#like they banned Russia because they started a war how is it any different for Israel?

[littledragonkana]

My love for the ESC and hate for Israhell are fighting.

I mean I'm not going to watch it because fuck those zionists and everyone who supports them in any kind way but something inside me is very sad because I have been watching Eurovision every year ever since like 2017.

[k-s-morgan]

I in no way mean to be disrespectful, I hope you and your family are doing well and I’m so sorry for the recent attacks. I’m just ignorant and want to know what would happen if Ukraine surrendered to Russia?

I hope you are safe from bombing and air raids 🙏🙏

Hi! Thank you <3 And don't worry, that's a good question.

What I'm 100% sure would happen in case of Ukraine's surrender, even under the most optimistic scenario:

We'd have to give up the entire country, not just a part of it. Russia always comes back for more. It's been following the same pattern with different countries forever. With Ukraine, it got a pretty decent chunk back in 2014. That land continued to belong to Ukraine on paper only - in reality, it was fully under Russian control, and no one really fought for it any longer. Was Russia satisfied with it? No. It kept preparing and then attacked to overtake even more land. It will never have enough, so to give up now means to acknowledge that the entire Ukraine will cease to exist as a country, whether right away or after Russia starts another war against us.

Ukrainian language, culture, and heritage would be destroyed completely in the coming years. Our history - and the history of the world children are taught - will be re-written. There is a reason why the majority of countries that were a part of USSR speak primarily Russian. Russia keeps carefully erasing other languages and culture, it's been doing it for ages. It's doing it right now on the occupied territories.

Pro-Ukrainian activists and people of note would be persecuted, kidnapped, tortured, and killed. This is also a pattern, it happens everywhere Russia invades. I know many examples personally.

We'd be gradually cut off of the outside world. Like, Russia has banned major fanfiction sites; it's trying to block YouTube and other platforms. The transformation into a semblance of North Korea would be inevitable.

Ukrainians would be treated as third-rate non-humans on their own territory. Again, it's been happening everywhere Russia barges into.

Ukraine would be used as a military base to attack other countries, and Ukrainians would be forced to become Russian soldiers.

As for the rest, it could go in several ways. Maybe Russia would want to show how 'amazing' it is, so it'd turn Kyiv into a second Moscow, creating different well-paid positions and opportunities to suck up to Kyiv residents and to prove its hypocritical benevolence.

On the other hand, it could just as well turn the entire country into a concentration and extermination camp. Russia has been torturing, raping, degrading, and murdering our people everywhere. Stealing their homes, kidnapping children, etc. and etc. I have a huge number of friends, people I know, or their friends who shared their stories, and each of them has been absolutely horrific.

My Mom's colleague, for example, used to live near Bachmut. When Russians came in, they immediately began to hunt down anyone related to the police and the military and killing them or actually demanding ransom for them. They kidnapped this colleague's friends, a married couple, kept them in a dog's kennel, pissed on them, beat them up, and raped the wife repeatedly. At that point, the colleague managed to flee the area, and she has no idea as to what happened to them afterward.

This could very well be the fate of our country in case of our surrender since the world obviously doesn't care and wouldn't bat an eye at the millions suffering and dying, kind of like it's happening now.

So surrendering is dangerous because we might cease to exist, but perhaps we are just prolonging the inevitable. A tiny country with a pathetic level of support cannot win against a giant that has a ton of everything and whose allies keep sending it even more weapons of destruction. Oh, and let's not forget how Russia keeps producing more and more weapons because the US and EU keep selling it the parts it needs for missiles and other stuff, and how Ukraine, after seemingly getting help from these US and EU, is forbidden to use it to strike Russia back.

It's all a joke to everyone but us, so I honestly don't envision a positive outcome at all. In the end, as long as our heroes are determined to defend Ukraine, we'll keep trying to hold on. The future will show what it'll lead us to.

[jamtlandsarkiv]

What is your opinion on SuFin from a Swedish perspective?

Thanks for asking! From a historical and cultural perspective, SuFin is a ship that makes a lot of sense. Sweden and Finland were the same country for almost 700 years (that's only counting recorded history), and out of the Nordics, Sweden and Finland share the most traditions. I encourage everyone to read this post by Nordickies, which explains in detail the interconnectedness between Sweden and Finland through history, and how it could have affected Björn and Timo's relationship.

From my perspective, I used to dislike SuFin a lot because of how it's often written with this "stereotypical straight couple" relationship. Sweden and Finland's characters were always forced into these roles and the historical background of their countries was always brushed aside because it contradicted the forced wholesome dynamic. My opinion on SuFin was changed by the works of Haranonaka (who unfortunately removed all of their Hetalia works from their social media accounts in June 2023, and I only have a few individual images saved). Haranonaka redesigned Finland to be a confident and muscular character, and made many beautiful comics based on the history and conflicts between Sweden, Finland and Russia.

My design and characterization of Timo is strongly based on Haranonaka's Finland, although I made him less outgoing and smiley because I like the idea of Timo being a stoic person with a warm heart who rarely opens up to others. When I write about Timo, I'm thinking about this guy. (Björn for scale.)

My interpretation of SuFin aligns with Nordickies' analysis, with some changes to match my Nationverse. Geographically, Timo was living the closest to Björn out of the Nordic 5. As a child, Timo was physically weak and emotionally sensitive, which led to him getting bullied by Björn. Björn eventually stopped bullying him when they matured and Timo hardened his sensitive side, but they weren't close during the period of Swedish rule and earlier. Timo had an idealistic worldview as a child, so he wasn't too concerned when his land became Swedish territory. He noticed the lower status of the Finnish language and banning of Finnish pagan traditions under Swedish rule, but at that point, he had become so used to Swedish rulers that he didn't think it was out of the ordinary. His worldview was shaken when Finland was surrendered to Russia and granted autonomy, which made him eager to adopt a Finnish national identity. During this time, he felt a lot of irrational anger towards Björn even though he knew that Björn wasn't personally responsible for Swedish-Finnish relations. Björn was ashamed of bullying Timo and wanted to repair their relationship, so when Timo was serving in the Finnish army during the Finnish independence and continuation wars, Björn would secretly travel to Finland to give him and his fellow soldiers military aid. At first, Timo didn't want to have any contact with Björn, but after he realized how much money and risk Björn was taking to help him, he softened his attitude. Over the years after the war, they slowly opened up to each other. It wasn't smooth-sailing at all as their stubborn personalities led to a lot of arguments, but they learned to cooperate with each other and realized how much they have in common.

My SuFin is the opposite of the standard fandom version, because they're a couple with a lot of historical baggage caused by an unequal power dynamic. Not to mention the drastic language difference between them too. It's much more interesting to me that Björn and Timo started off with a broken relationship and have to put in work and sacrifice to fix it. The personification of Åland is their child, which was also a source of conflict in their relationship!

[cheolhub]

so, i read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It came out in 2001, so some references I didn't quite understand, nor did I know who the political people they were talking abt were, but I tried my best.

It takes place in Afghanistan for the majority of the book and uses a lot of Pashto, the Afghanistan language, but always provides translations. It starts in the 2000s, then flashes back to the 1970s and then goes in chronological order of our main characters' life span.

Because during the late 1970s-1980s Afghanistan was just overtaken by Russia during a coup, there's a lot of talk of war, and then in the 2000s sections, the Taliban have moved in to take over instead, so it's just really sad, the entire time.

I personally really liked the book, because it delves into not just the war, but what the war does to people. It also talks about familial relationships and how they can be so test sometimes, even though there is so much love there, it's shown in many different ways, and to some people it's just not enough, or it's too much.

My favorite character by far is Hassan, I would die for him. My least favorite character is Assef, they are unfortunately correlated.

- 🛼

2001 was before my time so i wouldnt have understood either. (i say as i was born the next year)

i think ive heard of this bc it was on a list of banned books (ofc it was) but this actually sounds really good?? i know you like history a lot so it sounds kinda great for you!!

but omdgshdv i love this,,, i’m so happy u liked it!! i’ve never read any historical fiction books (i probably should try bc i loved history before i went to uni) but i’ll be on the lookout for it when i go to work :3 thank u for giving me a book review, i expect another one when u finish ur next book 😁 /lh

[ohsalome]

Russians won't protest against the genocide against ukrainians even in Europe, but they will happily protest against sending us weapons.

Do you still have questions as to why we support #visabanforrussians?

Audio transcript/translation: [Just imagine how many people, women, children and elderly suffered - look at these posters. They are the proof of the cruelty and opportunism of the ukrainian nazi regime. We won't forget nor forgive this. *Chanting: Won't forget, won't forgive*

Ukraine continues unconstitutional *unintelligeble* of the peaceful population. They are trying to terrorize us - citizens of LDNR. But we won't allow the public to ignore this. We won't forget nor forgive this. *Chanting: Won't forget, won't forgive*]

---

Some important context that people not involved in the war might not be aware of:

One of the most popular "arguments" that russian propagandists have against Ukraine that it is a "nazi regime that presecutes russian-speaking population" and that it has been "bombing Donbass for 8 years". To refute this in short, it's a lie. A more long explanasion would go like this: for approximately 8 centuries, Ukraine had been colonised by russia. Due to +140 bans of ukrainian language and forceful relocation of russian nationals into ukrainian territory following genocide and ethnic cleansings (to make them "less rebellious"), a certain percent (around 18%) primarily use russian in their day-to-day communication. This does not mean that they consider themselves to be ethnically russian. Due to a mixture of factors - postcolonial mentality, russian expansionist politics and indulgence of ukrainian government - russian-speaking population has been the privileged one in Ukraine. This can be illustrated by many factors: starting from people being denied employment due to speaking ukrainian, to killing people refusing to speak "normal" (read: russian) language, to casual day-to-day xenophobia towards ukrainian-speaking ukrainians (which our current president took part in as well). (P.S. although big cities in the eastern Ukraine are indeed russified, a huge percent of villages still mainly use ukrainian. I've already explained where this manipulation comes from in a post before)

Secondly, "LDNR" is not a thing even according to russia. In 2014 KGB has created two pseudo-republics with puppet governments in two of the poorest regions of Ukraine, calling them "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic". They are two different entities with moderately hostile attitude towards each other. Attempts to present them as one single "country" have literally no ground and are obviously aimed at convincing people who are hearing about this for the first time and won't be bothered to do any factchecking. The people themselves have realised long ago that they've been lied to and abandoned by russia; and those who genuinely believed they would be "building communism" are long dead, bc russia has been using them as unarmed lifestock since the full-scale invasion. But, back to the point - those "republics" are illegitimate as they were created through deploying the russian troops to the cities and installing Gauleiters among the marginalised local population. The groundwork for this move has been in preparation by russia for decades (hugely recommend "Як Україна втрачала Донбас" for further details). The union of KGB agents, local mafia, politicians, clergy and media holders has convinced the citizens of the region that the rest of the Ukraine is populated by the literal WW2 nazis that are going to commit genocide against them any minute now (which, once again, I struggle to challenge convincingly, because that is just a lie. This never happened. It was made-up from start to finish). In 2014, during the chaos and temporal powerlessness of the Revolution of Dignity, they managed to convince people of Donetsk and Luhansk region that Kyiv is currently gathering forces of cannibalistic bandera worshippers to send into Donbass and genocide everybody there; and the only way for them to survive is to invite russian military for protection. This was a huge fucking lie; and for proof I'd like to present the fact that the original plan of invasion involved creating "People's Republics" in Odesa and Kherson as well; and yet, despite those remaining under the rule of the "Kyiv nazi regime", no genocide against russian-speaking population was commited there.

Now, the alleged "slaughter of "LDNR" civillians by the ukrainian regime". This is more than just a continuation of "presecution of russian-speaking population" myth. There have indeed been people who died by the hands of the ukrainian army (mostly at the beginning of the war in the 2014-15, when everything was much more chaotic and unregulated). However, this did not happen as an intentional targeting of the civillians. During the first years of war there were many active battles for every millimeter of the ukrainian territory, which included both sides shooting at enemy bases. The problem is that russians intentionally put their military bases and equipment on the populated territory (houses, kindergardens, schools etc.) in order to hide behind the civillians' backs and deter ukrainian army from fighting back (which is a war crime, btw). And we know this is true because one of the leaders of the "russian spring", officer igor girkin, directly says so: "When we were fighting in [Slavyansk] in the places without any buildings, unfortunately, we would lose. As one ukrainian soldier said to me: "Why are you sitting there like cowards? Go out into the fields! Stop hiding behind the backs of innocent civillians!". Well, sorry, but to go out into the field to be destroyed? I am not Don Quihote." And a key difference between the actions of russian army then and ukrainian army now is that russia has been actively preventing the evacuation of the civillian population; while Ukraine is encouraging it. Not to mention there were numerous cases when russians purposefully bombed the civillians of Donbass in order to blame it on Ukraine. That is, of course, unless you believe that their journalists have magical powers that allow them to predict where the ukrainian military is going to strike so they always end up on place in time to film the arrival.

[alex51324]

Another roundup of articles

 about the war in Ukraine, mostly from Vox.  (posted 3/5/2022)

How the US and Its Allies Can Help Ukraine, Without Starting World War III, explains what the US, NATO, et al. are trying/hoping to do in Ukraine:  basically, make the invasion difficult, expensive, and unpopular enough that Putin decides to pull back. There’s also some expert analysis of how likely it is to actually work, which comes down to a solid “maybe.”  

They also point out that, if there’s any sign that it is working, the next step will be to make clear to Putin exactly what he has to do in order to get the sanctions lifted.  It’s important to understand that this is part of the process, because it will be very easy to spin it as Biden “caving” or “letting Putin off the hook”--the US’s right wing has been trying to sell the story that this crisis only happened because Biden is somehow “weak,” and they will not be above using this normal diplomatic process to further that narrative.  

But that is currently a moot point, because Putin isn’t showing any signs of reconsidering.  Instead, he’s increasing the brutality of the invasion, with heavier weapons and increasing attacks on civilian areas.  In addition to the airstrikes that are already going on, military analysts are anticipating sieges, where cities are cut off from receiving supplies--including food, medicine, and utilities--until they are either forced to surrender, or are unable to put up much of a fight when ground troops finally move in.  

With all that going on, Ukraine has been repeatedly asking NATO to establish a no-fly zone, and NATO has repeatedly said no, we can’t do that.  The reason for that is that a no-fly zone, especially in an area with active military conflict, is not simply a request to refrain from flying aircraft in that area.  It’s a promise to shoot them down.  

The US and various NATO countries have banned Russian aircraft from their own skies, but that’s a largely symbolic gesture--commercial planes will stay away if they’re told to, and we weren’t expecting any Russian military flights anyway.  Ukraine is a different story:  Putin is already bombing it from the air, an action which is obviously unwelcome to the inhabitants; therefore, he is not at all likely to stop if asked nicely to do so.  

And then you have NATO planes--which, let’s be honest, are mostly American planes--shooting down Russian planes, and that’s how you get World War Three.  

Additionally, Putin also knows perfectly well that the rest of the world’s # 1 goal via-a-vis Ukraine is not starting World War III, and that everyone else is terrified that he does not share this priority.  (That’s why, today, he floated a test balloon suggesting that economic sanctions could be considered an act of war.)  So there’s no point in bluffing.

Finally, here’s an interview with a foreign policy expert, trying to figure out what Russia’s trying to do and what might happen next.  It’s a little hard to follow, but the upshot is that we still don’t really know.  Putin’s goal probably (the expert thinks) has something to do with how, since the breakup of the USSR, Russia has been a superpower with an asterisk--sure they have the world’s largest nuclear stockpile, but what have they done lately?  But it’s unclear whether he seriously thinks he’s going to rebuild the USSR, or if it’s more that terrifying the rest of the world with the prospect of global thermonuclear war gets his dick hard.  

And that matters, because if he’s planning to keep going after Ukraine, and invade more of the former Soviet republics, then we might as well start the World War now.  However, if it’s the dick thing, then all we have to do is figure out what he needs in order to actually have the orgasm, and then life can start getting back to normal.  

(And, unfortunately, it seems pretty clear that, if letting Putin have Ukraine will avert World War III, the rest of the world is prepared to let him have it.  It’s pretty disgusting, but hard to argue with--it isn’t like “being ground zero for a global thermonuclear war” would be an improvement over what the Ukrainian people are currently going through, even setting aside how, y’know, the rest of us get to live, too.)

So yeah.  It all sucks pretty hard.  Obviously, the people in Ukraine have it worst, what with having the shit bombed out of them and all.  And the people in Russia have it pretty bad, too, what with being jailed and beaten if they speak out against the war.  The rest of us have it comparatively easy--we’re just standing here watching, while a guy a thermonuclear missile pointed at the world’s head commits  crimes against humanity.  

Edited to add:  I’ve been seeing a lot of Whataboutism and Just Asking Questions here on Tumblr, about the effects of sanctions on ordinary Russian people.  Obviously, this is a real problem; however, quite a bit of the content that’s going around seems to come from Russian troll farms, and is very obviously intended to weaken international support for Ukraine.  

If you are concerned about the human rights situation in Russia,  Human Rights Watch, an international organization, has up-to-date information.  Please consider reading and/or donating to reputable organizations such as this one, and be wary of potential misinformation from random sources.  This Joint Letter to the UN, dated Mar 2, 2022, lists some additional organizations that are addressing human rights abuses in Russia.  Right now, these organizations seem to be the best way to help Russians who are suffering as a result of Putin’s actions.  (Apart from reblogging and offering emotional and/or material support to specific Russian people that you actually know*.)   I’m looking for information about ways to offer more direct support to protestors, etc. in Russia, but I haven’t found anything yet.  

(*Like, for fandom values of “know.”  Troll-farm Tumblrs usually have a mix of propaganda and random reblogged content, plus maybe a few selfies of an average-to-attractive-looking person.  If an account has been actively and coherently participating in your fandom for a while, you can be reasonably confident that it’s an actual person.)

[theculturedmarxist]

For those that might not know, Grover Norquist is Washington’s anti-tax poster boy since the Reagan administration. Calling him an anti-tax lobbyist is missing the vast majority of other shit he’s responsible for or has had a hand in. He’s basically been integral in creating the immensely shitty situation in regards to a failed government and overpowered business lobby that we’re in today.

Anyway, I wanted to share the absolutely delusional bullshit these people say to each other, because it’s absolutely illuminating.

Grover Norquist On Taxes, Socialism And The Demonization Of The Rich

Grover Norquist is President of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a taxpayer organization that opposes all tax increases as a matter of principle and has been leading campaigns for tax reductions since 1986. ATR was founded at the request of President Reagan and asks all candidates for office in the United States to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a written commitment to vote against any tax hikes while they are in office. Rainer Zitelmann spoke with him:

Rainer Zitelmann: In Europe, governments are already looking beyond the coronavirus crisis and planning massive tax increases. In particular, there have been increasing calls for a wealth tax on the richest within society to pay for coronavirus measures and guard against future crises. Supporters of free market economics, on the other hand, are calling for tax cuts to get the economy back on track once the current crisis has abated. What do you think will happen in the United States? If Trump is re-elected, will he cut taxes again? And what will happen if Biden wins?

Grover Norquist: Once we’re looking back on coronavirus in our rearview mirror rather than having it flying at the windshield—then what? Little will happen before the November 2020 American presidential election. Democrats will demand higher taxes and massive spending, Republicans will propose tax cuts. But the Democrat-controlled house will block any tax reductions and the Republican-dominated senate and the Trump veto will block any tax increases or spending explosion. Should Trump win re-election, Republicans will move to enact their stated goal of reducing the corporate income tax to 15% from today’s 21%. They will push to index capital gains for inflation—so capital gain taxes would only be due on real gains, not inflationary gains. Should Biden win the presidency, and the Democrats capture the senate, Biden has promised $3.4 trillion of new taxes. That is three times what Hillary Clinton threatened/promised in 2016—and she lost for being too left wing. Spending will explode. Income tax will be increased, an energy tax will be imposed and eventually a Value Added Tax will be levied. Of course, this fork in the road would be exactly the same if there was no coronavirus. Republicans are the party of tax reduction and (modest) spending restraint. Democrats remain the party of endless tax hikes and endless spending sprees.

Zitelmann: In the United States, socialism used to be a dirty word—and it still is for many older Americans. In contrast, large numbers of younger Americans are committed to “socialism.” So why has anticapitalism become so popular in the United States, especially among younger people?

Norquist: The sad answer is that younger Americans do not know what socialism means. Millennials do not remember the Soviet Union. Or Stalin’s Gulags or the Warsaw Pact. They only know Russia. They could not even tell you what the initials U.S.S.R. stood for, or that Nazi is the abbreviation of National Socialist. Somehow, Bernie Sanders, who is well versed in Soviet history and Cuba’s tradeoff of “literacy” against political prisoners, has explained to younger Americans that “socialism” means Sweden and Denmark.

‘Sanders Had Already Won The Policy Debate’

Zitelmann: Sanders is now out of the race. However, you believe that his ideas have nevertheless prevailed. Why is that?

Norquist: You might think that Bernie Sanders’ withdrawal from the 2020 campaign and the likely victory of Vice President Joe Biden represents a move to the center by the Democrats. Sadly, no. I would argue that Bernie Sanders left the race not because he failed to get enough delegates to win but because he had already won the policy debate. Biden’s threatened tax hikes total $3.4 trillion dollars over a decade. That is three times more than Hillary Clinton threatened. Biden promises to ban fracking, plastic bags (he said plastic, let’s generously assume he meant only plastic bags), expand Medicare with a “public option,” meaning a door through which all Americans could be pushed into a one-size-fits-all, government-controlled health care system, and an energy/carbon tax. What is the difference between Biden and Bernie? They have the same Rolodexes. The same likely White House staffers. The same rhetoric.

Why The Rich Are Being Demonized

Zitelmann: In the Democratic primaries, all of the candidates seemed to be competing to outdo each in terms of their “rich-bashing” rhetoric. Even Michael Bloomberg, himself one of the richest men in the world, was forced to demand higher taxes on the rich before he was forced to withdraw from the race. Where does this hatred of the rich come from?

Norquist: The Democrats need trillions of dollars to buy votes to win the 2020 election. To do that they will require a great deal more money than the $3.8 trillion raised in taxes under the 2019 budget. And they can’t afford to admit that regular voters are the likely target of their new and additional taxes—an energy tax, a Value Added Tax and higher payroll taxes. So Democrat candidates, continuing the strategies adopted by Clinton and Obama, started by demonizing the rich and then promising to tax them—not you, the typical voter. Now, both Clinton and Obama did raise taxes on the middle class—but they talked so much about taxing the rich that even a well-educated voter could be forgiven for thinking that the new taxes were all on the rich. Every new tax voters heard about were announced as targeting the rich (or corporations which, of course, pass on their increased tax burdens to consumers in the form of higher prices and workers in lower wages). The left needs to demonize the rich. It is, after all, their justification for taxing them. Americans do not like the idea of taking money away from someone who earned it.

Zitelmann: A great deal of energy is expended on arguing that the “rich” did not earn their money.

Norquist: Yes, the logic is this: If the rich are only rich because they got lucky, then they never truly earned or deserve their fortunes. This is why Barack Obama told small businessmen in the 2009 campaign, “You did not build that,” when referring to their own small businesses. If you didn’t build it—it isn’t really yours. And, once Democrat logic is accepted, taking it away is not really theft. Nor wrong. Nor immoral. But demonizing the rich has a second advantage for the left. In addition to making it easier to tax the rich and trick voters/taxpayers into thinking they are not the true target of higher taxes, the war on the rich covers up the 50-year failure of the Great Society. The Great Society was launched in 1965 with the promise that the government knew how to help the poor become middle class and self-reliant. Government spending on housing, healthcare and education would instill the poor with middle-class values such as hard work, self-reliance and a willingness to work and save today for a better tomorrow, maintaining a long-term perspective. But the Great Society spent some $14 trillion in giving money to the poor, or more often paying well-paid government employees to “provide services” to the poor, and has little or nothing to show for it in terms of improvements in savings, income, education or work. So rather than admit that they wasted trillions of dollars and concede that they should shut down government job programs that only benefit the Democrat party’s base, the left pivoted to a new problem. Not that the poor are poor, but that there is a large gap between the rich and poor.

This new problem—inequality—can be solved without helping to lift a single poor person out of poverty and into the middle class. One only needs to reduce the wealth and income of the rich. That way we will be more equal. All worse off. But more equal. It is possible for modern Democrats to reduce inequality without doing anything to help poor people or communities. The middle class can suffer while we “reduce inequality.” That they can do. To tax the rich; first undermine their right to keep what they create. Demonize them. To avoid embarrassing questions about the failure of the left’s “war on poverty” you just need to shift the focus to inequality.

‘Immigration Is Our Strongest Competitive Advantage’

Zitelmann: Donald Trump has certainly done some positive things in terms of tax policy and deregulation. At the same time, however, he has increased what was already an extremely high level of national debt and is pursuing protectionist trade policies. I have the impression that Trump has no clear market economy compass. How capitalist is Trump?

Norquist: It’s not clear whether Donald Trump has ever read Hayek. But his tax cuts are straight out of the Ronald Reagan/Art Laffer/Milton Friedman playbook. His de-regulation goes further than all previous presidents combined. His judges will strengthen and repair America’s commitment to the rule of law for a generation. And his unwillingness to be dragged into every stupid idea some European intellectual thought up—windmills, solar to replace real energy that really powers a national economy—has been a godsend. Those who wish to embroil America in every war in every quadrant of the globe have no ally in Trump. Trump knows that war is the enemy of liberty and fiscal prudence. Free trade and immigration are issues where Trump departs from President Reagan and Adam Smith. But as President Trump said before the coronavirus crisis—we are running out of workers in the United States. And the higher wages and jobs growth he delivered reduced the grumpiness of American voters who no longer lash out at immigrants and foreign competitors suspected of stealing their jobs. Trump’s tax cuts, de-regulation, sound legal system and respect for property rights delivered growth to America before the virus and will return when the virus is behind us. Trump’s growth silenced the concerns that drive protectionism and tariffs and stoke fears of immigration. Yes, the wall will be built. America will gain control of its borders, but it will maintain large and open doors. Immigration is our strongest competitive advantage over China, Japan, Russia and most of the world. And yes, our trade agreements need to ensure that our intellectual property is not stolen and reduce the ability of governments anywhere to subsidize trade and disadvantage foreign competition.

Zitelmann: What are your thoughts on the Fed’s low interest rate policy? What does this mean for our market economy system?

Norquist: The danger of near-zero federal interest rates is that borrowing money is seen as “almost” free. The deficit is not the problem. Overspending is the problem. The deadweight cost of government is total spending. The deficit is one element of the problem—like the visible part of an iceberg. But it is the larger, hidden mass of the iceberg below the water line that ripped the Titanic apart. If deficit spending is held down, and taxes are not raised, then there is a limit on spending. That is good. But if deficit spending is “free” or “inexpensive” because interest rates (today) are low, then public opposition to more and more government spending is reduced and government spending will be allowed to increase and weaken the economy.

[seriousbusinessforhumans]

25. Tax Fraud, probably Bank Fraud, Lying about his businesses, Shady tax schemes he picked up from his father

24. Attacking protesters and media for a photo-op at a church he doesn’t go to

23. Demonizing immigrants

22. Awful conditions at detention centers, large scale immigration raids, forced hysterectomies 

21. Firing Attorney General Sally Yates for being ‘disloyal’

20. Firing 5 independent watch-dogs (Inspectors General) from 5 different departments

19. Diverting money from Pentagon to pay for the Wall

18. Abandoning Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, possibly didn’t know Puerto Rico was part of the US - “Big Water”

17. Encouraging Uyghur concentration camps in China “exactly the right thing to do”

16. Cozying up to dictators - Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan

15. Lying about voter fraud, trying to undermine the entire election process

14. Slacking off on the golf course

13. “Our media is the enemy of the people”

12. Undermining Judges

11. Washington Post reports he has made over 20,000 false or misleading claims as president

10. Routinely skips reading intel briefings

9. Attacking mail-in voting

8. Encouraged Russian meddling in the election

7. Obstruction of justice in Mueller investigation

6. Protecting Jamal Khashoggi’s killers (Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman)

5. At least 9 women with sexual assault allegations

4. Separating families at the border

3. Ukraine debacle - impeachment

2. Everything to do with Covid-19 (Firing the Pandemic Team to begin with, attacking Anthony Fauci, racist statements, denying problem, Diamond Princess ship, saying he doesn’t want to do testing, lack of PPE, disinfectant...by injection, refusing to practice social distancing, holding super spreader rallies, promoting drugs not supported by scientists, promoting woman who preaches about demon sex)

“You’re going to find more cases. So I said to my people slow the testing down”

Admits in interviews with Bob Woodward that he knew how deadly the Covid-19 virus was “I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down.”

1. He’s somehow still president...and he’s not done with us yet

There’s a lot they missed....

101. In 2019 US airstrikes killed more civilians in Afghanistan than any other year since 2002. There was a 330% increase from 2016 to 2019. Attributed to a decision by the Trump administration to loosen the Rules of Engagement for airstrikes. More bombs were dropped in Afghanistan in 2018-2019 than at the height of the US troop presence in 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbwGo27v9QQ&t=263s

102. Anti-Environmentalist agenda: His administration filled agencies with climate deniers, unraveled and watered down numerous environmental regulations, pulled the US out of the Paris climate accord, buried climate studies, and opened up swaths of public land for oil and gas drilling.

103. Climate change denial, and general disregard for science, while claiming he inherited a “a scientific mind” from his uncle 

104. Fired James Comey as Director of the FBI. A memo was later leaked to the press where Trump had asked him to end the FBI's investigation into Michael Flynn, the former national security advisor.

105. Wanting to be a dictator: Says “When somebody’s the president of the United States, the authority is total” at a press briefing about the novel coronavirus

106. Comments on Xi Jinping: “He’s now president for life, president for life. And he’s great.” “And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot someday.”

107. Kavanaugh

108. Everything in John Bolton’s book

109. Iran bullshit

110. Saying Biden will “Hurt God. Hurt the bible”

111. Supporting asbestos

112. Anti-Choice situation

113.”I just wish her well” about Ghislaine Maxwell (Epstein’s right hand woman)

114. Threatens to shut down Twitter for fact checking him

115. Federal Police sent to snatch up protesters in certain cities

116. “When they start looting, we start shooting.”

117. At a rally when a supporter shouts “Shoot Them!” in reference to illegal immigrants, Trump laughs and says “Only in the panhandle can you get away with that statement.”

118. Praising Congressman Greg Gianforte for assaulting a member of the press

119. Removes language on Freedom of the Press from Justice Department handbook

120. Tweets calling for followers to “LIBERATE” Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia, in response to Covid lockdowns.

121. Seems to suggest a wave of anti-Semitic threats in 2017 could have come from Jewish people themselves to “make others look bad.”

122. Claims there was some sort of terrorist attack “happening last night in Sweden” that never happened, because they took in “large numbers“ of immigrants. 

123. Pulls US out of the WHO.

124. Tries to ban news outlets he doesn’t like from press briefings in 2017 (including BBC, CNN, NYT).

125. Claims at debate that the Portland, Oregon sheriff supports him “As the Multnomah County Sheriff I have never supported Donald Trump and will never support him.”

126. Supporting discrimination of LGBTQ people in many ways. Removes mentions of LGBT people from anti-discrimination guidelines for a number of federal departments. In March 2018, lesbian and bisexual resources disappeared from the website of the Department of Health and Human Services. Doesn’t interpret Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Proposed Rule allowing federal contractors to discriminate against LGBTQ Workers. Expanding the ‘conscience rule’ that would allow health care workers to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

127. Opposed the Equality Act, which would have protected against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,

128. Trans military ban

129. Strips workplace protections from civil servants, in an executive order that also makes it easier to hire new employees outside of the competitive process which can be used to hire employees without appropriate experience.

130. Steve Bannon

131. Comments on electoral college

132. Breaking diplomatic protocol by handing out his cellphone number to world leaders and urging them to call him directly, which raises concerns about national security. Jared Kushner’s meeting with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. to discuss securing a secret line of communication with Moscow. https://apnews.com/article/11a48fde81634789b1cc361696693b68

133. Pardoning soldiers implicated in war crimes

[things2mustdo]

Recently there’s been a lot of talk about whether or not the media has our best interests at heart, and with more and more men awakening from the feminist matrix, it seems that the mainstream media is going the way of the dinosaur.

Donald Trump has been urging the public not to trust the mainstream media, but I’m sure that if you’re a reader of Return Of Kings, you don’t need him to tell you that. The modern mainstream media is basically the same thing as the Church was in the 1200’s—they control the flow of information, and they don’t like it when people disagree with them. In fact, if someone who disagrees with them gets popular enough, they often times resort to smear campaigns (see: smearing Roosh as a manipulative pickup artist, and Milo as a pedophile apologist).

Now, I know what you’re thinking—“I know the media doesn’t report on things, Jon, but fake news? That’s, like, intentionally lying and manipulating information, isn’t it?” Yes, sir, it is—and this is what the mainstream media, particularly CNN, has been doing ever since television became popular.

Here’s 5 examples of how CNN is, in fact, “fake news”:

1. Kicking Bernie Sanders Off-Air

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWQcxUIYUcQ

Bernie Sanders, the unofficial leader of the socialist movement in America, recently called CNN “fake news,” before being kicked off the air. CNN tried to play this off as a “connection issue,” but anyone with a grain of common sense knows better.

Bernie: “…who is the head of Russia, and now we’re learning that there may have been discussions between Flynn and the Russians, about sanctions, before this administration took power. So this is very, very troubling, and I think the president is going to have to tell us what he’s gonna do about it.”

CNN Anchor: “So far he hasn’t said much…he was asked about Flynn on his flight to Mar-a-Lago late today…here’s how he responded:

[plays clip of Donald Trump denying obvious lie directed towards him]

CNN Anchor: “He says he hasn’t seen any of these reports. Is that a problem?”

Bernie: “Well, I don’t know, maybe he was watching CNN Fake News, what do you think?”

Bernie: [sees her offended look] “It was a joke.”

CNN Anchor: “You don’t buy what he said, obviously?”

Bernie: “Erin?”

Bernie: “Kevin, I’m not—are we on?”

CNN Anchor: “Umm, it looks like we’ve lost connection with Senator Sanders…”

Right, of course. You just happened to “lose connection,” with Senator Sanders conveniently right after he called you fake news.

2. “Racism” Is Why Adele Won Grammy

After Adele won the song of the year, record of the year, and best solo pop performance awards, it wasn’t long before CNN charged in to proclaim that “racism,” was the cause. CNN “reports”:

…”but with its racial themes and imagery, some are questioning if the project was “just too black” for Grammy voters. Kevin Powell, author of the memoir “The Education of Kevin Powell” and a forthcoming biography on rapper Tupac Shakur, thinks so. He told CNN “Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ made a lot of people uncomfortable, because it is so political, so spiritual, so unapologetically black, and so brutally honest about love, self-love, trust, betrayal.”

Right, because apparently Beyonce, despite being nominated for 62 Grammy awards, and winning a whopping 22 Grammy awards, is being discriminated against. In the Leftist’s delusional reality, any time a white person succeeds, it’s due to “racism,” yet any time a black person succeeds, it’s due to “overcoming insurmountable odds.”

Give me a break. Adele won the Grammy, because the panel thought her songs were better, period. This has nothing to do with racism, but apparently CNN still thinks it’s a good idea to race-bait the hell out of current events in 2017. I don’t see this changing anytime soon, either.

3. Venezuela Bans CNN For Lies

According to Fox News World, the president of Venezuela actually asked CNN to leave:

“CNN, do not get into the affairs of Venezuelans. I want CNN well away from here—outside of Venezuela. Do not put your nose in Venezuela.” -Nicolas Maduro

…and can you blame him? CNN has repeatedly shown how ridiculously biased they are, and they’ve shown how willing to lie they are, for the past year after running a gigantic smear campaign against Donald Trump.

Didn’t CNN claim that The Donald had a 3% chance of being elected president? What did they do, just poll the gender studies department at UC Berkeley? I wouldn’t be surprised if they did, because nobody in their right mind would ever accidentally come to the conclusion that our current president had a 3% chance of winning.

In fact, other independent journalists such as Mike Cernovich actually predicted that Donald would win months before the election day in November—how? Because they saw the trends. They saw that men were tired of being emasculated and having their lives ruined, they saw that we’re tired of being shamed for our whiteness, and they saw that the people of America were starting to wake up from their NWO conditioning.

4. “Our Job Is To Control Exactly What People Think.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoXGV4Vw-VA

Yeah, yeah—I know this one isn’t CNN, but they’re all the same to me. MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and even Fox News to an extent…they’re all just different heads on the same globalist-controlled hydra. Buckle in though, boys, because this one’s pretty bad…and it just happened days ago.

Mika Brzezinski, whose name should automatically create suspicion in the wary citizen, recently stated on MSNBC that it’s “our job,” to “control exactly what people think.” I honestly couldn’t even make this stuff up, but if you don’t believe me, you can watch it in the video above.

Mika Brzezinski: “Well, I think the dangerous edges here are that he’s trying to undermine the media, trying to make up his own facts, and it could be that while unemployment and the economy worsens, he could have undermined the messaging so much that he could control exactly what people think…and that is our job.”

No, Mika, that isn’t your job. Your job is to report the facts and let THE PEOPLE decide what to think, but if you can’t get that through your thick skull I guess we’ll just stop watching your crappy network.

5. Donald Trump Calls CNN “Fake News”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZI0Q3LQZmo

Ah, I saved the best for last—I do love me some Donald burns. After a CNN “news reporter” tried to aggressively ask Donald a question for some odd 20 seconds, repeatedly interrupting him and interjecting his way into the conversation, Donald lost it and called him “fake news.”

And who could blame him? They spent the last 8 months doing absolutely everything within their power to completely ruin Donald Trump’s chances at winning…and yet, by the grace of God, and by the memes of Pepe, lord of Keks, the Trump train smashed its way through the entire god damn establishment…and won.

Trump: [to other reporter] “Go ahead.”

CNN Fake News: “MR. PRESIDENT SINCE YOU’RE ATTACKING US CAN YOU GIVE US A QUESTION!”

Trump: [to CNN] “No.”

Trump: [to other reporter]: “Go ahead.”

CNN Fake News: “MR. PRESIDENT ELECT! MR. PRESIDENT ELECT! SINCE YOU ARE ATTACKING OUR NEWS ORGANIZATION,”

Trump: [to CNN] “No, not you.”

Trump: [to other reporter] “Go ahead.”

CNN Fake News: “CAN YOU GIVE US A QUESTION,”

Trump: [to CNN] “Not you.”

CNN Fake News: “GIVE US A CHANCE! MR PRESIDENT”

Trump: [to CNN] “Your organization’s terrible.”

CNN Fake News: “CAN YOU GIVE US A CHANCE, JUST LET US ASK…”

Trump: [to CNN] “Your organization’s terrible.”

CNN Fake News: “LET US ASK A QUESTION, SIR! SIR!”

Trump: [to CNN] “Quiet.”

This goes on for literally 25 seconds, before Trump finally becomes visibly angry and proclaims:

Trump: [to CNN] “You are fake news.”

If the President of the United States of America thinks that CNN is fake news, I think they’re probably fake news.

Summary

In conclusion, if you still watch the mainstream media, don’t. Get your news from real news sites, like Return Of Kings, Info Wars, Gateway Pundit, Drudge Report, and Cernovich. The MSM has shown us multiple times in the past that they’re globalist whores, selling out the American public to fatten their own pockets.

I recently bought an Info Wars shirt to start wearing around in public, and the results have restored my faith in America. Everywhere I wear it, I’ve gotten complements—it’s not that often, but you’d be surprised how many men are awake, but just don’t broadcast it.

The MSM would have you believe that 99% of the American public hates Trump, but it’s really only something like 10% who hate him, and maybe 25% more who dislike him.

I usually wear Info Wars, Breitbart, and Trump apparel to the gym, because most guys who have a shredded six pack from lifting heavy ass weights are strong and masculine, and are therefore not subject to stupid social pressures that the media uses to influence you.

Do your part in spreading the good gospel of the manosphere, the alt-news, and the resurgence of America, and we’ll reclaim our country for sure. Let’s all make America great again.

https://www.returnofkings.com/165920/how-journalists-became-whores

Journalists are supposed to follow a set of rules and values called deontology. These rules say journalists should strive to be impartial, objective, and to inform their readers. We know well this is not the true nature of their activity.

Most MSM journalists today if not all are spinsters. They cherry-pick their facts and craft narratives around to steer people towards an untold yet ever-present agenda. They make up stereotypes while attacking other stereotypes, they make up ideas while attacking other ideas, as it suits the editorial line of their employer.

In the name of information, journalists create and fulfill an artificially constructed consciousness. They are paid to do so. They believe what they’re doing is normal or cool, just like the Ministry of Truth in Orwell’s 1984, where officers burn archives then forget they just destroyed records (soon to be rewritten); your average leftist journalist spins all the time, follows all the time, yet doesn’t even know he spins and follows.

A little bit of history

If you lend an ear to leftist historians, up to perhaps to age of discoveries, the West didn’t know much. Everybody were locked into their own towns and fields. Well, this is not true. Europeans had known about the Silk Road from time immemorial. Kings and the clergy had their messengers, their events, their gatherings. Individuals like Saint Bernard or Saint Thomas of Aquino were quite familiar with communicating at a distance.

It was just much slower than today—and quite of a luxury as well. Common folk had to rely on minstrels, travelers, and on their own travels. Most communication was done orally. Academics today love to point out how unreliable the bush telegraph is, but at least this communication is done naturally between common people rather than top-down from a shadowy agenda.

Also, as slow as this word-to-mouth communication was, people then did not need more: they could make a living on their own, with the insurance that they could consume it themselves or sell it. Markets tended to be stable, and whether you were a field-tiller or a craftsman, you didn’t need to know about the latest fad not to be left behind. People were also much less bored and in need of diversions. Didn’t have newspapers, didn’t need them.

Then came the printing press. What had been done by scribes secluded in monasteries became partly automatized and multiplied. Bibles were printed. Then pamphlets. By the time, Protestantism had well developed, clever princes tried to use it to their advantage, and the Catholic church counter-attacked by launching one of the most manipulative orders ever created.

More power to independent people meant chaos. Printing outside of the rigid hierarchy of the Church meant a never-ending contest of ideas, systems, tastes, experiences, and egos. The hypocritical journalists of now who chide “trolls” while sniffing their own written farts should remember that trolling appeared as a side-effect of the printing press, as it became possible to say anything remotely instead of being necessarily confrontable. Plus, trolling helps to think of things to talk about with a girl.

Nevertheless, printing what you wanted was not that simple. First, literacy was still the hallmark of a comfortable upbringing, and second, you had to be able to print. You had to know a printer, had to make a deal with him and pay him. Not to mention the dissemination of your lovely printed book. It was always possible to print in a country with virtually no censorship, then smuggle books, but who was to receive them and share them?

No matter what you had to say, you always needed to address a noble-bourgeois audience, which meant catering to fashionable topics or debates. Otherwise, your material would be simply ignored. Authors who weren’t too well-known had to rely on booksellers who conspired to arrange a discrete monopoly on over-the-counter books. Yep, the world of “culture” has always been murky, and its members believe this is a sign of their superior intelligence.

As “culture” developed, with its train of noise, untold rivalries and social parasitism, periodic journals were printed at an ever-faster pace. Eighteenth century bi-annuals were replaced by daily or weekly newspapers. Which meant a great need, not for amateur gentlemen, but for people who could write constantly. Such people would be called journalists.

The modern journalist plant

If you believe journalism is about informing the public, forget it immediately. There is no such thing as an automatic progress which just makes happen what seems desirable. If an unbiased, all-objective information seems desirable, that does not mean someone will pay for it or even manage to get it. Even the CIA Factbook was made in the first place because objective information would benefit the CIA itself, not “enlighten the masses” or whatever a leftist salesman would say.

A journalist is basically someone who is paid to write on particular issues, in a well-defined format, as his boss sees fit. A journal belongs to someone—no matter if the owner is public or private—who usually has its own aims. Whether the newspaper has to simply sell or shape the opinion, it always aims at something else than merely informing.

(Even ROK has an agenda, and I’m fine with it, because I believe it is sound and fair, but I’d never pretend I write for the sole love of truth or as if I was a disembodied soul with no consciousness of its own. Any writer having such pretenses is a hypocrite or a liar.)

Back to the nineteenth century. Newspapers were just like factories. As plant workers had to churn tangible products, journalists had to churn out impressions. They were like paid artists for the ephemeral, creating appearances that would sell, or satisfy, or infuriate—anything as long as it suited the editorial line of their employer. Journalists did not become whores. They were paid employees, to put it politely, from day one. But at least the blue collar workers had to pretense to say the truth or illuminate or whatever BS that sells.

Let’s say you were born with a high verbal IQ, a knack for writing, and some ideas. What could you do? You may consider writing books, become an intellectual, but book writing takes time and often doesn’t pay. If you can’t live like an annuitant, you must be an employee.

If you choose the written words, you have to conform to a preexisting editorial line, to a particular milieu that already existed before you did, in hope of being granted a job. Creating a journal demanded not only experience but capital as well. Can you pay a printer? Would a banker trust you if you asked him for a loan so you can start a journal?

As the nineteenth century was an epoch of exceptional growth, some people had this capital or trust, and many independent journals were formed. Many, though, were bought off, or chased away, or censored. The elite does not want you to become an influencer, unless, of course, you remain a perpetual servant of their agenda.

This is why mild conservatives are accepted as a stooge opposition, along with the alt lite, whereas those who really want to save civilization and its creators are reviled. The elites want to destroy civilization, so, their journalists, who all depend on them socially and financially, foster their agenda while lying to themselves on the nature of what they do.

So-called investigators are paid by Darth Soros to “investigate” on convenient targets while turning a blind eye on other things, like mass immigration, or upholding a mandatory narrative which rests not on truth but on pure social conformism—muh minorities r always good, muh white males r always wrong.

Perhaps the “fake news” offensive has been crafted, not only to maintain the masses into the blue pill matrix, but also to reassure the frail employees that they are serving truth and progress. Which is already dubious, as worshiping an arbitrary strand of “progress” has nothing to do with objectivity, just as the contemporary humanities are rather a Hollywood for nerds than a place of real knowledge, but you can’t ask vapid girls to get to this level.

No one writes for the sake of truth alone. Independent writers or journalists also speak of what they think relevant. They will mention XYZ facts because these are important, or, at least, ensure a modicum of success. Just like men tend to read Miyamoto Musashi quotes, not merely because he existed, but because he’s interesting.

Mainstream journalists are courtiers. They are paid by global elites to do their bidding. They work in cities just like filmmakers work in grand obscure studios—because their activity lies in creating perceptions, in shaping fashions, ideas, mottos, norms. The difference between a marketer, a journalist and a filmmaker is only of scale and means. The aim, and the bottom, is the same.

We are different, because we are bottom-up. When mainstream journalists sold their souls, we are upholding ours. The problem with this is that we’re ill-paid. The globalists and the boomers tend to concentrate all the money, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to witness that the non-mainstream outlets tend to all lack money. Such is the price of independence.

We ought to have our own money elsewhere, and have a lot of independent journalists around, so that autonomous individuals from our side can work or investigate and help masculine men to shape their own consciousness.

[some-jw-things]

Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Holocaust

Hey so I don’t know what went so horribly wrong with the formatting of that last post-- I’ve seen a version of it without the ask and first like four replies, a version where the long part is repeated twice, and for some reason two paragraphs I wrote up at the beginning went missing. Anyway here is an attempt to make a cleaner, understandable version of it, let’s hope it works

In the 1870s Charles Taze Russell founded the Bible Student movement that later became Jehovah’s Witnesses, and he was a Zionist, which idk what that means but ultimately it doesn’t matter because when he died the leadership was inherited by Joseph Rutherford who was just a regular old antisemitic bigot.

One of the main things that Jehovah’s Witnesses are known for in their literature is shitting on every other religion. They believe that they have the one true religion, and all the others are false and worthless in God’s eyes. Apparently in the 1920′s and 30′s this really got whipped into a frenzy-- even worse than it is now.

https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/hitler-nazi.php

Jehovah’s Witnesses had already been under heat in Germany. They refuse all military service, don’t vote, and avoid all forms of nationalism and national allegiance as a part of their religion. It is very common for governments to take issue with that-- there’s a handful of countries out there now where some of those things are illegal and JWs just go straight to jail. I think it’s the main issue behind the current Russia thing but that’s unrelated. Anyway, there is a certain type of government that gets more up in arms than most when you say you don’t give a shit about them and feel no allegiance whatsoever. The Witnesses were in an increasingly hostile environment and they knew it.

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jehovah-s-witnesses-in-the-holocaust

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-persecution-of-jehovahs-witnesses

Jehovah’s Witnesses had a convention on June 25, 1933 in Berlin. The convention hall was covered in swastika flags. The program opened with Song 64, which had previously not been sung in years due to having the exact same melody as the German national anthem.

There’s an account of that in the book Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Third Reich, but it’s behind a paywall on JSTOR so I can’t really link it. The relevant quote is from Konrad Franke, who was the former branch overseer from Germany’s Bethel and was horrified by what he saw.

This was extremely weird for all of the obvious reasons but also because Jehovah’s Witnesses consider flag worship and all other nationalism to be a form of idolatry. It’s why they refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance in the US, there’s been several lawsuits over the issue in the past.

The convention was used to issue the Declaration of Facts. It addresses a conspiracy theory that claimed Jehovah’s Witnesses were being secretly paid for their preaching work by Jewish people— by saying that Satan must have started that “malicious” rumor. It immediately jumps to this quote:

“The greatest and the most oppressive empire on earth is the Anglo-American empire. By that is meant the British Empire, of which the United States of America forms a part. It has been the commercial Jews of the British-American empire that have built up and carried on Big Business as a means of exploiting and oppressing the peoples of many nations.”

It also says that JWs do not oppose the German government’s principles, but “stand squarely” for them. And also: “A careful examination of our books and literature will disclose the fact that the very high ideals held and promulgated by the present national government are set forth in and endorsed and strongly emphasized in our publications and show that Jehovah God will see to it that these high ideals in due time will be attained by all persons who love righteousness.”

Link to English translation: https://www.jwfacts.com/pdf/declaration-of-facts.pdf

It was reprinted in the JW 1934 yearbook pages 134-138. https://archive.org/details/1934-JwYearbook/page/n1/mode/2up

According to the 1974 yearbook p. 111, JWs were given 2,100,000 copies of the Declaration to give out to as many people as possible after the convention. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/301974004#h=239

The one that went to Hitler came with a personal letter from Rutherford attached.

It’s in German. Here is an English translation:

https://www.jwfacts.com/pdf/letter-to-hitler.pdf

It describes Jehovah’s Witnesses as “standing on the foundation of positive Christianity.” Positive Christianity is the actively antisemitic form of Christianity pushed by Hitler and the Nazi regime. It’s mainly about depicting Jesus as white and his main goal in life to have been fighting Jewish people, who then killed him. Here’s the wiki article on it:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_Christianity

Rutherford’s letter also claims the Watchtower Society has been staunchly pro-German for years and that that’s why the entire Governing Body was thrown in jail in the US in 1918. The Watchtower did condemn the war effort and all JW leaders were charged and found guilty under the Espionage and Sedition Act, but it was for 20 years, not 80 like the letter says, and the decision was almost immediately reversed and the charges dropped.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_in_the_United_States

https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/watchtower-study-october-2018/1918-one-hundred-years-ago/

The letter blames Jewish businessmen and Catholics for leading a propaganda campaign against Jehovah’s Witnesses and persecuting them. Rutherford then says that JWs “are fighting for the very same high ethical goals and ideals” as the national government. Also “referring to the purely religious and unpolitical goals and efforts of the Bible Researchers, it can be said that these are in full agreement with the identical goals of the national government of the German Reich.”

Rutherford spends a good chunk of the letter denying allegations of communism and begging Hitler to lift the bans on the religion.

In modern contexts, the Society brags about this. This whole story has been respun as thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses sending Hitler personal letters imploring to his humanity and asking for an end to Nazi persecution for everyone. A good specific example is from a 2011 Watchtower. It says “Did Hitler receive letters of protest from church officials concerning the outrages perpetrated by the National Socialists, or Nazis? There were some, but such letters were few and far between. In the Moscow archives, however, Eberle found a file containing a number of letters sent to Hitler by Jehovah’s Witnesses from different parts of Germany, protesting against the conduct of the Nazis. In fact, Witnesses from about 50 countries sent Hitler some 20,000 letters and telegrams protesting the mistreatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses. (...) [This] testifies to an act of collective and uncompromising defiance that commands respect.”

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2011731#h=4

The letter and Declaration did not give Hitler a change of heart. In March 1935, he reintroduced compulsory military service. All Jehovah’s Witnesses refused to comply. On April 1, the religion was placed under full ban.

There had been between 25,000-30,000 JWs in pre-Nazi Germany, and 20,000 stayed active through that era. About 6000 were placed in concentration camps or prisons.

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-persecution-of-jehovahs-witnesses

Jehovah’s Witnesses— unlike other groups— were allowed to walk out of the camps at any time if they signed a paper renouncing their faith first. I don’t have any hard numbers, but every source just says that very few did. Approximately 1200 died. They wore a purple triangle, and for a while, purple was like the JW color, if that makes sense, but nowadays there’s an official Org logo and it’s blue

Culturally, Jehovah’s Witnesses paint themselves as the shining beacon of spiritual resistance to the Nazis while simultaneously throwing every other group that was there under the bus. They say they’re the only ones who went into the camps and came out spiritually stronger, the only ones who made it out with their faith intact, and the only ones who supported each other as an internal community. Since the internet became popular, they’ve gotten more careful about what is printed outright in publications, but old yearbooks are really bad. They’ll draw parallels to Witnesses thrown into Soviet era gulags and talk about how they’re the only clean and righteous people in there, and everyone admired them and had to admit that, even the guards

Also this might be really shitty of me to say but I don’t think anything about JWs’ behavior in the Holocaust is inspiring or uplifting. I don’t think choosing to stay in the camps is so amazing of them. I think that’s what I would have done if I had lived in that era. I think it’s perverse to tell people— especially children— that God demands proof of their faith in the form of their blood spilled out on the ground

[spaceandtimeuniverse]

Election Anxiety

Today is Wednesday, six days left until the election. 

This morning, I woke up to countless news in related with the election. My anxiety started the moment I got into the news. There are cases that the court took up in related with the voting such as the court uphold Texas governor’s order of having one drop in ballot in each county. It is unfair because in several of counties, there are thousands of people and they all need to send in their ballot in one box? There are several that were rejected in Texas that some officials are trying to stop a suppression of vote such as age eligibility requirement to be lived, allowing curbside voting and waive the witness requirements for mail in ballots in Alabama, or suspend the witness requirement in South Carolina. The Court has rejected those arguments. Although the Court has sided for Pennsylvania to have ballots to be counted if they arrive up to three days after election day, I am still concerned on more cases as this in several states in regarding to the election. 

It does not help that a Justice was confirmed early on Monday that has never supervised or argued a case and had little experiences with the court proceedings as Amy Barrett could use her conservative’ beliefs to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 2008 LGTBA same-sex marriage, DACA and numerous of cases that the majority of Americans does not believe or would agree with if those court cases were overturned. The anxiety increased. 

While there are news all over the media that showed Joe Biden is leading in polls where Clinton four years ago would have been declined or gave Trump an advantage in the polls, I am still reminded by the memories of four years ago where all the national polls would claim Clinton to won the election but the world was shocked when the electoral college counted has gotten Trump to arrive to victory. No matter how many positive news about that, the flashback and anxiety would keep increasing. Memories of those past four years would keep coming back. 

Do you remember when our president mocked a disabled person? Do you remember when the leaked tapes revealed of Trump’s “locker talk”? 

Do you remember where there were protests in Charlottesville and Trump backtracked his condemnation on white supremacists and claimed there were “good people on both side”?

 Do you remember the countless, outrageous tweets that Trump tweeted sometimes in the middle of the night, sometimes four in the morning? That many of those tweets that if someone else would say those in public, those people would have been fired? 

Do you remember the handling of his first hurricane and procrastinated or never gave the aid to Puerto Rico? (Even if the news found later that it was stolen by local officials, why didn’t his administration double checked) 

Do you remember the family separation policy and Trump claiming it was his predecessors’s policy and refused to change the policy? How many families that were separtated? How many children that were locked in cages with “minimal” resources that they could provide to help those children? Remember when ICE was destructive and went to various states including sancturacy cities to take undocumented immigrants from their homes that they were supposed to be safe in? 

Do you remember how many people in his administration have ties or working with Russia? Or that they took advantage of their position for personal gain such as Scott Pruitt, Steven Mnuchin, Ben Carson, Betsy Devos, and so many numerous people who shouldn’t be on the job? Why did the Trump’s administration has so many people such as Flynn, Kelly, Sanders, etc. working and left. He has the highest vacancies or people who left his administration than any administration? 

Do you remember Trump’s ban on transgender in the military? Do you remember Trump mocking the late John McCain claiming that he wasn’t a war hero because he was captured? Do you remember when he called those type of people ‘losers’ that many veterans took offense because they served their country as well as they did? Do you remember when Trump question the soldiers who fought in Afghanistan and sacrificed and turned to John Kelly and said, “I just don’t get it” when John Kelly’s son died in the war? 

I could list so much more. So many more. What was even worse was that under Trump, our country never has been this polarized. This country has never been so divisible. Both parties are blaming each other. While we know that the facts remain about Trump and his administration, there are people who supported him all around the world, claiming “fake news” and refusing to double check those facts themselves. Why is it that lies are more believable than the truth? Is it because people are afraid of admitting they are wrong? Is it because people finally find like-minded people and are stubborn to admit they were wrong because they didn’t want to leave a group where they felt their opinions matter? Is it because people are indifferent to other people’s pain? Their opportunities taken away? Is it much easier for people to shrug off their shoulders and say “it is what it is”? Just as what Trump said during this covid pandemic and how he would respond differently to more than 200,000 lives gone? I am not even surprised that the president had covid, but it doesn’t change his views or his stance on covid. 

I am scared. I am scared for the soul of our country. I know our country have its dark history with breaking treaties with Native Americans, with slavery, with Jim Crows laws, segregations, wars, becoming a face of democracy and secretly rigging elections in third world countries because the outcome would benefits our country and so much more. I believe in the positivity of the country’s progress. We have grown up so far so that we could be in a place where we could finally have laws that matched the constitution that “all man are created equal”. All people are created equal and deserve the same rights and the same privileges as each other. So while we have made so much progress, there is this president that America voted four years ago that shred up all of those progress! Look what happened with gun violence, police brutality, voters’ suppressions, etc. Look what happened when the courts or other police stand by or supported the words of the officers over the victims because they were biased toward the police, laws that needed to be changed or there need to be more resources such as dash-cams needed to be installed, or even . Look what happened with the Keystone Pipeline that threatened our native lands! 

We even have a president who refused to do something about the climate change! Trees are dying, the ocean is in pollution of numerous of plastics, waste that we contributed to kill off other animals’ lives or that affected their habitat negatively. Trump was against alternative energy, claiming about wind power that is killing birds or that he claimed people are just fine in putting more waste in the environment. Because of his reluctance to helping our Earth, winter are getting more colder and dangerous with snow storms and hurricanes. Our summers are getting more hotter with the fires that devastated the west coast and that thousand of people are dying from heat exhaustion, heat wave, etc. The midwest are dealing with more tornados than before. 2020 has topped all previous weather or environmental records in several states or countries. It is just disastrous! All of those regulations that the president strapped off years ago have given more companies or corporations to gain profit, gain more equipments to do more damage to the environment every day. There was an article that it is not the matter of if anymore. Because the  consequences that the world would face has already happened and that it was the matter of now to prevent those consequences from being worse. 

Even in the election, we shouldn’t have the fear of what would happen if our president does not concede if he loses. That is something that should scare so many people. What would happen if the president does not concede? Would the Supreme Court sided with Trump about the election? Would there be an illegible recount in hopes for Trump’s officials to try to rig the election with more ballots? What if the recount cause Trump to win? What does that means? Would there be a revolution? A civil war? What if Trump does concede but his supporters would be outraged to cause a civil war? 

Whatever that means, all of this shouldn’t happen. A presidential election should just be boring and whoever the next president, the transition should be smooth. Our constitution is in crisis.  Our democracy is in perils. If there are something afoul with our government, our democracy, and our votes in this election, then come what may, we should do something. We should get our voices heard or our hands seen. We should go out and protest, revolt if we have to. If it leads to a constitutional crisis or to start off a new government in the process, so be it. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. We should go out there and vote! Vote by mail or vote in person safely. Make sure you check if your vote is valid. The power is in our hands. What would you do with that power? Would you keep it for yourself like our president did? Or would you share it for others in need? 

[feelingforgod]

Mike’s Talk

Good evening brothers and sisters. My name is Michael Secrist and I’m a recent addition to the stake. I’m also a medical doctor and the  newest interventional radiologist on staff at the hospital down the road. I grew up not far from here in Palos Verdes and I’m very happy to be back within a few miles of the ocean. This is a stake unlike any I’ve ever been in. There is a feeling of excitement about doing the Lord’s work and actively loving all of God’s children. And the beautiful music we experienced at ward and stake Christmas programs – there literally were not enough seats in the loft for all the musicians and some singers sat in folding chairs. This really is a special place and I feel lucky to be here. I want to tell you a story about a little boy. This little boy was born with hazel eyes. You and I might see hazel eyes as a beautiful and rare variation in Heavenly Father’s tapestry of mortal life, but in his world, people with hazel eyes weren’t trusted. They were not “normal.” They were seen as other and unnatural. He always knew he was somehow different and people treated him differently. He tried desperately to fit in. He wore blue contact lenses to hide his eye color. He wore them all the time and never took them out. He wore his contacts so long that even his own family members believed he had blue eyes. And it worked. He was just like everybody else. He could fit in. He went to church with the kids his age and heard lessons about Heaven and eternal families and the blessings awaiting them...unless they had hazel eyes. One day he heard some high school kids talking about their favorite musician. “A reporter caught him at a night club without his contacts. Can you believe he had hazel eyes all this time? Gross!” Kids at recess made jokes and games about hazel eyes. No one wanted to get tagged and be “hazel in the middle.” The little boy’s family went to his grandparents’ house for Thanksgiving one year and some of the family made quiet conversation about an uncle who didn’t come around much. Some suspected he really had hazel eyes as well and that he might not even be hiding it with contacts anymore. “No! Why would you think that?” The little boy’s mother spoke up, standing up for her brother. She didn’t want to believe it of her own brother. Her objection came from a place of love but the little boy sank deeper into his chair and squeezed his eyes shut, just in case his disguise wasn’t enough. He would never let anyone know his truth – his shame. He would never be one of those people even his own family despised. His mother told him frequently she loved him. They all did. But they wouldn’t if they knew. It was as if he had a magnetic field surrounding him that deflected positivity. No “I love you” reached his core where he was imploding. The person his family loved was a blue-eyed boy that didn’t really exist. Years went by and the boy hoped the contacts would grow into his eyes and he could in some sense be normal. But, instead, his eyes began to hurt. They burned! The pain some days was so intense that he had trouble just functioning. His grades suffered. He got in fights with his little brother. Then one day at church he heard someone say that everyone who kept their hazel eyes hidden would be rewarded with blue eyes in the next life. Maybe that was the answer. So, he began daydreaming about how he could end his life. No one would ever need to know the shame he carried with him. He thought his death would be so much easier for his mother to deal with than the reality of an eternally damned, hazel-eyed son. After years of sobbing through nightly prayers to his Heavenly Father to change his eyes to blue, he now had hope in death. Amidst his suicidal ideation, a new bishop asked to talk to him – just a routine annual youth interview. The bishop was loving and kind and for some reason the boy felt safer than he had with other bishops. Quiet desperation bubbled to the surface. As he looked down at the carpet of the office to avoid the disgust the bishop was bound to feel, his magical blue contacts fell from his eyes and his carefully crafted disguise evaporated. And I said in a choked whisper, “I think I’m gay.” Surprise. Yep, I’m the little boy. Welcome to my story. To this point in my life, the words “I’m gay” had never passed my lips, largely out of fear that it would make it more true – make it real. As soon as I had said it, I began to panic. Surely, the bishop would react angrily and tell my parents. I’d lose my family and have to live on the street. The church would abandon me. Why did I say those words?! My life literally depended on the reaction of this man I barely knew. But instead of the reaction I was expecting, he just said, “Tell me more about that.” He asked me about my feelings and at the end of our talk, he hugged me. I was shocked that even after I had told him my deepest secret, he wasn’t afraid to touch me. We would have frequent conversations over the next few years but most importantly, he loved me. I likely would not have lived to my 16th birthday if he had not shown love to that scared 13-year-old boy. I went to BYU after high school and after one year there, I served a mission in southern Russia. Some people may think it’s too hard or that it should be impossible for a gay young man to serve a mission. On the contrary, most gay Mormons I know have fond memories of their missions because their sexuality isn’t an issue. The thing that has consumed their thoughts isn’t important for two years. No one is wondering why they aren’t asking out that pretty girl in the ward. Something else I found is that gay elders come equipped with a superhuman ability to love the people they serve, and, like I did, most of them begged and pleaded and made deals with God to make them straight in exchange for their wholehearted service. I didn’t find out until years later that many of the missionaries and even assistants to the president I most looked up to, many of the most solid missionaries, were gay. This very minute, the church is benefiting from the selfless service of hundreds of gay missionaries in the field. And, unfortunately, not all of them had a loving bishop like I did in my youth. And not all of my leaders have been so loving as that first one. One bishop told me he put a permanent mark on my record that would preclude me from ever holding a calling involving children or youth. To be a gay member of this church is painful and I would never pass judgement on any LGBT person who chose to step away in order to preserve their mental health. There are cases of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in LGBT people associated with their experience in our church (Source 1) similar to soldiers back from war and I feel it’s important to acknowledge their pain. By the time I completed my degrees in biology and linguistics at BYU, I was deeply depressed and I took a year off before starting medical school. During that year, I submitted myself to what is known as conversion therapy, a practice that now has bans in 14 states with legislation in many others pending. Every week, I drove several hours to pay an expert $300 an hour to make me straight. In my mind, this had to work because I thought there was no purpose in my living if it didn’t. It didn’t work, but I held on to my belief I would be transformed someday. In medical school, I met a wonderful woman. We began to date and became best friends. I brought her home to meet my family and I thought maybe this could work. If it was going to work with a woman, it was her. But whenever I thought of proposing to her, I got a sick feeling. I knew I loved her on every level – every level but one very important one, the physical. And although I knew she loved me enough to try to make it work, I wanted her to have a husband that worshiped her in every way. It was then that I knew I needed to finally share my whole truth with my family. I came out to mom and dad and 5 siblings by telephone in one night and the loving responses from them were better than I had expected. It was another surprise to me when I woke up the next morning and looked inward and I found the Holy Ghost was still there. I was in uncharted territory. I had no examples or established path anymore and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Over the next 6 years of post-graduate medical training, I learned a lot about myself. I allowed myself to date other men. I even fell in love once. I only share this because of what it taught me. I had been so conditioned to believe that any love for someone of the same gender was disgusting and corrupt. But the feelings I felt were pure, selfless, and beautiful. I finally understood what friends and family had told me about falling in love. Rather than turn my back on my Heavenly Father, this experience brought me closer to Him and I felt Him teaching me, “You see, Mike? You see what beautiful things I have in store for you?” My residency training made church attendance difficult and I felt removed from the church. I had to develop my own personal relationship with God independent of the instruction and opinions of church leaders. I learned to rely on personal revelation, which would benefit me enormously when it came to being gay, because this is something church leaders haven’t experienced and do not understand – and, more often than not, misunderstand. So, let me dispel some myths for you as a gay man and a doctor who has studied sexuality all his life. -I did not choose to be gay, nor have any of the hundreds of LGBT people I know. Why would anyone choose such a hard road? If someone comes out to you, it’s because they love you and want you to be a part of their life. They have always been who they are even if it took them a while to figure it out. -I am not gay because of anything my parents did and I was not sexually assaulted as a child. However, LGBT children and youth are at a terribly high risk of sexual assault and these beautiful children of God need to be protected. (Source 2) - Sexuality is not something that you can change. And it’s not something that my Heavenly Father needs or wants me to change. I know now by the source of all truth that I am the way He meant for me to be and He loves me so much exactly the way I am. My gayness is inextricably connected to my musical talents, my sensitivity to others’ needs, my ability to easily love other people, and so many parts of myself that I now see as beautiful and essential to who I am. I know my Father made me this way, so why would I want to change it? Brothers and Sisters, I have always felt the need to know how to save a life. I think there was always a low-grade anxiety that someday someone would be dying in front of me and I wouldn’t know what to do to save them. It’s driven me to learn about physiology and pathology. As soon as I was able, I learned basic lifesaving skills. In my 20s, one week after my test for my Emergency Medical Technician certification, my sister’s toddler choked in front of me with no one else around. I did what I was taught and popped a large mouthful of animal crackers out of her. I know that one of the reasons I was put here on Earth is to save lives in my occupation as a medical doctor. When I moved to Seal Beach, I considered whether or not I needed to be an active part of the ward, given how painful it can be for LGBT people to be present in church. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are five times more likely to commit suicide than their peers. (Source 3) That risk is multiplied by being a part of a family, community, or church where homosexuality is unacceptable. (Source 4) We lose these beautiful young people one by one to suicide and it is completely preventable. I understand now that my mission on Earth is simply to save lives, not only in the hospital where I work every day but also outside the hospital. I mean to rescue as many of these young people as I can and help their families love them unconditionally. When I considered not coming to church, I was thinking about myself and my own comfort. But the Spirit turned my thoughts around on me and told me that I needed to be here not for myself but because someone else here needs to know that He knows and loves them just as they are. I know there are LGBT people in this stake silently suffering when people make comments that make them feel alone and hopeless. I know that there are several youth here who will come out to their families someday but in the meantime, they sustain deep wounds from comments their loved ones make about LGBT people or the “gay lifestyle.” Elder M. Russell Ballard said, “We need to listen to and understand what our LGBT brothers and sisters are feeling and experiencing. Certainly, we must do better than we have done in the past so that all members feel they have a spiritual home where their brothers and sisters love them and where they have a place to worship and serve the Lord.” We are members of the restored church of Jesus Christ and are fortunate to have more light and knowledge in one place than anywhere in history. But we should not be afraid to admit that we don’t know everything. Article of Faith 9 says “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” I don’t know how LGBT people fit into the Plan of Salvation, but my friend Derek, a trained biblical scholar and gay man who joined the church a few years ago, likes to say, “There’s more room for me in the Plan of Salvation than there is in the closet.” Where there are gaps in our understanding, let us fill them with compassion and unconditional love. Brothers and Sisters, I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe He died for our sins and that he loves each and every one of us. I pray with all my heart that we will be sensitive to all types of people who don’t fit the mold and learn from them and the gifts the Father of all of us has given them. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Michael Secrist, 1/19/2019, Long Beach Stake Conference Source 1: Simmons, Brian W. Coming Out Mormon: An Examination of Religious Orientation, Spiritual Trauma, and PTSD Among Mormons and Ex-Mormon LGBTQQA Adults. 2017. The University of Georgia. Ph.D. dissertation. https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/simmons_brian_w_201712_phd.pdf

Source 2: Rothman, Emily F., et al. The Prevalence of Sexual Assault Against People Who Identify as Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual in the United States: A Systematic Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, vol. 12, no. 2, Apr. 2011, pp. 55–66, doi:10.1177/1524838010390707 Source 3: CDC. (2016). Sexual Identity. Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Risk Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9-12: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

SOurce 4: Lytle, Megan C. et al. Association of Religiosity With Sexual Minority Suicide Ideation and Attempt. American Journal of Preventive Medicine , Volume 54 , Issue 5 , 644 – 651.

[smallnico]

Does Sofiya like a specific kind of tea aside from just sugary? What's her family like? Why does Dom (presumably) like tropical print shirts? What are Lani's top five countries she would be banned from if she got to choose which ones? What's Chris's favourite sport if any and why? What got Candace into baking? Is she competitive at the bake sale? What are Erol's opinions on sci-fi as a genre? Would Leandro star in a musical and if so what kind? What does he think about musicals in general?

:D

sofiya’s favourite kind of tea is milk tea, but when she drinks other kinds, she adds a lot of sugar and milk. she doesn’t really have a preference aside from preferring less caffeine, as she has a low bitter tolerance and is paranoid about setting off psychotic symptoms. i, personally, know that you need a lot more caffeine than anyone should reasonably digest in order to cause said symptoms, but sofiya does not, or at the very least, she’s so worried about it she refuses to even chance it. 

how her family is depends on which family you’re asking about! her current family consists of the theatre dads -- her biological father miko and her not-yet-legal-unmarried-stepfather theo -- and her two honorary siblings -- theo’s estranged-but-reconnected daughter grace, and beau, a former student of his who he got legal custody of a few years back due to Circumstances. they’re a weird family, the members of which adopted one another into their lives at some point and just ran with it. they have a surprisingly natural and healthy family dynamic, all things considered, with the exception of grace, who is newer and less on board with the whole situation (she really only considers their house a temporary place to stay, though she warms up quickly to beau and miko). sofiya really likes grace and frequently tries to engage her and persuade her to be less mean and intimidating. it doesn’t really work. sofi’s one of a few characters in the group who wasn’t born in canada! she and her dad are russian-ukrainian, with her dad having lived and worked in russia most of his life, and having moved to ukraine after sofiya was born in order to live with her and her mother. sofiya’s dad and mom were in a tumultuous relationship from the start, and it only got worse after sofiya was born, since she was kind of an accident. she remembers her mom being cold, bitter, and deeply unhappy, when she wasn’t having spells of paranoia and intense emotional outbursts. miko and sofiya’s mom split on good terms when she was ten, then he took custody of sofiya and they moved to canada. 

dom does like horrible loud shirts, yes. there are a few reasons for this, but none of them are very compelling: he’s gay, he likes thrifting, he likes that vibrant energy, and they make him feel better about himself. he has about a half dozen equally questionable fashion choices in his wardrobe, and a handful of quieter clothes he wears when he really needs to do laundry. 

honestly, the only reason lani hasn’t made this list is because she’s allergic to planning ahead. her chaos is the sort that comes from impulse rather than conscious thought and self-awareness. i think it takes a lot to be banned from a whole country, but i also believe lani’s the kind of presence to somehow manage to do it by a colossal series of spontaneous mistakes. she has been suspended from school before, and she has been kicked off the bus on at least three separate occasions. if she had to choose a country to be banned from it’d be australia, because she’d think it’d be hilarious to be banned from a country that used to be where the british shipped criminals.

chris used to play rugby in high school. she initially got into it on a whim, but really committed to it after it became the thing to finally persuade her dad to say no to her -- see, she really wants to rebel and used to act out a lot more than she does now that she’s a bit more mature, but it’s hard to rebel against your parents when they spoil you unconditionally. her main sport is now kickboxing, for purposes of self-defense and good cardio, but she’s still a fan of rugby and women’s soccer in particular. she refuses to watch men’s soccer because she vocally thinks it’s overrated.

baking is candace’s go-to de-stressing activity. she’s a fundamentally high-strung person, so this means she got really, really good at it. for a long time baking was the Thing She Did For Herself, though it eventually got folded into the miasma of taking care of her younger siblings while her mom worked full time and late into the night. she’s kind of a duty elemental, though she hates being passively obligated to take care of people more than she hates anything in the world, except when people bring premade store-bought goods to bake sales. (”it’s lazy, it’s lying, and it’s disgusting”, she says. “some of us got up at five in the morning to make sure their homemade cinnamon bread rose and got into the oven in time to be warm for this, you animals.”) she loves her siblings, but literally the second they got old enough to take care of themselves, she left for university and resolved to never have kids of her own. she now truly bakes for herself, though she usually ends up bringing stuff in to the theatre and to parties, because baking a tray of delicious hazelnut chocolate cookies is absolutely no good if you can’t share them with the people you really want to be friends with. she does stay hyper-vigilant of everyone’s dietary needs out of habit.

erol really enjoys it, but only a certain kind of it. they see science fiction as a genre that should be fundamentally humanist, it should say something about human nature, rather than just being fantasy in space or “hey look at this cool robot”. they’ll get snitty and correct you if you say star wars is science fiction (”it’s space opera, it’s a whole and fundamentally different genre!”) but they’ll accept that star wars exists. erol’s more of a star trek kind of person for sure, but their real love of the genre is classic science fiction, your isaac asimovs and your phillip k dicks and your ursula leguins. overall their taste in literature skews toward either “shit you’ve never heard of” (which if i’m being honest, when i write erol, i just make up on the spot) or “classics that you’re allowed to be a snob about”. they haven’t read a piece of genuine young adult literature since they were 13 and read twilight. they refused to admit they enjoyed it for years, and now they’ll defend its place in the literary canon, past the point where any reasonable person would cave to the popular insistence that it’s just a book for teens that blew up and that’s Fine.

leandro fucking loves musicals and would kill to star in a big one. he’s actually a good singer and performer, too, so it’s not a far-fetched dream for him, though round river doesn’t put muscials on very often. they’re more expensive than non-musical stage shows to make good quality, and not all of the cast members can actually sing, so whenever they put on a musical, they have to bring in... the choir.(horror chord) leandro and erol are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the sorts of shows they prefer, with erol preferring thinky highbrow stuff, and leandro being completely swept up in spectacle and drama and performance. he’d make a great phantom, according to himself. in the two musicals round river’s put on while he’s been around, he was billy flynn in chicago, and kenickie in grease. when i did my little heathers fancast (which is outdated, sofiya can’t sing and neither can lani), i set leandro to play jd.

thanks for asking! :>

[squadron-leader-farrier]

Let's spice things up a bit; ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS

oh baby, you answered m prayers lol this is gonna be long so buckle up ?

1. favourite place in your country? my hill station, because of the weather, and because i haven’t been to many places, and the ones that i have been to were extremely hot and i never want to go there again,

2. do you prefer spending your holidays in your country or travel abroad? depends on the holidays tbh. what the festivals the holidays fall near and that. i’d stay here for some, but for the ones that we don’t celebrate in my country like Halloween, i’d like to go abroad.

3. does your country have access to sea? peninsula, babey!

4. favourite dish specific for your country? chicken biryani. boy, oh boy, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. it’s that good. gosh, the flavour, the spice. the way they cook it,,,, the colours ahhhh

5. favourite song in your native language? ones made before the 60s. and the patriotic songs. there are too many to name, but two (non patriotic) ones are this and this (because they’re sad love songs and give me flyboys feels ya kno?)

6. most hated song in your native language? like, as a nation? idk. but personally, i hate, absolutely loathe any songs made after the 60s. they lack originality and creativity. all they did was rip off popular english songs, and changed the lyrics. that’s literally all they did. and they are super proud of it. i hate it. the music industry had gone to complete shit. even today they don’t know what good music is and ow to make it. they’re remixing all the old ones because they lack creativity. i hate it. 

7. three words from your native language that you like the most? i don’t like any three words, because they’re not that appealing on their own (not the ones i can think of right at this moment) but rather, phrases. when you string those words and make poetry or prose. it’s really beautiful, and really poetic. perhaps the best ones are in those two songs, and others like them.

8. do you get confused with other nationalities? if so, which ones and by whom? i haven’t been in a situation like that so i can’t say.

9. which of your neighbouring countries would you like to visit most/know best? probably Russia because the ones right next to me are exactly the same in topographical, cultural and architectural respects. there’s literally nothing new to see there, so i’d like to go to Russia.

10. most enjoyable swear word in your native language? so it’s basically three: bhenchod/madarchod/chutiya. all of them mean motherfucker in their basic essence, but are used to describe people, cuss out people, call your pal, so basically, the hindi equivalent of fuck. can be used as adjectives, prepositions, verbs, nouns, whatnot. can be used individually or all together. perhaps splash one of them in a conversation to make the group giggle a bit more while telling a funny story. 

11. favourite native writer/poet? the ones who wrote nationalistic literature during the freedom struggle. so, to say, i like Sarojni Naidu, and Tagore. they’re perhaps the most famous ones of the time, and i like their work. 

12. what do you think about English translations of your favourite native prose/poem? i don’t have any, because they’re already written in english by the authors. i read a poem or two lying around somewhere, but the thing about hindi is that the translations don’t bear the same feelings as the originals. 

13. does your country (or family) have any specific superstitions or traditions that might seem strange to outsiders?  oh there are too many. too many by far. most of them are the usual black cat and others, oh, one i heard when i was in like 4th grade was that you shouldn’t go out with open wet hair at night because a spirit can get caught in em and come home with you. so that was strange. my family doesn’t have any, we’re rather realistic.

14. do you enjoy your country’s cinema and/or TV? no not in the least. you know why? because of this. i swear to fuck, the person who uploaded this compilation didn’t edit a single thing in. how do i know? because i’ve watched these on actual television. when i was young. in my neighbour’s tv. 

15. a saying, joke, or hermetic meme that only people from your country will get? remember when some of you motherfuckers got offended by bitch lasagna because you lack basic understanding what a fucking joke is? you don’t know what satire is? you are the reason why people think indians have no sense of humour because you DON’T it was a fucking JOKE holy shit i’m so triggered by this

16. which stereotype about your country you hate the most and which one you somewhat agree with? haven’t heard of many stereotypes about us, but the laziest one i can think of is that we can do math and are good at science. we’re not. i’m shit at all of that. so are my 34 other classmates. 

17. are you interested in your country’s history?  not really, tbh. maybe the period just before independence, and some post-independence stuff, because i got dirt on those politicians and i want more of that so that i have a reasonable justification for hating politicians.

18. do you speak with a dialect of your native language? i don’t know, maybe i’m so used to it i don’t even realise lol. but i guess so.

19. do you like your country’s flag and/or emblem? what about the national anthem? YES. YES. YES. i love them. i absolutely adore them. the flag is so symbolic and so beautiful i love her (orange on top for sacrifice, white in the middle for purity, green at the bottom for prosperity, the blue circle in the middle for resolution and justice, just ahhhh). the national anthem always gives me the chills. everytime i hear it playing somewhere, or when we sing it sometimes after assembly, or during days like today (independence day) or republic day, when we finish singing the last line it just always makes me a bit emotional and proud? yeah. today i almost started crying because i love it so much.

20. which sport is The Sport in your country? Cricket. even though the national sport is hockey. no one cares about hockey :(

21. if you could send two things from your country into space, what would they be?  the memers who think they’re very funny, (which they are not in the least), and the anti nationalists and separatists. i do not want them here. get lost. fuck off. shooo.

22. what makes you proud about your country? what makes you ashamed? what makes me proud, is the freedom struggle of the revolutionaries, and the progress we’re making in every field, the hospitality of the people, and the unity in diversity. what makes me ashamed is that there’s still so much corruption in the government, can’t help it, the law’s delay, gosh the people who think they’’re better than everybody else, the entertainment industry, the music industry, some of the people, most of the politicians, etc.

23. which alcoholic beverage is the favoured one in your country? bold of you to assume we have a single favourite beverage for the entire country. i think it varies from state to state. for mine i think it may be something apple related, because we have lots of apples here. the season is also coming lol and also, it’s very confusing because some states have completely banned alcohol and in some the legal drinking age is 18. 

24. what other nation is joked about most often in your country? canada and ‘murica mostly because so many people immigrate there 

25. would you like to come from another place, be born in another country? i’d like to be British, because  i like the aesthetic and weather. 

26. does your nationality get portrayed in Hollywood/American media? what do you think about the portrayal? i don’t watch many movies, but i think it’s not much/a small amount and neither do i mind nor do i care. 

27. favourite national celebrity? no one. i hate all of them.

28. does your country have a lot of lakes, mountains, rivers? do you have favourites? yep!! she’s not called a subcontinent for nothing, babey! i live near the Himalayas, so i like that.

29. does your region/city have a beef with another place in your country? oooooh yes. ooooooooooh  boy. with Pakistan lol. mainly because of the union territory of jammu and kashmir. because pakistan wants it, we want it, and it legally also belongs to us. there’s separatists there, anti nationalists, and there’s poverty there, so it’s easy to instigate the people against the government. there were wars fought for it, most of them ended in our favour, but the other side is still making so many ceasefire violations, it is insane. it has been years, and every other day there’s a new violation. there’s lots of unrest in the valley, which is a shame, because it is a truly beautiful place. 

30. do you have people of different nationalities in your family? my uncle is British, my cousin’s husband is also a Brit. a great-grand relative of mine was also British. there are none on my mother’s side.

[krisihistoryblog-blog]

How ideological differences lead to the Berlin wall

Following WWII, tensions between the USSR and the Western allies (USA, Britain, and France) rose due to the fundamental differences in Communism and Capitalism. This division became known as the Iron Curtain following Winston Churchill’s speech in 1936 in which he said that due to the tensions between the two sides (Capitalist West and Communist East), "iron curtain" has descended across the continent. The Berlin wall became the infamous physical symbol of the deep divide and oppression under the Communist regime in Eastern Europe, but why was it built and why did it fall?

 International relations: historical context of Russia and the West

Russia and the West – America and Britain- have had a pretty complicated relationship for a very long time, and this section aims to give the modern historical background of it (1917 up to 1945).

Russia joined WWI in 1914, one of its allies being Britain. The was crippled Russia’s economy: over 17 million farmers were conscripted into the army meaning there were food shortages; factories that didn’t directly contribute to the war effort by making weapons or equipment suffered from under supplying and many had to shut down, leading to further unemployment; and to top it all off the Tsar at the time- Nicholas II -took a personal control of the army despite having no military experience. By 1917, the Russian population was desperate to leave the war, having already lost about 40 million men.

As discontent with the Tsarist regime and continuation in the war grew, support for Lenin and the Bolshevik party also grew. Sure enough, when they came to power in 1917, they issued the Peace Decree which promised an end to the war. After signing the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk in March 1918 (which had deeply detrimental terms for Russia, such as losing 50% of its industry), Russia was out of the war. By abandoning their allies, Russia made the West think communists could not be trusted.

In the years following this, Russia went into civil war. The war was mostly between the Reds (Bolsheviks) and Whites (Mensheviks and other anti-Bolsheviks). The western capitalist countries supported the Whites financially and by sending troops, and although the reason for this wasn’t necessarily because they wanted the Whites to win, but because they didn’t want the Bolsheviks to win, the Reds used the foreign interventions in their anti- white propaganda.

After the Bolsheviks fully established their rule, the western capitalist countries were always seen as enemies that had gone against them in the past and were ready to intervene in national issues if it meant preventing the establishment of communism.

During WWII, USSR, Britain and the United States put aside their ideological differences in order to unite in defeating Nazi Germany. Russia has joined the western allies after in 1941 Hitler broke a non- aggression pact with Stalin by invading the USSR.

Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam

The Big Three, as they became known, met in Tehran, Iran in 1943. Stalin (leader of the USSR), Roosevelt (US president), and  Churchill (UK prime minister) had the common aim of improving their relationship with one another and their countries. During that meeting they decided on the opening on the second front- which meant that Britain and America would now open a front at the west of Germany, so Russia doesn’t have to do all the fighting on the Eastern front. This was a turning point in defeating the Germans as it meant their army was now divided.

Although the conference was successful, it did highlight some tensions already: Churchill was very anti-communist and Britain had joined the World War on the 3rd of September 1939 after Poland was invaded by Germany; Stalin wanted complete control over Poland so he can create a ‘buffer zone’ (the countries between the capitalist west and Russia would have to be invaded before Russia would be, giving the Russians more time to react), and was also very distrustful of Britain and the US as he felt their purposely delayed opening the western front. Stalin thought that they had waited so long so Russia would be weakened after fighting Germany for so long, and once the western front was opened, Britain and America could invade Germany and get to Russia next. The reason Stalin was so worried about getting invaded from Germany is because it happened twice already: in 1914 and then again in 1941 when Hitler broke the non-aggression pact he had made with Stalin.

 Potsdam conference 1945

The Big Three then had a second meeting- Potsdam February 1945. At this point it was obvious that Germany was going to lose, so the plans surrounded what happens after that point. Among other things, a decision was made that the USSR would have a sphere of influence in Eastern Europe- although exactly what that entails differs depending on which side you asked. The most relevant, in relation to the future of Berlin, decision they made at this conference was to divide Germany in 4 sections following the war. Britain, France, America and Russia would all get one section. Despite being entirely in the Eastern side of Germany, the capital city of Berlin was also divided in this way- with the west 3 sections belonging to the western allies and the east one to the USSR.

Potsdam was the final conference, attended by Stalin, Harry Truman and Clement Atlee. President Roosevelt had died and been replaced by Truman, who was more anti-communist; Churchill had lost the general election and been replaced by Atlee. Despite the shift in leaders, the decision about splitting Germany and Berlin into four was confirmed. After 1933 there had been no free elections in Germany and the Big Three had decided to re-establish them along with democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of press. The Nazi party was banned, and Nazi war criminals were tried. Russia would receive reparations on the form of goods from the Western sectors.

 The Berlin Blockade 1948-1949 and establishing of two separate countries

Having been invaded by it twice in the past, Russia wanted to keep Germany to prevent any future threat. The Allies (Britain, France and America) wanted to make it independent and prosperous so they don’t have to keep paying for it, and so they can build trade with Germany. This disagreement was bound to cause conflict.

In 1947, Britain and America joined their sectors to form Bizonia, and due to the very good relations with the French zones, they united with them too forming Trizonia. In Trizonia they decided to introduce a new, trustworthy currency called the Deutsche Mark which was essential if they wanted to rebuild the German economy. This worried Stalin and he retaliated by introducing the Ost Mark in the eastern sectors.

The western sectors of Germany and Berlin were accepting Marshall Aid (American support to help countries rebuild themselves after the war), while the eastern sectors, and eastern Europe apart from Yugoslavia) did not, which deepened the divide between the east and west even more due to their economical states and standards of living.

As Stalin feared western capitalist ideas and currency entering the eastern part of Germany or Berlin, he cut off all rail, road and canal links. This was with the aim that the west would be forced to give up on western Berlin as they wouldn’t be able to get any supplies to their people.

However, Truman saw this was a testing case – he wanted to prove to Stalin that we would not give up and he would maintain his policy of containment (stopping the spread of communism). The allies, the US in particular, started the Berlin airlift to supply western Berliners with necessities. The airlift code-named “operation vittles” had its first flight on the 26th of June 1948 and lasted until 30th September 1949 – even though the blockade was lifted in May of the same year.

The airlift was incredibly successful as both achieving its aim of supplying the citizens- for example on the 16th of April 1949, 1400 flights brought in 13k tons of supplies, even though the necessary amount needed for the western Berliners to over was 6k tons a day- but also at showing the USSR they wouldn’t give up on their citizens. Truman wanted western Berlin to be a symbol of freedom behind the iron curtain.

Straight after the Berlin blockade was lifted, the western sectors officially united as one country – The Federal Republic of Germany. In October of 1949, the eastern part of Germany became the German Democratic Republic (ironically enough).

 The wall goes up

East and West Berlin had been very different. The west was extremely prosperous thanks to the allies investing in it, whereas the East was poor and had low living standards. This resulted in immigration from the East to the West- with over 3.5 million East Germans emigrating to West Germany before 1961, which comprised most of the total net emigration of 4.0 million emigrants from all of Central and Eastern Europe between 1950 and 1959.

On 13th of August 1961, the communist government of the German Democratic Republic started putting up barbed wire fences along the border of West and East Berlin. It was quickly replaced by a concrete one and through the years,more and more was added to it such as watch towers. The 27-mile portion of the barrier separating Berlin into east and west consisted of two concrete walls between which was a “death strip” up to 160 yards wide that contained hundreds of watchtowers, miles of anti-vehicle trenches, guard dog runs, floodlights and trip-wire machine guns.

Hundreds of people tried to go into West Berlin and hundreds died trying to do so.  Amongs the people who escaped successfully are the three Bethke brothers, whose escapes are like from an action movie. The oldest of the three, Ingo, escaped by floating on an inflatable mattress across the Elbe River in 1975. Then in 1983, the middle brother, Holger soared over the wall on a steel cable he fired with a bow and arrow to a rooftop in West Berlin. Six years later, they both flew an ultra-light plane over the wall and back to pick up their youngest brother Egbert.

The American view of the wall is nicely summarized by my President Kennedy in 1961: “It’s not a very nice solution, but a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war. This is the end of the Berlin crisis. The other side panicked—not we. We’re going to do nothing now because there is no alternative except war”. The wall was used to show how bad communism is- they had to build a wall to keep people from leaving, which gave it a similar image to a prison. It became a symbol of the division in Berlin, and in Europe at the time.

 Accidental freedom

Although it came after years of discontent and protests, the fall of the Berlin wall was accidental. East Germany had decided that its citizens can emigrate for a short period of time, after having gone through a lengthy visa process.

Then on the 9th of November 1989, a press conference took place at which East German politburo member Günter Schabowski prematurely announced that restrictions on travel visas would be lifted. People attending started questioning him and when asked when this new policy would take power he responded with: “Immediately, without delay.”

His confused answers and the erroneous media reports that followed, sent a wave of people to the Berlin wall ready to cross it.

The chief officer on duty at Bornholmer Street checkpoint, overwhelmed by the thousands of people and by the insults rather than instructions he received from his superiors, opened the border crossing and the gates soon followed. The flood of East Berliners couldn’t be stopped by the officials.

 The symbolism of the fall

For decades the wall symbolized the division ideologies can make. Because of the differences between capitalist and communist way of rule, and the difference in priorities and values they had, the people of Berlin were entirely separated. Eastern Berliners grew up being restricted and isolated while the West being prosperous and having opportunities. The fall of the wall symbolized the fall of the division, or at least to a point in which people weren’t physically restricted, or risked losing their life if they tried to escape.

[bovinedung]

Hypocrisy Knows No Bounds

The hypocrisy of MSM, Google (YouTube), Meta (Facebook), Twitter, TVN7, and Al Jazeera complaints about censorship. Most recently, Al Jazeera complained about Russia removing Dozed TV (Russian). Meanwhile, YouTube is banning RT, Etc. MSM and social media remove and censor any opposition. Deplatforming and or removing alternative viewpoints, independent news, or any honest public discourse. Hypocrites much?

Remember the censorship of information regarding the USA 2020 presidential election coup? How about the lies and "disinformation" regarding RussiaGate, Trump's alleged Ukraine quid pro quo, vaccine advocacy, vaccine side effects/deaths, Pfizer cover up, Fauci’s lies and propaganda, gain-of-function research, lock-downs, masks, the border crisis, the Canadian/USA Freedom Convoys, Etc? The list seems endless, doesn't it?

The new narratives are the Ukraine/Russia war, civilian deaths, Ukraine's sovereignty and defending democracy. There's some irony. However, MSM and their counterparts censor any discourse on why Putin invaded Ukraine, or the U.S. and NATO's role in said war. What part does NATO expansion have to do with this nightmare, right? Any discussion on the 2013 CIA coup in the Ukraine? What about why the CIA set up this current corrupt puppet government? What happened to the Nuland-Pyatt leaked phone conversation? Are the multiple bio-labs we fund in the Ukraine and weapons of mass destruction on Russia's border misinformation? Just checking.

Again, we are supposed to be worried about Ukraine's sovereignty and civilian deaths. Don't forget Ukraine's borders while our southern border is wide open. The same border that has caused an exponential growth in human trafficking, rape, and deadly drugs like Fentanyl. Note: Fentanyl overdoses have become the No. 1 cause of death among US adults, ages 18-45. Nothing to see here, folks.

So, here we are, AGAIN. The U.S. is involved in another war. Except one big difference with this war is that it could easily escalate into World War III and a nuclear holocaust. Anyway, let's all focus on Ukraine "civilians" while we ignore the Christians and Yazidis in Iraq and Syria killed every day. Don't sweat the genocide and murder of Christians and civilians in the Central African Republic, Darfur, Myanmar, Ethiopia, and South Africa. Hell, social media and MSM hardly mention the Ethiopian Security forces (SN NPR), Fano militias or Adhara special forces crimes against humanity. All the above atrocities with apparent impunity. By the way, how many civilians and innocent lives did the U.S. and our allies kill in Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen?

BLM for $500, Alex?

Well, we can all rest assured that MSM and social media are censoring that evil "misinformation," for our own good. After all, we can't think for ourselves. Isn't that the argument the CDC recently made for lying about the numbers? Remember? They said that they lied about the numbers because we might have misinterpreted the data.

In the end, ignore inflation, gas prices, and the stressors on the poor and middle class here at home and worry about Ukraine. And don't worry about the fact that the U.S. and their NATO allies started this shit in Ukraine and forced Putin's hand.

Finally, don't give it a second thought that U.S. and or NATO intervention in Ukraine could lead to the extinction of humanity. MSM and social media are on top of it.

Hypocrisy knows no bounds.