#True Danziger

[stiwfssr]

[terrians]

My Earth 2 Fanfiction

I keep most of my stuff on anon so I thought this would be a neat way to compile what I've done.

seasons change and i decay - Devon Adair - 292 words - G-889 didn't seem to like her very much.

Princess - Devon Adair/Bess Martin (one-sided) - 263 words - Everyone assumed her dream had been about another man.

Pouring from an Empty Cup - Devon Adair/Julia Heller - 973 words - Julia works day and night to find a cure when the crew gets sick again. Devon thinks she should rest instead.

Stages - Devon Adair & Uly Adair, Devon Adair & Yale - 635 words - If it weren't for Yale, Devon would come home to an empty unit. He's there when Uly isn't, when Devon had permission to be a person who's hurting rather than a mother who's strong.

Wildflower - Bess Martin - 898 words - On the road to New Pacifica, Bess reflects on her life.

Come So Far - John Danziger & True Danziger - 1,380 words - Danziger never took care of himself right, and True never let him get away with it.

Desiccation - Bess Martin - 749 words - "Have you ever watched anyone trying to eat dirt? Trying to suck the moisture out of mud?"

Possessed - Julia Heller - 1,291 words - Danziger's actions while possessed bring back unpleasant memories for Julia.

[starry-beetle]

I haven't gone giffing a series like this in 10+ years HELLPPP

i started watching earth 2 with a friend and uhhhh BARK BARK BARK

[heyholmesletsgo]

Tagged by @galauvant, thank you :D

Rules: shuffle your 'on repeat' playlist and post the first ten tracks, then tag ten people.

1) The Wrong Company by Flogging Molly

2) Love My Way by the Psychedelic Furs

3) Maybe or Maybe Not by the Adicts

4) Back In Your Head by Tegan and Sara

5) London Dungeon by the Misfits

6) Gossip Folks by Missy Elliott

7) Trust You by Mesh

8) Backslide by Rancid

9) Wild in the Streets by the Circle Jerks

10) Young & Beautiful by Lana del Rey

Tagging @alectoperdita, @apocrypha73, @snarkivistfic, @zaidnovi, @aoxue, @thesilversun, @peridot-tears and whoever else wants to share songs :)

[girlactionfigure]

Amen.

Micha Mitch Danzig

A friend tried to describe a moment she had on vacation in Italy.

She didn’t have the words to articulate the feeling she wanted to convey.

She didn’t need them. I knew exactly what she meant.

On public transportation, she suddenly saw two small red-headed children.

That’s when she lost the ability to speak. She just used a hand gesture to indicate having no air.

Who understands how we feel?

We ALL feel like that.

Our eyes are watching for them. Our heart yearns for them to be safe, to come home.

The Bibas children are children most of us have never met and yet they are ours and they have been torn from our arms.

We watched Shiri, their mother, terrified, bravely trying to shield them.

We watched Yarden, their father, shattered by the cruelty of his captors who told him that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir are dead.

We don’t know what is true.

What we do know is that there is no peace. No respite.

Not even on vacation in beautiful Italy. They are always with us, the hope and the horror. That's what family is.

We cannot rest until they are returned home and we cannot, we must not stop fighting until we are certain this can never happen again.

Forest Rain Marcia

Art by Mirit Noyman

[masha-nikita]

The Archetypes of Red Rose, White Rose

I need to balance my brain out due to sudden onset of depression. It is the result. Rommel is probably the only general who, even if you draw him from the back, he's still recognizable- flowers, a camera, and love for beauty. Rommel has a Venus-Mercury conjunct with a direct Neptune influence; he is going to appreciate artistic expressions.

In fact, this colored-doodle with an unintentional Mucha vibe has the energy of his wife Lucy in mind. According to some sources, Rommel wrote home to Lucy daily, as it was reported to be his mental crutch- I imagine it to be transcendental emotional support, not unlike my own experience, my own relationship with our Tumblr community here. Whether you guys interact with me directly or not, you keep me alive. My sincere thanks to you.

Lucy was a formal dancer in Danzig with a decent middle-class background, her father seemed to be a land owner- Lucy being able to do art, probably added to his admiration for her- fellow artists, angelic companionship.

I suppose he did need emotional supports, and a lot of it-- Rommel is the only high commander with whom Kessering "the smiling Albert" did not get along-- which is a feat. After all, Kessering was very renowned for his exceedingly cordial and diplomatic temperament. The same could be said of von Rundstedt, the calm, gentlemanly, old Prussian field marshal. These two could put up with some bad BS from any one else, except Rommel. He was too intense, too mentally off-balance, too difficult to deal with for his colleagues.

There are a few things I noticed from Rommel's biography (including the Trail of the Fox, 2005), that allow me to make some observations. His love for Lucy appears to be non-sexual. They had their only son 12 years after marriage. That is a pretty long time, not customary with a Scorpio man who has a 8th house Mars (who is supposed to have at least above average sex drive).

As a matter of fact, Rommel had a daughter with Walburga Stemmer before his marriage with Lucy was finalized. At that point Rommel’s family felt the need to step in and strong-armed him back with his fiancée-- one reason being to prevent the young lieutenant from the pitfalls of sex and alcohol. In my humble opinion, the subtext here might be Lucy would not lead him astray in that regard, therefore his conservative family would rather have him marrying Lucy.

A side note, Stemmer family still holds a collection of hopelessly romantic letters from Rommel. Did Rommel write comparable letters to Lucy at that point in time? A bit hard to tell.

I could not recall which article comments that Rommel was "hen-pecked' in the household, but Lucy was dominant at home, that part had been very true.

Ouch, I don't know, some aspects of this living environment must've been toxic to Rommel no matter how much some folks wants to romanticize it. It is horrible to be in a friend group where there's a mean girl boss who takes pride in ruling over her husband and turning any girl who crosses her into a persona-non-grata. But I digress. Back to my title.

Nevertheless, for me, Lucy being archetypal White Rose still holds water as a concept.

The Red Rose- White Rose archetypes originated from the same-titled short novel by Zhang Ailing, one of the 20th century's greatest female writers. She depicts love's tragedies as Chin dynasty fell apart and China marched into an era of post-colonialism, world war II, civil wars and partisan conflicts-- and eventually, modernity.

White rose is your ideal wife, the guardian of your family's social standing. She is angelic, she seems docile, she reminds you that you are from a place of honor and integrity, not of seedy backgrounds and carnal desires. White rose kills love by loving you, by being stable, by calming you down whenever you freak out. Very slowly, she castrates you, she brings you home to domesticate you.

The Red Rose symbolizes those dark desires, a black hole that sucks you in to have sex with you, a fragrant bed, a sex dungeon you do not have the will power to claw yourself out of. Red rose loves you by conquering you, destroying you and everything you represent and cherish with triumphant strides. Very quickly Red rose tears you down, burns all your bridges, until you are beyond recognition, until you are flesh, blood, fire and desire, a literal mess.

It is implied in Ailing's novel that men invariably choose the White Rose, because they are human, all too human. Marrying her, he regrets it; not marrying her, he regrets it even more. Such is love's tragedy in the face of humanity, and tragedy is the only inevitability in Ailing's universe. That's why I pull Lucy in as a faint through-line in my Montgomery x Rommel fanfics... not that I am going to write any more, I don't think so.

And yes, Red Rose is synonymous with Bernard Montgomery, in my fandom brain's humble opinion.

I know I am weird.

[anarchywoofwoof]

Hey, I'm just getting into the punk music genre, and I was wondering if you had any recommendations?

oh boy anon strap in because you activated my trap card on this one. for those who may not know, punk rock is one of my true loves. here are some of my favorite albums of all time

Misfits - Everything with Danzig, particularly Static Age, Walk Among Us and Earth AD/Wolfs Blood

NOFX - Everything before 2003, particularly Punk in Drublic, White Trash, Two Heebs & A Bean and Pump Up the Valuum

Propagandhi - Everything, particularly Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes

The Clash - London Calling

Ramones - Rocket to Russia

Black Flag - Damaged

Rancid - Let's Go & ...And Out Come the Wolves

The Distillers - Coral Fang

Reagan Youth - Youth Anthems for the New Order

Angry Samoans - Back from Samoa

Anti-Flag - Die for the Government

Pennywise - Land of the Free?

AFI - Answer That & Stay Fashionable, Very Proud of Ya, All Hallows EP, Sing the Sorrow, pretty much everything before 2006.

Transplants - Self Titled

Suicidal Tendencies - Self Titled

Flogging Molly - Swagger, Drunken Lullabies

Dropkick Murphys - Sing Loud, Sing Proud

Catch22 / Streetlight Manifesto - Keasbey Nights (Ska Punk)

Less Than Jake - Hello Rockview, Anthem (Ska Punk)

Against Me! - Reinventing Axl Rose (Folk Punk)

this list is not comprehensive but covers the vast majority of my most frequently played albums. feel free to add any in the tags i may have missed

[ciaheyhimm]

The Two Ministers: Galeazzo Ciano and Joachim von Ribbentrop

Probably the one of the two most interesting figures. Since I make researches mostly on Fascist Italy, it was intriguing to read Galeazzo Ciano's perspective and thoughts on Joachim von Ribbentrop, his German colleague Minister. One thing is certain: both men didn't like each other. It was a huge despise from both parties. Ciano thought of Ribbentrop as a "too cynical and suck up" kind of man. Meanwhile, Ribbentrop considered Ciano as a "hiding traitor, playing the double-agent role for the democratic countries". Fun fact: Galeazzo Ciano's diaries were used by the Allies as a proof against Joachim von Ribbentrop in the Nuremberg Trials.

-----

On May 22, 1939, the Kingdom of Italy and Nazi Germany entered into the Pact of Steel signed by their respective Foreign Ministers Galeazzo Ciano and Joachim von Ribbentrop. This agreement was greeted with great enthusiasm by the press: "unfailing friendship between our two peoples." Ciano wrote in his diary, a few days after his execution in January 1944: "The tragedy of Italy began in August 1939. On my own initiative, I went to Hitler's headquarters in Salzburg and was suddenly confronted with the cold and cynical Germanic determination to provoke the conflict. The alliance between Italy and Germany had been signed in May. I had opposed it, making every effort to delay such a step, or at least make it ineffective. There was no reason, on the other hand, in my opinion, to bind oneself for life and death to the fate of Nazi Germany. I had favored, it is true, a policy of cooperation, because of our geographic location, because we can and should detest, but not ignore that eighty million Germans brutally burden the heart of Europe. The decision to cement the alliance was made suddenly by Mussolini, while I was in Milan with Ribbentrop. Several American newspapers had published that the Lombard metropolis had welcomed the Reich Foreign Ministry with blatant hostility, and this was evidence of Mussolini's diminished personal prestige. He was in a state of rage. By telephone he ordered me to accept the German demands for an alliance, which I had held in abeyance for more than a year and hoped to send off again. Thus was born the "Pact of Steel." This decision, which was then to have such a disastrous influence on the life and future of the Italian people, was due solely to a spiteful reaction on the part of the dictator to certain rash and baseless statements in some foreign newspapers." Actually Mussolini is worried because subsequent to the Pact of Steel the Nazis assure him that they do not want to wage war for the time being, but he is beginning to be not so sure. Italy in 39' is completely depleted, exhausted by the Ethiopian War and the intervention in Spain on the side of Franco, later the winner of the civil war. Despite the positive outcome, wars cost huge sums of money and the Italian budget suffers greatly; entering a world war in this condition would be difficult to sustain. Galeazzo Ciano, Foreign Minister as well as Mussolini's son-in-law, writes in his diary in early August, "the time has come to see how things stand: the game is too big."

On August 11 Ciano flies to Germany, is sent to von Ribbentrop with instructions to explain to him that to wage war at that time would be madness. On the question of Poland, the Kingdom Minister asks his peer, "do you want Danzig?" von Ribbentrop replies, "not anymore, we want war." Later, during the reception, Ciano approaches one of his aides and says in his ear, "we are at blows." Ciano, worried, wonders if the Germans have considered the likely intervention of England and France and how they intend to deal with them. But Ribbentrop is sure, they will not dare to intervene, Germany will invade Poland and have a free field. It is a bet on the non-intervention of the Western powers, as in 1914, when Kaiser Wilhelm's Germany invaded Belgium sure of no consequences from England. This time they really make the bet: von Ribbentrop proposes to Ciano that if England and France stayed out then Italy would give Germany a Renaissance painting; if not, Germany would give Italy a collection of ancient German weapons. But Ribbentrop is sure: "We will wage war and it will not become a world war, because France and England will not dare to intervene."

Ciano returns to Rome, and it is now clear that the Nazis are about to invade Poland, as well as that Hitler expects Fascist Italy, as declared at the 1937 Berlin Assembly by Mussolini, to march with its ally all the way. But the Führer does not know that Italy is prepared to hold out to avoid imminent catastrophe given the weakness of the army. When the Duce finally comes forward and confesses his country's total unpreparedness, the Germans first turn up their noses, then they are fine with it as long as Italy's neutrality is not flaunted too much around. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland triggering the tremendous conflict that for six years displayed the greatest atrocities in human history. Italy would enter it about a year later when during the famous Piazza Venezia speech on June 10, 1940, Mussolini announced that "The declaration of war has already been delivered to the ambassadors of Great Britain and France." It was "the hour of irrevocable decisions" that led Mussolini and the Fascist regime to its fall.

--------

Sources: Alessandro Barbero, Galeazzo Ciano's Diaries.

QOD: What do you think about Galeazzo Ciano and Joachim von Ribbentrop?

-------

Photos:

[blowflyfag]

WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION MAGAZINE : FEBRUARY 1999

THE MINISTRY OF DARKNESS

What is the Undertaker’s demonic vision?

By Bill Banks

As the new millennium nears, some people are convinced that the “end” is imminent. The proof, according to them, is everywhere in today’s culture��the music, television and movies. Nostradamus (1503-66) prophesied that by the year 2000, the decay of humanity would lead to Hell on Earth and the ultimate Apocalypse. Many people today are convinced of what he portended. “Prepare,” they say, “for Judgement Day is upon us.”

One can only imagine what Nostradamus would have thought of the World Wrestling Federation and the Undertaker in particular. The Phenom’s threat that the “Ministry of Darkness” would blanket the Federation in destruction has sent chills through a number of wrestling insiders. Is this the Undertaker and Paul Bearer’s macabre way of welcoming the Apocalypse? If so, have we yet to see the true evil within the demonic superstar?

Since his dawn in the Federation, the Phenom has been a sort of antichrist. Like the music of bands such as Type O Negative and Danzig, he has claimed his inspiration from the Dark Side, but he’s only touched on what that world is actually about. While fans have cheered the Undertaker for much of his career, some have forgotten what he stands for–everything that is pure evil. 

In some instances, his powers were unexplainable. At the 1994 Royal Rumble, Yokozuna and a host of Federation Superstars locked him inside an air-tight coffin. As the seemingly lifeless tomb was hauled out of the arena, millions saw the Undertaker–or his spirit–levitate into the rafters. In October 1996, he was buried six feet under a makeshift grave site. To this day, no one can explain how lightning struck the tombstone inside the enclosed arena. And in one of the most horrific scenes in Federation history, Kane trapped the Phenom inside his casket at the 1998 Royal Rumble and charred it with a raging inferno. After extinguishing the flames, Federation officials opened the casket to find that the superstar had vanished.

Levitation, resurrection, surviving an inferno–each display of his unholy ability grows more hellish and unexplainable than the one before. What is feeding this core of evil inside him? Is it society’s deterioration or has the Undertaker finally succumbed to the ultimate evil–the Devil himself?

In demonology, the study of Satanism, experts believe that opening oneself to the Dark Side might invite possession by demons, known as incubi or succubi. It’s called demonic oppression or demonic invasion. According to occultists, evil spirits take over the body and mind and there is no guarantee of ever ridding them. Those who claim to have been possessed in this manner speak of “something inside them that takes over,” and often they believe they are Satan’s minions. Serial killers such as “Son of Sam” David Berkowitz and “The Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez claimed when they were apprehended to have been inspired by the devil. Seemingly harmless games and pranks involving chants and Ouija boards can even turn into something far more sinister. Other hardcore demonologists even believe that simply reading about the subject opens the door to the possibility of possession!

Perhaps the Undertaker has been living his lifestyle for so long that an unspoken evil is dwelling inside him. Demonologists also say that our state of mind–hatred in particular–can lead to possession. Who has been more embittered about being cheated out of the Federation Championship than the Phenom? Following years of festering ill will and unexplained occurrences might he have invited demonic incubi to grow inside of him? If so, are these forces about to manifest themselves in the Ministry of Darkness–led by a superstar who believes he’s a follower of the Devil himself? 

Another aspect of Satanism is its variety of followers. Witchcraft, superstition, magic, and occultism are all aspects of it. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of demonic religions are based on these branches, with some of their followers pledging allegiance to the Devil.  What if the Ministry of Darkness is the coming of the Undertaker’s apocalyptic religion? There are more dark forces in the World Wrestling Federation today then ever before. Would they open themselves up to possession by the Phenom? Or have they already? Is the Undertaker assembling an army to help carry out his apocalyptic desires?If he believes he is the ultimate demonic leader, would these superstars follow as his devoted parishioners?

Like Nostradamus, has the Undertaker seen the coming of the “end”? Is he involved in a dark and demonic world that we cannot even begin to comprehend? Although the prophet’s predictions are open to interpretation, the coming of the Ministry of Darkness is undeniable. With such power, perhaps the Man from the Dark Side is determined to make Nostradamus’ vision of Hell on Earth a hideous reality.

[mightyflamethrower]

So much for the idea that if women were in charge the world would be a much kinder and less violent place.

Peruse campus literature. Watch clips from university protests. Scan interviews with pro-Hamas protestors. Read the chalk propaganda sketched on campus sidewalks. Talk to raging students in the free speech area. And the one common denominator— besides their arrogance—is their abject ignorance. Take their following tired talking points:

“Refugees” 

We are told that the Palestinians after more than 75 years of residence in the West Bank and Gaza are “refugees.” If that definition were currently true, then, are the 900,000 Jews who were forcibly exiled from Muslim countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia after the 1947, 1956, 1967 wars still “refugees?”

Most fled to Israel. Do they now live in “refugee” camps administrated by the UN? Are they protesting to recover their confiscated homes and wealth in Damascus, Cairo, or Baghdad? Do Jews on Western television dangle their keys to lost homes in Damascus a half-century after they were expelled?

How about the 150,000-200,000 Greek Cypriots who in 1974 were brutally driven out of their ancient homes in Northern Cyprus? Are they today living in “refugee” camps in southern Cyprus? Are Cypriot terrorists blowing themselves up in “occupied” Nicosia to recover what was stolen from them by Turkey?

Turkish president Recep Erdogan lectures the world on Palestinian “refugees,” but does he mention Turkey’s role in the brutal expulsion of 40 percent of the residents of Cyprus?

Are there campus groups organizing against Turkey on behalf of the displaced Cypriots? After being slaughtered and expelled, are the Cypriots a cause celebre in academia? Do the “refugee” cities of southern Cyprus resemble Jenin or Jericho?

For that matter, how about the 12 million German civilians who between 1945-50 were expelled, and mostly walked back from, East Prussia and parts of Eastern Europe, some with Prussian roots going back a millennium and more. Perhaps 1 million died during the expulsions.

Are any current survivors still “refugees?” If so, are they organizing for war to get back “occupied”  “Danzig” and “Königsberg” for Germany? So why does the world damn Israel and romanticize the Palestinians in a way it does not with any other “refugee” group?

“Apartheid”

Israel is said to practice “apartheid,” although since 2005-06 Gaza has been autonomous. Mahmoud Abbas runs in his fashion the West Bank. Like the Hamas clique, he held elections one time in 2005, and then after his election, of course, cancelled any free election in the fashion of the one election, one time Middle East. Who forced him to do that? Zionists? Americans?

At any time, Gaza could have taken its vast wealth in annual foreign aid and become completely independent in fuel, food, and energy, without need of any such help form the “Zionist entity.”

Gaza could have capitalized on its strategic location, the world’s eagerness to help, and the natural beauty of its Mediterranean beaches. Instead, it squandered its income on a labyrinth of terrorist tunnels and rockets. Today, it snidely snickers at any mention of following the Singapore model of prosperity–a former colonial city whose World War II death count vastly surpassed that of the various wars over Gaza.

Are the Israeli Arabs—21 percent of the Israeli population—living under apartheid?

If so, it is a funny sort of oppression when they vote, hold office, form parties, and enjoy more freedom and prosperity than almost anywhere else in the Middle East under Arab autocracies. Are those in sympathy with Hamas fleeing from Israel into Gaza or the West Bank or other Arab countries to live with kindred Muslims under an autocratic and theocratic dictatorship, or do they prefer to stay in the “Zionist entity” under “apartheid?”

Where then is real apartheid?

The Uyghurs in China, fellow Muslims to Middle Easterners, who are ignored by Israel’s Islamic enemies, but who reside in China’s segregated work camps to the silence of the usually loud UN, EU, and Muslim world?

How about the Muslim Kurds? Are they second- or third-class citizens in Muslim Turkey? And how about the tens of thousands of foreign workers from India, Pakistan, and other Asian countries who labor under the kafala system in the Arab Muslim Gulf countries, and are subject to apartheid protocols that allow them no free will about how they live, travel, or the conditions of their labor?

Are campuses erupting to champion the Uyghurs, the Kurds, or the subjugated workers of the Gulf?

“Disproportionate”

Israel is now damned as “disproportionally” bombing Gaza. The campus subtext is that because Gaza’s 7,000-8,000 rockets launched at Israeli civilians have not killed enough Jews, then Israel should not retaliate for October 7 by bombing Hamas targets–shielded by impressed civilians— because it is too effective.

Would a “proportionate” response be counting up all the Israelis murdered, categorizing the horrific manner of their deaths, and then sending Israeli commandoes into Gaza during a “pause” in the fighting to murder an equal number of Gazans in the same satanic fashion?

Does the U.S. lecture Ukraine not to use to the full extent its lethal U.S. imported weaponry since the result is often simply too deadly? After all, perhaps twice as many Russians have been killed, wounded, or are missing than Ukrainian casualties. Should Ukraine have been more “proportionate?” Has President Biden ordered President Zelensky to offer the Russian aggressors a “pause” in the fighting to end the “cycle of violence?”

Or did U.S.-supplied artillery, anti-armor weapons, drones, and missiles “disproportionally” kill too many Russians? Or does the U.S. assume that since Russia attacked Ukraine at a time of peace, it deserves such a “disproportionate” response that alone will lose it the war?

For that matter, the U.S. certainly disproportionately paid back Japan for Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese brutal take-over of the Pacific, much of Asia, and China—and the barbarous way the Japanese military slaughtered millions of civilians, executed prisoners, and mass raped women. Should the U.S. have simply done a one-off retaliatory attack on the imperial fleet at Yokohama, declared a “cease-fire,” and thus ended the “cycle of violence?”

Civilian casualties

Campus activists scream that Israel has slaughtered “civilians” and is careless about “collateral damage.” They equate retaliating against mass murderers who use civilians to shield them from injury, while warning any Gazans in the region of the targeted response to leave, as the moral equivalent of deliberately butchering civilians in a surprise attack.

So did protestors mass in the second term of Barrack Obama when he focused on Predator drone missions inside Somalia, Pakistan, and Yemen to go after Islamic terrorists who deliberately target civilians?

At the time, the hard-left New York Times found the ensuing “collateral damage” in civilian deaths merely “troubling.” No matter—Obama persisted, insisting as he put it, “Let’s kill the people who are trying to kill us.” Note Obama did not expressly say the terrorists in Pakistan or Yemen were killing Americans, but “trying” to kill Americans. For him, that was, quite properly, enough reason “to kill” the potential assassins of Americans.

What would the Harvard President today say of Benjamin Netanyahu saying just that about Hamas?

We have no idea how many women, children, and elderly were in the general vicinity of a targeted terrorist in Pakistan or Yemen when an American drone missile struck. Then CIA Director John Brennan later admitted that he had lied under oath (with zero repercussions), when he testified to Congress that there was no collateral damage in drone targeted assassinations.

Obama was proud of his preemptive assassination program. Indeed, in lighthearted fashion he joked at the White House Correspondence Dinner about his preference for lethal drone missions, when he “warned” celebrities not to date his daughters: “But boys, don’t get any ideas. I have two words for you, ‘predator drones.’ You will never see it coming. You think I’m joking.”

Did the campuses erupt and scream “Not in my name” when their president laughed about his assassination program? After all, Obama had also admitted, “There is no doubt that civilians were killed who shouldn’t have been.” Did he then stop the targeted killings due to collateral damage—as critics now demand a cease fire from Israel?

“Genocide”

Genocide is now the most popular charge in the general damnation of Israel, a false smear aimed at calling off the Israeli response to Hamas, burrowed beneath civilians in Gaza City.

But how strange a charge! Pro-Hamas demonstrators the world over chant “From the River to the Sea,” unambiguously calling for the utter destruction of Israel and its 9 million population. Are the Hamas supporters then “genocidal?”

Is genocide the aim of Hamas that launched over 7,000 rockets into Israeli cities without warning? What is the purpose of the purportedly 120,000 rockets in the hands of Hezbollah if not to target Israeli noncombatants? Is all that a genocidal impulse?

Do Hamas and Hezbollah drop leaflets to civilians, as does Israel, to flee the area of a planned missile attack—or is that against their respective charters?

Hamas leaders in Qatar and Beirut continue to give interviews bragging about their October 7 surprise mass murdering of civilians. They even promise more such missions that likewise will be aimed at beheading, torturing, executing, incinerating, and desecrating the bodies of hundreds of Jewish civilians, perhaps again in the early morning during a holiday and a time of peace.

Is that planned continuation of mass killing genocidal? Does the amoral UN recall any other mass murdering spree when the killers beheaded infants, cooked them in ovens, and raped the dead?

Perhaps students at Harvard, Yale, Cornell, and Stanford will protest the real genocide in Darfur where some half-million black African Sudanese have been slaughtered by mostly Muslim Arab Sudanese. Did the Cornell professor who claimed he was “exhilarated” on news of beheaded Jewish babies protest the slaughter of the Sudanese? Did the current campus protestors ever assemble to scream about the Islamists who slaughtered the indigenous Africans of Sudan?

Are professors at Stanford organizing to refuse all grants and donations that originate from communist China? Remember, the Chinese communist Party has never apologized for the party’s genocidal murder of some 60-80 millions of its own during the Maoist Cultural Revolution, much less its systematic efforts to eliminate the Uyghur Muslim population?

These examples could easily be expanded. But they suffice to remind us that the Middle-East and Western leftist attacks on Israel for responding to the October 7 mass murdering are neither based on any consistent moral logic nor similarly extended to other nations who really do practice apartheid, genocide, and kill without much worry about collateral damage.

So why does the world apply a special standard to Israel?

To the leftist and Islamist, Israel is guilty of being: 1) Too Jewish; 2) Too prosperous, secure, and free; 3) Sufficiently Western to meet the boilerplate smears of colonialist, imperialist, and blah, blah, blah.

[dograffe1]

Last post of the year hopefully. I'm having a really hard time telling if I'm excited for 2025 or dreading it. Today's lineup is keeping it tame and is also kind of a necessity because I'm afraid I might forget about these bands if I don't listen to them soon. Also it's really weird not having to put a title on this post like I did with Dograffe December.

Coral Fang - The Distillers

Overall Rating, 7/10. To me, The Distillers sound basically like Green Day but slower and a little heavier. I'm also getting reminded of Danzig. I like it. Don't love it however. It's kinda "rough"? But in a way that isn't exactly bad nor good. I don't know, this album admittedly is splitting me, but I think I like it. Favorite Song(s):

Pierced From Within - Suffocation

Overall Rating, 4/10. I have to be honest with myself in saying I didn't like this album. It was in my opinion really generic, each song sounded too similar and it just felt not good. I'm also not a fan of whatever genre of vocals these are considered. If Jonathan Davis from Korn were to do those grunts or whatever you wanna call them for the entire song it would be bad and I just don't think the vocals mix with the instruments at all. They're good but only good if they aren't overused and if they fit into the song. As per the usual I will be giving Suffocation another chance as I did with Sonic Youth but first impressions are not off to a good start. This marks the second band that I did not enjoy.

Growing Up - The Linda Lindas

Overall Score, 9/10. The best word I'd use to describe this album is "fun". It's light, I feel like It'd be the first thing I'd listen to if I was looking for "good mood" music. And that's quite rare to find music like this that I actually like. This is definitely one of my favorite styles of punk rock. I'm going to say that this band's style competes with the Misfits for my favorite style of punk. Very good, Only issue is that The Linda Lindas are relatively new meaning there's not many albums to listen to :( Favorite Song(s): (honestly all the songs compete for my favorite, but the standouts are):

The Lost Elephant - For Love, Not Lisa

Overall Rating, 8/10. Long time coming for listening to this band. For me the closest comparison was to Pearl Jam mixed with Pixies. Honestly not much to say, it's pretty basic but not in a bad way. Favorite Song(s):

Happy 2025 y'all. Just like Coral Fang I'm honestly confused as to whether or not I'm excited or dreadful. Feels like a lot of good stuff will happen but a lot of bad will come with it. Just hoping I make it through long enough to find true happiness.

[stiwfssr]

[joanofarcisdead]

i do think it’s funny when people who love mcr but hate fall out boy then turn around and gush about mcr’s “influences” from previous eras and generations of music like. sure you’re telling me that if i don’t know the entirety of morrisey’s discography and also ballsack i’m not a true mcr fan but who do you think were the people listening to the very earliest versions of songs. who do you think jumped in to assist during warped tour. who do you think were the background influences and community throughout their rise to fame. who do they consider their friends. who has visited their homes and jammed with them. who has influenced them and who do they influence in turn in a communal act of artistry. not fucking morrisey or kathleen hanna or glenn fucking danzig lmao

[thatrickmcginnis]

WHITE ZOMBIE, Toronto 1988

White Zombie were touring to support their first full-length album, Soul Crusher, when they passed through Toronto in the spring of 1988, at least a couple of years before they signed to Geffen Records and became one of the '90s biggest stadium metal acts. To a disinterested observer - or even an interested one, such as myself - that seemed almost inconceivable if you were in the rather sparse crowd in the basement of the Silver Dollar on Spadina that evening. Even the club listing in the paper undersold the gig - hey, you could see White Zombie for $4 Canadian, and stand as close to the band as you wanted, as there was plenty of space. Humble beginnings indeed…

I was a big fan of White Zombie's Soul Crusher record, thanks to my friend and fellow Nerve writer Tim Powis, who was the biggest proseltyzer for the album at the magazine. Nerve was, alas, basically over by this point, so I did my portrait session with the band before the gig on spec, upstairs in the old nightclub behind the Silver Dollar sign where I'd photographed Henry Rollins, Lydia Lunch and several other people. They were very polite - not quite enthusiastic, but game to help me get at least one decent shot of the group. I took two rolls on my Mamiya C330, starting a slight distance away from the band and then moving closer so that the band - and their hair - filled the frame. I chatted with the band, asking about how the tour had been going, inquiring if the rumour was true that Rob Zombie, the band's singer, worked building sets on Pee Wee's Playhouse. (It was true.) We offered the band our couches and floor if they didn't have a place to stay, but they said they were sorted for the night.

After my portrait shoot with White Zombie, I came back that night to photograph the gig. I didn't always do live shots of bands; at this point I'd taken to heart what a photographer friend had told me and tried to enjoy shows without crawling around on my knees in front of the stage and contorting myself to get shots. But this seemed a gig worth shooting, and it turned out that I'd have plenty of room to move. Up till this point this was sort of my life - crappy clubs like the Silver Dollar basement where I'd shave away at my hearing over several years. Despite the half-empty club, the band put on a real show, and Rob Zombie took full advantage of the empty dancefloor/moshpit to move around and try to interact with the (typically) impassive Toronto crowd. I notice in one from that I left my camera bag sitting on the edge of the dancefloor in front of the stage; it gives you some idea of how relaxed and trusting I was in these dingy shitholes.

What happened next is better known: White Zombie would be signed to Geffen by Michael Alago a couple of years later, and then the tours with Testament, Pantera, Metallica, Danzig, Anthrax, etc., and the big PR boost with Beavis and Butt-head on MTV. They basically invented a whole subgenre of metal, and made themselves part of the soundtrack of the '90s. My photos, however, would go unpublished until I put a few of them on my old blog, which led to their inclusion in Numero Group's 2016 box set collection of the band's early recordings, It Came From N.Y.C. An outcome I couldn't have imagined when I was crawling around on the filthy floor of the Silver Dollar basement holding my Spotmatic in one hand and my Vivitar flash in the other.

[josefavomjaaga]

Travelling to Marshal Lefèbvre (Prussia, 1807)

Through Jonas de Neef’s wonderful blog I discovered the memoirs of Charles d’Agoult, who served as an officer from 1807 on, in Prussia and Spain, unfortunately too low in rank to have much direct insight into what was going on with the marshals or other famous personalities. I say unfortunately because d’Augoult’s stories tend to be witty and entertaining, and he comes across as a somewhat careless and naive but very kind guy. Unfortunately, he also was a dedicated royalist.

Which is hardly surprising as he comes from a rather old and large noble family, whose branches all had two distinctive talents: marry badly and loose money (often related). Unsurprisingly, by the time the Revolution came along, the d’Agoults, while still living in a castle, were far too impoverished to be of interest to anyone and were mostly left alone. By the time of the Consulate, Charles’ father, desperate for money but still wanting to give Charles a good education, managed to place his son with a relative from another branch.

This comte d’Agoult of course also was a royalist but had one thing going on for him that might grant him some favours from the new government: During the Ancien Régime he had been the major of a certain François-Joseph Lefèbvre – by now one of Napoleon’s imperial marshals. So when push came to shove and the count realized he had to rejoin the army for financial reasons, he wrote to Lefèbvre, was gladly accepted in his old rank of general, and took along his 17-year-old relative Charles as a secretary when he left for an administrative post in newly occupied Prussia. But, seeing as civilists counted for nothing in the imperial army, the count asked and received from Clarke for Charles a sous-lieutenant’s patent in a newly founded Polish regiment.

Not that Charles, a tiny and rather frail youth, of a sunny and humane disposition, naive and somewhat timid, had the slightest warlike inclination, or had had any previous military training. But young d’Agoult had learned pretty early on that beggars can’t be choosers. So, la Grande Armée it was.

He left his relative in order to join his new regiment that happened to be engaged in the siege of Danzig at the time. In his pocket a letter from the count to Marshal Lefèbvre, who was leading the siege, and in his company two veteran gens d’armes who had promised the count to get the boy safely to the imperial headquarters at Warsaw from where he could join a military transport back to Danzig. These two guys were just the usual type of soldiers who had gotten to some degree brutalized by war and numb to other people’s plight. Needless to say, young d’Agoult was shocked at the way they treated the locals:

We were lodged in a large inn, which may once have been a good one, but which had suffered from the passing of the Grande Armee. Everything there announced ruin, everything was dilapidated. A well-dressed but deeply sad-looking young woman was in a large kitchen with no fire and no provisions. Next door, a vast dining room, also cold and lonely. Monsieur Florenval, who always started the conversation, approached the lady of the house, handed her the billet and told her that our intention was to set off again after dinner. Dinner! It was probably this word that made the poor woman sigh. After a few explanations, Florenval raised his voice, as was his custom; I listened and could see that our hostess was asking for indulgence. Unfortunately, two ducks appeared in the yard, the last survivors of a numerous family. With an explicit gesture, Florenval immediately made it clear what he wanted, and quickly. The poor woman resigned herself and called the boy.

I understood everything and went out revolted by such shamelessness. A moment later, I returned and saw the hostess crying. I approached her, made her understand how upset I was by this scene and put a thaler in her hand. But Florenval, like a true ‚policeman’ [the author actually uses the English term in the text], had seen me and when I returned to the room, he reproached me rather sharply for having apologised to this woman. I tried to explain myself when Riché took the side of his worthy friend: "Young man," he said to me, " you've taken the liberty of blaming your superiors; that's very bad. Don't worry, they'll teach you that in your regiment. Item, one needs to live!" This "Item" was superb, and I have never forgotten it.

At this point young d’Agoult had enough of these two brutes and declared that, as he was to find his regiment at Danzig, it would have been stupid of him to first go to Warsaw. He would instead take the direct route. Which means this:

Blue is the regular army route (well, actually modern-day highways, but close enough), red dots what d’Agoult had in mind. I guess it’s easy to see that there’s quite some distance to cover – and all of this alone, through what was more or less enemy territory, at least not directly occupied by the French army. Quite an undertaking for a French teenager whose German vocabulary, on top of everything else, was mostly limited to the words "Nein, nein". His companions, to be fair, did try to talk him out of it, but in the end they probably thought ‚Item – one has to let people go kill themselves the way they want’, and, as d’Agoult writes, …

[…] we parted as the best of friends.

And at this point apparently several Prussian villages made it their point of honour to get this hapless French kid safely to his enemy marshal.

Our poor hostess had me taken to the mayor; I think that she had even let him know what had happened, for he was very kind. Maybe my youth and my air of frankness inspired some interest in him. I was able to make him understand my position; I even showed him, with some emphasis, my letter to the Marshal. I saw in the good man's face that he would do what he could for me. He wanted me to stay the night at his house, but I insisted on having a requisition carriage straight away, that is to say a cart and a bale of straw. He gave me all the information about my route to the small town where I would arrive a little late and where I would sleep. At the same time he gave me a sort of letter in German with a large seal, which I think was very useful.

Because everybody knows if something has a big seal and lots of official-looking stamps, it does not matter much what it actually says.

The farmer arrived with his cart. I climbed onto my straw bale, my sword between my legs, my suitcase in front of me. My brave mayor spoke to the driver for a long time; for my part, I promised him a good tip, and off I went, into the unknown, in the care of God. My isolation and my weakness made my security in loyal Germany.

This was a very sparsely populated area, the way to the next town was long, and between d'Agoult's lines one can read a certain uneasiness as it became night and his peasant cart rattled through the night.

We finally arrived at some houses, and my driver stopped in front of the mayor's house. I realised that my visit at this hour was not very agreeable to this high official, and I confined myself to asking him for the means of transport so that I could leave immediately. As I put the good mayor's letter in front of his eyes, I made sure to show the one I had for the Marshal [...]

Look here, Prussian! Letter! In German! With seal! And I got another one! See this? This means "Lefèbvre". And this "marshal". So what do you say now, huh?

[…] but my man seemed to be pondering, and his hesitation worried me; for his part, he looked as embarrassed as I was.

That I will believe. It must have been quite a picturesque scene, one French teen officer dragging his suitcase from a farmer’s cart, happily waving his papers, straw clinging to his clothes, and one Prussian mayor dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, probably in his nightgown, slippers and sleeping cap.

Giving the coach driver a good tip, I motioned to him to speak for me. Small means sometimes succeed. I think the two Germans came to an agreement. The master of the house took his bonet and left with my peasant, telling me kindly to wait. He did indeed return, and then I heard the sound of a wagon. The letter from the first mayor had been so successful that I asked for another one for the next station. As we set off, I saw my good farmer, who was no doubt indoctrinating my new coachman, and soon we were driving along the deserted road [...]

And so it went on for days, every other Prussian village providing d’Agoult with some farmer’s cart and a coachman, making sure he was fed and out of danger, until he finally reached the army camp at Danzig and Marshal Lefèbvre’s headquarters.

I entered the first room and asked a staff officer to take me to the Marshal, to whom I had to deliver a letter. A moment later, this officer returned and beckoned me in. The Marshal was with several officers and others. As he came towards me, I handed him a letter, telling him it was from General d'Agoult, my relative. This name caused him visible surprise; he seemed to perk up, then he read the letter. An old name still retains a certain prestige.The poor little officer saw this on everyone's faces. "But how on earth," said the Marshal, "do you find yourself in a Polish regiment?" And he added with a laugh, in his tone and accent of an Alsatian corporal: "Sacredié! They look like brigands, but they do fight well."

I explained to him what had happened: "Ah, it's Clarke, it's Clarke, very well!" And with a friendly gesture, taking my hand, he drew me towards him, saying to the gentlemen: "Here is the nephew of my former major." Then, looking at me kindly: "Sacredié, my child, you are too young, you should have stayed on your aunt's lap." Without worrying about the presence of his generals, or the time he was wasting with me, he spoke to me for a while longer with kindness, then he said to me: "I'm going to have you taken to your battalion, but first you must have breakfast."

Children need to be fed, and this child looked particularly in need of nourishment. Plus, obviously he would be unable to find his way to his bataillon on his own, Lefèbvre saw this in precisely the same way as all those Prussian mayors had. As d’Agoult puts it:

This time it wasn't a village mayor providing me with transport, it was a Marshal of France.

[longeyelashedtragedy]

☕️ the Misfits (I just watched a youtube video about them lol) (backup topic in case that one's a poor fit: AFI's various "eras")

oh shit, this is great! i also could do AFI's eras, but the misfits are one of the few punk bands i still listen to, and i used to know like. everything about them--plus a lot of my best fanfic was written about them, haha (back before i took meds when i did my best writing!) so i definitely have some thoughts.

(Side note: davey havok's best era, physically, was sing the sorrow girls not grey video FITE ME that was such a life goals/wife goals look)

misfits i guess can be divided into 3 eras -- original danzigfits, gravesfits, and whatever is happening right now, lol. i actually saw the jerry only and whoever the fuck else incarnation in 2011--i was living in virginia for that year, and it was hell in almost every way and people thought i was weird for wearing black--so i saw misfits were gonna be playing in richmond so i went and actually had a good time, met some cool Older Punks and then some teenagers, and wound up taking a photo with jerry only, who was known for creepily rubbing his eye makeup on girls' foreheads without them knowing? clearly i wasn't immune:

(i'm wearing a "bullet" shirt to show which era i was truly loyal to, lol.)

so yeah. and then gravesfits, in the 90s--that was what my ex said was the 'true misfits," and like, most of the songs are pretty doofy to me, cause i'm not really into most "horror" stuff, but they are really fun? i like graves' voice, even though apparently he's a huge dick (i saw him live as well, just cause), and there are some bangers from that era obviously, like HELENA, dig up her bones, saturday night (i'd do this at karaoke for sure), devil doll, etc

but, then there's the original, glenn danzig era fits, and just everything about that era was so important to me. just some good ol italian dudes from our part of the world giving no fucks and performing some truly deranged (affectionate) songs. like idk danzig as a person back then was so much more of a badass and so much crazier than a lot of these punk dudes. i mean it when i say misfits era danzig is one of my top favorite poets. i used to write out the lyrics to "theme for a jackal" in my notebook when i was in school in virginia for that year to try to ward off panic attacks because the lyrics were so engaging--my old url "wetwasteofagirl" was from that song, hahah. wolfsblood? the lyrics--as we can understand them, since that's damn near impossible--are fucking...well, they're a MOOD:

You don't know what I fucking am What I become Not when I get like this You will never get me down in my head It's my blood, it pumps right fucking in my veins And I feel my vertebrae extending And I feel my heart expand And I feel my muscles rip And I feel my snout extend Then I know I'm not a man And I go right out of my head

"come back" is just a gorgeous song. etc. samhain is my fav of his projects and some of those songs also have amazing lyrics, but i gotta stay focused! and i feel bad for people who don't know the pleasure of belting out "last caress" with a fellow misfits fan at the top of your lungs. therapeutic!

i used to get a lot more like philosophical and intelligent about misfits lore but that was back in the day, lol.