#Lithuania is the best country in the world

[krinndnz]

I slept on it and it's still bothering me, so: this post is bullshit. OP, you are speaking from fear and/or despair, not from reasoned political and material analysis. Stop that, dumbass.

First of all, ideology is real and you can't understand the behavior of the American right-wing movement in the 21st century without understanding that that movement is a suicide cult. The movement of Kissinger-style imperialists more or less efficiently pursuing IR neorealism policies is gone. It died exactly the death you expect of such a movement: in attempting to control and weaponize a fascist movement (that which became the Trumpist right-wing movement), it nourished and strengthened that movement, followed by losing control of it in the way John Seavey explains:

By making safe districts in which Republicans no longer needed to worry about re-election, [Karl Rove] ensured that the party apparatus had no control over its members. Republicans no longer had to care about whether the RNC would support them through a tough campaign, because there were no tough campaigns anymore. Instead, Republicans now had to deal with competitive primaries, where they faced challengers not from the left but from the right. This was a huge problem, because they’d spent the best part of two decades motivating the base to vote with increasingly paranoid and racist rhetoric in the sure and certain knowledge that they would be selecting the candidates that the base voted for. Instead, the base is selecting their own candidates. Those candidates are now running in non-competitive seats, and frequently campaigning and voting against the very idea of the party establishment. They believe the rhetoric that was once cynically deployed in service of keeping the legislature in safe hands.

The process continued, in Alex Pareene's pungent turn of phrase, until "Congressional Republicans went from people who were able to turn their bullshit-hose on their constituents, in order to rile them up, to people who pointed it directly at themselves, mouths open." The current state of the Trumpist movement is a triumph of propaganda, of ideology over material interest, and it got that way over the course of decades during which a parallel culture of marks, rubes, and gulls was cultivated like livestock. Of course when you dedicate such a long-term propaganda effort to creating paranoid fools and enlist groups like the John Birch Society, you're going to create a bunch of irrational beliefs that resist being contained. Rick Perlstein's "The Long Con" is essential for looking directly at the parallel culture thus created and the deranged beliefs that were first contained in it, then erupted because of the Rovian gerrymandering and metastasized into Trumpism. The Trumpist right-wing movement is a suicide cult and if you don't understand that fact you are missing a critical part of the material circumstances.

Furthermore, alienating allies is in fact foolish! It is the foolish act of foolish men, and the men of the Trumpist movement are fools. They are manifestly fools. If you can't look at these men and notice that they are fools, and evil fools at that, you aren't doing any kind of material analysis, you are refusing to see an obvious fact of the world in front of you. The position of America at the center of interlocking alliance systems had concrete material benefits for all the participants in those systems. Whatever shortcomings the system might have, many groups of smart, rational people looked at the offer of participation and decided that it was the best offer available. The best case study is Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia joining NATO. They were not absorbed into some Amero-European gestalt: they rationally noticed that they had a strong neighboring country, Russia (an actual empire!), with a centuries-long track record of abusing them, and they took vigorous action to get into NATO because of their own material interests. This is broadly the case with America's other treaty allies: both sides are getting something important out of the bargain. If you think NATO is an arrangement by which America exploits the Euro zone, you are making the same mistake as right-wingers, just from a slightly different angle of vision.

Speaking of that, the Trumpist attacks on allies are in fact suicidal; I am begging you to understand that these choices really are just as stupid as they seem to be. Again, Trumpism is not the New Imperialism of the late 19th century, it's a suicide cult. They are the end stage of the aestheticization of politics: their agenda is about movies and TV they want to be like. It's all theatrical hypermasculine dominance and submission. You are a smart person and you are making an ordinary smart person mistake of assuming that they have beliefs like yours that are to some extent carefully considered, judiciously regarded, and held with deliberate firmness. This is not the case. They are, again, a suicide cult: their beliefs are stupid and contradictory because the beliefs are not believed for themselves, the beliefs are the framework for the exercise of power that the Kissingerian late-20th-century movement used to control the base, but which have warped and turned on themselves as the inmates took over the asylum. They are, nodding towards David Graeber's excellent "Dead Zones of the Imagination" talk, using violence to simplify a complicated world into the simple narratives they prefer — and violence is the tool they must use for this, because the world is a complicated place and the only way to get it to agree with Trumpist ideology is to apply lots of violence.

If you imprinted on the right-wing movement of the Bush years, your confusion about this is understandable: that was the period where the Kissingerian movement, especially in the persons of Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Powell, still held the leash on the fascist movement, even if you could see that movement straining at the leash. But you have lost track of the material circumstances if you think that's how the Trumpists operate. The evils of the Bush administration were many, but they were not the same evils as the Trumpist movement. They were mostly the evils you describe: attempts to put America in an imperial role, which they were often fairly open about. They were more or less allied with the Clinton and Obama administrations in that regard. The Trumpist movement has blossomed into full-on fascist nihilism, because they're a suicide cult, and they're doing the typical fascist thing of screaming as loudly as possible about how unstoppable they are.

That brings me to the most important part — even if you disagree with me about everything else, I need you to hear me now, I need you to listen: you are falling for the fascists' propaganda about themselves, the tall tales of their overwhelming strength, power, and intelligence. When the fascists tell you how strong, powerful, and intelligent they are, THEY ARE LYING. These men are fools and cowards: the reason they are dangerous is not that they have some Admiral Thrawn 5D chess plan; the reason they are dangerous is that they are evil, foolish, and in control of mechanisms of material power constructed by people who were at most one of evil or foolish. They are not responding to the decline of whatever kind of empire you think America is, they are causing it, because they are violent fools enmeshed in a suicide cult.

Don't be a doomer and don't believe the fascists' lies about their strength, power, and intelligence.

every time a supposed communist decides that whatever political upheaval they're currently in is finally the one historical event entirely inexplicable from material interests and due to the crazy idiocy of the people in charge, a cia agent gets a promotion

[unhonestlymirror]

"Hahaha we are corrupted but don't be angry at us :D look, Lithuania gives us 12 points twice" - IT'S BECAUSE LITHUANIA IS A NICE COUNTRY WHO SUPPORTS EVERYBODY, IF IT COULD, IT WOULD HAVE GIVEN 12 POINTS TO EVERY SINGLE PARTICIPANT EXCEPT FOR RUSSIA, WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN TO LITHUANIA FOR NO REASON???

Bruh, imagine giving a country 12 points several times, just for this country making a mocking song where it implies you as corrupted... What's the goal? To make Lithuania stop giving you high scores? To make Sweden look like a jealous country? What did they want to achieve by this, I genuinely don't understand.

[loveemagicpeace]

✨Astological Things🎄

Moon is your safe place. It is something that you emotionally need and where you feel most seen, safe and fulfilled emotionally. The moon represents what you need in your partner and what would work between you in the long run. When you have many moon connections with someone, it means that you are closer to that person and that you feel more emotionally fulfilled and seen. You feel that you can share a home with this person. To invite someone home is usually your moon.

Venus shows strong attraction and love. However, it is not necessary that the relationship will work in the long run because the moon shows more attraction and giving love, but not something that would last for a very long time. Which means a lot of venus connections don't always mean a long term relationship. However, Venus in aspect with Saturn is very good for the long term.

Countries ruled by pisces are: Spain, Portugal, Normandy. Places ruled by fish are oceans, ponds, water areas, wet and humid areas, spiritual centers.

The countries ruled by the zodiac sign of Aquarius are Abyssinia, Arabia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden. Places ruled by Aquarius are hilly and uneven, places where small rivers flow, roofs of houses, overhangs. Aquarius also rules highways, airports, and things related to electricity and electronics.

The countries ruled by the Capricorn zodiac sign are Albania, Bulgaria, Old Macedonia, Thrace, India, Afghanistan, Mexico and the Orkney Islands.

The countries ruled by the Sagittarius zodiac sign are: Madagascar, Spain, Australia and parts of France.

The house position of Uranus always shows where instability or destructive qualities may appear at any time. Uranus in the corner house (first, fourth, seventh, tenth) in the birth chart means that aimlessness will radiate from the person's life. This also means that the person will move often. Uranus in the tracking house (second, fifth, eighth and eleventh) tends to produce a greater number of unexpected ups and downs in a person's life circumstances. Uranus falling in a house (third, sixth, ninth and twelfth) indicates that education and religious beliefs will fluctuate, causing problems in this person's life - usually alienation. It also means that work is done in spurts and irregularly.

Neptune in angular houses produces romantic personalities. This indicates frequent changes of address, estrangement from relatives and strong possibilities for travel. If badly afflicted, strange accidents may occur on these journeys. Neptune in tracked houses brings tendencies towards strange, obscure illnesses that are difficult to diagnose. It indicates restraint and imprisonment. Neptune in descending houses is the planet of substitutions, which means false teeth, glasses, wigs, wooden legs and the like.

Neptune tends to feel that the ordinary things in life are unimportant, too vulgar, and therefore the person is looking for something more stimulating, more mysterious and sensational. Neptune sometimes seeks a temporary escape and takes refuge in the dream world. Some people feel that Neptune is neutral. Other astrologers say that he is the bringer of evil.

Saturn in the first house or in the first quadrant (first, second or third house) in the birth chart tends to throw burdens on the native early in life. This is often due to the father's accidents. Saturn in the second or eighth house signifies the power of saving money. In the fourth house, the individual tends to build a property of great value. If Saturn rules the 12th house and is angular, it means that personal matters will be revealed in public to the great embarrassment of that person.

Saturn is a symbol of karma: trials that will come into our lives slowly and surely. Because Saturn causes or symbolizes our delays and losses, it becomes the symbol of fate, which sets the normal man firm limits to his efforts. Saturn is the greater bringer of evil and the bringer of tasks. On the other hand, he is also the best friend because you can learn the most from him.

Jupiter also rules sports, hunting, athletics. It also rules the love of animals, religion, marriage, philosophy. Based on the position of the house and the sign and the aspects of Jupiter, to be able to find out how a person thinks in a philological sense. Regardless of the aspect, it is considered very fortunate that Jupiter is in an angular house (first, fourth, seventh or tenth) because it is said to protect the person from major misfortunes.

Mercury at birth is the key to healing powers. If Mercury is positive in sign, house and aspect, it brings healing powers. It also symbolically indicates whether a person is able to heal mentally or is able to solve current life problems. A study of natal Mercury shows how the individual will approach solving problems. Mercury in a fire or air sign tends to produce healing powers because it allows the person's mind to focus strongly on the site of illness or problems.

Wherever you find Venus, there you find an audience of admirers. Whichever house Venus is in, that's where you find the greatest love for people, places or things.

Venus conjunct Uranus often symbolizes several fleeting relationships followed by separation. Venus is most important for chart comparisons because it shows what to expect and what type of obstacles will show up.

Cancer individuals are sometimes difficult to live with because of their ever-changing mental sides. The waxing and waning of the state follows the lunar cycle. When the Moon is waxing, they are in a good mood for two weeks and when it is waning, they are depressed for two weeks. They have cyclical ups and downs.

Virgos tend to be withdrawn and require a lot of attention and time for themselves. They are loners. Only when they end one relationship do they start another. They are quite gentle. They are sophisticated warriors. They are rebellious. Virgos usually have a very beautiful body that is soft and clean. Many times they don't like to put on too much makeup and prefer a natural look.

The nature of a Libra person is harmonious. It has a sense of relationships in an individual's perception, which gives balance to his worldview and/or artistic perception. Many painters and musicians are born under this sign because it gives them musical talent and a love for beauty and colors. A Libra woman is resourceful and seeks perfection. The man is honorable, outwardly balanced and kind, but not passionate.

Pisces: Be romantic. For water signs, romance is important: flowers, food, confetti, etc. If you do something for them, make it very personal: they are very personal. This applies to gifts as well as other actions and relationships. Let it be according to nil's taste. Don't do anything by standard procedures, make it personal. Make them care. They don't need a lover, but love in the form of tender care. That's the only thing that matters to them. Encourage them to express themselves. Inside, they are nervous: This concern has to go to plan. The pain they take on from others must be expressed outwardly. What I have noticed many times with fish, especially in the sun, is that they want to be seen and want someone who cared and felt things like they do. Pisceans can feel younger than they are and keep their good looks well into old age.

Leo people enjoy the good life, and eating well is part of this. They like rich food and fine wine. Fortunately young Leos have strong stomachs and good circulation, and keep in shape because they are active. However, time does catch up with them, and Leos must learn to eat correctly and cut down on fatty foods.

Moon in Leo -you have strong emotions and can be reached through your heart rather than your head. You are a quick and accurate learner when your feelings are involved. But if a subject does not arouse your affections, you have no interest in exploring it further. The sensory impressions you receive from the world around you come to you on an emotional level. In order to make you change your mind, someone first has to change how you feel.

🎸For personal readings u can sign up here: https://snipfeed.co/bekylibra 🎸

-Rebekah🩵🧚🏼‍♀️☁️

[girlactionfigure]

Heroic Polish Poet: Czeslaw Milosz

Won the Nobel Prize

Polish writer Czeslaw Milosz protected Jews during the Holocaust, wrote poems that inspired millions, and advocated passionately for freedom of thought and human rights. 

Czeslaw was born in 1911 to an illustrious family descended from Polish nobility. At the time of his birth, Poland was not an independent country and the Milosz clan lived in an area that was part of the Russian Empire. He spent his early childhood on his grandfather’s estate, but when World War I broke out in 1914, the family was thrown into turmoil. Czeslaw’s father was drafted into the Russian army, and Czeslaw and his mother spent the next four years fleeing the Germans in (modern-day) Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. When the war ended, the family settled in Vilna.

Exceptionally intelligent and curious, Czeslaw learned six languages (Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, English, French, and Hebrew.) He entered law school at the prestigious Stefan Batory University when he was only 18 years old, but found his true calling and talent in poetry. He published his first poems in the university magazine in 1930, and formed a student poetry group and an “Intellectuals Club.”

Czeslaw had many Jewish friends at the university, and was shocked when an antisemitic mob attacked Jews on campus. Czeslaw bravely stood up to the mob and protected the Jewish students. Sadly one student was killed when a large rock was thrown at his head. 

The incident influenced Czeslaw’s writing, and he described his work as “Poetry of Protest.” While still a student, Czeslaw published his first volume of poetry. After graduating from university, Czeslaw worked at a radio station in Vilna. He produced a wide range of programming for the station, including performances by Jewish musicians and writers. As Hitler rose to power, his hateful ideology took hold among many Lithuanian nationalists. Czeslaw’s showcasing Jewish voices on the radio led to an anonymous complaint falsely accusing him of fomenting communism, and he was fired. 

Czeslaw moved back to Poland, now an independent republic, and worked at Polish Radio in Warsaw. He published another volume of poetry, which quickly gained acclaim among poetry-lovers and critics. He was compared to legendary 19th century Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz. 

After Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Czeslaw became an active member of the Polish underground resistance. The Nazis persecuted Polish intellectuals and artists, and Czeslaw published his next book of poetry under a pseudonym, which he also used for his translations of Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot. 

Horrified at the violent and vicious persecution of Jews in Warsaw, Czeslaw, along with his brother Andrzej, began helping Jews hide or escape from the Nazis. He defied the Nazis to help at least five Polish Jews and maybe more, providing them a place to hide as well as financial support. Czeslaw knew that the penalty for this transgression was death, but his moral compass did not allow him to stand idly by. In late 1944 Czeslaw was captured by the Germans and held in a prisoner transit camp. Miraculously, he was helped by a Catholic nun (and total stranger) who somehow convinced the Germans to let him go. 

After the war, Czeslaw published his powerful fourth collection of poetry, focusing on the loss of three million Polish Jews, and the willful blindness of much of the Polish population. Came po dei Fiori, written in 1943, became one of his best-known works. It described the suffering and carnage inside the Warsaw ghetto, and the cluelessness of those outside its gates. The poem includes searing imagery: “The salvoes behind the ghetto walls/were drowned in lively tunes/and vapors freely rose/into the tranquil sky./Sometimes the wind from burning houses would bring the kites along/and people on the merry-go-round/caught the flying charred bits./This wind from burning houses/blew open the girls’s skirts/and the happy throngs laughed/on a beautiful Warsaw Sunday.”

Czeslaw received increasing recognition for his work, which ultimately inspired long-overdue public reckoning and introspection on Poles’ failure to protect the three million Jews in their midst. In 1949 he was appointed a cultural attache for the communist People’s Republic of Poland, although he opposed Soviet ideology. During this time he moved from New York to Washington DC and then Paris, creating events highlighting Polish culture, publishing articles, and translating important literary works into Polish, his mother tongue. He returned to Poland for a visit in 1949, and was shocked at what had happened to the country. Stalinist oppression had created a culture of fear and lies, and Czeslaw spoke out against it, leading to his firing and escape from Poland to Paris in 1951. During the tumult he was separated from his wife Janina and their children. They were in the United States, but because of the old smear against Czeslaw of being a communist, McCarthyism led to Czeslaw being refused entry. He received political asylum in France, and spoke out against Stalinism, which led to all of works being banned in his native land. He published two poetry collections, two novels, and a memoir, written in Polish and published by fellow Polish ex-pats. He finally reunited with his family in 1953. 

In 1960, Czeslaw became a visiting lecturer at Berkeley, and American audiences discovered his work for the first time. He published scholarly works on Dostoevsky, among other important writers. Czeslaw took a break from teaching in 1978 to focus on writing full-time. During the Stalinist years, Czeslaw’s work was a source of inspiration to the the Polish anti-communist Solidarity movement. 

Czeslaw won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1980, leading to global recognition and the publication of his work in Poland. After 30 years in exile, Czeslaw returned to Poland for a visit and was greeted by adoring crowds proud of the attention and respect he brought to Polish literature. He met with Lech Walesa and Pope John Paul II and used his newfound fame to advocate for writers who were persecuted for their beliefs. 

Czeslaw became a poetry professor at Harvard in 1981, and continued to publish poetry in Polish. His wife Janina died in 1986, and after the fall of communism in 1989 he began to spend more time in Poland, finally moving back in 2000. Czeslaw Milosz died in Krakow in 2004, at age 93. He received a state funeral and thousands of people lined the streets to watch his coffin travel by a military escort to the cemetery. At the funeral, noted poets Seamus Heaney, Adam Zagajewski, and Robert Hass read Czeslaw’s poetry in all the languages he knew: Polish, French, English, Russian, Lithuanian, and Hebrew. 

During his lifetime and posthumously, Czeslaw received many honors and awards, including Righteous Among the Nations at Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem. His work was enormously influential among the greatest poets of the age, including Robert Pinsky, Ted Hughes, Robert Strand and Derek Walcott. Raised Catholic, Czeslaw became an atheist as a young man, but later returned to the faith of his youth and was buried at Skalka Roman Catholic Church.

For saving lives and writing poetry for the ages, we honor Czeslaw Milosz as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[whitedarkmoonflower]

Paris, Pyramids, and Werewolves: Eacon4 Friday evening

Just like last time, I went to the convention with my friend. She still hasn’t watched The Last Kingdom all the way through (don’t ask), but she loved the event last year. Plus, we don’t get much time to see each other, so when I asked her to come along again, she was immediately on board.

We were late. Again. Honestly, Paris traffic is like a personal vendetta against me. I hate it, and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Somehow, though, we made it—just barely. We grabbed our tickets with about five minutes to spare, bolted upstairs to our room, and I slapped on some makeup like my life depended on it. Quick mirror check, and then we dashed back down for the cocktail party.

We stumbled into the room, still catching our breath, and were promptly shepherded to the last free table. No time for drinks, no chance to collect ourselves—just, “Here’s your spot, good luck!” There were only three of us at the table: me, my friend, and a lady we’d just met. And before we could even blink, the actors arrived, and Jeppe was suddenly at our table.

Let me tell you, Jeppe was a total vibe from the start. He casually mentioned that he’d spent the day exploring Paris and—get this—managed to find a restaurant that served food before 8 p.m. A legit Parisian miracle! We laughed, totally impressed, because, let’s be real, finding a decent early dinner in Paris is like spotting a unicorn.

Then, out of nowhere, he pulled out a box of chocolates. Yes, chocolates. He told us they were from his home country and boldly claimed they were the best milk chocolates ever. They were these cute little chocolate hearts, and we, of course, thanked him and graciously accepted.

Now, here’s the thing: Latvians are fiercely proud of their chocolate. Like, fiercely. We’re convinced it’s the best in the world, and we’ll die on that hill. My friend and I exchanged knowing looks, silently agreeing that poor Jeppe clearly hadn’t experienced Laima yet—our pride and joy, named after the Latvian goddess of happiness. But this was not the time or place for a chocolate debate, so we kept our opinions to ourselves, smiled politely, and thought, You don’t know what you’re missing, Jeppe.

Jeppe asked where we were from, and, as expected, the moment I said Latvia, his immediate reaction was, “Oh, like Arnas?” I couldn’t help but laugh—I’m so used to people mixing up Latvia and Lithuania that it didn’t even faze me. “Nope, not Lithuania. Latvia. Close, though. We’re neighbors!” I explained, and Jeppe was so sweet about it.

He also mentioned that he’s currently performing in Jesus Christ Superstar, which immediately had us all going, “WOW!” because, seriously, how cool is that? But before we could dive deeper into that conversation, his time with us was up, and it was Cavan’s turn.

Now, Cavan came over with this sweet, slightly nervous vibe, like he wasn’t quite sure where to start. Naturally, we ended up talking about Paris again (it was clearly the theme of the day). He mentioned that he’d been trailing Toby around because, apparently, Toby knows all the best spots. One of their stops was the Musée de l'Orangerie, and Cavan was absolutely mesmerized by Monet’s Nymphéas. The way he described it, you could tell it left a real impression on him—he was genuinely moved.

And then Toby arrived, and let me just say—I was not ready. This man is royalty personified. Everything about him, from the way he stands to the way he moves, just oozes regal elegance. And the voice. Oh. My. God. That voice. It’s like dark velvet and warm honey had a love child—rich, smooth, a little mysterious, but still soft and inviting. Honestly, words don’t do it justice. And the way he speaks? It’s like he’s performing Shakespeare by candlelight, even if he’s just answering a question about breakfast.

We asked what he’s working on, and he told us about a new series he’s filming, set to release next year. It’s about an aristocratic family in England during World War II, centered on the Mitford sisters. He was so excited as he talked about the story, the complex lives of the characters, and especially one of the sisters who ended together with England’s most infamous fascist, Sir Oswald Mosley. You could tell he was genuinely invested in the project, and it was impossible not to share his enthusiasm.

I’d love to say I remember everything Toby said, but honestly? I was completely hypnotized by his voice. He could’ve been reciting a grocery list, and I’d still have been standing there, utterly transfixed. No exaggeration—I could listen to him talk forever.

Then came Jacob, and wow, what a difference a year makes! Gone was the shy, uncertain vibe he had last time. He’s grown so much, and you can tell he’s been working on himself—his voice, his stance, everything about him radiated confidence. He walked in like he owned the place, and honestly, it was so great to see.

Naturally, our chat turned towards Seven Kings Must Die and his role in it. Jacob shared that when he first got the part, he’d actually broken his leg. So, while stuck at home, he had nothing to do but dive headfirst into The Last Kingdom world—reading the script and binge-watching the show, immersing himself completely in that world.

He laughed as he told us how he was initially informed that his character, Osbert, was brand new, so he didn’t expect to find any reference to him. Then, while filming had already started, Jacob finally made it to Season 5—and bam! There’s Osbert, walking on the shore with Hild. Except… that Osbert looked nothing like Jacob and even had a completely different accent.

Jacob, being the perfectionist that he is, decided he needed to match that one-line accent for authenticity. Can you imagine? I mean, if someone tortured me, I couldn’t tell you what accent that Osbert had. The level of dedication is both hilarious and impressive, and we all had a good laugh about it.

Next up was Timothy, and again—what a transformation! I still remember how shy and unsure he seemed last time. But this time? Total 180. He was confident, cracking jokes, and he was actually the one asking us questions like how we got into watching The Last Kingdom and whether we’d watched it together. The vibe was so fun and relaxed, and it was clear he felt much more comfortable in his own skin.

Next up was Eliza, and oh my gosh—what a whirlwind of energy and charisma! The moment she arrived, we were all immediately hugged—or more accurately, squeezed—while she bubbled over with excitement about seeing everyone again. She kept gushing about how gorgeous we all looked, which, let’s be honest, made us feel amazing.

We congratulated her on her baby, and naturally, the conversation shifted to kids. She told us her little girl was staying with her at the hotel because she wanted her Last Kingdom family to meet her too. Apparently, she barely got any sleep the night before because the baby had kept her up, but you’d never know—Eliza was absolutely glowing. She raved about how gorgeous her baby was and how thrilled she was to be a mom. Then, with her signature humor, she laughed about how playing Aelswith had given her a crash course in motherhood—and even grandmotherhood—so now she’s just putting all that “acting experience” into real-life practice.

You could practically feel the love and pride radiating off her. We joked about how this phase of parenting is actually the easy part, and how traveling with a toddler is a whole different beast. I even shared a story about how, when my son was two, he decided a shopping mall was the perfect place to play hide-and-seek with me. I thought I’d lost him, but nope—he was just testing my heart health. Eliza cracked up and totally got it.

Then it was Mark’s turn, and I almost didn’t recognize him without the beard! By this point, my head was spinning—from the excitement, the endless conversations, and, let’s be real, the champagne. I hadn’t eaten a thing because, honestly, who wants to risk being mid-bite while chatting with actors? So the mini sandwiches on our table just sat there, silently judging me.

Mark started off asking about holiday plans, which, of course, led to him sharing his own. He’s heading to Egypt for a Nile cruise, and let me tell you, he was clearly excited about it. He asked if anyone at the table had been to Egypt, and as luck would have it, my friend and I had just been talking about it. She’s dreaming of a trip there, and I visited about 20 years ago.

I told him honestly that the pyramids hadn’t left much of an impression on me back then, and I explained why. The route to get there took us through a very poor part of Cairo, where people were literally living in cardboard boxes. Seeing that level of poverty made it hard for me to fully appreciate the grandeur of the pyramids.

I can’t remember the exact order of the guests after that, but Micky was just the sweetest. Seriously, so lovely. We asked him what he’s up to these days and if he has any new projects. He almost looked apologetic when he said he’s not acting anymore but is now teaching acting. Of course, we were like, “WOW, that sounds amazing!” He seemed genuinely happy to hear that and told us a bit about his work as an acting coach. He was super interested in us too—asking where we’re from, what we do, and just being all-around delightful.

And then there was Magnus. I think I might have fallen a little bit in love. He was so easygoing and natural, like he’d just wandered in from a chill pub night. The first thing he noticed? Our glasses were nearly empty. Without missing a beat, he grabbed a bottle and refilled them for us. Naturally, we toasted together, and he laughed, calling this whole setup “speed dating,” encouraging us to fire away with questions.

Except… he didn’t really let us. Turns out he wanted to do all the asking. He wanted to know where we’re from, what we do, and of course, the classic: our favorite Last Kingdom scenes and characters. My friend admitted her favorite was Erik, which he was very pleased to hear. You can probably guess mine, and the other lady at our table admitted to being a Finan fan. Magnus just laughed and said he didn’t expect anyone to name Cnut anyway. His humor and warmth made the whole interaction feel so effortless and fun.

And last but not least Arnas. I have to say, he looked pretty tired. It was such a contrast to last time when he practically stormed over to our table, champagne glass in hand, hugging everyone, making toasts, talking and laughing non stop. Back then, he was like an overexcited puppy, especially when he found out there were Latvians at the table. I still remember how he confessed he’d never been to Latvia, even though we’re neighboring countries. My hands were shaking so much while trying to clink glasses with him that I almost missed.

This time was completely different. He was calm, no big excitement, just low-key and collected. I wasn’t sure if he’d even remember me. Our interactions last year were so sweet, but let’s be honest—he meets a lot of people, and it had been a whole year.

But then he walked up, greeted us, and suddenly said, “Oh, Līga!”

I swear, I just stood there grinning like an idiot.

Arnas: “You gave me that dragon book of yours to sign last time, right?”

Me (finally finding my voice): “Wow, you remember!”

Arnas: “Of course I do!”

He then turned to my friend but looked confused when he didn’t recognize her. She didn’t interact with him last time because she was too busy fangirling over Cristian. We told him how sad we were that this convention is supposed to be the last one in Paris, and then shared our “secret” plan: a 10-year reunion in Bebbanburg.

Arnas pretended to be surprised about the idea of a 10-year anniversary. We quickly declared that Alex would definitely be invited to the party, and the conversation shifted to Alex, who’s avoiding conventions. That’s when Arnas lit up as he suddenly remembered Alex’s grandmother, who had once even visited the set.

He started swooning over how she was the most lovely and charming lady he’d ever met and that he wants to be like her when he’s older. He said something like he would want to have those genes, to which my friend, without missing a beat, suggested the only way to ensure those genes would be to marry Alex and pass them on to their kids. Arnas paused, and then agreed it was a solid plan. We all burst out laughing—it was pure chaos, and it started to feel like the playful energy from last time. You could see Arnas lighten up a little.

Finally, I mustered up the courage to ask him the question that had been bugging me: “So, are you playing a villain in Mutiny?” I admitted right away that I know he probably won’t tell this to me anyway, but I just had to ask.

As expected, he didn’t spill a thing. Instead, he just smiled mysteriously and said, “Oh, you’ll see.”

And just like that, it was over. The group pictures were next, and before I knew it, Eliza had pulled me into another hug and dragged me to her side, yelling, “We’re doing hearts!” So naturally, we all did hearts. It was chaotic and hilarious, as usual with her.

By this point, I was feeling pretty dizzy from all the excitement and conversations—and mildly panicking about the werewolf game. The night before, I had won a ticket to Jacob’s team for my friend, and as the sweetest birthday surprise, she had gifted me a ticket for Arnas, Jeppe, and Cavan’s team. No pressure, right?

After a bit of queuing, we took our seats in a circle set up for the game. Our team was small—just me and four other ladies. Arnas arrived first and immediately announced, “You’re all doomed, you’re going to lose because I’m the werewolf, and I’m getting you all!” We laughed, and I shot back, “That’s not up to you—it depends on the role you get.” He grinned, and to my absolute shock (and slight terror), he chose the seat right next to me, making my heart jump straight into my throat.

Cavan and Jeppe hadn’t arrived yet, and while I was busy internally spiraling—trying to convince myself to stay calm and mentally cursing every goddess of fate for making me say something that probably prompted him to sit next to me—Arnas turned to me and casually asked, “So, what’s your absolute dream book to translate?” I have so much respect for Arnas for genuinely paying attention and remembering the people he meets. Not only did he remember my name, but he also remembered the book I gave him to sign and that I had translated it. Honestly, how does he even do that?

I told him I’m currently looking for a publisher for a beautiful German book for teenagers. I explained how there aren’t enough good books for kids and teens in Latvian, and the few publishers out there tend to focus on profits, which makes it hard to pitch books for a smaller audience. He wished me good luck, which was so sweet, and just as I was about to get emotional, I was saved by the bell—or more accurately, by Jeppe and Cavan arriving and the Nevastalgia girls jumping in to explain the rules of the werewolf game.

In the first round, I got the role of Cupid. My job? Pair up two players as a “couple,” meaning if one dies, the other does too. Naturally, I paired Jeppe and Arnas. Little did I know how lucky that choice would turn out to be. It turns out Jeppe was the Witch, and on the first night, the werewolves (of course) targeted Arnas. Jeppe had to use his healing powers to save Arnas, which kept both of them in the game. Talk about a power couple!

I love this game and tried my best to focus, but my concentration took a hit when Arnas casually placed his arm on the back of my chair. Seriously, how is one supposed to concentrate when that happens? To my surprise, the other ladies on the team were very quiet, so it was mostly me, Jeppe, and Arnas arguing and accusing each other of being werewolves. Jeppe, by the way, was absolutely thriving. He bickered with Arnas the entire time in classic Haesten style, teasing him non-stop. Cavan was a bit reserved at first but got more into the game as it went on.

Unfortunately, both games ended the same way—with one villager and one werewolf left alive, meaning the werewolves won. Poor Arnas didn’t even get to play as a werewolf either time and was eliminated super early both rounds. The final moments of the last game were intense. I knew the other lady was the werewolf and tried to convince Cavan and Jeppe, but while Jeppe believed me, Cavan didn’t. So we lost again.

But honestly? It didn’t even matter. The whole thing was hilarious. The banter, the accusations, and Jeppe’s jokes had me laughing so much that by the second round, I completely forgot about Arnas sitting next to me and finally just enjoyed the game and all the ridiculous fun that came with it.

[jokeroutsubs]

[ENG sub/translation] Bojan Cvjetićanin on WDR.de COSMO podcast, 8.3.2024

On 8.3.2024, Bojan was a guest on the 'Tvoj Korzo petkom' ('Your Friday promenade') episode of the German broadcaster WDR's COSMO podcast in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian language. It's hosted by Boris Rabrenović. You can find the original podcast here. Transcript by @moonlvster, translation by a member of Joker Out Subs, proofread by IG GBoleyn123, subtitles by TWT pastellibianchi.

Bojan talked about the current tour, audience response, the band's history, this year's Eurovision songs, as well as the making of Everybody's Waiting and what kind of an effect the song has on him now.

The podcast is audio only; you can find it with subtitles on our YouTube channel here:

or read the full translated transcript under the cut:

Joker Out in Germany - Your Friday promenade

Host: Coming up, we're hanging out with Bojan Cvjetićanin, the singer of the Slovenian rock band Joker Out, who are currently on a big European tour, in which they will have several concerts in Germany this month, in Berlin, Leipzig, Hamburg, Cologne and Munich.

The band is well known to Eurovision fans because they represented Slovenia in Liverpool last year. Since then, they have numerous fans all over the world, sold out concerts, and they also collaborated with the famous Elvis Costello. Singer Bojan Cvjetićanin will tell us more about all this. Hello, Bojan, welcome to our musical promenade walk.

Bojan: Hello, hello. It's my pleasure.

Host: After Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, you will have the first of five concerts in Germany on the 12th of March in Berlin. What are your impressions from the tour so far?

Bojan: Well, I have to say that... this is by far the biggest tour so far for us. So far, it has been really spectacular both emotionally and physically. We are very happy, we are very satisfied, the audience is wonderful, we play well, we feel good on stage, we're full of energy, and we also can't wait to put that into a musical form when we go to the studio.

Host: You sing in Slovenian, English, Serbo-Croatian. How does the audience manage the lyrics in all these languages?

Bojan: Well, I have to admit that so far, we've already done a good number of concerts abroad, and most of our audience is actually from the countries in which we play. So it's not like I could say that much of our audience comes from the Balkan diaspora or from Slovenia. Of course, we would like to see as many people from our diaspora as possible, but it's strange, it's strange to see people singing in Slovenian and Serbian, who otherwise don't even know a word of those languages, so we're not used to that yet.

Host: Last year, you represented Slovenia at Eurovision in Liverpool with the song Carpe Diem. Could you have predicted everything that would happen after that?

Bojan: Honestly, I have to say that what is happening now was our ultimate wish, a goal we believed in, but whenever you believe in a dream, there is a 99.9 percent chance that it won't happen. But truly, what is happening now is like, the best possible result for us.

Host: And tell us a little about the time before Eurovision, how long has the band existed and did you perform in countries in the region¹ even before Eurovision?

Bojan: The band has existed since 2016 and we mostly played in Slovenia. We had a concert or two in the region and both concerts were for a Slovenian audience on, like, those student trips and so on, so we only encountered audiences from the region after Eurovision.

Host: And did you manage to listen to this year's representatives at Eurovision? Do you have any favourites?

Bojan: For this year, I told myself that I would like to hear the songs for the first time when I watch Eurovision, that is, in the first semi-final. Of course there was no way I could avoid listening to some of the songs, since my social media has been flooded with Eurovision content since last year, so I have heard some things. I heard the Serbian song, I heard the Croatian song. Of course, the Slovenian song, which I worked on. I have to say that I really like all three songs, Serbian, Slovenian and Croatian, this year. They're interesting, they're different, so it's going to be an interesting year.

Host: Last year, you released the English version of the song 'Novi val' with the famous British musician Elvis Costello, so tell us briefly how that collaboration came about.

Bojan: Well, that collaboration is... a pretty surreal moment in our life. Completely by coincidence, our former bassist's godfather is good friends with Elvis, and he gave Elvis our first album to listen to and he really liked it. Later, when we released the second album, Elvis listened to it on his own accord, and he liked the song 'Novi val' so much that he offered to write the English version of the lyrics. After two weeks, when we confirmed it, after two weeks, we received an email saying that if we wanted, we could do a collaboration, which of course we said yes to.

Host: What a beautiful story. Coming up, we will hear your new single 'Everybody's Waiting', which was released a few days ago. Tell us a few words about this song, which some rate as your best song so far.

Bojan: Well... 'Everybody's Waiting' is like, I would say, an experiment by our band, a song which, as far as the lyrics go, is actually the result of certain anxiety attacks and panic that I started experiencing at concerts after an unpleasant experience on stage. So it has all been very very stressful for me, honestly, and for these last couple of months, the stage has no longer been the safest place that it used to be for me, so I had to get those feelings out somehow, and I poured them into the song. The guys from the band felt it too, and the producer also felt it, so it showed in the actual arrangement of the song as well, that it's not just a song, but rather we all understood it as a story.

So absolutely, I would also say that as a song, it is the most varied, the most interesting so far, it has a special sound, a little different from what we have done so far. The song is in English, I think it was actually the first time that an English song worked out for me that way, that it sounds good and sounds original, and that it truly poured out of me. So there you go, I'm very proud of this song, and these concerts showed that people love it a lot, they sing it, so yeah.

Host: How much has it helped you in solving the problem with anxiety?

Bojan: Well, I would say that it absolutely helps in some way. On this tour, I also had a moment of panic, anxiety on stage, and it actually ended somewhere in the middle of the song 'Everybody's Waiting', so maybe it kind of works to calm me down, so it has an effect.

Host: Then perhaps it should be the first on the setlists.

Bojan: Yes, the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and last.

Host: Bojan, thank you very much for being our guest. I wish you a lot of success in your future work, and a successful tour. And see you in Cologne on the 24th of March.

Bojan: Thank you, see you in Cologne.

Host: That was Bojan Cvjetićanin, the singer of the Slovenian rock band Joker Out, who are currently on a big European tour, during which they will have five concerts in Germany, on the 12th of March in Berlin, on the 13th in Leipzig, on the 19th in Hamburg, on the 24th in Cologne, and on the 16th of March in Munich. By the way, on the cosmoradio.de website, you can find our concert calendar for 2024 in Germany, with neatly arranged dates of all the performances by musicians from the countries in the (Balkan) region in Germany.

¹By "countries in the region" the host is referring to the former Yugoslavian countries.

[borisbubbles]

12. ESTONIA 5Miinust & Puuluup - "(nendest) Narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi" 20th place

Decade Ranking: 40/153 [Above Trenuletul, below Pasha Parfeny]

For those of you who don't speak Estonian.

This is message for those that didn't believe in them.

Guess where they are honey.

They're in the final.

and they're here to stay 💋 :dramatic tallharpa:

YES, I KNOW, they're out this early. Honestly, It feels incorrect to rank 5M&P anywhere other than right above Trenuletul (their spiritual ancestor), and we've already reached them point on the spreadsheet, so... Blame that year for producing 11 better entries.

I don't think Estonia warrants an introduction this year. From the second ANY of us heard :inhales: nendestnarkootikumidesteiteameküllmidagi, :exhales (this may seem difficult to type out, but I speak a language that has words such as meervoudigepersoonlijkheidsstoornis and arbeidsongeschiktheidscommissie. Pity for the five readers I get from countries such as Romania and Portugal). Anyway, from the second any of us heard [LongestTitleEver], we all knew we were going to be in for a WILD ride.

And indeed, if there's anything you can say about Estonia is that their song went HARD in basically every live performance.

THE MEMEDANCE

(symmetrically branching out 😍)

THE TAVERN BRAWL INTO FRATERNIZATION NARRATIVE

OLD FARTS CARRYING ♥ ♥ ♥

(Yeah he does look like VSauce, i knooow...x)

Shenanigans coated by song whose lyrics effectively boil down to "Don't do drugs! Drugs are bad! Allow me to demonstrate all that can go wrong. :demonstrates absolutely nothing wrong: " 😍. This entry is hotter than a stovetop.

Never forget that they qualified, fairly comfortably, from the semi of death, with an absolutely FOUL live performance! 😂 (no wonder that Sofia Coll comparison came naturally...x). Sometimes the song and concept are good enough to carry a televote, take notes countries with no idea what makes a televoter tick (Belgium, Austria, Azer...x).

All in all, it was a really fun ride, so why not higher?

Well... You know I love a good trainwreck and Estonia provided one... but it's the same deal as Raiven and Kaleen in a sense. I think the song's really good on its own. It's a rich composition that masterfully showcases Estonia's musical tradition. No other country in the WORLD could present an entry like (Nendest) Narkootikumidest.

Yet, I found that the lives didn't do it as much justice as I would have liked. (Nendest) Narkootikumidest's first live I saw (the one at Hommik Aniga) remains the best one, largely because they managed to curb the chaos for just the right amount of time before unleashing it into a psychedelic shitstorm. What we got in Malmö was very fun too, but not quite as epic.

It's a little bit nitpicky, I know, but bear with me. I really like everyone left in the ranking. It's the little details such as "this doesn't reach its full potential" or "these vocals are kinda crooked" (both of which apply to Estonia 💔) that are going to make or break your further survival, alongside my personal whim. (Nendest) Narkootikumidest was good, and I cherish it, but I know it could have been better (case in point: Finland beat them by a handful of points 💀), and that realization sealed their fate for me.

That said, MEGA STOKED Estonia qualified (and some of my friends got to hang out with them during the off-time in Malmö you can imagine how jealous I am), so let's hear the song one last time, with THIS handy format so you have no excuse to misidentify Marko, Ramo, Lancelot, Kölver, North Korea (lol) and Päevakoer ever again!

and um lol yes another year with Lithuania as the top Baltic. Funny how that remains a constant over the years. (#LETTHEMHAVETHEIRFIRSTWINSOON)

THE RANKING

[whimsicallywiddershins]

My best guesses on which cultures/countries Tamora Pierce bases her places and peoples off of. Obviously these aren't perfect copies, but more of where the idea may have come from.

Tortall is definitely Europe. Knights, castles, European names like John and George, ect. Easy.

Bazhir Desert: this one is trickier. Very likely based on Arab deserts or the Sahara and the peoples who live there. It's very ambiguous, just a basic desert culture, not a ton of world building here, but it's been a long time since I've read the Lioness books.

Galla and Scanra: I believe these are both based off Northern countries, with Scanra definitely based on Viking culture. Galla is less so, more like Lithuania or Poland, but neither is Russia. We will get to Russia in a bit.

Sairen and K'miri: Definitely Mongolia and steppe people and place.

Roof of the World: Tibet

Carthak: Egypt. Definitely based on ancient Egypt. Crocodiles, hyenas, lots of gold and darker skinned people. Old, powerful and center of learning.

Yamani Islands: Japan. I don't need to elaborate.

Copper Isles: This one I think is a bit of a mix of Indonesia and Hawaii.

Now, for Circle of Magic! (aka the fun and interesting culture and worldbuilding)

Emelan and the Pebbled Sea: Definitely Mediterranean, but I'm not sure which. My best guess is a sorta Turkey/Persian influence. It's not as obvious as Tortall. I believe the Chandlers and Tris are from a more Italian culture, probably from a country up North, but close enough to border Emelan and making travel easy. The whole merchant family thing made me think of Italy.

Traders: Likely based of Roma/Romani people. Trading caravans and largely persecuted. Not an exact copy, but similar.

Namorn: Russia! Definitely Russia. Large empire, very cold, far north and uses vaguely Russian terms. Powerful and not to be messed with.

Tharios: This one was tricky and fascinating. Probably ancient Greece, but I believe there were some other influences. The world building was massive as the plot directly involved the culture of the city. We also view the city from the scholarly but judgemental eyes of Tris.

Chammur: My best guess is India. Briar is more concerned with gangs and Evy so he doesn't really let us see the city as well. But India seems like a fair bet.

Yanjing: China. No needed discussion here lol.

Gyongxe: I'm guessing Tibet, again. The Roof of the World was way too quick, so Im glad Tamora re-visited this culture in a better way. Who knows, the Shang Dragon was very Chinese inspired, maybe Alanna did travel that far and missed Briar, Rosethorn and Evy by a few years! I'm still firm in the belief that all the books are in the same world.

If you agree or disagree with my picks, feel free to comment and propose your own theories! Or if I missed a country.

[toastedcinnamonflakes]

Books around the world

A while ago, I made a post that I want to make a list of books from every country of the earth. The qualifications are rather simple: The author needs to be from that country and the novel needs to take place in that country. The books themselves don't need to be the best from that country, just something I've read. They need to exist in a language that I can understand (which, for me, are German, English, Norwegian and Swedish).

If you have any suggestions, please send them to me 😊 So, without further ado, here is the list! (Books that I've already read are bold, books I have picked out for the country but haven't read yet are not)

Abkhazia:

Afghanistan:

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia: The Gray House, Marjam Petrosyan

Austria: Liebelei, Arthur Schnitzler

Australia: Picnic at Hanging Rock, Joan Lindsay

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile: The House of Spirits, Isabella Allende

China: Beijng Comrades, Bei Tong

Colombia

Congo

Costa Rica

Croatia: Marble Skin, Slavenka Draculic

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic: Valerie and her world of wonders, Vitêzslav Nezval

Denmark: Vintereventyr, Karen Blixen

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

East Timor

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Estonia

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France: The End of Eddy, Eduard Louis

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Germany: Krabbat, Otfried Preußler

Ghana

Greece: Medea, Euripides (I would love to read a contemporary greek novel tbh, please recommend me one!)

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland: Moonstone - The Boy Who Never Was, Sjón

India: The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga

Indonesia

Iran: Reading Lolita in Teheran, Azar Nafisi

Iraq

Ireland: Skulduggery Pleasent, Derek Landy

Israel

Italy: Swimming to Elba, Silvia Avallone

Ivory Coast

Jamaica

Japan: Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kiribati

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives

Mali

Malta

Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Moldova

Monaco

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

Myanmar

Namibia

Nauru

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

North Korea

North Macedonia

Norway: Vildskudd, Gudmund Vindland

Oman

Pakistan

Palestina

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland:

Portugal

Quatar

Romania

Russia: Demons, Fyodor Dostoevsky

Rwanda

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Somalia

South Africa

South Korea: The Vegetarian, Han Kang

South Sudan

Spain

Sri Lanka: Die sieben Monde des Maali Almeida, Sheban Karunatilaka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden: Herrn Arnes Penningar, Selma Lagerlöf

Switzerland: Homo Faber, Max Frisch

Syria

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Thailand

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

Uganda

Ukraine: Kult, Ljubko Deresch

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

USA: The little Friend, Donna Tartt

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

Venezuela

Vietnam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

I am also including some parts of the world that are not independent countries, but that I want to have in this list:

Faroese Islands

Greenland: Blomsterdalen, Niviaq Korneliussen

Scotland: The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, James Hogg

Wales: Fire and Hemlock, Dianna Wynne Jones

[flagwars]

Regional Flag Wars: Round 1

Welcome to the Regional Flag Wars! It will focus on the flags of regions/administrative divisions, with one flag being allowed per country. This tournament has been a long time coming, as I’ve been holding many preliminary rounds to decide the best regional flags of various countries over the past year, including the tournaments the Japanese Prefecture Flag Wars and the Russian Federal Subject Flag Wars. This tournament is one of my largest, with 82 flags and six rounds. The first round will begin this week. I hope everyone is excited to vote for the greatest regional flag in the world!

Round 1:

1. Baja Verapaz Department, Guatemala vs. Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina

2. Yucatán, Mexico vs. Alexandria Governate, Egypt

3. Nakuru County, Kenya vs. Panevėžys County, Lithuania vs. San José Department, Uruguay

4. South Ostrobothnia, Finland vs. Hirshabelle, Somalia

5. Northern Territory, Australia vs. Vysočina Region, Czechia vs. Bali, Indonesia

6. Azores, Portugal vs. Chuquisaca Department, Bolivia vs. Lower Austria, Austria

7. Brod-Posavina County, Croatia vs. Olancho Department, Honduras vs. Chuvashia, Russia

8. Brest Region, Belarus vs. Sicily, Italy vs. Batken Region, Kyrgyzstan

9. Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria vs. Amambay Department, Paraguay

10. Sarawak, Malaysia vs. Bukidnon, Philippines vs. Bratislava Region, Slovakia

11. Kosrae State, Micronesia vs. South Darfur, Sudan vs. Saare County, Estonia

12. Mpumalanga, South Africa vs. Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand

13. Gagauzia, Moldova vs. Chontales Department, Nicaragua

14. Adjara, Georgia vs. Grande Comore, Comoros vs. Wallonia, Belgium

15. Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates vs. Tuzla Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Magallanes Region, Chile

16. Töv Province, Mongolia vs. Balochistan, Pakistan vs. Tocantins, Brazil

17. Amhara Region, Ethiopia vs. Covasna County, Romania vs. Canton of Bern, Switzerland

18. New Brunswick, Canada vs. Angaur, Palau

19. San Jose Province, Costa Rica vs. Macedonia, Greece vs. Occitania, France

20. Saga Prefecture, Japan vs. Ebon Atoll, Marshall Islands

21. Greenland, Denmark vs. La Libertad Department, El Salvador

22. Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine vs. Central Equatoria, South Sudan

23. Valencia, Spain vs. Coclé Province, Panama

24. Mon State, Myanmar vs. Malampa Province, Vanuatu

25. Lublin Voivodeship, Poland vs. Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Province, Ecuador

26. Uva Province, Sri Lanka vs. Zulia, Venezuela vs. Agder, Norway

27. Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan vs. Friesland, Netherlands vs. Enga Province, Papua New Guinea

28. Leicestershire, United Kingdom vs. Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands

29. Bavaria, Germany vs. Kukës County, Albania vs. Kalmar County, Sweden

30. Department of Cuzco, Peru vs. Vojvodina, Serbia vs. Heves County, Hungary

31. Alaska, United States vs. Haut-Ogooué Province, Gabon vs. Grand Gedeh County, Liberia

32. Otago, New Zealand vs. Boyacá Department, Colombia vs. Connacht, Ireland

[maximumphilosopheranchor]

By early 1939, Hitler had reached a turning point: his foreign policy of gathering in Germans had succeeded in Czechoslovakia and Austria, and his attempts to recruit Poland for an eastern war had failed. He had rearmed Germany and extended its borders as far as possible without war. The annexation of Austria had brought in six million more citizens but also the bulk of the Czechoslovak armaments industry, perhaps the best in the world at the time. In March 1939 Hitler destroyed Czechoslovakia as a state, thus removing any illusions that his goals were limited to ethnic Germans. The Czech lands were added to the Reich as a “protectorate”; Slovakia became a nominally independent state under Nazi tutelage. On 21 March, the Germans tried to intimidate the Poles into an arrangement, and were again rebuffed. On 25 March Hitler gave the instructions for the Wehrmacht to prepare for an invasion of Poland. (..) Stalin could see, as he later put it, that he and Hitler had a “common desire to get rid of the old equilibrium”. In August 1939 Hitler responded to Stalin’s opening. Hitler wanted his war that year; he was far more flexible about the possible allies than about the issue of timing. If the Poles would not join in a war against the Soviet Union, then perhaps the Soviets would join in a war against Poland. From Hitler’s perspective, an accord with Moscow would prevent a complete encirclement of Germany if the British and French did declare war after the coming German attack on Poland. On 20 August 1939, Hitler sent a personal message to Stalin, asking him to receive Ribbentrop no later than the twenty-third. Ribbentrop made for Moscow, where, as both Orwell and Koestler noted, swastikas adorned the airport of the capital of the homeland of socialism. (..) The two regimes immediately found common ground in their mutual aspiration to destroy Poland. Once Hitler had abandoned his hope of recruiting Poland to fight the Soviet Union, Nazi and Soviet rhetoric about the country were difficult to distinguish. Hitler saw Poland as the “unreal creation” of the Treaty of Versailles, Molotov as its “ugly offspring”. Officially, the agreement signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 was nothing more than a nonaggression pact. In fact, Ribbentrop and Molotov also agreed to a secret protocol, designating areas of influence for Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union within eastern Europe: in what were still the independent states of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania.

Timothy Snyder, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin

[unhonestlymirror]

Vatņiki of the month:

I know that whenever anyone gains a bit of history knowledge, they immediately leave this fandom (because they finally realise how stupid and cruel it is) - and that's why here are mostly idiots left - nevertheless, I'm not gonna allow the number of idiots to increase. Thus:

1. This post was so cringe my phone crashed and refused to take a normal screenshot. So be it. Did you know that "BiG BrOthEr" has been killing and raping Belaruthians for centuries? Including nowadays? Did you know they burnt Polatsk with its huge library to the ground and stole our books and knowledge? And that's where many "russian" fairytales wihout an actual origin come from? Did you know about the Night of the Executed Poets? It's like Розстріляне Відродження but in Belarus. Please learn the actual history of Belarus instead of spreading stupid harmful russian propaganda. russians are rapists and mass murderers.

2. Same thing, but now posted by a roleplay Latvia account. Op, you should visit real Latvia one day, I'm actually curious how fast you're gonna end up being beaten to near-death experience.

3-4. *heavy sigh* It always amazed me how people in this fandom refuse to educate themselves, refuse to improve their knowledge based on the real world but just stick to same ideas FOR YEARS, to ideas once drawn by a crack-addicted prorussian Japanese who wasn't even able to graduate. Lithuania is such an amazing country, with an opulent history and culture - but the only thing you're interested in is... drawing russia abusing Lithuania? Why are you, guys, so addicted to genocide and violence? Why do you think mocking our national tragedies is funny and acceptable, dear artist from "China, Hong Kong"? Would you like it if somebody drew, e.g., America or India beating up your home till blood, calling your home "a kid in the basement"? I don't think so! The fact you think it's funny and totally normal to post publicly is genuinely pathetic.

Also, the fact many artists here use "russia abusing Lithuania" trope to put their OTP in the best light (usually LietPol, occasionally AmeLiet)... it's making me speechless. See, one of the countries who actually has been protecting Lithuania from russia for centuries is Ukraine - due to our geographical position and resources - nevertheless, I, as a Ukrainian, would never dare to draw Ukraine "saving poor little Lithuania from russia." Because this is REALLY offensive. In Ukraine, we know perfectly well how much suffering russia caused to others, and how many, e.g., Lithuanians died protecting their home - portraying them as Damsell in Distress means just nullifying and mocking all their sacrifices and tragedies. Once again I am convinced that only Eastern Europeans are capable of understanding this. Personally, as much as I love Lithuania, I would hate to see anyone drawing Glorious GDL saving poor little crying Ukraine from the Golden Horde - because the majority who suffered and who fought the Horde were still Ukrainians. Even if Lithuania still helped us a lot and fought with us, too. With Poland, it's even more complicated and fragile, because Poland used to kill a lot of Lithuanians and destroy their culture, and even making alliances with russia to divide my land - and even the Poland's partition by russia didn't prevent the 1920s massacres.

I hope this post will make you take a thought rather than be just offended.

[dontforgetukraine]

To understand Ukraine better, think about Ireland

What analogy would help American Catholics understand the situation in Ukraine?

Perhaps we should think about Ireland.

Like Ukraine, Ireland was dominated for more than 200 years by a huge imperial neighbor. Britain in Ireland. Russia in Ukraine. Both nations disappeared from political maps for more than two centuries.

Ireland got its independence from Britain in 1921 after 230 years of domination. Ukraine was finally free of Russian (Soviet) domination in 1991, after more than nearly 300 years of domination. Ukraine had the added problem of more than one colonial ruler, with Poland and Lithuania and Austria in the west, the Ottoman Turks in the south, and the Russians in the east.

Ukraine is a huge country, with relatively level topography, in the middle of Europe. It has been overrun with invaders since the Mongols invaded in the 13th century from the east. Poland and Lithuania dominated Ukraine in the west. In 1686, the Treaty of Eternal Peace between the Polish/Lithuanian confederation and tsarist Russia divided Ukraine in two, with everything east of the Dnieper River and Kyiv going to the Russians. So, beginning in the 1690s Russia dominated eastern Ukraine. They did their best to eclipse Ukrainian culture and referred condescendingly to Ukrainians and "Little Russians." Even the name "Ukraine" is from the Russian perspective. It means "borderland" — and the border is from Moscow's perspective. 

Language is an important part of identity. The indigenous languages of Ireland and Ukraine were both suppressed and supplanted by their colonial rulers. Ireland's educated elite spoke English and were sent to England to study. Ukraine's educated elite spoke the languages of their cultural masters: Polish in the west, Russian in the east. Under the tsars and the Soviets, the elites from Ukraine were sent to Russia to study and were expected to become cultural Russians. Today the Ukrainian language is making a comeback, even in the east. In Ukraine, I've met several Russian-speaking Ukrainians who now refuse to speak the Russian language. And Ukrainian is not a dialect of Russian, any more than Spanish is a dialect of Italian. They are distinct.

Both Irish and Ukrainian cultures were preserved in the rural areas. In the countryside, people spoke their native languages at home, in church and among themselves. But in business and in cities they spoke the language of their colonizers, English and Russian. That seems to have been especially true in Ukraine.

While neither Ireland nor Ukraine governed themselves for more than 200 years, their sons were drafted to fight the wars of their colonizers. The people of both nations generally remained poor, while the agriculture of both nations fed their rulers.

Both nations were visited by unnecessary starvation, despite their rich land and agriculture. Ireland had the Great Hunger of the 19th century, brought on by the potato blight and land rents. It killed a million people and sent another million into exile.

In Ukraine, the breadbasket of Europe, at least 4 million Ukrainians starved to death in the 1930s under Joseph Stalin during the Holodomor ("death by hunger"). It was totally unnecessary, brought on by Stalin's policy of  "collectivization" of farming and persecution of Ukraine's Culak farmers, who were perceived as anti-Bolshevik. Russian police entered Ukrainian homes and literally took the food from families.

Eastern Ukraine was severely depopulated by starvation, war and political purges by the end of World War II. Russian speakers were brought in to repopulate eastern Ukraine. (That's similar to what the English did in Northern Ireland when they brought in Scots.) This "Russification" changed the ethnic makeup of eastern Ukraine. 

World War II was especially cruel in Ukraine. Between 7 and 8 million Ukrainians died in the war; at least 5 million were civilians. The population of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic was 41 million in 1940 and 36 million people in 1950. 

Millions of people have emigrated from both Ireland and Ukraine. After World War II, many Ukrainians came to the U.S. and Canada. The Ukrainian Catholic churches that dot our landscape today are testament to their presence here. A new exodus took place from Ukraine in 2022, when about 6 million people left the country as refugees in just a few months. They settled mostly in western Europe. The population of Ukraine had been 41 million before Russia's full-scale invasion began Feb. 25, 2022. Now it is estimated at about 36 million. (No one is sure because a census is impossible to do in wartime.)

Both Ireland and Ukraine have seen severe religious persecution. In Ireland, the British crown banned Roman Catholicism under Irish penal laws. In Ukraine, under the Soviets, all religion — except Orthodox Christianity under the Moscow patriarch — was banned. The state was officially atheist during the Soviet era, 1921 to 1991. Today, as a result of Russia's invasion, the number of followers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is  declining and the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine is growing. Whole parishes are leaving the Moscow patriarch. A July 2022 survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found only 1 of 25 of Ukrainians (4%) identified with Moscow Patriarchate, a considerable drop from nearly 1 of 5 (18%) in June 2021.

Catholics, of both Eastern and Western rites, saw their churches, seminaries, monasteries, convents, schools and universities seized and closed during the Soviet period. Many church leaders had to go into exile. We visited one formerly Latin Rite church in Lviv, built by Polish Jesuits in the 1700s, which had been a book warehouse under the Soviet regime.

The war seems to have promoted the growth and independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It was recognized as a self-governing (autocephalous) church only in 2018, by the Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul). That resulted in the patriarch of Moscow excommunicating the patriarch of Constantinople. 

Why is this important for American Catholics? Because I have heard a fair amount of Russian disinformation from American Catholics after our two visits to Ukraine in the last two years.

People ask: Isn't Ukraine really just part of Russia? Answer: No. Not willingly.

Isn't the Ukrainian language just a dialect of Russian? No. It is a distinct Slavic language.

Wasn't Crimea always Russian? No. Catherine the Great seized it from the Ottoman Turks in 1783. Stalin deported most of the local Tatars to concentration camps in the 1930s.

History matters. It helps us to understand the past and deal with the present.

In 1991 Ukrainians took their rightful place among the peoples of the world. It has been a centuries-long struggle to be free of domination by their imperial neighbors. From what I have seen, they are absolutely determined that they will not again disappear from the maps of the world. 

[inert-displacement]

GDP and GPD per capita isn't effective at measuring neither a country's nor its citizens standard of living, wealth, happiness, health or development rate. It is only a wage indicator of monetary traffic.

HDI is a slightly better indicator, but the US is also only on the 21st place regardless, behind Canada, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Denmark.

The US has the worlds strongest military. Yes, this is true. But would China or Russia be a better country if they had a stronger one?

If we look at the crime rates, the US is at 89 out of 147 countries, beaten by Morocco, Italy, Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Moldova.

The only thing the US is really the best at (if we don't count the military) is its economy, which is still ranked first globally. But I don't know how that's good for any citizen when their standard of living still isn't as good as it could be.

If you break down each states GDP per capita and cost of living you find this

1. District of Columbia: 0.339

2. Hawaii: 0.915

3. Massachusetts: 0.805

4. California: 0.744

5. New York: 0.715

6. Alaska: 0.825

7. Washington: 0.764

8. Oregon: 0.766

9. New Hampshire: 0.779

10. Maryland: 0.820

11. Connecticut: 0.651

12. Delaware: 0.711

13. Arizona: 0.699

14. Florida: 0.699

15. Colorado: 0.707

16. North Carolina: 0.712

17. South Carolina: 0.704

18. Illinois: 0.718

19. Wyoming: 0.722

20. Minnesota: 0.723

21. Louisiana: 0.726

22. Montana: 0.723

23. Ohio: 0.734

24. Pennsylvania: 0.756

25. Nebraska: 0.760

26. South Dakota: 0.745

27. Michigan: 0.744

28. New Mexico: 0.759

29. North Dakota: 0.757

30. Tennessee: 0.746

31. Georgia: 0.776

32. Indiana: 0.782

33. Iowa: 0.776

34. Arkansas: 0.781

35. Missouri: 0.793

36. Alabama: 0.800

37. Mississippi: 0.807

38. Oklahoma: 0.822

39. Kansas: 0.821

40. New Jersey: 0.825

41. West Virginia: 0.780

42. Utah: 0.740

43. Nevada: 0.697

44. Wisconsin: 0.586

45. Vermont: 0.600

46. Maine: 0.604

47. Rhode Island: 0.950

48. Texas: 0.841

49. Virginia: 1.050

50. Kentucky: 0.826

This shows the relative cost of living in each state compared to its GDP per capita.  Which would be on average how many people make more than it takes to live in that state

Country,Total Annual Cost of Living (Including Taxes) (USD)

Luxembourg,$58,800

Ireland,$63,840

Netherlands,$42,600

Denmark,$59,520

Austria,$42,600

Sweden,$50,868

Finland,$45,192

Germany,$39,228

Belgium,$40,980

France,$41,688

Italy,$38,160

Spain,$26,640

Portugal,$26,640

Greece,$26,640

Czech Republic,$23,400

Slovakia,$23,880

Estonia,$23,760

Slovenia,$25,920

Lithuania,$23,760

Latvia,$24,480

Poland,$24,840

Hungary,$23,760

Croatia,$25,200

Romania,$18,480

Bulgaria,$18,480

Cyprus,$26,400

Malta,$27,768

Country,GDP per capita (USD)

Luxembourg,137,000

Ireland,113,000

Netherlands,71,700

Denmark,71,870

Austria,63,870

Sweden,52,510

Finland,44,620

Germany,44,460

Belgium,41,490

France,37,340

Italy,36,760

Spain,36,290

Portugal,33,750

Greece,32,910

Czech Republic,29,080

Slovakia,28,880

Estonia,26,110

Slovenia,25,620

Lithuania,22,130

Latvia,19,460

Poland,19,250

Hungary,18,480

Croatia,16,710

Romania,15,330

Bulgaria,15,250

Cyprus,15,020

Malta,14,880

Latvia,14,430

Estonia,14,010

Lithuania,13,300

Slovakia,10,250

Bulgaria,7,900

Romania,6,900

Croatia,6,500

Slovenia,4,980

Estonia,4,940

In most countries in Europe have more people that can’t afford to live in their country. Making it harder for them to survive and also being the reason why many Europeans immigrate to America.

[sere-ness-ima]

HWS Poland during the partitions: the full timeline (1795-1918) [1]

...but it will take a long time to write, so I will divide the infodump into parts. Haha, divide into parts, get it?? Because Polan–

<concering muffled noises>

...this part contains the following topics:

[1.1] Why offing Poland during the partitions is a terrible move [an essay-flavoured rant]

[1.2] What I'm going for in shaping my hetalia universe [a short boring disclaimer]

[1.3] TL;DR Feliks' timeline 1795-1918 [because I'm not a clickbait type]

The actual essays [nessays?] detailing the events and providing contexts and sources will come later, and hell am I excited for it.

[1.1] An introduction

I’ve been sitting on it for almost 10 years at this point, which is a lot of time to sacrifice to a fictional character’s fictional biography. And I’m speaking about 123 years of Poland’s geographical non-existence, which even my fellow Polish fanfiction writers often skip by unaliving him and only letting him resurrect in 1918 after regaining independence, with cool phoenix metaphors and a jazzy remix of *Poland is not lost yet*.

It's not that I hate this concept utterly, because I have even attempted to write a fic just like that once. I couldn’t resist the picture of Poland, the snobby, aristocratic, moustached, hot-headed peasant-owner from the end of the 18th century, suddenly waking up in the middle of barely-post-WW1 turmoil, with the world having changed SO MUCH since the times he last remembers that he’s like a caveman released from a block of ice in the middle of modern-day New York. Oh, yeah, and his job is to rebuild a country which he lost- wait, he losT FOR HOW LONG???

Yeah, I like the idea. It would be a fascinating comedy plot. But let’s be realistic. The clue of all my rambling is, Poland just before the partitions and just after the partitions are two completely different people, but there’s a road between them, a story of Feliks changing drastically over the 123 years, a story which is absolutely delightful, emotional, hilarious, and honestly the director of The World should get an award for it, because oh boy does Feliks’ character arc HIT HARD. (And I’m not the director here. I’m the film editor, at best. Just choosing the best scenes to bring to light based on a personal whim.)

[1.2] A disclaimer

My hetalia universe works on my own custom-made rules. I only touch canon when convenient, otherwise ignoring it completely. My rule of thumb is to make the concept of personifications as realistic as possible and to bring the “Ness Cinematic Universe” as close to a normal history textbook as possible [some people are just built different, like and subscribe if your goal is to write a history textbook of a fic too!]. I strive for historical accuracy here – but the Rule of Cool takes priority when needed, because I also strive for whatever my heart desires. All my stuff are of the “public hetalia” variety unless stated otherwise. It means the personifications and their identity are usually public knowledge and their existence is a natural phenomenon in-universe.

[1.3] HWS Poland's 19th century timeline: TL;DR

(i'm about to elaborate on each point from this list in my future posts.)

1795 – the third partition. According to their earlier agreement, Russia takes Lithuania east and Prussia takes Poland west.

1796 – Poland moves through Saxony to France… 1797 – ...and from France to Italy, where the famous Polish legions in Italy are starting to form.

1797-1814 – Poland’s Great Napoleonic Adventure :) [to be elaborated on]

1815 – the previous agreements between the partitioning sides get nullified at the congress of Vienna. Feliks has no other way but to agree on a personal union with Russia under certain conditions.

1815-1830 – he then lives a mildly peaceful life in Warsaw, but the conditions aren’t met and the tsar’s brother is unbearable.

1830-31 – Feliks revolts in Warsaw.

1831-37 – prison time (Schliesselburg fortress, Russia)

1838-1848 – Poland’s Great Emigration :) (his mental health rapidly decreasing, he moves to live in France and travels here and there around western Europe. You can insert your ship content here, though.)

1848 – Feliks revolts in Germany.

1848-1849 – Feliks revolts in Hungary.

1849-185X – prison time (Spielberg castle, Austria [nowadays Czech])

185X – 1861 – passed from Austria to Russia, he once again accepts an offer to sit calmly in Warsaw and try not to break anything. [the plot of BSA the fic happens here – for those who know :) you can also use this time for your ship content.]

1861-1863 – mildly chaos with occassional patches of prison time (Warsaw Citadel)

1863-64 – Feliks revolts in Warsaw.

1864-1866 – Poland’s Not So Great Exile To Siberia :)

1866 – Feliks revolts in Siberia.

1867-1890 – a free time slot. Show your OTP some love here. Personally I want to see him in Austria-Hungary, Prussia works too. So does going west and crying into France’s sleeve. So does prison time in Irkutsk, Siberia. Let him have a trip to China. Or Australia. Do your worst.

1891-190X – I’d love to see him in Russia around here, though, in Petersburg. At least when he’s not running wild and committing crimes.

190X-1914 – I’m currently reworking this section. The old version had him start WW1 in Prussia, in the Prussian army, then switch to the Russian side. The new one will probably have him do the exact opposite, so he’d be starting in Russian.

1914-16 – not like it matters, because he manages to fight for all the three occupants’ armies (until they notice he's jumping sides and...

1916-1918 – ...have him sit on his ass till the end of the war).

1918 – he finds his people eventually, or they find him. And the real fight starts now. :)

...see you in the next nessay, which will probably be all about the three acts of partitions and making an attempt to paint a picture of Feliks the moment his country collapses? We'll answer cool questions like:

"should the partitions be blamed on Feliks or is he helpless about his people's stupid decisions",

"was the canon partitions scene with Poland laying in the snow actually the battle of Maciejowice (1794)",

"is Austria the kind one, because you know, Hungary likes Poland"

"yeah but how can we make it pruspol" And more! Maybe I'll even add a picture to the wall of text. As a treat.

[beardedmrbean]

German political figures have reacted angrily to a report that Russia had plotted to kill the head of Germany's biggest arms company Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger.

The CNN report said US officials had told their counterparts in Berlin earlier this year and security around him was stepped up.

Germany's interior ministry refused to comment but Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock appeared to confirm the details.

"In view of latest reports on Rheinmetall, this is what we have actually been communicating more and more clearly in recent months," she told reporters at the Nato summit in Washington. "Russia is waging a hybrid war of aggression."

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the allegations. "It's all presented in the style of another fake story, so such reports cannot be taken seriously."

Rheinmetall avoided commenting on issues of "corporate security", but Mr Papperger is now being described as the most highly protected figure in Germany's economy. He told the Financial Times that German authorities had imposed a "great deal of security around my person".

The company is one of the world's biggest producers of ammunition and has become key to supplying Ukraine with arms, armoured vehicles and other military equipment.

Rheinmetall recently opened a tank repair plant in western Ukraine. Last month, it signed an agreement with Ukraine to expand co-operation in the coming years, including a joint venture to produce artillery shells.

Mr Papperger said at the time his company wanted to hand over the first Lynx infantry fighting vehicles later this year and to start producing them in Ukraine soon.

Although Chancellor Olaf Scholz avoided commenting on the reported assassination plot directly, he said it was well known that Germany was exposed to a variety of Russian threats and was paying close attention to them.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said "we are taking very seriously the significantly heightened threat of Russian aggression".

Earlier this week, a senior Nato official told the BBC that Russia was "engaging in aggressive covert operations across Europe – involving sabotage, arson and assassination plots – aimed at weakening public support for Ukraine".

The German foreign minister said the Baltic states had already highlighted the various methods deployed by Russia's Vladimir Putin in his war on Ukraine. As well as sabotage, she spoke of cyberattacks and disrupting GPS signals so that Baltic flights could no longer land in neighbouring countries.

"We have seen that there have been attacks on factories, and that again underlines that, together, we as Europeans must protect ourselves as best we can and not be naive," Ms Baerbock told reporters.

In early May, a building complex owned by the Diehl Metall firm went up in flames in south-west Berlin. Although a technical fault was blamed for the fire, sabotage has not been ruled out. Suspicious fires have also been reported in Poland and Lithuania.

Last April, Mr Papperger's garden house was set alight at Hermannsburg in northern Germany, although there has been no evidence of a Russian link.

The fire was quickly brought under control and a rambling, anonymous confession purportedly from leftist militants appeared on activist network Indymedia.

The reported plot against such a high-profile German CEO has prompted widespread alarm.

Leading conservative figure Roderich Kiesewetter said the chancellor should come clean with the German population about how great the threat from Russia really was. German intelligence needed to be boosted to the level of neighbouring countries, he said.

"We must take it very seriously and also prepare ourselves accordingly," he told public broadcaster ZDF.

Michael Roth, who chairs Germany's foreign affairs committee told Bild newspaper that Vladimir Putin was waging a "war of extermination not only against Ukraine, but against its supporters and our values".

The head of the defence committee, Marcus Faber, added his condemnation, saying if information about Russian intelligence involvement came to light, then "the expulsion of diplomats must follow and, if necessary, international arrest warrants must be issued".