#esp us. and the middle east

[blossoms-phan]

hey so like. this is crazy

[mybrainproblems]

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[whimsycore]

We need to stop normalizing war and calamity with specific countries and regions. When we do that it causes massive lack of care from people outside of these circles because they “expect” violence and suffering. When we think about countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Middle Eastern and African countries because of the association with war, death, and poverty people in the west do not jump to help. It’s intolerance and apathy at its core. Remember this when you watch the news. None of this is normal. Imagine if this was your family.

[blackpearlblast]

you can give seven days of internet connection to someone in gaza for just 6 USD

gazaesims.com is a website dedicated to helping people donate esims for people in gaza. (for the ultimate guide to donating an esim, see http://tinyurl.com/gaza-esims) there are multiple options for where to purchase an esim to donate, for the price i listed you want to use nomad esims. you can get a $3 discount by using someone's referral code from the notes of this post. it also will give the referrer credit to buy more esims! (you can only use a referral code on your first purchase) @/fairuzfan also a tag for esim referral codes here, some of which are nomad. BACKPACKNOMAD is another code to get $3 off your first purchase, it's been working for some people but not others so try out a referral code instead if you can't get it to work. also it took over an hour for the email with my information to come through so don't panic if it doesn't show up right away. (logging back into your nomad account seems to have helped some people get their emails to send!) NOMADCNG is a code for 5% off any middle east region nomad esims from connecting gaza. it can be used on any purchase, not just your first but is generally going to give less off than the first-purchase only codes, so use those first. it can be used in combination with nomad points. AWESOME NEW CODE: nomad esim discount code for 75% off any plan, NOMADCS25 do not know how long it lasts but this is an amazing deal esp. since they are really low on esims right now! (nomad promo codes do not work on plans that are already on sale, unlimited plans, and plans under $5)

weekly tuesdays only code on nomad web, PST timezone! it gives 10% off plans 10gb and above. NOMADTUE

for the month of may, first time referrals give 25% off for a person's first purchase and 25% off the referrer's next purchase! it's a great time to use someone's referral code from the notes if you are a first time buyer.

troubleshooting hint 1: if you are trying to pay through paypal, make sure you have pop-ups enabled! otherwise the payment window won't be able to appear.

troubleshooting hint 2: if you are trying to purchase an esim using the provider's app, it may block you from purchasing if your phone does not fit the requirements to install and use their esims. use their website in your browser instead and this problem should go away.

edit as of 5/21/24: holafly (israel and egypt), nomad (regional middle east), simly (palestine and middle east), mogo (israel), and airalo (discover) are currently in the highest in demand. here is a purchase guide i made that covers all of the esim platforms, including these three platforms. if it has been more than 3 weeks since you initially sent your esim and your esim has not been activated, you can reforward your original email with the expiration date in the subject line. you can see gothhabiba’s guide for how to tell if your esims have been activated. if your esim has expired without use, you can contact customer service to renew or replace it.

[anarchistka]

Israel’s war on Palestinian territory is an atrocity. And illegal Israeli settlers should be stopped and convoyed back to Israel by Israeli law enforcement. And sure, the creation of Israel itself was a debatable project from the start and mass migration is known to bear potential for violent conflicts.

But the type of pro Palestinian activism I’ve observed (in North America and Europe esp.) rises so many questions:

[some examples that came to my mind I wrote down below, I would be seriously grateful for a detailed informative answer]

- Where should Israelis go?

- How tf is beating up Jewish students and painting graffiti on synagogues in Europe and America going to save any Palestinian civilians?

- Why is Jewish nationalism bad but Arabic nationalism is great?

- Are people who are not native to a land allowed to live there? What does it mean to be native to a land? Does indigenousity expire?

- (directed at European far left) Why should the EU integrate and support every refugee but Jewish refugees to Palestine should be expelled and are treated solely as inherently evil oppressors and their reasons to seek refuge in Palestine/Israel are ridiculed and dismissed? Of course Israel plays the role of an oppressor now but Palestinian fear of population replacement was a cause for unrest in the British Mandate in Palestine. This led to immigration stops for Jews who were fleeing the Holocaust. So at that time a fear that is usually associated with right wing politics cost additional Jewish lives. Why is right wing racial nationalism agreeable when non Europeans are doing it? Why do you oppose Jewish right wing nationalism by supporting Arab right wing nationalism?

- Why do you call Israel a colony? A colony of which country is it supposed to be? Of the US? (Illegal settlements are an exception, they are definitely colonies [of Israel] )

- If Israel, because it is a colony (?), should be eradicated, shouldn’t we also eradicate the USA, Canada, Brazil etc.? Where should the colonisers go? Or has the colonial status of these countries expired? Or were the reasons for the colonisation of these countries somehow more legitimate and righteous than the creation of Israel? Wtf

- Why do you dismiss the great cultural similarities between Europe and the Middle East? Why do you portray Palestinians as the noble but primitive barbarian when the Middle East is a highly developed region that has close cultural ties with Europe (even if often by war)? Besides : Arabs are capable of doing good and doing evil as well as everyone else. Palestinians and Israeli Jews know each other, they can learn each other’s language, they are familiar with the other’s religion, they literally stand on the same cultural foundation, and they use similar weapons and technological devices…

- What should Israel do when Israeli civilians are attacked by militant extremists from Palestine? What would the ideal response be?

- Why are Jews suddenly accepted as being “white” once this identity label has become a disadvantage (according to CSJ conspiracy theories)? Over six million Jews have been killed because they were considered inferior.

- What should an Israeli do to not be considered an evil oppressive genocidal colonist? How can an Israeli meaningfully contribute to a better peaceful future?

- Why is Palestinian violence framed as trauma response and Israeli violence is seen as demonic evil that is inherent to Israeli Jews?

[hero-israel]

just seen a palestinian auntie post about her niece being born w red hair and she constantly fans over it and goes on about how it’s a blessing and the comments are other palestinians and arabs fanning over the white pale skin and blue eyes and blonde/red hair of some of their relatives. even going on to call those relatives swedish/russian/white as nicknames.

but when jews esp israeli jews talk about their natural fair skin, or blue eyes/light hair (which is a minority in the jewish world, majority of jews do not have light features the same as arabs) in the slightest, they are called hitler 2.0 and it’s used as ‘proof’ that we as a whole can’t possibly be indigenous. like these features have always existed in the levant. they weren’t as prevalent in the levant as some ppl think, but they were there.

i see the same happen w black jews. despite black ppl being in the levant for a very long time, pre-enslavement and after, due to migration, pilgrimage, intermarriage etc etc etc, they are told they can’t possibly be native. while some afro-palestinians who came just a few decades before are native? and i’m not talking about those that are the descendants of enslaved people, if you are trafficked from you land and assimilated/forced into a new ethnicity due to that you have every right to consider yourself a native bc you were literally forced to be one. i’m talking about those that are the descendants of migrants and pilgrims, who set up shop in jerusalem during the ottoman empire and are now supposedly more native than black jews who in most cases are there bc their ancestors were expelled or had to flee and bc they have an actual cultural, genetic and historical link to the land even before that.

Don't be shy about citing this:

My grandfather, born on an actual shtetl in Poland, was the spitting-image lookalike for Hafez Assad. Speaking of Syrians, here's pro wrestler Sami Zayn. Hajj Amin al-Husseini famously had blue eyes and red hair, which might have helped him befriend Hitler. As bad as colorism is in any context, it is all the more infuriating from an I/P perspective when so many people just accept from the outset that people like you, people who look like you, have no right to live in certain areas (even though we always have). Read long enough in Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese communities to see their perspectives on Jews and Israel and you can't help but notice the fairly frequent comments about (and I swear I have seen this quote near-verbatim) "We Syrians have such beautiful white skin and beautiful blue eyes, we are not at all like those Saudis or Yemenis, who are as dark as Indians!".

Afro-Palestinians are pretty much always used unfairly and tokenistically by pro-Palestine outsiders; in their daily lives they are regularly called "abeed" (slave) and sometimes even with their neighborhoods known as that. It's not unlike how goyim only ever bring up Ethiopian Jews to spin yarns about "sterilization" while also cheering for groups who want to kill them alongside the rest of Israel.

[grecoromanyaoi]

feel free to ignore this im rambling abt history again. ive read an article abt lgbt rights in iraq (they r currently setting up legislation that will further criminalize gay sex, gender reassignment treatments, both for those who go through it and the medical professionals administering it, and even further criminalization of any gender nonconformity) (not the article i read but here are some sources).

along the the shock and horror, and worry for lgbt ppl in iraq, their framing of lgbt existence as 'american/western influence/propaganda' and a western plot meant to destroy iraqi culture/islam really got me thinking how history is a flat circle. theyre not the first people in the global south to claim lgbt existence and acceptance is western propaganda (its been a common theme in nationalist/zealous movements, esp in the middle east, ever since lgbt rights became a mainstream struggle in western countries).

but it got me thinking abt the romans, esp elagabalus. the fact the romans, in this instance historican cassius dio, tried to paint them as a. feminine and gender nonconforming, saying they enjoyed being penetrated sexually by men and going so far as to claim they said they wanted to be a woman (take all this w a grain of salt since its mostly propaganda from one specific source and we will never know how "real" these claims were. anyways they tell us more about transfeminine existence in roman culture/awareness rather than whether or not this individual was a trans woman). b. used said gender nonconforming behaviors to present them as a bad ruler/immoral person and c. specifically claimed their non-roman origin/ancestry (specifically them being syrian/arab interestingly enough) as a source for this gender nonconformity, and therefore the "foreign" influences ruining the empire/culture. it's interesting to see how homosexuality, male femininity and gender nonconformity in general have been used as tools in nationalism/ethnic discrimination throughout history, as a tool to differentiate and belittle the "other"/"enemy" as morally corrupt. idk. i pray for lgbt iraqis.

[darkfictionjude]

you don’t have to put it on this blog but was going to address ur analysis of the US election because I don’t think it’s entirely accurate (as a woman of color myself). She ran a very misguided campaign that was filled with celebrity endorsements (who are in image and in reality so far removed from the conditions of regular folks) and Liz Cheney (who’s a unpopular war hawk amid a year that saw the most anti-war protests), most of her messaging was catered to right wing voters and centrists which historically never works well.

This leads to working class people, who mostly care more about material conditions than ideology or image, to move towards right wing populism because regardless of how harmful or horrible the ideology might be, they saw her image as one far removed from their concerns and Trump took advantage of this. In fact even tho Trump is probably more pro-war, he pretended he wasn’t and even campaigned on ending wars. In fact Trump had fewer votes than he did his first time, but Harris had even fewer because voter turnout was just not good esp when her whole campaign was just “im not as bad as the other guy” and no concrete domestic or economic platform. She also never distanced herself from the Biden administration so people saw her as a continuity candidate to one of the most unpopular presidents of all time.also Her messaging to Arab Americans, who have been most affected by the conflict in Lebanon and Palestine/Israel, was just very tone deaf (there’s a speech where she says she knows the deaths in the Middle East is tragic but people need to prioritize the prices of groceries)

before she was a candidate she was also a prosecutor and was responsible for so many horrible things so anyways I can understand in many ways why she lost and I think just saying she’s a woman reduced the issue to identity politics when it’s much deeper than this

So the reason I said that was because like I said a few times I didn’t want to get into politics on this blog. I wasn’t going to go on a whole explanation for an ask that wasn’t even about politics because it makes no sense. That person who sent me that ask didn’t ask for that. Like I wasn’t going to go into extreme detail on this blog because this is a game blog

Obviously there’s more reasons, the fact that she didn’t have long to campaign also didn’t help but it isn’t wrong to say that so long into its history America has never had a woman at the forefront while other similarly advanced countries have, gender and race is a problem in American politics

The only reason I’m answering this is because I feel like I’m being talked down and I don’t like that. I wasn’t reducing anything and it wasn’t an analysis I literally just a quick answer for a question that was mostly about the game. I’m educated, I’m politically aware, and I really would have preferred to have talked about this on the other blog like I said I’m not comfortable doing it here but I did so because this is the blog the message on

[queenie-says-free-palestine]

helpful links to support palestine - this could save lives.

decolonize palestine - extremely helpful website which helps debunk myths, answers faqs, and provides other helpful resources

middle east eye - provides news about palestine, especially concerning the conflict

human rights watch - provides reports about the human rights situation in palestine/israel

palestine remembered - preserves the memory of what palestine was like before the nakba

bbc the key questions - link to an article addressing key questions abt the conflict

palestine is - website w a resource library and learning modules to correct misrepresentation of the conflict

history.com - link to an article detailing the nakba

al-shabaka - somewhat of a think tank dedicated to palestine

electronic intifada - online chicago-based news publication providing a palestinian perspective on the conflict

adalah justice project - an israeli organization trying to protect the human rights of palestinians living under occupation

imeu fundraiser - shares stories of the palestinian struggle for freedom

medical aid for palestinians - british charity that advocates for palestinians' rights to health and dignity (donate here)

palestine children’s relief fund - an organization that locates free medical care in the united states and europe for children in the middle east (esp palestinians) who dont have access to good healthcare

addameer - non government organization that helps support palestinians who are imprisoned in israel, provides free legal aid to political prisoners, advocates their rights, and works to "end torture and other violations of prisoners' rights through monitoring, legal procedures and solidarity campaigns"

muslim aid - uk based islamic non government organisation that works to support people suffering through poverty, war, or natural disasters using emergency relief and sustainable programmes. prominently offer their help in the palestinian territories

palestine red crescent - humanitarian organization that provide hospitals, emergency medicine and ambulance services, and primary health care centers in the west bank and gaza strip

gaza mutual aid collective - fundraising group for gaza (their patreon to donate is here)

united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east - un agency that supports the relief and human development of palestinian refugees (the only un agency that helps a specific nationality of refugees)

palestine solidarity campaign - activist organization in england and wales that arranges protests and boycotts israeli goods

help with a click - all you have to do is go to the link and click. its completely free, but every click helps deliver support to palestinian families

[conceptofjoy]

donald glover, fresh prince, and obama being the only explicit black people mentioned in a comic paints a very... i cant word this right its very sanitized? fresh prince turns into thresh prince and the synopsis is reduced to

and despite fresh prince being molded to survive scrutiny from white audiences in the 1990s, it still had themes of black class differences, systemic prejudice, exploration of the model minority myth, etc.

the point just kinda wooshed over hussie's head by making their class different with no middle ground like race to tie them together lol. and its not like alternia would let antihemospectrum rhetoric fly so it ends up painting their will smith as a bit of aaaaa..... . cough.

donald glover was a musician slash comedian at around 2009 and still is, and obama's obama. it feels like hussie chose the first nerdy black guy he knew to fill in for the roll of geromy lol. as for obama, he's the homestuck president right. but theres a whole thing about being black and in politics esp if they're a liberal. it was undeniable he was charismatic asf n he was using his rep as the 'cool president' to bomb more kids in the middle east, plus he even got two terms for it.

what im trying to say is that the directly inspired black parts of hs is very one dimensional. just kinda skimming the top layer and using that. same goes with rap, dj-ing... gamzee and meenah.......

its soooo white 20 something forums user in the late 2000's.

[fromtenthousandfeet]

https://www.tumblr.com/fromtenthousandfeet/766065012296056833/so-basically-what-im-getting-is-that-hybe-and?source=share

You know I've worked under a CEO who had a massive ego. With men like that and companies that have a culture like that, you'll see that ultimately decisions will be based on the CEOs "gut instincts". I'd bring up data driven proposals based on market research and argue for initiatives I believed in because I naively thought my success = company profits from my proposals. I quickly realised that nope, people who showed worse results than me got shifted to better projects because they were massaging the CEOs ego better. You'd have treat his ego like a delicate baby bird egg and make him think what you want is his decision. This is a dynamic in a lot of places but it's esp strong in asian workplaces and being a woman also unfortunately makes a difference. I admit instead of sticking by my principles, I adopted a similar approach and immediately started getting more acclaim for my work even though imo it was actually worse than before. I ultimately got tired of all of it and moved to an mnc where things are less about catering to one man.

Anyway this long rant was just to say, you'd think that in the face of overwhelming evidence that they're not backing a strong solo talent like Jimin enough, this dumbass music label would course correct and fix their mistakes. This is why so many pjms think Jimin's not continuing with hybe. But I'm gonna say men like bang si hyuk who probably solely credits himself as the brains behind the success of BTS more than any member and think their thoughts are always right, would rather double down than admit they made a mistake and did not identify Jimin's solo talent correctly.

Of course I don't have any inside scoop on Hybe and perhaps I'm projecting too much of my personal experience here but as much as I don't like MHJ, I can identify with that aspect of her complaints which were obvious from the messages she exposed that she exchanged with BSH. Or that post by the Hybe employee you shared who talked about getting pushed out of the company. Hell even the myriad controversies that keep getting exposed about Hybe employees bitching about their artists on forums, getting exposed for insider trading, potentially being on DC gallery and selling info to ssngs, the cloying nature of that internal report, embezzlement scandals etc - I know they're a big corporation but it is not normal to have so many issues in such a short period of time. It's a symptom of a toxic workplace where things are festering under the surface.

A bunch of misogynistic, old Korean men decided to back JK and his bad boy aesthetic instead of Jimin whose appeal is more soft and unisex - it's not surprising right? We talk about how men look down on kpop esp boy groups because their fanbase is primarily women, and we talk at length about how sea countries have a higher tendency to shun Jimin because of some internalised homophobia (wild considering we don't know anything about his romantic life) - but these are the same type of people who are in charge of orgs like Hybe. Of course their asses don't back him or see his potential. Also why they're struggling so hard to break into western markets. They cannot see beyond their own twisted ideas of what makes a successful artist - esp a male solo artist

Truly I think they personally don't see his appeal or like his music and they think that means he can't make it even though at this point it's becoming kind of obvious he's perhaps the most popular member in the US and latam. And damn with who, he's doing amazing in Russia, Europe and India too. Will they get their heads out of their asses and give him the promo he deserves? I really don't know. I don't think he's parted ways with Hybe like some pjms so unless he plans to in the future, I can only hope they're eventually forced to see the light.

PS I'm from a sea country, currently working in the middle east so I don't bring up Asian work culture or sea / asian countries to be derogatory but from personal experience. Also sorry about how long this got!

Thank you to the anon who sent this to me so long ago (in response to the weekly industry trends leak). I've been waiting for the right time to share this and today feels like the day with the announcement of the new BigHit CEO announcement.

I saw the most amazing comment from a KPJM today - only pigs survive in pigsties. Maybe the new CEO will be great and a much needed fresh start, but it's also possible that she's held on for so long in the company because she's willing to do what's necessary to keep her job and move up the ladder. We shall see. I'm staying neutral for now.

Thank you for sharing your personal experience and your insights.

[blorbocedes]

what actions are you actually taking to support the people of palestine because all i'm seeing are posts getting reblogged. what ACTIONS are YOU taking.

boycott, divest, sanction ✊ my uni is collecting donations for PCRF, and we had a citywide 🇵🇸 rally.

I think the posts and online visibility -- esp in the anglosphere -- is important because this is the biggest mobilisation for the Palestinian cause in forever, as well as documenting the horrific shit Israel is doing without consequence. and especially rn the western civilian pressure on their governments is necessary. For a long time, the Israel/Palestine has been regarded as too complicated, too foreign and far away, too "oh the Middle East is always in war" where people can look away. this is the most educated I've seen people be on the subject, and information is more accessible than ever. The action is then educating yourself and others, forming solidarity, understanding the depths of US imperialism. and for people who live in powerful countries where the government is turning a blind eye on purpose, it is even more imperative to make them listen, call for a ceasefire, stop funding 🇮🇱 and impose sanctions via collective action.

[kindred-spirit-93]

watch me wip, watch me nuh uh

excuse the awful title lol, but i was listening to the epic version of the arab nokia tune and not only does it slap, but it made me think of a very rough draft of a concept idea for a wip i had a few years ago

i hopped onto tumblr to ask a few questions and get some insight, but in the process of mentally making this post i decided i wont be able to achieve what i want the way want (in the forseeable future at least) so im discontinuing something i havent even started.

thank you for coming to my ted talk :D

curious. i like u. anyway heres what could have been if i slayed as the kids say:

the idea was a fantasy (maybe even futuristic) novel set in a place heavily influenced by the middle east and the regions history, cradle of civilisation and all. the concept idea was for two kingdoms whose rulers where raised as brothers and are very close fall into discord and disharmony after shadowy shapeshifters (bad guys) of another realm sought to divide and conquer the kingdoms and seize their assets and domains (wow this is less subtle than i thought lol)

its up to the two crown princesses of the kingdoms to uncover the evil plots schemed, weed out the traitors assassin style or sum, and reunite the two kingdoms before its too late. all of this of course while they are the most wanted on the planet. girly things amirite

the world building is very shaky and i dont have the patience nor the braincells to spare to really sit down and come up with something, but the idea was several realms that 'represent' (dont laugh at me) the primary & secondary colours, and each one has a bunch of domains that include an element and an area of knowledge, but with time and a few other factors societies merged and theres a lot of diversity and multiculturalism and its all wonderful and awesome till disaster strikes and its used against them.

for example unnamed kingdom one is the biggest producer of minerals and grain, the main colours of the kingdom are gold and green and their domain is agriculture and languages (idk dont ask)

whereas unnamed kindom two is more celestial and astronomy oriented, with colours being navy and silver (or bronze now that i think of it) and its domain is scroll keeping and cartography

now with the passage of time and the rise and fall of dynasties and all that jazz, the domains are much more mixed as a reflection of the developments of the societies (primary colours becoming seconday and tertiary and so on and so forth), many city states specialising in one area of knowledge are grouped under the rule of a kingdom. essentially the world is a big beautiful tapestry :')

like for example a kingdom being home to the worlds biggest trade route and being a melting pot of cultures and tongues and faiths, has no specific colour; all encompasing and its glorious (idk how much it fits in the current timeline & narrative but its something)

again i dont have much world building down and what little i do is very vague lol, but thats the premise. the two princessess as of now belong to these two kingdoms and are bestest best friends, mirroring the epic bromance of their fathers before them lol. they are different in nearly everyhting but they are two halves of the same soul (platonic soulmates lets go!) and fiercely love each other >:D

so yeah. 2 princesses join forces to overthrow the ultimate evil and be the awesome kickass bff queens that they are. friendship (maybe more?) saves the day and reigns supreme as it so often does, but this time theres badassery and murder involved. dark stuff and fluff too

im hesitant to put this idea up for adoption bc a big reason it came to be was me being sick of all the gross stereotypes and tropes of everything ever manufactured and perpetuated by the west and me selfishly wanting to be represented correctly in media, esp original works, so im leaving this here in a sort of grey area i guess.

suggestions question thoughts ideas asks welcome! please be my guest ^-^

[absolutebl]

Hello, let me begin by saying that I love your posts and I love your opinions, analysis, and point of view, I think you have a rare mind and I'm glad you're covering BL as I think it's a very complex and dynamic genre in today's industry.

I work as a middle management business consultant, related to management of PR and marketing although not for film industry, but i've had experience in handling products as a brand manager so i imagine the case with GMMTV and other TV productions are smiliar if we can replace 'product' with 'artists' in this case.

I have some questions relating to the branding of First and Khaotung as a CP by GMMTV, for the life of mine I just could not understand the business reasoning behind it for several reasons:

1. They are both versatile actor with good experiences on their belt and so far has chemistry every other actor they played with. it might be a bit of a waste for GMM to lock them both in a pair.

2. At the time it seems Gawin and First was more popular than FK, it should be easier and less risky to market and sail this pair, this pair also have the advantage of being in a more well known series (Not Me).

3. Both First and Khaotung relationship dynamic seems to not fit any existing mould that current BL pairs have (e.g. there's no clearly defined S/U between them), this seems risky and might not be well received by typical BL fans (esp. Thai Fans).

4. GMM has been trying to replicate OffGun formula a lot, all of GMM other CP seems to follow OG formula to an extent, which is not the case at all with FK.

5. All of the series that both acted as a pair in (Eclipse, Moonlight Chicken, and OnlyFans), are series that i think contain mature themes and not generally something that caters to the taste of Thai BL fans.

This question has been bugging me for awhile. The funny thing is: I am personally a SomSom, an FK stan :D I love them both very much and I absolutely love them together, but the decision to pair them together just doesn't make sense to me, I don't understand what GMM is trying to do here with both of them.

Sorry it's a bit long and thankyou so much if you decided to answer this :)

Hi! Thank you!

(As usual I did this and then Tumblr ate it. I am so tired of this bullshit, why can't they fist the undo bug in the new editor? OR stop forcing us toe USE the damn thing.)

1. They are both versatile actor with good experiences on their belt and so far has chemistry every other actor they played with. it might be a bit of a waste for GMM to lock them both in a pair.

I don't think they will in the long run, I think they are just co-branding at the moment, probably because of all the sponsorship offers. And because they've been recast a few times as a pair since The Eclipse.

They seem to be having a good time with it.

I could be wrong. I picked K a while back as one of the GMMTV stable who was too versatile for them (and valuable to them because of that), and they'd never co-brand him in a big way (after the failure of Tonhon Chonlatee). Then The Eclipse happened.

But to be frank? From the actor career perspective? If they can co-brand into consistent leading roles... F & K are probubly gonna - it's better money than character work and solo or side couple gigs.

2. At the time it seems Gawin and First was more popular than FK, it should be easier and less risky to market and sail this pair, this pair also have the advantage of being in a more well known series (Not Me).

Gawin doesn't co-brand. Never has. Seems like he never will. He clearly doesn't like shipping culture or anything about it. (Doesn't like reality TV shows or variety or anything like that, either.) Which I get. Oh boy do I. I wouldn't be surprised if it's in his rider that he won't cater to performative ships. I've always suspected this is because he's half American. (And East Coast to boot.) He's... tough.... reads as a little grumpy and reserved. Won't soften his IRL image to cater to the public. It's a very individualistic attitude.

It's certainly clear he's turned down sponsorship gigs (as a co-brand), and if he took one in the future it'd have to have a dump truck of money attached. I was legitimately shocked he took on Be My Favorite.

So far as Not Me is concerned? Now it's too late, that ship has sailed. So to speak.

3. Both First and Khaotung relationship dynamic seems to not fit any existing mould that current BL pairs have (e.g. there's no clearly defined S/U between them), this seems risky and might not be well received by typical BL fans (esp. Thai Fans).

Yep, they are more like Nanon & Ohm. I'm actually pleased that GMMTV is letting them do this and not trying to force seme/uke on the brand.

It's a model set up somewhat by TayNew. I mean GMMTV tried to force that one, but as Tay said, "Just look at him, he's huge."

They always managed a very brotherly casual fun ship.

4. GMM has been trying to replicate OffGun formula a lot, all of GMM other CP seems to follow OG formula to an extent, which is not the case at all with FK.

Yes, because it's the most profitable formula. Especially in country. I would put EarthMix in as their clearest successors.

Parent houses always lack imagination.

Find a money-making formula. Repeat it until the audience gets tired or supersaturated or both. It's how market capitalization works.

To change is to impact the bottom line and that is dangerous. Generally speaking, it takes small upstart companies to truly effect change in this regard.

OffGun is an interesting case because Off was so resistant to the brand at first. He's come around, but it took a while.

5. All of the series that both acted as a pair in (Eclipse, Moonlight Chicken, and OnlyFans), are series that i think contain mature themes and not generally something that caters to the taste of Thai BL fans.

Yes, it would be interesting to chart their sponsorship gigs. My guess is it's more global brands or those with an eye to the global market that use them.

I'm thinking it's a lot more like KARD in Kpop (performing better outside of country than in-country). Or the way Ukiss was for Japan. (An expansion intended group tailored to that market).

A country with an active and intentional soft power usually has subdivisions of effectiveness in the ranks of that power's product (in Korea's case Kpop, in Thailand's case BL). Stars that do better overseas - individuals, couples, groups. Ones that do better in specific countries.

A clever product manufacturer looking to contract with one of these branding elements, tracts this (popularity figures and market reach) and picks their representatives accordingly, and in accordance with their expansion interests.

[blackpearlblast]

a rundown on the listed e-sim platforms from this tweet from mirna el helbawi. visit esimsforgaza to learn about this effort. (they also have a tutorial on how to purchase an esim and send it to them)

update v12 (5/21/24) holafly (israel and egypt), nomad (regional middle east), simly (palestine and middle east), mogo (israel), and airalo (discover) are currently in the highest in demand. if it has been more than 3 weeks since you initially sent your esim and your esim has not been activated, you can reforward your original email with the expiration date in the subject line. you can see gothhabiba’s guide for how to tell if your esims have been activated. if your esim has expired without use, you can contact customer service to renew or replace it.

troubleshooting hint 1: if you are trying to pay through paypal, make sure you have pop-ups enabled! otherwise the payment window won't be able to appear. (this issue most frequently seems to occur with nomad)

troubleshooting hint 2: if you are trying to purchase an esim using the provider's app, it may block you from purchasing if your phone does not fit the requirements to install and use their esims. use their website in your browser instead and this problem should go away.

nomad

for the month of may, first time referrals give 25% off for a person's first purchase and 25% off the referrer's next purchase! it's a great time to use someone's referral code from the notes if you are a first time buyer.

you can use a referral code to get $3 off your first purchase and also make it so the person whose code you used can buy more esims for gaza. many people have been leaving their referral codes in the replies of this post and supposedly a referral code may eventually reach capacity so just keep trying until you find one that works! BACKPACKNOMAD is another code to get $3 off your first purchase, it's been working for some people but not others so try out a referral code instead if you can't get it to work. NOMADCNG is a code for 5% off any middle east region nomad esims posted by connecting gaza. it can be used on any purchase, not just your first but is generally going to give less off than the first-purchase only codes, so use those first. it can be used in combination with nomad points. AWESOME NEW CODE: nomad esim discount code for 75% off any plan, NOMADCS25 do not know how long it lasts but this is an amazing deal esp. since they are really low on esims right now! (nomad promo codes do not work on plans that are already on sale, unlimited plans, and plans under $5)

weekly tuesdays only code on nomad web, PST timezone! it gives 10% off plans 10gb and above. NOMADTUE

nomad also seems to be kind of sluggish sometimes when it comes to sending out emails with the codes. you can look for them manually by going to manage -> manage plans -> the plan you purchased -> installation instruction and scroll down to install esim via QR code or manual input then select QR code to find the QR code which you can screenshot and email to them. often just the act of logging back into your nomad account after purchase seems to cause the email with the code to come through though.

mogo

mogo's website is fucking annoying to navigate and i couldn't find any promo codes, but their prices are massively on sale anyway. you have to pick if you want your esim to be for iphone, ipad, or android for some reason. according to statcounter, android makes up approx. 75% of mobile markets in palestine while iphone represents approx. 25%. so i would probably recommend prioritizing donations of android esims but if you can afford multiple, try buying an iphone one too? if i can find any official direction from the connecting gaza crew on this i will update with it.

a good referral code to use for mogo is 8R29F9. the way things are worded are confusing but as far as i can tell, if you use it we both get a 10% discount on your first purchase. (the referrer gets a 10% voucher that allows them to top up in use esims, they are someone who i know has bought a lot of esims and will be able to make good use of the top-up discount vouchers!) also upon signing up it automatically generates a password for you which you can change by downloading the app. (check your email to find your account's current password)

holafly (also looking for holafly esims for egypt now)

holafly is pricier than the others and the only promo code i could find was ESIMNOW for 7% off. someone in the tags mentioned GETESIM7 as another 7% off code they had received, so if you have already used ESIMNOW or can't seem to get it to work, try GETESIM7. another 7% off code is HOLAXSUMMER7 which is valid until june 2nd. referral codes only seem to give 5% off and they don't stack. (i don't remember the source, it was on some sketchy coupon site i don't want to link to and only can recommend because i tried it myself) you can also use my referral link for 5% off if you can afford the 2% worse deal on your end, it will give me $5 credit which i can put towards buying more esims. connecting gaza has also posted the promo code HOLACNG for 5% off but since it is less than the 7% off codes and as far as i can tell does not give credit towards others to buy esims like the referral links, i would consider it lower priority for use.

simly (note: simly must be downloaded as an app to be used, the website link is to help people confirm they are downloading the right app)

i have not personally used simly so i am going to be going off of the sixth slide of mirna el helbawi's instagram guide, with some corrections from someone who has successfully purchased an esim from simly. after downloading the app and making an account, search for palestine or middle east and purchase your preferred package. the page the app takes you to after your purchase should have the QR code to send to the esimsforgaza email, it won't show up in your email receipt. someone kindly left her referral code in the tags of this post, it gives $3 off your first purchase and will give her $3 credit to put towards purchasing more esims for gaza. the code is CIWA2. (if this referral code doesn't work, try one from the notes of this post!) according to someone in the notes, ARB is a simly promo code for 25% off esims that is still working as of march 3rd.

airalo

some people have noted issues trying to sign up for airalo using the browser version of the website, it worked for me but if you are struggling you can give the mobile app a try and that should work. you can use a referral code to get $3 off your first purchase and give the code suppler a $3 credit for buying more esims. KARINA9661 is a code sourced from this post which is also a wonderful example of how using people's referral codes can really make a difference. if for some reason that referral code isn't working, you can find more in the notes of the original esim post i made here.

@/fairuzfan also has a tag of esim referral codes for various platforms!

(note: mogo and holafly both link to israel esims as there are no general regional packages for the middle east like on nomad and the esims for gaza website specifically linked to the israel package on mogo, so i linked to the equivalent on holafly.)

[mariacallous]

As most of the world cherished(opens in a new tab) the ending of Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship in Syria on Sunday 8 December, Moscow saw it differently.

Speaking(opens in a new tab) in Qatar at the Doha Forum on 7 December, Foreign Minister Lavrov was quick to blame the US and its NATO allies for a global hegemonic plot(opens in a new tab).

Given Kremlin’s long-term backing of the brutal dictatorship, the official Russian line deployed(opens in a new tab) on all main state outlets was not to give it prominent coverage, but if mentioning the topic to stick with the usual practice of blaming the US as the mastermind behind the events. Pro-Kremlin mouthpieces also took the opportunity to push disinformation claiming that Ukrainian forces were instrumental in military and drone support to terrorist groups.

Up until the night of 7 December, Russia state outlets insisted(opens in a new tab) on the so-called Astana-format of negotiations (Russia, Iran, Turkiye) to manage developments in Syria. This format is now recognised by Putin’s spokesperson as lost.

During the weekend, Russian state actors and pro-Kremlin outlets tried to cover up Putin’s embarrassing failure in Syria with disinformation narratives spread across all available language platforms including Russian, Arabic, French, English and several others. Besides US and Ukraine, the deceptive narratives claimed, Israel could be behind as well as other unnamed ‘foreign forces’. As usual, Ukraine got plenty of blame, in particular for allegedly training and fighting with jihadists.

These false allegations closely resemble disinformation and manipulative tactics deployed following the terrorist attack in Moscow, when the Kremlin baselessly accused Ukraine of supporting terrorists to attack Moscow. See our EUvsDisinfo Database(opens in a new tab) for more examples. True to Russia’s standard information manipulation practices, the database also illustrates the highly coordinated nature of reporting and messaging across platforms and language domains.

Sunday 8 December

As the dynamics on the ground unfolded and the Assad regime collapsed, Russia claimed on Sunday afternoon(opens in a new tab) that Assad had given instructions for a peaceful transition of power and resigned voluntarily. Assad’s presence in Russia is now presented as humanitarian asylum granted by Putin. This hypocrisy adds insult to injury to the countless Syrian refugees who over the years had to flee both Assad and the Russian bombings.

Save the pieces

Since Monday, Moscow began a communication(opens in a new tab) effort claiming it has contacts with all groups in Syria – including those until recently labelled “terrorists” by Moscow and that Russia wants an ethnic dialogue and is promoting a role for the UN; both the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Syria. Most importantly, Russia tries to secure its continued presence in Syria, esp. the Tartus naval facility(opens in a new tab) which serves Russia’s operations in the Middle East and Africa.

Where is Putin?

As usual, Putin is silent and not in the picture when there is a crisis with potential for negative PR. This is in contrast to other earlier when Putin was eager to take credit for his intervention in Syria.

Back in October 2015, 10 days after Russia’s intervention with airstrikes to support Assad had prevented the looming fall of Damascus, Putin stood out and framed(opens in a new tab) Russia’s actions in Syria emphasizing it legality and the strategic necessity of Russia’s intervention, downplaying its broader geopolitical motivations. Putin claimed that Russia would act in full compliance with international law to stabilise Syria and support its government in combating terrorism. However, the facts on the ground told a different story. Emboldened by Russian military support, Assad’s dictatorship perpetrated systematic attacks on civilians and indiscriminate bombings to spread fear and terror among its population.

Operation Sweet-talk Trump

The Kremlin disinformation narratives accusing Ukraine of supporting terrorists in Syria are part and parcel of its ongoing manipulative efforts to reduce the appetite of the incoming US administration to support to Kyiv.

In his conversation(opens in a new tab) with Tucker Carlson, aired on 6 December and clearly aimed at US audiences, Lavrov recycled a series of Russian falsehoods and disinformation tropes regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Besides the standard lie that “Russia did not start the war,” he also engaged in some not-so-subtle pandering to the US president elect, calling Trump “a very strong person” and suggesting that Biden was deliberately leaving a bad situation for Trump to inherit, asserting that the “ball is on the US’s side.”

The conversation was framed as an ‘interview’ in the same way as Carlson’s talk with Putin. Lavrov was given a microphone to push his usual historical revisionism, blaming the West and Ukraine for sabotaging the Minsk agreements, portraying Russia as a reasonable foreign policy actor in contrast to the US, and accusing the West of only being after Ukraine’s resources. Lavrov framed Russia’s invasion as a “de-colonisation” effort. In a desperate attempt to drive a wedge in transatlantic unity, Lavrov even insinuated that Germany was behind Navalny’s death in a Russian prison camp, choosing not the mention the fact that Germany’s crucial medical treatment was instrumental in saving Navalny’s life in 2020 after the Russian secret service’s cold-blooded poisoning.

Back to Basics – it is all about Ukraine

We conclude this edition by going ‘back to basics’. Everything in Moscow’s actions and rhetoric is about Ukraine, whether it is spelled out or not.

Putin will entertain his audience on 19 December with the annual so-called call-in conference. Get ready for a cavalcade of cherry-picked disinformation including history lessons about Ukraine not being a state but a neo-Nazi camp. Or an outburst against the EU and NATO leaders for preparing a military invasion of Russia and neglecting the wishes of the European people. Or how peaceful Russia is by engaging in nuclear sabre-rattling. Or how great Russia’s economy is doing even with interest rates at 21% and emptying savings. Expect also ‘mafia love’ aimed at the incoming US president: flattering sweet-talk blended with veiled threats. It is all about Ukraine.

Here is a list of Putin classics to help you prepare: “What he said and what it really means” – Vol. 1 – 8.

Also on our Disinfo radar:

The presence of NATO forces in Ukraine undermines any security assurances given to Russia

The goal: Split the US-EU transatlantic bond. This claim is trying to manipulate the diplomatic playing field ahead of Trump taking office to confuse and derail the main discussion: Who is in need of security guarantees? So far, Russia has proven itself to be a security eroder, not a security builder and Russia’s invasions of Georgia in 2008 and of Ukraine since 2014 and the ill-concealed attempts to dominate Moldova speak louder than thousand propaganda chimes from Moscow. It is Ukraine, which needs security guarantees, not Russia.

This claim is transmitted via the Sputnik network that is the leading Russian state-owned and controlled outlet to reach audiences around the world in more than 25 languages. See our analysis of the RT/Sputnik system.

Putin welcomes Ukraine talks, while Zelenskyy rejects them

The goal: Split Ukraine. Pronounced by the Kremlin spokesperson Peskov, this claim is trying to split Ukraine inside and lure those ready to accept Moscow’s terms. Secondly, to drive a wedge between Zelenskyy and EU, NATO, G7 and all those backing Ukraine’s legitimate right to self-defence. The claim only makes sense in the Kremlin mind where ‘negotiations’ equals all others accepting every demand presented by Moscow. We have analysed this disinfo tactic in several articles, especially: “Prepare for winter“, “Russian so-called ‘peace proposals’ are empty PR stunts“, “What He Said and What it Really Means – Vol. 2: “Negotiations” and “The Kremlin security demands“.

Europeans are tired of supporting Ukraine

The goal: smear Europe. This particular claim runs on Russian state platforms in Arabic language.

This claim is manifestly wrong and an example of gross misrepresentation of statistical data. The recent, periodical Eurobarometer survey show (opens in a new tab)that EU citizens overwhelmingly support actions to help Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion. 87% of Europeans also support providing humanitarian support to those affected by the war, while 71% of EU citizens support sanctions against the Russian government, companies, and individuals involved in the invasion.

Stick with the facts. Don’t be deceived.