#Democratic Republic of Con

[brrmian]

something that so many star wars fans somehow fail to realize is that george lucas always intended for the fall of the republic to be a completely unavoidable tragedy. that’s what makes it such brilliant storytelling.

placing the blame on just one party in the galaxy-wide farce that was the clone wars just isn’t interpreting the story the way its writer intended. neither is saying that all players should be held equally accountable. i don’t think the jedi were at fault for the state of the republic, and (despite the fact that he did horrible things) neither was anakin, on a galactic or governmental scale.

the real villain is palpatine, who shaped the government into a corrupt system by his own hand. the blame for turning a democratic republic into an authoritarian dictatorship (which it was long before it became the empire) under the noses of thousands of incredibly corrupt politicians must be placed entirely on him, and him alone.

by the end of the war, the jedi council recognized that they had already lost the ability to hold onto what it truly means to be a jedi. in their prime during the days of the old republic, the jedi knights were “the guardians of peace and justice.” they’re meant to as diplomats, peacekeepers, mediators, and public servants. when the clone wars began, they were essentially forced into being soldiers, generals, and quasi-politicians by palpatine and the senate. all of those things are antithetical to the jedi’s beliefs, but they had no other choice.

placing even the smallest bit of blame on the jedi for anything leading to the republic’s downfall—and their own—is not only unfair, it’s factually incorrect. the jedi order is a monastic organization. they have no say in the senate and no voting power. saying they’re corrupt, when in fact they were just as conned by palpatine as the rest of the galaxy, is victim-blaming and scapegoating.

palpatine shoved the jedi face first into fighting the war, and pretty much threw the clone army into their laps on top of that. the jedi had no say in the matter, and they certainly had no say in the war itself being started, either. because he controlled both sides, palpatine was able to make the CIS and the republic declare war on each other even though its citizens wanted the same outcome: political independence and survival. if not for palpatine’s schemes, the separatists would have been allowed to secede peacefully, the republic would have continued existing, and the war would have been completely avoided. but that was unfortunately not the case.

so in a galaxy thrown into an unavoidable war by its own secret dictator, with an army of sentient slaves suddenly at their command, and the risk of billions of deaths at the hands of the droid army imminently approaching, what do the galaxy’s official peacekeepers have no other choice but to do? be peacekeepers. why wouldn’t the sworn defenders of the galaxy be out on the battlefields trying to end the war? if they sat in the temple and did nothing, they simply wouldn’t be jedi.

the jedi were forced into a lose/lose situation. every religion and organization has faults, but that doesn’t place any blame on them for the catch-22 they were trapped into falling for. when the clone wars started—and the key point here is that it never should have in the first place—the jedi still needed to be jedi. unfortunately for them, that meant having positions of power not meant for them being thrust upon their shoulders. they couldn’t drop the burden, because that meant actively choosing not to save lives—but the other option, becoming soldiers despite the tenet of their beliefs that dictates they shouldn’t, was no better.

see what a cruel trap palpatine set? it’s like a fish being caught in a fisherman’s net. the net is spread out across the ocean floor, and the fish swim above it, not knowing that the trap is waiting to be drawn in around them from below. in the end, when the net starts to tighten, dragging them closer to the surface, they can’t swim fast enough to escape from the middle to the edge—and to safety—before the net is completely tied. it’s the cruelest kind of trap: the kind that gives you just the right amount of time to think you can escape while being sprung just quick enough to make actually escaping impossible.

in the end, the order actively chose to fight the war because they needed to. there was no other way to continue on as who they were. militarizing the order was not the right choice in a vacuum, but this was not that; this was a situation in which every galaxy-changing choice was the wrong one. the jedi knew they were making a decision that drew them farther away from their beliefs, but it was the lesser of an infinite list of evils, and they didn’t see the walls closing in on them until it was too late.

lucas himself has even said that the order was not corrupt or decaying from the inside, nor did they make a series of bad choices that ultimately led to their own destruction. they were always just trying to do the right thing—but unlike literally everything else in fiction, the jedi order’s death was completely unaffected by any of the choices they made. no matter what they did, they were always going to lose. the fall of the republic wasn’t caused by its defenders choosing what they saw as the least bad choice. it didn’t come down to any decisions, political or not, that the jedi council made with the limited tools that they had. it certainly didn’t come down to one emotionally unstable twenty-three-year-old’s slow descent into insanity, either. the republic and the jedi would still have been destroyed with or without anakin’s unhinged nervous breakdown.

anakin, just like the order, the republic, and the separatists, was taken advantage of by palpatine. even if a person’s choices are their own, they don’t exist in a vacuum.

anakin would have made better choices if not for palpatine, but he didn’t. the jedi order would have kept the peace if not for palpatine, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t. the republic, and democracy with it, would not have crumbled if not for palpatine. not the order, not anakin, not the separatists, and not the republic.

in the end, they were all just pawns in a decades-spanning plan, one that none of them saw coming until it was too late—and by then, it was already irreversible.

[pennsyltuckyheathen]

Republicans Betray The United States

Republicans failed the United States miserably when they wiped their nasty asses with their Oaths of Office as they refused to fulfill their Constitutional duties to protect our nation and its citizens.

The Legislative branch of the US government is empowered to enforce the checks and balances against the Executive branch. Republicans refused to hold Trump accountable for anything when they all knew he was an incompetent self-serving corrupt low-life sleaze bag.

They intentionally aided and abetted a con-man who was impeached twice - the first time in American history - and took advantage of the Office of the Presidency to enrich himself, his family and his goon squad of seditious, unqualified sycophants and enablers.

Republicans had the chance early in Trump's time in office to stand up for the United States and its citizens or stand up for Trump and the Republican party. They chose the latter and unleashed a thieving lying monster who instigated an insurrection and won't shut the fuck up and go away.  

Republicans are no longer legitimate participants in our democratic processes and are now the seditious destructive MAGA party. An exclusively white organization based on extreme right-wing deceit, division, bigotry and racist tenets. Their only goal is to destroy our democratic constitutional republic and install a white male christo-fascist authoritarian government.

FUCK MAGA REPUBLICANS and FUCK TRUMP

FUCK YOU IF YOU VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS IN ELECTION 2024

VOTE BLUE VOTE BLUE VOTE BLUE VOTE BLUE

[thecreaturecodex]

Mpaca

Image © @chimeride​, accessed at their blog here

[Mpaca is a forest spirit in the lore of the Nyange, a people in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have a rich and mostly still extant oral tradition. The Epic of Mwindo is the most famous of their sagas in English, and Mpaca appears in that story in passing, as a point of reference and comparison. The folktale in which he plays a starring role is collected in The Dictionary of African Mythology, and is online for free . Something I think is interesting is how closely the story “Mpaca’s Very Long Fingernail” maps to the davalpa/himantopus. It is a greedy, parasitic creature that rides on its victims’ backs, and can be defeated by getting it drunk. I’ve talked before about how I don’t hold a lot of stock in diffusionism, but part of me does wonder if the voyages of Sinbad made it to east/central Africa, or Nyange epics made it to the Middle East. There was a lot of trade between the regions, after all.]

Mpaca CR 4 CE Monstrous Humanoid This little man has long, wild hair and long fingers. The middle finger on each hand is extremely long compared to the others, ending in a single claw. His face is elongated, ending in a mole-like snout.

An mpaca is a twisted little humanoid that delights in enslaving other creatures. They can control the behavior of humanoids by jabbing them with their long middle finger, and then ride atop them. They do not treat their slaves well, forcing them to do exhausting work on long hours, and restricting their food and water. An mpaca may even ride such slaves into combat as a mount. Such slaves are controlled repeatedly and often worked to death if the mpaca can manage it.

In seeking out new slaves, an mpaca can shapechange, often favoring the shape of young women and girls. They can also extend their magical fingers to extreme distances, spying on their charges from afar though the nail. If their fingers are severed, the mpaca cannot use its charming ability, and so almost always only extends the finger on one hand and keeps the other in reserve.

Most mpacas live as parasites of humanity, taking over small villages to use as their personal dens of iniquity. The mpaca keeps the community in line with threats and magical charm, alternating between hosts while draining the wealth and happiness from everyone who lives there. When not finding victims, mpacas are lazy and slovenly. They are prone to indulging in drugs and drink, and victims of an mpaca have been known to dislodge the creature by getting it intoxicated.

Mpaca                  CR 4 XP 1,200 CE Small monstrous humanoid Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +5, scent Defense AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 natural) hp 37 (5d10+10) Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +3 Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 slams +8 (1d4+2 plus grab) or charm claw +8 (3 plus charm) Special Attacks grab (Medium) Statistics Str 15, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 8, Cha 14 Base Atk +5; CMB +6 (+10 grapple); CMD 20 Feats Deceitful, Dodge, Mounted Combat, Undersized Mount (B) Skills Acrobatics +10, Bluff +7, Climb +8, Disguise +7 (+15 using change shape), Perception +5, Ride +14, Stealth +9, Survival +5; Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics, +4 Ride Languages Common, Sylvan SQ change shape (humanoid, alter self), probing finger Ecology Environment warm hills Organization solitary or ward (1 plus 1 humanoid) Treasure standard Special Abilities Charm Claw (Su) As a standard action, or as part of an action made to maintain a grapple, a mpaca can jab a humanoid creature with its long clawed finger. A creature so struck must succeed a DC 14 Will save or be charmed for 24 hours. A creature that resists is immune to the charm claw of that mpaca for the next 24 hours. Feats An mpaca’s Undersized Mount feat allows it to ride Medium bipeds without penalty. Probing Finger (Su) An mpaca can extend its middle fingers and see through them. A finger extended in this way can stretch out to 600 feet long, extending or retracting as much as 30 feet a round. The mpaca can see and hear through the finger, and make charm claw attacks with it. While using its finger in this fashion, the finger can make Stealth checks as if it were a Diminutive creature, and fit through cracks as narrow as 1 inch. The mpaca can still use its normal senses while extending a finger in such fashion, but it is distracted; treat the mpaca as being flat footed. The finger can be destroyed through damage (AC 18, 5 hp, DR 5/bludgeoning or slashing). An mpaca regrows a destroyed finger over the course of 1 month, and if both of its fingers are destroyed, it cannot make charm claw attacks. 

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Wanna bet they're attached to christofascist toysoldier Erik Prince and the Dominionist fucksticks who are trying to literally take over the world with their religiofascist regime...

[deadpresidents]

[January 20th] is the second anniversary of the Biden Presidency. For the most part, up until now, he has been more unlucky than stupid, with his tenure marked by interlocking crises that would sorely test any Chief Executive -- including a lingering pandemic, highest-in-decades inflation, and a radicalized Republican Party that has refused to disavow Trump and his lies about the 2020 election. Democrats, for decades, have feared that conservative Justices on the Supreme Court would strike down Roe v. Wade, and with it the guarantee of women’s reproductive freedom. It finally happened on Biden’s watch. In Europe, Vladimir Putin has long threatened Russia’s neighbor Ukraine, but it was at the start of Biden’s second year in office that Putin unleashed the largest ground war in Europe since the Second World War.

Given such a dreary moment, the perennially upbeat Biden has come out of it not so badly. Even with a fifty-fifty Senate the last couple of years, he managed to pass an array of sweeping legislation boosting spending on infrastructure, health care, and climate-change mitigation. He assembled and held together a bipartisan coalition to send billions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine. He’s held off, for now, the threat of a recession.

If anything, Republican overreach has offered Biden a political path out of the morass, with the 2022 midterm results far less catastrophic than expected, at least in part because of the GOP’s insistence on selecting Trump-backed extremists as nominees in battleground states. Trump himself has long been the most effective argument on Democrats’ behalf, and there is a reason this cartoonish con man became the first incumbent since Herbert Hoover to lost the House, Senate, and White House in just four years.

The past couple of weeks, though, are a reminder that Democrats cannot simply count on Republican excess in the name of Trump to carry them through. A screwup is a screwup, and this one by Biden -- whether or not it matters that much to voters, who often don’t care about the inside-the-Beltway scandals that obsess us Washingtonians -- will go down at a minimum as a self-inflicted bit of political malpractice. The big news at the midway point of his Presidency is that Biden seems determined to run again, no matter how risky it may seem to put the fate of his Party -- and the Republic -- in the hands of a gaffe-prone octogenarian. His opponents are real-life insurrectionists. What if next time his luck really does run out?”

-- Susan Glasser, The New Yorker

[kneedeepincynade]

When the colonizers come, they create nothing but poverty and death. When China comes,it brings prosperity,peace, and development

The post is machine translated

Translation is at the bottom

The collective is on telegram

🥰 合作共赢 | IL PRESIDENTE RUTO LODA LA CINA PER AVER COSTRUITO LA PRIMA LINEA FERROVIARIA MODERNA NELLA STORIA DEL KENYA 😘

🇰🇪 William Ruto - Presidente della Repubblica del Kenya, è stato intervistato da CCTV, e ha elogiato la Cina per aver costruito, nell'ambito della Nuova Via della Seta, la Ferrovia Mombasa - Nairobi, la prima moderna nella Storia del Kenya 💕

🚝 La linea ferroviaria, che collega Mombasa con Nairobi, è il più grande progetto infrastrutturale nella storia del Paese dall'ottenimento dell'Indipendenza dal Regno Unito nel 1963 🥳

📊 Ad oggi, nel 2023, la linea ferroviaria ha trasportato 2,405 milioni di container, 28.609 milioni di tonnellate di merci e 11+ milioni di persone:

💬 «[...] Tra le conversazioni che avremo con altri Paesi, come l'Uganda, la Repubblica Democratica del Congo, [...], parleremo di come collegare l'Oriente all'Occidente» 👏

🇨🇳 Tramite la Cooperazione a Mutuo Vantaggio (合作共赢), ogni Paese può beneficiare dei frutti dello Sviluppo della Cina, i petali rosa della 中国春天 possono diffondersi ovunque 🌸

🔍 Approfondimenti sul Tema Cina - Africa:

一 深情厚谊 - La Cina costruisce il nuovo edificio del Parlamento dello Zimbabwe 🇿🇼

二 Presidente del Burundi: «La Cina promuove Cooperazione e Prosperità Comune» 🇧🇮

三 Funzionario del Kenya: «Ogni volta che la Cina ci visita otteniamo un ospedale. Ogni volta l'UK ci visita, otteniamo una predica» 🇰🇪

四 Le disgustose menzogne anti-Cinesi dell'Occidente sull'Africa 🤮

五 Cooperazione Cina - Africa in 10 anni: 10.000km di ferrovie, 100.000km di autostrade, 80 centrali elettriche, aeroporti, banchine e porti 👏

🌸 Iscriviti 👉 @collettivoshaoshan 😘

🥰 合作共赢 | PRESIDENT RUTO PRAISES CHINA FOR BUILDING THE FIRST MODERN RAILWAY LINE IN THE HISTORY OF KENYA 😘

🇰🇪 William Ruto - President of the Republic of Kenya, was interviewed by CCTV, and praised China for having built, as part of the New Silk Road, the Mombasa - Nairobi Railway, the first modern one in the history of Kenya 💕

🚝 The railway line, which connects Mombasa with Nairobi, is the largest infrastructure project in the country's history since it gained Independence from the United Kingdom in 1963 🥳

📊 To date, in 2023, the rail line has transported 2.405 million containers, 28,609 million tons of cargo and 11+ million people:

💬 «[...] Among the conversations we will have with other countries, such as Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, [...], we will talk about how to connect the East to the West» 👏

🇨🇳 Through Mutual Benefit Cooperation (合作共赢), every country can benefit from the fruits of China's Development, the pink petals of 中国春天 can spread everywhere 🌸

🔍 Insights on the theme of China - Africa:

一深情厚谊 - China builds new Zimbabwe Parliament building 🇿🇼

二 President of Burundi: «China promotes cooperation and common prosperity» 🇧🇮

三 Kenyan official: «Every time China visits us we get a hospital. Every time the UK visits us, we get a lecture" 🇰🇪

四 The West's disgusting anti-Chinese lies about Africa 🤮

五 China - Africa cooperation in 10 years: 10,000km of railways, 100,000km of highways, 80 power plants, airports, docks and ports 👏

🌸 Subscribe 👉 @collectivoshaoshan 😘

[zvaigzdelasas]

16 May 23

[potted-dandelions]

If we were truly a democracy, we would live in perpetual fear of the day when the majority of voters were stupid or crazy enough to vote against the secret ballot (Murphy's Law, after all). That would not be the end of our democracy but it would be the death of our personal liberty.

To reign in government corruption, those entrusted with power must be held accountable for their actions. Republics accomplish this with public records of all important votes held in the legislature to alert the People when to replace their representatives for legislating poorly. In exchange for granting our representatives the power to legislate and govern where they agree, we reserve the right to vote for them in secret. Nobody wants to answer for their voting habits when, say, applying for a job or a loan, but most would gladly hold others accountable.

In America, our representatives have to answer for their voting records every two years, senators every six. The Electoral College insulates us from electing the President directly, but presidential electors cast public ballots. Our secret ballots are not to be taken for granted. Indeed, it might not be long before some grifter argues against the secret ballot citing nebulous and spurious 'threats to our democracy.' In time, they might whip up enough moral panic to cost you your privacy in the voting booth forever. All for the greater good, of course.

Right away, your ballot would accompany every background check others request for you. In a few years, it would weigh on your credit score. That'll damn sure influence the choices you record on your ballot; you'll side with the majority every time as a simple matter of survival. Your agency will vanish if that happens. No longer able to vote your conscience, you'll resign yourself to letting public opinion surveys choose for you. Even the few brave enough to answer surveys honestly would bow to public pressure come Election Day.

Democracy truly cannot be. Just when you think you've achieved something closer to a true democracy, it ceases to function as intended and rapidly mutates into some form of monarchy, maintaining all the outward trappings of democracy with none of the accountability. It's too easily corruptible to survive.

Perhaps they'll con you out of your privacy with promises of more direct control over the decision making process. Digital direct democracy looks mighty tempting lately. But who's got time for it? We hire representatives to make policy for us because we've got better things to do. Imagine coming home from your 8-hour workday and having to sit for another four hours of Zoom meetings debating public policy after dinner. If it had nothing else going against it, direct democracy would be more than exhausting enough to warrant a republican form of government.

That's why even ancient Athens, the first democratic city-state, left most of the politicking to orators and lawyers. Every head of an household was expected to participate in a number of (secret) votes every month, but few had the means to dedicate their daily lives to politics.

This is the most important part of the social contract that people usually gloss over. There is an ethical burden that goes along with the franchise. It's not a right and neither is it a privilege. Voting is a duty. Not everybody is up to it and that's ok; abstention is a right. But those who do vote bear responsibility for all the government's actions thenceforth (that is, as much as much responsibility as each snowflake bears for the effects of the blizzard). It's a responsibility not to be taken lightly because it affects us all; be glad it's private.

The secret ballot is armor against becoming a true democracy. We hold our representatives responsible for their votes while absolving our neighbors for theirs. As long as that arrangement holds, we remain a republic, which is good news because true republics are less corruptible.

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics: Cause Rump is always good for a laugh...

1. Highly misleading!

tRump is rewriting history again - even though the he actually knows nothing about it.

What is true are the collected Hitler speeches which he steals from...

2. Not totally true!

What's missing is that these folk have to be very rich - so they can afford to buy Rump's allegiance...

Though, later on, he always talks badly about them.

He only idolizes the kind of 'strong' men that he wishes to be.

3 & 4. The Democratic "bait & switch" was not only a surprise - it's left the Rapist Con Man still reeling...

Now, he's wasting time (not even campaigning!!) trying to come up with a nickname for VP Harris.

Nothing has stuck so far & he fears this - his family's mental 'curse' might just be striking now!

(See earlier postings.)

5. Suddenly, the crowd sizes that VP Harris is enjoying, have become a sudden mania with the Orange Clown.

As if he measures his popularity with the amount of people that he can put to sleep!

Yes, he's now regularly found waving to empty lots & backyards...

6. "Dumb-Old" is so desperate to get back into the White House, that he's allowed himself to be infected by RFK Junior's earworm!

Buyer beware!!

RFK isn't the most stable of influences out there...

But, maybe, he can teach Don the Grifter a thing or 2 about how to go absolutely bat-shit crazy!

7. And RFK seems to have taken effect much more quickly than estimated!

tRump now finds himself unable to speak coherently - slurring his butt off & being unable to stick to the subject at hand...

Whatever he's on - I don't want any of it!!

8 & 9. Now that the Felon Rapist is facing a real challenge to his ungodly false 'reign', he's suddenly afraid!

And, he's right to be scared - of a powerful prosecutor - who's also a woman...

You're right to fear someone who can easily outsmart you in the 3D chess game of Washington, DC politics!

You're going to be pulled away from your golf course & back to the reality that you've created for yourself.

A place where you'll be found guilty of raping & cheating so many others.

10. But, who really knows?

Political reality is a harsh mistress!

You might end up in a mental facility.

I could see that.

You like the mentally ill, don't you?

Or, you could be publicly executed as a warning to America's enemies - that you don't fool around with True Blue patriots...

Whatever, dude.

Just so long as you're finally gone.

End?

Probably not.

There's still the Rump's enablers to get rid of...

We can vote a enough of them out during the November 5th election.

At least, think about it - then do it any way!!

Vote Blue & get rid of these would-be evil 'kings.'

Who actually needs them?

Not the citizens of a constitutional Republic with Democratic leanings...

(Say that 3 times fast!)

End!

[mesetacadre]

El Gobierno de la República reconoce a los internacionales que tan bravamente han luchado con nosotros, que ya puede decirse que son connaturales nuestros, el derecho a reclamar, una vez terminada la guerra, la ciudadanía española... España será siempre una patria vuestra. Y los españoles vuestros hermanos.

¡Madres! Cuando los años pasen y las heridas de la guerra se vayan restañando; cuando el recuerdo de estos días dolorosos y sangrientos se esfume en un presente de libertad, de paz y bienestar... hablad a vuestros hijos; habladles de estos hombres de las Brigadas Internacionales. Contadles cómo, atravesando mares y montañas... llegaron a vuestra patria, como cruzados de la libertad, a luchar y morir por la libertad y la independencia de España, amenazados por el fascismo alemán e italiano. Lo abandonaron todo: cariños, patria, hogar, fortuna, madre, mujer, hermanos, hijos... y vinieron a nosotros a decirnos: ¡Aquí estamos!; vuestra causa, la causa de España, es nuestra misma causa, es la causa común de toda la humanidad avanzada y progresista... No os olvidaremos; y cuando el olivo de la paz florezca, entrelazado con los laureles de la victoria de la República española, ¡volved!

Despedida a las Brigadas Internacionales, octubre de 1938, Juan Negrín y Dolores Ibárruri, respectivamente

The Government of the Republic recognizes the bravery of the internationals who have fought with us, it can now be said that they are connatural to us, the right to reclaim, once the war is over, the Spanish nationality... Spain will always be a homeland of yours. And the Spanish your siblings.

Mothers! When the years pass and the war wounds stop bleeding; when the memory of these painful and blood-soaked days fades in a present of liberty, peace, and well-being... talk to your children; talk to them about these men of the International Brigades. Tell them how, traveling through seas and mountains... came to your homeland, like crusaders of liberty, to fight and die for Spain's liberty and independence, threatened by German and Italian fascism. They abandoned everything: affections, homeland, home, fortune, mother, wife, siblings, children... and came here to tell us: Here we are!; your cause, Spain's cause, is our own cause, it's the common cause of all advanced and progressive humanity... We will not forget you; and when the olive of peace flowers, interweaving with the laurels of victory of the Spanish Republic, return!

Farewell to the International Brigades, October 1938, Juan Negrín and Dolores Ibárruri, respectively.

The promise made by Juan Negrín would not be fulfilled until 1996, and ratified in 2007 by the historical memory law in its article 18. By 2007, only 15 of those 35,000 Volunteers of Liberty were still alive, and the last died at 100 years old in 2021. The democratic memory law, passed in 2022, allowed in article 33 for the children and grandchildren of the brigadiers to also claim the Spanish nationality, without losing their own. The Association of Friends of the International Brigades, who participated in this law, assured that there were only about a hundred direct descendants of brigadiers, in places like Cuba, Argentina, Canada, Australia, Italy, France, the UK or Russia. The search for these descendants was done primarily thanks to the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, digitized in 2011

[darkmaga-retard]

Whitehead does not acknowledge Technocracy but hits on many key points. Technocracy stated in 1937 that “there will be no place for Politics or Politicians.” This is baked into their dogma. While people are drunk with hopium, chasing after political saviors, they are inadvertently destroying the political system. Meanwhile, Technocracy races forward to ensnare us in a scientific dictatorship.

Both Democrats and Republicans have equally fallen into this trap, irrespective of their religious background, i.e., Christians, Muslims, atheists, or pagans. ⁃ Patrick Wood, Editor.

“You shall have no other gods before me.”—The Ten Commandments

“Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore.”—Donald Trump

Politics has become our national religion.

While those on the Left have feared a religious coup by evangelical Christians on the Right, the danger has come from an altogether different direction: our constitutional republic has given way to a theocracy structured around the worship of a political savior.

For all intents and purposes, politics has become America’s God.

Pay close attention to the political conventions for presidential candidates, and it becomes immediately evident that Americans have allowed themselves to be brainwashed into worshipping a political idol manufactured by the Deep State.

In a carefully choreographed scheme to strip the American citizenry of our power and our rights, “we the people” have become victims of the Deep State’s confidence game.

Every confidence game has six essential stages: 1) the foundation to lay the groundwork for the illusion; 2) the approach whereby the victim is contacted; 3) the build-up to make the victim feel like they’ve got a vested interest in the outcome; 4) the corroboration (aided by third-party conspirators) to legitimize that the scammers are, in fact, on the up-and-up; 5) the pay-off, in which the victim gets to experience some small early “wins”; and 6) the “hurrah”— a sudden manufactured crisis or change of events that creates a sense of urgency.

In this particular con game, every candidate dangled before us as some form of political savior—including Donald Trump and Kamala Harris—is part of a long-running, elaborate scam intended to persuade us that, despite all appearances to the contrary, we live in a constitutional republic.

In this way, the voters are the dupes, the candidates are the shills, and as usual, it’s the Deep State rigging the outcome.

Terrorist attacks, pandemics, economic uncertainty, national security threats, civil unrest: these are all manipulated crises that add to the sense of urgency and help us feel invested in the outcome of the various elections, but it doesn’t change much in the long term.

No matter who wins this election, we’ll all still be prisoners of the Deep State.

Indeed, the history of the United States is a testament to the old adage that liberty decreases as government (and government bureaucracy) grows. To put it another way, as government expands, liberty contracts.

When it comes to the power players that call the shots, there is no end to their voracious appetite for more: more money, more power, more control. Thus, since 9/11, the government’s answer to every problem has been more government and less freedom.

Yet despite what some may think, the Constitution is no magical incantation against government wrongdoing. Indeed, it’s only as effective as those who abide by it.

However, without courts willing to uphold the Constitution’s provisions when government officials disregard it and a citizenry knowledgeable enough to be outraged when those provisions are undermined, the Constitution provides little to no protection against SWAT team raids, domestic surveillance, police shootings of unarmed citizens, indefinite detentions, and the like.

Unfortunately, the courts and the police have meshed in their thinking to such an extent that anything goes when it’s done in the name of national security, crime fighting and terrorism.

[progressive-globe]

Common Dreams:

In a democratic republic like the United States, our loyalty belongs to our country and the core principles it represents: freedom, equality, and democracy. Those of us who are Democrats are also loyal to our party because we see it as the best vehicle for realizing those principles. Within that context, some degree of loyalty to an individual leader is fine, but not unconditional loyalty. In fact, when a politician is leading us to disaster, as Biden clearly is by refusing to step down, unconditional loyalty to that leader actually constitutes disloyalty to one’s country and one’s party. As Democrats we seem very capable of understanding this concept when we rightfully critique the GOP’s slavish devotion to Donald Trump. But this principle applies to our side, too.

[allthenewsworld]

New mpox strain in DR Congo 'most dangerous yet'

A new strain of the mpox virus spreading quickly along the eastern border of Democratic Republic of Congo is "incredibly worrying", say health officials monitoring its spread.

The virus, which can cause lesions across the whole body, is making some people very ill and can be deadly.

The current outbreak has been driven by sexual transmission but there is evidence this strain can also be passed on through close skin-to-skin contact.

Global health experts say the new variant risks cross-border and international spread of the virus, with one calling it the "most dangerous strain yet".

A worldwide epidemic of mpox in 2022 was brought under control by vaccinating vulnerable groups.

But there is poor access to vaccines and treatments in DR Congo and local health officials are warning the virus could reach other countries.

"The disease can go through airports. A person with lesions can go through borders because there are no controls," said Leandre Murhula Masirika, at the health department in South Kivu province - one of the worst affected areas in DR Congo.

"I'm very afraid it's going to cause more damage."

'Risk of spread'

Cases of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, have been on the rise in the African country for decades.

Official figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) show there have been nearly 8,000 cases this year in DR Congo, including 384 deaths - almost half of these among children under 15.

An outbreak in South Kivu province, near the border with Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda, is causing particular concern.

Lab testing of virus samples from the area recently found the new mpox strain, which contains mutations that appear to help it circulate among humans.

In the mining town of Kamituga, where the strain is thought to have originated among sex workers in September 2023, cases are rising. Those now being infected include schoolchildren, healthcare workers treating mpox patients and entire households.

The new strain has been detected in several cities along the border, including Goma, which borders Rwanda.

The WHO said it represented "a renewed risk of cross-border and international spread which may potentially lead to an increased risk of severe illness".

Scientists briefing journalists about the current outbreak said they feared the new vstrain was being spread more easily, causing more serious disease and more deaths in children and adults.

There is also concern over the risk of asymptomatic spread between people who do not have symptoms and are unaware they have the virus.

The current case figures are "the tip of the iceberg", said Prof Trudie Lang, professor of global health research at the University of Oxford.

"It's definitely the most dangerous strain yet.

"We don’t know how many non-severe cases are hidden."

It is also not clear how fast the new strain spreads or whether current vaccines will protect against it. Trials will be needed to work this out, which will take time.

The global outbreak of mpox that spread across Europe and America in 2022 was sexually transmitted and driven by men who have sex with men. It was caused by the Clade II mpox virus.

The new strain is from the more deadly Clade I but is distinct from other outbreaks which have previously affected the region. It can also be spread through non-sexual contact, which makes it more dangerous.

Many children have been infected, including newborn babies during pregnancy.

There have been reports of a small number of infected pregnant women miscarrying their babies.

And some patients have been left with long-term complications with their eyes, skin and genitals.

One healthcare worker looking after an infected patient is reported to have lost her sight after becoming infected herself.

In cases in DR Congo to date, the new strain has a mortality rate of 4% in adults and 10% in children.

Poor access to vaccines

John Claude Udahemuka, a lecturer at the University of Rwanda who is monitoring the eastern DR Congo outbreak, said the first person with the new strain was likely to have been a man who had sex with a woman in Kamituga and then with other women in several different locations.

The disease first appeared in the rainy season when the roads were bad and there was limited movement of people. He warned the current dry season could see more transmission, particularly during school holidays.

The South Kivu health department's Mr Masirika said: "If we can vaccinate sex workers plus health workers, I think cases can be reduced."

African researchers have called for urgent action to improve research into the mpox virus and speed up the distribution of vaccines.

Earlier this month, the WHO said the continuing development of the mpox outbreak in DR Congo was "concerning".

It pointed to limited public awareness of mpox, a lack of treatment kits and vaccines and the country's many other health priorities as factors in the appearance of a new strain.

The risk associated with mpox in DR Congo "remains high", it said.

[thecreaturecodex]

Spiny Ape

Image © Traci Shepard, accessed at Arcane Beasts and Creatures here

[Cryptozoologists have a field day with Africa, sometimes demythologizing magical creatures, sometimes unearthing old reports of the colonial era, sometimes drawing from new rumors and sightings. And sometimes they just make stuff up. Supposedly, a troop of chimpanzees with spines on their back was filmed attacking a monkey in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the video was taken during a covert op by Navy SEALS, so is currently classified. If you believe that, there’s a bridge I have to sell you. Like the bagodaemon or Ozark howler, this appears to be a monster created as a hoax by a single individual. Still, the idea of a quilled ape is a fun one, and I wanted to have a critter that actually works like a folkloric porcupine.]

Spiny Ape CR 3 N Magical Beast This creature looks like a chimpanzee, with long arms, short legs and a heavy brow. The main difference is the coat of quills that covers its back.

Spiny apes are relatives of chimpanzees, with sharp quills growing from their backs that they can fire like arrows. The improbability of this attack form has led some sages to suggest that spiny apes were created by some mad mage or disgruntled druid. Another hypothesis is that the creatures were created by the fey in the First World as an experiment that was discarded because chimpanzees are dangerous enough without missile weapons.

A spiny ape troop typically hunts by ambush, attacking from the trees and firing down on passing prey. If a foe is capable of fighting back, say with ranged weapons of their own or magic, a few members of the troop will descend to the ground and engage them in melee to distract them. Spiny apes are reasonably skilled at teamwork before the first kill is made, but then begin to compete to get their share of meat.

Spiny ape society is organized like that of common chimpanzees—males are violently aggressive towards strangers and towards females, and females typically mate with multiple males in order to confound paternity and reduce the chances of infanticide. They are omnivorous, but eat mostly meat, supplemented with fruit. They happily attack and eat other apes, and populations of gorillas and chimpanzees are low where spiny apes live.

Spiny Ape           CR 3 XP 800 N Medium magical beast Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +6 Defense AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+4 Dex, +2 natural) hp 30 (4d10+8) Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +3 Defensive Abilities quill defense Offense Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft. Melee bite +6 (1d4+2), 2 slams +6 (1d4+2) Ranged 2 quills +8 (1d4+2 plus pain) Statistics Str 15, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 7 Base Atk +4; CMB +6; CMD 20 Feats Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot Skills Acrobatics +8, Climb +14, Perception +6, Stealth +8 Ecology Environment warm forests Organization solitary, pair or troop (3-12) Treasure none Special Abilities Pain (Ex) Whenever a creature takes damage from a spiny ape’s quill attack or its quill defense, that creature must make a successful DC 14 Reflex save or one quill breaks off in its flesh, causing the target to become sickened until all embedded quills are removed. Removing one quill requires a DC 15 Heal check made as a full-round action. For every 5 by which the check is exceeded, one additional quill can be removed. On a failed check, a quill is still removed, but the process deals 1d4+1 points of damage to the victim. The save DC is Strength-based. Quills (Ex) A spiny ape can fire two quills from its back as a standard action. Treat this as a ranged attack with a thrown weapon, with a range increment of 20 feet. A spiny ape has ten quills ready for use each day. Quill Defense (Ex) A creature that strikes a spiny ape in melee must succeed a DC 16 Reflex save or take 1d4+1 damage from its quills and be exposed to the spiny ape’s pain attack. Weapons with the reach property do not endanger their wielders in this way. A spiny ape that has used all ten of its quill attacks for the day still can use this ability, but the creature gains a +4 circumstance bonus on its saving throw. The save DC is Dexterity based.

[formerleopard]

Democracia de Mercado en un Orden Neoliberal, Profit Over People, Noam Chomsky

At the outer limits of critical independence, columnist Anthony Lewis of the New York Times was overcome with admiration for Washington’s “experiment in peace and democracy.” Which showed that “we live in a romantic age.” The experimental methods were no secret. Thus Time magazine, joining in the celebration as “democracy burst forth” in Nicaragua, outlined them frankly: to wreck the economy and prosecute a long and deadly proxy war until the exhausted natives overthrow the unwanted government themselves,” with a cost to us that is “minimal”, leaving the victim “with wrecked bridges, sabotaged power stations, and ruined farms,” and providing Washington’s candidate with “a winning issue,” ending the “impoverishment of the people of Nicaragua,” not to speak of the continuing terror, better left unmentioned. To be sure, the cost to them was hardly “minimal,”; Carothers notes that the toll “in per capita terms was significantly higher than the number of U.S. persons killed in the U.S. Civil War and all the wars of the twentieth century combined.”The outcome was a “Victory for U.S. Fair Play,” a headline in the New York Times exulted, leaving Americans “United in Joy,” in the style of Albania and North Korea.

The methods of this “romantic age”, and the reaction to them in enlightened circles, tell us more about the democratic principles that have emerged victorious. They also shed some light on why is it such a “difficult effort” to “create a more prosperous and self-governing society” in Nicaragua. It is true that the effort is now underway, and is meeting with some success for a privileged minority, while most of the population faces social and economic disaster, all in the familiar pattern of Western dependencies. Note that it is this example that led the New Republic editors to laud themselves as “the inspiration for the triumph of democracy in our time,” joining the enthusiastic chorus.

We learn more about the victorious principles by recalling that these same representative figures of liberal intellectual life had urged that Washington’s wars must be waged mercilessly, with military support for “Latin-style fascists… regardless of how many are murdered, because “there are higher American priorities than Salvadoran human rights.” Elaborating, New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, who represented the left in mainstream commentary and television debate, cautioned against unthinking criticism of Washington’s official policy of attacking undefended civilian targets. Such international terrorist operations cause “vast civilian suffering,” he acknowledged, but they may be “perfectly legitimate” if “cost-benefit analysis” shows that “the amount of blood and misery that will be poured in” yields “democracy,” as the world rulers define it. Enlightened opinion insists that terror is not a value in itself, but must meet the pragmatic criterion. Kinsley later observed that the desired ends had been achieved: “Impoverishing the people of Nicaragua was precisely the point of the contra war and the parallel policy of economic embargo and veto of international development loans,” which “wreck[ed] the economy” and “creat[ed] the economic disaster [that] was probably the victorious opposition’s best election issue.” He then joined in welcoming the triumph of democracy” in the “free election” of 1990.

En los extremos de la crítica independiente, el columnista Anthony Lewis del New York Times se sintió abrumado con admiración por el “experimento de paz y democracia” de Washington, que mostró que “vivimos en una era romántica”. Los métodos experimentales no eran ningún secreto. Así el semanario Time, uniéndose a la celebración cuando “la democracia avanzó” en Nicaragua, lo subrayó con franqueza: “devastar la economía y continuar una guerra vicaria hasta que los nativos exhaustos derriben por sí mismos al gobierno no deseado”, con un costo que para nosotros es “mínimo”, dejando a la víctima con “puentes arruinados, estaciones de energía eléctrica destruidos por sabotaje y granjas arruinadas”, proporcionando al candidato favorecido por Washington con un “perfil exitoso” que pone fin al “empobrecimiento del pueblo nicaragüense”, evitando mencionar el terror todavía presente, lo cual se prefiere omitir. Algo indudable es que, para esas personas, el precio a pagar difícilmente resulta “mínimo”. Carothers hace notar que el costo “en términos per cápita fue significativamente más alto que el número de estadounidenses muertos en la guerra civil y en todas las guerras del siglo XX combinadas”. El resultado fue “una victoria para el Juego Limpio Estadounidense” exaltó un encabezado en el New York Times, dejando a los estadounidenses “unidos en júbilo”, al estilo de Albania y Corea del Norte.

Los métodos de esta “era romántica”, y la reacción a ellos en círculos iluminados, nos dice más de los principios democráticos que han emergido victoriosos. También arrojan luz sobre la razón por la que resulta un “esfuerzo difícil de realizar” “crear una sociedad más próspera capaz de gobernarse a sí misma” en Nicaragua. Es cierto que el esfuerzo está en curso, y ha sido exitoso en cierta medida para una minoría privilegiada, mientras que la mayor parte de la población enfrenta un desastre social y económico, todo lo cual es parte del patrón acostumbrado en las dependencias de Occidente. Nótese que este es un ejemplo que llevó a los editores de New Republic a calificarse a sí mismos como “la inspiración para el triunfo de nuestra democracia en nuestra época”, uniéndose así al coro entusiasta.

Podemos aprender todavía más sobre los principios victoriosos recordando que esas mismas figuras representativas de la vida intelectual liberal habían exigido a Washington que las guerras fueran libradas de forma despiadada, con apoyo militar a “fascistas estilo latino… independientemente de cuántas personas fueran asesinadas”, porque “existen prioridades estadounidenses más elevadas que los derechos humanos salvadoreños”. Profundizando, el editor de New Republic, Michael Kinsley, que representaba a la izquierda en el comentario en los medios de comunicación y en el debate televisivo, alertó en contra de la crítica no meditada a la política oficial de Washington de atacar objetivos indefensos. Tales operaciones terroristas internacionales causan “enormes sufrimientos en las poblaciones civiles”, reconoció, pero pueden ser “perfectamente legítimas” si el “análisis en costo – beneficio” muestra que “la cantidad de sangre y miseria que será derramada da como resultado “democracia”, como la definen quienes gobiernan el mundo. La opinión iluminada insiste en que el terror no es un valor en sí mismo, pero debe satisfacer el criterio pragmático. Más tarde, Kinsley señaló que los fines deseados habían sido logrados: “empobrecer al pueblo de Nicaragua era precisamente el objetivo de la guerra contra y la política paralela del embargo económico y el veto a los préstamos internacionales para desarrollo”, lo cual “arruinó la economía” y “creó el desastre económico que fue tal vez el mejor tema de elección de la oposición victoriosa”. Kinsley se sumó entonces a dar la bienvenida al “triunfo de la democracia” en la “elección libre” de 1990.