#International Relations Visa

[sravani12345]

Apply for Subclass 403 International Relations Visa

Are you looking for a visa that can open doors to international experiences, better career prospects, and an enriched quality of life? If so, the Subclass 403 Visa also known as the International Relations Visa, might be just what you need! This visa is designed for individuals who need to stay in Australia for specific international purposes, such as government agreements, diplomatic duties, or special programs. But don’t worry—we’ll break down all the details in a simple, easy-to-understand way.

What Is the Subclass 403 Visa?

The Subclass 403 Visa is a temporary visa that allows you to enter and stay in Australia under various streams. The main goal of this visa is to strengthen international relations while providing individuals with opportunities to gain valuable experience. Whether you're a diplomat, a government official, or participating in a cultural exchange, this visa is designed to facilitate global cooperation.

Why Consider the Subclass 403 Visa?

Getting an International Relations Visa can be a game-changer. Here’s why:

Career Growth – Gain international experience and enhance your resume.

Networking Opportunities – Meet professionals from around the world.

Personal Development – Experience new cultures and expand your horizons.

Temporary Stay Without Long-Term Commitment – Ideal if you need to stay in Australia for a specific project or role.

Who Is Eligible?

To qualify for a Subclass 403 Visa, you must meet specific eligibility requirements, which vary based on the stream you apply for. Here are the primary streams:

Government Agreement Stream – For those involved in programs under agreements between the Australian government and another country.

Foreign Government Agency Stream – If you’re working for a foreign government agency in Australia.

Domestic Worker Stream (Diplomatic or Consular) – If you are employed as a domestic worker for a diplomat.

Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme Stream – For workers from certain Pacific countries and Timor-Leste to take up temporary employment.

Special Program Stream – Covers various cultural exchange programs.

Seasonal Worker Stream (now part of PALM) – Designed for workers in specific seasonal industries like agriculture.

Step-by-Step Application Process

Applying for a Subclass 403 Visa might seem overwhelming, but here’s a simple breakdown:

Determine Your Stream – Choose the appropriate stream based on your purpose in Australia.

Check Eligibility Requirements – Ensure you meet all the conditions, such as sponsorships or government agreements.

Gather Required Documents – Common documents include:

Passport

Proof of employment or sponsorship

Police clearance certificate

Health examination reports

Financial statements (if applicable)

Submit an Online Application – Lodge your application through the Department of Home Affairs website.

Pay the Application Fee – The fee varies depending on the stream, generally starting from AUD 325.

Attend Any Necessary Interviews – You may be asked to provide additional information or attend an interview.

Wait for Processing – Processing times depend on the stream but generally range from a few weeks to several months.

Costs and Processing Time

The cost of a Subclass 403 Visa varies based on the stream you’re applying for. While some streams are free (like the Foreign Government Agency stream), others may require a fee. The processing time can also vary, so it’s best to apply well in advance of your intended travel date.

Final Thoughts

The International Relations Visa is a fantastic option for those looking to work, engage in cultural exchanges, or take part in diplomatic missions in Australia. Whether you’re seeking career advancement, global exposure, or personal growth, this visa offers a unique opportunity to experience life in Australia while contributing to international cooperation.

[my-opinions]

I am genuinely curious, but how does Zhou travel?

Like if you look at where the Chinese passport can take you without a visa is like nothing, so how does he travel everywhere? what types of visas does he have? How full is his passport? If anyone has an answer let me know because I really would like to know.

[msknk246]

[destinationfortouriststospen]

Australian Government Cancels COVID Visa: Implications for Indian Students and Temporary Employees

According to a report in the media, Australia is planning to do away with the Subclass 408 or COVID work visa in the near future. If this occurs, a sizable number of Indian students and temporary employees may be forced to look for alternative options in order to stay in the country.The Temporary Activity Visa, also known as subclass 408, gives candidates the opportunity to work in Australia if they already have an offer of employment in a critical area or are engaged in that field.

“The government is currently considering its ongoing suitability. This includes consideration of an end date for closing eligibility of the visa (Subclass 408) and a proposed approach to returning to normal operations,” the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) told SBS, 

This new development occurs at the same time as the Australian government is taking steps to implement a new working hour restriction of 48 hours per fortnight for international students, which will take effect on July 1.

The COVID work visa allowed students the ability to work an unlimited number of hours, but those limits will now be reinstated, which will result in a reduction in the student’s income.

On the other hand, foreign students who are employed in the elderly care industry will be excluded from this limit until the end of the year.

“The closure of this visa will affect many, including international students. They will be looking at a different visa to stay in Australia, for which they will pay,” Suman Dua, a migration expert, told SBS, adding that the COVID work visa was free to obtain.

In the beginning, the purpose of the COVID work visa was to help relieve the burden placed on international students already studying in Australia who were unable to leave the country due to border restrictions caused by the COVID virus. Students who had visas that were about to expire were granted permission to remain in the country for an extra year. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) made the announcement in March 2022 that the COVID work visa would be extended as part of the measures taken by the government to revitalize the Australian economy after it was impacted by the epidemic. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has introduced a more lenient policy on visa condition 8107, which refers to employment limits for holders of Subclass 408 visas. This was done to alleviate the ongoing shortage of workers.

“There is a range of permanent or temporary visas that pandemic event visa holders may be eligible to apply for to remain in Australia,” the DHA told SBS.

At this moment, persons are qualified for a Subclass 408 visa if their existing visa (with work privileges) is set to expire in 90 days or less, or if it is set to expire within 28 days of the time the application is submitted. Applicants for a Subclass 408 visa are generally eligible for a visa that allows them to remain in Australia for up to a year. However, holders of a Temporary Graduate (Subclass 485) visa are eligible for a pandemic event visa that allows them to remain for up to two years.

For more details visit @ https://visadone.com/contact-us/

[foone]

AAA games? Pfft. Indie games? Double pfft.

I only play games from the alternate history where Hillary Clinton was elected in 2008 and banned all video games. You can only imagine how weird their underground gaming scene is. People like to call unlicensed games "bootlegs" but they've got actual bootlegged games! I've played games about helping your grandmother in hospice care realize she's a lesbian by reading Sappho to her, at 2am in a speakeasy in Baltimore. The cops raided it the next night, hundreds of Gamers were arrested. They posted pictures all over Friendster of the Baltimore PD destroying the arcades with axes.

I nearly got busted once because I was imaging old disks from a 386 and someone tipped off the gaming cops that there was a copy of Commander Keen in there. I had to prove that I didn't know it, I was imaging the disks blind and then indexing them later, and I would of course turn over any contraband to the proper authorities.

I was already on a watch list because I'd been known to have some gamedev-related activities pre-ban. They can't arrest me for making games back in 2007 when it was still legal, but they do want to keep an eye on me since I have the skills to break the law.

Anyway that universe's bootlegs are mainly PC games. Can't really have console games if there hasn't been a console release since the Wii/PS3/360 era. At one point Nintendo threatened to release the Wii SDK so game devs in the US could make unlicensed games, but that didn't happen as there were quickly no functional Wiis left in the US, except for very rare holdouts that never move. PC games are easy to distribute samizdat and hide on a USB stick or CD-R labeled "nickelback".

Japan's games industry is still going, so the later Nintendo and Sony consoles still exist, but Microsoft got out of the business of course. They sold the franchise to Sega who were hoping to release the 360 successor (the Xbox One in our universe) as the Sega Phoenix but it never materialized, either through their own financial incompetence or because of pressure from the US. There's a lot of international treaties that the US has pushed "and this aid only goes through if you ban games" clauses into. That would have been an official UN resolution if the USSR hadn't vetoed it. For once, thank God for the security council, eh?

I mainly get my gaming news through Japanese gaming sites (through a set of VPNs, since they're blocked at the border firewall), and some tor onion site run by a weird guy in Minnesota who is obsessed with documenting all the underground US games.

There's a lot being worked on, but it's always a tricky trade off. Too much attention and the police might be able to track down the creators, and it's basically impossible to fund underground games, as the VISA/PayPal etc funds get seized immediately. There's a whole task force for that.

Anyway one of the weirdest differences between our two time lines is that they've gone back and edited out gaming from a bunch of movies. Those that they can, of course. War games was just banned because they couldn't remove the tic tac toe ending. The Net just removed the scene at the beginning where she's playing Wolfenstein 3D, by recording some new screen footage and a new voice over. She's fixing a spreadsheet in the new edition.

(Yes, I've seen The Net from this alternate timeline. On Laserdisc, of course. I'm just that kind of person!)

They even edited Star Wars. You know that scene where R2-D2 is playing holochess with Chewie? They edited it to be a board game instead of holograms, because that made it too "video gamey".

Technically it's not illegal to show gaming in a movie, but it needs to be an 18+ film and you have to show the deleterious effects of gaming and/or the gamesters coming to a bad end.

This has affected films less than you'd think, to be honest. They were never great about showing video games even before they banned them.

Anyway, go have fun playing your AAA games with hundred-million-dollar budgets. I only play indie games made by people under a constant threat of arrest for their art.

[abroaddream]

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[ohnoitstbskyen]

So, considering what's going on with Riot right now, do you think Arcane Season 2 got caught up in all of this restructuring?

Yes and no. Arcane season 2 is part of the reason for the restructuring.

As I understand it, internally at Riot, after Arcane was a huge (and more importantly: prestigious!) success, the decision was made to basically hand the entirety of the game's lore and story over to the Entertainment division within Riot. These are the people in large part responsible for projects like Arcane, K/DA, Heartsteel, that animated series China got, all that sort of thing.

The writers at Riot were basically told to flat out stop producing new content and lore for the game - that's why there's BEEN no new story content for League for over a year - because everything was going to be consolidated under the Entertainment division from now on. This is why Riot started talking about "One Runeterra" and "Arcane is going to be canon" and so on.

The success of Arcane convinced executives that what League of Legends needs is a singular cohesive brand with its most successful public property leading the charge, Arcane is going to be the gateway drug, the hook on the end of the line that brings new players and new paying customers into the exciting world of the League of Legends multimedia IP universe!

Nevermind that Arcane's story and worldbuilding is fundamentally incompatible with >checks notes< the overwhelming majority of Runeterra as it exists and enormous compromises would have to be made to either the world of Runeterra or Arcane itself to make it work. Arcane is the big shiny prestigious mainstream Emmy-award winning project that every executive wants to put their name next to, and like companies Pivoting To Video in 2015 because Facebook showed them inflated viewership stats, Riot Games is Pivoting To Arcane. It's better than them pivoting to crypto and NFTs, at least, although I know for a fact that high ranking people at Riot tried to make that happen too.

Now, the primary cause for all of these games industry layoffs is that interest rates aren't zero anymore. Borrowing money isn't free, the curve of constant growth has ever so slightly slowed, taking on debt is becoming a little tiny bit more risky than it was previously, and corporations are responding to this with massive rounds of layoffs and constriction to show "financial responsibility" and prove to shareholders that they are prioritizing core growth strategies and blah blah blah etc. They're also trying to kneecap the growing labor movement in the games industry and exert downwards pressure on wages, but the interest rates seem to have been the main thing.

In Riot's particular case, a secondary reason is they want to pivot the focus of the company to support their One Runeterra pipe dream, so a lot of the people who got fired at Riot are writers, artists, creative leads and sometimes extremely senior and successful staff who are now surplus to requirements. This is also why Riot shut down Riot Forge in the same round of layoffs - can't have a bunch of talented indie devs going off making video games that don't adhere to the new One Runeterra policy. What if someone played Mageseeker and got confused how there can be mages all over Demacia but somehow there are no mages in Arcane's Piltover and Zaun. That's a plot hole! People write snarky articles about that sort of thing. It turns off new consumers! What if Cinema Sins makes a video making fun of it?!?

So yeah. A bunch of cocaine-addled fame hungry executive vultures at Riot are absolutely gagging on their own d*cks to put their name next to Arcane related projects, and since they were going to be screwing hundreds of people out of their careers, healthcare, and in some cases their fucking visa status anyway, it seems to have presented a nice opportunity to clear the board for their latest Visionary Scheme for the company IP.

That is as I understand the situation, anyway. I'm a bitter old man and most of what I hear is second hand and anonymous gossip through my social networks, take what I say with a grain of salt, but I've followed this company for (oh god) twelve years now and I have developed a tragically keen understanding of how its executive class operates.

[quinnlarrabee]

Macron's fiery Sorbonne speech targets summering American Millennials

It’s no coincidence that Emmanuel Macron gave a fiery speech about the threats facing Europe the same week that American Millennials in New York, LA, and Miami began talking about booking their one-way flights to the continent. "There is a risk our Europe could die - we are not equipped to face the risks," Macron said, referring to the dietary allergies, alternative milk needs, and tedious conversations of trust-funded, unemployed young adults who will begin their summer in Paris to attend a museum benefit that spills into a large dinner party with several professional photographers before traveling to Puglia, Comporta, or Ibiza where they will subsist on ‘beautiful tomatoes,’ flat whites, and MDMA. 

Europe has struggled with illegal immigration for decades, and there is no more pressing illegal immigration threat than American Millennials who have decided that being unemployed in Europe is less distressing for their parents than being unemployed in Williamsburg. Google searches for ‘how long can I stay in EU without passport’ spiked in late-April among Americans who have not yet bought a Portuguese passport from a guy who used to run a turnkey Burning Man camp who is now running a Golden Visa scheme in Lisbon. “Our Europe today is mortal,” Macron said. “It can die and that depends solely on our choices,” the choices being whether or not to search and detain for ketamine at customs and how to clearly define tipping protocol in restaurants. 

“It used to be enough to spend a couple weeks in Italy in July,” observes Coco, a 34-year-old retired gallery founder who is on the board of several art-related non-profits that she instructed her unpaid interns to start. “But now it gets so hot in Europe in July that everyone is going in June and even like, May.” Coco has several weddings and dinner parties in various coastal destinations in Europe in June, but she has not yet RSVP’d nor has she booked any travel. “I know I’m going to go, but I’ve just been too busy to look at the dates or book anything,” she says, absently picking some kind of beige matter from the left eye of her toy goldendoodle. Macron at one point asserts in his speech that Europe is “too slow and lacks ambition,” referring directly to Coco’s ambivalent European travel plans. 

Uncertainty permeates the vibe in Europe right now, not because of a military threat posed by a giant, angry country with cocked nukes driven by a weak-minded Cold War relic, but because every Millennial in New York, Miami and Los Angeles has expressed their intention to occupy Europe without declaring the targets. 

“Is very stressful,” says Aldo Melpignano, the proprietor of Borgo Egnazia, a trendy boutique hotel in Puglia that for Europeans costs €120 a night and charges 30something Americans visiting from coastal zipcodes $970. “I see the hashtags on the Instagram, like, I’m coming for your @borgoegnazia,” he says. “Va bene, Allison, when you gonna come for us, and are you gonna come with that stupid capello?” says Aldo while making a pinched-fingers emoji with one hand and pointing to his head with the other. Hotel, coffee shop, organic market, and narcotics purveyors all over Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal have echoed this desire for more resolute planning and fewer hats from the demographic that funds the less productive but more desirable EU countries.  

"We must produce more, we must produce faster, and we must produce as Europeans," Macron said, a rallying cry to European DJs to sample only vocals that were recorded in native European languages.  

“Europe must show that it is never a vassal of the United States and that it also knows how to talk to all the other regions of the world," Macron said, refuting the irrefutable fact that Europe has become a summer camp for unproductive younger Americans and suggesting that they be immediately deported to Bodrum or Izmir upon landing at CDG, MXP, and LIS. 

“This is a betrayal of our values that ultimately leads us to dependency on other counties,” Macron said, making an observation about Europe’s frustration with having to work between May and August in order to show American Millennials how to correctly tap their credit card on puzzling European payment terminals.

“Europe must become capable of defending its interests, with its allies by our side whenever they are willing, and alone if necessary,” said Macron, in defense of French baristas who do not like working with oat milk. Taking a hands-on approach to ensuring the EU’s “ability to ensure our security” Macron and his wife will begin their Summer at a wedding in the Aeolian Islands in early June, float around Sicily or Puglia the following week, head to Bonjuk Bay for an appearance of prominent LA-based DJ, RICHE, and then couch-surf in Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera the rest of the summer.

[macsimagines]

Hello again dearest! I hope you’ve been doing well and that life has been treating you kindly ♡

With my second and third Uni midterms looming over me, I would like to request Yan! Izana, Ran, & Shin with a foreign darling~ One who is an international university student in Japan on a student visa

And if it’s not too long, I’d like a follow up of their darling taking them to visit their home country for the holidays since the Yan’s can’t bear to be apart from their darling especially when they would be overseas alone without them ♡♡

I've actually had foreign japanese students at my old school and uni though we weren't' close wish i couldve interacted more and maybe learned something from them hah

TW: YANDERE BEHAVIOR, MINORS DNI, BABY TRAPPING, SCUM BAG BEHAVIOR

Yandere! Izana Kurokawa

He was attracted to you right away, not even romantically or physically, just having been of mixed decent and then seeing someone who might relate to his own experiences interested him.

Became very romantically interested after a few interactions however, you had such a fresh perspective as a foreigner and some of the things he's had to live through seemed to resonate with you.

"Your step-mom was straightup evil. No kid should have to go through that, and I hope your kingdom is as beautiful as you make it out to be."

Hooked for life right away. And also distraught at the thought of you leaving, would constantly try to convince you to get a citizenship and just live here forever with him.

"Why even go back if I'm here?" Is one thousand percent serious, you've become such a huge part of his entire being so it must be the same for you right?

When you convince him to come with you on holiday home to meet your family though, something changes. You don't have to stay in Japan, you just have to stay with him.

As long as you're together than everything will work out. It wasn't like you could so much as leave his place without him being glued to your hip, good luck getting out of the country without him tagging along.

Yandere! Ran Haitani

He is sooo enamored by you. Fetishizing people because of their race is so goddamn gross but the fact that you're foreign definitely is what attracts him to you to begin with.

Ran is so toxic with it to. Calls you exotic like its some kind of compliment, tells you you're accent is soooo cute when you're doing your best to sound natural, makes fun of you for every mispronunciation.

But you don't know anyone in Japan and he's 6'1 so you put up with it. He's just so tall and pretty and he knows all the best spots in roppongi so of course you choose to suck it up.

Afterall, its not like it's forever. He's just your heavy and hot fling that you can go home and brag to your friends about, right? Wrong. He's sprung bitch and you're stuck with him.

"Hey, when are we going to your neck of the woods for this holiday?" "...We?" "Ya, I gotta pack and get my ticket soon, right?"

Hope you're ready to disappoint your folks now that you're bringing home this freak show. Don't forget his dream is to become a foreign celebrity so he wants to experience it all when he visits with you.

"Man, this trip is so much fun. I can't wait for next year."

Yandere!Shinichiro Sano

Worships you. He can't spit game for shit, but thankfully you don't understand him too well to begin with. It's a match made in heaven!

He doesn't make fun of you when you get your words wrong or fumble a sentence, but he does think its so cute. Shinichiro doesn't try to infantilize you but it does come off like that.

God the fact that you want him and you stick with him even though he's such a dork makes him love you so much, he doesn't even think he deserves you.

Hates it when you go home the first time. He can't even talk to you on the phone because of service issues, and trust me this dude was ready to take out loans for collect call just to hear your voice.

Bombards you with all kinds of questions like "Who did you see? Who were you with? Are you going back!?"

So my big headcanon is that he's a baby trapper. So when you talk about going next season he's already trying to figure out how knock you up.

Ends up fucking you with busted condoms (he poked holes) a few weeks before your trip because he needed to give you a VERY good reason to come back.

Just tells you "It's cause I'm going to miss you so much baby, I gotta get as much of you as I can. :)"

You end up surprising him with a ticket for him to come with you. He honestly could cry tears of joy, but he'll save it for when you discover his own little surprise.

[system-of-a-feather]

DID and Recovery

Honestly, I think something that I don't think I've seen talked about that I've only now really reflected upon and put into words myself, is just how much living DID - or at least DID with heavily elaborated parts and just a general complex / polyfragmented structure - is just how much of your life is Actually Just Internal and its not really something I've noticed until I've begun to operate in a fused manner and more grounded manner

Because growing up, I didn't really exist in the real world. I - in my many different parts and forms - occasionally existed in the real world, engaging in it like it's a job, a video game, a challenge, a maintence task, or what not. Even as a fused whole, I never really lived in this world. Every part of myself only "visited" and "checked in" whether they explicitly were aware that's what they were doing. I was just bouncing between 400 Visas and names. Living in this world never meant anything to me much more than either a place of pain, a place of work, a fun game, a challenge, a hobby, a task, etc.

My childhood was internal. Almost all of my parts, our childhood was internal. Our memories of our childhood relates to how it was internalized internally. Our traumatic memories of childhood relates to how it was recorded internally and the narrative we attributed to it. Our internal experience was more important than our external experience. Our family was not our family as much as our situational family that we existed around - our real family were the parts we were aware of during that time. Riku's siblings weren't their siblings. They were "our" siblings to which "our" didn't really exist. Lucille was Riku's adoptive sibling.

So much of our past and our history is so hard to understand if you try to talk about it in a manner that is grounded only to what was happening externally, because the experiences we had externally mean much much much less to us and how we were shaped than the internal experience. The external facts inform what was happening internally, but if I were to talk about my oldest sister's psychological abuse, it would mean a lot less than if I talked about the internal ramifications and depiction and understanding of it.

And so even now, as we've healed massively, we've really got at least 10 fully elaborated different versions and understandings of our lives. We've lived entirely different narratives and at the same time they are all me, but none of them were really here, in the real world, existing or caring about anything other than either our specific hobbies / interests and our "duties"

The past 8 years was all about us learning to really live and engage in our internal world more intentionally and mindfully and productively, learning one another and learning our overall history; the past 3-4 years has been largely us learning to figure out how to exist in a world we have never genuinely existed in. And I think our fiance played a large rule in helping us with the "culture shock" and keeping faith that we could one day kind of find our place in "this world" that doesn't feel like a fraudulent lie or a forced face.

I think its only been this past year or so since we've been in functional multiplicity, final fusion, and/or living as a fully fused multiple have we ever actually **LIVED** in this world.

And I find that it's kind of hard to explain my own life story to those that don't understand and/or can't fathom what it means to very much not live in "this world" but you know, that's okay. People don't necessarily need to fully understand it, because these days that depth of understanding isn't even really necessary. I think its just important that space is held, respected, and understood as I learn to navigate my life in the real present real world because honestly, I want to live here. I want to be here. I want to be present and exist in the world I HAVE to exist and learn to love it. I've spent most of my life visiting this world and doing maintenance so I could sustain my internal space, but honestly, I really would love to live in both. Find joy in both. Make the maintenance not "maintenance" but just part of living.

That's all just to say that living and existing in the world when your entire understanding of self and history is based on your internal world and experiences that you had in relation to that internal world that no one can really see or even properly fathom, it's all just an interesting, unique, and challenge experience that I don't see talked about much.

[sravani12345]

Apply for Subclass 403 International Relations Visa

The Subclass 403 Visa, also known as the International Relations Visa, is a temporary visa that allows individuals to work in Australia under specific international agreements. It is designed for government representatives, foreign diplomats, and participants in cultural or special programs.

[phaeton-flier]

How Harris/The Dems should deal with "the border crisis" (nonexistant):

Quietly, do all of the actually good things an even slightly moral government would do. Restart the remain in place policy, let asylum seekers back in, do as much as possible to reduce the horrid idiotic inefficient aspects of the current visa system, etc

Every time anyone is extradited from the US for any reason, call it a deportation. "We're deporting this criminal out of the country." Every time you do this, make a clear distinction between the Innocent Families just trying to fulfill the American Dream, and the Bad Guys, who do bad things to those Innocent Families. Repeat that a lot, Americans love the deserving poor vs. the undeserving poor; the mistake Dems have made for the last 30 years is thinking you need to cut off a large number of people as "undeserving". In reality, you describe all the people you're helping as "deserving" and all the people you arrest as "undeserving". Bad Guys hurt Innocent Families, where Innocent Families encompasses both most migrants and you, the viewer at home.

Make giant immigration bill. Fill it mostly with whatever, maybe reform immigration if you can swing it, but it doesn't matter. Inside, in two small parts, will be: a) some minor provision that expands executive power at the border in some fashion. This doesn't need to actually do anything, probably shouldn't so the next president can't abuse it, maybe it affects some minutia about hiring and firing or what sort of arrests get sentenced first. But it can be spun as "giving the president the power to secure the border". and b) some culture war bullshit that the dumber Rs can flip out about. Make it as asinine as possible. Have a few interns spend a week on Twitter and Gab until they find whatever brain worms are popular on the Dumb Right and put it in. When they go on TV to complain about it, it should look to most viewers like they're insane. When the bill inevitably fails, have some guy go on TV and say the Republicans crushed it and made the border worse because they're obsessed with culture war nonsense. Harris really wanted to use that new thing to secure it! Whenever anything bad happens even tangentially related to the border or immigration, go on TV and say it's because we didn't pass that awesome bill, because the republicans cared more about some culture war bullshit. (If it passes, celebrate whatever you wanted in the bill passing and then say Rs watered down the border thing)

Every so often, when someone somewhere does a real bad violent crime and is an undocumented migrant and gets deported, make a big media circus out of it and tout it as a win. Make sure every new channel is connecting the idea, in viewers' brains, that this is the party that is deporting "the bad guys"

Find someone really sympathetic who was deported under the Trump and bring them back. You should do this anyways because it's the right thing to do, but in this specific case you want to find a religious light-skinned pretty young woman with decent English, who can go in front of the cameras and cry about how much she loves Jesus and America and her family, and how happy she is to be back.

Find an undocumented migrant who came in/overstayed their visa during the Trump who is an undocumented migrant who did a real bad violent crime who came in during the Trump administration. Imply this is the fault of him and his cronies' policies. The general slant you want here is that Republicans etc. cannot tell the difference between the Scary Bad Guys and the Innocent Families. This could be because they are incompetent or racist; describe in terms vague enough the viewer can interpret it themselves. Either way, Republicans cannot protect you because they cannot tell a Bad Guy from a Christian. When they start talking about all the border crossing, imply they think every one of those people is a Bad Guy and not an Innocent Family, because they are (incompetant/stupid/racist/unAmerican) You'll notice all of these things include "Go on TV and talk about it", which should be considered to be repeated three times every time it shows up. If there is one lesson to have learned over the last 15 years, it's that repeating something to the press often enough will change the message, whatever it is. Just keep saying it. Every time there's a win, go on TV and talk about how great it is. if you're having trouble getting your message out, put the pill in a piece of cheese: Have it leak to the press, who will lap it up because they lovvvvvvvve the idea that they're getting Cool Secret Scoops. Frame it as a horserace thing when Rs try and push back, and make it entertaining to have your guy on there talking down to whatever R they brought on for balance. Above all: be entertaining; News media might view themselves as being Guardians of Truth but they're in the business of selling ads and want eyeballs. Flatter the first illusion and feed the second, and they will give you endless free airtime.

[mariacallous]

According to an August report from the Russian state news agency TASS, the Kremlin plans to become a “safe haven for people trying to escape Western liberal ideals.” To this end, Russia will introduce a new visa pathway for foreigners fleeing countries whose policies run contrary to “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.” The report, although sparse on detail, claims that three-month visas may be issued for these spiritual refugees as early as last month. Discussion of the policy in the Russian information sphere has been colored by visions of Moscow as the leader of a future world in which so-called traditional values can thrive. Indeed, the idea for the policy was allegedly voiced to Russian President Vladimir Putin by an Italian university student during a virtual forum titled Strong Ideas for a New Time.

On the surface, Moscow appears to be resuscitating the old Soviet practice of painting itself as the center of resistance against the West. Back then, it was against capitalism; today it is against the West’s supposed liberal decadence. But there is something thoroughly 21st century in the new rhetoric and policies. The visa plan is the latest in a series of public relations measures designed to challenge the nature of borders in an increasingly digital world. The regime is not seriously looking to attract immigrants and seems unembarrassed by the paltry numbers of Westerners taking up the offer. It is looking to strengthen its virtual coalition of fellow travelers—a maneuver that has dangerous implications for liberal nation-states seeking to counter the Kremlin’s influence.

At home, Russia’s vision of “traditional values” consists of a draconian web of pro-Russian Orthodox, misogynist, and anti-LGBTQ+ laws, as well as the teaching of a mythologized history imbued with a cult of masculine, military strength. Frequently, these policies are driven by conspiracy theories as much as any state ideology. More often than not, they simply rail against anything Russia associates with Western liberalism. Whatever trends prevail in progressive Western society, from trans-positive messaging to support for Black Lives Matter, is decried as anti-Russian and antithetical to “traditional values.” In this sense, Russia’s campaign in support of its alleged values is a project rooted in the country’s relationship with the outside.

Indeed, defending “traditional values” is at the center of the Putin regime’s domestic and foreign policy. The Kremlin’s updated 2023 National Security Concept mentions “tradition” no fewer than 16 times, claiming that “a wide-spread form of interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states has become the imposition of destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes that run counter to traditional spiritual and moral values.” Moscow has anointed itself the leader of “international efforts to ensure respect for and protection of universal and traditional spiritual and moral values.” Russia seeks to weave support for “traditional values” into its policies abroad by funding sympathetic far-right groups across Europe and North America and by linking economic and security policy to the defense of values in international forums.

Moscow’s history of proclaiming itself as the center of an international political vanguard dates to the early Bolshevik era. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Soviet propagandists told their citizens that they were “the greatest internationalists” in the world and that Westerners were flocking to seek refuge in the fledgling Soviet Union. The state did plenty to attract both sympathizers and industrial specialists to its territory.

A series of high-profile Western leftists were treated to Potemkin tours; among those who visited in the 1930s were George Bernard Shaw, André Gide, Henri Barbusse, and Romain Rolland. Shaw, who was granted a private audience with Joseph Stalin on his visit in 1931, lauded Russia as the home of a spiritual resurrection that would rectify the social ills he saw in the West. He would later write to the Soviet author Maxim Gorky that he was “as strongly susceptible as anyone to the fascination of the Russian character.” Shaw was fascinated with the idea of Russia not as it was, but as an antithesis to the West: a mystical place where his own dreams could be realized.

More often, though, illusions were shattered. Gide was thoroughly disheartened by his own visit to the Soviet Union. Appalled by the lack of freedom of speech, the uniformity of opinion in Pravda, and the climate of fear, he wrote: “I doubt whether in any other country in the world, even Hitler’s Germany, thought be less free, more bowed down, more fearful (terrorized), more vassalized.” Fellow intellectuals who tried living in the Soviet Union, such as the anarchists Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman, reacted even more strongly, publishing works that violently decried the persecution of the early Soviet era and fleeing within months.

Meanwhile, the ordinary leftist refugees, workers, and students who continued to immigrate to the Soviet Union from various capitalist countries tended to leave as disgruntled as they arrived and typically went home as soon as hard currency or other special support from the Kremlin dried up. As foreigners, they were also under permanent suspicion, and many disappeared in the Gulag. Despite its grandiose claims, Moscow was never an appealing destination for many foreign fellow travelers—especially once they experienced the reality of Soviet life.

Recent publicity tours in Putin’s Russia mirror the early celebrity visits to the Soviet Union—although today’s visitors tend to share Shaw’s excitement, not Gide’s revulsion, about life in Moscow’s realm. Right-wing provocateurs such as Jackson Hinkle and, most famously, Tucker Carlson have popped up in Moscow to record adulatory videos for their vast online audiences. Carlson, who posted clips of an interview he conducted with Putin this year, claimed to have been “radicalized” by his trip to Moscow. His video diaries depicted a world of fully stocked grocery stores, immaculate subway stations, and grandiose performances at the Bolshoi Theater. Even Tasty, Full Stop, the copycat McDonald’s that sprung up after the fast food giant’s departure from Russia in 2022, won Carlson’s approval.

Carlson’s Russia seems to be nothing but propaganda: the depiction of a fake world, untarnished by the poverty and violence that is endemic in Russian society. Yet Carlson carefully crafted an image of a Russia that is, essentially, a Disneyfied America: Here was a rich white man treated like royalty and able to access every aspect of an idealized American life—even McDonald’s—in a society shorn of the perceived messiness of today’s America, and especially of its supposedly deleterious progressive values. Like Shaw, then, Carlson projected onto Russia the hyperreality of a desired homeland: the dream America of the MAGA brigade. Moscow’s behavior on the international stage may challenge Washington’s geopolitical supremacy, but its “traditional values” rhetoric functions as an escapist simulation.

Today’s online proponents of “traditional values”—whether in the United States, Hungary, Austria or elsewhere—can thus react enthusiastically to Russia’s plans to welcome them as immigrants, even if they have no intention of ever moving to the country. In response to the policy announcement, Alex Jones, the bankrupted Infowars founder, encouraged “true patriots” to “stand up for spiritual and moral values” in a post on X. On Truth Social, the right-wing social network founded by former U.S. President Donald Trump, Moscow’s plan was met with enthusiasm—not for Russia as some sort of conservative utopia, but for the rejection of cultural traits associated with progressive America. The fantasy of Russia as the “new America,” as one Truth user put it, provides the raw material for bonding around conspiracy theories and anti-progressivism from the comfort of home—and makes it possible for self-styled patriots to sympathize more with Russia than with their own country.

Only a handful of fellow travelers on the traditional values ticket have attempted to make the move to Russia. While the Russian state has recently trumpeted an American family’s escape from “the dissolution of traditional moral and family values,” the experience of other recent arrivals has left them desperate to “jump on a plane and get out of here.” Russian authorities do little to help with schooling, jobs, language training, and so on—and claims of bold projects to house incoming foreigners turn out to be little more than amplified rumors. Presumably the latest policy announcement will be another element of simulated reality: the creation of the idea of Russia as the home of traditional values without anything to back up that vision.

However, when 21st-century fellow travelers are able to bond over and amplify their visions of Russia as the new America in the online world, Russia’s approach may turn out to be more than an easily debunked PR scheme. Pravda’s monotonous reel of uniform opinions shocked Gide, but today’s Russia sympathizers are more likely to be found in polarized social bubbles where the order of the day is conformity, not plurality, of opinion. Unlike their 1930s predecessors, who could not get a sense of Soviet reality from abroad, today’s fellow travelers have Russian reality at their fingertips—if they care to look. This includes thousands of hours of footage of war crimes, evidence of widespread oppression of dissenting voices, and accounts of the systematic repression of religious believers outside the Kremlin-controlled Russian Orthodox Church.

Yet in the fragmented world of social media, where anyone can live in their own self-constructed reality, the disaffected are able to project an imagined anti-liberal vision of reality onto Russia. In the United States, this culminates in MAGA voters giving a higher approval rating to Putin than to their own president, something that was unimaginable in the 20th century outside a tiny, politically irrelevant fringe. Parties that have aligned themselves with the rhetoric of “traditional values” have enjoyed real successes across Europe, including recently in France and Austria, and the MAGA movement may yet carry Trump back into the White House. Russia’s “traditional values” project may not win it a war or generate an influx of migrants, but it has a clear effect on other countries’ politics.

Most analysts consider Russia’s dream of creating a multipolar world in which its territorial, economic, and military might acts as a counterpoint to U.S. or Chinese hegemony a fantasy. Equally outlandish is the idea, much propagated by Russian nationalists, of a new Eurasian empire—or even, given Russia’s depleting strength, reuniting Ukraine, Belarus, and today’s Russian Federation into a “Great Russia.” But analysis that overemphasizes the physical over the virtual—or dismisses online movements as mere propaganda and trolling—fails to recognize 21st-century realities.

The most important future clash of civilizations is not based on geography. Instead, we are beginning to see the creation of virtual civilizations: boundary-less political allegiances defined by amorphous and fluid values perpetuated through the internet. Citizens with similar affinities in Russia, the United States, France, Germany, and wherever find themselves having more in common—and spending more time—with each other than with their own compatriots who don’t share their political views. Putin’s Russia may not be about to conquer Ukraine or create a multipolar world order, but it is working to reorder political identities by encouraging foreigners to view Moscow as a simulated realization of their own political dreams.

[microwavetoaster-selfships]

In relation to the doodle I just postedd........ don't mind me I'm just going to be gushing down here in the blow the under the cut.....

(Im FINE I forgot to add the little blushy lines to the drawing I just dont know what to do with my face my facial expressions range from it looks like you're watching a Thomas Sanders skit to I'm internally emoting and i have to announce it outloud just in case.)

I just. Waugh. Somehow drawing two the same height is more of a pain for me than different heights. Digital laso tool I owe you so much.

But for the gushing though. I was thinking about this so hard last night and it occasionally comes in my head, but I chronically wear jackets and hoodies all the time, particularly when I'm leaving the house. And I often of course like to have my hands in my pockets while I walk around. Especially because I always have to be doing something with my hands or else I end up doing that hand pose that I can only describe as the thing that Leni Loud always did from the Loud House because I don't know if there is a term for it. And I am such such such such a horrible sucker for the linked arms thing having arms hooked/intertwined HOWEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT. Messes me up so badly I love it so much. It's like being cuffed together but in the most sweetest way possible. Okay it's like being cuffed together but in that one BBC Sherlock episode where he and John Watson are hand-cuffed together but they're having an awkward time running together and so Watson is like "We are going to have to cordinate" and Sherlock is like "..Okay. Take my hand." And then they are running together while holding hands and there is the most gorgeous shot ever of them being out infront of a bus and. I just love it. Such a little thing but it means so much to me. It's like openly admitting you want someone to just be constantly around you and glued to you, you two can't possibly be away from one another if you two have your arms like that. One person goes to walk in one direction then the other will get tugged with, and if you both go to walk in a different direction then you just get pulled right back towards each other. It's harder to get any possibly physically closer to someone unless you two are like laying on top of each other. It's like saying "I want you here with me through this and this and this and this-". And it is such a notable look as well. You see people with their arms locked and you just know "Okay, those people are probably close to one another." and YES this is different than just having your hand on their arm this is INTERLOCKED.

Bonus points if both people both have their arms in their pockets so they are literally getting each other stuck together. I don't know why this thought gets to me so much but I almost crumbled in the grocery store yesterday. Going shopping with him and if we interlock arms then I am going to be taking up a good five to fifteen minutes of the shopping trip trying to pull myself together from it. Thank you for coming to my esssay and my art showcasing. I would like the government of England to send me my visa now, I'll mail them my passport and biometrics if I must but let me greencard my way to being a UK citizen please and thank you and I would like that under a multiplier of x2 as well please and thank you very much my cell number is 252-555-5555 I can probably relocate in the next 8-12 months depending on how getting a job goes and funding, thank you, I have phenominal potential to become a mechanic I know it because I said so and because I am stupidly passionate as this blog may indicate and I'm sure my alleged FBI agent that monitors me through my screens can also advocate I am also good with customers I have great costomer service because I am a problematic empath so I chronically give people the benefit of the doubt to typically a questionable amount and I also love to ask questions and I know the rule of thumb and agree with the rule of thumb that it is better to ask a stupid question than to outright do something stupid, I am sure I can work up many stupid questions, I unironically love British food and I can go on about that another time but please it all looks like a massive pile of comfort food I am so so okay with that and one of my favorite foods/meals that I got fixated on was out of a tin it was tinned food and I ate it till I can barely stand it anymore but I still look fondly on it now and it was almost as bad as the peanut butter incident where I had so much peanut butter that I actually gag a little at the thought of peanut butter sandwhiches or crackers because I had so much in fact I STILL do a little bi and this happened way back when I was probably like 13 or something and I have a very vivid memory of it was when during they were doing a lot of Back at The Barnyard reruns on cable TV ANYWAY I am also so very good at running my mouth, clients will ask me questions and I will not spare them from a single detail they will know every little thing in fact they will have to ask me to hush, I know my years of expereince are small but my heart is big and my passion is absurd and my potential is strong and I like to think part of me runs off of sheer willpower and determination simply because I must do what I do and I pushmyself many often to do scary things like.... well sometimes I cut off a little extra more cake than I told myself that I would but I eat it anyway even though I get worried I might explode but I never do. I am sure you are a possibly busy government but I can write longer more love letters if it so pleases yes I will be a suck-up if it helps. I am also short which means I am sligghtly smaller than your average man which means I can fit my hands into more places in car enginges. Okaty I am finished now. Sincerly yours, Kane. my last name will also be in my passport which will be given to you with my biometrics and other documents. I also accept simple easy stress-free hand-holding skilled worker visas if that is something you would like. Specifically in, Being a mecahnic. Goodnigth.

[preservationofnormalcy]

Hey, how can I get those fascist Esoteric Rangers to quit harassing me at work? I’m registered, always have my card, keep it on the down low, but they are always showing up for ���surprise inspections” asking “Are my papers up-to-date?” “Are my shots up-to-date?“ “Any visiting family or friends staying with you and do they have their visas?”Are you serious? Do you know what a studio costs in this town? I can barely fit myself in my damn apartment, let alone any of my cousins. Until last year I lived in a literal *pit* by a storm sewer. The raccoons were nice enough, but the skunks…! “Where can I get a good yak curry?” What am I? A goddam Michelin Guide? Go look at Yelp and quit bugging while I stock the high shelves.

Anyway, what the hell? Are they using me for training newbies or are they just bored? ACAB!

Listen, if you think you're being unfairly targeted, there's avenues for that. Send us your info and we can do an internal investigation. If these people are claiming to be Rangers, they don’t have any authority over LEP-related matters - that would be Recon. Very possible that it is Recon and they’re not being clear, or maybe you’re upset and misremembering.

But, if my suspicion is correct and this is a certain problematic person living in the pacific northwest, with a certain history of catastrophic glamour failures that we've had to cover up multiple times....

I'd never say that you've brought it on yourself, that would be inappropriate and wrong of me. No one deserves being harassed. We'll try and look into it on our end...but we've also sent you the coupon for a glamour retailer that isn't Discount Gremlin Glamours. Please work with us, here.

[beardedmrbean]

ROME (AP) — An Italian journalist detained in Iran for three weeks was freed Wednesday and returned home, after her fate had become intertwined with that of an Iranian engineer arrested in Italy and wanted by the United States.

A plane carrying Cecilia Sala, 29, landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport, where Premier Giorgia Meloni was on hand to welcome her alongside Sala’s family members. Sala descended from the plane and ran to embrace her boyfriend, Daniele Raineri, who later posted a photo of a smiling Sala greeting Meloni in the airport on social media.

Sala’s liberation marked a major diplomatic and political victory for Meloni, whose recent visit to President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago retreat greatly enhanced her stature internationally at a time when Italy was negotiating Sala’s release.

In announcing that Sala was flying home, Meloni’s office said the premier had personally informed Sala’s parents and credited the release to the government’s “intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels.”

Iranian media acknowledged the journalist’s release, citing only the foreign reports. Iranian officials offered no immediate comment.

Sala, a reporter for the Il Foglio daily, was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19, a week after she arrived on a journalist visa. She was accused of violating the laws of the Islamic Republic, the official IRNA news agency said.

Italian commentators had speculated that Iran detained and held Sala as a bargaining chip to ensure the release in Italy of Mohammad Abedini, who was arrested by Italian authorities at Milan’s Malpensa airport three days before, on Dec. 16, on a U.S. warrant.

The U.S. Justice Department has accused Abedini and another Iranian of supplying the drone technology to Iran that was used in a January 2024 attack on a U.S. outpost in Jordan that killed three American troops.

Abedini remains in detention in Italy but has asked a Milan court to grant him house arrest pending an extradition hearing.

Sala’s release was met with cheers in Italy, where her plight had dominated headlines. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum praised the outcome, with the opposition Democratic leader Elly Schlein thanking the government specifically.

It came after Meloni made a surprise trip to Florida last weekend to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Meloni in a statement on X thanked “all those who helped make Cecilia’s return possible, allowing her to re-embrace her family and colleagues.”

Meloni’s visit to Trump had a strong impact on the premier’s international standing, which strengthened Italy’s hand in negotiations, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said.

“Any time you can reinforce the credibility of a leader of a country at a particular moment, the stronger the country is,” he told Italy’s Sky Tg24.

Sala’s fate had become intertwined with that of Abedini. Each country’s foreign ministry summoned the other’s ambassador to demand the prisoner’s release and decent detention conditions. The diplomatic tangle was particularly complicated for Italy, which is a historic ally of Washington but maintains good relations with Tehran.

Members of Meloni’s cabinet took personal interest in the case given the geopolitical implications. Foreign Minister Antonio Tanaji and Crosetto hailed the diplomatic teamwork involved to secure Sala’s release.

But the release also posed a delicate political question for Italy given Abedini’s status. The United States has complained in the past when Italy has lost track of suspects in the Italian judicial system awaiting hearings for extradition to the U.S.

A hearing on his bid to be given house arrest is scheduled for Jan. 15.

Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, which had flagged Sala’s detention as an attack on press freedom, cheered her release.

“Now the 25 journalists still held in Iranian prisons must also be released,” the group said in a social media post.

Since the 1979 U.S. Embassy crisis, which saw dozens of hostages released after 444 days in captivity, Iran has used prisoners with Western ties as bargaining chips in negotiations.

In September 2023, five Americans detained for years in Iran were freed in exchange for five Iranians in U.S. custody and for $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets to be released by South Korea.

Western journalists have been held in the past. Roxana Saberi, an American journalist, was detained by Iran in 2009 for around 100 days before being released.

Also detained by Iran was Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, who was held for more than 540 days before being released in 2016 in a prisoner swap between Iran and the U.S.

Both cases involved Iran making false espionage accusations in closed-door hearings.