#military pay in India

[manasastuff-blog]

INDIAN NAVY TRADESMAN SALARY DETAILS #trending#viral#ndainvizag#defenceinvizag#navysalry#navy#armtv Indian Navy Tradesman Salary Details: What You Must Know! If you're curious about the salary structure for Indian Navy Tradesmen, you're in the right place! In this video, we delve into the detailed breakdown of the earnings and benefits associated with being a tradesman in the Indian Navy. From basic pay to additional allowances and perks, we cover everything you need to know to understand the financial benefits of this prestigious role. Whether you're considering a career in the Indian Navy or simply curious about the compensation, this video provides all the insights. Stay tuned till the end for a comprehensive overview of the salary components and how they add up to make a lucrative package. Don't miss out on this essential information!

Call:7799799221

Website:www.manasadefenceacademy.com

#IndianNavy#trending #TradesmanSalary#trending #SalaryDetails#NavyCareers#DefenceJobs #IndianDefence#trending #SalaryBreakdown#MilitaryPay#army #CareerInNavy#IndianNavyJobs

[whencyclopedia]

XYZ Affair

The XYZ Affair was a diplomatic incident that occurred in 1797-98, involving diplomats from the United States and Revolutionary France. Amidst rising tensions between the two nations, President John Adams sent envoys to Paris to negotiate a treaty, only to find that the French would not open negotiations unless the US paid a bribe. This helped to incite the Quasi-War.

The affair came at a time when the concurrent French Revolution (1789-1799) was already creating divisions within American politics. The nationalist Federalist Party – of which President Adams was a member – was horrified by the violence of the French Revolution and wanted to move the United States away from France's sphere of influence. To do this, they sought to foster closer political and economic ties with Great Britain, which they viewed as the natural ally of the US. This caused outrage amongst the rival political faction, the Democratic-Republican Party (Jeffersonian Democrats), who believed that closer ties with Britain would only undermine republicanism in the United States. At the same time, the French Republic viewed the budding relationship between the US and Britain as an act of aggression and authorized attacks on American merchant vessels in late 1796.

In 1797, President Adams sought to resolve the issue diplomatically and sent three envoys to France. These envoys had expected to be received by the French foreign minister, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord; instead, they were met by three French intermediaries (referred to in coded dispatches as agents 'X', 'Y', and 'Z') who insisted that the United States pay a large bribe in order to meet with Talleyrand and begin negotiations. When this became public knowledge in the US, it inflamed public opinion against the French, leading to increased support for Adams and the anti-French Federalists. Rising Franco-American tensions led to a brief, undeclared naval conflict called the Quasi-War (1798-1800), as well as the passage of the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts (1798).

Background

In 1778, the Kingdom of France signed a Treaty of Alliance with the fledgling United States. The American Revolutionary War had been ongoing for three years, and the Americans had time and again proven their resilience and determination in battle against the British; however, it was clear to all that the American rebellion would falter if they did not receive support from a European power. France was happy to oblige, seeing that a victory in America would humiliate and weaken its rival, Great Britain. France provided the Americans with arms, ammunition, uniforms, troops, and ships, and it turned the war into a global conflict by threatening the valuable British colonies in India and the West Indies, forcing Britain to spread its military resources thin. French soldiers and ships proved vital to the decisive American victory at the Siege of Yorktown, the engagement that solidified American independence. Certainly, the French contributed greatly to the ultimate American victory and succeeded in striking a blow to British prestige in the process.

But such a war came with a monstrous cost, and France soon found itself drowning in debt. Attempts to tackle the problem failed, and France's economic misfortunes blossomed into a revolution. News of the Storming of the Bastille in July 1789 was sweet to American ears, as was the proclamation of the First French Republic three years later. Americans were jubilant that their French brothers-in-arms were following their lead and casting off the shackles of monarchism, with Thomas Jefferson and his supporters even welcoming the new French Republic as "our younger sister" (Wood, 182). But then came the violence: the September Massacres, the trial and execution of Louis XVI, and the start of the Reign of Terror made the streets of Paris slick with blood and plunged the young French Republic deeper into chaos. Under the new Jacobin regime, hundreds of thousands of French citizen-soldiers swept into Europe, vowing to deliver liberty and equality at the point of a bayonet. The French Revolutionary Wars were soon underway as the great powers of Europe – Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, and Great Britain among them – took up arms against the French.

Even now, the French Revolution had support in the United States, with men like Jefferson believing that a little violence was the price to pay for liberty. They believed that the 1778 Treaty of Alliance was still in effect and urged the Washington Administration to offer support to their sister republic. However, President George Washington was reluctant to offer any such support. He knew that doing so would risk antagonizing Great Britain, with whom relations were already low, at a time when the United States was completely unprepared for war. Instead, Washington issued a Proclamation of Neutrality on 22 April 1793, in which he promised to keep the United States out of the French Revolutionary Wars. The following year, his administration negotiated a deal with Britain – the controversial Jay Treaty, ratified by Congress in 1795, created stronger economic and political ties between Britain and the United States. While this achieved the goal of the Washington Administration and the Federalist Party of avoiding another war with England, it outraged the Jeffersonian faction of Americans (Democratic-Republicans), who still wanted to support France and feared that the treaty placed the US too closely within Britain's sphere of influence.

Jay Treaty

John Jay (Public Domain)

The French Republic itself was also incensed by the Jay Treaty, which it interpreted as a British-American alliance. The French felt especially double-crossed because they believed the 1778 Treaty of Alliance was still in effect and had been expecting American support. They retaliated in 1796 when French privateers began attacking American shipping in the British West Indies. Within the next year, nearly 300 American merchant ships were captured, their crews often subjected to maltreatment; in one instance, the French tortured the American captain of the Cincinnatus with thumb screws to get him to confess that he was carrying British goods. Amidst these rising tensions, Washington, who was preparing to leave office, recalled James Monroe as ambassador to France, feeling that Monroe was too pro-French. In his place, Washington sent Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, a hardline Federalist from South Carolina; but when Pinckney arrived in Paris, the French refused to even receive him. This was how matters stood when John Adams was inaugurated as the second US president on 4 March 1797 – a discontented pro-French faction on American soil, and an aggressive French Republic looking to assert its will.

Continue reading...

[ohsalome]

How does a state become fascist? How did Russia do it?

A special kind of nationalism is needed here. To convince people that you were once great. That once you were a military empire — and then you were humiliated. This is what Hitler once said: “Germany was great, had colonies in Africa, but we were humiliated at Versailles

Under the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919, which ended the First World War, Germany had to get rid of its numerous colonies in Africa, China and Micronesia, cede significant territories in Europe and pay reparations to the victorious states of the war in the amount of $442 billion at 2012 prices.. Our empire was taken from us, and our people in other countries and former territories faced genocide. We need a strong ruler to come and restore our empire. To show that we are a big powerful player. And Iʼm ready to do it.”

Putin behaved the same way. He even said that if Russia does not regain its greatness, it will destroy the world.

Also, often in countries that become fascist, there are many economic problems. And nationalism, this feeling of power, can replace food — you will draw your happiness from this feeling, or from the awareness of yourself as a German or a white American. After that, you say that representative democracy is evil. That it allows the existence of LGBT people and the like, that the state is weak because of democracy. Fascism appeals to conservative, religious people who would not call themselves fascists. He tells them: we will protect you from your children becoming gay, from someone destroying your churches. And they often call all their opponents communists. And they get votes. Sound familiar, right?

[...]

It is ironic that the Russians, who were once rightly regarded as the victors over fascism and who now practice fascism, call their war "anti-fascist."

It is necessary to pay attention not to words, but to ideology. Putin can say that he is a liberator — but he is closer to Hitler than to Brezhnev, to Peter I than to communists. And this is an important argument in favor of why the Russians should not leave a single piece of Ukrainian land. For the same reasons why it was not possible to leave, for example, Warsaw under the Nazis.

Now Putin is talking about Ukrainians like Hitler was talking about Jews. He says that there can be no Ukrainians, only Russians, and that all Ukrainians are actually Russians. This position means that he is going to get rid of everyone who speaks the Ukrainian language. That is why all this delusion of the West about territorial concessions must stop.

[panimoonchild]

Unpunished evil returns and grows stronger in its impunity

"13 houses in the residential area were damaged during the rocket attack, the houses have five floors. There is a very large number of broken windows, over 700. Seven humanitarian buildings were damaged," said Kateryna Yamshchikova, Secretary of the Poltava City Council, about the consequences of the missile attack in Poltava on June 17.

Utilities and rescuers are working at the site. They are trimming damaged trees and removing balcony structures. Social workers and psychologists are also assisting.

Also, Vadym Labas briefly explains why certain countries that arrived at the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland did not sign a joint declaration.

▪️ Saudi Arabia is a major hub for the transfer of components and units for Russian weapons, as well as a place of accumulation of billions of Russian money. ▪️ India - supplies units and components to Russia. It has joint military-industrial complex plants with Russia, from assault rifles to missiles. It is a hub for transshipment of Russian oil. ▪️ South Africa - everything is clear here: "Wagner", money and influence. ▪️ Thailand - supplies sanctioned products to Russia and also helps the Russian military-industrial complex with its production. For example, Russia could not produce cable products without Thailand. ▪️ Indonesia - supplies sanctioned products to Russia. ▪️ Mexico is a huge hub for the supply of drugs to Europe and Russian agents to the United States, which generates huge shadow earnings. ▪️ United Arab Emirates - helps to supply sanctioned products to Russia and has a lot of Russian money. ▪️ Armenia - has a huge Russian lobby and is one of the key players in the supply of smuggled military-industrial products to Russia.

All this brings super-profits either to these countries themselves or to influential clans in these countries. Therefore, they are quite satisfied with the current situation.

P.S.: these countries came to the Summit to "keep their finger on the pulse," but they are not interested in peace in Ukraine because they make super profits by helping Russia circumvent sanctions and supplying components. But if they were given a clear signal about the secondary sanctions that could be imposed for helping Russia, their "pulse rate" would increase significantly.

DPRK prepares for the arrival of the world's evil.

Now the most important news: The ratio of forces in the Pokrovsk sector is 1 to 7 in favor of the Russians, said a soldier of the 47th Brigade, pseudonym "Azimuth".

Photo: Approximate front line in the Pokrovsk sector/DeepStateMap.

The Russians are pressing near the villages of Novoselivka Persha, Sokil, and Novopokrovske, trying to reach the Pokrovsk-Konstantynivka highway.

Don't be indifferent. Make Russia pay. Please hear our cry out to the world, keep spreading our voices, and donate to our army and combat medics (savelife.in.ua, prytulafoundation.org, Serhii Sternenko, hospitallers.life, ptahy.vidchui.org, and u24.gov.ua).

[bantarleton]

Who Were the "Hessians"?

A good article from Facebook by Dr Alex Burns;

Myth 1): German troops were all Hessians.

Although most came from the mid-sized German state of Hessen-Kassel, troops from six different principalities (Hessen-Kassel, Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, Hessen-Hanau, Ansbach-Bayreuth, Waldeck, and Anhalt-Zerbst.) Indeed, the current leading progressive reenactment group portraying these soldiers represents Regiment Prinz Friedrich, essentially a garrison unit from Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel.

If you include the larger, global war outside America, fought in places like Gibraltar and India, troops from the state of Hanover (Braunschweig-Lüneburg) also fought for the British outside of the Holy Roman Empire (the pre-German territorial entity.) So, while over 60% of these troops came from Hessen, they really hailed from all over the western and central Holy Roman Empire. As a result, it might be better to call them something other than Hessians. "Germanic" has been put forward, but that usually conjures up images of the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Myth 2): They were mercenaries.

Imagine you are a soldier in the United States Army, serving in West Germany during the Cold War. You are stationed there because of longstanding agreements and alliances, which stretch back decades. The United States Government and the West German government have a financial understanding that helps maintain your presence in the region. Are you a mercenary? The situation was very similar for the German-speaking soldiers who fought in the American War of Independence, They had a longstanding relationship with Great Britain, stretching back decades. They had fought with alongside the British since the 1690s, both in continental Europe and in the British isles. As a result of the Hanoverian succession in 1714 (the British Royal family was drawn from Hanover) they had longstanding marriage connections with Great Britain. Horace Walpole, a British politician from the 1730s, referred to the Hessians as the Triarii of Great Britain.

These soldiers did not personally or corporately take on contracts from the British. they were members of state militaries: their governments were paid a subsidy by the British in order to fight in their wars. Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia, received subsidies from the British during the Seven Years War. As a result, the modern German term for these troops is *Subsidientruppen, *or subsidy troops. **Thus, it might be better to speak of the German-speaking subsidy troops, as opposed to calling them Hessians, or mercenaries. **Historians have argued that it might be fitting to call their countries "mercenary states". This is different from saying they were mercenaries.

Myth 3): They were sold to America because their princes were greedy and wanted to build palaces and pay for their illegitimate children.

The princes of the Western Holy Roman Empire lived in an incredibly dangerous world during the eighteenth century. Their territories were small, rural, principalities, trapped between the military giants of France, Austria, and Prussia. As a result, from the 1670s, these princes attempted to use subsidy contracts to build themselves larger armies, in order to preserve their independence. These subsidy contracts were a standard feature of European politics, diplomacy, and conflict resolution. They allowed the princes to better protect their small domains. None of the princes who formed subsidy contracts with Britain during the American War of Independence were doing something radically new or greedy. Instead, they were following on decades of practice which had allowed them to maintain their own independence. The Hessian (Hessen-Kassel) Landgraf Friedrich II actually used the funds from the contract, in part, to promote economic development and the textile industry in his territories. **Some of them had illegitimate children. Some had palaces. Portraying them as sex-crazed misers limits our understanding of the economic and security necessities which actually underpinned their subsidy policies. **Following the long-standing practices of their governments, princes in the Western Holy Roman Empire entered subsidy agreements to maintain the costs of their states.

Myth 4): They committed many brutal war-crimes in America.

The subsidy troops had been used in messy civil conflicts before. Hessian troops were used against the Jacobites in 1745-6, where they remarkably refused to take part in the repression against the Scottish Jacobites. Their troops were remembered in Perthshire, Scotland, as "a gentle race," and their commanding Prince (Friedrich II) declared, "My Hessians and I have been called to fight the enemies of the British crown, but never will we consent to hang or torture in its name." (Duffy, *Best of Enemies, *p. 133). English officers in the Seven Years War, noted that their troops were reprimanded for plundering more than Hessian forces. (Atwood, *The Hessians, *p. 173). In North America during the War of Independence, the Hessians once again behaved better than their British counterparts. Although there was a surge of fear about Hessian brutality early in the war, after the first few years of the war, Americans believed that the Hessians treated them better than British soldiers. Aaron Burr wrote of Hessian atrocities: "Various have been the reports concerning the barbarities committed by the Hessians, most of them [are] incredible and false." (Matthew Davis, *Memoirs of Aaron Burr, *Vol 1. p. 107). Comparing the brutality of the Napoleonic Wars with the American War of Independence, a Hessian veteran who served in both wars commented: "Everything which the author has subsequently seen in this regard greatly exceeds what one should term cruelty in America, which in comparison with more recent times, can be regarded as nothing more than a harmless puppet show." (Adam Ludwig von Ochs, *Betrachtungen Ueber die Kriegkunst, *60-61.) Hessian troops committed crimes in America, there is no doubt. What is clear is that these crimes were not excessive for an eighteenth-century conflict.

Myth 5): Many of them deserted to America, where life was better.

Many Americans claim Hessian ancestry. As a result, it is common to encounter the sentiment that these "mercenary" troops were simply waiting to switch sides. In reality, most of these troops returned to their homelands in the Holy Roman Empire. A very small number switched sides before the end of the war, a larger (but still small) percentage elected to remain in America after the war ended in 1783. Far from being an act of rebellion, the princes encouraged their subsidy troops to remain in America if they desire: this would cut costs, and make the process of slashing the military budget easier in peacetime. Most returned to celebrations, public parades, and being welcomed by loved ones. For more on exact data of desertions, as well as the subsidy-troops' return home, see Daniel Krebs' book, *A Generous and Merciful Enemy. *The majority of these troops remained loyal to their princes, and returned home to their own native lands.

Who Were the Hessians?

The experience of 37,000 soldiers mainly drawn from six small counties is not all one thing. There are elements of truth to each of the myths about the Hessians, but their story is more complex than the myths that are told about them in English-speaking circles in North America. They were drawn from a fascinating world in Central Europe with its own customs, practices, and traditions. They entered the American story, and as a result, it is worth taking the time to understand and remember their path in it in a complex way.

A "Hessian" Reading List:

Rodney Atwood: "The Hessians: Mercenaries from Hessen-Kassel in the American Revolution"

Friedrike Baer: "Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War"

Stephan Huck: "Soldaten gegen Nordamerika Lebenswelten Braunschweiger Subsidientruppen im amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg"

Charles Ingrao: "The Hessian Mercenary State: Ideas, Institutions, and Reform under Frederick II, 1760–1785"

Daniel Krebs: "A Generous and Merciful Enemy: Life for German Prisoners of War during the American Revolution"

[doamarierose-honoka]

Ten years ago, musician Usman Riaz grabbed a pencil and started to sketch.

He might have hoped, but didn't know at the time, that it would start him on a path to making history.

That initial drawing became The Glassworker - Pakistan's first ever hand-drawn animated feature film.

It follows the story of young Vincent and his father Tomas, who run a glass workshop, and a war that threatens to upend their lives.

Vincent's relationship with violinist Alliz, the daughter of a military colonel, begins to test the bond between father and son.

Usman tells BBC Asian Network the characters ultimately come to learn "that life is beautiful but fragile, like glass”.

He describes The Glassworker as an "anti-war film" set in an ambiguous and fantastical world that takes inspiration from his home country.

“I wanted to tackle issues and themes that would have been difficult to tackle if it was based in Pakistan," he says.

The country doesn't have the thriving film industry of neighbouring India and there is no government support or incentive for budding creatives like Usman.

So The Glassworker was a passion project, he says.

“These 10 years for me have just been purely driven with passion and obsession.

“Since I was a child, I have loved hand-drawn animation and there's something so magical about it.

"The beauty of the lines drawn and painted by the human hand always resonated with me.”

Usman says he travelled the world looking for mentors and his search took him to Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli.

The influence of the Oscar-winning artists behind classics such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke can be seen in The Glassworker's own style.

Usman says the industry veterans at Ghibli were also the ones who encouraged him to start the production himself.

After raising $116,000 through a 2016 crowdfunding campaign he founded his own studio, Mano Animations.

From there it's been a painstaking process, especially since full production started in 2019.

“What you are watching is essentially a moving painting,” says Usman.

“Every single frame you see, whether it's a background or the character moving, it's all drawn by hand.”

Usman says that, so far, he hasn't made any money from the project and has been unable to pay his wife Maryam and cousin Khizer, who he recruited to help him.

But there's hope that the labour of love could be the start of something bigger.

Usman Riaz says he's always been a fan of animation

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is another experienced industry figure Usman turned to for advice about getting The Glassworker off the ground.

She directed 3 Bahadur, a computer-generated tale that was Pakistan's first-ever animated feature film.

On its 2015 release it broke box office records, even surpassing US imports and dethroning previous record-holder Rio 2.

Her studio was also the country's first female-led animation studio, and she understands the challenges of getting started better than most.

“Everything in Pakistan is driven by passion” she says. “I had to run pillar to post.

“We're a country that has limited access to electricity and our industry is heavily taxed.

"We're unable to import computers and hardware needed for animation.”

But Sharmeen – who is going to direct upcoming Star Wars film New Jedi Order – says The Glassworker could be a “monumental step” for Pakistan’s animation scene.

If it finds commercial success, she believes it will “ignite” something in the country, but there are barriers to home-grown animation becoming a red-hot trend.

The Glassworker is partly about the romance between characters Vincent and Alliz

Arafat Mazhar from Lahore-based Puffball animation agrees that “the technical skills are already there” in Pakistan despite there being “no formal training or schools available”.

But “how do you not censor yourself?” he asks.

It's a question facing any Pakistani filmmaker who has to deal with its strict board of film censors.

“Every time there's a good film that comes out that's sincere, the state ends up censoring it,” says Arafat.

He doesn't believe the rules are likely to relax soon.

Akira Toriyama: Fans reflect on Dragon Ball creator's legacy

Stranger Things season five teaser excites fans

Is Hollywood finally doing anime right?

Sharmeen agrees the government will only encourage the domestic film industry to grow if they work to "provide opportunity to create a level playing field for us to compete with the rest of the world".

“There is a lot of scope in Pakistan for animation," she says. "We've just never been given the opportunity to create it."

She shares Arafat's pessimism about the pace of change.

"Unfortunately, it will just be a few filmmakers who have that passion, who will continue to create films," she says.

But Sharmeen says she is eager to see how the world embraces The Glassworker.

"I know that there is so much in there that will touch people's hearts," she says.

Usman says The Glassworker has an anti-war message

Usman will finally get to find out how audiences react to the work he's spent 10 years pouring his energy into as The Glassworker goes on general release.

He says he hopes to “put Pakistan on the map” and show it can stand up to the giants across the border in Bollywood.

But he admits the process has been “gruelling”.

“It is extremely difficult, but we've done something nobody has ever done in the country before," he says.

"I think we've created something special that can stand toe-to-toe with the rest of the animation produced in the world.”

Listen to Ankur Desai's show on BBC Asian Network live from 15:00-18:00 Monday to Thursday - or listen back here.

[sea-owl]

I feel like Penelope, Michael, and Sophie would be such menaces and cause so much mayhem if they teamed up.

We all know Michael and Penelope were menaces to society. Penelope had the Ton wrapped around her finger so tight that her column even made it to the countryside. Michael was an international menace from his time in the military and his four year trip to India. Sophie wasn't all that much of a menace in her book mainly because she had to dodge Benedict, but she gave off the vibes she had the potential to be. Like give her a chance and time away from Benedict's horny radar, and she'll take it.

If Penelope wanted to pull some people from the ton in on her business empire, those two would be some ideal informants. Michael could charm gossip out of members of the ton while Sophie could help by keeping her ears on the ground and talking with the servants. I also feel like Michael and Sophie would agree just for the fun of it. Plus the pay is nice.

[freeleyenrashespeakstruth]

To all the new people in the country...

The people of the United States of America do not hate you or dislike you, well most of us anyway. What we hate is how our politicians have deceived us by how they made your presence in our nation possible. Please read on and think about why you are here in the first place, and I don't mean your reason for coming to the USA, I mean the reason why so many people were allowed in from a certain date in time all of a sudden.

Let me explain. Please read on.

About 30 years ago our nations elected leaders did something that they don't even speak about anymore. They intentionally stopped manning the border, and pretended that it was an invasion of the southern border. Literally they cried "the Mexicans are crossing the border and we can't stop them!" It was all over the media. The greatest nation in the world and strongest most powerful military could not defend our southern border and they announced it on every tv station and every radio station. No internet or cell phone 30 years ago.

"The Mexicans are invading the USA and we cannot stop them" and "the Mexicans are taking our jobs and we can't stop them" were all we were hearing almost the exact same time that it was announced there would be mass layoffs all across the United States. Another thing that started almost immediately was the "dial 1 for Spanish, 2 for English" that quickly changed to "1 for English, 2 for Spanish" because the citizens were getting ready to riot.

Lots of things changed and quickly. Many of us were confused. Many of us were losing our jobs and businesses were closing up, and those who stayed open were replacing the workers with people who didn't even speak our language. It was happening so fast and more cries of "THE MEXICANS ARE STORMING OUR BORDER AND WE CAN'T STOP THEM!!!" Seriously (said sarcastically and truthfully.)

And who were the Mexicans? The Mexicans were every Latino from central or south America who came into the country regardless of what nation they came from. And every politician and media called all Latinos Mexicans, long before Trump was ever in the picture.

And was it only the southern border? Of course not silly. We were told only about the Mexicans so that we wouldn't pay attention to the massive amount of people coming in from India and Pakistan, on planes on the east and west coast. And there were almost as many Indians and Pakistanis as there were Latinos.

Any other nations coming in? Nope. Only Latinos down south and Indians and Pakistanis on the east and west, but no other nationalities. Europeans, very little, a few Russians, Oriental Asians only to work at businesses owned by Asians, and never many Africans. Israelis always had an open door, but not many Arabs at all because they were considered our enemies and not allowed in the USA. About 99% Latino or Indian only, with a 60/40 to 70/30 ratio being Latino. "THE MEXICANS ARE STORMING OUR BORDER AND WE CAN'T STOP THEM!"

Nothing racist said, I hope you see that. We The People were being deceived big time. I say this because most of the people here now don't know what happened. And that has been used to the politicians advantage. Most of the people who lost our jobs have all died by now. And our families were destroyed. Our people will never recover from that time period. But we do not blame you. It was our very own elected public servants in the White House, the Senate, and Congress who did this to us, not you, the people who came into the USA to have a better life for you and your family.

Now you understand why the Great Divide in this country from it's beginning.

[lol-jackles]

Anon: but... but... the Gaza attack was due to 75 years of colonization......!

Me: Well gee, I guess the Armenian genocide ought to be considered in the context of…the previous 1500 years of Armenian Christianity’s existence, and 450 years of non-Muslim Armenians living peacefully under Ottoman rule and paying a special tax in order to do so. And while we're on that subject, I guess the Omagh bombing, which killed 29 people including non-Protestants and non-English people, should be considered in the context of 800 years of British political and military involvement in Ireland. And I suppose the Cambodian genocide has to be considered in the context of centuries, if not millennia, of class warfare which preceded it. Or something.

Fucking. Bull.  Shit.

And let's not forget an important fact, immediately after the U.N created the partition, Jordan annexed Palestine (Jordanians and Palestinians are the same people living in different locations). So Palestine never actually technically existed. It was only after the Jordanians got their asses kicked twice in wars they started with Israel that Jordan gave up and renounced the "Palestinians" citizenship. The terrorist Yasir Arafat, in a remarkably successful P.R. move then decided to create this new myth of a Palestinian People with Israel as its homeland.

This is the translated meme that gets passed around in the Arab nations mocking the gullible liberal Westerners like you for falling for Arafat lies.

Now Anon, try to imagine Mexicans get uppity over losing territory to United States of America and begin a campaign of terror against the USA. Mexico launches missiles across the border wall into San Diego, Tuscon, San Antonio and more. They dig tunnels under the border wall and generally make themselves a pain in the ass.

But this time they launched a full scale incursion, took over several border towns, massacred most of the population and took the rest as hostages back into Mexico. They post videos online of raped and tortured hostages, who only barely cling to life. Mexicans now say they will start killing hostages, unless USA abandons New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, California and Nevada and calls on the entire world to join in their crusade.

How do you think the USA would respond to that? Hmmmm?

You can switch countries if you want. Russia took land from Finland, China from Tibet, India and Pakistan have their antics, there’s the perpetual issue of Western Sahara and so on. Can you think of one example, only one example, where the response would be more restrained, if a militarily weaker force did that to a larger, stronger neighbor in such a manner? All it takes is one.

[stephensmithuk]

"Army-crammer"

You may be wondering what one of these was, so I'll give a quick explanation.

An idea imported from Imperial China, where it had been going since the end of the 6th Century CE, the British at this time had a series of competitive exams you would do if you wanted to join the civil service (either UK or Indian) or become an officer in the British Army. These has been introduced to improve the quality of the men in the organisations and get rid of the problems caused by patronage by selecting on merit.

You would take this exam, covering a wide range of topics from the classics (of course) to modern languages to geography. If you passed, you were eligble for a role, although still needed to undergo the other sorts of checks you still do for employment today - background checks, health checks and also oral testing to make sure you knew your stuff.

Some more stuff here:

I think the "Modern Major-General Song" was influenced by this - officers who had a lot of broad knowledge, but not that much of use in a military context. Although the croaking chorus from The Frogs of Aristophanes would make a great password.

You would have various organisations, either tutors or full-time schools, to help young men prepare for these exams.

The exams are largely a thing of the past in the UK, but are still very much around in India, where the UPSC to join their civil service is considered possibly the toughest exam in the world:

Those who got into the Army officer training programme would either go to the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich (for the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers) or the Royal Military College in Sandhurst (infantry and cavalry).

However, while these exams were designed to make the Army more merit-based, it still tended to be the richer guys who ended up as "Ruperts". You had to buy a lot of your own kit and maintain it too. You still do have to pay for full ceremonial dress (generally red or black), No. 1 Dress (blue, for ceremonial events) and "mess dress", which is basically the military equivalent of evening wear.

This uniform could be bought from various places, including the Army & Navy Stores, a chain of department stores run by officers from both as a co-operative. Their stores covered a whole range of stuff for soldiers and their families, ranging from groceries to guns. They even expanded to India, although those branches went with independence. In 1973, they were bought out by House of Fraser; a chain that has had a bad last few years, with a large number of its stores closed or closing.

You can get allowances and tax relief on uniform costs today. There is also a big second-hand market.

Also, living the lifestyle associated with being an officer and a gentlemen wasn't cheap. You had to pay your mess bills, ensure that your sword was in good condition, keep up a decent social life etc.

Professor Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes also was an army coach in his past, by the way.

[whencyclopedia]

Delhi Durbar

The Delhi Durbar was a spectacular public event held in India to commemorate the accession of a new British monarch to the title Empress or Emperor of India. Three Delhi Durbars were held: 1877, 1903, and 1911. The event involved military processions, elephants, and magnificent carriages, as well as a host of rulers of the Indian princely states paying homage to the British Crown in recognition of its sovereignty over large parts of the subcontinent.

Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901) did not attend the 1877 Delhi Durbar in person but was represented by the viceroy. Similarly, in the 1903 durbar, another viceroy represented King Edward VII (r. 1900-1910). The 1911 durbar was the most spectacular of all as King George V (r. 1910-1936) attended the event in person.

The Durbar Tradition

Spectacular gatherings of semi-independent or vassal rulers in order to pay homage to an emperor were a regular feature of the Mughal Empire (1526-1857) in India. These ceremonies were held at the royal court or durbar, and so that name became associated with the public act of homage performed by vassal rulers. In the royal palace in Delhi (today known as the Red Fort), the multitude of subordinate rulers gathered in a great open courtyard festooned with coloured awnings and wall hangings while, in the centre, the Mughal emperor awaited their homage of loyalty. The emperor sat majestically on the Peacock Throne, "a stunning construction of gold and jewels surmounted by a golden arch and topped by two gilded peacocks, birds of allegedly incorruptible flesh which may have symbolised not only the splendour of the Mughals but also their durability" (James, 4). The Mughal durbars not only displayed the emperor's power and his subject's obedience but were also an occasion to hear opinions from experienced rulers, to catch up on events in the far corners of the empire, and to settle any disputes or matters of justice between vassal rulers.

The British took on this double idea of power display and receiving homage from allied rulers. Delhi, the capital of the Mughal Empire in India, seemed a suitable location as it would involve a strong propaganda message "of complete British assumption of the symbolic and real power once held by the Mughal emperors" (Barrow, 126). Calcutta (Kolkata) was the other choice since this had long been the main centre of the East India Company, whose territories the British Crown and government took over in 1858. Calcutta was also made the capital of the British Raj (rule) in India. In 1911, however, Delhi replaced Calcutta in this role. For the durbars, though, Delhi was the choice for all three events. To demonstrate to the Indian rulers just why they were paying homage to the British Crown, the British version of the durbar involved a huge display of the empire's military might.

Continue reading...

[mariacallous]

Conspiracists and far-right extremists are blaming just about everything and everyone for Tuesday morning’s Baltimore bridge collapse.

A non-exhaustive list of things that are getting blamed for the bridge collapse on Telegram and X include President Biden, Hamas, ISIS, P. Diddy, Nickelodeon, India, former president Barack Obama, Islam, aliens, Sri Lanka, the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, Wokeness, Ukraine, foreign aid, the CIA, Jewish people, Israel, Russia, China, Iran, Covid vaccines, DEI, immigrants, Black people, and lockdowns.

The Francis Scott Key truss bridge collapsed when the MV Dali cargo ship collided with one of the bridge supports. Six construction workers, who were filling potholes on the bridge’s roadway at the time, are presumed dead. The ship is owned by Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and the 22-person crew were all Indian. The ship was en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the time of the accident.

This did not stop people from “asking questions” about the incident, a frequent conspiracist response to major events. And though conspiracy theorists are having a hard time pinpointing exactly what conspiracy caused the collapse, the one thing they do agree on is that this incident is a “black swan event.”

The term black swan event has been around for decades and is used to describe a major global event (typically in the financial markets) that can cause significant damage to a country’s economy. But in recent years, the term has been co-opted by the conspiracy-minded to explain an event triggered by the so-called deep state that would signal an imminent revolution, a third world war, or some other apocalyptic catastrophe.

One of the first people to call the bridge collapse a black swan event was disgraced former US national security adviser Michael Flynn. “This is a BLACK SWAN event,” he wrote on X. “Black swans normally come out of the world of finance (not military) … There are harbor masters for every single one of these transit points in America that are in charge of assuring the safety of navigation … start there.” Flynn’s post has been viewed 7.2 million times.

Misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, who has been charged in Romania with rape and human trafficking, also posted on X early on Tuesday morning, writing: “Nothing is safe. Black Swan Event imminent.” The post has been viewed almost 19 million times.

The term black swan quickly began trending on X, and soon conspiracists, extremists, and right-wing lawmakers began coming up with explanations for what or who triggered this “black swan event.”

One post claiming a link between the bridge collapse and the film Leave the World Behind has been viewed more than 1.2 million times. The post claimed that because the ship was headed to Sri Lanka, which has a lion on its flag, then the situation was linked to the ship that runs aground at the beginning of the film which was called White Lion. The post also points out that the film was produced by Obama.

A post from Anthony Sabatini, a former Florida state congressman, declared, without evidence, that “DEI did this”—and its been viewed over 2.2 million times.

Some politicians have boosted the conspiracy as well. “Is this an intentional attack or an accident?” Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, an influential and conspiracy-minded member of the GOP, posted on X above a video shared by a prominent QAnon conspiracist.

Under previous iterations of X, formerly Twitter, such speculation would typically have gained little traction, as the algorithm would have prioritized trusted news sources and primary evidence. But under Elon Musk’s reign, anyone willing to pay for a blue check can have their posts artificially boosted by the algorithm. This means that conspiracies like this are ending up in the news feeds of millions of people.

On Telegram, one prominent election denier claimed the incident was linked to the fact that the bridge was named after Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words for the Star Spangled Banner, and was thus an attempt to undermine America.

“Don't let them erase our history,” the conspiracist wrote.

Investigators are looking into the cause of the tragic incident, but William DelBagno, the FBI special agent in charge, said on Tuesday that there are no indications of terrorism.

[rauthschild]

The British Raj.....Part 1

Once you understand that the British Monarch is the "Prince" in charge of a Company called "the United States of America" and another Company called "Great Britain", as well as the CEO of various incorporated British Business Entities calling themselves by names like this: "the United States of America, Incorporated" and "the United States Government, Incorporated" ---and that the British Monarch also works as an Overseer for the Pope who grants the "King" his "Crown" ---- and their British Crown Corporation franchises doing business as "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" (INCORPORATED) and "USA" (INCORPORATED) and so on, the present state of the world makes more sense.

Once you also understand that these various business entities have, for the past century and a half, been commandeering the American Military and using them as cheap British Territorial Mercenaries, everything comes into a clearer focus.

What everyone has been mistaking as American Armed Forces and American aggression, has in fact been British Mercs and British Commercial aggression, promoting an endless cavalcade of vicious "Mercenary Conflicts" all over the globe, and promoting equally vicious and obnoxious "occupation" of the civilian populations at home.

These bogus commercial "armies" of occupation have pretended that they had legitimate standing as lawful militaries engaged in declared wars, when in fact, they were always completely out of line and acting outside the Law of War and were illegally occupying The United States and all these other countries, precisely as they occupied India when using their own uniforms (not ours) and earned their nasty reputation as the "British Raj".

We might as well speak of the "German Raj" and the "French Raj" and the "Swedish Raj" and the "Canadian Raj" and the "Australian Raj" and the "Japanese Raj" and the "Iraqi Raj" --- because wherever these British Mercenary Forces disguised as American Peacekeeping Forces have operated, they have used the exact same model as they used in India and most infamously, South Africa.

They showed up and pretended to be legitimate peacekeeping forces engaged in helping the native government in some acceptable capacity, invited themselves in, quietly moved in and "occupied" the country --- and began plundering its natural resources, commandeering its trade policies, and ruling over the people as corporations under contract to the British Monarch and the Pope to provide "essential government services" ---services that, in most cases, the people were already providing themselves.

Think of it as a sort of hostile corporate takeover.

You have your own government in place and are muddling along and doing alright for yourselves, paying your national bills, minding your own business, and living within your means ---- and this other organization shows up and starts providing "essential government services" you didn't ask for.

Pretty soon, Australia and its unincorporated government has been taken over by a foreign corporation in the business of providing government services, and merely calling itself "Australia".

Just as the United States of America, Incorporated, drops the word "Incorporated" and presents itself as the United States of America instead, Australia, Incorporated, doesn't mention its incorporated status and nature, either. It just calls itself "Australia" and lets people mistakenly assume that it is a legitimate unincorporated government entity.

The Perpetrators conveniently fail to add the telltale word, "Incorporated" to the name, lest people wake up and see "Australia, Incorporated" and wonder -- why is a foreign corporation (it turns out) aping our government and taking over the functions of our government?

Why is this foreign corporation -- a private entity -- charging us "taxes" when it has no taxing authority, and why, then, is a privately owned foreign corporation dictating our economic policies and charging its expenses to our credit?

Because they are crooks and the Principals operating these corporations "as" governments under color of law are crooks, too.

This is precisely what Cecil Rhodes and his "British South Africa Company" did in South Africa. They received a charter from the British Government to provide government services in South Africa and this commercial company obliged Parliament by stealing gold and diamonds and everything else they could lay their hands on --- all for the benefit of the King and his Agents acting under color of law, of course.

It was so wildly profitable and safe to commercially rape and pillage a defenseless country that was dependent on the "good faith service" of these mercenary corporations, that Parliament was encouraged to repeat the same bait-and-switch fraud in India and throughout the world.

In this regard, it becomes apparent that the "King" of Great Britain (Company) is acting in the capacity of a "President" or as they term it in England and in the Definitive Treaty of Paris (1783), the "Prince" of the corporate service provider in Territorial Jurisdiction.

It's also apparent that this practice and process of subcontracting with deceptively named commercial corporations to provide government services and using these legal fiction entities to evade contractual service obligations and to undermine and usurp upon the lawful national governments of other countries is both illegal and unlawful.

So is their armed "occupation" of other countries illegal and unlawful. BlackRock, Haliburton, Wagner, and yes, the U.S. Army, Inc. are all mercenary organizations; they are all illegal racketeering and privateering organizations by definition, too.

That conclusion has already been concluded to the satisfaction of the entire world and made manifest in 1948-49, when the phony foreign government being "provided" to India by His Majesty and the Government of Westminster was overthrown by non-violent non-cooperation and some of the largest public protests ever seen on Earth.

It should not be necessary to say that the question has already been decided and that no form of the British Raj "System" is acceptable.

All the Substitution Frauds and incursions of this kind by commercial interests imposing themselves on or "as" national governments, and then allowing their own private bank creditors to charge direct taxes for their "services" on civilians, are unjustified and unjustifiable crimes.

The Perpetrators have attempted to excuse their activities in a number of ways.

After promoting an illegal mercenary conflict on our shores in the 1860s and deceitfully calling it "the American Civil War" so as to cloak the nature of this fight as a Mercenary Conflict, these Vermin pretended that our lawful American Government simply disappeared, whereabouts unknown.

They then pretended that this created an "emergency" and granted themselves Emergency Powers never imagined by the people of this country --- and they settled in to very quietly occupy this country, and began their entire regimen of theft, misrepresentation, and coercion, aimed at credit hacking, embezzlement, asset stripping, and using Americans as cheap mercenaries under color of law.

This False Pretense that our national government disappeared meant that other countries accepted their Big Lie and allowed them as Subcontractors of our Government, to "represent" us in our purported Absence.

Our actual Government was being kept in the dark in the wake of the so-called Civil War, subourned, coerced, moth-balled, and attacked under False Pretenses. The men responsible for running our Federation of States and our State Governments were progressively threatened, beaten, robbed, murdered, forced to flee for their lives, slandered, and had their homes and businesses burned under the pretense that they were "rebels" and "insurrectionists".

No wonder our actual Government appeared to "disappear".

We are sure that it's a great surprise to learn that not only did our American Government survive, it's been perking along all these decades, wondering who or what is being charged for all these "services" we never ordered? And being astonished to hear from Third Parties, that we are in "interregnum".

This is all British doing and all the blood and criminality must be laid on the head and hands of the British Government(s), which includes the British Crown Corporations, and the Pope, in his capacity as the ultimate creator and director of the snake-like British Commercial Raj operations that have led this planet to the brink of destruction.

This excuse of needing to come in and restore order and provide a government (or rather, government services) after some disaster that they caused, proved to be so handy that the same Perpetrators have used it again and again.

All seventeen of the Western Countries occupied by the so-called Allies after the Second World War are still illegally occupied by the same Miscreants using the same excuse -- oh, the national governments haven't reappeared, so we had to come in and provide the people with services and support -- at gunpoint.

Even if there was a need for government services early on, it does not explain the continued presence of these foreign commercial forces almost eighty years after the end of hostilities.

Nor does it explain how and why American men and women are being used to impose this dreadful criminal bunk, giving the impression that our country is doing this, when in fact, our countrymen are being unwittingly employed as foreign mercenaries and are participating in this British-led crime spree without a clue that they are doing anything wrong.

It doesn't explain why Americans are paying 96% of the defense costs of these European nations, either.

The Commonwealth countries were suborned first as Territories of the British Empire that were bankrupted by their Sovereign's spending and then replaced by what appeared to be "American" corporations in the business of providing government services and running the same old scheme from 1910 to 1965.

The excuse used to commandeer the national governments was, "Oh, their Territorial Governments (commercial corporations substituted for legitimate governments) are bankrupt! They need order and assistance!".

But these invading corporations, "Canada" Incorporated, "Australia" Incorporated, "New Zealand", Incorporated, were just profit-making enterprises of the British Monarchy and Papist Holy Roman Empire, not governments in fact and certainly not accepted as governments by the people of any of these nations.

By 1965, public awareness and outcries and embarrassments related to the British Colonial System and Colonialism in general, led to a big publicity stunt, in which the dissolution of the Commonwealth (another bankruptcy staged by the guilty corporations) was announced.

The victims, the people of each country impacted, had no idea what was going on and they weren't told, either.

So the guilty British Territorial (aka, Commonwealth) Government stood down for seven years and waited, and when the people failed to spontaneously fund and staff and erect a separate national government --- not knowing that that was what they were expected to do for themselves --- the Rotters came back in, re-established their corporate hegemony, and shrugged.

The Perpetrators of this circumstance say, we attempted to give them their freedom; they must like being ruled over by us and by our governmental services corporations. Let's just assume that, from the fact that they didn't organize a new national government for themselves....

This is the same exact Modus Operandi which has been used as their excuse for their coercive undermining of the national governments worldwide; their embezzling, credit hacking, misrepresentations, and war profiteering have been carried out under the pretense that the people in all these countries have "voluntarily" accepted their rule, when in fact these same people have been kept in the dark and never even asked the questions pertinent to any such purported acceptance.

Certainly, nobody ever laid the facts on the table and asked any American, "Do you want the British Territorial corporation called the USA, Incorporated, to rule over you and tax you whatever they like?"

Please consider for a moment what you should, logically, believe--- not only about the situation in America and the purportedly "voluntary" Federal Income Tax System, but all similar systems and organizations worldwide.

These corporations and their taxation schemes and their so-called "social security" or "social insurance" programs have all operated under conditions of deceit and fraud. They have all depended on constructive fraud and misrepresentation and impersonation of living people as corporate franchises.

The entire circumstance and everything attached to it is just one huge, interlocking fraud scheme, designed to steal the assets and credit naturally belonging to living men, for the benefit of foreign corporations.

This is why we call the system of governance engendered by this criminal enterprise "Corporate Feudalism".

There is no actual King of England sitting on a throne and accepting "pledges" of feudal serfs, but instead, we have Fat Tick CEOs who have obtained their riches and powers by fraud and force, imposing exactly such pledges of our assets and credit by impersonating us as franchises of their own commercial and municipal corporations.

These corporations are doing this by secretly imposing the obligations of foreign citizenship upon us and everyone else in every affected country, using a practice of False Registration of babies and taking unauthorized copyrights on their Given Names, and again, via an equally False Public Trust system used to latch upon their living estates, taxing them, mortgaging them, indebting them and impersonating them.

Everyone involved in this hopelessly corrupt business should be ashamed of themselves for preying upon little babies in their cradles and engaging in such a disgusting, unconscionable, and self-interested system of premeditated and malicious fraud and impersonation.

As the actual lawful and sovereign nations of this country operating in international jurisdiction as the States of the Union, by and through the instrumentality of our Federation of States doing business as The United States of America (Unincorporated) ever since 1776, we are calling these corporations out for it and bringing an end to their predatory reign of terror on our shores.

The Principals responsible for all this have received Due Process and Judgment already and are called upon to "surrender" insomuch as this term can be applied to illegal Mercenary Forces; all the banks that have been glutting themselves on the proceeds of these crimes are called upon to Cease and Desist extending our credit to these criminals, and are additionally advised to reform their operations in accord with our directions.

The ruination of yet another dishonest foreign central bank on our shores cannot be used as another excuse to promote more war (and profits for the Perpetrators) against us or any of the numerous other victims of this crime cabal.

Instead, their maritime corporations need to be liquidated or directly forfeited to the actual owners --- the living people and national governments of each country impacted by these crimes. It's time.

This process of nationalizing corporations and bringing them under land law is called "lawful conversion".

Banks and other corporations that undergo lawful conversion will be set free of obnoxious and expensive regulatory powers and taxes-- and while they may not reap the profits made possible by inland piracy, they will be on solid ground again, functioning as honorable men again, and providing worthwhile services again, instead of defrauding and demeaning their customers.

We have chartered this bank on the land and soil of this country, and through it, prepaid redemption credit can be obtained for commercial accounts and Sovereign Accounts; asset accounts are to be lodged with The Global Family International Trade Bank. The gold-backed American Federation Dollar is now circulating.

RMA-API connectivity meeting and exceeding Basel IV standards are available to bank members of our new "Blue Dot" Bilateral Banking System. A simple one-page Bank Treaty Agreement is required.

Please bear in mind that the Federation of States delegated all delegated powers to all Federal Subcontractors and is fully enabled and empowered to perform all delegated duties and subsume all delegated powers when the Subcontractors fail to perform. This includes the power to issue money and credit.

Insomuch as our American Federal Republic has failed and awaits Reconstruction, and in full view of the facts summarized above and in our International Public Notice: Impersonation, showing that the remaining foreign Federal Subcontractors have operated in Bad Faith and Breach of Trust and have been fully informed, received Due Process, and have received Judgment of Gross Breach of Trust and Violation of their Service Contracts--- and this has been published for more than seven (7) years worldwide--- there can be no doubt that the Federation of States is well-within its rights to exercise these Powers and undertake these functions.

Please note that our "full faith and credit" guarantees were extended to the Congress of our "United States", operating under The Constitution for the united States of America, and they depend upon our specifically delegated powers both to the original Confederation of States-of-States, and to our American Federal Republic.

When the Confederation of States-of-States lost a quorum to operate, the American Federal Republic also failed --- and the full faith and credit guarantees, too.

We, the Federation of States and our State Members, did not underwrite the Sovereign and Public Debts of Great Britain or the Holy Roman Empire; we only guaranteed to pay for enumerated services provided under our own enumerated and delegated powers and stipulated service contracts.

Any other interpretation of our grant of "full faith and credit" as a plenary grant is not indicated by the Federal Constitutions, and cannot be derived from any action undertaken by the "plenary" government established for the City of Washington, DC, either -- as the operation and purpose of this oligarchy was strictly limited and vouchsafed to the members of our own United States Congress, not to members of the British Territorial U.S. Congress, and not to the Congress of the United States Municipal Government, either.

The last authorized draw upon our full faith and credit was in January of 1861 for the first quarter operations of the American Federal Republic, made by the Several States in Congress Assembled, styled simply as the United States Congress, not the Congress of the United States, not the U.S. Congress, and not the UNITED STATES CONGRESS.

All later representations of any "United States Congress" have been staged by members of the HRE Municipal United States Government, pretending that the "United States Congress" is the same body as their "Congress of the United States". More fraud, in other words.

Since then, the foreign British Territorial Subcontractors have delegated their merely "presumed" and "assumed" responsibility to handle our money (Abraham Lincoln operating as Commander in Chief of the United States of America, Incorporated, issued General Order 100 without authority related to us and our money) and to receive our credit --- to their own creditors, the same Jewish Bullion Bankers from Amsterdam and their progeny, that the British Territorial Government has been in debt to since 1694 --- the

[theblackknightofworcestershire]

I will also say about Throne of Jade. The bit at the beginning where the British are horrified to hear that the Chinese emperor was commandeering their sailors absolutely INFURIATED me.

This book expects me to feel bad on behalf of the fucking British East India Company???????? One of the most famously evil companies in history?? You have GOT to be kidding me.

I can suspend my disbelief for a fantasy book and side with Britain against Napoleon, but this is beyond.

Also the fact that the crime was specifically impressment of sailors was laughable. A small crime compared to the shit the East India Company got up to but still. Y'all're British in the year 1810. You have no right to be mad about people impressing your sailors when you're impressing American sailors at that very moment. And what Britian is doing is definitely worse since the Americans are getting forced into military service, while these East India Company fucks are just being forced to lose profits by undergoing a voyage for no pay. Come on.

[thatdebaterguy]

'Colonisers'

So along with saying the west is some genocidal oppressive system, another big argument is saying that the west is solely responsible for the idea of colonisation and settler colonisation. This is when people need to do their history. The UK, arguably the most successful empire in history, has been subject to being colonised so many times in history it's unreal. Viking invaders establishing settler colonies in the North-East of England are mostly responsible for why people in that region have blonde hair. I personally have about 12% of my heritage tracing back to Scandinavia. The Saxons moved over to England and intermixed with the native Anglos and Gaelic speaking peoples to create Anglo-Saxons. Then the Normans invaded in 1066 and created the modern English culture over hundreds of years.

Eastern Germany around Berlin used to be controlled by tribal Slavic groups like the Polabian people, before the Germanic people under the Holy Roman Empire conquered it and integrated the land. Spain was full of Catholic Europeans until the Umayyad conquests where Southern Spain was occupied and integrated into the Caliphate. The West has some of the most documented cases of colonising each other, invading each other, assimilating each other. African and Native American tribes had been waring each other for centuries long before the Western civilisations showed up. And this is my hot take; if you yourself believe that the colonisation of America or Africa by white Europeans were worse than the Africans and Natives slaughtering themselves and enslaving each other, then you yourself are racist. The West did exactly what any other country throughout history has ever done, but on a larger scale due to technological superiority over the rest of the globe. When the Islamic golden age was taking place, the Muslim Caliphates of Arabia conquered the Turkic lands, the Steppes, North Africa, parts of Europe, even the Ottomans who were around until only 100 years ago, subjected millions of Christians in the Balkans and enslaved them, long after places like Britain abolished slavery. In fact, the gap between 2024 and 1918 (when the Ottomans existed) is a larger gap than 1918 and 1807, which is when the UK abolished slavery.

The thing is, you don't see Saudi Arabia paying Spain reparations for conquering half of their entire country and selling their women across the Mediterranean, and you don't see Turkey giving reparations to America for raiding American ships and capturing their women too, even in recent history, Turkey has killed Americans in Syria despite being allies, and the US recently sent a variety of aircraft to Turkey to bolster their military. Meanwhile in the US, you've got affirmative action and diversity quotas, and Microsoft proudly displaying how minorities are paid more than white people, which is literally pay discrimination based off skin colour. If you asked a South African what they'd think about introducing quotas where the minority and discriminated white population get benefits, they'd tell you to leave before they drove a knife through your skull.

The point is, colonialism, oppression, slavery, it's a stain on human history, not just Western history, but at least the West has had the decency to acknowledge its dark past, teach it, learn from it, pay reparations from it, even the UK is sending aid to India, while the UK has a cost of living crisis and India has a stronger economy. The west has the freedoms and liberty to let you scream in the streets about how oppressed you are and how bad it is, something you can't do in half the world. You call the government, which is a royal family, terrible in Saudi Arabia and you get hanged for treason or beheaded, same if you're openly gay. Yes we've done some bad things, but no one is innocent throughout history. What matters is what we do now.

[ncisfranchise-source]

Wilmer Valderrama, the 44-year-old actor best known for roles such as Fez in the sitcom “That ‘70s Show” and Special Agent Nicholas Torres on the drama series “NCIS,” has immersed himself into the activewear business.

The actor, entrepreneur, activist and fitness enthusiast has introduced a new active lifestyle brand for women and men called E.P.U., which stands for E Pluribus Unum, which is Latin for “out of many, one.”

“I Iove the fashion industry and it’s something that I really have been paying attention to, and have been so fascinated by the people who create fashion,” Valderrama said in a telephone interview Friday.

The collection features unisex T-shirts, tanks, crew neck sweaters, sweatpants and sweatshirts, along with men’s and women’s hoodies and joggers and women’s crop T-shirts and tanks.

Sizes range from XS to 2XL, with prices going from $25 to $75. The garments are crafted from 100 percent French terry cotton. The socks, duffel, unisex T-shirt, unisex, tanks, and women’s crop T-shirt are all made in the U.S., while the rest is made in Vietnam and India.

E.P.U. has forged a direct partnership with the USO (United Service Organizations) with a portion of sales benefiting their mission of strengthening the well-being of service members and their families. Valderrama, who is a global ambassador for USO, has been on more than 45 USO tours around the world and his time with the troops inspired him to give back to the men and women who serve to protect the country — and the people they leave at home.

Valderrama said he’s no stranger to the fashion industry. About 10 years ago he was involved in a casual brand for two years called Calavena, which sold in stores such as Saks, Kitson and Barneys. The brand no longer exists.

This time he decided to get into active sportswear for several reasons. First, he realized early on in his career that fitness was something that “not only helped the mental strengthening of the ups and downs of the industry,” but allowed him to look ahead to what roles I wanted to play next. “From Fez and having to transform into a person who could play a cop, it’s part of the transforming process,” he said.

In that journey, he created the hashtag #MyHouraDay, where he would do something active and share it on social media. His followers around the globe started giving their own answers such as “Going for a run,” or “Going for a Swim.”

Further, Valderrama has been inspired by athletes such as cross trainer Mat Fraser and snowboarder and skateboarder Shaun White, who are friends of his. “We’re always talking about mental strengthening, and when you’re out there trying to be number one, what is that mentality?” Valderrama said.

As a global ambassador to USO, Valderrama will bring friends along, talk to the troops and design and host big stage performances with comedians, musicians and DJs. “I’ve been to almost every base around the world. I’ve been to Iraq, Afghanistan, [South] Korea, Germany, Lithuania, you name it, I’ve been at that base,” he said. He began realizing the commonality of the military and what he loves so much.

“Part of their every day is how much they prioritize fitness. Fitness was an extension of their daily routines,” he said. He said he made it part of what he does professionally. “My workouts weren’t negotiable, they weren’t hobbies. [At] 4:30 in the morning, I get up and I’m going to the gym, and then I go to work. It’s part of my workflow. That mentality started creating this mental strengthening that I was not expecting. I always had the bug to go back to fashion. And all of a sudden, I was like, ‘What if?’”

He believed that he could take everything he learned from traveling the world with the military, and the inspiration from his athlete friends to create a brand that infused that kind of community for mental strengthening. Inspired by retro fashion from the 1950s and 1960s and Double RL hoodies and sweatpants, he felt he could create a brand that looked cool and functioned well. They designed the looks to be worn to the gym for a boxing workout or cross-fit training, as well as great travel outfits and clothes that can slip off easily for the pool.

Since today’s generation likes to discover brands on their own, he is selling E.P.U. through an online store, epuhq.com, as well as Instagram and Facebook.

One of his main objectives is to build a community. By donating part of the proceeds to USO, he’d like to be part of building USO Centers around the world and creating programs for veterans and their families. He pointed out that USO is a nonprofit and not government-supported, so it relies on donations.

“This is very much a passion project of mine, and I want to be as bold as possible in supporting these programs. And then the big thing is we build mental strengthening facilities,” he said.

Valderrama, who owns his Los Angeles-based company 100 percent, said he’d eventually like to launch accessories, socks, gloves to work out in, shoes, water-resistant products, weighted-vests and his own equipment.

Asked how he finds the time to run this business, while pursuing an acting career, he said, “There’s always time. If you have something in front of you that’s a priority, the schedule somehow molds into a place that you also have time for it. I have literally daily calls on this. We have photo shoots.…We have tons of community-building content around this,” he said.

“It’s a big undertaking, when they say cut, I start making calls,” Valderrama said. So far, he’s working with eight or nine full-time people in digital, social media and distribution.

Valderrama declined to divulge how much volume he anticipates he’ll do in the first year. “We’re hoping that we sell out very quickly and go right into the next phase. The internal testing that we’ve done has been received incredibly. People love how simple it is,” he said. He anticipates the tracksuits will be a bestseller.

The collection’s color palette is the official colors of the different branches of the military such as red and yellow for the U.S. Marines, green for the U.S. Army and blue for the U.S. Air Force.

Valderamma said he never got a chance to serve in any of these military branches since he got his first big break in TV when he was 18 years old.

He recalled that he became interested in USO years ago when he was walking through an airport and two members of the military came up to him and asked to speak to him. They said that after a long day of doing what they do, they trade “That ‘70s Show” DVDs like they’re baseball cards. “’And we laugh. It really helps and thank you,’” they told him. Valderrama immediately called his agent and said he’d like to show up at their bases. “In two seconds, they sent me out on a USO tour,” he said.

For the collection, he worked with “a design guru who helped scramble what was in his head,” and his fiancée, Amanda Pacheco, who was their fit model and gave suggestions on the women’s fit. To promote the brand, he plans community workouts to show who’s supporting the brand and what the brand is physically doing in real time.

Valderrama was born in Miami but grew up in Venezuela until the age of 13 or 14, when his family moved back to the U.S. and settled in Los Angeles. His father is Venezuelan and his mother is Colombian.

Next week, he will start taping the 22nd season of “NCIS,” which averages 6.5 million to 7 million viewers live every Monday night on Paramount+ and has about 12 million to 13 million viewers overall every week, he said. Valderrama’s next project is a “Zorro” adaptation for Disney, which is in development and he stars and serves as executive producer.

The actor has also written his first book, a memoir entitled “An American Story: Everyone’s Invited,” (HarperCollins) which will be published Sept. 17. “The memoir is a tribute to my family by bringing me to the U.S., and showing me the road and allowing me to walk it. I was able to take the American dream and make it something that belonged to my life,” he said. When he came to the U.S. at around 14 years old, he didn’t know how to speak English. “And by the age of 18, I’m booking ‘That ‘70s Show.'”