#consulate content

[greyspirehollow]

Vesuvia weekly ; The courtiers' Guilty Pleasures !

Pairing : The courtiers x reader Fandom : The Arcana visual novel Warnings : none. Pure fluff.

Volta :

I like to believe she loves dancing, like ballet, and the opera ; she loves the pretty dresses and the music,, and will secretly try and get some costumes custom tailored for herself, which she'll keep preciously in her closet and put on when she's alone, to admire herself in the mirror and imagine being on stage, amidst the crowd of pretty dancing people and musicians.

I'm pretty sure she would love to be able to fight. Being short comes with a lot of disadvantages,, I'm pretty sure she would like placing a few punches or kicks just right in people sometimes. Maybe she's already asked Vulgora to train her in the past, too.

Loves going to Portia's cottage. Loves Pepi. The flowers. The leaves. It's all so pretty ! And Portia's so nice !

She'll get all flustered and stutter if you ever ask about those secret hobbies of hers, but she'd want to share too, and even get a little frustrated by her conflicting emotions.

Vulgora :

I think they like being calmer and softer when no one's around, and to be treated calmly and with kindness (I'm sure they like being hugged, but you will never for the life of them see them admit it).

They like to play chess with the Countess, even if they loose systematically.

I have a feeling they'd love to go hunting too, with or without a falcon/dogs, or someone else's company.

I think behind their very loud and impulsive facade, they're a rather secretive person, not used to open up about things other than the plainly obvious, and so their little hobbies would be hard to discover unless you look into them a little, or generally get interested in them.

Valdemar :

I think they can play the violin, and some forgotten old instruments. They like how they have to make their finders dance over the instruments to make music.

They're a pretty manual person I think, and can craft little things here and there when they're bored ; pretty sure they tried embroidery even. Very steady hands (heh.)

and fashion. No one can convince me otherwise ; they have a sense of fashion and just don't exploit it. They don't dress often, if ever, or openly comment on people's outfits. but they COULD. IF ONLY THEY DID ARGH-

Secretive person as well. But you'd have no way of discovering any of that if they didn't want you to.

Vlastomil :

Always loved the sound a harp makes. He'd kill to learn how to play it, but he's never dared to take that initiative. It's just such a beautiful instrument, so calming, and it looks really nice to have it lean against you...

I think he'd also enjoy taking walks in the forest, and go lay down in some fresh and humid dirt, listening to the little river nearby, the chirp of birds, the leaves in the wind, the rays of sunlight peeking through...

We know how much he loves his worms, but what if he liked other things as well? what about isopods? tiny lil things.

You may surprise him indulging once or twice, but he'll always stammer a half-made-up excuse and shift the topic of the conversation quickly

Valerius :

Cat person. Loves cats. Wants cats just so he can sit in a big chair and have one on his lap and pet it menacingly while he sips his wine. Will not admit it.

LOVES velvet. Would wear velvet every day of his life if he could ; but he feels it's maybe a little too much in certain scenarios, so avoids it. He does have a cape in the back of his closet, which he wears sometimes when the halls of the Palace are desert.

Actually like to let his hair down ; thinks it gives him a mysterious charm (which yeah, if he styled it a little better), and one time you caught him mindlessly twirling his fingers into his strands.

He's not necessarily secretive, it's just he's learned court etiquette a lot, and so has taken the habit of hiding and bottling his personality down. That part at least.

[maddiesfandommess]

So for those who are keeping track we now know three of the four Better in Black couples

Will and Tessa

Clary and Jace

Julian and Emma

[starseungs]

biggest scare of my life ... i just crammed a 45 page paper in an hour 💀

[tea-and-cats-and-books]

The Shadowhunter Chronicles rated by Alec content:

The Infernal Devices

Alec hasn’t been born yet. A true tragedy for the characters living in this time- 0/10

The Last Hours

Alec still hasn’t been born yet, and did not time travel, so did not appear. This is very sad- 0/10

The Mortal Instruments

City of Bones- We’re introduced my grumpy precious little angel child- 10/10

City of Ashes- Alec continues to be the best even though nobody properly appreciates him- 10/10

City of Glass- Yay for Alec! - 10/10

City of Fallen Angels- Alec comes back from vacation and is still the best (plus I adore those postcards)- 10/10

City of Lost Souls- This book hurts my soul, and I need this to be fixed yesterday, but Alec is still better than everyone- 10/10

City of Heavenly Fire- Alec is 100% done with everyone and tells them what’s what and I love it. Alec wins at life- 10/10

The Bane Chronicles

Alec is adorable and perfect and I love him and wow I love reading him from Magnus’s point of view (even if those voicemails cause me great pain)- 10/10

Tales from Shadowhunter Academy

Alec and Simon talking and becoming proper friends + Born to Endless Night= A+++++++++++- 10/10

The Long Conversation

pouty, considering poisoning the punch, worrying about his family Alec- 10/10

The Dark Artifices

Lady Midnight- Magnus says he’s going to meet Alec in Buenos Aires and Emma sees Alec through a portal at the end- 10/10

Lord of Shadows- Alec becomes the temporary Head of the London Institute and is the best as always- 10/10

Queen of Air and Darkness- ALEC BECOMES CONSUL AND GETS MARRIED AND IS THE BEST FICTIONAL CHARACTER EVER- 10/10

A Love That Never Tires

Alec hanging out with Jace towards the end of his wedding party- 10/10

Ghosts of the Shadow Market

BABY ALEC HIDING BEHIND A VASE AND THE LAND I LOST- 10/10

The Eldest Curses

ALEC IS A MAIN CHARACTER-  ∞/10

The Red Scrolls of Magic- ALEC IS BASICALLY A FAIRY TALE PRINCE, EXCEPT BETTER BECAUSE HE IS ALEC, AND THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 -  ∞/10

The Lost Book of the White- ALEC GOES ON AND ADVENTURE WITH THE PEOPLE HE LOVES MOST AS THE MAIN CHARACTER AND IS BEST DAD, BEST HUSBAND BOYFRIEND AND SAVES THE DAY LIKE THE FAIRY TALE PRINCE HE IS  💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖-  ∞/10

Secrets of Blackthorn Hall- Alec goes on a well deserved vacation with his family- 10/10

The Wicked Powers

haven’t been written yet, but Alec will be there, so- 10/10

The Shadowhunters Codex

A list of Alec’s stats is included- 10/10

Not for Humans

Alec having to deal with his idiot of a parabatai and not noticing a drunk Magnus checking him out- 10/10

Kissed

💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 - 10/10

A History of Notable Shadowhunters & Denziens of Downworld: Told in the Language of Flowers

Alec threw Magnus a surprise birthday party where the guests were cats- 10/10

Classics Reimagined in the World of the Shadowhunters

Alec is Snow White- 10/10

[theivorybilledwoodpecker]

"Don't cheer on Iran! This could lead to a war!"

And I really hope it doesn't. Israel attacked the Iranian consulate; Iran retaliated and has said that will suffice unless Israel attacks again. I sincerely hope Israel does not attack again and start a war.

But the idea that it's on all other countries to simply take whatever Israel does and not retaliate lest a war breaks out is similar to saying it's a domestic violence victim's duty to not fight back because it will make their abuser more angry.

For months, people have been warning against the possibility of a world war. Israel has been attacking Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. The US, the UK, and other countries have attacked Yemen.

And it's always, "Don't retaliate, (name of country)! You'll escalate tensions!"

The message is clear: The US, Israel, and other Western countries think Arab countries exist merely to be Israel's targets

Now Israel attacked a country with the means to defend itself. Iran defended itself in a reasonable fashion in accordance with international law. Unlike Israel, it did not bomb the shit out of an entire region. It did not use illegal substances like white phosphorous. And Iran has said it is content with this being the conclusion.

I hope this is it. But that is on Israel, the US, and any other country who is supporting Israel. It is not Iran's, nor Palestine's, Lebanon's, or Syria's, duty to become Israel's plaything every time Israel feels like attacking people.

[shattered-eagle]

Shattered Eagle RO Descriptions

Hi all, I got some questions on what the ROs look like and their personalities, so I thought I'd share what I had in mind while writing. All of the ROs are some shade of bisexual, if I hadn't noted that already.

Empress Julia Vitallia Hevernica: The Empress of Iudia is a forty-eight year old woman of average height, with a pale complexion and dark black hair on a slow but steady journey to silver. She has gray eyes which tend to bore icily into whoever she happens to be speaking with. Even as Empress, she has remained active from many years of military campaigning, with a fit and athletic physique. She tends to wear her hair short, barely reaching past her ears.

She is known to be cruel to her enemies, ruling through fear of her merciless wrath. Nevertheless, as a savvy politician, she takes care to project an image of harsh, yet fair, justice at her hand, if dealt with in good faith.

In her most personal relationships, Julia can often be more distant than she intends, as she seeks out understanding and care from her loved ones, despite her cold exterior. She is well known to be estranged from her husband.

Legate Antonius Lethungius/Amalrik Wulfhid: The general of the barbarian auxiliaries is a tall, clean shaven, forty year old man with a great blonde mane of hair. His once youthful good looks have, however, been marred by the scars of countless bloody wars. He has bright green eyes, flecked with a faint gold. A formidable foe in battle, he bears a strong and stout frame.

The Legate is half of 'civilized Iudia' and half of 'barbarous Gruthungia,' and everything from what clothes he wears to what accent he speaks with may change by the audience he finds himself in front of.

As a result, it is difficult to tell whether he is a a fierce, unbowed barbarian warrior, or a obedient, dutiful son of the Empire, an ambiguity is he seems content to maintain.

Ever careful about who he lets get too close, the Legate has been known to be somewhat aloof, trying to steer clear from personal relationships, supposedly out of his sense of obligation to his soldiers and their needs. His resultant lack of experience is then a source of embarrassment, though he does not let others know this readily.

Consul Consentia Plinia Dorcia: An older woman of fifty-five years old with a fair complexion, Consentia nevertheless has features that have aged as well as a fine vintage. Her dark brown hair, once near matching her brown eyes, has long since turned grey, however, reaching down a few inches past her shoulders.

Refusing the indulgences that many of the matrician class enjoy, Consentia is healthy and fit for her age, considering the long hours of work she tirelessly puts herself through for the business of the Senate.

Carrying elegance with her every step, she is well known to be polite and courteous to all in search of a new, more republican form of government, though she reserves ire for the 'barbarians' she views as emblematic of Iudia's decline. She is also a skilled orator, giving rousing speeches filled with carefully crafted rhetoric.

In her personal relationships, the Consul has been widowed for many years, having eschewed remarriage. Some whisper she has taken on a paramour or two in the past decades, though few socialites are brave enough to do more than speculate on the matter.

Tribune Ceto Vera: The Tribune is a forty-three year old woman with shoulder-length brown hair, an olive complexion and hazel eyes. Her features are calloused and weathered from her upbringing in the harsh streets of the slums of Kyro, an attribute most expressed in her scandalously low-class accent, a trait which she proudly bears even amongst the highest of matricians.

Though she stands rather short, Ceto carries a lean frame, her quick reflexes lending her a vicious talent with a dagger.

Despite her brusque demeanor and crude humor with the ladies of Kyro, however, she carries a talent for rousing the passions of the dispossessed and the discontented, using her criminal empire to generously reward those lending a voice to her populist cause, and ruthlessly make examples out of those who would refuse.

Ceto's personal life is shrouded from the knowledge of most, for all her shameless comments and advances she does not speak much on her past relationships. Nor of how she came to rise to power in the streets, both mysteries being either a source of regret or resentment for her.

Prince Darius of Pharia: Darius is a thirty-three year old man, standing at an average height, with black curly hair, a rich brown complexion, and a short and well groomed beard. In public, he bedecks himself in silks, radiant colors, and copious amounts of fine jewelry.

Trained as a warrior as any Prince should be, he is most skilled in the Pharian repeating crossbow, a curious invention that few Iudians have ever wielded.

Despite his status as a foreign hostage, the man has a charming, almost obsequious manner about him, inviting many dignitaries and notables of the capital for tea and idle talk at his embassy, which supposedly functions as his cage.

Darius often speaks of himself as an open book, and has carried on more than a few flings during his time in Iudia, though none have stuck around very long in the Prince's company.

[lawsofchaos1]

Shadowhunters Promptlet: Jace & Lydia

Tl;dr, but a side comment in a group chat ended up accidentally prompting an idea for how to make a realistic Jace/Lydia. Please see the following for my semi-attempt: Jace/Lydia: Delightfully Political Chaos Imagine, after Clary's memory loss and Jace's acceptance of her not coming back, he finds himself slightly at odds. His parabatai is bossing it at being Inquisitor, his sister is doing the same after taking over the NYI, and Magnus has made his role as High Warlock of Alicante absolutely indispensable.

Jace is mostly content as Head of the Inquisitorial Guard, but after that first harrowing year where Jace and Alec (and therefore Magnus) had lived on a constant knife-edge of vigilance against the last, desperate waves of Valentine's loyalists, his skills typically lay fallow these days. The sharpest he needs to be is in the training hall and Jace itches for the electric-hum thrill of a real fight.

Alec isn't some Idris-soft politician, barely able to swing a blade without injuring himself. Outside of a few rare periods of high threat, Alec doesn't need Jace to stand between him and danger. Alec and his husband are perfectly capable of making their foes rue the day they decided to go up against the Inquisitor and the High Warlock.

However, Jace… Jace needs to be needed.

Enter, from stage left, LYDIA BRANWELL.

Lydia is a frequent guest at Magnus and Alec's home, usually with Jace present as well. Lydia will never love anyone other than John and Jace will never love anyone other than Clary, but Jace and Lydia become fast friends as they bond over their shared loss (and several bottles of unfortunately expensive tequila). Lydia has made political waves after the war, rising rapidly through the ranks on the way to her end goal of Consul. While Alec could easily go after the role himself, he has no desire to handle the endless meetings and social politics of the position so long as someone he trusts holds it. He much prefers the role's complement - the enforcement required of the Inquisitor. Alec is beyond pleased at Lydia's desire for Consul and they've already schemed at how he can support her bid.

However, no matter the advancements since the war, Alicante is traditional. While Lydia's gender makes no difference to them, the fact that she is unmarried does.

Lydia needs a husband. Moreso, Lydia needs a husband who won't expect romantic love and one who can handle what it means to be the spouse of the Consul, and, before that, the spouse of a very liberal, and therefore controversial, Consul-elect. A guard in the short term and someone that Lydia can happily send after her (and likely Alec's) enemies in the long-term.

To make a very long story short, Alec is incredibly delighted at the opportunity for humor that presents itself when Jace announces his and Lydia's intent for a political marriage the following month. (Magnus perhaps even more than Alec to be honest.)

[fanonimus]

My brother is obsessed with TTG, and I am baffled. We binged it, and I looked around in the... Fandom? I know the show is lighthearted, but I'm a psychology nerd.

Tw: Abuse, neglect, shitty people in general, mind conzrol and trauma. Progress with caution.

Not many people talk about the abuse Robin faces. I don't understand why is there basicaly no angsty content.

I also want to scoop that boy up and hug him and take him away from those people that surround him.

This boy has no positive influence in his life. Get him a therapyst.

He's neglected. I was sick watching this.

WHAT THE HELL DUDE this was genuinely hard to watch, and even the colour coded idiots aknowledge how badly he was treated.

Oh but they don't get away scott free. The little idiots.

They constantly hurt him (which I noticed is a reocurring joke, but it happens to him so constantly that it's not even humour. It's just... painful.)

What the fuck was that prank?

Considering I know his backstory pretty well (look, I watch enough dc), this prank just makes me want to cry. He smiles. His smile broke my heart. I genuinely started crying, alonside Robin. It was not a nice experience.

So they clearly don't have a problem with triggering traumatic responses.

Robin is also almost always the butt of the joke, even tough he is the leader nobody respects him.

Which would be understandable if he didn't try his damn hardest. He's resourceful and can make the best of a situation.

Like the time he got dance powers (which is just amazing, holy shit I want dance powers).

He found great use of an othervise "useless" pover.

Speaking of useless, his "friends" look down on him because he has no powers. Even though he is capable of beating all of them without it.

Yknow, like in the movie.

Oh yeah, nice recall to the movie the one where they competed with the Super Hero Girls team (love that show).

Y'know, where it started like this

And ended like this in like, five seconds.

Abandonment issues go brrr:

He's my angsty boy.

Also, the fact that he answered mind control on the last question, and it wasn't even on the board, broke something in me.

Him being a "control freak" is also played up for jokes, which I personally hate, but you can also go with the route of the Titans just not listening, ever, and Robin, still raised by the batman even if differently than in canon, in a city where if you are not on top you are dead, it's obvious that he developed an instictive need for control. He had gotten used to being on top of every situation, so when he felt that control slip, he grasped it and held on. This behaviour is not good, but he can't help it, and without proper consuling, he won't be able to stop this behaviour. He could, if he just let go of the illusion of control he clings to, a safety net, and we all know one can not simply just do that.

(I was someone people called a "control freak". I worked on myself, and I changed, but it took years after I noticed. Letting go is the hardest thing people like me and him can do because letting go means losing control, and that can be the scariest thing in the world. So I have experience, yes.)

(Yes, I also have experience. No, I am not going to talk about it, but it wasn't physical, don't worry)

For the hitting... Wild hot take and shit: Since Batsy was not a stellar dad, he kept robin in line by means not so family-friendly. (He hit his kids in canon, it's really OOC for him, but we have proof that happened) And it was really effective. Children of abusive parents go a lot of ways, but repeating the parents' mistakes is one of them. So maybe Robin decided that violence might be the thing to keep his teammates in line. (We are circleing back yeah.) But it clearly didn't work.

Edit: Holy shit I just realized that this Robin is all of the worst qualities of the other Robins. Obsessive, Controlling, full of himself, violent, and then throw their insecurities into there too (Abandonment issues, parental issues, anxiety, paranoia). Holy lady.

Edit2: Thank you, Yurki-posts, for pointing out some things my little rant was missing. I shall update it now.

[communist-manifesto-daily]

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific - Part 12

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In England, the bourgeoisie never held undivided sway. Even the victory of 1832 left the landed aristocracy in almost exclusive possession of all the leading Government offices. The meekness with which the middle-class submitted to this remained inconceivable to me until the great Liberal manufacturer, Mr. W. A. Forster, in a public speech, implored the young men of Bradford to learn French, as a means to get on in the world, and quoted from his own experience how sheepish he looked when, as a Cabinet Minister, he had to move in society where French was, at least, as necessary as English! 

The fact was, the English middle-class of that time were, as a rule, quite uneducated upstarts, and could not help leaving to the aristocracy those superior Government places where other qualifications were required than mere insular narrowness and insular conceit, seasoned by business sharpness. [2] Even now the endless newspaper debates about middle-class education show that the English middle-class does not yet consider itself good enough for the best education, and looks to something more modest. Thus, even after the repeal of the Corn Laws, it appeared a matter of course that the men who had carried the day – the Cobdens, Brights, Forsters, etc. – should remain excluded from a share in the official government of the country, until 20 years afterwards a new Reform Act opened to them the door of the Cabinet. The English bourgeoisie are, up to the present day, so deeply penetrated by a sense of their social inferiority that they keep up, at their own expense and that of the nation, an ornamental caste of drones to represent the nation worthily at all State functions; and they consider themselves highly honored whenever one of themselves is found worthy of admission into this select and privileged body, manufactured, after all, by themselves.

[2] And even in business matters, the conceit of national Chauvinism is but a sorry adviser. Up to quite recently, the average English manufacturer considered it derogatory for an Englishman to speak any language but his own, and felt rather proud than otherwise of the fact that "poor devils" of foreigners settled in England and took off his hands the trouble of disposing of his products abroad. He never noticed that these foreigners, mostly Germans, thus got command of a very large part of British foreign trade, imports and exports, and that the direct foreign trade of Englishmen became limited, almost entirely, to the colonies, China, the United States, and South America. Nor did he notice that these Germans traded with other Germans abroad, who gradually organized a complete network of commercial colonies all over the world. But, when Germany, about 40 years ago [c.1850], seriously began manufacturing for export, this network served her admirably in her transformation, in so short a time, from a corn-exporting into a first-rate manufacturing country. Then, about 10 years ago, the British manufacturer got frightened, and asked his ambassadors and consuls how it was that he could no longer keep his customers together. The unanimous answer was:

You don't learn customer's language but expect him to speak your own;

You don't even try to suit your customer's wants, habits, and tastes, but expect him to conform to your English ones.

[ First | Prev | Table of Contents | Next ]

[enlitment]

Top 5 favorite historical events 👀

Oo, good one! Thanks for the ask ✨

1. The Ides of March

Apart from being a beloved Tumblr holiday, I just find the whole event so interesting! Few times in history have had such a lasting cultural impact (hello, statue of Brutus at the National Convention!).

Plus it's so wonderfully morally grey, which you can see from the different perception of Brutus throughout history (burning in lowest circle of Dante's hell vs. being hailed as a hero by the French revolutionaries).

Was it the right thing to do? It was an act of extreme violence, and the republic was arguably beyond saving anyway, as became clear later. Does it mean it was the wrong thing to do though? I'm definitely not qualified to answer that. But it is an interesting question to think about, which makes this event one of my favourites.

(Plus the whole thing kind of reads like an ancient tragedy, since it could be read as Brutus (& co) killing someone who was essentially a father figure to him, but also was widely known to have slept with his mother. Hamlet who?)

2. Camille rallying the crowds at Palais Royal

I'm a sucker for a good epic moment, and this is certainly one of them. Camille leaping on the table and overcoming his stutter to address the crowd of dissatisfied Parisians, inspiring them to take action? Yes please!

(not to mention that any event that demonstrates the power that words can have is going to be automatically interesting in my book.)

3. The Servilia Letter Affair

Situated during the late Roman Republic after the Catiline conspiracy, it's another hilarious evidence of the fact that poor Cato the Younger simply couldn't catch a break.

For those uninitiated: as Cato and Caesar were arguing about what kind of punishment is appropriate for the conspirators wanting to overthrow the consul, a mysterious letter was delivered to Caesar, right in the senate. Cato suspected that there was something foul going on, something that could potentially link Caesar - Cato's oponent - to the conspiracy that was just being discussed. He therefore seized the letter from Caesar and insisted he will read its contents out loud, in front of everyone. Doesn't sound all that unreasonable, right? ...except the document in question just happened to be a steamy, in Plutarch's words "unchaste" love-letter to Caesar, written by none other than Cato's own half-sister, Servilia.* Yikes. Cato apparently proceeded to then throw the letter back to Caesar, saying: "Take it, thou sot." Iconic.

* who was also Brutus' mother. See, it's all connected!

4. Publishing of the Éncyclopedie

I just love studying the Age of Enlightenment as a whole, but I think the Éncyclopedie is perhaps the best embodiment of all of the things the era was about. I like learning about the Éncyclopedistes - their petty personal dramas are fun to read about, but I also like the fact that what fuelled the project was a (mostly) genuine desire to educate people and make human knowledge more readily available to the masses.

Also look what I came across while in Verona!! ->

5. Women's March on Versailles

A great reminder that women can be a strong political force and that their place in history should not be overlooked! Though it was not necessarily a women-only event, it clearly shows just how much of a significant role women (and working class people in general) played in the French Revolution.

[mesetacadre]

On the Slogan for a United States of Europe

In No. 40 of Sotsial-Demokrat we reported that a conference of our-Party’s groups abroad had decided to defer the question of the “United States of Europe” slogan pending a discussion, in the press, on the economic aspect of the matter.

At our conference the debate on this question assumed a purely political character. Perhaps this was partly caused by the Central Committee’s Manifesto having formulated this slogan as a forthright political one (“the immediate political slogan...”, as it says there); not only did it advance the slogan of a republican United States of Europe, but expressly emphasised that this slogan is meaningless and false “without the revolutionary overthrow of the German, Austrian and Russian monarchies”.

It would be quite wrong to object to such a presentation of the question within the limits of a political appraisal of this slogan—e.g., to argue that it obscures or weakens, etc., the slogan of a socialist revolution. Political changes of a truly democratic nature, and especially political revolutions, can under no circumstances whatsoever either obscure or weaken the slogan of a socialist revolution. On the contrary, they always bring it closer, extend its basis, and draw new sections of the petty bourgeoisie and the semi-proletarian masses into the socialist struggle. On the other hand, political revolutions are inevitable in the course of the socialist revolution, which should not be regarded as a single act, but as a period of turbulent political and economic upheavals, the most intense class struggle, civil war, revolutions, and counter-revolutions.

But while the slogan of a republican United States of Europe—if accompanied by the revolutionary overthrow of the three most reactionary monarchies in Europe, headed by the Russian—is quite invulnerable as a political slogan, there still remains the highly important question of its economic content and significance. From the standpoint of the economic conditions of imperialism—i.e., the export of capital and the division of the world by the “advanced” and “civilised” colonial powers—a United States of Europe, under capitalism, is either impossible or reactionary.

Capital has become international and monopolist. The world has been carved up by a handful of Great Powers, i.e., powers successful in the great plunder and oppression of nations. The four Great Powers of Europe—Britain, France, Russia and Germany, with an aggregate population of between 250,000,000 and 300,000,000, and an area of about 7,000,000 square kilometres—possess colonies with a population of almost 500 million (494,500,000) and an area of 64,600,000 square kilometres, i.e., almost half the surface of the globe [...] Add to this the three Asian states—China, Turkey and Persia, now being rent piecemeal by thugs that are waging a war of “liberation”, namely, Japan, Russia, Britain and France. Those three Asian states, which may be called semi-colonies (in reality they are now 90 per cent colonies), have a total population of 360,000,000 and an area of 14,500,000 square kilometres (almost one and a half times the area of all Europe).

Furthermore, Britain, France and Germany have invested capital abroad to the value of no less than 70,000 million rubles. The business of securing “legitimate” profits from this tidy sum—these exceed 3,000 million rubles annually—committees of the millionaires, known as governments, which are equipped with armies and navies and which provide the sons and brothers of the millionaires with jobs in the colonies and semi-colonies as viceroys, consuls, ambassadors, officials of all kinds, clergymen, and other leeches.

That is how the plunder of about a thousand million of the earth’s population by a handful of Great Powers is organised in the epoch of the highest development of capitalism. No other organisation is possible under capitalism. Renounce colonies, “spheres of influence”, and the export of capital? To think that it is possible means coming down to the level of some snivelling parson who every Sunday preaches to the rich on the lofty principles of Christianity and advises them to give the poor, well, if not millions, at least several hundred rubles yearly.

A United States of Europe under capitalism is tantamount to an agreement on the partition of colonies. Under capitalism, however, no other basis and no other principle of division are possible except force. [...] Capitalism is private ownership of the means of production, and anarchy in production. To advocate a “just” division of income on such a basis is sheer Proudhonism, stupid philistinism. No division can be effected otherwise than in “proportion to strength”, and strength changes with the course of economic development. [...] There is and there can be no other way of testing the real might of a capitalist state than by war. War does not contradict the fundamentals of private property—on the contrary, it is a direct and inevitable outcome of those fundamentals. Under capitalism the smooth economic growth of individual enterprises or individual states is impossible. Under capitalism, there are no other means of restoring the periodically disturbed equilibrium than crises in industry and wars in politics.

Of course, temporary agreements are possible between capitalists and between states. In this sense a United States of Europe is possible as an agreement between the European capitalists... but to what end? Only for the purpose of jointly suppressing socialism in Europe, of jointly protecting colonial booty against Japan and America, who have been badly done out of their share by the present partition of colonies. [...] On the present economic basis, i.e., under capitalism, a United States of Europe would signify an organisation of reaction to retard America’s more rapid development. The times when the cause of democracy and socialism was associated only with Europe alone have gone for ever.

A United States of the World (not of Europe alone) is the state form of the unification and freedom of nations which we associate with socialism—about the total disappearance of the state, including the democratic. As a separate slogan, however, the slogan of a United States of the World would hardly be a correct one, first, because it merges with socialism; second, because it may be wrongly interpreted to mean that the victory of socialism in a single country is impossible, and it may also create misconceptions as to the relations of such a country to the others.

Uneven economic and political development is an absolute law of capitalism. Hence, the victory of socialism is possible first in several or even in one capitalist country alone. After expropriating the capitalists and organising their own socialist production, the victorious proletariat of that country will arise against the rest of the world—the capitalist world—attracting to its cause the oppressed classes of other countries, stirring uprisings in those countries against the capitalists, and in case of need using even armed force against the exploiting classes and their states. The political form of a society wherein the proletariat is victorious in overthrowing the bourgeoisie will be a democratic republic, which will more and more concentrate the forces of the proletariat of a given nation or nations, in the struggle against states that have not yet gone over to socialism. The abolition of classes is impossible without a dictatorship of the oppressed class, of the proletariat. A free union of nations in socialism is impossible without a more or less prolonged and stubborn struggle of the socialist republics against the backward states.

It is for these reasons and after repeated discussions at the conference of R,S.D.L.P. groups abroad, and following that conference, that the Central Organ’s editors have come to the conclusion that the slogan for a United States of Europe is an erroneous one.

On the Slogan for a United States of Europe. V. I. Lenin, 1915

[thesobsister]

Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty USAF airman, set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in D.C. on February 25 to protest what he termed the “genocide” being perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians and the U.S.’s complicity in this.

Anyone remember or even aware of the same thing happening in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta in December?

Bushnell set up a Twitch channel to stream his act. The Amazon-owned platform removed the video and shut down the channel. However, it’s available on a variety of other platforms.

The short video shows him, wearing service fatigues, walking down the street to the Israeli embassy as he explains his views. He then sets down the camera, walks to the gate of the embassy, empties the contents of a bottle—presumably, the flammable liquid—over his head, puts on his cap. The video is blurred out at that point, but the audio is intact. He screams “Free Palestine” until he succumbs. It is extremely disturbing, and I do not offer that characterization lightly.

At the start of the video, as he walks down the street, he says this:

I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force. And I will no longer be complicit in genocide.

I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But at the hands of what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.

On the Facebook post that linked to that deleted Twitch stream, he wrote:

Many of us like to ask ourselves, “What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?”

The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.

[khaleesiofalicante]

hi Dani it was my birthday today. turned 17. but i can't seem to just muster up any enthusiasm. i used to be so excited about my birthday but today I was just not. i even cried today. this is gonna sound weird but i didn't even know why I was crying. i don't know what triggered it but I just started crying and then I was trying to hide it from my parents and my nose turns red when I cry so I was trying to run it so that the redness is gone 😂 this is so strange and i just wish something exciting happened and I could also be happy about my birthday like other people. it was so mundane. i didn't even get a cake. then I went and read the last chapter of lbaf 5. i have an unhealthy obsession with that chapter because i just love other magnus. dark magnus has been something i really wished you'd write because I love your style of writing my favourite tsc characters. so I read it again for the 100th time and loved it again and can't wait for other magnus content.

Happy happy birthday to you!

I myself like mundane birthdays, but I get what you mean. Som birthdays are more special than others, but we must cherish every one of them.

Also, someone once told me crying on your birthday is tradition because we did come into this world crying after all 🤭

I put away my laptop (doing this new thing where I close my laptop and put it away by 10.30) but I opened it back up just for you. I hope it makes you feel a little special today.

A little birthday treat:

��Hermes, perhaps this is a concern for later,” Rafael interjected carefully.

“Back off, Rafael. Hermes is right to be worried,” Max, the other one, growled in response. “Hermes, what do we do?”

“I only meant we have bigger problems to handle right now,” Rafael replied in frustration, shooting a glare at the blue warlock. “It’s just bapak, Max. We can handle him.”

Hermes, who had been sending warlock signals left and right, paused mid-motion and stared at Rafael. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

“I refuse to believe that my father is capable of the evil you’re describing,” Rafael insisted, giving Max a fierce look. “He’s a good man, Hermes. You know he is.”

Hermes’s gaze hardened. “Do you realize what the biggest threat to your Clave is right now?” He didn’t wait for an answer, watching as Rafael blinked at the shift in topic. “It’s not Lucifer. It’s not the Prince of Darkness. It’s not the Resurrected. It’s a random woman in Paris who’s ready to weaponize the Council just to get what she wants.”

Rafael clenched his jaw. “I can handle Madeleine.”

“Can you?” Hermes scoffed. “Madeleine Bellefleur is a good person gone bad. People like her, Consul—they’ve got nothing to lose.”

The warlock moved closer and Rafael saw it then. The fear in his eyes. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Hermes scared before. 

“Magnus is good, Rafael. He is as good as a person can get and he’s fought beside us as long as I can remember,” Hermes told him quietly. “I do not wish to find out what it's like to fight against him. It will be the end of us all.”

[jomiddlemarch]

I've been thrilled to watch the groundswell of volunteers going out to fight for Kamala Harris. I'd really like to join the effort, but I have an issue:

I live abroad. I'm a US citizen, registered in my NJ hometown for an absentee ballot, but I live in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.

That means door knocking isn't an option, and phone calls or postcards are prohibitively expensive. And of course we hardly have a Democratic Party HQ here (to my knowledge).

What can I do? I sent the instructions for absentee voter registration to a few fellow American-Israelis, but I'm lost where to go from here. There must be virtual events, or a need for, say, art or writing? I'm grasping at straws over here.

I'm of course also open to helping Palestinian-Americans who are living in Israel/Palestine. The Jerusalem US consulate serves not only Israel but the West Bank (and Gaza under normal circumstances), I believe.

Hi there-- I'm honored to be asked! Phone and text banking are all done online, not using your actual phone number, so that may be a good option for you, though the time difference could be a factor as most text and phonebanks are now scheduled (unlike the olden days, when it was basically all day every day from like 9a-9p.)

There are definitely groups seeking design work.

Democrats Abroad may be the best place for you to start and there is a specific page for Israel: https://www.democratsabroad.org/volunteer

You could also check out Field Team 6 (https://www.fieldteam6.org) for text and phone banking.

I would also consider simply putting up lots of informative, positive posts about Harris and the entire Dem team and amplifying the ones you find to be a way to help. There is a ton of misogynoir going on and we need everyone to work on directing the narrative to Harris's incredible achievements and inspiring plans for the country.

If you go directly to the campaign volunteer site, there are a lot of options including create content, reach out to people I know, host a social event, share key messaging on media, which should all work for you: https://web.kamalaharris.com/forms/take-action-for-president-biden-and-vice-president-harris/?refcode=actblue_khwebsite

We can do this! When we fight, we win. And we can have a lot of FUN doing it!

[scotianostra]

October 12th 1929 saw the birth of Magnus Magnusson, writer, broadcaster and quiznmaster in TV programme “Mastermind”.

Magnus was born in Reykjavík but grew up in Edinburgh, where his father, Sigursteinn Magnússon, was the Icelandic consul. Magnus’ Icelandic name at birth was Magnús Sigursteinsson, but in Scotland his family adopted British naming conventions and from childhood he used his father’s patronymic as a surname. Living in Joppa, he was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and was in the school’s marching brass band. So to those saying he’s not Scottish, he did live almost his entire life here.

After graduating from Jesus College, Oxford, Magnusson became a reporter with the Scottish Daily Express and The Scotsman. He went freelance in 1967, then joined the British Broadcasting Corporation, presenting programmes on history and archaeology as well as appearing in news programmes.

He retained his academic connections, however, and was Lord Rector of Edinburgh University from 1975 to 1978 from 2002 served as chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University. The Magnus Magnusson Fellowship, an intellectual group based at the Glasgow Caledonian University, was named in his honour. Magnusson’s books included I’ve Started so I’ll Finish, a memoir of his years on Mastermind, and Scotland: The Story of a Nation.

Magnus of course is most famous for the quiz show, Mastermind, it was originally broadcast late on a Sunday night and was not expected to receive a huge audience. In 1973 it was moved to a prime-time slot as an emergency replacement for a Leslie Phillips sitcom, Casanova ‘73, which had been moved to a later time following complaints about its risqué content. The quiz subsequently became one of the most-watched shows on television. Magnusson was famous for his catchphrase “I’ve started so I’ll finish,” which was also the title of his history of the show. The original series was also noted for the variety of venues where filming took place—often including academic and ecclesiastical buildings. The last programme of the original series was filmed at St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney.

To further add to Magnus’s credentials for being a Scot he married Glasgow lass Mamie Ian Baird and they had 5 children together, including Reporting Scotland presenter Sally.

On 12th October 2006, his 77th birthday, Magnusson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Magnusson mordantly noted that “This has to be one of my worst birthdays ever”. His condition forced him to cancel a string of public appearances. He died on 7 January 2007.The Aigas Field Centre a nature centre near Beauly has a building named in his honour.

In 2014 an auction sold off a lot of his belongings for the Scottish based Balmore Trust, a fair trade charity which sells fairly-traded goods in its shop The Coach House and supports projects in Africa, India and the west of Scotland.

Magnus Magnusson, Icelandic by birth Scottish through choice. Anyone still not convinced of his Scottish & Proud credentials, check out this quote from the man “I have got the best of both worlds; growing up in Edinburgh and now living outside Glasgow.”

Scotland is a welcoming country and have a rich culture which comes from all round the world, with his writing and knowledge Magnus brought so much to our country

Magnus Magnusson is buried in Baldernock Churchyard, East Dunbartonshire.

My favourite of the pics is the younger Magnus on Calton Hill, Edinburgh, the colour of The Hotel in the background, is how I remember it having been the window cleaner there before it had a full restoration in the late 80′s. The black and white pic is when he was installed as Rector of Edinburgh University, the pic with the ferry is on Orkney.

[jamiebamberdaily]

The Wives : What We Know So Far (UPDATED - 6th September 2024)

The first casting announcement of 2024 has finally been announced with the news of Channel 5's The Wives.

About

Written and created by Helen Black, The Wives is a domestic thriller that centres on 3 sister-in-laws, Sylvie, Natasha and Beth who, just as they have done for the last 15 years, embark on their usual family holiday to Malta. However, this year is different.

The official synopsis reads:

Last year, four sisters-in-law and their families escaped to their Maltese holiday apartments, as they’ve done every summer for fifteen years. Sylvie Morgan, was happily married, Natasha, was swimming in wealth, and Beth and Annabelle Morgan, were thick as thieves. But this year, as they come together again, everything is different. Sylvie’s now single and loving life, Natasha’s hiding a desperate financial situation, Beth is barely keeping her life together and Annabelle is, well… dead. When Annabelle’s widower Charlie, arrives with a new woman in tow, Beth tries to be happy for them, but something doesn’t sit right. Charlie’s new girlfriend Jade, looks exactly like Annabelle. Beth’s plans to have a great summer are quickly scuppered by Charlie’s odd behaviour, and her suspicion that there is more to Annabelle’s death is heightened. With lies coming to light and evidence building, the women work together and against each other to unravel the mystery and bring the culprit to justice. But with corrupt officials, drug cartels and career criminals closer to home than ever expected, have they bitten off more than they can chew?

The Wives has been ordered for Channel 5 by Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Chief Content Officer, Paramount UK and Paul Testar, Commissioning Editor, Drama, Channel 5 and Paramount+. Executive producers for Gaumont are Jess Connell and Alison Jackson. Produced by Margot Gavan Duffy, The Wives was written and created by Helen Black (Time S2, Life and Death in the Warehouse), with episodes by Ciara Conway (Screw, Holby City) and Jamie Jackson. The series will be directed by Claire Tailyour (Phoenix Rise, Deceit) and Paulette Randall (Waterloo Road, Tin Star).

The Cast

Jamie will star as Annabelle's widower, Charlie Morgan.

Also starring will be:

Angela Griffin as Natasha Morgan

Tamzin Outhwaite as Sylvie Morgan

Jo Joyner is Beth Morgan

Katie Clarkson-Hill is Charlie's new girlfriend, Jade Glover

Christine Bottomley is Annabelle Morgan

Catriona Chandler will be playing Annabelle and Charlie's daughter, Sky Morgan

Ben Willbond is Beth's husband, Frankie Morgan

Jonathan Forbes as Natasha's husband, Sean Morgan

Louis Boyer as charming local businessman, Luca Vella

Ajay Chhabra as consulate official Vinay Taneja

Jamie, Jonathan and Ben will be playing wealthy brothers, Charlie, Sean and Frankie Morgan.

Trailer

The trailer can be viewed here!

Filming Locations

The series began filming in Malta in February 2024.

Episodes

There will be 6 episodes.

Air Date

It will air on Channel 5 (in the UK) during two weeks in September. The first three episodes will air on Monday 16th, Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th. With the final three airing Monday 23rd, Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th.