#Ending violence and promoting social stability

[greenthestral]

Achieving Global Peace and Justice: The Crucial Role of Goal 16 and Strong Institutions

In an ever-changing and interconnected world, achieving peace and justice is of paramount importance for the well-being and progress of societies. Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16), aptly named "Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions," recognizes the significance of establishing robust governance structures, promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, and ensuring access to justice for all. This article delves into the essence of Goal 16 and highlights its vital role in fostering peace, justice, and strong institutions worldwide.

Understanding SDG 16 and Its Significance

SDG 16, part of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, holds significant importance in addressing some of the most pressing global challenges. It acknowledges the inseparable connection between peace, justice, and strong institutions as crucial foundations for sustainable development and the well-being of societies worldwide. By setting this goal, the United Nations aims to provide a comprehensive framework that guides countries in their efforts to create peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.

At its core, SDG 16 recognizes that without peace and stability, sustainable development becomes unattainable. Armed conflicts, political instability, and social unrest not only lead to immense human suffering but also impede progress in various areas such as education, health, and economic growth. By prioritizing peace, the goal acknowledges the urgent need to address the root causes of violence, prevent conflicts, and build societies that can thrive in an atmosphere of tranquility.

In addition to peace, justice is an essential pillar of SDG 16. It emphasizes the importance of establishing fair and effective legal systems that ensure equal access to justice for all individuals, regardless of their socio-economic background. Access to justice is not limited to formal legal processes but extends to broader aspects, such as addressing grievances, resolving disputes, and promoting human rights. By ensuring access to justice, societies can guarantee the protection of fundamental rights, reduce inequalities, and foster social cohesion.

Strong institutions form another critical aspect of SDG 16. These institutions encompass a wide range of entities, including governments, public administrations, judicial systems, and law enforcement agencies. They play a pivotal role in upholding the rule of law, promoting good governance, and ensuring accountability at all levels. Strong institutions provide a stable framework that enables countries to effectively respond to the needs of their citizens, protect human rights, combat corruption, and provide essential services. By strengthening institutions, countries can establish an environment conducive to sustainable development and the realization of the other Sustainable Development Goals.

SDG 16 outlines specific targets and indicators to guide countries in their efforts to achieve peace, justice, and strong institutions. These targets include reducing all forms of violence and related death rates, ending abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against children, promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels, and significantly reducing corruption and bribery. Additionally, the goal aims to ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making processes, strengthen the capacity of institutions at all levels, and ensure public access to information and fundamental freedoms.

To achieve these targets, countries need to develop comprehensive strategies, policies, and action plans tailored to their specific contexts. This requires multi-sectoral collaboration involving government entities, civil society organizations, the private sector, and citizens themselves. It is crucial to address the underlying factors that contribute to violence, inequality, and weak institutions, such as poverty, lack of education, discrimination, and social exclusion. By adopting a holistic approach and integrating the principles of SDG 16 into their national agendas, countries can make significant strides towards building peaceful and just societies.

Moreover, achieving SDG 16 requires international cooperation and partnerships. Many of the challenges related to peace, justice, and strong institutions transcend national boundaries, necessitating collective action. Countries can collaborate on sharing best practices, exchanging knowledge and expertise, and providing financial and technical assistance to support capacity building efforts in developing nations. By working together, the international community can promote peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and the strengthening of legal systems globally.

SDG 16 plays a pivotal role in the global pursuit of sustainable development. By recognizing the interconnectedness of peace, justice, and strong institutions, this goal provides a comprehensive framework for countries to eradicate violence, reduce corruption, promote good governance, and ensure equal access to justice. The successful achievement of SDG 16 not only contributes to the well-being of individuals and societies but also creates an environment conducive to the realization of all the other Sustainable Development Goals. Through collective action and commitment, countries can build a world where peace, justice, and strong institutions prevail.

The Link between Peace, Justice, and Sustainable Development

Peace and justice are intricately interconnected with sustainable development. Without peace, societies face constant conflicts, hindered progress, and widespread poverty. Similarly, without justice, marginalized communities struggle to access essential services, experience discrimination, and live in perpetual insecurity. Achieving sustainable development requires addressing the root causes of violence, establishing just systems, and providing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their background.

Building Strong Institutions for Effective Governance

Strong institutions are the backbone of a functioning society. They uphold the rule of law, protect human rights, and ensure accountability. Such institutions foster trust between citizens and governments, creating an environment conducive to economic growth and social stability. Through effective governance structures, governments can address societal grievances, reduce corruption, and promote transparency, ultimately leading to stronger and more inclusive societies.

Advancing Peaceful and Inclusive Societies

Peaceful and inclusive societies are vital for achieving SDG 16. By promoting social cohesion, dialogue, and inclusivity, countries can reduce violence, prevent conflicts, and create a harmonious environment where all individuals can thrive. Investing in education, empowering marginalized communities, and fostering intercultural understanding are key components in building societies that value diversity and promote peaceful coexistence.

Reducing Violence and Crime Rates

SDG 16 emphasizes the need to reduce all forms of violence and crime. Violence, whether it is domestic, interpersonal, or related to armed conflicts, hampers development efforts and negatively impacts individuals, families, and communities. Through the implementation of effective policies, investments in crime prevention, and promoting conflict resolution mechanisms, countries can create safer environments that enable their citizens to lead fulfilling lives.

Tackling Corruption and Promoting Transparency

Corruption undermines trust in institutions, distorts the allocation of resources, and exacerbates inequality. SDG 16 highlights the importance of combating corruption at all levels and promoting transparency in governance. By establishing robust anti-corruption measures, implementing accountable practices, and encouraging citizen participation, countries can foster an environment of integrity, thus bolstering public trust and promoting sustainable development.

Ensuring Access to Justice for All

Equal access to justice is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of SDG 16. Many individuals, particularly vulnerable populations, face barriers when seeking justice, including financial constraints, discrimination, and inadequate legal systems. By strengthening legal institutions, providing legal aid, and promoting fair and efficient judicial processes, countries can ensure that justice is accessible to all, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

Promoting International Cooperation and Partnerships

Achieving SDG 16 requires global collaboration and partnerships. Addressing transnational crime, promoting the rule of law, and strengthening institutions at the international level are essential components of Goal 16. By fostering cooperation among countries, sharing best practices, and providing financial and technical assistance to developing nations, the international community can work collectively towards peace, justice, and strong institutions worldwide.

Conclusion

Goal 16, "Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions," recognizes the indispensable role of peace, justice, and effective governance in achieving sustainable development. By promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, reducing violence and crime, tackling corruption, ensuring access to justice, and fostering international cooperation, countries can create a world where all individuals can live in dignity, security, and prosperity. To create a better future for all, it is crucial that governments, organizations, and individuals join forces to support and implement the targets of SDG 16, working towards a more peaceful and just world.

[hussyknee]

International news outlets are predictably parroting whatever they see the government-run news media propagandizing, so the foreign commentators who have never met a Sri Lankan even by accident are announcing that we have elected a Marxist leader. We have not. It's a coalition of mild social democrats lmao. Even the main JVP entity hasn't really been Marxist in decades. It's all neoliberal hysteria.

Here's some necessary context for what's going on, and by far the best summation of the situation as it stands. I've highlighted the parts that the leftists of other countries will probably find salient and deeply relatable lmao.

It was always going to come to this. The first Sri Lankan election in generations where even a remotely leftist party stood a chance of winning was always going to end with an almighty Red Scare. So it is that the presidential campaign of National People’s Power (NPP) candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) is inspiring lurid visions of an impending violent, dystopian regime, splayed across news and social media. This is the prophecy of the Sri Lankan elite establishment, a select cross section of the country’s businesspeople, policymakers, professionals, journalists and academics who have been proximate to state power, especially in the last two years. Scrutiny of them and their crescendoing hysteria reveals much about how power and privilege work in Sri Lanka, and what happens when their wielders are threatened. Mythmaking

The pre-election Red Scare is the culmination of a two-year-long project by the elite establishment to sustain the regime of Ranil Wickremesinghe. This project is founded on a number of myths which rewrite recent history, chief among them the idea that the Aragalaya suddenly turned violent due to its ‘infiltration’ by the NPP’s lynchpin party the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and other leftists. This myth, just like the one that Wickremesinghe stepped in to become Prime Minister then President “when no one else would”, only serves the elite establishment’s attempts to justify and sanitise Wickremesinghe’s power-hungry scheming.

Wickremesinghe was the only person shameless enough to accept Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s offer to become Prime Minister without any conditions. Likewise, the question of violence only became a problem after Wickremesinghe used the Aragalaya to manoeuvre himself to the Presidency. As always for elites, the spectre of left-wing violence is more serious than actual right-wing violence. Thus, NPP politicians standing on the banks of the Diyawanna is apparently far more alarming than the security forces ruthlessly dismantling GotaGoGama and brutalising its inhabitants on the very same day Wickremesinghe was selected as President by Parliament.

In the mythologisation of Wickremesinghe, we are further meant to forget that he has presided over a striking series of rights violations and undemocratic measures. Recounted partially and briefly: arbitrarily detaining multiple Aragalaya activists; violently repressing numerous protests by student and trade unions; passing the Bureau of Rehabilitation Act and Online Safety Act; deliberately preventing scheduled local authorities elections; continuing to obstruct memorialisation events by Tamils; and the ongoing Sinhala colonisation of the north and east.

As Wickremesinghe completed his transformation from supposed champion of liberal democracy to illiberal autocrat, establishment elites, especially the self-styled liberals among them, found themselves tongue tied about these issues for more than two years. If Ranil Wickremesinghe violates a human right, does a Sri Lankan liberal make a sound? ‘Stability’ and ‘Recovery’

It is not that these establishment elites merely promote Wickremesinghe’s government; it’s that they have been deeply and intimately involved in crafting and enforcing its policies, whilst often passing themselves off as impartial commentators. This particularly pertains to the Government’s economic agenda, and the idea that it has created ‘stability’ and rescued the country from the abyss to lead it to ‘recovery’. From the start, ‘stability’ and ‘recovery’ have been built on the backs of working class and poor Sri Lankans, who have literally paid for it with increased taxes, deteriorating public services and severely slashed welfare under the extravaganza of austerity mandated by the IMF.

The elite establishment’s espousal of this ‘stability’ and ‘recovery’ turns on a rabid, evangelical belief in neoliberal economic ideology. This tethers the unconditional acceptance of the IMF and its dictates, with any deviation from them held as ruinous. Similarly, neoliberalism manifests as identity through a strict belief that all wealth and success within a capitalist economy is gained through personal virtue (discounting inheritance, aid or luck), and inversely, anyone who is unsuccessful must be lazy and stupid. Such thinking is an apt glaze for the naturally patrician worldview of most establishment elites’ social class.

As a result, establishment elites are indignant that working and poor Sri Lankans are not grateful enough for the ‘recovery’. In truth, the only real inconveniences they suffered were the fuel shortages and power cuts of 2022. So, they cannot and do not genuinely contend with suffering of many over the past two years—including the still unbearable cost of living, rising child malnutrition, falling school attendance and millions still disconnected from electricity to name but a few ongoing calamities. Consequently, working and poor Sri Lankans must be too stupid to understand the ‘recovery’, the necessity of the IMF’s ‘bitter medicine’ forced upon them and to even vote. In the same breath, of course, these elites ignore and obscure the fact that corporates and the wealthy—which is often to say they themselves—are spared any similar medicine, and get to freely evade taxes, enjoy generous state subsidies and concessions and hoard their wealth offshore.

Contours of a Scare

All this exposes such deep contempt by establishment elites for working and poor people. This is what fuels their wholesale disgust at anyone voting against Wickremesinghe, or not even settling for the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s Sajith Premadasa (to the great dismay of many elites, the two could not set aside their blood feud and combine forces). Buried within this is a deep fear of a political reality they do not know and cannot control. Thus, the maniacal scaremongering about how democracy would be subverted by an AKD regime due to the internal intricacies of communist parties—as if the JVP and particularly the NPP qualified as such. (And as if Premadasa and the SJB, and especially the unelected, election-cancelling Wickremesinghe, were paragons of democracy.)

The Red Scare is also founded on bringing up the JVP’s violence during the two insurrections it led, particularly the second. Certainly, there needs to be a complete accounting for the horrendous violence the JVP instigated, which the JVP has failed to do itself. But it cannot be done in any honest sense by the elites who ignore or deny that the UNP government and its death squads (under Premadasa’s father) killed and disappeared far greater numbers of people than the JVP (by estimates of three to up to ten times as many), or that Wickremesinghe oversaw an actual torture camp.

In addition to these many hypocrisies, the Red Scare is also founded on the elite establishment’s striking political illiteracy. Words like ‘Marxism’, ‘socialism’ and ‘communism’ are thrown about with wild abandon without any serious evaluation of them against the NPP. Elites regularly conflate the JVP and Frontline Socialist Party, despite them actually being mortal enemies; and believe all trade unions are controlled in hivemind-fashion by the JVP, despite the wide range of trade union political allegiances. Acknowledging spiralling social deprivation in the country is “cosplaying poverty” and any critique of the government’s economic agenda and neoliberal dogma in general inspires a virulent derision for “commies”, in dizzying, barely-coherent invective and memes imported straight from the US and the gutters of far right social media. These ignorant, imbecilic displays would be amusing if they weren’t being bandied about by actual adult journalists, lecturers and professionals, speaking to the country’s depressing level of intellectual discourse. The Endgame

The real irony here is that the NPP does not warrant any of the elite establishment’s hysteria. Certainly, it stakes out an actual difference with the existing political hegemony by physically embodying change. AKD, just like his government in waiting, promise a halt to the endless game of musical chairs that characterises government-making in Sri Lanka. This contrasts with Premadasa and Wickremesinghe’s politics which evince more of the same, in the latter’s case even more nakedly and shamelessly with the most corrupt and criminal figures on offer. (This, too, is another inconvenient fact shrugged off by establishment elites as necessary realpolitik.)

Of course, many of those prospectively voting for the NPP to “give them a chance” reveal the Sri Lankan predilection to go with the ‘rella’ or wave. But embedded in there, too, is the idea that this chance is being given in desperation, against a political system which has brought them nothing but economic ruin. That system could not be characterised more effectively than by Wickremesinghe himself, who makes little attempt to hide his disdain for ordinary people.

Yet it’s easy to overstate such change. In substance, even a cursory glance at the NPP’s manifesto reveals not a plan to usher in full-throated communism but a milquetoast, deliberately vague social democratic program. Most tellingly, it promises to maintain the country’s economic settings, including the current IMF program, as well as its deeply majoritarian state structure. The establishment should in fact be thrilled that the supposed biggest threat to its existence accepts the very core tenets of its modus operandi.

What this also means is that if and when any substantive change fails to materialise for many people—particularly in living conditions, as will certainly be the case under continued adherence to the IMF program—any NPP government risks spectacular collapse. That will leave ample space for any new, reactionary force to step in, including Wickremesinghe who will be waiting, cockroach-like, or another dispiriting shuffling of the current deck. In such a scenario, the elite establishment could find multiple avenues to attach their hooks to, for they are nothing if not the most talented grifters.

This election is unlikely to spell a definitive end to the political establishment or the deranged elites who uphold it. But for anyone sickened by the elite establishment’s hypocrisy and degeneracy, one night of them losing their collective minds over the Red Scare they have convinced themselves can only be a fleeting, pleasurable treat.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

S.P. Rogers at rePro-Truth:

The leaders, movers, and shakers of the New Right can't seem to make up their minds: ‘Do we love mothers, or do we punish them?’ A look at Project 2025’s 922-page policy blueprint for the next Republican presidential administration, titled Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, reveals the juxtaposition of language promoting motherhood with language that conveys a real indifference to mothers’ wellbeing and a contempt for motherhood that exists outside of a particular ideal. Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership refers to the choice to become a mother as an act of “heroism” (p. 6). However, the policies within the document (1) work in service of government-mandated motherhood in which mothers’ decisions, options, and resources are severely restricted; (2) are aimed toward forcing mothers into conformity with a rigid framework of motherhood based on Victorian Era sensibilities; and (3) effectually punishes motherhood that exists outside of the Victorian Era ideal. Hence, the few, lofty words extolling mothers and motherhood that are found in Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership exist in sharp contradiction with its policy goals. The result is a noticeable incoherence, showcasing the incongruity between the New Right's nostalgic Victorian ideal and the real world, as it truly exists, with all its complexities.

[...]

The New Right's motherhood ideal exists in the context of the imagination's nostalgia for a mythical past, one which can be described as a combination of eternal sunshine, financial stability and upward mobility, Victorian Era social and sexual sensibilities, and The Donna Reed Show. Hence, Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership seeks to effectuate this perfect, mythical past in the here and now, privileging a strict, patriarchal power structure within the family and wider society. As such, it's the job of policymakers to “restore the American family” (p. 4) to this mythical past. In this idealized past, marriage is always “the ideal, natural family structure” (p. 489), regardless of individual circumstances, interpersonal violence, incarceration, the combustible incompatibility of partners, etc. Therefore, the policies put forth in Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership are specifically designed to privilege the patriarchal family and to disadvantage families that exist outside of this framework, including through the use of the tax code (p. 4)

[...]

In several ways, the policies detailed in Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership recreate some of the strains of the Victorian era on poor, working, and single mothers, all the while attempting to bottleneck women into an idealized motherhood framework.

🟩 Ending assistance for single mothers

For example, the Mandate for Leadership calls for replacing policies that provide assistance to single mothers with policies “encouraging” married motherhood (p. 316), leaving single mothers without assistance. When a government disadvantages single mothers, the government necessarily disadvantages their children as well. This policy also disadvantages married mothers who may need to leave a marriage for the safety of themselves and that of their children, as marriage here functions as the gateway to assistance.

🟩 Re-purposing child support

The New Right's child support policy likewise disadvantages single mothers, as well as at-risk women and children— and anyone else whom a patriarchal government would force into or to remain in a relationship to which they would not voluntarily belong. Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership states, “Child support in the United States should strengthen marriage as the norm, restore broken homes, and encourage unmarried couples to commit to marriage” (p. 479). Because Project 2025 venerates marriage and its policies are designed to privilege marriage, no matter the costs to individuals, making sure a mother is married off to or remarries the father of her child - whether she wants to or not, whether it's healthy and safe for her be married to him or not - is key to the New Right's vision for “restoring[] the American family” to the greatness of its mythical past.

🟩 Redistributing other people's children

While stating that “all children have a right to be raised by the men and women who conceived them” (p. 489), Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership also prioritizes family separation and the redistribution of other people’s children. Instead of supporting policies that assist people who are experiencing unplanned pregnancies to keep and raise their resulting children, the document’s policy regarding the needs of financially insecure mothers-to-be is to encourage these women to give the children they’ve carried for nine months over to strangers for adoption (p. 6). While adoption can be a blessing, in the context of unplanned pregnancy it is often “a path of constrained choice for those for whom abortion is inaccessible, or for whom parenthood is untenable.”11

🟩 Worsening the childcare crisis

In the same way that the New Right has failed to come to terms with the existence of single mothers and the dangers of domestic abuse, so too have they failed to come to grips with the existence of working mothers. The policies in Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership regarding America's childcare crisis makes this abundantly clear. 

[...]

🟩 Increasing reproductive burdens

A mother’s ability to plan when and if to have another child is critical to her financial stability. However, Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership seeks to restrict mothers’ access to high-quality methods of birth control. Instead, the policy document advocates for fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) of family planning (p. 455), which lack the same high-quality research evidence as modern hormonal contraceptives and the success rate depends on consistent, dedicated adherence from both sexual partners.30 Fertility awareness-based methods of preventing pregnancy are often a luxury for working mothers, because they require extra time each day, for example, to feel one’s cervical mucus and chart its consistency, take and chart one’s temperature, etc. While FABMs may be the right choice for some people, they’re not right for others. [...]

“FABMS are also not recommended for persons who are unable to abstain or use other contraceptive methods during the fertile days or who are unable to negotiate the timing of intercourse.”38 Additionally, the Mandate for Leadership would limit where mothers can receive reproductive health care, and eliminate local access to low-cost community health centers (pps. 471-472). Mothers are economically, socially, and phisically disadvantaged when a patriarchal government limits their available options for preventing pregnancy and eliminates their access to affordable reproductive healthcare.

🟩 Disabling mothers

Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership also punishes pregnant mothers experiencing serious pregnancy complications and miscarriages (pps. 455, 457-459, 473-474). The New Right’s elevation of embryonic and fetal life over and above the health and life of mothers is codified in the policy document. This includes removing federal EMTALA protections for mothers’ lives and health, allowing states to ban emergency, life-saving abortions. The New Right’s fetish for sacrificing women and their sadistic urge to leave women permanently disabled by denying them necessary healthcare could not be more evident.

Project 2025’s vision of motherhood is centered on the obsession of an idealized past depicted in Leave It To Beaver that centers on “traditional” marriage as the ideal familial structure, punishing single motherhood and other family forms.

[kingjain]

I Stand With Ukraine Peace For Ukraine Proud Ukrainian

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[hazardous-waste-containment]

I feel like to many people don't recognise fascism because they think fascism will arrive selling oppression and tyranny, but if you're part of the privileged group fascism is selling you safety, normalcy, and tradition

With regard to this (see also that Michael Rosen poem), it’s one of those very basic, inchoate, vibes-based misconceptions about fascism to the point that it feels almost silly or missing-the-point to try and correct it with definitions and history – I don’t know if OP even has a specific meaning of fascism in mind, and the sentiment being expressed isn’t without merit as it applies to the wider authoritarian right – but it should be addressed somewhere because when people hear this they’re at least vaguely thinking of the Axis.

–

The most direct counter here would be that the movement of squadrismo that primarily carried Mussolini to power in 1921–22 was one of insurrectionary terror which lionized danger and youthful rebellion and daring acts of violence, openly aiming to annihilate the Socialists, establish a dictatorship, and throw out the liberal politicians. There was a bit of tradition and romanità to their aesthetic (like the fasces or the neologism duce) but ‘safety’ and ‘normalcy’ could not be further from the ethos of what was in 1922 the most politically decisive part of the Fascist movement.

Other factions included the national syndicalists who organized Fascist unions and wanted a social revolution to, if not overthrow the bourgeoisie, at least give workers a genuinely equal and independent share in political power, and the more marginal futurists, on a perpetual quest for radical new horizons. No safety, normalcy, or tradition here, though it’s also true that both camps, national syndicalists in particular, didn’t explicitly want to create a tyranny either and styled themselves as democratic and progressive. The point is less about the status quo vs tyranny dichotomy than about the status quo vs radicalism in general: in either case, the Fascists were not trying to look safe or normal.

To the right of the original Fascists, Alfredo Rocco’s Italian Nationalist Association likewise hated Liberal Italy and promoted a total end to parliamentarism, but also preached law, stability, and a controlled transformation from above with no change to the social hierarchy, had closer links to the establishment but little popular support, and did not merge with the PNF until 1923, though of course it then came to massively influence Fascism’s more conservative character in power.

–

National Socialism is more ambiguous because NSDAP messaging was wildly diverse and often very opportunistic – e.g. Hitler was clear about the need for massive territorial expansion to the east in Mein Kampf, yet the Nazis still mobilized significantly on the slogan that “National Socialism means peace!” Nazism promised young people a bold new world and independence from stifling family life, even while it promised their parents a staunch defense of Christian family values (both were kind of true, both were kind of lies). In some places virulent antisemitism was integral to mobilization, in others it was downplayed as too frightening. And so on.

It is true that Nazi electoral support (which was more important than in Italy) came mostly from the dislocated Protestant middle class, who had abandoned the mainstream liberal parties and saw the NSDAP as a patriotic anti-Marxist movement that would rebuild the economy and restore traditional values. But even so, there’s the unavoidable fact of the SA, a violent mass militia based in the working class, which beat up leftists but also resented the bourgeoisie and scared elite circles as too unruly and extreme (hence it was briefly banned along with the Red Front by the right-wing Brüning government).

–

The Spanish Falange was a movement of radical university students influenced by Italian national syndicalism, very marginal and esoteric prior to the outbreak of civil war precisely because of the experimentalism of their ideas; it was the mainstream conservative CEDA that successfully presented itself as a defense of stability and tradition. In a sense the balance of support was reversed in Hungary and Romania, where the deep unpopularity of the ruling conservatives (plus the absence of the left) opened space for the Hungarists and Legionaries to build mass movements by promising revolutionary changes to their countries’ impoverished lower classes. Of the above the most ‘traditional’ were the Legion who strongly upheld the peasantry’s religious culture and agrarian way of life, but this was within the wider context of plans for radical land reform and mass insurgency.

I could go on, and every individual case is nuanced and different appeals were used at different times, but I think this bit in The Brown Plague captures the point really well, even if what I’m suggesting goes further than Guérin would have:

“You see, we’re pitted against each other. Our passions are so white-hot that occasionally we kill each other, but deep down we want the same thing...”

“Really?”

“Yes, the same thing, a new world, radically different from today’s, a world that no longer destroys coffee and wheat while millions go hungry, a new system. But some believe adamantly that Hitler will provide this, while others believe it will be Stalin. That’s the only difference between us.”

And that’s why in the barracks, before the lights went out, an old vagabond road song which the Nazi intoned with as much conviction as the Socialist or Communist would resound from some fifty sonorous breasts:

As we walk along side by side / And sing the ancient airs / Which the forests echo back / Then, we feel, it has to happen:

With us will come new times! / With us will come new times!

The unanimity was barely shattered by the discord of three antagonistic cries shouted in unison as if to say goodnight or issue a final challenge:

“Heil Hitler!”

“Freiheit!”

“Rotfront!”

[zack-guialel-ihl8]

Pursuing Peace: Navigating the Complex Path to Ending Wars

Zacaria Benrajiv T. Guialel AB PolSci 3B

BLOG 4

War, an age-old scourge that has plagued humanity since time immemorial, continues to raise profound questions about its inevitability and its role in human survival. In this blog, we will delve into these questions and explore strategies for both preventing wars and mitigating their devastating impact.

Are Wars Inevitable?

The question of whether wars are inevitable has been a subject of great debate for centuries. Some argue that human history is a tapestry of conflicts and that, as long as humanity exists, wars will continue to be a part of our narrative. However, it is essential to recognize that wars are not inherently inevitable. They often result from complex social, political, and economic factors. To prevent wars, it is vital to address the root causes, such as resource scarcity, political power struggles, and cultural misunderstandings.

Are Wars Essential to Human Survival?

The notion that wars are essential to human survival is a misguided belief. While conflicts have played a role in shaping human history and facilitating technological advancements, the costs far outweigh the benefits. The toll of human lives, destruction, and suffering wrought by wars is immeasurable. Our capacity for cooperation, diplomacy, and peaceful resolution of conflicts is a far more effective means of ensuring human survival and progress.

How Can Wars Be Prevented?

Preventing wars necessitates a multi-faceted approach that begins with international diplomacy and cooperation. Diplomacy and dialogue must be prioritized over aggression. Nations should work together to address disputes and disagreements through peaceful negotiations rather than resorting to armed conflict. Moreover, Economic disparities and poverty often contribute to conflict. Promoting economic stability and ensuring access to basic needs can help reduce the incentive for individuals and nations to engage in violent conflicts. With that, educating people about different cultures and fostering mutual respect can help mitigate misunderstandings and stereotypes that often lead to conflict. Strengthening the role and effectiveness of international organizations like the United Nations in mediating disputes and promoting peace is crucial. Also, reducing the proliferation of weapons and ensuring strict controls on their use can mitigate the risk of wars breaking out.

How Can We Limit the Impact of War?

While prevention is ideal, we must also address the question of how to limit the impact of wars when they do occur. Providing humanitarian assistance to affected populations, such as food, shelter, and medical care, is essential to reduce suffering during conflicts. Also, offering refuge and support to those displaced by wars can help them rebuild their lives and foster international solidarity. After conflicts end, investing in post-war reconciliation, rebuilding infrastructure, and restoring social cohesion is vital to prevent a cycle of violence. Holding those responsible for war crimes accountable through international courts can deter future conflicts and provide closure to victims. Lastly, recognizing and addressing the mental health impact of war on survivors is critical. Providing psychological support and therapy can help heal the psychological scars left by conflict.

In the pursuit of ending wars, we must acknowledge the challenges but also embrace the responsibility to prevent conflicts and limit their impact. Wars are not inevitable, and they are far from essential for human survival. By emphasizing diplomacy, cooperation, and the protection of human rights, we can strive for a world where wars become an unfortunate relic of the past, replaced by lasting peace and prosperity for all.

[ofalwaysyours]

basics

full name: Kali Amelia Saxton 

nicknames: Kal, Kay, Satan's Mistress

age:  25

date of birth: April 29th, 1989

Place of birth: New York City, New York, USA

gender:  Female

pronouns: She/Her

sexuality:  Bisexual

family

father: Trevor Saxton 

mother: Lisa Vanderbilt-Saxton

siblings: None

siginifcant other: None, but will gladly take yours

physical

hair color:  Brown

eye color:  Brown

height:  5′7″

weight: 115 lbs

personality

morality:  Chaotic Neutral

positive traits: Direct, honest (to a fault), charming, funny, agile, adaptable, wily, cunning, intelligent, talented, flirty

negative traits: Cutthroat, selfish, complete lack of loyalty, looks out for herself first, prone to anger, blabber mouth, ruthless

skills: Song writing, singing, guitar, piano, crosswords, car maintenance

language(s) spoken: English, Bulgarian, French, Spanish, Italian, Portugese, Russian

hogwarts house: Ravenclaw

emotional stability: Kali is a fairly emotionless human being. It is difficult for her to learn how to care about someone but once she does, she would kill for them. Incredibly closed off, and it makes her probably the most emotionally stable of the bunch.

alcohol use: nightly drinker

prone to violence: She's been known to start and finish a fist fight.

Kali was born to two very affluent parents. Her father is a plastic surgeon and her mother was an heiress from the Vanderbilt family. She was their only child and she was doted on from an early age. They gave her anything that she wanted and it made her spoiled and entitled. Kali is incredibly talented, quickly picking up instruments and training her voice from the time that she could walk. She and her parents have a rather strained relationship due to the fact that they weren't really present during her youth. She was raised by a variety of nannies, all of whom taught them their mother tongue, which is how she got to know so many languages. At thirteen, she got a lead role on a Disney Channel show and became a household name. That role lead to a record deal and she ended up going on tour with the Jonas brothers to promote their new film. Her relationship with Joe was a tumultuous one once she started drinking and doing drugs with her backup dancers. A fight with Joe eventually sent Kali into a rage that culminated in her physically assaulting her backup dancer and she was carted off to rehab for the first time at the age of 17. She's been in and out of rehab several times since then but the lessons that she learned there never seem to stick for long. Kali is a party girl through and through, which is exactly how she met the One Direction boys. They traveled in the same social circles and ran into each other at award after parties quite often. Zayn is easily her favorite but she would flirt with any of them just for the hell of it. She loathes Taylor, Danielle and Candice with everything inside of her; Kali envies their role in the boys' life. Her manager suggested that she try to clean up her image by getting in good with the boys since their image is squeaky clean and her career is in desperate need of a restart. So she's come to England with one goal in mind: make life as absolutely difficult as possible for all of the gals until they give in and give her what she wants - one of their men.

[mindclassic]

Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict - June 19th

International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is an annual observance. It seeks to raise awareness about the devastating impact of violence in conflict and promote efforts toward its eradication. Violence in conflict causes physical harm and psychological trauma to individuals. It also undermines stability, destroys communities, and can lead to long-lasting social and economic consequences. The world has made significant progress in preventing and responding to violence in conflict. But there still remains much to do in addressing the root causes of conflict and creating sustainable peace. In this article, we explore the significance of International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Here we discuss the scope and impact of violence in conflict. We explore in detail and examine strategies and international efforts aimed at preventing and responding to this critical issue. The Significance of the Day Every year the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is observed. This observance raises awareness of the devastating impact of violence and conflict on individuals, families, and communities around the world. This day serves as a reminder of the urgent need to take action to prevent and respond to violence in conflict and to promote lasting peace. Origins and Evolution On 19 June 2015, the UN General Assembly (A/RES/69/293) proclaimed 19 June of each year the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. The day aims to raise awareness to eliminate and end conflict-related sexual violence. The day also needs to honor the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world. The date was selected to commemorate the adoption on 19 June 2008 of Security Council resolution 1820 (2008). This resolution condemned sexual violence as a tactic of war and an impediment to peacebuilding. Global Significance Despite the efforts of the international community, violence in conflict is still a major issue around the world. This day provides an opportunity to raise awareness. It promotes action to protect and support those affected by violence in conflict, particularly women and children. It is a reminder to governments, organizations, and individuals that we must work together to prevent, respond to, and eliminate violence in all its forms. 1. Understanding the Scope of Violence in Conflict Violence in conflict refers to any act of physical, sexual, or psychological harm perpetrated against individuals, families, and communities as a result of armed conflict or war. The Different Types of Violence in Conflict Violence in conflict can take many forms, including forced displacement, sexual violence, torture, and killings. Civilians are often the primary targets of violence in conflict, and women and children are particularly vulnerable. The Impact of Violence in Conflict on Civilians Violence in conflict has devastating consequences for individuals, families, and communities. It can result in injuries, disabilities, and death, and can lead to the breakdown of social structures and support systems. It also has long-lasting effects on mental health and can lead to trauma, anxiety, and depression. 2. The Impact on Women and Children Women and girls are disproportionately affected by violence in conflict, including sexual violence, forced marriage, and trafficking. Gender-based violence in conflict is often used as a weapon of war and can have long-lasting physical and psychological consequences. The Impact of Conflict on Children Conflict can have a profound impact on children, including exposure to violence, displacement, and loss of family members and caregivers. Children affected by conflict may also experience trauma, stress, and disruptions to their education and development. Reintegrating Women and Children after Conflict Reintegrating women and children into their communities after conflict is essential for rebuilding societies and promoting peace. This can involve providing access to education, healthcare, and social support, as well as addressing the root causes of violence and conflict. 3. Strategies for Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict Preventing violence in conflict requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the root causes of conflict, including poverty, inequality, and political instability. Strategies can include promoting human rights, strengthening governance and institutions, and supporting community-led initiatives for peace. Response Strategies Responding to violence in conflict requires an immediate and coordinated response that prioritizes the needs of those affected, particularly women and children. This can involve providing emergency medical and psychosocial care, facilitating access to justice, and supporting efforts to rebuild communities. Restorative Justice Restorative justice approaches prioritize the needs of victims and survivors and seek to restore relationships, promote healing, and prevent future violence. This can involve traditional justice systems that emphasize reconciliation and community-based solutions, as well as international mechanisms for accountability and justice. 4. Addressing the Root Causes This day reflects on the impact of violence on communities affected by conflict and to renew efforts to prevent violence. One important step towards achieving this goal is addressing the root causes of violence in conflict. Socioeconomic and political factors such as poverty, inequality, corruption, and lack of access to resources can contribute to violence in conflict. Identity and ideology can also play a role, with groups using religion, ethnicity, or nationality as a basis for violence. Addressing these root causes is crucial in order to prevent violence from occurring in the first place. Socioeconomic and Political Factors In many cases, poverty and inequality can be drivers of conflict. When resources such as land or water are scarce, groups may resort to violence to gain control over them. Corruption and lack of government accountability can also lead to conflict, as people become disillusioned with the government's ability to provide basic services and maintain law and order. Addressing these socioeconomic and political factors through policies aimed at reducing poverty and inequality, promoting good governance, and providing access to resources can help prevent violence in conflict. The Role of Identity and Ideology Identity and ideology can be powerful motivators for groups engaged in conflict. Groups may use religion, ethnicity, or nationality as a basis for violence, creating a sense of "us vs. them" that can be difficult to overcome. Addressing these issues requires promoting diversity and tolerance. There is a dire need to provide opportunities for dialogue and understanding between different groups. It is important to recognize that people with different identities can coexist peacefully, and that violence only serves to exacerbate tensions. Pathway to Prevent Violence Preventing violence in conflict requires addressing the root causes of conflict. This requires a multi-faceted approach. We must consider policies to reduce poverty and inequality, promote good governance, provide access to resources and also make efforts to promote diversity and understanding between different groups. Addressing these main issues can help to achieve a world free of violence. 5. International Efforts To Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict Eliminating violence in conflict requires more than just addressing the root causes of conflict. International efforts are also crucial in preventing violence from occurring. The United Nations and other international organizations have a key role to play in this regard. The Role of the UN and Other International Organizations The UN plays a critical role in preventing violence in conflict. Its peacekeeping missions help provide security in conflict-affected areas, while its agencies work to provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by conflict. Other international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross also play important roles in promoting respect for international humanitarian law and protecting civilians in conflict. International Laws and Treaties International laws and treaties serve as important tools in preventing violence in conflict. The Geneva Conventions, for example, set out rules for the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war during armed conflict. The International Criminal Court is tasked with investigating and prosecuting individuals responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. These laws and treaties are important in deterring individuals and groups from engaging in violence, and ensuring accountability when violations occur. 6. Success Stories in Eliminating Violence in Conflict While the world continues to face many challenges when it comes to eliminating violence in conflict, there are also many success stories. For example, the peace process in Northern Ireland, which led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, brought an end to decades of violence and helped promote reconciliation between different communities. The peace process in Colombia, which led to a peace agreement in 2016, is another example of successful efforts to end violence in conflict. 7. The Role of Civil Society Civil society also plays an important role in promoting peace and security. NGOs and community-based organizations can provide important services to those affected by conflicts, such as humanitarian assistance or support for victims of violence. The Role of NGOs in Preventing Violence in Conflict NGOs can also play a role in preventing violence in conflict. For example, some NGOs working to promote human rights and access to justice or provide training on conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Others work with communities to promote economic development and reduce poverty, which can contribute to preventing violence. Community-based Approaches Community-based approaches to preventing violence in conflict can also be effective. For example, some communities have established local peace committees that work to prevent violence and promote reconciliation between different groups. These committees can be effective in promoting dialogue and understanding and can help prevent violence from escalating. The Impact of Local Activism Local activism can also have a significant impact on conflict resolution. When communities take ownership of the peace process, they are more likely to be invested in the outcome and committed to maintaining peace. Local activists can also play a role in holding governments and other actors accountable for their actions during the conflict. 8. Achieving a World Free of Violence in Conflict Achieving a world free of violence in conflict requires a multi-faceted approach that includes addressing the root causes of conflict, international efforts to prevent and respond to violence, and the role of civil society in promoting peace and security. Continued efforts are needed to prevent violence in conflict. This includes addressing ongoing conflicts, as well as taking steps to prevent new conflicts from arising. The Role of Individuals Individuals also have a role to play in promoting peace and security. This can include supporting NGOs and community-based organizations working in conflict-affected areas, advocating for policies that promote peace and justice, or simply engaging in dialogue and understanding with people from different backgrounds. The Potential for a Future While the challenges are great, there is also potential for a future free of violence in conflict. Success stories from around the world show that peace is possible and that concerted efforts to prevent and respond to violence can make a difference. By working together, we can help build a more peaceful and just world for all. Closing Comments In conclusion, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence in Conflict serves as a reminder that peace and security are essential for the well-being of individuals and communities worldwide. The challenges in eliminating violence in conflict are immense. There is a need of continued efforts towards conflict prevention and resolution are vital for creating a world free of violence and promoting sustainable peace. By working together, individuals, civil society, and governments can make a difference in preventing violence in conflict and promoting lasting peace. Image by jcomp on Freepik Read the full article

[emancip8projectonline]

Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration: Lessons from Latin America’s Peace Processes

by Emancip8 Project

A pivotal component of sustainable peace in post-conflict societies is the successful implementation of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programs. Latin America has experienced numerous armed conflicts in recent history, offering valuable insights into the complexities and challenges associated with DDR processes. This article discusses key lessons drawn from Latin America’s peace processes, emphasizing the importance of political will, community engagement, and long-term investment in reintegration efforts.

The region’s DDR experiences vary significantly, with countries such as Colombia, El Salvador, and Guatemala demonstrating diverse approaches and outcomes. In Colombia, the peace agreement signed between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016 marked a significant milestone for DDR efforts (Theidon, 2016). Conversely, El Salvador’s 1992 peace accords resulted in a more contentious and challenging DDR process (Call, 2002). Guatemala’s 1996 peace agreement, meanwhile, showcased the potential for a successful and inclusive DDR process (Azpuru, 2010).

One critical lesson from Latin America’s peace processes is the necessity of strong political will and commitment from all parties involved in the conflict. In Colombia, the government’s dedication to addressing the root causes of conflict and creating a comprehensive DDR program was essential to its success (Muggah & O’Donnell, 2015). In contrast, the lack of political commitment in El Salvador contributed to the persistence of violence and insecurity in the country (Cruz, 2016).

Another important lesson is the significance of community engagement in DDR processes. In Guatemala, the involvement of local communities and civil society organizations in designing and implementing reintegration programs was crucial for their success (Berghof Foundation, 2017). Involving affected communities not only ensures that DDR programs are contextually appropriate but also fosters local ownership and long-term sustainability.

Lastly, Latin American peace processes underscore the importance of investing in long-term reintegration efforts. This includes providing ex-combatants with access to education, employment opportunities, and psychosocial support (Muggah & O’Donnell, 2015). Focusing on these elements helps to reduce the risk of recidivism and promote sustainable peace.

In conclusion, the experiences of Latin America’s peace processes offer valuable lessons for the design and implementation of DDR programs. Key insights include the importance of political will, community engagement, and long-term investment in reintegration efforts. By drawing on these lessons, DDR processes can contribute to lasting peace and stability in post-conflict societies.

References:

Azpuru, D. (2010). International Support for Peace Processes: The Case of Guatemala. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 5(2), 1–14.

Berghof Foundation. (2017). Peace Infrastructures: Assessing Concept and Practice. Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation, 1–26.

Call, C. T. (2002). Assessing El Salvador’s Transition from Civil War to Peace. In Stedman, S. J., Rothchild, D., & Cousens, E. M. (Eds.), Ending Civil Wars: The Implementation of Peace Agreements (pp. 137–181). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Cruz, J. M. (2016). State and Criminal Violence in Latin America. Crime, Law and Social Change, 66(4), 375–396.

Muggah, R., & O’Donnell, C. (2015). Next Generation Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration. Stability: International Journal of Security & Development, 4(1), 1–12

Read more at Emancip9 Project.

[snicketstrange]

The origins of VFD Village

I was recently discussing about the city of VFD on TVV. I now believe that the village is formed mainly by descendants of some former splinter group of the secret organization VFD. In other words, the formation of the village is the result of an ancient schism, one of the many schisms that have existed in VFD throughout history. Consider the following: 1 - In TPP Dewey makes a quote about boys throwing rocks at frogs (chapter 8) which is credited to one of the first volunteers. In the real world, Bion of Borysthenes (c. 325 – c. 250 BC) made this quote originally, showing that VFD is actually very old, probably starting in ancient Greece, at the time of Alexander the Great (which is also quoted by Lemony) or a little later. 2 - Both Olaf (in TE) and Lemony in ATWQ claim that there were several schisms. Lemony implies that he is talking about events that took place over hundreds of years. 3 - VFD village crows are trained crows. In TSS the Woman with the Beard but No Hair shows that the volunteers got the crows in a way similar to the way arsonists got the eagles. This implies that in that city there are some VFD members (or several members) besides Hector, who are responsible for using the crows in missions if necessary. (As happened in the TPP, with Hector himself no longer available in the village to command the crows). 4 - What happened in the city of CSC is very similar to what happened on the Island. But in the city, the proportions were apparently greater and the social structures were much better established. Note: Apparently the townspeople of VFD created strict laws aimed at keeping the peace, as at some point in authority people (ancestors of the council of elders) determined that technology and knowledge are things that can end peace. Ish demonstrated the same attitude on the Island. The difference is that while Ish was trying to manipulate people by giving them a false sense of freedom of choice, in VFD village it was quite clear that the law restricted his freedom. While on Ish Island he tried to create an undercover religious cult centered on a charismatic leader who was himself, in the VFD village religion was not something in disguise: there was an official religion that worshiped crows in that village, and this was evidently used to promote stability social and brotherhood in an attempt to keep the peace. As on the island, the inhabitants of VFD tried to find peace by withdrawing from the rest of society, a philosophy much like hermitism. Ishmael tried to impose a punishment on those he deemed dangerous to the peace, just as the VFD village laws already did in a far more shocking way: burning people. The act of the law encouraging an execution through collective participation in the act of execution, both inculcated fear of disobedience and allowed that the violent side of each citizen could be spilled over into an eventual and legally permitted public event. All of these similarities point to a similar origin: just as Ish formed the community on the Island after witnessing a lot of violence caused by the Splits and treacheries of the world, something like this must have motivated the founders of the VFD village. Just as Ish had been guided by the phrase "the world is quite here" and tried to make his island a quiet place at all costs, the founders of VFD village must also have tried to create their own version of the quiet town (something similar to that movie " The village".) If there is anything true about the village story told by Hector, it must be the fact that 200 years before the main story of asoue happened, a group that controlled VFD crows decided to break up and form their own village, trying to prove that they were the only ones. The way to achieve a quiet world is through social isolation and disincentives to inventiveness, technology and the search for knowledge. It is noteworthy that about 200 years before the time when it is generally assumed to have taken place, the invention of the revolver took place in our world.

It's reasonable to think that inventions of a portable firearm like these must have made people trying to fight fires very worried about the potential for harm of human inventiveness... Well, but that's another hypothesis.

[zalrin]

Dream SMP x Detroit: Become Human AU

DSMP x DBH AU Part 2

Background Information: I was inspired to do this after watching Tubbo's play-through of Detroit: Become Human. At first, I was planning on posting art with descriptions, but I'm over flowing with ideas and not enough artistic talent to hurry along...

Author's Note: Okay, I'm going to be completely honest. Both part 1 and part 2 are pretty much posted on impulse. I should be going to sleep because I have work in the morning, and I started on this post early with that thought in mind, but for some reason my computer is glitching... I've written this out almost three times T-T Everything was deleted at one point, with NOTHING SAVED, so I was nearly about to rage quit... Pray for me. My patience is not unlimited.

Aside from all that, please enjoy! I worked REALLY hard on this (even excluding all the technical issues) so I really do hope you enjoy!

Character Plots:

1. Technoblade

Technoblade, notoriously known as the rogue deviant, was always a mystery due to the fact that no one, not even CyberLife, knew what model android he was. This was due to the fact that Techno was actually not even an android, but a human. This all began at a young age of thirteen, when Techno started to question the set rules of society and how he fit into its rigid hierarchy. Although it was just a budding curiosity, one he didn’t expect to go anywhere, it soon took a drastic turn. After pretending to be an android, just for fun, he was appalled by how he was treated by his fellow humans. More so than the random civilians, he was more disgusted by the inaction of the police. As an act of rebellion for the present corruption of authority, he committed small acts of violence and destruction of public property. He promoted equality and spoke out against the tyrannical attitude of those in power. Due to him indiscriminately acting out against both humans and androids alike, fighting against anyone in power who became physical and bullied those weaker than them, public opinion slowly began to shift. He eventually went from a crazy anarchist to a modern-day robin hood, much to the government’s dismay. Even those that flocked to his side, joining his cause, were a good mix of both androids and humans. His growing popularity began to raise the urgency of his capture, making his name slowly climb up the Most Wanted list. Eventually, while on his many brushes and runs from the police, he met with Detective Kristin (before she was promoted to Lieutenant) and her android partner, Philza. After many encounters, Techno and Phil surprisingly became close friends. In fact, they became so inseparable that their relationship was more akin to family than just friends. Though Phil didn’t particularly condone Techno’s more violent methods, he still supported his cause from behind. Willing to dirty his hands and become the mole, Phil secretly fed Techno intel from classified files as well as supplying Techno with android fuel, aka. Blue Blood. It was only later that Techno revealed to Phil his human identity, Phil being the only one he ever disclosed that information to, but Phil swore to never reveal his secret. Besides, the fuel was necessary for Techno’s growing followers, eventually taking on the name of The Syndicate. Techno understood the reason Phil never openly supported him, even though the android was more than willing to. It was to protect his loved one, Kristin, who would eventually become his wife. Techno understood, even supported Phil, and worked harder to never be a burden to his closest friend. Suddenly, Techno’s reputation exploded when a video clip of him went viral on social media. Though the government tried to spin the story in their favor, the video captured the full extent of the event. Techno had fought off several CyberLife security officers and police forces, exhibiting exceptional fighting prowess, while also making off with a ton of android fuel. He and his team had tried to hijack the vehicle loaded with the goods mid-route but was caught and almost apprehended. However, the thing that raised his public opinion to his favor was not just his fighting capabilities, but also how little he endangered the civilians around him. Instead, it was the government officials who had unintentionally dragged innocent people into this chaotic fight, suspecting them to be on Techno’s side. Then, not long after his growing popularity, Techno and Dream teamed up, officially marking Technoblade’s name as number one on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives list.

2. Dream

Clay, or better known as Dream, was once a star employee at CyberLife. He was actually one of the many brilliant minds that helped make CyberLife into the giant company that it is. However, Dream soon gave up his employment due to the many restrictions they had placed on his creative vigor. Instead, he pursued his own android business, taking on the name Dream for both branding purposes and to embody his own "dreams." Teaming up with fellow ex-employees, Sapnap and George, the three were an ambitious trio that were talented enough to eventually become a threat to CyberLife’s growing industry and monopoly over the android market. When Dream realized that his life was being targeted by CyberLife, even being threatened to either come back into their company or give up on his current business, he became more determined to grow his industry. This even propelled him to start designing his most prized creation, DreamXD. However, his unbending will soon began to falter. CyberLife took a different approach when they realized that Dream did not hold his life more dear than his company. They began to threaten not just his life but also the lives of his most trusted partners and friends. This finally forced Dream to worry, eventually driving his friends away. Dream knew Sapnap and George like the back of his hand. He knew that the two would stick by him, through thick and thin, so he didn’t even give them that choice. Instead, his attitude towards them got worse and worse, until they eventually cut all ties with him. That was the only way he believed he could protect them. However, Dream underestimated the effects his friends had on his mental stability. Eventually, without their presence, he became more insane from the combined pressure, stress, and loneliness. Soon, he realized that it was getting too dangerous to stay still and was forced into hiding. With little time, Dream only took the incomplete DreamXD with him and shook off those tailing him. Then, he left his most prized possession to his dear ex-partner and friend, George. Dream intentionally left DreamXD incomplete. He had created the android in his image and left him unfinished to gather experience and human emotions on his own. This was the only android in existence that had been designed not only to be a deviant, but to be a human. Even with high expectations for his own future, Dream never could shake off the feeling of death following close at his heels. DreamXD was created to be his contingency plan. In the event that Dream died before his goals were achieved, DreamXD was programmed to take over Dream’s human life, or the life of Clay. Of course, Dream knew that free will was a part of humanity. That’s why he left DreamXD with a choice. While forced into hiding by CyberLife, the company spread rumors about his capture and imprisonment. CyberLife hoped that it could lure out his loved ones, baiting Dream to come out of hiding, but they had underestimated him. They had failed to realize just how severely Dream had cut out all his friends and loved ones from his life, leaving no one behind. No one to look back for him, or so the two thought... Surprisingly, even on the run Dream was fairly rich. He had planned out many things in the event CyberLife truly carried out their threats, and hidden many resources to one day come back to. However, he could not leave the city. Not while his goal was still left unfinished. So this left him with no place to stay for long periods of time, leaving him essentially homeless. That’s when he reached out to Technoblade, whose infamy had grown exponentially. The two had similar goals and so easily agreed to a partnership. Technoblade wanted to take down the tyranny of the government, while Dream wanted to end CyberLife’s influence over the android market and quiet down his chaotic life. Since CyberLife was a large reason for the power corruption, the two found working together to be simple. Techno would help Dream by providing him a place to stay, as well as offering man power when available and needed. Dream, on the other hand, would assist with supplies and android repairs, using his expertise in androids to even upgrade their parts. However, outside of these agreements they wouldn’t get in one another's way. They would only provide assistance if their plans overlapped. The two had a good understanding of the nature of their relationship. They were neither friends nor enemies. Just partners. Nothing more, nothing less.

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Note: I'm sorry, but after writing all this over again, nearly from scratch, three times... I really can't be bothered to go back and fix anything. I know I could have done better, but I'm kind of defeated right now and a bit tired. Please understand and I really do hope you enjoyed the read! Feel free to leave a comment on what you thought of it or maybe ways to improve the story! I'm all ears (when I have free time) ^^ And thank you so much for all the likes on my previous post! I'm really happy that you all enjoyed it <3

[plannedparenthood]

Why Racism is a Public Health Issue

As health care experts, we know racism is a public health crisis. Public health is built on the principle of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. Police violence against communities of color is antithetical to that mission.

Multiple Public Health Crises

As our nation confronts the COVID-19 pandemic, the public health crisis of racism must also be addressed. COVID-19 is disproportionately ravaging the health and economic stability of the Black community. 

The country’s underinvestment in Black and Latinx communities has led to less access to health care and dramatic health care disparities. 

The effects of these disparities can be heard loud and clear amid the pandemic: Economic inequality, structural racism, and public health failures have translated to dramatically higher COVID-19 infection and death rates in the Black and Latinx communities.

Discrimination creates a barrier to health, both inside and outside the doctor’s office. The stresses of anti-Black racism, microaggressions, and discrimination take a toll on the health of Black people.

Systemic inequities that block Black people's access to basic health care are, in turn, intensified by violence inflicted under the badge of government authority.

Standing Up for Bodily Autonomy and Reproductive Freedom

Planned Parenthood fiercely values bodily autonomy. Full bodily autonomy is the ability to live without the threat of over-policing and without the fear of state-sanctioned violence or murder — and it’s the freedom to make personal decisions about your body without judgment or persecution.

Systemic Racism in Public Policies and Institutions

The policing of Black bodies in the United States extends beyond the police to all of the country's public institutions — including not only the health care system, but also laws that restrict access to sexual and reproductive health care. 

The same politicians who use racial oppression as a tool of control against Black people also push policies that take away Black people’s reproductive rights. For example, many of the states with abortion bans have higher-than-average-sized Black populations. These states also have higher rates of voter suppression, gerrymandering, stand-your-ground laws, and anti-immigration legislation. 

Bodily Autonomy for Black People

Black women have long been denied control over their own bodies — whether being raped during slavery, not having access to affordable health services, or being punished for terminating a pregnancy or making other reproductive care decisions. 

Black people deserve to live lives free of violence; and Black women can and should be able to make their own decisions about their health. State control of Black bodies makes the promise of reproductive freedom unattainable for Black people. 

Intersecting Identities

It’s also important to note that structural discrimination also targets people who are immigrants, LGBTQ+, and part of other marginalized groups — and especially those whose identities intersect. Planned Parenthood will not rest until all those who are disproportionately affected by restrictions on health care get the access they deserve.

 Lawmakers: Prioritize Public Health Approaches Over Further Investment in Policing

It’s unacceptable that Black people disproportionately suffer from state violence and killings. That’s why Planned Parenthood is committed to advocating for policies that will dismantle the system of white supremacy and oppression of communities of color — including policies to defund the police and end police violence. 

Specifically, we’re calling on public officials at all levels of government to work together to adopt four key proposals: holding police officers and departments accountable, divesting from police budgets, investing in community-based solutions, and ensuring peaceful neighborhoods.

We support calls from Movement for Black Lives and other social justice partners to defund the police. Here’s what that means: Instead of investing in police forces that brutalize Black communities, we demand that elected officials prioritize public-health approaches that strengthen Black communities. Excessive and discriminatory policing must be replaced with a model that promotes community support, connects individuals to available services, and actually creates safe and sustainable environments. 

In determining exactly how to defund the police, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Thankfully, examples of successful efforts to defund the police demonstrate what’s worked. And one thing is certain: True reform requires community participation.

Get Involved

We are working with organizations and communities to build a future where Black people have the right to live their daily lives without the fear of violence; make choices about their bodies without fear of persecution; and access sexual and reproductive health care without entrenched barriers.

Join us in calling for justice and freedom. 

Get involved in defunding the police, creating safer communities and defending Black lives. 

GO TO: M4BL.ORG

[shamandrummer]

Conflict and Unity: An I Ching Perspective

Russia's barbaric invasion of Ukraine is a nightmare turned into reality. I feel compelled to write a post about it as my personal reflection, but also as my small contribution to the joint learning process. The ancient time-tested wisdom of the I Ching could perhaps help us to understand and resolve the complex issues and conflicts that lead to violence and war. The I Ching is an ancient Chinese text and divination system which counsels appropriate action in the moment for a given set of circumstances. For 5000 years, people have turned to the I Ching to help them uncover the meaning of their experience and to bring their actions into harmony with the interests of society and the cosmos as a whole.

In the I Ching, there are several hexagrams that offer insight into war. One is Hexagram 6: Conflict, and another is Hexagram 8: Unity. Hexagram 6 describes a tense situation with a high level of contention and strife. Conflict develops when one feels himself to be in the right and runs into opposition. Escalating conflict is a no-win situation, therefore the hexagram counsels compromise and resolution. To carry on the conflict to the bitter end has exceedingly harmful effects even when one is in the right. Conflicts in which one party is not sincere inevitably lead to subterfuge and distortions. Conflicting parties can profit from the advice of a truly wise mediator. Clarification will bring about understanding and resolution. There is little chance of success without a unity of forces.

Conflict, in essence, is the absence of unity. We live in a conflicted world and very often we experience conflict ourselves. In fact, conflict is so pervasive in our polarized world that we take it for granted and deem it to be an inevitable part of life. This perspective has significant consequences; among them is the fact that by taking conflict for granted, our efforts to resolve it often fail and conflict turns into violence.

Hexagram 8 essentially describes unity as the binding force within society. It represents the idea of union between the different members and classes of a state and how it can be secured. Unity is a conscious and purposeful convergence of two or more diverse entities in a state of harmony, integration, and cooperation to create a new and evolving entity or entities. The hexagram portends that a leader with a strong and guiding personality will be the center of union. It emphasizes that joining people and things through recognizing their essential qualities is the adequate way to handle it. It counsels that those who do not seek to promote and enjoy union until it is too late will be left out in the cold. Conflict within weakens the power to conquer danger without.

Unity is the fundamental law of existence. Life takes place in the context of unity, and when the law of unity is violated, conflict and violence is the outcome. Everything that exists is the outcome of the law of unity. At the physical level, the law of unity ensures order and stability in the way subatomic particles, atoms, molecules, stars, and galaxies cohere and operate in a harmonious and integrated manner. At the biological level, the very process of formation and continuation of life is dependent on the proper operation of the law of unity. The same is true at the social level. Families are happy, healthy, and stable when unity exists between all its members. Communities prosper and are safe in the context of unity, and nations advance in every area when peace is present. At all levels of human life, unity, rather than conflict, is the fundamental operative and creative force.

[newstfionline]

Monday, April 26, 2021

California ponders slow growth future (AP) In 1962, when California’s population of more than 17 million surpassed New York’s, Gov. Pat Brown celebrated by declaring a state holiday. In the coming days, when the U.S. Census Bureau is expected to release the state’s latest head count, there probably will be no celebrations. Over the past decade, California’s average annual population growth rate slipped to 0.06%—lower than at any time since at least 1900. The state is facing the prospect of losing a U.S. House seat for the first time in its history, while political rivals Texas and Florida add more residents and political clout. The reality behind the slowed growth isn’t complicated. Experts point to three major factors: declining birth rates; a long-standing trend of fewer people moving in from other states than leaving; and a drop in international immigration, particularly from Asia, which has made up for people moving to other states. California is in the throes of a yearslong housing crisis as building fails to keep up with demand, forcing more people onto the streets and making home ownership unattainable for many. The state has the nation’s highest poverty rate when housing is taken into account. Its water resources are consistently taxed, and the state has spent more than half of the past decade in drought. Freeways are jammed as more people move to the suburbs, and worsening wildfires are destroying homes and communities.

Armenians Celebrate Biden’s Genocide Declaration as Furious Turkey Summons US Ambassador (Newsweek) Armenia celebrated President Joe Biden’s recognition of the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide on Saturday, as Turkey summoned the U.S. ambassador and strongly condemned the move. In acknowledging of the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, Biden went further than his predecessors in the White House after years of careful language on the issue. The move risks fracturing America’s relationship with Turkey, a longtime U.S. ally and NATO partner. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent Biden a letter praising his statement. Meanwhile, officials in Turkey quickly denounced Biden’s remarks and summoned the US Ambassador to Ankara. In a statement, Turkey said its foreign minister, Sedat Onal, has told ambassador David Satterfield that Biden’s remarks caused “wounds in ties that will be hard to repair.” Onal also reportedly told Satterfield that Turkey “rejected it, found it unacceptable and condemned in the strongest terms.”

Ahead of Geneva talks, Cypriots march for peace (Reuters) Thousands of Cypriots from both sides of a dividing line splitting their island marched for peace on Saturday, ahead of informal talks in Geneva next week on the future of negotiations. With some holding olive branches, people walked in the bright spring sunshine around the medieval walls circling the capital, Nicosia. The United Nations has called for informal talks of parties in the Cyprus dispute in Geneva on April 27-29, in an attempt to look for a way forward in resuming peace talks that collapsed in mid-2017. Prospects for progress appear slim, with each side sticking to their respective positions. Greek Cypriots say Cyprus should be reunited under a federal umbrella, citing relevant United Nations resolutions. The newly-elected Turkish Cypriot leader has called for a two-state resolution. Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup, though the seeds of separation were sown earlier, when a power-sharing administration crumbled in violence in 1963, just three years after independence from Britain.

World’s Biggest Covid Crisis Threatens Modi’s Grip on India (Bloomberg) As India recorded more than 234,000 new Covid-19 infections last Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an election rally in the West Bengal town of Asansol and tweeted: “I’ve never seen such huge crowds.” The second wave of the coronavirus has since grown into a tsunami. India is now the global coronavirus hotspot, setting records for the world’s highest number of daily cases. Images of hospitals overflowing with the sick and dying are flooding social media, as medical staff and the public alike make desperate appeals for oxygen supplies. The political and financial capitals of New Delhi and Mumbai are in lockdown, with only the sound of ambulance sirens punctuating the quiet, but there’s a growing chorus of blame directed at Modi over his government’s handling of the pandemic. “At this crucial time he is fighting for votes and not against Covid,” said Panchanan Maharana, a community activist from the state of Odisha, who previously supported Modi’s policies but will now look for alternative parties to back. “He is failing to deliver—he should stop talking and focus on saving people’s lives and livelihoods.” Modi is seen by many as a polarizing leader whose brand of nationalism that promotes the dominance of Hindus has appalled and enraptured the nation. Whether the pandemic will dent his appeal remains unclear.

ASEAN leaders tell Myanmar coup general to end killings (AP) Southeast Asian leaders demanded an immediate end to killings and the release of political detainees in Myanmar in an emergency summit Saturday with its top general and coup leader who, according to Malaysia’s prime minister, did not reject them outright. The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also told Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing during the two-hour talks in Jakarta that a dialogue between contending parties in Myanmar should immediately start, with the help of ASEAN envoys. Daily shootings by police and soldiers since the Feb. 1 coup have killed more than 700 mostly peaceful protesters and bystanders, according to several independent tallies. The messages conveyed to Min Aung Hlaing were unusually blunt and could be seen as a breach of the conservative 10-nation bloc’s bedrock principle forbidding member states from interfering in each other’s affairs. But Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that policy should not lead to inaction if a domestic situation “jeopardizes the peace, security, and stability of ASEAN and the wider region” and there is international clamor for resolute action.

Sunken missing Indonesian submarine found broken into pieces (Reuters) A missing Indonesian submarine has been found, broken into at least three parts, at the bottom of the Bali Sea, army and navy officials said on Sunday, as the president sent condolences to relatives of the 53 crew. Navy chief of staff Yudo Margono said the crew were not to blame for the accident and that the submarine did not experience a blackout, blaming “forces of nature”. A sonar scan on Saturday detected the submarine at 850 metres (2,790 feet), far beyond the Nanggala’s diving range.

At least 82 die in Baghdad COVID hospital fire (Reuters) A fire sparked by an oxygen tank explosion killed at least 82 people and injured 110 at a hospital in Baghdad that had been equipped to house COVID-19 patients, an Interior Ministry spokesman said on Sunday. “We urgently need to review safety measures at all hospitals to prevent such a painful incident from happening in future,” spokesman Khalid al-Muhanna told state television, announcing the toll.

Struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic, people turn to strangers online for help (Washington Post) The pandemic has been disastrous for millions of families across the United States. Roughly 8.5 million jobs have not returned since February 2020. Meanwhile, more than 564,000 people have died of the coronavirus, and 100,000 small businesses closed permanently in just the first three months of the crisis. The government has provided help, including through multiple relief packages that sent out three rounds of stimulus checks and extended unemployment benefits. But for many people it hasn’t been enough—or come quickly enough—to avoid eviction, put food on the table and cover a growing pile of monthly bills. Enter crowdfunding, which has taken off more than ever in the past year as a way to supplement income. Sites like GoFundMe, Kickstarter or even Facebook allow people and businesses to establish a cause—or set up a page laying out why they (or someone they are raising the money for) need money, and what the cash will go toward. After demand spiked last year, GoFundMe in October formalized a new category specifically for rent, food and bills. More than $100 million had been raised at that time year-to-date for basic living expenses in tens of thousands of campaigns during 2020—a 150 percent increase over 2019. But a year into the pandemic, some individual crowdfunding campaigns are reporting little success raising donations to cover basic expenses. As pandemic fatigue worsens, it’s getting hard to raise cash for basic expenses this way. Daryl Hatton, CEO and founder of FundRazr said when he browsed through the campaigns for basic expenses, most were getting little or no donations. “I saw a whole bunch of zeros,” he said. Crowdfunding still tends to work best when people have a compelling story to tell.

Older people are the one group egalitarians discriminate against (Quartz) Young people have always been critical of their elders. What’s noteworthy about the way millennials and Zoomers talk about Baby Boomers today isn’t their disdain but its particulars: They resent the older generation because they feel shortchanged, deprived of promising futures. Gen Z, for example, famously channeled their frustration with the generation they hold responsible for issues like climate change and wealth inequality into the simple, sarcastic meme “OK boomer.” Vaccines aside, these economic frustrations are grounded in reality. At the same time, younger people’s systemic objections to the distribution of wealth and power in the US can wind up curdling into ageism. A new paper, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, highlights the importance of guarding against this bias. Over 80% of Americans between the ages of 50 and 80 say they experience ageism in their everyday lives, according to a 2020 poll from the University of Michigan. “I think many people overlook ageism as a form of prejudice in American society,” says Ashley Martin, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University, who co-authored the paper with Michael North, an assistant professor at New York University. “It is often overlooked as an “ism” altogether, not only being condoned but often even promoted.” The paper identifies a surprising link between ageism and egalitarianism. The more participants in the study supported the principle of equality for all, the more likely they were to be biased against older people.

[nemesis-mess]

Challenge 3: Here for you

A / N: I just love doing this challenge, it mean a lot to me doing this and to thimg that even outside the OC is an amazing project

enjoy it!

Project title: Here for you

Description:

The problem

Rape, sexual violence and abuse are phenomena that affect women and girls in a general way; one in three has suffered it at some point in their life.

They happen every day around the world and everywhere: from university facilities to armed conflict, sexual assaults against women and girls are so many and so daily that they cannot be ignored or silenced.

It is emphasized that most sexual assaults are not committed by strangers in dark alleys, but rather that the executioner is someone the victim knows, or even a sentimental partner.

Eradicating violence against women involves obtaining consent in all situations, including in the field of marriage and long-term relationships.

Taking this into account, one of the groups that is most affected is low-income women, since rape is usually trivialized or allowed to go unpunished, giving rise to the normalization of sexual violence and the continued undervaluation of women and girls.

with limited resources.

The solution

Violence against women originates from inequality. Our work to promote global gender equality supports our efforts, which aim to bring justice to survivors and victims of sexual violence leaving the main solution in law that should prevent sexual violence and allow survivors access to justice when rape is perpetrated against them. The law and the justice system should protect all complainants in equal measure, no matter their gender, race, class, disability or any other socio-economic status it also remains in a social change, inform people and change their actions through different campaigns, inform victims of low resources of how the government would support them how to denounce and give them equal support through the legal process.

Objective:

The objective of this project is to ensure that women, especially those who do not have a solid economic stability, can be informed about the culture of rape, how to report and be heard, as well as find a way for the government to support them throughout the legal process, reduce impunity in cases of rape in illea and try to create social change through these small actions.

Execution and implementation.

Political context

advocating for strong laws and policies that protect women and girls from sexual violence;

Making sure that the justice system works, with proper investigation, prosecution, and punishment of offenders

promoting legal procedures that support survivors and prevent re-victimization

collaborating with partners to bring specific cases to national, regional and international courts in order to emphasize the universal nature of this abuse of human rights.

Social context

(This is also part of the social campaign)

Create a culture of convinced consent

Report the root causes

Redefine masculinity

Stop blaming the victims

Show zero tolerance

Delve into what the culture of rape means

Take an intersectoral approach

Know the history of the rape culture

Invest in women

Listen to the survivors

Don't laugh at the rape

Involve

End impunity

Be an active witness

Educating the next generation

Start or join the conversation

Timeline and Plan

July 5 to July 19, 2090

The project is presented to the illea government

January 1, 2091

The social project to support victims in the legal and political context against rape begins to be implemented directly with women from castes 5 and 6, while women belonging to castes 7 and 8 are gradually being introduced to a information process and analysis of their situations.

June 1, 2091

Social awareness campaigns begin in the southern provinces

Panama

Dominica

Honduragua

Paloma

Sanage

Zuni

Summer

Midston

Clermont

August 1, 2091

By this date the project continues to be developed in caste women 5 and 6, legal processes must be in the midst of its development.

November 1, 2091

After analyzing the results and statistics of the impact generated by the campaigns in June, the campaigns began in more provinces.

Carolina

Allens

Kent

Jack

Dakota

Belcourt

Likely

Angels

Femnley

January 1, 2092

The results of the legal processes carried out with caste 5 and 6 women are beginning to be seen, and the same legal and social support is being implemented for caste 7 women who join the project. Caste 8 women continue in processes of analysis in order to carry out a more effective process with them.

June 1, 2092

Social campaigns continue, their study continues to define the change and social impact they generate and spread throughout more provinces such as

Labrador

Lakedon

Hudson

Denbeigh

Calgary

Columbia

August 1, 2092

By this date, all the legal processes carried out with the first groups of women of castes 5 and 6 must have ended, a careful analysis of their effectiveness is generated, the support and intervention of the government in this, the process of the victims and their evolution throughout all this time, finally how the verdict affects his mental health, social integrity and how the project impacts all this.

November 1, 2092

social awareness campaigns become national in nature and all provinces have them and the processes with the first groups of caste women 7 are almost finished

February 1, 2093

The legal processes with caste 7 women are finalized, as happened with caste 5 and 6, these will be analyzed and the same information required with castes 5 and 6 will be obtained. Caste 8 women are implemented in the project

July 1, 2093

Emphasis is beginning to be placed on victims not only of low resources but also of minors from low castes who are victims of rape.

October 1, 2093

With the information obtained in the previous investigations, legal processes and government aid to rape victims of limited resources begin to improve.

February 1, 2094

The legal processes that began with the women's tasting groups 8 are terminated, completely including all women since caste 5 spends caste 8 in the project to support and help rape victims of low-income women and the investigation is terminated.

March 1, 2095

The best-known support organization for victims of rape (known as the OFVOR) is officially inaugurated as the one that aims to continue the project Here for you and help women of all castes, races and ages, seeking a goal of a continental size.

[crimethinc]

What Is Burning the Amazon? A Plea from Brazilian Anarchists

As the fires in the Amazon rainforest continue to burn, our comrades in Brazil have sent us this analysis of the causes of the catastrophe and how it should inform our vision of the future.

“I worry about whether the whites will resist. We have been resisting for 500 years.”

—Ailton Krenak

Living Dystopia

The scene is gloomy. On August 19, 2019, smoke covers cities across the state of São Paulo, turning day into night at 3 pm. The previous day, in Iceland, people organized the first funeral, complete with a gravestone and a minute of silence, for a glacier declared dead. The smoke that engulfed São Paulo is caused by forest fires in the Amazon Forest far away in the North of Brazil; the glacier has disappeared due to rising temperatures related to the carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere.

Chief of the Tenharim people of southern Amazonas fighting wildfire.

These tragic scenes—almost picturesque, almost absurd—could sound comical if they weren’t real. They are so extreme that they remind us of fictional scenarios such as those described in the novel And Still the Earth, a Brazilian environmental dystopia by Ignácio de Loyloa Brandão. Written in the 1970s during the military dictatorship in Brazil, the book describes a fictitious dictatorial regime known as “Civiltar,” which celebrates cutting down the last tree in the Amazon with a jingoistic declaration that it has created “a desert greater than that of the Sahara.” In this story, all the Brazilian rivers are dead; jugs of water from each of the extinct rivers are displayed in a hydrographic museum. Aluminum can dunes and highways permanently blocked by the shells of abandoned cars are the backdrop of São Paulo. The city itself suffers from sudden heat pockets capable of killing any unsuspecting person; mysterious diseases consume the citizens, especially the homeless.

The author claims that he was inspired by real events that seemed absurd and unusual at the time. Today, these are becoming ever more ordinary.

News of the increased burning of the Amazon has sent shockwaves around the world. Burns rose 82% in 2019 over the same period last year in Brazil, according to the National Institute for Space Research, and new outbreaks of fire are still being reported as we write. The catastrophic images of destruction have fueled the indignation of people around the world who are concerned about the future of life on earth, seeing how important the Amazon rainforest is for climate regulation and global biodiversity. Images of the fires compelled French President Emmanuel Macron to bring the subject to the G7 summit and to exchange barbs with President Jair Bolsonaro in the media after France offered millions of dollars in funds to fight forest fires.

Protest against deforestation in the Amazon, in São Paulo, August 23, 2019.

Since the end of 2018, half a billion bees have been found dead in four Brazilian states. The death of these insects that are essential to fertilizing 75% of the vegetables we eat is linked to the use of pesticides banned in Europe but permitted in Brazil. In August 2019, the court dismissed the charges against a farmer who used pesticides thrown from a plane as a chemical weapon against Guyra Kambi’y indigenous community in Mato Grosso do Sul in 2015. The same month, groups of farmers, “land grabbers” [people who falsify documents in order to obtain ownership of land], union members, and traders used a Whatsapp group to coordinate setting fires in the municipality of Altamira, Pará, the epicenter of fires consuming the Amazon rainforest. As reported in Folha do Progresso, the “day of the fire” was organized by people encouraged by the words of Jair Bolsonaro: “The goal, according to one of the leaders speaking anonymously, is to show the president that they want to work.”

The recent wave of fires linking President Jair Bolsonaro’s policies to attacks against forests, peasant farmers, and indigenous peoples is an intensification of a process as old as the colonization of the Americas. While the Workers’ Party (PT) was still in power, many projects were introduced to expand and accelerate growth, including the construction of the Belo Monte plant, which displaced and impacted indigenous communities and thousands of other people living in the countryside. The approval of the Forest Code in 2012 enabled farmers to advance over indigenous territories and nature reserves with impunity, while suspending the demarcation of new protected lands.

Both left and right governments see nature and human life chiefly as resources with which to produce commodities and profit. The government of Bolsonaro, a declared enemy of the common people, women, and indigenous groups, doesn’t just threaten us with the physical violence of police repression. In declaring that he will no longer recognize any indigenous land, Bolsonaro is intensifying a war on the ecosystems that make human life possible—a war that long precedes him.

A 500-Year-Running Disaster

For centuries, we have struggled to survive the greatest disaster of our time, a disaster that threatens the sustainability of all the biomes and communities on this planet. Its name is capitalism—the cruelest, most inequitable, and destructive economic system in history. This threat is not the result of the inevitable forces of nature. Humans created it and humans can eliminate it.

Anarchists in Sao Paulo on August 23, 2019 protesting against the government and against the deforestation of the Amazon: “Burn fascists, not forests!”

In Brazil, we have witnessed firsthand how this system exploits people, promotes genocide, and degrades and pollutes the earth, water, and air. Even if we ultimately manage to abolish it, we will still have to survive the consequences of letting it go on for so long. The destruction of entire ecosystems, the poisons in rivers and in our own bodies, the species that have gone extinct, the glaciers that have disappeared, the forests that have been cut down and paved over—these consequences will remain for many years to come. In the future, we will have to survive by gathering what we need from the ruins and waste that this system has left in its wake. All the material that has been torn from the ground to be strewn across the earth’s surface and dumped into the seas will not return overnight to the depths it came from.

Recognizing this should inform how we envision our revolutionary prospects. It is foolish to imagine that the abolition of capitalism will expand that the consumer activities that are currently available to the global bourgeoisie to the entire human population; we must stop fantasizing about a regulated post-capitalist world with infinite resources to generate the sort of commodities that capitalist propaganda has led us to desire. Rather, we will have to experiment in ways to share the self-management of our lives amid the recovery of our biomes, our relationships, and our bodies after centuries of aggression and exploitation—organizing life in regions that have become hostile to it.

The ways we organize our resistance today should be informed by the fact that our revolutionary experiments will not be taking place in a world of peace, stability, and balance. We will be struggling to survive in the midst of the consequences of centuries of pollution and environmental degradation. The best-case scenario for the future will look like the situation in Kobanê in 2015: a victorious revolution in a bombed-out city full of mines.

Last stand: neither utopias nor dystopias—revolution!

So What Is Burning the Amazon?

There is a consensus among scientific researchers, government institutions, social movements, and rural and urban peoples regarding the impacts and risks of global warming and increasing industrialization and urbanization. Some of these consequences are about to become irreversible. The deforestation of the Amazon itself may become irreparable if it reaches 40% of its total area.

It has never worked to demand that governments solve these problems for us—and it never will. This is especially foolish when we are talking about the environmental disasters caused by their own policies. Land seizures and the deforestation of the Amazon are inextricably interlinked with the organized criminal enterprises that smuggle and kill in the countryside. Fully 90% of the timber harvested is contraband supported by a vast apparatus of illegal capitalism involving armed militias and the state itself.

Populist leaders like Bolsonaro aim to benefit from the unfolding ecological catastrophe at the same time that they deny it is occurring. On the one hand, they claim that there is no need for action to curb global warming—alongside Trump, Bosonaro was the only other leader who threatened to abandon the Paris Agreement, claiming that global warming is a “fable for environmentalists.” This helps to mobilize the far-right base, which admires and celebrates outright dishonesty as a demonstration of political power. On the other hand, as the consequences of climate chaos and environmental imbalances become obvious undeniable facts, these leaders will opportunistically take advantage of environmental crises, product shortages, refugee migrations, and climate disasters such as hurricanes as pretexts to accelerate the implementation of ever more authoritarian measures in the fields of health, transportation and security. Using authoritarian and militarized means to determine who can have access to the resources they need to survive in a context of widespread scarcity is what many theorists have called ecofascism.

The intervention of foreign states in the Amazon forests according to their own economic interests is simply the continuation of the colonialism that began in 1492. No government will solve the problem of fires and deforestation. At best, they might slow the impact of the exploitation they have always engaged in. Neoliberal capitalism demands endless growth, mandating the transformation of forests and soil into competitive consumer goods on the global market.

So what is burning the Amazon—and the entire planet? The answer is clear: the pursuit of land, profit (legal or not), and private property. None of this will be changed by any elected or imposed government. The only truly environmental perspective is a revolutionary perspective seeking the end of capitalism and the state itself.

Mundurukus warriors without state support set out for direct action to expel loggers from the Sawré Mybu Indigenous Land in Pará.

Exercising Our Ability to Imagine

The dystopian images of And Still the Earth and George Orwell’s novel 1984 were intended as warnings: exaggerated projections of the worst that can happen if we fail to change the course of history. Today, with cameras around every corner and our own TVs and cell phones carrying out surveillance on us, it is as if these dystopian novels are being used as a handbook for governments and corporations to bring our worst nightmares into reality.

Dystopias are warnings; but utopias, by definition, represent places that do not exist. We need other places, places that are possible. We need to be able to imagine a different world—and to imagine ourselves, our desires, and our relationships being different as well.

We should use the creativity that enables us to picture zombie apocalypses and other literary or cinematic calamities to imagine a reality beyond capitalism right now and begin building it. Today, as reality surpasses fiction, our activities are largely characterized by disbelief and passivity. But you cannot be neutral on a moving train—especially not one that is accelerating on a track into the abyss. Crossing your arms is complicity. Likewise, acting individually is insufficient because it maintains the logic that has brought us here.

We have to rediscover revolutionary reference points for self-organized and egalitarian collective life. We need to share examples of real societies that have resisted the state and capitalism, such as the anarchist experiments during the Russian and Ukrainian Revolutions of 1917 and the Spanish Revolution of 1936. We should remember, also, that all of these were ultimately betrayed and crushed by, or with the connivance of, the Bolshevik Party and the Stalinist dictatorship that followed it, which carried out unprecedented industrialization and the mass displacement of agrarian peoples. This illustrates why it is so important to develop a way of imagining that does not simply replicate the visions of capitalist industrialism.

We can also look to contemporary examples like the Zapatista Uprising in Mexico since 1994 and the ongoing revolution in Rojava in northern Syria. But in addition to the examples offered by anarchists or influenced by anarchist principles, we should learn from the many the indigenous nations around us: Guaranis, Mundurukus, Tapajós, Krenaks, and many others who have ceaselessly resisted European and capitalist colonial expansion for five centuries. They are all living examples from whom anarchists can learn about life, organization, and resistance without and against the state.

If there is any fundamental basis for solidarity in response to the attack on the foundation of all life in the Amazon, it is the potential that we can build connections between the social movements, the poor, and excluded of the world and the indigenous and peasant peoples of all Latin America. To put a halt to the deforestation underway in the Amazon and countless similar forms of destruction that are taking place across the planet, we must nourish grassroots movements that reject the neoliberal resource management of soil, forests, waters, and people.

For a solidarity between all peoples and exploited classes, not between paternalism and the colonialism of governments! The only way to address the environmental crisis and global climate change is to abolish capitalism!

Another end of the world is possible!