#ap comparative government

[morisky]

chat AP exams are happening and I'm cooked. I thought I was cooking, but I was mistaken. Iam trhuly and thoroughly cooked. I have lost my title as chef.

I am no longer the rat.

I have become the ratatouille 😔

[n3wy0rkd011]

test is in 16 hrs but I just made this 🥶🔥

[lokigodofaces]

As a former AP Comparative Government student, every few months I keep thinking "dang, must be a wild time to be taking that class now."

[solemntitty]

i need y'all to know i listened to this on repeat in sophomore year of high school while my anxiety ridden ass was studying my butt off for my ap european exam while also drinking a shitton of irish breakfast tea (super caffeinated for again, my anxious ass). i got a 5 on the exam but at what fucking cost

[dalekofchaos]

Friendly reminder. Bruce Wayne hung up the suit and retired after THREATENING someone with a gun and this was his reaction.

And then his immediate reaction is to shut down and close the Batcave and his only words were. "Never again"

A truly tragic, but fitting way for Bruce’s career to end. Powerful stuff. Batman's career ended the same way it began: with a desperate man wielding a gun

Batman choosing not to be weak like Joe Chill >>>> Batman going on a killing spree because fighting crime is hard.

And by the way, since Zack Snyder says his inspiration was Dark Knight Returns, I got news for you, TDKR Batman doesn't kill either.

Zack Snyder is a complete blithering fucking idiot.

his statement on Batman just lines up with what I’ve seen from all of his work. He likes the idea of the comics he makes movies out of but he doesn’t actually understand their themes. A Batman that kills is pointless. An edgy Superman is not only the most boring way to write him, but doesn’t make any sense without the wholesome one. That’s why injustice Superman/brightburn/Plutonian/omniman/homelander kind of make sense in their own ways because the original exists to compare them to.(mostly also boring though) His take on watchmen was pretty much devoid of any of the actual commentary from the graphic novel, but instead was just a dark justice league that were pretty bad at their jobs. Rorschach was just framed as a kind of unhinged Batman, but still a badass that does good, which is wildly generous compared to the way he’s originally written. I can understand turning your brain off and coasting through an action movie, but his fans are delusional if they think he does any of these stories justice. I wouldn’t take any of his comments seriously if they would stop letting him make these mediocre movies.

Zack Snyder is all flash and no substance. His films are visually stunning but utterly lacking in compelling storytelling.

The point of Batman is he cannot 'stoop to their level'. He HAS to be better, he HAS to believe these criminals can be rehabilitated, because if he kills them, he becomes just like them. With his wit, his intellect, he could future proof the city against crime ever happening by just killing the criminals before they commit crimes based on probable statistics and similar themes. But a Batman who refuses to kill is a murderer by inaction. Every time he chooses not to put Joker in the ground, he's allowed him to slaughter dozens, hundreds more, just for a laugh. Batman is equally guilty for every one of those deaths, because he could simply kill the Joker, and stop him from ever killing again. But he doesn't. Snyder saying Batman can kill, Batman SHOULD kill, is to say that without batman doing so, or being able to, he is just as bad as the villians. Except dipshit doesn't even have his Batman kill The Joker. "Oopsie daisy, Joker got out and bombed a hospital full of people, sowwwwyyyy, I put him back in jail again dunt worry TeeHeee :3". And then next week we do it all over again. OR. You kill the Joker, and he never hurts another person again. Which is why Jason Todd works so well as a counter to batman, and SHOULD be what Snyder is looking into. The reason why Zod works so well as a villain is because Humans are flawed apes who cant be trusted to govern themselves and should be conquered, and Superman, a literal God, could fix all that, but doesn't, because of Hope. Its foolish, childish even, to consider that a solution. And when placed in the vacuum of a comic book it works because you have to suspend disbelief, and forget that Superman let a city full of people die while he punched Zod through skyscrapers.

If you want Batman to kill people, just go and read one of his 1784956th copies that kill people. Go read Midnighter. Go read Punisher. Go read Moon Knight. Go read Peacemaker. Go read Nighthawk. What is stopping you?

I'm sure all those characters have brought about the peace and prosperity and the crime-free society that a "killer Batman" was supposed to. "Punisher would clean Gotham in under a week", right, just like he cleaned Marvel's New York, didn't he?

It has to be Batman specifically the one doing the killing? The number of superheroes that kill is nowadays much higher than the number of heroes who don't. Remember how Hawkeye spent the better part of his existence being the most anti-killing Avenger? Nowadays he is known as a super-assassin that "never had a non-kill rule". Should heroes who don't kill go extinct?

I like that Batman doesn't kill people. I feel no need to turn him into something he isn't like it was done to Hawkeye. If I wanted a Batman that kills, I would go and read one of the thousand "Batman who kills" out there.

Batman should not kill and should never kill.

"Gotham would be better off if Batman just killed The Joker"

You. Miss. The. Entire. Point.

Bruce Wayne lost his parents to crime and Bruce Wayne is a child who died alongside his parents and was reborn as a creature dedicated to insuring it never happened to any other child. He made a vow never to reduce himself to the criminal scum’s level or to Joe Chill’s level. He never kills for a reason.

Batman not killing is what makes him so compelling, if he kills criminals, there is no moral conflict, he is no better than the Punisher, Wolverine or any other dark edgy hero. Hell, if he starts to take a life, Batman is no better than Ra’s Al Ghul.

In the Daredevil Netflix show, Frank Castle told Daredevil this “That’s not how this works. You cross over to my side of the line, you don’t get to come back from that. Not ever.” That alone is why Batman should not kill, not even The Joker. Bruce Wayne is not Frank Castle, stop trying to make him Frank Castle. I mean…Stan Lee was absolutely disgusted when someone called The Punisher a hero, Frank Castle is a murderer, not a hero. How is this so hard for people to understand?

I don’t want to hear that Batman killed in the old comics and I don’t want to hear Elseworld stories. It’s an established fact that Batman does not kill and it’s a big part of his character.

Guess what? We already got a Bruce who killed The Joker, it happened in the Burtonverse/Schumacherverse and he was disgusted with himself. “So, you're willing to take a life.” “Long as it's Two-Face.” “Then it will happen this way: You make the kill, but your pain doesn't die with Harvey, it grows. So you run out into the night to find another face, and another, and another, until one terrible morning you wake up and realize that revenge has become your whole life. And you won't know why.”

A huge part of Bruce’s character is that he doesn’t kill, no matter what. Same with Clark. But edgelord writers from the New 52, DCEU and the Injustice abominations think it’s cool to make heroes kill. Heroes should not kill. You can’t be a hero and a killer. IT DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY!

Guess what would happen if Batman kills The Joker? The Joker wins. The Joker and Batman are each trying to prove a point to society - and really to us, the readers. The Joker wants Batman to kill him because he perfectly embodies chaos and anarchy and wants to prove a point to everyone that people are basically more chaotic than orderly. This is why he is so scary: we are worried he may be right. If the Joker is right, then civilization is a ruse and we are all truly monsters inside. If the Joker can prove that Batman - the most orderly and logical and self-controlled of all of us - is a monster inside, then we are all monsters inside, and that is terrifying. The Joker is terrifying because we fear that we are like him deep down - that he is us. Batman is what we (any average person) could be at our absolute best, and the Joker is what we could be at our absolute worst. The Joker’s claim is that we are all terrible deep down, and it is only the law and our misplaced sense of justice that keeps us in line. Since Batman isn’t confined by the law, he is a perfect test case to try to get him to "break.” The Joker wants Batman to kill a person, any person, but knows that the only person Batman might ever even remotely consider killing would have to be a terrible monster, so is willing to do this himself and sacrifice himself to prove this macabre point. Batman needs to prove that it is not just laws that keep us in line, but basic human decency and our natural instinct NOT to kill. If Batman can prove this, then others will be inspired by his example (the citizens of Gotham, but again, also the readers), just as we are all inspired every day to keep civilization running smoothly and not descend into violence, anarchy, and chaos. This ability to be decent in the face of the horrors and temptations present all around us is humanity’s superpower, the superpower of each of us. The struggle of Batman and the Joker is the internal struggle of each of us. But we are inspired by Batman’s example, not the Joker’s, because Batman always wins the argument, because he has not killed the Joker.

Batman not killing matters. Batman stories to me are the ultimate tale of turning pain and suffering into something positive. That is a story that everyone can relate to because let's be honest here. The world can suck. I've experienced and probably will always experience feelings of fear of depression of anger of angst. It's in my nature as a human being to experience those things. It's in all our nature it is what we choose to do with that pain that we all feel that defines us. Batman chose to turn all those negative emotions, he feels into a symbol that can bring people. Hope that Batman will save us from pain but more importantly hope that we can all be Batman. Why do we fall? And Batman Begins explains this best “Why do we fall sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

Yes, Bruce Wayne is a flawed crazy person. He is at times mean stubborn and even abusive but he is still good. He is still someone we can aspire to be. We can try our hardest to be Superman but no human being can fly, but we can still try to be Batman We can all try to turn our pain into something good when I see Batman killing people or fans saying he killed before and he should kill The Joker, It pains me. It actually hurts my soul. Batman is not about finding a way to kill evil. But try to redeem it. His mission is an impossible task. Maybe he should kill people. Maybe he should kill The Joker, but what makes him fascinating what makes him a hero Is the fact that he has that moral code and stopped himself from crossing that line That's why I always looked up to Batman even as a kid despite all the adult subtext or mature themes superheroes are for kids. And killing is not Batman and it is not Bruce Wayne. This is why I hated the portrayal in the DCEU and the Burtonverse and why I really hated the implication that Batman killed The Joker in Batwoman. A Batman who kills is certainly not Bruce Wayne, that is an interpretation of Bruce Wayne that completely misses the point of Batman. It's easy to kill. Batman does not make the easy choice… Batman does not kill.

[blueiscoool]

Greek Archaeologists Discover Mysterious 4,000-Year-Old Building on Hill Earmarked for New Airport

Archaeologists on the Greek island of Crete have uncovered a monumental ancient structure that threatens to halt progress on the construction of a new airport.

The structure belonged to the Minoan civilization and was mainly used between 2000 and 1700 B.C.E., around the same time that Crete’s monumental palaces at Knossos and Phaistos were built, per the Greek City Times.

But unlike these palaces and other feats of Minoan architecture, the purpose of the building remains unknown, and it’s now the subject of much archaeological attention and speculation.

The structure resembles “a huge car wheel from above,” writes Nicholas Paphitis for the Associated Press, with a diameter of 157 feet and a total area of 19,000 square feet.

According to a statement from the Greek Ministry of Culture, some of the structure’s features are comparable to Minoan tombs, including its circular arrangement of stone rings and its intricate layout. But a large quantity of ancient animal bones found nearby is complicating researchers’ understanding of the site.

“It may have been periodically used for possibly ritual ceremonies involving consumption of food, wine and perhaps offerings,” says the statement, per a translation by the AP.

While archaeologists further excavate and study the building, which sits on top of Papoura Hill, near the town of Kastelli, they must contend with the hilltop’s future function: a planned radar station for Crete’s new international airport.

Beginning in 2027, the airport will serve Heraklion, Crete’s capital and largest city, as well as a wealth of cultural and archaeological sites across the island.

Eighteen million passengers are projected to use the airport annually once construction is complete, the AP reports. Tourists want to visit Crete’s well-preserved historical sites, but they need convenient, modern infrastructure to take them there.

At times, rampant tourism threatens the integrity of ancient sites in Greece, prompting the government to take protective measures, like limiting the number of visitors to the Acropolis in Athens.

Per the statement, excavations in the area uncovered at least 35 other archaeological sites. As Greek authorities build Crete’s new airport and the network of roads needed to connect it with the rest of the island, they must continually strike a balance between innovation and maintaining cultural heritage.

In the statement, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni describes the structure as a unique find of great interest. She says the Greek government and airport officials will explore alternative locations for the radar station to ensure the preservation of this historically significant archaeological site.

“It’s possible to go ahead with the airport while granting the antiquities the protection they merit,” Mendoni adds, per the AP. Her comments offer hope that Crete’s past, present and future will once again be reconciled.

By Eli Wizevich.

[bookishgalaxies]

Advanced Placement Credit Given to…

☾☼✧☽ summary: the ap classes these different characters would take

☾☼✧☽ type: headcannons, modern au

☾☼✧☽ warnings: n/a

☾☼✧☽ a/n: my ap classes are killing me-

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✧ albedo

chemistry and art history

I think the chemistry part is obvious, as an alchemist he would find this kind of thing fascinating. Obviously he would enjoy the rigor and fast paced layout of the class. CB requires 16 labs to be done throughout the year in ap chem and he would adore this as well. Definitely thinking he’s pulling an A in this class, actually an A+

Albedo’s an artist and a curious individual. I imagine he would find himself interested in the history of art and the different pieces. As a chemist he is always chasing after whys and hows; it only makes sense for him to look for this in art as well. He would also pull a high A I feel in this class due to his commitment to his studies

✧ amber

human geography

Amber isn’t much of an academic, but she appreciates geography I imagine. As an outrider who is exploring and navigating, she would find the history of places and maps fascinating. Amber also, or at least I seem to think, would have a hard time taking an intense ap class. This one is one of the easiest out of the ones CB offers. I think Amber would get an A in this class and I am firm believer that she unfortunately is the one who reminds the teacher when homework is due :/

✧ diluc

macroeconomics, microeconomics, and statistics

Macroeconomics covers the economic of wider areas like regions and nations. Diluc being someone who has a business that is known worldwide would I feel find value in knowing about the economics of not only his country but others as well.

Microeconomics is more focused on the economics of an individual thing like companies. This is a class that would give the insight on the business side of economics.

Business requires a lot of data. Most of the time when analyzing data statistics is involved. Diluc would use statistics I feel to see what kinds of wine tend to sell on what regions and what happens when prices increase and decrease.

Diluc I see passing all of these classes, I think the economic ones with an A and stats with a high B.

✧ jean

comparative government and politics and psychology

Government and politics I feel is self explanatory because of how Jean pretty much runs Mondstadt. She has to contact diplomats from all nations and make negotiations. I think she would also find it kind of interesting about different types of government and how things are ran.

Jean would have to on some level be a people person. To some degree she would have to know how people think and feel. She would find the makeup of the human brain fascinating I think.

Jean is not letting herself get anything less than an A, let’s be real-

✧ lisa

english language and composition, english literature and composition, and latin (or teyvat’s equivalent, maybe Khaenri’ah’s language..)

Tumblr deleted Lisa’s part like 3 TIMES kill me :/. Anyways, I think the language composition and literature composition are obvious. I mean…..she’s a librarian.

The language thing I feel would stem from her wanting to be able to read more books. Therefor she wanted to learn a new language to broaden her selection of books

She wanted to take ap chem but decide to just do general instead. I definitely think Lisa could get an A in all three classes. I just think she gets distracted easily and would need someone to help her focus.

✧ sucrose

chemistry, biology, and computer science a

Obviously she would take chem with Albedo. I think it would take her a bit longer to grasp some of the concepts and Albedo might have to help her out some but she does overall well in the class, I say an A-

She flies through biology without a problem due to her interest in life forms. Is definitely earning an A+

OKAY HEAR ME OUT! So Sucrose wants to study how to manipulate life to make it better and brighter. I think she would be all over the idea of being a bioengineer. Thus, she would learn how to code.

Sucrose would do well in the comp sci a course I believe. I could see her being a really good problem solver and understanding Java well (the programming language you learn in comp sci a)

✧ venti

music theory

Don’t come for my throat, I love Venti I swear. However, I do not think he would preform well in this class. Music theory isn’t really so much about composing music as it is about the rules of composing music. I think Venti would do wonderfully with dictation (where you hear notes/chords and have to identify and write them). As well as sight singing (where you are given a sheet of music and have a certain amount of time to practice and sing it).

We all know Venti is great at composing music…but he doesn’t really like playing by the rules (aka all the figured bass line shit), so I don’t think he’d do so good. Venti can read sheet music sure but he didn’t take the time to memorize all the special symbols when he just knows music.

I’m going to be generous and give him a C considering he can do the dictation and sight singing. Anything where he’s having to analyze and determine cadences or other conceptual stuff he’s kind of screwed

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kaeya does not take any ap classes however he relentlessly bothers albedo while he is trying to study. Also totally tries to convince lisa at least once to bail on writing a paper and come to some party or whatever.

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thank you so much for reading !

stay hydrated and safe !

[wildflowerandsage]

im sorry how does anyone like Mae/Nova from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?

she refuses to let go of her close-minded, possessive claim on civilisation, even in the face of a global evolutionary reset, and still im seeing noamae shipping tags on tumblr glorifying the coloniser's approach to the culturing of noa through his apparent self actualization thats supposed to only have been brought about because of nova's first step- stealing the blanket? a literal reduction of base human instinct vs. somehow noa is the one being civilised?

not to mention how, the moment she starts talking (not gonna use the word communicate because she literally only speaks when shes fueling her own agenda), her countenance goes for a toss? somehow she's strapping up boots and operating heavy industrial machinery and flipping levers like there's no tomorrow. if i was a young woman who lives 300 Years after the end of the world™, i think even book reading couldnt help me know which button to press on a swotch board with the sort of confidence that she's unlocking blast doors and setting bombs with. the woman is feral, acts feral and has no comparative regard for other species and sentience. all she cares about is furthering the conqueror's dream of humanity

and to think, here i was, watching the zebra and human herd scene thinking that she was finally appreciating the poignant humanism of contentment and simplicity and the companionship of mankind and beast.

no, she's here mourning the fall of capitalism and government propaganda

[monstersdownthepath]

Like many of Paizo’s sweeping decisions, I’m of two minds with the recent news about them retconning the existence of the drow in their entirety, rather than renaming them cave elf/dark elf/darklands elf/etc and distancing them from D&D’s drow ideologically. I would have much preferred an exploration of them as... well, just a subspecies of elves, like forest elves, sea elves, and mountain elves, whose government happens to be a bunch of demon-worshiping maniacs. There are numerous splits between each of the ruling drow families because each has sworn themselves to a different Demon Lord, so each has different powers, beliefs, and technologies. There’s territory to be expanded into there, I feel, especially since it opens up opportunities to have the average drow citizens be disapproving of their government’s way of doing things (what with all the torture-murder, slave taking, and fleshwarping) but be unable to really change much... because, you know, insane government composed of demon worshipers. They’re not exactly a democracy. 

However, they’re going to be replaced as dominant life in the Darklands by the Serpentfolk, which I’m also somewhat excited for, because the Serpentfolk have been woefully underutilized. They’re supposed to be humanity’s oldest enemy, the rulers of Golarion for millions of years of its early existence, but they’ve basically been non-entities since the Serpent’s Skull AP, only rarely ever showing up as one-of encounters or in the occasional module... especially when compared to the drow, which pop up constantly whenever an adventure goes even slightly underground. The thought of them being given more prominence is enticing, even if it comes at the cost of the drow being Thanos-snapped out of the universe and the serpents taking their place.

I, personally, will not be removing drow from my games (as J. Jacobs himself recommends, knowing and acknowledging how popular they are), and am eager to see what the post-retcon Darklands looks like...

[ape-apocalypse]

Road To The Kingdom - Fall of Man Comics

The Fall of Man comic arc is the most recent comic series focused on the reboot trilogy. It is unique in that it doesn't feature Caesar and his troop of escaped apes at all. Some might find that a bit dull but I like to see the world building away from Caesar. It is set 4-5 years after the Simian Flu outbreak and follows a human soldier named Julia who is tasked with protecting and moving apes to Washington DC in the hopes of finding a cure. Along the way, Julia reflects on how the world has descended into chaos while fighting against a human militia, the Army of Man, who are killing apes and "monkey loving" humans alike.

The comic is a typical apocalyptic tale, though I feel like the large cast of apes and humans don't get much personality. Julia falls in love with a fellow soldier/scientist she's traveling with and I don't even remember his name, despite reading this a few days ago. Buster and the other apes get some good fight scenes but only Buster gets a name and I have a hard time figuring out what they want. When we first see the apes, Buster seems to ignore Julia's reassurance that she'll protect them and he signs to the others "ape protect ape". I thought it was setting up that the apes would leave the humans the first chance they got to take care of their own. But then they're willingly fighting alongside the human soldiers in DC, even when the apes could easily run off. I don't expect there to be a bond between Buster and Julia like Caesar and Will had in Rise, but I never understood how Buster felt about his human counterpart. Even in the very last panel, I can't tell if Buster is happy or having doubts about how the journey ends. If the story was meant to show humans and apes working together and forming a united front, I don't think the comic succeeded. It doesn’t feel like the apes care about Julia or the mission and I would have preferred Buster and his crew to just leave the humans behind.

Also featured is a French gorilla named Pug who is raising an ape army against the Army of Man, and killing anyone who gets in their way. This story is secondary to the main tale, with neither of them intertwining at all. I wish Pug's story had been the primary focus; though seeing the last bits of governments and civilization is interesting, I much preferred Pug. We get little of his background but see that he spares and feeds human children who were held captive by the militia. It seems he can even rally human adults to his cause. His tale is brief compared to Julia and her team but I really enjoyed Pug more. Plus it's great to see what's happening in another country that isn't the USA, where Caesar and his apes live. I think both stories suffered from feeling rushed by having to share the comic, rather than each getting their own arc but Pug's story was much more intriguing than Julia's in the long run.

The world building of humanity crumbling is always a good read to fans of apocalyptic stories and it makes sense to look at how the governments and health organizations fell apart. But my favorite parts were the small bits of hope seen amongst the chaos. I loved the glimpse of orangutans in Malaysia willingly working with human survivors. Pug was instantly fascinating when he took care of the human children his group freed. While a civilian army growing around the world to kill apes makes sense, it was nice to see pockets of people and apes getting along. All in all, not my favorite of the POTA comics but still a fun apocalyptic story for the apes series.

Intro / Previous / Next

[mariacallous]

BRUSSELS (AP) — Far-right parties made major gains in European Union parliamentary elections Sunday, dealing stunning defeats to two of the bloc’s most important leaders: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

In France, the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen dominated the polls to such an extent that Macron immediately dissolved the national parliament and called for new elections. It was a massive political risk since his party could suffer more losses, hobbling the rest of his presidential term that ends in 2027.

Le Pen was delighted to accept the challenge. “We’re ready to turn the country around, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to put an end to mass immigration,” she said, echoing the rallying cry of so many far-right leaders in other countries who were celebrating substantial wins.

Macron acknowledged the thud of defeat. “I’ve heard your message, your concerns, and I won’t leave them unanswered,” he said, adding that calling a snap election only underscored his democratic credentials.

In Germany, the most populous nation in the 27-member bloc, projections indicated that the AfD overcame a string of scandals involving its top candidate to rise to 16.5%, up from 11% in 2019. In comparison, the combined result for the three parties in the German governing coalition barely topped 30%.

Scholz suffered such an ignominious fate that his long-established Social Democratic party fell behind the extreme-right Alternative for Germany, which surged into second place. “After all the prophecies of doom, after the barrage of the last few weeks, we are the second strongest force,” a jubilant AfD leader Alice Weidel said.

The four-day polls in the 27 EU countries were the world’s second-biggest exercise in democracy, behind India’s recent election. At the end, the rise of the far right was even more stunning than many analysts predicted.

The French National Rally crystalized it as it stood at over 30% or about twice as much as Macron’s pro-European centrist Renew party that is projected to reach around 15%.

Overall across the EU, two mainstream and pro-European groups, the Christian Democrats and the Socialists, remained the dominant forces. The gains of the far right came at the expense of the Greens, who were expected to lose about 20 seats and fall back to sixth position in the legislature. Macron’s pro-business Renew group also lost big.

For decades, the European Union, which has its roots in the defeat of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, confined the hard right to the political fringes. With its strong showing in these elections, the far right could now become a major player in policies ranging from migration to security and climate.

Bucking the trend was former EU leader and current Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who overcame Law and Justice, the national conservative party that governed Poland from 2015-23 and drove it ever further to the right. A poll showed Tusk’s party won with 38%, compared to 34% for his bitter nemesis.

“Of these large, ambitious countries, of the EU leaders, Poland has shown that democracy, honesty and Europe triumph here,” Tusk told his supporters. “I am so moved.”

He declared, “We showed that we are a light of hope for Europe.”

Germany, traditionally a stronghold for environmentalists, exemplified the humbling of the Greens, who were predicted to fall from 20% to 12%. With further losses expected in France and elsewhere, the defeat of the Greens could well have an impact on the EU’s overall climate change policies, still the most progressive across the globe.

The center-right Christian Democratic bloc of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which already weakened its green credentials ahead of the polls, dominated in Germany with almost 30%, easily beating Scholz’s Social Democrats, who fell to 14%, even behind the AfD.

“What you have already set as a trend is all the better – strongest force, stable, in difficult times and by a distance,” von der Leyen told her German supporters by video link from Brussels.

As well as France, the hard right, which focused its campaign on migration and crime, was expected to make significant gains in Italy, where Premier Giorgia Meloni was tipped to consolidate her power.

Voting continued in Italy until late in the evening and many of the 27 member states have not yet released any projections. Nonetheless, data already published confirmed earlier predictions: the elections will shift the bloc to the right and redirect its future. That could make it harder for the EU to pass legislation, and decision-making could at times be paralyzed in the world’s biggest trading bloc.

EU lawmakers, who serve a five-year term in the 720-seat Parliament, have a say in issues from financial rules to climate and agriculture policy. They approve the EU budget, which bankrolls priorities including infrastructure projects, farm subsidies and aid delivered to Ukraine. And they hold a veto over appointments to the powerful EU commission.

These elections come at a testing time for voter confidence in a bloc of some 450 million people. Over the last five years, the EU has been shaken by the coronavirus pandemic, an economic slump and an energy crisis fueled by the biggest land conflict in Europe since the Second World War. But political campaigning often focuses on issues of concern in individual countries rather than on broader European interests.

Since the last EU election in 2019, populist or far-right parties now lead governments in three nations — Hungary, Slovakia and Italy — and are part of ruling coalitions in others including Sweden, Finland and, soon, the Netherlands. Polls give the populists an advantage in France, Belgium, Austria and Italy.

“Right is good,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who leads a stridently nationalist and anti-migrant government, told reporters after casting his ballot. “To go right is always good. Go right!”

[madamekaji]

nsft rambling && headcanon under the cut. talking abt abijahs sexuality i suppose? nothing graphic but still… informal language & such i did not care to make this a thesis statement LOL.

tl;dr: i think abijah’s gay. like barely skirting the bisexual label in terms of the fact that he has been with women/continues to be with women but i don’t think he’s actually attracted to women as human beings.

controversial take perhaps but i really don’t think abijah is into women outside of viewing them as a toy to sadistically use and then discard. like i don’t think he’s a kitty repulsed gay man but he literally only talks about women in sexual contexts in terms of bringing them harm and/or killing them. which is not to say he’s better with men because he’s a nasty nasty disgusting freak & degenerate of an ape but i truly think in contexts where just being exclusively with men was allowed & tolerated growing up that he would just be with men.

idk the fact that he’s so…. “fond”??? for lack of better word of men (“fondest heart”, “his pretty eyes”, probably more but im not rewatching rn so i can’t make a bullet point list rn) and the fact that any time he talks about women its something along the lines of comparing them to the government he’s about to violently overthrow, “your bones break like a woman’s”… as well as kaji’s statement about how he couldn’t “get off without making a woman bleed” (paraphrased)

like him being a misogynist is not news and it’s very evident by the aforementioned dialogue ^ as well as his treatment of women, such as his past tense baby mamas in his basement. bro is quite literally a human trafficker… but i think it’s notable that he uses “sweeter” (i hesitate to use that word) language with the men in his life then the women in it. to add, the men actually get to live & the women do not!!!

i don’t believe he’s “in the closet” by any means either. like especially not in japan where the VERY oppressive western standard didn’t really exist. he is a shameless creature and a BIG fucking dude so he could get away with a lot more back in europe. (not to mention years at sea without societal regulations…. pirate life, baby.) but i do believe his options in terms of escorts, as well as the.. again societal standard just normalized sleeping with women (makes him look and feel powerful to have a high body count, for example.) i believe he’d been with men back in europe (cough cough routley cough cough… as well as others) but it just wasn’t as easy && accessible as it would eventually be in japan. if he wanted to get his dick wet he just kind if had to settle LMAO

in short i suppose i genuinely believe he equates a human woman with something like a flesh light and nothing more, so i hesitate to call that an “attraction to women.” ppl aren’t attracted to their toys or whatever it’s used as a means to an end. (usually, anyways. agalmatophilia/objectophilia/etc. of course exist but i don’t think that’s what he’s dealing with here.) i feel like that’s what women have always been to abijah. a hole is a hole mentality. && i feel like he has to brutalize them to get anything out of it or else he wouldn’t enjoy bedding a woman.

he gives me the energy of men who are very clearly into men and would just be better off getting with their homeboy then continuing to yap on their alpha podcast about how they hate women in every sense including sexually because their standards are absolutely impossible, but how they praise and idolize men for fucking breathing LOL.

[starlightshadowsworld]

as if hamas wasn't the one to break the original ceasefire on oct 7

Original ceasefire?

Do you mean the 2021 ceasefire?

Which came after 11 days of conflict and occurred in response to Israel's actions.

Because they lead planned force expulsions of Palestinians from their homes, and attacked peaceful protesters in Al Aqasa mosque?

Leading to a conflict that resulted in 12 Israeli's being killed, 2 being children.

Which pales in comparison to the 248 Palestinians being killed, 66 being children.

And than even after the ceasefire, Israeli drones were still in the air.

A ceasefire Israel didn't even want and had to talked into by the US and the United Nations.

And on that same day Israeli police beat up an AP photographer.

Because of course they did.

Or do you mean the ceasefire in 2018?

In which the conflict began because Israel fired on 121 unarmed Palestinian protesters.

Who had gathered by the fence separating the two, demanding their right to return to their homes that Israel had expelled them from in 1948.

A ceasefire that Israel denies ever agreeing to, by the way.

Or do you mean the 2014 ceasefire?

A conflict that lead to 2251 Palestinians being killed, most of which were civilians.

While 66 Israeli soilders were killed, as well as 6 civilians.

There's no language on earth that makes these numbers comparable.

Also the ceasefire to this was one Israel broke within minutes.

I could go on but we'd quite literally be here all day.

These ceasefire agreements mean nothing to Israel.

They never have.

Why? Because Israel sees any kind of resistance against their illegal occupation of Palestine, as terrorism.

It doesn't matter if that resistance is peaceful or violent, Israel treats it all the same.

As a threat.

Prior to this year, they have displaced 70% of the indigenous Palestinian population in 2 of the most catastrophic displacement events in human history.

With the 1948 Nakba and the 1967 Naksa. All of which were committed against innocent Palestinians, way before Hamas was ever created.

And who created Hamas in 1987?

Oh yeah, Israel.

And who denies that fact because there seen as a threat to their control and occupation of Palestine?

Oh yeah, Israel.

Same people who treat the indigenous population of Palestinians as second class citizens.

Imposed an illegal blockade in Gaza for 16 years.

Encourage settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, where again Hamas ain't there.

And have openly said they want to wipe all Palestinians off the map.

Along with many, many other shit Israel has been up to.

That's not just limited to Palestine.

Jee I wonder why people would retaliate against this and not at all want to follow the tyrannical regime being forced onto them.

Heck, their wouldn't need to be a ceasefire if Israel didn't invade and settle illegally in Palestine in 1948.

Palestinians were doing a lot better than than before Israel showed up.

They've done literally all they can to reason with and peacefully protest against these tyrants.

But you can't expect an illegal occupation that's committing every war crime in the book.

Violating every international law and treats the Geneva convention like a checklist, to be expected to care for the suffering of innocents both Palestinians and their own civilians.

Given both the Israeli forces, the Israeli government and Israeli civilians have admitted that Israel has been firing on their own civilians on October 7th.

On purpose.

And continue to bomb Gaza, despite knowing their own civilians could be killed.

Israel can't be expected to follow any kind of law or agreement.

Because how else will the state of Israel go on if its not profiting the suffering of Palestinians.

Free Palestine, from the river to the sea.

For in our thousands and in our millions, we are all Palestinians.

[beardedmrbean]

NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that's often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.

It can get to be too much. Often, she'll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.

While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.

Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don't want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.

The 54-year-old Democrat said she's most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn't really happen.

“I feel like I'm being gaslit. That's the way to put it,” she said.Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’

Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.

Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.

“It's good to know what's going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it's a conversation piece everywhere, and it's hard to escape it.”

Media fatigue isn't a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.

But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.

It's easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.

“There's a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media

In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.

White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.

Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he's on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.

“If it pops up on my page when I'm on social media," he said, “I'll just scroll past it.”

[carmrants]

wow this is my first ever post :D

this is going to be about the umbrella academy's season four, so if you haven't watched it there's a spoiler warning here! other warning, this is long. as. shit. (tl:dr, i am as confused as an octopus being taken into the sky)

now, don't before i start this rant i need to say that i LOVE the umbrella academy. i started watching it around Christmas of 2020 (there were only 2 seasons at the time), and the third season even came out on my birthday last year! i love this show, all the intricate details and talks about the timeline are phenomanal. i don't know much about the comics (i've only read the first), but i do know that they are MASSIVELY different, and i appreciate them both seperately!!!

but what the FUCK kinda drugs what this season on???

now me personally, i quite enjoyed most of the whole plot things in the series. i loved the first half. i, unfortunately for five, loved the concept of him being stuck on the subways (especially with all his little other versions). i loved the idea of the timelines melding together, and while the ending wasn't what i really expected, it wasn't necessarily a hate thing if that makes sense? (tbf i am a sucker for body horror, so that might just be a me thing)

but there are some things that did not make sense. at all.

firstly are the powers. now don't get me wrong, i love the power adaptations in this season, they're really cool as a standoff. my favorite was probably five's, since the concept of the whole subway was just SO INTERESTING FOR SOME REASON??? but plot wise, it literally made. no. sense. because the marigold is from them, the powers stolen from them. luther, diego, klaus, and (mostly) ben get to keep their powers, but i don't get where the others came from plotwise. there shouldn't really have been mutations in just a jar, especially since none of the new additions correlated to each other. FOR EXAMPLE, ben's power moving from his stomach to his back can make sense, you absorb it different and it just opens a new way (especially since his power is an eldritch horror, i doubt it cares where it erupts from). and like, if lila's ability slowly morphed from just copying to gaining the powers, that'd make sense. BUT WHERE THE HELL DID HER LAZER EYES COME FROM??? AND ALLISON'S EYES??? AND VIKTOR'S FIRE?????

i'm gonna (try to) address character by character (though five & lila are at the end, you know why.) NOW LET US BEGIN!!

LUTHER FIRST: firstly, why the hell is luther a stripper? why and when the heck did that happen? (it's hilarious yet extremely confusing, and i need the backstory now).

secondly, WHY did he get his ape body back?? since the marigold is a completely different substance compared to the rest of their anatomy, it made NO SENSE. and if it did somehow merge, then that means everyone else, or at least some people should've been part ape too. SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT ABOUT?

DIEGO SECOND: i honestly quite liked diego this season, he was rather swag. (he did not deserve what they dis to him.) diego wasn't really able to be seen as a father though, i kinda wish that there was more screentime with him and his kids together as a family, or maybe some flashbacks with lila.

the only thing that really did annoy me (but i can't complain because it's his whole character) is his obsession with government people. you'd think after finding out his father (who he despises) is in the magestic twelve, he might take a second glance at the government.

ALLISON THIRD: okay, SERIOUSLY, why. the. fuck. is no one talking about the fact she literally SA'd luther??? like why is no one talking about this??? like, to me, the only reason she stopped is because SHE got uncomfortable because her rumor power made him force himself onto her (though i haven't watched season three in a bit, so i might be mistaken)

don't get me wrong, i love her relationship with claire, and obviously going through timelines and stuff makes you a not so decent person (i love five, but he's batshit crazy and probably the best example). but that does not, at all, excuse what she did to luther. and everyone just brushed it off???

i think the worst part about this is that it's worse in the first comic. AGAIN, haven't read the second or the third, but i have read the first. and in the first comic, LUTHER NEVER ROMANTICALLY LOVED ALLISON. NEVER. in the comics, he was rumored into loving her since he wasn't giving her enough attention when she was venting about patrick and claire. he only acted how he did in season one AFTER allison rumored him, which i believe is argueably way worse (since she probably would've also made him had sex, had it gone on)

KLAUS FOURTH: i loved klaus this season so much!!! i honestly don't think he got enough screen time, but that could just be that i favorite him a lot. his development of not fearing the dead as much is such a relief, and his fear of getting his power back just seemed so sad but like realistic at the same time too.

one thing i do need to address though was him being possessed by the ghosts to do 'physical buisness'. am i the only one who found that weird as fuck??? like his body was being possessed by ghosts with daddy kinks for an extra buck or two??? and also how he was forced to take his power too?? it just rubbed me such the wrong way, but i don't think anyone else is talking about it though.

BEN FIFTH: honestly, as much as i hate to say it, i kinda like how he ended the show. i was getting kinda bored viktor causing apocolypses writing thing, because although he didn't do it in the third season, he's not the only dangerous power. ben can summon an eldritch horror out of his stomach or back. and five, as figured out more in the third and fourth season, LITERALLY CAN GO THROUGH UNIVERSES.

also, as i said earlier, i am a fan of body horror. the whole corruption thing with the marigold and other element made sense to me for some odd reason? i don't think a lot of other people are happy with it, but i quite liked the whole idea and concept, especially when it was put into action. and also, on a morbid note, the monster was actually like disgustingly pretty. LIKE THE CGI AND STUFF FOR IT??? AND THE DESIGN WAS JUST REALLY UNIQUE TOO!!!

one thing i do wish though is that they made more episodes, that way they could truly go more in depth about ben and jennifer. i know that they were only there for a short time because of the element, but i feel like we kind of missed the progression between them pissing each other off to seeming really possessive? like thr whole 'don't touch her' and 'don't touch him' thing was a bit of a shocker for me, and i really just want development on thatt!! i know umbrella academy isn't exactly afraid to go into taboo topics (ahem luther and his love for borderline sisters ahem), so i felt like they should've elaborated more on it and just shown more progression. it's honestly sad that i saw more with the ship i will not name compared to them.

VIKTOR SIXTH: i'm not exactly sure what to think about viktor this season? he was kinda just there for me, to be honest. though one thing that pissed me off was him working with reginald after cursing allison out in front of the manor about her working with reginald. i mean, they are different motives which i'll give him, but it just seemed kinda odd? but i quite liked his new powers this season, his character was really nice, and im pretty sure elliot page's voice has gotten deeper too!!! which im really proud of him for!!!

but now, we must get to the dreaded part.

lila first, because i decided too: seriously, what the heck bro.

now, i think that five and lila are both in the wrong. though i throw that around loosely because i am NOT accepting that this actually happened. but lila was just, like, weird about it near the end?

she was talking about her kids and everything, but we barely saw her with them in the show at all. it's probably because it's rushed, and had there been a bit more time spent on it, it might make more sense? but it just didn't make sense at all.

secondly, SHE LITERALLY CHEATED ON DIEGO. she went on a break, not a break up. she wanted to come back, but yet she kissed five?? side note, what happened to lila's bracelet thing?? like i know that lila's one from season two broke, but i don't understand why she hated them all of the sudden.

THIRDLY, WHY DID SHE LIE ABOUT THE KEEPERS??? most of the stuff from the beginning she believed to be bogus anyways, so why was she lying about some book club??? that seemed like the most stupid thing to ever lie about.

here is also a thing i don't get about lila this season, because this part also pisses me off too. diego says near the beginning of the season that his twins were concieved because lila said that "she couldn't get pregnant while breastfeeding", which i find to be completely false. lila is not that stupid. she knows at LEAST two languages, was taught a whole bunch about the commission and their protocols, and yet didn't know that you could get pregnant while breastfeeding? diego i believe he didn't know, seeing as though he was talking to a mother, who probably researched this?? the reason i hate this is because of how much she talked about diego complaining about the kids, which is valid because if you do that at least don't do it in front of your kids. but to me, it just seems like she trapped him with more kids??? like it just seemed wrong, not to mention how he acted when we saw them before his and five's first fight, he seemed so sweet.

five second: there is a lot to say, oh my fucking god bro. but i'll start with the small stuff first :D

FIRSTLY, i feel like the plot twist of five's boss working with the keepers shouldn't have gone unnoticed. he should've known, he's the smartest character besides reginald, and worked in both the commission AND the CIA. he would've. noticed. the behaviors.

one thing that just really confused me, and also deals with the ending, was why five thought that the umbrella academy killing themselves would fix everything? the marigold would still exsist in the world, since there were more than 7 children born on that day. lila is proof of that, and so are the sparrows and phoniexs. the marigold as a flower made sense in the end, but i'm not sure why five didn't notice that??

side note, since apperently the writers don't know this. FIVE. IS NOT. A HOMEWRECKER. ESPECIALLY NOT TO HIS BROTHER???

he literally spent 45 years coming back from the first apocolypse, 2 of those years in the commission, and went through three apocolypses to save his siblings. five. loves. his. siblings. NOT TO MENTION DELORES, I HAVE NO DOUBT HE STILL LOVES HER. it just seemed really odd for him to have any romance in the plot.

aidan gallagher and ritu arya did an excellent job with what they were given, the chemistry between the two actors (although odd because of the age gap) would seem realistic. WOULD be, IF the characters WOULD MAKE SENSE TOGETHER. BUT THEY DON'T.

though one thing i think does make sense of this relationship is to see how five's mind works with romance, since he did have one with delores. and i fullheartedly believe that he would pull a stunt like keeping the journal, especially with the abandoment issues he has. the only reason why i hate it was because of the other character. and that's just in the cheating aspect, because the ages also make no sense either??

lila hargreeves is physically probably around her 30s in this part, kinda confusing to do the math though since it's not the most clear with the whole time thing. five hargreeves is physically only around 19. lila met five when he was physically around 15 to 16. and that's only the physical part!!

five, in the part that they kiss, is mentally in his 70s!!!! SEVENTIES!!! he was 15 before he spent fourty five years in the commisson, a couple months through apocolypses (hard to calculate given he sometimes goes back in time), three-four years i believe between season three's end and season four's start, and 7 years in the subway station. HE IS MENTALLY A BOOMER. LILA IS A MILLENIAL. LILA, HELL ALL OF HIS SIBLINGS, COULD MENTALLY BE HIS GRANDCHILDREN. WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT FACT????

ALSO. the fact he fights with diego instead of hurting the monster made no sense either, his whole goal has ALWAYS been the apocolypse. him falling for lila made no sense either, in my opinion it should've been five blowing lila off. (complete sidenote, i get the whole ben/jennifer body amalgimation growing bigger from the umbrella academy's powers was because of the marigold, but why the hell did it grow bigger from five's bullets? there is nothing to cleanse there, and it heavily confused me.)

OVERALL THOUGH, i am so heavily confused. so so confused. the general idea i actually quite like!!! i don't like the idea that they had to die to save the world, since it's addressed in the beginning there's like 43 children with powers. i did really like reginald having a coo coo wife, fit his character as well. THE SUBWAYS WERE REALLY COOL, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHY, BUT IT WAS.

anyways, that is all!!! thanks for reading the longest rant i've written before

[gean-grey-blog]

Who is involved:

Hamas, Palestinians, the people living in Gaza, the Israeli State, Israelis, and the people living in Israel. Those are fundamentally distinct sets of people and cannot be conflated, as much as they may overlap. Neither can they be conflated with Jewish or Muslim people.

What happened leading up to Saturday:

Recently Hamas seemed to be leaning towards the “legitimate party” side of their existence, albeit while still being…well, terrorists, towards absolutely everyone involved including Palestinians. 

What happened on Saturday:

A coordinated attack by Hamas on Israel’s border with Gaza. Many in Israel were killed and the death toll is still rising. Many were taken hostage by Hamas including civilians, and even children. There have been ground invasions of Israeli soil. Neither the Israeli intelligence services nor any intelligence service of a nation allied with Israel predicted this, which is heightening the fear involved.

What Israel is doing: 

Israel immediately declared war, and has now said they will put Gaza under complete siege. No water, food, medicine, electricity. They have told Palestinian civilians in Gaza to leave or be killed, but they are under siege, there is nowhere to go. Israel is now carpet bombing the Gaza strip. 

Why it might become genocide:

There are nine active stages of genocide. The Israeli State has been checking those boxes against Palestinians since their creation, but thankfully generally drew up short of indiscriminately killing mass civilian populations. Starving and bombing a trapped civilian population who have been separated based on religion, culture, ethnicity…that is extermination. 

How to keep up from here:

Read multiple sources with different biases, and compare to Reuters and AP which tend to be the closest to just the facts as you can get (still not unbiased, just less spin). The Times of Israel and most US news networks are fundamentally biased towards specifically the government and military defense of Israel. A source like Al Jazeera is going to be more biased towards the experience of the rest of the people and governments in the Middle East. If Times of Israel/US news, Al Jazeera, and AP/Reuters agree something happened, it probably happened