#Western allies

[hussyknee]

Liberals stepping on a Lego: "this is a psy op to make me support child murder."

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Although some countries had embraced lobotomy earlier, it was only after World War II that psychosurgery made a global breakthrough and spread across Africa, Asia, Oceania, North and South America. In Europe, this post-war surge in its use was not always welcomed with unadulterated enthusiasm. Greece introduced lobotomy in 1947 but the number of referrals was limited. Indeed, most Greek hospitals stopped performing lobotomies in 1951 “because of reports on the dangers of the operation and its unpredictable outcome for the patients.” The last of around 300 operations in the country was carried out in 1955. Psychosurgery was not widespread in neighbouring Turkey either. Approximately, 400 operations on psychiatric patients were performed there— the first in 1950, the last before the end of the decade.

Attitudes were mixed in several Eastern European countries, too. In Russia (the USSR), journals published articles on lobotomy in 1936, and followed up three years later with reviews of Freeman and Watts’s early works. Soviet reviewers were disturbed by the serious complications and high mortality rates reported by Freeman and Watts and concluded that there were “insurmountable obstacles” to recommending the use of lobotomy. None were attempted in the Soviet Union prior to 1944. Although psychosurgery was performed on patients after the war, it was only on a small scale. The precise number is unclear, but according to historian Benjamin Zajcek, a rough estimate based on available documentation suggests 5–600. Soviet psychiatrists did not all agree about lobotomy. Some viewed it as a treatment of “last resort,” and justified its use on the grounds that it helped make patients more manageable in hospitals and allowed some to return to work. Others questioned its efficacy and the theory behind it. During the late 1940s, these debates within Soviet psychiatry became politicised. In 1950, the Soviet Minister of Health signed a decree banning lobotomy. The decree stated that the treatment did not meet the standards of Soviet medical practice, because it was “theoretically unjustified” and “contradicts the fundamental principles of I. P. Pavlov’s physiological theory."

The picture was similar in other Eastern Bloc countries. Poland stopped the operation in 1951 (although it was not banned outright). The Polish critique of psychosurgery was based more on studies of Polish patients, who had derived little benefit from the operations, than on theoretical principles. As Kinga Jeczminska notes in her detailed study of the history of lobotomy in Poland: “the most important factor influencing the attitude of researchers to this method was the analysis of clinical psychiatric symptoms rather than theoretical orientation.” In total, just over 170 patients were lobotomised in Poland.

Psychosurgery seems to have been more widespread in Hungary, where the first operations were performed in Budapest in 1946. Two years later, 173 operations were conducted at six clinics and hospitals around the country. However, Hungarian psychiatrists remained somewhat reticent about the procedure. One article stated, “Prefrontal lobotomy is a method of last resort, and should be performed only after failure of other well-known treatments and prolonged illness."

In Spain, lobotomy was introduced at the National Asylum of Leganes in 1944, and well-known Spanish psychiatrists such as Juan José López Ibor promoted the surgical method. In 1948, Ibor reported on 60 lobotomies on inmates from his neuropsychiatric clinic in Madrid, including patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

The idea of psychosurgery as a last resort also permeated articles from German- and French-speaking countries. In Austria, the first lobotomies were performed in Vienna in 1947. The total number is unknown, but historian Marietta Meier estimates around 500. In Switzerland, more than 1,200 operations were carried out between 1946 and 1971. 

Far more operations were performed in France where there were close ties between neurosurgeons and psychiatrists. Many of the early French neurosurgery pioneers like Pierre Puech, Marcel David, Jean Talairach and Jacques le Beau took up lobotomy and experimented with new techniques too. Historical works on French psychosurgery are lacking, but evidence suggests a high level of activity in France. According to a recent study on the history of psychosurgery in Paris, approximately 20,000 operations were performed in France in the period 1946 to 1976.

Like their French peers, British psychiatrists were enthusiastic about lobotomy. A major report on psychosurgical interventions in England and Wales concluded that more than 12,000 such operations were performed in the years 1942–1954. From 1948 onwards, the number exceeded 1,000 per annum. The report examined data on 10,365 patients. The authors concluded that “up to 1955 leucotomy was for most patients the last therapeutic resort beyond which lay a future with almost no hope of recovery and with considerable suffering,” and that “the survey shows that there was greater improvement than would have been expected without surgery.”

In some European countries, psychiatrists often claimed that they placed stricter requirements on indications than in England and the United States. Articles by Belgian, German, Austrian and Swiss doctors emphasised that psychosurgery should be a last resort, reserved for patients who had spent prolonged periods in hospital, and for whom all other treatments had failed. They also noted that their colleagues in England and the United States did not share this belief, as in these countries there was a more “indiscriminate use of the treatment.”"

- Jesper Vaczy Kragh, Lobotomy Nation: The History of Psychosurgery and Psychiatry in Denmark (Springer: 2021) p. 219-222.

[trendynewsnow]

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Visits Kyiv Amid Ongoing Conflict

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[morganablenewsmedia]

Zelenskyy In Germany For Military Aid

Zelenskyy In Germany For Military Aid As US Pledges More Support for Ukraine War between Ukraine and Russia will not go away soon as Ukraine intensifies efforts to strike deeper blow. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, is set to meet high-ranked military leaders from various allied countries in Germany in a bid to get more military support. Ukraine seeks military reinforcement to…

[immaculatasknight]

The Russians are staying put

[rubysevens]

anyway in the past week the irish government has voted down two motions which would have condemned the genocide in gaza.

i need everyone to stop lionising ireland as if its not also a european government with strong ties to the us. american weapons pass through shannon airport and will continue to, because yesterday the motion to stop that was voted down 83 to 50.

other governments have done much more but somehow people still act as though ireland is the ultimate palestinian ally and exempt from criticism on its handling of palestine bc it was once colonised, even though that past experience clearly isnt being taken into account by the irish government when creating policy.

i live here i know there’s a lot of public support and sympathy for palestine, which is great, but that isnt reflected in government, and i think ireland should be treated like other countries whose governments have done nothing.

[amprosite]

Vladimir Putin launches the largest military operation that the world has seen in decades in a desperate attempt to win the war in Ukraine before he dies.

[captain-price-unofficially]

Captain J. McMahon of the U.S. Ninth Army carrying a little German girl over a destroyed bridge. Tangermünde, Germany. 1 May 1945

[kelluinox]

60-70% of Hezbollah weaponry is Russian made. Proof 102039393 that Russia is an Iranian ally arming Iranian proxies. Putting up a Ukraine flag while supporting Iranian proxies is automatically a sign you're a complete moron

[miusato]

Whatever happened to "I ain't holding back anymore?" Huh???

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

if you're wondering why I kind of abandoned this blog, there's several reasons (fandom just doesn't feel fun anymore, I'm trying to cut back on screen time, I've been feeling like my faith is in contradiction to what I see/read/interact with on here is for years and years now) but the final straw has been what I see on my dash every day about Israel/Palestine.

I keep seeing people I used to interact with and used to like now peddling conspiracy theories, debunked claims, inflammatory headlines, and even bloodthirsty rhetoric with tens of thousands of notes (when corrections of those posts get ~500 notes at best), and reacting to nuanced conversations like they're calls for hatred, all while turning a blind eye to the very literal vicious hatred or sheer ignorance in many of those big posts. The level of black-and-white thinking is so strong that we are wayyyy past 'us-vs-them,' we're in the kind of discourse where even 'know thy enemy' (being interested in understanding the opposing arguments even just so you can dismantle them) is considered hatred - people can't be bothered to know what they're arguing for or against, nothing short of plugging your ears and screaming for the death of the Bad People is enough. This is a wave of just about the most hypocritical, callous and uninformed 'activism' this website has ever been guilty of and it's too much. I'm done with this.

And yes, this is about antisemitism. You can all shout 'not antisemitic, just anti-zionist' all day long but you have done jack shit to prove you don't hate Jews beside chanting 'punch a nazi' in the same breath you use KKK slurs and cheer for groups that have 'curse the Jews' in their slogan. I trust none of you anymore.

[hussyknee]

I really wanna know why both Jewish and gentile "allies" in the West are unable to step over a bar that is already in hell.

Context:

- Eighteen year old Israeli decides to do the normal person thing, chooses to go to jail than join the IOF. The sentence will be renewed every 30 days if he doesn't join. Usually this goes on for over a year until they get sick of them. Kid also writes a sweet, idealistic letter about Choosing Peace™ and that what they're doing to Palestinians is wrong. It's of course a very liberal Zionist speech that Condemns Hamas™ (sigh) and is very ignorant of the scope of Israeli occupation. But he comes from a Zionist family. This could be a start. It also undermines the whinging about the IOF being full of "kids who don't have a choice" other than dropping bombs on toddlers and shooting unarmed civilians in the head. Bar is in hell, but good for him. Let us move on.

- Or not. Within five minutes everyone and their dog immediately starts falling over themselves calling him a hero.

- Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims: Wtf? Our people are literally being killed for doing ANYTHING to protest our own slaughter? One guy willing to not take part OUR GENOCIDE is a hero?? He and his family are settlers and still part of the ongoing violence against us?

- Jewish "allies": omg just say you hate Jews! IT'S NOT EASY TO SIT IN JAIL ALRIGHT?

- Palestinians: As opposed to blowing our children to pieces??

- Jewish "allies": See, this is why you people can't get free! I bet you're feds!

- Western gentile "allies": I know bb they're so mean and unreasonable! Like are we supposed to blame our kids for having joined in our militaries too?? Antisemitism!

But I get their point. I'm sure Jews in the camps loved seeing gentiles hail Germans heroes for not joining the Third Reich, while calling the Warsaw Uprising terrorists. Not even after, mind. DURING. Children of slavers should have statues built in their honour just not joining the Confederate Army! (Actually they probably do say that, what do I know.)

I'm not Muslim or Palestinian btw. I'm speaking on my own behalf as someone who has also been terrorized by Zionists on this site way before I even knew what they were, enabled by both ordinary Jews and gentiles who didn't think Zionists were a real threat and more interested in policing BIPOC for calling them out. Meanwhile, Palestinians bend over backwards to never single Jews out and keep them safe. But I compiled that list on my pinned and I know exactly how many anti Zionist Jewish organisations and allies there are in the movement, and how many are either defunct, grifting or Two-State normalizers that speak over Palestinians, or just plain apologists like the one I now have to take off my list. Palestinians are still being let down by each one of you one after the other like dominoes. You cannot keep claiming credit for allyship this way. If you truly want to divest from Israel, you need to do better.

ALL you non-Muslim and western people in your nice unbombed homes with all your limbs and families intact appear to believe that the countries your people blow up with your votes and tax dollars should be grateful to you for speaking up for them. Stop policing the anger of victims. Know when to shut up. Or just stay home. All of Palestine's gains so far have been the work of Palestinians themselves, and of the armed resistance from the other Arab countries most victimized by yours. Israelis will never be key to Palestine's liberation, and their allyship have always been too expensive to be worth it. The master's house will never be dismantled by the master's own tools, much less the members of the master's own household.

[benjaminallhope-fulltimemind]

after two long years Ukraine is making major gains even after a massive slog in the south, it's the first major land invasion of Russia since the second world war! The funny thing is that Ukraine is abiding by international standards and not committing war crimes, not only that but there has been no major protests nir armed resistance against Ukraine troops in the kurk region and my best guest is that any people who would have fought are evacuating but then why wouldn't they do anything something like Ukraine citizens did during the invasion of their territory? With all that said however this is a major advantage for Ukraine for PR and negotiations, any talk going forward are no longer about begging but real negotiations since Russia risks losing territory. Wjth the November US election this kursk offensive this might also impact military aid in a positive way, despite pro-russia pundits crying about Ukraine's use of western weapons.

[trendynewsnow]

Zelenskyy to Present 'Victory Plan' Amidst Challenges in Ukrainian Parliament

Zelenskyy’s “Victory Plan” to be Presented to Ukrainian Parliament Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is poised to unveil his ambitious strategy to secure victory in the ongoing war against Russia during a session of the Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday. This announcement follows a series of discussions with Western allies, who have shown a lukewarm response to his proposals. Dubbed the…

[travelbinge]

By Ally.Photog

Broome, Western Australia, Australia

[immaculatasknight]

With friends like these...