseto foresee that their study will produce controversy, but said there is a dearth of hard data comparing socialism to capitalism.

>"One of the great problems in this country is assumptions made about capitalism and socialism are rhetorical and not based on evidence," Waitzkin said. "We hope to stimulate more data comparing, to move away from the rhetoric."

>Said Cereseto: "I know some don't like to hear that the socialist countries do anything good. And there are a lot of bad things. But to print only the bad things and avoid the good things puts into question our freedom of knowledge."

>The rapid spread of tuberculosis in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union has been fuelled by the economic policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a new study has found.

>The Cambridge University-led study reveals that IMF loan programmes are "strongly associated" with large increases in tuberculosis incidence and deaths, costing tens of thousands of lives every year and producing hundreds of thousands of new tuberculosis cases.

>Researchers measured the relationship between tuberculosis and IMF loans in 21 countries in the region, dating back to the early 1990s. They found that countries subject to IMF programmes experienced a surge in tuberculosis death rates of at least 16.6% - equivalent to more than 100,000 additional deaths. Had countries not participated in the programmes, or been supported by other lenders, the rates would have declined by at least eight to 10%.

>IMF lending programmes demand that countries meet strict economic targets as a condition of the loans. Doctors have warned that these stipulations might lead to reduced government funding for health services such as hospitals and clinics, undermining the fight against diseases such as tuberculosis. This claim has never been supported with hard evidence until now.

>"This report suggests that the IMF has its priorities backwards," David Stuckler, a Cambridge sociologist who led the study, said. "If we really want to create sustainable economic growth, we need first to ensure that we have taken care of people's most basic health needs."

>Initially, the newly collectivized factories encountered various problems. CNT member Albert Pérez-Baró describes the initial economic confusion:

After the first few days of euphoria, the workers returned to work and found themselves without responsible management. This resulted in the creation of workers' committees in factories, workshops and warehouses, which tried to resume production with all the problems that a transformation of this kind entailed. Owing to inadequate training and the sabotage of some of the technicians who remained many others had fled with the owners the workers' committees and other bodies that were improvised had to rely on the guidance of the unions.... Lacking training in economic matters, the union leaders, with more good will than success, began to issue directives that spread confusion in the factory committees and enormous chaos in production. This was aggravated by the fact that each union... gave different and often contradictory instruction.[14]

>In response to these problems, the Generalitat of Catalonia, backed by the CNT approved a decree on "Collectivization and Workers' Control" on 24 October 1936. Under this decree all firms with more than 100 workers were to be collectivized and those with 100 or less could be collectivized if a majority of workers agreed.[15][16][17] All collectivized enterprises were to join general industrial councils, which would be represented in a decentralized planning agency, the Economic Council of Catalonia. Representatives of the Generalitat would be appointed by the CNT to these regional councils.[18] The goal of this new form of organization would be to allow economic planning for civilian and military needs and stop the selfishness of more prosperous industries by using their profits to help others. However these plans for libertarian socialism based on trade unions was opposed by the socialists and communists who wanted a nationalized industry, as well as by unions which did not want to give up their profits to other businesses.[19] Another problem faced by the CNT was that while many collectivized firms were bankrupt, they refused to use the banks because the financial institutions were under the control of the socialist UGT. As a result of this, many were forced to seek government aid, appealing to Juan Peiró, the CNT minister of industry. Socialists and Communists in the government however, prevented Peiró from making any move which promoted collectivization.[20]

>After the initial disruption, the unions soon began an overall reorganization of all trades, closing down hundreds of smaller plants and focusing on those few better equipped ones, improving working conditions. In the region of Catalonia, more than seventy foundries were closed down, and production concentrated around twenty four larger foundries.[21] The CNT argued that the smaller plants were less efficient and secure. In Barcelona, 905 smaller beauty shops and barbershops were closed down, their equipment and workers being focused on 212 larger shops.[21]

>Although there were early issues with production in certain instances, however, Emma Goldman attested that industrial productivity doubled almost everywhere across the country, with agricultural yields increased "30-50%".[22]

>Anarchic communes often produced more than before the collectivization. The newly liberated zones worked on entirely libertarian principles; decisions were made through councils of ordinary citizens without any sort of bureaucracy. (The CNT-FAI leadership was at this time not nearly as radical as the rank and file members responsible for these sweeping changes.)

>As Eddie Conlon wrote in a publication for the Workers' Solidarity Movement:

If you didn't want to join the collective you were given some land but only as much as you could work yourself. You were not allowed to employ workers. Not only production was affected, distribution was on the basis of what people needed. In many areas money was abolished. People come to the collective store (often churches which had been turned into warehouses) and got what was available. If there were shortages rationing would be introduced to ensure that everyone got their fair share. But it was usually the case that increased production under the new system eliminated shortages.

In agricultural terms the revolution occurred at a good time. Harvests that were gathered in and being sold off to make big profits for a few landowners were instead distributed to those in need. Doctors, bakers, barbers, etc. were given what they needed in return for their services. Where money was not abolished a 'family wage' was introduced so that payment was on the basis of need and not the number of hours worked.

Production greatly increased. Technicians and agronomists helped the peasants to make better use of the land. Modern scientific methods were introduced and in some areas yields increased by as much as 50%. There was enough to feed the collectivists and the militias in their areas. Often there was enough for exchange with other collectives in the cities for machinery. In addition food was handed over to the supply committees who looked after distribution in the urban areas.[23]

They did actually. The USSR:

had the 2nd fastest growing economy of the 20th century the USSR is 2nd after Japan Source: https://artir.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/captura-de-pantalla-de-2016-05-26-10-15-23.png

had zero unemployment have continuous economic growth for 70 straight years. see: Robert C. Allen's, From Farm To Factory Source: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.507.8966&rep=rep1&type=pdf (review of book here https://homepages.warwick.ac.uk/~syrbe/pubs/FarmtoFactory.pdf ). The "continuous" part should make sense – the USSR was a planned, non-market economy, so market crashes á la capitalism were pretty much impossible.

had zero homelessness. Houses were often shared by two families throughout the 20s and 30s – so unlike capitalism, there were no empty houses, but the houses were very full. In the 40s there was the war, and in the 50s there were a number of orphans from the war. The mass housing projects began in the 60s, they were completed in the 70s, and by the 70s, there were homeless people, but they often had genuine issues with mental health.

end famine have higher calorie consumption than USA Source: https://artir.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/compar1.png?w=640

. You can read more about the post-1941 famine history in Nove's An Economic History of the USSR 1917-1991. There were food insecurity issues, especially when Khrushchev et al. majorly fucked up with trade and resource dependence on the west, but no famines after the collectivisation of agriculture in the early 1930s (except for in the Siege of Leningrad).

end sex inequality Source: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1977,_Unamended) Equal wages for men and women were mandated by law, but sex inequality, although not as pronounced as under capitalism, was perpetuated in social roles. Very important lesson to learn.

end racial inequality Source: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/shortcuts/2016/jan/24/racial-harmony-in-a-marxist-utopia-how-the-soviet-union-capitalised-on-us-discrimination-in-pictures

make all education free Source: http://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/PubEdUSSR.htm http://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/anglosov.htm http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0000/000013/001300eo.pdf

99% literacy Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Likbez

have most doctors per capita in the world Source: https://www.marxists.org/archive/newsholme/1933/red-medicine/index.htm The Soviet Union had the highest physician-patient ratio in the world, my notes say 42 per 10,000 population, vs 24 in Denmark and Sweden, 19 in US. In this document: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0735675784900482 You can open it without paying with sci-hub.cc

eliminate poverty Source: https://gowans.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/we-lived-better-then/

double life expectancy Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Soviet_Union

After the October revolution, the life expectancy for all age groups went up. A newborn child in 1926-27 had a life expectancy of 44.4 years, up from 32.3 years thirty years before. In 1958-59 the life expectancy for newborns went up to 68.6 years. This improvement was seen in itself by some as immediate proof that the socialist system was superior to the capitalist system be 25 years away from reaching parity with Western world This is kind of a counterfactual – the transformation of the USSR to capitalism began a long time before 1991, so trying to figure out what Soviet growth would look like if it hadn't become capitalist requires that we root out the fundamental cause of the change to capitalism. And we can't even use US economic stats either – the mass-privatization of the Soviet economy and the sudden influx of cheap labour for Western capitalists obviously had an effect on the US economy. But then again, even a 1% difference will stack up over 25 years.

Now let's take a look at what happens after the USSR collapse:

GDP instantly halves Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Soviet_Union_GDP_per_capita.gif

42% decrease

40% of population drops into poverty Source: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2003/07/unpo-j28.html Article cites a 2003 UN report.

7.7 million excess deaths in the first year Source: http://www.academia.edu/1072631/Review_Red_Plenty_by_Francis_Spufford Really difficult to find this exact figure, original link I had was dead. Also: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC259165/

one in ten children now live on the streets Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/an-epidemic-of-street-kids-overwhelms-russian-cities/article4141933/

infant mortality increase Source: https://knoema.com/atlas/Russian-Federation/Nenets-Autonomous-District/topics/Demographics/Mortality/Infant-mortality-rate-deaths-before-age-1-per-1000-live-births Was 29.3 in 2003 which is around (current) Syria and Micronesia, 7.9 in 2013. Given the trend downwards, it was likely to have been much higher in the 90s. There's a weird amount of variation between years – I have no clue why. Infant mortality in USSR was 1.92, literally the lowest in the world. What the actual fuck. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Soviet_Union#Life_expectancy_and_infant_mortality

life expectancy decreases by 10 years Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Russia#Life_expectancy

Approximately true for men, women were less affected apparently. https://i.stack.imgur.com/8Fj8E.png 1996 election rigged Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,_1996

Soviet Women Remember Socialism

Bulgaria 1965

Moscow 1965

when reading marxist theory, it quickly becomes very clear that marxist theory written by academics and marxist theory written by people who participated in actual revolutionary movements (successful or otherwise) are world's apart in quality. and i don't think i need to tell you which is better i think you can guess where i'm going with this.

[writeforget]

References in Salman Rushdie's "The Golden House"

Lady Chatterley's Lover- D.H. Lawrence

Le Fantôme de l'Opéra

Goodbye to Berlin

Moby-Dick

The Purple Rose of Cairo

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Mémoires d'Hadrien- Marguerite Yourcenar

Woodcarver Steiner- Werner Herzog

Pina- Wim Wenders

The Vagina Monologues - Eve Ensler

Two Philosophers Deep in Meditation - Rembrandt

The Longest Journey - Forster

Auto-da-Fé - Canetti

Wired

The satyricon - Mennipe

Cyclops - Euripides

The Net Fishers - Aeschylus

The trackers - Sophocles

The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus - Tony Harrison

The Golden Ass- Aesop

Rain Man

Sad- Eyed Lady of the Lowlands- Bob Dylan

La Belle Dame sans Merci

The Man who Was Thursday - GK Chesterton

Monty Pythons Flying Circus

Spamalot

Oklahoma!

West Side Story

Dr Mabuse The Gambler - Lang

One Thousand and One Nights

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

The Privilege of Owning Yourself- Nietzsche

Tokyo Monogatari

Orfeu Negro

Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie

Water Lilies - Claude Monet

Adoration of the Magi - Peter Paul Ruben

Wild is The Wind - Bowie

Famous Blue Raincoat-Cohen

Under the Bridge-RHCP

Pierrot le fou

Arthur Schlesinger

Gayatri Spivak

Baba Yaga

Green Eggs and Ham- Dr Seuss

Twilight

The Silence of The Lambs

The Hunt for Red October

Metamorphosis- F Kafka

The Graduate

Mansoon Wedding

The Deer Hunter

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

The Princess Bride

Yellow Earth- Chen Kaige

The Godfather- the trilogy

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives- Apichat Pong

Rosemary's Baby

Fedorovskaya icon of the Mother of God

V for Vendetta -Wachowski

The Great Gatsby- FS Fitzgerald

Jeeves series-PG Woodehouse

Odyssey

Six Feet Under

The Seventh Seal- Ingmar Bergman

Hannah and Her Sisters

Flash Gordon

Invisible Cities- Italo Calvino

Closely Observed Trains- Jiri Menzel

Sanjuro- Kurosawa

Bonnie and Clyde - Arthur Penn

Amarcord- Fellini

L'argent de poche- Truffaut

The Hustles- Rossen

L'année derniere à Marienbad- Resnais

Knife in the Water- Polanski

La belle noiseuse

Breathless

Le mépris

The Jungle Book- R Kypling

Aguirre, the Wrath of God- Herzog

Funes the Memorious. L Borges

The Dignity of Man- Pico della Mirandola

2001: A space Odyssey- S Kubrick

Birdman

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari

Marx Brothers comedy

Reservoir Dogs- Q Tarantino

Within You Without You. Tomorrow Never knows. Norwegian Wood. Love to You- The Beatles

The Inheritors- Golding

Alexander Nevesky. The Battleship Potemkin- Sergei Eisenstein

Seinfeld

Le feu follet- Louis Malle

The Best Bits

La La Land

Arrival

Manchester by teh Sea

Oedipus the King

Sheppey- Somerset Maugham

Night Watch- Rembrandt

Madame Bovary- Flaubert

Beetlejuice

Age of Innocence- Edith Warton

Poetry & Aeroplanes

Mars Attacks!- Tim Burton

The Court Jester

The Golden House (the film)

Citizen Kane

Porky's XXII

Dumb FucksXIX

Titanic

Rear Window

I Confess- Montgomery Clift

Bombay Talkie

Kuch Nahin Kahin Nahin Kabhi Nahin Koi Nahin( Nothing Nowhere Never Nobody)- Maratha Mandir

Company- Raj Gopal Varma

Shootout at Lokhandwala- Sanjay Gupta

Once upon a Time in Mumbaai (1&2) - Milan Luthria

Shakspeare in Love

Psycho- Hitchcock

Ran-Akira Kurosawa

Pather Panchali-Satyajit Ray

The Outcasts of Providence Street/the Exterminating Angel- L Bunuel

Some works might have been missed.

[sourcd]

heyyy rolling in ( fashionably ) late to intro KANG JINSOL , i’m joy!! ( s/h )  & jinsol’s basically the former socialite around town that people either completely love or absolutely hate , there’s really no in between. while i don’t have her complete bio ready yet , i’ll include some key points to who she is & how she ended up in pelican town! p.s. disc is available upon request! 

full stats. biography. plots. pinterest. 

❃ ↷ ˊ-          pelican town is all abuzz about KANG JINSOL, our resident 25-year old EVENT PLANNER. you know, the one who looks like MOON GAYOUNG? i don’t see it, but maybe that’s just because they remind me of UNSENT POSTCARDS, THE TWILIGHT BETWEEN DAWN AND SUNRISE & HABITUAL SMILES every time i see them at STARDEW COFFEE SHOP. word around town is that they’re increasingly SELF - ASSURED and CHARISMATIC, but can get rather STUBBORN. hope to see them around the valley soon!

STATS

name : kang jinsol

date of birth : march 20th , 97

age : twenty five

gender : cis female 

pronouns : she/her

orientation : biromantic + bisexual

birthplace : berlin , germany

occupation : event planner + specializing in weddings

languages : korean , english , german

BACKGROUND cw includes infidelity and divorce 

❀  jinsol was born seven minutes before her twin brother, making her the first born of the kang family & the oldest sibling ( also making her the type of person to count down to the exact minute when debating differences in age. )

❀  she starts her life like it’s a competition, always trying to get perfect scores and earn the biggest rewards -- even when nobody else is trying quite as hard. her habits are brushed off as a cute quirk, but her mother notices how similar jinsol is to herself. after all, her mother feels way too young and way too driven to have to dedicate her whole life to taking care of twins. so soon enough her mother spends less time at home and more time at work, and eventually, in the arms of various lovers. 

❀  all is seemingly well until their eleventh birthday, when ( in jinsol’s mind ) the inevitable split happens and their mother prepares her children to move on without a second thought. the family spends two months in france, and then decides to try london, where stepdad #1 comes into the picture. the very start of a trend jinsol doesn’t care for. stepdad #1 is fine -- jinsol supposes. hard working, like her mother, but oh - so boring. perhaps ill - fated from the moment they moved in together, because the relationship only lasts a total of six months before they’re packing again.

❀  they bounce from country to country for a couple years, where they exchange unremarkable stepdad for another unfortunately unremarkable stepdad until the twins hit sixteen. for the first time in a while, the family officially becomes four again. this time the addition is a very wealthy business man ( her mother brags that he owns some department store or another ) and they settle down in seoul. it’s the year of firsts -- the first time jinsol puts down her cello and picks up a glass of champagne. the first time she tries dating and absolutely hates it. the first time she feels like she’s found purpose. 

❀  she spends her time mingling with socialites and finding her bearings in yet another foreign country. she learns to listen a little more carefully and smile a tad bit more, until she finds herself at the pinnacle of teenage success. she’s the one people go to for the gossip and the advice, until eventually they’re looking for tips on how to make their party better than the others. & jinsol absolutely revels in it. event planning is her calling -- and so, into university she goes all the while nurturing her budding career. 

❀  so how does she end up in pelican town? frankly, moving to a small town isn’t anything she expects nor is being in such a tiny town something that she’s used to. when she first arrives she calls it a “vacation.” as in, she has “business matters” to wrap up before she goes back to seoul, back to her home. the justification only starts to raise questions when one month turns into six and she’s still stuck in the town she claims not to care for. ( rumor has it , her business matters are more akin to family matters. idle gossip backed up by the claim that her mother was a pelican town native before leaving the town behind. ) 

PERSONALITY

—  you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. jinsol is saccharine words spilled from cherry lips & bubbly laughter at the smallest jokes. being nice is usually thought of as a courtesy, but she’s well versed in using it as a tactic. she has a certain charisma and people skills that make her relatively easy to talk to. you can find her making small talk about a business’s beginnings, or inviting people to group dates, and finding things to compliment. 

—  it’s not hard to open up to her when she makes it a habit to find the right things to say. though whether or not you should open up to her is a completely different beast. she’s nosy -- and bad with gossip. 

—  she also finds an immense joy in putting on weddings. god knows she doesn’t believe in love, or anything remotely close to it, but she loves to cash in on that sweet wedding money. her job in general is a high point for her & you can catch her volunteering for every and any event that she thinks she can add her own personal + professional touch to. 

—  not to mention ,,,,, she’s on the blunter side when it comes to delivering bad news or offering up conflicting opinions. not only a perfectionist, but a competitive one, she prioritizes her own thoughts and feelings above all else. ( sometimes she can be a little harsh. )

—  generally kinda annoying, though i’ll elaborate more during plots LOL 

CONNECTIONS

—  a confidant , alternatively somebody she can almost always be found gossiping with. somebody she can disclose all the juicy intel she gets & feels confident enough in to even discuss her own. seeing as they’d never tell ... right?

—  that one friend that’s in a near constant state of ??? when they talk to jinsol. they’re never quite sure the last time that she slept and are basically begging her to eat something besides greasy snacks and coffee. 

—  a coworker ! of sorts . . . maybe they own some type of business or have access to resources that jinsol would love to include in her events. 

—  a one sided love, perhaps? or somebody who finds it way too much fun to use cheesy pick up lines on her & watch her cringe. 

—  exes, ex flings, soured romances, whatever really. the girl has commitment issues ---- and they run deep ,,, rip. maybe their “relationship” wasn’t that serious or maybe it was, the bottom line is that it probably didn’t take too long for jinsol to jump ship entirely. ( & now she’s stuck awkwardly smiling at them whenever she’s in the line at jojamart. ) 

—  family connections ,, a sibling? a cousin? 

—  way more that i have yet to think of ,,, lol 

[joachimnapoleon]

Meet the Bonapartes--Louis (3/4)

I left off with Part 2 of this an embarrassingly long time ago, but I'm trying to make it a habit of finishing more of the things I start, so I don't want to leave this hanging. So, one year later, here is Part 3 of my write-up on Louis Bonaparte, and I promise Part 4 will not have a similar gap in between.

(Part 1) (Part 2)

***

Louis had been sincere in his declaration, upon accepting the throne of Holland, that he had "become Dutch." He immersed himself in Dutch culture, encouraged his Dutch courtiers to wear their traditional clothing at court balls, and tried to learn and speak Dutch--sometimes with comedic results, such as when he declared himself the Konijn (rabbit), rather than Koning (king) of Holland. His subjects appreciated his efforts nonetheless.

They also appreciated the initiative Louis showed when tragedy struck early in his reign. On 12 January 1807, a ship bearing hundreds of barrels of gunpowder exploded in the Dutch city of Leiden, blowing up hundreds of buildings and killing 150 people, and injuring thousands. Louis immediately left for Leiden and oversaw the recovery efforts, earning him the nickname "Louis the Good" from a grateful populace.

[Aftermath of the Leiden explosion, by Johannes Jelgerhuis]

Louis began his reign with a flurry of activity, writing to Napoleon to request a number of measures intended to favor his new subjects. He requested a reduction in the number of French garrisons in the kingdom, a new treaty of commerce with France, and the right to choose his own men for his Royal Guard. Napoleon granted these, but refused his brother's request for a loan, arguing that the expenses of France were so great that he was unable to give Louis any money.

The Dutch climate negatively impacted Louis's perpetually delicate health from the beginning, but he rarely left the country for much-needed stays at health resorts; this was especially true later in his reign after his relationship with Napoleon had deteriorated so badly that Louis began to fear that he might be deposed in his absence.

That deterioration did not take long to commence. Napoleon began finding fault with Louis's reign almost from the beginning. Napoleon had intended for Louis to play a key role in the 1806 campaign against Prussia, and was seriously disappointed with his brother's sluggish movements and lack of cooperation with Marshal Mortier during the campaign. When, towards the end of the campaign, Louis balked at attempting to seize Hanover in spite of his greatly superior numbers, Napoleon's displeasure with his younger brother was complete. But Napoleon still took care to preserve Louis's reputation; Louis's forfeiture of his command to Mortier and subsequent return to Holland were attributed to bad health, and further territory from Napoleon's conquests was added to Louis's kingdom. Returning to his kingdom, Louis received a hero’s welcome.

If Napoleon was irritated with Louis's conduct during the campaign, Louis, in turn, was angered by the retention of Dutch troops in Germany after the war, commanded by a French general; this, in Louis's eyes, was proof that he was to be little more than a puppet-king. His flagging health notwithstanding, Louis spent the winter working to further assert his independence by implementing public works projects, reorganizing his kingdom's administration and law code, and creating his own military orders, the Order of Union and the Order of Merit. A major point of contention arose between Louis and Napoleon when Louis announced that he intended to introduce the rank of marshal into the Dutch army and navy. Napoleon wrote to him scornfully on 2 January 1807:

Do you think a French general of division would take orders from your Dutch marshals? You are aping French organization, though your circumstances are utterly different. Why not begin by establishing the conscription and having a real army?

He followed it up more bluntly and concisely a week later: "There is nobody in Holland fit to hold such high rank." Louis viewed this as an insult and persisted in implementing the rank, until Napoleon finally ordered him to abolish it as one of numerous conditions to which Louis was forced to concede in early 1810 in order to retain his kingdom. On the subject of conscription, Louis would successfully resist its implementation, despite Napoleon's repeated demands, to the end of his reign.

Louis's relationship with his wife, meanwhile, remained fraught. Hortense had stayed with her mother, the Empress Josephine, during the campaign, and did not return to the Hague until months after her husband, prompting a quarrel. Mutual recriminations abounded: Hortense was upset over Louis's attentions to a Dutch lady at court; Louis, in turn, complained of Hortense's conduct. Napoleon became aware of the conflict and wrote reprovingly to his brother:

You have the best and most virtuous of wives, and you make her miserable. Let her dance as much as she likes; it is only right at her age. I have a wife of forty, and from the battlefield I write to her that she must go to balls; and with a wife who is only twenty and naturally wishes to live her life and has still some of the illusions of youth, you want her to live as if she were in a convent, or to be busy always like a nurse with her children? You yourself are too much shut up in your study and not about enough in public business. I would not say all this unless I thought so much of you. Make the mother of your children happy. You have only one way of doing this, and that is by showing her a great deal of esteem and confidence.

Louis was stung, and protested to Napoleon that he was being misrepresented to the Emperor by rumormongers. The domestic quarrels continued, as did the gossip they inspired at the Dutch court.

The estranged royal couple suffered a severe blow with the unexpected death of their eldest son, Napoleon Charles. The boy, who had been regarded by the still childless Napoleon as the heir to the Empire, had fallen ill in late April 1807. Louis frantically summoned numerous physicians to tend to the child; multiple remedies were attempted; but all without success. The four-year-old child died at midnight on the 5th of May. Hortense was almost insensible with grief and had to be taken away from the palace. Caroline Murat arrived soon to be at Hortense's side, followed shortly thereafter by Josephine. Hortense eventually left to take the waters in the Pyrenees, and Napoleon gave Louis permission to leave his kingdom to join her in early June. At the end of the summer, Josephine arranged for Hortense, who was still very unwell, to remain with her while Louis returned to Holland. Their younger son, Napoleon Louis, remained with Josephine at Fontainebleau as well. This tragedy drew Hortense and Louis together in their shared grief, but the reunion was short-lived.

[Queen Hortense with Napoleon Charles]

Before Louis's return to Holland, he had argued over political matters with Napoleon. The Emperor wanted more troops from Holland; Louis replied that he could not afford to raise them, due to his kingdom's economy suffering from the recently enacted Berlin Decree, which prohibited all trade with England. But Napoleon was unwilling to grant any concessions on this subject, and it would ultimately be Louis's inability--which Napoleon would interpret as unwillingness--to enforce the ban on English trade, that would spell Louis's downfall.

The 1809 war brought Louis's kingdom under threat from attack by the English, who intended for an expedition to seize Antwerp. Antwerp, however, was a French fortress, and as such, Louis was technically not allowed to interfere with it; but his warnings to Napoleon of its vulnerabilities went unheeded. Louis pleaded with Napoleon that his entire kingdom was defenseless due to Napoleon sending Dutch divisions off to Spain and Westphalia; Louis was left with fewer than 9,000 soldiers in Holland. Napoleon refused to reinforce Louis and downplayed the English threat; when the invasion actually occurred, he then blamed Louis for it. Invoking his title as Grand Constable of France in order to take command of the French troops, Louis set to work arming his fortifications and extending river defenses. On the 16th of August, he handed over command of the forces at Antwerp to Marshal Bernadotte. The English expedition ultimately floundered, out of a combination of disease and incompetence.

Napoleon, rather than thanking or lauding Louis for his efforts, blasted him in his correspondence. Louis was told that his office of Grand Constable was purely civil and honorary and gave him no right to command French troops. He questioned how Louis could expect anyone to respect Holland's independence when he refused to provide a larger army and navy for its defense. Without a larger army, his kingdom was a farce.

Louis protested that he was being treated unjustly. He had already heard whispers that Napoleon was planning to annex Holland to France, and garrison it with French troops. As he would soon learn, these were more than just whispers. By late 1809, Napoleon had not only lost faith in Louis, but had come to suspect his brother of disloyalty. In the Emperor’s mind, his brother was far too sympathetic to the Dutch nobility, whom Napoleon distrusted for their ties to the English. Nor did Napoleon appreciate Louis's attachment to the Dutch people and his insistence on promoting Dutch culture at every turn. But above all, Napoleon could not abide his brother's failure to enforce the blockade against English trade; this, in the words of biographer Michael Broers, "was the issue that turned incapacity into treason in his mind." Napoleon was determined that his Continental System be upheld at all costs; he was not oblivious to the suffering this would entail, as he made it clear to Louis in one particularly menacing letter:

Make searches and seize English goods, and [then] my customs men will respect your territory. If you don't do it, I will, as is my right.... The blockade will ruin many commercial cities, Lyon, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, but this state of anxiety must be got over; it must go on to the end.

The efforts of smugglers and corrupt/patriotic police notwithstanding, the blockade wreaked havoc on the commercial cities, just as Napoleon had anticipated. Writes Broers:

Amsterdam plunged into harrowing decline in every sense. Emigration caused by the collapse of commerce was compounded by the spread of diseases related to poverty, reducing its population from 202,000 in 1808, to little more than 180,000 by 1815. Its shipyards, which had employed 2,000 men in 1800, had barely 500 by 1808. Empty towns stood in ruins, while shanty towns along the canals swelled. Poverty was manifest in the city, and even the number of taverns declined. The local system of poor relief and charity that Louis had inherited from the old republic was stretched to the breaking point by the unprecedented speed and scale of Napoleon's manufactured crisis; it is estimated that between 30 and 40 per cent of the population of Amsterdam depended on poor relief by 1809.

And yet Napoleon remained displeased with his brother's enforcement of the blockade, and was convinced that Louis was deliberately acting to thwart him. When the entire imperial family was summoned to Paris in December 1809 for what would be the announcement of Napoleon's divorce and ensuing re-marriage plans, Louis suspected--rightly--that he might be walking into an ambush. He warned his ministers that he might be coerced into signing documents against his will, and that they were to only regard documents signed with his Dutch name--Lodewijk--as valid. In the event of an attempted French occupation of the country, his commanders were to offer a passive resistance, bringing their men inside their fortresses, closing their gates, and raising their drawbridges.

Napoleon welcomed Louis to Paris coldly; at their second meeting, he told him frankly that he intended to annex Holland, and that if Louis resisted, he would find himself at war with France. "Holland," he said, "is nothing but an English colony, more hostile to France than England herself. I mean to eat up Holland!"

In a bid to keep his kingdom, Louis pleaded for a compromise, and demonstrated a willingness to make concessions, including increased enforcement of the blockade and a ceding of territory. Napoleon sent orders to suspend Oudinot's march to occupy Holland, so that negotiations could proceed. But first, there was the issue of the divorce. Louis attempted to piggyback on his brother's divorce from Josephine by petitioning the Emperor for the arrangement of a formal separation from Hortense. Napoleon, instead, decided to have the matter decided by a family council. Though the two would not be permitted to divorce, it was decided that they might live apart; Hortense was permitted to remain in Paris and given an income of half a million francs. She also retained custody of Louis's eldest son, to Louis's bitter disappointment.

During this interim, Napoleon's mind had changed about his earlier negotiations with Louis. He predicted that Louis would not be able to meet the requirements they had agreed upon, and that the annexation would only be deferred. Harsher terms were drawn up--Louis was required to cede to France all his territory up to the left bank of the Rhine; he was forbidden to trade or communicate with England; he was required to build an army of 25,000 men and increase the size of his navy; and the rank of marshal was to be eliminated from the Dutch military. Louis was prohibited from returning to his kingdom until the agreement was signed. The treaty was finally signed on the 16th of March; Louis arrived back in Amsterdam on the 11th of April. Despite his earlier agreement to let Hortense remain in Paris, Napoleon had insisted on her returning to Holland as well. Hortense dreaded the return. "I wrote the Emperor a despairing letter," she recorded in her memoirs. "He did not answer me." Upon her arrival, Hortense writes that Louis "was overjoyed to see his son again but paid little or no attention to me."

Louis's unhappy queen leaves the following portrait of her life at court during this time, on the brink of her husband's deposition:

Word would be sent me when dinner was ready that the King was waiting for me. While we were at the table he would scarcely say a word. After the meal the King would thrum on the piano, which stood open. He would take his son on his knees, kiss him and lead him out on the balcony which overlooked the square. The crowd, catching sight of them, would give a few cheers. The King would re-enter the room, return to the piano, recite some French poetry or hum an air. I would stay in an armchair, not saying a word and watching what went on in the room. When a few hours had passed, my husband, becoming conscious of the strained situation, would ring and send for the Dutch members of our household and the ladies in waiting. Card-tables would be brought out. Sometimes I played also and at nine o'clock I returned to my apartments after having said good night, the only word we had spoken to one another. This is an exact picture of how I spent my days at Amsterdam.

Hortense did not remain in the kingdom for long. Her health suffered, and it was soon determined that it would be better for her to return to France. She left her husband for the final time on 16 May 1810.

The Sword of Damocles was not long in descending on Louis. An assault on a coachman of the French ambassador gave Napoleon all the excuse he needed to finally carry out his plan to annex Holland. Napoleon demanded that the perpetrators be arrested and hanged; Louis's ministers pointed out the impossibility of identifying them. Oudinot was ordered to march on Amsterdam.

Louis briefly considered appealing to Russia or Austria for help, but it was far too late. He had word sent to Oudinot that, though his troops would receive no welcome, they would also meet no resistance. Louis made some final, hasty financial arrangements, including selling some of the Dutch estates he had acquired and transferring his diamonds out of the country.

On 1 July 1810, Louis abdicated in favor of his second son, Napoleon Louis. The following night, he boarded a carriage accompanied by his captain of the guards, an aide-de-camp, and his favorite dog, Tiel, and headed east. In one last parting blow, Tiel was hit and killed at a horse-changing station on the road. Louis was devastated. "It was," writes biographer Atteridge, "he said, part of his bad luck, that now haunted him everywhere."

For weeks, Napoleon was unable to ascertain the whereabouts of his brother. "We don't know where he has gone, and we know nothing about this lunacy." He asked Hortense if she had any word of him. Writes Hortense in her memoirs, “Real anxiety as regards what had happened to the King was my first reaction. No one knew where he had retired. I imagined that he had left for America, alone, with no one to help him, no one to console him. His fate aroused my sympathy. I almost came to believe that I had become fond of him, now that he had known misfortune." Louis finally wrote to Madame Mère from the health resort of Toeplitz, that he was "as well as can be expected, and well out of affairs to which I will never return."

Regarding Napoleon's feelings towards Louis, Broers concludes that they were

an ill-sorted mixture of piercing truth and injustice clouded by the deepest kind of hatred, rooted in love betrayed. Yet, Napoleon worried about Louis' safety once 'the business' was over. He did not harbour the fanatical hatred that leads to murder. Even after his ill treatment of Hortense, Louis was his brother, and Bonapartes did not practise 'insular vendetta.' Nevertheless, in the world of high politics, Louis' end signaled the end of his faith in his brothers.

***

Sources:

Atteridge, A. Hillard. Napoleon’s Brothers, 1909.

Broers, Michael. Napoleon: Spirit of the Age. 2018.

De Beauharnais, Hortense. Memoirs of Queen Hortense, Vol I.

Masson, Frédéric. Napoleon et sa Famille, Vol I (1796-1802), 1907.

Roberts, Andrews. Napoleon: A Life. 2014.

[thponders]

Santa Claus is Comin' to East Germany

It’s December 12, 1970. You are a child living in the suburbs of Chicago and are anxiously counting down the days until Christmas break arrives, with its presents and sledding and sweets. And while it isn’t quite Christmas break yet, this particular Saturday is a special one. Tonight, the new Rankin and Bass Christmas special, Santa Claus is Comin' To Town, is premiering on ABC. You’ve been waiting for this moment ever since you saw Frosty the Snowman last year and were enchanted by the magic and whimsy. You sit down with your mug of hot cocoa, you annoying little sister on the other side of the couch, as the show opens up with a news real, telling you what you already know:

“Today, children everywhere are making preparations for an event of world-shaking significance: the annual visit of Santa Claus.”

You are then greeted by a postman who calls himself “Special Delivery Kluger… S.D. for short” with a smooth voice that you’re sure sounds just like Fred Astaire. And he makes you a promise: “I can answer all your questions because I know everything about Santa.”

A little under an hour later, the credits roll. You sit there, mouth agape, sad, upset, confused. You’ve just realized something you can’t unrealize. It will haunt you for the rest of your days:

The Rankin and Bass 1970 Christmas special Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is Cold War propaganda, and the resolution of its conflict betrays the flawed consequences of the anti-communist propaganda machine, and the rot in the heart of the Western imperialist ideology.

———

There is an initial burden of proof to overcome when trying to analyze propaganda. Before it can be analyzed, it has to be identified. We have to prove that the media in question is actually trying to influence the sympathies of its audience towards a specific political agenda. But most propaganda is subliminal by necessity, a chameleon against the media it exists in, and the media surrounding it. Attempts to identify it will be met by cries of over-examination and conspiratorial fancy. Moreover it’s easy to classify media whose narrative subtext we disagree with as propaganda, while defending media whose narrative subtext we align with from the same accusations.

But the real problem with making this claim about about a movie like Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, is that it has to be first agreed upon that media can exist within a machine of propaganda, and be propaganda, without explicitly being created as such.1 Which is to say, I do not think Richard Nixon sat in a monitoring room in the studio and picked up a private phone whenever he had notes for Rankin and Bass.

But I do think Rankin and Bass saw an opportunity to frame their Christmas story within some of the details of the larger geopolitical crisis of their time, specifically in Berlin. To do this, they chose to adopt commonly used narratives and tropes that reinforced the sympathies of their audience towards the political agenda of anti-communism— which is propaganda, as I have defined it above.

But let’s go back to the beginning. S.D. Kruger tells us the story of the sad, gray village of Sombertown, full of sad, gray people, (Sombertons?) ruled by a sad, gray man with a German accent named Burgermeister Meisterburger.

Sombertown is bordered by the Mountain of the Whispering Winds, an uncrossable terrain haunted by the Winter Warlock, that separates it from Rainbow River Valley, where the Kringle elves live, making an endless supply of toys that they can’t take anywhere because of the aforementioned uncrossable terrain. But even if they could cross the Mountain of the Whispering Winds, they’d have no one to deliver their toys to, as Burgermeister Meisterburger has outlawed toys after tripping on a wooden duck and breaking his funny bone.

To make a long story short, Kris Kringle, who was delivered to the Kringle elves as an orphan in a basket by the Whispering Winds alla Moses, grows up to bravely cross the mountains and deliver toys to Sombertown. When he gets there and finds the sad, gray children condemned to a lifetime of chores, he makes it his life’s work to thwart Burgermeister Meisterburger, delivering toys to the children over and over again, overcoming every new declaration and hurdle Meisterburger throws in his way.2

Throughout the special, all of the traditions of Christmas are revealed one by one. Kris can’t deliver the toys during the day lest he be caught, so he has to come at night. Meisterberger makes a decree that all of the doors in the town must be locked at night, so he has to go in through the chimneys. Meisterberger starts breaking into people’s homes and ransacking them to find the contraband toys, so Kris hides the toys in the kids stockings that are hanging by the fire.

There are two methods of propaganda at work in Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. The first is the card stacking, or cherry picking, that was and still is the foundation of all western anti-communist propaganda. The end goal is to homogenize the material and political conditions of all communist countries, without regard to any other geopolitical factors or contexts. Most relevant to our discussion is painting the entire Eastern Bloc as a world of cultural destitution and poverty— sad, gray people in sad, gray towns. This characterization simultaneously overlooks the global factors that lead to increased poverty in the agrarian communities of the Eastern Bloc, and ignores the thriving urban centers of the time— specifically in Easter Germany and Poland. Once this entire collection of countries and governments are collected under one narrative, we can use a town run by a mayor with a German accent as a stand-in for what life is like in all of Eastern European and Soviet communism. The reality was, of course, much more complex.3

The second method of propaganda used here, which builds upon that initial card stacked characterization, is transfer propaganda. Transfer propaganda is a process of connecting the desired idea or outcome to an already commonly agreed upon idea. It can be a positive association— we trust Tom Hanks, so if Tom Hanks says it, it must be true— or a negative association— we all hate men who are perverts, so if trans people are just perverts in dresses, we must also hate trans people. And in the case of Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, it can be comparative— Santa Claus and the Christmas spirit are good, cities that demand conformism and are separated by impenetrable barriers are bad.4

But the two methods of propaganda, transfer and card stacking, can also work together. Have the evil German man in Sombertown act a lot like another evil german man you might know, by always wearing his war medal and having a public bonfire of children’s toys, and you’ve made a transfer that seems on the nose to us today, but opens up a much more layered idea when you consider what it means for the people watching this in 1970.

Through the widespread cultural machine of anti-communist card stacking, the economic and material conditions of the Eastern Bloc communist countries are homogenized, equating the hardships of the more agrarian countries with those of more industrial countries, including East Germany. Then, through Santa Claus is Comin' To Town, associations are drawn through various details between the Germans across the wall today and the evil Germans who were there 30 years ago. And thus you have arrived at the intended idea, the desired political agenda— that all communists in Eastern Europe are actually nazis, and that you, the viewer in 1970, are one of the good people, because you believe in Santa Claus, and Santa Claus sticks it to the reds by bringing toys to the kids, even when he is told not too.5

But what about the ending? After Miss Jessica uses Winter Warlock’s magic corn to make the reindeer fly, so she can break Winter, Kris, and all the Kringle elves out of prison, they find a wanted poster in the woods with Kris' image on it. In order to avoid detection Kris grows the worst chin strap imaginable and changes his name to Claus.6 And the children ask the important question: What happened to Burgermeister Meisterburger? What happened to the law against toys? When did they stop calling Santa Claus an outlaw? Fred Astaire, the narrator provides us with the answer, chuckling all the way through:

“Well, as time went by, that changed. You see, the Meisterburgers… They kind of died off and fell out of power. And by and by, the good people realized how silly the Meisterburger laws were. Well, everybody had a wonderful laugh and then forgot all about them. Yes, sir. The older he got, the more famous he became, and the more folks loved him.”

A fairly anticlimactic ending for a movie whose villain literally arrested children, broke into and ransacked the homes of innocent civilians, and threw children’s toys into a bonfire in front of them. But I guess that’s nothing a good laugh can’t fix.

It initially struck me as odd that the Burgermeister Meisterburger doesn’t get a redemption ending. He’s given a yoyo when Kris first arrives in Sombertown that he plays with for a moment before proceeding with his dastardly ways. But there’s no chance for him at the end, no Scrooge or Grinch moment to be had. Meisterburger and his old ways must simply fall away, unaffected by anything but time. I think that there are possibly a few reasons for this.

One answer is that a children’s Christmas special in 1970 simply cannot end with a coup, a regime change, an amendment to secure the civil liberty of play for the children of Sombertown. It just doesn’t match the whole peace on earth and good will towards men vibe. Which is to say nothing of the fact that societal upheaval and revolution is, at least in 1970’s America, a political tactic only used in countries that are trying to become communist.7 Revolutions in the 20th century no longer happen under the banner of democracy, or so they’d like the story to go.

But this compounds into an even darker reason. In Sombertown, the political system is not one of an evil tyrant oppressing the people. It’s an evil tyrant oppressing the children, with full corroboration and cooperation from the military and the adults. The people of Sombertown are not the victims, because the people of communist countries cannot be victims of authoritarian regimes. Communism, according to its critics, allows for and invites the worst in people. Communists must be evil. They must be complicit, must be an active part of the suffering they have brought upon themselves by being communists.

But even that goes one step deeper, and actually arrives at the rot in the heart of conservative ideology, even to this day: the death cult. The other side deserves death. It’s the genocide of Indigenous people in America, the use of the atomic bomb on civilians in Japan, all the way to what we’re seeing right now in Gaza. It doesn’t matter if you are military or civilian, adult or child, death is a consequence of being on the wrong side. Scrooge and the Grinch are simply hardened hearts. Burgermeister Meisterburger is deeply entrenched in a piece of propaganda that sets him up on the other side of the Berlin wall. If we give him a toy and he has a change of heart, it means that the answer to geopolitical conflict isn’t war or death. The answer is peace and compassion for our enemies. That doesn’t serve the capital gained by imperialism, war profiteering, and colonialism, so it cannot be the ending.

And I don’t think ABC would let Santa Claus and the Elves launch a full scale invasion of Sombertown, so the Meisterburgers just have to die off.

Anyways, tune in next year for my essay on how Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer is actually transphobic. Happy holidays!

———

Authors Note:

While it has been documented elsewhere on the web that Fred Astaire and I are bitter rivals, I would like to say that I have done my best to be impartial and set aside my emotional hatred of the man in favor of a more reasoned and logical analysis.

For the sake of academic or philosophical transparency, I want to make it clear that I am taking this as a postulate and not providing a rigorous philosophical proof, lest this fun little essay about a kids movie and propaganda become a book. ↩︎

He continues this process despite the fact that every time the children get toys, they take them outside and play with them, get caught, and get their toys confiscated and thrown into a bonfire. These children are idiots. ↩︎

I highly recommend Chapter 2 of Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism by Richard D. Wolff if you’re interested in a primer on the missing pieces and the complexities I’ve left out here.. That’s not what the book is really about, but that chapter is a well written explanation of American intervention in communist experiments. ↩︎

If you’re interested in a very interesting case of transfer propaganda that results in a desired outcome, rather than a desired idea, I highly recommend the documentary Angry Inuk by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril. It details the efforts by many animal rights organizations to “stop seal hunting” as an easy way to get public donations, without drawing a distinction between subsistence hunting (which is the foundation of many Inuit community economies) and commercial seal hunting. It’s a fascinating watch. ↩︎

Just a fun historical fact: Herbert Fechner, the mayor of East Berlin at the time, was actually a member of the SDP. The SDP were the Marxist (distinction from Communist) party in Germany, one of the oldest Marxist influenced political parties in the world, and the only party to oppose the Enabling Act of 1933, which dissolved the checks of the Weimar Republic, and gave all legislative powers to the Chancellor, who was, you guessed it, Adolf Hitler. The SDP was, unsurprisingly, dissolved during the German Reich. It’s unclear from my limited research (read wikipedia) what Fechner’s political alliances were prior to WWII, and he did serve in the German Army, but he joined with SDP when it was reestablished after the war, where it served as a staunch rebuttal of Nazi principles. However, by the time Fechner had reached the office of mayor, the SDP had abandoned its commitment to Marxist ideology, and was instead just a center-left party. (Which it still is to this day.) So I guess you could think of Herbert Fechner as a Joe Biden type. A far cry, I feel, from the Burgermeister Meisterburger, but we’ve yet to see how Biden reacts to tripping on a toy duck while walking down the steps of the White House. We could be careening towards the communist hellscape that Conservatives have been warning us about for decades, and Santa Clause might be our only hope. ↩︎

A wild detail that we don’t have time to unpack. He and Jessica are married on Christmas day, explaining to the children listening to how she became Mrs. Claus. Which leads to an incredible moment minutes later, when Claus decides that it’s too much work to deliver presents every night, and he needs to just pick one night, so he PICKS THE NIGHT OF HIS WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO BE THE ONLY NIGHT WHERE HE GOES OUT OF TOWN FOR WORK. Wild. ↩︎

Let’s just set the civil rights movement and the American left off to the side. We can talk about that later. ↩︎