#Appetite for Democracy

[rocketqueen1989x]

stop flirting axl 🙄

[axlsyndrome]

alright who scolded him??? he looks so scared

[their80smichelle]

Ain’t it time for gnr to release the album now

An album ? Why not ? But they only have like 4 songs or something (The General, Perhaps, Hard Skool, Absurd) that has been released since a while.

Oh I'm curious : so tell me in my inbox, would you want a new Guns N' Roses album ? We can debate cause I know a lot of people want a new album and some don't.

But since they found a "new style" I'd like to hear a new album of this new style of them :) (if it ever makes sense lol)

Maybe they'll release one after the tour ^^

[oldsoulgunsnrosesgirl]

Ok This Is Fr So Me I Love All These Albums So Much😭😍I love these men so much

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A post shared by G F'N R 🌹 (@backoff_gnr)

[heavypedia]

Axl Rose completa 63 anos hoje.

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

[rocketqueen1989x]

SOMEBODY PLEASE MAKE THIS INTO A IMAGINE IF NOT I WILL

this pic tho

LOOK AT THIS CUTIE PIE!! Sitting at his piano, reminds me of smutty stuff honestly. OKAY, WAIT, HEAR ME OUT. Axl fingering you while at the piano. 🤭😏 like, during a rehearsal and you're just there with him, sitting on his lap, and he slides your panties to the side and licks his fingers and Just UH, just rubs your kitty and making your legs twitch AHGH... and then he starts slow by using one finger and then adds another one 😫

[vague-humanoid]

We speak with Josh Paul, a former State Department official who resigned last month to protest continued arms sales to Israel amid its bombardment of Gaza, writing in a viral letter that one-sided U.S. support for Israel is “shortsighted,” “destructive” and “contradictory.” Media reports say many others inside the State Department are equally frustrated with the U.S. role in the conflict. Paul tells Democracy Now! he tried to raise his concerns with his superiors but found “no appetite for that discussion” and that unlike all other U.S. arms sales that take humanitarian concerns into account, Israel gets a blank check. Paul says the overall message inside the Biden administration is: “Don’t question the policy because it’s coming from the top.”

transcript at the link

[justinspoliticalcorner]

The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali:

Hope, like courage, is contagious. However, in the face of immense hardships, chaos, and unbeatable opponents, apathy and cynicism are initially comforting because they are cheap and lazy. They don’t require an investment of time, effort, or an expansive imagination that could entertain a different narrative that doesn’t end in pain. Also, they allow you to hide in the shadows, like a spectator, praying that the Eye of Sauron, in this case, Trump and right-wing media, doesn’t find you and make you the latest villain in their endless culture war fueled by grievance, greed, and cruelty. In the face of authoritarianism, complicity and obeying in advance are also easy. Why resist and stick your neck out just so Musk and DOGE’s chainsaw can chop it off and violent MAGA redshirts can step in and finish the job? That’s why so many Republicans have refused to publicly call out Trump even though, privately, they know he is dangerous, unstable, and unpatriotic. Why stand up and call out Trump’s blatant lies and illegal acts and get targeted when you can just bend the knee and avoid the headache? That’s why corporate law firms Paul, Weiss, and Skadden have decided to be complicit actors in Trump’s dismantling of democracy and have offered millions of dollars of pro bono work to help him accomplish the mission. Why be courageous journalists and press members and confront Trump and his minions over their blatant lies just so you can lose precious access, receive death threats, and be called “the enemy of the state?” This is why CNN and ABC News settled cases with Trump, and Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, has hollowed out the once-historic newspaper. Why use the power of your corporate money and influence to stand up for your employees and consumers of color so you can attract 24-7 outrage from bad-faith right-wing hacks who will unleash anti-woke boycotts against you and your stores? This is why Target and Walmart have joined many corporations and universities to voluntarily abandon their “DEI” initiatives. It’s the schoolyard bully scenario played out on an international scale. Trump, the insecure, vulgarian bully, picks on the weakest kid. He publicly beats him and demands that he give him his lunch money. The kid submits, and everyone else cowers in fear, knowing they’ll be next. The bully’s appetite grows, and he keeps coming back, demanding more and more. Eventually, one kid stands up and says, “No.” The bully yells and threatens to break his bones, but this kid has had enough and refuses to yield. Inspired, another kid stands up to join him in saying, “No.” And then another. Soon, the bully is outnumbered by the majority, who always had the power but never had the courage and hope to stand up for themselves as individuals.

The school kids have had enough of the bully. I am writing this on April 5th as thousands of Americans across the nation have come out on Saturday to stand up to the bullies known as Trump, Musk, MAGA, and the broligarchy. The Hands Off! demonstrations were organized in more than 1,200 locations across all 50 states by more than 150 groups. It isn’t just the “woke” (which is Republican for people of color) who showed up, folks. In many places, the majority are white folks and the elderly, representing Republican counties and districts. I’m talking about Utah, rural Virginia, and Florida. It seems that unleashing a disastrous trade war and imposing obscene tariffs that capsize the markets isn’t the best way to make America great again. It seems that attacking Social Security and Medicaid and firing thousands of federal employees pisses people off and inspires them to get off their butts and march in the streets. It seems people don’t want the broligarchy to profit off of their collective misery and see their President golfing and hosting $1 million a plate dinners at his Mar-a-Lago resort as people are at risk of losing their 401Ks.

Saturday’s Hands Off protests were a massive success, as places blue, red, and purple across the country held protests against the corrupt Trump/Musk/Project 2025 regime. The next 50501 protests will be on 04.19.2025.

[torillatavataan]

We Finns know Russia. Russia shares a land border with 14 countries. Only one of them has constantly remained an independent democracy through the Second World War and the Cold War, and that's Finland. History has taught us that Russia respects only strength and resolve.

Russia's current war is based on imperialistic ambition that goes beyond Ukraine. The Kremlin's appetite does not diminish when fed, it only grows.

Take it from us. Whatever happens in this war, Russia will remain a long-term strategic threat to Euro-Atlantic security. Rather than encourage, we need to keep it at bay. Of course, we need to be open for re-engagement in the future if Russia started to adhere to international law again, but going forward, it would be a mistake to let go of our deterrence or rebuild strategic dependency on Russia. And this goes for all of Europe.

So far we have not seen any sign that President Putin has any genuine will to negotiate a lasting agreement — on the contrary. A week ago on Monday, on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion, Russia launched the so far largest drone attack on Ukraine. That is not what you would expect from someone who is truly interested in peace.

There is no reason whatsoever to believe that Putin has moderated his demands from those he laid out in December 2021. Demands that if accepted, would roll back decades of progress in European security. Caving to these demands would expose Europe to further aggression. Instead, our objective must be a just, lasting peace that respects international law, including prohibition of annexation of territory through the use of force.

Let me emphasise. Peace does not and must not mean submission. True peace is built on justice, accountability, and deterrence. We must not mistake a temporary pause for a sustainable peace.

If in doubt, you can ask the Baltic states what kind of peace it was to live under Russian, or back then, Soviet occupation. Deported civilians, missing children, a massive setback in prosperity, and subpar living standards for decades. No political or personal freedoms. You can call that peace, but it's not something the brave Ukrainians have been sacrificing their lives for, or what they or anyone would deserve going forward.

Elina Valtonen, the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs

[rocketqueen1989x]

someone is feeling fruity 😙😙

[axlsyndrome]

face sculpted by the gods

[rocknrollflames]

Day Twenty-two: Your Favorite Picture of Your Favorite Band

30 Day Band Challenge

This was like pulling teeth. I am seriously behind on the 30 Day Band Challenge because I've been stuck on this one. I finally decided I would select one picture for every album they released. That was going to be ... six in total. One for AFD, LIES, UYI 1, UYI 2, SPA, CD. Then I decided that I would also allow another photo for Live Like a Suicide (I know and don't care that it was an EP and that those songs were later released on LIES - it's still their first release and that matters). Then I wondered if it was okay to add another photo for The Greatest Hits. But wait - Live Era is far more important than that! Hmm ... Live at the Marquee ... Does that mean I should add one for Locked and Loaded? The AFD Box Set? And the UYI Box Set too? There are tons of bootlegs ... lol.

(I finally just settled on these. I have included one photo for: Live Like a Suicide - their first release, Appetite for Destruction - their first LP, GNR Lies - second LP (Don't try and tell me that it isn't an LP because it is. Any album longer than five songs is long play - five songs or less is extended play.), Use Your Illusion I - third LP, Use Your Illusion II - fourth LP, Spaghetti Incident - fifth LP, GNR Live Era 87 - 93, The Greatest Hits, Chinese Democracy - sixth LP, Locked N' Loaded: The Appetite for Destruction Box Set, and The Use Your Illusion Box Set!)

But I of course have so many more faves, lol. My mouth ...

Your favorite picture of your favorite band ... yeah, right.

Edit: I had to. I added one more photo. I had to. So, let's just say it's in honor of the album, Live at the Marquee, lol.

[chaifootsteps]

Hello Chai! This is an observation I made as a native Japanese speaker in both Japanese and English speaking fandoms. (I’m posting this in your anon ask box since your account seems like a safe place.) (Do note that what I say might be biased, and that this is just a tendency.) Seeing all the discussions about shipping/fandoms made me want to jot down some stuff I’ve noticed.

I’ve come to notice that Japanese fandoms tend to care less about the political/social implications of things, as I’ve seen some popular ships (that even get Doujinshi events of their own) be stuff that would swiftly land you on a Tumblr blocklist here. (Aka the so-called “proship”s) This might have relations with how people are less engaged in politics than, say the United States. To quote the article “Democratic Erosion in Japan: A Silent Crisis”: (URL: https://democratic-erosion.org/2025/02/14/democratic-erosion-in-japan-a-silent-crisis/)

“For decades, Japanese citizens have neglected their responsibility as active participants in a democracy. Many perceive politicians as VIPs—highly educated individuals who should be respected and entrusted with decision-making. Meanwhile, ordinary people see themselves as “lesser commoners” who “don’t know any better” and should refrain from questioning authority.”

Although these two things might have no correlation, it is still interesting. However, this also means Japanese fandoms tend to know to separate IRL morality from the fiction morality, and practice the “Don’t Like Don’t Read” mantra well. (At least older fans tend to follow that.)

Meanwhile, I think the English speaking side of fandom can be more political. I’ve seen many people use their fandom engagement as a way to spread awareness of IRL stuff like for Palestine, or for Pride. However, I see people in English speaking fandoms trying to equate IRL morality with fictional morality which is not always an equal. This leads to people bashing one another and acting just like “puritans”.

I’ve read this article “THE PURITANICAL EYE: HYPER-MEDIATION, SEX ON FILM, AND THE DISAVOWAL OF DESIRE” (URL: https://specchioscuro.it/the-puritanical-eye-hyper-mediation-sex-on-film-and-the-disavowal-of-desire/?utm_campaign=mb&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew) discussing if this could be coming from people seeing entertainment as their only way to show morality due to late stage capitalism. To quote (too much):

“The current state of cultural and material decline plays an important role in the shift toward Puritanism in media and art, in consumer appetite, and in the political posture of the State. That is to say, with the compounding crises we are bombarded with (everything from climate disaster to rampant racialized police violence to genocide) as a part of our daily lives under late capitalism, the need for escape, and indeed, the need for that escape to be completely unchallenging and non-confrontational, has become imperative. Moreover, as control over our own material realities becomes less and less feasible, the last lone place we believe we can exercise agency is within the landscape of that which we consume. This has resulted in the consuming public approaching all media and art with a moral imperative — that which we consume must be perfectly virtuous, sanitized of all problematic or complicated ideas and depictions, because it has become the stand-in for our very realities, our very political action as citizens; consuming has become our praxis.”

Once again, I might be making BS correlations, but this seems like something that is worth pointing out. Not saying which is more morally superior, but I think there are things that each fandom can learn from. Also this might lead to less misunderstandings between each fandom.

(Note: this Fanlore article kinda explains the situation fairly well from multiple cultural perspectives. https://fanlore.org/wiki/Must-know_for_Japanese_fandom:the_meaning_of%22proship%22_and_the_concept_of_%22proshippers%22_in_Western_fandom)

Sorry for the long ask. Hope you have a great day/evening!

Thanks for the info, Anon! This was interesting, and it's definitely always seemed to me like Japanese fandom culture -- whether it's due to people not being as plugged in politically or just a bigger distinction between fiction and reality -- is a lot more laid back. Also, I'm behind the curb and had no idea the term you guys coined for anti-shipping was "feelings yakuza," but I love it.

I think it would be one thing if western fandom culture traded that more old school approach to fandom for everyone being hyper-political all the time actually resulted in a better political situation and a better life for us, but it hasn't. Neither side of the globe is enjoying an Omelas-esque utopia because of their approach to fiction, the world still sucks, and the glaciers are still melting.

[evergardenwall]

a few things i've been doing and that you should do to help with feelings of anxiety/doom:

1) first, literally, disable notifications from news outlets apps, and stop watching live 24/7 tv news. like. at least, for me, it helps, because this shit triggers so much anxiety in me, and makes me spiral; i much prefer looking up the news from my own volition. even if it is also anxiety-inducing, it is not as overwhelming and i feel like i have some control/can process information better

2) spend time with your loved ones irl. hug them, talk about what you're feeling if this can help, or do an activity together that can distract you! back in april 2022, between the two rounds of the french election, i was having a full mental breakdown, and my mum took me on a day out, visiting local villages and just. getting out of the house and visiting other place and breathing fresh air helped a lot.

3) kind of a followup to 2) but, go on a walk ! pace around, breathe the outside air—i cannot stress it enough, it helps with calming down racing thoughts, at least for me :)

4) if you are having difficulty to eat/have no appetite, please, eat a little something anyway; having an empty stomach does not help. go for something easy to prepare and/or a safe food. i just had a banana and a bowl of cereal for lunch—not the most conventional lunch, i know, but at least, i ate something even though i wasn't feeling hungry and nothing motivated me to eat :')

5) if you are feeling intrusive thoughts, feeling like you are responsible for the outcome of this election, and feeling guilty for not doing enough — please, please, don't guilt-trip yourself. you did what you could. this is something way bigger than us, an accumulation of many things, including structural racism, inequalities in access to voting, the gradual rise of fascism, and the system being deeply flawed, all the harmful shit that stayed from the orange man's first term and which long-term consequences built up to this.

6) please, remember that your vote wasn't worthless. i promise. you did the right thing by getting out of your house, going to the polling station, waiting in line for hours to make your voice heard, and i am deeply thankful you did it. genuinely. and remember that this election was going to be close. i'm not saying that there isn't criticism to be made about people who refused to vote, or voted third party — they have a huge responsibility —, but you, the average person worried about the democracy, who showed up and voted blue? i do not want you to feel like your vote was useless and give up. please.

7) remember that very bad things have happened in the past too, yet we're still here. hang on this fact. we're alive, and we're here.

8) repeat of 2 but: you should hug your loved ones. and i am sending you hugs, too—especially if you're from a vulnerable demographic (a racial minority, LGBTQ+, etc.) 🫂 you are not alone!

[the-forest-library]

November 2024 Reads

In Memoriam - Alice Winn

A Sorceress Comes to Call - T. Kingfisher

Graveyard Shift - M.L. Rio

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

A Curious Beginning - Deanna Raybourn

The Empress of Salt and Fortune - Nghi Vo

Bride - Ali Hazelwood

The Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett

Pony Confidential - Christina Lynch

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love - India Holton

Here We Go Again - Alison Cochrun

One Last Shot - Betty Cayouette

Under Your Spell - Laura Wood

The Love of My Afterlife - Kristy Greenwood

This Summer Will Be Different - Carley Fortune

Savor It - Tarah DeWitt

Kiss Me at Christmas - Jenny Bayliss

Christmas Is All Around - Martha Waters

XOXO - Axie Oh

Killing November - Adriana Mather

Miracles on Maple Hill - Virginia Sorensen

The Miraculous Life of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo

Because of Winn Dixie - Kate DiCamillo

Thunder Pug - Kim Norman

Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea - Vera B. Williams

Dr Seuss's Sleep Book - Dr Seuss

Leap - Simina Popescu

Uprooted - Ruth Chan

Taxi Ghost - Sophie Escabasse

They Called Us Enemy - George Takei

I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together - Maurice Vellekoop

Adulthood is a Gift - Sarah Andersen

Joyful Recollections of Trauma - Paul Scheer

The Deaf Girl - Abigail Heringer

True Gretch - Gretchen Whitmer

Growing Up Urkel - Jaleel White

How to Know a Person - David Brooks

The Expectation Effect - David Robson

Glory Days - L. Ron Wertheim

Democracy Awakening - Heather Cox Richardson

The Sleeping Beauties - Suzanne O'Sullivan

What It Takes to Heal - Prentis Hemphill

Vanishing Treasures - Katherine Rundell

Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice - Christina De Witte and Mallika Kauppinen

Appetites - Anthony Bourdain

Bold = Highly Recommend

Italics = Worth It

Crossed Out = Nope

Thoughts: Please read In Memoriam if you haven't yet. It's sweeping and sad and sweet and very satisfying. The audiobook is lovely and does some interesting things with the narration.

Goodreads Goal: 414/400 

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