#India-China face-off

[todaylikes]

Ladakh standoff: Military talks between India-China frank, in-depth; focus was on resolution of issues, says joint statement | India News

Ladakh standoff: Military talks between India-China frank, in-depth; focus was on resolution of issues, says joint statement | India News

India-China Border Row: Amid the tense situation along the LAC, India and China today held the 17th round of military talks on the eastern Ladakh row. According to a joint statement, both sides agreed to maintain stability on the ground. The joint statement said that the talks were frank and in-depth while the focus remained on the resolution of remaining issues. “The 17th round of the…

[rudrjobdesk]

Manish Tewari Slammed S Jaishankar On China Issue Also Mentioned Former Defense Minister Krishna Menon

Manish Tewari Slammed S Jaishankar On China Issue Also Mentioned Former Defense Minister Krishna Menon

Manish Tewari On S Jaishankar: अरुणाचल प्रदेश के तवांग सेक्टर (Tawang Sector) में एलएसी पर भारतीय सैनिकों की 9 दिसंबर को चीनी सैनिकों के साथ झड़प हुई. इस झड़प में दोनों तरफ के कुछ सैनिक घायल हुए. झड़प के बाद चीन के मुद्दे पर विपक्ष ने केंद्र सरकार को निशाने पर लिया. बीते दो दिनों से संसद में भी इस पर हंगामा चल रहा है. वहीं अब कांग्रेस नेता मनीष तिवारी ने चीन के मुद्दे पर विदेश मंत्री एस जयशंकर को…

[fem-lit]

In the current epidemic of rich Western women who cannot “choose” to eat, we see the continuation of an older, poorer tradition of women’s relation to food. Modern Western female dieting descends from a long history. Women have always had to eat differently from men: less and worse. In Hellenistic Rome, reports classicist Sarah B. Pomeroy, boys were rationed sixteen measures of meal to twelve measures allotted to girls. In medieval France, according to historian John Boswell, women received two thirds of the grain allocated to men. Throughout history, when there is only so much to eat, women get little, or none: A common explanation among anthropologists for female infanticide is that food shortage provokes it. According to UN publications, where hunger goes, women meet it first: In Bangladesh and Botswana, female infants die more frequently than male, and girls are more often malnourished, because they are given smaller portions. In Turkey, India, Pakistan, North Africa, and the Middle East, men get the lion’s share of what food there is, regardless of women’s caloric needs. “It is not the caloric value of work which is represented in the patterns of food consumption” of men in relation to women in North Africa, “nor is it a question of physiological needs…. Rather these patterns tend to guarantee priority rights to the ‘important’ members of society, that is, adult men.” In Morocco, if women are guests, “they will swear they have eaten already” or that they are not hungry. “Small girls soon learn to offer their share to visitors, to refuse meat and deny hunger.” A North African woman described by anthropologist Vanessa Mahler assured her fellow diners that “she preferred bones to meat.” Men, however, Mahler reports, “are supposed to be exempt from facing scarcity which is shared out among women and children.”

“Third World countries provide examples of undernourished female and well-nourished male children, where what food there is goes to the boys of the family,” a UN report testifies. Two thirds of women in Asia, half of all women in Africa, and a sixth of Latin American women are anemic—through lack of food. Fifty percent more Nepali women than men go blind from lack of food. Cross-culturally, men receive hot meals, more protein, and the first helpings of a dish, while women eat the cooling leftovers, often having to use deceit and cunning to get enough to eat. “Moreover, what food they do receive is consistently less nutritious.”

This pattern is not restricted to the Third World: Most Western women alive today can recall versions of it at their mothers’ or grandmothers’ table: British miners’ wives eating the grease-soaked bread left over after their husbands had eaten the meat; Italian and Jewish wives taking the part of the bird no one else would want.

These patterns of behavior are standard in the affluent West today, perpetuated by the culture of female caloric self-deprivation. A generation ago, the justification for this traditional apportioning shifted: Women still went without, ate leftovers, hoarded food, used deceit to get it—but blamed themselves. Our mothers still exiled themselves from the family circle that was eating cake with silver cutlery off Wedgwood china, and we would come upon them in the kitchen, furtively devouring the remains. The traditional pattern was cloaked in modern shame, but otherwise changed little. Weight control became its rationale once natural inferiority went out of fashion.

— Naomi Wolf (1990) The Beauty Myth

[foldingfittedsheets]

One of my favorite adventures from my twenties was a trip I took alone up to Canada. Neil Gaiman was doing a reading for the release of Ocean at the End of the Lane, and I was living three hours south of the venue.

None of my friends could make it and it was before I had GPS but I decided to go by myself. The day before the event I had nightmares about being lost in Canada, but I woke up and still got in the car.

The drive was awful, and I clutched the printed out Mapquest directions like my life depended on it, lurching through stop and go traffic with my manual transmission car. But when I arrived I found parking easily. I had tried to be there early but between traffic and the border crossing I was barely on time.

When I got to the door it turned out there wasn’t any seating left. My face fell, and the lovely worker refused to let me go away disappointed. She snuck me into the area reserved for staff to watch the event.

I sat oddly isolated in the very back row, listening to Neil’s calm narration. Midway through a boy my age came over to join me. We chatted while the line moved to get things signed. He lived in China, and India, went to school in Scotland, and was here couch surfing just for this event.

He asked about my YouTube channel and I laughed and said I didn’t have one. He paused in confusion and said, “You should, you’re such a gifted storyteller!” Later his certainty that I had one made me imagine he was a multidimensional traveler and this iteration of me didn’t have a channel that he was familiar with on his world.

I got my copy of the book signed and we left together. We wandered the city at night, making our way toward the ocean. We were both surprised to have our way blocked not once but three times by skunks, wandering blithely through the metropolis.

We clambered over the breakers by the water, watching the boats and listening to the waves crash at our feet. I offered him a lift back to his couch and he agreed.

I got lost trying to find the way home, well off my printed directions. My nightmare had come true, but at 2am lost in a foreign city I had a feeling of serenity that everything would be okay.

I pulled up next to some mildly intoxicated guys walking along, asking if they knew the way. Later, relaying this story to my wife they were appalled by this decision. But a moment later a cop car interrupted us, clearly thinking something illegal was transpiring. I flashed my dimples and asked for directions and he set me back on the right path.

I only spent one night carousing, but I still think about that boy, hoping he’s doing well. I remember the surreal peace of the sleeping city, full of skunks and waves on the breakers.

[cheriladycl01]

So, you lied to me? - Lando Norris x Tourist! Reader

Plot: Going on a travel year you end up in Monaco, the plan wasn't too fall for the man who helped you to the British Embassy and gave you a place to stay when someone stole everything from you ...

You took a gap year before university and decided to travel you'd started off the New Year on a flight from London, to Qatar to New Zealand. You travelled around New Zealand and Australia for the majority of January, before moving on to Papa New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa.

You then travelled round the South Asian countries, like Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines and Taiwan all throughout February. You then moved onto China, doing both Disney Parks while you were there and sight seeing. You did South Korea and Japan.

Coming into April, you moved onto Sri Lanka and India, and The Middle East, doing Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrian, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Afterwards, now having done 2 continents, you moved onto Africa, you spent the end of April and the majority of May travelling here, before leaving for Europe.

A nice 2 weeks island hopping around Greece, before a week travelling up the boot of Italy.

It was when you drove to Monaco in a rental car that things got difficult.

You were walking along the harbor where all the expensive yachts were docked wishing that one could be yours. You didn't have all your bags on you, the larger ones left behind in the hotel room you'd booked for the night. But you had your important stuff on you, like you passport, your drivers license and all your travel documents.

You were taking a picture on your nice Canon camera of the yachts and the street that had weird red corners rounding it that you put down to being measures to just help drivers slow down round the corners, but they were definitely an eyesore.

Every time nice cars drove by there was whistles and claps that made you look at what car it was, you could never tell what model it was but they looked nice and you guess you could say sporty.

As you were distracted taking your pictures a guy comes up to you with a small, parcel cutting knife in his hand. He slit the straps of what you thought was a really sturdy bag and the weight notifies you to the loss of the bag. You let your camera drop as you turn to see the guy now holding your bag and starting to run away with it.

"Hey! Stop" you shout before running after him.

"Aide, Aide" you shout as you continue to follow him, your minimal French not helping as people scold you for being a bustly tourist.

You aren't really looking where you going and you loose him at a busy intersection of people, you spin round looking at every possible direction he could have gone in.

"Shit!" you whisper to yourself quietly tears coming in your eyes. You spin round a little to quickly, bumping into someone who drops the bag that they were holding.

"Désolé, mon erreur" you try looking at the young gentleman you'd bumped into in a hoodie and jeans. He looks at you with a confused look, a smirk coming onto his face.

"Oh sorry, tu ne parles pas français? Maybe Italian, erm fuck scusa, parli italiano?" you ask with again the bare minimum of Italian you know.

"I speak perfectly good English" he smiles, laughing a little as your expression turns to shock.

"Oh! Oh I'm so stupid. Hello!" you smile looking at the very attractive man in front of you, you blushed a little looking up at him.

"You look panicked what's wrong?" he asks.

"I was tacking pictures of the harbor and some guy took my bag. It has everything in of mine and I don't know what to do" You say to him looking a little more panicked.

"Everything as in money ... because I can help with that" he says placing a hand on your arm.

"I don't care about the money, but he has all of my documents. My passport, my drivers license everything" you cry a little.

"Oh! Erm, I have a friend who was born here, and let me get him and he can help us file a police report. Then mmm the British Embassy is all the way in Paris and you cant get a flight so we'll have to drive there..." he starts to rant and your face turned shocked.

"We?" you ask, confused as to how this guy has just inserted himself into your life drama's.

"Oh yeah, I've gotta help you out now. You got that whole damsel in distress thing going on right now! Any way damsel, what's your name?" he jokes and you look over at him offended.

"I am not a damsel in distress! And Y/N" you retort.

"You so are, the tear stains, the wide, helpless eyes, the guppy fish face your pulling right now, the butchered French and Italian to a strange man who actually is British... Y/N" he laughs making you pout and push him a little.

"I don't even have a place to stay after 3pm today and I cant check in anywhere without ID" you say rubbing your head, looking around as if the man would randomly pop back up and hand you your bag back before saying how sorry he was.

"You can stay at my place, I have two spare bedrooms" he smiles and you look at him in shock.

"You live here, in Monaco ..." you ask.

"Yeah, I moved here a few years ago, for ...work" he offers, he phones his friend walking off for a few seconds alone before he pulls you along one of the side streets and too a quiet cafe he went to, to keep under wraps.

"Okay, Y/N this is my friend ... er Percy" he says pointing to Charles, so far you hadn't shown any signs of knowing who he is and he didn't want you to catch wind of that.

"Hello Percy, its nice to meet you" you smile and he looks at you with a vacant yet confused expression.

"Oh and whose this you are beautiful" you compliment looking at the girl behind him.

"Y/N this is my girlfriend Alex" Charles indicates to Alex behind him who smiles and pulls you in for a kind hug that you definitely needed. You could hear both of their strong accents as they introduced himself.

"Oh, I never got you name, what's your name?" you ask turning to look at Lando, who freezes for a second.

"Erm, my names Robert, but you can call me Bob" he smiles and you raise and eyebrow at him.

"Hmmm, you don't look like a Robert... or a Bob. Interesting choice" you voice your opinion making everyone awkwardly laugh.

Charles, Lando and Alex took you to the nearest police station in Monaco, Charles translated what they were saying and you answered to which he and Alex would help translate back.

Charles explained that they were escalating it because you are a tourist in need, but you picked up some words that made the sentence not sound like that at all.

You were asked if you had a place to say and Lando explained you'd be staying with him until everything was sorted out.

The Monegasque police got in contact with the Paris British Embassy for you, they explained that the police had sent over you information and if you wanted to hold off on a new passport for a few days to see if it would turn up you were more than welcome, but right now your passport was on lockdown.

And that was how you ended up spending the end of July and all of August with Lando, it was strange really. For a man who had and extremely nice collection of clothes and a very large apartment he didn't go to work often. There was one room you weren't allowed in which is where he often went, you assumed it was a man cave or gaming room where he played with his friends because you heard lots of shouting and aggressive banging.

He'd been so sweet, he took you on dates from going out to dinner, to picnics, to going swimming and lots more. It felt like more than a summer fling. Especially once he asked you to be his girlfriend, which you immediately said yes too.

But he got a lot more twitchy after he had.

Eventually, Lando or Bob as you knew him took you to Paris so you could get your passport. He explained that he travelled a lot for work and he would need to leave soon and you explained that before you bumped into him you'd been on a gap year travelling the world.

"Baby, why don't you come with me?" he asked randomly as you were both lying on the sofa, cuddling while watching a film.

"You wont even tell me what you do for work Baby! And besides I had a schedule that I'm already behind on. A week ago you said you didn't mind going our separate ways for a little bit until Christmas and then you'd come to England with me" you say playing with his curls.

"Okay, I'm going to be honest with you now... my name isn't Bob" he says shyly and you sit up at the speed of light turning to look at him.

"I knew it! So you lied to me?" you exclaim laughing.

"So, what's my boyfriends actual name?" you ask looking him dead in the eyes, he leans up on his elbows before sitting the full way up.

"Lando, I am Lando Norris" he smiles.

"Hmmmm, Lando... Lando. I could get used to that" you smile.

"You aren't mad?" he asks looking over you, brushing you hair back and tucking it behind your ear before kissing your cheek.

"I knew you weren't being completely honest when we first met... but I also knew you had your own reasons" you offer.

"I think its going to be easier if I just hand you my Instagram" he admits with a gulp as he hands you his phone. The first thing you notice is how many followers he had, there was around 10million and he had nearly 2,500 posts.

You look at the friends list, and one peeks your interest. Charles Leclerc, who looked exactly like Percy who Lando had introduced you too.

You then go back and look at his bio, that told you his actual job.

"So, I'm dating a super famous athlete?" you ask looking up at him away from the phone to see his head down in his hands. He turns to the side to sneak a look at your expression, his eyes a little glossy.

"To be specific, a Formula 1 driver" you ask again and he nods.

"You are such a muppet, my god" you laugh before pulling him into a hug.

"How aren't you upset with me?" he ask unsure.

"Well, I agreed to date you, because you are you. I doubt you change into Mr Hyde when you become a what was is Porsche race-car driver? I fell in love with you, not Bob, not Lando, you. So whether that is Bob, who kindly helped a crying lady on the street who just had her passport stolen from her, or Lando a cool and amazing race-car driver. Whoever you are is the person I love" you grin and he pulls you into a hug.

"So you want to join me for the last few races? Or you want to finish this world trip of yours?" he asks.

"Well, looking at your calendar, I can actually meet you at the rest of the races, While travelling. I'll continue to do Europe until you have the Netherlands, and ill go back to Italy, just for you. I'll miss Azerbaijan and Singapore because I did that, but I'll knock out some of South America, I'll meet you for Austin, then we can do Mexico and Brazil together, then we can do Vegas together! And by that point I can call it done with my trip!" you exclaim and he looks like he considers it for a second.

He's shocked, he cant remember the last time a girlfriend tried so hard to link up their schedules like this, and proved that they'd be able to work despite some potential scheduling issues.

"I love you. I fucking love you" he grins pulling you back down onto the sofa kissing all over your face making you giggle.

A/N: I've been doing a lot of Lando recently, I don't know if you can tell but I love writing about him, he's my fav to write about right now.

Taglist:

@littlesatanicassholebitch @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @stupidandunnecessary @clayra-g @daemyratwst @honey-belden @moonypixel @lauralarsen @vader-is-hot @ironcowboycopnickel @itsjustkhaos @the-untamed-soul @beebo86 @happylittlereader @ziejustme @lou-larcher5 @thewulf @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @chillyleclerc @chanthereader @annoyingmoonballoon @summissss @evieepepi08 @havaneseoger08 @celesteblack08 @gulphulp @fandom1ruined2me @celebstories @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhh @georgeparisole @dakotatankbig @youcannotcancelquidditch @zzonsbeek @tallbrownhairsarcastic @mellowarcadefun @ourteenagetragedy @otako5811 @countingstacksandpanicattacks @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @hopexcroc @mirrorball-6 @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @bigsimperika @blueberry64857959 @eiraethh @lilypadlover @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @the-fem1n1ne-urge @21stcenturytaegi @dark-night-sky-99 @spideybv28 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @kapsylia @laneyspaulding19 @viennakarma

[bodhrancomedy]

The Bard Who Returned to Fairyland in Search of a Name by Bodhrán M.

It was the ferryman who met the bard first, a beardless lad in a ragged cloak, broadbrimmed hat, and carrying nothing save an iron knife and one small pack across his shoulders. He watched with mild interest as the bard picked his way down the grassy knoll and onto the black-wood of the small dock, coming to a halt directly before the little boat.

Neither of them moved for a long while. Somewhere in the distance, an eagle screamed. 

Finally, the bard spoke.

“I wish to cross the river,” he said.

The ferryman leant on his oar and regarded him with rheumy eyes, pushing a lank hunk of wire-grey hair from his face. “Is that so?” he replied. “Do you have payment, my boy?”

“Yes, I do.” The bard withdrew a coin purse from beneath the green cloak.

“Coin won’t do, boy. Not what I dabble in.”

“I know,” the bard said quietly. He had an odd voice, the ferryman noted, with no hint of fear or trepidation or awe. “I bring seashells from the coasts of Ireland,” he continued, “filled with the songs of the selkies. I bring spices from the borders of India and China with many healing powers beyond that which we can understand, and a trollish crystal gifted by the giantess-queen of Iceland. I deal as little in money as you do.”

The ferryman was impressed, even if he didn’t show it. He dug a filthy black pipe from a salt-encrusted pocket and stuck it between his teeth. He waited, but the bard made no move to light it for him. Finally, he took a tinderbox from another pouch (this one being an oilskin gifted many years ago by a Swedish princess) and struck a spark.

“So,” the ferryman said, his words curled about the billowing black smoke, “you know what is across this river?”

“I know.”

“And yet you wish to cross it.”

The bard shrugged, almost as if to say that the statement was obvious enough that it did not need to be said. “Have I brought enough to pay for passage?” he asked.

“Of course,” the ferryman said as he stepped aside to allow the man to board.

But the bard did not. Instead, he gripped the brim of his hat and pulled it further down over his eyes. His voice was as steady as before, but lower and intertwined with steel. “Both ways?”

The ferryman’s eyes narrowed.

The bard stood there, waiting for an answer, one small hand on his knife.

Hemming and hawing, the ferryman felt a sting of disappointment and suspicion in his gut. He had ferried more hopefuls across this river than he had ferried back and there was almost nothing which he liked more than the faces of those who had returned to his boat having not taken the first precaution. They had thought ahead enough – many of these wanderers and seekers of mysteries and gold – to have gotten his word not to throw them into the cold water or have their treasures taken before they reached human land again, but they had not thought about payment for the return journey.

But seashells and spices were twice the payment for a crossing – and he had never owned a troll-crystal before. He’d heard that they could outshine the sunrises even in the frozen northern plains, that they were rainbow stars from deep within the ground. It would be something to treasure in the dark.

It was through gritted teeth, therefore, which he gave his answer. “Yes,” the ferryman said.

The hat bobbed as the bard nodded. “And I will reach each shore in the same condition as I board your boat, sir? Each way.”

“Yes,” the ferryman agreed sullenly. Then he thought and tried to not brighten in anticipation.

The bard either did not notice or did not care, but he stepped aboard with the ease of one used to the pitch and swell of river boats. He sat in the prow, half-turned so he could look across the water and still see the ferryman.

Clever, that.

Carefully, the ferryman untied the mooring rope and then pushed off the knoll with his oar. He began to pull through the water with broad, powerful strokes and so it was a matter of minutes before they reached halfway.

It was then that the ferryman felt safe in speaking again. Too soon and sometimes the young fools would see the error of their ways and pitch themselves into the water. Once you reached halfway, you were falling into enchantments rather simple cold. It did make him laugh, sometimes, to see them flail and splash their way back to safety. He liked to wave at the ones who lived, standing sopping wet and humiliated on the dock, and sing mocking laments at those who did not.

But he did not think that this young man would do so. Still, he waited.

“You off to fairyland, boy?” he asked cheerfully, “Here to see for yourselves the wonders your bardic forefathers taught you? To see if they’re as real as they say?”

The bard tilted his head and the ferryman saw a flash of white teeth from beneath the hat brim, bared in a savage grin.

“No, sir,” the bard said, “I am not merely going to fairyland, sir ferryman. I am going back.”

“Well, that’s a thing!” the ferryman exclaimed. He rubbed his chin with his free hand and added, “Not many people wish to test their luck twice.”

The bard shrugged again.

“And why have you returned?”

The hat tilted back and suddenly the ferryman saw the bard’s face clearly for the first time. It was even younger-looking than he’d expected, suntanned and heavily freckled, but harsh and set in furious determination. “That is my business and my business alone, sir ferryman,” the bard replied in cold tones. “For I know what you are as we have met before, and you told me in the mistaken belief that we would never cross paths again. And I know that changelings would do what they can to gain favour in the eyes of fairyland’s mistress. I would not give up my slightest advantage to satisfy your curiosity.”

Knocked back a little by the intensity of this speech and suddenly slightly afraid of why he would not remember this young man, the ferryman opened and shut his mouth a few times and said nothing in reply. He rowed on in silence, feeling sweat prickling on his brow. Either this passenger was a grand sorcerer of some great power, or he was an overconfident boy with a head full of stories. But he could not place a finger on either option without some unease. Neither felt right.

“It was curiosity, nothing more,” the ferryman mumbled. “I meant no harm in asking.”

“But you did mean harm in knowing,” the bard replied lightly. “And you could make harm in telling. I am no child, sir ferryman, and I understand how this all works.”

[probablyasocialecologist]

For the third year in a row, global hunger is stuck at catastrophically high levels. Progress on the global hunger crisis has stagnated following a sharp deterioration between 2019 and 2021. 733 million people continue to face hunger today. This is 36% higher than a decade ago. 2.33 billion people – nearly 30% of the world – continue to be moderately or severely food insecure. While about 2.8 billion – one third of people in the world – are unable to access a healthy nutritious diet. The world is far off track to achieve the zero hunger goal or any of the seven global nutrition targets by 2030 – without major changes to food systems. This is not a blip, and can no longer just be blamed on the pandemic. This is an ever-clearer signal that the global industrial food system is failing, and is disastrously vulnerable to increasing climate, hunger, conflict and financial shocks. We need a food system transformation to tackle the new normal of hunger. Climate change was the most prevalent driver of food insecurity and malnutrition in 2023. The major drivers of hunger – conflict, climate change and economic shocks – are occurring more often and at higher intensity, resulting in increasing numbers of hungry and food-insecure people. Already this year we’ve seen climate shocks devastate staple food production in Brazil, Mexico, China and India, with studies linking higher temperatures with increased food prices. Building climate resilient food systems is literally a matter of life and death — and must be an urgent priority globally. This means more diversified and localized production and food chains, instead of global industrial food chains.

24 July 2024

[zvaigzdelasas]

In the first place, if Moscow and Beijing are content with a purely diplomatic and public relations victory, they do not need to do anything at all. US virtual silence in the face of Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza is doing it for them. Yet again, the United States has used its UN security council veto to defend Israel, as the solitary opponent both of all the other UNSC members, and a large majority of the general assembly. As western (and some US) diplomats have remarked (off the record), unfaltering US support for Israel has shredded the Biden administration’s strategy of competing with China for influence in the “global south”.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the western reaction to it, the charge has been made across most of the non-western world (including by US partners like India) that the west has one standard for white victims, and a much lower one for everyone else. The Biden administration (and many European governments) have now in effect confirmed this.

Witness (in a widely circulated clip) the US national security council spokesperson John Kirby choking back crocodile tears over Russian bombardment of civilians in Ukraine, then justifying Israeli “collateral damage” in Gaza – although according to UN figures, Israel has already killed almost as many Palestinian civilians in two weeks as Russia has killed Ukrainian civilians in 20 months. Equally striking has been the refusal of the Biden administration to do anything to help the 500-600 Palestinian American US citizens trapped in Gaza. If anyone wants evidence to argue that in the eyes of Washington some US citizens are more equal than others, they need look no further than this.

2 Nov 23

[thelostdreamsthings]

"Putin is isolated."

BRICS, 50% of the World population is telling a big "fuck off" to the arrogant, declining and decadent G7 amounting to 10% of the World's population.

🇺🇳🇷🇺 UN Secretary General Guterres respectfully bows and shakes the hand of Putin in Russia’s Kazan at the BRICS summit.

A lot of people start crying and scream hysterically when they see this picture, for some reason.

[BRICS Currency Looms Large: Could This Be the Beginning of the End for U.S. Dollar Dominance?

For decades, the U.S. dollar has been weaponized as a tool of global dominance, wielded by the American empire to enforce its geopolitical will.

Through sanctions, coercive financial practices, and the threat of exclusion from the dollar-based system, the U.S. has effectively terrorized nations across the world.

The pretense of a “free market” economy has long been shattered by Washington's aggressive use of the dollar as a weapon to cripple economies, isolate adversaries, and exert control over global trade.

But the world is growing tired—sick and tired—of this financial tyranny. And now, with the rise of BRICS, we may be witnessing the beginning of the end for U.S. dollar supremacy.

BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—represent a bloc of nations that together account for nearly half of the global population and a significant chunk of the world’s GDP.

For years, these nations have been quietly collaborating to counterbalance the West's stranglehold over international finance, and now, they are inching closer to launching their own currency.

The creation of a BRICS currency signals an outright challenge to the dollar-dominated global economy, and it is nothing short of a revolt against American financial imperialism.

Why is this happening? The answer is simple: countries are fed up with being bullied. The U.S. has used its currency like a sledgehammer, smashing nations that dare to defy its hegemony.

Whether through sanctions on Iran, Venezuela, or Russia, or by financially suffocating smaller nations into submission, the dollar has become a tool of coercion rather than commerce.

Nations who once played by the rules of the so-called “global order” have found themselves punished, their economies crippled, and their people starved—merely for refusing to kowtow to Washington's dictates.

But BRICS is offering an alternative. The creation of a BRICS currency, backed by the economic strength of its member nations, offers the world a way out of the suffocating grip of the dollar.

This is not just about financial autonomy—it’s about reclaiming sovereignty, independence, and the right to conduct trade without the constant threat of U.S. interference.

Russia and China have been leading the charge in this effort, driven in part by the U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow following the Ukraine conflict and the ongoing trade war with Beijing.

Both countries have moved aggressively to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar, increasing trade with each other and with other BRICS members in their local currencies.

They are laying the groundwork for a currency that could be based on a basket of commodities, potentially gold-backed, further weakening the grip of the U.S. dollar on the global market.

The U.S. has long prided itself on its role as the issuer of the world’s reserve currency, but this dominance was never guaranteed to last forever.

The BRICS currency threatens to dismantle the global financial architecture that has allowed the U.S. to live far beyond its means.

For decades, the U.S. has run massive deficits, printing money at will, secure in the knowledge that the world would continue to rely on the dollar.

But as BRICS nations move to establish their own currency, that privilege could evaporate overnight.

The implications for the U.S. are dire. If the dollar loses its status as the world’s reserve currency, the U.S. economy could face a severe reckoning.

The artificial demand for dollars that has kept interest rates low and allowed the U.S. to run massive debt could vanish, leading to inflation, higher borrowing costs, and potentially a fiscal crisis.

The American empire, propped up for so long by its control of global finance, could find itself in rapid decline.

For the rest of the world, however, the rise of a BRICS currency represents hope—a chance to escape the iron grip of U.S. financial imperialism. No longer will countries have to fear the punitive measures of the U.S. Treasury.

No longer will they have to worry about being cut off from the global financial system for standing up to American bullying.

The creation of a new currency could usher in a multipolar world, where nations are free to trade without being subject to the whims of a single superpower.

Of course, the U.S. will not go quietly. Washington will likely pull out all the stops to crush the BRICS currency before it can gain traction. The playbook will be the same: propaganda, financial sabotage, and even the threat of military intervention.

But this time, the world may not be so easily intimidated. The BRICS nations, backed by their vast resources and burgeoning economies, are prepared to stand their ground.

In the end, the creation of a BRICS currency is not just an economic development—it’s a revolutionary act. It’s a declaration that the age of American financial dominance is coming to an end, and that a new world is on the horizon.

The U.S. dollar, once seen as the bedrock of global stability, has become a symbol of oppression, and the world is ready to move on.

The question now is not whether the U.S. dollar will fall, but when. And as BRICS moves closer to launching its own currency, that day may be sooner than anyone expects.

The empire, long propped up by its financial manipulation, is facing a reckoning—one that could change the course of history.]

IMF Growth Forecast: 2024

🇮🇳India: 7.0% (BRICS)

🇨🇳China: 4.8% (BRICS)

🇷🇺Russia: 3.6% (BRICS)

🇧🇷Brazil: 3.0% (BRICS)

🇺🇸US: 2.8% (G7)

🇸��KSA: 1.5% (invited to BRICS)

🇨🇦Canada: 1.3% (G7)

🇿🇦RSA: 1.1% (BRICS)

🇬🇧UK: 1.1% (G7)

🇫🇷France: 1.1% (G7)

🇮🇹Italy: 0.7% (G7)

🇯🇵Japan: 0.3% (G7)

🇩🇪Germany: 0.0% (G7)

‼️ 159 out of 193 countries have signed up to use the new BRICS settlement system.

US and European Union will no longer be able to use economic sanctions as a weapon.

This system allows countries to settle trades and payments in their own currencies, reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar, which has long been the dominant global currency.

[broken-mandolin0357]

BTS and their Indian! S/O

BTS - 방탄소년단

✣ They happen to have a Indian S/O and so they finally experience some Indian shenanigans || Crack, Headcanons, Fluff|| boyfriend! bts x reader| Fem!Reader|

✣ this is my first post, hope you all enjoy it! This is no insult to anyone in particular, all is in good hearted manner, apologies for any mistakes, tell me if there is anything offensive, I will remove it, but this is not meant to marginalize anyone, just something I wanted to write out. Not to offend anyone or put hate on anyone or anything. Also Hindu! Reader.

Kim Seokjin - 김석진

☍ Seokjin with an Indian! S/O is a match made in heaven; you both come from big and divine cultures where you have a lot of amazing food and very pretty people! Seokjin is going to be so happy seeing his Indian! S/O, who is not afraid to show off their culture too other people.

☍ If there is one thing Seokjin loves about India, it's India's food, doesn't matter if it's street food or high class restaurant food, he enjoys street food more often though, enjoying Pani-puri, dahi puri, chaat, dabeli, vada pav, pav bhaji, omelets, etc. Does not care what it is, he is not afraid to try new things!

☍ He wants to see you in all the ethnic dresses of India!!! And now he realizes, how many sarees an Indian woman can have, some of which dates back to eight generations and how expensive they actually are, gets mental break down seeing how many sarees and clothing you have.

☍ Also he no longer does any maths, he asks you to do it and you do in your mind wayyy quickly than anyone else, cause you know Indian's love for maths and anger reach everybody...

☍ He was so shocked to see how less of meat consumption there is in India, literally all the food is vegetarian and so amazing! He packs up bags of foods from family events, weddings, hotels, restaurants and what not to bring to the members so they could try it....

☍ Literally always the victim of aunties bullying how call him, "Gorahae...." and maybe "girlish" always having emotional damage form your family, but all the aunties also fawn over him, feeding him, caring for him oh so gently, while treating you like shit....

☍ He also just I N H A L E S Indian sweets or pani puri, does not matter, he also loves the soda sold on streets, like the tingly feeling on his tongue...He sees how underdeveloped the country is but how caring, traditional, respectful and beautiful it is, nothing like how the Western movies perceive it to be!!!!

☍ Also, you know how women make their husbands pick out of so many beautiful choodees, some made of glass, some of china, some of metal, yeah he wants to buy all, not for you sometimes though, no for himself so he looks pretty just like you!

☍ Oh! He sees how often Indians wear gold, like pure gold is worn by children, who have no sense of money and just put it in their mouths, but every single person he sees has at-least something made of gold on them, might be fake but the amount of gold there is, it's scares him....

☍ Please take him to a mela (Indian amusement parks) he is going to be so happy, it's like seeing a child who has never been to an amusement park, you both will definitely go on the dragon swing ride or something like that.

☍ He will be smug and then you both will be screaming your heads off, because he is scary and when it ends he is rapping about you scaring him and forcing him to go there while his legs are shaking....

☍ Loves to watch romantic Bollywood movies, he claims that he is the embodiment of 'the flirty hero' in the Bollywood movie, so sweet and caring, loves to help you cook and respectful of all the elders and everyone, even if he doesn't know them!!!

☍ He finds the similarities between your cultures to be very nice, how you both are very caring of your elders, the amazing food, and the importance of education, divine cultures and so much more!!!

☍ He is definitely gonna rap at someone for playing Holi wrongly, and then someone will put permanent colour in his face, the silver one which is very hard to get out, so put on oil all over him and if it doesn’t work, well I guess more shower time with you, no?

Min Yoongi - 민윤기

✥ Yoongi, first and foremost love your culture, how it is very similar to his, how developed it is in many aspects as compared to many other countries in matter of behavior, culture, mannerism, festivals, relationships and much more.

✥ Yoongi very much loves Hindi songs, he finds them to be very catchy and amazing! He sees so many Indian singers and finds all their voices so unique and pretty.

✥ He also learnt about that one musician whose singing could make it rain or blow off a candle, he also started learning Indian classical music just so he could sing for you and ARMYs better!

✥ He finds Indian movies amazing as well, how musical they are, how many good points they serve and their story lines as of whole, he has watched so many with you.

✥ He has maybe learnt Indian curse words and would often angrily scream them at the boys whenever he gets mad and it scares them because it's like a different language to them and they feel he will curse them in some or the other way...

✥ He loves to see you dressed up in a traditional outfit with some jewelry, he doesn't care if it's a event or not, he loves to see you in in, reminds him of his own roots and reminds him how your country is important in your upbringing.

✥ Yoongi also loves Indian food, might be a tad bit too flavourful for him at times, but still enjoys it very much! He especially the non-vegetarian options of foods, reminds him of home with the spiciness and flavours, also treat him to momos, he's going to be so happy, mainly because you would remind him how his mother called him a boiled dumpling. <33333

✥ Take him to clothing markets of India, they remind him of the similar looking ones in Korea, except the ones in India are way crowded making him a bit scared but it's fine, he enjoys seeing so many clothing shops, food shops, jewellery shops, and you bargaining with the shop owner and buying things for 100 which were originally being sold for 700...

✥ One guilty pleasure of his is sneaking into the kitchen at night and making himself a packet of maggi and eating fridge cold rasgullas, he likes the chewy feeling when they're cold as compared to when they're at room temperature....He doesn't know why...

✥ He likes studying about India's past, he especially loves the superstitions because everything has some logic behind it for people following it, he also developed the habit of flipping flippers if he sees them upside-down.

✥ One more thing is take him to prepare for a wedding in your family, he sees how everyone no matter if you know them or not, if they're relatives, they all visit and help, women in the decorations and getting the bride and groom ready while the men do in the food, photography and others, everyone is needed to help and he has much more than happy to help your family.

✥ He always participates in prayers at Diwali, though gets a bit scared of blowing fircrackers, he refuses to ignite them in the beginning, but after a little bit of convincing, he agrees only if you go with him!

✥ Oh! Your cousins tie him rakhi, btw. Rakhi is a festival celebrated on love between brothers and sisters, does not matter if they're sibling or cousins, its where sisters tie rakhi on their brother's wrist and then brothers give them gifts in return, he gives every-single future sister-in-law and brother-in-law an envelope filled of 2000 ruppees ...Guess it's good being rich...

✥Oh, you know Yoongi will definitely say he is not going to play Holi and then will throw water balloons, use pichkari to spray water on you and put both pink and silver permanent colour on you and your teeth, luckily you’re prepared for his betrayal since the morning, so you lathered yourself in oil, and if you didn’t, well good luck….

✥ Also, he is gonna make so many rang-golis with you and others, he isn’t sure how to pick up the powdered colour and what to do if a colour is finished, but he’s got the most amazing spirit, and please teach him how to colour like he’s a kid, it’s gonna be so fun!!

Jung Hoseok - 정호석

♮ One word, he loves to see classical dances of India, there are so many classical dances of India and each require a set of knowledge of music and rhythm which can easily be learnt by anyone, he has tried to learn a dance and convinced boys to try out Kathhak and Bharatnatyam it ends up with them bruising their feet as you and the instructor laugh and have fun watching them.

♮ He also likes to watch South Indian movies with their amazing dance and songs also he is in love with KGF series and Pushpa, also RRR. He really likes songs of Indian movies though, he sees how they're perfect for dancing to and he practices Hindi songs with you.

♮ Also, him giving you the confidence to wear a traditional outfit in front of him or at an event to show how pretty you are... It's one thing because why not, you slay every Indian traditional outfit you wear! People are honestly so sensitive and so when he tries on a outfit, he makes sure you're in the pic with him to show that he's not a rude tourist and that it was your idea and so antis get no thought to hate on him and they go back to insulting how he has a lover....!! He'll save you from hate, no worried.

♮ Also, take him to eat food at chowpatis, especially baraf ka gola (ice stick) basically, shaved ice which is shaped and dipped into flavours and yogurts. I personally think he’d enjoy momos and dahi puri. Also maybe shikanji. He likes the sodas.....find them fun but also scary cause he fast he has to drink after the man places the powder in..

♮ He likes watching Indian movies, he finds them interesting and enjoys the songs in between them, he likes the storyline and the difference between a Korean drama and your movies. He will learn the dance for fun and practice and he will sing the songs too!!

♮ He loves to play Holi, but please put oil on his skin and hair because keep in mind, you will be putting permanent colour on him, also even if it’s not permanent, the colour does stain and he dyes his hair regularly, so it might be better for him to have darker hair.

♮ He likes Anupama btw, he loves to watch Indian serials, where there is drama between the mother-in-law, sister-in-law and female lead! He will then spread this to the boys and then whenever you’re watching the tv, when it’s the time for the show to come on the channel, they’re all pushing you out the frame to watch it and the tea is always hot and spicy to hear out!

♮ Jhope will be loved by your families, he is loved by the aunties, the uncles, the dadas, the dadis, the fufajis, the mausajis, the mausis, the mamas, the mamijis, the buas, basically everyone and you get the point, even the toughest nuts of the family like him!

♮ Your family will be a bit doubtful because well you’re Indian he’s Korean, so what if something goes wrong, they don’t want you to be in pain, but maybe let them chill out with Hobi for a bit and they’ll be asking to ask for a faster wedding date. Also, question by your parents, they asked me to ask you, Ahem! “WHEN ARE YOU GIVING US GRANDKIDS?!” Thank you!

♮ Whenever there is an event and there is music, he’s the first to dance at the event and he makes everyone feel confident enough to go crazy and he invited everyone to dance, teach him the dholak dance between the women of the family, you know the ones where you repeat the same steps while going around in a circle but it’s very fun? Yeah, those ones, he’s very good at them as you’ve seen!

♮ Every single cousin and sibling wants to tie a rakhi to him, especially your sisters are excited because he’s their future jiju after all~~ Okay and he gives everyone a handmade gift with some money, like he makes cards, gets dresses, and makes them a lot of bracelets! He makes the rakhi you tie on your brothers himself as well!

♮ Whenever you take him to a mela, prepare to be tired out because in his opinion, it’s so fun! He goes on E V E R Y  S I N G L E ride, He cannot handle himself and he pays for everyone! He buys every lady in the family the nice cheap jewellery which is sold in the fair, he buys you some as well until you stop him..

♮ He will always go with you and the elder people of the family to check your cousin or siblings or whoevers arranged fiancée or lover it. He wants to make sure your cousins and family is in good hands.

♮ His sister will absolutely be decorated by your family, she’s so fricking pretty and when she wears a lehenga, it may seem a bit too heavy on her, but she feels beautiful and she looks so pretty like her brother as well!!! She’s prettier than you as well!!!

♮ Hobi and the boys will join you for an Indian movie night, he and the boys will sing their hearts out whenever the music comes on and you and Hobi will dance together. And then he and boys will learn the whole choreography and dance it and maybe cope some of them steps for their next music video.

♮ Also, he looks SO HANDSOME in a kurta, please, do not try to convince me otherwise, you and him will wear matching clothes!!! He will also try to match accessories and then the boys will match as well and now you’re all matching!!!!

♮ He will always have fun during Diwali, he will learn about why cow dung is so important and reason behind everything you do during your festivals and then he will join you as well!! All the ladies will also gossip with him!! Some things he finds a bit weird, but pretty open to cultures...

♮ Is shocked how many ARMYs are there in India, and how less he hears from them when SO many things are also done here. He is happy to meet them and promises Indian ARMYs for a concert in India!

Kim Namjoon - 김남준

✤ Now, if there is one thing we all know is that Namjoon always loves to learn things. And he is the most invested in your culture! He finds the story so interesting and he is always ready to listen to something you say and he asks ‘What’s the reason behind it?’, even if it didn’t exist in India…

✤ Namjoon is also very much interested in Indian classical music and classical dances, especially KathaKali and Kathak, he is so intrigued to see how a person can produce such facial expression with such a strong eye movements and how it’s so interesting!!  Also how a drama can be shown through dance, he finds it very sweet and amazing!!

✤ Namjoon LOVES Indian curries, now he is surprised at how less of meat consumption there is of meat and even if somebody eats meat, Pork or Beef is off-grounds, mainly cause Pig is considered a impure animal and it’s meat is taboo and cows give us milk and it is our god’s favourite animal and it’s considered a family member and so eating it’s meat is said to be wrong...

✤ Look at me and tell me he won’t look handsome in a kurta…… I DARE YOU. He looks so pretty!!! He looks so pretty and his smile and his body and his thighs and and- Okay, sorry for the break-down, but let’s be honest here! He is looking phenomenal! Of-course your sisters will tease you, but it’s all in good fun, he looks like a prince, not our fault!

✤ Namjoon is always the one whom your family loves a lot, he’s THE standard of the cousin, all your cousins including you are being compared to him, and it only affects your cousins though, because you know GOD IS FAIR. They come to you asking how you got such a boyfriend and you explain how he doesn’t know how to drive or cook and they try to laugh it off but realize how they’re still gonna be compared to him….

✤ Namjoon is always so eager to learn and he will sit down with your grandparents who are watching those mythological shows, and then he will ask you to translate or explain it to him and if you don’t, he will ask your grandparents and then you will translate whatever they explain to him and he’s so excited to bond with them, your grandparents will love him so much!! I just know it deep in my veins!

✤ Namjoon very much likes Indian treats, especially sweets, more specifically rasmalai, or mango-rasmalai, he loves it, so delicate and sweet, and sugary and pillowy!! He is very generous at times, but he definitely doesn’t share it! Maybe after a lot of convincing by either the boys or you, he will give you a few bites…

✤ You know one thing, he is obsessed with Laila-Majnu love story, it is very similar to Romeo and Juliet, and he tries to understand everything, how Laila was a noble and Majnu was a commoner and thus they couldn’t be together and how when one of them was hurt the other would also sustain the injury because of how strong their love was. Also how even after Laila’s marriage and execution of Majnu they managed to be together in after life, he loves it, he cried a bit ngl….

✤ Namjoon is much obsessed with Diwali, he is surprised how easily Indians handle cow dung, he could never…But he finds everything to be very fascinating and fun, he definitely spends time with the kids who can’t handle sitting still while their parents do the rituals...Then you and him will burn crackers for as long as you all can!! Of-course you have to stop him and the kids, cause they don’t realize they’re using crackers meant for the next day and you have to tell them to stop otherwise there won’t be any crackers left to burn the next day

✤ Namjoon likes celebrating Holi as well, finds it to be fun and nice and gets to eat good food and spend time with you and family….Especially when the playful people of the family life his shirt to put permanent colour and find his abs and stop and freeze in the moment….

✤ Ooh, he will watch ‘bhabhiji ghar par hai’ maybe?? Idk…I’m not sure, but I do get the vibes that he will enjoy it, despite it being kind of stupid, but then again he will also enjoy some Hindi literature and devolve himself in it for a while!!

✤ Namjoon also very much enjoys the celebration of a wedding, especially how a family is heavily involved in everything related to the wedding, the designs, the venue, the outfits, the dances, haldi, the theme, the food, the video, the photos and everything else, he is always ready to involve himself and maybe the boys will help around as well, though they may be a bit ignored for they’re foreigners, but they’re happy to help around wherever they can!! But I guess we try to put our differences aside, but Indians have TOO MANY RELATIVES and so no everybody knows them, so introduce the boys as your friends and Namjoon as your fiancée and then get roasted a bit and asked whens your wedding date…

✤ OMG! HE IS SO SURPRISED AT HOW MANY BTS FANS OR K-POP FANS IN GENERAL ARE THERE IN INDIA?! He is always ready to put on concerts for his fans, and after the interview with Sakshma Srivastav, he wanted to meet more fans and he did and he is surprised at how many people are excited to see them, he's happy for such a new found group of people he didn't knew existed, but he likes it either wayyy!!

✤ Oh, please if there's a wedding or something where you're putting on mahendi/henna on your hands, please put some on his hands too!! His hands look very pretty and he likes the time to be spoiled like a the pretty baby he is..He finds the smell to be very 'naturey', you don't know what it means and neither do i...

✤ He will invite your cousins, friends or siblings to his studio so they could ask if he did good on his songs, only you're very favorite people come and yes they all agree with the tunes that they're nice...gorahae boi...

Park Jimin - 박지민

✿ Mr. Park Jimin is probably obsessed with rom coms from your country and also the amazing songs and soap dramas, he will sit with you before you go to bed and he will ramble about how tulsi got another husband after just divorcing her ex-husband and how turns out tulsi’s first child belongs to her second husband??? Yeah, no I don’t understand either, but my mom does this…Anyone else? Anyways, yeah, you go to sleep thinking how hot and steaming the spicy gossip tea is…it’s all fictional…

✿ Jimin would always be happy to go out with you and eat at chowpatis, he is always hoping you don’t have to cook and he goes there with the boys often to the point where when he enters the chowpati with you, the shopkeepers greet him saying “Gora ladke, heyyyyy!!!” While waving their hands and some usual customers remember him as well, cause well he's sorta famous and he comes very often, the food is good and cheap…not his fault, nice experience and these things are something he only gets to experience and you get to see his mocha cheeks, win win!!! Of-course be careful about food bacteria..

✿ Jimin is very much in love with colouring rangolis, if you know how to, please make one for him and if you don’t…cry…then try your best to make one, then once you’re back is hurting and you’re tired, he will kiss you sit down like a princess getting ready to be kind and start colouring prettily, you teach him if you know how to, if you don’t...Kind of sad, but it’s fun trying new things out for both of you!!!

✿ Oh don’t ask why, but I think he will like anklets, on himself and on you, cause it is a social construct and yeah, eh will put them on in the house and walk around, his anklets jingling as he moves his feet or when he’s on a dance practice, he anklets jingling, the boys teasing him as he dances and then they all get distracted and now you have seven boys stealing payals from you if you have some, if you don’t they’re gonna order online or ask your parents for some…please restock, they’re gonna break…

✿ You know, I heard some someone that Mochi is Korea’s rasgullas and rasgullas are Indian mochis, and this haven’t left my head, so our mochi boi likes the pearly, pillowy sweet rasgullas as he squeezes the sugar syrup out to make sure nothing drips out and then he will feed some to you, it’s a sweet moments for you both!!

✿ He will dress you up and himself up for Diwali and Navratri and do graba with you, teach him some steps, he will dance and join you and if you go to those huge places where people learn how to dance for days and then one the final days they have colour coded dresses and then winners and all that things are done, he will come with you there and ready to dance and spend a night in ethnic outfits!!

✿ He is very much ready for Holi, he is gonna fight with colours, completely wet, with water balloons, permanent pink and silver colour, with huge water-guns, and buckets filled with colours and water in it, get ready, he is not gonna go down without a fight…

✿ He is ready to fight anyone who says Indian does not have good Ethnic outfits, he’s ready to fight and he will do so while wearing a sari/lahenga/kurti, just to show he a man can look pretty in it as well...It popped in my head, forgive me…

✿ He adores shopping with you, especially for jewellery, he is gonna be beside you while you bargain or someone else whom you brought with you bargains and get the thing for price three times less than it was originally for!! He is gonna try on things and you tell him which looks the prettiest on him, they will surely look good on you as well, you’re a couple after all!! And then once home, you will wear it and send photos and when he comes home, he will wear the jewellery and then you will have a mini photoshoot!

✿ He is gonna dance the kathak, teach some steps or look up on youtube, please, he will find ghungroo online, buy them and wear ghungroo and maybe he will whine because the thread is too tight and it hurts (like I used to..), but you explain it needs to be tight as to make sure it doesn’t open…you know he will fall if it does happen…and he tries to understand but I guess it doesn’t work, he still will tie them a bit loosely, also he gets to learn that Bharatnatyam and Kathak both have different types of ghungroo

✿ When you introduce him to your family, they will poke his cheeks and call him cute and sweet, your cousins will like him, and the ladies are FAN of him, like how could they not be?? Then men are a bit skeptic, but they get over it mainly cause he’s nice and like a fairy roaming around..

kim taehyung - 김태형

▨ Okay first, let's get the obvious out of the way, he's just as crazy as a Desi family, he's gonna fit right in, perfect boy! He's already loved by family, more than you or anyone else cause look at his achievements and look at you, reading this! Of-course he's your family's favourite!

▨ He loves to go out in chowpattis to eat, sometimes when he doesn't want to eat rotis, he will idk, go find some random cow or dog and give it to them cause he saw some old lady do it...I used to do that to escape yelling from my parents, but yeah, it's what he does. But he loves your cooking, worry not!!

▨ If you call him a Korean nickname "Jagi", he will call you a Desi nickname "Jaanu", it's no-negotiable, you can't be saying anything, unless you want him to call you something, then he will.

▨ You and him will be watching Indian soap dramas, especially "bhabji ghar pe hai?!", it's his fav genre, comedy and idiocy, if you can put on some subtitles, do that. He would love to watch movies as well, he finds them amazing, kind of upset, he can't understand hindi because when you both watch comedy he sometimes doesn't understand and you have to explain it and it ruins the fun?

▨ He wants his hands done first for henna, because he loves it, and he is obsessed with it as well!! He also helps you around if your feet and hands both have mehendi/henna on it, he will help you around unless he is also occupied, one of the boys will, and if they are occupied, then who knows who will help?

▨ He looks SO GODDAMN HANDSOME IN A KURTA!! I once saw a edited photo of it, and he looked like a goddess!! You both can match in Kurta and lehenga or saree or something and you both can be attractive and steal attention at family event's.

▨ Oh, the parent's wishes on having grand-kids will increase twice-fold cause well he wants kids, your parents show him photos he shows his photos, they fan-girls and now they're constantly thinking what your child will look like..

▨ Loves to dance with you on Indian songs, loves Bollywood films and songs and dances with you and watches a lot of films with you when he gets the time! Sometimes Tannie is also dancing and watching with you, if you have a dog, good and even great if your dog and Yeontan got close, you're a cute family!!

▨ Loves to fire crackers on Diwali, honestly always waiting for the day to end so he can get started on playing crackers at night, one the forth day when he sees and learns the uses of cow dung, he is a teensy bit grossed out, but will stay open-minded, though will stay away from it like I used to, unless they ask him to help and he doesn't want to feel bad and the boys laugh until they also get roped in it then they all wash their hands like three to four times just in case cause in the end it is still poop, no matter how useful, but find it a bit fascinating how useful it actually is.

▨ Will loved by cousins and kids of the family and others in general due to how playful he is, when he gets the time, he will helping cooking and even wake up early and bath so he can help the grandparents in bathing gods, dress them up, put the cool sunglasses on them, etc. I used to do it as a child where I would wake up early to bath so I can help bath god's idol we have, you all have that??

▨ Language barrier, but you're the translator, they don't understand songs or anything, but they're happy for the fame he receives, you and him will definitely go famous for being sch a gorgeous couple, an Indian and a Korean!? DAMN! Anyways, you're all gorgeous, Indian or not!

▨ He is another one who is shocked about the insane amount of ARMYs in India, he never knew there were so many ARMYs in Asian countries other than Korea, Japan, China, etc. But he's happy and is also keen on performing for Indian ARMYs when he can!

▨ Loves to colour in rangolis, finds it a bit hard to stay within the lines, but always happy to colour, make a separate rangoli for him,he will happily colour in it when he can. Also, loves the amazing gifts he gets sometimes from your family members as a honorary future family-in-law member, so he also gets gifts for everyone.

Jeon Jungkook/Jeongguk - 전정국

☁ Now, another cutie who loves to go to chowpati. Anyways, it's easy convenient, etc. He enjoys Indian food a lot, it reminds me of the video where they first ate paneer. He has loved to try some dishes made from paneer after that, the sodas sold on streets, the food, maybe his stomach will handle it, maybe not! But, he is definitely happy with all the food

☁ He is also loved by your mama, he's so cute, so respectful and so caring. And he's good at everything and he helps her cook, plays with the little kids (if you have some) in your family, with the help of you being the translator, he sits and watches TV shows or helps fix things or simply sits like a pretty boy on the side.

☁ He will absolutely dance with you on Hindi songs when he can, maybe with Hoseok, the maknae line when he can. It's so fun, making them dance on the most random songs.

☁ He loves to spend time colouring in rangolis, it's fun, he is great it for some reason and after one or two lessons, he's also able to make rangolis, using the dot pattern though. Would love to help you make some if you want, always searching up ideas for you and him to do when he's bored.

☁ Sits with your grandparents with you as a translator to listen to stories from their childhood, he likes it and finds it fascinating and it makes him curious to see what types of stories people of other cultures grew up with, it's pretty fun for you and a good bonding time!

☁ Makes his angry face every time he something good and you get confused if he actually likes it or something for a moment, it's funny, cause it confuses everyone who doesn't know that the angry face means the food i good!

☁ Whenever there is a wedding in your family, he will be the one to help the dancers in the family teach others and you both will absolutely have a dance together, he will be pretty and will capture everyone’s attention and then he will award himself with a good amount of food from the wedding!!

☁ Loves to burst crackers on diwali, and eating the many types of sweets, he doesn't know one culture can have THIS many sweets, absolutely devours them and they finish pretty quickly, sometimes brings some Korean sweets for your family too! He loves some exchange of cultures!!

☁ Oh my god the sight of his tattooed forearms in the rolled sleeves of kurta, my god!! He looks so hot and he eats everyone up at the event! Slaying bitches and Saving bitches, truly, he's made for some hot Indian films!!

☁ Your parents might get him a ring or a pair of earrings of pure-gold and diamonds or maybe his birthstone instead of diamond after he's been welcomed in the family as your unofficial husband and he looks pretty in them, I can imagine.

☁ Called you "jigar ka tukda" once and laughed himself to half-death when you told him it meant or translated somewhat to "piece of your chest" or "piece of your liver", but he calls you "babu" or "jaanu", it's cringe, but he pulls it off as always, so?

☁ APPALLED AT HOW MANY ARMYS ARE IN INDIA and how come he's never met them or gotten into any contact with them, sorta upset, and will demand that there be a few affordable concerts in India, he's trying!!

☁ Would love to go around with you, loves pani-puri, the culture, and jewellery and overall such a loving cutie!! Whenever he visits, he brings gifts for some close family members and the kids, whatever they would like, just remember to tell him not to mention chicken or anything if you're veg.

�� writing belongs to broken-mandolin0357, Aurelia, Moon, Cerine, Kiara. Reblogging is appreciated, but plagiarizing or copying my works is forbidden, thank you for ready and if you like this check out my blog!

[agentoffangirling]

as a south asian why the hell did they make aladdin and jasmine south asian. I am so confused. Isn't jasmine's name literally persian

Okay okay so there's a bit of a story for this

And to quickly answer your last question, yup, Jasmine is one of the forms of Yas/Yasmine, our jasmine flowers

So back in the 90s, and still a little bit today, many production companies such as Disney didn't really see a difference with the Middle East and South Asia. When Disney decided they wanted to make an adaptation of "Aladdin" from "One Thousand and One Nights" (slight tidbit here, the story of Aladdin is not part of the original book. A French guy added it in and for some reason, set it in China? One Thousand is a Persian story, most of the stories in there are Persian, so this choice was. Interesting), it's not like they suddenly hired a bunch of Middle Eastern experts to consult on the film. No, they just created a desert-y landscape and lumped in Persian, Arab, and South Asian all in there

This is why the palace of Agrabah heavily resembles the Taj Mahal on a more Arabic-sounding name. Rajah, Jasmine's pet tiger, is an Indian word for king. Names such as Jafar and Jasmine are Persian in origin, while a lot of the clothing is Turkish-inspired. Villains such as the Captain and Jafar have a lot more stereotypically Middle Eastern features (hooked nose, bushy eyebrows, etc [and it's a convo for another day about how the "good" characters don't have these exaggerated features])

This melding of several cultures is what led up to the live-action "Aladdin" in 2019. The creators of that movie wanted to be more respectful of the region, and so this time, they did hire consultants and the like to help ensure it would be much less offensive ("where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face", nice going 1992)

And for the most part, they did that. Except for Jasmine

Jasmine is played by Naomi Scott, a half white half Indian woman, and look, it's pretty obvious she only got this part because she's well known. I would also like to point out that the casting calls for the characters in general once again lumped Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern people, however, almost all of the cast is Middle Eastern, and several of them are Persian (Sultan and Mara, notably)

So while everyone else is wearing clothes more indicative of the Middle East, you have miss Jasmine over here dressed in sarees and Indian-inspired clothing because costuming department went "oh! She's Indian now!" Agrabah is also a lot more similar to South Asia than the Middle East, further deepening this issue

To an outsider, "Aladdin" is Indian. To them, there's some Arab inspo, but they would mostly think it's set somewhere in India or South Asia. That's what the casting and costuming department in "Rise of Red" were working with, and so they just opted to go the whole South Asian angle. None of the actors who portray Jasmine, Aladdin, and their kid are Middle Eastern, they're all South Asian. The clothes they're wearing are very obviously from that region

And if I'm being completely honest, that's exactly what I expect from Disney. Why would they bother to do research for extremely minor characters with two lines? The problem here is what I've been talking about above, is that Hollywood is constantly thinking South Asians and Middle Easterners are interchangeable when we're not. If I see a MENA character on screen, more often than not the actor is South Asian. This is a continuous problem no one from these places wants to see happening, and yet it is because Hollywood doesn't actually care. The more it's done, the more they think it's okay and so they continue to blur the lines between several different cultures

So, on an ending note, Jasmine and Aladdin are Arab, if not Persian, and the idea that we are interchangable with South Asians harms both our cultures

[monstersinthecosmos]

okay I think we should take inventory of what we learned about Marius's house.

In fact, the impression was one of comfortable messiness.

(i think the tiktok kids started calling ADHD clutter clustering or something LMAO marius de romanus cluster girlie i guess. thanks i hate it)

Here's some stuff that Marius had on his island!!!!!!!

stone benches

a lighted oil lamp on a stand

a pair of heavy wooden doors

a sarcophagus with a plain lid, cleanly fashioned out of diorite

The lid plated in iron and contained

a golden mask, its features carefully molded, attached to a hood made up of layered plates of hammered gold.

a pair of leather gloves covered completely in tinier more delicate gold plates like scales.

a large folded blanket of the softest red wool with one side sewn with larger gold plates

Magnificent Grecian urns on pedestals in the corridors

great bronze statues from the Orient

exquisite plants at every window and terrace open to the sky.

Gorgeous rugs from India, Persia, China c

giant stuffed beasts mounted in lifelike attitudes-

--the brown bear,

--the lion,

--the tiger,

--even the elephant standing in his own immense chamber,

--lizards as big as dragons,

--birds of prey clutching dried branches made to look like the limbs of real trees.

brilliantly colored murals covering every surface from floor to ceiling

a dark vibrant painting of the sunburnt Arabian desert complete with an exquisitely detailed caravan of camels and turbaned merchants moving over the sand

a jungle warming with delicately rendered tropical blossoms, vines, carefully drawn leaves

creatures everywhere in the texture of the jungle-

--insects,

--birds,

--worms in the soil-

too many monkeys in the jungle,

too many bugs crawling on the leaves.

thousands of tiny insects in one painting of a summer sky.

a large gallery walled on either side by painted men and women staring at me

Figures from all ages these were-

--bedouins,

--Egyptians,

--Greeks and Romans,

--knights in armor,

--peasants

--kings

--queens.

--Renaissance people in doublets and leggings,

--the Sun King with his massive mane of curls,

--people of our own age.

droplets of water clinging to a cape,

the cut on the side of a face,

the spider half-crushed beneath a polished leather boot.

a library, blazing with light.

Walls and walls of books and

rolled manuscripts,

giant glistening world globes in their wooden cradles,

busts of the ancient Greek gods and goddesses,

great sprawling maps.

Newspapers in all languages lay in stacks on tables.

Fossils,

mummified hands,

exotic shells.

bouquets of dried flowers,

figurines and fragments of old sculpture,

alabaster jars covered with Egyptian hieroglyphs.

comfortable chairs with footstools,

candelabra or oil lamps.

a forest of cages.

birds of all sizes and colors

monkeys

baboons,

Potted plants crowded against the cages-

--ferns and

--banana trees,

--cabbage roses,

--moonflower,

--jasmine,

--other sweetly fragrant nighttime vines.

purple and white orchids,

waxed flowers that trapped insects in their maw,

little trees groaning with peaches and lemons and pears.

a hall of sculptures equal to any gallery in the Vatican museum.

adjoining chambers full of paintings,

Oriental furnishings,

mechanical toys.

fine rosewood paneling with framed mirrors rising to the ceiling.

painted chests,

upholstered chairs,

dark and lush landscapes,

porcelain clocks.

A small collection of books in the glass-doored bookcases,

a newspaper of recent date lying on a small table beside a brocaded winged chair.

the stone terrace. where banks of white lilies and red roses gave off their powerful perfume.

a pair of winged chairs that faced each other

a dozen or so candelabra and sconces on the paneled walls.

brocade cushions

[scarz-xo]

Veto Power in the UN: is the power of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to veto any "substantive" resolution.

Veto: an official power or right to refuse to accept or allow something.

Now the question is who holds that much power and right? And most importantly do they deserve those privileges?

China

France

Russia

UK

USA

Now let's dig deeper in China 🇨🇳:

Here's the most recent crime that for some reason nobody talks about (It's not "some reason" but they're Muslims so terrorists by default, huh?) :

Next we have France 🇫🇷:

One of the things I'll never forget is my Algerian coworker who told us about how some of her family members losing their lives in traumatising ways to those who lived to remember.

Next we have Russia 🇷🇺:

What I find funny is the "could be" in the headline cause the pictures in Kiev and the mass graves should be enough proof that it is an actual crime.

Next is the UK 🇬🇧:

And finally USA 🇺🇸:

And the list goes on,we can go through it not for days but for decades, going around each of the 5 countries histories to discover atrocities some made individually and some made with a bunch of them gathering together and of course that results in many inhumane Vetoes because how can we depend on those who hurt us, who hurt humanity throughout history to hold that much power? To have that right?

Veto is not outdated, it should have never been created.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil’s BRICS Balancing Act Is Getting Harder

The bloc’s expansion is amplifying its anti-Western tendencies, creating strategic risks for Brazil.

Since Brazil co-founded the BRICS in 2009, Brazilian analysts and politicians have largely agreed that membership brought tangible benefits to the country—including closer ties to China. But as this year’s summit approaches, the costs are adding up. The meeting in Kazan, Russia, will occur as the invasion of Ukraine, more than halfway through its third year, continues to cloud Vladimir Putin’s reputation.

BRICS membership (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) helped solidify Brazil’s status as an emerging power, a narrative that has held up remarkably well despite economic stagnation during the last decade. It also guaranteed Brazilian leaders regular facetime with China’s political leadership and bureaucracy, which became the country’s top trading partner in 2009.

The countless intra-BRICS meetings on areas ranging from defense and health to education and the environment helped Brazil’s bureaucracy, largely ignorant about China until recently, adapt to a less Western-centric world. Perhaps most importantly, however—and often overlooked by Western analysts—is that Brazil found common cause with other BRICS members in seeking to actively shape the transition towards multipolarity, which they regard not only as inevitable but also desirable and a development that will help constrain Washington.

Meanwhile, the costs of BRICS membership were largely seen as negligible, so neither center-right president Michel Temer (2016-18) nor far-right president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-22) questioned Brazil’s membership. On the contrary, by the end of his government, Bolsonaro was a pariah in most of the West, but thanks to the BRICS grouping, he avoided complete diplomatic isolation. After all, it was only during encounters with fellow BRICS leaders that the former right-wing president could be sure not to face uncomfortable questions about his handling of the pandemic, deforestation or his unfounded allegations about electoral fraud.

Recent developments in the BRICS grouping, however, have the potential to undermine this relatively broad consensus in Brazil vis-à-vis the benefits of membership. Until last year, Brazil had, along with India, successfully prevented the bloc’s expansion, promoted by Beijing since 2017. Both Brasília and Delhi feared a loss of the grouping’s exclusivity and a loss of capacity to control intra-BRICS dynamics, having worked to fend off efforts by China and Russia to include anti-Western language in the summit declarations. Symbolizing the growing rift between an anti-Western bloc and another that opts for multi-alignment (or non-alignment), Russia often seeks to portray BRICS as a counterweight to the G7, while President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva likes to insist that BRICS is “not against anyone.”

Continue reading.

[icekingofhope]

who is your favorite character from LMK? And your least favorite?

oh well I have many favorites of mine although my main favorite is the camel ridge trio (Peng tusk and azure) they are honestly not just my most favorite villains of lmk but in media

And what the season 4 special did to them was such bullshit but I already went in why I hate the special before

Cause like I can see their cause and actually rooted for them to win in season 4 I can see why they want to dethrone the jade emperor and why they wouldn’t let anyone stand in their way!

especially considering the times of ancient China cause let’s face it despite how beautiful and amazing the ancient times were…they were really problematic cause like slavery was a thing and normalized back then

and we also have problems in modern society with politics world hunger etc so it would make since why azure Peng and tusk would do the things they do and I can understand why they felt so betrayed by wukong cause imagine your leader who you haven’t seen in 500 years (assuming they didn’t even know he was sealed away under a mountain) and hearing about him again but he is working for a monk who was a celestial to get scriptures from India and your said brother had attacked not only demons but your old sworn brothers as well and even killed one (aka macaque)

I would honestly feel betrayed and angry myself yet I love how azure doesn’t hate wukong or hold grudges he literally was gonna keep him in the scroll till he killed the jade emperor then he would have released him and help him see reason

like I can talk about these three All damn day they are my absolute favorites of mine and they deserved a lot better then what the special did (and azure definitely did not deserve to be villainized and transformed into some type of tyrant and don’t say “well he had a lot of power so-“ my friend he was king before and from what I seen in jttw he was a great leader he literally calls his soldiers little wind cutters and don’t say they were always evil keep in mind it was wukong who attacked first they weren’t gotta hurt the monk or anything it just when wukong attacked they got pissed off cause it this)

and it makes me sad that people would hate these guys subjecting them to stereotypes that Peng is a asshole azure is a evil person and Yellowtusk…well who cares about him? Cause like all three of them are amazing characters in the show and book and mythology (even though it’s mostly Peng who is most of the mythology)

anyways for my least favorite…

it has to be either xiangliu or the mayor

unfortunately I could care less for xiangliu like I personally think he is a massive hypocrite and also batshit insane-

like he is not a monster he is just a psychopath cause who in their right mind literally starts the end of the world CAUSE OF FUCKING CHAOS?!

Now he may probably come back in next season I don’t know but right now I hate him

for the mayor….to me I don’t really also care much to me he is just the lady bone demons servant and it sucks cause like we don’t get to see why he is the way he is and why he fellows lady bone demon like a lapdog

and it feels weird at the end of the season 3 special he is nowhere to be seen i feel like if they expanded his lore more i may would have find him cool but like there is barely shit about him

(also I kinda hate his design it just looks so basic like I’m not asking for full details but make him not look like a business man with a bad haircut)

so yeah my main favorite is azure Peng and tusk and my least are either xiangliu and mayor

[thatwobblychair]

CoD The Other Good Guys Bear! Edition

What if the rest of the good guys in call of duty were bears? Part 2 - see Part 1 for 141 as bears

More bear facts! Cause bears are truly the best! 🐻💯

Alejandro: Mexican Grizzly Bear*

Ursus arctos nelsoni - now Ursus arctos horribilis

*depiction of what a mexican grizzly bear may have looked like alive

A now extinct subspecies of the grizzly bear that once inhabited northern Mexico. Due to its predation on cattle farms, they were considered pests and hunted by farmers. By the 1960s there were less than 30 individuals remaining. In 1974 the last known individual was shot in Sonora.

It was smaller than grizzly bears from the United states and Canada, and its colouration was said to range from a pale yellow to greyish-white with a darker undertone, though some individuals were described to be darker and reddish brown.

Due to its silvery fur, it was called 'el olso plateado' (the silvery bear) in Spanish, though it's name in the Ópatas language (an indigenous Mexican people's) was 'pissini'.

Rudy: Spectacled Bear "Andean Bear"

Tremarctos ornatus

The last remaining short-faced bear, native to the Andes Mountains in northern and western South America. Though all bears are omnivores, the spectacled bear has a mostly herbivorous diet with only 5-7% of their diet being meat.

The bear is named after it's distinctive eye markings, though not all spectacled bears may have such markings. Individuals can have highly variable fur patterns making it relatively easy to distinguish from one another.

It's short face and broad snout is thought to be an adaptation to a carnivorous diet despite it's herbivorous preferences.

Paddington Bear is said to be a Spectacled Bear from Peru.

Farah: Asian Black Bear "Moon Bear"

Ursus thibetanus

A medium sized bear native to Asia and highly adapted to arboreal life. It can be found in parts of Korea, China, Japan, eastern Russia, the Himalayas, southeastern Iran and northern India. It is listed as vulnerable due to deforestation and poaching for its body parts (used in traditional medicines).

The name 'moon bear' is given due to its distinctive creamy white cresent fur patch, though in some individuals it is "V" shaped. It has a powerful upper body stronger than it's lower limbs and are known to be the most bipedal of bears.

It has a reputation for extreme aggression despite their reclusive nature and there have been documented reports of unprovoked attacks. They are said to be more aggressive than the Eurasian Brown Bears that may cohabit the same areas and the American Black Bear.

Alex: American Black Bear

Ursus americanus

Alongside the Brown Bear, it is one of the only Bear species not threatened with extinction.

Despite living in North America, it is more closely related to the Asian Black Bear and Sun Bear than Grizzly Bears (North American Brown Bears) and Polar Bears. It's ancestors are thought to have split off from the Sun Bear.

Black Bears are distinguished from Grizzly Bears who may cohabit the same area, with their longer tall ears, straight face profile, shorter claws and lack of distinctive hump.

Teddy bears, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Smokey Bear are all inspired by the American Black Bear.

Nikolai: Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus

A large bear native to the Arctic. It is closely related to the Brown Bear and can hybridise with them though this is rare and not often seen. (See Grolar Bears)

They are the most carnivorous of all bear species (hypercarnivores), specialising in hunting seals through ambush attacks. Polar Bears are usually solitary but can be found in groups on land. They can form stable 'alliances' based on dominance hierarchies outside of breeding seasons with the largest males at the top.

It's common name was given in 1771, and was previously referred to as 'white bear', 'ice bear', 'sea bear', 'Greenland bear' in 13th - 18th century Europe. The Netsilik cultures (Inuit) named it 'nanook' and have several additional different names for them depending on sex and age of the polar bear.

Laswell: Kodiak Bear "Kodiak/Alaskan Brown Bear"

Ursus arctos middendorffi

Named after it's habitation of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska, the Kodiak bear is the largest subspecies of Brown Bear, with some individuals comparable to the Polar Bear in size.

An island bear, it is 1.5-2x larger than it's mainland cousins the grizzly bear, though physically and physiologically, the two bears are very similar.

Due to its tendancy to feed in dense groups, it has thought to have developed more complex social behaviours (in comparison to mainland grizzly bears) to minimise infighting/fatalities via both verbal/ body posturing and social structures.

+

All info taken from wiki. Please let me know if ther any mistakes.