#foolish prime ministers

[falseandrealultravival]

Japan is not even an imitation (verse)

John Lackland

Japan is a parliamentary democracy following the example of England,

but it is not even an imitation.

England realized democracy

as early as 1215. (Magna Carta)

This was because the lords pressured the foolish king "John Lackland"

to acknowledge their authority,

which meant restricting the king's authority.

The lords gained the right to act without compromise.

In the case of Japan, we have produced

many foolish prime ministers (effective kings),

but the Japanese people do not take action

to expel such people.

This is an abandonment of the people's authority.

(In other words, many people do not vote.)

I think we can get rid of fools

without resorting to force --

We just need to force

the people who do not vote to vote.

Democracy is only when you fight and win.

Japan, how long will you remain an imitation?

(2021.10.10)

イミテーションにもなれない日本（韻文）

日本はイギリスに倣い、議会制民主主義だが イミテーションにもなっていない。 イギリスは１２１５年という早い時期に 民主主義を実現した。（マグナ・カルタ）

それはバカな国王「ジョン・欠地王」に 諸侯が迫り、諸侯の権限を認めさせ、 つまりは、国王の権限に制限を加えたのだ。 諸侯たちは、妥協なき行動の未、権利を得た。

日本の場合、バカな総理大臣（実質的な国王）を 沢山輩出しているのに 日本国民がそんな輩を 追放するような行動を起こさない。

これは国民の権限の放棄だ。 （つまりは投票に行かない国民が多いこと。） 私は思う、武力に訴えずとも バカを辞めさせることが出来るのに――

投票に行かない国民を、 強制的に行かせれば良いのだ。 戦って、勝ち取ってこその民主主義だ。 日本よ、いつまでイミテーションでいるのか？

[heirloomgem]

Serendipity Series

Summary: (AU) In every lifetime, Sung Jinwoo will make sure to leave a mark on your soul. To always accompany you as your devoted husband to his lovely and cute wife, no matter what...

Watching from a distance, Sung Jinwoo slowly savoured the taste of the wine in his glass, his fingers clenching the fragile stem. He restrained his anger as he witnessed your betrothed humiliate you and revoke your engagement for his mistress. Painting you as a villain to everyone as that foolish of a man flaunts his infidelity called 'love'.

Sung Jinwoo couldn't help but sneer at them and find fate laughable.

He has always been determined to have you as his wife, no matter what. However, fate has a twisted sense of humour. It seems, that in order, for him to have you, you must first endure humiliation and a broken engagement.

If fate is going to play its hand, then don't blame him if he turns the situation to his advantage and claims you as his own. And as for those who have wronged you, they will face the consequences of his wrath.

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything except for my characters and plot.

Warning/Genre: Romance, AU, drama, broken engagement, Yandere (Sorry for the miss grammar)

Chapter 1 - Stupidity

In a banquet hosted by the royal family in the palace, your betrothed, the crown prince hugs his first love protectively in his arms and condemns you without hesitation in front of all the nobles in the kingdom.

A smug smirk on his lips as he looked down on you while you, on the other hand, glared up at him.

The anger that has built over the years was on the verge of breaking as your supposed fiance embarrassed not only you but your family with the breakdown of your engagement.

Your name is Eliana Anderson. You are the eldest child of the Anderson household and the prestigious and precious daughter of the Primes Minister Anderson of your kingdom.

Ever since you came of age, you have been betrothed to the crown prince by the king without your father's approval.

You're the only daughter in your family and your father has always doted on you so of course the matters of your betrothal have been a sensitive and meticulous topic to your father. Not wanting to give his precious daughter to some boorish, unruly bastards.

And so receiving a marriage decree from the king, accompanied by a threat to your family, made your father furious beyond belief that you and your mother worried he might faint from anger.

Your father protested with all his might to deny this engagement, knowing how corrupt the current royal family is and how uncontrolled and malicious the current crown prince is but to no avail; the king ignored him.

In the end, you didn't have a choice but to follow, not wanting your family to end up in a difficult situation by opposing the king.

The crown prince does share the same sentiment on not wanting this engagement; however, that didn't stop him from showing his disgust at you. In fact, he seemed to revel in the opportunity to humiliate you whenever the chance arose.

The torment he has shown you since the first day of your engagement has never ceased, and continues even to this day.

And now he's hellbent on not only humiliating you but also destroying and smearing your family's reputation through the mud.

Letting out a breath, you calmed yourself, knowing that acting hysterical wouldn't benefit you nor save your family from the predicament this prince has thrown at you.

However, the urge to slap this idiot prince was so dangerously tempting that you had to close your eyes, and instead, a cold smile appeared on your lips and looked at your 'fiance'.

"If I may ask Your Highness, what crime have I committed that warrants you painting me as a malicious villain in front of everyone?" You coldly asked, your smile darkening as your hand clenched tighter on the fan you were holding.

Suddenly, a coquettish voice interrupted, "Lady Eliana, please stop lying and admit to your sins. Please don't make this harder than it is."

It was the woman whom your fiance had 'fallen' for. A woman who has brown shoulder-length hair, dopey downturned eyes and dressed in a white gown that accentuated her slim figure.

She has that pure, innocent beauty that always seems to attract men who want to unconsciously protect her.

It was the crown prince's 'first love', Amy Wilson, the illegitimate daughter of Baron Wilson, who was currently nestled in your fiance's arms.

Cowering and trembling as tears gathered in her eyes, looking like a small doe in front of everyone as she tried to confront you, earning her sympathy and pitying looks especially the crown prince and his stupid group of cronies.

You, however, were given a dark and condemning look from them.

You couldn't help but spit in disgust in your heart as you coldly looked at her.

She's a woman completely opposite of you, who has sharp and cold eyes, and whenever you look at the crown prince, a lingering disgust shows in your eyes.

Your once slender and petite frame is now tall and lean, the result of the training you have suddenly undergone to learn self-defence as you were pushed as the crown princess.

Truly a complete opposite from your past self. No more the naivety and joy in your once soft features.

Hearing her words, you sneered.

"As far as I know Lady Tr- Lady Wilson, I have only given you fair warnings on your behaviour and to maintain your distance as Your Highness is my betrothed. As for the accusations of harming you, unfortunately, I do not know of them nor have I done them."

You said as you gave them a cold smile behind your fan, patting yourself for catching yourself from calling that woman 'trash'.

That right, you have labelled that woman 'Trash' the moment she seduced the crown prince and tried to harm you.

Why, you ask?

It's not because you love that rotten bastard but because, in your eyes, the crown prince is a rotten garbage. And since there is a rotten garbage, it only makes sense that it has to be thrown in the trash and that trash is none other than Amy Wilson.

Hiding behind the crown prince's arms, that trash gave you a sly look.

You couldn't help but feel a disgusting chill run down your spine as an unsettling feeling settled in your stomach.

As far as you know, your actions thus far have been appropriate as a crown princess. Neither have you crossed the line of letting your feelings interfere nor have you remained ignorant of the situation to let it escalate.

You didn't hurt this woman in any form, only giving her a fair warning and if you did, you have your servants to witness it. As for the 'evidence' they have presented earlier, if experts, the kings and higher people in ranks were to investigate it, they would know it was nothing but fraud.

It's nothing but false evidence made by both the crown prince and his stupid group of cronies who were supposedly the next heirs to some of the most influential families in your kingdom and yet have been seduced so easily under such a contemptuous woman.

Regardless, they were nothing but brats who only rode their family's coattails and were nothing but a nuisance, using their power to abuse those who were weak and under them.

Thinking so, you curse them again in your heart and tried to calm your nerves as cold sweat still continues to run down your back.

"We have given and presented undisputable evidence, Eliana. Stop your nonsense and admit to it." The crown prince spoke with impatience in his voice, shaking his head as if he were speaking to a child.

Your eyebrow twitched hearing him calling you by your name so directly with such audacity.

If it were any other situation, you would have refuted him without reserve however since you were in such a situation, you can't do so recklessly or else your entire family would be dragged further than it already is.

Suddenly, the crown prince caught your eyes and gave a malicious smirk before declaring.

"Since your actions show just how much of an unreasonable and vile you are. How could I accept you as the crown princess and be the future mother of the kingdom! Hence, as of today, Eliana Anderson, you are stripped of your title as the crown princess and from now on Lady Amy Wilson will be the crown princess. Guards! Arrest her and throw her into prison for the crime of harming the crown princess."

You stared, speechless, at the crown prince at such absurdity.

That is when the unsettling feeling you have since you entered this ball completely grasps your whole being as if a slap hit you on the face. A whisper in the back of your mind becomes louder and louder as you feel something within you is on the verge of breaking.

You have always known that the crown prince was a good-for-nothing bastard. A spoiled bastard who only does whatever he pleases but it wasn't to the point of complete idiocy especially when it comes to you as your betrothal was one of the stepping stones on why he became the crown prince however it seems you have overestimated him.

Feeling your arms being restrained by the knights, you struggled. Your control over your emotions slowly slips as your frustrations and anger show.

You tried to regulate your breathing as you looked at the bastard before you, smiling mockingly as you gradually cracked under him.

He turns his head to look at your father who is now being restrained by the knights also when he tried to charge in your defence. A sickening smile on his lips as he taunted your father.

"Ah, Duke Anderson, unfortunately, you'll have to step down from your position as well since the evidence of your embezzlement and illegal actions have been presented to the king. The king has also decided that Marquis Henlyn will be replacing you as the Prime Minister."

Hearing this you curse the crown prince at such an abrupt accusation.

Your father with embezzlement?! Illegal actions?! being replace?!

Such stupidity!

Your father has been nothing but upright and loyal to the kingdom and its people. If it wasn't for him, this kingdom would have long fallen because of its corrupt royal family!

And now he's being falsely accused!? And on top of it, your father is being replaced by Marquis Henlyn who has been rumoured to have smuggled weapons and slavery between your kingdom and the other countries!

Just what kind of parasite is in that bastard's head to have allowed this especially the king!

You gritted your teeth as you yelled, "Your Highness, do you even realize what you're doing?! If you allow this, not only you and the imperial family will be implicated but the kingdom and its people as well! You say my father has done illegal doings and yet haven't you heard that Marquis Henlyn has smuggled not only weapons but has done illegal trading of slavery of our people! My father has been nothing but loyal and honest! Evidence?! It is nothing but a farce! "

Surely even this prince knows how impossible it was to replace your father as his hard work is more evident than this so-called ' evidence'.

Your father's power and authority are the sole reason he's the current crown prince. Removing you and your father would be a foolish move even the king knows this thus the reason he has given that marriage decree without your family's permission and yet why this?!

However, it seems not only have you overestimated the prince but that of the king as well as the prince laughed at you and leaned down as he whispered.

"Do you really think my father cares about your family now that your father has crossed his line? Not only has your father obstructed the royal family again and again, but this time, my father has had enough and since I have gained your father's authority and power, I no longer have any need of your family and my father wholeheartedly agreed to it."

Realization dawned on you as your eyes widened at the truth. A small yet audible sound of snapping resounded in you.

Suddenly a loud heartbroken cry erupted in your throat as you struggled fiercely, no longer caring for anything or your appearance.

Annoyed by your resistance, one of the knights kicks the back of your knees, resulting in you slamming your kneecap onto the floor.

Pain shot through your body. Your eyes reddened and tears welled up, not only from the pain but your control over your bottled emotions have now dissipated.

Gone! Everything you have worked hard for is now gone!

You shook your head and bit your lips until it bleed.

No, this can't be happening!

Even if you hated the crown prince, your position as the crown princess was the only thing that you couldn't let go of.

After all, because of the marriage decree these unscrupulous, unreasonable people have shoved down your throat, you have no choice but to let go of him. Someone so important in your life was exchanged for something you didn't want.

Feeling your cheeks wet, you realize that your tears have finally fallen.

Regret fills you to the point of suffocation as your mind unconsciously remembers the young boy you adored the moment you met him.

How you wish to have held his hand longer...

A/N: I'm sorry for the delay. A relative of mine has passed away and it has been stressful and with work thrown in. It had been chaotic instead which made it harder for me to write and edit.

Though I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the Serendipity Series! If it's not too much, please comment on your thoughts. Thank you!

{All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author}

[llyfrenfys]

If you're wondering why I've been posting about the US election despite being in the UK, it's for two reasons:

1. US politics is frustratingly pervasive and affects far more than just the US. This is true of a lot of Western democracies (including the UK) and is in fact a feature, not a bug.

I am a transgender person in the UK. I am also a queer historian. US policy on transgender issues has this tendency to ricochet into UK transgender policy. This can be traced back to the shared transgender medical history between the US and UK in the late 1960s and early 1970s. (See: Understanding Trans Health by Ruth Pearce, Trans Britain ed. Christine Burns and Transgender History by Susan Stryker). In recent years it has come out that many anti-trans groups in the UK are funded by US Evangelical groups. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss, raging transphobe, has recently been schmoozing in the US about this.

I fear for the safety of my trans mutuals in the US in case Trump gets in again. Beyond that, I'm also concerned how a second Trump presidency would affect trans (and other minorities') rights around the world. We saw what it did the last time and it was atrocious. So on that front I'm going to be getting the message out for the sake of my trans siblings worldwide that we cannot have another Trump presidency in the US.

2. I actually have some qualifications on UK and US politics and I'm also personally invested in general.

[Note: The outcome of UK elections does still have a global impact- it would be foolish to pretend it doesnt. But the US has its fingers in a lot more pies so the effect felt is greater]

[alj4890]

A Slight Detour

(Liam x Riley) in a Choices The Royal Romance one shot as requested by @twinkleallnight

@twinkleallnight sent me the above image for inspiration. How cute is that little figurine?! Hope you get to feeling better soon!

Taken from Book 2 of The Royal Romance

Masterlist

**********

Paris...

"I think we should plan on meeting with the Prime Minister," Madeleine studied the latest itinerary, "and with the Foreign Minister."

She grimaced at their already tight schedule for the next couple of weeks.

"Perhaps we could do a luncheon before we leave for Shanghai."

She glanced up at the silent man beside her and waited on his approval.

Liam had his chin propped up on his fist as he watched the streets of Paris go by in a blur. His mind was nowhere near where a newly crowned king's should be. He instead was stuck in a daydream of what this engagement tour could be like if he'd been free to choose the woman he wanted.

His lips slightly curved at the thought. He knew that meeting with Heads of State would have taken a backseat if Riley was his fiancee. He'd have ignored his duty to show her just how romantic Paris can be if one was with the perfect person.

How had he been so fortunate to find the one meant for him and yet equally as unfortunate to be denied her?

"Your majesty?" Madeleine said a bit louder.

Liam jumped over hearing the slight shrill sound of her irritated voice.

"Pardon me." He mumbled. "Did you say something?"

Madeleine huffed before launching into another round of reminding him of his duty.

"Does that change in schedule agree with you?" She prompted when he remained silent.

"Yes, of course." He responded.

Liam knew there was little else he could say. He might be king with all the power that came with it, but he knew it was nothing more than an illusion. No one was more tightly bound with little say in anything than he was.

Madeleine eyed him silently after adding their latest event.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

Liam blinked. He couldn't recall her ever caring what type of mood he was in. He must be more despondent than usual if Madeleine noticed.

"Nothing to concern yourself over." He told her.

Madeleine rolled her eyes. One look at his face was all she needed to see he was thinking of Riley. He was the kind of man who probably expected the City of Love to truly be that very thing. It was foolish to think such in her opinion, but she supposed she could be magnanimous to the less fortunate.

"You have some free time after the fashion show." She pointed out. "Why don't you invite Riley to spend the evening with you?"

Liam's startled gaze flew to her face. "What?"

"I said, why don't you invite--"

"I heard that part." Liam interrupted. "I'm merely shocked that you would suggest such a thing."

"You hid your little rendezvous in Venice, quite well." She complimented. "I trust you to do the same here in Paris."

He knew that was all she asked of him.

"Don't embarrass me", Madeleine pleaded on the night of their engagement. "As long as you keep your affairs out of the news, I will not care who or what you do."

It felt odd. He didn't care one bit for Madeleine, but to still have one's fiancee give her blessing, even help set time for his dates, it was weird to say the very least.

Liam lowered the privacy barrier to speak to their driver.

"Pull over, please."

The moment the car paused at the next corner, Liam got out.

"Where are you going?!" Madeleine demanded.

"I need to clear my head." He told her.

"But the fashion show!" She shrieked. "It's being held specifically for us and Cordonia!"

"I'll be there." He promised.

Liam mentally groaned when Bastien stepped out to follow him.

"There's no need for you to come along." He argued.

Bastien, ever stoic, shook his head.

"Forgive me sir, but there is. You're not about to walk down the street alone when--"

"As king," Liam bit out, "I order you back in the car."

"Your majesty, I must insist--"

"Now." Liam told him.

Bastien sighed. He stepped closer to whisper, "You should be fine, just please pay attention to your surroundings."

"Thank you." Liam responded. "I need some time alone."

"I understand, sir." Bastien bowed before returning to the car.

Liam watched the procession continue on without him.

He took a deep breath, glanced about, and began walking down the sidewalk.

I wish Riley was--

"Liam!"

He turned about with a start.

Riley jogged over, pausing before him to bend over and catch her breath.

"My lady!" He exclaimed, bending down so he could see her face. "What are you doing out here?"

"I saw you get out and I decided to follow." She panted.

He shook his head, his first genuine smile forming.

"I'm fine," she wheezed when he gently touched her back in concern, "just very, very out of shape."

He chuckled, causing her smile to appear in hearing such a sound.

"What are you doing?" She asked, once she could speak without wheezing.

"Walking." He held his arm out to her. "Care to join me?"

Her smile widened as she linked her arm with his.

"I gathered that." She replied. "But where are you going?"

"Nowhere in particular." He told her with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I simply was tired of being King Liam."

"Hmm." Riley paused mid step. She let go of his arm, moved directly in his path, and studied him.

Liam cocked an eyebrow in response.

Her eyes sparkled as she took in the handsome man before her. Her tender smile caught his attention as he waited to see what she would do next.

"And just who do you wish to be right now?" She asked.

Slipping his hands into his pockets, Liam bashfully ducked his head as he gave voice to what he wished.

"I want to be the man who can go out with the woman he loves."

He lifted his bright, blue eyes to Riley.

"I want to show you all the spots I dreamed of taking the person," he stepped closer to cup her cheek, "who would become my heart."

He pressed his forehead against hers.

"You, my love, are now the very thing I find myself wishing for everywhere I go."

Unable to resist him a second longer, Riley looped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Liam clutched her close to deepen the kiss. He felt his spirits lift that he was finally able to share a kiss with the love of his life on the very streets he used to daydream doing so.

"I love you." She whispered, kissing him once more.

"I love you," he hugged her close, "so very much, Riley."

She grinned, taking his hand in hers. "So? Where should we go first?"

"Anywhere." He laced his fingers with hers. "Any place we go will be all the better with you by my side."

"You're going to have to stop that." Riley playfully warned. "We'll never leave this spot if you keep saying such sweet things to me."

"Would that be so terrible?" He asked, gently pulling her close once more. "I could happily remain here for all eternity if it meant I could be with you."

"Liam." She sighed. "What am I to do with you?"

"I can think of a great many things." He winked at her, feeling lighthearted for the first time in a long while.

She laughed and began to pull him down the street. "I'm almost tempted to demand you tell me some of those."

"Almost, hmm?" Liam smiled at her. "I suppose I will have to do all I can to tempt you even more."

"You are enough temptation as it is." She teased. "A girl can only handle so much before she tries to find some dark, hidden nook to pull Prince Charming in."

Liam stopped her. She watched as he began to scan their surroundings.

"What are you doing now?" She asked.

"Looking for a dark, hidden nook."

Her burst of laughter brought him such joy. This was what he needed. No stress of saying the right thing to the right people. No keeping a neutral expression on his face. No pretending to be the happy fiance of another woman.

He needed moments like this with Riley. He wanted to flirt with and touch the woman treating him like any normal man she would have met in a bar.

"Oh look!" She exclaimed, dragging him over to a shop's window.

Liam took in the many different figurines in the window. An entire miniature village was set off in the distance while little figures of people and animals were displayed to show life along the French countryside.

"I've always loved miniatures." Riley said softly. "My grandparents collected all kinds of them. I used to play with them when I was little."

She chuckled over the childhood memories that flooded her mind. As a little girl, she created a world of daydreams with the ceramic and metal figures.

"Would you like to go in?" He asked.

"Can we?" She asked. "I know we eventually have to go to the fashion show."

Liam glanced at his watch. Time was getting away from him. He knew the event hall was only five blocks away, but he did have interviews and such to contend with, especially since the entire show was for Cordonia's benefit.

His lips firmed into a thin line. He was not going to let any of that dictate this rare moment alone with Riley.

Opening the shop's door, he stepped back so Riley could go in first.

There was no hiding her excitement in exploring this place. Taking Liam's hand once more, she dragged him from one glass case to another, pointing out ones similar to the many she'd grown up with.

Liam indulged her, listening as intently as one possibly could. His tender smile remained upon her as she laughed and shared her secret stories she'd once created. He found himself falling even more for this unexpected side of Riley.

As they admired the craftsmanship of a set of tin soldiers, Liam's attention was drawn towards a little ceramic figure.

The groom was carrying his bride in his arms while she was kissing his cheek.

He felt his heart sink for the first time since Riley joined him on this little excursion. His future was racing towards a wedding, one he couldn't quite fathom happening. The little bride had blonde hair, much like Madeleine's.

I can never have that smile around Madeleine, he thought. I can't have that be my life.

Riley followed his gaze when she felt him tense up beside her. She knew, just by his somber expression that he was thinking of Madeleine.

Slipping her arms around his waist, she hugged him from the side.

"I'd like to think that could be us one day." She admitted.

Liam wrapped his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her close. "You do?"

Riley nodded, forcing a smile for his sake. She didn't want to let him know how worried she was that she would fail in finding a way for them to be together. He already had so much pressure as it was upon him. She couldn't add her own.

She reached over and lifted the figurine to study it closer. Unshed tears filled her eyes.

"I think I'm going to buy this." She decided. "For us."

"Us?" He took it from her. "The bride would need dark hair to be you."

"Or I could color mine." She reminded him.

Liam ran his fingers through her silky, black hair.

"I'm rather fond of this color." He said softly.

She playfully poked his side. "You better be."

He laughed then placed a lingering kiss on her forehead.

"I still think this is us." Riley declared. "Look at how happy they are."

She lifted her eyes to his. "I know I'm this way around you."

"And I with you." Liam murmured.

Riley reached for the figurine, eyes widening when Liam kept it out of her reach.

"I want to buy that." She told him.

"And I want to buy it for you, my love." He insisted. "For us."

"But, I--"

"Allow me, please." He pleaded.

Riley studied him for a few seconds. She could tell he needed this reminder as much as she did that they would find their way to their own happily ever after.

"Okay." She said softly. "Thank you, Liam."

The two walked quietly, both in deep thought, towards the venue once their purchase was complete.

"Riley?" Liam stopped her before they needed to revert to their current roles.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to go out with me this evening?"

"You know I would." She hesitated at the side door. "Where could we go?"

"Somewhere where we can enjoy Paris and be alone." He explained.

"I'd love that." She took the little box from him. "I'll hold on to this for us."

Glancing about to make sure no one was near, she pressed a tender kiss to his lips.

"I'll see you tonight." She whispered.

Once she disappeared, he looked up, trying to summon the will to be King Liam of Cordonia once more.

It was hard to find the strength to do so. All he wanted, was to continue this slight detour from his life. Was that asking for the impossible?

He glanced at the Eiffel Tower in the distance. He quickly called Bastien to set up a private tour for this evening. The place was meant for romance and he intended to take complete advantage of it.

But that would have to wait.

Squaring his shoulders, he entered into the venue. The moment he stepped inside, he was bombarded by his security team, nobles, and reporters.

He reminded himself that if he could get through these next couple of hours, he would be rewarded with an evening being simply Liam. No demands. No one expecting him to say the right things at the right time. No more pretending.

He was determined to have all that and more with Riley.

He would do everything within his power to make that little figurine a reality for them soon.

[athena5898]

Palestine rises. Glory to the intifada. Operation after operation. Martyr followed by martyr. 24 years have passed since the Palestinian people, as they are known to do, collectively rose up across the homeland. The intifada broke out after zionist prime minister Ariel Sharon stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, desecrating its sanctity. What Sharon did not know is that his foolishness would be the only spark needed to ignite five years of fierce anti-colonial resistance against the occupation.  3,973 Palestinians were martyred. 1,330 settlers were killed in near-daily operations. 850 assassinations were carried out by the IOF, including Ahmed Yassin and Abu Ali Mustafa. 9,800 Palestinians were imprisoned, including Marwan Al-Barghouti and Ahmed Sa'adat. Leaders like Zubeidi and Tawalbeh rose. Masses who have endured the same violence and oppression still actively choose to resist, to persist, and to never yield, no matter the losses.  The intifada continues in every Palestinian fiber. Today, as we witness the events unfolding in the West Bank, our people are gradually but surely creating a new phase of it. This stage is characterized by new types of operations and constant confrontation—with Molotov cocktails, rocks, and explosive balloons—hearkening back to the resistance of generations past, making the occupation unsafe on any inch of occupied land. Daily targeting is the norm. The occupation knows that and attempts to the reality being bult, but in vain. As long as resistance remains constant and unwavering, we are certain that it follows a winding historical path to liberation. You cannot fail at resisting, for as long as you resist, you live. Under the weight of the steadfastness of our people, the so-called "strongest military" recoils. Threats of resistance are enough. Resistance itself is better. The legacy of the martyrs live on. All resistance is a step forward to liberation. Today, the intifada is alive in the hearts and minds of our people, bringing liberation closer with every passing day.

[indizombie]

When the BJP-led NDA came to power in 1998, the government of India's human resource development minister Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi included 'Priesthood and Ritualism' into school curriculum. During his time, astrology began to be taught instead of science-based astronomy. Learning how to perform the Putrakameshthi Yajna, a (Vedic) ritual to get a male child was also introduced. They are inculcating unfounded beliefs and foolishness into children's minds. Recalling Golwalkar's call for involvement in RSS activities to be essentially devoid of any critical thinking and discernment, once they are in power, they have set about implementing this in children's education. Recently, CBSE has removed several topics from their syllabus. Of these, topics such as democracy and diversity, impact of globalization on agriculture, popular (mass), movements and communalism were removed from the Class 10 syllabus. It is for this kind of school curriculum excisions that the RSS has nurtured one of its offsprings, the 'Shiksha Sanskriti Uttahn Nyas. It has consistently been pressurizing NCERT to remove from textbooks, allusions to 'the former prime minister Manmohan Singh's magnanimous apology for the Sikh riots', and the 'killing of around two thousand Muslims in the 2002 Gujarat riots'. This is their chicanery.

Devanuru Mahadeva, 'RSS: Depth & Breadth'

[eretzyisrael]

Hamas didn’t invade Israel on Oct. 7 for its amusement. The barbaric sneak attack is a part of the pogrom intended to wipe out the Jewish state. It was a crime against humanity, and not just because of its savagery. We would all be worse off if Israel ceased to exist. The same cannot be said for Islamic terrorists.

Israel’s contributions to the modern world are momentous. When not dodging bullets, rockets, and homicide bombers, Israelis have since 1948 developed:

Copaxone and Rebif, drugs that treat multiple sclerosis, and Exelon, which treats mild to moderate dementia in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s patients.

The PillCam, “a minimally invasive ingestible camera in a capsule that allows visualization of the small bowel.”

The water desalination process.

The Sniffphone, “that can actually ‘sniff out’ diseases.”

And SpineAssist, “​​the first-ever spine robot” that has the “ability to provide real-time intraoperative navigation.”

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, responsible for some of the inventions listed above, has also produced diabetes and flu vaccines, is using T-cells to treat damaged spines, and is a pioneer in industrial — and medical — uses nano materials. 

Other impactful Israeli products include drip irrigation, a revolutionary microprocessor called the 8088, the ​​NIR heart stent, voice-over-internet protocol, the ​​USB flash drive, the Waze navigation app, ReWalk, “a commercial bionic walking assistance system,” and “the first commercially viable firewall software.” 

Our own security has benefited from Israel’s labor and work ethic.

“Many Israeli innovations are present in upgrades to U.S. Air Force fighters and Army equipment,” says the international law firm Smith, Gambrell & Russell. One important advance in particular is the helmet-mounted display system for the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

So we have a country of 9.23 million, mostly desert, that is only 75 years old, is “surrounded by enemies” and in a constant state of war, which has “no natural resources,” yet “produces more start-up companies on a per capita basis than large, peaceful, and stable nations and regions like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and all of Europe.” It is the only nation outside of the U.S. that Warren Buffet invests in.

Have the Palestinians or Hamas, currently at war with Israel, done anything that compares to what the Israelis have achieved? More broadly, beyond the Allahista terrorist groups, what has Islam contributed to the modern world?

Not much.

Since 1901, Jews, who total 0.2% of the world’s population, have won 189 Nobel prizes for physics, medicine, chemistry and economics. Over that same period, Muslims, who make up nearly a quarter of the global population, have won four.

If it seems as Islamic groups, Hamas and Hezbollah prominent among them, are more interested in spreading nihilism, committing atrocities, and destroying civilization than making the world a better place, well, then there’s a good reason for it. That is exactly what the heroes of an increasingly large number foolish Westerners are aiming for.

Meanwhile, Israelis see themselves “as having a role in the world to repair the world,” says Chemi Peres, managing partner and co-founder of the venture capital firm Pitango, chairman of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, and son of the late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

“We call it tikkun olam, and here at the Peres Center we have a mission statement, which is to introduce innovation and new ideas and new technologies, not only for ourselves but to solve the problems of the world.”

Islam is part of that world, but too many of its adherents live to do just the opposite. 

— Written by the I&I Editorial Board

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

There is a curious and curiously popular habit whereby people edit down the subjective truth in the statement “I am afraid we will lose” to the pseudo-objective declaration “We will lose.” My best interpretation of this, after seeing it time after time, in crisis after crisis, is that it’s how people hide from their own vulnerable emotions. It’s an interesting journey from real fear to false authority and projection of confidence. But why would you assert as fact and inevitability what you fear? What are you protecting? Maybe the self rather than the cause, but only protecting it from disappointment, uncertainty, risk.

When you assert that the future is already decided, you undermine the motivation to participate in shaping that future—which seems ridiculously obvious as I type these words, but doesn’t seem like it’s considered by these prophets of doom. Also when you turn your feelings into facts, you turn truth into fiction. Accepting defeat in advance is a curious form of self-protection. I want to see people protect the cause by distinguishing between these two things and maybe realizing that you protect the self by protecting the cause and the possibilities.

This is not an argument against fear. It’s an argument for clarity about what’s a feeling and what’s a fact and a contemplation of how our words shape our world. I’ve been saying for the last few years, in regard to climate, “I respect despair as an emotion but don’t confuse it with an analysis.” You can feel fear, despair, sorrow, anxiety without surrender; history is full of countless people who persevered under the grimmest circumstances, often with heavy hearts and no victory visible on the horizon, or success a wild unlikelihood. Sometimes they lost, but the only ones who won were the ones who stuck with it (or who benefited from someone else doing the work).

Here I’m arguing for what my friend Roshi Joan Halifax calls wise hope, not foolish optimism; there are times when an honest assessment of “this will not work” is the beginning of turning toward what possibly will. On the other hand, in my years on this earth, I’ve seen things declared impossible or unimaginable come to pass, notably the fall of the Soviet satellite states in 1989—I don’t think that even most of the people who toppled those regimes believed they could and would, until they did.

We make something more likely, more widely believed, by saying and repeating it. Our rhetoric encourages or discourages. Which is why sports teams chant a version of “I believe we will win.” A whole sector of the progressive/left/whatever, however, seems to be eternally chanting “I believe we will lose.” This is not something sports teams do, incidentally.

In life outside games, warnings matter, but warnings are not prophecies. Warnings say, “this could happen, or if this happens, the results will be that,” which is quite different from “this will happen” as a flat declaration of inevitability. From Orwell to Octavia Butler, the people who give us warnings believe we have choices to make; as Butler said: “The very act of trying to look ahead to discern possibilities and offer warnings is in itself an act of hope.”

I don’t love Winston Churchill’s politics, but I do like some of his rhetoric, namely his famous declaration of defiance: “We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall never surrender.” He said that on June 4, 1940, when he had just become Britain’s prime minister. The war was going terribly: Belgium had surrendered and the Nazis, having crushed France, were about to take Paris. Britain faced continental fascism largely alone and Churchill feared that Germany would invade the UK. He didn’t say that the Allies would win, but that they would not cease to try. And he saw his job as to feed their stubborn ferocity, not their fear.

In the wake of the 2016 election, historian Timothy Snyder issued his Twenty Rules for Surviving Tyranny. The first is “1. Do not obey in advance.” I would add to that “do not surrender in advance.” I shared that in the wake of the abysmal debate last week, adding: Do not surrender prematurely. Do not surrender maturely, for that matter. Do not surrender if there is any other option, and maybe don’t surrender then, either.

Snyder continues, "Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. … Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom."

I have said, "Your opponents would love you to believe that it’s hopeless, that you have no power, that there’s no reason to act, that you can’t win. Hope is a gift you don’t have to surrender, a power you don’t have to throw away."

It was striking in the face of that terrible debate to see people decide we had already lost an election that will not begin until early voting this fall. You would never see this kind of public defeatism and infighting from the Republicans, not that their boundless loyalty to a deranged criminal is exactly admirable. But it is effective. On the other hand, saying we’ve lost or will inevitably lose the election helps lose it.

Sunday, facing the nightmare of the far-right party’s success in the French election, left-wing politician Jean Luc Melenchon declared in a nighttime rally in Paris, “French people, the future of our common homeland will depend on your choice, whatever our skin color, our religion, our gender. Nothing is decided. Courage, young people! Hold fast! The future is what we make of it!” He spoke in Place de la Republique, where the rights of man and the revolutionary values of liberté, egalité, fraternité are celebrated, reaffirming those commitments.

“With high hope for the future no prediction in regard to it is ventured,” said Lincoln in his second inaugural address, in the midst of that war over the future of slavery in the United States (which is itself a reminder that the people who decided to abolish that institution were at first a marginalized, mocked, and sometimes terrorized minority and abolition was widely regarded as impossible).

What has most moved me in public life over the past thirty or forty years is people facing terrible odds without surrendering. I’m old enough to remember the anti-apartheid movement when Nelson Mandela was still serving a life sentence, and the collapse of the Soviet satellite states thanks to nonviolent organizing and civil society engagement; I’ve seen it in more contemporary faces of resistance from Florida’s Coalition of Immokalee Workers to Chiapas’s Zapatistas to the Indigenous-led anti-pipeline activism at Standing Rock and western Canadian sites; I’ve seen it in the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, in the Chilean student movement a few years ago, in the South Pacific Climate Warriors, and in the Hong Kong protests of 2019-2020.

We are in a crisis like nothing before in this country—only the rise of the Confederacy, secession, and the Civil War are equal in import, but they are not equal in corruption at the heart of things—in Congress and in the Supreme Court, which has staged a judicial coup in its last few days of outrageous rulings.

If Trump resumes office, the third branch falls and they combine into an unholy cabal for at least an attempt at endless tyranny. We may not win, but it behooves us to do everything we can to do so, and that includes our words and their impact. This does not mean suppressing fear and dissent, but being clear about the difference between emotion and analysis and about the fact that our words shape our worlds.

It also means recognizing the arenas in which opinion and thereby consequences are being shaped. A bunch of pundits who presumably want the Democrats to win the 2024 presidential election have taken to calling for Biden to step down, apparently oblivious or indifferent to how that weakens his candidacy, while not demonstrating a convincing alternative path to the White House. They too seem to have taken their fears for analyses.

They are joined in this undermining of the candidate by the New York Times, which famously dragged (“but her emails”) the Democratic candidate in 2016 while saying little about the Republican candidate’s appalling record of racism, bankruptcy, corruption, and criminal associates. The paper has published mountains of articles and editorials on Biden’s age since February and a few days ago issued an editorial insisting he must step down. (Strikingly, only the Philadelphia Inquirer saw Trump’s criminality and threats of tyranny as grounds to declare he should step down.)

As a study of the newspaper issued this spring put it, "The Times is engaged in a game of circular narrative construction: first, cover an issue excessively relative to other equally or more important issues; second, conduct opinion polls and follow up reporting that offer respondents the opportunity to express concern about the excessively covered issue; third, cover the results of stage two as if they are newsworthy events that happened independently of any prior media coverage."

Words have impacts. We shape our worlds with them, and that’s a power that though not evenly distributed lies with nearly all of us one way or another. The poet Marie Howe famously recounted of the Soviet refugee she studied with, “One of my teachers at Columbia was Joseph Brodsky… and he said ‘look,’ he said, ‘you Americans, you are so naïve. You think evil is going to come into your houses wearing big black boots. It doesn’t come like that. Look at the language. It begins in the language.”

But there is another kind of language that opens the door and lets that evil into the house—including by saying it’s inevitable—and that issues from our mouths, not theirs.

[Rebecca Solnit]

[silviakundera]

Joy of Life Episode 24 liveblogging

This is my first watch, so don't tell me secrets ;)

Let's meet Noble Consort Yi! Her son is Third Prince

ML feeling a lil empathy for the consort and crown prince in their prisons (which doesn't mean he's foolish enough to trust them)

next we meet Consort Shu (I actually got the "shu" joke, very proud of myself lol) Mother of the Second Prince! She cracks me up. ('Your son likes me!' '..Sounds fake but ok.')

Lady Ning's son, who isn't in succession, is out fighting at the border. Not sure he's truly accepted his fate.

The infamous grandmaster Eunuch Hong!!

Empress Dowager has not made a good impression on our ML. But the feeling is mutual.

Royal Princess invites him over, so she can make sure he's alienated from that entire extended family lol

She's trying to set him up so obviously.

And she even admits she ordered the assassination, to try to get him to attack. BE COOL DUDE BE COOL.

He's not so stupid to assume he could take action here. (I say, pleadingly 🙏🙏🙏🙏)

yesssssssssssssssss he's staying calm. Get her later.

Masks off for both of them now. What a fantastic scene.

ML this is really really not a family you should not be joining with. Britney's Toxic is playing in the background. It's not too late, get out!

Commander Yan, I don't quite get. There's no way the emperor would approve ML's murder and he's got to know that. So he's more loyal to the Royal Princess? Or he's just protecting any member of the roles of the dynasty, whoever they are, and sees emperor as a position rather than a person whose direction he follows? 🤔

Chen Pingping is in DANGER. I fear he's not long for this world. Rebellion at hand.

The pro northern qi destruction party is plotting assassinations.

ML is aware he needs to take his time to deal with his evil MIL. Good, good I agree.

Like me, ML finds overly perky people very off-putting

Emperor, CP, and Prime Minister all want him him to be an envoy in order to prevent messy murders... Right? Those sly dogs never do anything for 1 reason.

[eyesofanapothecarian]

They have one daughter.

This bitch's name is Shenmei.

Her husband is Shishou!

They have one daughter together...

Loulan.

Okay let me tell you want I know.

Shenmei is the former consort that was put into a position of power by the Empress Regnant to keep an eye on the Shi Clan.

Shishou meritorious behavior helped the Empress Regnant cut of slave trading.

During this time her handmaid became impregnated by the former emperor.

A scandal and a shame, which would have the Empress Regnant furious, Shenmei abandoned her maid.

She was betroth back to her original fiance but because he had married Suirei mother after she was throw out and had a wife and daughter, Shenmei killed Suirei mother and abused Suirei.

She plotted to ruin the country for making a fool of her, and chased out the members of the Shi Clan who stood against her, but her plans were foiled by Shishou and Loulan, who pretended to go along with her plans and allowed her to ruin herself by garnering the most foolish of followers.

During the Rii's army attack on the Northern Capital, she attempted to shoot Loulan and Jinshi after learning of Loulan's deception by taking Loulan's hand cannon; however, the cannon was defective and hit Shenmei with its shrapnel instead, causing her to die from blood loss.

Loulan was deemed a traitor regardless of what happened and she faked her death and ran away to the Apothecary Diaries version of Japan.

Shishou

He was highly favored by the Empress Regnant and helped her abolish the slave trade by proposing that she expand the Inner Palace to accommodate those that were to be sold.

He was accused of attempting to rebel against the country and killed; however, his true plan was to go along with Shenmei's plans until the last moment before fooling her by intercepting her plans.

Empress Regnant

This one is the Empress Regnant or The Current Emperor's Grandmother.

She was noted to have done the following in her regime:

placed bans on logging

caused impairment of the paper industry (including the Quack Doctor and his family)

appointed Prime Minister Shishou

Abolished slave trade

hid slaves who were to be sold to foreign countries in the Inner Court as palace ladies and eunuchs

greatly increased the size of the Inner Court

She passed away sometime after Jinshi was born, with her son quickly following behind.

Suirei Mother

Suirei was born from the Former Emperor when he raped Shenmei's palace lady, who was just past ten years of age. In order to hide the illegitimate birth, the crime was pinned on a court physician, and both the baby and the physician were banished from the Inner Palace; meanwhile, her mother the palace lady was shunned by Shenmei but forbidden from leaving the Inner Palace for the rest of her days.

Sound familiar????

[beeseverywhen]

"All political parties face a trade-off under a first-past-the-post electoral system. Governing depends on attracting a broad coalition of voters, inevitably involving compromises that leave a party’s base disgruntled.

So it is perhaps unsurprising that as we move closer to a general election, the discontent from the anti-Labour left who claim there is little to distinguish Keir Starmer from Rishi Sunak in the battle for the premiership is only getting noisier."

"The argument is threefold: there’s no meaningful difference between the Conservatives and Labour; Starmer supposedly can’t be trusted because he has dropped pledges he made in the 2020 leadership election to shift his party towards the centre; finally, the “Tories are toast” and Labour can’t lose, so disgruntled left voters can safely vote for other parties, such as the Greens.

With Labour so far ahead in the polls, the urge to debunk these sentiments may seem like an expression of paranoia. But all three aspects of this narrative are comprehensively wrong, including the reassurance that it is safe for anyone who would prefer a Labour government to vote for another party in Labour-Tory contests."

"But what this underplays is the number of Labour-Tory marginals where a relatively small vote for other left candidates could cost Labour a win. James Kanagasooriam, of the polling company Focaldata, has written about the “sandcastle” nature of Labour’s likely majority; his forecast is that there will be many more marginal seats in the 2024 parliament compared with 2019. If more than predicted numbers of those who voted Green in the locals decide they can afford to do so in the general election because Labour is so far ahead in national polls, that will boost the Conservatives.

Next up is the idea that Starmer’s dropping of some of his leadership pledges makes him dangerously untrustworthy. But this is the product of a system in which the tiny unrepresentative slice of the electorate that is a party membership pick their leader before voters choose their prime minister. Anyone hoping to be PM would have to shift position between a leadership selection and a general election: a Labour leader’s most important job is to connect with potential voters, not to coddle members with the comfort blanket of a policy platform such as the “free broadband for all” 2019 pledge that was roundly rejected.

Liz Truss provides a cautionary tale of what happens when a party leader seeks to impose a membership-endorsed platform on the country without a general election. For Starmer to have stuck to his 2020 leadership election pledges, instead of spending the past four years understanding voters, would have been fundamentally anti-democratic.

The most egregious aspect of the anti-Labour left argument is there isn’t much to choose between Starmer and Sunak. Yes, Labour’s “Ming vase” election strategy has seen it take a much more cautious fiscal approach than many of us would like: it has effectively adopted the Tory macroeconomic worldview and with it a set of spending constraints that no one sensible thinks either party could stick to in the wake of the election.

That is frustrating for anyone hoping this election campaign may illuminate some of the tough trade-offs facing Britain; but it would have been incredibly risky for one side to go it alone on this. The alternative is Labour walking into the trap and handing the Conservatives a “Labour tax bombshell” election campaign.

From a commitment to scrap the Rwanda plan to making clear that in an ideal world Labour would discard the two-child benefit cap, there are plenty of reasons that it is preposterous to think that a Starmer government would make the same trade-offs as successive Conservative governments that have financed billions of pounds worth of tax cuts for more affluent families by cutting tax credits and benefits for low-income parents. The six pledges Starmer launched two weeks ago may be incremental, but Labour needs voters to believe they are deliverable, and they are indicative of a very different set of priorities than those that animate Sunak."

"Starmer is not without weaknesses, as shown by the days he took to clarify an interview last October in which he gave the impression he thought Israel had the right to withhold power and food from Gaza. But there is no doubt whatsoever he would make a vastly more compassionate and competent prime minister than Sunak. To encourage people to put that outcome at risk by casting a protest vote against a Labour government that does not yet exist is perhaps the ultimate form of luxury belief campaigning."

[miaisontumblurtoo]

A message during the time of this current ceasefire; (if this is none of your concern, then scroll)

I understand everyone person who sees what is going on is completely overwhelmed by the lack of proper + expected action, and so we feel as if we should be doing the most (a fair percentage are teenagers worrying about their next semester exam), as our governmental powers (including the neighbouring countries of Palestine) aren't even prevailing for their neighbours because of personal political conflicts which have become now dangerous and foolish barriers against what should be unity. Especially as Muslims.

My message is that WE. ARE. NOT. SAVIORS. OF A PEOPLE. GOD IS THE BRINGER OF JUSTICE! (If you're atheist or agnostic, you probably wouldn't take this in as much, but as a believer of God myself, you still shouldn't put the "Justice deliverer" burden on yourself.) It's not worth it, nor possible to us. OUR ROLE AS HUMAN BEINGS; is to fight with those who are our human brothers and sisters, and against ONLY those who put harm against us and/or our neighbors. That's a burden we can bear.

I (personally) will not waist my time bickering with those who's hearts of error and hatred have been sealed. If they want to see the Arabs massacred, malnourished, freezing to death, dying at birth, being tortured with dogs and weapons, held from their parents or children in cells unjustly, losing homes, buried, dead, and rotting under their destructed homes, well their eyes have been opened already like ours to this genocide, they know what it is, they CHOSE to blind themselves with their hatred. The don't seek to look for the truth, these people these days seek to be the truth. They argue because they know they have to keep their delusion upheld or face the truth. This is particularly subconscious.

Therefore it's mostly pointless to argue with what they chose already for themselves. (Not saying nobody can change, but in this time, it's not to be waisted with bickering that will go nowhere) However anyone who's GENUINELY willing to question or understand why we call (and why it's declared a genocide, you are free to reblog with questions, and those are the people I'll give time to respond to. (not debate)

Debate comes in hand when it's against governmental, and senate powers, that will bring progress if they're productively proven against. However the more I hear the statements of these systems, it's all a big secretly connected club that was built to keep states like Israel upheld like a spoiled child, and being gently told off everytime POSING as system that suspends and well punishes the child. All of these systems are run by their idolization of social upbringing, and big money. God really is our bringer of justice. .

I don't stand with Hamas, nor do I care about conflicting, political relationship especially in a day where no government well represents it's people. WE DON'T CONDEMN HAMAS, BUT WE ALSO DON'T CONDEMN THESE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW TO GO TO WAR, ITS NEVER A BIG GOVERNMENT SYSTEM, AND ARMY AGAINST CIVILIANS. YOU DON'T RAPE IN WAR. YOU DON'T LOOK FOR CHILDREN TO KILL IN WAR, THOSE ARE CALLED GENOCIDES, LIKE DECLARED WITHIN GERMANY, AND RWANDA! THOSE CHILDREN ARE NOT BROUGHT UP TO BECOME HAMAS OF THE FUTURE. ITS CALLED PALESTINE, NOT "HAMAS TOWN", HAMAS IS A MILITANT GROUP NOT A CIVILIAN PEOPLE. HAMAS IS A MILITANT GROUP BORN BECAUSE OF THE CONFLICT, PROPPED UP FOR YEARS BY THE PM OF ISRAEL SO THEY COULD USE THEM AS A SCAPEGOAT OR WHAT **HE** ONCE SAID "COUNTERWEIGHT" THAT'S THE TRUTH NOT A CONSPIRACY. I'm not saying Israel shouldn't exist, I'm saying most of your prime ministers don't seek a peace treaty, Yadlin said "Israel would be happy if Hamas took over Gaza, because then the IDF could then deal with Gaza as a hostile state". Your prime ministers are power extension seeking people, but at least they (hopefully) care about the benefit of the Israeli people, except it's at the cost of disregarding others. Out of spite of the ottomans takeover (who knows?) Your (MODERN VERSION) state was born from Zionism, as understandable as it is to seek a refuge place for people, they were called Zionists because they had power seeking motives. The Jews already negotiated and settled along side Palestinians before the Zions took it. Which "Palestine" wasn't a name from the Arabs, it was a name from the Romans. This isn't about a two state solution, and people are being killed because of selfish desire once again. That's what I (and I pray everyone else) protest against.

Another word, don't comply to remove your guilt, comply because you want a people and a community to live like you wish to live, or do live. (Luke 6:31; "Do into others as you would have them do onto you") This goes for congo, Sudan, Syria, Haiti, California, the people who don't have a home in this below 0° Celsius weather because they're a victim of these high rates or natural disasters, people who are victims of usury and foreclosure, because our countries need to put us in debt to pay of their debt, people who's cities and communities are neglected because deploying and funding wars against people only the government has conflict with are more important. Know why you are doing this.

Last message, as I highlight what I said earlier about way a government keeps it's (power source, which is typically money but also traded resources but the focus is MONEY). My country; America pays off it's debt by putting us in debt, then usury, (Higher interest for more income towards them). Do for self, do for community that does for it's people, for the sake of state and community building. Another form of boycotting is putting our money somewhere that doesn't really touch this governments exchange. I'm not saying everything here, may someone more intelligent on this matter add to this message with a reblog. Prayers against evil in internal, psychological, and now importantly external forms which have many possiblity of effecting the internal being are sufficient. Especially in a world that is revealed to be entirely manipulated (not created) to be a world for these men's desires. We aren't very powerful to the point where we can fix or fight against every conflict matter successfully, but it should always be remembered that God is sufficient for us. Peace belongs to the warriors of peace amongst all of their people, and not just themselves. The opposite is what this world is today. Peace upon the peacemakers.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Wu Cheng'en and Journey to the West (2010) 吳承恩與西遊記

Director: Kan Weiping Screenwriter: Wang Shuqiang / Ding Aimin Starring: Liu Xiaolingtong / Ma Su / Shi Xiaoqun / Sun Tao / Chi Chongrui / Ma Dehua Genre: Drama / Biography / Fantasy / Adventure / Costume Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Chinese Date: 2010-07-01 (Mainland China) Episodes: 46 Single episode length: 46 minutes Also known as: Wu Cheng En and Journey to the West / 吴承恩与西游记 Type: Crossover

Summary:

In the movie, the protagonist Wu Chengen is wise and foolish, advocating justice, suave, romantic, poetic, calligraphy and painting, and is unique through the ages; the characters of "Journey to the West" such as Sun Wukong, Tang Seng, Zhu Bajie, etc. It complements the original characters in the play; the rich and fantastic myths, fantasy, chivalry, bold and interesting artistic expression styles, and modern high-tech three-dimensional expression methods greatly expand the extraordinary imagination of heaven and earth. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Wu Yue, a minor official in Shanyang County, Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, went to Yuntai Temple in Huaguo Mountain with his son, and talked with his old friend Puyin, hoping that his son Wu Cheng'en would be able to study and become an official and honor his ancestors. However, Wu Cheng'en, who has never forgotten his books and is very talented, fell in love with the lively monkeys in the Water Curtain Cave of Huaguo Mountain, and imagined that he could be as free, unconstrained, and omnipotent as the monkeys.

The 76-year-old old master Li has failed the examinations for more than 60 years. On this day, he entered the examination room with a rope and declared that if he failed to pass the first place, he would die. However, Wu Chengen won first place in this exam, and his friend Shen Kun came in second. Master Li, who failed the ranking, was full of regrets, but full of hope for Wu Chengen. Before he died, he asked Cai Ang, the official of the court, to discipline Wu Chengen more, so that he could be promoted to an official in the future, fulfilling his wish. Wu Chengen's elder sister, Wu Chengjia, was born beautiful. Luo Wanjin, a rich man in Shanyang County, relied on the relationship between Yan Song, the prime minister of the court, and tried every means to marry Wu Chengjia, but the Wu family refused; his son Luo Pang was jealous of Wu Chengen's talent and had nothing to do; The family formed an indissoluble grievance.

Wu Chengen's parents, sister, and wife Ye Yun are full of hope for him to study and become an official. Wu Chengen still goes his own way, reading monkey books, learning monkey steps, listening to monkey shows, and getting acquainted with monkey artist Niu Yufeng. Shen Kun and Li Chunfang, good friends from the same hometown, jokingly called Wu Chengen a monkey idiot. Although they tried their best to persuade him to cherish his talents and become an official, they couldn't resist Wu Chengen's unshakable stereotypes and his stubborn opinion that he didn't want to be an official. His friends have to let him take pleasure in monkeys, make monkeys their friends, and take writing Journey to the West as his own ambition. Accompanied by his beloved wife and a monkey, Wu Chengen traveled around the world and returned to Huaguo Mountain, which shocked the court and experienced many challenges.

However, Wu Chengen is determined, cares about the folks, and has fantastic ideas, how the Monkey King was born, the golden cudgel is like a wind, the monkeys make trouble in the Heavenly Palace, the friend Bajie refuses relatives. Yufeng, his wife, saves her husband by dripping blood, and the wits fight the old way such as Huang Feng, beating the Bull Demon King angrily, punishing pirates, and building a monkey garden in righteousness came into being. A mythological masterpiece "Journey to the West", which symbolizes the perseverance, optimism, and enterprising spirit of the Chinese people, full of ideals, great wisdom, and courage, has finally been completed under the pen of Wu Chengen.

Facing the manuscript of "Journey to the West" written by his late friend Wu Chengen, his good friend Li Chunfang sat upright at the table, wrote "Journey to the West written by Wu Chengen" on the front page, and murmured softly: Cheng En, you are the Monkey King, You are Sun Wukong! You say you are Sun Wukong! Ten years after Wu Chengen's death, his "Journey to the West" was corrected by Li Chunfang and officially published by Nanjing Shidetang in 1592. On October 8, 2005, the Wu Chengen Memorial Hall was completed and opened in Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province...

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Cheng%27en_and_Journey_to_the_West_(2010)

Link: N/A

[baretklap]

Hypnovember Day 11: Powerless

"PUNY HUMAN! You think you can scare the almighty Power with your lil' cutesy rainbows? HAH! FOOLISH!

When I become the Prime Minister, I will make sure that stupidity like that gets punished BY DEATH! HAH! BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!

Huh? Not you, of course not you! I mean I will execute OTHER STUPIDS instead of the man who has shown Power all these pretty colours!

OF COURSE! OF COURSE POWER IS NOT AFRAID OF YOUR COLOURS! Just ... just amused. Very, very amused.

IN FACT, I demand you to show me MORE so I can look at them all day long!

Wait? You say being your sex slave is more prestigious and AWESOME than being the Prime Minister? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SO?

Power will be the best sex slave you have ever had! I don't know what they exactly do but I know that they do whatever you tell me they do! So, what are we waiting for, human?

LET'S GO!"

[herbeloved82]

New Memories of a Past Time

“You look - pensive.” Armand said from the door, looking at Marius unsure if his presence would be welcomed in his study. It was the first time since they went back to each other that Armand felt this way and it was unsettling. It felt wrong to feel unsure in Marius’ presence however he didn’t know how to erase this strange distance that had crept between them in the last several days. 

Marius was looking outside, his work forgotten on the desk. Armand looked at the abandoned brushes and pencils, all neatly aligned in their cases and containers, untouched. Even the fountain pen Marius preferred to write down new laws for their kind looked forgotten on the desk, side by side with empty pages of expensive paper. 

Only when Armand spoke Marius turned and there was an heaviness in his movements, an unnatural stillness that worried Armand even more. Was he hurt? Did something happen when he was still asleep? Armand knew it was possible, sure, Marius woke up earlier than him, but no one could be foolish enough to attack the Prime Minister in his own home, so close to the beginning of the night. 

With blazing eyes Armand drank every inch of his lover, looking for hidden clues that could tell him what was going on in his mind. Never like now did he hate the silence between their minds, that emptiness that filled his mind like the absence of touch. 

It was like something shifted inside Marius, one look at his love, his Armand - and how deeply had he despaired he could never call Armand that - and he was moving without thinking. Marius couldn’t stand to feel the uneasiness coming from Armand and today he knew it was because of him. 

“I’m sorry, dear one.” He said when he was in front of him, his chest almost touching Armand’s, any space between them erased by his need to be close to Armand. “I didn’t mean to worry you.” 

Words were powerful weapons between them. Too many would weigh upon Armand, igniting his defense mechanisms when they would overwhelm his mind and soul. Armand was used to silence and quiet. Dealing with feelings was still hard for him, for so long he forbade himself to feel, to open up to others and yet, too much of any emotion or hope and Armand  would shut down, making him doubt himself and Marius’ love all over again. A seemingly unreachable balance was required, yet it demanded constant work to be better, to communicate more in their own special language made of gazes and touches, but also of offered peace and understanding. It was a commitment both of them took seriously, but sometimes there were unseen bumps on their path, and it looked like Marius reached one without even realizing it. 

“You went silent.” Armand said. It wasn’t an accusation, just a statement, the proof of how unsure he was of the whole situation. 

He didn’t want to attack Marius, but at the same time he was building his walls up, to protect himself in case they had to talk about things that could potentially hurt him. Both of them knew, God, the whole castle knew that there was only one thing that could not only hurt Armand, but destroy him completely and that was losing Marius once again. 

It was his secret fear and what he constantly anticipated. The sword of Damocles over his head, for he refused to use any modern nonsense about dropping shoes. 

This chaotic thinking was a testament to how worried he was. Thoughts swirling in his mind like a maelstrom, emotions he didn’t want to deal with ready to ambush him as soon as vulnerability was shoved. 

“I did, and I apologize.” Marius admitted tentatively. 

His arms wrapped Armand in a hug, and he looked, fascinated like the first time, as Armand put his ear over his heart and allowed the slow beat to calm him down. 

“I didn’t realize I was slipping until you called it to my attention.” He kept going, giving Armand an explanation that he didn’t demand. Sometimes it was just easier for him to retreat in his own mind, but he had to remember now that he wasn’t alone anymore. He wasn’t allowed to run without at least explaining why. 

“Did something happen?” 

No, not really. Or maybe it did, Marius wasn’t sure of why he felt the melancholy sneaking upon him all so sudden. It was like all of a sudden everything was too heavy. People demanded too much from him, his work wasn’t good enough, even painting became a labor more than a beloved task. 

Then he looked outside once again and he looked at the first snow coming down to the sky and everything was clear in his mind and the answer was so painfully easy he was ashamed he didn’t realize this sooner. 

“It’s the time of the year.” He answered with a voice heavy with self mockery. For someone who always prided himself on his own mind, he could be exceptionally unobservant on occasions like this one. 

“I remember the last Saturnalia I spent with my family before my father’s passing.” 

It wasn’t a particularly depressing memory, instead it was one that he dearly cherished even now, after so long, one of the few he managed to save in his mind of the time when he had been alive and still in Rome, surrounded by a family he loved and who had loved him. 

And as much as he loved to remember that time, it hurt him in equal measure to think about brothers whose names have been erased by history and time, and it always left a bittersweet aftertaste in his mouth to think about them. 

Armand took a deep breath he didn’t need and detangled himself from Marius’ arms, immediately regretting the loss of comfort and peace. He led them to the couch in front of the fireplace, one little quirk he demanded Marius to accommodate, and took his favorite spot on Marius’ lap as soon as his lover was comfortable. 

“Tell me. Tell me everything about that.” 

They never spoke of this particular festivity before, they never had time to explore each other’s culture and traditions, and now they refused to lose more between them. They couldn’t stand the thought of not knowing everything the other had loved and cherished before and during their time apart. 

Armand wanted to devour everything that Marius was and had to give and Marius offered his whole self to the consumption. 

Laughs. So many laughs and cheers. They created a cacophony of happiness and serenity. The election happened a few moments ago. Fortuna, the blind goddess chose the new simulacrum of Saturn and everyone rejoiced. For another year Rome would be blessed with peace and wealth. 

Marius remembered a time when his father would pick him up and put him over his shoulders so that he would be able to see what was happening, peeking from above other people’s heads from his vantage point. 

Now Marius was a man, old enough to earn his place in the military, and his father was old and fragile, but still the mirth in his eyes was the same, and the happiness in his smile wasn’t touched by the fatigue that has plagued his body lately. 

Looking at him now, of the strong and powerful Senator only a distant echo remained, and yet he was there, with his family, to enjoy the beginning of the new season. 

“Lucius and Livia will be happy, their slave has been chosen as the new God.” One of his brothers said and Marius nodded, distracted by the happiness around him. Kids were playing as they waited for the sweets to be offered, uninterested in the social meaning of the festivities. Slaves were smiling for the next week they would be allowed to behave like free men. That was what Marius loved about this season, how the world was upside down and it still kept moving forward, a reminder that they were unimportant and their staying on this Earth only temporary. 

“So, the slaves would become Masters for a week?” Armand’s voice cut into his story and Marius wasn’t surprised. His beloved always bit at life like it could be snatched from under his nose. Always thinking, always moving forward even when his body was as still as a statue. 

“That was the point. To celebrate the Old God, who in many traditions was a slave himself, and give those like him the power they never had before.” 

Marius explained as best as he could while being distracted by Armand, moving sinuous until he finally straddled Marius’ lap. Tempting like the call of a siren and finally all his. 

“So, you would have to concede your power?” He asked, his voice just a whisper, full of lust and mischievousness. 

“If a slave of my house was chosen.” Marius confirmed. He tries, valiantly, to keep a composure, but Armand was the one temptation he could never resist. His strong hands grabbed his lover’s slim waist, taking their bodies even closer. Such a lovely torture his Armand was offering. 

“And you should have done what they asked?” 

“It was the tradition.” Marius moaned as Armand kissed his neck. Cold lips against colder skin and yet Marius felt on fire. 

“Would you concede power now, Master?” Armand made his point even clearer by biting Marius’s neck hard enough to sting but not to pierce the skin covering the alluring veins. 

“You’re not my slave and yet, Armand, to you I would always concede.” Marius admitted without fear or regret in his voice. Armand was the only one he would give power over himself. Armand was everything to him and to offer him such control was a testament of how much Marius trusted his love. 

“Would you allow me to do anything to you?” 

“Anything and everything.” 

“Even taking your blood?” Armand asked at the end, knowing how precious Marius’ blood was, and how much his Master disliked sharing it.  

After those words left Armand’s mouth, Marius stilled and gently pulled at Armand’s hair. When Armand looked at him, his eyes shone with confidence and a seriousness that indicated he knew how important this moment was. A wrong move and he knew they would end up at the beginning all over again, only this time it would be even harder to proceed forward. “It is yours.” Marius simply said, looking into Armand’s eyes now shining pools of burning fire and passion. 

Armand didn’t waste a moment longer before his mouth was back on Marius’ neck, and this time when he bit down, his ancient and powerful blood rushed to his mouth and Armand drank it like it was ambrosia coming from Ganymede's cup. 

As the rich flavor coated his mouth and memories were shared between them, Armand was inebriated and lust exploded in his body. This was what he always wanted, this closeness through the blood, the one thing Santino couldn’t poison. The one thing that made him immortal and tied him to Marius for eternity.

The more he drank, the more he wanted and moans erupted from his throat making him a beast more than a man, but he wasn’t ashamed. He didn’t have time to as Marius too moaned at the perfection of this moment between them. This unholy communion that would, once again, make them one. 

It took all of his strength for Armand to stop, not to take too much. His lust would be satisfied in other ways tonight. Marius was his, and he was Marius’. They had time, all the time in the world and wouldn’t be so crazy as to waste this new chance that was given to them. 

However, as soon as his mouth was free, Armand felt exposed and vulnerable, but also hungry, oh so hungry, for any piece of Marius he could get. 

When he kissed his Master, Armand’s mouth was devouring, sucking and claiming every inch of him.  

Marius tightened his arms against Armand’s body when the taste of his own blood exploded on his tongue. He kissed Armand with the same fierce passion that was reserved to him, and his sharp fangs slashed into the tender skin of Armand’s lips. 

Like this, with their blood between them, drinking and sucking and kissing each other’s like their whole eternity depended on it, Marius thought of the future they could and would have, and of the past that led them to this moment in time. 

Somewhere an Old God smiled kindly to one of his children who still walked his Lands and the love of his life safe in his arms. Yes, he decided, this would be a good year. 

END 

[thatstormygeek]

In Michigan, there are 3 times as many Lebanese Americans as Palestinians, and they are seeing innocent civilians and their family members being killed and displaced by Israel.

With Sinwar’s death, Israel can easily claim “victory.” However, Bibi said earlier today the “War has not ended,” and added, “We will continue chasing our enemy until we have eliminated them all.” So, is the enemy now Lebanon? Palestinians in the West Bank, which Hamas does not control? Syria? Yemen? Iran? Will the U.S. be complicit in World War 3 and threaten our troops, allies, and national security? If so, why? There’s a reason why the family members of the hostages are still protesting Bibi. They know he doesn’t care about them or the country. He only cares about staying in power and avoiding accountability. Meanwhile, his government is still populated with the most extreme Jewish supremacists who openly tell the world of their genocidal desire to cleanse the West Bank and Gaza. Bibi’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was convicted by Israel for inciting violence against Palestinians. His finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has proudly declared himself a Jewish fascist. They are all committed to the Israeli policy of “de-escalation through escalation.”  Well, how is that working out? The Gaza war has been President Biden’s greatest failure and will be an enduring stain on his legacy. He has been made to look weak, impotent, foolish, and utterly devoid of his trademark empathy when it comes to Palestinians. Furthermore, the war continues to be a drag on Kamala Harris and Democratic candidates ahead of the 2024 election. In the Rust Belt swing states, there are thousands of “uncommitted” voters who have said they want to vote Democrat but will withhold their vote to pressure President Biden to use his power to end the war. In Michigan, there are 3 times as many Lebanese Americans as Palestinians, and they are seeing innocent civilians and their family members being killed and displaced by Israel. Yet Biden continues to unconditionally support Israel’s expanding war. And for what? For a war criminal, Prime Minister Netanyahu, who wants Donald Trump to win so he can fulfill his supremacist plans to annex the occupied territories.