#Military Exercises in South America

[tropes-and-tales]

For Good News, Read Front

(Frankie "Catfish" Morales x F!Reader)

CW:  Mostly fluff; some crude language.

Word Count:  3313

AN:  This was requested by the lovely @justreblogginfics for the April Showers event!

Civilian life hasn’t been kind to Frankie Morales.

Addiction, divorce.  Nearly bankrupted dealing with both.  He only sees his little girl half of the time, and each time he drops her off at her mom’s house, he feels like he’s been lanced through the heart.  He lives alone in a shitty apartment, and if it wasn’t for his job, he might go entire days without seeing or speaking to other people. 

More immediately, though, he hasn’t been taking care of himself.  He’s lost the rigor of military life.  He’s put on some weight and barely exercises.  According to his annual physical, he’s got high blood pressure, high cholesterol.

He wouldn’t care so much except for his daughter.  He wouldn’t bother if it was just for himself.  The thought of checking out early and not being there for her big moments—graduations, marriage, whatever—is enough to spur him to action.

He eats better, or tries to.  He cuts most of the red meat.  He cuts much of the mindless beer drinking he does at night in front of the TV.  He takes a multivitamin each morning.

He starts running for the exercise.

At first, it’s pathetic.  He’s winded almost immediately, his knees ache, and his muscles burn.  What happened to the Frankie who breezed through Basic Training?  What happened to the young buck who could hoover down four cheeseburgers and run with a loaded rucksack like it was nothing?

He got old, Frankie thought.  He got old and used up and left behind.

But it gets easier.  The running gets easier.  He starts to chew up miles on his long runs.  He wears out a pair of shoes and needs another.  He buys a stupid reflective vest so he can go out early mornings and run to race the sunrise.  As the running gets easier, so do other things:  he sleeps better, breathes better.  His mood improves marginally.

Maybe civilian life can work after all.

-----

He still makes stupid choices all the time. 

Like this evening:  the weather forecast showed rainstorms.  He checked it three times, but he still laced up his running shoes, queued up a playlist, and left his apartment.  In a surge of unfounded confidence, he figured he could outrun the weather.

Frankie figured wrong.

He’s almost exactly as far from home as he can be when the skies open up.  His favorite running route takes him into a quiet neighborhood full of old Florida-style homes with rambling lawns and big trees.  It’s usually charming, but now?  In the middle of a rainstorm that is increasingly dangerous—thunder rolls overhead, lightning cracks in the distance—it’s foreboding.  The light in the sky takes on a pearl grey cast, washing everything in a funereal pall.

Sheets of rain soak him in seconds.  He turns around, pounds back down the street, his waterlogged sneakers squelching with each stride.  His clothes cling to him uncomfortably, and a moment later, his phone dies, his playlist cutting off mid-song.

Then a bolt of lightning splits the sky in front of him—way too close for comfort—and Frankie knows he has to find cover.

He thinks of who he knows nearby.  He comes up short when he goes through the obvious:  Pope is somewhere in South America, both Benny and Will are on the other side of town in the opposite direction.  Frankie has a cousin nearby, he thinks, but then he remembers that she moved to Virginia last year, according to his mother.  He doesn’t know where any of his coworkers live, or anyone from his NA meetings—

The only person he can think of is you.  He’s only met you a handful of times, one of those flimsy acquaintances situations.  You were friends with a girl that Benny was dating a while back, and you had come to some of the group hangouts with her.  You had been quiet, hung at the margins like Frankie, and the two of you had shared some pleasantries.  Not enough to be friends, but you had also hosted a cookout a few summers back and invited the guys, so Frankie remembers where you live.  Nearby, thankfully.

It'll have to be enough, those handful of paltry conversations he shared with you.  Hopefully you’re home.  Hopefully you’ll answer the door to the near-stranger soaking wet on your porch.

It’s Frankie’s lucky day, it turns out.  You are home, and you do open your door to him, first with a look of puzzlement, then with a bemused smile as you usher him inside.

-----

“I’d offer you a shower, but you probably shouldn’t since there’s lightning,” you tell him. 

He’s standing in your kitchen, dripping all over your tiled floor.  You hand him a towel and watch him, that smile curving your lips as you watch him dry off as best as he can.

He’s also interrupted your cozy evening in.  You’re already in pajamas, contacts out and glasses perched on your nose.  The TV in the other room is paused, and the screen shows what looks to be a period drama of some sort.  The entire house has the warm scent of something delicious recently baked, and when Frankie glances over at the counter, he sees a pan of brownies cooling.

“I appreciate this,” he replies.  “Sorry to bust up your evening.”

 “No worries.  It’s just solo movie night.”

“Good weather for it.”

You chuckle.  “Certainly better than going for a jog.”

Frankie smiles.  “I thought I could outrun it.”

You smile back at him, then shift your gaze over his shoulder and to the window.  The storm is only picking up in intensity; the smaller trees bend in the wind, and rain comes in sideways with each gust.

“I’d also offer to drive you home, but I’m not good at driving in bad weather,” you say, the smile ceding to a grimace.  “I’m kind of a baby about it.”

“Or you’re just sensible,” he counters.

He runs the towel over his head.  Instead of being soaked, now he’s uncomfortably wet—his clothes stick to him, and he feels clammy and gross.

“I could call Will, maybe.”

Frankie shakes his head.  He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, which was already outdated and nearing its end of life.  “I don’t have his number memorized.”

“Maybe Benny?”  You pause.  “Though since he dumped Emma, I’ve been sworn as his enemy.  You’d have to keep it on the down low.”

“I don’t have his number memorized either.”

There’s an uncomfortable beat of silence, then Frankie says, “if I could just wait out the worst of the storm…if I could just even sit on your porch and not bother—”

You cut him off.  “Of course you can hunker down here.  Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I don’t wait to ruin your evening—”

You cut him off again.  “You aren’t.  Solo movie night is flexible on the ‘solo’ bit.”  You gesture to the pan of brownies behind him.  “There’s plenty of snacks to go around.”

Frankie should feel bad, but now that you’re in motion, he doesn’t quite have the time to sink into any bad feelings:  you snatch the soaked towel from his hands, and you take his elbow lightly and lead him down the hallway to your bathroom.  You push him gently inside, then pivot to snag some fresh towels from the linen closet.  You toss those at him, and the entire sequence happens so fast that he blinks in surprise.

“Go ahead and dry off,” you tell him.  “I think I have some clothes that will fit you.  I can run your wet stuff through the dryer.”

“You’re sure you—” he starts to say, but you’re already closing the door on him, giving him privacy, and he hears you padding down the hallway away from him.

It’s only a few minutes later that you knock on the door again.  He opens it—still fully clothed—and you’re standing there with spare clothes for him.

“Okay, so you won’t get style points,” you say.  “But these should fit you.”

Frankie makes sure to look you in the eyes when he thanks you.  He wants you to know he’s appreciative.  You didn’t have to let him into your house at all, yet here you are, clothing him, offering to feed him, and you don’t really even know him beyond the handful of conversations you had at group events.

“I appreciate it,” he says.  “I owe you one.”

You wave that off.  “No worries.  Dry off, get changed.  The washer and dryer are off the kitchen.  You can throw your wet stuff in, then we can relax and wait out the storm.”

-----

Frankie has questions.

Firstly, there’s the grey sweatpants.  Obviously men’s sweatpants.  Obviously they belonged to some guy, though Frankie has only ever known you to be single.  He knows that sometimes women keep their guy’s shirts after a breakup because they are typically bigger and cozier, but he can’t picture you wearing these sweatpants yourself.  You’d be swimming in them—yet they seem to be lovingly preserved, scented faintly of fabric softener, and folded neatly when you hand them over.

Secondly, there’s the t-shirt.

It’s big, and while it’s clearly been worn, it’s not worn.  It’s a joke t-shirt, obviously, but Frankie is dying to know the context behind it.

The back of the shirt reads “For good news, read front.”

When Frankie flips it over, he is startled by the laugh that it draws from him.  It reads, “Big dick is back in town,” and an unsubtle red arrow underneath the text points downward.

So Frankie has questions.

-----

“Okay, so the t-shirt is from a bachelorette party,” you tell him around bites of brownie.  The two of you are on the couch, and the tray of brownies is between you.  There’s also a bottle of Merlot, which Frankie would have never thought of, but it pairs really well with the brownies.

The movie plays on the TV, but it’s long forgotten:  first, from laughing at him when he emerges from the bathroom, then from his barrage of questions that you answer diligently.

“The maid of honor got us all joke t-shirts, and we had to do a blind pull from a bag.  That’s the one I got,” you continue.

“And you had to wear it out in public?” he asks, incredulous.

You nod.  “In Vegas too.”

“Brutal.”

“Could’ve been worse.  One girl pulled a t-shirt that looked like a concert shirt with dates and locations on the back, right?  But the front read ‘Chlamydia World Tour 2008.’”

It’s strange how easily the formality between the two of you melted away.  It’s probably just the perfect blend of elements:  the raging storm outside, the coziness inside, the wine and sugar, the ridiculousness of Frankie’s outfit.  You each sit turned towards each other on the couch, far closer than Frankie’s been to you before, but it feels natural.  It feels nice, in fact, to be with someone like this—comfortable, joking.

And maybe a hint of flirting.

Frankie takes another sip of wine.  “So was it?” he asks.

“Was what?”

“Was it back in town?”

It takes you a beat, but then you get it.  Your laugh—Frankie’s never really heard it, he guesses, but it’s delightful and contagious, makes him chuckle along with you. 

“Obviously,” you reply.  “When big dick comes back to town, you even go to the effort of printing up a shirt about it.”

Frankie could get used to this, he thinks.  He likes how easy it feels to talk to you, and he really likes the glint you get in your eye when he makes the joke.  He never really noted you before, when you turned up to group events, but Frankie never really noted anyone back then.  He was too busy trying to stay afloat in his life.

“Makes me wonder where big dick goes when it’s not in town,” he muses.

“I have to imagine it’s like a carnival.  Goes town to town.”

“Winters in Florida when it’s cold.”

“And like a real carnival, when you know it’s in town, you’re excited to go see it, but also a little scared because you just know everything about it is under the table and off the books.”

Frankie laughs.  “Big dick can’t be regulated.”

You laugh too, and you swallow down the rest of the wine in your glass.  “Nor should it be.  Big dick deserves to run free.”

There’s a hundred different, filthy things Frankie could say to that.  Maybe you have the same thought because you glance at him, catch his eye, then look away.  And maybe he’d drop one of those filthy lines on you if he knew you better, but suddenly he feels like he’s behind with you—that he should have taken advantage of all those group hangouts to get to know you better. 

“What about these?” he asks instead, gesturing broadly to the sweatpants he’s wearing.  “Another bachelorette thing?’

The story of the sweatpants is sadder, but more revealing to your history.  The atmosphere turns a shade more somber:  the sweatpants belonged to your ex-husband.

“I didn’t know you were married,” Frankie says.

You shake your head.  “I haven’t been, for a long time now.  We married young and divorced young.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It happened.  It’s old news.”  You shrug, but Frankie can see you turning a bit sad, maybe introspective. 

It’s a chance to build a connection.  Frankie nods knowingly; he knows this sort of pain.

“Still hurts though,” he tells you.

Another shrug, but you look at him like you’re considering him in another light.  You make the connection.  “Yeah, that’s right,” you reply.  “You’ve been through it too, huh?”

“Two years since it was finalized.”

You settle deeper against the back of the couch.  “How are you doing?”

The question warms him.  No one ever asks him how he is.  Pope, the Millers…they have a unique closeness that comes with being brothers-in-arms, but they don’t ever probe each other’s lives or feelings.  They check in with each other, but they suffer in silence.

“I’m okay,” he replies.

You narrow your eyes.  “You sure?”

“I’m sure.”  He smiles, and he reaches for the bottle of wine on the coffee table.  He pours you another glass, and he tops his own off too.  “It’s only tough with my daughter.  Not seeing her every day, you know?”

It warms him even more, how you nod sympathetically but then encourage him to talk about his little girl—you ask a ton of questions about her, and Frankie finds himself suddenly chatty, talkative, his free hand not wrapped around the stem of his wine glass gesturing as he relates stories about his daughter, and you laugh at the funny stories, coo at the cute ones.

The evening cedes into night.  The hours melt away like nothing.  The movie on the TV ends, and the streaming app switches automatically to some reality show about rich people on boats, but you and Frankie talk.  You break away to pull together a dinner cobbled from what you have on hand:  grilled cheese, a salad of mixed greens.  Then you both settle back on the couch with another bottle of wine, and the hours unspool into the early morning.  Frankie doesn’t even notice because he’s too busy marveling at how easy, how unexpected this all is. 

He only wanted a moment of shelter from the storm—which has gentled down into a light, steady rain.  What he got was dry clothes, good food and drink, and better conversation.  He considers it a gift, this moment:  he’s gotten this chance to know you better, and he finds that you’re someone he wants to know.  Someone he wants to count as a friend, and he can see a future where he might want to count you as someone more.

You’re the one who cracks first.  You yawn, and it makes you check your phone.

“Shit, it’s late.”  You run your hands over your face and look at him.  “You wanna just crash here for the night?”

“I don’t want to put you out.”

You smile and glance at his chest, say “Big dick never puts me out,” and it takes Frankie a too-long beat to remember what he’s wearing.  It’s embarrassing that for a too-long moment, he thinks you’re blatantly coming onto him.  He gapes at you before he catches on, but then he flushes because you are flirting.

He flushes too because you realize exactly what he’s thinking.  “You forgot about the shirt for a moment, huh?” you ask.

“I did!”

You laugh, and you stand up.  You stretch a little, twist at the waist to unkink some tightness in your back, and then you look down at him.

“The couch is pretty comfortable.  You okay with that?”

He nods.  “You sure I’m not putting you out?”

Another laugh.  “I think you probably worry too much, Frankie.”  You disappear for a moment, then come back with pillows and blankets. 

“I can drive you home in the morning,” you offer.  “Whenever you need to be back.”

Frankie takes the bedding from you, and the moment has a charge of intimacy:  you’re standing close together, separated only by an armful of blankets and pillows.  The rain drums steady outside, it’s dark and late, and it feels like you’re the only two people awake in the world at the moment. 

And he hasn’t felt this good in a while.  Usually, an evening of nonstop talking would leave him drained, his social battery low, but this is different somehow.  He feels like he’s peeled back a layer of himself, exposed an inner bit of himself to you, and it doesn’t horrify him at all.  It makes him feel seen.  Conversely, he feels like he knows you far better now, and he doesn’t want any of these good feelings to evaporate when the sun rises.

“Can I take you out for breakfast?” he asks.  He drops his voice in volume, reluctant to break the spell of friendly intimacy that’s been woven.  “There’s a really good cafe if we take the scenic route to my place.”

You seem to misunderstand him.  “Oh, you don’t owe me anything,” you say.

In his civilian life, Frankie has often played it too close to the vest.  He’s let life carry him along, too passive with things both big and small.  He’s let thing happen to him rather than trying to drive the direction of his life.

He knows this moment can tip either way.  He can let the chance pass, and you can go back to being just someone he knows, someone he passed a pleasant evening with while a storm raged outside. 

Or he could lean into his Delta Force days, maybe just a little.  He can be decisive.  He can be clear in his objective.

“No,” he replies, shaking his head.  “I’d like to take you out.”

Your reaction is enough to bolster him.  First you say, “oh” and blink at him, but then you smile and add, “I’d like that.”

-----

Frankie never seems to sleep very well, but you are right:  your couch is comfortable, and the sound of the rain soothes him too.  He finds himself dropping right off, his sleep deep and restful.

His last thought before he does, though, is I can’t wait for morning.

And then it is morning, dawn about to break and the sky a pearly grey.  Frankie stands up and stretches, and he stands by the big picture window by the couch and watches as the sun breaks the line of the horizon and brings the new day with it.

It brings something else too:  for the first time in his civilian life, Frankie feels something like anticipation.  Something like hope.

[stillnaomi]

World War III and the Fall of Imperialism

A speech by Booker Ngesa Omole, The National Vice Chairperson of the Communist Party of Kenya

As we gather here at the 7th International Conference of the World Anti-Imperialist Platform, we stand at a critical juncture in our shared struggle against the scourge of imperialism. Today, I want to discuss a stark reality that looms over our world: the inevitability of World War III, driven by the unrelenting aggression of imperialist powers. This war is not a distant possibility but a present danger, rooted in the insatiable greed of monopoly capital.

Imperialism, in its various manifestations, poses an existential threat to the sovereignty of African nations. Initiatives such as AFRICOM serve as instruments of this imperialist agenda, undermining our autonomy and reducing our countries to mere pawns in the geopolitical chess game orchestrated by Western powers. These military strategies are designed not to protect our people but to secure the interests of the imperialist elite.

In Kenya alone, we host three foreign military bases, a glaring testament to the erosion of our sovereignty. These bases are not just symbols of military presence; they represent a direct violation of our independence and dignity. They subjugate our military and intelligence agencies to the whims of U.S. imperialism, turning our institutions into extensions of foreign powers. This scenario is replicated across the continent, where foreign military presence is a common thread in the tapestry of imperialist domination.

The spectre of World War III is already haunting us, as conflicts rage on multiple fronts. In West Asia, the struggle against Zionist aggression is an anti-imperialist, antifascist war. In Eastern Europe, we witness the brutal realities of NATO-backed conflict in Ukraine. And in East Asia, tensions simmer around Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula, echoing the same imperialist ambitions.

Lenin, in his classic work “Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism,” eloquently articulated the dynamics of imperialism and its inevitable contradictions. He described how imperialism seeks to escape internal crises through external wars. Today, we observe this in the provocations and military exercises conducted by the United States and its allies, which serve not just as a show of force but as desperate attempts to maintain their declining hegemony.

Yet, amidst this chaos, the anti-imperialist camp is rising, united in its struggle against oppression. Comrades in Russia, China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran, and various resistance movements across the Global South are not seeking war; they are prepared for a just struggle against imperialist aggression. The unity and operational strength of the anti-imperialist front underscore a powerful truth: we are not alone in this fight.

The reliance of imperialism on proxy wars and economic sanctions reveals its strategic limitations. The imperialist powers fear direct confrontation, knowing the consequences of nuclear escalation. This hesitation will be their downfall. While they aim to exhaust nations like Russia, China, and Iran, we can turn their war of attrition into decisive victories across multiple theatres of conflict. These victories will not only weaken imperialism militarily but will also trigger a political and economic collapse. The fragmentation of NATO, the decline of the U.S. dollar’s hegemony, and the emergence of BRICS and other alternative institutions signal the end of the US imperialist order.

The eventual defeat of US imperialism will pave the way for a new global order defined by national liberation revolutions and the defeat of all neo-colonial projects across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This new order will also see the inevitable resurgence of socialist revolutions and the establishment of people’s democracies. Additionally, there will be a true commitment to peace, independence, and self-determination as guiding principles for global governance.

As we face the challenges of our time, let us reaffirm our commitment to the struggle against imperialism. The victory belongs to the people. The end of imperialism will not only reshape global politics but empower nations to pursue socialism, democracy, and peaceful coexistence.

In conclusion, as we confront the spectre of World War III, let us remember that this is a final confrontation between the forces of imperialism and those of anti-imperialist resistance. Together, we shall emerge victorious, heralding a new era of hope, freedom, and progress for all.

Death to Imperialism!

Long live International Socialism!

[eugenedebs1920]

Just a little fun wordplay 😊

We no longer stand in solidarity. There were periods when we did. These periods saw the biggest gains and the greatest successes of the masses and the middle class.

In the mid to late seventeen hundreds a collective of average people, some educated, some not, some of moderate wealth, others without. With the cumulative efforts, and rebellious spirit, these men, and a ragtag group of immigrants, fought off the mightiest global military forces, while at the same time, composing a series of ideas that would guide a free and prosperous society for centuries.

Theres always bad concepts, arbitrated by bad actors. Characters whose personal agendas of greed and self indulgence overpowers all aspects of decency and humanity. This was the case of the slave owning south.

As this young nation had shown before, there was no tyranny that couldn’t be bested. Again, an aggregation of peoples joined forces for the plight of humanity. For the freedom of the most vulnerable among them, a long, bloody, brutal war was carried out. Again, those who stood for the good of the common man toppled a hierarchy of wealthy, racist, tyrannicals.

Less than a century later a buzzing came from across the Atlantic. A charismatic overlord saw a susceptibility in his people. He would prey upon this by demonizing and lambasting those who weren’t arian, attesting the root of Germany’s woes lay in these immigrants poisoning the blood of their nation.

The largest conflict the world had ever seen commenced. Our cousins in England had bombs dropping on their doorsteps. The manufacturing of equipment and ammunition would prove to not suitable to subdue the forces against them. Again, a coalition of immigrants and native born American slaves would rise together in the fight against totalitarianism. Again their resolve would be victorious.

At home the powers of industry and capital would subjugate the workers of America. Making vast sums of wealth off exploitation. The accumulation of workers, all immigrants, men and women, brown and white, would capitalize on their numbers against the capitalists numbers of capital, showing that without a workforce the power of industry lies not in the wealth one holds but in the richness of solidarity. Again, this patchwork of peoples would, for now, would conquer despotic forces.

Society would see a period of great prosperity after the labor movements and the devastating war. That is with the exception of those stolen from the continent of Africa and forced to be here against their will.

The tether of reconstruction was long snapped and the menace of oppression in the south had ensnared in its provocations an atmosphere of violence and a thraldom of segregation, disenfranchising an already marginalized people.

Again, a plurality of common poor peoples amassed for the battle against those who contended their superiority over them. An exercise of non violent direct action through the plethora of peaceful persons would placate to the general population the putridness of the prejudices cast upon them by immoral ignorant racist, bringing to light their struggles. Again, the community of conciliating colored Americans coincided to overcome their oppressors.

At the same moment the military industrial complex Eisenhower had warned of, continued to manufacture conflict. This time in south east Asia.

This was a war where the richest county in the world, with the most advanced weaponry, combated communism on some of the poorest people on the planet. The atrocities, like never before, came through the screens, and into the living rooms of every American home. An anti-war, pro love revolution would sweep the nation. Again, the whole of these heartfelt hippies helped in the masses hearing that the horrific hurt perpetrated to these peasants across the globe was harmful to humanity and entirely wrong.

Where we stand now the masters of men have maniacally manufactured a mistrust amongst us.

They have seeded the sourness of the soul throughout our society. This syndicated system of separation from our various sects has shattered our symbolic social structure so severely, simple salutations have strained our sense of sensibility. Systematically dividing the civil citizens in seismic shakes of uncertainty.

A proud and progressive people, pushed apart purposely so politicians and powerful players of commerce can profit by polluting our planet and our perception. Pontificating on a provocation promoted to produce pre manufactured prejudices poised to poison person against person as the prerequisite for prestige.

We have shackled ourselves to the self indulgence of a capitalist culture only curating the catastrophic collapse of the middle class, whilst the cumulative cancer of cash corrodes the contemporary consciousness, cultivating corruption and canceling our once mighty congregation of caring and compassionate countrymen.

Before brethren born by the same bloodshed, serendipitously say our goodbyes, may we not bask in the blessings befallen between us, embracing the brotherly bonds, and the battle brought on by breaking that brokerage long ago, so difficult to ascertain again. Our best bet is to let bygones be bygones and believe that better beginnings rise in the dawn. Because brother, you are my family beyond blood our betterment is best bestowed building upon bridges not barriers, bound by bravery in the land of the free.

[falafels]

PLEASE tell me about the peso crisis bestie, I have such a passion for weird and random history

cricket bestie!!! ok SO

ok so truthfully there are nerds on reddit who can explain this better than i can because i’m not that into economics so have a tendency to check out at crucial points of the story but this gives a decent overview i think?

https://www.reddit.com/r/neoliberal/comments/gsvbkf/tequila_hangover_the_mexican_peso_crisis_of_1994/

and i apologise for leaning on reddit here but unfortunately i fear it may be the place to go for this particular exercise. anyway i can try to summarise:

presidential election in mexico in 1994! exciting! usually the current president would pick his successor candidate to endorse so everyone would know who to vote for if they wanted to vote for status quo but alas! he dead. so his campaign manager takes over and gets elected because most people go you know what? close enough.

and now the lore

NAFTA comes into effect Jan 1 1994 and everyone says huh! this better not fuck us! and the us says dont worry! we would never fuck south america! which is how you should know something bad is going to happen. to win an election, you’re going to have to spend a lot of money, little shopping spree for democracy, and because this was coming from the incumbent, it meant he was funding this with government backed bonds. these government bonds were bought in pesos but when they matured you got paid back in US dollars, so a lot of foreign investors went yeah sign me up for that thanks NAFTA 👍

but obviously to invest in another country you usually need to use the currency of that country, so you get a lot of people needing to buy pesos and then the mexican government needing to buy a lot of US dollars. this spending is already debt-fuelled, so the mexican government doesn’t have a lot of those lying around and goes nah nah it’s cool we’ll just get them as and when we need them. mexican central bank at this time is trying to keep everything cool and chill so tries to maintain a currency peg (fixed exchange rate as much as possible) so the peso value isn’t all over the place day by day.

unforchies!! countries never play nice when you treat them as economic entities because guess what. there’s people there. SO there’s a spike in instability: armed rebellion, assassination of aforementioned would-have-been-future-president, and all this is making investment in the mexican government look a little risky, and risk means pay more to get more but also nobody will want to pay more. except they do! because mexican central bank comes out and goes guys! don’t be scared of mexico. mexico is your friend. what’s a little magnicide from your friend mexico. invest. inveeeest. and that doesn’t work at all so they go fine whatever we’ll issue bonds that can be bought and repaid in US dollars, then they used that influx of dollars to buy pesos on the open market, making fewer pesos available - baller play: demand stays there same but supply goes down, so peso value should go up. should.

but it goes to fuck!!! outside investors are seeing this and going you know, i’m not so sold on this peso thing, and realise that it’s an artificially inflated bubble by the mexican government. excellent move from them, but you gotta be sneakier with this stuff (or have a bigger military so people are scared and cooperate. hello america), so foreign investors realise the peso isn’t actually worth what it’s pinned at on the exchange rate. and the mexican government goes guys nooo that’s so crazyyyy where did u even hear that ahahahaaa. but it doesn’t work so they go FINE ok yeah the peso is overvalued WHATEVER and they change the peg point, but it’s too late because now you can count the people willing to trust the mexican government or central bank on one hand.

both foreign and domestic investors stop investing in mexico and start selling their investments because if all this shit is going on with the value of the peso, it mean that anything even involving the peso is misvalued, and the money leaves the country in a capital flight (economics term for when a huge amount of money leaves the country, normally from instability and normally causing more instability) so the mexican government raises interest to try and attract investors to come back. unforchies. what happens when we raise interest rates? only sometimes but that’s still some of the time and important to consider? depressing economic growth, which is what happens, so whatever gains they might have got here are immediately fucked into obsolescence and mexico plummets into a recession.

and that’s it right, that’s the crisis? NOPE gonna get WORSEEEE because you remember all those bonds that were going to be returned in US dollars and that was a “get to it when we get to it” problem? well we got to it. and the mexican government has basically no US dollars to repay those bonds with because they spent them buying pesos to maintain the original peso pegged exchange rate, so they had to go out and buy new dollars. and nobody really wants to sell them any dollars due to the fact they’d very recently shot themselves in both feet and signed up for a dance contest. so mexico was forced to remove the currency peg entirely and let the markets determine the value, which is like taking a critical patient off life support and letting god determine whether they should breathe. pretty much overnight the peso lost half of its remaining buying power: 3.5 pesos would buy you one dollar on dec 19 and then BY DEC 23! it would be 7 pesos. which is INSANE. the government had to reallocate a load of spending from social programs that would have provided greater social and long term domestic economic stability in order to repay investors, and the total collapse led to a hyperinflation crisis the next years that would cause investors to flee mexico and be so wary of other latin american countries that those countries would also fall into recessions as investors got scared.

[qqueenofhades]

maybe i'm misunderstanding the concept, but it lately it's felt like Online Leftists™️ have been using homonationalism as a cudgel against lgbt people wanting to go abroad and feel comfortable doing so instead of as idk a way to critique american exceptionalism or whatever

The thing about Online Leftists and American exceptionalism in any capacity is that literally all their ideas and concepts of it are a) gibberish and b) completely contradictory and hypocritical. This is because it is all based on a reactionary Vibes ideology that has to constantly change itself to oppose whatever the Democrats/the US/the West in general is doing and therefore has no actual logical guidelines or consistent internal principles. To wit:

America is the most powerful country in the world, and that influence is always and forever totally evil because (insert terrible shit America has done here, which is then generalized and applied to all time periods and places without context or nuance). Indeed, America is so powerful that no other country or government in the world has actual agency or makes real choices for which they are morally and legally responsible; they're just helpless and manipulated pawns reacting to American/Western imperialism (which is the only kind of imperialism that exists, somehow). As such, nothing they ever do is actually "bad" or worthy of condemnation, because they're just totally victimized by America and everything they do is justified as long as it is anti-America. Hence, Russia genociding the Ukrainians is actually fine and good, the Ukrainians must have deserved it somehow (witness how many of the people currently screaming about Gaza were yelling that Ukraine was totally fine to attack actually!) and America is evil for trying to intervene. Russian propaganda calls America bad, we think America is bad, and therefore Russian propaganda must be correct, we love Russian propaganda a whole lot and have no interest in examining that fact any further. Russia is actually good because it used to be the USSR! Did you know that?

However, Israel genociding Gaza is utterly unforgivable and terrible and anyone who tries to offer any kind of realistic critique or appraisal of what can or can't be done to stop it is a genocide apologist. America should in fact be intervening to the point of invading Israel and/or dismantling the Israeli state, because maximalist American military intervention is Good when we say it is (but the rest of the time it's the most awful evil thing in the world WHY DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT THE GLOBAL SOUTH). America is still the most powerful country in the world and it should be intervening at all times, but actually it shouldn't do that at all because we're totally not the right-wing America First isolationists sent through the rabbit hole. If America does not choose to exercise its almighty godlike power to stop all the evil in the world (but remember, American military intervention of any kind is obviously bad and Ukraine should definitely still be genocided), it is just proving how evil it actually is. Remember, nobody else makes real choices. They're just reacting to America. America is all-powerful and also evil but still should use this evil power for good because it's good if we decide it is.

Voting is meaningless because the parties are the same, but it's powerful enough to produce a president god-king who could just decide to snap his fingers and end all bad things in the world but just doesn't do that (at least if he's a Democrat; we don't really care what a Republican president does). We think this is a good idea, but don't worry, America is still the source of all evil in the world. America should intervene everywhere and nowhere all at once. America should do nothing because everything it does is evil and past redemption and the only solution is The Revolution which destroys society. America is evil because it was founded on the violent oppression and exploitation of minorities, and therefore the solution is to let fascists be elected to punish those minorities even more because they get in the way of our purist thought experiments and their actual lived experiences don't matter when they contradict our Ideology. BUT ACTUALLY IT STILL SHOULD MILITARILY INTERVENE EVERYWHERE WE SAY SO BUT ACTUALLY IT SHOULDN'T EVER GLOBAL SOUTH. (We don't know what the Global South is or any of its issues, politics, problems, identities, languages, postcolonial developments or so forth, but we know that the Cold War happened and it was all America's fault. Have you heard this piece of Russian propaganda about how Joe Biden is the antichrist? SILENCE IS VIOLENCE SO YOU BETTER SHARE IT.)

Likewise, we support LGBTQ rights in theory but we don't think they're ever worth actually voting to protect (remember, voting is meaningless!) if that also contradicts our aim of The Revolution. We love virulently anti-gay groups like the Houthis if they theoretically support our Anti Genocide stance (don't look at Ukraine, that doesn't count) and also hate Jews. Israel is the only country in the world that has LGBTQ rights and also does stupid or awful military things, and therefore it alone is the problem because it's just pretending to be a democracy or have LGBTQ rights (in comparison to the rest of the Middle East) because it's just cynically covering for all its sins, but those sins are actually America, because Israel is just a white settler colonialist outpost of America, so America not stopping what Israel is doing (by being Israel) is bad. Remember, America is the source of all evil in the world and all other countries are its puppets, so it is also Israel, but it should stop being Israel, because it's the only country that ever makes any choices or has agency. We are very smart.

...basically, if your head hurt trying to read that or follow the logic, that's the point. It has to change constantly and contort itself around in order to both oppose those Weak Mainstream Liberals and act like it has the perfect moral high ground in doing so, regardless of what principles it has to change or what hypocrisies it has to embrace. As such, it has been stripped of any authentic critique or ability to say anything about anything, and I suggest we generally stop letting it pretend that it does. That is the only way to rescue western leftism and make it actually 2% of use at opposing fascism, because right now? Nah. Not in the least. It's actively and gleefully enabling fascism, and after so long hearing how us normie Democratic-voting losers were going to be the ones collaborating with fascists, it makes me just a little bit crazy. Good thing we can erase that too.

[girlactionfigure]

🟠TORTURE, UNRWA, ANTI-ISRAEL COALITION - Real time from Israel  

▪️HOSTAGE TORTURE - a topic we have avoided due to the sensitivity.  The three hostages returned yesterday spoke of harsh conditions in captivity, a lack of food, and how they were constantly taken from place to place by Hamas terrorists - above and below ground, held in cages during their captivity, and experienced physical and mental abuse.

The terrorists would beat them for no reason, and there were days when they deliberately put them in dark places, even when they were in above-ground shelters, to disrupt their sense of time.

One of the female hostages described how she was hung upside down and beaten, while the torturer laughed about how Israel had provided his daughter with medical treatment saving her life while beating.

▪️EGYPTIAN MILITARY BUILDUP - The Americans have begun investigating the violation of the agreement with Israel and demanded explanations from the Egyptians - at the same time, Israel is increasing intelligence gathering in the region and not waiting for the Americans. (News 14)

▪️PM IN WASHINGTON - The Prime Minister has landed in Washington. Tomorrow the meeting with Trump Middle East envoy Witkoff, the day after a meeting with Trump.  Also on the schedule - a meeting with families of the hostages, and meetings with senior figures in Congress and the Senate.

▪️HAMAS COMPLAINS - A delegation of senior Hamas terrorist organization officials met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Doha, Qatar.  Hamas accused Israel: “the occupation's delay in implementing the provisions of the humanitarian protocol, especially on basic issues such as the introduction of tents, prefabricated houses (trailers), fuel and the reconstruction of hospitals, water wells and heavy equipment.”

▪️DRILL - UPPER GALILEE - A military exercise will begin today (Monday) from morning until noon in the Upper Galilee region. As part of the exercise, there will be a lot of movement of vehicles and security personnel in the area.  IT’S A DRILL.

▪️SIREN TEST - HERZLIYA - 11:05 in Herzliya Central and at 11:10 in Herzliya West. IT’S A TEST.

▪️GAZA CITY MAYOR SAYS - “80% of the city's infrastructure was destroyed as a result of the war.”

▪️ANOTHER GUN SMUGGLER - after spotting police, a smuggler began throwing pistols out his car window.  13 Glock pistols recovered on Route 6 by the Yokneam tunnels, smuggler captured, a “resident of the south”.

▪️UNRWA - now illegal to operate in Israel or in contact with any Israeli govt. agency.  Members of parliament from 14 different European countries appealed to the UN Secretary-General demanding that "UNRWA be removed from the UN agencies.

.. Foreign Ministers of Britain, France and Germany decried the cessation of UNRWA's activities in Israel and therefore lack of services in Jerusalem. The Min. Of Jerusalem Porush replied: "Your statement does not correspond to reality. The services we provide to the residents of East Jerusalem are much better than the poor services of UNRWA. The entire municipal territory of Jerusalem is under Israeli sovereignty, and as such all municipal services there are handled by the Jerusalem Municipality. I regret that you chose to publish a statement without real familiarity with the situation on the ground.”

▪️JUSTICE vs. ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES - The Attorney General in a message to PM Netanyahu: I will oppose the reappointment of Ben Gvir as minister.  If you consider reappointing Ben Gvir as minister, you will be required to re-examine whether he is disqualified.

▪️VERSUS ISRAEL - First publication: 9 countries in S. America and Africa announced the establishment of a group that will fight Israel on the international stage, press for the arrest warrants for Israeli officials to be carried out, and declare the imposition of economic sanctions.

♦️SAMARIA - Al-Ain, Shechem: Arab reports, a fierce exchange of fire between the terrorists and IDF forces.

[jackhkeynes]

Mashick

Mashick (Borlish Mascic /maˈxɪk/, Nawat Maishī'co /maiˈʃiːʔ.ko/, Mashick Arabic المشيق · al-Mashīq) is a polity in Lower Mendeva [Mexico and Central America] and in fact by land area the largest polity in all of Mendeva [North America]. At its greatest extent the then-Empire stretched as far northwest as Mivock [northern California].

History

Morrack [Moroccan] vessels of the New World Company established trading relations in the late fifteenth century with the relatively-new Mashick Empire, which at that time was much more geographically restricted. The next decades saw many Novomundine crops make their way across the Atlantic from Mashick, including tashban and shockle [vanilla and chocolate].

Mashick (and, to the south, Tavancy [the Inca]) served as bases for exploration of Mendevan lands. Fleets charted as far afield as the Ax [southern Alaska and the Aleutian islands], and Mashick was used to exercise control over parts of the Arcabil [Caribbean] and their growing riches.

Nineteenth-century Mashick was one of the hotbeds of the nascent political philosophy of Ubiquity. It lagged behind British Mendeva in the adoption of the new morals of the Household Renovation, although by the early twentieth century it had caught up (unlike the more regressive New Provence).

The Lovic [Pacific] Wars of the 1920s and 30s saw the first major bombing campaigns on civilian targets, including many cities in Mashick like Moshtar [~San Francisco]. The unrest and economic downturn following these wars, more than actual military losses, led to Mashick losing significant parts of its northern territory.

In the modern day Mashick is a major food exporter. Droughts in the late 1960s led to reduced amback and mause [mango and banana] supplies and sharply rising prices for these fruits in the Vetomund [Old World].

People

Mollam Bushta (fl. c19), composer remember for his pieces featuring the torriot [~bassoon] and an ally of the early Deviance movement.

Yollamaniza Elcabir (fl. 1943), spy and later author of La te Hozuho Sineton (No Slumber Will Seize Him). The work's depiction of Mashick's Ministry for Knowledge was revealing enough that he was forced to flee the country to avoid arrest.

Tazim Gennun (fl. 1823), author of short story 'The Witch of Tebjacka'.

Sólin Izcoál (fl. c18, Latinised as Solinus Iscovalis and known in Merch as Iscoval), the life scientist who first expounded a scientific account of evolution. He is responsible for the terms 'Iscovalian variation' [evolution by natural selection] and 'living web' [ecosystem].

Poshack Nerwaman (fl. 1848), famed lady explorer whose written accounts remained popular works of writing into the twentieth century.

[beardedmrbean]

North Korea has issued a fresh nuclear warning to the U.S. over its activities on the Korean Peninsula, interpreting them as rehearsals for an armed conflict.

The statement, issued by Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry, was in response to ongoing bilateral military exercises involving South Korea and the U.S.

On Monday, state-run news agency KNCA released a statement from the North Korean Foreign Ministry taking aim at exercise "Ulchi Freedom Shield," which it called "large-scale provocative joint military exercises."

"The current exercises, including a drill simulating a nuclear confrontation with the DPRK, bring to light clearer the provocative nature of Ulji Freedom Shield as a prelude to a nuclear war," the ministry said.

Newsweek has contacted the United States Indo-Pacific Command for comment on North Korea's claims.

On Monday, the US began its annual joint military drills with South Korea, with this year's exercises focused on improving their capabilities to deal with growing threats posed by North Korea.

The drills, set to continue through August 29, will involve over 40 types of field exercises, as well as drills intended to simulate missile attacks, GPS jamming and cyberattacks.

According to a spokesperson for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, quoted by Reuters, the alliance's bilateral exercises will also "further strengthen its capability and posture to deter and defend against weapons of mass destruction."

However, Pyongyang said that these defensive exercises resemble the historical behavior of countries preparing for conflict, and accused the two states of rehearsing a "beheading operation" against the Kim Jong Un regime.

"It is clearly recorded in the world history of wars that in preparation for a war, aggressor states followed a series of procedures, including adoption of war policy and military operation plan for its execution, advance deployment of forces, ceaseless simulated and actual war drills and war provocation," the ministry's statement read.

These annual drills have consistently drawn the ire of Pyongyang, as has the increasing presence and activity of the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific.

North Korea responded to last year's Freedom Shield drills by carrying out tests of a strategic cruise missile, overseen by Kim Jong Un, according to KNCA.

In June, following the conclusion of the first "multi-domain" trilateral exercises involving the U.S., South Korea and Japan, Pyongyang condemned the three countries' "reckless and provocative" actions, and warned that these would be met with "fatal consequences."

In its Monday statement, North Korea's Foreign Ministry also criticized America's "nuclear confrontation policy against the DPRK," which it said was evidenced by the creation of the U.S.-South Korean "Nuclear Consultative Group" in April 2023.

According to a joint statement from Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in July, after the pair signed their first guidelines on nuclear deterrence on the Korean Peninsula, this group has "directly strengthened U.S.-ROK cooperation on extended deterrence, and managed the threat to the nonproliferation regime posed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

Since the consultative group was launched in 2023, U.S. nuclear ballistic missile submarines have been sent to South Korean waters, which North Korea has warned "may fall under the conditions of the use of nuclear weapons."

[brightquang]

Nancy Pelosi on US Trade deficit with China in 1996/SEC. 407 No department, agency, officer, or employee of the US shall, under authority of this Act, exercise any direction, supervision, or control over, or impose any requirements or conditions with respect to, the personnel, curriculum, methods of instruction, or administration of any educational institution. Approved Dec. 16, 1963, 11 a.m. Just because, the modern civilized and progressive America has been taken the American income taxes to buy off the Sovereignty of the Republic of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people, and troops to let America play a war game in the Republic of Vietnam in order to deprive the rights to life of the Vietnamese people and troops. In the meanwhile, the American leaders of belligerents live on the fat of the land to interestingly enjoy the deaths of the weakest and the poorest Vietnamese people sunk into the American bombs and bullets' sea that's so-called a waiver of sovereign immunity of the great powerful America. For example, General Westmoreland has testified before the United States Congress when he said: At Westmoreland’s first stop, The Associated Press’s annual editors’ luncheon on April 25, the general argued that Vietnam’s fate would affect the future of all “emerging nations.” He lauded his soldiers’ performance in rescuing a Saigon government “on the verge of defeat,” while highlighting the complexities of this kind of war — “a war of both subversion and invasion, a war in which political and psychological factors are of such consequence.” And while a confident Westmoreland painted a favorable military picture, he twice emphasized a point that most likely made Johnson wince. “I do not see any end of the war in sight.” That is why in the United States Senator Joe Biden has stated, " I am ready to vote any money needed to bring American soldiers, Americans out of South Vietnam back to the United States, but I will not give a penny for evacuation and resettlement of any person. Viet yet, the United States have no responsibility to save any one person or 100,001 Vietnamese, the United States has no responsibility to them. The victory of Vietnamese Communist was because they [the Vietnamese] refused to fight anti-communism, that is why the United States Congress pretends blindness and stone-deaf during the four multilateral and the thirty-seven bilateral treaties have solemnly signed with the Republic of Vietnam - while Secretary of State Kissinger has self-confessed and stated, " The Vietnam War required us to emphasize the national interest rather than abstract principle. What President Nixon and I tried to do was unnatural. And that is why we didn't make it." Since, two United States Senators are Barry M. Goldwater, R. Arizona, and John C. Stennis, D- Mississippi that are together with Secretary of State Kissinger strongly support for President Nixon. let them cut off His[Thieu's] Head- on Jan. 20, 1973- time 09:32-Conversation number: 036-021 that is a waiver of sovereign immunity by a bilateral treaty has forced the Republic of Vietnam to sign which is why the Paris Peace Accords is a waiver of sovereign immunity too. What does the Court have carried out the four international treaties of the Vietnam war and the thirty-even treaties of the American Ambassador to sign in Vietnam, but the court carried a claims & dispute resolution when the United States has trafficked Vietnamese to socialism? Why have the four multilateral and the thirty-seven bilateral treaties not valued less than bilateral treaty's 16 UST 140; TIAS 5773; 542 UNTS 175?

[icedsodapop]

I think what a lot of these documentaries, like War Games, about how US military veterans are being increasing radicalised by rightwing ideologies often miss out is how the US military itself is a conservative organization that enforces US hegemony and imperialism globally, that teaches its soldiers to dehumanize Black and Brown bodies in order to do so. These documentaries, while critical of the treatment of US veterans by the government, do not question the existence or the practices of the US military enough. Is it so surprising that a group of people taught to dehumanize Black and Brown men in the global South would eventually come to believe that it's Black and Brown people who are ruining America and resort to armed violence?

Paste Magazine puts it best:

We have committed countless atrocities against civilians abroad in the name of American democracy, yet the same military force potentially has the power to massacre civilians and assume power on our own soil. For all of the coups and sieges of power the U.S. has orchestrated in the past, the idea that the same thing could happen here is somehow seen as unfathomable.

[usafphantom2]

Lockheed Martin leaves the partnership with Airbus tanker aircraft

Airbus said it is still in the competition.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 10/24/2023 - 16:00 in Military

The American conglomerate Lockheed Martin is not competing with Airbus for a new order for U.S. Air Force (USAF) tankers.

Airbus and Lockheed Martin jointly developed the LMXT, an improved and "American" variant of the Airbus A330 MRTT. The duo hoped to surpass Boeing, which builds the KC-46A for USAF.

The news of Lockheed Martin's departure from the partnership was first released by Reuters on Monday and later confirmed by the American company to other media outlets.

Earlier this year, the U.S. announced that it intended to accelerate the availability of a new generation of tanker aircraft, known as the NGAS (next generation refueling aircraft) project. Lockheed Martin now says it wants to invest energy in this project, instead of offering LMXT.

The US is replacing hundreds of KC-135 tanker planes and the contract for the first 179 aircraft went to Boeing in 2011. This was preceded by a long competitive battle and a legal battle. Without a major American partner, Airbus' chances with LMXT decreased even more. Airbus and Lockheed Martin wanted to build the LMXT tanker in the U.S. and equip it with American GE engines.

An Airbus spokesman said that the company “continues to be committed to providing the U.S. Air Force and our fighters with the most modern and capable tanker on the market, and will formally respond” to the request for recapitalization of the KC-135 for information. “The A330 US-MRTT is a reliable choice for the U.S. Air Force: an option that will offer accessibility, proven performance and unparalleled capabilities,” he added.

Tags: A330 MRTTairbusMilitary AviationKC-XLockheed MartinUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[doux-amer]

American exceptionalism when it comes to talking about protests is annoying lol. I don't want to discount the necessity and impact of the protests yesterday and past protests like it (btw to be clear, I think there's a distinct difference between these events and things like the responses against ICE), but we're so maddeningly focused on spectacle and records. Yes, the unprecedented turnout is incredible. Yes, the signs are funny and great. Yes, it's important to feel community and realize you're not alone, that a lot of people are on your side.

But it's the same thing every goddamn protest. We talk about the numbers, get all emotional seeing photos and videos and pat ourselves on the back for showing up (sorry for sounding bitter here, but it's so American to give out gold stars for participation), and then it's back to everyday life after calling it a day. If you don't continue to show up consistently week after week, if you don't do anything beyond walking down streets...it doesn't amount to anything. And when you bring this up, you get the same rebuttals:

Don't be negative! This can inspire people to do something. ...How? Are there actionable things being done to mobilize people? Or are we stuck at good vibes and aesthetics? What's the follow-through? We don't even follow up with regularly scheduled protests let alone anything else. I hate that any form of critical observation of protests in the U.S. is seen as damaging. If you worry that people are this easily discouraged and your focus is more on not hurting feelings, on how we shouldn't ruin the party vibes/how cool it makes people feel to be seen as protestors, there's a bigger problem at hand.

You don't understand. In America, we can get shot and killed for speaking out. I'm not going to dismiss the valid fear that you will get hurt at a protest or ignore the fact that the government's response is frighteningly violent, that the police are equipped with weapons that don't belong on the streets—or anywhere, but that's a different post—and the military is being called in to threaten and attack civilians. But this is not unique to the U.S. Other countries have the same worry and sometimes it's worse (lmao suddenly thinking about how Americans, even people I know and trust, responded to what happened in South Korea in December and wanting to scream again). It's bizarre to act as though attending a protest, as of right now anyway, is extremely dangerous to the point that it's unwise to hold them or the hurdles are so high that it's difficult to hold them. It's U.S.-centric and just outright incorrect to act as though a protest is more special or harder to pull off in the U.S. Also, let's be real here, despite the very real possibility of state violence, the huge majority of people who show up to these kinds of protests don't expect to face police brutality (there are obvious exceptions to this)—and this is a good thing. You should live in a society where you're able to exercise freedom of speech without fear! You should fight for a society where you can, where everyone can because the reality is, some people are able to speak out without violent retaliation more than others.

It's not possible for people to protest because they're scared of losing their jobs or they can't get away from work even if they want to. Guys, neither concern is unique to the U.S., and weekend and holiday protests exist for those who don't work weekends or holidays. I'm aware that logistically, certain parts of protest culture that exist elsewhere can't be replicated, or replicated as easily, at least in the same form, in the U.S. for a few reasons, but consistent mass protests/rallies are possible (the most recent example of this is probably the weekly ones in South Korea from the coup attempt in December through YSY's impeachment in April, where you had massive crowds of people showing up every week, often in below-freezing temperatures)—and can even be fun if you hold them regularly. It becomes the place to be and seeing those numbers grow if you hold them regularly and seeing people unflagging in calling out their government is more impactful than a one-off event or sporadic events.

I'm aware that people are doing things in addition to protesting, and I'm not saying protests are useless or stupid either. I think we should have more, actually, and do it in a way so that people can't ignore the protests or move on from them easily. There are people out there who don't care about the protest on Saturday because they think "out of sight, out of mind" (conservatives and centrists) or think it's great but stop thinking about events like it within minutes to hours or a day (centrists and liberals). And that's easy to do when an event lasts a few hours but becomes increasingly difficult when it's happening regularly. It's difficult when it's disruptive, whether it's because there are so many people clogging the streets that traffic becomes constantly unbearable and street noise is constantly inescapable or because there's an escalation. You're camping out. You're blocking off access to certain buildings or confronting and shaming officials wherever they are so it's uncomfortable for them to be out in public anywhere. You're going on strike. You're bringing services to a screeching halt; it's hard to ignore something when nothing is running. Also, we don't have to be all stone-faced and serious about this! It can be fun (see Korea's impeachment rallies which often felt like concerts and parties). It can be funny (see French farmers dumping manure and rotting produce in front of city buildings to protest agricultural policies). Let's get creative and do more on a wide scale.

[rainytimetravelfart]

10 Essential Navy Current Affairs for 2025

In 2025, naval forces around the world are experiencing a transformative wave—merging advanced technology, sustainable practices, and geopolitical strategy. These developments are not just headlines; they are shaping maritime security, redefining global military alliances, and ensuring safe navigation through complex global waters. Here are the 10 most crucial navy current affairs for 2025 that every maritime enthusiast, strategist, and defense analyst should know.

1. AI-Powered Warships Enter Active Duty

The integration of Artificial Intelligence in naval fleets has taken center stage. Autonomous navigation systems, AI-assisted combat decision-making, and predictive maintenance protocols have been deployed in U.S., Chinese, and British warships. These upgrades reduce human error and increase tactical efficiency in high-risk zones.

2. Indo-Pacific Naval Alliance Strengthens

Amid growing tensions in the South China Sea, the Quad (India, Japan, Australia, and the U.S.) has intensified joint naval exercises, including real-time cyber defense simulations. A formal Indo-Pacific Maritime Doctrine 2025 is expected to be unveiled later this year, reinforcing regional stability.

3. Naval Green Energy Revolution

The transition to sustainable energy has reached the seas. Navies in Europe and North America are investing in hybrid-powered vessels and exploring biofuel alternatives. The Royal Netherlands Navy has successfully completed sea trials for its first zero-emission patrol ship.

4. Cyber Warfare and Maritime Defense

With increased digital dependency, naval units are bolstering their cybersecurity infrastructure. In 2025, NATO launched its Maritime Cyber Defense Task Force to monitor and neutralize cyber threats targeting naval command systems and undersea communication cables.

5. India’s Blue Water Navy Milestone

India commissioned its second indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant II, reinforcing its status as a formidable blue water navy. With enhanced capabilities including deck-launched drones and stealth systems, it marks a historic leap in India’s maritime ambition.

6. Undersea Warfare Dominates Naval Focus

The undersea battlespace is evolving. 2025 has seen an increase in investment toward autonomous submarines, sonar camouflage, and ocean-floor surveillance networks. Nations like the U.S. and Russia are deploying AI-powered undersea drones capable of long-duration stealth operations.

7. Global Anti-Piracy Patrols Expand

Piracy threats in the Gulf of Guinea and Southeast Asia have led to expanded international naval coordination. The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) have introduced AI-backed surveillance and faster interception vessels to reduce hijackings and maritime crimes.

8. Naval Space Command Integration

In a bold move, several nations are linking naval command systems with their respective space agencies. Real-time satellite mapping, ship tracking, and missile defense coordination are now enabled through Naval-Space Command centers in the U.S., China, and France.

9. Women Leadership in Naval Command

2025 marks a turning point in gender representation across navies. The U.K. appointed its first female Admiral, and India’s Navy now includes women in frontline warship operations. Diversity and inclusion policies are being actively reformed.

10. NATO and AUKUS Naval Synergy

The NATO-AUKUS synergy is proving vital in managing Atlantic and Indo-Pacific tensions. Joint operations, tech sharing agreements, and submarine deployment protocols are now being standardized to enhance rapid response capabilities.

Conclusion: Navigating the Future

As 2025 unfolds, the world's navies are no longer confined to traditional warfare or geographic boundaries. Technology, sustainability, and diplomacy are steering the helm of change. These 10 essential navy current affairs reflect how deeply naval operations are integrated with global affairs, and how crucial maritime dominance is in defining the geopolitical landscape. For TheVeza, staying informed means staying ahead in this era of oceanic transformation.

[chunsuxi]

Lesson 3

International Relations

- The individual states and the internal politics of the country. - Interaction and trade deals between states. - Political, military and other diplomatic engagements between two or more countries

Internationalization

The phenomenon of exploring the deepening of interactions between states.

Not equal to globalization, though it is a major part of globalization.

The Attributes of Today’s Global System

First, There are countries or states that are independent and govern themselves.

Second, These countries interact with each other through diplomacy.

Third, There are international organization, like the United Nations (UN) that facilitates these interactions.

Fourth, beyond simply facilitating meetings between states, international organizations also take on lives of their own.

Concept of nation, state, country

“country,” or what academics also call the nation-state. This concept is not as simple as it seems. The nation-state is a relatively modern phenomenon in human history, and people did not always organize themselves as countries.

State is a political concept, nation is an ethnic concept (religion, customs, traditions, languages etc)

The nation-state is composed of two non-interchangeable terms. Not all states are nations and not all nations are states. The nation of Scotland, for example, has its own flag and national culture, but still belongs to a state called the United Kingdom.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Great Britain=England=London

England, Wales and Scotland

USA- 50 states/ nations:1 country; 1 state (USA); 50 nations

Every “states” have their own laws based on their culture, but one federal gov’t (one state and that is United States of America composed of 50 distinct states/ nations).

Meanwhile, if there are states with multiple nations, there are also single nations with multiple states. The nation of Korea is divided into North and South Korea, whereas they share the same nation.

“Chinese nation” may refer to both the People’s Republic of China (the mainland) and Taiwan.

China

PROC = Peoples Republic of China

Capital : Beijing

Taiwan

ROC = Republic of China

Capital is Taipei

One China Policy- there is only one China and that is PROC.

Embassy (China) – Beijing

Embassy – political, economic, cultural relations (bilateral or diplomatic relations)

Taiwan – non-diplomatic relations, economic and cultural relations only

Taipei (Taiwan) – MECO – Manila Economic Cultural Office

Manila (Phil) TECO – Taipei Economic Cultural Office

Arab nations

United by Islam and geography, Arabic language

Many states or independent govt

Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Syria, Sudan, Tunisia, UAE, etc

In general, this area is tied together as a region because all of the countries within it are Arabic-speaking. Some of the countries list Arabic as their only official language, while others speak it, in addition to other languages.

What then is the difference between nation and state?

In layman’s terms, state refers to a country and its government, i.e., the government of the Philippines. A state has four attributes. First, it exercises authority over a specific population, called its citizens. Second, it governs a specific territory. Third, a state has a structure of government that crafts various rules that people (society) follow. Fourth and the most crucial, the state has sovereignty over its territory.

Sovereignty here refers to internal and external authority. Internally, no individuals or groups can operate in a given national territory by ignoring the state’s rules. This means that groups like churches, civil society organizations, corporations, and other entities have to follow the laws of the state where they establish their parishes, offices, or headquarters. Externally, sovereignty means that a state’s policies and procedures are independent of the interventions of other states. Russia or China, for example, cannot pass laws for the Philippines and vice versa.

Calling it "imagined" does not mean that the nation is made-up. Rather, the nation allows one to feel a connection with a community of people even if he/she will never meet all of them in his/her lifetime. Nation and state are closely related because it is nationalism that facilitates state formation. In the modern and contemporary era, it has been the nationalist movements that have allowed for the creation of nation-states. States become independent and sovereign because of nationalist sentiment that clamors for this. Sovereignty is, thus, one of the fundamental principles of modern state politics.

The Interstate System

Treaty of Westphalia: a set of agreements signed in 1648 to end the thirty years war between the major continental powers of Europe.

Provided a stability for the nations of Europe until it faced its major challenge by Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Napoleonic War - lasted from 1803-1815 with Napoleon and his armies marching all over much of Europe.

Napoleon believes in spreading the principles of the French Revolution (Liberty, Equality and Fraternity) to the rest of Europe and challenge the power of Kings, nobility and Religion.

Napoleonic Code - forbade birth privileges, encourage freedom or religion and promoted meritocracy in government services.

Concert of Europe - an alliance of "great powers" (UK, Austria, Russia and Prussia) that sought to restore the world of monarchical, hereditary and religious privileges of the time before French revolution and Napoleonic Wars.

For most of Europe, it was an alliance that sought to restore the sovereignty of states.

Klemens Von Metternich: The Austrian diplomat, who was the Concert of Europe’s main architect.

Internationalism

A system of heightened interaction between various sovereign states, particularly the desire for greater cooperation and unity among states and people.

Two broad categories: Liberal Internationalism and Socialist Internationalism

Liberal Internationalism

First major thinker was Immanuel Kant - States like citizens of countries, must give up some freedom and establish a continuously growing state consisting of various nations which will ultimately include the nations of the world.

Jeremy Bentham – coined the word “international” in 1780, advocated the creation of “international law” that would govern the inter-state relations. - Bentham believed that objective global legislators should aim to propose legislation that would create “the greatest happiness of all nations taken together” (utilitarianism).

Giuseppe Mazzini – An Italian patriot and the first thinker to reconcile nationalism with liberal internationalism. - Mazzini was both an advocate of the unification of the various Italian-speaking mini-states and a major critic of the Metternich System. - Mazzini also believes in a Republican Government (w/o kings, queens and hereditary succession) and proposed a system of free nations that cooperated with each other to create an international system. - Republic (Indirect democracy, representative democracy) For Mazzini, free independent states would be the basis of an equally free and cooperative international system.

Woodrow Wilson – US President (1913-1921) who became one of the 20th century most prominent internationalist. - Like Mazzini, Wilson saw nationalisms as a prerequisite for internationalism. For his faith in nationalism, he forwarded the principle of self-determination – belief that the world’s nation had a right to a free, and sovereign government. - One of Mazzini’s biggest critics was German.

Socialist philosopher Karl Marx - Karl Marx believed that any true form of internationalism should deliberately reject nationalism, which rooted people in domestic concerns instead of global ones. - Marx placed a premium on economic equality and he divided the world into classes.

Social Internationalism

- A union of European socialist and labor parties established in Paris in 1889. - The achievement included the declaration of May 1 as Labor Day and the creation of International Women’s day and it initiated the successful campaign for an 8-hour workday. - As the 1st collapsed during World War I, a more radical version emerged. In the so-called Russian Revolution of 1917, Czar Nicholas II was overthrown and replaced by a revolutionary government led by the Bolshevik Party and its leader, Vladimir Lenin. - The new state was called the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Communist International (Comintern)

- Russian Revolutionary Vladimir Lenin established it to encourage these socialist revolutions across the world. - The Comintern served as the central body for directing only more radical than the Socialist International, it was also less democratic because it followed closely the top-down governance of the Bolsheviks. - Joseph Stalin - Lenin’s successor, dissolved the Comintern in 1943. - However, Stalin re-established the Comintern as the Communist Information Bureau (Cominform). - The Cominform, like the comintern before helped direct the various communist parties that had taken power in Eastern Europe

With the eventual collapsed of the Soviet Union in 1991, whatever existing thoughts about communist internationalism also practically disappeared.

Mikhail Gorbachev—perestroika (economic reform, restructuring)

Glasnost- political (transparency)

The SI managed to re-establish itself in 1951, but its influence remained primarily confined to Europe, and has never been considered a major player in international relations to this very day.

Internationalism is a very crucial aspect of globalization since global interactions are heightened by the increased interdependence of states.

Increasingly, international relations are also facilitated by international organizations that promote global norms and policies such as the United Nations.

Lesson 4

International Organizations

- United Nations - International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD or World Bank) - International Monetary Fund (IMF) - World Trade Organization

United Nations

The most prominent International Organization (IO) in the contemporary world.

Five Active Organs of the United Nations (UN)

General Assembly (GA) Security Council (SC) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) International Court of Justice (ICJ) Secretary General

General Assembly (GA)

- Main deliberative policymaking and representative organ. - The GA elects its president annually to serve a one-year term of office. - Filipino Diplomat Carlos P. Romulo was elected as GA President from 1949-1950.

Security Council (SC)

- Considered by many commentators as the most powerful organ of UN as it consists of 15 member states. - GA elects 10 of these 15 to two-year terms. Other five referred to as Permanent five (P5): China, France, Russia, UK and USA. - Takes lead in determining the existence or the threat to the peace. - Calls upon parties to a dispute to settle and recommends adjustment or term of settlement. - States that seek to intervene militarily in another state need to obtain the approval of SC. SC’s approval leads to military intervention may be deemed legal.

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

The principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on social and environmental issues as well as the implementation of internationally agreed development goals.

Has 54 members elected for three-year terms.

It is the UN’s central platform for discussions on sustainable development.

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Its task is to settle in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions referred to it by authorized UN organs and specialized agencies.

Secretary General

It is the bureaucracy of the UN, serving as a kind of international civil service.

Members of the secretariat serve in their capacity as UN employees and not as state representatives.

The UN is not a world government, and its functions primarily because of voluntary cooperation from states. If states refuse to cooperate, the influence of UN can be severely circumscribed.

Challenges of the United Nation

Perhaps, the biggest challenge of UN is related to issues of security. The UN Security Council is tasked with authorizing international acts of military intervention.

Despite these problems, it remains important for the SC to place a high bar on military intervention. The UN Security Council has been wrong on issues of intervention, but it has also made right decisions.

International organizations are highlighted because they are the most visible symbols of global governance.

The UN in particular is the closest to a world government that is why it is important to remember that international institutions like the UN are always in a precarious position.

LESSON 5

Regionalism

Seen as a political and economic phenomenon and examines relation to identities, ethnics, religion, ecological sustainability and health.

A process that must be treated as an “emergent, socially constituted phenomenon.

Regions are not natural or given; they are constructed and defined by policymakers, economic actors and even social movements.

Regions

Group of countries located in the same geographically specified area.

Two regions united or a combination of more than two regions.

Regionalization and Regionalism

- Regionalization refers to the regional concentration of economic flows

- Regionalism is a political process characterized by economic policy cooperation and coordination among countries.

Countries

- It respond economically and politically to globalization in various ways.

- Large countries have a lot of resources to dictate how they participate in process of global integration.

- GNP/population = per capita

- Small countries take advantage of their strategic resources by turning themselves into financial and banking hubs.

Reasons why Countries Form Regional Associations:

For Military Defense

To pool their resources

To protect their independence

Compels countries to come together

Economic crisis

Non-State Regionalism

New Regionalism

Tiny associations that include no more than a few actors and focus on a single issue, or huge continental unions that address a multitudes of common problems from territorial defense to food security.

Contemporary Challenges to Regionalism

Nationalism

Populism

Financial Crisis

Regional Stability

Different visions of what regionalism should be for.

Countries will found it difficult to reject all forms of global economic integration, it will also be hard for them to turn their backs on their regions.

The future regionalism will be contingent on the immense changes in global politics that will emerge in the 21st century.

[sweatybelieverfun]

Airborne Fire Control Radar Market Trends Highlighting Innovation, Defense Investments, and Technological Shifts

The airborne fire control radar market trends continue to evolve rapidly as military forces across the globe prioritize modernization and technological superiority. With rising geopolitical tensions and a steady increase in defense budgets, radar systems have emerged as critical components in strengthening air combat capabilities. These radar systems, integrated with advanced targeting, tracking, and threat-detection functionalities, are no longer seen as optional upgrades but rather as strategic necessities for air superiority.

A significant trend driving this market is the continuous development of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars. These radars offer superior detection range, faster target tracking, and higher reliability compared to traditional systems. Their ability to simultaneously track multiple targets and resist jamming makes them ideal for modern fighter jets and surveillance aircraft. The increasing preference for AESA radars is influencing procurement decisions across several nations, signaling a long-term shift in radar technologies.

Another notable trend is the growing demand for multi-mode radar systems. These systems are designed to operate effectively in diverse combat environments, allowing pilots to switch between air-to-air, air-to-ground, and maritime modes without compromising performance. The versatility of multi-mode radars enhances the operational readiness of aircraft, providing them with an edge in dynamic combat scenarios. This shift is particularly relevant as modern warfare increasingly demands adaptability and quick decision-making capabilities.

The market is also witnessing heightened interest in compact and lightweight radar systems. As aircraft manufacturers aim to improve fuel efficiency and payload capacity, the need for space-saving and energy-efficient radar systems becomes more critical. This has led to the integration of miniaturized radar components without compromising on detection range or accuracy. Such innovations are not only relevant for fighter jets but also for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which require advanced yet compact radar solutions for both surveillance and combat missions.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are further revolutionizing radar technology. AI integration enables real-time data processing, predictive threat assessment, and automated decision-making. These capabilities enhance situational awareness for pilots and reduce human error in high-stress environments. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in radar functionalities, it is set to redefine the effectiveness and efficiency of air-based fire control systems.

Geopolitical developments also have a strong influence on airborne fire control radar market trends. The rise in border conflicts, military exercises, and aerial surveillance missions are encouraging countries to invest in indigenous radar technologies. Nations are becoming increasingly aware of the strategic importance of having domestic defense production capabilities. As a result, there is a growing push for local manufacturing, research, and development within the defense radar space, reducing dependency on foreign technology providers.

Regionally, North America and Asia-Pacific remain the dominant markets. North America's edge is supported by strong investments in defense innovation, particularly from the U.S. Department of Defense, while the Asia-Pacific region is expanding rapidly due to increased military expenditures in China, India, and South Korea. Meanwhile, Europe is focusing on joint defense programs and multinational collaborations to enhance radar systems' interoperability and performance across NATO forces.

One challenge facing the market, however, is the high cost of development and deployment. Advanced radar systems require significant investment, and this may limit adoption in countries with smaller defense budgets. Furthermore, the long product life cycle and stringent regulatory compliance standards can slow down new product launches. Still, with continued R&D efforts and global security priorities rising, these obstacles are being gradually addressed through innovation and international partnerships.

In conclusion, the airborne fire control radar market trends point toward a future shaped by cutting-edge technologies, versatile applications, and a strategic emphasis on security. With a growing number of military aircraft relying on these systems for both offensive and defensive operations, the radar market is expected to remain at the forefront of defense innovation. As countries balance modernization needs with budget constraints, those that invest in adaptable, intelligent, and efficient radar solutions will lead the next era of aerial combat and surveillance.