#russians in the white house

[sovietpostcards]

Winter. A woman with two buckets goes to fetch some water. Photo by Vsevolod Tarasevich (1950s).

[ink-the-artist]

forgive me if you've been asked this before or if its annoying, but how did you learn to use colored pencils like that? your art is so special to me.

ty :) I took an art class for a few years where our teacher had us buy prismacolor pencils as one of the art supplies and had us use them kinda like paints, pressing down hard right away and blending the colors together. its not how youre supposed to use them she was just trying to teach us to use color and ig this was more to the point. I picked them up again years after i stopped going to that class just bc they were there and i wanted to play around w them a bit and ended up actually enjoying it when doing it on my own terms lol

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

*breathes deeply* new fic? new ongoing fic to read? holy moly there's so much to catch up on, that is a lot of reading. (not speaking about fic only. i mean also asks here, because they can be gold nuggets of fun things. and i have not checked for months for tiredness,, woe)

favourite things about new fic so far: zhongli going down rabbit holes of information of Things he Does Not Know because alternate reality and a most favourite shared disconnect from the rest of the world. very understandable. love to see that. also love to see how he's trying to act according to appropriate power levels and is still overpowered. ... actually, is it a full alternate reality or is it another time travel shenanigans (or both)? because. just because. i have a feeling i'm reading it too fast in haste so i may well be missing things that make that more or less obvious

my confusion of reading in haste too much aside, did i see something about being able to ask for outfit doodles? 👀 if no one else has yet i am here for it (as long as it is not a trouble)

absolutely no trouble, i just cleaned it up a bit and colored it in. here's the crew so far! god i can't believe i nailed guizhong's hair color and blue-white color scheme in cyanide LMAO literally colorpicked her haircolor from one of my drawings of her hahah

[panimoonchild]

How to react Russia's aggression in Ukraine and also in other countries it's to support Ukraine, it's allow Ukraine to use the weapons they already have the way they need to use them

I'm almost on the verge of tears because of acknowledgment.

The President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Spain signed a bilateral agreement on security cooperation.

According to the Presidential Administration, the agreement provides for €1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine through 2024, including, in particular, the provision of Patriot missiles and Leopard tanks for a total of €1.1 billion. The people of Ukraine feel enormous gratefulness for such immense and important support!

Also, we receive Spain support throughout the 10-year term of the document.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that by 2027, Spain would provide another €5 billion in aid through the European Peace Fund.

Always spot on👏🫂😌

[storywestistrash]

i am actually so tired of the way westerners treat eastern europeans

[vintageshits]

i began reading “notes from underground”, and it soothed my heart after the pain crime and punishment left me.

i finished nfu and i was like: “hell yeah, i’m a brand new woman, a more aware one, tho. silly, little, underground man, your rants saved me. omg, Dostoevsky, you’re such a comedian, lol!”

so when I finished it everything was okay…

until I decided to start reading, today, white nights, and…

[actionflickchick]

Salt (2010) Review: Salty, Tasty Goodness

If there is one thing you can learn from Salt is that Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is a freakin’ kleptomaniac! How many outfits does one highly-skilled CIA operative need to steal? Don’t you have any morals?! Oh wait, Salt’s a highly skilled CIA operative- of course she doesn’t have morals. Continue reading Salt (2010) Review: Salty, Tasty Goodness

[skiploomz]

i hate it when ppl talk about other peoples ignorance as if its a personal insult

[kguhle]

i am actually so over this ‘can’t wear a rainbow jersey because i’m from russia’ narrative

[sovietpostcards]

A village in Karelia. Photo by Yevgeny Khaldei (1937).

[bow-echo]

LOL commentators going off on Zelenskyy’s not wearing a suit

I wouldn't have cared less if Zelenskyy wore Spongebob PJs during his speech.Everybody on the floor should’ve so worn cartoon pajamas.  Naruto, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Boku no Hero Academy etc. etc.

[head-post]

US warns China of new sanctions over Ukraine

The United States accused China’s leadership of supporting the war in Ukraine, warning of possible sanctions from the US and other NATO countries.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke to journalists during a visit to Brussels on Wednesday, May 29. He stated that there was an urgent need for European and NATO countries “to send a collective message of concern to China about its actions, which we believe are destabilising in the heart of Europe.”

Campbell claimed to have informed NATO’s main political decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council (NAC), of the US concerns on Tuesday. He revealed that Chinese support was helping Moscow rebuild elements of its military, including long-range missile, artillery, and drone capabilities. Beijing is also allegedly helping Moscow track movements on the battlefield.

What we’ve seen from China to Russia is not a one-off or a couple of rogue firms involved in supporting Russia. This is a sustained, comprehensive effort that is backed up by the leadership in China that is designed to give Russia every support behind the scenes.

The undersecretary of state argued that China’s actions created a potential for Russia not only on the battlefield in Ukraine, but also allowed it to “pose a strategic challenge to others in Europe.”

We see this as a matter of utmost urgency.

Campbell noted that Europe and the US had already imposed “sanctions in certain cases in response to China’s actions.”

I would expect that the United States and countries in NATO will take subsequent steps.

Read more HERE

[xtruss]

White House's Grey Cardinal of Color Revolts: What is “Evil Witch Victoria Nuland's Legacy?”

She Will Be Remembered For "Taking Ukraine To The Precipice of Disappearing Into An Abyss, Passing Out Cookies," Along With "The Use of The F-Word... The European Union, She Said, Could Go Fuck Themselves. So That's Her Legacy."

Evil Witch Victoria Nuland and Geoffrey R. Pyatt at the Maidan Square in Kiev — Sputnik International, © Sputnik/Petr Zadorozhny

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced that Victoria Nuland will step down in the coming weeks as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs. What legacy will the leave?

Victoria Nuland — the architect of the 2014 Euromaidan coup in Kiev — has quit just as her pet project collapses.

Nuland's decision to retire came like a bolt from the blue, given her active role in Ukraine's affairs under presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, retired CIA intelligence officer and State Department official Larry Johnson told Sputnik.

"If it's not for health reasons, she's not resigning to take a better job. That's for sure," Johnson said, "Her only reason for being in that job was because of Ukraine. She was not a factor or force at the State Department in all the other areas such as China, Middle East, those are all back burner issues. Her thing was Ukraine."

He said Nuland's departure was a sign that the US policy in Ukraine was "unravelling" and was "not a political winner."

"It's like an albatross hanging around their neck as they go into the election season," Johnson said. "Her leaving is probably going to cause more consternation in Kiev and particularly with Zelensky."

Who Is Nuland?

In his press statement on Tuesday, Blinken said "Toria" had served in various capacities under six American presidents and ten secretaries of state and had been "indispensable to confronting Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine" — just as Washington's proxy front with Moscow was collapsing in Donetsk.

Nuland is the wife of American ardent neoconservative strategist Robert Kagan, a leading voice for US overseas interventions and regime-change operations.

Nuland served as the principal deputy foreign policy adviser (2003 – 2005) to Vice President Dick Cheney, the mastermind of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Between 2005 and 2008, she served as US ambassador to NATO in Brussels, focusing on mobilizing European support for the alliance's military campaign in Afghanistan and sabre-rattling with Russia.

Under the Obama administration, then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton picked Nuland as her spokeswoman. Clinton's successor, John Kerry, appointed her as his assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. Sworn in September 2013, Nuland immediately took charge of what quickly morphed under her watch into a color revolution in Ukraine.

Euromaidan, which started in November 2013 as a protest against then-President Viktor Yanukovich's refusal to sign an EU association agreement, turned violent in December 2013.

Nuland called for "taking Ukraine into the future it deserves," boasting that the US had invested over $5 billion into Ukraine achieving "its European aspirations." She travelled to Kiev and handed out bread and cookies to protesters at Kiev's Independence Square ("Maidan Nezalezhnosti") reassuring rioters of US support.

U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Evil Witch Victoria Nuland and Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, offering cookies and (behind the scenes) political advice to Ukraine's Maidan activists and their leaders. © AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko, Pool

Coup Plotter On Steroids

In early February 2014, a conversation between Victoria Nuland and then-US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt discussing the shape of the provisional Kiev regime was leaked online. Nuland was heard to dismiss European partners with the phrase "F**k the EU."

The plans they came to fruition the same month after Yanukovich was ousted by a violent nationalist mob in violation of the Ukrainian Constitution, forcing him flee the country chased by neo-Nazi militant groups.

Servicemen from the Azov volunteer battalion read a prayer during a ceremony before being sent to eastern Ukraine, in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, August 17, 2015. © AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

In May 2014 Nuland was grilled by congress representatives Dana Rohrabacher and Brad Sherman over her denial of the role armed neo-Nazis played in the Euromaidan coup during her congressional testimony.

"There were pictures of people running around with these that we were told were neo-Nazis. Were there neo-Nazis in those efforts – street violence that led to Mr. Yanukovych’s removal?" asked Rohrabacher.

Nuland insisted that "the vast majority of those who participated on the Maidan were peaceful protesters," but eventually admitted that "almost every color of Ukraine was represented, including some – including some ugly colors."

Minsk Agreements, Ukrainian Biolabs And Kiev's Retreat

Eight years later she was forced to admit that the US had maintained a secretive network of bio-labs in Ukraine. Documents obtained by the Russian Ministry of Defense in the course of the special military operation showed these facilities were conducting biowarfare research.

On March 8, 2022 Nuland testified that "Ukraine has biological research facilities," hastily adding: "We are now in fact quite concerned that Russian troops, Russian forces, may be seeking to gain control of them."

Nuland also tried to undermine the two Minsk accords between Kiev and the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in 2014 and 2015. She blamed breakdowns in the truce on Russia, one of the three countries that brokered the deals, while turning a blind eye to Ukraine's attacks on the Donbass republics and the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) network of torture chambers.

Then-German chancellor Angela Merkel later admitted that the accords were just a ruse to buy time to arm Ukraine for NATO's proxy conflict with Russia.

The last time Nuland was seen in Kiev was early February 2024, during the rift between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and then-commander-in-chief General Valery Zaluzhny. Zelensky sacked Zaluzhny on February 8, and on On February 17, the Russian army liberated Avdeyevka in the Donetsk region — where it continues to advance.

Evil Witch Nuland’s Resignation Related to Failure of US’ Anti-Russian Policy — Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova! © AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky! “Victoria Nuland has let me know that she intends to step down in the coming weeks as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a press statement. Nuland’s tenure at the position lasted three and a half decades, when she served under six presidents and ten secretaries of state.

Nuland Resigns As Anti-Russia Plot Fails

Commenting on the news of Nuland's retirement, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated: "They will not tell you the reason. But it is simple — the failure of the anti-Russian policy of [US President Joe] Biden’s administration."

"Russophobia, proposed by Victoria Nuland as the main foreign policy concept of the United States, is dragging the Democrats to the bottom like a stone," she added.

Johnson believes Zakharova is right:

"[Nuland] has certainly been the central figure in the US government going back a decade. This was her thing in 2014, when the Maidan occurred," he said. "She was the one on the phone with the ambassador, trying to figure out who the United States was going to put it in as president of Ukraine."

"So, she's been one of the puppet mistresses behind the scenes, pulling the strings," Johnson added. "The fact that she's now resigning at a time when continued aid for Ukraine is uncertain, as well as growing opposition in Congress, particularly among Republicans, about continuing to pour bad money after good in Ukraine, and with the presidential election looming on the horizon."

The Biden White House has already signalled a shift on several issues, including Ukraine, the CIA veteran said. "I think her resignation may in part reflect some frustration, as a protest against that policy."

Johnson said Nuland's legacy was nothing to boast about.

She will be remembered for "taking Ukraine to the precipice of disappearing into an abyss, passing out cookies," along with "the use of the F-word... The European Union, she said, could go f*** themselves. So that's her legacy."

— Sputnik International | Tuesday March 5, 2024 | Ekaterina Blinova

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Mrs. Lyudmila Navalnaya, mother of the murdered politician Alexei Anatolyevich, exposed how Russian prison authorities are not only illegally refusing to hand over her son's body, but also controlling how and when Navalny might be buried.

The title says, They want Navalny to be buried secretly. English substitles are available.

The criminality of the Russian regime is appalling enough, without this act of pure, disgusting spite against a grieving mother. Remember when Putin boasted to Tucker Carlson about Russians supposedly having family values? The abuse of Mrs. Navalnaya and the rest of Navalny's family, not to mention the abuse of thousands of other Russian political prisoners and their respective families, is proof of the exact opposite.

It seems clear that Navalny was murdered either by physical abuse or by poison. Mrs. Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow, alleged that the Russian authorities wished to wait two weeks for any trace of poison to leave Navalny's body. This may explain why Russian authorities claim they are conducting "chemical analysis".

I am pleased to see that the United States has issued 500 new sanctions against the Russian terror state. These include punishment for all Russians that colluded in the abuse and murder of Navalny in prison, as well as punishment of Russia's continued invasion of Ukraine, which has now passed the two-year mark. President Biden has also visited with Mrs. Yulia Navalnaya, and her daughter, Daria Navalnaya, at the White House.

World leaders must put immense pressure on the Kremlin now to release Navalny's body, so that he can be buried in a dignified manner and the true cause of his untimely death can be established.

[liverpoollomo]

Albion House. Lomo LC-A. Fujichrome 100, expired 1989, shot at 50, developed at 100.

Albion House stands on the corner of James Street and The Strand. Now a hotel it was vacant for many years before being taken on by Signature Living.

It has been home to shipping companies including White Star Line who owned the Titanic. Many tour guides have told the story about the officials from White Star Line announcing the names of those lost in the disaster from the balcony as they where afraid to leave the building.

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #26

July 5-12 2024

The IRS announced it had managed to collect $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth tax cheats. The program focused on persons with more than $1 million in yearly income who owned more than $250,000 in unpaid taxes. Thanks to money in Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act the IRS is able to undertake more enforcement against rich tax cheats after years of Republicans cutting the agency's budget, which they hope to do again if they win power again.

The Biden administration announced a $244 million dollar investment in the federal government’s registered apprenticeship program. This marks the largest investment in the program's history with grants going out to 52 programs in 32 states. The President is focused on getting well paying blue collar opportunities to people and more people are taking part in the apprenticeship program than ever before. Republican pledge to cut it, even as employers struggle to find qualified workers.

The Department of Transportation announced the largest single project in the department's history, $11 billion dollars in grants for the The Hudson River Tunnel. Part of the $66 billion the Biden Administration has invested in our rail system the tunnel, the most complex Infrastructure project in the nation would link New York and New Jersey by rail under the Hudson. Once finished it's believed it'll impact 20% of the American economy by improving and speeding connection throughout the Northeast.

The Department of Energy announced $1.7 billion to save auto worker's jobs and convert factories to electronic vehicles. The Biden administration will used the money to save or reopen factories in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia and retool them to make electric cars. The project will save 15,000 skilled union worker jobs, and created 2,900 new high-quality jobs.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development reached a settlement with The Appraisal Foundation over racial discrimination. TAF is the organization responsible for setting standards and qualifications for real estate appraisers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics last year found that TAF was 94.7% White and 0.6% Black, making it the least racially diverse of the 800 occupations surveyed. Black and Latino home owners are far more likely to have their houses under valued than whites. Under the settlement with HUD TAF will have to take serious steps to increase diversity and remove structural barriers to diversity.

The Department of Justice disrupted an effort by the Russian government to influence public opinion through AI bots. The DoJ shut down nearly 1,000 twitter accounts that were linked to a Russian Bot farm. The bots used AI technology to not only generate tweets but also AI image faces for profile pictures. The effort seemed focused on boosting support for Russia's war against Ukraine and spread negative stories/impressions about Ukraine.

The Department of Transportation announces $1.5 billion to help local authorities buy made in America buses. 80% of the funding will go toward zero or low-emission technology, a part of the President's goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050. This is part of the $5 billion the DOT has spent over the last 3 years replacing aging buses with new cleaner technology.

President Biden with Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau and Finnish President Alexander Stubb signed a new agreement on the arctic. The new trilateral agreement between the 3 NATO partners, known as the ICE Pact, will boost production of ice breaking ships, the 3 plan to build as many as 90 between them in the coming years. The alliance hopes to be a counter weight to China's current dominance in the ice breaker market and help western allies respond to Russia's aggressive push into the arctic waters.

The Department of Transportation announced $1.1 billion for greater rail safety. The program seeks to, where ever possible, eliminate rail crossings, thus removing the dangers and inconvenience to communities divided by rail lines. It will also help update and improve safety measures at rail crossings.

The Department of the Interior announced $120 million to help tribal communities prepare for climate disasters. This funding is part of half a billion dollars the Biden administration has spent to help tribes build climate resilience, which itself is part of a $50 billion dollar effort to build climate resilience across the nation. This funding will help support drought measures, wildland fire mitigation, community-driven relocation, managed retreat, protect-in-place efforts, and ocean and coastal management.

The USDA announced $100 million in additional funds to help feed low income kids over the summer. Known as "SUN Bucks" or "Summer EBT" the new Biden program grants the families of kids who qualify for free meals at school $120 dollars pre-child for groceries. This comes on top of the traditional SUN Meals program which offers school meals to qualifying children over the summer, as well as the new under President Biden SUN Meals To-Go program which is now offering delivery of meals to low-income children in rural areas. This grant is meant to help local governments build up the Infrastructure to support and distribute SUN Bucks. If fully implemented SUN Bucks could help 30 million kids, but many Republican governors have refused the funding.

USAID announced its giving $100 million to the UN World Food Program to deliver urgently needed food assistance in Gaza. This will bring the total humanitarian aid given by the US to the Palestinian people since the war started in October 2023 to $774 million, the single largest donor nation. President Biden at his press conference last night said that Israel and Hamas have agreed in principle to a ceasefire deal that will end the war and release the hostages. US negotiators are working to close the final gaps between the two sides and end the war.

The Senate confirmed Nancy Maldonado to serve as a Judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Maldonado is the 202nd federal Judge appointed by President Biden to be confirmed. She will the first Latino judge to ever serve on the 7th Circuit which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Bonus: At the NATO summit in Washington DC President Biden joined 32 allies in the Ukraine compact. Allies from Japan to Iceland confirmed their support for Ukraine and deepening their commitments to building Ukraine's forces and keeping a free and Democratic Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. World leaders such as British Prime Minster Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, praised President Biden's experience and leadership during the NATO summit