#he could also be from what is now Ukraine Belarus or Poland

[kaiserin-erzsebet]

"Why does it make you frustrated that the Captain of the Demeter is consistently not Russian in adaptations?" - hypothetical person

For several reasons:

It takes away a heroic figure who is Eastern European, which significantly contributes to the (arguably incorrect) reading that this book is about an East vs West dichotomy.

Slavic characters so rarely get to be good and heroic figures in English-language media beyond very bit parts.

It takes away the significance of him being mourned by people even when he is buried far from his homeland.

[wiphur]

Culture

Fandom: ITSV

Pairing: Pavitr Prabhakar x Slavic! Spider-person! GN! reader

Pronouns: they/them

Warnings: google-translated language (translations are at the end)

Word Count: 888

A/N: re-Posted from my old account. This was originally a request from someone on my old acc.

A grin erupted on their face as the wind blew past their ears. Swinging through the city of Mumbattan was always their favorite thing to do, especially after not being here in a week. Their appearance was sure to stir up some talk amongst the locals, but at this point, they didn’t really care. They had more important places to be.

With a final web shooting from their wrist, they landed on a light fixture, directly in front of their boyfriend’s window. With a slightly upbeat rhythm on the glass, the window opened, revealing the beautiful smile of Pavitr. 

“You’re here early.” He said with a grin, welcoming them into his bedroom.

They pouted jokingly, “Am I not allowed to be early to see my favorite person?” 

“Of course not, mera pyaar.” He laughed. “Only teasing.” He stared at them for a moment before turning back to his desk. “Hold on, just one minute. I have to finish this essay. I was supposed to be done by now.”

They hummed, walking closer and propping their head up with their fist, “What’s it about?”

He groaned, “We were tasked to choose a country from the Middle-East and write about its customs and culture. I chose Poland.”

Their eyes lit up, “And you didn’t ask me for help, what the hell, dude!” They exclaimed, playfully hitting his shoulder.

Pavitr frowned, “What do you mean?”

“My family is from Poland, dingus.” His mouth formed an ‘o’ shape as he took in this information. “I can help you, if you want!” They thought for a second before grinning widely, “We can turn it into a game, and we can both learn each other’s culture while doing so!” 

Pavitr thought about it before nodding excitedly, “Yeah! That sounds so much fun.”

Within minutes, paper and pens were scattered on the floor and Pavitr and his partner sat across from one another. The game that had been settled on was, quite lamely, just 20 questions (In all honesty, neither of them could think of another game to incorporate facts about their culture).

The pair were both excited. “Can I go first?” Pavitr asked, holding up a piece of paper where he wrote down a bunch of questions for his partner. They nodded, smiling widely. “Alright. What are the national dishes of the Slavic culture?”

They shook their head slightly, indicating the question was half-right. “Well, Polish foods can include pierogi, which are kind-of like dumplings where dough is wrapped around a savory or sweet filling before being boiled, and zurek, which is a rye soup containing smoked meats, typically sausages.” I grinned, “But, for Slavic culture as a whole, there’s sarma, which is a cabbage roll stuffed with meats like veal or ground pork.” Their eyes lit up again, “Also, there’s zhurek! Zhurek is a kind of soup, I guess? It’s made of oats and dark bread. It sits for three days before its boiled with meat and vegetables. My Mama makes it when it's cold outside!” 

Pavitr nodded, practically clinging to each word they said. “So Slavic isn’t just Poland?”

“O Boże, no. There’s Slovenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovakia, Finland, and others!” They chuckled. “Each is considered Slavic, but they also have their own subculture within them.” They leaned forward, supporting their weight by their palms hitting the ground. “Now, my turn!” They paused, thinking of a good question. “Okay, I’m just going to steal your question.”

He pouted, “What, no! Make up your own.”

“Ugh, fine…” A moment later, they thought of it. “What kind of traditional outfits are there?”

His pout left, leaving behind a faint smile. “Oh, well, there’s a lot. There’s Sherwanis, or kurta pajamas, or even Achkan; as well as Sari, Angarkha, and Phiran.” They nodded along, planning to look up what they look like later in the evening. “Okay, do you have any traditional instruments?”

“Well, there’s the lira korbowa, which is more commonly known as the Hurdy-Gurdy nowadays.” They said, thinking about the topics their babcia taught them. While other places may not celebrate their heritage and culture very much, it was very important in their family. “My favorite is the kozioł biały! It’s like a bagpipe.” 

The night went on, questions were asked on both sides. Eventually, it passed the original 20 questions they had settled on. They were both interested in learning about the other’s culture. It was interesting and the eagerness they both had was endearing. Eventually, the sun was dropping below the horizon, and it was about time for Y/N to return to their own dimension.

“It was fun doing this, priya.” Pavitr said as the goodbyes started. “Your culture is so amazing, I didn’t expect this out of today.”

They nodded in agreement, “I think so too! I never expected your culture to be so beautiful.” They smiled dreamily. “I hope we can do this again. It was so… refreshing.” They leaned over and hugged their boyfriend for a moment. “I’ll see you soon, kochanie.”

“I’ll miss you-” He said, in a sing-song voice. They laughed, shoving him away playfully.

“It’ll be like a few days, stop that! If you wanted to come sooner, you could always just come visit me first.” They grinned before slipping their mask on and preparing to jump out the window. “Do widzenia!”

Translations, as provided by both the requester and by Google Translate!

Mera pyaar = my love

kozioł biały = white goat (instrument)

Priya = dear (aff.)

Kochanie = honey (aff.)

Do widzenia = goodbye/bye/any form of bye

[stillunusual]

Little pooty's big Polish tantrum…. On 21st July 2023, in a typically deranged rant, Muscovy's fascist dictator Vladimir Putin "reminded" Poland that its western territories were a "gift from Stalin" (among numerous other lies).

He began this particular outpouring of anti-Polish verbal vomit with some unsubstantiated claims that Poland was "hatching revanchist plans" to take territory from Ukraine and Belarus….

Claiming that Poland has ambitions to annex western Ukraine and Belarus, which before the Second World War (and for hundreds of years before the partitions of Poland) were part of the Polish state - and scaring the Russian population into believing that this could happen at any moment - has been a staple of the Kremlin's propaganda for a long time (and is frequently repeated by mindless vatniks and tankies all over social media). However, Russia has no evidence whatsoever to back up these baseless and nonsensical claims. It's true that Poland boosted security at the Polish-Belarusian border in July 2023, but this was in response to the arrival of Wagner Group mercenaries in Belarus, following their short-lived rebellion in Russia (after which their leader was killed in a mysterious plane crash, which I'm sure was a complete coincidence). Putin then went on to claim that Poland "took advantage" of the Russian civil war to "annex some historical Russian provinces"….

Not surprisingly, this was also lie. What actually happened is that after the First World War, newly independent Poland managed to reclaim some of the territory that was stolen by Prussia, Austria and Russia during the partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th century - and that included the aforementioned areas of Ukraine and Belarus, which were historically more Polish than Russian.

Much of what is now western Ukraine has been periodically incorporated into the Polish state ever since the beginning of the 11th century, at the time of the Kievan Rus. And the lands of present day Belarus and Ukraine were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania when it was united with Poland towards the end of the 14th century. The entire territory of modern Belarus and most of Ukraine remained as part of the Polish-Lithuanian state until the end of the 18th century. Eastern Ukraine was ceded to Russia in the second half of the 17th century and Russia subsequently stole most of the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian state at the end of the 18th century when it conspired with Prussia and Austria to wipe Poland off the map (just like Hitler and Stalin did 150 years later). As well as most of the lands of present day Poland, Russia acquired all of what is now Belarus and more of Ukraine. The area of western Ukraine that was re-claimed by Poland after the First World War became part of Austria and was therefore never in Russia - let alone a "historical Russian province".

Today's Russian propagandists like to claim that Belarus, Ukraine and Russia have always been one nation, but the reality is that although all three had common origins in the Kievan Rus, they subsequently underwent hundreds of years of separate development before Belarus and Ukraine were incorporated into the Russian empire and subjected to prolonged periods of forced russification.

After regaining its independence and defeating the Soviets in the Polish-Soviet war, Poland and the newly formed Soviet state ended up dividing Ukraine and Belarus between them. The Treaty of Riga, which was signed in 1921, defined Poland's eastern border about half way between where the Polish-Russian border had been prior to the partitions of Poland and where Poland's eastern border is today. Poland basically managed to reclaim some of what it had previously lost. The Soviets renounced their claims to all territory to the west of the new border, but nevertheless they invaded and occupied it two decades later in 1939. Putin then started hypocritically whining about "Polonisation" policies in eastern Poland during the 1920s and 1930s….

Kremlin propagandists like to use tensions between Poland, Ukraine and Belarus over this historical period to create division. Poland had emerged from over a century of foreign rule by the partitioning powers, during which Prussia and Russia had done their best destroy the Polish language, culture and identity in the territories they stole from Poland, by adopting policies of forced germanisation and russification. So it's not surprising that the new Polish government wanted to reassert Polish identity after decades of struggle to regain national independence, which inevitably led to conflicts with Poland's minority populations. However, interwar Poland, for all its faults, was a relatively liberal society compared to its tyrannical neighbours, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Those Ukrainians and Belarusians who found themselves on the Polish side of the border with the USSR missed out on such delightful aspects of Soviet life as forced collectivisation, dekulakisation, the holodomor, the gulags, the Yezhovshchina (purges), the crippling poverty and backwardness, the brutal suppression of their religious and community life and the total lack of freedom. They may not have been overjoyed about living in Poland, but it was paradise in comparison.

Likewise, Poland's minorities were also much better off than, for example, Britain's colonial subjects all over the world and the USA's black and native American minorities. Putin then repeated his previous lies about Poland's "aggressive policy" in the interwar period causing the Second World War….

This is typical Kremlin historical revisionism, as well as being complete bullshit. In 1939, Hitler gifted eastern Poland to his ally Joseph Stalin in the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which was presented to the world as a simple non-aggression treaty, but was really a plan to carve up Europe between Germany and the USSR - involving the mutual invasion and partition of Poland, a free hand for Hitler to attack Western Europe and for Stalin to annex the Baltic states, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, and to attack Finland. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact led directly to the outbreak of the Second World War almost immediately after it was signed, and was also the first step in a continuum of collaboration between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that lasted for the next two years, until Hitler broke the pact by launching Operation Barbarossa in 1941. Putin also claimed that Poland's "independence and statehood was restored thanks to the Soviet Union"….

This was a bit of a stretch, to put it mildly.

The USSR's occupation of eastern Poland was accompanied by mass looting, rape and murder. This territory had a mixed ethnic and religious population (mainly Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Jewish) which had existed for hundreds of years - until World War 2 - when Stalin and his collaborators killed or ethnically cleansed the Polish population (with a little help from Ukrainian fascists) and Hitler and his collaborators exterminated the Jews.

Between February 1940 and June 1941, Stalin deported hundreds of thousands of Polish citizens to Soviet camps, collective farms, exile villages and various outposts of the gulag system. In 1940 the NKVD carried out the Katyn massacre of 22,000 Polish army officers, police officers, university lecturers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, civic leaders, politicians, government officials, priests and other members of the “bourgeoisie”. Approximately 500,000 Polish citizens dubbed "enemies of the people" were also imprisoned without crime.

The imposition of Soviet rule was accompanied by a campaign of cultural genocide - monuments were destroyed, street names changed, libraries burned, bookshops closed and publishers shut down. The Soviet authorities replaced native teachers with Soviet teachers, introduced communist ideology into schools, forced pupils to learn Russian, limited instruction in Polish and banned the teaching of Polish history.

After the launch of Operation Barbarossa on 22nd June 1941, the NKVD executed thousands of prisoners en masse before running away from the invading Germans.

Nazi Germany's attack on the USSR initially went well, forcing a desperate Stalin to switch sides and join the alliance against Hitler, but the Soviets eventually prevailed (with a lot of help from the capitalist west) and drove the Germans all the way back to Berlin. However, in doing so they didn't restore Polish independence.

The USSR's re-occupation of Poland was accompanied by more looting, rape and murder (and this time the rapes were so extensive that they caused an epidemic of STDs). After the war Poland was trapped behind the iron curtain, subjected to a decade of Stalinist terror and a total of 45 years of Soviet-imposed communist rule. These were wasted years that left Poland bankrupt, destitute and decades behind the countries of western Europe by the time the Polish people were finally able to overthrow Moscow's puppet regime and restore their independence and statehood at the end of the 1980s. As for "reminding" Poland that its western territories were a "gift from Stalin"….

Putin seems to forget that Stalin gifted western Poland to his ally Adolf Hitler in the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, after which Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west and the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, in September 1939.

What actually happened at the end of the Second World War is that Stalin turned Poland into a Soviet puppet state and redrew the borders between Germany, Poland and the USSR, incorporating eastern Polish lands (which he'd initially acquired as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) into the Soviet Union and a smaller area of eastern German lands into Poland, as "compensation". Almost the entire German population of what was now western Poland was then ethnically cleansed and sent to the newly formed Soviet puppet state of East Germany, after which the remaining Polish population living to the east of Poland's new border with the USSR was ethnically cleansed and sent to replace the departed Germans in the west. Apparently, being kicked out of your home after your country has been stolen, and then being forced to go and live in a destroyed and depopulated wasteland hundreds of miles away, is a "gift".

There's a reason why Poland and other countries that Russia invaded and plundered over the centuries, and were also invaded and plundered by the USSR during the Second World War (after which they were forced to live under Soviet occupation for the next half century), rushed to join NATO as soon as they could after overthrowing Soviet rule. It's because ever since the collapse of the USSR, Russia has repeatedly shown that it doesn't respect their right to exist, and it's clear that there can be no long term peace and stability in Europe while Russia still threatens its neighbours and harbours imperialistic ambitions to restore its former empire.

NATO is the main obstacle that prevents Russia from achieving this goal.

NATO poses no threat to Russia's internationally recognised borders, but it does - quite rightly - stand in the way of Russia's desire to expand them.

[lepartidelamort]

Poland: High Court Judge Defects to Belarus, Claims US Planning to Turn Poland Into a War Zone

Andrew Anglin

The Americans get ideas in their heads, abstract concepts, and then preach them as some kind universal law.

Yes, Sunnis do tend to hate Shiites. Yes, Poles do tend to hate Russians. In both cases, there are serious histories that involve a lot of war.

But does that actually mean that there is no limit? That it can just be assumed that Sunnis or Poles will agree to have their countries completely destroyed in the name of this hatred?

Presumably, there are things that the Poles care about more than the hatred of Russia. Probably, most of them are more against gays than they are against Russians, for example. They also probably don’t want to have their entire country destroyed, like the Ukraine, in the name of hatred for Russia.

In actual reality, the Poles surrendered to Russia, knowing that Stalin would take their whole country, because they didn’t want to fight a war that they couldn’t possibly win against the Red Army. So, that sort of disproves the American theory in a pretty extreme way.

Basically every country in history surrendered if it was clear they were going to be annihilated. The only country that didn’t do this is the Ukraine. The Americans apparently think they can do this trick again in Poland.

Politico:

A high-level Polish judge asked for political asylum in Belarus on Monday, saying he was doing so in “protest against Poland’s unjust and harmful policy” toward Belarus and Russia. In his resignation letter published on X, Tomasz Szmydt said he was giving up his position as a judge at the Warsaw Administrative Court “with immediate effect.” Szmydt described his decision as a protest against “activities to push my country to a direct military conflict” with Belarus and Russia, and appealed to the Polish authorities to “normalize” and establish “good neighborly relations” with Minsk and Moscow.

Tomasz Szmydt at the press conference in Belarus

The judge also appeared at a press conference in Minsk, one of Russia’s few allies in its war against Ukraine, praising the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko for running a “blooming country.” He argued that the authorities in Warsaw, under the influence of the United States and the United Kingdom, are “leading the country to war.” His flight to Minsk was denounced in Warsaw. “Whoever is fleeing Poland to Belarus to slander Poland and the NATO community of which we are a part is a scoundrel and traitor,” Stanisław Żaryn, an aide to President Andrzej Duda, told reporters in Warsaw. Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said: “It’s shocking information that I’m finding hard to comment on.” … It’s not Szmydt’s first brush with fame. Polish news website Onet reported in 2019 that Szmydt belonged to an informal group that discussed how to discredit judges who didn’t pledge loyalty to the former nationalist Law and Justice party government. He later switched sides and went public in 2022 to expose what he said was unethical behavior by pro-government judges.

Poland could flip rapidly.

They are being completely Ukrainized, which is their most pressing problem. There are cities in southern Poland which are now a majority Ukrainian. Hilariously, at least half of these people speak Russian as a first language. Because they are actually Russian people, because the Ukraine is not a real country.

The West has installed Donald Tusk as Prime Minister. This guy is a total product of the EU, and doesn’t really share any common values with Poles. He’s from a minority ethnic group and has a German grandmother. He’s a prime example of the worthless, rootless technocrat that always serves American/Globalist/Jewish interests.

It’s unclear what America’s plan for the Ukraine actually is. The original plan was to crush the Russian economy and force a color revolution, but that has been off the table for two years. The Ukraine has already lost the war. If they keep pushing, Poland will end up under Russian control.

Who knows what this judge knows. Maybe he’s just reading the internet. He was a pretty high ranking official though, and he is saying that the Polish government is working with the Americans to escalate in a way that is going to involve Poland directly in the war.

[mariacallous]

In Europe, not a week goes by without another stark warning about the growing potential of a Russian attack on a European Union member, especially if Ukraine loses the war. “We have to take into account that Vladimir Putin might even attack a NATO country one day,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told the Tagesspiegel newspaper in January. Two months earlier, he had warned that Germany needed to become “capable of fighting a war.” Swedish commander-in-chief Gen. Micael Bydén similarly urged Swedes to “prepare for war,” while the head of the British Army told Britons that they are part of a “prewar generation” that may have to fight Russia in the not so distant future. The fear was driven home by prospective Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who told a campaign rally that he would “encourage” the Russians “to do whatever the hell they want” to any European NATO member not spending enough on defense.

These statements have usually been accompanied by a number of estimates of how quickly Russia can regenerate forces and equipment lost in Ukraine in order to attack a NATO country. Pistorius thinks this will take “five to eight years,” whereas the outgoing chief of Estonian military intelligence estimated that Russia could be ready for war again within four years. “It cannot be ruled out that within a three- to five-year period, Russia will test Article 5 and NATO’s solidarity,” according to Denmark’s defense minister. Poland’s national security agency believes that Russia could attack NATO as soon as three years from now.

These public statements are meant to spur Europe to action when it comes to the old continent’s ability to defend itself against future military aggression and to prop up deterrence. And they are having an effect. More than 80 percent of Germans, for example, now favor arming up after decades of neglecting their military.

But all these exhortations to get ready for a potential war with Russia beg the question: What, exactly, is Russia preparing for? And what, in turn, does Europe need to do to be ready for various contingencies?

NATO’s top priority in terms of a future conventional war with Russia remains defending the Baltic countries that directly border Russia: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The bloc’s war planners envision various scenarios: Russian forces could overrun the Baltics in a full-scale invasion, or they could occupy smaller chunks of territory in order to test and undermine NATO’s willingness to defend a small frontier state against nuclear-armed Russia—especially if it is no longer clear if the United States is still committed to defending Europe. To make planning more difficult, a Russian campaign could involve any combination of conventional attacks, nuclear threats to deter NATO from coming to the attacked country’s aid, and unconventional measures such as cyberattacks, disinformation, and sabotage in various NATO members in order to weaken the alliance’s resolve.

In the context of an occupation of the Baltics, NATO military planners have also considered how Russia could attack or occupy the Suwalki Gap, a geographic corridor along the Lithuanian-Polish border that stretches about 100 kilometers between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. In the event of war, Russian forces could occupy this stretch of land, severing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the rest of NATO. Such a conventional military move could be supported by “active measures” that stir up trouble among ethnic Russians in the Baltics, further weakening NATO’s position in the region.

The default assumption in these scenarios is that Moscow intends to test NATO’s cohesion and resolve by some variation of an “escalate to deescalate” strategy. The idea is that Russia would quickly seize NATO territory in one or more of the Baltic states, present the alliance with a fait accompli, and then force the bloc to back down in the face of nuclear threats. If NATO acquiesces, its credibility would be destroyed for good. This scenario could include early Russian use on the battlefield of low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons in order to coerce NATO into terminating hostilities.

To this variety of conventional, nuclear, and hybrid scenarios, add uncertainty about the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war, questions about the scale of Moscow’s defense buildup and capacity to rearm, and the ongoing confusion in the West about defense budgets, force size, and Washington’s future U.S. commitment to the alliance—and the result is a veritable Tetris game of alliance planning.

Each of these scenarios would require different military (and non-military) capabilities and force sizes on both the Russian and NATO side. Further complicating NATO planning is that individual member countries assess the Russian threat differently, depending on such factors as geographic proximity and their own military capabilities. For Russia, it would be much easier to rebuild military power sufficient for overwhelming the Baltics with their minuscule military capabilities than for a prolonged land campaign in against Polish forces in Poland—perhaps aided by Germany—to seize and defend the Suwalki Gap.

The requirements to defend against hybrid warfare are very different than those to counter large-scale armed thrusts into NATO territory. Both are a top concern for the Baltic states and Poland, though countries not immediately bordering Russia are more worried about the former than an actual invasion. Berlin’s focus on hybrid threats, in turn, may help explain the sluggish pace at which it is reconstituting Germany’s conventional military forces. Two years into Russia’s war, it still finds it difficult to deploy a single combat-ready brigade to Lithuania by 2027.

With scenarios and threat perceptions so different across NATO, it is difficult for the bloc to come up with a realistic joint timeline for when Russian forces might be ready to pose a threat beyond Ukraine. Most importantly for Western defense planning, it remains unclear when Russia’s major combat operations in Ukraine will cease and what losses in manpower and equipment Russia will have sustained by then. Other questions include what Russia can rebuild and reconstitute, what it can fund given the size of its economy, which technologies it can access, and whether it can generate the necessary human resources in both the defense industry and the military itself. On all these points, there are vigorous debates in Western analyst and intelligence communities.

Based on Moscow’s public announcements, it likely aims for a substantially larger military compared to what it had before 2022. At the same time, it has not yet revealed a new 10-year arms production and procurement program to support this larger force. According to some analysts, funding is unlikely to be a constraint in the near term, but Russia will find it extremely challenging to generate the needed human resources due to a lack of skilled workers and a shrinking workforce overall. Substantially expanding the defense industry may also prove difficult due to a chronic lack of investment, as well as difficulties in obtaining various components in sufficient volumes.

But this says little about Russia’s genuine future intentions and the warfighting methods it might choose to pursue them. Whether the Baltics scenarios discussed by NATO planners are a realistic reflection of Russian intents and capabilities remains an open question.

Despite these uncertainties, it would be a grave mistake to underestimate Russian military power. NATO should not take the Russian military’s poor performance in Ukraine as a reason to be complacent. It is true that Russian forces have not succeeded in decisively outgunning the Ukrainians and have failed at the kind of rapid armored thrusts that would present NATO forces with a fait accompli in the Baltics. So far, Russia has also stayed away from using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

At the same time, the Russian military has proved its staying power under adverse battlefield conditions in Ukraine, demonstrated a willingness to endure great losses, and retained the ability to attrit Ukrainian forces and go on the offense. Consequently, even if NATO planners determine that a Russian blitzkrieg against the Baltics is only a low-probability scenario, it would be a mistake to underestimate Russia in the coming years. Common sense dictates that the bloc needs to prepare for multiple scenarios and timelines—lest we be surprised once again, like we were in 2022, when Russia does something most Europeans thought was unthinkable.

[minetteskvareninova]

Hetalia Headcannons: World War 1

(Because I am having finals and I’m gonna make it everyone else’s problem)

- I mean. Is there anything more hillarious than WW1 but Hetalia? Just these idiots shelling each other to oblivion because of what someone’s ally did to someone else’s ally and everyone was too stubborn to make peace. They were going to win this exceedingly stupid conflict, dammnit! Meanwhile, Spain and Portugal were passing each other popcorn in the distance like. There’s this superflu going around, should we be worried? You also get bangers like Italy attacking the same fucking mountain pass ELEVEN TIMES, untill it’s absolutely destroyed by Austria. In the end, the Entente won by being just a little less destroyed than the Alliance, and they were going to make it their problem.

- Russia meanwhile left for the war, but got absolutely destroyed by Germany, who then let his “long lost relative” Soviet Union (now thought to be Russia in a brown wig) live in the abandoned house. People faithful to their old master tried to sack him, but without much success. Meanwhile, Czechia and Slovakia got stuck in Russia, and had to sneak to Paris trough his backyard. Ukraine, Poland etc. of course used the opportunity to run away; some managed to escape, while others were kidnapped back to Russia.

- Poland was resurrected by England’s magic and given Ukraine and Belarus as roommates. Poland proceeded to treat them like shit. In fact, he treated everyone around him like shit, under the impression that it would make him look tougher for some reason. Interwar period was Poland’s bitch era. He also developed a real fetish for men in uniform, for some reason.

- Germany was at the death’s door by the end of the war, but Prussia kept fighting and was severely pissed when the Entente kept insisting “Alliance lost” - like, HE didn’t lose shit, what are they talking about?! Meanwhile, Bavaria, their long-lost brother appeared out of nowhere and was now communist for some reason? He got absorbed back into Germany as soon as Ludwig recovered, and Prussia and Germany don’t talk about this period very much.

- Paris was decidedly NOT the city of love at the end of the war. The Alliance called up this big conference there that was supposed to end all war forever, but they were the same petty assholes as always, so that was a doomed endeavour. Like, the whole “everything is always Germany’s fault” clause was simply unwarranted. But they did settle some disputes, like Austria’s divorce from Hungary (he needed to go away to support his cousin), so that was nice.

- After Italy was severely wounded in a war, Romano took care of him, and took charge of the household. And boy, you could tell. Italy was never as willing to throw hands as it was after one of the most devastating wars in human history (at least for them). He also got radicalized by the far right...

- Soviet Union went around, preaching to everyone who would listen about the need for GLORIOUS COMMUNIST REVOLUTION. In the end, he only convinced Bavaria, who as mentioned got absorbed into Germany, and Hungary, who then tried to convert Slovakia, by violence if necessary (luckily Czechia and Slovakia managed to defend themselves).

[whereareroo]

A STITCH IN TIME

WF THOUGHTS (12/14/23).

Yesterday, we discussed Ukraine and we gave an ethics lesson to the Republicans in the House of Representatives.

While I’m still on my soapbox about Ukraine, let me make one additional suggestion to the Republicans: LISTEN TO YOUR GRANDMOTHERS.

Sooner or later, when giving advice about how to deal with a problem, every grandmother suggests compliance with the old proverb “a stitch in time saves nine.” That proverb must be in the Grandmother Handbook.

From life experience, grandmothers know that it’s best to address problems immediately. If problems aren’t addressed at the earliest possible time, they tend to become bigger problems. A problem that could have been fixed with a single stitch might require nine stitches at a later date.

What does this have to do with Ukraine? I’ll tell you.

As a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”)- -the greatest international security organization in history- -America is required to defend any other member that is attacked. If another NATO member is attacked, we would supply that member with huge sums of money and vast quantities of military equipment. We would also send troops to fight in the conflict. Because Ukraine is not a member of NATO, our approach there has been different.

Fourteen NATO countries (Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Slovakia) share a border with Russia and/or Ukraine. Under the NATO treaty, we are obligated to defend all 14 of those countries.

All of the experts agree that Ukraine will lose the war if the Republicans in the House block future funding from America. Russia will win, and it will take 100% of Ukraine.

What would happen next? World War III. Putin has repeatedly stated that his goal is to rebuild the old Russian Empire. If he wins in Ukraine, he will try to conquer other countries. He’ll have a bunch of NATO countries to choose from. The likely targets are Georgia, Estonia, and Latvia. Lithuania and Finland are also possible targets.

If Putin attacks any of those NATO countries, all of the other NATO countries (there are 31 of them) will enter the war to fight Russia. Iran and China would probably join with Russia to battle the “evil” West. It would be WWIII.

Right now there is a limited war between Russia and Ukraine. If the Republicans in the House stop funding and thereby allow Russia to win, we’ll soon have WWIII.

When is the best time to deal with this problem? Ask any grandmother. It’s best to focus on the relatively small current war, and to make sure that Ukraine wins that war. If we walk away from the current problem, we’ll soon be spending exponentially more on WWIII- -and in that war we will have boots on the ground and many of our military members won’t come home.

Let me say it a different way. Fully funding Ukraine, and providing whatever military equipment that she needs, is the best path for America. It’s not charity. If we don’t give Ukraine what she needs to win, we’ll be paying exponentially more in the future. Our grandmothers were correct. A stitch in time saves nine.

If they won’t listen to common sense, maybe the Republicans in the House will listen to their grandmothers. Despite all of the pressing issues that must be addressed by Congress, including the Ukraine war and the fact that we’re facing another government shutdown on January 14th, today the Republican leadership in the House decided to begin a long holiday recess and go home until January 9, 2024. Isn’t that unbelievable? When they’re home, I hope they get an earful from their grandmothers.

[hummussexual]

I posted 1,841 times in 2022

That's 472 more posts than 2021!

223 posts created (12%)

1,618 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@divaofthedevas

@alibrariangoestoikea

@mohammad-hegazy

@maruchanishere

@egyptiancrush

I tagged 476 of my posts in 2022

#usa - 79 posts

#😹😹😹 - 31 posts

#covid - 29 posts

#politics - 28 posts

#موسيقى - 24 posts

#عربي - 24 posts

#حنان - 24 posts

#pandemic - 23 posts

#😹 - 22 posts

#💯 - 21 posts

Longest Tag: 68 characters

#فعليا لم أكن أعرف كيفيك هجاء كلمة الركوع أو الانحناء المشهور بالإناث

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Millions of women in the US will lose the legal right to abortion, after the Supreme Court overturned a 50-year-old ruling that legalised it nationwide.

The court struck down the landmark Roe v Wade decision, weeks after an unprecedented leaked document suggested it favoured doing so.

The judgement will transform abortion rights in America, with individual states now able to ban the procedure.

Half of US states are expected to introduce new restrictions or bans.

77 notes - Posted June 24, 2022

#4

Excerpt:

Russia and Ukraine, once dubbed "the breadbasket of Europe", export about a quarter of the world's wheat and half of its sunflower products, like seeds and oil. Ukraine also sells a lot of corn globally.

Analysts have warned that war could impact the production of grains and even double global wheat prices.

Mr Beasley told BBC World Service's Business Daily programme that the number of people facing potential starvation worldwide had already risen from 80 million to 276 million in four years prior to Russia's invasion, due to what he calls a "perfect storm" of conflict, climate change and coronavirus.

He said certain countries could be particularly affected by the current crisis, due to the high proportion of grains they currently import from the Black Sea region.

"The country of Lebanon, 50%, give or take, of their grains, come from Ukraine. Yemen, Syria, Tunisia - and I could go on and on - depend on the country of Ukraine as a breadbasket," he said.

"So you're going from being a breadbasket to now, literally, having to hand out bread to them. It's just an incredible reverse of reality."

85 notes - Posted March 7, 2022

#3

The EU and the US have been using the word 'oligarchs' with such spite and disgust, when referencing the Russians.

But what about the oligarchs in your own backyard, USA?

See the full post

120 notes - Posted February 27, 2022

#2

Which wars are endorsed by US media, and which ones aren't?

Which people need violent, imperial intervention, and which do not?

Which countries are savages that require military civilizing project, and which countries are civilized that are undergoing an attack by savages?

Which interventions are benevolent, and which interventions are just plain old voilent?

171 notes - Posted February 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Really happy that Poland is accepting refugees from Ukraine currently, but...

I can't help but wonder where the red carpet was for asylum seekers who were trying to get in from Belarus?

Remember scenes like these on the border? Where Poland brought in forces to violently keep people who have left everything for a chance for a better life?

Above image from the NYT

They built a barb-wire fence to keep immigrants from war-torn countries out, as late as last year:

See the full post

4,285 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[the-names-salomea]

W 2022 roku na moim blogu pojawiło się 3300 postów

30 utworzonych postów (1%)

3270 zreblogowanych postów (99%)

Najczęściej reblogowane blogi:

@someoneintheshadow456

@careful-knives

@szyszkasosnowa

@batsandnerds

@ewa-jednak-chce-spac

555 moich postów w 2022 miało tagi

#ukraine – 44 posty

#vinland saga – 43 posty

#war in ukraine – 21 postów

#personal – 15 postów

#russia – 13 postów

#poland – 13 postów

#oh wow – 4 posty

#history – 4 posty

#yup – 4 posty

#askeladd – 3 posty

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#you have this profound description of what were the author's  thoughts where he explains the character's motivation and how he envisioned it

Moje najpopularniejsze posty w 2022:

Nr 5

> be me

> have a room with a balcony on the first floor

> you hear meowing from the balcony

> it's your cat who wants to get inside

> you let her in but notice her meowing sound different than usual

> you think 'she's gonna throw up'

> she drops something on the carpet

> it's a dead mouse

> you stare at her as she does at you

> you don't know if you should be angry because now you need to clean that up

> or impressed because she had to not only hunt it but also climb up the vine with the mouse in her mouth to present me the offering

The culprit and the prey

Przeczytaj całość

11 notek (opublikowanych w 14 lipca 2022)

Nr 4

Me and everyone else, waiting for Russia to be cut off the SWIFT:

12 notek (opublikowanych w 24 lutego 2022)

Nr 3

Polish music - because it’s not only Chopin [LONG POST]

As it’s Polish Independence Day (11.11) and @redhatmeg​ came up with the idea of celebrating it by posting about Poland/Polish people, I decided to make a post about notable Polish composers, adding links to their most famous pieces.

- Stanisław Moniuszko (1819 - 1872)

Known as ‘the father of Polish national opera’, one of the best composers of Polish romanticism. His work is characterized by usage of Polish texts and inspiration from Polish folk. His most notable work include operas such as Halka, Straszny dwór and over 300 songs compiled in Śpiewnik Domowy.

Prząśniczka

Mazur from Halka

Mazur from Straszny Dwór

- Maria Szymanowska (1789 - 1831)

Przeczytaj całość

14 notek (opublikowanych w 11 listopada 2022)

Nr 2

One of the things about tankies that always makes me laugh*

*It’s a bitter laugh.

They like to throw their temper tantrum and scream: “NATO BROKE THE PROMISE! THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE EXPANDED TO THE EAST! THEY PROMISED IT TO RUSSIA!/SOVIET UNION! THERE SHOULD BE A BUFFER BETWEEN THE WEST AND THE EAST, OTHERWISE RUSSIA FEELS SCARED!”

Which is, first of all, bullshit - there’s no written documents where NATO makes such promise; the closest one would be the Vier Plus Zwei Vertrag (Four Plus Two Agreement) from 1990 regarding the unification of Germany - among other points (like the Polish-German border or how large can German army be) there was one, in which NATO promises to have no NATO forces nor nuclear weapon on the territory of East Germany. Hell, even late Gorbachev claimed there was no such promise made (and he deeply disapproved of Poland joining NATO!)

But there’s another, much more depressing issue - look at this map of all European countries in the Eastern Bloc:

You don’t need to be genius, to see that there are at least several (my math is rusty) countries between Germany and Russia. And like 95% of these countries joined NATO. And these chucklefucks would look at these and I bet my right arms none of them would ask this simple, yet crucial question:

why did these countries want to join NATO?

There were other options: they could have becomerussiasbitch keep close ties to Russia, like Belarus, or join CIS, like the Baltic States could, but they said in union: panie, idź pan w chuj.

If they actually, y’know gave the shit about people, that would be the first question to pop up in their heads (or at least should be).

And here’s the laughing part, because of course this question would never come to their minds and that’s because they would first admit that these countries populated by people who have their agency and the right to self-determination.

Tankies don’t give a flying fuck about people who had to actually deal with USSR/Russia’s bullshit for at least two centuries. Or at least they don’t care more then the filthy and rotten West does.

26 notek (opublikowanych w 17 listopada 2022)

Mój post nr 1 w 2022

Makoto Yukimura: I am the author of a manga, which maturely tackles issues like the point(lessness) of violence & war, what it takes to be redeemed (if it’s even achievable), the struggle of being a pacifist in a Viking society...

Also Makoto Yukimura, on his twitter:

“I was able to draw a nice face”

[LINK]

34 notki (opublikowane w 18 lipca 2022)

Zobacz Przegląd roku 2022 już teraz →

[opedguy]

Belarus Comes to Putin’s Rescue

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Oct. 11, 2022.--Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, 68, ordered his troops to deploy with Russian forces to Ukraine, claiming Ukraine and the NATO alliance planned to attack his country.  So, what’s really happening now can’t be denied by anyone in the West, where a carefully orchestrated U.S.-led mission with NATO attempts to evict the Russian Federation from Ukraine, but, more importantly, to topple 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Shortly after the Feb. 24 invasion, 79-year-old President Joe Biden got very personal in Warsaw, Poland March 26 saying that Putin should not continue as Russian president.  Once Biden made that commitment, the war changed to a U.S.-led NATO war against the Russian Federation.  Only one month later, Biden’s 69-year-old Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Ramstein, Germany confirmed the U.S. would destroy the Russian military.

Kremlin officials now longer see the Ukraine War as a conflict between Kiev and Moscow, they see the conflict as a U.S.-NATO-led proxy war against the Russian Federation.  So when Western officials rail against Putin having any allies like Lukashenko in the conflict, they deny that the U.S.-NATO have made a concerted attempt using Ukrainian troops to topple the Russian Federation.  No Western official sees the Ukraine War as a border dispute between Ukraine and Russia.  Lukashenko’s admission that his troops now join Russia forces opens the door to expansion of the Ukraine War to ground troops from the U.S. and NATO.  Biden said he would not commit U.S. or NATO ground troops to Ukraine because he wanted to avoid WW III, one that could easily spread over the European Continent.  But the war has morphed now into a U.S.-NATO proxy war against the Kremlin.

Lukashenko, only one country, has joined the Russian Federation in pushing back against the U.S. and NATO.  NATO has 30 countries contributing arms, cash and advisers to Ukraine’s 44-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky.  Zelensky has asked for accelerated entrance into NATO so that he can invoke Article 5 to bring NATO ground-and-air forces into the Ukraine conflict.  “Strikes on the territory of Belarus are not just being discussed in Ukraine today, but are also being planned,” Lukashenko said in his Security Council meeting.  “Their owners [U.S. and NATO] are pushing them to start a war against Belarus to drag us there,” Lukashenko said, though offering no proof.  But Lukashenko is an integral part of the Russian Federation, despite maintaining its independence in the world’s eye.  One country going to Putin’s aid shows how the conflict must be brokered by the U.N.

U.N. officials have almost unanimously condemned Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion but now must play a more constructive role no in Russia’s collective punishment but bringing the conflict to an end.  All the talk about a nuclear Armageddon raised by Biden reminds the European Union that the stakes have never been higher.  EU and NATO officials can rant all they want about Putin’s “illegal” war but they need to find a way out for warring factions, requiring some kind of neutrality.  China and India, while telling Putin they’d like to see the war end, understand that the U.S. and NATO currently wage a proxy war against the Kremlin with the stated intent of degrading the Russian military to the point it can no longer wage war.  If that’s not a declaration of war against the Russian Federation, then what is?  U.N. and EU statesman must get beyond taking sides and get behind ceasefire and peace talks.

Lukashenko received intel that suggested that whoever truck-bombed the Kerch Bridge to Crimea, are going to do the same thing in Belarus.  “We have been preparing for this for decades.  If necessary, we will respond,” Lukashenko said, admitting he spoke with Putin in St. Petersburg.  Being Putin’s No. 1 ally, Lukashenko sees Belarus as the likely target of NATO or Ukrainian attacks, since the Western Alliance has tried to meddle in Belarusian affairs, fomenting revolution inside the country.  Luikashenko has been suppressing a pro-democracy movement in Belarus for many years.  Putin has helped Lukashenko set down an uprising that threatened to the state.  “My answer was simple: Tel the president of Ukraine and the other lunatics, if they touch one metre of our territory from then the Crimean Bridge will seem to them like a walk in the park,” Lukashenko warned Zelensky.

Russia and Belarus feel ganged up on by the U.S. and NATO, whose cash-and- arms to Kiev have threatened Russian national security.  Recent Russian missile strikes in response to the Ukrainian truck bombing of the Kerch Bridge prompted Biden to double down on more cash aid and lethal weapons to Ukraine.  U.S. and EU officials must see that Biden’s approach to Ukraine has threatened the post WW II peace where every European Country pledged to work toward peace on the European Continent.  Regardless who’s right in Ukraine, the war threatens the peace-and-prosperity on the European Continent.  If the U.N. or EU want to end the Ukraine War, there needs to be a neutral place where both warring factions can go to resolve their differences.  As long as the U.S. and NATO threaten the Russian Federation, Putin will continue to fight against forces aligned against Russia.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

[thestrawberrynight]

Guess what?

Witches all over Eastern Europe are going to have a really, really, really big sabbath party on the night of July 6-7! All of our mystical colleagues from other parts of the world are invited so prepare long white shirts, flower wreaths and brooms - we're celebrating Ivanа-Kupala!

but first, let's find out what kind of celebration it is and why it is so cool so get ready for a little historical tour

Ivanа-Kupala is a traditional eastern Slavic holiday, which is celebrated in Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Russia during the night from 6 to 7 July (on the Gregorian calendar). (This corresponds to 23-24 June on these countries’ traditional Julian calendar.) The celebration relates to the summer solstice when nights are the shortest and includes a lot (you even can’t imagine how much) of rituals and beliefs 

the name of the holiday was originally Kupala; a pagan fertility rite later adapted into the Orthodox Christian calendar by connecting it with St. John's Day.

the Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian name of this holiday combines "Ivan" (John, in this case John the Baptist) and Kupala which was thought to be derived from the Slavic word for bathing, which is cognate. However, it likely stems from the proto-Slavic kump, a gathering. The two feasts could be connected by reinterpreting John's baptizing people through full immersion in water. However, the tradition of Kupala predates Christianity. The pagan celebration was adapted and reestablished as one of the native Christian traditions intertwined with local folklore

I know, it was a rather boring story, but how can we celebrate something without knowing the background, right? Now we get to the fun part

at this time, all the plants are gaining magical and healing properties so the first thing we need to do at this day is to wake up early in the morning, go on the meadow being absolutely naked and gather different plants and herbs. There is a legend that on a day in Ivan Kupala you can heal with dew, so in the morning you need to walk barefoot on the grass (if the gathering herbs in the early morning being naked is too much for you) 

it is believed that people shouldn't sleep on the night of Ivan Kupala, because at this time not only nature comes to life, but also all spirits become especially active - werewolves, mermaids, watermen, foresters so you can see that witches and sorcerers have a really good company today, we're all celebrating!

However, it is necessary to swim in open water. On this night, water acquires healing properties, helps to cleanse the body and soul from bad thoughts and evil.

in the evening the main entertainments come and special attention is drawn to divination. A lot of girls want to find out more about their "love life" but witches are not interested in it (are we?) although I think I must tell briefly about it

the girls throw their wreaths into the water in order to find the love of their life, and the boys have to get them. The wreath is a symbol of happiness and marriage.

if the wreath sinks right away - the beloved has fallen out of love, and the wedding will not take place, the wreath comes to the shore - girl will be unmarried this year. Whoever has the longest wreath will be happy, and whoever burns the candle longer will live a long, long life.

there are also divinations on a candle: break it into small pieces and put in a metal spoon. The spoon is heated until the pieces turn into melted wax, and then abruptly pour it into water and divination on the figure. Or, without spying, the girls plucked a bouquet of flowers, which was then placed under a pillow. If in the morning it turns out that at least twelve different herbs have been plucked, then the girl has a great chance to get married this year.

the main core around which the action takes place is the Kupala fire. Before lighting a fire, four men with torches become a square around the bush, denoting the four suns (four seasons). Then everyone gathers in the bushes and lights a fire, symbolizing the "solar plexus". It should burn all night. Around him, young people play games, sing songs, lead round dances. But the main thing is jumping over the fire.

there are signs related to this: if a young man jumps the highest - his family will have a good harvest, he will jump into the flames - wait for trouble. When a young man and a girl successfully jump over the fire, they will definitely get married and live in harmony all their lives.

the most important thing to do tonight is to find a fern flower. Whoever finds it will know everything in the world, will get all the treasures without difficulty, will have the highest harvest, will not be afraid of evil forces, will have the miraculous power to do everything with the hand that plucked the flower of happiness.

but the Flower of Happiness is awaited not only by people, but also by evil forces, which are difficult to fight for the person who finds it (so, yes, in the night all of the witches are going to find it as well) They try to stop, to divert the attention of a young person who finds this flower - the old person, as a rule, is not lucky to find it. And if the young is lucky enough to find a flower of happiness, she/he has to cut the skin of the little finger on left hand and put that flower under the skin. Then a person must take a wormwood or a tatarzilla in his left hand and circle it with chalk - only then the evil forces will not be able to do anything to the lucky one.

so, witches and sorcerers, werewolves, vampires  and mermaids, watermen and foresters and many others, let's celebrate the Ivana Kupala together, so fly, swim, run to Ukrane and Eastern Europe, we are waiting for you all here!

[nyaheum]

My yearly list of Eurovision songs after the first impression (I mean, for like, half of them. I heard snippets of some songs.). Judged on music videos, because...if I only listen to the songs on Spotify, my eyes get bored. :’)

(oh, and don’t talk to me about iceland’s placement, I know this might be unpopular)

X. Belarus

Fuck Belarus, all my homies hate Belarus. Not even going to grace them with a rating.

Norway (TIX – Fallen Angel)

...no. :( And it’s not even because Keiino didn’t win, I just wholeheartetly hate this song. And I’m kinda sorry to TIX, because he seems like a cool dude and his stage outfit is absolutely hilarious, but oh my god do I hate this song with an absolute burning passion.

Poland (RAFAL – The Ride)

eye emoji mouth emoji eye emoji – well, this is a non-qualifier if I’ve ever seen one. Can we just...skip this?

Belgium (Hooverphonic – The Wrong Place)

Nap time! This song annoys me. I cannot explain it, but it gives me a headache and my whole body is revolting against this song. I am not kidding. Objectively, I don’t even hate it, but there’s just something about it...that makes me go...hnghgng…

North Macedonia (Vasil – Here I Stand)

eye emoji mouth emoji eye emoji ver. 2 – I am not trying to sound mean, but does North Macedonia do any music that is not dramatic power ballads? I’m serious. (And I don’t like it, sorry. :((...except for the high notes, I like them. When he can hit them live.)

Estonia (Uku Suviste – The Lucky One)

This (the music video)...is soft porn. I am slightly scared of Uku. I don’t know why. But, uh...this is better than last year’s song? Still, it wouldn’t qualify under my watch, whoops.

Georgia (Tornike Kipiani – You)

He stopped yelling angrily at the microphone. :((( Nah, but this isn’t my thing. It’s great that they are doing their own thing, it’s just not really my thing...it also reminds me of a song I know, damn.

Austria (Vincent Bueno - Amen)

He looks like a german youtuber. I don’t know hich one, but he looks like one. I also canot tell if he’s 18 or 38, lol. (For some reason he also reminds me of Alex Albon, which is even weirder.)...oh, uh, the song? Idk, I don’t care for I. It’s fine.

Spain (Blas Cantó – Voy A Querdarme)

Confession: I’m probably the only person who actually doesn’t like the sound of Spanish all that much. Whoops. Apart from that though, I’m not the biggest fan of this song. Can’t really say more about that. Meh.

The Netherlands (Jeangu Macrooy – Birth Of A New Age)

Listen: I really like the tone of this voice. It’s great. I am not a fan of the song. There’s something just very off about the loud percussions (?) in the background that make me go absolutely crazy when listening to this. My sensory-overload-prone ears hate it, and I’m sorry...the part before the last chorus on the other hand I love. The whole song could have sounded like that and I would have loved it. (...and I can’t unhear “You are my broccoli – You know my broccoli!” ;-;)

Azerbaijan (Efendi – Mata Hari) Whenever I see Efendi, my brain still goes “Cleopatrrrrra!”, oof. This song sounds like a song I know. Which...is super unprecice, but I genuinely don’t know which one. I do like that they kept the weird pre-chorus thing from Cleopatra (and reference the song later on), but I must say that I liked Cleopatra more...but it’s a party song, so I think it will be fun on stage!

Romania (ROXEN - Amnesia)

I didn’t like her song last year, I don’t enjoy this all too much and I’m kinda sorry but also...I don’t want to apologize for my taste in music, lmao. I want her hair though. Give me her hair.

Denkmark (Fyr & Flamme – Ove Os Pa Hinanden)

Ring ding ding, native language bonus. This is also way more fun than I thought it would be, hah. VERY retro, but I don’t hate that? :D (this and sweden really aren’t any different in terms of how much I like them)

Portugal (The Black Mama – Love Is On My Side)

I can appreciate this. I just wish it was in Portuguese, honestly. I don’t really know if I like the English for this song. That being said, I don’t know if you can make these very specific tones (you know what I mean) in portuguese without it sounding super off, so…

Ireland (Lesley Roy – Maps)

Okay, you do you Ireland. :D

Israel (Eden Alene – Set Me Free)

This exists. :D

Cyprus (Elena Tsagrinou – El Diablo)

Cyprus came to party, and I can’t be mad at that. I just don’t know why everybody in the YouTube comments loves this SO MUCH that they are sure that it will win if it gets the jury votes. I don’t think it’s as good as Fuego or She Got Me were, but maybe I just have no taste in party music. I don’t party. (Only if you got a 2000s playlist and some iced tea.)

France (Barbara Pravi – Voilà)

FRANCE sending a BALLAD? In MY Eurovision? It’s more likely than you think. It’s good, objectively. Personally, I don’t really care for it all that much and feel like I already know it.

United Kingdom (Embers – James Newman)

A good, modern song? In my british eurovision song? What happened on the Isles over quarantine? Are you guys okay? Did you find yourself? Have you taken your last breath (breath!) and looked at your past results? I’m impressed enough to put this relatively high, wow.

Serbia (Hurricane – LOCO LOCO)

*adore delano voice* party! Oh, and native language bonus...for a party song! I’m...impressed, actually. I cannot decide wheter I prefer this or Hasta La Vista, but I think it’s this one? The flows smoother, if that means literally anything.

Bulgaria (VICTORIA – Growing Up Is Getting Old)

*shrugs* I think a lot of people will like this. And I get that. I think I even understand it...yeah. I didn’t like her song last year either. It’s just personal preference, I think. I just want to have fun during Eurovision, hah.

Finland (Blind Channel – Dark Side)

Finland: FUCK YOU!!! Germany: Fuck you. <3

That’s all I’ll say, we know how the Finnish are, this is not surprising, lmao. (And I’m one of those children that grew up on Rammstein, so I legally cannot dislike this.)

Croatia (Albina - Tick-Tock)

Tick-tock, can you hear me go tick-tock? My heart is like a clock, I'm steady like a rock-...oh wait, wrong tick-tock! Still, really enjoy this song’s chorus – I actually enjoy it so much that it makes up for the utter loss of interest I experience once it’s over, chrm.

Sweden (Tusse – Voices)

I mean...let’s be honest, it’s a generic swedish pop song. It sounds like every other Swedish entry, and I think that bothers me. I know, that sounds kind of...weird, looking at my choices higher up in the list, but...meh. I think this will easily qualify for the Final and place high, and I am totally okay with that. It’s just not...what I wanted, I guess? :D (and i’m sorry but as a german-speaker I cannot get over the name “tusse”) (oh, and tusse seems to be super cool)

Albania (Anxhela Peristeri - Karma)

Oh, we’re going to war in 130 A.D.? Fine, let me just pack my spear and- oh, Albania has already sent a singer? Ah, well, might as well give up and just vibe.

Czech Republic (Benny Cristo - omaga)

This sounds fun. Not a winner or anything, but fun. I’ll probably still be on Twitter when he’s performing, whoops.

Slovenia (Ana Sklic - Amen)

Wait, there’s TWO songs called Amen? And why do I actually kinda like this? Oh well, might as well just accept it. (Her voice though...mhmmhmhm…yes please)

Iceland (Dadi og Gagnamagnid – 10 Years)

We just vibin’. I liked Think About Things more, but I’m very much biased here...because I’ve known that song for a year now. But this is still very good, and very on brand. (And I understand like...half of the lyrics, but I am okay with that.)

Australia (Montaigne - Technicolour)

not australia flexing at all of europe that they can hold big gatherings! D: oh, but I like this way more than last years song. I feel like Montaigne can show her GREAT voice way better in this song. (Even though her outfit and the sound of the song reminds me of the UK song that had...a dude run on the stage. I can’t think of the word for it right now.)

Malta (Destiny – Je Me Casse)

Destiny’s voice is just….wow. This is very different than All My Love, but it’s fun. The topic of the lyrics kinda remind me of Toy, and I like that…..I don’t really like the music video (especially the dancers in the colorful dresses? idk), but I’ll just ignore that.

Germany (I Don’t Feel Hate - Germany)

Confession time: I actually actively enjoy this song. Everybod is shitting on it, but it’s FUN and it has a good message, and Jendrik seems like the nicest dude ever and...it doesn’t deserve all the hate it’s getting? It’s completely self-produced and just fun. Stop being mean. :(

(...also someone on youtube said “pewdiepie” and I can’t unsee that now so fuck you >:((...no, no I don’t feel hate, just rethink your life choices)

Moldova (Natalia Gordienko - SUGAR)

What in the “Eis.de ist in der Kiste” is this music video? And I thought I would absolutely hate this song, but I actually don’t mind it all that much. It’s actually fun. Oh no, I’m splipping, someone catch me, aaaaaahhhhh….(and that poor cake dude. Is this song about cannibalism? Does she want to eat him?)

San Marino (Senhit – Adrenalina)

Catch me hum the chorus of this song at least once a day...but honestly, without any malicious intent: what the actual FUCK san marino? This is so much better than Freaky, and even though I do not believe for one second that this will win, the simple outragiousness of bringing Flo Rida to Eurovision deserves attention. (Bringing someone like Flo Rida to ESC sounds more like Scandinavia/Bulgaria, doesn’t it?)

Russia (Manizha – Russian Woman)

Not gonna lie, I miss Little Big, but at least they are sending something that’s at least as weird. I love that. Russian Rap is cool as fuck anyway, so I’m fully here for this...but I’m glas this song doesn’t have a music video, this just has to be a live performance. (Oh, and another strong woman!)

Ukraine (Go_A – SHUM)

I’m SO glad Go_A are back. But, let me be completely honest: I know why they had to change the lyrics, but I still liked the first version better. BUT I feel like the new one will grow and me and it will climb one or two places, because the Instrumental just slaps SO HARD. (Makes me feel like putting on a Cybergoth outfit and start dancing at a German industrial park, lmao.)

Latvia (Samanta Tina – The Moon Is Rising)

Does this count as my guilty pleasure this year? I loved her song last year, and this sounds similar, so...I like this too. It sounds modern as fuck (well, for Europe, you know) and I can definitely...”vibe” with that. I genuinely really enjoy this, and I don’t know why. (Even though I prefer last years drop.) A lot of “strong, independent women”-songs this year, and I’m not complaining.

Switzerland (Gjon’s Tears – Tout l’Univers)

Just so we’re clear, this and Italy share the exact same spot. I just cannot compare them at all. Gjon’s voice just takes me hostage throughout this whole song and won’t let me go. And everything that isn’t english/is in the countries offical language immediately gets plus points from me. As if this song needed them anyway.

Lithuania (The Roop – Discoteque)

Aaaaaand...dance break! Good, I just love them so much, it’s not even funny anymore. And I’ve been singing this song randomly since it came out. I can’t stop. It has burned itself into my brain. Let’s dis-co-teque right at my home! *waves arms around with no sign of coordination*

(and does anyone else feel like he’s serhat, just with a different alignment? Like, they are both chaotic, but serhat is chaotic neutral and he’s either chaotic good or chaotic bad, it really depends on the way he looks at the camera)

Italy (Maneskin – Zitti E Buoni)

Italy delivers, as they do every year. Not only do I really like this song (it is very much my genre), THIS is an aesthetic I can get behind! Knowing Eurovision, I doubt it will win, but damn if it won’t be super fun! (I am so glad this won Sanremo, hah.)

[eileentothestars]

A RANDOM AMERICAN’S THOUGHTS ON THE 2021 EUROVISION SONGS

Albania -- My ears stopped functioning once I saw those outfits

Israel -- "Set Me Free” Yep, that’s the Mood

France -- This is the most French thing I’ve ever seen, 10/10, way better than last year’s

Lithuania -- The song isn’t as good as “On Fire” but I am delighted to see that they have not lost one ounce of weirdness

Czech Republic -- I listened to it twice and I’m still not sure.  It’s catchy but also doesn’t feel quite... put together?  Idk.

Finland -- You know how every year there’s that one band that screams a lot and tries to give you seizures? That’s them.

Norway -- The pageantry! The costumes! The fact that he very vaguely looks like Crowley from Good Omens!

Germany -- I don’t know if this is actually good or not but how DARE you be this entertaining. German entries have no business being so delightful.

Ireland -- This is last year’s song with a new music video

Slovenia -- I like her voice but also the staging and costuming reminded me of Xanadu and who needs that

Albania -- This went in so many different directions

Belgium -- Disney’s Haunted Mansion has gained sentience and entered the Eurovision Song Contest

Romania -- The video is like Mika’s “Good Guys” but dark

Moldova -- WHY MOLDOVA WHY

Netherlands -- Absolutely epic perfection also I am definitely not crying right now no I am not

Serbia -- Clearly trying to recapture that “Hasta la Vista” spirit and I do not object

Estonia -- Congratulations, I was less bored than last year

San Marino -- I was expecting something kinda weird and I sure got it

Portugal -- Why do these 1930s gangsters sound exactly like Elton John

Cyprus -- Well it ain’t “Fuego” but it grew on me

Australia -- I really can’t get over how much I dislike her voice

Ukraine -- Mad Max: The Musical???

Spain -- I didn’t hate it but I’m probably not going to remember it either

Russia -- I love her

Switzerland -- I see this person has not cheered up at all since last year (fair enough)

Denmark -- This. This is why I watch Eurovision.

Austria -- If you’re going to be all sad sack then please dispense with the laughable animation

Croatia -- Please give those poor dancers some shirts :(

United Kingdom -- It seems the best the UK can ever hope for is “at least it’s catchy.” They achieved that this year. Dig the horns.

North Macedonia -- The song is okay but posing dramatically among historical artifacts is where it’s at

Latvia -- Yes Queen whatever you say Queen

Iceland -- There is DISCO and there is FIRE. What more can one ask from one’s Eurovision?

Sweden -- I didn’t think any entry could be better than last year’s. I was right. Dig the smoking jacket, though.

Bulgaria -- Not really my thing

Azerbaijan -- Add another one to the “2020 entrant clearly trying to recapture last year’s magic” pile. Which is basically everybody returning from last year.

Greece -- Once again manages to cram an entire movie into 3 minutes, good job

Georgia -- Feel asleep ten seconds in

Malta -- Was not expecting the horns, but you know what? I like it.

Italy -- Italy always brings it but could we not with the Surprise Bugs and Weird Face Stuff.  Don’t like that.

Poland -- Oh man oh boy am I ever a sucker for ‘80s throwbacks yes gimme more

Belarus -- Sir Not Appearing in this Contest

[stillunusual]

I’m not sure if the reblog above is for real or a parody....

Somebody who apparently wants to save the world responded to THIS POST about the Katyń massacre with some seriously asinine comments. He claims that the territories of eastern Poland which were invaded by the USSR in 1939 had only belonged to Poland since 1921, and also thinks that Katyń is in Belarus and that I'm a braindead American.... It's sad that telling the truth about a horrific war crime triggers this kind of temper tantrum, and there's not a lot you can say to people who think real history is "low rent agitprop" while simultaneously being dumb enough to believe and disseminate obvious lies and low rent agitprop themselves - but I just wanted to clear a few things up. First things first.... The idea that in 1939 the Soviets simply re-claimed land that had only belonged to Poland for less than two decades reveals a shocking degree of ignorance (or a desire to deliberately lie). Much of what is now western Ukraine has been periodically incorporated into the Polish state ever since the beginning of the 11th century, at the time of the Kievan Rus. And the lands of present day Belarus and Ukraine were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania when it was united with Poland in the 14th century and remained as part of the Polish-Lithuanian state until the end of the 18th century. Ukrainian lands east of the Dnieper river were ceded to Russia in the second half of the 17th century. Russia then stole most of the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian state at the end of the 18th century - when it conspired with Prussia and Austria to wipe Poland off the map (just like Hitler and Stalin did 150 years later). As well as most of the lands of present day Poland, Russia acquired all of what is now Belarus and most of Ukraine. Galicia, in western Ukraine (which includes Lviv), became part of Austria. So when Poland re-established itself as an independent state at end of the First World War it managed to reclaim some of what it had previously lost. The area of eastern Poland that the USSR invaded and occupied in 1939 had a mixed ethnic and religious population (mainly Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Jewish) which had existed for hundreds of years - until World War 2 - when Stalin and his collaborators killed or ethnically cleansed the Polish population (with a little help from Ukrainian fascists) and Hitler and his collaborators exterminated the Jews. And as for those evil "Polish conquerors" spending the interwar years battling against valiant "literal communist guerrillas".... Thanks for the lolz - and for confirming that some people are so deeply invested in the false reality of the Kremlin's propaganda that they will literally believe anything. And finally.... Back in the real world, the Katyń forest is a short distance from Smolensk, which is the capital city of the Smolensk Oblast, which is very definitely in Russia. Incidentally, as I clearly stated in the original post, most of the 22000 Polish nationals who were murdered by the Soviet NKVD in 1940 in what became known as the Katyń massacre, were initially interned in three Soviet camps (Kozielsk, Starobielsk and Ostaszków). The mass grave in the Katyń forest only contained the bodies of prisoners who had been interned at Kozielsk. The NKVD murdered the remaining prisoners at different locations, which were not known until 1990 when the Soviet government finally admitted to the crime and revealed where the other bodies could be found. The largest burial site (which contained the corpses of over 6000 victims) was at Mednoye, which is also in Russia. Although there are still some deluded idiots out there who claim that the Katyń massacre was carried out by the Germans and blamed on the Soviets (and all evidence of Soviet guilt was fabricated and is part of a HuGe CoNsPiRaCy AgAiNsT sTaLiN aNd ThE uSsR), you'd really have to be out of your mind to believe that the Polish prisoners interned at Ostaszków, who disappeared without trace in 1940 and whose bodies were found in Mednoye in 1991, could possibly have been captured, killed and buried by the Germans who never reached either of these locations in Russia at any time during WW2. Other victims were exhumed from mass grave sites in Ukraine and Belarus, but regardless of where the killings occurred, the fact remains that they were planned and directed by the Soviet leadership in Moscow, which also happens to be in Russia. And the Soviet Union's successor state in diplomatic and other affairs is also....Russia. So there you go. For what it's worth, I'm from the north of England, which is not in America (or even Belarus). And considering how ignorant and stupid you'd have to be to come up with unintentional comedy gold like "Katyn is in Belarus. That's a different country. How do you fuck that up?", maybe Mr who-wants-to-save-the-world should refrain from casting doubt on the intelligence of Americans until he's had his own head examined - mainly to see if there's anything actually in it....

[danceofsins]

SHIVA AVASARALA is a BISEXUAL THERAPIST and works with NEUTRAL and some say she looks awfully like ANYA CHALOTRA. The DEMON-WITCH (water) HYBRID is 399 years old and has been said to be INTELLIGENT & FORTHRIGHT and STUBBORN & VINDICTIVE. Let’s see what they bring to Maladh…

⇘ ⇘ ⇘  NAME: Shiva Avasarala ⇘ ⇘ ⇘  AGE: 399 ⇘ ⇘ ⇘  GENDER: Female ⇘ ⇘ ⇘  HEIGHT: 5 ft 7  (170 cm) ⇘ ⇘ ⇘  SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual ⇘ ⇘ ⇘  ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Biromantic ⇘ ⇘ ⇘  SPECIES: Demon - Witch Hybrid (Water)  ⇘ ⇘ ⇘  PROFESSION: Therapist ⇘ ⇘ ⇘  D.O.B. : 21st June 1635

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FACTS

- Polyglot, as Shiva loves to travel she loves being able to communicate. It also means she can learn more about the spells that culture may have. - Chai, proper chai is her go to drink. They always have some around in a flask and while glare a bitch down if they call it chai tea.  - Loves expensive dresses for work. Usually wears heels as well. - Has been to every continent but not every country. That is her goal in life at some point.  - Created both Vampires and Werewolves. - Expert Spell weaver - Terrible with technology

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TW: Rape

Born to an Indian mother and an English Mariner father in the port city of Surat. Her father was possessed by Belial. Leaving her mother pregnant with a daughter. Her mother was just 18 at the time, banished from the Coven and disowned as she was meant to marry into another coven bringing them together. Her mother, however, decided to give Shiva love rather than resentment. When Shiva was born her mother named her after the God of destruction. Hoping that she would take some characteristics as a destroyer of evil. As her daughter grew up her mother did not hide her from the evils of the world. She also taught her what she knew in magic. Shiva quickly picked up what was around her and even managed to experiment in her own way which in times caused her to hurt herself. Her mother then realised what she was and instead of being scared felt blessed with a gifted and powerful daughter. 

Shiva was also taught about why she should be careful about revealing her species. It was not uncommon for demon hybrid children to be killed when found out. Now that she was older she could at least defend herself. When she was 16 she felt it was best to start exploring the world. Seeing what it had to offer. She learned how to use compulsion, something she would later instil in her first creation. She did so by using alluring scents and putting her victims into trance. through this she was allowed onboard of ships, one of which took her to China. Shiva was excited to see a new land and though she could explore her homeland she felt she wanted to go somewhere completely different. She grew up watching ships come and go and wished she was on one. 

When she got to China she moved from city to city fascinated by the culture and eating up the knowledge. when she was 33 she then came across a vile family one that was causing a lot of unhappiness. Their machivelian tactics were certainly the talk of the town. Shiva by this point had gained a bit of a reputation. She created good luck charms and helped those in the city. So naturally she got the attention of the head of the Xie clan. Looking for her to bring grateness to his sons. What she didn’t tell anyone was he was trying to be the wrong type of persuasive. Shiva wasn’t having it at first and they became rather forceful. Threatening her with rape. She would not let them near her but the meer mention was enough. If they were going to act like such animals they deserved to be slaughtered as such. 

She agreed and said she would take both sons and do a ritual on them. She said she needed time to prepare and that the mooon had to be in the correct position. She needed a new moon. She did her research and came up with an intricate curse that could be done with some spell weaving it had not been done before and did in fact require necromancy. She could take the remainder of their lives in a life siphon and then give them a similar gift through blood. She was very skilled at blood bending so would use her skills to infuse them with her blood after death and raising them to require the need for it.  

She did the ritual and sent them back to their family, she watched them both slaughter their own family, impressed and horrified. She would not leave them though she would at least guide them in their new life. Yue and Si were of course reluctant until they figured out a few things for themselves and came to her after a day or so. She stayed for a few months and could see potential issues arising. She also wondered if the cursed blood in their veins would create another of them. She told Yue her theory but told him to be careful. She then decided to leave them.

She moved north and learned more as she went. After a few years she reached eastern Europe where she would create her second creation. She settled in Belarus and that was when she heard that vampires were quickly surging in numbers. Si had clearly figured out how to create his own. So she decided to create the perfect opposite to them. To even out the numbers. In the same year, they chose big families in Russia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and Turkey. She then gave them a choice: they would live longer, be stronger and have advantages against most but have to deal with the pain of changing or stay as they are. The lure of power drew them in and so the first werewolf families were created. 

From then on she kept travelling. Kept a tab on what was going on but never interfered. She went around the world and went on various adventures. Her name grew in infamy as word spread about her deeds. Some cursed her name while others marvelled at her power. 

She has come to Maladh to see how the city has progressed and once again become a part of the city. 

[mariacallous]

The Russian authorities have been coercing refugees from Middle Eastern and African countries into fighting in the war against Ukraine, according to a new investigation from Novaya Gazeta. They reportedly do this by tricking the migrants with the help of the same intermediaries who have helped them send other refugees into E.U. countries through Russia and Belarus in recent years. Often, the middlemen are from the same countries as the refugees themselves.

The investigation tells the story of several refugees from Syria who traveled to Russia on student and tourist visas in hopes of ultimately moving to Europe. Two of them, men named Samir and Mohammed, temporarily lived with the article’s author, Novaya Gazeta Middle East correspondent Wadih El-Hayek. After paying several thousand dollars each to get to Russia, Samir and Mohammed tried twice to enter the E.U. The first time, they tried to get to Poland through Belarus, and the second time, they tried to enter Finland from Russia. Both attempts failed.

In late 2023, Mohammed went to Minsk after deciding to try one more time to cross the border into Poland. Samir went to Yekaterinburg, where he hoped to extend his student visa. El-Hayek hasn’t heard from either of them since.

From his guests, however, he learned about the stories of two other Syrian men who entered Russia on tourist visas. When their residence permits expired, they were arrested in Pskov. The authorities then gave them a choice: they could either spend months in a temporary detention center before ultimately being deported to Syria, or they could sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry and receive financial compensation and Russian citizenship. The men were promised that they would be serving as doctors, not soldiers, and that they would not have to use weapons. They agreed.

“Here, I think, the Arabic language played a nasty trick on the recruits: it has just one word for both ‘doctor’ and ‘pharmacist.’ And these Arabs were pharmacists. I don’t know how they could have been useful as field doctors. But when they arrived at the training camp, they quickly changed their minds,” El-Hayek wrote.

The Syrians told El-Hayek in a video call that they’re currently awaiting their trials and deportations:

Today it was Somalians who went on trial! Their situation was the same as ours: they signed something without understanding what it was. And then they’re told they’re going to the army. But they don’t want to! So they were sentenced to deportation. We’ll be sentenced too, but we don’t know when; we’re waiting for our trial. But for now, we’re fine. We have everything we need. We’re not allowed to use our phones, but sometimes they let us.

In addition, according to the investigation, videos have been spreading on Syrian and Russian Telegram channels that show men from Egypt, Syria, Somalia, and India in military uniforms along with photos of the Russian passports the men were purportedly issued. In one of the clips, Novaya Gazeta said, a person behind the camera says that the Syrians shown in the video received Russian citizenship in just five days. The men then thank somebody named “Doctor Akram” for their passports.

El-Hayek said that all of the Russian passports issued to Syrians that he’s seen were issued in the far-eastern Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia. “They told us that Yakutia is big and there are very few people there. They said we’d just stay there on garrison duty and that nobody would send us anywhere,” some of the men told him.

Novaya Gazeta identified the man responsible for recruiting Syrians to come to Russia as Wassim al-Dimashqi, a Syrian man who previously worked as a recruiter for Wagner Group. He lures Syrians to Russia by offering them jobs guarding gold and diamond mines in Yakutia, promising them salaries of around $2,000 a month. The last group he sent consisted of 40 people. Al-Dimashqi receives around $337 for each person he recruits, according to the investigation.

After arriving in Moscow, the recruits are reportedly met by another Syrian man named Akram Dib Tarraf. According to Novaya Gazeta, he receives 320,000 rubles ($3,540) for each person who signs a contract with the Defense Ministry, though it’s unclear who pays him.

From Moscow, the Syrian recruits are sent to Yakutia, where they’re split into two groups. One of the groups is sent south to Ulan-Ude for professional military training, while the others are sent to a field camp in western Russia, where they’re trained as infantrymen. Despite not speaking Russian, the men are given contracts to sign in Russian, after which they’re issued Russian passports.

El-Hayek received two audio recordings from his sources. One contains what sounds like a recruiter, while the other contains the voice of a Syrian man at a training camp. He described the recordings in his article:

The recruiter talks in a very calm voice about Yakutia and how vast and rich it is in mineral resources. He repeatedly emphasizes that the invitation to Syrians is an initiative launched by the Yakutian authorities because the region has so few inhabitants. The message from the man at the training camp sounds much more dramatic. With his voice breaking, he says through tears that they were told they would be guarding gold mines, but that Wassim al-Dimashqi actually sold them into the army.