#oct 22 2019

[nyctarian]

the haters* said i'd never get it under 80k...

[mikeywayarchive]

Updated link

Full interview under cut:

Mikey Way & Shaun Simon Expand on Collapser, Young Animal’s Newest Series

By Steve Foxe  |  April 10, 2019 | 12:00pm

Main Art by Ilias Kyriazis

Just a few short hours ago, Paste helped break the welcome news that DC and Gerard Way’s “pop-up” imprint Young Animal will be ending its hiatus by launching a brand-new slate of comics. In addition to a new volume of flagship title Doom Patrol, now titled Doom Patrol: The Weight of Worlds, Young Animal will introduce an original Green Lantern series called Far Sector and a brand-new concept known as Collapser. 

Co-written by former My Chemical Romance bassist Mikey Way and The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys writer Shaun Simon with art by G.I. Joe: First Strike contributor Ilias Kyriazis, Collapser introduces struggling DJ Liam James, whose anxiety-ridden life gets a lot more complicated when he opens a package containing a black hole—which quickly takes up residence in his chest. Collapser stands apart from the wider DC Universe, but Way and Simon have big plans for addressing mental health, early adult melancholy and that whole power/responsibility thing with their cosmically powered protagonist. 

In advance of Collapser’s announcement, Paste chatted with Simon and Way to learn more about their long friendship, tackling mental health via superpowers and why Collapser protagonist Liam sports a pea coat.

Collapser Cover Art by Ilias Kyriazis

Paste: Shaun, you worked with Gerard Way on The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, and Mikey, you obviously spent years growing up, and then making music, with your brother. But how did the two of youcome together for Collapser and how long has the project been in the works?

Mikey Way: It’s crazy, me and Shaun go back a long time. He was in a band called Pencey Prep, that My Chemical Romance shared a practice space with, and we just became really close friends through so many similar interests—we all like the same music, we like the same comics and movies, we have the same points of reference. When Pencey Prep kind of dissolved for a bit, Shaun had come out on the road with us. He was selling merch and helping out and hanging out, and I vividly remember us all trading comic books around. We were in a van at the time. We’d be talking about which comics we were reading, and everyone borrowed our graphic novels. There were no tablets back then and you had to physically bring the issues with you. I remember all of us having really heavy backpacks full of graphic novels and whatnot. But yeah, we’ve known each other a really, really long time.

Paste: And how long has Collapser specifically been in the works?

Way: Two-plus years, I think?. 

Shaun Simon: I think so. Mikey had done an issue of a Batman Halloween special for DC, what was it, 10 years ago, Mikey? 

Way: It was a decade now. A decade ago. Initially, there were a few projects that I was working on with DC and then life just happened. Do you know what I mean? Different things pulled me in different directions. At the time I was really bad at multitasking. I would always write pitches or have series ready to go, and then My Chemical Romance was so consuming, that I honestly—it falls on me, I’m bad at multitasking. So I was like, “I’ll do this when we have a break, I’ll do this when we have a break,” which is what I would say—and then we never really had a break.

Paste: Mikey, It’s pretty common knowledge that your brother pursued a comic career before My Chemical Romance got off the ground. But are you also a lifelong fan of the medium, and is Collapser a story that you needed to tell with or without Young Animal?

Way: Yeah, I think comic books—I mean, it’s how I learned how to read. My brother got into comics at a really early age and so I did I. We would walk to this store that was a couple of blocks away that was an old newsstand, and we would go and buy comics there and eventually, you know, as we got older, comics shops became really important to me and him. They became like our clubhouse. It’s kind of like your home. We played Dungeons & Dragons there on weekends and it became your home away from home really. We met lifelong friends that we still talk to at the original comic shop that we hung out at in Bloomfield, NJ, called Metropolis. We still talk to those guys pretty regularly. But yeah, it was just always there for me. I was always interested. I always kept tabs, even when life got busy and I would fall in and out of following storylines, I would always be aware of what was going on too. I’m almost 39 now so that’s probably 36 years of comic books.

Paste: Getting to the book itself, what can you tell us about Liam James and how he gets the abilities that upend his life as a struggling musician? Are we seeing the birth of a new hero, or is Liam planning to stay pretty far removed from capes and tights?

Way: I think he stays away from the tights. [Laughs] He finds his own costume of sorts.

Simon: He prefers pea coats. 

Way: Yeah that’s the thing. Me and Shaun, we’ve always been pea-coat enthusiasts. I remember like 15, 20 years ago, walking around Willowbrook Mall trying to find one. We were like, “Yo, we want a really good coat!” and me and him, we’re both really skinny, so we’d get a small and it’d be draping on us.

Simon: Yeah, we’d get women’s coats that actually fit. 

Way: We’d have to go in the women’s section, we’d try it on. I remember we’ve always been into pea coats, so the fact is that our hero, the pea coat is kind of his Superman shield. That’s his costume. It’s funny. That’s something from our past that has come up in the story.

Paste: Well, aside from his fashion choices, what can you tell us about where Liam’s life is when the series opens and how he comes to possess these powers?

Way: He’s kind of in a strange spot where he’s like—it’s the second coming of age when you’re done with high school, and there’re some people, they don’t quite know what they want to do yet. 

Simon: They’re in a limbo.

Way: Limbo, yeah. And they’re trying to figure it out. They know what they do like, but they don’t know how to make a living doing it. Like for instance, Liam is very into DJing at his local club that all his friends hang out in. And he knows he loves that, but he doesn’t know what that means necessarily. Until he figures that out, he’s got to have a regular job; he works at a nursing home. So yeah, it’s about that in-between, like Shaun said, it’s kind of like a limbo. He’s in that second coming of age, a second adolescence of sorts where he’s trying to grow up. He’s trying to figure it out. But he is very much struggling to find his footing in the real world. He’s also apprehensive to give up this stuff that, you know, some people would say is childish or it’s like a pipe dream. He doesn’t want to give that stuff up quite yet. So it’s like one foot in the door, kind of dipping his foot in the pool kind of thing—he doesn’t know how to attain his dreams.

Paste: And about the actual event itself that kicks off the book—is there anything you want to tease to readers about how Liam gets his powers, or is that a surprise that they’re going to have to pick up the book to see?

Simon: I think we could we could say that. Liam also suffers from anxiety, which is something that I know a lot of people, Mikey and I, friends and this generation has to deal with. That’s kind of a driving force in his life, that he has to deal with this anxiety, this voice in his head nonstop. And when he DJs, the music kind of calms that voice down. So right in the beginning of this issue, he gets a package from his mom, his mom who he hasn’t seen since he was little, and in the package is a black hole. And the black hole takes up residence in Liam’s chest.

And then the story goes: how does this affect him and what does this mean for him? You become this superhero and does that help you when you have an issue like anxiety, or is that just a distraction from an issue like that? And is the real solution to it something other than what he’s doing at this point?

Paste: I’m glad you brought that up because I wanted to ask—you’ve both worked with mental health issues before, Mikey with My Chemical Romance, Shaun, with books like Neverboy. Was it important for you to bring a theme like that into the pages of a superhero comic?

Simon: That was one of the first things we talked about, like who’s this main character? The music, the kind of Goth music and the New Wave stuff is stuff that Mikey and I grew up with. And also dealing with issues like anxiety and depression and all this kind of stuff, I mean this is all where we came from. So it was no question—how then would someone like this deal with becoming or getting these powers that he’s about to get?

Way: I feel like this generation is very open about their internal struggle, which is cool. I think a lot of our parents, growing up, they were told to repress that kind of thing, or it wasn’t classified what some of it was. Medicine wasn’t there yet, things weren’t diagnosed properly yet. I feel like this generation, they kind of wear it like a badge of honor, which is cool.

Simon: They’re not afraid to get help. 

Way: They’re not afraid. I know some people probably think it’s a bad thing, like a stigma. But I feel like the way the world is evolving, that it’s not seen that way anymore. But yes, it was super-important for us to get that in because, again it’s something me and Shaun and so many people we know struggle with. I see it being brought up in comic books, but this is another opportunity. I can’t remember the comic I saw it brought up, but there was a comic book a couple years ago where one of the characters had some kind of anxiety, but I don’t remember it. But I feel like it’s something that will probably become more commonplace now because it is such a big problem. I don’t know many people without anxiety. I talk to friends and people about it and everyone can kind of relate. 

Paste: Yeah, it’s not an easy era in which to feel relaxed and carefree.

Way: Yeah, you’re plugged in and you’re told to be scared all the time and you’re told all these awful, terrible things. And it’s hard to not take some of it to heart. There’s a degree of shellshock. With the news and world events and tragedies, it’s a lot of process. Especially, I can imagine a young kid having to absorb some of this stuff.

Paste: I do want to talk a little bit more about the plot of the book and the new cast of characters, because based on the art in the first two issues, it seems like Liam’s story is full of new faces, not necessarily familiar DC characters. Can you give us any teasers about the supporting cast or anyone who might be making Liam’s life even harder?

Simon: There is no one from the DC Universe—this is pretty much a self-contained story and universe on its own. However, there will be people from Liam’s own life making appearances, old friends, new friends, stuff that really affects him in very personal ways. 

Way: Initially the allure to kind of scratch the itch of wanting to use some of the beloved characters we all grew up with—the temptation was there, [but] we kind of felt it would be best to go our own route, that this is actually an opportunity to create all our own stuff. We got excited at the idea of getting to mold the whole universe. Kind of almost like the ‘90s Vertigo stuff where nothing else existed around it, that’s kind of the vein we wanted to hit with this.

Paste: And is there anyone from the supporting cast that readers should keep their eye out for? Or would you rather keep that closer to the vest for now?

Simon: I’ve been saying that this dude is a late-night DJ, suffering from anxiety, getting a black hole in his chest—I feel like that might be enough for now. [Laughs]

Paste: Before we go, let’s talk about your artistic collaborator, Ilias Kyriazis. How did Ilias get attached to the book, and what’s it like working with him to bring Collapser to life?

Simon: He’s great. We were looking for artists for a while and a big part of it was finding the right tone because there is comedy in this, there’s drama in this, there’s horror in this. So we needed someone who would kind of tick all those boxes. We were looking for a while and then I believe Ilias got in touch with someone at DC and was just like, “Hey, you know, I’m available to do stuff,” and I had seen his stuff, his Dirk Gently stuff, which I was really drawn to, the art in that book. And then we got an email from one of our editors and it was like, “Hey, this dude is available and he might be great.” And Mikey checked out his stuff and he got on board and he’s been fantastic. 

He brings a whole other level to this whole thing. He makes things look lived in. [Liam’s] apartment has been lived in by people for generations, and that stuff is all important to us. Not so clean and crisp but lived-in and like it’s really happening to this guy, which is important for Liam because he’s such a ground-level character when he starts out.

Way: What I was really taken aback by with Ilias is how fast he is. I have tons of friends in the industry and they tell me stories—I’d be like, Oh, how long does something normally take to draw, etc., etc., and he’d be finished in days and it would be amazing. He’s really fast and really good which is getting to be his currency.

Simon: He’s very excited about this book too, so I feel like that adds to it. And he’s very involved in character design and the design of the world. It’s very good to be working with someone like him who is as invested as you are.

Way: He got all the references, any time we would send him references or a quick description. He was always right there with us where we were, Exactly, that’s exactly what we were thinking, and he got the vibe right away.

Paste: Collapser helps kick off Young Animal’s return this July. Shaun, like you said, a black hole in the chest is a pretty great hook, but are there any final teases you want to give fans to tide them over until this summer?

Simon: Hmm, that’s a good question.

Way: I think what’s cool about this story is it’s kind of like science fiction/horror. Anything I do has a horror element to it—no matter what I try to do it ends up having a horror aspect to it. As I grew up, all I did was read Stephen King. [Laughs] 

Simon: There’re some Twilight Zone elements to it. Stuff like that inspired us. I think overall, the whole process has just been a blast. Mikey and I are really great friends and we know each other so well, and we connect on so many things, getting to work together on something like this has been like we’ve been hanging out every day even though we’re across the country from each other. It’s just been a really great experience. 

Way: It’s a dream come true. The funny thing is, what we’re doing with Collapser, we kind of would do with other things anyway. Whenever you had a story idea, you’d be like, “What do you think?”

Simon: Oh yeah, all the time. 

Way: Or back when I was doing all my pitches, I would send them to you. It’s like a bullshit detector—is this good or does it suck? And we know from the reaction of the other how it was. Getting to finally do that with something that we’re both working on—I don’t know, it seems like a powerful combo.

In advance of Collapser’s announcement, Paste chatted with Simon and Way to learn more about their long friendship, tackling mental health via superpowers and why Collapser protagonist Liam sports a pea coat.

[feral-ballad]

“My name is Nour Saqer, for the name remains when all is lost. I turned 22 years old last November. Yes. My youthful time was wasted on horrible days. Yes. Those days still continue.

My name is Nour Saqer. And I am 22 years old. I am a fifth-year dental student at Al-Azhar University of Gaza. I am an aspiring student. I am eager and passionate about my studies. Until the last minute, I was allowed to stay at my house on Oct. 7th. 2023 I was still working on a scientific research proposal that was supposed to be published by me and my teammates of young researchers late in November, that year.

This picture of me was taken late 2022 during an international dental conference held in campus.

During my college years alone. Me and my family have had to forcefully evacuate, and run out of our house four times. In 2019, 2021, 2022, and finally in 2023. Each time was in fear of the same threat; meeting our deaths under rubble. My name is Nour Saqer. And I have always been a Gazan. Each of those past times. If we were fortunate enough, we would discover that our home was in repairable damage. There would be a roof over our heads still. We were still fortunate. We still had luck.

But ever since October 7th. I haven't returned home. We were among the first families to evacuate Al-Rimal neighborhood from the very first day of this genocide, we had to turn our backs to it and expect no return. Two floors of my family house, along with my father's store, and only source of income, have been severely destructed due to neighboring missiles. And my university buildings were heavily exploded. All forms of life have been reaped from my city. My hometown.

This is what's left of our campus. I was supposed to have my graduation ceremony here.

My name is Nour Saqer. And I had an enthusiastic heart. And an energetic body. I played sports and walked down every street until I couldn't. I loved my family and friends dearly. I wrote poems about them. I spent time loving them and cherishing their presence. I loved life with all its little things. With all its unattainable things. I loved the grass and the tall buildings. And I loved all people. I loved my people. All their faces. All their talents. All their hidden lives. All we shared. Until we didn't. Everything I have ever loved I lost.

This picture of me was taken during a happy moment on the roof of our house.

This is all that is left of that picture now.

I am currently sheltered in Rafah with my family of 7. Sharing a place with 30 other homeless people. By the end of Ramadan, me and my family would have to evacuate and seek shelter for yet the 8th time due to housing problems. I am so tired of not having any sense of stability. Nothing to guarantee. Nothing to call my own. Every passing minute the situation in Rafah gets worse. Every passing minute I am losing loved ones and relatives. Every passing minute costs me my sanity. Costs me health. Costs me my basic rights to simply live.

I have nothing left to lose or pay the price with except for my life.

I don’t know how to retell my life story in limited words, how to make the most ordinary moments sound precious. How do I equate my value to someone deserving a life of safety? How do I shape myself as someone worth saving?

I have been interviewing myself for days. All my stories are choking me. All my grief is piling up and muting me. I keep trying to find a way to present the best of myself. To make myself someone you'd want to look at. Listen to. And even more,

Help.

I am finally placing both hope and faith in your helpful hands. I am asking you. Please put an end to this continuing tragedy. And help me get to safety. Before it's too late.

It should be in your knowledge that:

It costs $5,000 per person to get out of Rafah through the Boarder Crossing to Egypt. The rest of the donations will be to secure my tution money for the fifth and final year of dental school.

Thank you.”

[judgemark45]

USS America (LHA-6) with thirteen F-35s and two V-22 Ospreys on her deck. Oct 8th, 2019

[matan4il]

On this Yom Ha'Zikaron Le'Chalalei Ma'rachot Yisrael (Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Terror Victims), I figured it's important to remember that Israeli victims did not exist solely on Oct 7. We have lost loved ones before and since. Here's a list with just one random victim to represent each year. Please scroll down the list to see how far back it goes.

(part 1/5, all parts in the reblogs)

2024: On Jan 7, we lost 19 years old Shai Garmai

2023: On Oct 7, we lost 28 years old Osama abu Madiam

2022: On Nov 23, we lost 18 years old Tiran Faro

2021: On May 12, we lost 5 years old Ido Avigal

2020: On Aug 26, we lost 39 years old Shai Ochayon

2019: On May 5, we lost 49 years old Zaid al-Chamamda

2018: On Dec 12, we lost Amiad Israel Yish Ran, who was murdered in his mother's womb

2017: On Nov 22, we lost 21 years old Hodaya Nechama Assoulin

2016: On Oct 25, we lost 14 years old Rami Namer abu Amar

2015: On Feb 17, we lost 4 years old Adelle Biton

2014: On Oct 22, we lost 2.5 months old Chaya Zissel Brown

2013: On Dec 24, we lost 22 years old Salech al-Din abu al-Atayef

2012: On Jul 18, we lost 28 years old Yitzchak Idan Kolangi

2011: On Apr 17, we lost 16 years old Daniel Aryeh Viplich

2010: On Feb 26, we lost 52 years old Netta Blatt Sorek

2009: On Apr 2, we lost 13 years old Shlomo Nativ

2008: On Mar 6, we lost 26 years old Doron Trunach Mahareta

2007: On Jun 17, we lost 85 years old Meir Cohen

2006: On Aug 10, we lost 4 years old Fatchi Assdi

2005: On Jul 12, we lost 16 years old Nofar Horvitz

2004: On Sep 29, we lost 2 years old Dorit Massarat Binsan

2003: On Sep 9, we lost 20 years old Naava Appelbom

2002: On Nov 10, we lost 4 years old Noam Levi Ochayon

2001: On Dec 12, we lost 42 years old Ester Avraham

2000: On Nov 21, we lost 19 years old Itamar Yefet

1999: On Jun 24, we lost 34 years old Tony Eliyahu Zanna

1998: On Dec 2, we lost 41 years old Osama Moussa abu Aisha

1997: On Mar 13, we lost 13 years old Natali Alkalai

1996: On Feb 25, we lost 57 years old Yitzchak Elbaz

1995: On Jul 24, we lost 60 years old Zehava Oren

As Tumblr limits a post to 30 images... part 1/5 - the next parts will be posted in the reblogs momentarily. Please check out the full list.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[sapchat]

IDK if this has been done but I went through the 3 reboots and did a timeline of events so you wouldn't have to!

Side notes: sometimes I use the first initial for who it is! also some of MW3 has timestamps. I also apologize for spelling. Also, lots of this shit happens over like 7-12 days April 6, 2019 Makarov bombs Verdansk Price, Ghost and Soap know each other at this point, have NOT met Gaz

Start of MW1 Oct 24 2019 'Al Qatal' moves gas Oct. 25 2019 Piccadilly Square Oct. 25 2019 Price meets Gaz Oct 26 19 Alex & Farah blow Barkov's bombs Same day destroy one of B's bases Oct. 27 19 Price and Gaz go to Picc Safe house Oct 28 19A&F go to Urzstan hospital for "The Wolf" Oct 28 19 P&G meet up w/ A&F for the Wolf Oct 29 19 Plan ambush for Butcher & Wolf - Hadir uses the gas, learn Hadir stole the gas Oct 29 19 PGAF Go to kill W, & get H Oct 29 19 PGAF kill the wolf, H is 2 Russia Oct 31 19 PGN go 2 Russia, Capture Kill Butcher (and traumatize a family) Nov 1 19 Hadir is handed over to Russia Nov 3 19 Take down Barkov's gas production plant & K Price meets Kate @ Tea shop makes TF 141 w/ Ghost, Soap, & Gaz END of MW1 - May 22, 2022 Soap goes side questing, turns green (idk I didn't watch the trailer (I did but I just know there's like green gas)) Start of MW2 July 15 22 Ghost Blows AlMazrah base (Honestly didn't get the point of us seeing this) Oct 28 22 GS Kill/Cap Mission for Hassan -> Find American Missiles not Hassan Oct 28 22 PG in Amsterdam for Missile info (Think they used it as an excuse to swim) Oct 29 22 Capture a cartel mem 4 info Oct 29 22 Alej. Go for cartel jumping border Oct 30 22 GSAlej go 4 Hassan safehouse They capture Hassan (picnic in the desert omg!) Oct 31 22 PG in Spain for Hassan info Kate gets caught Shepherd tries to abandon her Nov 1 22 PG meet with F to get Kate (they get her and get juicy gos on Shep) Nov 1 22 Soap goes into Casa de Sin Nombre Nov 2 22 Gulf oil rig, blows up by G&S (philip was here too) Nov 3 22 Soap & Ghost are fighting Shadow co Nov 3 22 SG go for Alej w/ Rodolfo. PG meet up Nov 3 22 141 goes for Graves Nov 4 22 Go 2 Chicago 4 Hassan & missile kill both END of MW2 - Kate (& tech. Gaz) learn about Makarov

Start of MW3 Nov 10 23 Makarov is broken out of jail 2am Nov 10 23 Farah is ambushed Konni got missiles around 6am Nov 10 23 141 go for Nuc Power Plant, P get gased 9am Makarov has been out for 6 hours Nov 11 23 They go for Missiles in Urzikistan Nov 11 23 Kate is going 4 intel on Makarov meets Yuri @ 3pm Nov 11 23 Makarov crashes plane, blames Farah and Alex go there 7:30-9:30pm meet with Kate and Nikolai in hanger Nov 12 8am Nov 12 23 they go for Milena 7pm Nov 13 23 they get Makarovs right hand man Nolan 11am Nov 14 23 They find Shepherd swimming at some point 9:30 Nov 16 23 SG stop Verdansk dam bombing Same time PG are at airsti Nov 21 23 141 go after Makarov Hacker Nov 21 23 They stop Makarov bomb, Soap gets killed. Price kills Shepherd after spreading Soap's ashes.

[zvaigzdelasas]

Former leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales called Sunday on his country's government to sever ties with "Israel" and declare it a "terrorist state" in light of the massacres it is committing in occupied Palestine and its continuous aggression on the Gaza Strip. "When we came to power after winning the elections in September/December 2005, we severed our ties with Israel due to our pacifist and anti-imperialistic principles," Morales wrote on X. He recalled that after the US-backed November 2019 coup, Bolivia obeyed "the orders of the [US] empire" and restored its relations with the Israeli occupation.

22 Oct 23

[machveil]

another age headcanon because I like digging shit up on CoD operatives, Kyle “Gaz” Garrick is next

so, interesting, Kyle does have a ‘given’ birth year… the only issue is that it’s listed as “1993 or before”. before? let’s nail this down

Kyle is supposedly born in 1993 or before (grinding my teeth)

Kyle also has two years given for enlisting, 2008 and 2014 (pulling my hair out)

Kyle spent 4 years doing test fights before passing as an SAS. Kyle, starting in his 6th year, is currently a Sergeant

Oct 25, 2019 Kyle works on a job dealing with terrorists

Task Force 141 began activity in 2019-present day, Kyle is recruited in 2019

now, because I don’t hate myself, we’ll work with the year we have given and piece together stuff so it sounds reasonable. that “1993 or before” is making me cry

so, Call of Duty, I’m already sensing an inconsistency (pray for me): if Kyle was born in 1993 and enlisted in 2008 that means he was 15 years old. you have to be at least 16 to enlist in Britain, so we know that 1993 is out and we’re focusing on the before

at the latest, Kyle could have been born in 1992 - assuming that he enlisted as soon as possible. now, Kyle was given two years for enlisting: 2008 and 2014 [explodes]

Kyle either, with the latest birth year being 1992:

enlists in the British Army at 16 in 2008

enlists in the British Army at 22 in 2014

we know Kyle spent 4 years training, and 2 years later he became a Sergeant in the SAS. according to Google, the average age of military personal is 31-33

I’m personally inclined to believe Kyle enlisted in 2014 then - being (22 + 6) 28 puts him closer on average to what would be an average personal age

but, let’s consider TF141. Kyle was recruited in 2019 - the year it started activity. if Kyle was born in 1992, that would make him 27.

here’s where the headcanon begins because Kyle being 27 in 2019 feels okay to me. I’ve done this same type of post with Simon “Ghost” Riley and König, and, respectively, in 2019 they would be 34-35 and 31

Kyle having a 7-8 year age difference compared to Simon feels alright, Kyle feels younger to me than Simon does. so, in my opinion, Kyle being born in 1992 makes sense

present day (2024), that would make Kyle 32

granted, he could still be older, but 1992 sounds like a cozy, safe answer

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

A Nazi rally held in Madison Square Garden, February 20th 1939

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 21, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Oct 22, 2024

On Saturday, September 7, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump predicted that his plan to deport 15 to 20 million people currently living in the United States would be “bloody.” He also promised to prosecute his political opponents, including, he wrote, lawyers, political operatives, donors, illegal voters, and election officials. Retired chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley told journalist Bob Woodward that Trump is “a fascist to the core…the most dangerous person to this country.” 

On October 14, Trump told Fox News Channel host Maria Bartiromo that he thought enemies within the United States were more dangerous than foreign adversaries and that he thought the military should stop those “radical left lunatics” on Election Day. Since then, he has been talking a lot about “the enemy from within,” specifically naming Representative Adam Schiff and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats from California, as “bad people.” Schiff was the chair of the House Intelligence Committee that broke the 2019 story of Trump’s attempt to extort Volodymyr Zelensky that led to Trump’s first impeachment. 

Trump’s references to the “enemy from within” have become so frequent that former White House press secretary turned political analyst Jen Psaki has called them his closing argument for the 2024 election, and she warned that his construction of those who oppose him as “enemies” might sweep in virtually anyone he feels is a threat.

In a searing article today, political scientist Rachel Bitecofer of The Cycle explored exactly what that means in a piece titled “What (Really) Happens If Trump Wins?” Bitecofer outlined Adolf Hitler’s January 30, 1933, oath of office, in which he promised Germans he would uphold the constitution, and the three months he took to dismantle that constitution.

By March, she notes,  the concentration camp Dachau was open. Its first prisoners were not Jews, but rather Hitler’s prominent political opponents. By April, Jews had been purged from the civil service, and opposition political parties were illegal. By May, labor unions were banned and students were burning banned books. Within the year, public criticism of Hitler and the Nazis was illegal, and denouncing violators paid well for those who did it.

Bitecofer writes that Trump has promised mass deportations “that he cannot deliver unless he violates both the Constitution and federal law.” To enable that policy, Trump will need to dismantle the merit-based civil service and put into office those loyal to him rather than the Constitution. And then he will purge his political opponents, for once those who would stand against him are purged, Trump can act as he wishes against immigrants, for example, and others.

Ninety years ago, as American reporter Dorothy Thompson ate breakfast at her hotel in Berlin on August 25, 1934, a young man from Hitler’s secret police, the Gestapo, “politely handed me a letter and requested a signed receipt.” She thought nothing of it, she said, “But what a surprise was in store for me!” The letter informed her that, “in light of your numerous anti-German publications,” she was being expelled from Germany.

She was the first American journalist expelled from Nazi Germany, and that expulsion was no small thing. Thompson had moved to London in 1920 to become a foreign correspondent and began to spend time in Berlin. In 1924 she moved to the city to head the Central European Bureau for the New York Evening Post and the Philadelphia Public Ledger. From there, she reported on the rise of Adolf Hitler. She left her Berlin post in 1928 to marry novelist Sinclair Lewis, and the two settled in Vermont.

When the couple traveled to Sweden in 1930 for Lewis to accept the Nobel Prize in Literature, Thompson visited Germany, where she saw the growing strength of the fascists and the apparent inability of the Nazi’s opponents to come together to stand against them. She continued to visit the country in the following years, reporting on the rise of fascism there, and elsewhere. 

In 1931, Thompson interviewed Hitler and declared that, rather than “the future dictator of Germany” she had expected to meet, he was a man of “startling insignificance.” She asked him if he would “abolish the constitution of the German Republic.” He answered: “I will get into power legally” and, once in power, abolish the parliament and the constitution and “found an authority-state, from the lowest cell to the highest instance; everywhere there will be responsibility and authority above, discipline and obedience below.” She did not believe he could succeed: “Imagine a would-be dictator setting out to persuade a sovereign people to vote away their rights,” she wrote in apparent astonishment.

Thompson was back in Berlin in summer 1934 as a representative of the Saturday Evening Post when she received the news that she had 24 hours to leave the country. The other foreign correspondents in Berlin saw her off at the railway station with “great sheaves of American Beauty roses.” 

Safely in Paris, Thompson mused that in her first years in Germany she had gotten to know many of the officials of the German republic, and that when she had left to marry Lewis, they offered “many expressions of friendship and gratitude.” But times had changed. “I thought of them sadly as my train pulled out,” she said, “carrying me away from Berlin. Some of those officials still are in the service of the German Government, some of them are émigrés and some of them are dead.” 

Thompson came home to a nation where many of the same dark impulses were simmering, her fame after her expulsion from Germany following her. She lectured against fascism across the country in 1935, then began a radio program that reached tens of millions of listeners. Hired in 1936 to write a regular column three days a week for the New York Herald Tribune, she became a leading voice in print, too, warning that what was happening in Germany could also happen in America. 

In an echo of Lewis’s bestselling 1935 novel It Can’t Happen Here, she wrote in a 1937 column: “No people ever recognize their dictator in advance…. He always represents himself as the instrument for expressing the Incorporated National Will. When Americans think of dictators they always think of some foreign model. If anyone turned up here in a fur hat, boots and a grim look he would be recognized and shunned…. But when our dictator turns up, you can depend on it that he will be one of the boys, and he will stand for everything traditionally American.” 

In less than two years, the circulation of her column had grown to reach between seven and eight million people. In 1939 a reporter wrote: “She is read, believed and quoted by millions of women who used to get their political opinions from their husbands, who got them from [political commentator] Walter Lippmann.” The reporter likened Thompson to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, saying they were the two “most influential women in the U.S.”

When 22,000 American Nazis held a rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in honor of President George Washington’s birthday on February 20, 1939, Thompson sat in the front row of the press box, where she laughed loudly during the speeches and yelled “Bunk!” at the stage, illustrating that she would not be muzzled by Nazis. After being escorted out, she returned to her seat, where stormtroopers surrounded her. She later told a reporter: “I was amazed to see a duplicate of what I saw seven years ago in Germany. Tonight I listened to words taken out of the mouth of Adolf Hitler.” 

Two years later, In 1941, Thompson returned to the issue she had raised when she mused about those government officials who had gone from thanking her to expelling her. In a piece for Harper’s Magazine titled “Who Goes Nazi?” she wrote: “It is an interesting and somewhat macabre parlor game to play at a large gathering of one’s acquaintances: to speculate who in a showdown would go Nazi,” she wrote. “By now, I think I know. I have gone through the experience many times—in Germany, in Austria, and in France. I have come to know the types: the born Nazis, the Nazis whom democracy itself has created, the certain-to-be fellow-travelers. And I also know those who never, under any conceivable circumstances, would become Nazis.”

Examining a number of types of Americans, she wrote that the line between democracy and fascism was not wealth, or education, or race, or age, or nationality. “Kind, good, happy, gentlemanly, secure people never go Nazi,” she wrote. They were secure enough to be good natured and open to new ideas, and they believed so completely in the promise of American democracy that they would defend it with their lives, even if they seemed too easygoing to join a struggle. “But the frustrated and humiliated intellectual, the rich and scared speculator, the spoiled son, the labor tyrant, the fellow who has achieved success by smelling out the wind of success—they would all go Nazi in a crisis,” she wrote. “Those who haven’t anything in them to tell them what they like and what they don’t—whether it is breeding, or happiness, or wisdom, or a code, however old-fashioned or however modern, go Nazi.”

In Paris following her expulsion from Berlin, Thompson told a reporter for the Associated Press that the reason she had been attacked was the same reason that Hitler’s power was growing. “Chancellor Hitler is no longer a man, he is a religion,” she said.

Suggesting her expulsion was because of her old article disparaging Hitler, in her own article about her expulsion she noted: “My offense was to think that Hitler is just an ordinary man, after all. That is a crime against the reigning cult in Germany, which says Mr. Hitler is a Messiah sent by God to save the German people…. To question this mystic mission is so heinous that, if you are a German, you can be sent to jail. I, fortunately, am an American, so I merely was sent to Paris. Worse things can happen….” 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Five Fics Friday: Year Five Masterpost

WHAT A SPECIAL WEEK, Y'ALL! This week marks the end of the FIFTH FULL YEAR I've done UNINTERRUPTED FIC RECS every SINGLE FRIDAY! This is quite the achievement, I think. I genuinely didn't think I would make it this long being a reliable source for guaranteed recs every Friday 💜 It's something I'm super proud of and something I really genuinely hope that you guys love as much as I love posting them. I SERIOUSLY couldn't do it without you guys, since I literally get these weekly suggestions primarily from y'all!

For anyone who is new to my blog, every SINGLE Friday I post up 5 fics recently added to either my Marked for Later list or my Bookmarks, or as a way to promote new fics suggested to me by authors as a Signal Boosted fic! I haven't missed a single Friday since its inception in 2019, and it's still going strong!! It's the ONLY guaranteed weekly list on this blog, since YOU GUYS provide me the content!! :D I love doing it, and it makes authors feel loved :)

Next Friday, September 27, 2024 starts year six, so until there, here's your opportunity to check out any lists you may have missed this past year!

There are over 1,300 fics on the lists below, and that DOESN'T count the bonus extended lists I do once in awhile!!!

Again, hope you enjoy and I hope you guys continue to support my fic rec lists. For anyone curious, these are the best lists to get fresh new fics, as often these lists feature fics that authors have posted recently! Enjoy!

PREVIOUS YEARS (2019 to 2023):

YEAR ONE MASTERPOST (Sept 29/19 to Sept 25/20)

YEAR TWO MASTERPOST (Sept 25/20 to Sept 24/21)

YEAR THREE MASTERPOST (Oct 1/21 to Sept 23/22)

YEAR FOUR MASTERPOST (Sept 30/22 to Sept 22/23)

YEAR 5 OF FIVE FICS FRIDAY:

September 29/23

October 6/23

October 13/23

October 20/23

October 27/23

November 3/23

November 10/23

November 17/23

5FF “LOKI” Bonus: November 17/23

November 24/23

December 1/23

December 8/23

December 15/23

December 22/23

December 29/23

January 5/24

January 12/24

January 19/24

January 26/24

February 2/24

February 9/24

February 16/24

February 23/24

March 1/24

March 8/24

March 15/24

March 22/24

March 29/24

April 5/24

April 12/24

April 19/24

April 26/24

May 3/24

May 10/24

May 17/24

May 24/24

May 31/24

June 7/24

June 14/24

June 21/24

June 28/24

July 5/24

July 12/24

July 19/24

July 26/24

August 2/24

August 9/24

August 16/24

August 23/24

August 30/24

September 6/24

September 13/24

September 20/24

[whitehartlane]

HARRY KANE (10) & SON HEUNGMIN (7) OF TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR The greatest partnership to ever exist in the world of football. “When you turn, I will be always there.”

BBC Sport / Kane and Son break the all-time record for Premier League goal combinations / The Guardian / Kane-Son trademark celebration during Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham, 07th May 2022 / Kane-Son trademark celebration during Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham, 04th October 2020 / Kane-Son trademark celebration during Aston Villa 0-4 Tottenham, 09th April 2022 / Kane-Son trademark celebration during Tottenham 2-0 West Ham United / Kane on Twitter after assisting Son on 4 goals against Southampton / Tottenham 1-0 Burnley, 26th Oct 2020 / Nice to Mich You, Son Heungmin / Premier League / Kane and Son hug during Manchester City 2-3 Tottenham, 19th Feb 2022 / Kane and Son hug during Tottenham 1-0 Crystal Palace, 20th Sept 2015 / Kane consoles Son during the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City / Kane and Son celebrate during Tottenham 5-2 Southampton, 26th Dec 2017 / Commentator on the Kane and Son partnership / Tottenham 2-0 Arsenal, 06th Dec 2020 / Caption from ‘Heungmin Son and Harry Kane guess their Premier League goal combinations’ / Stray Kids, I am YOU / Kane and Son celebrate during a 6-1 game against Leicester City, 18th May 2017 / Kane and Son celebrate during a 4-0 game against Everton, 13th Jan 2018 / Kane on Twitter / Frank O’Hara, ‘Morning’ / Kane wins the Golden Boot 20/21 / Son wins the Golden Boot 21/22 / Kane assists Son against Southampton / Caption from ‘Heungmin Son and Harry Kane guess their Premier League goal combinations’ / Mitski, Francis Forever / YouTube: Record breakers! Kane & Son react to becoming Premier League’s most deadly duo! / FootballJOE on Twitter, referencing Son’s trademark goal celebration, the ‘camera,’ through which he is looking at Kane / Gang of Youths, ‘Achilles Come Down’ / Kane and Son celebrate their goal against Arsenal / Kane on his relationship and link-ups with Son / Son and Kane on Instagram / Kane and Son after Kane assisted Son on four goals against Southampton / Tottenham 3-2 Ajax, 08th May 2019 / cr. Shaun Botterill, Getty Images / Commentator on the Kane and Son partnership / Tottenham 3-2 Manchester City, 19th Feb 2022 / Caption from ‘Heungmin Son and Harry Kane guess their Premier League goal combinations’

[ask-serendipity-sky]

1108: Facts and observations

•Day 0

1108 started on the 8th of November of 2015.

Jimin uploaded a video of him and Jungkook to twitter:

On the 26th of January 2016, Jk uploaded a small snippet of a song he was covering.

•Day 100

And on the 15th of February of 2016, Jk uploaded the entire song Nothing Like Us and noted to listen to the lyrics as they were expressing what he wanted to say:

In Korean culture, parents celebrate 100 days after a child is born. This is to indicate that the child made it through the first vulnerable phase in their life. In the same manner, the 100 days are celebrated by Korean couples.

And this is what Jk had to say 100 days after the 8th of November of 2015:

There's nothing like us There's nothing like you and me Together through the storm There's nothing like us There's nothing like you and me together, oh

•Day 366 (1 year)

On 08/11/2016, a year later, Jimin posted another video of them:

•Day 732 (2 years)

On Oct. 28, 2017, Jungkook treated Jimin to a trip to Tokyo. It was because of this trip, that Jungkook released gcfTokyo on Nov. 08, 2017.

A fan used the images in the video and was able to determine the hotel and room jikook stayed at. It was room number 1108.

The video also used the song There For You by Troye Sivan:

Boy, I'm holdin' onto something Won't let go of you for nothing I'm runnin', runnin' just to keep my hands on you There was a time that I was so blue What I got to do to show you? I'm runnin', runnin' just to keep my hands on you

Day 811

On the 26th of January 2018, in a Japanese fancafe, Jimin gifted Jungkook a drawing of a set of champagne glasses and a bottle. Note the details of the glasses.

•Day 900

On the 25th of April 2018, a day before the 900 day milestone, Jimin had a vlive where it was obvious he wasn't alone in the room. He kept looking to the side, laughing shyly and explained:

After he said this, you can hear someone whisper, "Jimin."

Day 1000

On August 3rd 2018, Jk posted a selfie while they were all filming BV3:

During BV3, jikook were able to look around the city alone, and have a boat date under the moonlight.

Day 1013

As you all may know 10:13 is also known as Jimin ssi, or Jimin time. It only makes sense that this day would be special to jikook too.

On the 16th of August 2018, Jimin tweeted a series of 3 tweets:

Jungkook was the only member that appeared in the photos with Jimin. It is also interesting to note the 2 butterfly temporary tattoos he had on his hand.

This is the same time when they had the photoshoot with the inflatable unicorn:

The next day, Jimin uploaded a tweet with the caption "Love Ya", and one of the photos was him and Jk.

•Day 1141

On the 22nd of December 2018, when fans uploaded their selfies on fancafe, the fans let Jk know that Jimin had uploaded his own:

This prompted Jk to type "JIMINNNN" and he signed off. He later uploaded a song that he stopped at 1:18:

You take my mind away When you touch me that way This place, your face It gets hard to breathe I know you're feeling me now You're all I see Almost like we're dreaming

•Day 1394

On the 1st of September 2019, Jk made 2 tweets. One in which uploaded a snippet of Decalcamonia, which he also ended on 1:18:

•Day 1500

On the 16th of Dec 2019, Jimin posted a good night tweet:

The time he uploaded this was at 1:50.

•Day 2300

On Feb 22, 2022, Jk uploaded a story on insta where he is in a car, listening to So Good by Joan. The story was labeled 23:08 even though he uploaded it at 1:24 am.

You and me Got a lotta tension, not even to mention Ooh, that night, just two weeks ago It was half past ten Thinking about living, suddenly when you walked it You took my breath away

•Day 2315

On March 10, 2022, during the Permission to Dance Concert, Jimin used the 2315 numbers and stated the following:

2315 days had passed since November 8, 2015.

•Day 2545

On the 26th of October 2022, Jk uploaded a photo of himself while he was in Qatar. He uploaded the photo at 11:08 Korea time and, 5:08 Qatar time.

•Day 2643

On the 2nd of February 2023, Jimin answered a question on weverse at exactly 23:08. The question is now deleted.

•Day 2684

During Jungkook hosted a series of lives on White Day, 14th of March 2022. His first live was started at 8:11 pm:

During these lives, Jk changed to various outfits and had an extensive playlist. One of the songs that was included was There For You.

•Day 2855

On the 1st of September 2023, Jk hosted a short live to thank the fans for being present with him during so many birthdays. He ended his live quickly and it lasted 8:56 minutes:

My impressions

Based on Korean customs, celebrating different day milestones is typical in a Korean couple.

While some may think that jikook started dating on the 8th of November 2015, I think that's when they decided to be intimate with each other.

I feel like a jikook kiss had already happened since the last time Jimin asked Jk for a kiss publicly was in September 2015 for Jk's birthday. From there, one can only think that things proceeded quite quickly.

I think that in recent years, we have observed less mentions of 1108 because of BTS' popularity and so many fans expecting something from jikook.

It's possible that jikook has decided to not make these milestones known like they did before, but every now and then, they still reference that number. Who knows when they will do it again.

But who is counting, right?

[offender42085]

Post 1322

"New York Justice" and the "Texas Cop".....

Timothy P Dean, New York inmate 19B1901. born 1986, incarceration intake August 2019 at age 33, sentenced to life

Murder

The convicted shooter in a double homicide in Sodus New York that left a young couple dead in 2018 was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Timothy Dean was convicted in May 2019 of six felony charges, including first-degree murder, for the Oct. 22, 2018, slayings of Joshua Niles and Amber Washburn. Dean gunned them down in the driveway of their home on Carlton Street in Sodus as part of a plot hatched by his wife, who wanted to wrest custody of two of her children back from Niles, the children's father. Earlier this year, she and a third co-conspirator pleaded guilty to their roles in the killings.

At Dean's sentencing hearing the Judge called the 34-year-old former police chief from Sunray, Texas, a "classic psychopath."

As his victim's family members spoke, Dean remained emotionless, staring straight ahead and never turned to make eye contact with any of them.

Prosecutor Christine Callahan called the murders "the ultimate crime" that shook the Sodus community to its core. She urged the Judge to sentence him to life without parole.

Dean did not address the court. His attorney Joseph Damelio said he intends to file an appeal.

Dean's wife testified at his trial and said she planned the killing in an attempt to get custody of two of her kids back from Niles. She accepted a plea agreement and was sentenced to 28 years in state prison for her role in the slayings. 

In addition to life in prison without parole for his first-degree murder conviction, Dean was also sentenced to consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison for each of his two convictions on second-degree murder, 10 years in prison and 5 years' post-release supervision for his two convictions for criminal possession of a weapon and 8⅓ to 25 years in prison for his conviction on one count of second-degree conspiracy. 

4s

[boxboxblog]

Driver Profiles: Lewis Hamilton

Hello, this is part of a series where I focus on one driver on the current (as of Oct 2024) grid and give an overview over their career and driving styles. I will be going in championship points order. Enjoy! (strap in folks, this will be a long one)

Name: Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton

Age: 39

Nationality: British

Years in F1: 17 (Mclaren 2007-2012, Mercedes 2013-Present)

Number: 44

WDCs: 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Driving Style: Seen as one of the best racers in motorsport history, Hamilton in incredibly well rounded and skilled in all aspects of F1. His race craft is a league above the rest, and his natural skill with the car means he drives precise and intelligent races. He is also known for pushing it to the limit, regularly taking chances most other drivers would not in order to win. Due to his experience in the car (the 2nd most after Fernando Alonso right now) he is also a driver who is incredibly adaptable, as tracks, cars, and rules change so much over the years. When put in a fast car, he completely dominates races. The only negative I have about Hamilton's driving styles is that he tends to allow frustration to overtake him when he shows poor results, most likely due to being used to winning. This leads him to often get stuck in the midfield traffic when he qualifies poorly.

History:

Hamilton is one of the few drivers on the grid who did not come from an affluent background or racing family. In fact, in order to support his son's career, Hamilton's father sometimes worked up to 4 jobs at a time. He started his karting career at the age of 8, and quickly showed himself to be a natural talent. He would win several championships and race weekends in his early years, and became the youngest driver to win the British cadet karting championship at the age of 10.

(Hamilton when he was in karting)

Hamilton continued his progress in the Intercontinental A (1999), Formula A (2000) and Formula Super A (2001) ranks, and became European Champion in 2000 with maximum points. In Formula A and Formula Super A, his teammate was childhood friend Nico Rosberg, who would later become his teammate at Mercedes and his biggest rival. Following his karting successes, the British Racing Drivers' Club made him a "Rising Star" Member in 2000.

(Hamilton, left, and Rosberg, right, during their team days in karting)

Hamilton began his racing career in cars at the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series, finishing fifth in the standings. This led to a full 2002 Formula Renault UK run where he finished fifth overall. The next year he would go on to win that championship. He made his Formula 3 Euro Series debut in 2004, and finished in 4th. It was this time that Hamilton tested his first F1 car for Mclaren.

In 2006, Hamilton moved to the GP2 (F2) sister team of his F3 team, and won the championship in his rookie season. His extreme success in this series is what grabbed Mclaren's attention totally, and he was signed for the open Mclaren seat for 2007 before the year was over.

(Hamilton on podium in GP2/F2)

Hamilton's debut season in F1 would prove to be a record breaking one for the Brit, claiming records like most consecutive podium finishes from debut, the joint most wins in a debut season, and the most points in a debut season. He became the youngest driver to lead the championship at just 22 years old, but lost his lead after a few Mclaren strategy missteps. He finished in 2nd place behind Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen, and had one of the strongest rookie seasons ever seen in F1.

(Hamilton in his 2007 Mclaren)

In 2008 he would win his first world title with Mclaren, with an incredibly tight fight that held to the last race. He became the youngest WDC at this point (until Sebastian Vettel in 2010) and the first British WDC since Damon Hill.

(Hamilton after winning his first WDC)

During his last 4 years with Mclaren, Hamilton would regularly show strong performances and finish on podiums. But during this time major technical changes in 2009 led to Mclaren struggling more than their competitors, and dropping down in the rankings. He got 5th in 2009, 2nd in 2010, and 5th in 2011. He left Mclaren for Mercedes that year after Michael Schumacher retired, a surprise move for many as Mercedes had not been a championship winning team. This was where he would win a majority of his titles and have one of the most infamous rivalries in F1 history.

Reuniting with his karting teammate and best friend, Nico Rosberg, Hamilton and Mercedes would go on to have a pretty average year. Hamilton only achieved one win that year, and finished 5th in the 2013 standings. This was the year that friction started to erupt between the two Mercedes drivers as it became clear that Mercedes had 2 future WDC's on their team.

(Rosberg and Hamilton before their rivalry went sour)

2014 saw a much more successful time for Hamilton, as Mercedes excelled with the new Turbo-Hybrid engines. This allowed Hamilton to regain his 2008 form, and Mercedes had a dominant season, winning 16 of the 19 races. Hamilton's closest rival during this time was his teammate, Rosberg. This would prove to be true for the next few years for Hamilton. At the end of 2014, Hamilton clinched his 2nd world title.

(Hamilton after winning his 1st WDC)

He showed even further domination in the 2015 season, winning 10 of the races himself, and securing his 3rd title before the last race of the season. This was his first back-to-back championship, and the one where he matched his racing hero, Ayrton Senna, for wins. This was also the year where Hamilton extended his contract with Mercedes, adding on another 3 years.

2016 proved to be a more difficult year for Hamilton, and the cumulation of his rivalry with his teammate. While Mercedes dominated season, the fight between Rosberg and Hamilton was fierce. Ultimately, Hamilton would place 2nd in the standings that year, having taken the fight to the last race, but not been able to hold his teammate off. That year, Nico Rosberg (the newest WDC) announced his retirement from F1. Hamilton would go on to have Valtteri Bottas as his teammate for the rest of his championship wins, a driver he didn't find as much of a struggle with.

(Hamilton and Rosberg after colliding during their 2016 title fight)

2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 were almost complete dominance from Hamilton. His closes rivals for the championship were his teammate, who was not particularly a threat, and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen. But he almost always won his title before the last race. These were the years that Hamilton solidified himself as one of the greats in motorsports.

(Hamilton after winning his 7th title)

2021 saw the first real title fight for Hamilton since Nico Rosberg. Max Verstappen, a Red Bull driver, proved to be a difficult competitor. The two drivers had almost parallel season. While they both won many races, they also had times of poor performances and DNF's. This led the final race in Abu Dhabi to be the most tense in years, as both drivers had exactly the same amount of points. What followed was one of the most controversial races in recent history. Hamilton led the race towards the end after an overtake on Verstappen that was a bit legally shaky, but still allowed. A late safety car after a crash threw the whole race in turmoil. Red Bull pit Verstappen for fresh tires under the safety car, but Mercedes did not. On top of that, during the safety car after Verstappen came out of the pit the 5 lapped cars in between them were told they could unlap themselves (go by Hamilton freely) a controversial if illegal ruling by the race director. Furthermore, instead of finishing the race under the safety car (which would have won the race and title for Hamilton) the racing director allowed the race to restart for one more lap. Verstappen with his fresh tires easily overtook Hamilton, who was on old hards. Verstappen won the race and the title that year. Many Hamilton fans were understandably upset by the result, and some still claim the win for Hamilton, calling him an 8x WDC.

The 2022 and 2023 season would prove to be difficult ones for Mercedes and Hamilton. The 2022 season was the first year in Hamilton's F1 career that he failed to take a win or pole. The car was the biggest problem, and Hamilton deemed in 'undriveable'. They would encounter similar issues in 2023, and even early 2024.

2024 so far has been a significantly more positive year for Hamilton. While it is nothing close to his dominance in the late 10s, he has won two races (Silverstone and Spa) and placed higher than the last two years. he is currently 6th in the championship. Perhaps the biggest news for Hamilton was his surprise move to Ferrari for the 2025 season. After being with Mercedes for over 10 years, most assumed he would retire with them. This jump caused chaos during silly season, as he unseated Carlos Sainz and opened up a coveted Mercedes seat. While we know where he is going next year, there is still more to prove with his last year at Mercedes.

(Hamilton on podium after 2024 Silverstone win)

Major Races:

2007 Canadian GP - Hamilton's first ever F1 win in his rookie season. A commanding win as he controlled the entire race from the lead, he basically announced his presence as a future star here.

2008 Brazilian GP - This was the GP where Hamilton won his first world title. It happened in a rather dramatic fashion, as he overtook in the last lap to get 5th place, in the process earning the correct amount of points to get the title.

2012 US GP - This race was Hamilton's final victory with Mclaren before his move to Mercedes in 2013. He battled with Vettel (the reigning champ) for the win and was massive symbolism for the new chapter in his career.

2014 Bahrain GP - This race was known colloquially as the "Duel in the Desert" between Hamilton and Rosberg. The entire race was a fierce battle between the two drivers, with Hamilton only just holding off his teammate for the win. This type of battling would define the rest of their race relationship at Mercedes.

2018 German GP - This race saw Hamilton start in P14 after quali mechanical issues, and gave him the opportunity to display his dominant skill. He picked his way through the field, and eventually won the race. It is incredibly rare to see such feats in F1.

2020 Turkish GP - This is where Hamilton secured is 7th world title, equalling Michael Schumacher's record. A tense rain race, he used patience and his intense race craft to move from P6 to the top step on the podium.

2021 British GP - This race had the most controversial incident of 2021, after Hamilton collided with Verstappen and caused him to DNF the race. Hamilton went on to win, and reignited the title fight that year.

2024 British GP - Hamilton's first win in a long time with Mercedes (after they experienced car troubles since 2022) he drove a masterful race in a car that still wasn't quite there. Lauded as his great 'comeback' Hamilton showed he still had the skill, even if he didn't have the car, to take the top step.

Alright, longest post in the series but its Lewis Hamilton so. Up next, George Russell.

Cheers,

-B

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

Two Arab men loyal to ISIS were arrested for intending to carry out a terrorist attack in the Old City of Jerusalem. They were going to use explosives, and were considering buying a drone to drop the explosives from. I just wanna remind everyone, that every new terrorism tactic developed against Israelis, eventually makes its way to other countries.

On Israel's northern border, Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets into the city of Kiryat Shmona, causing widespread blackouts. Among the buildings his is a school. On our southern border, a TV reporter shared that over the first 9 days of 2024, 17 rocket barrages were fired into Israel from Gaza. It's a lot less than it used to be, but it's still not zero. I want people to understand that until we can guarantee no rockets are going to be fired at Israeli civilians living along the country's borders, those communities can't go back to their homes. They'll remain evacuated, homeless, without any possible change on the horizon. It's an abnormal and impossible situation for any country, if its citizens can't live on their own land. No country would take it, and frankly, it is only the strength of spirit of Israel's northern and southern communities, that allowed Israel to overlook the tens of thousands of rockets being fired into this land for 22 years. NO COUNTRY would take this. And after Oct 7, Israeli civilians are done taking it, too. Which means Israel as a country can no longer accept this abnormal reality either.

This is a map of how Hamas' rockets cover Israel (and how this progressed through the years). It doesn't show Hezbollah's rockets. If Hamas has tens of thousands of rockets, Hezbollah is said to have hundreds of thousands. It also doesn't show how far drones from Gaza can reach, or how Israel has had rockets fired at it from Iraq, Syria and Yemen, too. And that Iran's rockets can also reach us.

After undergoing surgery, and still waiting to learn the extent to which his serious injuries will affect him, singer and actor Idan Amedi sent out a message through a friend (an Israeli politician) who was visiting him. Idan said, according to his friend, to forget about him, he's not important and he will deal with what he has to, what matters is that the People of Israel will stay strong together. One journalist IMO nailed it, when he said about Idan, that it's not that Amedi as an individual matters more than the other soldiers in Gaza, it's that he's a symbol of how much Israelis are putting aside and sacrificing in order to protect our country and our people.

The less interesting part of the lawsuit by South Africa (organized behind the scenes by the Palestinian Authority) against Israel was concluded today, the part where we already knew what lies and distortions will be employed. Tomorrow, Israel will get to respond, and that should prove more interesting. For now, many have condemned the biased stance that SA took, especially as in 2015 it enabled the return to Sudan of Omar al-Bashir, who has been guilty of mass rapes and murders in Darfur. SA was asked to arrest him for his crimes against humanity during a visit, but they enabled his safe return to his country and to his crimes. He was only stopped in 2019. That's on top of SA siding with Iran, a country that finances terrorism globally, kills its own civilians, and is implicated in the Oct 7 massacre carried out by Hamas, the antisemitic genocidal terrorist organization. SA omitted the massacre from the lawsuit it filed against Israel.

Before the trial in the Hague started, the head of Israel's criminal forensics institute, Dr. Chen Kugel, has published more evidence from the horrifying crimes of Hamas, committed on Oct 7, and which were motivated by genocidal intent. A part of the current antisemitic farce is, of course, that while Israel is wrongfully being charged with genocide, the actual crimes perpetrated due to genocidal intent can't be prosecuted in the International Court of Justice, because Hamas is not a state, and did not sign the convention for the prevention of genocide, as Israel did. There's an irony here that only antisemitism can turn into a reality, that the first heinous crimes in this war were committed against Israel, yet the first trial over any crimes in this war is also targeting the Jewish state.

They're saying it will take years for the lawsuit to be concluded. But the accusation, the libel against Israel (and possibly an intermediary junction against Israel, for which the bar is very low, and which SA is asking the court to give), that's happening RIGHT NOW. It's why some people are calling this the modern Dreyfus trial. For those who don't know, Dreyfus was a loyal French officer. He was also Jewish. That was enough to convict him in the court of public opinion as a traitor, and it was enough to bias the actual court in which the trial was held. Dreyfus was found guilty of treason, dishonorably discharged, and exiled. The injustice was evident in real time, as Emile Zola's famous op ed "J'accuse!" shows. Decades later, Dreyfus was exonerated of all charges against him, and a non-Jewish French officer was exposed as the real traitor. But it was too late for Dreyfus, and for all Jews at the time, who had witnessed the modern, supposedly liberal west fail them.

The same Iran that finances Hamas, including the Oct 7 massacre, and has invested in SA, has also been confirmed to have attacked a ship in the Oman bay. It's the second time (at least) that Iran has attacked a ship directly rather than use proxies, like the Houthi terrorists in Yemen, to target international shipping.

Today, Egypt refused an American request, to allow a UN delegation entry into the northern part of the Gaza strip, so it coud evaluate the needs of Palestinians. This is a reminder that if anyone tells you Hamas' reports on the number of fatalities has been independently verified... no, they weren't. No one impartial is found in Gaza right now. Also, that if people blame everything that's happening to Gazans right now on Israel, they're intentionally leaving out both Hamas, other Gazan terrorist organzations, and the Egyptians.

The other day, Hamas claimed that two journalists were killed in Gaza. Yesterday, the IDF released records showing they were both memberes of Palestinian terrorist organizations.

Across Israel, people are getting ready to hold many events and strikes as we're getting close to the 100th day since Hamas and other Gazans kidnapped Israeli civilians from their homes. 136 Israelis, alive or dead, are still held hostage in Gaza. The youngest of the hostages is Kfir Bibas, was just 9 months old when he was taken from his home at gunpoint, together with his 4 years old brother Ariel, and his mom Shiri. Next week, Kfir will "celebrate" his first birthday on this earth in captivity. Yarden, the father, was also kidnapped, but he was taken into Gaza separately. A Hamas released vid shows Yarden being told that his wife and sons are dead. We don't know if this is true or not, as in the past, these terrorists have lied about hostages being dead, when they turned out to be alive. Hamas' vid also showed Yarden Bibas in great emotional distress, and one hostage, who was held with him in a terror tunnel, but was later released, said he was in a terrible mental state, and she feared for his life. Here are images of the Bibas family before they were kidnapped:

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[operafantomet]

The Romanian / Norwegian / Greek / Middle East + European Tour version is really starting to hit many countries and cities now. Along with some photos of the current cast (from the respective webpages I have linked to underneath), here's a complete overview to where it has played so far, and where it will play in 2024-2025 (*):

JAN 2015: Teatrul National de Opereta, Budapest, ROMANIA. This was the prototype, directed by Stephen Barlow and designed by Andrew Riley. Leading trio was Adrian Nour, Irina Ioana Baiant and Florian Ristei, and it was performed in Romanian.

SEPT 2018 - MARCH 2019: Folketeateret, Oslo, NORWAY. This was a much updated version of the original Romanian production, with new costumes, and revamped sets and effects. Leading trio was Espen Grjotheim, Mira Ormala / Astrid Giske and Carl Lindquist, and it was performed in Norwegian.

JAN - MAR 2020: Thessaloniki Concert Hall and Christmas Theatre in Athens, GREECE. This was pretty much the Oslo production, but with some changes for tourability. From Greece on it has only been performed in English, regardless of the location. The original leading trio in Greece was Ben Forster, Celinde Schoenmaker / Amy Manford and Nadim Naaman. The production closed earlier than announced due to Covid.

FEB - MARCH 2023: Christmas Theatre in Athens and Thessaloniki Concert Hall, GREECE. Back in Greece, still in English, still an international cast, even more set and costume changes. This time the leading trio was Tim Howar, Harriet Jones / Georgia Wilkinson and Nadim Naaman.

OCT - DEC 2023: The Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Continuing most of what was the case in Greece, except Nadim Naaman took over the role of the Phantom from Tim Howar, and Dougie Carter took over as Raoul. Was now dubbed "The Middle East Tour". It was the first time a full-scale production of Phantom of the Opera was done in Saudi Arabia.

FEB - MARCH 2024: Dubai Opera, Dubai. Same cast and overall set-up as Riyadh. This production followed in the footsteps of the World Tour (original version), visiting Dubai in 2019.

APRIL 2024: National Palace of Culture, Sofia, BULGARIA. Same cast and overall set-up as Riyadh and Dubai. This was, I think, the first time a city has housed two different non-replica productions. Not at the same time, mind you, as this version touring has meant the local productions are now allowed to perform for some time. This was at least what was announced from the producers in Bulgaria, Serbia and the Czech Republic. Curious.

AUG - SEPT. 2024: National Palace of Culture, Sofia, BULGARIA. The production has announced its return to Sofia this autumn. This due to the sold-out initial run.

OCT 2024: Sagros Campo Pequeno, Lisbon, PORTUGAL. The production has announced a run there from October 15-27, 2024. A concert version has previously been performed in Portugal, but it will be the first time a full-scale production is done.

NOV - DEC 2024: Musical Theater Basel, Switzerland. The production has announced a run there from Nov. 6 to Dec 22, 2024. The original Swiss production 1995-1997 did a hardcore thing of perfoming in both German and English. It will therefore not be the first time POTO is performed there, nor the first time it is performed in English. But it is the first time this exact version visits, and the 1995-1997 one was the original version.

FEB - MARCH 2025: Stadsschouwburg, Antwerp, Belgium. The production has announced a run there from Feb. 6 to March 7, 2025. The original Belgian production ran from 1999-2000, and was performed in the local language, but it will be the first time it is performed in English. It will as such also be the 10th anniversary for this specific touring version, as it premiered in Romania in January 2015.

MARCH 2025: Kongresove Centrum, Prague, Czech Republic. The production has announced a run there from March 19-27, 2025. This means the local production 'Fantom Opery' at Goja Music Hall has been paused. According to the official website the Phantom will be Nadim Naaman, the role of Christine will be shared between Georgia Wilkinson and Bridget Costello, and Raoul will be Dougie Carter.

(*) More dates will likely follow. Kuwait was announced some time back, but cannot be found anywhere now. Also, the local Serbian production announced a break because another version was visiting, so I won't be surprised if Belgrade is added to the list later on.