#escapism as in berlin or kent

[innerxsanctum]

[hogwartsfirebolt]

It began, as most things in Harry’s life did, with a chase.

The first time, he caught him near a tramway station in Bristol, subdued him with an off-handed flick of his wand, pressed the delicate bones of his wrist against his lower back. He’d been looking for him for a year, by then.

“I won’t tell you where I planted it,” Malfoy told him, it being the Spike Bomb. He was alone, helpless, pressed against the wall, and yet he sounded amused.

“I’ve already disabled it,” Harry grumbled, pressing harder with his thumbs, ready to crack Malfoy’s bones. Nearly craving it.

“Oh, have you?”

“Yes, now you’re coming with —”

The bomb went off with a blinding shockwave.

Malfoy escaped, and Harry was thrown back to square one, empty-handed.

The second time, a month later, he caught him in Kent, boarding a train to France.

“Are you joking? Right now?” Malfoy asked when he spotted him. Soon enough, his hands were magically bound in front of him. “Couldn’t you have done this earlier? Or maybe once I’d gotten to Coquelles? Now we’re stuck here for an hour.”

“Yeah, well, enjoy the ride. I’m taking you to Azkaban as soon as we’re back in London.”

Inexplicably, Malfoy smiled. “But then how would you know where I planted the Spike this time?”

Harry frantically apparated to the location and disabled the bomb. Malfoy escaped.

The third time he caught him, it was in a high-end hotel in Berlin.

“Fuck, I haven’t gotten around to planting it yet,” Malfoy said when Harry materialized next to him, in the lush, fragrant bathroom. He was taking a bubble bath. “Can I finish my bath?”

After he did, Harry slipped unplottable cuffs onto his wrists.

“I’m hungry,” Malfoy said. Harry allowed him to order room service, had to feed him the sandwich he’d bought once it arrived, because he refused to free his hands. “Is this erotic? I feel like it is,” he added, licking crumbs off Harry’s thumb.

The bomb went off right then, the pulse of energy so powerful and unexpected that it left Harry reeling, crouched by the empty chair Malfoy had occupied moments before.

The fourth time he caught him, in a small cottage in Drenthe, he had him handcuffed before Malfoy had the chance to say anything,

“I don’t have time for your games today, Malfoy,” he whispered in his ear, low. Malfoy’s clean scent washed over him. He felt him shudder against his chest.

“I swear this keeps getting more erotic each time,” he murmured, still shivery. Then, sounding genuinely sorry, “It’s a bit late, though, it will go of in...”

The bomb went off.

The fifth time, Harry found him lying in bed in muggle accommodations in Milan, naked.

“There’s no bomb today. The trail I left was fake,” he said when Harry showed up.

“Why would you — ” he started, but cut off abruptly when Malfoy spread his legs. An odd feeling crawled down Harry’s spine. The movement was shameless, cheap. Harry felt himself growing hard.

The sixth time, inside a train to Bern, he had Malfoy’s pants down to his ankles forty seconds after finding him.

“No bomb?” He asked, pressing his palm to Malfoy’s spine, bending him further over the seat.

“It’s in — in the governor’s cabin. I haven’t. Merlin. I haven’t activated it,” he panted, hips working hard. Harry sped up.

The seventh time, Malfoy received him in his townhouse in London with a grin.

“I didn’t leave any trails this time.”

It was true.

“You still need to be caught.”

“Now that’s definitely erotic.”

“I truly don’t like you.”

“You don’t say that when you fuck me.”

Harry pushed him inside the house, secured the handcuffs around his wrists and took him against the door.

No bombs went off.

Written for @drarrymicrofic prompt “Caught.”

[batlanterned]

hey Andy!! do you know of any batlantern fics similar to In Ruins (the one you recommended on your faves recommended list)? thank you!!! have a great day !

Hey thank you for the request! There’s not a lot in the way of adventure-style AUs, so I also included some longer mission-based fics as well. Remember to show love to these authors!

Dead Man Walking by antithestral (WIP) -  But just before Bruce could walk away, Jordan grabbed his wrist. "What," Bruce hissed, wondering if Jordan had seen something. But he was- he was still just staring at Bruce, his hand still locked around Bruce's wrist, and "Hal, what," he said, quieter, rougher.

“The job’s done. The succubus— it's dead,” Hal rasped.

“Yes…?”

“You'll be heading out tomorrow. I don’t know… I don’t know when I’ll see you again.”

“Hal…?”

“If you're going to punch me, you should do it now,” Hal whispered all in a rush, and then pulled him close, and— and kissed him.

[Or, the one in which they don't have superpowers, and there aren't any aliens, but they save they save the world anyway — and also, fall in love.]

We May Die Tomorrow by Lunardeityastrid -“My squadron is leaving tomorrow.”

“I know.”

Hal raised an eyebrow. He had expected more of a reaction.

”I may die tomorrow.”

Bruce didn’t say anything but his body went visibly stiff, his hands slacking on the bandages. Hal propped himself up grimacing at the minor pain. If there were more pilots, Hal would have had his rest and recovery. Only B-17s were falling out of the sky like flies over Berlin. Last mission, twenty-five went out. Two returned. Each mission the stakes were higher. Hal refused to be the tiniest bit of an optimist; he would only be lying to himself. He cupped Bruce’s face, dragging him in for a faint kiss on the lips. Hal didn’t worry about the other pilots in the tent, they were all comatose anyways. (I haven’t read this one yet, but it’s next on my list!)

We’re Alive by just-kent-ing-around (WIP) - Thrown dangerously off course by debris, a shimmering purple cloud, and then pulled into a gravitational orbit, there is no chance to escape their crash and burn.

Batman and Green Lantern are in for the challenge of their lives... stranded on an alien planet, with no way out. With each other. Except they don't know they're trapped on a planet cloaked in a time anomaly. The time passed on it, isn't equal to the time of Earth.

To the Justice League? They're a couple of days out from the end of their diplomatic mission. To them? They've been stranded, a year and a half. (Another one I haven’t read but that is on my list!)

Aliens Made Us Do It by FabulaRasa -  Bruce and Hal run into a little bit of cultural difficulty on an off-world mission. This was really, really not supposed to be Bruce Wayne's wedding day. Consider this story the traditional fannish "oh no we have to get married!" with a BatLanterny twist at the end.

[chiseler]

FRANZ BARON von WERRA

Oberleutnant Franz Baron von Werra was born into a noble but poor Swiss family in 1914. He joined Hitler's Luftwaffe in 1936. He was a dashing playboy, a showboat and braggart who delighted the Nazi press by keeping a lion cub at his squadron's aerodrome and telling heroic tales about the numbers of enemy planes he'd shot down. They dubbed him the Red Devil and the Terror of the RAF. He was also intelligent, resourceful, and physically tough.

In September 1940 a Spitfire pilot shot down von Werra's Messerschmitt onto a field in Kent, where an unarmed cook from a nearby searchlight battery apprehended him. He was as troublesome as a POW as he'd been as a pilot. After a period of interrogation in London, he was sent to a camp in the Lancashire countryside. He soon slipped away from a group of prisoners who were taken out for exercise. Crossing moors and woods, trying to reach the coast, living on apples he picked up from the ground, he evaded a manhunt for three cold, wet days and nights.

In a new camp in Derbyshire, he and other Luftwaffe pilots managed a bold getaway straight out of The Great Escape, tunneling their way out, equipped with disguises and false papers created in the camp. Posing as a Dutch pilot with the RAF, von Werra bluffed his way onto an airfeld and was actually in the cockpit of a parked Hurricane trying to fire up the engine when an RAF officer stopped him at gunpoint.

In January 1941 the British shipped von Werra and other German prisoners to Canada, where even if they did escape they'd have to cross the Atlantic to get back into the fight. Von Werra jumped out a window of the train taking them from Montreal to the camp. He landed in a snowbank, then, despite the deep cold, he trekked on foot to the ice-clogged Saint Lawrence River. He stole a rowboat, dragged it across ice and snow to the river, and floated rudderless and without paddles until he reached the ice pack at the other shore. There he hitched a ride into the riverfront town of Ogdensburg, New York, and surrendered to the police.

By the next day the Ogdensburg police station was jammed with reporters and photographers who had raced up from New York City. Baron von Werra put on a grand show for them, strutting and bragging so outrageously that one reporter dubbed him Baron Munchausen. In his photo in the next day's New York Times he grinned broadly, the white bandages on his frostbitten ears sticking out comically. He was allowed to call the German consulate at 17 Battery Place in Manhattan, and his bail on a charge of entering the country without going through proper immigration procedures was quickly posted. He was whisked away one hour before Canadian authorities could serve him with a summons for stealing the rowboat. That charge carried only a $35 fine but would have required him to return to Canada to face a judge.

The U.S. was still neutral in January 1941, and the baron was free to roam New York City. The German consul general instructed him to stop showing off for the press, but he couldn't keep the twenty-six-year-old out of the nightclubs and Broadway theaters, where the gossip columnists made a game of spotting him as he lived it up. The baron also accepted invitations to parties and dinners in the German neighborhood of Yorkville. As the London Times put it, "Escaped Hun Baron Women's Pet in U.S."

Meanwhile in Washington, the British, German, and Canadian governments were all lobbying to have von Werra handed over to them. Neutrality law prohibited the Americans from giving escaped prisoners back to their captors, but at the same time they were reluctant to send an experienced fighter pilot back to the Luftwaffe. His situation came to a head on March 22 when two other German POWs escaped and crossed the frozen Saint Lawrence on foot, entering Ogdensburg, chased by Canadian police. After a few hours they were handed over to the Canadians, and a Justice Department official suggested that von Werra might be sent back as well.

At that he disappeared from view. Nothing was seen or heard of him until a month later, April 23, when the papers announced that he had fled "in flagrant abuse of neutral hospitality" and was believed to be in Peru trying to arrange passage to Germany.

He was in fact already back in Germany. On instructions from Berlin, the consulate had helped him sneak out of New York two days after the other POWs were handed over. He traveled by train, alone and unnoticed, to El Paso. There, disguising himself as a Mexican worker, he walked across the bridge over the Rio Grande into Ciudad Juárez. He caught another train to Mexico City, where the German embassy gave him the false passport he used to take a series of international flights that brought him to Berlin on April 18. Hitler personally awarded him a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Von Werra was back in a Messerschmitt by summer, posted briefly to the Russian front, then to coastal defense in Holland. In October his Me 109 developed engine trouble and crashed into the sea. His body was never found. His remarkable exploits were dramatized in the mid-1950s book and movie The One That Got Away. The great Hardy Kreuger played him in the movie.

by John Strausbaugh

Excerpted from John’s new book Victory City: A History of New York and New Yorkers During World War II.

[ftnbooks-blog]

Frank Auerbach (1931)

Frank Auerbach Auerbach was born in Berlin of Jewish parents; his father was a lawyer and his mother a former art student. In 1939 he was sent to England to escape Nazism. His parents, who remained behind, died in concentration camps. He spent his childhood at a progressive boarding school, Bunce Court, at Lenham near Faversham, Kent, a school for Jewish refugee children. During the war years…

[healthmaria]

At Liverpool Street Station in London in central London is a war memorial for the 10.000 Jewish children who had to flee to England during the year before WWII broke out. Eighty years ago today they would have their first Christmas without their parents. Most of them would never be able to see them again as the majority of the parents were murdered soon after.

The bronze group statue of Jewish children arriving at the Liverpool Street Station by Frank Meisler (1925-2018)

A memorial group of Jewish children arrive at the Liverpool Street Station by Frank Meisler (1925-2018)

A monument group of Jewish children arrive at the Liverpool Street Station by Frank Meisler (1925-2018)

Detail from a monument group of Jewish children arriving at the Liverpool Street Station by Frank Meisler (1925-2018)

In Prague, Berlin and Vienna, other sculptures of the same children stand as a memory of the tragedy of having to flee from their homeland, never to see their parents. I have been to these places without knowing about them. Kinder Transport (children in German) if you would like to read more about its organisers and the situation they were in.

Every time our time in London comes to an end, my husband and I go to Liverpool Street Station to take the train to Stansted Airport. We spend a moment at the group statue of the Kindertransport children who seem to have just arrived at a foreign country to an uncertain future. Very close is an Mc Donald and unfortunately, much waste is left at the statue. I rush to collect it and get rid of it in a waste bin. Some years ago, after the bombings in London in 2005, there wouldn’t be any waste bins in the stations. I remember running after someone cleaning at the station, who then helped me to receive the waste. I guess that many people are so ignorant about historical facts since war memorials are often filled with empty bottles and bags from people having their lunch or coffee break on the venues.

Reading about the sculptor Frank Meisler, I realise that he was on one of the last Kindertransports before it came to an end with the outbreak of WWII. He too lost his parents in the Holocaust.  He has created similar groups of statues in the European cities where the departures started. In Berlin, at the Friedrich Strasse Station, he placed a group of sculptures that describes two trains one to life and one to death.

Inside the station is a smaller statue of two children in more modern clothes called Für das Kind, displaced:

Für das Kind, displaced

This statue stands inside Liverpool Street Station in the city of London The brass plaque on the side reads..

“FÜR DAS KIND” – DISPLACED by Flor Kent commemorating the greatness of ordinary people in extraordinary times Kindertransport Memorial linking Liverpool Street Station – London Hlavní Nídraží Station – Prague Westbahnhof Statien – Vienna In tribute to all those who helped rescue 10,000 Jewish and other children escaping Nazi persecution through the Kindertransports from Austria, Czechoslovakia and Germany to the United Kingdom in 1938-39. Liverpool Street Station was the main place of arrival and the meeting point for the children and their sponsors and foster families.

In memory of the millions, including over one and a half million children, who were killed during the Holocaust.

They will not be forgotten Dedicated 16 September 2003 Rededicated 21 May 2011 by Sir Nicholas Winton

The station is a beautiful piece of architecture from the Victorian time. The cast iron ornamentations in the roof are worth seeing.

One of the Liverpool Street Station entrances

The roof decoration in cast iron at Liverpool Street Station

Inside the station is a vast World war one Memorial for 1100 people connected to the station. A German air raid on the station in 1917 led to 162 deaths.

The WWI Memorial in the background at Liverpool Street Station

Looking at the Kindertransport Memorial outside the entrance of the Liverpool Street Station

    A Memorial for the Kinder Transport At Liverpool Street Station in London in central London is a war memorial for the 10.000 Jewish children who had to flee to England during the year before WWII broke out.

[vampireadamooc]

Friendly reminder that the FBI Files are publicly available - updated weekly as FOIA Requests are processed.

Direct Links to A-P (August 4th 2017)

The Vault Index

The FBI has converted many FOIA documents to an electronic format (PDF), and they may be viewed below. In the case of voluminous pages, only summaries or excerpts from the documents are online. Subjects are sorted alphabetically by first name. You can also use your browser's find feature to locate subjects on the page.

Al Capone Animal Mutilation Ali Hasan Al-Majid Al-Tikriti (Chemical Ali) Albert Anastasia ACLU Aristotle Onassis American Friends Service Committee Aryan Nation Anna Nicole Smith Anthony Blunt Alfred Kinsey Abner Zwillman Albert Einstein Anthony Spilotro ABSCAM Arthur Flegenheimer (Dutch Schultz) Alcatraz Escape Alcoholics Anonymous Al Gore, Sr. Amerithrax Anwar Nasser Aulaqi Amelia Boynton Abbie Hoffman Adolf Hitler Asian American Political Alliance Amelia Mary Earhart Andrew Phillip Cunanan Anthony Salerno All American Anti Imperialist League American Nazi Party Arthur Rudolph Aryan Brotherhood Atlanta Child Murders Aryan Circle Almighty Latin Kings Abe Fortas Arthur R. "Doc" Barker Arnold Palmer Armando Florez Ibarra Alvin Francis Karpis Attempted Assassination of President Ronald Reagan Alger Hiss Ariel Sharon Art Modell

Black September Bertolt Brecht Billy Carter Bishop Fulton Sheen Bonus March Barker-Karpis Gang Summary Bloods and Crips Gang Bonnie and Clyde Black Dahlia (Elizabeth Short) Basque Intelligence Service Bugsy Siegel Bayard Rustin Benjamin Hooks Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee Black Guerilla Family Black Mafia Family Bernard Baruch Black Panther Party BOMBROB Betty Shabazz Bureau Aviation Regulations Policy Directive and Policy Guide Bernard Julius Otto Kuehn Bettie Page Billy Martin Barker/Karpis Gang

Caryl Chessman Cardinal Francis Spellman Cambridge Five Spy Ring Carmine John Persico, Jr. Custodial Detention Clyde A. Tolson Clark Gable Charles Manson Council on Foreign Relations Charles Lindbergh Clarence Smith (aka 13x) Clarence Darrow Carl Sagan Carmine Galante Conference Cost Reporting and Approvals to Use Nonfederal Facilities Policy Directive 0927D Charlie Chaplin Casey Kasem Cartha DeLoach Christopher (Biggie Smalls) Wallace Charles "Chuck" Wendell Colson Contract for Assistance Regarding Syed Farooks iPhone Charlie Wilson Courtney Allen Evans Claudia Johnson Carlo Gambino Christic Institute Cesar Chavez Clergy and Laity Concerned about Vietnam Charles Rebozo Charles Kettering Claudia Jones Christian Identity Movement Carl Sandburg Charles (Sonny) Liston Columbine High School Criminal Profiling Coretta Scott King Charles Arthur (Pretty Boy) Floyd Custodial Detention Headquarters Carlos Fuentes COINTELPRO Custodial Detention Security Index

Danny Kaye David Koresh Daily Worker Dinah Shore Dorothy Dandridge Duquesne Spy Ring Director Comey Letter to Congress Dated October 28, 2016 Diversity and Inclusion Program Policy Guide Policy Directive 0842D Daniel David "Dan" Rostenkowski Daniel Inouye Daniel Schorr Demonstrations against Lyndon B. Johnson Desi Arnaz Diana, Princess of Wales D. Milton Ladd Dr. Samuel Sheppard Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower Director Comey Letter to Congress Dated November 6, 2016 David Hahn Debbie Reynolds David Howell Petraeus Daniel Patrick Moynihan D. B. Cooper

Erich Fromm Emmett Till E. B. (William) Dubois Extra-Sensory Perception Eliot Ness Electronic Recordkeeping Certification Policy Guide 0800PG Edward Irving "Ed" Koch Elizabeth Taylor Everette Hunt Edward Abbey Elizabeth Arden Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington Elvis Presley Eugene McCarthy Eddie Cantor Eleanor Roosevelt Evelyn Frechette Eric Wright (Eazy-E, EZ E) El Rukns Elijah Muhammad Ernest Hemingway Eugene “Gene” Curran Kelly Explanation of Exemptions

FBI Miami Shooting, April 11, 1986 Frances Perkins Fred Hampton Frank Capone FBI History Francis Gary Powers Frank Sinatra FBI Technical Surveillance Countermeasures Classification Guide Fred W. Phelps, Sr FBI Ethics and Integrity Program Policy Directive Policy Guide FBI Student Programs Policy Guide 0805 PG Fannie Lou Hammer Frank Rosenthal FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) FBI Undercover Operations FBI Terrorist Photo Album Five Percenters Frank Wortman FBI Use of Global Positioning System (GPS) Tracking Frank Malina FDPS FBI Sign Language Interpreting and Reading Program 0889D FBI Seal Name Initials and Special Agent Gold Badge 0625D FOIA DISCLAIMER Fidel Castro Freedom Riders FBI Assistance Provided to Local Law Enforcement During the Black Lives Matter Movement FBI Recreational Association(s) 0465D FOIA Requests Containing the Word Trump Fritz Julius Kuhn Fred G. Randaccio Fred C. Trump

George (Bugs) Moran Greenlease Kidnapping George (Machine Gun) Kelly Groucho Marx Guy Hottel Gov. Edmund Gerald (Pat) Brown, Sr. Gene Siskel German American Federation/Bund Geraldine Ferraro Gangster Disciples Grace Kelly Greenpeace George Jackson Brigade Guantanamo (GTMO) George Burns George Lester Jackson General Douglas MacArthur General Telecommunications Policy 0862D George S. Patton, Jr. Gay Activist Alliance Ghost Stories: Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Illegals Gamergate Gregory Scarpa, Sr George Orson Welles George Steinbrenner

Hugo Black Henry Louis (H.L.) Mencken Henry A Wallace Herbert Khaury (Tiny Tim) Highlander Folk School Hanns Eisler Henry Miller Howard Zinn Huey Percy Newton HEARNAP Honoraria Policy 0867D Herman Barker Harold Glasser Hubert H. Humphrey Helen Keller Harland David "Colonel" Sanders Hindenburg Harry S. Truman Hillary R. Clinton Howard Robard Hughes, Jr

Interpol Irgun Zvai Leumi Irving Berlin Impersonation of Bhumibol Adulyadej Imperial Gangsters I Was a Communist for the FBI (Motion Picture) Irwin Allen Ginsberg Ian Fleming Irving Resnick

Jack Soble Jefferson Airplane Jack Benny Jack the Ripper Jesse James James Cagney John F. Kennedy Jr. John Murtha Joseph Aiuppa Jonestown (RYMUR) Summary Joseph Lash John Ehrlichman John L. Lewis John (Jake the Barber) Factor Joseph P. (Joe) Kennedy, Sr. John Steinbeck John Arthur (Jack) Johnson Janis Joplin Jimmy Hoffa Jessica Mitford Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer Jack Anderson John Wilkes Booth Joe Paterno Jay David Whittaker Chambers John Joseph Gotti, Jr James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix James Baldwin Joseph Losey John Siegenthaler Jeannette Rankin Jack Roosevelt Robinson Judith Coplon James Joseph Brown John Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison) Jerry Garcia Jane Addams John Chancellor John Wayne Gacy Jack Roosevelt (Jackie) Robinson John D. Rockefeller, III John Dillinger John (Handsome Johnny) Roselli John Profumo (Bowtie) J. Edgar Hoover Julius and Ethel Rosenberg J. Edgar Hoover Appointment and Phone Logs Jesse Helms Jonestown J. Edgar Hoover Official and Confidential (O&C) Files Joe Louis Joan Alexandra Rivers Jack Dempsey John Denver James Farmer James McDougal John Updike Jerry Heller Josephine Baker Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio John Winston Lennon

Kent State Katherine Oppenheimer Kent State Shooting Ken Eto Kansas City Massacre Kiss

Lady Bird Johnson Louis Allen Leander Perez, Sr. Legal Handbook for FBI Special Agents Louis (Lepke) Buchalter Liberace Lyndon B. Johnson Laboratory Reference Firearms Collection Policy LD0020D Louie Louie (The Song) Louis Francis Costello Lucia Stepp Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Lillie Belle Allen League of Women Voters Lillian (Lily) Hellman Lester Joseph Gillis (Baby Face Nelson) Lenny Bruce Lucille Ball Luis Buñuel Louis Terkel Langston Hughes Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev Leon Trotsky Leonard Bernstein Lloyd William Barker

Marilyn Monroe Motion Picture Copyright Infringement Mississippi Burning (MIBURN) Case Michael (Mike) Royko Martin Luther King, Jr. Melvin Purvis Malcolm X Muriel Rukeyser Marilyn Sheppard Madalyn Murray OHair Mack Charles Parker Mexican Mafia Mafia Monograph Morris and Lona Cohen Medgar Evers Moorish Science Temple of America Mary Jo Kopechne (Chappaquiddick) Majestic 12 Marian Anderson Michael Jackson Machine Gun Kelly Murray Humphreys Michael Hastings Michael Whitney Straight Melvin Belli Marvin Gaye Marlene Dietrich Malcolm Little (Malcolm X) Meir Kahane Mario Savio Mohammed Khalifa MAOP Margaret H. Thatcher Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace Miami Boys Mario M. Cuomo Muammar Qadhafi Mattachine Society Meyer Lansky Mickey Mantle MIOG Mark Felt Martin Dies, Jr. Muhammad Ali Marcus Garvey

Nikola Tesla Norman Mailer Neil Armstrong National Rifle Association (NRA) New Alliance Party Nuestra Familia National Security Letters (NSL) National States Rights Party NAACP National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) National Organization for Women (NOW) Nation of Islam Nelson Mandela National Gang Threat Assessment Next Generation Identification Monthly Fact Sheets Non-Retaliation for Reporting Compliance Risks Naming and Commemorating FBI Buildings and Spaces 0910D

Osage Indian Murders Owen Lattimore OKBOMB Original Knights of the KKK

Pearl Buck People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) President Richard Nixon's FBI Application Purple Gang (aka Sugar House Gang) Project Blue Book (UFO) Philip Ochs Protests in Baltimore, Maryland, 2015 Pablo Escobar Patriot Act Paul Harvey Paul Robeson, Sr. Pulse Nightclub Shooting Personal Services Contracts Policy Directive 0957D Percy Sutton Pentagon Spy Case Policy: Custodial Interrogation for Public Safety Policy Directive 0481D Physical Fitness Program Policy Directive and Policy Guide 0676PG

[marjaystuff]

Elise Cooper Interview with Alfred Gough and Miles Millar

Double Exposure by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of the TV series, “Smallville,” brings to life a unique storyline. Set in the 1960s to make the story believable, they explore the question, what if Hitler did not die in the bunker, and is still alive?

The plot begins with a KGB Russian agent, turned CIA asset, smuggling a film canister over the Berlin Wall.  Because the East Germans shot the agent as well as the canister the CIA now needs help in attempting to repair it.  They turn to David Toland, a decorated Korean War veteran, who wanted to leave his combat days behind him. Now the Director of Preservation for the Library of Congress's National Film Archive, he is asked to restore the film by CIA Agent Lana Welles.  The film shows Hitler is still alive, well, and dangerous. Because there are those that want to restore the Third Reich, Welles and Toland put their lives in danger as they attempt to pursue Hitler all over the world. Traveling to Russia for clues, they are saved by Simon Lean who is masquerading as a best-selling author. They join forces in their pursuit to find Hitler and to end his attempt at regaining power.

The novel is action-packed as the characters journey around the globe from Washington DC to Europe to South America. Betrayals, lies, deceptions, and deceits are at the heart of the story. David realizes that not everyone is who or what they are, learning that trust is a rare commodity with all the many traitors and moles.

Elise Cooper:  Since you both are screenwriters why didn’t you try to make a movie?

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar: We initially imagined Double Exposure as a movie, but as soon as we started breaking the outline, it became clear that the scope of the story was too big and would be more suited to a novel with the period setting, the globetrotting locations, and the elaborate action set-pieces. Although Double Exposure is our first novel, we came to it after spending the entirety of our professional lives as screenwriters. We approached the story exactly the same way we would if we had been writing a movie or TV pilot. Like any great movie thriller, we wanted the narrative to have a propulsive drive. We loved the idea of starting with a real historical event and then using it as a jumping off point to spin our own wild, globe-trotting yarn.

EC: You are the creators of “Smallville,” the TV series about the life of Clark Kent before Superman?

AGMM:  We were not huge comic book fans, but were fans of the superhero film, “Superman,” starring Christopher Reeve and directed by Richard Donner. We got the perspective from it, and with the TV series tried to stay true to the spirit, even as today’s Superheroes have become corporatized. When we started there was no Marvel universe.  What we tried to do is dramatize the emotions of Clark Kent regarding how and why he became a hero.  It was right after 9/11 where the mood of the country shifted and embraced Superman.  It was the right show at the right time.  He was the defender of America, which has been redefined and reinterpreted for every generation of Americans.

EC:  Why the 1960s?

AGMM:  Film restoration at the time was fairly new.  When the Internet and technology is taken away the world is opened up more.  There is not the crutch of the computer, cell phones, Google Maps, and DNA.  The hero is challenged more.

EC:  Are you both movie fans considering you included the classics “King Kong,” “The Great Dictator,” and the “Nun’s Story?”

AGMM:  We are both die-hard movie buffs and have dedicated our professional lives to the art form. We first met at USC Film School and hit it off because we shared the same taste in movies. We wanted to write a book with movie references.  It was a fun element of this story because we infused David’s job into the story.  We hope readers caught all the references.

EC: How would you describe David?

AGMM: David Toland’s skill as a film restoration seemed unique, and was one that hadn’t been explored before in either a novel or a movie. We imagined him as the Indiana Jones of film restoration. He is conflicted about his life as a soldier so he escaped to this job so he does not have to deal with the real world.  Now he is put in a situation that has world altering consequences.  

EC:  So what film personality describes David?

AGMM: He is a combination of Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart, and William Holden. He has the quality of being the “every man” until he is pushed and then has an edge to him.

EC:  How would you describe Lana?

AGMM:  She plays things close to the vest and is very serious.  She has to conform to being a woman in a man’s world.  We wanted her to be the one to drive the plot.  She is a strong female character who is mysterious and keeps David guessing.

EC:  So what film personality describes Lana?

AGMM:  She is a combination of Lauren Bacall, Veronica Lake, and Rita Hayworth. Lana has plenty of attitude and is strong, feminine, and smart.  

EC:  How would you describe Simon?

AGMM:  Self-serving, in it for himself.  The best party guest.  A mercenary without much moral compass.

EC:  So what film personality describes Simon?

AGMM:  A combination of David Niven, Alec Guinness, and Peter O’ Toole. He is English and a scene stealing character.

EC:  Why all the different settings?

AGMM:  It is a globe-trotting adventure story. We wanted to use the Hitchcockian glamor and tone.  Hopefully, readers take the journey with the characters who went from Washington DC to Russia to Europe to South America. Remember many Nazis went to Spain and South America on submarines.

EC:  Can you explain the quote, “Films lie to tell the truth?”

AGMM:  Everything about a movie is manipulation.  The story has a cast of characters, and particular scenes.  Putting it all together is for the emotional response.  

EC:  Is there going to be another book?  

AGMM: We would love to continue David’s story in a series of novels. The jumping off point will have David restoring a piece of film that launches him on another unexpected adventure. We have already written the outlines to two follow-ups, but we obviously need to wait and see the reaction to Double Exposure.

THANK YOU!!

[yuican48]

Superman: Earth-2

When the scientists of Krypton failed to heed the advice of Jor-L that the planet was doomed, he acted rashly in hopes of delaying the inevitable. He failed.

With little other choice, Jor-L and Lara worked as quickly as possible to prepare 4 crafts to carry their son, as well as 3 other children under their protection, away to a suitable world, but one of men without their natural Kryptonian strength.

Kal-L, in the most advanced craft, soon lost the elder children, and landed on earth with no delay, while the other children, in suspended animation, would take decades.

Landing in the outskirts of Metropolis, a passing motorist found the child but not his destroyed craft, and turned him over to an orphanage. From there he was adopted by John and Mary Kent, and raised in their home in the Midvale suburb.

The family realised Clark’s great strength and speed early on, and encouraged him to always use these gifts to help his fellow man. His parents, elderly when they adopted him, died soon after Clark was accepted into university. After graduating he was hired by the Daily Star as a reporter by George Taylor, and met the love of his life, Lois Lane, hired at the same time in 1938.

Recognising both the ability to expose injustice as a reporter, and to fight those others would have to run from, Clark fashioned a costume inspired by circus strongmen, and started to fight injustice as Superman. Able to leap, swift, and powerful, Superman ushered in a golden age of costumes crimefighters. As more heroes began to appear, Superman was invited to attend the gatherings of a Justice Society of America, though unwilling to partake in fear of leaving his city undefended, was acknowledged as an honourary member.

In 1941 the USA entered a war that had already brewed for some time. America’s superheroes were gathered together to form an All-Star Squadron under order of President Roosevelt. Clark Kent, on the other hand, was unable to join the war effort, as his at the time unknowingly developing further superpowers, from a lifetime of exposure to the yellow sun, lead him to accidentally read the eye chart in the next room.

Clark nonetheless took work as a war correspondent, heading to Europe to report on the allies operations. It was there that it was discovered a fact that, had it been discovered later, could have cost the war. Deciding to help the Boy Commandos in their liberation of a French village, Superman suddenly turned on his allies, attacking them. As it happened, the Fuhrer’s efforts to find mythical artifacts had been partly successful. The Spear of Destiny was in the madman’s hands, allowing him to create a sphere of influence with which he could control the minds of any metahumans within the lands he controlled. Fortunately Batman was able to rescue Superman after first using a sample of K-Metal and remove Superman to allied territory. The early discovery meant that plans for an All-Star Squadron assault on Berlin were dropped in favour of the alliance working to deal with insurgents on US soil, while the war in Europe had to be left to others, like GI Robot, Easy Company and the Blackhawks.

During this time Superman had to contend with villains such as the Ultra-Humanite, eastern European dictator Alexei Luthor, and the 5 dimensional imp Mr Mxyztplk.

D-Day came and as allied forces marched on France the Squadron was left on standby, only able mop up after the military came through, until a daring raid conducted by Batman and the Sandman removed the spear from Nazi hands. With this action done, the fastest members of the Squadron races for Berlin. They arrived to find the Spectre already prepared to kill Hitler, but convinced him that Hitler needed to be tried by humanity for His crimes. Before 1944 was over the allies had captured Berlin and Germany surrendered.

With the war over Clark confessed his identity to Lois, and the pair eventually married. In the intervening years Clark had learnt of his origins, but still felt at home on earth. When the JSA disappeared Superman was one of the few heroes who remained active in the intermediate years. It wasn’t until 1965 that things began to change. The second rocket, having been stuck in an asteroid field for decades, drifted towards the Sol system and detected Kryptonian DNA. And so a rocket came down to earth, containing a child of a dead world. Kara Zor-L had spent her last 6 months on Krypton raised by her aunt and uncle after her parents deaths in the Argo bombings. The 10 year old now found herself on an unfamiliar world, with her baby cousin now older than his parents had ever been. Taking the name Karen, the girl was adopted by Lois and Clark, and in 1976 debuted as Power Girl, wanting to have her own identity. She joined up with both the JSA and the fledgling Infinity Inc. In the wake of the Multiversal crisis of 1938 Kal-L and Lois disappeared, their whereabouts remaining a mystery for many years. Power Girl spent some time in space looking for her cousin. She returned many years later to find some things the same, and others completely changed. Some had spent an amount of the intermediate time away and like her not aged much. Perhaps most surprising of all was that her best friend, Helena Wayne, had now taken the name of Batman after her brother's death, and the appearance of Supergirl, part of a World Army project to create new wonders, and secretly a teenage clone of Karen. After a while Karen agreed to mentor the girl. In 2007 the forces of Apokalips attempted to take over earth as part of a greater effort to disrupt balance of a scale mortals could not perceive. Power Girl and Supergirl both fought in the war, and were lost, their fates a mystery. Years later, in a new age of Wonders, another invasion was slowly beginning. A mysterious new Batman broke into the World Army secure prison to liberate several prisoners, including the third Kryptonian. Val-Zod had bee. 16 when Krypton died. The son of terrorists, he was raised by Jor-L and Lara after their execution. Aware of the gifts he held but also terrified of causing harm, after landing in 2007 he had agreed to be kept secure. Encouraged by the new Red Tornado when a figure seeming to be Superman appeared on Apokalips' side, Val took the name of Superman and fought off the imposter before it died. Supergirl, now using the Power Girl name returned, having spent the years since trapped in another universe alongside the former Robin. They joined the new Wonders in fighting Darkseid's forces, but humanity was forced to abandon the earth, escaping in ark ships. The new Wonders got spread out, some escaped with the ships, but the rest were lost. Val and Power Girl found themselves on Apokalips, where they found both Kal-L and Karen imprisoned. The pair were freed, but Kal was killed in the escape, giving Val his blessing as Superman and Karen his S-shield. A new world was found, and Karen, Superwoman, now had two young Kryptonians to mentor in protecting it. Meanwhile, on the ashes of Apokalips' conquered earth, the 4th child landed.

[bountyofbeads]

As Talks With Putin Loom, Ukraine Looks in Vain for U.S. Help https://nyti.ms/2qNkgMy

Intercepted calls show deep Russian involvement with Ukraine rebels at time of airline shoot-down

By Michael Birnbaum | Published Nov. 14 at 10:40 AM ET | Washington Post | Posted November 14, 2019 |

BRUSSELS — Senior Kremlin officials were directly involved in the day-to-day affairs of rebels in eastern Ukraine as the conflict there worsened in 2014, prosecutors investigating the downing of a Malaysian airliner that year said Thursday.

There has been little doubt that Russia was deeply involved in the conflict, despite Kremlin denials: Western journalists saw Russian troops move across the border into Ukraine and witnessed Russian troops operating on the ground. And during a key stretch in summer 2014, the rebels’ top leaders were Russian.

But the recordings and transcripts of intercepted phone calls made public Thursday offered a new level of detail about Kremlin involvement in eastern Ukraine as rebels struggled to set up the institutions of a breakaway state, press their advantage with Kyiv and manage the fallout from the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

The conflict is still ongoing — and is featuring prominently in U.S. impeachment hearings, as Congress investigates whether President Trump conditioned U.S. military aid for Ukraine on the country investigating his political opponents.

Western investigators say the Malaysia Airlines plane was taken down by a Russian-built missile fired from rebel-held territory, killing all 298 people aboard. The intercepted calls were released by the Dutch-led investigators. The Washington Post could not independently confirm the calls’ veracity.

“The rebels used secure means of communication. A number of these seemed to be provided by the Russian Federation and, moreover, used by Russian top officials in their contact with the fighters,” said David Taylor, a senior investigations officer with the Australian Federal Police, who is working with the international inquiry.

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said the international investigation presupposed Russian guilt from the outset, and was now tasked only with “juggling” evidence that “would testify in favor of the chosen tactic of accusation,” Interfax reported.

In one of the recordings, Alexander Borodai, the then-leader of the rebels, can be heard telling an unidentified person: “I’m carrying out orders and protecting the interests of one and only state, the Russian Federation. That’s the bottom line.”

In a call on July 3, 2014, Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov — who has been Russia’s point person on eastern Ukraine — told Borodai that Russian fighters “were departing for the south to be combat-ready,” mentioning a “certain Antyufeyev.” A week later, a man named Vladimir Antyufeyev gave a news conference in the rebel capital of Donetsk that he had just arrived from Russia and that he planned to take over security and internal affairs in the aspiring breakaway statelet.

Other phone calls between rebels refer to “special phones, you cannot buy them. They are gotten through Moscow. Through FSB,” Russia’s intelligence agency. Others refer to cash support from Russia and a request from Borodai to a Russian cellphone number that “our helicopters” carry out raids.

And, in conversations among themselves, the rebels talked about how a top Russian general had delivered equipment to them on the order of “the person beginning with ‘Sh.’ Do you know him?”

“No, I do not,” the second person said.

“Well, Shoigu. Shoigu,” the first person said, referring to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

The international group of investigators, known as the Joint Investigative Team, said that it had published the calls in the hopes of securing witnesses who would tell them more about the details.

Over the summer, they issued indictments for several of the top rebel commanders at the time of the plane’s downing.

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As Talks With Putin Loom, Ukraine Looks in Vain for U.S. Help

Kiev wants Western support as it seeks to end its conflict with Russia. But amid the impeachment drama, Washington, its staunchest backer, is increasingly out of the picture.

By Anton Troianovski | Published Nov. 14, 2019, 12:01 a.m. ET | New York Times | Posted November 14, 2019 |

KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainians are used to hearing the West call for stability in their country. This fall, the roles have reversed.

“Ukraine would very much like to see a stable political situation in the States,” Oleksandr Turchynov, the previous Ukrainian president’s national security adviser, said in an interview. The relationship between Kiev and Washington, he added, “is a question of life and death for us.”

As the impeachment spectacle unfolds in Washington, attention is focused on President Trump and the ramifications for domestic politics. But the scandal is having a major impact on Ukraine, weakening President Volodomyr Zelensky’s position as he hopes to start face-to-face talks in coming weeks with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia over ending the war with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Mr. Putin has sent signals that he’s prepared to dial down tensions with Ukraine, especially since this could help him escape from economic sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States. But he wants to end the war on his terms, and thanks to the disarray in American policy in Ukraine, politicians and officials in Kiev say, the chances of that are improving.

In that respect, Ukraine seems to have joined a long list of foreign policy issues where Mr. Trump has intervened in such a way as to advance the Kremlin’s interest, whether in pressuring NATO, withdrawing from Syria, pushing Brexit, siding with right-wing European populists or defending Russia against charges of meddling in the 2016 election.

“We are not interested in any chaos within the United States political system because we are really, really relying on it,” the lawmaker Bohdan Yaremenko, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Ukrainian Parliament and a Zelensky ally, said. Less American engagement in Ukraine, Mr. Yaremenko said, would offer Russia a “clear sign that they could allow themselves more in Ukraine — to be more aggressive, more active.”

Sitting on the East-West divide, Ukraine has sometimes been called the new Berlin Wall. The ouster of its Russia-friendly president in 2014 seemed to mark a turning point, aligning Kiev with the West. Now, the Kremlin seems poised, if not to reverse the tide, at least to shift it more in its favor.

In one sign of Moscow’s increasing leverage, Mr. Zelensky recently reached out for a direct meeting with Mr. Putin, without Western leaders present as intermediaries. In another, the business tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky — one of the country’s most influential figures — said he favored rebuilding ties with Russia.

In the past, American diplomats worked closely with Kiev in any talks with Moscow. They presented a united front to the Kremlin, cajoled the European Union to maintain sanctions and tried to reassure a nervous Ukrainian public. Kurt D. Volker, the State Department special envoy for Ukraine, traveled to the country frequently, held talks with Russian officials and agitated on behalf of Kiev at the White House, on Capitol Hill and in Europe.

But with American policy and personnel scrambled by revelations about Mr. Trump’s push for Ukraine to investigate Democrats, the United States is now largely absent from the political and diplomatic process over resolving the war in the east, Ukrainian and Western officials in Kiev say.

Since this spring, as Mr. Trump’s pressure campaign built toward its highest pitch, at least nine officials who had a hand in Ukraine policy have either resigned or become distanced from the Trump administration after testifying in the impeachment inquiry: Mr. Volker; John Bolton, the former national security adviser; Fiona Hill, the former adviser on Europe and Russia at the White House; Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine; Michael McKinley, a senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council; and the diplomats Gordon D. Sondland, William B. Taylor Jr. and George P. Kent.

Only Mr. Taylor is still active in Ukraine, serving as the acting United States ambassador. On Wednesday, Mr. Taylor testified to the House Intelligence Committee, which is leading the impeachment inquiry, that his aide was told in July that Mr. Trump cared more about “investigations of Biden” than he did about Ukraine.

But Ukrainian and Western officials in Kiev said they doubted that Mr. Taylor spoke for Mr. Trump, who dismissed the veteran diplomat as a “Never Trumper” after he offered damaging testimony in the impeachment inquiry.

Americans had been “providing this backup and legitimacy of the Ukrainian position,” said Oksana Syroid, who heads a Ukrainian political party, Self Reliance, that supports closer ties with Washington.

But with the expanding cloud of controversy surrounding United States-Ukraine relations, Ukraine is now “kind of naked,” Ms. Syroid said. “We are alone confronting Russia.”

Mr. Zelensky in recent weeks has pushed forward with a plan for the mutual withdrawal of troops at several points on the front lines of the war in coordination with the separatists. The moves, which have not gone smoothly, are meant to pave the way for Mr. Zelensky’s first official meeting with Mr. Putin.

“We have to resolve all the issues by looking each other in the eyes, not by talking on the phone,” Mr. Zelensky said recently in explaining the need to meet with Mr. Putin.

No date has been set for the meeting, but Mr. Zelensky’s administration sees a window of opportunity to negotiate. The Kremlin has taken some conciliatory steps, such as exchanging prisoners with Kiev, while Russians are growing tired of the war and of Western sanctions, Mr. Yaremenko, the Zelensky ally in Parliament, said.

Many Ukrainians are already nervous about their inexperienced president negotiating with Mr. Putin. Some 20,000 people marched in the Ukrainian capital last month to protest Mr. Zelensky’s peace plan, warning of an imminent “capitulation.”

Four-way summits between Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia took place five times under Mr. Zelensky’s predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, during the Obama administration. At the time, State Department officials were coordinating almost daily with the Europeans and Ukrainians to present Moscow with a united front.

Ms. Syroid said she believes both Democrats and Republicans are now thinking twice about even communicating with Ukrainians for fear of being bound up in the impeachment maelstrom. Some officials in Kiev said Ukraine had become “toxic” in Washington.

Mr. Sondland, the American ambassador to the European Union who played a key role in managing Ukraine policy, told congressional investigators that he pointedly ignored a “Hello, how are you?” text message this fall from a top adviser to Mr. Zelensky.

“I just didn’t want to respond once the matter had become contentious,” Mr. Sondland said, according to the transcript of his deposition released on Nov. 5.

Ukrainians are now baffled about whom they should speak with in Washington. State Department officials are discussing whether to divide the role of Ukraine envoy among several diplomats instead of replacing Mr. Volker, who was working part time in the job, and without pay.

“Right now, there is no one,” Mr. Turchynov, the former national security adviser, said, “who knows in detail the situation in Ukraine and can at any moment give advice, consult, have our back and pass on objective information about events happening in the country to the highest political level in America.”

The shadow cast onto Ukraine by the impeachment process has not gone unnoticed in Moscow. The revelations about the Trump administration’s pressure campaign back up a core element of the Kremlin’s propaganda about American involvement in Ukraine: that faraway Washington only sees the country as a means to its own ends, without caring for the well-being of regular Ukrainians.

Similarly, Mr. Trump’s orders that United States troops abandon their Kurdish allies in northeastern Syria but guard the country’s oil fields played into the longtime Russian message that America is an unreliable ally and that its interests in the Middle East are just pecuniary.

Mr. Putin has already taken strategic advantage of Mr. Trump’s erratic foreign policy to emerge as a kingmaker in the Middle East. One question now is how Mr. Putin might seek to capitalize on the confusion over American support for Ukraine. Despite the war, many Ukrainians still have close personal or cultural ties to their eastern neighbor, and a September poll found that 54 percent of Ukrainians have a positive view of Russia.

For now, many Ukrainians insist that the impeachment-related tumult hasn’t shaken their long-term faith in America, and they note the strong voices of support they’ve received from Congress and from the officials testifying in the impeachment inquiry.

But signs of a possible shift are emerging. One senior European official who works closely on Ukraine policy said that Ukrainians suffered from a misguided belief that the United States would fix everything. Now, the official said, Ukrainians ought to finally recognize that the European Union is their closer, more reliable partner.

On Oct. 28, one of Ukraine’s business newspapers, Delovaya Stolitsa, published a column that concluded with a similar point:

“It’s clear that today Ukraine’s vectors need to be moved closer to a balance of relationships with the leading players (other than Russia, of course), and their less infantile governments, which don’t drag other countries into their no-holds-barred political fights.”

______

Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting from Kiev, Ukraine, and Lara Jakes from Washington.

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Why Ukraine and Russia are still at war

By Will Englund | Published November 13 at 2:07 PM ET | Washington Post | Posted November 14, 2019 |

MOSCOW — America’s top diplomat in Ukraine, William B. Taylor Jr., described Russia on Wednesday as Ukraine’s “bully neighbor.” Taylor’s remarks during the first open hearing of the impeachment inquiry repeatedly came back to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists that began in 2014. The war has seen Russia play a shadowy role in provoking and then supporting fighters in two of Ukraine’s eastern regions, including Donbas.

Here’s what happened and where the conflict stands.

ROOTS IN AN UPRISING

The war broke out after a popular uprising in Kyiv sent the corrupt and Kremlin-friendly president, Viktor Yanukovych, into exile across the border in Russia. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who takes an exceedingly dim view of popular revolts, feared that Ukraine would leave Russia’s orbit in favor of the European Union. Putin engineered the annexation of the Crimean peninsula, where Russia already had a naval base, and then stoked the uprising in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region against the “fascists” who had supposedly taken control in Kyiv.

The separatists are a mixed group. They include local fighters — including some from the ranks of organized crime — and some militiamen from the Russian side. Moscow denies it directly supports the eastern Ukraine units. But Russian aid keeps the fight alive. Last year, a Dutch-led international team of investigators concluded that a missile that downed a Malaysia Airlines jetliner over eastern Ukraine in 2014 came from the Russian military. The attack killed all 298 aboard. Russia denies any link to the disaster.

LOW-LEVEL FIGHTING CONTINUES

More than five years later, the war continues on a low-grade basis. The separatists have not been defeated, but Putin’s backing has driven a wedge between most Ukrainians and Russia that will take generations, perhaps, to heal. The United States and other countries imposed sanctions on Russia, which remain in place, for grabbing Crimea. Under President Barack Obama, the United States provided Ukraine with a limited amount of military materiel and training. President Trump’s delay of about $400 million in military assistance in the summer is at the heart of the impeachment inquiry. But the Trump administration also approved for the first time the sale of Javelin antitank missiles to the Ukrainians.

ABOUT 13,000 DEATHS

About 13,000 people have died in the war, on both sides, and many Ukrainians are weary of it. Potential friends in the European capitals also are getting restless. American diplomats — among them Taylor and George Kent, deputy assistant secretary of state — tried this summer to focus attention on the threat of Russia and the strategic importance of Ukraine to U.S. security. They lobbied strongly for continued security assistance. Both were deeply alarmed by Trump’s attitude toward Ukraine.

DIVIDED OPINIONS OVER THE BREAKAWAY REGION

Opinion is split in Kyiv over whether residents of the separatist regions can ever be successfully reintegrated into Ukrainian society. In the spring, the actor Volodymyr Zelensky, a newcomer to politics, won the presidency in an easy victory, and his supporters later swept control of the parliament. Without getting into specifics, he has talked about finding a way to end the war. Some worry that he is an easy mark for the Kremlin, others that he has been too cozy with right-wing Ukrainian nationalists. Both may have a point.

CAUTIOUS OVERTURES FOR PEACE

In September, Ukraine and Russia swapped 70 prisoners, and another exchange may be on the way. In October, Zelensky said he was willing to explore a path to peace talks called the Steinmeier Formula. That led to protests in Kyiv against “capitulation.” It has now also brought about a very careful and tentative disengagement in a few towns along the front line. The view among analysts in Ukraine is that Zelensky’s bargaining position with Russia has been weakened by Trump’s attempt to force Ukraine to do his bidding by investigating the Bidens and the country’s supposed role in the 2016 U.S. election. The impeachment inquiry has further driven Zelensky into a tight spot.

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[juliandmouton30]

10 homes that would make ideal venues for a New Year's Eve party

With 2017 coming to a close, we've pulled together images from Pinterest of homes that would make great places to host a New Year's Eve party. Our top 10 includes an English country house with interiors by Kate Moss and an Israeli residence with a six-metre-high wine bar.

House of Parties, Israel, by Pitsou Kedem

The name of this house says it all. Split into two adjoining halves, the Tel Aviv property was designed to blend family life with entertainment.

The party side features a double-height space, boasting a six-metre-high glass-fronted wine cooler and bar.

Find out more about House of Parties › 

Shore House, US, by Leroy Street Studio

When designing this Long Island retreat, architects office Leroy Street Studio was asked to include a space that could be used to host large parties and events.

In response, they gave the house a large open-plan lounge, kitchen and dining room, which opens out to a sunken outdoor lounge.

Find out more about Shore House ›

H House, Vietnam, by VACO Design

A range of entertainment features, such as a pool table in the games room and a covert swimming pool, make this Ho Chi Minh City house ideal for hosting a party.

Vietnamese firm VACO Design formed the facade from hollow concrete blocks, which help to cool the house and shelter it from the tropical heat.

Find out more about H House ›

Church Hill Barn, UK, by David Nossiter Architects

David Nossiter Architects converted an old barn in the Suffolk countryside to create this contemporary home. It features an eight-metre-high, timber-trussed ceiling – with plenty of room below for guests.

Find out more about Church Hill Barn  ›

Apartment H, Germany, by IFUB

Architecture studio IFUB renovated one floor of an old chocolate factory into this home for a group of young adults.

The building had been used as a party venue back in the 1990s. And, thanks to its high-vaulted ceilings, large windows and location in the hip east area of Berlin, it still looks like a good venue to host a gathering.

Find out more about Apartment H ›

Galpão Simm, Brasil, by Alan Chu

Local architect Alan Chu created this plywood stage space for a burgeoning actor in São Paulo.

The 90-square-metre space has wooden flooring, tall hinged doors and floor-to-ceiling curtains, making it an ideal place for party entertainment and performances.

Find out more about Galpão Simm ›

Ancient Party Barn, UK, by Liddicoat & Goldhill

Liddicoat & Goldhill's playful remodelling of this barn provided a countryside retreat for a client who wanted a break from city life.

Its rural Kent location means that revellers could probably make a lot of noise without disturbing the neighbours.

Find out more about Ancient Party Barn › 

The Barnhouse, UK, Yoo and Kate Moss

Supermodel Kate Moss' first foray into interior design is a "luxurious haven in the woods, a perfect place to escape with family and friends".

She used House of Hackney wallpaper, velvet and brass materials and furnishings to create the elegant interior.

Find out more about The Barnhouse › 

Casa Wabi, Mexico, by Tadao Ando

This Mexican property by Japanese architect Tadao Ando is not technically a residence – it functions as the home for an arts charity.

But, with its location next to the beach, it would make a great place to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends.

Find out more about Casa Wabi ›

G1203, Belgium, by GAFPA

This home is located in an old factory, so there is plenty of room inside for guests.

Belgian studio GAFPA designed the residence inside a disused stonemason's atelier in Ghent, and transformed a former outbuilding to create its walled garden.

Find out more about G1203 ›

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