#get the rogue ones?? do they kill them??? or send them back to australia aka hell?????

[dizzybizz]

my favorite k-pop artist turned exorcist

[westakoasta]

P-MINUS - 2019

Where are you from? And what’s your first memories linked to hip hop?

I’ve lived all over - Belgium, Germany, Ohio, Missouri, the Virgin Islands, San Francisco, and now Los Angeles.  But I spent the most years, including high school and college, in Missouri, so I feel like that’s where “I’m from.”  I first remember hearing hip hop while living on St. Thomas (in the Virgin Islands) and the three songs that started me on this journey were “I Need Love,” by LL Cool J, “You Be Illin’” by Run-DMC and “Fight For Your Right To Party” by the Beastie Boys.  I must have heard them on the radio, so that would have been 1987 - the year of my hip hop birth.  In 1988, I moved back to Missouri and a neighbor of mine had a ton of rap tapes so I’d borrow his tapes all the time or listen to them in his car on the drive to school.  I believe that the first tape I ever bought was Schooly D’s “Smoke Some Kill” (1988).

What got you started with Atak Distribution, how and when did it begin?

Fast forward to 1994 - I had graduated from college, where I had been the Hip Hop Director at the school’s radio station, and moved to San Francisco where I began an internship at Gavin, a music magazine that curated Top 40 lists for radio programmers.  Somehow through that job, I met DJ Stef (editor of the Vinyl Exchange) and started writing record reviews for her.  And on one fateful day, I received a copy of Sacred Hoop’s “Demo” tape for review and I thought it was the freshest thing in the world and in 1996 I officially became an underground hip hop junkie.

Were you a hardcore music collector before you started Atak?

Before Atak, I had a decent cd and record collection, full of ‘90s “golden era” major label releases, but hardly any tapes and barely anything considered “indie” or “underground.”  Back then I wasn’t a collector, just a music fan, because all this incredible music was just sitting at the record stores for $12.99.  I shopped a lot at Amoeba and Rasputin’s and a few other smaller stores in the Bay area, plus a few record labels and artists would send me promos for review.

How did you choose what would be in your catalog? How did you make contacts with the artists?

Starting with Sacred Hoop, I was certain that this amazing group wasn’t getting the exposure it deserved, so the seeds of Atak were first planted.  I then started soliciting for more submissions through the Vinyl Exchange and some other Bay area rap magazines, such as 4080.  I think that the Hoop started spreading the word, too, because I soon started getting tapes from the likes of FTA, Megabusive, San Francisco Street Music, Jedi Knights Circle, 99th Demention and others from the South Bay and SF.  Somewhere in there, I met up with the Mystic Journeymen, bought some tapes from them, and was eventually exposed to Berkeley and Oakland artists such as the Living Legends, Hobo Junction, Zion-I and Illa Dapted.  If I liked your tape, it would get in the Atak catalog.  The first printed mail-order catalog had 12 tapes in it and the very first tape sold was Mystik Journeymen’s “Escape Forever” on August 10th, 1996.

Was the mail-order a full time job or did you have other occupations (studies, other job?)?

During the first few years I had several jobs: the Gavin internship became a paid job, I worked at a grocery store and then later at a vegetarian cafe.  Eventually, since my rent was cheap and I was starting to sell more music, I was able to do Atak full-time.  All the storage and shipping was done out of my bedroom.

Did you have many overseas/international customers and what role did that play in the business?

It looks like I started getting my first international orders (from Finland!) in 1997.  I don’t know how they found out about Atak, but they were serious fans of West Coast underground so word spreads fast amongst those folks.  Fans in Finland, Australia, Canada and Japan were my strongest supporters, with a few folks in France and Germany, too.  This was before I started selling online, so these folks were trusting me with their cash and money orders and I will be forever indebted to them.  Through these customers, I was exposed to international hip hop and eventually started selling music from the likes of Ceebrolistics, the Sebutones, mcenroe, Mary Joy Recordings, Muphin and the Hilltop Hoods.

What was the « peak » year in terms of sales and in terms of quality of music?

After a year or so of mailing out catalogs and setting up tables of merchandise at shows, Atak finally got online with the help of one of my earliest customers, Todd (aka Vic aka Celph Titled), who was extremely active on hip hop message boards, and he really helped spread the word around the U.S. and the world, so Atak started getting more non-Bay area music in the catalog and I started getting  orders from everywhere.  I think that the music quality was strong start to finish.  I was listening to everything before I put it in the catalog, and if it wasn’t dope, it didn’t get in.

Did you ever wanted to make Atak a bigger thing, like UGHH or such?

There was a time in which I would have loved for Atak to get really big, because it was all so much fun - all the shows, meeting the artists, hearing a ton of new music, even the packing and shipping was fun for me.  But in hindsight, it is clear that I was better at being a huge fan of the music rather than being a savvy businessperson.  At the point in which digital music started taking off, I didn’t have the technical knowhow to adjust accordingly, and a big part of me still simply loved selling physical copies.  As a fan, I didn’t want everything to go digital, but as a businessperson I should have dived in headfirst to keep up with the other big websites.  I admired what the other sites were doing, and what friends like Shane (aka Kegs) was doing with Below the Surface - putting out records, putting on shows, opening a brick-and-mortar storefront.  But part of me liked keeping things small and simple, but that clearly pushed me into smaller and more obscure corner of the online hip hop biz and eventually bumped me out of it altogether.

You did some cd-r reissues as well as a couple of mix-cds. Any temptation of launching a proper record label (as in: « new release, no reissue ») at some point?

I’d been wanting FOREVER to start a label and put out records!  I made a feeble attempt to put out an Atak compilation in the late ‘90s, full of all the folks that were in my catalog at the time.  I was able to get maybe 7-10 crews over to my house one night to talk about it, but since I had no idea how to really put it all together, I ended up getting one original song, from Nitrous Ox, out of that great big idea.  More recently, I’ve been hoping to help folks put out releases but nothing has materialized just yet.  Nowadays almost everyone is really good at getting this stuff done themselves, so I’m happy that they are taking control of their destinies and getting their music out to the world.

Can you give us your personal Top 5 favorites in your sale catalog? Also one that you think was dope and didn’t have the recognition it deserved?

In no particular order, I’ll list a few of my favorites, but I’m obligated to mention Sacred Hoop’s “Demo” (aka “Sacred Hoop” aka “Runny Poop”) first since that tape inspired everything.  I was also thrilled to be able to pick up indie music from the Hieroglyphics (“Hiero Oldies”)and Saafir (Hobo Junction’s “Limited Edition Compilation”) since I was such a fan of their major label stuff.  I really liked Red Tide’s “Rogue MCs” tape.  Disflex6’s self-titled debut (aka “1984”) was great.  The Kracken’s “Abstract & Cognac” left me wanting much more.  The Sebutones’ “50/50 Where It Counts” blew my mind!  Early stuff Dose One and Why? showed me that hip hop had no boundaries.  This is an extremely abbreviated favorites list - as I look back through my old catalogs, I realize that I loved them all.  It was all so new and so fresh and I think these artists all deserved more recognition than they got.  I’m glad that I could help expose them a bit but I wish I could have done a lot more.

Did you developed friendship with artists/crews over those years and do you have interesting stories/ anecdotes linked to that?

My anecdotal memory is terrible so I’ve sadly forgotten a ton of great stories, fantastic show moments and hilarious conversations.  Looking back, I should have kept a journal or taken a million photographs, because we all had so much fun and did so much back then.  But, luckily for me, I’ve been able to keep in touch with a few of my very favorite people, emcees Luke Sick (Sacred Hoop/Grand Invincible) and Roughneck Jihad (Third Sight), and producer Deeskee (who has probably produced more songs in the Atak catalog than anyone else).  And luckily for everyone else, all three of these guys are still making incredible music, more than 20 years after giving me tapes to review.  A few weeks ago I got to hang out with The Grouch for a bit and he gave me a copy of his “F...the Dumb” double vinyl, 20 years after I first sold that tape in the catalog.

Why (and when) did you stopped Atak?

Atak started to slow down around 2004.  I had recently moved from the Bay area down to Los Angeles, gotten married, bought a house, and started another job that was able to pay the bills more reliably.  I was still getting orders and submissions from new artists, but wasn’t able to give Atak the focus it required to really push new artists and releases.  I didn’t have time to go to many shows anymore, and all my hip hop buddies were still up in the Bay.  I had ambitions to reboot the website, but then my web host got hacked and I had to shut down the site...and then I never got it back online.  I eventually moved my inventory onto some other online platforms and kept selling, but for the most part, Atak was done.  I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to the artists who submitted music around this time.  I was getting some great music but just didn’t have juice to do anything with it.

Any thoughts on the evolution of hip hop? What about the the come back of the cassette? Is it possible that Atak would make a comeback in the future, in some form or another?

Tough question, because I don’t keep up with much truly “underground” music anymore, so I really hope that there are a ton of dope kids putting out dope music out there, and I’m sure there are plenty of them.  I love 90’s hip hop so much, both major label and my Atak stuff, that that is what I still listen to the most, digging in my records, tapes and cds or bumping music in my car.  I agree with most true heads that a lot of today’s hip hop is junk, and though I’m happy to see rappers get big and make money, I’d much rather that it be good, original and compelling hip hop.  I’m stoked to see everyone buying and releasing tapes again, because of my love for the physical copy (though I agree that a free or cheap digital download is an essential part of that sale).  And in regards to Atak’s great big comeback, I don’t think it will happen - it would require too much time and energy to do it right.  But if I can still help out a few people, promote a few records, maybe even sell a few for my old pals, I’m happy to contribute.

A specific question from the homie Age: do you still want to reissue that Hi-State album?

I bugged my man Mr. E about that tape FOREVER and at least he finally put it up on Bandcamp (https://eightarrow.bandcamp.com/album/hi-state-project-demos-n-shit-vol-1) and we chatted about putting out a cassette reissue.  I’m sure he wouldn’t have much trouble selling a short run of 100 tapes, so I’ll remind him about it.  But I’m happy that fans can at least take a listen or buy it online.

What do you think was the most special in the 90's underground scene, and do you believe something like that would ever happen again?

I’ve never really tried to analyze that scene, but in retrospect, I bet that a lot of these emcees, producers and deejays were inspired by all the incredible major label releases that kept pouring out in that decade.  So much quality hip hop was coming out and it was easy to see on “Yo! MTV Raps” and BET and the good stuff was even getting on the radio!  It was everywhere and it was so damn good!  I’m sure that these kids just wanted to be a part of that magical time, and a lot of the underground music was super fresh, too, because it wasn’t easy to make beats and put out cds - they had to commit to it and create a whole scene and they had to be dope to do it.  Granted, I’m a old nostalgic rap dude now, but I don’t think the major or the underground scene will ever be that saturated with fantastically innovative, powerful, creative and inspired hip hop.  Nowadays there isn’t enough inspiration in the scene for there to be an onslaught of great new hip hop like there was for me back in the days.  There will always be a lucky few who can inspire themselves to be original and make great music, and hopefully these kids will get a chance to be heard.

Interview conducted by Kaliyuga Pro & Pseudzero with a bonus cameo by Age, february 2019.

[thedcdunce]

Captain Boomerang

“It's not a bloody children's toy. It's a refined and elegant weapon which, in the hands of a master like yours truly, can lop yer bloody head off!” - Captain Boomerang

Real Name: George “Digger” Harkness

Aliases:

Mirror Master

George Green

Gender: Male

Height: 5′ 9���

Weight: 167 lbs (76 kg)

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Abilities:

Boomerang Mastery

Weaknesses:

Terminal Illness

Equipment:

Boomerangs

Base of Operations: Central City, Missouri

Universe:

Earth-One

New Earth

Parents:

W.W. Wiggins; father

Betty Harkness; mother

Marital Status: Single

Citizenship: Australian

Occupation: Professional Criminal

First Appearance: The Flash #117 (December, 1960)

Abilities

Boomerang Mastery

Weaknesses

Terminal Illness: In Convergence, it is revealed he suffers from cancer.

Equipment

Boomerangs:

Explosive Boomerang: A boomerang that explodes.

Collapsible Boomerang: A boomerang that collapses so that it can be easily concealed.

Lightning Boomerang: A lightning-fast boomerang that even knocked out the Flash.

Rocket Boomerang: A large boomerang capable of launching into space.

Razor Boomerang: A boomerang capable of cutting through bone and flesh when thrown correctly.

Personality

In his psychological profile, Simon LaGrieve states that George Harkness is perhaps the most well-adjusted member of the Suicide Squad. He is perfectly content with who he is, but Harkness is "an unprincipled sociopath with little or no moral sense of right and wrong." This extends to sexual harassment of women, and vocal racist tendencies. He has little regard for human life, as seen in the way he casually betrayed Mindboggler to her death over petty differences.

History

George "Digger" Harkness, aka Captain Boomerang was a recurring enemy of the Flash. He devised altered boomerangs which could produce astonishing effects and used them ruthlessly. He became a staple member of the Rogues Gallery, a group of villains dedicated to opposing Flash.

Early life

The illegitimate son of an American toy-maker, W.W. Wiggins, and an Australian woman, Betty Harkness, George Harkness was raised in poverty in the small town of Kurrumburra, Australia.  His stepfather, Ian, hated the boy and made his life miserable.

In school one day, Harkness crafted a boomerang.  He discovered he had great skill with the aboriginal weapon and often used it for mischief with his best friend, Mick Wentworth. He further honed his skills while spending some time hiding from the law in the Australian bush.

When Harkness was eighteen, he and Wentworth robbed a general store and were able to make their escape with the aid of Harkness's boomerang. However, this incident caused Harkness's stepfather to kick him out of the house. His mother gave him a plane ticket to Central City and told him to get in touch with Wiggins.

Wiggins had been searching for a spokesman for his company's latest product, a toy boomerang.  Under the alias "George Green", Harkness auditioned for and got the job. Wiggins outfitted him with a costume and gave him the name "Captain Boomerang."

Silver Age Career

Harkness, however, had other plans for his new alter ego. He began a string of jewelry thefts. This alerted the attention of the Flash, and the Scarlet Speedster caught him in the act during one of his heists. However, Captain Boomerang fooled the speedster by claiming that he was being impersonated. He even brought the Flash to his apartment and introduced him to actors posing as his parents, stating that they would starve if he was convicted of the robberies and lost his job as Wiggins's spokesman. The next time that Boomerang encountered the Flash, he knocked him out with one of his boomerangs and tied the unconscious speedster to his "Rocket Boomerang", which he sent hurtling high up into the Earth's atmosphere. However, on the descent back to ground, the Flash released himself and captured the villain.

Once, he planted special getaway boomerangs in every jail within one hundred miles of Central City, where they would remain invisible until he concentrated his brain waves to materialize them. One year later, he had the chance to use one of them. He was being transported to the state pen, but an anonymous phone call said that there was a bomb in the patrol wagon that he was being transported in. The police evacuated the wagon and put Captain Boomerang into temporary custody at the police station. However, he used one of his getaway boomerangs to escape. As he escaped, he hurled a boomerang at Barry Allen for rubbing him the wrong way. Barry quickly changed into the Flash, and tried to apprehend Boomerang by creating air gusts, pushing the villain in front of him. However, the Captain contorted his body into the shape of a boomerang, which caused him to hurtle back towards the Flash, knocking him down. All of this had been recorded by Boomerang's father and put into a scrapbook entitled Flash -- This is your Death! Boomerang set Flash up in a machine, that sent the hero hurtling like a boomerang into another dimension, filled with terrible monsters. However, Flash stayed in the shape of a boomerang, knowing that he would be returned to his sender. Foiled, Boomerang and his father attempt to get away with a special flying boomerang. Flash then creates a waterspout as they fly over a lake, bringing them back down, where Flash takes them to police headquarters.

Legends

Amanda Waller recruited Captain Boomerang to her new Suicide Squad, in exchange for a pardon and prison release. He was forced to wear an explosive bracelet that would detonate if he disobeyed orders. They attacked Brimstone at Mount Rushmore. Blockbuster died in front of him. Boomerang distracted the monster with projectiles while Deadshot made the kill. Boomerang was furious when he realized that they were all supposed to die, and Rick Flag explained that every one of them is expendable including himself. Waller tried to keep Boomerang locked up, but Flag insisted on honoring their deal and released him. Boomerang immediately returned to the streets and embarked on a crime spree in New York City, where he battled Changeling and The Flash. G. Gordon Godfrey captured Boomerang and promised to execute him on live television. Boomerang threatened to expose the Suicide Squad unless they rescued him. Waller sent Deadshot to kill Boomerang, but Flag stopped him. Bronze Tiger chased Godfrey and Enchantress took down the Warhounds while Flag released Boomerang. Boomerang thanked him, and Flag punched Boomerang in the face.

Suicide Squad

Captain Boomerang is forced to continue serving with the Suicide Squad, but he still has to wear an explosive bracelet because Waller does not trust him. It is immediately established that the other Squad members do not like working with Boomerang, because of his loud racist and sexist attitudes. Boomerang sexually harasses his teammate Plastique, so Mindboggler uses her powers to embarrass him in front of the group. They are sent to destroy the terrorist group Jihad in Qurac, and Boomerang is told to neutralize their speedster Jaculi. Boomerang is used to dealing with the Flash, so he easily defeats Jaculi and kicks the terrorist off a roof to his death. Boomerang sees that Rustam is about to kill Mindboggler, and decides to let her die as punishment for humiliating him. When Belle Reve is attacked by the Female Furies, Boomerang chooses to simply hide and avoid conflict as others are dying. Boomerang is sent undercover to discredit the racist vigilante William Hell, and he infiltrates the Aryan Empire. Deadshot is forced to shoot an apple off of his head, and he does so with his eyes closed. He is part of the team sent by the President to arrest Firestorm. In this fight he is easily knocked out by Batman. Waller decides to let Boomerang live outside the prison, and he is given an apartment in New Orleans. They call Boomerang in as backup when they are fighting the People's Heroes in Russia, and he uses an exploding boomerang to defeat Sickle. He also knocks out Enchantress to stop her killing Deadshot, and says this is because he was cold and wanted to go indoors. Captain Boomerang returns to a life of petty crime and branches out to Gotham with Mirror Master. Both men were apprehended by the Batman. After Scudder died, Digger started impersonating Scudder as the Mirror Master. Warden Economos sends the team to destroy Manhunters during Millennium. Boomerang tests the explosive bracelets by telling Slipknot they do not work, and Slipknot blows his arm off trying to escape. He is nearly killed by Manhunters when he runs out of ammo, but he survives the encounter with Deadshot. They do not receive public credit for this mission. Waller sends Boomerang undercover with Black Orchid and Vixen to take down drug czar Xavier Cujo. Cujo tries to execute Boomerang, but Boomerang talks his way out of it. They get to their weapons and fight their way out, with Vixen killing Cujo. Boomerang tries to steal a large package of cocaine to sell for himself, but Black Orchid drags him away.

His career as Mirror Master was cut short when he was caught and brought to Waller, who put an end to it, and rescinded the benefits Harkness had been given, such as his apartment in New Orleans and his status as a voluntary member of the Squad. Harkness remained with the Squad until it was disbanded.

Identity Crisis

Harkness found himself an obsolete villain in the modern world of supervillains. Regularly going up to the supervillain satellite looking for jobs, asking favors from the Calculator, he was at the end of his rope looking for a job to put him on the map again. During this time, Harkness finally reached out to the son he abandoned, Owen Mercer. The two began to bond. Digger was killed by Jack Drake, father of Tim Drake. Digger had been sent by the real killer to attack Jack Drake, only the killer double crossed Digger and sent Drake a warning and a pistol to defend himself. Digger managed to kill Drake but not before he was shot himself. The sudden loss of Harkness caused Mercer to take up his father's mantle, and become the second Captain Boomerang.

Brightest Day

Harkness was one of twelve heroes and villains raised by the white light for mysterious reasons. Imprisoned in Iron Heights for crimes he committed when he was alive, Harkness makes a call to The Rogues requesting help in escaping the prison and that he become a Rogue again. Captain Cold denies helping him and tells Harkness he has to prove that he is still a Rogue by breaking out of Iron Heights himself and by taking on The Flash. Due to the exposure to the Black Ring, Harkness discovered he could manifest black construct boomerangs in times of duress. Utilizing the boomers which are able to explode on contact, he escaped from Iron Heights and sought out The Flash in an effort to win favor with The Rogues once again.

Convergence

Pre-Zero Hour Harkness is in Gotham when it was taken by Brainiac and is trapped for a year. He is recruited by pre-Zero Hour Amanda Waller to join the Suicide Squad. Harkness betrays the Suicide Squad after revealing he has cancer and is killed by Waller.

Fun Facts

"Digger" is a slang word for "soldier" for local Australians.

[nonbinary-starker-boi]

ANGST BOI

Peter Stark-Strange had an interesting life to say the least.

Like a lot of the most important people in history, his blood relatives were all dead. His mother. His father. His uncle. His aunt. Everyone he loved.

Back when Peter was just Peter Parker, he, like most fourteen-year-old children with nowhere else to go, was placed into the American foster care system after his aunt died in a car crash. But, unlike all those children, he didn't stay very long.

Two weeks later her was informed that a newly married couple were adopting him. He was not provided any explanation about why, just being told to gather his stuff. He freaked out, immediately worrying himself into an anxious frenzy of What if they're homophobic? and What if they turn out to be serial killers?

He really wasn't sure which one was worse.At this point he was already dating a boy named Wade Wilson, who was the adoptive son of Wolverine, but wasn't really open about his sexuality in fear of getting beaten up.

Another day went by and Peter stood outside a courthouse with his mouth hanging a gaped in shock. The place was swarming with paparazzi and news reporters, all wanting to catch the attention of the newest member of the Stark-Strange family.Within the those couple of hours in the courthouse, Peter's new fathers, Tony and Stephen Stark-Strange, had given him their last name and adopted him. They finished the morning off by guiding him to their very expensive car and taking him to Wendy's.

The happy-go-lucky, bright-eyed teen was immediately thrown into a world of superheroes and money, but he never lost his kindness and compassion. He could snap his fingers and get anything he pleased, and yet he didn't. That didn't change when he was given superpowers by a spider, either.He saved countless people while maintaining a happy relationship with his boyfriend, friends, and family.

Then came the day he turned 16.

Thor and Loki were no longer staying at Stark Tower, instead in Asgard with their parents.

Bruce was MIA (though, he was probably somewhere in Australia being as antisocial as possible).  

And the team was torn apart. His father, Stephen, had taken a step back, moving into his secret magic hideout place thingy. He still provided moral support for his husband and son but refused to fight.  

Tony was an alcohol fueled mess of depression and betrayal, but he tried to put a brave face on around his son.

His Uncle Steve was the main betrayer, causing the pedestal of marble Peter pictured him on to crumble. Watching one of your personal heroes tear your life apart can really mess up a kid.  

At first Peter shrugged it off, disappointed over the missed family dinners and movie nights that his family 'forgot' to attend. But he continued smiling.

On the outside, Peter didn't care when only his parents turned up for his schools performance of Hamilton: The Musical (in which he played Angelica), but on the inside he did.

Just smiles and hiding away the pain. Then it happened and he stopped smiling.

The look on Peter's face when the weight of the world finally came crashing down was heart breaking.

Tears streamed out of his eyes as he, in the Spider-Man suit, watched in horror as his family tore each other to shreds.

Black eyes. Broken bones. Bruises. Even bite marks.

Everyone, including himself, was injured and the rogues had gotten away. His family was scattered in the wind and there was nothing he could do about it.

Wade, aka Deadpool, was the first to notice when Peter stopped smiling, Ned and MJ being next.

They cornered him, begged him to tell them if he was okay, begged him to get help. But he didn't listen.

He grew into a depressed, self-hating state, getting worse when the rogues, Thor, and Bruce came back and tried to play happy families.  

So there Peter was, back pushed against the bed frame with salty tears streaming down his face. "Why... why... why?! Why can't I just be normal?!"

The sound of uncomfortable laughter came from the room next door, where they were having family movie night. Without him.

Peter just couldn't bring himself to attend, mumbling about having homework when asked to join.

Nobody noticed his state, they were all trying too hard to pretend to be happy.  

The villains noticed, though, and they were really rather worried. He had even been kidnapped by all of the people he had every fought against, all of which just wanted to know if he was okay.

He lied and they let him go, even though they knew he was lying, but it wasn't like they could just keep him forever.

Anyway, Peter sat on his floor arguing with himself internally.

Was his decision to stop faking the smiles selfish? Would it be best just to play happy families and cry at night?  

As he was thinking to himself, his phone buzzed with a message, lighting up the dark room.

Peter ignored the message, throwing his phone across the room and walking towards his window. He stood there for twenty minutes, tears streaming down his face as he rested his forehead on the cold glass.

"Peter!" Wade shouted, slamming his bedroom door open with the Avengers all behind him. "This needs to stop! You need to stop!"

"What do you want me to do, Wade?" Peter spat, angry tears burning his eyes as he turned to face his boyfriend and family. "Tell you that I won't feel just as depressed and lonely tomorrow?"  

Wade's face contorted with pain.

"Why are you even bothering when I'm just one big waste of space!" Peter shouted, finally pushing Wade over the edge.

Deadpool immediately grabbed one of the multiple guns in his jacket pocket, holding it to Peter's head. "Say that one more time and I will kill you myself!"

Peter stared at him stoically, emotions being shown only through his wide eyes glowing with sadness and self-deprecation. "Then do it."

Wade dropped the gun, and it fell to the floor. Tears fell from Wade's face.

Peter, a look of pain and sorrow flashing through his eyes, walked into his private bathroom and locked the door, not wanting to talk to anyone.

Once Wade had let out a series of heartbreaking wails, he calmed down and stumbled out into the hallway, the heroes following him quietly.

"What are we going to do? What are we going to do? What are we going to do?" Stephen repeated, letting his usual resting bitch face slip into one of frustration and fear.  

"What we're going to do is snap the fuck out of the shit show and make Peter happy again!" Tony swore, his mouth filling with a bitter taste.

Steve, taking his horror out in a fit of anger, glared at Ironman. "And how exactly are we meant to do that, huh? By demanding that he tell his tale of woe to some bad psychologist?"

"Or we could just leave him be and see if he works it out on his own?" Sam suggested, not used to dealing with teenagers.

"Bruce, you're the angsty one, so why don't you tell us what to do?" Clint questioned, wiggling his pointer finger in Bruce's face.

"Our angsty-ness is different and you know it!" Bruce screeched, his skin turning a slightly green shade.

Wade looked around, tear filled eyes blazing in anger. These people were the ones that caused his baby boy to feel this way and they were going to fix it, whether they liked his methods or not.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Peter stood in the doorway, tears streaming down his face. "Will you stop trying to help me?! Every time you do, it only gets worse!"

The fighting ceased at once. Peter looked beyond furious, his face a light pink and tears streaming from red eyes. His breathing was long and shallow, short and deep. He swayed on the spot, clutching the doorframe to stay upright.

"If you would ask, I would pour my fucking heart out to you! I would tell you how I feel! But you insist on playing happy family! Why can't I be fucking normal?!"

Wade and the rest of the heroes froze.

"I hurt inside and out! I just watched--AND HELPED--my family tear itself apart! I watched my dad  almost die because Bucky killed his parents! I WATCHED MY UNCLE ALMOST MURDER HIM! And what did you do? You pretended nothing happened!"

Peter was absolutely shouting by now. Tears filled Tony's eyes as he realized how much pain his adopted son was going through.

"I almost DIED! I got trapped under a BUILDING! And you want to know how I survived?!"

The team stayed silent. Wade was positively bursting with anger, but he bit his tongue and let Peter go. It hurt to have so many emotions bottled up inside, and this was the worst way to let them out.

"I thought about you, Mr. Stark! And what you said!"

As if on cue, FRIDAY began playing a recording.

"But I'm nothing without this suit," Peter said, a tone of sheepish pain in his voice.

"If you're nothing without that suit, maybe you shouldn't have it."

Peter seemed to have worn himself out. He collapsed in the doorway, shoulders shaking. Wade and Stephen rushed forward, and with strength he hadn't used in a while, Peter pushed himself back up.

"Don't touch me."

It would've been better if he'd yelled. The quiet resentment in his voice tore Tony to shreds. Stephen stopped as though he'd been slapped, but Wade still went for Peter. Slapping a hand over the boy's mouth, he leaned over to whisper in Peter's ear.

"I don't know where this attitude came from, but you've put on quite a show. I suggest cooling down before I end up hurting you," he said quietly, "and we both know I will."

Peter nodded, his eyes cold. Wade pulled back, stepping into place between Tony and Stephen. Peter crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe, his face slightly flushed.

"Now what?" he asked quietly, picking at his sweater. "Are you going to send me off to some psych ward?"

Tony shook his head. "We only want you to be be happy."

Peter flared up again, but held his tongue. "I want to be happy... And Aunt May wanted it too."

[newsnigeria]

Check out New Post published on Ọmọ Oòduà

New Post has been published on http://ooduarere.com/news-from-nigeria/world-news/kidnapping-tool-of-imperial/

Kidnapping as a tool of imperial statecraft?

[This column was written for the Unz Review]

There is nothing new about empires taking hostages and using them to put pressure on whatever rebel group needs to reminded “who is boss”. The recent arrest in Italy of Alexander Korshunov, the director for business development at Russia’s United Engine Corporation (UEC), is really nothing new but just the latest in a long string of kidnappings. And, as I already mentioned in distant 2017, that kind of thuggery is not a sign of strength but, in fact, a sign of weakness. Remember Michael Ledeen’s immortal words about how “”Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business“? Well, you could say that this latest spat of kidnappings is indicative of the same mindset and goal, just on a much smaller, individual, scale. And, finally, it ain’t just Russia, we all know about the kidnapping of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou by the Canadian authorities.

By the way, you might wonder how can I speak of “kidnapping” when, in reality, these were legal arrests made by the legitimate authorities of the countries in which these arrests were made? Simple! As I mentioned last week, words matter and to speak of an “arrest” in this case wrongly suggest that 1) some crime was committed (when in reality there is ZERO evidence of that, hence the talk of “conspiracy” to do something illegal) 2) that this crime was investigated and that the authorities have gathered enough evidence to justify an arrest and 3) that the accused will have a fair trial. None of that applies to the cases of Viktor Bout, Konstantin Iaroshenko, Marina Butina or, for that matter, Meng Wanzhou or Wang Weijing. The truth is that these so-called “arrests” are simple kidnappings, the goal is hostage taking with the goal to either 1) try to force Russia (and China) to yield to US demands or 2) try to “get back” at Russia (and China) following some humiliating climb down by the US Administration (this was also the real reason behind the uncivilized seizure of Russian diplomatic buildings in the USA).

This is not unlike what the Gestapo and the SS liked to do during WWII and their kidnapping of hostages was also called “arrest” by the then state propaganda machine. By the way, the Bolsheviks also did a lot of that during the civil war, but on a much larger scale. In reality, both in the case of the Nazi authorities and in the case of the imperial USA, as soon as a person is arrested he/she is subjected to solitary confinement and other forms of psychological torture (Manning or Assange anybody?!) in order to either make them break or to at least show Russia and China that the US, being the World Hegemon gets to seize anybody worldwide, be it by a CIA kidnapping team or by using local colonial law enforcement authorities (aka local police forces).

US politicians love to “send messages” and this metaphor is used on a daily basis by US officials in all sorts of circumstances. Here the message is simple: we can do whatever the hell we want, and there ain’t nothing you can do about it!

But is that last statement really true?

Well, in order to reply to this we should look at the basic options available to Russia (this also applies to China, but here I want to focus on the Russian side of the issue). I guess the basic list of options is pretty straightforward:

Use official and confidential diplomatic channels to protest and demand a release

Publicly protest and denounce these kidnappings as completely illegal (and immoral to boot!)

Retaliate by using legal means (sanctions, cancellation of agreements, etc.)

Retaliate by using extra-legal means (counter-kidnappings, not unlike what China allegedly decided to do in the case of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor)

Frankly, in the case of the USA, options one and two are useless: the AngloZionist leaders have long given up any hope of not being hated and despised by 99% of mankind and they have long dropped any pretense of legality, nevermind morality: they don’t give a damn what anybody thinks. Their main concern is to conceal their immense weakness, but they fail to do so time and time again. Truly, when wannabe “empires” can’t even bring an extremely weakened country such as Venezuela to heel, there ain’t much they can do to boot their credibility. If anything, this thuggery is nothing more than the evidence of a mind-blowing weakness of the Empire.

But that weakness in no way implies that Russia and China have good options. Sadly, they don’t.

Russia can engage in various types of sanctions, ranging from the petty bureaucratic harassment of US representations, diplomats, businessmen and the like to economic and political retaliations. But let’s not kid ourselves, there is very little Russia can do to seriously hurt the USA with such retaliations. Many would advocate retaliation in kind, but that poses a double problem for the Kremlin:

Once a country has gone down the road of illegal brute force, there is no way back. The examples of the US, Israel or, for that matter, the Ukraine show that once primitive thuggery becomes part of your political arsenal you will forever remain a thug and everybody will see this (whether everybody will have the courage to openly state this is a different issue altogether).

The reality is that double and triple standards have long become the essential key feature of all western ideological systems, from the Papacy to modern capitalism. The Kremlin fully understands that in the AngloZionist Empire “some are more equal than others” and that that which is “allowed” to the World Hegemon is categorically forbidden to everybody else. Thus if Russia retaliates in kind, there will be an explosion of hysterical protests not only by the western legacy corporate and state ziomedia, but also from the 5th columnist in the Russian “liberal” press.

And yes, unlike the USA, Russia does have a vibrant, diverse and pluralistic media and each time when Putin agrees to a press conference (especially one several hours long) he knows that he will be asked the tough, unpleasant, questions. But since he, unlike most western leaders, can intelligently answer them he does not fear them. As for Dmitrii Peskov and Maria Zakharova, they have heard it all a gazillion during the past years, including often the most ridiculously biased, mis-informed and outright ridiculous “questions” (accusations, really) from the western presstitute corps in Russia.

So yes, Russia could, in theory, retaliate by arresting US citizens in Russia (or by staging Cold War type provocations) or by kidnapping them abroad (Russia does have special forces trained for this kind of operation). But this is most unlikely to yield any meaningful results and it would create a PR nightmare for the Kremlin.

The truth is that in most of these cases we always come down to the fundamental dichotomy: on one hand we have a rogue state gone bonkers with imperial hubris, arrogance and crass ignorance (say, the USA and/or Israel) while on the other we have states which try to uphold a civilized international order (Russia, China, Iran, etc.). This is by logical necessity a lop-sided struggle in which the thugs will almost always have the advantage.

[Sidebar: here I want to address a logical fallacy which I regularly hear in the West: when one political system proves stronger, or more capable of survival, than another one, this supposedly proves that the stronger state is also somehow “superior”. This is the argument used by those who claim that the Soviet Union “lost the Cold War” and that “Capitalism has proven much more sustainable/efficient than Communism”. This is utter nonsense for at least two reasons: first, the USSR did not “lose” the Cold War – the CPSU and the Soviet ruling Nomenklatura decided to break-up the USSR (against the will of the people!) and, second, the fact is that the Soviet Union was squandering its wealth all over the planet while the USA was robbing the entire planet blind. How can we compare the two? Finally, allow me this metaphor to make my point: if we would lock up a human being and a hyena in a small empty cell to see who will survive we can be pretty darn sure that the hyena will immediately and very “effectively” kill the human and eat him. Does that “victory” somehow prove the hyena’s “superiority”? Of course not! For one thing, capitalism implies infinite growth in a finite environment, which is exactly what a malignant tumor does for a living and which is self-evidently non-sustainable. So are we going to compare one political system – Communism – which does not rely on growth and which is therefore sustainable, and which spread its wealth all over the planet with one based on (international) “highway robbery” (don’t take my word for it, take it from Paul Craig Roberts himself who unambiguously stated recently that “American Capitalism is Based on Plunder”). Yes, the Soviet system was fundamentally rotten, profoundly dysfunctional and ineffective (only imbeciles or ignoramuses would deny that!), but it was not in any way “defeated” by the West nor is Capitalism any “better” or “superior” (whatever you want that to mean) than Communism (more on this here if you are interested).]

For all these reasons, there is really nothing much Russia (or China) can do about this situation besides publishing an official warning to the Russian people saying that if they travel abroad they should realize that “US intelligence agencies continue their current hunt for Russians around the world”. They also made public the list of countries which have extradition treaties with the USA: Australia, Austria, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bolivia, Brazil, United Kingdom, Hungary, Canada, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Dominica, Greece, Guyana, Haiti, Guatemala, Germany, Honduras, Greece, Israel, India, Jordan, Iraq, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Lithuania, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Myanmar, Nauru, Nigeria, Netherlands, Nicaragua, new Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, El Salvador, San Marino, Swaziland, Seychelles, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Turkey, Uruguay, Philippines, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Chile, Switzerland, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Estonia, South Africa, South Korea, Jamaica and Japan.

The MoFA concluded by warning that “The Russian foreign Ministry strongly urges all Russian citizens planning trips abroad to carefully weigh all the risks, especially if there is reason to assume the possibility of claims against them by American law enforcement agencies”.

Some caveat emptor before buying your airline ticket, right?!

Conclusion: it will get a lot worse before it gets better

First, we need to always remember that kidnappings are just the latest manifestation of an overall pattern of thuggery by the USA. The attitude is pervasive, and US citizens are not free of this climate of thuggery. Another good example are the outright bribes offered to the ships captains of Iran, to sail their crude carriers to somewhere were the US can literally pirate the carrier. Remember the amazing confession by Pompeo himself: “We lied, we cheated, we stole…. it reminds you of the glory of the American experiment”?

You don’t?

Then here is a quick refresher:

It can almost be rewritten and expanded like this: We lie, we cheat, we steal, we kidnap, we bribe, we extort, we pirate, then we threaten, and then we tell everyone how exceptionally morally superior we are.

Yet a certain limit has been crossed. It is as if their own belief in their own moral superiority has inverted to the extent that their own moral superiority is so big, and so certain, that any small actions of thuggery is allowed to them. This will not change any time soon and even the most innocent traveler must have awareness of this. This is why the Chinese are now openly wondering if sending Chinese students to the USA is such a good idea after all.

So the first thing we have to accept is that this pattern of thuggery will not stop, if anything – it will expand.

Second, we have to also realize that there are no good options for the Russians or the Chinese. In fact, this is normal: civilized actors often find themselves “out-gunned”, so to speak, by thugs, sociopaths and criminals. Over time, however, thuggery is always self-defeating because it is inevitably linked to a delusion of impunity. As for civilized states, while it is true that they are at a fundamental disadvantage when faced by uncivilized thugs but, again, over time they eventually prevail if only because everybody always ends up fed up and disgusted with the thugs. Finally, while thuggery can seem attractive to people with sociopathic inclinations, most human beings need a higher ideal than just unbridled consumption to inspire them. Communism had (and I would argue, still has) this ability. Capitalism does not.

For the foreseeable future, however, we can only expect more of the same. Thanks to the ceaseless efforts of Obama and Trump the Empire is collapsing even faster than it normally would and we can expect that the current sequence of humiliating defeats for the USA (and, of course, Israel which has its own humiliating wounds to lick!) will continue and that the USA (and, of course, Israel!) will have to find more small targets (be it kidnapped Russian nationals or empty buildings in Syria) to kidnap or destroy and feel powerful again.

This will be revolting, disgusting and simply plain stupid.

But there is nothing Russia (or China) can do to stop it, at least not for the foreseeable future.

The Saker