#Dedicated to victory destroyed by war urging peace

[batnomadblog]

Munich - Propylaea, Glyptohek, Munich Residenz

Propylaea, Konigsplatz, Glyptohek, Munich Residenz, Siegestor were to be the order of the day; walking distance sites from Munich/München historical centre. Konigsplatz was an area I had walked past a few times before fully exploring. Large grey stout buildings purposefully and sparsely dotted around manicured gardens dissected by wide, yet quiet, roads. Without stretching the imagination, this…

[fatewoven]

It's an appropriately gloomy day for this; mist coagulates in the atmosphere, not heavy enough to qualify as rain. Songbirds and crickets shelter their wings inside tree trunks and hedges, their absence dooming the landscape to eerie, stagnant silence — broken by the carriage's steady progress as the skeletal horses take the route they've traversed a hundred times over, in life and in death. Inside, Emmrich's thoughts drift to the past, a momentary diversion from his present company. "Royal coup? Ah, the business in Orlais, I presume? The legacy of most nobles becomes their mistakes rather than their deeds. An apt way for history remember their names," he says with a faint smile, mood wry as his gaze shifts toward the fast-approaching gates. Migratory, his hand shifts to bone staff once more, channeling a command for the steeds to slow. "When we tell a story, we are living memory. Great art often arises from trauma, nostalgia, or testimony. Gaze upon any architectural feat, and we are flooded by the stories they hold for the purpose of sharing with any that wish to harbor the memories. The Perendale gate holds three memorial arches, and above each is inscribed a part of Nevarra's history."

And how effortless it is to speak of it to Valrys, his bearing receptive. Perhaps even eager as Emmrich represents his title of professor through the impromptu lecture. How it was built after Nevarra liberated themselves from the Imperium, and then adjusted to have lions to represent when Orlais occupied them, before it partially destroyed, and then reconstructed when they seized Perendale by force. "Dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, urging peace. And yet even now smaller settlements argue under which kingdom's banner they abide by. Such pointless endeavours when each soul will eventually join the beyond. Still, I suppose that's what makes this age an interesting one to live in. The joys of politics." Concluded with a sigh, his hands no longer gesturing passionately, Emmrich, upon noticing the traveled distance — the disconcertingly long time spent on talking — laughs, knuckles curled at his mouth in a gesture that might seem abashed. "My deepest apologies, Valrys. I hadn't meant to be a jay over a simple question. Please feel free to interrupt me in the future, I insist. And, ah, you mentioned you considered such gatherings a necessary evil... Would you mind sharing the reasons as to why? Consider me a kindred spirit that's curious on the matter." Speckled at the horizon, the outline of the manor slowly focuses into view, surrounded by a barrier — and any mage sensitive to the fade could tell a great number of spirits are present among the living guests, as well.

"The Duke that's invited us is a spirit, by the by. It's not actually his spirit, of course, but the family has roots in Rivain and consider it only natural for their ancestors to take part in the revelry."

There are few so bold as to act with such fond familiarity with a Tevinter mage. Though, Emmrich himself is far from an ordinary mage himself, but there's perhaps a slightly more creepy edge to the reputation rather than outright disdain as is pointed towards ones such as himself. That the necromancer sits himself beside him is met more so with curiousity at how close the other comes to him without fear. Danger that the other recklessly forgets. He looks at the other with mild surprise at the admission; it is difficult to imagine the prim and proper man to be a wild partier. But he supposes everyone was young, once. Even him, many centuries ago. "Seeing you now, it's difficult to imagine that," he muses, an intrigued tilt of the head as to determine if the other is simply exaggerating. "They're a necessary evil," he says with a hint of wit and a professional smile, which doesn't reveal the true distaste he holds for such events. "I'd say the most memorable party I attended had a royal coup," he muses, thinking upon the evening at Halamshiral. A night to remember. His gaze, hungry to see new things, is cast outside, clawing up and down the pillars and the statues. Naturally, he bears a fondness for the dragons more so than the lions. This time, he doesn't jump at the contact. At one, two, three touches, the mind rather feels like it is spinning a web of conspiracy theories to jump to wild conclusions than anything as foolish as interest. Easier, more logical explanations can be found: for a man stuck touching dead bones all the time, the unconscious craving for living touch is only natural. He'll forgive Emmrich his quirks due to the enjoyment of his company. His eyes flicker over from the gates back to the warmth of the necromancer's face. "Will you tell me the history? I should like to learn more about your country." About him.

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly and submitted a resolution for consideration

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a speech at the UN Security Council meeting dedicated to maintaining peace and security in Ukraine and called on the participants to hold Russia accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

He told the members of the UN Security Council that today, as a result of a Russian missile attack on the Chaplyne railway station in the Dnipropetrovsk region, four passenger cars caught fire, at least 15 people died and about 50 were wounded.

“Rescuers are working. But, unfortunately, the number of dead may still increase. This is how we live every day. This is how Russia prepared for this meeting of the UN Security Council,” the President noted.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that today the Russian Federation has put the world on the brink of a radiation disaster, as the Russian troops have made the territory of the ZNPP – the largest nuclear power plant in Europe – a combat zone.

“Because of Russia's armed provocations, because of shelling, because of the deployment of terrorists under the Russian flag on the territory of the plant. Now all of Europe and all neighboring regions are under the threat of radiation pollution,” he said.

The President insists that the IAEA mission must take permanent control of the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as soon as possible, and Russia must unconditionally stop nuclear blackmail and completely leave the plant.

In addition, the Head of State drew the attention of the members of the UN Security Council to the fact that in the 21. century we have to fight artificial famine in various countries provoked by Russia's aggression.

“I am thankful to the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres, and Türkiye, Mr. President, as well as all other conscientious subjects of international relations who are fighting against the food crisis, which only Russia is responsible for. And in the coming weeks, we must do everything to expand the existing grain export initiative,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed.

He also noted that the Russian Federation is deliberately trying to provoke an energy crisis and deprive tens of millions of people of normal access to basic goods by raising energy prices.

“Energy crisis for Europe, threat of large-scale famine, political chaos for African and Asian countries, price crisis for the whole world. Isn’t too much allowed to one state, whose representative is sitting among you?” the President addressed the participants of the meeting.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the Russian invaders killed thousands of Ukrainians and destroyed dozens of cities with artillery. Russia does not adhere to basic conventions regarding prisoners of war.

“The deliberate murder by the Russian occupiers of our prisoners of war in Olenivka became one of the most dreadful pages in the history of Europe. And there is an urgent need for a UN fact-finding mission to Olenivka, whose mandate should be extended to all Ukrainian prisoners of war currently held by Russian forces,” he urged.

The Head of State emphasized: if Russia is not stopped now by the victory of Ukraine, all Russian murderers will inevitably end up in other countries as well.

“And we must all unite and act as resolutely as possible so that there are no more traces of Russian missiles and cities burned by Russian artillery anywhere else,” he said.

According to the President, so that there is never again the threat of a radiation disaster, Russia must leave the captured territory of Ukraine.

“So that there is never a food crisis again, Russia must leave our land and our sea. So that no country in the world can ever again disregard the UN Charter and conventions binding on all mankind, Russia must be held accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” the President emphasized. 

“The relevant resolution will be submitted for consideration by the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. In order for a sense of justice to return to international relations, we must all confirm and force Russia to recognize that the inviolability of borders and peace are unconditional values for all nations,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.

The President supported the ambitious intention of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to organize the Summit of the Future next year. According to him, it will be very symbolic if this event takes place in Ukraine, as the future of the world is being decided on the territory of our country.

“In order to build the future, it is necessary to leave in the trashbox of history what has always prevented humanity from living in peace, namely aggression and colonial ambitions. That is, what Russia came to Ukraine with. And I believe that we will really be able to build the future,” the Head of State noted, adding that the issue of security of the whole free world is being decided at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, in Ukrainian seaports, in Donbas and in Crimea.

"Our independence is your security," the President summed up.

This is Volodymyr Zelenskyy's third speech at the UN Security Council since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia. The participation of the President of Ukraine in this meeting was endorsed by 13 out of 15 delegations to the Security Council.

Full speech under the cut.

I am thankful to everyone present for this opportunity, for your support!

Greetings from independent and free Ukraine! But from Ukraine, which is still forced to fight for its freedom against Russian terror.

Just now, on my way to deliver this address, I received information about a Russian missile attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region, on the railway station, directly on the cars at the Chaplyne station, four passenger cars are on fire... As of now, at least 15 people have been killed, about 50 have been wounded. Rescuers are working. But, unfortunately, the number of dead may still increase.

This is how we live every day. This is how Russia prepared for this meeting of the UN Security Council.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Mr. President!

Mr. Secretary-General!

Dear members of the UN Security Council - all those who respect and adhere to the UN Charter!

Today, our state celebrates the main national holiday - Independence Day. And now you all see how many things in the world are dependent precisely on the independence of our state, on whether Ukraine is at peace, whether our people are safe, whether the integrity of our territory and the inviolability of our borders are guaranteed.

You can take any aspect of the terrible war that Russia has unleashed against us, and in every such aspect there will be the roots of one global crisis or another.

What exactly is happening now?

Russia has put the world on the brink of a radiation disaster. It is a fact that the Russian military made the territory of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe - the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - a combat zone. This is a fact.

Because of Russia's armed provocations, because of shelling, because of the deployment of terrorists under the Russian flag on the territory of the plant. Now all of Europe and all neighboring regions are under the threat of radiation pollution. This is a fact.

Who among you has forgotten what Chornobyl is? The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant consists of six reactors. One reactor exploded in Chornobyl.

The IAEA mission must take permanent control of the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as soon as possible, and Russia must unconditionally stop nuclear blackmail and completely leave the plant.

Russia has put the world on the brink of an unprecedented famine. It is a fact that the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov has increased the deficit in the already destabilized food market. And this is against the background of the terrible climatic situation in different parts of the planet - you can take the drought in Europe alone, the largest in 500 years.

Fortunately, we managed to achieve such conditions under which Russia was forced to accept the terms of the international community, and thanks to this, grain exports from three Ukrainian ports were restored. This already relieves part of the tension in the food market, but does not remove the threat completely.

Only the full recovery of Ukrainian agricultural exports without any obstacles can be a guarantee that tens of millions of people around the world will have something to eat.

And don't you resent the fact that even now, in the XXI century, we still have to fight to save tens of millions of people in different countries from artificial famine, precisely artificial famine, which was provoked by one state with its insane aggression? And this is also a fact.

Ukrainians are outraged. The UN was not created to discuss in the XXI century something that should have long remained in the past.

But, nevertheless, I am thankful to the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres, and Türkiye, Mr. President, as well as all other conscientious subjects of international relations who are fighting against the food crisis, which only Russia is responsible for.

And in the coming weeks, we must do everything to expand the existing grain export initiative.

Let’s take another aspect - energy. It is a fact that Russia is deliberately trying to bring tens of millions of people into energy poverty. Deprive them of normal access to basic goods by deliberately raising energy prices.

And this is done by a permanent member of the UN Security Council, who still has the privilege of veto! Energy crisis for Europe, threat of large-scale famine, political chaos for African and Asian countries, price crisis for the whole world. Isn’t too much allowed to one state, whose representative is sitting among you?

And I will mention one more aspect - values.

Yes, indeed, we should be honest about the fact that values are perceived differently in different parts of the world. They look at it differently. But everywhere in the world, life has value. Peace has value. Economic prosperity has value.

All states, if they respect themselves and their people, punish murder and do not honor torturers. However, we see that there is a state that not just behaves differently, but that is proud to behave differently. It awards murderers, encourages torturers.

And this is a threat not only for Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainians were killed by the Russian invaders. Dozens of our cities were destroyed by Russian artillery. Russia does not adhere to basic conventions regarding prisoners of war. This was also discussed today.

The deliberate murder by the Russian occupiers of our prisoners of war in Olenivka became one of the most dreadful pages in the history of Europe. And there is an urgent need for a UN fact-finding mission to Olenivka, whose mandate should be extended to all Ukrainian prisoners of war currently held by Russian forces.

There is no war crime that the Russian occupiers have not yet committed on the territory of our independent state. But if we do not stop Russia now in Ukraine, if we do not stop it with the victory of Ukraine, all these Russian murderers will inevitably end up in other countries.

Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America - traces of Russian war criminals are everywhere already, and we must all unite and act as resolutely as possible so that there are no more traces of Russian missiles and cities burned by Russian artillery anywhere else.

So that there is never again a threat of a radiation disaster, Russia must leave the occupied territory of Ukraine.

So that there is never a food crisis again, Russia must leave our land and our sea.

So that no country in the world can ever again disregard the UN Charter and conventions binding on all mankind, without exception for anyone - Russia must be held accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. The relevant resolution will be submitted for consideration by the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

In order for a sense of justice to return to international relations, we must all confirm and force Russia to recognize that the inviolability of borders and peace are unconditional values for all nations.

That is why the independence and integrity of our state are of fundamental importance for international relations. Preserving our independence, guaranteeing our security, returning normal economic ties with Ukraine will restore the true power of the UN Charter and save the world from the crises we are all forced to experience now.

Mr. Secretary-General, Distinguished António Guterres, has the ambitious intention of organizing the Summit of the Future next year. We support this intention. And we emphasize: in order to build the future, it is necessary to leave in the trashbox of history what has always prevented humanity from living in peace, namely aggression and colonial ambitions. That is, what Russia came to Ukraine with.

And I believe that we will really be able to build the future. It would be very nice and symbolic for such a Summit to take place in Ukraine. As it is on our territory, on the territory of Ukraine, that it is now being decided whether we will have a future at all, whether the world will have a future at all. This is being decided at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, in our seaports, in Donbas and in Crimea.

Our independence is your security. The security of the entire free world.

I thank you very much for this opportunity, for understanding my situation, the situation of our country. Thank you! I am grateful to the Chinese Presidency for the opportunity to participate in this meeting in an online format.

Glory to Ukraine!

[scarletarosa]

Athena

Greek goddess of logic, truth, intelligence, knowledge, wit, wisdom, war, battle strategy, heroism, protection, law, justice, order, good counsel, skill, victory, and handicrafts

Athena (Roman: Minerva) is the magnificent goddess of Truth, she is a tremendous being of light who ensouls the cosmic consciousness of Truth and grants it to the world. She is the guardian over all knowledge and despises ignorance, facing it and destroying it like light ripping through darkness. She was one of the most important goddesses of Ancient Greece and is said to have led the Greeks to their homeland and supported their development by teaching them many things. She was also their greatest protectress and would valiantly defend them while defending their cities, even mentoring them in particular battle techniques. As a very complex goddess, Athena would watch over many areas of life, including all forms of education, crafts/inventions, and philosophical thinking. She also is one of the three Virgin goddesses (along with Artemis and Hestia) who are never swayed by romance or lust, since Athena values being solely devoted to the realm of the mind. 

Mythology: Many ages ago when Zeus was less moral than he is nowadays, he was very jealous of anyone who threatened his position of power. When he learnt that his wife, Metis, the goddess of wisdom, may birth his successor, he became desperate to end their lives. Zeus devoured Metis while she was pregnant, thinking this would secure him. But when the time came, Zeus began feeling tremendous headaches. As even he couldn’t bear them, Hephaestus struck Zeus with his axe and Athena leapt out of Zeus’ head, fully armed and with a furious cry. This frightened some of the deities, but Zeus, however, was delighted and full of pride. In this story of Athena’s birth, we see her as enraged wisdom that fights as a defender and upholder of justice.

A popular myth of Athena is the story of Arachne, a mortal craftswoman who boasted that she was more skillful than Athena herself. Athena offered her a chance to repent, but after Arachne refused, she challenged her to a weaving duel. The goddess fashioned a beautiful tapestry which illustrated the gruesome fate of the mortals who had the hubris of challenging the gods. Arachne, on the other hand, chose to depict stories of the mortals unjustly victimized by the gods. But she didn’t even have a chance to finish it for the enraged Athena tore Arachne’s fabric to pieces and turned her into a spider. As such, Arachne is doomed to weave ever since. This was a myth written by the Greeks as a warning against hubris, and does not portray an actual event, especially since Arachne is actually a goddess of spiders and wasn’t a cursed human.

Roles: Despite Athena’s connection to war, she moreso represents the strategy behind it and the ability to protect and bring about order (whereas Ares represents battle-lust, Athena fights out of necessity). She was also known to bestow victory in war, as she is at times seen accompanied by Nike, the goddess of victory. Through these connections, Athena is the patroness of heroes and is known to wisely advise them in their quests and grant divine weapons in times of need.

Other than the art of battle, Athena is known as a skillful inventor and even holds the title of ‘protectress of agriculture’. She is represented as the inventor of the plough and rake: she created the olive tree (the greatest blessing of Attica), taught the people to yoke oxen to the plough, took care of the breeding of horses, invented the bridle, instructed people how to tame horses, and much more. At the beginning of spring, offerings were given to Athena in advance for the protection she was to afford to crops and fields. Besides the tools of agriculture, Athena was said to be the inventor of numbers, science, hand-made crafts, chariots, and other such helpful things. 

Athena is a magnificently powerful goddess who can easily strike fear into her enemies. In times of battle, she is known to have lightning flashing from her eyes, and can even overpower Ares himself with her strategic mind during combat. She is peace gained through battle, courage gained through struggle, and clarity gained through wisdom. She has explained to me that the Aegis (the head of Medusa) on her breastplate represents her victory over her own shadow, the part of one’s psyche that creates negative emotions such as fear or cruelty. This is a true mark of wisdom and shows even further just how glorious Athena is. She can always be relied upon for sage advice in any matter, and knows how to directly tell someone what needs to be done or how they should change to become better. Athena says that she is also the goddess who inspires women to be more than their domestic roles that are pressured on them. She inspires rebellion in their hearts and teaches them how to fight and overcome oppression. Thus, Athena is the glorious warrior goddess of illuminating truth and courage; there is nothing that can break her down. 

Appearance: a tall woman in her 30′s with long brown hair, gray eyes, and wears either a white dress or silver armour

Personality: Overall, Athena is wise, intelligent, serious, diligent, straightforward, courageous, determined, perfectionistic, and a steadfast protector of peace. She has a very strong sense of morality and is able to keep calm and collected under a great deal of pressure. She loves to spread knowledge to others, but does not guide us through everything since she seeks to make her devotees independent. She greatly values strength of character, open-mindedness, and the desire to make oneself better no matter what. Athena can be a bit motherly at times with those she likes, but not too much in a “soft” way but more like a quiet and dedicated mother who wants the best for you. Although she does not have much patience for most people, especially if they are unwilling to take responsibility or overcome their ignorance. She also has no patience for people who disrespect her or disregard her nature as a virgin goddess. When Athena is angered, she becomes terrifying and cold. Lightening begins flashing out from her eyes and is relentless in bringing her fury upon whoever offended her. 

Athena is very empowering and knows exactly what to say when her devotees feel down or lost, for she can see past clouded emotions and into the clarity of truth. She also hates injustices of any kind and seeks to destroy all ignorance. She is a very protective warrior and an Illuminator, following the path that Lucifer teaches about wisdom through adversity. She is also a very close friend of the goddess Lilith, so they work well together for gaining Illumination. One of the most sacred animals of Athena is the serpent, which sheds its skin to be reborn, making it a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. This is one of the lesson that she often teaches to her followers, that their current self must die to be reborn in wisdom. In some of her statues, a giant snake can be seen beside her.

| Symbolism of Athena |

Owls

Eagles

Doves

Snakes

Helmets

Shields

Weapons

Olive Tree

Books

| Some of her epithets |

Alkis (The Strong)

Areia (The Warlike)

Ærgáni (Instructor of the Arts)

Axiopoinos (The Avenger)

Día (Heavenly)

Drákaina (She-Dragon)

Chalinitis (Tamer of Horses)

Erganê (The Worker)

Mêchaneus (Skillful Inventor)

Mítir Tǽkhni (Mother of the Arts)

Paiônia (The Healer)

Kóri (The Maiden)

Parthenos (The Virgin)

Pallas (The One who Brandishes Her Weapon)

Lýteira kakóhn (Deliverer from Evil)

Omvrimóthymos (Strong of Spirit)

Oplophóros (The Warrior)

Ormásteira (She Who Urges You Forward)

Polias (Protector of the City)

Polæmitókos (Bringer of Necessary War)

Polývoulos (Exceedingly Wise)

Nikephoros (Bringer of Victory)

Sóhteira (Saviour) 

Devotional Actions: Above all, Athena values offerings of action. She expects those devoted to her to constantly seek to improve themselves by gaining spiritual advancement, overcoming their Egos, and gaining as much knowledge as they can. Wisdom is embraced through battling hardships, analyzing yourself, and learning from trial and error. Dedication to what she teaches pleases her far more than physical offerings.

Offerings: Fine quality white wine (esp. if flower-scented), olives, olive oil, milk, bread, goat cheese, pomegranates, citrus, apples, cherries, figs, white lilies, myrrh incense, sandalwood, almonds, honey, cakes, cooked lamb or goat, beeswax candles, non-fiction books, fancy pens, quills, pottery, paintings, swords, daggers, silver armour, snakeskin, owl feathers, votive owls, clear crystals, silver jewelry, chess games, wool, knitting tools, pretty antiques, white marble, artworks, poetry, snake statuettes, and imagery of her sacred animals.

[bothsandneithers]

Day 3327

I need to hurry up and write this, because I am forgetting how miserable I was. This is not part of an effort to ensure that I don't repeat this process over again (perhaps as some may be tempted to do after childbirth). Instead, this exercise is consistent with my tendency to ask my friends to describe the most uncomfortable and unfortunate parts of their vacations. Who wants to hear a story that could more succinctly be conveyed within the narrow pages of a travel brochure? To adapt this question to the present situation: Who wants to hear a series of events that could be more adequately summarized by a few pages in a student handbook?

I’m sure that someone could have a field day by drawing parallels between giving birth to a child and writing a dissertation. While this is not my story to tell, I have described my experience by drawing upon the image of a mother who harnesses supernatural strength to lift a car off of her child. The listener is then immediately confused, and I then have to clarify that, in this metaphor, I am both the mother and the child, and that the dangerous, debilitating, threat of the car, is my dissertation.

It may be more effective if I am more direct: I want everyone to know that I (as the small child) was quite miserable, and I (as the mother) accomplished something that I thought was more than I could handle.

I imagine that if a car did end up on a small child, then the entire situation would invoke so much stress on the mother that she may not ever be able to recount exactly what happened during those subsequent moments. In a different way, of course, and for reasons I am still trying to understand, I too remember very little from the summer and early fall leading up to my defense.

In the place of memories, I find myself relying on artifacts to represent months and events that I cannot recall. One such set of artifacts are the six or so issues of The Atlantic magazine that have been set aside into a small pile; each one received a small verbal promise that I would open the pages after my defense. Now, as I review the covers, I imagine that they may never be read. Below are some of the stress-inducing cover stories of these abandoned issues:

How to destroy a government: The president is winning his war on American institutions.

How QAnon is warping reality and discrediting science.

The election that could break American.

How did it come to this? Why the virus won.

In the early days of lockdown, when the virus was beginning to take hold of its victory, I read this explanation for why most of us are not thriving right now: In order to flourish, one must be able to play several different human roles over the course of the day -- something that is arguably impossible when we rarely leave our dwellings.1

After reading this explanation, I starting clinging to the argument that the overwhelming reason why completing my dissertation had become so difficult was because of an absence of variability in my human roles. Even though none of my other typically played human roles were terribly interesting (commuter, friend, peer, coffee shop customer, gym patron), each one offered me respite from the singular human role that I was stuck with: The neurotic graduate student.

The neurotic graduate student human role was difficult to be around, because she was always worried about so many things: that her arguments weren't good enough, that there were errors in her code, that she should be able to understand certain concepts that were still evading her, that more time-intensive analyses were still required, and that overturning new stones would reveal that previous analyses or assumptions were wrong or incomplete. More simply, the neurotic graduate student human role was always worried that she was not good enough.

This persona can be debilitating, and I found that the act of writing a dissertation included a lot of time not actually writing, but rather, a substantial amount of time was devoted to sitting in paralyzing anxiety, not able to do anything.

Even though many of the weeks leading up to my due date were a blur, I do recall choosing this time to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Perhaps I did this because misery loves company. I decided to view this odd movie choice in a particular odd format, whereby I watched the movie in 15 minute intervals, across several nights, as if savoring a segmented Toblerone.

I watched the first few segments in stoic sympathy with the characters, but I eventually found myself amused when Jack Nicholson realizes that almost all the residents are “voluntary”:

You can go home any time you want? You're bullshittin' me. He's bullshittin' me right? Cheswick, you're voluntary? Scanlon? Billy, for chrissakes you must be committed, right? I mean, you're just a young kid, what're you doin' here? … I mean, you guys do nothing but complain about how you can't stand it in this place here and then you haven't got the guts just to walk out?

I remember smiling for a few moments at this scene; it was a gentle reminder that I invited this stress into my life, and that I could, indeed, bring it all to an end if I really wanted to. The smile was fleeting, and felt similar to when you are crying, and your friend says something that is true and funny to try and make you feel better, and you laugh and it feels really good but it also reminds you of how bad you feel, and how far away you are from feeling like yourself.

Yet again, someone else might have a field day drawing parallels between today’s academic environment and a fictional mental institution from the 1970s. I can't do this, in part because, aside from that one scene, I don’t actually remember what happens in the movie.

I did, however, voluntarily lock myself in a hotel room to write, because the suffocating familiarity of my home was preventing me from generating any new sentences. A sticker had been placed between the room's door and its frame, denoting that the room had been thoroughly cleaned. Surely this was only intended to be a symbolic seal to provide some peace of mind that it was safe and acceptable to be outside of one's house.

Once inside the room (that seemed no cleaner than in the absence of a pandemic), I did not immediately initalize my plan to write incessantly. Instead, I desultorily found myself on a support group on reddit that was dedicated to "PhD stress." Feeling compelled to write anything that was not my dissertation, I made a post targeted at those who were also writing their dissertations during a pandemic:

What you are doing right now is really, really hard.

Under "normal" conditions, you would be facing a sheer amount of uncertainty with your work (e.g., not knowing how analyses will turn out, not knowing what your advisor will think of your progress, etc). Under these new conditions, you are dealing with the uncertainty of the state of the world (pandemic), the government (upcoming election -- if in the US), as well as your dissertation! These are absurd conditions, whereby any one of these things would undoubtedly have negative impacts on your well being.

For many, you went from having an entire support group of peers, to sitting in your bedroom, day in and day out, trying to come up with novel ideas and effective ways to communicate these ideas.

As such, I urge you to take care of yourself. I urge you to give yourself permission to ignore unwanted criticism that, while in other circumstances you may work hard to address. Now, in this current context, just don't. Give yourself permission to stop perpetuating the idea that your work and your psyche should not be impacted by the fact that nothing is the same right now.

Defend your ideas, yes. And do good work (-- nah, do good enough work). But know that you are defending your work under surreal circumstances. Account for this when you wake up tomorrow, move four feet from your bed to your desk, and try to do the same thing over again.

Overnight, this became the most popular post in the subreddit’s history. Admittedly, there aren’t a lot of members in this particular community (it should also be noted that this post was recently surpassed in popularity by a post entitled, “PhD has destroyed my mental health”). Still, several users responded with something along the lines of, “Thank you. I needed to hear this.”

I needed to hear those words too -- that is one reason why I wrote them. But I was also desperate to play another human role; one who ambiguously could have already made it to the other side of the dissertation defense, and was able to offer encouragement to those close to the finish line.

Soon after my hotel stay, where I eventually did find motivation to write, I was set to defend my dissertation. This was met with the opportunity to transform into another human role: someone who was nearing the end of her graduate student career, and had no choice but believe that her work was good enough.

The dissertation defense took place via video conferencing. I sat at my desk in my make-shift office in my bedroom.

Five kind and smart professors asked me kind questions that made me feel smart.

And that was it.

After the defense, the stress began to fade away. I recalled the wise words that my therapist once said, “It’s remarkable how, after the defense, people just won’t need anything from you anymore.” I made edits to my dissertation and submitted my final version. I dismantled my “home office” and replaced it with a reading chair and a plant. A new issue of The Atlantic arrived in the mail, and now with time, cognitive space, and optimism that this issue would not be as depressing as the others, I started to read.

I opened to an article about a historian who predicts that the United States is about to experience a terrible decade. He blames this on the overproduction of elites. ("There are still only 100 Senate seats, but more people than ever have enough money or degrees to think they should be running the country.") These elites find alternative ways to disrupt the status quo to influence people; the elite overproduction "creates counter-elites, and counter-elites look for allies among the commoners.”2

Although the article was compelling, it did not feel like appropriate material, as one does not work tirelessly through graduate school to then be compared to Steve Bannon.

I continued to the next article which was about young adults (or old children) who post things to a social media platform I’ve never used (TikTok). Not only do they create short videos that are viewed by millions of viewers, but there is an entire industry of these individuals, and they curate their content together in the mansions that they cohabitate (I am yet to grasp the monetization of this endeavor).3

I settled into my chair. Finding myself enjoying my new human role as a casual observer to an unknown world, I thought: What an absolutely absurd life pursuit.

xx,

Amy, PhD

https://nplusonemag.com/issue-37/the-intellectual-situation/epilogue-for-a-way-of-life/ ↩︎

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/12/can-history-predict-future/616993/ ↩︎

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/12/charli-damelio-tiktok-teens/616929/ ↩︎

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Trump condemns religious persecution amid refugee squeeze (AP) President Donald Trump said at the United Nations this week that “protecting religious freedom is one of my highest priorities.” But his promise rings hollow to advocates for persecuted religious minorities seeking refuge in the United States. Trump’s administration already has slashed the nation’s refugee admissions ceiling to a historic low and on Thursday proposed a further cut for next year, to 18,000. The list of persecuted religious groups whose access to refugee admission has withered under Trump includes Christians in Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Myanmar and Sudan, as well as Iraqi Christians and Yazidis.

Haiti Braces for New Protest, Demands That Leader Resign (AP) Opposition leaders are calling for a nationwide push Monday to block streets and paralyze Haiti’s economy as they press for President Jovenel Moïse to give up power, and tens of thousands of their dedicated young supporters are expected to heed the call.

Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake Strikes Off Chilean Coast (AP) A powerful magnitude 6.8 earthquake shook the coast of Chile on Sunday, swaying buildings in the capital of Santiago. The national emergency agency said there were no reported injuries or damage to basic services.

Portugal’s Azores brace for impact of category 4 hurricane Lorenzo (Reuters) As hurricane Lorenzo moves closer, Portugal’s Azores archipelago is bracing for strong winds, heavy rain and towering waves and the country’s meteorology agency IPMA said there was more than an 80% chance of the storm hitting the mid-Atlantic islands. In a statement published on Sunday, IPMA said the eye of category 4 hurricane Lorenzo would pass “very close” to the archipelago on Wednesday, with gales of up to 125 miles per hour expected to batter some areas.

Spanish Island of Tenerife Suffers Massive Power Outage (AP) A major power outage in Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands left nearly 1 million people without electricity, authorities said Sunday.

Storm Prompts Railway to Suspend Service in Northern Germany (AP) Rail services in parts of northern Germany were suspended on Monday as a storm with high winds swept across the area.

Election triumph leaves Austria’s Kurz with coalition options (Reuters) Austrian conservative leader Sebastian Kurz triumphed in Sunday’s parliamentary election while the scandal-tainted far right took a beating and the Greens surged, leaving Kurz the option of forming a coalition with either of them.

Floods kill 113 in north India in late monsoon burst, jail, hospital submerged (Reuters) Heavy rains have killed at least 113 people in India’s Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states over the past three days, officials said on Monday, as flood waters swamped a major city, inundated hospital wards and forced the evacuation of inmates from a jail.

With vote over, Afghanistan faces possible political chaos (AP) Presidential elections are over, and Afghanistan now faces a period of uncertainty and possible political chaos. Saturday’s vote was marred by violence, Taliban threats and widespread allegations of mismanagement and abuse. The election seems unlikely to bring the peace sought by Afghans, tired of an increasingly brutal war, or an easy exit for the United States, seeking to end its longest military engagement.

Thousands rally in Moscow to demand release of jailed protesters (Reuters) More than 20,000 Russians took to the streets of Moscow on Sunday to demand the release of protesters jailed over the summer in what opponents of the Kremlin say is a campaign to stifle dissent.

China faces an economic slowdown (LI) The world’s second biggest economy is slowing its roll, amid declining industrial output, diminishing retail sales, trade tensions with the U.S. and a swine fever that’s driven up pork prices, BBC News reports. The Chinese economy grew 6.2% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2019, compared to 6.6% in 2018. And where China goes, the world may follow. For every percentage point drop in the Chinese economy, the global economy can expect 0.2 percentage points of diminished growth, the Peterson Institute’s Gary Hufbauer tells the BBC.

Hong Kong police smash anti-China demonstration, creating chaos (Washington Post) An unauthorized march against totalitarianism and Beijing’s grip on Hong Kong quickly devolved into chaos Sunday, as police fired rounds of tear gas and made arrests to stop the crowd of thousands from protesting. It was among the most aggressive police responses in the 17 weeks of demonstrations, amid growing sensitivity over the rapidly approaching anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Several people were seriously injured. Street battles broke between protesters and police who struggled to keep the demonstrators at bay with rubber bullets and tear gas.

Typhoon Bears Down on Northern Taiwan (AP) Fast-moving Typhoon Mitag was bearing down on northern Taiwan on Monday, bringing high winds and heavy rain and forcing flight cancellations.

Thai Prime Minister Advises Masks Against Bangkok Smog (AP) Thailand’s prime minister has urged people in Bangkok to wear face masks to filter out unhealthy air pollution as smog enveloped the capital.

Houthis say they killed or wounded 500 Saudi-led coalition fighters and captured 2,000 (Washington Post) Yemeni rebels said Sunday they carried out a major assault on forces of a Saudi Arabian-led coalition near the border between the two nations, and released footage that they said shows hundreds of captured troops, including Saudi officers, and destroyed Saudi military vehicles. The rebels also said they killed or wounded 500 coalition soldiers. If confirmed, the assault would be one of the most significant victories for the rebels in the nearly five-year civil war gripping the Middle East’s poorest nation.

[xhxhxhx]

The England of the East

On the morning of May 27, 1905, a small Japanese fleet met the Russian Baltic Fleet as it steamed into the Straits of Tsushima. Seven months earlier, the tsar had ordered the fleet to leave its base at Kronstadt. Now, halfway around the world, it was exhausted, demoralized, and in desperate need of supplies. The Russians made a last, desperate dash for Vladivostok. They never made it. By the following morning, the Japanese had destroyed six Russian battleships and captured the other two, and they had not lost a single ship. Five thousand Russian sailors were taken prisoner. 

At the peace conference at Portsmouth, the Japanese won the Liaotung Peninsula, the South Manchurian Railroad Company’s rights in Manchuria, South Sakhalin, and recognition for Japan’s paramount interests in Korea. No longer would Russia trouble the Japanese in Korea. That November, the Korean Empire became a Japanese protectorate.

The Russo-Japanese War was a psychological shock for the colonized peoples of the world. Lord Curzon, the British Viceroy in India, observed that the reverberations of Japanese victory had “gone like a thunderclap through the whispering galleries of the East.” Sun Yat-sen, traveling down the Suez Canal during the war, was asked whether he was Japanese; the Arab had observed vast armies of Russian soldiers being shipped back fo Russia from the Far East, which seemed a sure sign of Russia’s defeat. “The joy of this Arab,” wrote Sun, “as a member of the great Asiatic race, seemed to know no bounds.”

In South Africa, a young lawyer named Mohandas Gandhi wrote that “so far and wide have the roots of Japanese victory spread that we cannot now visualize all the fruit it will put forth.” A Hunanese schoolboy named Mao Zedong memorized a Japanese song taught by his music teacher, a former student in Japan:

The sparrow sings, the nightingale dances,
 And the green fields are lovely in the spring.
 The pomegranate flowers crimson, the willows green-leafed,
 And there is a new picture.

Jawaharlal Nehru, reading the news in provincial India, found it stirred up his enthusiasm. “I waited eagerly for the papers for fresh news daily,” although he found Japanese history rather hard to follow and preferred “the knightly tales of old Japan and the pleasant prose of Lafcadio Hearn.” He began dreaming of Indian freedom, and his own role in freeing Asia from European domination. “I dreamt of brave deeds, of how, sword in hand, I would fight for India and help in freeing her.”

Of course, by the time Nehru heard the news from Tsushima, he was with his mother and sister on the train from Dover to Harrow. It happened to be just before Derby Day, and he and his family went to see the race. Still, the news put him in “high good humour.” Lord Curzon’s dyspepsia notwithstanding, the young Nehru would not be alone in his enthusiasm, whether at Harrow or at Epsom Downs.

Pankaj Mishra describes the Battle of Tsushima as the first act in The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia. “For the first time since the Middle Ages, a non-European country had vanquished a European power in a major war,” he wrote, and now Japan threatened Europe in a way that no colonized people ever had. It was not an uncommon sentiment at the time. As the Illustrated London News put it, “Europe has not recovered from the shock of finding out that the Japanese are a great people.”

The irony is that whatever succor their Chinese or Indian subjects might have felt, the English were as happy with the Japanese victory as any colonized people. “Every Englishman will join in the joy which is felt in the land of his allies,” wrote the North China Herald, the paper of British merchants in the Shanghai concession. In London, it was the greatest victory since the Battle of Trafalgar. “In the hundred years gone by since Nelson decided the destinies of Europe,” wrote The Times, “no such action has been fought at sea as that which begun on Saturday in the Straits of Tsushima, and no such victory has been won.”

Japan had been Britain’s treaty ally since 1902, whereas Russia threatened Britain’s interests in South Asia and the Far East. Britain shared the general sentiment that Japan had raised Asia to the level of Europe, but this was no bad thing: Henry Wilson, a pro-Japanese journalist, observed that “The era of inequality between the races is over. Henceforth white and yellow man must meet on an equal footing.” The Times wrote that Japan had proven itself to European powers “judged by every standard of modern civilization,” and their victory confirmed the wisdom of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance:

We can conceive no surer way of averting the danger of racial antagonism, if it in reality exists, than an alliance between the two Island Empires of the West and the East based on a community of peaceful interests, on joint responsibilities of mutual defence, and on kindred ideals of patriotism, progress, and freedom.

Even before the war, the British had seen Japan as Britain’s mirror image, a plucky island nation bringing the light of liberalism to the benighted peoples of the Far East. The North China Herald had welcomed the alliance as the coming together of “the Englands of the West and the East,” and a guarantee of “peace and the open door for all.” The Times’ correspondent in Tokyo wrote that Japan was fighting as “the champion of ideals which Anglo-Saxons, all the world over, hold in reverence.” 

If Japan bloodied Russia’s nose in the process, that was all the better. Wilson wrote that “it cannot be denied by thinking men that [Japan], rather than Russia, represents civilized ideas, the freedom of human thought, democratic institutions, education and enlightenment – in a word, all that we understand by progress. It is Russia who stands for barbarism and reaction …” Britain hoped that Japan would protect liberal interests in the Far East, and accordingly British interests in the Pacific: ending Russia’s southward drive into China, and opening the door to foreign commerce in China outside European spheres of influence. Perhaps Japan would bring about the “Japanising of China,” and hence “the uplifting of this Empire by the spread of Western enlightenment and civilisation.”

As Lord Curzon’s observation makes clear, however, the settlers in the empire and its dominions were never so inclined to respect the Japanese. Although the British Columbia press praised the “inspired” patriotism and welcomed the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, some worried that the emergence of Japan as a world power would mean “the dominance of the yellow races in Asia” and a menace to Australia and the Pacific.

Two weeks before Tsushima, delegates from local labor organizations in San Francisco founded the Japanese and Korean Exclusion League, dedicating themselves to ending Asian immigration into California. The American Federation of Labor had already issued a resolution opposing all Asian immigration. In the British Empire, the “great white walls” the Dominions had raised against Chinese and Indian labor were now threatened by the Japanese. Lord Curzon wrote that “when challenged about the place of India in the Empire, [the Indian] replies that the Empire is nothing to him, since it cannot insure for the Indian his rights as a British subject in Australia, or British Columbia, or the Transvaal.” Curzon observed that this phase in colonial opinion was not likely to be either “fortuitous or transient,” but was likely, as time passed, “to stiffen into harder forms.” 

On October 11, 1906, the day after the ratification of the Treaty of Portsmouth in Tokyo, the San Francisco school board decreed that ethnic Japanese students were to be forced into a segregated school, so that white children “should not be placed in any position where their youthful impressions may be affected by association with pupils of the Mongoloid race.” The New York Sun’s correspondent in Tokyo told his editors that “the exclusion of Japanese children from the public schools of California cuts this child-loving nation to the quick.” In Japan, some broadsheets urged the Japanese navy to make a detour to California to rescue the Japanese of San Francisco: “It will be easy work to awaken the United States from her dream of obstinacy when one of our great Admirals appears suddenly on the other side of the Pacific.”

President Roosevelt was disgusted by the San Francisco segregation order. He sent a cabinet member to San Francisco to persuade the school board to reverse itself. They ignored the message, and sent back the messenger.  In his annual message to Congress, Roosevelt condemned the segregation order as a “wicked absurdity” enacted by a “small body of wrongdoers.” The Japanese had “won in a single generation the right to stand abreast of the foremost and most enlightened peoples of Europe and America; they have won on their own merits and by their own exertions the right to treatment on a basis of full and frank equality.” After months of pleading, Roosevelt persuaded San Francisco to reverse its segregation order, but only in exchange for concrete steps to end Japanese immigration. Roosevelt signed an immediate executive order barring Japanese aliens in Hawaii from migrating to the mainland.

In 1907, the Asiatic Exclusion League sponsored a mass demonstration in Vancouver that ended in a race riot. In the aftermath, the federal opposition leader Robert Borden joined local leaders in defending the rioters, as British Columbia was and must remain “a White Man’s province.” In 1907 and 1908, Canada, Australia, and the United States all came to “Gentlemen’s Agreements” with Japan, barring almost all further immigration. Although Japanese subjects had the right of free entry into Canada under the Anglo-Japanese Treaty, Japan agreed to use administrative measures to limit further immigration to Canada. They would refuse passports to all manual laborers requesting permission to travel to the United States. The rising tide of Asian migration was stopped, and “full and frank equality” postponed.

The Anglo-Japanese Alliance eventually withered away, but not before one final victory. On August 15, 1914, the Japanese demanded that the Germans relinquish their base in Tsingtao, “the root of the German influence which forms a constant menace to the peace of the Far East.” Germany was no more inclined to respect Japan’s demand than Russia had been: “They can tell this to a Russian but not to a German,” one German in Tsingtao wrote in his diary. Wilhelm II said that “it would shame me more to surrender Tsingtao to the Japanese than Berlin to the Russians.” Although the Kaiser would not live to see the surrender of Berlin, Germany would ultimately have to do both.  

On November 7, the German garrison asked the Allies for terms. Only the German and Japanese chiefs of staff and a Japanese naval officer signed the terms of surrender; the British were neither consulted nor asked to put their name to the document. A week after the surrender, a representative of the emperor handed the British troops at Tsingtao a parchment expressing the emperor’s pleasure at their participation in the battle, along with a consignment of cigarettes bearing the emperor’s chrysanthemum crest. The British got the cigarettes and the Japanese got the peninsula.

During the Russo-Japanese War itself, however, one young German believed that Japan was the country’s natural ally. “For national reasons, I had already taken sides, and in our little discussions at once sided with the Japanese,” he wrote, two decades later, from his cell in Landsberg Prison. “In a defeat of the Russians,” wrote Adolf Hitler, “I saw the defeat of Austrian Slavdom.” 

This topic was suggested by a Patreon backer.

Bibliography: Marius B. Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan (Cambirdge, MA: Belknap Press, 2000); Pankaj Mishra, From the Ruins of Empire (London: Allen Lane, 2012); Rotem Kowner, ed., The Impact of the Russo-Japanese War (London: Routledge, 2007); Jawaharlal Nehru, An Autobiography (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1982); Cornelis Heere, “Japan and the British World, 1904--14,” unpublished PhD thesis, London School of Economics, 2016; Lord Curzon, The Place of India in the Empire (London: John Murray, 1909); Patricia E. Roy, A White Man’s Province (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1989); Greg Robinson, A Tragedy of Democracy (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009); Ian W. Toll, Pacific Crucible (New York: W. W. Norton, 2012); Charles E. Neu, An Uncertain Friendship (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967); Jonathan Fenby, The Siege of Tsingtao (London: Penguin Books, 2014).

[flyingcookierambles]

the text id from the screenshots, if you need it

“There, I now have my part of the bounty,” said Hugo. “Thank you. It will make up for the destroyed Marshall II.”

“Oh...? How much are those things, anyway?” I asked.

“10,000,000 lir.”

“T-TEN?!” I yelped.

I had no idea it was so luxurious!

“With special tuning and extras, it can easily go over 20,000,000 lir,” Hugo added. He pointed at the inventory where he’d just put the 20,000,000 lir I’d given him, his eyes still insisting that the Magingear’s destruction wasn’t going into the necessary expenses and that he didn’t actually need any more of the bounty.

“Still, it’s quite an expensive piece of equipment,” said Hugo. “Also, that is the original pricing, exclusive to us clan members of the Triangle of Wisdom. On Dryfe’s standard marketplace, their price is twice as great. That number is doubled or tripled yet again when we’re talking about the machines that have gotten leaked to Caldina.” I had no idea whether I should be more surprised by the immense original pricing or by just how much greater it could grow.

“The pricing is the biggest problem with a Marshall II, and humanoid Magingears in general,” he added. “The machines are generally as strong as Demi-Dragons, yet actual tamed Demi-Dragon monsters cost only about 3,000,000. A striking difference.”

So that’s how much Demi-Dragons cost, eh? I thought. Maybe I should buy one along with a carriage? Then again, I have Silver, so maybe I don’t need it.

“Still, Magingears are not without their advantages,” said Hugo. “For example, they don’t use any minion capacity and can be mass-produced as long as there are materials and funds.”

Anything “Demi-Dragon” was considered to be equivalent to a full party of people with low-rank jobs. Being able to create such things was quite a big deal. I could totally see why they were so costly.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Monsters are living creatures, and you sure as hell can’t produce them just by having the materials and money.”

“...True,” he nodded.

“Also, you said something about Caldina selling them, as well. Can you elaborate?”

“Sure,” he said. “Caldina imports and sells special items from all countries, even if they aren’t actually exporting them. Dryfe’s Magingears, Granvaloa’s ships, Altar’s Tomb Labyrinth drops, Tenchi’s weaponry, Huang He’s and Legendaria’s magic items, etc. Caldina’s main selling point is that, as long as you have the money, you can buy goods from every country. Even your social standing is dependent on how much you’re offering.”

“Money is Everything: the Country,” huh? I thought.

“Due to that, many high-end players with fat wallets move over there... which has resulted in them having the most Superiors out of any country,” Hugo muttered, clearly troubled by what he’d just said.

“‘Most,’ as in...?” I prompted.

“Nine Superiors,” he answered. “The strongest force at any country’s disposal.”

“...Damn, that’s a lot.” The Kingdom of Altar had four, and nine was more than double that number. Thinking about that, I added, “Oh yeah, in the war, Dryfe—”

“Overwhelmed Altar, but was soon invaded by Caldina,” he cut me off and explained. “Dryfe’s Superiors had to leave the front lines to defend against those attacks, allowing Altar to prevail.”

And that was why the kingdom had continued to exist even after a war in which none of its Superiors had participated. Sure, Altar didn’t have enough power to retake the land taken by Dryfe, but still.

“Before the war, there was a large feast in Dryfe to celebrate the inevitable victory, yet the result was so inadequate that the one in charge of the country’s domestic affairs — Prime Minister Vigoma — was at his wits’ end,” said Hugo. “Oh, by the way, Dryfe only has enough funds to buy the help of Masters just one more time. Anything beyond that would cause the economy to crash.”

“You sure you can say that to me?” I asked.

“That’s inside info that’s readily available to Masters as lowly as myself. You see it quite often on online message boards, too. Me revealing it to you doesn’t mean much.”

“Oh, I see...”

“Anyway, to win this war, Dryfe has to either occupy the Kingdom of Altar before Caldina intervenes or merge with the country through peaceful methods.”

Well, the latter case isn’t impossible, considering that the kingdom has been weakened and is certainly not in a good shape to participate in a long-lasting war, I thought.

For better or for worse, Caldina had acted as a stopping force to prevent Dryfe from doing whatever they wanted.

...Still, I wasn’t too fond of them, considering their involvement with the Gouz-Maise Gang.

“Oh, by the way,” Hugo spoke up again. “Caldina was also the reason why Legendaria — Altar’s ally — didn’t participate in the war. Being south of Altar, the country is far from Dryfe while being extremely close to Caldina, which covers the entire desert area in the center of the continent. If Legendaria had sent its Superiors or tians with Superior Jobs to help in the war, Caldina would’ve used the opportunity to take it over. The reason why Caldina interfered in the war was to prevent Dryfe from merging with Altar, thereby stopping our country from gaining the momentum it needed to conquer the entire continent. However, Caldina itself is planning the exact same thing.”

So there are two countries vying for world domination? These sure are turbulent times.

“The reason why Caldina only invades countries that show an opening is because it’s in the middle of the continent,” said Hugo.

Basic geopolitics. Besides Granvaloa, which was on the ocean, the countries of the world could be vertically split into three parts, like a French or an Italian flag. To the left were the three western countries: the Dryfe Imperium in the north, the Kingdom of Altar to the south of it, and Legendaria even further down. In the middle, there was the City-State Union of Caldina. And off to the right, there was the Huang He Empire and Tenchi — the island nation that was relatively close to the continent.

The central country, Caldina, shared a border with every nation except the far-east land of Tenchi.

“Dryfe, Altar, and Legendaria to the west and Huang He to the east, not to mention the sea-based nation of Granvaloa,” said Hugo. “It’s surrounded. If Caldina focused on attacking something, the other countries would use the opportunity to take its land. They have plenty reasons to do so, after all.”

“A bit of a deadlock there, huh?” I said. And the only real way for the situation to move out of this stalemate would be the war between Altar and Dryfe.

“...This might be a bit belated, but why are you so casual about looking like that?” I added.

“Like what?” Hugo asked.

“Isn’t that Dryfe’s military uniform or something?” I asked.

Hugo was wearing the exact same clothing as yesterday — the ones that looked like a military uniform mixed with a rider suit.

Considering Hugo’s affiliations, it needn’t be said what military the uniform belonged to. Thus, wearing it in this country didn’t seem like a good idea.

“No, this isn’t Dryfe’s official equipment,” he said. “It’s the suit from GodFrame Grand Marshall.”

“GodFrame Gra... what?”

“GodFrame Grand Marshall.”

Well, if that doesn’t sound like a name for a mecha show...

“When did this anime air?” I asked. Assuming that Hugo was French, it might’ve been a western cartoon...

“It’s not an anime,” he answered. “It’s a manga drawn by a Painter belonging to the Triangle of Wisdom.”

“Drawn... here?”

“In this world, yes.”

Hugo began explaining how the manga had come to be.

After troubles too many to count, the Triangle of Wisdom had finally finished its first battle-ready robot Magingear, the Marshall II. Being a group of people who’d gathered for the very purpose of creating a robot straight out of a mecha anime, they’d gone absolutely nuts about it.

While most had gotten fired up to continue improving their robots, some had become motivated to do other things. One of the clan members had used the skills from his Painter job to draw a cool-looking Marshall II design.

From that, another member began had begun drawing a manga.

Those who couldn’t draw had begun writing novels or creating models, while some had gone as far as composing opening themes and soundtracks.

With the ever-growing number of clan members, this chain reaction had continued until it had become a considerably large production.

The Triangle of Wisdom was pretty much a gathering of mecha anime fans. Having a Marshall II as reference had strengthened their inner fires and urged them to create various creative works. It had gotten to the point where they now dedicated an entire area of their headquarters just for such production. And among the things they produced was the clothing based on the suit of a pilot from the manga — the very same thing Hugo was wearing right now.

“So you’re constantly cosplaying, huh?” I asked.

“It was actually made by a skilled crafter, so the stats are good, too,” he said. “It’s considered to be the uniform of Pilots belonging to the Triangle of Wisdom. Still, that’s not well-known outside of our inner circle, so I can wear it in this country with no problem.”

“The stats are good?” I asked.

“Not nearly as good as those on special rewards, but it’s no doubt among the best things I can wear at my level.”

I could only imagine the amount of passion that had gone into the costume. Nothing could really stop a person when they got absorbed in something they liked.“What about you?” I asked. “Did you join the Triangle of Wisdom because you’re a mecha fan?”“No.” He shook his head. “I joined the clan because I know the leader. In fact, I started Infinite Dendrogram because he invited me.”Well now, doesn’t that sound familiar? I thought. I started in the Kingdom of Altar because my brother told me to.“All right, I have some things I want to know, as well,” said Hugo. “I’m especially curious about the details of the Gouz-Maise fight.”“Sure, I’ll tell you,” I nodded. “After you and Cyco escaped with the children, Nemesis and I...”

[megadarkbouquettidalwavethings]

Government News 12/2 – News VietNamNet

Party leader plans to consolidate public trust

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Nguyễn Phú Trọng pays a visit to Tây An Village in Thái Bình Province’s Tiền Hải District as the Lunar New Year festival approaches. 

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV), Nguyễn Phú Trọng, has emphasised the need to consolidate public trust to enable the country to push forward.

In an exclusive interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the threshold of the Lunar New Year, Year of the Dog, the Party leader highlighted the country’s outstanding achievements in 2017 and outlined the main tasks for 2018.

He said the fight against corruption had made marked progress thanks to drastic measures in making deeds match words.

Trọng said that last year, many serious cases of corruption and economic crimes involving senior party and goverment officials were discovered and brought to court.

He said that in the first days of 2018, several major corruption cases were brought to trial, demonstrating determination to carry the combat further, leaving no “prohibited zone” in the fight against the evil.

Trọng said the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat and the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission imposed disciplinary measures on many Party Committees and Party organisations at different levels, as well as on Party officials and members, including those holding high positions, for violating the law.

However, he said, it was even more important to prevent wrongdoings by enforcing regulations, laws and policies.

“Power must be kept within mechanisms,” the Party chief stressed.

He said Việt Nam had fulfilled and overfulfilled all 13 socio-economic targets for the first time in the context of multiple challenges.

The Party leader also recalled outstanding outcomes in external affairs, as reflected through the country’s successful hosting of APEC Year 2017, the 18 high-level visits by Vietnamese leaders to 19 countries – and the country’s attendance at eight international events. In the year, Việt Nam also welcomed 36 heads of state and prime ministers.

Talking about key tasks in 2018, he spoke of the need to create stronger changes in economic restructuring in tandem with growth-model reform; improving productivity and competitiveness, adding that  resources had to be allocated and used effectively.

Along with economic development, Trọng said more attention should be paid to cultural and social development and the improvement of people’s living standards.

He also called for more efforts to strengthen the Party and political system, prevent and stop the degradation of political ideology, morality and lifestyle as well as signs of “self-evolution”, and “self-transformation”.

PM pays tribute to late Government, State leaders

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc offered incense in tribute to Vo Chi Cong, late President of the State Council, Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers, and advisor to the Party Central Committee 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh offered incense to commemorate late Government and State leaders in Ho Chi Minh City on February 10 on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) 2018.

The PM paid tribute to lawyer Nguyen Huu Tho who was Acting President of Vietnam from April 1980 to July 1981, Chairman of the National Assembly from 1981 to 1987, and Vice President of the State Council from 1981 to 1992.

The lawyer also held various important positions throughout his revolutionary career, including Chairman of the Central Committee of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and Chairman of the Consultative Council of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also offered incense in tribute to Vo Chi Cong, late President of the State Council, Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers, and advisor to the Party Central Committee, whose life was closely connected with the revolutionary cause and important historical events of the Vietnamese Party and people. He was said to be an outstanding disciple of President Ho Chi Minh.

The same day, PM Phuc accompanied by Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh offered incense to commemorate late Chairman of the Council of Ministers Pham Hung – who devoted his life to the Party’s revolutionary cause.

Visited the family of late Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, the Government leader recalled the late PM’s contributions during 1988 – 1997 when the country began implementing the open-door policy to integrate into the region and the world.

PM Phuc stressed that with his strategic vision, Vo Van Kiet put forth important policies for sustainable development in the Mekong Delta – which the current Government is pursuing – to turn the delta into a well-off region and adaptive to climate change.

PM makes working trip to Military Zone 5

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc makes working trip to Military Zone 5 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and a Government delegation visited and had a working session with the Military Zone 5 High Command in the central city of Da Nang on February 11.

Commander of the Military Zone 5 Lieutenant General Nguyen Long Cang said, in order to ensure combat readiness, the zone’s units have conducted regular drills while focusing on increasing Party members and training personnel.

Located in a politically strategic and natural disaster-prone region, the Military Zone 5 has paid attention to fighting hostile forces who attempt to sabotage the national construction cause.

Addressing the session, PM Phuc hailed soldiers, officers, Party members of the Military Zone 5 and locals for their efforts and achievements.

The Prime Minister urged the leaders of the Military Zone 5 to ensure all officers and soldiers will continue staying alert amid the complicated and unpredictable developments of socio-political and security situation in the region and the world.

The zone should push forwards with the building of the people-based national defence, through keeping close connection with local communities and engaging more in the local economic development process and the provision of support for residents in disadvantaged areas.

He agreed on principle with the Military Zone 5’s suggestion on building patrol roads along the border line and upgrading military barracks.

In 2017, units under the Military Zone 5 built over 400 charity houses, found and reburied over 230 sets of martyrs’ remains.

It also offered assistance to Cambodian and Lao partners.

Prime Minister visits hospital in Da Nang

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc presents gifts to the C Hospital

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on February 11 paid a visit to C Hospital, the second largest public hospital in the central city of Da Nang and one of three hospitals dedicated to caring for senior officials in the country.

The Government leader lauded the achievements of the medical staff, whose efforts have been highly regarded by people and officials in the Central and Central Highlands regions.

PM Phuc asked the doctors and nurses to work hard in the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

He ordered the city’s authorities to work with the Ministry of Health to increase the number of beds for patients from 650 to 700. He noted that aside from infrastructure, hiring qualified medical staff also needs to be a priority.

Later in the day, PM Phuc laid a wreath of flowers and paid tribute to war heroes, as well as held talks with veterans and senior officials in Que Son district of the south central province of Quang Nam.

Havana ceremony highlights significance of 1968 General Offensive

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Nguyen Trung Thanh speaks at the ceremony in Havana on February 9 

The Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba and the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) held a ceremony in Havana on February 9 to mark 50 years since Vietnam’s General Offensive and Uprising in the spring of 1968.

The offensive began in the early morning of January 31, 1968 when liberation forces simultaneously launched attacks on bases of the US troops and the US-backed South Vietnam government in cities such as Hue, Da Nang, Quy Nhon and Saigon, and hundreds of towns from Quang Tri to Ca Mau.

The military campaign destroyed huge amounts of facilities and logistics used by the US and the southern regime’s armies. People in rural areas also took this opportunity to rise up against the US-backed administration.

The offensive marked a strategic turning point for the resistance war against the US and its allies. It caused the US a ‘sudden shock’, disrupted their strategic plan, shook the White House, the Pentagon and all of the US, and forced then US President Johnson to deescalate the war and agree to sign the historic Paris Peace Accord. The victory also helped lead to the liberation of southern Vietnam and the national reunification in 1975.

Addressing hundreds of participants in the Havana ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Trung Thanh noted the valuable lessons of the offensive. He said the campaign highlighted Vietnamese people’s aspiration for independence and freedom, the creativity in making guidelines and directing the revolutionary struggle, the strength of the great national unity bloc, the resolve to fight and win, the daring to confront the world’s strongest war machine, and the pure international solidarity.

He stressed that the 50th anniversary of the General Offensive and Uprising coincides with the time Vietnam has attained a number of major reform achievements. The country is facing new development opportunities as well as difficulties and challenges. The Vietnamese people are now even more aware of the importance of the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the resolve to fight and win in the struggle for national liberation and in peace and national development and protection.

The diplomat also underscored the precious contribution by global friends, including Cuba. The Latin American nation was one of the first countries to recognise the National Front for the Liberation of the South of Vietnam, open an embassy in the liberated region, and assign an ambassador to the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the then Republic of South Vietnam. 

Notably, then Cuban President Fidel Castro was the only foreign leader to cross the 17th parallel north to visit the liberated region in southern Vietnam in September 1973 during the wartime, Thanh added.

ICAP President Fernando Gonzalez Llort said the 1968 General Offensive and Uprising marked a turning point and resounded around the world, adding that lessons from history will be helpful for building the future.

At the ceremony, Dr Ruvisley Gonzalez from the Cuban institute for international policy studies reviewed the key developments of the offensive, along with global reactions then. Meanwhile, veteran journalist Marta Rojas recounted her memories of the southern battlefield of Vietnam and the war against the US of Vietnamese people.

Vietnam wishes to augment all-around cooperation with Nigeria

Vietnam always treasures and and desire to boost friendship and all-around cooperation with Nigeria, said Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Anh Tuan at a recent meeting in the capital city of Abuja with Nigerian President Muhammad Buhari to present his letter of credentials.

The Vietnamese diplomat conveyed greetings from President Tran Dai Quang to President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerian people and briefed his host on Vietnam’s socio-economic development and the sound relations between the two countries.

He vowed his utmost efforts to contribute to the development of the bilateral ties, particularly in the areas of economics trade and agriculture.

The Nigerian President in turn hailed Vietnam’s achievements in the country’s doi moi (renewal) process and suggested stepping up cooperation in the fields of Vietnam’s strength such as agriculture and aquaculture.

Earlier, Ambassador Tuan had a meeting with Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama on February 6, during which Tuan conveyed a diplomatic note to the Minister, asking Nigeria to continue its support for Vietnam’s candidacy for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council during 2020-2021.

On the occasion, he conveyed Deputy Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh’s invitation to Geoffrey Onyeama to visit Vietnam. 

Vietnamese, Chinese officials discuss ways of further cooperation

Vietnamese Ambassador to China Dang Minh Khoi has discussed with an official of the Communist Party of China ways to augment stronger cooperation between the two countries in 2018.

At a recent meeting, Khoi and Wang Yajun, Assistant Minister of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee, reviewed special landmarks in Vietnam-China ties in 2017.

They said that for the first time the Party General Secretary of one country visited the other in one year and that both sides reached important awareness on orientations for stronger development of bilateral ties in the new period. Two-way trade surpassed the US$100 billion target while exchanges of tourist arrivals between both nations rose to nearly 10 million.  

Khoi and Wang also discussed a score of measures to strengthen exchanges between the two Parties. 

On the occasion, Ambassador Khoi thanked for assistance from the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee’s International Liaison Department toward the success of high-ranking visits in past time, asking the agency to further their effective coordination of Vietnam – China joint activities in the time to come.

Their meeting took place as part of  Khoi’s visit to the CPC Central Committee’s International Liaison Department, which is in charge of promoting, coordinating and implementing the CPC’s cooperative activities with foreign parities.

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