#when the 2020/2021 protests happened

[xx-obliviousfantasy-xx]

Guys,

Would you be mad if a random ass person who's not a regular wandered into your grocery store and then wandered out without buying anything except like m a y b e some chips or fruit?

Context:

So I just realized this supermarket that I've only gone in like maybe 8 times ever is actually a 14 minute walk from my house (it'll probably take longer because my legs are tiny and the wall is not entirely safe the whole time) (however, taking the bus, it would be 10 minutes. But idk how easy it is to cross the road to it)

Anyways, it's this nice sized Vietnamese food market. It used to be an international foods market when I was very young I think.

I've never been in there very long because usually when I would go with my mom we would go in, get exactly what we were looking for, and get out

Which is technically what you're supposed to do at a store I guess, but that bothers me because I like to wander in stores for a bit to see what they have and understand their layout for the next time I go back

And she's been there a couple more times than me.

BUT ALSO, I just wanna see what fruit and veggies they have -3-

And snacks and sauces too but mostly fruit and veggies.

Because there's some fruits I'm very curious about that just wouldn't be at American stores and maybe they're there? If not then I still get to KNOW what's there so next time I can truly shop around.

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Also, apparently that is like THE closest place to shop for fresh food in "walking distance" near my house

There's another store that's pretty close to my house that has like...stocks akin to a like -3- dollar general (?) (can't think of another store) or gas station but it doesn't have fresh food. And one thing I like to do when I'm in different neighborhoods is see how close in walking distance it would be to buy groceries some place.

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In my old neighborhood, they shut down like...almost all the places where you could get fresh produce and that's really disappointing because it was really close and *somewhat* easy to get to (If you had a wheelchair I think it would've been kinda hard to get into the stores)

But now that's gone and idk what a lot of ppl are gonna do about it. It was literally like a 7 minute walk from my house.

[intricatedemonicrituals]

Canon Destiel Timeline Masterpost

I wrote this all in a fugue state while listening to Green Grow the Lilacs on repeat so forgive any mistakes. @gay-fae ask and ye shall receive

So much has happened in the long and storied history of his fandom so I've decided to try to document it. I've started by looking up every time that canon destiel, destiel event, misha collins, jackles, or some other search terms have spiked on Google and cross referenced them with tumblr or twitter posts from that day. I know a lot of this is Misha stuff, but he does tend to be the one to say things

November 5th, 2020: Season 15, Episode 18 "Despair" airs and Castiel declares his love to Dean. The presidential election, Georgia turning blue, the presumed retirement of Vladamir Putin, Dabi from My Hero Academia, Ouran Host Club season 2, Sherlock season 5, the president of Bolivia being attacked with dynamite, ongoing BLM protests, a twitter artist making racist art of Ted Bundy, Hetalia returning, a dead man being elected Representative for North Dakota, V for Vendetta, scientists discovering a "hell" planet that rains rocks and has lava oceans, and half of Europe being in lockdown all became tumblr news around the same time. Some of these are true, some not.

November 8th, 2020: Misha Collins, in a panel with Richard Speight, states that the confession scene was a "declaration of homosexual love", and that when Castiel goes to the Empty, it is an example of the "Kill your gays" trope.

November 19th, 2020: The finale airs and it is not well loved to say the least. The episode is short, Dean dies by falling on a nail to death fighting vampire clowns, and there are several characters left with dangling unresolved plot threads and arcs, including Castiel. The car is in heaven though. There is very little heard from the cast and crew, if anything.

November 22nd, 2020: Misha Collins, in a livestream, tells a fan that Castiel and Jack are remaking heaven together, Cas has his wings back, and they are rainbow-colored. He had, however, mentioned the rainbow wings before.

November 24th, 2020: The Spanish dub of the confession is released and a "rogue" translator has written "Y yo a ti" or "I love you too" as Dean's response. Destiel goes canon in Spanish. Tumblr stops working as a result.

November 25th, 2020: tumblr user @thebloggerbloggerfun claims Jensen Ackles said "I had a member of the film crew record the confession scene on my phone for me" #unsourced #releasethetapes

November 26th, 2020: Misha doesn't appreciate the rogue translator, but walks that opinion back later the same day

November 27th, 2020: A "leaked" Italian dub of the confession scene shows a mutual confession.

November 28th, 2020: President Obama follows a destiel account on Twitter

November 30th, 2020: The supposed "Italian dub" is revealed as a fake created by user @iotiamo using sound clips from other parts of the Italian dub on show.

December 1st, 2020: Twitter user @mothdean says "misha I know you have a stan acc and spy on us so can we have a hazel update please"

December 3rd, 2020: Misha tweets about Hazel snoring and this is taken as possible confirmation of Misha's secret stan account

December 11th, 2020: A script from Cas's perspective leaks. It says "We see Cass's POV of Dean again - his face drawn, drained of hope. But still beautiful. Still Dean Winchester."

December 16th, 2020: Newsweek runs an article about an article that Misha wrote about the Lewinsky affair while interning in the Clinton White House in which Misha comes off as rather thirsty for Bill

December 20th, 2020: All Supernatural related materials disappear off the CW's website due to a copyright dispute with Warner Brothers

December 31st, 2020: Mishapocalypse redux

February 9th, 2021: Spn cast members Chad Lindberg and Samantha Ferris tweet about a party at the Roadhouse and it grows to become a full Destiel wedding

February 16th, 2021: @steveyockey made a fairly benign post about Jensen Ackles. The notes went wild in a variety of ways and started a rumor that Spn writer Steve Yockey was dead

February 20th, 2021: Steve Yockey is not dead and he should say it

March 3rd, 2021: The German dub drops and it is also romantic in tone

March 6-8th, 2021: A virtual con happens where Jensen discusses Chaos Machine and Jared says he wants to be in their next project. They also show that WAP video. Jensen is giving full mountain man preparing to play Soldier Boy.

March 10th, 2021: The French dub is released. Cas says, "I love you, Dean" and Dean now responds, "Don't do this to me, Castiel"

March 13th, 2021: The company Amazon tweets about Castiel and Misha Collins asks if they ship Deancas or Wincest. Subsequently apologizes.

March 16th, 2021: Misha says he can't speak as Castiel because Warner Brothers" specifically forbade it. #cwsniperconfirmed

March 17th, 2021: Sam and Eileen are getting married! I have no idea how this came about but I'm happy for them

March 23rd, 2021: Chad Lindberg and Samantha Ferris claim on Twitter that the Roadhouse party was about Valentine's day and not a wedding. Ferris specifically said that she worked on the show and that people tried to make Dean/Cas into "something that it wasn't", She also stated she doesn't "know what queerbaiting is" and that it was due to an "agenda". This led to #deanisbi trending on Twitter and Tumblr.

March 31st, 2021: Some possibly fake leaked scripts come up for sale on eBay. Also, Jensen is Batman.

April 1st, 2021: Mishapocalypse redux

April 6th, 2021: Leaked scripts from the 2 final episodes pop up and have several mentions of Cas in them that were omitted. Dean even thinks about Cas's confession when confronting Chuck.

April 18th, 2021: Scripts from seasons 12 and 13 leak. These include scenes from after Cas's death

May 17th, 2021: Jensen's band Radio Company releases an album including the song Watching Over Me

June ~5th, 2021: Misha says at a convention that Watching Over Me is about Castiel. Jensen neither confirms nor denies this when asked about it

June 11th, 2021: It is announced that Misha is publishing a book of poetry

June 18th, 2021: The Russian dub airs and Dean's line is changed to "Don't you dare, Cas"

June 24-28th, 2021: Jensen and Daneel Ackles reveal that they are making a Supernatural prequel series following John and Mary Winchester (a story that NOBODY was asking for). Jensen will reprise his role as Dean and will narrate. Misha hints that he would like to be involved, as do Ruthie Connell, Samantha Ferris, Matt Cohen, and Julie McNiven (the perils of having a cast of mostly immortal characters). But Jared Padalecki first says that he is happy for the Ackles's, he later said he was "gutted", then responded to Robbie Thompson's tweet calling him a "coward" and saying "what an awful thing you've done". The next day, Jensen and Jared both do damage control and say they'll always be brothers

July 17th, 2021: People are asking if Destiel will be canon in Space Jam, Misha's poetry book's cover is revealed to lukewarm reviews and people are talking about a particular poem about piss, and Perfume Genius releases an article that is a self-insert vore fanfiction about having sex with Jensen Ackles

August 2nd, 2021: Perfume Genius is at it again with "Last Friday, I had my eyes removed by Jared Padalecki". No, I do not know why she is doing this.

August 9th, 2021: Destiel fics hit 100k on Ao3. Misha tweets his support and people remember that he sometimes reads fanfiction and theorize he has an A03 account

September 1st, 2021: Misha makes his first Tiktok. There is a short intro before he calls cut, walks behind a screen, and strips his clothes off

September 3rd, 2021: Jake Abel uses Michael and Adam to help sell his hot sauce brand

September 4th, 2021: Misha confirms that the love between Castiel and Dean was "reciprocated"

September 9th, 2021: A clip of the real Italian dub of the confession scene goes viral as it is revealed that, unlike the Spanish dub, they change the line to "ti voglio bene" or essentially "I love you like family". Misha responds with a video saying "Ciao Italia, ti amo" with the subtitle "Love is love in any language"

September 21st, 2021: Misha drops the fact that one of his poems is from Castiel's perspective.

September 30th, 2021: Jensen will be appearing at a con on the same day as Misha and not with Jared for "professional reasons"

October 4th, 2021: Misha responds to a fan's tweet by saying that Jensen has "crazy eyes and a knife in his pocket"

October 10th, 2021: Daneel posts a picture of Jensen intently reading Misha's poetry book in front of a roaring fire on Instagram. Misha responds that he misses them even more

October 12th, 2021: Jensen is cast in Rust, a (rather ill-fated) western and Misha says "Yippie-ki-yay" and calls him a stud in the comments

October 16th, 2021: Denvercon. Jensen and Jared reunite for the first time since THE INCIDENT

April 24th, 2022: Misha Collins says in terms of being an extrovert, an introvert, or a bisexual, he joked "I'm all three". This led to the internet celebrating Misha's newly revealed bisexuality.

April 25th, 2022: Misha Collins comes out as straight. Oops!

June 19th, 2022: According to Misha, Dean's heaven was supposed to be at the Roadhouse with all his friends and Cas was going to be there with him

November 7th, 2022: Misha calls Elon Musk a snowflake

November 12th, 2022: Tumblr starts planning another Mishapocalypse

January 24th, 2023: Jensen and the cast of the Winchesters throw Dean Winchester a birthday party, including wearing silly little hats

February 26th, 2023: At JIBcon 11, Jensen sings an improvised song about an angel while Misha sits cross-legged on the floor looking up at him

April 1st, 2023: 10 year anniversary of the Mishapocalypse

April 16th, 2023: A year after his bisexual whoopsie daisy, Misha says that Warner Brothers asked him to "let it go" and keep pretending to be bisexual.

August 23, 2023: Rogue Spanish translator is revealed to not have gone rogue at all but instead to have followed the script he was given, confirming the existence of a mutual love confession that was cut at some point.

If you can remember any events and dates that I haven't found, please let me know and I'll add them! I haven't really rounded out 2022 and 2023 yet.

[mengjue]

What's Happening in China? The November 2022 Protests

Hello! I know that there's so much going on in the world right now, so not everyone may be aware of what is happening in China right now. I thought that I would try to write a brief explainer, because the current wave of protests is truly unprecedented in the past 30+ years, and there is a lot of fear over what may happen next. For context, I'm doing this as someone who has a PhD in Asian Studies specialising in contemporary Chinese politics, so I don't know everything but I have researched China for many years.

I'll post some decent links at the end along with some China specialists & journalists I follow on Twitter (yeah I know, but it's still the place for the stuff at the moment). Here are the bullet points for those who just want a brief update:

Xi Jinping's government is still enacting a strict Zero Covid policy enforced by state surveillance and strict lockdowns.

On 24 November a fire in an apartment in Urumqi, Xinjiang province, killed 10. Many blamed strict quarantine policies on preventing evacuation.

Protests followed and have since spread nationwide.

Protesters are taking steps not seen since Tiananmen in 1989, including public chants for Xi and the CCP to step down.

Everyone is currently unsure how the government will respond.

More in-depth discussion and links under the cut:

First a caveat: this is my own analysis/explanation as a Chinese politics specialist. I will include links to read further from other experts and journalists. Also, this will be quite long, so sorry about that!

China's (aka Xi Jinping's) Covid Policy:

The first and most important context: Xi has committed to a strict Zero Covid policy in China, and has refused to change course. Now, other countries have had similar approaches and they undoubtedly saved lives - I was fortunate to live in New Zealand until this year, and Prime Minister Ardern's Zero Covid approach in 2020-2021 helped protect many. The difference is in the style/scope of enforcement, the use of vaccines, and the variant at play. China has stepped up its control on public life over the past 10 years, and has used this to enforce strict quarantine measures without full regard to the impact on people's lives - stories of people not getting food were common. Quarantine has also become a feared situation, as China moves people to facilities often little better than prisons and allegedly without much protection from catching Covid within. A personal friend in Zhengzhou went through national, then provincial, then local quarantines when moving back from NZ, and she has since done her best to avoid going back for her own mental and physical health. Xi has also committed China to its two home-grown vaccines, Sinovac and Sinopharm, both of which have low/dubious efficacy and are considered ineffective against new variants. Finally, with delta and then omicron most of the Zero-Covid countries have modified their approach due to the inability to maintain zero cases. China remains the only country still enacting whole-city eradication lockdowns, and they have become more frequent to the point that several are happening at any given time. The result is a population that is incredibly frustrated and losing hope amidst endless lockdowns and perceived ineffectiveness to address the pandemic.

Other Issues at Play:

Beyond the Covid situation, China is also wrestling with the continued slowdown in its economic growth. While its economic rise and annual GDP growth was nigh meteoric from the 80s to the 00s, it has been slowing over the past ten years, and the government is attempting to manage the transition away from an export-oriented economy to a more fully developed one. However, things are still uncertain, and Covid has taken its toll as it has elsewhere the past couple of years. Youth unemployment in particular is reaching new highs at around 20%, and Xi largely ignored this in his speech at the Party Congress in October (where he entered an unprecedented third term). As a result of the perceived uselessness of China's harsh work culture and its failure to result in a better life, many young Chinese have been promoting 躺平 tǎng píng or "lying flat", aka doing the bare minimum just to get by (similar to the English "quiet quitting"). The combination of economic issues and a botched Covid approach is important, as these directly affect the lives of ordinary middle-class Chinese, and historical it has only been when this occurred that mass movements really took off. The most famous, Tiananmen in 1989, followed China's opening up economic reforms and the dismantling of many economic safety nets allowing for growing inequality. While movements in China often grow to include other topics, having a foundation in something negatively impacting the average Han Chinese person's livelihood is important.

The Spark - 24 Nov 2022 Urumqi Apartment Fire:

The current protests were sparked by a recent fire that broke out in a flat in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang province. (This is the same Xinjiang that is home to the Uighur people, against whom China has enacted a campaign of genocide and cultural destruction.) The fire occurred in the evening and resulted in 10 deaths, which many online blamed on the strict lockdown measures imposed by officials, who prevented people from leaving their homes. It even resulted in a rare public apology by city officials. However, with anger being so high nationwide, in addition to many smaller protests that have occurred over the past two years, this incident has ignited a nationwide movement.

The Protests and Their Significance:

The protests that have broken out over the past couple of days representing the largest and most significant challenge to the leadership since the 1989 Tiananmen movement. Similar to that movement, these protests have occurred at universities and cities across the country, with many students taking part openly. This scale is almost unseen in China, particularly for an anti-government protest. Other than Tiananmen in 1989, the most widespread movements that have occurred have been incidents such as the protest of the 1999 Belgrade bombings or the 2005 and then 2012 anti-Japanese protests, all of which were about anger toward a foreign country.

Beyond the scale the protests are hugely significant in their message as well. Protesters are publicly shouting the phrases "习近平下台 Xí Jìnpíng xiàtái!" and "共产党 下台 Gòngchǎndǎng xiàtái!", which mean "Xi Jinping, step down/resign!" and "CCP, step down/resign!" respectively. To shout a direct slogan for the government to resign is unheard of in China, particularly as Xi has tightened control of civil society. And people are doing this across the country in the thousands, openly and in front of police. This is a major challenge for a leader and party who have prioritised regime stability as a core interest for the majority of their history.

Looking Ahead:

Right now, as of 15:00 Australian Eastern time on Monday, 28 November 2022, the protests are only in their first couple of days and we are unsure as to how the government will respond. Police have already been seen beating protesters and journalists and dragging them away in vehicles. However, in many cases the protests have largely been monitored by police but still permitted to occur. There seems to be uncertainty as to how they want to respond just yet, and as such no unified approach.

Many potential outcomes exist, and I would warn everyone to be careful in overplaying what can be achieved. Most experts I have read are not really expecting this to result in Xi's resignation or regime change - these things are possible, surely, but it is a major task to achieve and the unity & scale of the protest movement remains to be fully seen. The government may retaliate with a hard crackdown as it has done with Tiananmen and other protests throughout the years. It may also quietly revamp some policies without publicly admitting a change in order to both pacify protesters and save face. The CCP often uses mixed tactics, both coopting and suppressing protest movements over the years depending on the situation. Changing from Zero Covid may prove more challenging though, given how much Xi has staked his political reputation on enforcing it.

What is important for everyone online, especially those of us abroad, is to watch out for the misinformation campaign the government will launch to counter these protests. Already twitter is reportedly seeing hundreds of Chinese bot accounts mass post escort advertisements using various city names in order to drown out protest results in the site's search engine. Chinese officials will also likely invoke the standard narrative of Western influence and CIA tactics as the reason behind the protests, as they did during the Hong Kong protests.

Finally, there will be a new surge of misinformation and bad takes from tankies, or leftists who uncritically support authoritarian regimes so long as they are anti-US. An infamous one, the Qiao Collective, has already worked to shift the narrative away from the protests and onto debating the merits of Zero Covid. This is largely similar to pro-Putin leftists attempting the justify his invasion of Ukraine. Always remember that the same values that you use to criticise Western countries should be used to criticise authoritarian regimes as well - opposing US militarism and racism, for example, is not incompatible with opposing China's acts of genocide and state suppression. If you want further info (and some good sardonic humour) on the absurd takes and misinfo from pro-China tankies, I would recommend checking out Brian Hioe in the links below.

Finally, keep in mind that this is a grass-roots protest made by people in China, who are putting their own lives at risk to demonstrate openly like this. There have already been so many acts of bravery by those who just want a better future for themselves and their country, and it is belittling and disingenuous to wave away everything they are doing as being just a "Western front" or a few "fringe extremists".

Links:

BBC live coverage page with links to analysis and articles

ABC (Australia) analysis

South China Morning Post analysis

Experts & Journalists to Check Out:

Brian Hioe - Journalist & China writer, New Bloom Magazine

Bonnie Glaser - China scholar, German Marshall Fund

Vicky Xu - Journalist & researcher, Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Stephen McDonnell - Journalist, BBC

M Taylor Fravel - China scholar, MIT

New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre - NZ's hub of China scholarship (I was fortunate to attend their conferences during my PhD there, they do great work!)

If you've reached the end I hope this helps with understanding what's going on right now! A lot of us who know friends and whanau in China are worried for their safety, so please spread the word and let's hope that there is something of a positive outcome ahead.

[invisibleicewands]

Michael Sheen's The Way echoes Tata steelworks reality

When Michael Sheen was filming clashes between steelworkers and riot police in his home town Port Talbot, little did he know 2,000 jobs at its steelworks would be at risk by the time it premiered.

"We had no idea when we were developing the story what would be happening at the steelworks when this came out," he said.

"It's incredibly unfortunate that the story we've written has come bizarrely very close to the truth."

Speaking ahead of The Way's premiere at Port Talbot's Reel Cinema, he insisted the three-part BBC drama - originally conceived in 2016 - was a fictional story and not about the Tata steelworks.

"But obviously, knowing the town, knowing the relationship the town has with the steelworks, knowing the insecurities and the anxieties that have always been there in my lifetime around employment and work there - that was part of what drew us to setting the story in this town," said Sheen, 55, who both directed and starred in the drama.

He said Port Talbot's steelworks was the "spiritual centre of the town" and "part of our DNA" and the news of job losses had been "devastating".

The Way is written by James Graham, created by Sheen, Graham and documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis and stars a number of Welsh actors.

The cast includes Steffan Rhodri (Steeltown Murders and Gavin & Stacey), Mali Harries (Hinterland), Sophie Melville (The Pact), Callum Scott Howells (It's a Sin) and Mark Lewis Jones (Men Up and Keeping Faith).

Episode one sees growing concern over the future of the steelworks, leading to protests, which later turn to riots.

Some take to the streets to join the fight, others frantically try to escape or hide in their homes as helicopters fly overhead.

The streets become a warzone and the town is locked down by armed police.

With Port Talbot facing an uncertain future, could life imitate art?

"It's not like we're saying 'this is what you should do as a result of what's going on' by any means, but obviously I have huge sympathy for the steelworkers," said Sheen.

"In no way is this a blueprint to how people should react, but you don't know do you? I have no idea how people are going to react.

"People will try and be as resourceful and as positive about it as they possibly can I'd imagine because that is the spirit of the people in this place - but at the same time you don't know and people are very angry as well."

For Sheen, "everything" is political.

A long-term champion of the NHS, in 2015 he was applauded for delivering a passionate speech to a pro-NHS march in Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, and he is currently in rehearsal for a National Theatre production about NHS founder Aneurin Bevan.

In 2019, he sold property to bankroll the Homeless World Cup in Cardiff when funding for the £2m project fell through at the last moment.

In 2020, the actor, who was born in Newport and raised in Port Talbot, said he had handed back his OBE so he could air his views about the monarchy without being a "hypocrite".

In 2021, he said he had turned himself into a "not-for-profit" actor, using the money he earned from acting to fund projects.

He has been vocal on a range of issues from children in care to Welsh independence.

Was he trying to make a political statement in The Way?

"Everything is connected, everything happens for a reason, things are the way they are in this town and any town not just by chance, it's because of choices and various things... I think inevitably this was going to be a political story," he said.

"Part of the reason why we wanted to set it here... we needed to feel there was a great sense of discontent amongst a lot of people in the place, a lot of anxiety, a lot of feeling of not having their voices heard."

He said when people were made to feel that they were not being listened to and did not matter "that sense of frustration and anger can boil over".

Sheen made his name as an actor initially in the theatre before winning acclaim as a screen actor playing real people from Tony Blair, David Frost, Kenneth Williams and Chris Tarrant to lead roles in series including Good Omens, Masters of Sex and Staged.

In 2011, he directed and starred in a 72-hour epic theatrical production of The Passion, which moved around different locations across Port Talbot drawing huge crowds and critical acclaim.

It is perhaps unsurprising that he would choose to make his TV directorial debut in the town too.

"[The Way] was definitely very personal," he said.

"I feel like I knew what I was filming and I felt anchored and connected to what was going on."

Sheen now lives near Port Talbot with his partner Anna Lundberg and their two children Lyra and Mabli.

"It's somewhere I inevitably keep coming back to and it's an endless source of inspiration," he said of the town.

"It's the source of all my imaginative explorations really because it's my home.

"It's where I grew up, it's where all the most important things happened to me, it's where my family still lives, it's where I now live again and as I've got older I've realised more and more how important the beginning of my life was and all the opportunities people gave to me."

One of those people who gave him opportunities was Godfrey Evans, a drama teacher who helped shaped generations of actors through the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre and died in November, aged 82.

At the premiere across the road from the town's Aberavon Beach, Sheen dedicated the screening to both his former teacher and Port Talbot's steelworkers.

What are his hopes for those in his home town currently fearing for their jobs?

"Particularly at a time like this when there's so much anxiety and so much concern about the future it is so important to feel like you're supported and you can talk about what's going on and to find connection with other people who are maybe going through the same things," he said.

"We wish everyone the best and hope there's plenty of support for people in the future."

[haztobegood]

Fics by haztobegood for @1dtrickortreatfest

🎃 Through the Static (2019, T, ghosts)

Louis pranked the crew before a concert after he found a two-way radio in his dressing room. But messing with the radio had an unintended consequence.

🎃 Moon In Her Eyes (2020, G, werewolves)

Niall had been looking forward to Halloween with his friends for weeks. He couldn’t help but feel disappointed that his night out was ruined by the anxiety of being spotted.

🎃 Best Couples Costume (2020, T, pandemic fluff/crack)

“It’s a shame. Halloween is even on Saturday this year,” Liam said. “This was going to be our year! We would’ve won this time.” Harry pouted. “You wish.” Niall teased. “You two haven’t won the best couples costume award yet.”

🎃 Room with a View (2021, G, ghosts)

Harry draws back the blackout curtains. The view out the second story window is less than stellar. He frowns. “I think I’d rather have a view of the parking lot.” “What’s wrong?” Louis walks up behind him, wrapping his arm around Harry’s waist as he looks out. “Oh.” The cheap hotel they’d gotten such a great deal on happens to look out not over the nearby lake or trees, or even another parking lot. It has a panoramic view of a cemetery.

🎃 The Rescue (2022, NR, horror)

Louis likes to do one last round through the kennels to check that everyone has enough food and no one has tipped over their water bowls before he leaves. It takes him a second to notice the last pen is slightly ajar. Louis frowns; that’s definitely not how he’d left it after checking on their newest rescue.

🎃 Ghosted (2023, NR, ghosts)

Harry had dragged his feet when his mate Liam invited him for drinks at Horan’s Pub. He’d wanted to spend his Friday night under fuzzy blankets with a good book and hot cocoa. Besides, he’d protested, they already planned to go out the following week for Halloween. While initially reluctant, Harry’s glad he came. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have met Louis.

🎃 The Kiss of Sleep (2024, NR, horror)

Louis shook his head. “I’m proper knackered.” Too many nights on the road with the noise of the tyres rolling beneath them kicked Louis’ insomnia into high gear. He’d only been able to nip off for naps between soundcheck and their shows so he’d have enough energy to perform properly. But just barely. Now, with two days off and a plush king size bed calling his name for the first time in weeks, Louis needed to catch up on sleep.

[thecemeterian]

The 2024 Election and the Importance of Voice

Honestly, this feels like a nightmare scenario. Literally, I've had nightmares about this. It's hard to believe that this many people voted for hate and fear and bigotry and violence. My fear is only amplified by some body cam footage I watched a few days ago of what happened on January 6th, 2021. It was like one of those dystopian montages you watch either at the beginning of a movie or at the moment when the protagonist learns why the world is in ruins, except it's real.

In the midst of all the turmoil, terror, and despair that is likely occurring in all of our lives right now, it may not feel like there is any hope. It may feel as though democracy is dead and tyranny and oppression reign supreme, but all is not lost.

As president, he possesses no legislative power except to veto or propose bills to congress, and so I do not see him changing the fact that he has only one term left to serve. He is also old, as old as Biden was when he stepped into office, so he may not even last the whole term!

That being said, I have no idea how much damage might be done by the time he's out. During his first presidency, at least he was surrounded by the somewhat sane to keep him in check, but he's fired all of them and is now surrounded by enablers who might be just as crazy as he is.

It is important for all who truly love democracy to accept this loss with grace, to be better than the mob that stormed our nation's capitol after the 2020 election. This does not mean that we will simply lie down and take whatever comes our way in the upcoming years.

Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we make our voices heard, that we stand up for the kind of society we want to live in, that we stand against violence, injustice, and oppression.

We shall not act with violence. We will not give such satisfaction to oppressors and bigots. We must work to ensure that we are not spreading the fear, hate, and animosity that has caused us so much grief and suffering. When future generations look back at our actions, they must be able to say that we have done no wrong. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us the effectiveness of the peaceful protest during the Civil Rights movement. I am afraid we shall have many reasons to practice the art in the coming years, but we will not give up on our society.

We will fight Bigotry with Acceptance.

We will fight Despair with Hope.

We will fight Grief with Joy.

We will fight Absurdity with Laughter.

We will fight Violence with Peace.

We will fight Silence by making our Voices heard like the thunder rolling down the hills.

We will fight Cruelty with Mercy.

We will fight Greed with Generosity.

We will fight Lies with Truth.

We will fight Hate with Love.

We will fight Shame with Pride.

To everyone who thinks that their voice doesn't matter, believe me, it does! Alone, we are weak, conquerable, easily discarded. Together we can move a nation. I implore you, learn how our nation works. Research important topics, verify information, seek Truth, and when you find it? Share it. Petition, vote, and, perhaps most importantly, listen to the voices of the oppressed. If you don't know how to help or where to find reliable information, find someone who does. If you do, be there for someone who doesn't.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

William Melhado at The Texas Tribune:

More than a year after a Travis County jury convicted Daniel Perry of murdering a protester in Austin, Gov. Greg Abbott pardoned Perry, 37, on Thursday shortly after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended a full pardon.

A Texas state district court judge sentenced Perry in May 2023 to 25 years in prison for shooting and killing U.S. Air Force veteran Garrett Foster during a 2020 demonstration protesting police brutality against people of color. One day after a jury convicted Perry, Abbott directed the parole board to review the former U.S. Army sergeant’s case. “Among the voluminous files reviewed by the Board, they considered information provided by the Travis County District Attorney, the full investigative report on Daniel Perry, plus a review of all the testimony provided at trial,” Abbott said in a statement announcing the proclamation that absolved Perry. “Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney.”

Abbott approved the board’s recommendation, which included restoration of Perry’s firearm rights. Whitney Mitchell, Foster's common-law wife, said that she had expected to grow old with Foster before Perry murdered him. In a Thursday statement, she said Abbott's pardon made Texans less safe. “Daniel Perry texted his friends about plans to murder a protester he disagreed with. After a lengthy trial, with an abundance of evidence, 12 impartial Texans determined that he carried out that plan, and murdered my Garrett,” Mitchell said. “With this pardon, the Governor has desecrated the life of a murdered Texan and US Air Force veteran, and impugned that jury’s just verdict. He has declared that Texans who hold political views that are different from his — and different from those in power — can be killed in this State with impunity.”

[...] Perry was driving for Uber at the time he encountered protesters a few blocks from the Capitol in downtown Austin. He stopped his car and honked at protesters as they walked through the street. Seconds later, he drove his car into the crowd, Austin police said. Foster was openly carrying an AK-47 rifle at the time and during the trial, each side presented conflicting accounts as to whether the protester raised the gun to Perry who was also legally armed. Perry shot Foster and then fled the area, police said. He then called police and reported what happened, claiming he shot in self-defense after Foster aimed his weapon at him.

[...] Abbott rarely issues pardons, which the board must recommend before the governor can act. Abbott granted three pardons in 2023, two pardons in 2022 and eight in 2021 — most for lower-level offenses. Shortly after Perry’s conviction, unsealed court documents revealed he had made a slew of racist, threatening comments about protesters in text messages and social media posts. Days after George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer prompted nationwide protests, Perry sent a text message saying, “I might go to Dallas to shoot looters.” Both Perry and Foster are white. Perry, a U.S. Army sergeant, also sent racist and anti-Muslim messages before and after Floyd’s death. In April 2020, he sent a meme, which included a photo of a woman holding her child’s head under water in the bath, with the text, “WHEN YOUR DAUGHTERS FIRST CRUSH IS A LITTLE NEGRO BOY,” according to the state’s filing.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) made a politically-motivated pardon of racist murderer Daniel Perry, who killed Garrett Wolfe at a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest.

See Also:

The Guardian: Texas governor pardons man who killed Black Lives Matter protester in 2020

[menlove]

i am not trying to start a fight with the person that reblogged this on my dash. or get into it on the post itself. but.

i genuinely think this kind of sentiment is so... blind? i get where it's coming from, but it is incredibly privileged and blinded and i'm gonna go through why here

first of all, if your only problems with biden are that he's too old and moderate and "makes sucky choices from an array of sucky choices," do you actually care about these causes? or do you just care when there's a big scary red elephant slapped on them? because i don't know about you, but actively funding genocide, ignoring the 68% of americans that support a ceasefire (and 75% being democrats, the people who elected him), is not just a "sucky choice." when countries like italy sided with germany in ww2 during the holocaust, do you refer to that as having been a "sucky choice"? or do you refer to it as being complicit in genocide? let's not babytalk our way through this. he is complicit in genocide.

yes, trump absolutely does do all of these things. and he is scary. but you know what happens when he does these things? the news covers it. the left tears him apart. we KNOW about him saying these things and doing these things. meanwhile, biden is also still putting people in camps. what i just linked is to aclu. it details how the number of people in ICE detention camps has GROWN since biden has come into office. he issued an executive order in january 2021 directing the DOJ to "to phase out its contracts with private prison companies," but ICE was notably and purposefully left out of this. also according to this linked page on aclu, ICE detains 30,003 people each day as of july 2023. this is an INCREASE from january 2021 when that number was at 15,444 per day. under trump, 81% of people held in these camps were held in facilities owned by private prison corporations. under biden, this number has risen to 90.8%.

in january of this year, they cracked down even further on enforcement measures for illegal immigration. this is a statement from their administration. while they do have measures in here to support LEGAL immigrants, the entire focus of this page is how they are channeling EVEN MORE FUNDING to the detainment of immigrants and border security.

here's another article on the situation.

not to mention, literally all of the horrific laws that have passed in the last 3 years of his presidency with regards to abortion, trans healthcare, etc. and the clusterfuck that is student loan debt relief. these things are not necessarily his fault, i understand that, he is being blocked by other parts of the government. however, it goes to show you that he is functionally useless. all of these horrific things have happened under him anyway. what protection does a democrat president give us?

"we don't get to vote for the candidate we love. we get to vote for the one who won't actively kill american citizens."

bolded that actively for you, because that is exactly the problem. he IS killing american citizens. and american citizens are NOT the only people that matter. how are we more important than the thousands of palestinians he's had a hand in killing? why do they not matter? but to the point- he IS killing americans. y'all just don't care because he's not looking into the camera and saying "we should kill immigrants and trans people". he's just letting it happen anyway. he's enacting policies that let it happen. but it doesn't get NEARLY as much pushback or media coverage as trump, because he's a democrat. y'all stopped caring the second he stepped into office.

i voted for him in 2020, after i'd voted for the candidate i'd wanted in the primaries. i couldn't vote for clinton in 2016 because i was 17. but i would have. because i listened to y'all say over and over "vote blue no matter who" and that you SWORE you would push him further left by protesting and pushing back on his moderate and right wing policies. you didn't. you let all of this slide. and the second ANYONE even THREATENS not to vote you all started shitting your pants and even IN THIS THREAD started calling people fucking russian spies again.

if we cannot even THREATEN not to vote, they are NEVER going to change. but he is NOT the "lesser of two evils" here. he is just the quieter of two evils. there is a huge difference between those two things. and i'm sick and tired of y'all acting like anyone who doesn't want him in office is morally bankrupt and wants trump to be president. the answer isn't "grit your teeth and keep voting us further and further right". the answer is that this government is not working.

[bunnakit]

Not Me Episode 4 Music

Flares - Life in Colour

We immediately jump in with Flares as Sean is experiencing a nightmare. Stretch time but I guess if you wanted you could read this as Sean subconsciously sending up a signal flare for help.

Last Night, Last Night, Last Night - Well Then, Goodbye

This kicks in as Black is leaving Sean in the flashback; this could be a tie in with the 'Last Night' title as in it's a memory Sean is recalling that might feel like they just happened OR there could be a tie with the band name being 'Well Then, Goodbye' as Black very unceremoniously leaves Sean to his fate. (Either way, my ears don't particularly like this song, the reverb gives me ickies. Thank you misophonia.)

To Whom It May Concern - Rap Against Dictatorship (ft. Liberate P, Nazesus, and GSUS2)

The first time I saw the dance scene I got goosebumps and I could tell the show had done something big here. Allow me to infodump a bit. Rap Against Dictatorship uses their platform and their music to bring attention to the ongoing state of Thailand under military rule, especially during election time. They were founded in 2017 and released their first single in 2018. After the release of their single the members were threatened with arrest by police who later backpedaled after the music went viral and the group gained the support of the public. In 2019 they were awarded with the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent* at the Oslo Freedom Forum. During the 2020-2021 Thai protests one member was arrested with other pro-democracy activists and later charged with sedition. Their music is often censored in Thailand due to it's anti-goverment and anti-monarchy message. (I love them so much, your honor.)

*Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent is an award established in 2012 by the New York City-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF). According to HRF President Thor Halvorssen, the prize recognizes individuals "who engage in creative dissent, exhibiting courage and creativity to challenge injustice and live in truth"

Downloaded Truth - Marten Moses

As White and Todd are discussing Eugene and Todd is persuading White to reach out to her this song comes in. It could be just a neat song, it could be that White found this downloaded little piece of truth in the video on Black's phone.

Crushed by A P O L L O

I'm fairly certain this, or a remix of it, is what is playing as White is on his phone texting Eugene? I know I've heard the song before and I have it stashed somewhere, Crushed sounds very close but I can't tell if it's quite right? Sometimes they put a little filter over the song or play an arrangement that's midway through the song and it trips me up a bit. If it isn't Crushed then it's very likely another Apollo piece (though none of the ones on that album, I checked.)

As Gram and White discuss the aftermath of the fire we get a little more Downloaded Truth.

As Nuch, Gram, and White all meet in the garage a bit more of Crushed's beat plays in the background.

3 (Instrumental Version) - Bambi Haze (ft. Lu Ni)

Just as White is hugging Eugene and trying to placate her this song comes in. There are truly no connections to be made here, no leaps or stretches to be found. (Though both this and several of Marc Torch's songs are on Epidemic Sound, a host for a lot of royalty free music, so this could be where GMMTV sources a good chunk of their music.)

Closer - Morphlexis

As Eugene climbs in White's lap this song plays and it could be a nod to Eugene wanting to be closer to Black or that she is physically closer to White, again, if we want to make some big stretchies.

When Eugene wakes up we're gifted with another appearance from Tripping over Danger which also wraps up the episode.

thank you so much to everyone who reads these! i recommend checking back at some older posts as i have made some updates (sometimes i miss songs and realize it later.) i promise to make a masterpost of these once we're done and i'll put together a little list of my favorites!

[theniftycat]

just thinking about how it makes me feel so little.

when I learned in 2011 that Putin wants to be the president again, I was indignant, but I wasn't scared

when people were protesting that year, I was quietly supporting them, but it was mostly happening in big cities and I wasn't in one

when they banned 'LGBT propaganda' among children in 2013, I was angry and I was vocal about it. I talked to people irl, I wrote posts.

when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, I was bewildered, I couldn't understand why people were okay with that, and thought it could only get worse.

when in 2015 I understood that Russia seemed fascist to me, I screamed about it everywhere, my dad disowned me, I argued with people, I lost some people due to it. I was in Argentina at the time.

I came back home in 2016, I bit my tongue, destroying my familiar bonds wasn't worth it. my family wouldn't move out of Russia.

in 2018 Putin became the president for the 4th time, this time for 6 years. what good does it make screaming that it's wrong?

in 2020 the constitution was changed. I stopped being surprised by the audacity and silence.

in 2021 there were protests. I started caring. nothing changed.

2022. Russia invaded Ukraine. I left my home, I lost some friends, I felt disappointed by so many people. it felt like the end of the world. nothing would be the same, ever. my country went full evil. I was now a part of the darkness.

in 2023 I realised that my survival and my happiness are in my hands. I started believing that it's possible to live with people who have the opposite views, as long as you both respect and love each other.

December, 2023. LGBT is now an extremist organisation. I'm LGBT. so what? nobody knows. nothing changes. if I don't destroy myself, I might live to see the better times. just live. just stay who you are.

[officeshelpdesk]

It's 10 am, my stomach hurts, and I'm mad about the police!

Y'all ever hear of Ryan Wingo? Because I sure hadn't a couple of hours ago but holy shit do I hate this pig now

This is Ryan Wingo, we will talk about when this photo was taken a little bit later. Ryan Wingo has worked for the Arkansas State Police for around 7 years. A more impartial writer would describe his career as controversial. As I am not impartial, Ryan Wingo is an itty bitty bitch baby who gets off on abusing his power and harassing people!

Let's do a timeline of 3 separate stories!

In 2020, Arkansas Attorney Don Cook was at the Arkansas capitol for a BLM protest shortly after the death of George Floyd. The Arkansas state troopers had been called in by the government for crowd control, including one Ryan Wingo. The crowd of protesters was ordered by the troopers to disperse; many, including Mr. Cook, followed this order.

As Cook was walking away (according to a lawsuit Cook has filed) Ryan Wingo fired a bean bag at him. Cook then required emergency surgery to get parts of the bean bag removed from him, two other surgeries, and suffered injury to his jaw, teeth, and face.

Afterwards, Arkansas police filed an affidavit, in which they alleged that Cook walked towards the police with his fists clenched in a "threatening way". A great sign that this affidavit is not accurate to the actual events that occur is that they describe Cook as wearing an outfit that video shows he was not wearing that night.

However, importantly, this affidavit was filed a year after the incident. Cook went home from the hospital a free man, where he filed a complaint to get the state to cover some of his medical bills.

As the Arkansas times puts it:

All of this because Ryan Wingo's a dickhead

In 2021, we get another Wingo story that is partially morally grey.

On June 2nd 2021, Timothy Andrew Kemp was riding a motorcycle on U.S 70 when Ryan Wingo attempted to pull him over, Kemp refused to do this, resulting in a chase. Kemp was eventually cornered, and ran into a wooded area.

It is important to note that Arkansas State troopers are not required to wear bodycams, and I've been unable to find dashcam footage of the incident.

However the state and Wingo allege that Wingo chased Kemp into the woods, Wingo attempted to tase Kemp but ended up somehow tasing himself.

Michelle Lawrence, a county prosecutor who cleared Wingo of any wrongdoing in the incident said of the dashcam footage "you could hear what was going on from the car video. They were that close to the car. Actually, not that close, but you could hear what was going on, you could hear the entire struggle from the car. It was a very lengthy struggle. We timed it and it was a little over three minutes."

Wingo then apparently said "give me my gun" to Kemp soon before shooting him to death.

Finally, we have an incident that happened last year, where Wingo was driving along the highway when a car going in the opposite direction sped past him. Wingo attempted to make a U-turn without any indication. Charles Donner, who was driving a ways behind him, honked his horn, which caused Wingo to give up on chasing the speeding vehicle, turn his lights on, and pull over Donner.

Donner pulled into the right lane of the road, slowly coming to a stop, and Wingo proceeded to crash his patrol car into the back of Donners. He then told Donner and his wife Brittany to pull into an empty parking lot.

Wingo explained that he pulled them over because Donner was riding the patrol car too close (in car camera footage shows this to be false) and because Donner brake checked Wingo (dashcam footage shows this to also be false). Donner, a military veteran with PTSD, then rightly told Wingo repeatedly to go fuck himself while complying with Wingos traffic stop.

But then hearing the word fuck hurt wingos feewings :( so he proceeded to drag Donner out of his car, cuff him, and drag him to the back of his patrol car.

Now the best part about the dashcam video is that Wingo called for back up, and the back up proceeds to explain to Donner what he did wrong after Wingo tells them his version of events. Donner explains that that's not what happened, that he and his wife both agree that that's not what happened, and the back up refuse to listen to him.

Donner was not arrested, but he was given a citation. Donner and his wife are now suing on the grounds of violation of civil rights

This incident is where we get the lovely little photo of Wingo.

Ryan Wingo is a dangerous man who should not be given any power, as all cops are.

As of right now Wingo still has his job, and a little over a thousand people have signed a petition asking for his termination (which probably will not happen)

[twopoppies]

Harry didn’t change his band until it was The Required Moment to do so either though, and I don’t think he would have, had it not been (I genuinely mean no shade to him there, we all learn something new every day). I love love love seeing people who look like me on stage with him and I’m so happy he is giving these opportunities to POCs, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think either one of them spends a long time considering diversity issues. It’s possible Louis too will mix it up when it comes time to add new musicians, he hasn’t had any changes since putting them together initially, has he? I think people get super defensive about their lack of diversity because they want to be a fan of the best person, but like, the moment you realize they really are just our favorite beloved super British super white super rich dumbasses life as a fan will be so much better lmao. I think both has their hearts in the right place, I just think issues that concern me doesn’t necessarily concern them in the same way because we lead very different lives in very different bodies with very different skin colors and also very different wallet sizes. Sometimes they try, sometimes they fail. At the end of the day, I still enjoy being a fan of them and I think they are good people who tries their best, even in the moments where it becomes clear that their world view is probably a bit stuck in 2010. Glad whenever one of them catches up just a bit haha.

Hi, sugar. Yeah, I very much agree with you. And I get what you mean about "the required moment", but I also think there were a few things going on at the same time the change happened. IIRC, he added Pauli as the musical director as he was preparing to tour Fine Line in 2021. He also had been working on Harry's House at the time, which had a different sound.

I'd guess he and Pauli would have discussed the direction he wanted the show to go in, and a decision was made at that time to shake things up. So I think some of the changes to the band's makeup happened organically. However, the fact that it was a positive thing, optically, was probably not lost on Harry or his team.

Harry had said that the BLM protests in 2020 pushed him to look a bit deeper into things he may not have considered previously (likely due to his privilege). Not that this means he is suddenly the epitome of anti-racism, and I'm not trying to negate anything you said above; just adding in some additional context.

As for Louis, he had various musicians when he first started doing Walls promo (and there was at least one POC that I recall), but it was very much like hiring day players, although I think a few of the guys stayed the same. Once he really got going with his first tour, he solidified that band to who he's got now.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Since October 7, anti-Isral propaganda disguised as a "social justice" movement has flooded Instagram.

Influential individuals and organizations are working together to systematically promote a deliberate disinformation campaign aganst Israel that ultimately benefits Hamas.

They use social media to propagate false narratives, specifically targeting young left-leaning Americans, and orchestrating what might be the most significant propaganda offensive against the Jewish community since World War II.

Polls have found that half of young American adults side with the terrorist organization Hamas, responsible for the brutal October 7 massacre of over 1200 Israeli civilians and capture of over 200 hostages. And that their actions can be justified.

One organization responsible for disseminating the most deceptive anti-Israel propaganda aimed at influencing Americans' opinions is the Institute for Middle East Understanding.

The IMEU is backed by millions of dollars from wealthy donors like the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The Rockefeller Brothers' father is John D. Rockefeller Jr., the "primary financier" of Nazi eugenics research.

The IMEU is extremely influential. They've gained hundreds of thousands of followers in just a few weeks. Their highly misleading posts get tens of thousands of Likes and Shares.

They accomplished this by copying the tactics of "anti-racist educators" on Instagram that launched the Black Lives Matter protests and riots in 2020.

In this 2021 panel, prominent anti-Israel activists explain how they use research from "Palestine Studies," a frivolous scholarship based on "decolonization" and Critical Theory, to create "social justice content" on Instagram to target American progressives.

IMEU Communications Director, Omar Baddar (salary: $100,000) explains their pivot from traditional media to social media, because social media offers greater control over the narrative.

He believes Palestinians should not be blamed when they instigate violence because:

"Israel as an occupying power is inherently the initiator of violence."

So, Israel simply existing is the real problem.

A key part of their strategy in targeting Americans involves drawing analogies to the USA's history of slavery and discrimination against black people:

"Jim Crow segregation is obviously something that every American understands, so explaining how the parallels between Israeli apartheid and that are very useful. For us, a central point is tying what is happening in Palestine to American moral responsibility."

Following these tactics, they saw a "massive explosion" in their following.

"The massive, massive, massive explosion in the shares and follows."

Their efforts succeed at deliberately misleading people and depriving them of key information and historical context that would allow them to better understand the nuances of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Public opinion serves as Hamas' most potent weapon against Israel and American progressives are unwittingly being used as pawns in a scheme that ultimately benefits the terrorist organization.

Full investigation:

==

If it feels like western countries are in a re-run of the fanaticism and riots from three years ago, it's because they are. It's a shame they learned nothing from being conned by BLM propaganda.

At least it makes sense now how the "Be Kind" pronouns people who saw Nazis everywhere became pro-Sharia Nazis themselves, aligning with murderous, far-right Islamic jihadist terrorists, to the point of some of them even deciding Osama bin Laden was the good guy. FFS...

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

THE SAME OLD SAME OLD FAT ELVIS IMPERSONATOR GREATEST HITS TOUR

TCinLA

Sep 27, 2024

“We are the United States of Amnesia. We learn nothing because we remember nothing.”

– Gore Vidal, 2004

There is so much about the 2024 election that sets new records for absurdity. Topping all lists has to be the fact that the man who still refuses to accept the 2020 election result, who schemed to overturn those legitimate results, who incited a seditious assault on the government he was head of as president, whose mismanagement of a pandemic led to the avoidable deaths of perhaps a million Americans, is accepted by millions as a candidate for president who has a good chance of winning.

Trump is in a unique position for a non-incumbent presidential candidate. He has a record as 45th president. To win, he needs to shape how millions of voters remember those four years.

On Earth II, where the grass is blue and the sky is green, Americans are afraid to go out to buy a loaf of bread without getting shot, mugged or raped by immigrants. Immigrants in a small Ohio town eat their neighbors’ cats and dogs. Economic collapse of a failing economy, and World War III will happen next year if his opponent is elected. And children go to school only to return days later having been given gender reassignment surgery at the school.

Further, on Earth II the seditious insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 were peaceful protesters. Unlucky boaters forced to buy electric boats powered by heavy bateries are faced with the choice of electrocution or a shark attack when the boat begins to sink due to the heavy batteries.

Trump traffics in lies and misinformation, promoting an alternate reality he creates to convince voters that they are faced with a politically devastating landscape created by his political opponents, that only he can protect them from.

His Greatest Hits now include racist lies about Haitian immigrants who eat the family pets of innocent (white) Americans, “The late great Hannibal Lecter” wants to eat his listeners, and he has been praised by Viktor Orban, “a very strong, strong guy. And when he asked his audience in Pennsylvania last Monday,“Do you think Springfield will ever be the same? - I don’t think so. The fact is, and I’ll say it now: You have to get them the hell out.”

The inbred MAGAts responsed by chanting “Send them back!” 74 million of our fellow Americans can’t tie their shoelaces without adult supervision.

Democratic strategist Kurt Bardella described the Fat Elvis Greatest Hits tour, saying“It’s a logical continuation of what once was called ‘alternative facts’ by the same camp. It’s obvious that is a long-term mission statement, more than just an offhand comment. Their entire strategy is to say anything, make up anything, invent false narratives to try and distract away from the very real consequences of their radical and extreme agenda that is so far out of the mainstream of the American people’s interests. They think they have a better chance of winning by making up insane stories about people eating pets versus having a subsequent conversation about the consequences of their policy agenda.”

On Thursday, CNN’s fact-checkers presented a list of “12 completely fictional stories” that Trump has told in the last month. They included Kamala Harris reintroducing the military draft, and Harris negotiating in 2022 with Vladimir Putin to prevent the invasion of Ukraine.

There is one lie we need to pay attention to:

“We don’t need the votes,” Donald recently told Fox News. “I have so many votes.”

We should be suspicious of a man who tells people he doesn’t need any more votes. What rational candidate has his aides tell the press that he’s not actively campaigning because he prefers to play golf?

This is the guy who cheats at golf and has been convicted of cheating in all his businesses.

From his lies that Democrats are trying to steal the election, to the false claims the election is being rigged against him, his efforts to undermine voters’ faith in free and fair elections is out in the open.

The most egregious example of the planned coup is coming out of Georgia, where a MAGA majority on the state elections board voted 3-2 to require the hand-counting of ballots. This will cause chaos, which is exactly what the Trump campaign is counting on.

Both the state’s Republican Secretary of State and Republican Attorney General said the changes are probably illegal.

The recent attempt in Nebraska to get the state legislature to change the way electoral college votes are awarded was stopped by Nebraska state Senator Mike McDonnell, one of the few holdouts against Donald’s pressure campaign, announced that he won’t support a change in how electoral votes in Nebraska are awarded.

“Elections should be an opportunity for all voters to be heard, no matter who they are, where they live or what party they support,” McDonnell said. “I have taken time to listen carefully to Nebraskans and national leaders on both sides of the issue. After deep consideration, it is clear to me that right now, 43 days from Election Day, is not the moment to make this change.”

At a rally on Monday, Trump again threatened to prosecute anyone who “cheats” in the 2024 election. Of course, that threat is intended to dissuade honest people from becoming involved in the election process.

Michael Steele, a former chair of the Republican National Committee, said: “There’s nothing worse than a desperate man. There’s nothing worse than a desperate racist man who cannot control the woman in front of him who happens to be African American. Cannot control the conditions around him that have changed – the tightening of the political race for the presidency. Cannot control what people are saying about him, the fact that Republicans are now coming out and speaking against a second Trump term and are creating lanes in which we are willing to support the Democrat over Donald Trump because he is that bad and that dangerous. When he cannot control that, he becomes even more dangerous and more desperate and you need to be aware of that because there’s more of this coming between now and November.”

Yesterday, September 26, Trump did another public meltdown when he called a press conference (where he actually took questions) in Trump Tower.

It could be politely called “the view from Earth II.”

According to Trump, the economy - which reported a second quarter (April 1- June 30) growth rate of 3.1 percent, with the stock market and he S&P 500 setting record highs again this week - has all-time high unemployment with inflation at its highest point and the stock market ready to crash. The fact that Un-Truth Anti-Social has lost 82% of its value since it was created back in March might color his view of the stock market. He also announced he was now selling Trump Watches - at prices ranging from $499 to $100,000; the ad states in small print that the watches in the ad might not “be an exact representation of the final product.”

He also relitigated his September 10 loss in the debate with Kamala Harris, declaring he was winning when he was sandbagged by the ABC moderators fact-checking him after promising him they would not do that (He has said he wants to sue David Muir - on what grounds is unclear).

Asked about his position on Ukraine, he again voiced support for Vladimir Putin, saying he would force Ukraine to allow the Russians to keep the Ukrainian territory they have stolen in the invasion, which he would do in the name of “humanity” to stop the death and destruction. He also said he was supported in this by American parents who “don’t want their sons fighting in Ukraine.” Clearly, Trump's secret plan involves telling Zelensky that the US will cut off aid to Ukraine unless it surrenders immediately to Putin. As Kamala Harris put it, “Trump's proposals for peace are really proposals for surrender.”

Echoing the reincarnation of Reinhard Heydrich, er, I mean self-hating Jew Steven Miller, he went on at length about rapes committed by immigrants and how he will carry out the largest mass deportation ever..

When asked if he was still supporting Mark “I’m a Black NAZI!” Robinson in the North Carolina gubernatorial contest, he played “rock ‘n’ roll concertina” with his hands while saying “I know nothing about the situation.”

Amazingly, rump Whisperer Maggie Haberman wrote about the “press conference” in the New York Times, saying:

“Mr. Trump quickly appeared to grow bored with the remarks he read from, and drifted repeatedly toward other topics. He talked about inflation, accused Ms. Harris of lying about working at McDonald’s years ago and nursed his fury over how the ABC News debate moderators handled his face-off with Ms. Harris nearly three weeks ago.

“At the beginning of the news conference, Mr. Trump struggled at times to articulate his thoughts or make a point clearly. He stumbled over some words as he read from remarks he had plainly not written. He bootstrapped one thought onto another based on whether the words associated with something else, as opposed to having a clear through line.

“The group of Trump employees and supporters gathered in the lobby along one of the barricades that penned in where Mr. Trump spoke appeared to grow restless, with some looking around, as Mr. Trump talked and talked.”

Trump had reason to melt down beyond the financial failure of Un-Truth Anti-Social. Thursday saw his 2020 consiglieri Rudy Guiliani disbarred in Washington D.C. (After being disbarred in New York this past summer), while Jack Smith delivered his 180 page filing in which he documents why the charges against Trump for attempting to overthrow the 2020 election are still valid in spite of the Unsupreme Court’s presidential immunity decision. That filing may be under seal, but Trump knows better than anyone that the “juicier” parts will see the light of day before November 5. He is clearly worried about Smith’s filing. On Thursday morning, The filing is clearly on Trump’s mind. He posted on Un-Truth Anti-Social that “Deep State subversives” ignored his orders to prevent unrest on January 6, 2021; at his press conference, he again played an old Greatest Hit, claiming that Nancy Pelosi was responsible for the seditious attack on the U.S. Capitol.

With 39 days left until the election, with his summer leads against Biden erased by Kamala Harris, with some sort of imprisonment for the rest of his life the likely result of his losing the election, Trump is reverting more and more to his Greatest Hits.

The problem is that even the audience at the casino/unlicensed brothel in Elko Nevada, where Fat Elvis impersonator Trump appears on Tuesday nights, doesn’t want to hear his schtick any more. A third of his audience walked out of the Monday and Thursday night hatealongs.

39 days to save America. Hopefully we will prove Mr. Vidal mistaken.

[TCinLA]

[overthinkingtaleblr]

hi there!! ur the most active person in the taleblr tag and im a bit of a lurker myself, so i figured id send this ask here so, at least, if you don't know about it, someone else that sees it might? in the last 2 days or so i've noticed a Massive Takedown of just abt every vt playlist that has ever Existed, anything to do with their content, save for the official playlists on the old main channel (which were never nearly as comprehensive as the fan-made ones...). i'm wondering if there's a reason for this? is there a new protest or smth i missed the ball on? for lore-making purposes they've always been very nice to go to, esp the chronological ones, and it feels weird that so many people have suddenly decided to take them down. unless this was something on youtube's part? or just happening on my end for some unknown reason (i know playlists can occasionally be disallowed access from certain parts of the world so maybe it's a case of that?)? all of the videos themselves are still up and everything, it's just much harder to wade through them all now... im curious if there's a known reason, or if it would be wrong to go through and (lord help me) make my own playlists in their stead. ty in advance!

Howdy, and thank you for reaching out ^^

Personally, I am not at all active on YouTube... I don’t know who made the original playlists or even what to search to find them. I do know that if they are gone and we’re lucky, they were just made private or unlisted and aren’t gone from the internet forever.

I can say I have made Venturiantale Playlists personally (three of them, meant to make more) that pertain to When the content was made rather than what the content was (chronological by year playlists, 2021, 2020, and 2019) and they’re still standing… so it seems that whatever reason the playlist was possibly removed was either decided by the person who created the playlists or are just harder to find because of a YouTube update or something, nothing too destructive.

Speculation aside, I personally don’t know how to find playlists, so if someone else on tumblr has any idea, it could be helpful. I’ll make sure to reblog this in the morning so everyone sees it. Thank you!

[humanrightsupdates]

Atoh Walter M. Tchemi, a prominent Cameroonian human rights lawyer, knows firsthand the harassment and threats that comes with his job. But even he wasn’t expecting to be beaten up by the police when he went to meet a client.

About 10:30 a.m. today, December 22, Tchemi went to a garage on Mulango Street in Kumba, a city in the South-West region of Cameroon, to talk to a client, a truck driver allegedly involved in an accident. The policemen present had taken the driver’s identity card and driving license, and, without showing an arrest warrant, ordered the driver to accompany them to a local police station.

“While trying to find out what was happening, the policemen started to beat me from all directions with the butt of their guns and threw me in their van like a piece of wood, accusing me of subverting police authority,” Tchemi said. “My clothes were destroyed, and I have bruises all over my body.”

Tchemi said that at the station, a police commander told him to go home, which he initially refused, intending to bring legal action. “Given the snail pace of justice in Cameroon on issues concerning lawyers,” Tchemi said. “I decided to let go.”

Lawyers have become easy targets for the authorities in Cameroon, according to a recent report by the international organization Lawyers for Lawyers. Arbitrary arrest, harassment, and other forms of police brutality, including verbal and physical assault, against lawyers are common. In May 2021, gendarmes in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, arrested another prominent rights lawyer, Amungwa Tanyi Nicodemus, on bogus charges of inciting terrorism for possessing photographs that show evidence of abuses in the country’s English-speaking regions. In November 2020, security forces used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse lawyers in a courtroom in Douala. The lawyers were protesting the arrest of two colleagues accused of corruption.