#National Bonds

[falseandrealultravival]

The Big Lie of the Japanese Ministry of Finance: The Fraudulent Discourse of National Bonds (Essay)

Katsunobu Kato: Minister of Finance (Man spends $7,000 a day on food)

Japan's most powerful public agency, the Ministry of Finance, is a master of lies. One of the major causes of Japan's 30-year recession is the consumption tax, which only goes up and never goes down. This indirect tax has dealt a body blow to the pockets of the Japanese people, and now they are gasping for breath.

The justification for this evil tax is that "if we issue any more national bonds, we will leave a debt to future generations" -- that's why they say they're raising taxes. However, "issuing national bonds is synonymous with issuing currency," in the case of a country like Japan that has a floating exchange rate system and does not borrow currency from abroad, "no matter how many national bonds are issued, the national finances will not go bankrupt." The logic of leaving a debt to future generations is meaningless and sophistry.

Therefore, if tax revenue is insufficient, all you have to do is issue national bonds. There will be no aftereffects on future generations. Also, while claiming it has a tax revenue shortfall, the Ministry of Finance is pouring 9 trillion yen (60 billion dollars) of tax money into a meaningless project called "gender equality." Suppose they want to increase the military budget by 6 trillion yen (40 billion dollars). In that case, they can abolish the "gender equality" project and use the funds to make the defense tax increase unnecessary. It's all a big lie by the Ministry of Finance. (They are carrying out such a meaningless project because of the "amakudari" of Ministry of Finance officials.)

Postscript: However, in Japan's case, there are special circumstances, and Article 4 of the Financial Law states that "unlimited issuance of national bonds is prohibited." Use is limited to construction bonds and deficit bonds. This rule was established by the GHQ of the USA in response to the fact that the excessive use of national bonds to raise war funds during WWII caused hardship for the USA. This puts a strain on Japan's financial spending.

Amakudari: A high-ranking official is re-employed at a lower-level government office or company for a higher salary and higher retirement benefits. In other countries, this would be a criminal act.

Rei Morishita

2024.11.17

日本の財務省の大嘘：国債の詐欺的言説（エッセイ）

加藤勝信財務大臣（一日７０００ドルの食費を掛ける男）

日本最強の公官庁「財務省」は嘘をつく名人だ。日本の３０年不況の大きな原因の一つは、上がるのみで下がることを知らない消費税だ。この間接税は、日本国民の懐に、ボディーブローのような打撃を加え、今や日本国民は青息吐息だ。

さて、この悪税の根拠として、「国債をこれ以上発行したら、後の代の人々につけを残す」――だから増税すると言うのである。しかし、「国債発行は通貨を発行するのと同義」で、日本のように変動相場制を採り、外国から通貨を借り入れていない国の場合、「いくら国債を出しても、国家財政が破綻することはない」。後代につけを残すという論理は無意味で詭弁なのである。

だから税収が足りなければ国債を宛てれば済むことなのである。後世に、なんら後遺症は残さない。また、財務省は、税収不足と言いつつ、「男女共同参画」という無意味な事業に９兆円（６００億ドル）の税金をつぎ込んでいる。６兆円（４００億ドル）の軍事予算を増額したいなら、「男女共同参画」事業を廃止してその資金を当てれば、防衛増税は不必要になる。全て財務省の大嘘である。（こんな無意味な事業を行うのは、財務省の役人の「天下り」のためだ。）

追記：ただ日本の場合、特殊事情があって、財政法第4条に「無制限の国債発行を禁じる」とある。建設国債や赤字国債に用途は限定される。これは、WW2のとき、国債を多用して戦費をねん出し、USAを苦しめたことから、USAのGHQが設けた規則である。これは日本の財政出動に足枷をするものである。

天下り：高位の役人が、より低位の役所や企業に、高給・高退職金の条件で、再就職すること。諸外国なら、犯罪行為である。

[demaparbat-hp]

Toph as a Goalball player 💪💚

[the-dragon-hearted]

I don't know why, but I need a road trip Genshin fanfic where Wanderer and Collei meet up, talk, bond, and just decide to kill Dottore. Like it's just a casual decision where they're like; yeah, it's time. He's dying today.

I need them to be at a gas station when Tighnari pulls up, and Collei's all scared he's going to try and talk her down the not-so-steep cliff of Doctor-Murder but instead he just gets in the car and is like: "Let's go, I've got to be back for a consultation on Monday."

So they drive to Snezhnaya and meet with the Traveler because the Traveler shows up everywhere and is always down for murder. Then it goes bad and Dottore gets away and they're all standing in front of his burning lab, wanted by the state, just like: "What the fuck are we gonna do now?"

And the traveler goes: "I know a guy."

A phone call and about an hour later Diluc pulls up like: "Time for another Snezhnayian manhunt. Let's go kill this Motherfucker -"

Special scenes include:

Wanderer realizes Diluc is THAT FUCKER who gave him seven pages of paperwork after his lil "murderous rampage" a few years back

Collei is a cinnamon roll until it comes to Dottore.

Tighnari being a tired Dad

Diluc calls Kaeya from a jail cell to bail him out. Kaeya's like: "I can't I'm babysitting Klee." And Diluc just goes; "I know. Bring her." Queue an explosive jailbreak

Traveler just being happy that everyone's on a road trip. Paimon, the cat, keeps trying to eat all the car snacks and Wanderer's had enough!

Wanderer gets a call from Nahida who's worried about him, ends up saying: "Yeah. I'm fine. Love you too, mom." And his persona is RUINED -

Cyno and Sethos see the news report back at Sumeru and start making popcorn.

Our dynamic group does finally corner Dottore, who starts going on his villain monologue... until Tighnari runs him over with the mini-van.

That's it, that's the fic.

[cienie-isengardu]

Zuko and Azula in "The Beach"

Lately I think a lot about "The Beach" episode [x], especially about this small detail of great teamwork Zuko and Azula have during the game.

Zuko is looking ahead, directly facing their rivals (who had the control of the ball at this moment) but his body is clearly lowered to the ground, left hand most likely touching the ground, legs bent and widely spaced - a clear contrast to Mai standing near and how he stood before on two separate occasions

which is why I think Zuko willingly create an opportunity for Azula, so she could jump higher - something she definitely used to their team’s advantage. If Azula simply jumped on her brother’s back when he wasn’t expecting it or wasn’t ready, he would probably just fall face down from the impact but as the scene shows, he had no such problem nor was angry about it in the following scenes.

During the game sequences there was no dialogue shown between our protagonists, so it is hard to determine if Azula in advance called Zuko to give her a “lift” or Zuko offered on his own, or did they were that much in sync they just acted without thinking. Regardless I like this few seconds long interaction, because for me it implies how they trusted each other despite all the rivalry and bitterness from previous episodes. Like Zuko trusted Azula won’t use that moment to hurt/humiliate him by overuse of force, the same as Azula trusted in Zuko’s strength and that he won’t mess up by losing his balance. It is a small thing but no less sweet to see them working well together when fighting for the same goal - what reminds me a bit their teamwork from the previous season finale.

Interestingly, it was also the second time Zuko assisted Azula in scoring against their rivals while not scoring himself any point on screen. The first time happened almost right at the beggining of the game (second from total five sequences)

while each girl have the solo sequence of winning a point:

Azula's first attack,

later Ty Lee landing on the net

and Mai kicking the ball (and presumably scoring)

while Zuko’s two actions are shared only with his younger sister while there is no sense of competition between the siblings, something contrasting a lot with some previous and later episodes.

Azula is bossy and competitive through most of the episode and her brother lets her be that without a complaint. Azula and Zuko get along pretty well and A) do not argue (with the exception of the campfire scene and then they argue not even for the whole scene itself) and B) don't get on each nerves the way they do in the palace, with Ozai's presence looming in the back of their mind. I absolutely adore this episode, as it humanizes all our Fire Nation characters by showing them as teenagers outside the war zone but also giving us a bit of insight into what Azula and Zuko could be if Ozai didn't pit them against each other. And they could be a great team!

[thesoftestmess]

Thinking about focalors saying furina's humanity is what made her perfect, but sending her on a 500 years long quest where she had to divorce herself from her humanness every single day anew.

Furina having to keep up a show of distance to humanity and having to put herself above her fellow humans, while encouraging Neuvillette, who has never been human, to mingle with them and learn to understand them.

Focalors inviting Neuvillette into the palais and knowing damn well something as strong as Furina's love and care for humans will inevitably rub off on him and there's nothing he could do about it.

Focalors loving and admiring humanity so much that she trusted herself, her human form, enough that not even a mighty ancient dragon could exist for centuries next to Furina's deeply kind and compassionate heart and be immune to it.

It wasn't only time that made Neuvillette unable to declare fontainians guilty after everything. It undoubtedly was also his Lady Furina meeting personally with her citizens, throwing big social banquets on her birthdays and visiting the sick and elderly in their homes.

Caring about the young and the old, remembering their names and bloodlines and their countless life stories.

There's something so special about the theme of humanness between Furina and Neuvillette and how it binds them together not just by fate, but by heart.

There's something special about him spending 500 years by the side of a human unknowingly, and it inevitably turning him into their ally, while Furina has no idea she's making it happen.

Loving humans comes naturally to her and this part of her could never be drowned out, not even by a painfully lonely and straining act of authority and godship.

There's something so heartbroken in Neuvillette's voice when he learns about her sacrifice and really, how could he ever declare humanity guilty for their mere existence when Furina was by his side sacrificing everything and then some for them for four centuries, regardless of how they treated or talked about her?

How could he ever leave her and her people to a doomed fate?

And a part of Furina telling him to get out and mingle with humans feels like she was saying "I know you don't like me much as an archon, but you would've loved me as a human" and she's right.

The moment she drops the act and moves out and goes on her very own healing journey, he falls hard.

Once the heavy presence of fate between them evaporates, he sees her clearly for the first time ever and what he sees is the very best of humanity. One of humanity's kindest and strongest and most determined.

So fragile and exhausted and half-ill from mental torment. Someone who certainly deserves the praises offered to a god, but who wears her human skin so much better.

Wears her heart on her sleeve, just like all her insecurities and flaws.

There's no act, no big secret, no impending doom hanging over their heads now, but she's further from Neuvillette's side than she's ever been and it makes him yearn for her in a way he doesn't know is utterly human.

And she's lying awake with the very same feeling.

[alwaysbewoke]

[mikeru6]

im the jalpha im the leader im the one to trust

[it’s currently 2 am, final exams are in 5 hours]

[benoits-neckerchieves]

Not only does Daniel Craig look indescribably adorable in this play, but his co-star Jason Isaacs describes it as “shagging each other senseless for seven hours a day”, and says they used to tug each other’s balls to try and make each other laugh in the middle of a line…

Daniel Craig and Jason Isaacs in the British premiere of Angels in America: Perestroika by the National Theatre in 1993

[stranger-theory]

"Bylers want El depressed."

she already feels this way. she already feels alone and unhappy with Mike. if she feels like this with the guy she's dating, why not assume she'd be happier without that guy? why not assume it would be better for the girl who doesn't know how to work a romantic relationship to just not be in that relationship? why is it us who want to hurt her and not someone who wants her to stay in this relationship?

we have to use our brains, people.

[thomas-life]

Happy Holidays @apparentlysexy-rexy ! Here is your gift from your ML Secret Santa. You said you were Ok with AUs, and so here is an AU of ML in ATLA. I have lore (an some additional pictures) if you are interested below, but for now, please enjoy your fanart:

So here is our group:

Nino is Earth Kingdom, Alya is Fire Nation, Adrien is an Air Nomad, and Marinette is Water Tribe (and the avatar *cough* ladybug *cough*).

You will see she is holding a red Tikki inspired mask, which she wears when she is doing Avatar things, but she's keeping it a secret.

In the back Alya is beckoning her to join, them and Adrien has stolen Nino's instrument to use himself and annoy everyone with a rendition of Secret Tunnel.

Adrien is also secretly her helper Chat Noir, and he also wears a mask to keep with the theme, and so no one sees an Air nomad hitting people into the sun with a bowstaff.

Here is a group picture of everyone just standing together. i cleaned up my sketches (also included below), and i thought i would have time to color this too, but I bit off more than i could chew.

I tried to incorporate some of their original hero costumes into their Avatar Outfits... I'll let you find the comparisons!

You can see I also designed Adrien's Char Noir mask... and I did not draw them, but i imagined Adrien has a (lazy) Flying-Bison named Plagg and Marinette has a cat-owl named Tikki.

I came up with some backstory for them. Adrien and Marinette met when they were around 13 when she was doing some training as the avatar in the air temples. Adrien (of course) falls in love with her as she shares stories of the outside world (see a little doodle below) and brightens up his world. (Gabriel is ofc and elder Air monk, and is keeping Adrien in the temple and not letting him leave for nefarious reasons).

Adrien doesn't know the Avatar Ladybug is Marinette (to keep the love square), but he is influenced by her and on the day he is supposed to receive his tattoos, he runs away rather than be tied to the temple run by Gabriel. Part of becoming Chat Noir is so that it is harder for Gabriel to find him.

He runs into Nino first, who then introduces him to Alya and her friend Marinette and they decide to go on a "road trip" together because Marinette needs to get somewhere far for Avatar duties and Adrien conveniently has a flying bison that can get them there.

He's game since he figures if he's moving then he might run into Ladybug (he does). Shenanigans ensue.

Above is what i designed for Marinette's Avatar Ladybug outfit. it is (ofc) red.

I hope you enjoyed this gift!

I did go through your blog looking for inspiration. Thank you for the kind pinned post you had up with additional information.

AU, Friendship/family bonding, Art and Lore, Love Square

@mlsecretsanta

[pommedepersephone]

“It always makes me feel a little melancholy. Grand old war ship, being ignominiously hauled away to scrap… The inevitability of time, don’t you think? What do you see?”

“A bloody big ship.”

The spawn and I are visiting the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery for their last day of winter break. After spending a lot of time talking about the symbolism in portraiture, we talked about the symbolism of Turner, and then how that symbolism applied to Q and Bond.

I love this age, when they are so thoughtful but still think their mom is cool enough to geek out over art and fandom shenanigans with me. I have a few more years before I am persona non grata through the teen years... the inevitability of time indeed.

[ameliafuckinjones]

Reading this article about how the James Bond films/books embody the 5 stages of grief that British society/a generation (especially the author who lived during the twilight years of the empire) went through after the loss of the empire and how Bond is supposed to represent the British pov and its new role on the world stage as America assumes the role of superpower and engages in a cold war with Russia. It talks about the nostalgia and anger and resentment that the author channeled through his writing at each stage the empire was taken apart (From Indian independence to the Suez Canal crisis). The article suggests that the books/films engage in the fantasy of Britian (or British agents) still being capable and perhaps a bit better than their American counterparts despite America's technological and economic dominance. Also, the constant fantasy of being the only one who can save America and the world. I kind of like it because in a way it fits my own personal head canons about how England came to view his relationship with America, paired with the constant need to give into fantasy/delusions and illusions at odds with reality which kind of goes with his astrology (Neptune in his first house):

I love entertaining the thought that England doesn't start being truly angry with America until AFTER his empire falls and America replaces him. Before that, he viewed America how one might view an aggressive chihuahua: a bit annoying and perplexing, but easy to ignore or placate. That is no longer the case post-WWII, and it pisses him off to no end. He compensates by trying to take a more dominant role in their relationship, though on the social/personal level. He did become a bit more dominant/aggressive on a geopolitical level during the Falklands War, when America under Reagan tried to caution the UK from going to war over the Falklands and England basically said "fuvk OFF" and then America ended up siding with him ANYWAY and he hadn't felt that alive in YEARS.

In my mind, modern England as a character is a bitter old man who still holds in his heart an insatiable lust for a "larger than life" existence with no outlet for that lust in the modern world (where he is no longer the Empire) and it is driving him insane. Comparatively (and to a go a bit off tangent) America is being driven insane by anxieties over his pre-eminence as the worlds first superpower -a role he believes he wasn't ready for though he'll never give England or anyone else the satisfaction of knowing that- and his own mortality due to being so young and in his mind in much more danger of seizing to exist in comparison to older nations (though in truth he shouldn't worry so much, after all France is still around and he literally went through a death and rebirth during his Revolution. It takes a lot to completely disappear a nation).

[angelofdiamond]

HAPPY NATIONAL SIBLINGS DAY💙💛🩵🧡!!

(rights of the images going to kuki4982 on DeviantArt, risziarts, shimecmart on Tumblr and to image with Chris and Cream)

[blorger]

 “You never told me why you didn’t stash that music box in the attic with your other shit,” Harry reminds him. Malfoy shakes his head. “I forgot,” he says. “No, you didn’t,” Harry answers simply. “Draco.” Malfoy twists his mouth in frustration. “I guess,” he says, “I guess I thought it would be good enough for a couple of your aurors to get hexed while conducting a raid for no fucking reason. I didn’t know… I didn’t think it would be so hard to reverse. And I definitely didn’t think Weasley would be stupid enough to open the music box right then and there, standing six feet from me.” “Well, that was idiotic of you,” Harry says. “And of Ron, I’ll grant you.” “I know,” says Malfoy. “That’s why I didn’t admit to it before.” “Next time, leave a crystal goblet that makes you shit your pants or something,” Harry says.

from time and too much don't belong together by toomuchplor

[ceasarslegion]

Im showing my bf the bond series from beginning to end because I have like, a thing, for the gentleman spy subgenre. And far be it for me of all people, whose double major was in cinema, to judge an older film outside of the standards it was made within or claim that they dont have any place or impact within the world, but it is downright perplexing what did and didn't fly in those movies. Such as having actual black people play black characters instead of doing blackface, which was still widely used at the time, but also just doing yellowface in that same movie. Masterfully done everybody.

[personinthepalace]

Lost Footage: Laura Bell Bundy as Elle Woods in the 1st US National Tour of Legally Blonde the Musical

This is the last 22 mins of the show and the only known video footage of LBB playing Elle in the US tour!

What is of particular interest to me is that this includes LBB's performance of the ballad without the door. I personally believe that there should be a door (a physical barrier) between Elle and Emmett when this song is performed so that Elle can't hear Emmett confess his love for her (the way it was played on Broadway). In the US tour version, Emmett confesses directly to Elle in the room, and she hears him.

However, I think that LBB's performance of this doorless version is quite beautiful. There are two distinct pauses she make during this piece (the music even stops with her). The first time is to touch D.B. Bonds' face (Emmett) with one hand (similar to how she touches Christian Borle's face before escaping into her room in the Broadway version). The second pause is to cradle his face with both of her hands before pulling him into a hug.

Even though I will always be a proponent of having the door during the ballad, I really love LBB's take in this performance. It is truly the only version of it that I like so far, and I actually kinda wish we could see her do this specific performance with Christian Borle.