#army membership live meeting event

[namchyoon]

day 327/547 until joon returns cr. jung-koook

[jung-koook]

At least you have army membership 😭😭😭😭😭

bighit are you crazy, they want to take our money no matter what. we're missing bangtan, that's not fair! if everything goes well I will screenrecord the event and post it here. bighit needs to stop capitalizing on everything! they are using our feeling of missing bangtan, are they crazy?!? I understand paying the army membership to have an advantage in things like tickets, things like that but I'll be honest, I think it's extremely unfair for them to make this live event something that only army memberships can enjoy. jin meeting event live should be for free everyone, this is extremely irritating and unfair!

[averseunhinged]

*runs at full speed shrieking through the room and hurls wip at the curse*

If you’d told Klaus a month ago that he’d be spending a Tuesday evening in January winding his Land Rover through one of the poshest areas of the Hollywood Hills, submitting himself to more security checkpoints than Buckingham Palace, shouldering a provisional contract and an NDA so dense and complicated that even Finn, the dullest, most detail-oriented entertainment attorney Klaus had ever known, had been winded by it, and getting an uncomfortably thorough pat down from a woman whose physique put Finn's wife, a former professional wrestler, to shame, he would have called you delusional.

It's a pity he can’t tell Rebekah he’s been conscripted into the Fang Bunny Army. He's lived through five or six rounds of his sister’s membership. Of every album release becoming an event, every award on par with a coronation, every tour a gauntlet of ticket sale shenanigans and elusive meet-and-greet passes, weeks of outfit crises, and transportation horrors. Bekah would shriek herself hoarse when she found out he hadn’t so much as hinted at having been personally summoned by her favorite popstar.

It isn’t only the money that's brought him to this point. For the first time in years, he feels truly intrigued by a potential project. His bread and butter might be plentiful and filling, but his greatest achievement to date is an obnoxiously catchy, instantly recognizable twenty second loop from Kitten Crashers, a cat racing game from 2011, that rarely leaves the trending sounds list on both TikTok and Instagram. It's work, and he's glad to have it, but it isn't high profile by any stretch of the imagination. Not anywhere near the level of Caroline Forbes.

Her teen years spent playing the shrewish, older sister on some Disney Channel nightmare and later a starring turn in Vampires of Venice Beach, an inexplicable mega-hit at the box office, it included an original ballad by Caroline herself on the soundtrack. Critics weren't kind to the song, but it was everywhere you turned for over a year. Their assessment wasn’t entirely incorrect. The melody was banal and the instrumentation derivative, but there was something to the lyrics and more than something to Caroline's voice. The song netted her first Grammy nomination. It was by no means her last.

Which is to say, he's not sure why he's being escorted by security into an old mansion in the Hills. He does just fine these days with scores and commercial background music and thirty second hooks for social media, but he's not famous for it. He'd barely been famous before The Originals had flamed out spectacularly. He and Elijah are far better off without differing opinions on creative direction and an unfortunate predilection for falling for the same woman at the same time. The fallout from the Petrova twins had been explosive and there hadn't been any option but to break up the band at that point. His fifteen minutes certainly aren't anything to recommend him to one of the most successful recording artists of the 21st century.

He's shown into a beautifully restored and tastefully appointed room that is mostly end to end glass, looking out over both an outdoor space and a lot of the city in the valley below, blurring in the golden sodium light of late afternoon. The man who'd taken charge of Klaus at the entrance to the house hasn't bothered introducing himself with the sort of smarmy assuredness Rebekah laps up, always to her detriment, gestures disinterestedly to a bank of comfortable seating where someone has obviously been working all day. There are notebooks, binders, an assortment of pens and highlighters, a MacBook, and two tablets on the coffee table. Two guitars sit in stands: a newer Martin with an intricate floral inlay and a vintage Gretsch he desperately wants to put his hands all over. Propped up in one corner of a sprawling couch is the same brilliant cobalt Jumbo she's famously played since she was eighteen. The woman in question is pacing by the pool, phone in hand, having an animated conversation.

The other man doesn't bother going all the way to the open doors before bellowing, "Wrap it up, gorgeous! Your five o'clock's on time."

Without turning around, the queen of Spotify lifts one hand and presents them with her raised middle finger.

"She'll be with you in a moment," the man says, mild and amused, on his way out of the room. "Don't worry. You're probably already in her good books. Loves punctuality, that one. Bit of a freak that way."

Even though Klaus knows how all of this works, the photoshoots and the costumes, the makeup and wigs, he's still a little surprised by how different she is in person. She looks well enough when she trots inside, but she's still barefoot in leggings and an old, worn soft shirt, advertising the Mystic County Sheriff's Department softball team in faded, cracking letters. Her blonde curls are piled artlessly on top of her head, and there's red irritation around her eyes, nose and mouth from wearing and removing stage makeup every day for months on end.

"Hey, I'm Caroline," she says, as though her name hasn't been synonymous with breathy, acoustic pop for the past decade, and waves a little awkwardly.

"Klaus Mikaelson," he replies automatically, as though she doesn't know who's been delivered to her very nice home with its very expensive view. And then she smiles at him with her own, slightly imperfect teeth, and the only thought he has is oh no. He digs his own grave when he, without any higher cognitive input whatsoever, says, "You must never meet my brother."

[diocletianscabbagefarm]

The handshake of Torgau

74 years ago today the advancing American and Soviet troops met up for the first time in eastern Germany on the Elbe river in two different places, and there are so many details of the event outside of the famous pictures of handshakes and alcohol that... I don't even know, I guess it just shows history is a weird thing and a little bit messy.

On the 25th of April 1945 near Torgau a small American unit under William Robertson had raced ahead to try and link up with the Soviets and they waved a white sheet painted with red stripes and a blue smudge. The officer in charge of the soviet unit, Alexander Silvashko, had never seen an American flag before, so had some shells fired at them, but eventually Robertson approached the bridge unarmed and managed to make contact. I also found one source claiming Robertson found a Russian-speaking prisoner (a German prisoner? A Soviet POW? The source was unclear) in the nearby town who helped signal to Silvashko that they were Americans. He and Silvashko approached each other on the broken bridge and managed to communicate through gestures. Silvashko and one or two other Soviets went with Robertson to his headquarters, where they celebrated, exchanged insignia and wrist watches, and where I believe this famous photo was taken.

On the 27th of April the "Handshake of Torgau" was enacted in front of photographers, and Silvashko and his comrade(s) were returned to Soviet lines. Sources differ a little, but either Silvashko and the others or just his superior officers were promptly arrested and stripped of their party membership (I found an article by George Krol, ambassador to Belarus in the early 2000s, who managed to arrange a visit with Silvashko, who said his superiors got arrested but he was "too young and stupid to be punished"). Robertson was also arrested for court martial because he defied orders by driving beyond the authorized perimeter, but Eisenhower personally ordered him released.

Silvashko returned home to Belarus to find his family and village wiped out. Army comrades encouraged him to settle in the small village of Morach, where he lived a quiet life. Silvashko did meet Robertson at least twice more - one time in Moscow in 1975, and another time in the early 80s. Silvashko became a school principal (and history teacher), while Robertson became a neurosurgeon if you can believe it! Silvashko died at some point in the 2010s and Robertson in 1999.

Both of them held an attitude to Cold War politics that I think we can all admire:

The other meetup between the allies on the 25th of April 1945 was earlier on that day so technically the first, but the area was littered with corpses, which wouldn't be great for a photo-op.

[for-yoongi0309]

[NOTICE] 2024 FESTA In-person Event with BTS Jin

We are excited to announce an in-person event led by BTS member Jin to celebrate 2024 FESTA. This event was prepared in order to fulfill Jin’s wish to spend meaningful time with ARMY in person on BTS’s debut day. We invite you to join us as we express our gratitude for your unwavering love for BTS.

[Event Overview]

Date: Thursday, June 13, 2024 (KST) (Please see below for exact hours) Location: Jamsil Arena in Jamsil Sports Complex, Songpa-gu, Seoul First Session: “Jin’s Greetings” Second Session: “Message from Jin : June 13 2024,☀️”

The first session will not be streamed online. The second session will be streamed live on weverse exclusively for ARMY MEMBERSHIP (GL, JP, US) holders. More details will be provided in a separate notice at a later date.

[Details]

First Session: Jin’s Greetings Date: 3 PM, Thursday, June 13, 2024 (KST) - The first session (Meet-and-Greet with Jin) is a time for light hugs with Jin per request from the artist, and is expected to last about three hours. - If you win the raffle but do not wish for a hug, you can replace it with a handshake. - Every precautionary measure will be put in place to ensure no unpleasant incidents occur during the event. We ask for your kind cooperation. Second Session: Message from Jin : June 13 2024,☀️ Date: 8 PM, Thursday, June 13, 2024 (KST) - The second session will last about one hour. - Jin will showcase various performances that ARMY wish to see. The 2024 FESTA in-person event with Jin will be held for the weverse shop GLOBAL purchasers of albums (including solo albums) released after “Proof.” More details on the event will be provided in a separate notice.

[magz]

Palestine related summary. April 8 to April 14, 2024 - from LetsTalkPalestine. Quote.

April 8. Day 185

•⁠ 38 Palestinians killed, 47 injured in Gaza in last 24 hours

⚖️ Nicaragua presented its case against Germany today at ICJ, Germany will conclude the hearing tomorrow — check back then for our summary

🇺🇳 UN membership committee received State of Palestine’s application for membership after Fatah-controlled PLO request for renewed consideration of its 2011 application

🚚 Israel says 322 aid trucks entered south Gaza, but still inadequate + gave no convoys access to north. Uncertainty on its delivery as Israel blocks UNRWA’s movements + raised concerns after @ wckitchen attack that killed 7

•⁠ Israeli forces raid, assault & abduct people at funeral of martyred Palestinian Walid Daqqa who was killed yesterday by Israeli medical negligence

🇯🇴 Unknown man approached Jordanian crossing to occupied Palestine & opened fire on Israeli patrol car on Saturday. He didn’t infiltrate the border & fled. No casualties

🇱🇧 Israeli air strikes on south Lebanon kill 3 incl. Hezbollah commander

"Middle East Eye", instagram stories quote of April 8, Nicaraguan representative on ICJ, questioning Germany's support of Israel.

April 9. Skipped Day.

April 10. Day 187 - Eid

• 122 Palestinians killed, 56 injured in past 24 hours

• Israel murdered Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh‘s 3 sons + 3 grandkids in targeted missile attack on their car while meeting family on Eid

🇮🇪🇪🇸🇲🇹🇸🇮 Ireland, Spain, Malta & Slovenia commit to recognizing Palestinian statehood; Ireland in the coming weeks & Spain by July

🇹🇷 Turkey’s new export restrictions to Israel can increase Israeli property & rent prices by bans on steel, cement & granite

• Israeli army to establish new border crossing to north Gaza, refusing to open previously promised Beit Hanoun crossing claiming fear of blockade from Israeli protestors, the new crossing is in more remote location

🇬🇧 UK gov’t ignores their lawyers’ advice to halt arms sales to avoid culpability. UK Foreign Sec insists they evaluated arms licenses & will continue sending to Israel

• 30+ Israeli settlers attack Ramallah (West Bank) firing live bullets & torched a barn, injuring 4 Palestinians, incl. a 15 y/o

April 11. Day 188

•⁠ 63 Palestinians killed, 45 injured in last 24 hours

•⁠ ⁠Israel bombs Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, attacking 2 mosques & 2 schools, killing 5 & injuring many

🇳🇮 Nicaragua closes its embassy in Berlin after its ICJ case vs Germany for facilitating genocide by giving Israel military & financial aid

•⁠ ⁠Israel shuts down town of Jayyus in West Bank for 5th day, blocking Palestinians from leaving their homes during Ramadan & Eid. Israeli forces are storming homes, abducting Palestinians & seizing homes as temporary army bases, even confiscating & destroying kids’ toys

•⁠ ⁠IOF abduct 14 y/o girl in West Bank while photographing landscapes w/ her phone

•⁠ Hundreds of Israelis rally in Jerusalem, calling for ground invasion of "safe zone" Rafah to achieve "complete victory"

🇺🇳 UN Security Council issues statement expressing "grave concern" over "horrific" Israeli attack that killed 7 @ wckitchen aid workers, calling for investigation + Israel to improve aid entry & delivery

April 12. Day 189

• 89 Palestinians killed, 120 injured in last 24 hours

• Israeli settlers raid town near Ramallah (West Bank), protected by Israeli forces; shot & killed Jihad Afif + set fire to 7 homes & 20 cars + arbitrarily shot people & ambulances, injuring 35 w/ bullets & severe beatings

🇩🇪 Germany refused entry & detained Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta at airport, expected to speak at a German Palestine conference on surviving 43 days of genocide. German police cracked down on the event, canceling it midway

• Israel launches fierce attack on Nuseirat camp (central Gaza), killing 5 people & injuring 70+ incl. 2 journalists

🇳🇴 Norway joins Ireland & Spain, ready to recognize a Palestinian state. Ireland is close but aims to coordinate on timing w/ other like-minded states

• Barely 3 months into the year, 2024 marks record amount of Israel seizing land in West Bank, likely future settlements — so far 2,743 acres seized

• Israeli attack on home in Gaza City killed 29 people, dozens injured

[Iran specific updates for April 13, in next post]

April 13 to April 14.

Non-Iran Updates on Palestine you may have missed

• 52 Palestinians killed, 95 injured in Gaza within 24 hours yesterday

• UN warns that cases of waterborne diseases are spreading in Gaza from no access to clean water & the weather is getting warmer. WHO already recorded 345,000+ cases of diarrhea including 105,000 in children under 5 since Oct 7

• Israel has been heavily bombarding Nuseirat camp (central Gaza) since Wednesday. Yesterday they targeted 3 schools + several homes, killing 19 and injuring 200 within 24 hours, majority women & children

• Israeli settler’s expanded raids all of yesterday in the West Bank, a raid on Abu Falah near Ramallah injured 5 Palestinians + several settler attacks reported in various areas of the West Bank. Israeli army had sent in additional troops to West Bank, fortifying border checkpoints

[armynoonas]

FESTA In-person Event with BTS Jin

Hello.

This is BIGHIT MUSIC.

We are excited to announce an in-person event led by BTS member Jin to celebrate 2024 FESTA.

This event was prepared in order to fulfill Jin’s wish to spend meaningful time with ARMY in person on BTS’s debut day. We invite you to join us as we express our gratitude for your unwavering love for BTS.

[Event Overview]

Date: Thursday, June 13, 2024 (KST) (Please see below for exact hours)

Location: Jamsil Arena in Jamsil Sports Complex, Songpa-gu, Seoul

First Session: “Jin’s Greetings”

Second Session: “Message from Jin : June 13 2024,☀️”

The first session will not be streamed online.

The second session will be streamed live on weverse exclusively for ARMY MEMBERSHIP (GL, JP, US) holders. More details will be provided in a separate notice at a later date.

[Details]

First Session: Jin’s Greetings

Date: 3 PM, Thursday, June 13, 2024 (KST)

- The first session (Meet-and-Greet with Jin) is a time for light hugs with Jin per request from the artist, and is expected to last about three hours.

- If you win the raffle but do not wish for a hug, you can replace it with a handshake.

- Every precautionary measure will be put in place to ensure no unpleasant incidents occur during the event. We ask for your kind cooperation.

Second Session: Message from Jin : June 13 2024,☀️

Date: 8 PM, Thursday, June 13, 2024 (KST)

- The second session will last about one hour.

- Jin will showcase various performances that ARMY wish to see.

The 2024 FESTA in-person event with Jin will be held for the weverse shop GLOBAL purchasers of albums (including solo albums) released after “Proof.” More details on the event will be provided in a separate notice.

Thank you.

[bizarrequazar]

05-23 (CST) QuelleVous Twitter Space Notes

This was the second in a series of live discussions covering events relating to 813, with this one focused on CAPA. QuelleVous did the bulk of the talking, accompanied by followerno65 and Bluebird. This is an informal fan discussion and should not be taken as an official source. [Recording] 

QuelleVous has also posted her own prep notes for this space [here].

Notes on the previous space giving a review of the events leading up to and including 813 can be found [here]. Please let me know if I’ve made any mistakes (especially with names) or missed anything significant.

Background about CAPA

Registered as a grade 1 non-government organization registered under the MCT. This does not make them an official government agency, every NGO in China has to be registered under a government agency. The MCT has a very light hold on them.

“Grade 1″ has some prestige to it but doesn’t mean much, just that papers are turned in directly to the government rather than another association

Started out as an academic thinktank sort of scenario, then just for stage performers, now for pretty much everything. “Their power creeped and expanded” to what other associations weren’t already handling

Changed to their current name in 2010 with the coming to power of their current president (Zhu Kuning), who started as a secretariat 

Executives within CAPA are chosen by election from members, they can be from other provinces. Roles cannot be held for two consecutive terms. Cannot be over the age of 70 and must be of sound mind

There aren’t really individual members, only companies / universities that are a part of it; anyone employed under those are a part of CAPA

Since 1995, they were in charge of issuing entertainment manager licenses to individuals

Members have to pay a fee every 5 years (set by CAPA, not by 5 years from when you register). The fees vary depending on your role in CAPA. It is not clear how much these fees actually are, sources vary

17 sub-committees including livestreaming, entertainment management self-disciplinary committee, dance committee

They own LLCs, such as consulting and tech firms. (Water armies are considered a type of tech firm, it’s not known if this is applicable here) LLCs can earn money without it factoring into CAPA’s official earnings.

Offer courses that give a certaificate at the end, but these certificates don’t seem to have any practical use. Fees are required to enroll, some of then tens of thousands of dollars

NGOs are not obligated to publish their financial records, they are only given a public grade. CAPA hasen’t gotten great grades, but have always passed. (Two years ago they barely passed, this year passed.)

Very close relationship with MCT, official(s) from which always show us at CAPA’s events.

Not a lot of transparency with NGOs in China, though this seems to be changing due to some orgs taking advantage of it. They’re not obligated to publish their tax forms. Very little info about CAPAs finances can be found.

CAPA are no longer allowed to register licenses but sells study material for licenses, and are still taking membership fees

Hold a lot of banquets: payment fee to get in, meant for managers to rub elbows 

NRTA has nothing to do with CAPA (CAPA would like you to think they do.) CAPA reports to MCT, MCT reports into MCA. NRTA also reports into MCA. 

Timeline

(This went very fast, I probably missed some things)

2017: CAPA established a livestreaming sub-committee, 23 people incluidng academics and companies. Secratariat Qi Tao, ex-VP of Six Rooms, was the spokesperson of the committee for a long time. 

October 2020: Livestreaming manager sub-committee established, 23 people, MCNs (talent companies for influencers)

March 2021: New perfomance regulations “in conjuction with the moral standards of the MCT”, aka the boycott lists

May 15-18 2021: annual CAPA livestreaming industry meeting in Shanghai. Two members of MCT attended, as well as Qi Tao. 

June 2021: Pang Yen gave an interview about the rules established in March, saying they are not retroactive.

July 19: Issued statement against Kris Wu allegations, saying not to trust internet rumors and wait for investigations

August 13: President and Xie Yihua edited their Baidu pages, Tang Lawyer gave a warning about Zhang Zhehan’s potential boycott

August 15: Issued statement calling for Zhang Zhehan’s boycott

August 31: Zhu Kening issued statement about the cancellation of livestreams and concerts, said a thorough investigation had been done and their moral committee had been consulted, and that they had consulted with a member of an MCT perfomance sub-committee (academics, not government officials)

Sept 12: Issued statement that they were working with social media platforms to clean up the industry

Sept 29: Douyin hosted an event with 70 companies saying that they and CAPA would abide by the standards set in March

Nov 23: Issued 9th boycott list by livestreaming sub-committee, 85 online influencers, 3 actors (Kris Wu, Zheng Shuang, Zhang Zhehan). Shared by 55 news bodies. This is what brought Zhang Zhehan’s name back into the news cycle.

Dec 1: Issued a statement that the boycott is voluntary and should only be taken by members between members

Dec 13: MCT released new rules regarding entertainment managers, MCT would take on manager licenscing responsibilities

CAPA went quiet for a while

April 14: Audit announcement. Indepedent accounting firms will be thoroughly looking at their finances and operations. It’s not known if it will affect Zhang Zhehan’s case. Not known exactly what this audit will entail, a report will be released at the end of the year. 

April 18: CAPA announced setting up a mediation center to handle conflicts

May 13: MCT released more amendments: abolishing performance industry groups from issuing entertainer licenses, all manager licenses and guidelines will fall under the MCT, industry groups should act under their charter and protect the rights of their members. CAPA’s charter does not say anything about punishing their members, mediation, or procedural justice.

Rumor that CAPA is planning to release a new charter soon, likely will include the procedure of their boycott lists and a streamlining of membership costs

Sus Things

11 companies under livestreaming sub-committee, 9 of which have been cited by the CAC as hosting sexually explicit content (especially Six Rooms something like 11 times.) Pay-for-skin soft pornography, basically.

Some Weibo bloggers accused these platforms of using their image without permission in ads. 

Some of these take 50-60% of your livestream earnings.

Six Rooms’ parent company lost 150mil RMB on the stock market the same week as the 9th boycott list; one of the companies with stock in them has right wing Japanese imperialist ties

CAPA’s president has no perfomance experience, started out as a chemical engineer. Used to work low in the MCT.

Secratariat Pang Yen has been accused of taking bribes and having dinners with “pretty boys” to take people off the boycott lists

Li Xuezheng talked about a friend going for a dinner with a CAPA executive who said “We can’t get you famous, but we can crush you like a bug”

CAPA listed the Communist Youth League as a group their moral committee consulted 

Youth League is another grade 1 NGO, a lot of leaders used to come from it but this was restructured in 2016 due to lingeage favouritism, budget was cut by more than half. Current faction in political power doesn’t like them, basically.

Lots of antis have ties to them

Posted an awful article about Zhang Zhehan in August)

The League’s official posting online became more sensationalized after 2016, more Buzzfeed-ish

Central body and provincial sub-groups

Feed a lot of people into government jobs but not governmental themselves

Case where a journalist involved with CAPA was found to have interviewed himself as an official source. Another official was found to have posted sexually explicity and xenophobic content. Many followed antis. Many wiped their Weibos after Nov 23rd. Sophie also seems to have ties to CAPA, Xie Yihua can be tied to it six different ways with a less than 3 degree separation

First boycott list said it would only last 24 months, this phrase then disappeared on later lists. Appeal period of 30 days which had to be done in person (during COVID nonetheless), shorted to 10 days on 9th list. The appeals against CAPA go to CAPA themselves (obvious conflict of interest)

After Li Xuezheng was muted, all these passersby who got a platform talking about justice are now no longer talking about CAPA. Very questionable in terms of motive.

Being able to own LLCs created huge concerns for conflict of interest.

Managment test prices and difficulty seem to vary depending on where you are.

The original boycott statement made it sound mandatory and like they had authority over doing so (they only clarified on Dec 1 that they are not mandatory.)

Misc. Discussion

The government always takes a part in public companies but is not omniscient. Social media has been mostly self-regulating, but the government has started to take a more active approach to content moderation. The degree is not known.

About CAPA’s upcoming mediation committee: “First mediation centre set up in the country for performers mediation. Will rely on media academics and lawyers to help mediate in a just and effective manner for matters concerning perfomance, management, and related matters. According to sources, this has the okay from the leaders of CAPA to mediate these conflicts. Also this centre can help aid CAPA members, executive members, and related agencies in consultation on civil conflicts to help aid against lawsuits.” Also want to mediate copyright and IP conflicts. 

Zhang Zhehan’s case has really put a light on what is likely the situation with many other NGOs.

Question of why the platform boycott is still ongoing despite CAPA saying that it’s not mandatory:

Platforms are likely afraid of admitting that they’ve made a mistake and may be liable for it.

The guess is that the government will force platforms to abide by their rulings and there will be a press release once the case has reached that point. This could potentially affect others on the lists as well depending on what the exact situation of the lawsuit is.

What has happened to Zhang Zhehan could happen to anyone. It’s very much pushing the boundaries of what CAPA can do, and it will be very frightening if they are able to get away with it. Who’s to say it won’t become something they market under the table?

The fact that Zhang Zhehan’s case came up in test study materials last year may in part be CAPA’s doing, as they have some ties in publishing.

CAPA is very likely involved in the recent shift in target (ie. what Xie Yihua’s been doing)

The news about Zhang Zhehan has very much shifted from justice to celebrity gossip. 

He’s being talked about like he’s already back. 

So far news about the Xie Yihua situation is mostly contained to the fandom

The recent efforts are character assassination, trying to attack him from different angles, trying to distract the public with a persona since most of the general public don’t know much about him outside of his role in Word of Honor and 813

[atinydise]

Hello! I'm a new Atiny, became a stan in Jan. 2022. I saw your guide for new Atiny's which was BEAUTIFULLY organized, so I hoped you might be willing to help new Atiny's navigage the fan site/official merch and concert ticket sales? I really want to see them on tour and I just want to make sure I'm going through the right avenues. Thank you for your consideration!

Hongjoong and San Biased, but I genuinely love them all and their dynamic together!

I'm also a Stay, Moa and ARMY.

Hello! Welcome to Atinyland, you will love it! 🦋

Personally, I can't have a bias in Ateez, but I definitively know what you are talking about for Hongjoong and San hehe

And sorry for answering you this late but I will do my best to help you :)

First, tbh I don't have any idea how's working Ateez fan site. I think I've never been there yet. But I'm sure you can find info on Twitter/Google... 😔

But I can definitively help with the merch and the concert ticket sales hehe

Official merch: you can buy some on a lot of websites.

⚠️ Be aware that if you are not living in SK or around the shipping fees are atrocious 💀

KQ Shop: here you can buy everything related to KQ artists such as birthday merch, albums, lightsticks, concert merch, and more.

Ateez EU Store (in partnership with MyMusicTaste): they’re selling a few months after the concert the amount of merch left. If you are leaving in Europe, it’s way more interesting to wait for the website to be updated and then buy here. The shipping fees are waaaay cheaper.

MyMusicTaste: I don’t know if they will still sell merch since they don’t organize concerts anymore (if I understand well), but they were used to selling special merch or good opportunities such as fan-sign, fan-call, and meet-and-greet event.

Official KPOP websites such as: Kpoptown, Ktwon4U (there are interesting sales sometimes).

Tickets concert sales: I won't lie to you lmao this is the stressful thing eveeer! But you can do it :)!

To be fully prepared the sale day:

Be aware of every sale (pre-sale, membership sale, official sale), and just in case sign up for all of them.

Be sure to have at least 2 free hours to get your tickets (if you can ofc). Most of the time tickets will get sold out really quickly, but people are leaving their cart, or the venue can add little by little some seats. So do not give up until you have official news from the venue.

Prepare many devices if you can. Take your phone, laptop, your parents’ phone, roommate's computer, bf/gf’s phone… everything you can!

Ask your friends, parents, family or anyone to help you to get tickets.

Be sure to have a good Internet connection. Sometimes Wifi can be a b*tch so don’t hesitate to use your phone 4G/5G if you can. And it’s way faster.

Create in advance an account on the venue website.

Start to refresh the website 1 hour before.

Do not leave or refresh the queue when you are in. If you consider being too far in the queue then add another device or try in incognito mode.

Have your credit card ready with more than the price of tickets on it.

Stalk social media, especially Twitter. I suggest activating Ateez and the venue account notification so you won’t miss anything.

⚠️ FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE VENUE LAYOUT. This is sooo important! You won’t freak out the first time you enter the website, you know what to do.

If you are a minor, be sure to ask your parents or legal guardian the authorization to go to the concert, and be aware that you need an adult with you the D-Day.

Follow fanbases account. They're doing their best to make sure that everything is okay for you and the artist.

If you are going to multiple venues, do the same thing for each of them. Learn how every website works.

⚠️ Depending on the country, buy places from an official reseller.

Play an Ateez playlist in the background to give you the strength to fight for your tickets lmao (personal suggestions: Guerilla, Wonderland, Hala Hala, Say My Name, Wave, Illusion, Not Too Late,...)

Hope it helps you a little bit more 🦋🥺

[taee]

hey Julia I have a question bout the festa 2021, is it gonna be live streamed on yt and is it just old moments put together or an actual performance by bangtan at that moment so like live live? also what exactly is a festa? im a new army and im kinda embarrassed asking u this silly question :( sorry of im not making any sense, and r there gonna be tickets to actually go (i dunno why in asking this I don't even live in Korea and I'm i ain't gonna go ;-;)

hi!! awwwww no don't worry its not a silly question ;; my explanation got a little long so more under the cut!!

Festa is basically a yearly celebration for bts's debut anniversary. During Festa there will be a series of events (BigHit should be releasing the timeline soon) and we'll have lots of content (photos, videos and even songs) dropping for a period of 2 weeks leading up to the actual day on the 13th of June!

Regarding whether it'll be streamed live or not I'm guessing you meant the notice for 2021 SOWOOZOO Muster that was released earlier today on Weverse. Okay this might be confusing but Muster is actually different from Festa!

Muster is an official fan meeting held for official ARMYs (aka ARMYs who bought ARMY Membership). Usually only official ARMYs are able to get tickets to the in-person concert but I'm not sure if this will apply to the online live stream they're going to have this year??? Because for the 2019 5th Muster, only the last day held in Seoul was made available for live streaming via vlive (paid of course). There wasn't a Muster last year due to COVID but we had BangBangCon: The Live!

This year it seems like we're having the 2021 Muster together with Festa since its held on the 13th and 14th of June. As mentioned in their Weverse notice, it will be an online live stream (really live live) event so yes we should be able to buy tickets to watch it...? Unless like I mentioned earlier, ticket purchases for the online streaming are for official ARMYs only...I honestly don't think so buuuuut I can't be sure either so we really have to wait for subsequent notices for more details.

I know this is A LOT to take in I'm sorry if I confused you further afdsgfsdg let me know if there's anything you're unsure about I'll do my best to explain it better ;;

[warsofasoiaf]

The Celtic Tiger - A Kaiserreich Ireland AAR Chapter 4: Soldiers Are We

“Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.” -W.B. Yeats

---

4 January 1939 - Economic Session of the Dail, Dublin, Ireland

Michael Collins had been debating initiatives to help smooth things over with the Ulster Unionists in the North. He had already revitalized plenty of the region’s industrial base, Harland and Wolff and the Short Brothers Aerospace PLC were employing plenty of people in Belfast, but the new American refugees had caused a great deal of cultural friction. The Unionist Party was never particularly quiet about their opinions on the state of affairs, but things were actively getting worse in Northern Ireland. 

“We should expand the steel initiative.” Collins had addressed the Dail in the annual IEAA meeting. “Producing steel domestically will allow us to better manage supply shortages in the event that our trade is cut off, and domestic steel production will be invaluable to the factories and shipyards. Belfast has made a compelling point, they have a significant amount of steelworking knowledge and experience that would meet the target goals faster than they would in other regions. Belfast will reclaim her old mantle as our very own Steel City. The Open For Business Initiative has put us significantly in the black this past year, we can afford to invest heavily in steel production in Ulster along with zinc mining in our rural provinces. That should keep us in boom times and diversify our economic base, in case any post-Black Monday bubbles pop.” 

Privately, Collins was more concerned with placating the Unionists. They had been complaining that Dublin was largely favored over Belfast, and that the Open for Business Initiative was an attempt to lure away the young workers of Northern Ireland to Dublin where they would lose their culture, and their voices, largely swallowed up by the Catholic voters. Violent crime was steadily rising in Belfast, the victims being either Catholics or American refugees, or reprisal attacks by Catholics. If there was a war, he could not reliably count on Ulster, even in the face of aggression from the Union. That was a pity. That had been the British strategy against Ireland, divide and conquer. Something would have to give very soon, no amount of economic bandaging was going to resolve the core tension within Ulster - they did not see themselves as part of an Irish Republic.

An aide burst into the meeting hall, causing a minor clamor and it took some time to restore order. The aide burst out breathlessly. “The Union, sir, they’re steaming out of port. The RMS Rebecca is going full-speed at our destroyers in the Irish Sea.” The poor fellow could barely complete a full sentence, his stammering professed an almost lack of belief in what was happening.

“Have they declared war?” Collins asked. The Union and Ireland did not have normalized relations, but that did not mean no information passed between the two countries. G2, the Directorate of Military Intelligence routinely monitored diplomatic intentions within Mosley’s government. Of all the espionage work performed by the Directorate, the Union accounted for almost fifty percent of its foreign operations, perhaps even more. 

“No, sir. No word.”

What was frightening about Mosley’s intentions was how much sense it made to Collins. Mosley and Deat, despite their opposition to each other, had stressed the urgency of the revolution at their electoral campaigns, and had prosecuted an aggressive foreign policy to export syndicalism to the world.  Both had turned inwards, Deat had been particularly violent in his purging of Blum and Gamelin, and they believed now that without dissent, they would not have naysayers and fifth columnists betraying their governments. By all accounts, their countries were ready to stand at the forefront of a global transformation. Yet the results were not successful. France and Britain  had been completely humiliated in the Second American Civil War, with Reed about to face a war crimes tribunal. The Commune of France had threatened to annex Savoy only to have Switzerland seek German support and membership within the Reichspakt, and Deat had backed down. A defeat, militarily, within Europe, would be a disaster, evidence of endemic weakness of the Internationale’s new leadership. 

Ireland would have been Mosley’s choice for a target. The stunning growth of the Irish economy and rise in the Irish standard of living would be an ideological foe, proof perhaps, that another way would be better. It was close to Britain and far from Mosley’s foes in Germany, Canada, and the United States. Its army and navy were tiny, compared to the Union’s. If they hurried, it could be a fait accompli no matter what any of the other great powers would do.

Collins thought for a moment. Ireland had benefited significantly from its neutrality between Entente and Reichspakt, not the least of which because it hadn’t been drawn into Germany’s wars as it had in Ukraine. The Open for Business Initiative never would have succeeded had Ireland been fully within the German sphere, and trade with the Entente had pacified the Anglophiles in the Centre Party. It was a natural pivot point that Ireland, as the middleman, could profit from. But an invasion of Ireland would see Ireland severely outnumbered in manpower and industrial capacity. 

“Get ahold of Admiral O’Muiris, have him mine the Irish Sea. Conduct a full investigation of the radar stations and anti-aircraft batteries, I want them in perfect working condition yesterday. No more drills, our men must go immediately to battle positions. See what we can learn about any invasion plans, put G2 on it; if they’re planning to land, I want to know where so we can put enough guns to turn their landing craft to splinters.” Collins spoke as if it were 20 years ago, as if he was that same man, ready to fight the last time the British refused the demand of Irish independence. “Also, let’s see if there are others as willing to fight for Ireland as we are, start with the Kaiser.”

“And if he isn’t?”

“We look farther then. Look to Canada if you have to.”

“Are you going to invite the Windsors back in?”

“Not for a moment, but sometimes you must deal with devils. ”

---

25 January 1939 -  Áras an Uachtaráin, Dublin, Ireland

It was the worst possible news. 

The Kaiser had been unable to provide support for Ireland. The Vozhd was threatening the Baltic Duchy and White Ruthenia with his goal of one land for all the Russian people, and Wilhelm II would not abandon them for a western war, especially not one who was not in the Reichspakt. Canada too, could not commit to protecting Ireland, as they were engaged in a large-scale war in India with the Princely Federation. The United States was still deep into Reconstruction, President Garner would not deploy the badly-battered US Army into a foreign campaign when there were still cholera outbreaks and people dying of exposure. They were all perfectly reasonable excuses, but it led Collins to an inescapable conclusion: Ireland was on its own.

No doubt Mosley was jumping for joy. His ambitions would not be curtailed by the major anti-syndicalist factions. Protests certainly arose, even within the Union itself, but Mosley had been able to quell them with daily speeches against Ireland, lambasting the nation for its capitalist economic policies, its embargo of British goods, and the ethnic tensions between Ulster and the rest of Ireland, which Mosley alleged to be inspired by Stephen X and a precursor to the establishment of a Catholic theocratic state. He had harshly criticized Dan McKenna, accusing him and the Thunderbolts of war crimes, summary executions of British volunteers, and torture of Union prisoners; a pointed criticism given that McKenna was soon to return to the United States to give his testimony on Welfare Island and the atrocities that had taken place in the Mississippi Delta.

Collins had established the Mosley Gan Mosley program on 2RN in response, with Irish comedians regularly mocking Mosley’s wild proclamations and providing evidence against his more spurious claims. Collins ensured that the broadcasts were transmitted on a wide band toward the British Isles, focusing on Scotland and Wales as the Autonomists had chafed under Mosley’s centralization and embrace of British nationalism. Collins directed the program to emphasize Mosley’s speeches as expressions of old British imperialism in the hopes of creating public unrest at home. He wondered if it was working at all, or if he was simply trying to give everyone a laugh before the end.

The days after the German and Canadian refusal had been a tense form of limbo. The An tAerchór only had a few fighter planes with limited training, nothing compared to the British Republican Air Force. Sending up pilots would be risky, and casualties would be high. The An tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh was only slightly better off. The cruisers and destroyers were unlikely to match the British Navy in naval combat, but the submarines could pose a serious threat, and advances in naval mines would help cause further casualties among the landing craft. There was no getting around it, the Irish did not have the ability to contest the seas and so would be forced to repel the invasion with their ground forces. Civilians had been preparing for the coming disaster with air raid drills. Last-minute preparations for war were almost all that Collins could hope for, war would come, and Ireland would be alone.

“To ensure the liberation of the working class from the chains of oppressive and exploitative political and economic systems in the pursuit of global peace has been the compelling and continuing mission of the Socialist Union of Britain. To cultivate friendly relationships with nations likewise dedicated to the emancipation of those enslaved peoples and continue to progress toward the prosperity of mankind has always been the foundation of our foreign policy. 

Wherefore the government of Michael Collins has engaged and continues to engage in an economic and political system within the Republic of Ireland that deprives the Irish Worker of the fruits of his labor and depends upon his continued shackling to the dictates of Capital in violation of the Internationale Declaration of Human Rights. In pursuit of its goals against the working class, the Irish Republican government has illegally prohibited the Irish Worker to establish a political party to advance their interests in violation of the 1925 Irish Constitution’s declaration of freedom of association by banning the Labour Party.

The Socialist Union of Britain, in defense of the Irish Worker, therefore demands the reformation of the Irish government to that of a Regional Provincial Workers Council to be directly administered under the oversight of the Trades Union Congress and in accordance with the laws and principles of the Socialist Union of Britain.”

Yet, instead of an immediate declaration of war, Mosley had elected to send words, much to Collins's surprise. For a moment, the Taioseach wondered why Mosley had even bothered, such was the extent of his demands. Perhaps it was to spare himself a war while the Internationale conserved their fighting strength for other targets, or perhaps it was a compromise asked by France. Maybe Mosley thought that Ireland would surrender and he could one-up Deat who had failed to have his ultimatum obeyed. As he had read the words, Collins had almost torn the paper in anger, and among the ministers he had invited to the closed session, he had seen similar expressions on their faces. They may have disagreed on everything else, but not on this.

“The Republic of Ireland will not submit to the colonial dictates of Oswald Mosley. We consider these demands completely illegitimate and a violation of the sovereignty of the independent Republic of Ireland and the government recognized by the Irish people. The Irish Republic is a free and independent nation, and shall not surrender to the British yoke that has for centuries defined the history of Ireland with cruelty and deprivation. We demand the unequivocal cessation of all hostilities against the Republic of Ireland, the immediate removal of British ships from Irish territorial waters, and the abrogation of all demands and claims against the island of Ireland. We also call on the Third Internationale to condemn such a demand and reconsider their relationship with an aggressive nation dedicated to a mission of subjugation.”

Collins was sure that would get Mosley’s anger up. His support of the Anti-Colonialist movement could not abide a direct challenge by naming him the colonist that his government had spoken so long about overthrowing. The Union fixated upon proving that they were not the old British Empire, that they were a modern, just triumph over backward authoritarianism. Questioning the Union’s place in the Internationale was sure to cause some stir as well. South America had long spoken against European colonialism, and Chile had considered itself a bastion of colonial liberation within the continent. Even though Chile had not joined the Internationale, their success in Latin America and their support of Britain and France’s mission had mattered greatly within left-wing intellectual circles; it was their testament against accusations of colonialism. Robbing Mosley of Chilean support could cause unrest at home and with other syndicalist nations like Burma, and perhaps end his expansionist ambitions on Ireland.

Collins was only half-right. None of the major syndicalist nations saw fit to criticize Mosley, neither Chile, nor Burma, nor France, nor the Socialist Republic of Italy in Torino had seen fit to condemn Mosley’s action, nor was any independent comment from the Third Syndicalist Internationale forthcoming, at least not any that Collins had seen or heard. What was true is that Mosley was furious. He had read the Irish response out loud in the Trade Union Congress, and had immediately moved for a declaration of war. It had not been a request, not that any would oppose him after his centralizing purges in ‘37 and ‘38, but the British people were fired up. The declaration of war had been delivered, and almost immediately, planes began flying overhead, and the air raid sirens gave their low bleak wail. For a moment, Collins was certain that he could hear them as a banshee’s wail, and wondered whose death warrant he had just signed.

---

28 March 1939 - Command Bunker, Dublin, Ireland

It had been months since the declaration of war, and bombing missions had been flown against Ireland daily. The anti-aircraft guns and radar stations did their part, but the Union still commanded the skies. They had prioritized strategic bombing, hitting factories, port facilities, and coastal fortresses, but any target would do in a pinch. Each day, Collins made sure to hear the casualty counts, and each day he would address the nation by radio, encouraging them to continue to fight on. Every man, woman, and child had been doing their part. The Union had done a good job choking the imports of steel in an attempt to starve the Irish industrial machine. Air raid shelters had been a regular part of construction during the massive push for industrialization, and for that Collins had been grateful for what foresight he had. Even one life saved was worth it, but thousands had been spared being killed or maimed in a night raid or building collapse. That was small comfort, because fewer people dying still meant people were dying on his watch, soldiers and civilians alike.

G2 had conducted countless missions against the Union. Infiltrating the Army and Marine Corps were a top priority, any landing or invasion plans were a high priority for their agents. It had been a difficult endeavor, but Nancy Stewart, a Union turncoat who had lost her family members in Mosley’s purges and had been recruited to G2 as a local asset, had outdone herself. She had spoken to an overworked member of base security, stolen his keys and identification card, and had snuck it to her colleagues after drugging the man’s gin and dragging him home posing as his girlfriend. From there, Nancy and Rachael O’Brien, who had been recruited from the Cumann na mBan as part of Collins’s efforts to recruit sabotage experts for the Irish intelligence services, had been able to copy the plans all night before sneaking out the next morning, returning everything that they had left before their victim recovered from his night. The plans had been scheduled for late June, to land in the Clew Bay and Killary Harbor, on the west of Ireland.

Surprise was the Union’s primary goal, the territory in that region was a difficult landing, but if the Union soldiers were able to land and fortify, they could use the terrain to repulse an attack, perhaps even establish a breakout while forces had to cross the River Shannon and potentially seize Irish fortifications. The Republican Army was not concentrated in County Mayo, the likely destination would be on the east coast and it was there that they fortified with machine guns and artillery. The Union elected to launch from Cornwall, with a diversionary operation from Liverpool and the Isle of Man. Admiral O’Muiris elected to keep a defensive posture in a double-bluff; he didn’t want to risk any of his few ships on pursuing the Republican feint but kept his ships close to make it seem that he had not known about the Galway-Mayo landings. He didn’t like it, but if they could push back the attack, it might force Mosley to abort his attempt.

Tom Barry had stationed his men in Sligo and Galway city, waiting for forward observers to spot the landings on the western coast. The 1st Armored Division and the 2nd ‘Spearhead’ infantry would strike from Galway, while a mobilized force of cavalry Gardai would strike from surprise from the northeast. The 1st Thunderbolts were given the most difficult position, to fight a pre-dawn attack against the northern landing. Once they had attacked and cleared the beaches, they would march south and attack the main landing zone where the beaches were longer and flatter, supporting the most landing forces. Collins had hoped that he could bombard the beaches to oblivion, pinning the British invasion force soon after it had landed, and destroying their landing craft so they could not retreat. 

The landings were commanded by Thomas Wintringham, who had decided to primarily use regular army forces. He had petitioned Mosley for more men, but as that would have compromised the Welsh and Cornwall defensive region, so he was forced to call upon the West Lowlands Home Guard to fill out the invasion. In the middle of the night, the British had attempted to make the landings, but the currents had taken several of the landing craft off course to Galway, where a general alarm had been sounded and the landing craft subject to a heavy barrage. The anti-aircraft turrets weren’t able to be redirected toward the sea, but the river defenses on the Claddagh had utilized static artillery and machine gun pillboxes to create killzones, and the ports within Galway city had been blockaded. 

The mobilized Gardai Síochána and the 1st Thunderbolts moved to their northern position, and Barry began to push with a combined infantry and armor push toward the main landing zones. As it was a night landing, the Republican Air Force was unable to provide air support to its invasion zones. The Thunderbolts had marched all night and shot the Mayo landing forces to pieces as they arrived, keeping in contact with radio and light signals, before turning south to attack the main landing point. The 1st Armored advanced rapidly with light tanks before abruptly turning. Ground forces commanders, thinking that the Irish attack had been aborted because the tanks had outpaced their infantry, had attempted a shock charge to attack the Irish armor when they were out of position. Having advanced quickly, Barry closed the net, attacking with the South Mayo Flying Column and the 2nd Spearhead Division as the light tanks returned to repair the damage they had sustained during the light engagement. The ambush had taken the Union forces completely by surprise, and they were scattered, allowing Tom Maguire to push forward with his native Mayo forces and the Dublin Rifles toward the beach landings.

Continuing his hard push, Barry repeatedly probed the Union lines on the beaches, following up weakpoints with infiltration tactics and strongpoints with a withering suppressive barrage of artillery fire. Admiral Richard Boyle, commanding the U-Boats, attacked as the sun began to give visibility, sinking supply ships and troop transports. As the British Republican Air Force began to fly to support their mission, they had found the beaches to be a disaster area, littered with dead Union soldiers and destroyed Union equipment. The Union soldiers had fought tenaciously, but ultimately could not break out of the beachhead. As the hours stretched on, eventually the divisions surrendered. The first invasion of Ireland had been successfully repulsed.

Collins hadn’t been able to sleep, and paced in his command center the night of the march no matter what he tried. Mulcahy had opted to handle the long wait and let Collins try to get a few hours of sleep on a cot, but neither man believed that such a thing could really happen. When the news had come, Collins had listened to Maguire’s report almost dumbfounded, as if he expected to be woken up at any time. A complete success on all fronts, the British invasion had been foiled, and Irish casualties had been exceptionally low. Killed and wounded, Ireland had suffered just short of 3,000 casualties, roughly evenly split among the divisions in theater. The Union had suffered over 111,000 killed or captured in the failed raid, and what few weren’t captured were isolated and fleeing for their lives in the Irish countryside. It had been an overwhelming victory.

“My God, we certainly gave them a bloody nose.” Mulcahy, just as stunned as Collins himself, nodded approvingly.

“Then let us hope all it takes is a bloody nose.” Collins replied glumly.

---

“To conclude, what I witnessed in my almost-two years of volunteer service within the Second American Civil War was commitment in its best and worst forms. The Federal government, armed forces, and civilians of the United States had acted in devotion to their government and their mission, preserving their country and Constitution. Its reverse was true of its foes, a commitment to the annihilation of those who did not fit within their vision.” -Daniel McKenna, closing remarks, Denver Trials

McKenna didn’t belong here. Mosley had tried to invade his homeland. Every man was needed to fight. It was only a direct order from Michael Collins that had sent him to the United States. “We need foreign support more than we need one more general. The Thunderbolts will be well-led, you have my word. If the truth can come out about what had happened in New York, then we can push for further support. Your actions may help the war effort far more than back here in the homeland.”

McKenna thought the idea was sound, but he wasn’t seeing it pan out. Foreign support wouldn’t be pouring in, what had happened in the United States was already known and rationalized away. It was closure for the Americans, perhaps, but abstract notions of justice being punished hardly mattered when real Irish men and women were dying from British bombs. He had gone because he was a soldier and that meant obeying the orders of his commander-in-chief. McKenna had hoped that he could give a quick testimony and return, but he had been approached by the Irish-American Aid Association to give speeches to raise funds to donate supplies for Ireland. The United States was still recovering, but there were plenty of descendants from the Irish diaspora who were willing to donate food, money, and weapons to the Irish cause. That was something at least, some good had to come from this excursion.

McKenna remained in Denver as the tribunal judges deliberated their verdict. Reporters had hounded him the second he stepped out of his hotel until the second he stepped back in, even preventing him from enjoying any meals, calling them a bunch of cicadas in private. However, he was surprised to meet the reporter that he had met in New York covering the Denver Trials. Ruth Sofer had become a minor celebrity for her coverage of Welfare Island, and had resolved to write about the victims and perpetrators of the Second Civil War. “In my view, anything less would be cowardly, and I’ve been told I have an ironclad heart.“ Over dinner, Sofer interviewed McKenna, not only asking him further about Welfare Island, but telling him what she had learned in interviewing members of the Union State and Combined Syndicates who had been guilty of categorical atrocity, and what could have motivated them to do such a thing. It had sickened McKenna to his stomach, but no battle was too difficult for a soldier, and he obeyed his orders.

McKenna had wanted to return to Ireland quickly, but felt compelled to stay to help Sofer until she had finished her manuscript. Her book, Superfluous People, was a chilling examination of the systems of the two rebel movements within the Second American Civil War, their conceptions of a new transformation of reality in a form of secular millenarianism. Most of the second section of the book detailed the rationalizations regarding those to be left out of the new world, and the philosophies of the movements that originated these rationalizations, and the appeals both real and imagined that gave strength to these movements. The third and final section detailed the jump from theory to practice, exhaustively compiled through interviews of ground-level commanders that oversaw these eliminations in action. Notably, Sofer expounded at length on the Federal government in permitting Jim Crow legislation in the South as the foundation for groups like the Silver Legion.

Once the manuscript had been completed, only then did McKenna, hitching a ride on a supply ship from the Irish-American Aid Association, return home, to take up the command of his Thunderbolts once again.

---

12 June 1939 - Forward Command Post, Carrick-On-Shannon

After the failed invasion of Connacht, Mosley had blamed the militia system of the Trade Union Congress, finding the failure of the invasion to principally be the fault of the militia system’s poor organization. To Mosley, the inability of the Union Army to probably organize into a coherent and effective fighting force prevented them from successfully managing the Irish counter-attack until the greater numbers of the British army could land. Mosley dissolved the militias and established a more formalized military with an established central command structure. Officers could no longer be elected by fellow soldiers, Mosley had instead integrated soldier assent via the promotion board and mandated promotion in part on merit and ability to accomplish objectives. 

Mosley also reached out to the Communards across the Channel. Deat had not supported Mosley’s invasion of Ireland initially, but he was eager to demonstrate the prowess of the Communard Army. He had anticipated Mosley seeking help, but had thought it would have been more for occupation duties, and had planned for landing from Brittany to land in County Cork on the southern side of Ireland in the middle of August. The initial attacks were mere probing attempts, to see the Munster defenses and better analyze how best to invade Ireland. The weather conditions were right on the 15th of August. Unlike the earlier British invasion, the Communard elected on a daylight landing so their airpower could support the ground invasion. The increased visibility meant the Fenian Rams were able to find the French landings, sinking several troop transports and escort vessels and sinking before the destroyers and naval bombers could attack. Despite the navy’s efforts, French forces were also able to land at Baltimore and in a pasture in County Wexford after being shelled by Irish Republican forces in Waterford. The Dublin Rifles and 3rd ‘Black Badgers’ Division attacked in the Battle of the Sheepfold, where the lack of cover led to high casualties on both sides. The Baltimore landings fared little better, the rocky and open ground provided little cover, and the Irish forces were hard-pressed until reinforcements were trucked in from Limerick. 

The landings had similarly failed, though Deat had committed few forces and his troops were far more successful than Mosley’s initial foray. Deat had demanded that Wintringham coordinate with the Communard army for a joint invasion of Connacht. Collins had been able to repulse the Communard landings because his forces, not pressured on multiple fronts, had been able to relieve each other. Overwhelming numerical force would be able to do what smaller forces could not. As Ireland was considered Union territory and the Commune required most of its divisions along the border with the Kaiserreich, the Union would supply most of the manpower for the invasion, although the supreme commander would be from the Communard Army. Union and Communard planes and ships would combine for the endeavor, to support landings from County Claire to Sligo. 

The larger invasion force did succeed in its goals. Mosley’s centralization efforts had restructured the militias into an effective and organized fighting force. By standardizing equipment and radio procedures, the Union had been able to break through at Clew Bay, getting off the exposed beach. The Donnelly Division had been scattered, and the French were able to land in County Mayo and attack Sligo after a ferocious onslaught of terror bombing. The initial objectives only sought to reach the River Shannon, as the fortifications made crossing the river a daunting task. The Union took Galway after three days of fighting, Irish Republicans had retreated to the forests and hills outside of the urban centers. After five days, almost the entire province of Connacht was under Communard control. In Sligo and Galway, the Irish tricolor was lowered from the city halls and replaced with the hammer and torch of the Union of Britain, and the Internationale was sung. 

The Internationale also executed Irish Republican prisoners. A captain of the 1st Thunderbolts was singled out as a particularly grave offender, accused of having committed war crimes against Union volunteers in Philadelphia during the Second American Civil War. During his impromptu tribunal hearing, he loudly denied the charges against him, demanded hard evidence be presented instead of “self-serving lies from a nation of cowards,” and accused the Internationale of being mass murderers, imperialists, and “the bootlicking spawn of Oliver Cromwell,” disrupting the impromptu tribunal to the point where it was impossible to convene any proper hearing. During the occupation of Connacht, hundreds of civilians were executed. Some were executed for supporting Irish Republican partisan activity or giving supplies to holdout forces, some were members of the Catholic clergy, some others for not turning over foodstuffs to the Internationale army, and yet others were executed after being identified as business owners or landlords by native Irish socialists. The accused were given drumhead trials, their property seized, and hanged from lamposts.

When the news out of Connacht reached Collins, he ordered an effort to retake the lost province. That night, Richard Mulcahy, Hugo MacNeill, and Tom Barry outlined their combined plan to surround and eliminate the invaders, called Operation Execution Ground. A night march along the Atlantic Way from Derry to Sligo led by Barry and Maguire, a march north along the River Shannon toward Sligo for Dublin forces, and the main force pushing up toward Galway from their previous positions in Munster led by MacNeill. The Thunderbolts and Black Badgers, the elite infantry units of the Irish Republican Army, would bloody the Commune in Sligo, while the 2nd Spearheads would seize and destroy stockpiles and command posts that led from Sligo to the Mayo landing points, preventing resupply. Police volunteers from the Gardai offered to help encircle the Communards while the Union forces faced the main infantry force southeast of Galway. It left Belfast and Dublin critically exposed, only their naval minefields and garrison forces would protect them.

Cathal Brugha, already getting old, volunteered to lead any home guard for Dublin. Unafraid of any invasion, he insisted that regulars and volunteers support the Irish Republican Army. With a pistol in hand, he gave a stirring speech, that he would defend the Four Courts by himself if it meant that the interlopers were driven from Irish soil. Collins and Brugha took a photo of themselves, pistols in hand, standing on the steps of the Dail, saying that all Irish citizens young and old can do their part for the fight. 

Liam Lynch commanded the infantry coming from the south. When he had seen the bodies in Galway, he told the troops under his command that they were not obligated to “be kind to those who have shown us their cruelty.” Both in Sligo and Galway, the Irish Republican Army ordered heavy shellings on enemy positions followed by aggressive charges. The cavalry forces and the Spearheads moved along the shore, attacking supply lines and cutting off avenues of retreat. To complete the encirclement, the Thunderbolts moved to the west, hoping to break the Communard forces first so that they would flee east into hostile territory rather than west toward the Union.

A G2 agent, masquerading as a sympathetic Irish turncoat, made contact with the Communard forces in their forward positions by the River Shannon. Carrying mock orders, G2 successfully tricked the Communard forces into believing that the Irish had seized radio equipment and were attempting to trick them into thinking that they were attacking their landing sites in an attempt to move them out of their defensive positions and ambush them. The Communards didn’t leave for several hours until communications were severed entirely, exposing the ruse. The extra time proved invaluable to the Irish Republican Army, who were able to complete their encirclement before ordering an attack from all sides. Without radio communications, and surrounded on all sides, the Communard forces were shot to pieces. Only the units hunting the partisans to the west were able to successfully rendezvous with Union forces, the rest, after a ferocious battle, surrendered en masse.

The Union forces opted to abandon Galway early, and establish a strong position near their landing zones with Communard forces that had been ambushed in the forests to the west of Sligo. Lynch continued to push aggressively with his infantry, issuing Pervetin rations to the infantry under his command to sustain the attack. As Lynch turned to support the French encirclement, the Union returned to attack the city, revealing their earlier retreat as a ruse to attack while the Irish before their armies could get into position. The Donnelly Division, who had tried to hold Galway, were almost completely destroyed as a fighting unit, losing almost half of their fighting force. A relief effort from the Spearheads was the only thing to save Galway from being overrun. 

Only after the Communard Army was defeated did the army regroup and push toward Clew Bay. In the same position that the previous invasion failed, the Union and Communard forces fought a desperate defense. Eventually, the Internationale’s forces were ground down as they began to run out of ammunition and wounds began to take their toll. The news of the murdered civilians and POW’s had enraged the Irish Republican Army, and the Internationale’s landing zone was subject to intense bombardment that, in the words of one private: “seemed to be the devil’s own hand reaching out with one fell swoop to wreak his evil upon the world.” With little in the way of functional radio equipment, surrender was only possible at night when a desperate signals operator flashed Morse code using a spotlight to communicate surrender. 

The aftermath of the invasion of Connacht was tragic. Prisoners were marched in chains to prisons in the center of the country, and many officers and enlisted both were sent to firing squads if they were found to have had a hand in executing Irish civilians or in stealing food from non-combatants. Confessions were broadcast around the world about what had happened in Connacht, with the Internationale virulently denying the charges, accusing the Irish of fabricating war crimes to inflame public support and justify their unjust executions of prisoners of war. Collins had barely heard the figures - eight thousand Irish soldiers had been killed or wounded, while the enemy had suffered 179,000. Most of them had been Union soldiers, about 115,000, while France had taken around 75,000. The numbers were one thing, but his people were executed by a foreign power on Irish soil. It was the subjugation of Ireland all over again. Even if they had taken back their territory, how much more would it cost? The Internationale had six times the industrial capacity and fielded far more men. Even now, there had been no indication that Deat would abandon the fight or Mosley call for a truce. Perhaps they would drown Ireland in blood, if they couldn’t have it for themselves.

---

30 June 1939 - Special Joint Session of Congress, Washington D.C., United States of America

“If you will not fight for the Irish, help the Irish fight.” -Eamon “Dev” de Valera

If there was one good thing to come out of the failed invasion of Ireland, it’s that the world finally seemed to wake up to Ireland’s plight. Eamon de Valera had gone to the United States to lobby for more support, and he had been received warmly by President Garner. Warm regards, however, hadn’t translated to what Dev had actually sought, a threat from the United States to back down or face war. The Gallup polls had been encouraging: 47 percent of Americans favored unqualified economic and materiel support to include shipments of food and oil to Ireland, which went up to 57 percent when the responses included “provided it does not enter us into the war.” Most opposition had come from the thought that America still required all of its strength to rebuild, but estimates had been heartening, support for Ireland wouldn’t threaten American recovery, or so the economic analysts had said. There had been much pain suffered by the United States, but it was on the road to recovery. Major Longist guerrilla networks that were uncovered in the Lousiana bayous had been broken up, and the last remnants of the socialist resistance had been killed or arrested among the factory wreckage of Chicago’s industrial district. It was heartening to see America recovering so quickly. 

Food and medical supplies, unarmed and flagged as humanitarian aid vessels, had already sailed to Ireland mostly without problems. The Union Navy demanded the right to search the ships, but Collins had threatened that if humanitarian food aid to Ireland was cut, the first people to starve would be the prisoners taken during the failed invasion. Dev had hoped to acquire more significant war support than mere food aid. Even basic equipment was starting to run bare in the depots, and bombing raids had started to take their toll on the factories. America had the industrial capacity needed to supply the Irish war effort, if it could only turn on the taps, an endless river of artillery, planes, and ships could flood the Irish Republican Army with everything it needed to fight the war.

Harry Hopkins had drawn up a bill with considerable bipartisan support, one that he hoped could both provide vital jobs for a recovering America as well as helping Ireland. Ireland could receive oil and war materiel on credit, to be returned when the war was concluded unless “the return of the equipment is made impossible due to use or damage.” Dev had asked Hopkins just how anyone was expected to return spent ammunition or artillery shells after they had been fired, answered with a simple chuckle. 

Dev gave a rousing speech in the halls of the US Congress, and had specifically asked for the German and Canadian ambassadors to be invited to the session as well so that he might be able to address the Entente and the Reichspakt together. The pictures of what had happened in Connacht had risen the ire of many Americans, and shouts of “Remember Welfare Island” had frequently been shouted at pro-Ireland rallies.

“We are a small nation, and in our young history as an independent republic we have never once acted with aggression toward another nation, whether stronger or weaker. In our history we have been the victims of aggression, not its perpetrator. We have now come to yet another chapter in the long history of struggle, a new foe empowered by an industrial war that far surpasses the Weltkrieg. We have stood strong, taken with calm courage and confidence in our people, that our nation will endure. We know full well that we cannot demand any other to stand beside us, or ask that their fathers, husbands, or sons do so in their stead. We ask only that you remember Ireland, a land who with tearful hearts had her sons and daughters leave her fleeing the horrors of famine and destitution, and who welcomed many of America’s sons and daughters fleeing the horrors of war and deprivation. We ask that you remember a land with blue rivers choked with blood and oil and green fields burnt and stained red. We ask you, America, such a vast and mighty nation, to remember a nation that could be swallowed by most of your own constituent states. We ask that you remember the injustice being wrought upon her, and we ask that you remember the words of your Benjamin Franklin, about how a great nation may be reduced to a lesser one. We know firsthand how difficult the path of justice is, but acting justly has its reward.”

Transcripts of the speech, personally written by de Valera, were delivered to the Canadian and German ambassadors, with slight modifications. Instead of referencing Benjamin Franklin, Dev had referenced British and German liberal thinkers. The Canadian speech had omitted about how Ireland had a long history of oppression, instead focusing upon Union aggression wishing to expel people from their homeland. These speeches were eventually collected together, with the German Foreign Minister secretly praising de Valera for the craft of tailoring his message to his audience. The response had been beyond what de Valera had hoped. In Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm had declared the German Empire recognized the plight of Ireland, and had promised shipments of materiel protected by the Kaiserliche Merchant Marine. In Canada, the Tories were emboldened, accusing the sitting Prime Minister MacKenzie King of not doing enough to support the effort to reclaim the Home Isles, and that Ireland was fighting the Union just as the Entente had been fighting against the Totalists in the Bharatiya Commune in India. With overwhelming support, the Canadian Parliament authorized shipments of weapons to Ireland, emboldening the hawks in the Entente to push for Reclamation Day. Argentina, preparing for its own war with Chile, had independently recognized Ireland’s plight, and offered several large field guns every month to help keep the Irish in the war effort. 

The shipments were invaluable, and protected by convoy systems, most of the promised aid had landed in Cork and Galway. A reporter was on hand and took a picture of marching Irish soldiers wearing the German stahlhelm and carrying the Lee-Enfield rifle. The quartermasters had difficulty initially in supplying troops in the field, as German and Canadian rifles used different calibers and parts were often not interchangeable. Eventually, units were marked as “Grey” or “Blue” by the nationality of the loaned equipment. Speaking for the cameras, Collins was in high spirits, stating: “This is the turning point in this war. The Internationale knows that it has not cowed us. While we seek a just peace and an end to hostilities, we are capable of fighting this war forever, and this commitment proves it. Neither the Reichspakt nor the Entente would provide supplies to a nation that was doomed; they would not extend credit to a nation whose defeat was inevitable. We are committed as ever before, because we know that we have already won this war.”

Privately, Collins was less enthusiastic, but he had to keep the faith. Every soldier was doing so, and Collins could do nothing less, because he was still a soldier through and through.

---

17 August 1939 - G2 Headquarters, Dublin, Ireland

The new supplies were put to use almost immediately, as the Union had attempted a quick invasion at Leinster before the Irish Republican Army could field an effective response. Army engineers had not been idle, the An Balla program had established an extensive array of coastal fortresses facing the Irish Sea. Fielding only 10 divisions, the Union attack only achieved anysuccess at the earlier French landing sites in Wexford, but an aggressive counter-attack by Richard Mulcahy had achieved great results. As much as Collins didn’t like it, ceding the landing grounds to the invaders and then attacking them after they had landed was far more productive than attempting to engage them at sea. Poorly supplied and out of place, they could be driven back to the sea, and the landing crafts weren’t able to pick many back up, if at all. The casualty counts had to be discouraging for the Internationale. 2RN had made sure to broadcast the figures of killed and captured every day toward the Union, to help spread fear and discouragement among the Union’s public. They didn’t have the strength to attack the Union directly, if they were going to win they had to make the cost unbearable, and prayed that the enemy called it quits first.

G2 had launched their most audacious campaign yet in an attempt to deter the Internationale’s invasion of Ireland given the new shipments. The new Argentinian cannons had included several decoy pieces meant to be installed on mock forts to draw fire away from real artillery pieces; a technique that was invaluable in their conflict with Chile to cause the enemy to expose their position for no gain. G2 had opted to go further, and opted to make an entire phantom army. The radio office had highlighted that the expanded conscription laws, increased volunteerism in support for the war effort, and new shipments of equipment from the Great Powers had finally allowed Ireland to double the size of their armies. Dan McKenna, freshly returned from the United States, would lead this new army with the 1st Thunderbolts at its head. Taking advantage of young, patriotic artists, G2 designed inflatable tanks and prop equipment to be used for staged photo ops. To properly seed the information, G2 designed the ‘public’ news to be disseminated through the public radio waves in Ireland itself and friendly countries, including a few foreign divisions signing on for adventure and the chance to fight syndicalism. Ireland couldn’t directly claim to receive foreign volunteers, that would undoubtedly run afoul of their foreign partners, but “expatriates” would be invaluable, drawing on the formation of the United States Refugee Brigades during the Second Civil War. G2 had expertly designed one division of British emigres in Ireland electing to “fight the syndicalist menace that the crown itself would not” called the Blue Lions, and a division of German emigres called the Iron Wolves whose goal was to secure “a peaceful future for the Irish Republic and the German Empire both.” McKenna had drawn upon his experience with the Volunteer Brigades to help design the false brigades, combined with the intelligence division’s Army Department to establish a formalized command structure complete with unit patches, fake pay records, and even a speech given to the new army by McKenna himself.

To make sure that the Union got it, Ireland elected to release a few wounded POW’s back to the Union after ensuring that they had overheard the information while they were in convalescence. Not sure of how much each man could remember, G2 had made sure to release multiple POW’s. Collins himself had made the offer, suggesting that as a humanitarian gesture, certain prisoners who were well enough to be moved could be released in order to free up hospital beds for other wounded individuals. Collins had instructed his negotiators to push for a payment in gold, but to back down if pressed. Mosley had thought he had secured a win, but Collins was the man with the last laugh. The news of the new Irish army, primarily stationed in Leinster, gave Mosley reason to pause, and instead he focused his attention upon County Kerry, hoping to secure Munster and establish a secure foundation to offload more Internationale troops with a short naval trip after a successful invasion.

The trap had worked perfectly. Collins had ordered general evacuations to ensure civilians would be able to flee, and had ordered the armies to wait until the enemy had landed in order to attack. On the day of the attack, Collins had ordered the An tAerchór to fly and contest the skies from the Internationale with the new delivery of fighters and close air support aircraft from the United States. The Irish pilots were not well-trained, but had been drilled extensively on formation flying for air superiority missions. The surprising attack blindsided the Republican Air Force, who had grown lax in their patrols due to their dominance over the skies since the beginning of the early war. Now with the aircraft to match the Communard and Republican Air Forces, the Irish were able to wrest control of the airspace over the Irish island and attack enemy bombers. Casualties were highest among the Air Force, many of whom were outmatched by the more experienced enemy pilots, but the surprising victory and establishment of further control had further enraged the Commune of France, who elected not to pursue “any Irish ventures” further. They had returned to focus on their Alpine Warfare program, and reinforce their borders with Germany and Spain, recalling their forces from the British Isles and reminding Mosley of the greater mission against the Reichspakt. Half a million casualties in a short campaign, multiple failed invasions only useful for teaching lessons on how to repulse the Entente when the French had elected to cross the Mediterranean; a true waste in every sense of the word. While the war was not ended, the Internationale had decided on other priorities. With Ireland in control of her skies and her territorial waters, they had held on, and they had won.

---

23 September 1939 - Áras an Uachtaráin, Dublin, ireland

According to the poets, autumn was the time of loss, from the possibilities of summer into the chill of winter. The poets had not seen fit to think of Ireland in that summer of 1939, where the possibilities of summer were to be bombed by a Syndie plane or executed for failing to turn over their food and valuables to an invader. Yet Ireland’s salvation was no balm, an end to war. On the 9th of September, Deat’s Communard government demanded the return of Elsaß-Lothringen, calling it Alsace-Lorraine, and flew over German airspace to drop leaflets in both French and German detailing their grievances. The Kaiser had refused the audacious demand, claiming that the territory had been German territory for over fifty years. The next day, the Commune of France had declared war on the Kaiserreich, with the Union of Britain joining. The Socialist Republic of Italy, already in a border war with the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, joined the Internationale, and King Ferdinando II responded by joining the Reichspakt. On the 10th of September, Savinkov, declaring the necessity to liberate the Russian people from German subjugation and second-class citizen status, declared war on White Ruthenia, the Baltic Duchy, the Polish-Lithuianian Commonwealth, and Germany itself. On the 15th of September, the Entente declared war on the Union of Britain, the Commune of France, and the Socialist Republic of Italy, citing the illegitimate nature of the governments there, and prepared their invasions. Finally, on the 20th of September, the Empire of Japan, citing pan-Asian ideals and the need to liberate the Far East from Western Dominance, declared war on German Indochina in addition to their ongoing wars in China.

Ireland was no longer the focal point on the world stage, but the rest of the world would feel the fires of war that the Irish had borne, and the fires would burn hotter and brighter than any the world had ever seen. Collins wondered who had been listening to his wish

---

Diplomatic Moves in Ireland

Show of Force

Ireland Abandoned

Britain Demands Annexation

Mosley Declares War

Infiltrating the Army

Come Weal or Woe!

Ambush in Connacht

Casualties - First Invasion

French Landings in Southern Ireland

Casualties - Second Invasion

French Forces Encircled in Connacht

Casualties - Third Invasion

Irish Soldiers with Canadian Rifles and German Helmets

G2 Invents a Fake Army

Casualties - Final Count of the Irish War

Alsace Ultamatum

Alright then, 1939 is down. It’s the longest chapter so far, with the Second Weltkrieg having begun, all the Great Powers (except the US) at war. It’s a more successful tale of Czechoslovakia in 1938 combined with some Battle of Britain and some Operation Fortitude. Let me know what you think

[dark-and-twisty-01]

Allen, Louis - murder victim (1964)

A native of Amite County, Mississippi, born in 1922, Louis Allen dropped out of school in the seventh grade to become a logger and part-time farmer. Drafted by the U.S Army in January 1943, he served 19 months in uniform, including combat duty in New Guinea. Upon discharge from service, he returned to his wife and two young children, the beginning of a family that soon increased to six. Although a proud African American, Allen had no part in the civil rights movement that challenged Mississippi's pervasive system of racial segregation in 1961. He would become a martyr to that movement by coincidence, strictly against his will.

One who joined the Amite County movement willingly was 50 year old Herbert Lee, a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and participant in the 1961 voter-registration drive by Robert Moses of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Blacks who sought to vote in Amite County faced intimidation and worse, from racist vigilantes and from Sheriff E.L. Caston Jr., whose deputies raided NAACP meetings and confiscated membership lists. A neighbour of Lee's farmer E.W. Steptoe, led the local NAACP chapter and complained to the U.S. Department of Justice about Caston's harassment. On September 24, 1961, Justice attorney John Doar visited Amite County with Robert Moses, interviewing Steptoe and requesting names of any other blacks who had suffered harassment. Herbert Lee's name was first on the list, but Doar missed him that afternoon, as Lee was called away from home on business. There would never be another chance for them to meet. Early on September 25, the day after Doar returned to Washington, Lee drove a truckload of cotton to the gin near Liberty, Mississippi. Behind him, as he pulled into the parking lot, was another vehicle occupied by state legislator E.H. Hurst and his son in law, Billy Caston. An argument ensued between Hurst and Lee and climaxed when Hurst drew a pistol and shot Lee once in the head, killing him instantly. Robert Moses later described the event and its aftermath to journalist Howard Zinn. 

Lee's body lay on the ground that morning for two hours, uncovered, until they finally got a funeral home in McComb to take it in. Nobody in Liberty would touch it. They had a coroner's jury that very same afternoon. Hurst was acquitted. He never spent a moment in jail...I remember reading very bitterly in the papers the next morning, a little item on the front page of the McComb Enterprise-Journal said that a Negro had been shot as he was trying to attack E.H. Hurst. And that was it. Might have thought he'd been a bum. There was no mention that Lee was a farmer, that he had a family, nine kids, beautiful kids, and that he had farmed all his life in Amite County. 

One witness to the shooting was Louis Allen, who arrived at the cotton gin moments before Lee was killed. He watched Lee die, then saw a second white man lead E.H. Hurst to a nearby vehicle, whereupon they departed from the scene. Allen retreated to a nearby garage, where one of Liberty's white residents located him and walked him back to the cotton gin. En route to the crime scene, Allen's escort told him, 'They found a tire iron in that nigger's hand. They found a piece of iron, you hear?' 

Allen knew better, but he had a wife and four children to consider. Within the hour, he found himself at the county courthouse, where a coroner's hearing had been hastily convened. White men armed with pistols packed the hearing room, glaring at Allen as he took the witness stand and lied under oath, confirming the tale that Herbert Allen had been armed, assaulting E.H. Hurst when he was shot. The jury wasted no time in returning the verdict of 'justifiable homicide.' Hurst subsequently told the New York Times that he had quarrelled with Lee over $500 debt, which Lee refused to pay. When Lee attacked him with the tire iron.' Instead, he had struck Lee with the trigger unconsciously.' Hurst denied Lee's civil rights activity, dubbing his victim ' a smart nigger' who normally avoided conflict with whites. Guilt-ridden by his false testimony, Allen confessed the lie to his wife and to Robert Moses. Elizabeth Allen described the conversation in a 1964 affidavit, as follows:

The day Herbert Lee was killed, Louis came home and said that they wanted him to testify that Herbert Lee had a piece of iron. He said that Herbert Lee didn't have no iron. But he said for his family and for his life he had to tell that he had an iron. Louis told me that he didn't want to tell no story about the dead, because he couldn't ask them for forgiveness. They had two courts about Herbert Lee's killing. When they had the second court, Louis did not want to testify. He said he didn't want to testify no more that a man ad a piece of iron when he didn't have it, but he said he didn't have no choice, he was there and he had to go to court. He said he told the FBI the truth, that Herbert Lee didn't have a piece of iron when he was shot

The 'second court' was a state grand jury hearing, convened in Amite County a month after Lee was shot. Allen approached Robert Moses, reporting that he had told his story to FBI agents, suggesting that he could get protection with the Justice Department he would testify truthfully and 'let the hide go with the hair.' Moses then telephoned Washington, and heard from Justice that 'there was no way possible to provide protection for a witness at such a hearing' )In fact, such protection is routinely offered to witnesses in organised crime cases and similar matters.)  Allen went on to repeat his false story before the grand jury, which returned no indictments. 

Things went from bad to worse for Allen after that, as Amite County whites apparently learned of his abortive effort to tell the truth. Strangers visited Allen's home and accosted his children, threatening his life. In June 1962 Allen was arrested on trumped up charges of 'interfering with the law'; he spent three weeks in jail, and was threatened with lynching, and suffered a broken jaw after one of Sheriff Caston's deputies struck him with a flashlight. White customers stopped buying logs from Allen, and local merchants cut off his credit at various stores. Only his ailing mother kept Allen from leaving Amite County, but her death in late 1963 freed him at last. Eagerly, Allen made plans to leave Mississippi for Milwaukee, where his brother lived.

Unfortunately, he had already waited too long. On January 1st, 1964, one of Allen's white creditors stopped at the house to collect a bill payment. While Allen counted out the money, his visitor pointed to Allen's three year old daughter playing nearby, and remarked, 'It would be mighty bad if she turned up burnt, wouldn't it? She's an innocent baby, but she could get burnt up just like that. I could tell you more, but I'm not. If I was you I would get my rags together in a bundle and leave here.'

Resolved to do exactly that, on January 31, 1964, Allen sought work references from some of his former clients. The first, Melvin Blalock, declined to provide a letter, concerned that he 'might be helping a communist.' Another, Lloyd King, later recalled speaking to Allen around 8:10 pm. Two cars were seen trailing Allen's pickup when he left King's farm, driving home. At the foot of his long driveway, Allen left his truck to open the gate, then apparently threw himself under the vehicle. The move failed to save him, as two shotgun blasts ripped into his face. Son Henry Allen found his father's body hours later, when he returned from a dance.

No suspects in Louis Allen's murder were never identified, but Robert Moses placed partial blame for the slaying on the FBI's doorstep. Moses and other activists believed that G-men routinely leaked the contents of confidential statements to local police in civil rights cases, thus leaving witnesses vulnerable to attack by racist authorities or the vigilante Ku Klux Klan. The segregationist McComb Enterprise-Journal theory in its description of the murder, noting that 'Strictly non-documented rumours have been current that Allen may have become a 'tip-off man' for the integration-minded Justice Department. Similarly, of the spearheads of a reported complaint that 'economic pressure' being applied against some Amite County Negroes.'

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Illegal Aliens joining the Moonies in San Francisco

The Pittsburg Press   December 20, 1982

By Katherine Ellison

On a recent autumn evening, in a spacious living room in San Francisco, a former South Vietnamese army commander, four former Cuban and Nicaraguan businessmen and one former Salvadoran soldier munched on cheddar cheese and crackers and listened to a handsome young man in prep-school clothes encourage them to: “Be like a fisherman; just be patient.”

“Cast your lines,” said the young man, Mike Cardone. “It hasn’t happened yet, but when it does, we’ll be ready.”

Smiling down on the group from a shelf above the fireplace was a photograph of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the leader of the South Korean-based Unification Church.

And in the darkness outside, federal immigration agents were recording license plate numbers from cars parked near the house.

The discussions at that evening’s meeting did not directly involve Moon or his controversial church.

But the meeting – organized by a Moon-affiliated group – underscored the church’s keen interest and increasing participation in right-wing politics.

That interest has drawn the attention of San Francisco immigration investigators, who fear Moon’s followers, known as “Moonies,” are using political causes to entice illegal aliens into their church.

It has also raised the curiosity of San Francisco police, who are concerned that political meetings and rallies sponsored by Moon-affiliated groups might erupt in violence.

“They believe they can setup a world government,” said officer Sandy Gallant, a San Francisco police investigator specializing in cult group activities. “That’s where we’ve really got to take a hard look at what they’re doing.”

The evening meeting in San Francisco last month was sponsored by the Coalition for a Free World, formed nearly a year ago. The group counts among its San Francisco Bay area members emigré Nicaraguans, Cubans, Poles, Ukrainians, Vietnamese, Salvadorans and Afghanis as well as Eldridge Cleaver, a former Black Panther turned “born-again” patriot and Unification Church supporter.

The coalition was organized by CARP, the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles. Dan Fefferman, CARP’s national president in New York, describes the group – founded 28 years ago in South Korea – as “a Reverend Moon organization, but not a Unification Church organization.”

“CARP is legally separate from the church, and primarily educational.” Fefferman said.

Both former Moonies and police, however, contend that CARP is a major recruiting arm of the church.

Local events sponsored by CARP members and, more recently, the coalition, have included twice-monthly political discussions, a May flag-burning ceremony in front of the Soviet Consulate in San Francisco, a march last year to honor visiting then-President José Napoleón Duarte of El Salvador, and a September news conference with militarist Nicaraguan exile José “Chicano” Cardenal.

The march in support of Duarte ended with 11 people injured when marchers clashed with opponents of the Salvadoran regime.

An internal directory for the Coalition for a Free World shows many of its members have become newsmakers in their own right.

One affiliate is the National Unified Front for the Liberation of Vietnam, which has organized rallies and fund-raising activities in several U.S. cities. The front’s leaders claim to have sent men as well as money to aid resistance efforts in Vietnam.

Nguyen Ngan, who said he was a military police officer in Vietnam, is listed as the front’s contact for the coalition in Oakland.

“We join together to fight for freedom, we join with anyone who fights the communists,” he said in broken English when asked about his involvement in the group. Ngan added that he has attended coalition meetings since last May, but knew nothing about the group’s association with Moon.

Cardone, a member of both CARP and the Unification Church, said he has been trying to unite two rival Nicaraguan exile factions in the San Francisco Bay area.

One, represented by Cardenal and with U.S. political headquarters in Miami, includes ex-members of deposed dictator Anastasio Somoza’s national guard, who are currently carrying out raids into Nicaragua from bases in Honduras. That group, the Nicaraguan Democratic Front, reportedly has been receiving clandestine aid in Honduras from the Honduran military and the CIA.

The other group is led by dissident members of the Nicaraguan Sandinista government who have repeatedly refused to deal with Somoza’s ex-followers, the Somocistas.

Describing the intent of the Coalition for a Free World, Cardone said: “We’re trying to create a platform where (the exiles) can express their ideology – we’d like them to have a clear idea of how and why we’re fighting.

“We’re not promoting violence,” he added. “I mean, granted, (Cardenal’s) got an army. But what are his motivations, his ideals? The guy’s coming from somewhere, and we want to help him explain to the American public what his problem is.”

In Washington, spokesmen for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service insist they are not paying special attention to Unification Church activities in this country.

In San Francisco, however, immigration agents have become increasingly interested in – and outspoken about — Moonie activities.

“I foresee the recruitment (into the church) of more Spanish-speaking people,” INS assistant district director Robert Moschorak said when asked about the Coalition for a Free World. He added that he believes recruiters may be using some Spanish-speaking converts to attract others.

The church, Moschorak said, is “absolutely recruiting illegal aliens.”

INS agents in San Francisco say they are studying more than 100 cases of suspected illegal aliens associated with the Unification Church. Many of these are tourists who overstayed their visas after joining the church. Efforts to find them, however, have been hindered, Moschorak said, by Church attempts to “thwart” the INS.

Last March, seven Moonie illegal aliens were arrested in an INS raid in San Francisco. Among them was John Biermans, the former executive secretary to a Canadian Cabinet minister. INS agents say Biermans came to the United States eight years ago on what relatives said was a planned 10-day vacation, but which apparently became an indefinite stay alter he became involved with the church.

Investigators’ concerns about the church have been heightened by evidence of Moon’s broad range of activities around the world, testimony of former Moonies, and the church leader’s own public speeches – primarily his pledge to “conquer and subjugate the world.”

“I don’t think they really can take over the world – but they believe they can – and that’s where they’re scary.” said San Francisco officer Gallant.

Church officials claim about 3 million members, active in 127 nations. Critics, however, say the membership is much smaller. Gallant estimates that worldwide church membership is only 50,000.

However, those scaled-down estimates have not reduced concern about the church’s activities.

For more than a decade, the Unification Church has actively recruited members and raised money in the United States. Church members have stirred controversy with both their techniques and their goals – an alchemy of religion, commerce and politics.

Travelers have complained of being harassed by young flower vendors in airports. Parents have claimed that their children have been brainwashed. A profession of “deprogrammers” has sprung up to coax recruits back to their families.

At the same time, the church has been branching out into a wide range of industries around the world.

Recruits are believed to plow their earnings from selling flowers, toys and pins into Moon’s personal business empire – a multinational network that includes Tong Il Industries, a major South Korean defense contractor producing rifles, anti-aircraft guns and other weapons; Korean pharmaceutical and industrial companies; and, in the United States, a vast number of newspapers, restaurants, bands, fishing companies and cultural foundations.

Moon also bankrolled the $46 million “Inchon,” one of the most expensive films ever made. The U.S. Army in South Korea assisted in production and rental of military equipment, Army spokesman Donald Baruch said. But after officials discovered Moon’s name was to be featured prominently in the credits, the Army insisted that reference to the help be deleted – to avoid “embarrassment” Baruch said.

“The public does not have a clear understanding of the covert activities going on,” said Steve Hassan, a former church official and now president of Ex-Moon Inc., an association of dissident former members.

Within the United States, Hassan said, Moonies use groups such as the San Francisco coalition both to recruit new members and to help the church infiltrate communities around the world.

CARP president Fefferman said coalition rallies and meetings in the San Francisco Bay area tie in with CARP’s aims to expand into Africa and South America in this decade.

At the same time, the church has been expanding its commercial presence in Latin America. Last year, the Moonies invested $65 million in a five-star hotel and gambling casino in Montevideo, Uruguay. They also established a new Moonie newspaper and an anti-communist civic group in the Uruguayan capital.

▲ The tall extension building behind the hotel contains the casino.

_______________________________________________

Suicide of Japanese ‘Moon money mule’ in Uruguay. She was the mother of three children

Sun Myung Moon organization activities in Central & South America

1. Introduction 2. ‘Illegal Aliens Joining Moonies’ – The Pittsburg Press 3. Moon’s ‘Cause’ Takes Aim At Communism in the Americas – Washington Post 4. Moon in Latin America: Building the Bases of a World Organisation – Guardian 5. Guatemala 6. Nicaragua 7. Honduras 8. Costa Rica 9. Bolivia 10. Uruguay 11. Paraguay 12. Brazil

Atrocities in Nicaragua: In 1981 the Moonies sponsored a news conference for Contra chief “Chicano” Cardenal

Robert Parry’s investigations into Sun Myung Moon

Sun Myung Moon: The Emperor of the Universe, transcript and links

[21stcenturyhope]

BTS Imagine // Royalty!AU with Jimin

Park Jimin

summary: The kingdom is in shambles and as part of the underground resistance group, your mission is to infiltrate the castle and help dethrone the current king.

genre: slight angst, fluff ending

length: 1.6k words

other members:  Jin | Yoongi | Hoseok | Namjoon | Taehyung | Jungkook

notes: first of all, I’m so sorry for not posting in a while! I feel like this isn’t one of my best works as there were so many more details I had wanted to include but then the story would have probably turned out to be like 10K words. So enjoy the condensed version haha

As you were forced down to your knees on the rough cobblestoned floor, the series of events that had occurred leading up to this very moment flashed before your eyes.

And you wondered if there was anything you could have done differently.

~

A few years ago, you stood by and helplessly watched as the kingdom was plunged into corruption and extreme poverty. It had begun with the sudden and tragic death of the king and queen who were ambushed by bandits on their way home one night. They had left behind a son, barely older than you were. And in his hands, the world fell apart.

You were the eldest daughter of a duke. Despite your noble lineage that traces back many generations, your father was what you considered a forward thinker. He had never had any expectations of you to fulfill society’s gender roles and encouraged your adventurous (if somewhat reckless) nature. Your father had steadfastly refused to get involved with politics, never feeling the need to curry the favour of others.

In the end, he paid the price for it. It was his death at the hands of corrupt government officials that had driven you to join an underground resistance group whose ultimate goal was to overthrow King Jimin from the throne.

Your new membership had allowed the resistance group to set forth a set of plans they weren’t able to before all because of your noble lineage.

With some inside help, you were introduced as the king’s new bride. When enough intel was collected and the timing was right, you would be responsible for helping the resistance group to enter the castle to assassinate the king.

~

When you first met Jimin, you had expected a cold, ruthless man because that was the only type of person who could have allowed the kingdom to fall into such a state of disrepair.

King Jimin’s personal advisor, Lord Kang, was a greasy old man. His leering looks made you uncomfortable and it took all your will power to not smack him across the face. He led you to one of the towers that seemed to be far removed from the rest of the castle’s main activities. Lord Kang left you alone at the door almost immediately after escorting you, leaving you to announce your own arrival.

You gave three brisk knocks on the large wooden surface before you head the sound of a lock unlatching and the door creaked open only slightly ajar. However, nobody from the other side seemed to be opening the door further to greet you so you daringly pushed it open and let yourself in.

The room was luxurious as expected. A young man who you presumed to be King Jimin was seated in an armchair by one of the windows. Despite the small shadows cast upon his face, he was easily the most handsome man you had ever seen. You curtseyed in greeting the way you had been taught but after an extended moment of silence, you looked up only to realize he gave no indication of hearing or even seeing you.

“Your Majesty?” You took slow and soft steps to approach him so as to not startle him. When you got closer, you noticed the constant stream of tears running down his cheeks. If anyone had asked you, you wouldn’t have been able to explain why your heart was suddenly gripped with panic and worry for him.

Before you could help yourself, you found yourself kneeling in front of the king as you slowly wiped the tears from his face. A choked sob escaped from Jimin and you instinctually pulled him into an embrace.

You were wrong. Jimin wasn’t cold or ruthless. Instead, the young man you met today was broken.

~

Your first few interactions with Jimin followed a very similar pattern. You would hold him in your arms as great sobs racked his body. Slowly, it seemed as if your touch soothed him and Jimin began to open up to you. Eventually, enough days passed by where he was no longer crying when you arrived. The two of you began to make conversation with each other and you learned more and more about him.

The first time he smiled at you, you felt the butterflies in your stomach. That was when you knew you could no longer carry out your mission.

You quickly learned that Jimin never left his isolated tower, still too overcome with grief over the death of his parents. His emotional state left him unable to rule and you realized that the governing decisions of the kingdom were being overseen by a group of corrupt advisors led by Lord Kang.

You told all of this to the resistance group leader, Namjoon.

“Are you sure about this, Y/N? You have to be absolutely certain what you’re telling me is the truth. It’ll change our plans entirely.”

“Jimin is innocent, Namjoon. I would put my life on it.”

“Then call Jungkook in here, we’re going to need his help too.”

~

For Jimin, it was a day just like any other. The two of you were entwined together on the loveseat, cherishing each other’s company. Jimin’s head laid peacefully in the crook of your neck as you ran your fingers calmingly through his hair. His eyes were closed, enjoying your touch.

“Jimin, do you trust me?”

“Of course, I do, Y/N. You saved me.” His eyes remained closed and you hated yourself for having to break his state of peace.

“It’s been a long time since you’ve left this tower. Do you know what the kingdom has become?”

Jimin began to frown and opened his eyes to finally meet your gaze.

“Lord Kang has been managing the general affairs for me. He hasn’t reported anything amiss.”

“Jimin, I need you to listen very closely to what I’m about to tell you.”

You told him everything. From the children dying of starvation to the unbelievably high taxes, you informed Jimin about the stricken state the kingdom had fallen into. Namjoon’s informants had found evidence that Lord Kang had even orchestrated the deaths of the former king and queen knowing that it would leave a distraught Jimin in his care to manipulate. You shared all of this with Jimin.

“Y/N… I don’t know what to do. How could I have been so foolish?”

“This isn’t your fault,” you soothed. You refused to let Jimin blame himself in case he reverted back to his prior depressive nature. “There are people who can help you, Jimin, if you agree. We’ll take back the throne and you can right all the wrongs done to your people. But it means you will have to finally leave this tower.”

“Are you one of these people?” You gave Jimin a small smile.

“Of course, I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”

~

Three days later, Namjoon’s revised plan set off seemingly without a hitch.

The resistance group was easily able to enter the castle under Jimin’s authority. It was bold to attack during broad daylight but the plan was to corner Lord Kang and the rest of the corrupt advisors while they were all assembled at the palace courts. Under Namjoon’s guidance, Jimin had secured back the military power of the kingdom first. Backed by the resistance group, an army and you, Jimin had the confidence to face his disloyal subjects.

You watched from the sidelines, pride beaming through your smile as Jimin worked in tandem with Namjoon to present all the evidence against their crimes. But desperate times meant desperate measures. Cornered with no other solution, Lord Kang seized his last opportunity at saving his own life. Unknowingly, the evil scumbag had inched his way close enough that he was able to grab you and hold a dagger to your throat.

“I think that’s enough for today, Your Majesty,” Lord Kang sneered, believing he had the upper hand. He kicked the back of your legs, forcing to you to your knees. “If you want the bitch to live, you’re going to pack a carriage full of gold from the treasury and send me off in one piece.”

An uncanny calmness seemed to take over you despite being held at knifepoint. You could see Namjoon berating himself in his mind for not securing the accused before the criminal proceedings. You could see Jimin’s confidence falter when confronted with the threat of your life.

And even if there was anything you could have done differently… you knew you wouldn’t. Because even if it meant your life, you knew the kingdom would now prosper and that Jimin would become a great ruler. Your only regret would be leaving behind Jimin after falling so deeply in love him. You could only hope that your death wouldn’t completely devastate him for he had lost so much already.

An arrow suddenly shot through the air and struck Lord Kang in the shoulder. The knife clattered as it hit the floor, eliminating any further threat to your life. Soldiers swarmed Lord Kang and his minions to reduce any more possible threatening situations.

Jimin rushed forward to collect you in his arms, concerned eyes scanning over you to ensure there were no injuries.

“Oh, thank God. I thought I was going to lose you too. Are you hurt anywhere, Y/N?” He pressed a light kiss to your forehead. Relief washed over you and you let out a small laugh.

“Don’t thank God, thank Jungkook. He has a superb aim.”

~

And you were right. In the end, Jimin became a revered king among his people as he finally restored the kingdom back to its former glory.

[comingoutinukraine-blog]

On November 16, Ukraine’s Minister for Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Tymofiy Mylovanov gave an exclusive interview to the Kyiv-based Pryamiy TV channel.

Within the first ten minutes of the hour-long discourse, the 44-year old top Ukrainian bureaucrat established his bona fides: he is a divorced Salsa dancer with Ivy League school credentials.

Then things got weird. Mylovanov inexplicably blurted out the first and last name of his American estranged spouse, a Goth, and the city where she currently resides. He added that he has a lover in Kyiv, whose identity he has decided to keep secret. The minister next confessed to smoking pot in grad school and bragged that he is a millionaire with investments in about a dozen American pension funds.

The stigma in Ukraine of non-traditional sexual orientation and recreational drug use provide clues to some of Mylovanov’s unsolicited admissions. The others are best explained by a psychiatrist.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, gay men and women in many republics of the former USSR had to keep their sexual preferences hidden for fear of ruining their careers. To give the appearance of being straight — and often at the insistence of their parents or mentors — homosexuals would sometimes marry a person of the opposite sex in what was known as a ‘lavender marriage.’ Around the turn of the century, the color lavender was often associated with homosexuality, so the term was adopted to mean cover-up marriages arranged to keep up the façade of heterosexuality.

With the possible exception of Mylovanov, it’s okay today for Ukrainian public officials to be gay. At least two of his colleagues in government are helping their country increase public awareness and acceptance of non-traditional sexual orientation. Neither are opposed to smoking dope. Both Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk and State Customs Service head Maksym Nefyodov are openly pro-choice, while 70% of Ukraine’s adult population still aggressively condemns this choice.

This revolutionary development was not lost on Ukraine’s stodgy ex-Transportation Minister Yevheny Chervonenko, who recently observed that Honcharuk and Nefyodov for years had not did skipped a single gay parade in Europe.

“Over the past three years, Mr. Honcharuk and Mr. Nefyodov have not missed a single Pride Parade in Europe. They always flew together,” Chernonenko said.

Already burdened with the colossal task of improving Ukraine’s economy by sacking thousands of corrupt officials, changing laws and providing businesses with new opportunities, Ukraine’s new cabinet have so far not spoken openly about their sexuality and feelings because of peer pressure and social stereotypes. That might change, though.

When Mylovanov was born, gays in Ukraine were prosecuted. They could be sent to prison for proven facts of homosexuality or sent to a psychiatric clinic for treatment. Many thousands of people suffered during this time suffered as a result.

Since then, Ukraine’s laws have been amended. Gay rights activists annually record thousands of cases of employees with nontraditional sexual orientations being harassed or dismissed by company executives, even though these actions violate the country’s new laws.

But the community of people in Ukraine claiming their rights is growing. Every year in on the capital’s main thoroughfare a gay pride march is held. There are also hundreds of smaller events, at which gay pride activists can meet one another and build solidarity. The events help others to share their experiences and mitigate prejudice and discrimination.

But Ukraine is full with active enemies of freedom. Marches under rainbow banners are often disrupted by members of right-wing radical groups and neo-Nazi groups. Public reaction to accusations of support of Ukraine’s gay community and recreational drug abuse remains negative.

Recently, several individuals took a bold step that shamed Ukraine’s homophobes for their closed mindedness and lack of cultural sophistication. Several army veterans of the war with Russia in eastern Ukraine openly declared their sexual orientation. Those who took up arms in Ukraine to defend their country enjoy great respect in society. The step forced many Ukrainians to re-think their attitudes and change their aggressive point of view about alternate lifestyles.

Ukraine’s neo-Nazi groups, however, were not impressed. They are currently attempting to influence Ukrainian society against the freedom of sexual orientation and Ukraine’s top three new officials. In October 2019, Ihor Mosyichuk, a former member of parliament, ultra-radical leader and commander of a neo-Nazi battalion that insulted civilians during fighting in Donbas, accused the prime minister of sexual harassment.

The scandalous post did not have much public resonance because the accusation was unconfirmed. Nevertheless served as a formidable warning that some people are ready at any moment to fight against those who are not afraid to express their sexual proclivities openly.

“It’s very hard for him now, because work is taking all his strength. His convictions enrage radical elements, who constantly threaten violence. We have not been going anywhere together for a long time. We are constantly forced to hide. I just can’t continue to live like that. We are no longer happy together. After his appointment our life has changed a lot,” Honcharuk’s close friend said recently on social media.

“For a long time we did not communicate properly. He used to be such a fun guy. He could always be found in several of our clubs in Kyiv. But then, all these events began to happen. Recently I saw him for a short time. It’s terrible. I can imagine how hard it is for him to endure all this, to hide, realizing that any false step can set people off,” a second companion commented. The remarks were subsequently deleted, perhaps out of fear of retribution.

There is no need to wait for new attacks. The example of Ukrainian war veterans, who declared their preferences openly, forcing society to respect them as they are, should be repeated by others, including Mylovanov.

Honcharuk and Nefyodov, meanwhile, have six months of successful reforms behind them and have earned national notoriety and respect. Their decision to “come out” could trigger a completely new level of tolerance, discourse understanding and openness in Ukrainian society.

In addition to enacting successful reforms, which will rescue the country from poverty, these three public officials can help millions of their compatriots change their views of the world and human sexuality.

Whatever comes from Mylovanov’s public service in Ukraine, one thing is clear: He has already decimated his reputation among American Goths. He’s transformed himself in Ukraine from an unknown economist-cum-minister, jetting between Pittsburg and Kyiv, into little more than a perceived lackey and yes-man for the new government. And it’s not as if he doesn’t recognize what’s happened; as he said in another interview, “I fall in love with people, however it is hard for me to maintain a relationship, because of my difficult temper.”

History of Ukraine’s Gay Pride movement

The Kyiv Pride March organization was founded in 2012. An attempt to hold a Pride March that year was blocked by the authorities. In 2013, Kyiv Mayor Oleksandr Popov called the attempt to hold the event “a mockery of Kyivans.” Gay Pride activists were still able to hold the March away from the city center. Some 500 people took part.

In 2014, city officials also obstructed the LGBTQI community. However, in 2015, the Kyiv Pride march was held nevertheless. Some 250 people took part, including members of parliament and ambassadors from some European countries.

In 2016, 1,000 people took part in the march, and in 2017 — 4,000. In 2018, 6,000 people took part, and in 2019 — 8,000, including 30 Ukrainian soldiers who decided to use the occasion to “come out” publicly. All events were relatively successful, although some radical leaders, including ex-MP Mosyichuk, attempted through the courts to block the marches.

Coming Out in Ukraine has served Ukraine’s gay community since 1999. Paid memberships are available on Kimba and Tinder (passcode: LGBTQI-Kyiv132)

[catholicartistsnyc]

MEET: Brian Faherty

BRIAN FAHERTY is an NYC-based actor, primarily focused on camera acting. (YouTube) CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION (CAC): What brought you to NYC, and where did you come from?

BRIAN FAHERTY (BF): I am originally from the Boston area.  I moved here in 1998.  My rationale was twofold.  At the time, I took on a job with Accenture, fka Andersen Consulting.  But the lure of the acting profession was also part of my decision.

CAC: Do you call yourself a Catholic artist?

BF: I do, and the irony therein is I often play bad guys!  But I'm always seeking to wrestle with why they became what they are, what are the positive traits that may lie within, and how an audience can grow by seeing the bad choices and experiences of that character.

Being a Catholic artist is a vocation, a calling.  But you don't need to hide from your true self amidst the baser elements of the industry.  Ideally, the bulk of your work serves a greater purpose for humanity, even when driven by secular producers, writers, and directors.

CAC: Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?

BF: Largely through Catholic friends that are also actors.  Knowing that they watch my appearances gives me gratification as I know others are supportive of me as we go through this shared and challenging journey.

CAC: Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?

BF: As a graduate of Marquette University, our local NYC Alumni Chapter has afforded me many opportunities to meet like minded Catholic artists.  And through them, I have been connected to other Catholic artists not affiliated with Marquette.

CAC: How can the Church be more welcoming to artists?

BF: In particular parts of the city, I believe there are already groups at churches focused on artists.  That is great, and where there are other neighborhoods with a high density of actors further creation of groups should be encouraged.  For young adults groups at churches that do not have a higher ratio of artists, it would be helpful to include communications of when members have shows. This can also be done via alumni groups of Catholic colleges and universities. Finally, to the extent it is possible, it would be great for churches to offer low cost or free space for Catholic artists that need low cost or free rehearsal space.

CAC: How can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?

BF: Openness, both to the quality of the work itself by faith based artists and the profitability of faith based productions.  I think there are more interesting, marketable stories than the largely secular entertainment world believes there are.

CAC: Which parish do you attend in NYC? Do you participate in any church groups you would recommend to others?

BF: I go to St. Ignatius of Loyola, though now I am too old for the Young Adult Group! I also enjoy spiritual events sponsored by the Marquette Club mentioned earlier.

CAC: Where in NYC do you regularly find artistic fulfillment?

BF: My own auditions and gigs certainly serve this purpose.  I try to go to Broadway when I can, and check out the movies that interest me.

CAC: What is your daily spiritual practice?

BF: I find a lot of spirituality through being in parks and near rivers in Manhattan. Finding places of nature and solitude in the city.

CAC: What is your daily artistic practice?

BF: Nothing daily per se, but a casting director once told a class I was in that "you need to do something for your career every day."  So I always try and remember it and know that if I did something as small as practiced a short scene, I did do something!

CAC: Describe a recent day in which you were most completely living out your vocation as an artist.

BF: I worked on Ray Donovan a few months ago.  It was a challenging scene and that really inspired me.  Being around all the other artists on a production from cinematographer to grip to makeup artist and beyond really gives me the experience of a total team effort.

CAC: You actually live in NYC? How!?

BF: I live alone but find the Upper East is more affordable than people often think.  Once you get East of Lexington and into the 80's and 90's, it's better than a lot of other neighborhoods for price.  And we have the Q, which provides such better access to auditions on the West Side than we used to have.

CAC: But seriously, how do you make a living in NYC?

BF: I also have a day job, still with Accenture!  Very fortunate, as corporate America and the artistic world cannot often coexist as dual careers.

CAC: What other practical resources would you recommend to a Catholic artist living in NYC?

BF: Take a finance or accounting class in college if you can or maybe at a community center before moving here.  Use all the free things (especially in summer!) to make sure you are not starving yourself of a good time.  Make a list of all discounted stores, including Salvation Army for audition clothes.  Keep all your receipts for artist related expenses so you have a nice tax refund.

Definitely get a gym membership, to look fit for your auditions and also to maintain a healthy work/life balance.  Go to parks often, whatever is nearest to you.  Read constantly, as this is a helpful way to keep your creative juices flowing.  (Hence get a B&N membership card.)  

CAC: What are your top 3 pieces of advice for Catholic artists moving to NYC?

BF: Find a support group.  Know who you are as a person and let that dignity, integrity, and awareness contribute to every character you audition for and ultimately play.  Don't become cynical!