#Global Pageantry

[loriache]

You know, I could see a real advantage in the knowledge rin and potentially kabru have of flamela. Because I actually wish I had put this in my World Map Notes but Heimeya is in her mid 300s and elves only live to about 500 - the Northern Central Continent is coming up on a regime change and with Flamela's twin dead, she's the most likely heir. And she no longer has pressing military duties to use to keep away from the role, with the canaries no longer nearly as urgent (and thus prestigious). Rin knows Flamela from when she was taken by her unit of canaries, though I have no idea how much that knowledge amounts to. I'd imagine Kabru is definitely aware of her circumstances at least- that's prime elven noble gossip and he grew up at least adjacent to both those circles and the canaries, who she is an important member of. They might not be quite young enough to be around still when the regime change happens, but theyll certainly want to prime their successor for what to expect. Personally I'd be nervous. - I like Flamela, she's cool, but she's an elven noble who displays the usual prejudices for her position, treated rin like seized livestock, and has attained most accolades and spent most of her life in military service. It's most logical to want to secure her throne by reestablishing their global influence and reclaiming lost territory. If they are lucky then her close proximity to the near end of the world that laios averted will earn some caution/respect for melini, but it will depend whether that extends to his successor- that's why I think the most effective choice would be to pretend to have more control over the monster effect, and maintain the fiction that it's inherited and so the throne can't be seized from laios' heirs. Either that or attach a choice of successors with some pageantry to pretend to be passing the effects on, but that's going to be less convincing to people who are used to direct blood inheritance of the mandate to rule, and especially to elves who know more about how magic works.

[ausetkmt]

This is what white supremacy looks like in 2022

The signs in the image above hung over the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, a typically liberal and progressive city. It sent shockwaves through the country as yet another reminder that white supremacy is alive and well in pockets of the country. But it’s also a reminder to me that “white supremacy,” as an ideology, has a much longer and more complex history than the blatantly racist pageantry of hate groups would suggest.

What is white supremacy?

White supremacy is a term that tends to offend people’s sensibilities much more immediately than the word racism. That’s because white supremacy today presents itself to the American consciousness in offensive, alienating forms. The KKK, hate crimes, neo-Nazis, and now the Goyim Defense League in the photo above—these are the proud examples of white supremacy in the 20th and 21st centuries. Most people condemn them unequivocally, and they have become a sort of sinister “other,” against which non-racist people may define themselves.

The truth is, white supremacy has a much longer, much uglier history than contemporary white supremacists would suggest. As a pseudoscientific theory of race, a justification for worldwide colonialism and imperialism, and eventually an explicit call to mass genocide, white supremacy has been responsible for some of the most heinous crimes against humanity in modern history.

As a result, it leaves behind an ugly legacy that stretches across much of our society, including law, politics, economic policy, education, arts and culture, and even language. White supremacists may have diminished in number, but the historical effects of white supremacy have a much longer tail.

The origins of white supremacy

At its theoretical core, white supremacy refers to the belief that white people naturally constitute a superior race, and therefore deserve a privileged, dominant position in society. This dominance is always to the detriment of other races—historically, people of color and Jewish people, in particular. It is also typically justified by historical or pseudoscientific arguments about white people’s biological, intellectual, and even spiritual superiority, all of which we now understand to be rooted in blatantly racist stereotypes.

For centuries, pseudoscientific racism made all sorts of claims about Black bodies: that our blood was thicker, feet flatter, skulls smaller, muscles bigger, senses keener. And from the earliest days of the slave trade, these arguments  were crucial to justifying the barbaric treatment of the enslaved. Black Africans had to be dehumanized in order to justify their enslavement and torture. The physical “animalization” of Black bodies in Western culture was predicated on a belief that white bodies and brains were the standard measurefor humanity.

This racial hierarchy—before “race” was even a clear social or “biological” concept—was the seed of modern white supremacy. As Europeans and Americans became more advanced scientifically, another facet of white supremacist theory became entrenched in their psyche: intellectual superiority.

Ideas around the superiority of white people were prominently accepted in Western culture for at least 200 years, from their crystallization in the Enlightenment up to the advent of desegregation and decolonization in the 1950s. They had a massive impact on the structure of modern Western society and globalization for the entirety of that period.

The cultural ubiquity of white supremacy

White supremacy has been ideologically, visually, linguistically, and legally baked into Western society—including the many colonial regimes around the world propped up by European and American powers—for hundreds of years. But in the bygone eras of explicit, ubiquitous white supremacy, nobody referred to it as such. The constellation of beliefs and theories about white racial superiority were simply part and parcel of globalizing, imperialist Euro-American societies. Even once “white supremacy” became the go-to designation for hate groups and egregiously explicit declarations of “white superiority” (e.g. the KKK, neo-Nazis), the phrase adapted to survive. It has since morphed into new slogans and movements over time, from “White Power” in the 1950s to, less overtly, Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign.

Through it all, white supremacist ideas have been defended as natural, scientific, and moral. Even people who have not associated themselves with hate groups or white supremacist violence have often supported white supremacist ideas. One example is the advent of intelligence testing in the 20th century (e.g. IQ tests), which was used to assess intelligence across large samples of national populations. In their early history, these tests were used to justify the idea that white people from the global North were intellectually superior to people of color. Even though IQ tests have been debunked as an incomplete method of assessing intelligence, Dylann Roof tried to  justify his shooting at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, by claiming that Black people have lower IQs.

Society changes, but ideas take a long time to die.

White supremacy today

The history of white supremacy runs long and deep. And even though the ideas behind it are no longer socially acceptable, it still guides racially biased thinking in almost every field of human experience. The strength of its influence on earlier periods in history is reflected in the ubiquity of its legacy today.

It’s worth sharing some of these examples to appreciate the slow-burn effect that white supremacy continues to exert.

Cultural white supremacy

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the cultural white supremacy implicit in the backlash against a Black actress playing the live-action Little Mermaid in 2023: Halle Bailey. To me this is a subtle example of white supremacist gatekeeping when it comes to arts and culture. Even fictional characters have to adhere to our very real sense of racial hierarchy. But in this domain, you could also think about our Eurocentric approach to history, literature, and art in schools and museums, which inevitably privilege Western art. Even tokenism—the practice of symbolically adding characters of color into works of art as a superficial nod to racial equality—could be viewed as an aftereffect of white supremacy.

I’ve also written about cultural appropriation in the past—to me, the practice of borrowing or stealing from other cultures’ artistic output for profit is a perfect example of white supremacist imperialism still in action. Western (and particularly American) culture remains globally dominant: to assimilate other cultures into its systems of power without due credit or profit-sharing is a practice steeped in white supremacist ideology.

The economics of white supremacy

As an ideology that privileges whiteness and white people’s well-being, white supremacy has also had economic effects on our society. The old practice of “redlining” is a classic example: Mortgage lenders used to (literally) outline African American neighborhoods in red and mark them as higher risk. These neighborhoods did not receive comparable benefits from the various housing and mortgage programs of the New Deal in the 1930s. As a result, Black neighborhoods stayed Black, relatively poor, and unable to access good credit. Discriminatory lending of this kind was one of the major issues addressed by Civil Rights legislation in the 1960s, and it originates in a white supremacist logic of economic exclusion.

I myself have experienced this as a Black founder; just this past quarter, Black founders received a paltry $187 million in funding (0.43% of the $43 billion deployed in Q3 2022). There are many reasons behind this kind of inequity, but most of them are rooted in disparities of access to capital, education, wealth, and entrepreneurship—most of which trace their roots back to white supremacist ideas as well. Perhaps the most significant of these is the continued wealth and income inequality between Black and white people, which has barely changed since the 1950s, when white supremacy supposedly came to an end.

White supremacy in politics and law

From a legal perspective, white supremacy was coded into Jim Crow laws almost as soon as the Civil War ended. These laws created a different America for Black people, in which it was far easier to be criminalized and much harder to gain wealth or access education. Segregation ended formally with the legal victories of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, but it continues in schools and housing up to the present day in more covert forms. The idea that Black and white people cannot share space is obviously a direct corollary of the white supremacist belief that white people are superior.

Politically, white supremacy has shown up more, and more overtly, since the growth of the Tea Party and its conversion into Trump’s presidential base of support. “Make America Great Again” is only the most memorable example. Trump calling COVID-19 the “Chinese” virus was equally white supremacist—not just because it’s a racist taunt, but because it designates Covid-19 as the creation of a foreign, hostile power rather than a globally shared public health crisis. The implication, of course, is that America—white America—was blameless in its response to COVID-19; all culpability lies with the unknown, but probably malicious, Chinese “Other.”

As you can see, white supremacy influences our society in all sorts of ways. It is deeply connected to the forms of racism that survive today. The KKK is no longer allowed to march freely in Washington, D.C., (as they did in the 1920s), but the ideas that underpin their ideology have long worked their toxicity into our economic, intellectual, and social systems.

It would probably take a lot for me to call someone a “white supremacist” outright, but it’s important we understand the origins of this ideology and the profundity of its impact on Western society. Visual and linguistic symbols of white supremacy still survive—think Confederate/Dixie flags, swastikas, the N-word, racist humor, disdain for African American vernacular, or even personal professions of “colorblindness.” These are all remnants of the historical privileging of whiteness, which literally reigned supreme in Europe and America for over 200 years.

Today, we have to recognize the many forms white supremacy and its legacy can take. We have a responsibility to call it out when we see it. We have to remain sensitive to its often subliminal effect on our own behavior and biases—whether that’s stepping up at work to defend equitable hiring practices, or calling out a friend who makes a racist joke, or ensuring racist candidates don’t make it into office.

White supremacy is the unfortunate bequest our ancestors left us—it’s up to all of us to tear it apart.

[glass-needles-and-futurisms]

I keep thinking back to Muse playing Survival at the closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, and I keep saying that one of these days I'm just gonna spew all my feelings about how it's not just one of my all-time favorite Muse moments, but also a hilarious, if perhaps unintentional, moment of social commentary.

I still remember our postgrad professor showing those same closing ceremonies in class, explaining the not-so-subtle propagandistic purpose the entire spectacle served on the global stage. (For those who don't know, the 2012 Olympics closing ceremonies were essentially a three-hour star-studded tribute to UK music and pop culture.)

Picture this: you just sat through about two hours of the UK's various national exports - One Direction, the Spice Girls, the Pet Shop Boys, George Michael, Ed Sheeran, Annie Lennox, erm, Russell Brand. You've just seen live performances of Bohemian Rhapsody, Imagine, Wonderwall, and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, alongside tributes to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury. And you still have Queen, Take That and The Who to go after this.

Interestingly, that class glossed over what an afterthought the Muse performance felt like by comparison. You could argue a lot of extenuating circumstances: the controversial reception of Survival as the official London Olympics theme song, the infamous NBC debacle where it inadvertently got cut from the US broadcast of the ceremonies, or the simple fact that this far into the festivities, a fairly straightforward stage performance* by a band with slightly less name recognition than Coldplay was pretty underwhelming.

* Not sure if this is common knowledge, but apparently this performance was mostly playback with the exception of Matt's vocals. Which also makes this an underappreciated entry in the annals of Muse miming shenanigans.

But something becomes very apparent once you actually reach this part of the show: Survival is fucking bananas. I'll never forget that one internet commenter calling it the world's most epic villain song that doesn't know it's a villain song. I mean, just look at the lyrics:

Life's a race / and I am gonna win

And I'll light the fuse / and I'll never lose

And I choose to survive / whatever it takes

You won't pull ahead / I'll keep up the pace

And I'll reveal my strength / to the whole human race

This is how the song starts! You can sort of see the logic behind making it the Olympics theme song. And then it gets weirder from there:

Yes, I am prepared / to stay alive

I won't forgive / the vengeance is mine

And I won't give in / because I choose to thrive

Yeah, I'm gonna wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin

Good grief. No wonder it's called "Survival". The song makes slightly more sense in the thematic context of The 2nd Law, the album it was released on. But on its own it's just.... yeah.

And this performance ramps up the insanity even more by just taking the piss. Between Matt Bellamy peacocking in a sparkly suit and Union Jack t-shirt, the batshit guitar solo, the pyro, the backing choir, and the fact that everything onstage (including the grand piano) is pretty much just for show (and wobbling like mad), Survival feels cheesy and irreverent in a way that makes you suddenly hyper-conscious of how tightly orchestrated everything else you just saw (including the Monty Python and Mr. Bean stuff) was. Remember that this was all broadcast to an international audience of millions.

Pairing the sheer pageantry of the ceremonies thus far with the actual lyrics of Survival kinda puts everything in an uncomfortable new light. Then it dawns on you that you pretty much just watched an accidental three-hour love letter to British imperialism. (Okay maybe that's overselling it a bit but it's still pretty funny.)

[animefeminist]

Immaturity and Impunity: Performative Masculinity in Baki the Grappler

Content warning: discussion of domestic violence, sexual assault, drug use, and toxic masculinity

Spoilers for Baki Hanma

Although Baki the Grappler is over thirty years old, the franchise has seen a global resurgence thanks to a fresh take as an ONA series hosted on Netflix. This was my gateway into the wider world of Baki, a charmingly ridiculous realm that, previously, I had only glimpsed through DVD ads, internet memes, and the occasional offhand recommendation if I were ever in the mood for something mindlessly violent (which, for what it’s worth, I’m usually not). But despite its enthusiastic embrace of playful exaggeration and dramatic pageantry, Baki the Grappler shouldn’t be written off as mind-numbing entertainment for the masses. A critical analysis of Baki as contemporary anime, and a part of pop culture more broadly speaking, can help us all better understand how performative masculinity functions—and why it is so potentially dangerous.

 Itagaki’s long-running manga series has been adapted numerous times. These releases have taken many different forms, including an OVA, a television series, and various video games. For my purposes, I’m focusing on Baki (2018–2020) and its continuation Baki Hanma (2021–2023) in order to analyze depictions of masculinity in Itagaki’s original work while contextualizing them within current sociopolitical climates. 

By way of a rocky relationship between an unrelenting father and an indomitable son, Baki posits that, unfortunately, we live in a world where might often does make right, be it morally, politically, or legally defined. When such culturally defined notions combine with socially enforced concepts of manliness, the results can be as problematic as they are potent. As much as I thoroughly enjoy TMS Entertainment’s animated rendition of Itagaki’s creation, I recognize how it can perpetuate harmful stereotypes, hurtful habits, and generally unhealthful lifestyles while also promoting discipline, perseverance, and self-reliance in equal measure.

Read it at Anime Feminist!

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Indigenous women are showing us how to fight for environmental and human rights

During a recent trip to Brazil, I saw how Indigenous women activists there have completely changed the political landscape

I was invited to the third Indigenous Women’s March in Brasília, the capital of Brazil, earlier this month. The last occupation of Brazil’s legislature was in January 2022, when a group of rightwing thugs, imitating the January 6 riot in the US, attempted to kill Brazilian democracy. This was the exact opposite.

Five hundred Indigenous women from across Brazil occupied the Congress – not with guns or knives or anger, but with the strength and truth of their words, the intensity of their knowing, with their headdresses, feathers and beaded primordial designs calling us to the earth, to know the earth, to protect and respect the biomes and honor Indigenous women’s rights to their lands.

There, in a space dominated by conservative white men in suits, deep in the business of mining, timber, agro-business and evangelizing – Indigenous women, once only a few, pepper-sprayed and excluded – now had their sisters as they walked through the front door with a sense of belonging, pride, pageantry and urgency. They opened with their version of the national anthem, sung by Djuena Tikuna in her Indigenous language. Those who suffered the “violence of absence” for years were suddenly undeniably present.

It hasn’t even been a year since two Indigenous leaders, Sônia Guajajara and Célia Xakriabá, were elected to Congress in Brazil. (Guajajara was later appointed minister of Indigenous peoples.) In their very short time in power – through brilliant organizing to claim demarcation of Indigenous lands, unapologetic assertion of their Indigenous culture, and mobilizing thousands of Indigenous women throughout the country, they have already shifted the policies and political landscape of Brazil.

Guajajara told me, “Many people are saying that Brasília is now breathing new air, that you can already see many cocares [headdresses] and wraps of black women within government spaces on the streets of Brasília, and we are present in all environments. So, it is certainly not just a physical presence, but also a different energy that we bring to this place, which is the energy of ancestral strength.”

What I experienced during my recent time in Brazil was nothing less than a radical re-imagining of the country’s future, but it also felt like the beginning of what many Indigenous women there are calling for – a much broader and more global agenda, a “reforesting” of politics and the mind. Before I had not been terribly hopeful; I am now.

Here are four reasons why.

Continue reading.

[pumpacti0n]

putting aside the fact that the united states has interfered with more elections than any other nation that has ever existed, it's also odd to insist that the only logical reasons one would have to become disillusioned with the cyclical nature of electoral theater or the united states empire itself, is because of the influence of some foreign-created bots and not, say, living with the misery caused by the policies that the state itself imposes.

the people we're talking about here are subjected to all sorts of violations, from militarized police preventing access to goods and basic services, the disastrous effects of climate change, the constant turbulence of the economy making life unaffordable, the omnipresent stigmatization and scapegoating of homeless populations, sex workers, immigrants and felons (particularly those of color) for "crime", and so on...

...but it isn't because all of these things have been directly caused by or gone ignored by politicians and their corporate puppet masters, and that people are smart enough to realize that this flow of power from the top down won't change simply because we vote once every 4 years, oh no. it's simply the result of some shadowy hacker infecting the minds of impressionable people with anti-american propaganda with memes to weaken our patriotic resolve. they've broken through the conditioning we've experienced through at birth and surrounds us constantly by posting in the comments of a facebook post or tiktok where everyone goes for their political education.

we shouldn't be ignorant to the fact that world powers do indeed regularly struggle for supremacy on the world stage and have been known to engage in highly secretive, elaborate plots to topple each other, so this much is obviously true. however, the assertion that every criticism or conflict of interest and values can be reduced to being the product of outside agitation, that the people making a fuss have all had their brains washed is absurd and disgustingly offensive if not evidence of motives equally as shady as that of the alleged infiltrators themselves. it's likewise totally dismissive of the historical work of radicals globally to build a revolutionary anti-authoritarian anti-imperialist consciousness and inspire action on that front.

in addition to competition, world powers also frequently collaborate as well in the form of trade, so they have a good reason to hesitate to do anything that would permanently disrupt the flow of capital much less endanger their very existence unless there's some kind of achievable goal worth the risks. the ruling classes of these nations are not self-destructive fools despite the pageantry and flair -- they are businessmen seeking to preserve their power and impose social relations understood as essential to making this process easy for them.

so, that might entail interfering with elections in various ways but it also entails making sure not too much is disrupted overall -- riots, mass liberatory movements and strikes are all bad for business.

if these bots were really so invested in the fall of the american empire then we'd have to contend with the fact that the logical conclusion of this concept would apply to not only this empire, but all of them, globally -- since it would be pointless to criticize the destructive nature of one nation while leaving the rest untouched as if they didn't/don't engage in similar activities or play a role in enabling it.

the double standard couldn't be more apparent. fear about an invisible enemy lurking in the dark corners of the internet attacking "us" through misinformation and bad vibes when this entire "democratic" system's existence was founded by lies, its leaders engaging in underhanded trickery and plunder on a grand scale, yet when its them and their supporters who become the targets, they cry wolf and start accusing everyone with something less than positive to say as being a secret spy for the kremlin, or something. fuck off with that.

[celebrity-styleinfluence]

LANCE RAYMUNDO BECOMES FIRST FILIPINO TO HOST MISS UNIVERSE INDIA | CAPTIVATES MILLIONS WITH CHARM AND STYLE

Rhea Singha| MISS UNIVERSE INDIA 2024

Rhea Singha| MISS UNIVERSE INDIA 2024MISS UNIVERSE INDIA 2024  CORONATION NIGHTwas held at Zee Studios in Jaipur, a spectacular showcase of talent, beauty, & empowerment.  Among 51 finalists, Rhea Singha, a 19-year-old model from Gujarat, claimed the prestigious title of Miss Universe India 2024.  Her charm, intelligence, and advocacy for social change, through her initiative Work Ready with Rhea, helped her secure the crown. 

She will now represent India at the Miss Universe 2024 competition in Mexico on November 16, 2024.                                     

RHEA SINGHA | MISS UNIVERSE INDIA 2024 & LANCE RAYMUNDO

ONE of the most notable aspects of the event was the historic debut of Filipino actor and celebrity host Lance Raymundo, who became the first Filipino to co-host the Miss Universe India pageant. Lance, known for his magnetic stage presence and deep experience in the entertainment industry, brought an international flair to the night. His seamless hosting skills, confidence, and charisma left a lasting impression on the audience. Lance’s presence at such a prestigious event marks an important moment in global pageantry, reflecting the growing inclusivity and cross-cultural connections in beauty competitions.

Ngo Ngoc Gia Han from Vietnam who won | Miss Teen International 2022, co-hosted the event alongside Lance. Her grace and poise perfectly complemented Lance's energy, making them a dynamic duo on stage. Together, they created an electric atmosphere, guiding the evening’s events with professionalism and style. 

Adding to the glamour of the night was Urvashi Rautela, the only person in Indian history to win Miss Universe India twice. As a member of the jury, Urvashi, alongside Nikhil Anand, founder and chairman of the Glamanand Group, crowned the new queen, Rhea Singha. Under Anand's leadership, the Glamanand Group has redefined Indian pageantry by promoting diversity and empowerment, and this year's competition reflected that commitment.

URVASHI RAUTEL

NIKHIL ANAND

This grand event, broadcast live on YouTube, reached millions of viewers worldwide. With Rhea’s crowning and Lance’s remarkable debut as a host, the spotlight now turns to Miss Universe 2024, where India will shine on the global stage.

[adrl-pt]

Inauguration of a Dictator and Remembrance of Aggression Victims

You're tuned into our special broadcast from the weekly rally at the Russian Embassy in Lisbon. Today is May 4, 2:30 PM.

This coming May 7 marks yet another inauguration of the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Under Putin’s regime, Russia has morphed into a de facto dictatorship, where fascist-style propaganda has cultivated a disturbing cult of personality. The regime's commitment to neo-imperialist ideologies has turned the concept of the “Russian World” into a tool for inciting wars. It’s declared a war on its own people, forcibly Russifying indigenous groups within Russia. Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church has escalated this rhetoric, branding the conflict against Ukraine and what he calls the “satanic” West a “holy war of all Russians,” with countries like Belarus, Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela echoing this aggressive stance. These alarming developments were highlighted in PACE resolution No. 2540, adopted on April 17, 2024. https://pace.coe.int/en/files/33511/html

On the day of Putin's inauguration, activists from the global community Free Russians Global will hold a rally at The Hague, near the building of the International Court of Justice. Named PutInJail: Prison, not Kremlin, this event calls for justice, not pageantry. The rally is scheduled for 12:00 and you can learn more about this event at this link. https://www.facebook.com/events/1437417300212871/

Even if you cannot join in person, you can still support this cause from afar. Take a photo with relevant posters, share it on social media with the hashtag #PutInJail, and send it directly to the organizers via their dedicated Telegram bot at this link. https://t.me/send_protest_photo_bot

Just this May 2, the channel “To be honest” released a video where concerned Russian citizens from various cities gathered at the President's reception office. They submitted what they claim are thousands of signatures calling for the president's impeachment. A Google form linked in their video allows more signatures to be gathered, accessible here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l06JihgB0hU

Looking ahead to May 12, at noon in Madrid, the Association of Free Russians of Spain together with the Anti-War Committee will hold an international march in memory of the victims of military aggression and political repression. This event coincides with the anniversary of the end of World War II, a victory whose credit the Putin regime has controversially claimed. The march also protests against the ideology of victory fanaticism and fascist symbols, highlighting how citizens from numerous countries become hostages to authoritarian regimes, with freedom fighters often falling victim to these oppressive rulers. Details of the march can be found here. https://www.facebook.com/events/s/marcha-internacional-por-las-v/964566638650917/

On May 8 and 9, the Russian association Demokrati-JA will gather in Berlin's Treptower Park to emphasize the fragility of the free and safe world Europeans currently enjoy, untouched by bombs and shelling. They warn that if Russian aggression in Ukraine is not halted today, war could be at our doorstep tomorrow. They stand firm against those who, in the coming days, will flock to war memorials, glorifying past battles without respect for the fallen. More information on this gathering can be found here. https://www.facebook.com/events/310860055369130/

Proofs and links are provided in the description. Subscribe and join the effort to make a difference.

[thegirlsarealwaysgagged]

DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER, Performance and Pageantry:

There’s a certain expectation that comes with being a system, our representation is few and far between and good representation is even rarer.

There’s a look, a sound, a feeling that is expected of systems. We’re meant to be monsters, completely inhospitable and disorderly. We’re supposed to forever be the child that in their eyes was destroyed, few understand that this was the brain’s way of preventing destruction.

We can’t have any sense of normalcy, or identity, or wholeness, because everyone, even subconsciously, views us as broken individuals that are solely defined by our traumas. We can’t take pride in our plurality, because then we are faking it. We have to perform, but we can’t perform too much because then we are acting.

If our alters are too different from us, they are not real. If they are too similar, then they still are not real. There’s no line we can tread that won’t result in fake claiming, there’s no escaping this idea that DID and the experiences of systems are not real. I have lurked in fake-claiming circles quite a bit and there’s no way for a system to gain respectability in their eyes, even those with diagnoses are accused of exaggerating their symptoms, as though showing the symptoms of your disorder somehow invalidates your experience.

They all say the same thing, even if phrased differently: Systems are a myth.

They talk about the rarity, yet never deny the existence of redheads and would never say that if 158 million people suddenly went missing there wouldn’t be global uproar, discord, panic, and fear. Our existence is simply too daunting for them to comprehend, yet we are expected to bridge the gaps in their understanding by being exactly what they need us to be.

Small, quiet, forgettable. They only can comprehend the broken child but can’t even begin to fathom the adult with complex traumas. The adult with self-awareness, the adult who can keep track of their lost time and who shows up differently for different people in their lives. They can understand and pity the child that is overwhelmed by the multitudes of plurality, but can not show empathy or extend understanding to the adult that wades the waters of the same experience.

I watched a debate about how alters aren’t really different people but rather splits in the same psyche, which is fine though it does oversimplify what that actually entails, but the most infuriating part was that people in that subreddit were trying to argue that as though it would be functionally different. Logically, I know I am a split of psyche, but I have my own memories, own preferences, own skills, which makes me functionally my own person. When cells undergo Mitosis there’s the parent cell and two identical daughter cells, yes they’re genetic copies, but you still have three distinct cells that increase the capacity of a cellular system. Systems and alters are even more complex and individual than that cycle, but we are not given the dignity of being our own persons?

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Turning 40 is a milestone. But when Catherine Middleton, the then Duchess of Cambridge, celebrated hers on 9 January 2022, she could hardly have anticipated the seismic year on which she was about to embark.

There have been tiaras, tours, and a family relocation from London to Windsor.

Prince Louis, her youngest, has started school, and her sister, Pippa, welcomed her third child.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte joined their parents at high-profile sporting events and took part in their first royal walkabout to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee—a triumph of pomp and pageantry, which saw her young family shine under the glare of the global spotlight.

There have also been the explosive revelations shared by the Sussexes in their Netflix series and in Prince Harry’s autobiography, published tomorrow, some of which paint Catherine and her husband, Prince William, in an unfavorable light.

But each of these events pale in comparison to the profound sense of loss and moment of historic change sparked by the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

In the wake of Her Majesty’s passing, William and Catherine were granted the titles of the Prince and Princess of Wales, becoming the third and fourth most senior members of the Royal Family.

In doing so, their nine-year-old son, Prince George, became second-in-line to the throne.

The new titles sparked comparisons to Diana, the last Princess of Wales, though Catherine insisted she wanted to make the role her own.

The princess, who has been a queen-in-training since her wedding to William more than a decade ago, has embraced the role with expected ease.

She was the epitome of grace and dignity in the appearances surrounding Her Majesty’s funeral, has continued to champion early childhood development as the central pillar of her royal work, and has dazzled in a carousel of elegant ensembles (though royal aides have taken steps to make her royal wardrobe less of a focus of her public engagements).

There have been enormous expectations placed upon her shoulders, but for Catherine Middleton, this year has been her crowning moment. Who knows what her 41st year might hold?

[mariacallous]

It may sound like fun and games, but it’s no joke. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, this decentralized group of activists came together to raise money for Ukraine and demolish Russian narratives on social media. They even have their own version of NATO’s Article 5 for mutual assistance, with the hashtag #NAFOArticle5, a cry for other fellas to pile in on social media posts. The fellas took a big step toward recognition last month by staging the NAFO summit in Vilnius. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas congratulated the group on its first summit and tweeted, “Behind every Fella is a real person who believes in #Ukraine’s victory.”

The world has changed markedly in the more than three decades since political scientist Joseph S. Nye Jr. popularized the term “soft power” in the pages of Foreign Policy. When that article was published in 1990, the dust had barely settled on the ruins of the Berlin Wall, most American homes didn’t have a personal computer, and the first internet meme of a dancing baby was still a few years in the future. The notion of government ministers attending a wartime summit and taking time to praise smack-talking cartoon dogs would have struck many political observers as far-fetched.

​​Although the modern vernacular of soft and hard power implies opposition, since the earliest civilizations it has been more of a continuum. In ancient times, Hellenization spread throughout the known world in the wake of Alexander the Great’s army. Proselytizing priests followed in the footsteps of Spain’s conquistadors. Imperial China presented a cultural wall against the steppe as powerful as any fortifications. The information age has modified the nature of soft power but not human nature. As Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine grinds on and governments in West Africa fall to coups, it’s evident that no surfeit of wishful thinking will reduce the appeal of hard power for some.

Today, many world leaders still reach for sports, language, food, music, and movies to advance their interests. These efforts aren’t inherently more persuasive than bullets or blockades, but it’s a much more pleasant and humane way of seeking to influence world events. Occasionally, soft power seems to work like a charm. The United Kingdom is widely viewed as having benefited from the recent royal pageantry, despite it coinciding with some messy political infighting in London’s Parliament. India certainly benefits to some degree from the widespread popularity of yoga and Bollywood, but the country’s status as a rising Asian nation and counterweight to China explains much of its appeal in the West.

Increasingly, some political representatives are taking the extra, and risky, step of engaging directly with global popular culture. China’s ambassador to the United States, for example, recently tweeted, “An American friend asked me: what kind of flower will grow out of China?” A torrent of responses cast doubt on this anecdote and questioned whether the ambassador had any notion of how Americans actually speak.

Advancing soft power through pop culture may get more difficult as the internet evolves. The NAFO fellas, for example, generally organize themselves on Twitter, which has been a popular platform for social movements from the Arab Spring to Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement. But Elon Musk’s rebranding of Twitter as “X” raises the question of whether the fellas will still be able to “tweet” and if anyone will notice if they do.

In a similar vein, Hollywood, which arguably did more in the 20th century to promote a beguiling image of the United States than the Marshall Plan or the Apollo program, is struggling with challenges at home and abroad. Labor strife casts doubts on new productions, artificial intelligence is encroaching, and competition from overseas is increasing. Content from Nigeria, Mexico, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and, of course, Bollywood is clamoring for the global attention span. Filmmaking can also backfire: Sony Pictures Entertainment suffered a major hack in 2014 that included threats to terrorize cinemas showing The Interview, a comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korea’s leader.

North Korea may be a touchy Hermit Kingdom. But South Korea’s K-pop, its brand of popular music, furnishes Seoul’s leaders with a deep well of soft power to draw from. In September 2021, when the United Nations opened the first fully in-person General Assembly in New York after lifting COVID-era restrictions, South Korea’s then-president, Moon Jae-in, invited the group BTS to sing and dance (and speak) their way through the U.N. headquarters as his special presidential envoys for future generations and culture. At the time, South Korea was riding high, having recently been catapulted into the top 10 largest economies in the world. Now, it has just been elected to the U.N. Security Council.

Sports and pop culture don’t have a monopoly on soft power. A little more than a decade ago, Russia was viewed favorably by nearly half of Americans. (Russia’s favorables have since dropped to single digits in the United States.) But with the possible exception of the dissident punk-rock band Pussy Riot, Russian pop culture was almost entirely unknown, then and now. Americans are more familiar with the cannons of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and the works of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov came to define classical dance; ironically, these Soviet defectors made ballet cool for a generation of Americans enrolled in classes during the Cold War. Only much later would some balletomanes understand that Nureyev self-identified as a Tatar and Baryshnikov as a Latvian.

Some government cultural campaigns are deliberately nostalgic. In 2020, Spain’s food ministry launched a campaign with the slogan El país más rico del mundo—which translates as either the “richest” or “tastiest” country in the world—plastering the motto on billboards in train stations and at bus stops. Centuries have passed since Spain had the world’s silver at its fingertips, but Spanish food and chefs are ubiquitous.

Language, and the pleasure of wordplay, is one of the most enduring aspects of a culture. Romance languages, a Roman legacy, flourished in medieval Europe. Many of the top-ranked countries in a recent survey of soft power subsidize global language schools, including Spain’s Cervantes Institute, Germany’s Goethe-Institut, China’s Confucius Institute, Italy’s Italian Cultural Institute, and the United Kingdom’s British Council. The guidepost has been France’s Alliance Française, which was founded independently by a circle of preeminent late 19th-century Parisians that included Jules Verne, Louis Pasteur, and Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French diplomat, developer of the Suez Canal, and leader of the plan to bring the Statue of Liberty to New York. French President Emmanuel Macron feted the 140th anniversary of the organization’s founding on July 21, remarking at a celebration at the Élysée presidential palace that the hundreds of schools scattered around the world, mostly underwritten by student fees, are “absolutely key for the diffusion of French culture but also of our values.”

Soft power may be pricey, but world leaders continue to pour money into a range of cultural offerings because they can’t be certain what will resonate. Last month, Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched the Bastille Day parade in Paris, including a flyby of three French-made jets in the Indian Air Force. Modi’s visit concluded with an announcement that India would buy 26 more Dassault Rafale jets and three additional Scorpène-class submarines. This year, during a state visit to Beijing with plenty of cultural baggage, Macron sealed commercial deals for aircraft, cosmetics, financial products, and pork. Soon thereafter, a French television station called it a “jackpot” when the news broke that China had agreed to extend the stay of a pair of giant pandas at the ZooParc de Beauval in France’s Loire Valley. The zoo’s director had been among the entourage that had recently accompanied Macron to Beijing, which has a monopoly on pandas around the world.

Sports, especially hosting global events, can be an expensive and risky way to project soft power, and in some cases, countries have been accused of “sportswashing.” None of this is new. Adolf Hitler wanted the 1936 Berlin Olympics to showcase his Nazi regime; it showcased instead the superlative skills of Jesse Owens, the African American athlete who walked away with four gold medals. More recently, pro-Tibetan protesters stormed the field during an Olympic torch-lighting ceremony ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Last year, Qatar faced widespread criticism when it banned soccer fans from wearing rainbow gear into games because visible support for LGBTQ rights is prohibited in the socially conservative kingdom.

Currently, the thorniest debates center on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and how to handle it when they face Ukrainian competitors, a headache that host countries probably had not envisioned when they bid for these events years ago. Some star Ukrainian athletes are refusing to shake hands with competitors from Russia or Belarus, which Moscow has used as a staging ground for its war in Ukraine. Some tennis fans, who may have thought they were witnessing poor sportsmanship, booed at the end of matches at Wimbledon and the French Open. Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan was disqualified after winning a world championship match in Milan for refusing to shake hands with her Russian opponent. She later posted a video on Instagram saying that what happened “raises a lot of questions.”

One question that hasn’t been answered is whether the fellas are making a real impact. Their social media messages have been so pointed, at least in part, because they echo the agitprop communication style developed by the Soviets to agitate nonbelievers and motivate the like-minded. But the fellas didn’t get their most cherished wish at NATO’s Vilnius summit, which ended without a major advance in Ukraine’s bid to join the security alliance.

The term “soft power” evokes more than wishful thinking, although that was certainly part of its appeal after the barbarism of the 20th century. Alongside other forms of persuasion, it can help a country cut trade deals, win friends, or join new clubs. Or not.

[beardedmrbean]

1. Belgian universities rise in World University Rankings

Both French- and Dutch-speaking universities have risen in the QS World University Rankings 2024, a ranking of the best universities worldwide. Read more.

2. The Ommegang brings renaissance splendour back to Brussels

The Ommegang of Brussels, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage, returns to Brussels on Wednesday, with all its magic and pageantry. Read more.

3. Antwerp’s diamond dilemma

A handful of streets in Antwerp are the global hub of the diamond business, but traders there see their status under threat. Read more.

4. Parts of European Quarter to be closed off during EU summit this week

A two-day European Council summit will be taking place in the Belgian capital later this week, which will result in parts of the European Quarter being shut off by police. Read more.

5. Foreign Minister to remain in office after reluctant support from government partners

The left-leaning parties in government (Ecolo, Groen, PS, and Vooruit) will vote to keep Hadja Lahbib (MR) in office as Foreign Affairs Minister, as the Federal Government looks to move on from the divisive Brussels Urban Summit that has marked Belgian politics of late. Read more.

6. Eurostar not on board for connection to Brussels Airport

Brussels Airport was looking to Eurostar to address its need for a high-speed connection to and from the airport, but the rail company has rejected the idea. Read more.

7. Hidden Belgium: One of the best hiking routes in Belgium

Marked out by volunteers in 1966, the GR 57 long-distance hiking trail runs through Wallonia for 265 km. Starting in Liege, it penetrates deep into the Ardennes, following the valley of the River Ourthe. Read more.

[newswell]

Gurdeepp Bawa

Meet Gurdeepp Bawa, Entrepreneur in Indian Fashion Industry

Gurdeepp Bawa, also known as Gurdeep, is a prominent figure in entrepreneurship and pageantry. He is the vice president and managing head of Missmrsinternational, a prestigious female pageant in India, and has gained recognition for his contributions to the industry. With a diverse business administration and management, Gurdeepp Bawa has made a name for himself as a successful entrepreneur and pageant consultant.

He was Born on August 25, 1996, in Ludhiana Punjab, India. Gurdeepp Bawa has always been passionate about business and leadership. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. He pursued his education at renowned institutions like Chandigarh University.

As an entrepreneur, Gurdeepp Bawa has founded and managed multiple companies, including Global Act Productions , Firstalk Media, Groos Bell Cafe , Inspire Celebrity, Deigoo Models. he has been recognized with the Youngest Entrepreneur Award from the Business india in 2020 and the Businessman of the Year in 2021.

Gurdeepp's expertise in pageantry has made him a sought-after consultant in the field. His strategic planning and innovative approach have helped shape the success of Missmrsinternational, one of the most prestigious female pageants in India. His dedication to promoting talent and fostering growth in the pageant industry has earned him recognition as one of the best pageant directors.

Apart from his professional achievements, Gurdeepp Bawa is known for his philanthropic endeavors and social contributions. He has actively participated in charitable activities, supporting various causes and organizations. He is respected for his leadership skills, vision, and commitment to excellence.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

THE CORONATION OF CHARLES III : AN IRRESISTIBLE SPECTACLE

Nothing prepares you for a coronation — not quite, not fully. King Charles III had waited seven decades for his moment, he had rehearsed the ceremony in the days before, yet as he approached the doors of Westminster Abbey, his face betrayed his anxiety. He turned, he muttered, he fidgeted. For much of the two-hour service, his expression was, if not exactly a grimace, a study in suspense. 

When the two-kilogramme St Edward’s Crown was placed on his head, he closed his eyes sombrely. Queen Camilla braced herself similarly when her own turn came.The audience were unprepared for the coronation, probably more so. No one much younger than the 74-year old king could remember the last one, which took place when Winston Churchill was prime minister. More than 2,000 people filed into the Abbey, and their eyes seemed to widen at the plethora of colourful garments, the grandeur of the jewels, the assortment of the great, the good and the deserving. 

Observing the singer Lionel Richie sitting next to the former Australian foreign secretary Julie Bishop gave a sense of the strangeness of the occasion. There were roles for people with titles such as the Lady of the Order of the Thistle and the Rouge Dragon Pursuivant.

It would be wrong to say that the British public had been gripped by the prospect of the coronation. Two-fifths thought it was a waste of taxpayer money, according to one poll. Two-thirds didn’t care about it very much or at all, according to another. After all, there had been a glut of royal pageantry in the past year: Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee weekend last June, followed by her funeral in September.Yet, as so often, royal ceremony proved almost irresistible. Foremost was the music, guided, we are told, by the king himself. Westminster Abbey is a fragmented building, where few seats have a direct view of the central space. It has been hosting coronations since 1066, which means that for many centuries, most attendees must have been craning their necks. Because of that, and because most of the congregation had to be seated for two hours before the main service began, the music mattered. The choir’s rendition of Handel’s Zadok The Priest, sung in the most sacred moment of the service as the King was anointed with oil behind a screen, was a triumph.

 When the congregation later responded with the words “God Save the King”, the noise reverberated deep into the stonework.

[Thanks you Robert Scott Horton]

+

Ian Sanders  · So Charles III will be crowned on Saturday in a ceremony which will start at 11 a.m. BST and possibly go on until 2 p.m. This is a multi-faceted phenomenon and various opinions may be held about it all. 

I have my own - and no interest in trying to persuade anyone else to  adopt them.What I'd like to draw attention to is that a large number of power-possessing beings will be gathered in a powerful sacred place (Westminster Abbey), while many millions of people around the world will be paying attention (of sorts) to proceedings. 

Some of you will be familiar with the research done by the PEAR project and by the Global Coherence Initiative which suggests a greater degree than usual of cohesion in our collective consciousness at times of mass focus. This may be a good time to devote some time and effort to wishing the world well, whatever that means to you.

[ukfrislandembassy]

The thing that does get to me about the coronation is definitely the angle of 'this country is in a terrible state now why are we doing this grand opulent event', and the thing is I understand this, but I don't quite see it in the same way. The last coronation also was in a time of relative poverty in Britain - the country was broke after the Second World War, rationing of certain goods was still in place and the empire was about to disintegrate. Back then, however, the coronation could be seen as a sign that things might get better, that we had something better to live for after such a massive global trauma as WWII.

But the poverty we live in now is different. It's not an unavoidable consequence of a massive armed conflict, including years effectively spent under a national seige. Instead it is the direct result of willful policy by our elected government over more than a decade (austerity, Brexit, Liz Truss etc.). Our country has been intentionally divided and pit against itself by a party that calls itself 'conservative' but really just want to strip the state for parts. To that end, they are happy to use the monarchy as a tool in their game, another symbol that they can repurpose in service of their culture war and thereby attempt to squash dissent. Hence why they're happy to splash public money on the royal family, even when said royal family state outright that they do not need it (see e.g. the government offering £200million to spend on a new royal yacht that was explicitly rejected by the royal family, or when Prince Philip died and Queen Elizabeth refused an offer from Boris Johnson to alter Covid restrictions for his funeral).

And so, in what to me is a sad irony, even if the monarch themselves would wish to improve the lives of 'their subjects', they are incapable of doing so in any really meaningful terms, because the monarch (rightly) has no meaningful power over elected officials. Thus, if the government of the day has an agenda that is actively make life worse for most people in this country (the latest batch being the new voter ID laws that we've been seeing the effects of at yesterday's local elections), there is nothing the monarch can do to meaningfully stop it (and I will remind you you wouldn't want them to have that power to do so either). I'm also not convinced that an elected head of state would actually do anything to help this either.

Of course you have a right to feel angry, of course it's fine to prefer the idea of an elected head of state over the monarchy, of course it's OK if you feel uncomfortable at the ceremonial and pageantry. I myself think at the very least there should be large-scale reform of the monarchy as an institution. But between Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster, I find the latter a far better target of my anger, because for me this coronation throws into such sharp relief just how much of a mess our politicians have made of this country. And that's not even getting to their enablers on Fleet Street that have such a stranglehold on the political discourse in this country, who are arguably even more culpable that the politicians themselves in our current mess.