#world aids day special with david

[thepromptfoundry]

Calling all history nerds, period piece connoisseurs, and fans of time-travel plots! Decades December is coming up here at The Prompt Foundry!

This list is being posted a little earlier than usual because historical work can take some time. The list has some reference points for you to jump off from. Show off your special interest in a particular era or event, or start a wiki walk from the the Wikipedia page for each decade to learn something new!

Have fun exploring resources like @thetimelinesofslang, the Fashion History Timelines from NYSU's Fashion Institute of Technology, or the fashion plates and historical photos from blogs like @omgthatdress or @historical-fashion-polls!

If you use this list, please tag me here @thepromptfoundry, I’d love to see your writing and art!

Feel free to combine different days' prompts with each other, or combine them with other events! Use your OCs, your favorite characters from media, your own experiences, whatever tickles your fancy.

Respond to as many prompts as you want or as interest you, don’t worry about missing or skipping any. Remember, this is supposed to be fun!

If you have any questions or musings, check our FAQ, and if you don't find your answer, shoot me an ask.

Plain text list below the cut:

1) 0010s Xin dynasty in China, Caesar Augustus in Rome

2) 1900s Edwardian era, Russo-Japanese War, release of the first feature film The Great Train Robbery

3) 300s Teotihuacan flourishing in present-day Mexico, writing of the Kama Sutra

4) 1910s World War 1, the Russian Revolution

5) 1440s Late Middle Ages/Early Renaissance in Europe, the hangul writing system is introduced in Korea

6) 1920s Prohibition in the US, rise of fascism in Europe, earliest sync-sound movies

7) 0070s Roman Epire, destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and destruction of Pompeii

8) 1930s The Great Depression, the Declaration of the Independence of India, art deco, color film

9) 1090s The First Crusade, the Liao, Xia, and Song dynasties in various parts of China

10) 1810s The Napoleonic Wars, the Regency era in England

11) 1940s World War 2, post-war rebuilding

12) 1000s BC The Iron Age, King David of the Israelites, development of the Phoenician alphabet

13) 1950s Baby Boom, Red Scare, the Korean War, rock'n'roll, zippers and television both become commonplace

14) 1340s The Black Death in Europe, decline of the Mongol Empire

15) 1590s Late Elizabethan Era in Europe, William Shakespeare, Imjin War between Japan and Korea

16) 1960s Moon landing, hippies, mod fashion, Chinese Cultural Revolution, Stonewall, Star Trek, the Civil Rights movement

17) 1770s The American Revolution, founding of the real Illuminati

18) 1860s American Civil War era, late Edo period in Japan

19) 1970s The Sexual Revolution, disco, the first video games, end of the Vietnam War

20) 2200s Whatever the future holds!

21) 1980s End of the Cold War and fall of the Berlin Wall, beginnings of the World Wide Web, the First Intifada in Gaza

22) 1660s Part of the Golden Age of Piracy, the English Restoration

23) 1990s Internet access becomes widespread, grunge, the Gulf War, the Troubles in Ireland, height of the AIDS crisis, Princess Dianna, first Pokemon games

24) 1230s University of Cambridge founded in England, beginnings of the Mali Empire in Africa, rein of Emperor Shijo in Japan

25) 2000s The “War On Terror”, rise of Big Tech, Y2K fashion, emo culture, cell phones become commonplace

26) 1880s Gilded Age, the first skyscrapers, electrification of cities, first household electrical appliances like fans and irons

27) 1640s Qing dynasty begins in China, the First English Civil War

28) 2010s Hipster culture, height of video streaming, YA lit boom

29) 500s Liang and Northern Wei dynasties in China, Heptarchy period in England, height of prosperity of the Mayan Empire

30) 2020s Present day!

31) 3130s Whatever the future holds!

[yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere]

National Coming Out Day-October 11th! *this* part of Alex's speech is so important-the whole speech is-both versions-in the movie, and in the book.

"The truth is every queer person has the right to come out on their own terms, and on their own timeline. They also have the right to choose not to come out at all. The forced conformity of the closet can not be answered with the forced conformity in coming out of it.

This isn’t about shame. This is about privacy and the fundamental right of self-determination which are exactly the principles on which the struggle for queer liberation has always been fought."

this is history being made-this speech-in a movie that is so famous worldwide? and i believe there are quite many people who left the room when this speech was on, or some people who were too distracted by his eyelashes to actually hear what he was saying and it shows. damn, it shows.

so many public figures have been put through it-what Alex and Henry have been put through both in the movie+ the book-UNACCEPTABLE. and so often it's done by queer people, our lgbtq+ community doing this shit to others? THIS CAN'T KEEP HAPPENING.

Becky Albertalli, Kit Connor (just to name a few), and so, so many others. What makes you even think you have a right to know this about ANYONE?

This National Coming Out Day, if you're queer and scared and not "out" yet, I want you to listen to this. Alex's speech. (later on I will post pictures of both FULL SPEECHES(movie +book), it's okay if you don't want to come out, whatever you feel is alright. You don't owe anything to anyone, not your friends, family or co-workers, or schoolmates, no matter what the world around you makes you feel.

you matter, you're important, you're loved, and whatever you decide it's okay.

MOVIE VERSION SPEECH:

BOOK VERSION SPEECH:

♥

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GAY TIMES (@gaytimes)

+

+we need MORE bisexuality in media!!

+ also queer history/facts from RWRB(Alex engaging with queer history)(thank you SO. MUCH. CASEY MCQUISTON!!)-GREAT POST here on tumblr!!-many links here, lots of information! (Waterloo Vase, Stonewall, SCOTUS decision 2015, Walt Whitman, Laws of Illinois 1961, The White Nights Riots, Paris Is Burning, THAT David Wojnarowicz photo 'If I Die Of AIDS-Forget Burial-Just Drop My Body On The Steps Of The F.D.A' https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/757305651356729344?source=share (I encourage you to research more about David!!) , Thisbe & Pyramus, The V & A, James I & George Villiers and MORE!!) https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/757308307835895808?source=share (Learning about things referenced in Red, White & Royal Blue, thank you @ elipheleh)

+important reading about AIDS/HIV: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/139102124?shelf=about-aids-hiv

+ a special episode where we hear(literally) from listeners of the show who were lovers, nurses, relatives, students, and friends of people who died from AIDS. (have tissues nearby):https://open.spotify.com/episode/4rTjExVqMVoEtCVPISSW5t?si=Dx09EVStQAiNHoTYvwZvFw & https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-a-bit-fruity-with-matt-ber-117844074/episode/stories-from-the-aids-crisis-191687576/ +ofc THIS ep w Peter Staley :https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bpmgbS56oqjpLdhFqPhFQ?si=PKVw0V_MRx-ajGmVF-GM4Q (this ep of the podcast vid on ytube link in the post linked below/also ep on iheart link below as well!)

(+IMPORTANT) (Nov,2023)-A Bit Fruity Podcast (created by Matt Bernstein (gay American Jewish man) Ep with Moe Dabbagh, a gay Palestinian American with family currently in Gaza. ‘Queers for Palestine & The Power of Pinkwashing’. Palestine has been occupied for more than 76 years now, since 1948 year. This ep gives you a LOT of information, especially if you are one of the people who can’t see right through the propaganda; or the ones who go ‘well if you’re gay then go to Gaza and see how that goes for you’. Queer Liberation is a liberation of Palestinian people. We can’t have one without the other. Free Palestine. Free all the people that are not yet free. This is where we start!! Ep on youtube :https://youtu.be/Xsgdk-DDSXc on spotify :https://open.spotify.com/episode/62WOjKJYih6lhuisP8tmZH?si=soRArGs1QeWqEzEaiSVlUg on iheartcom:https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-a-bit-fruity-with-matt-ber-117844074/episode/queer-palestinians-the-power-of-129612460/(keep learning & keep showing up!)

!!.http://alqaws.org/siteEn/index & https://queersinpalestine.noblogs.org/ + https://www.instagram.com/queersinpalestine/

+THIS(more important things):

+ https://www.queeringthemap.com/

bi ig highlight : https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18280848235083086/

also i recommend this podcast ‘A Little Queer Podcast’ by two incredible bisexual people Capri Campeau and Ashley Whitfield. episode linked here, ‘Debunking Bisexual Myths and Stereotypes’ :https://open.spotify.com/episode/3wcP8HBIY0IyVxROjpZPNg?si=TIHDv-eFQi-mdsCS6zKzNA (all covered here for real!) +also check ‘A Bit Fruity Podcast’ by Matt Bernstein (very educating one!!) + Bisexual Brunch Podcast (UK) by 3 bisexual people, 2 men and 1 woman! here:https://open.spotify.com/show/3tH2DAjYrk2cXdYRSqt5nS?si=2ae6bb60b1534366

.

.https://ew.com/taylor-zakhar-perez-honors-nicholas-galitzine-entertainers-of-the-year-2024-8759399 +CAST OF RED WHITE & ROYAL BLUE |FYC Panel - Consider Amazon:https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/769737016086839297?source=share

BOOKS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BISEXUAL HISTORY & ACTIVISM:https://www.tumblr.com/ruimtetijd/686000390089621504/list-of-books-about-bi-history-and-activism-from &https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/139102124?shelf=bi-bisexual-characters-done-well

let’s talk about biphobia/Kit Connor (Max Hovey TikTok) important video:https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/770851818143186944?source=share +Bisexuality has never excluded trans and non-binary people. Please stop spreading this lie. It actively harms trans/n-b bi people and bi people with trans/n-b partners. STOP BI ERASURE :https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/770848612526735360?source=share + WHAT IS BISEXUAL ERASURE:https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/770848534830399488?source=share + ‘ANYTHING THAT MOVES’ ATM 90s Bisexual Magazine is Shockingly Relevant Today--- Despite the joy of reading this bi-centric work, however, it's telling how little has changed since 1991--The first several stanzas of "This Poem Can Be Put Off No Longer" by Susan Carlton, featured in the first issue of 'Anything That Moves.' Credit: Anything That Moves / The poem continues, but the point is clear from the start: Bisexual people aren't believed for who they are. They're belittled and told to "choose a side," that they're bisexual for attention. It's difficult to think that this poem is over 30 years old. The poem "truly could've been written yesterday... or 50 years ago," said Marshall. "How long do we have to keep screaming the same things to the world over and over until people stop pretending we're speaking another galaxy's language?" --- The solace of Anything That Moves, however, is that even though progress has been slow, fellow bisexual people can relate to the shared experience detailed in its pages.:https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/770848263124500480?source=share

.https://anythingthatmovesarchive.carrd.co/ &https://anythingthatmovesarchive.carrd.co/#scans &https://anythingthatmovesarchive.carrd.co/#about

THIS song (bi bi bi THIS IS OUR SONG!!) by Sub-Radio (the lead vocalist Adam Bradley is bisexual♥) :https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/765512527066087424?source=share &https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/765512891127480320?source=share + THIS BAND SINGING THE BLACK PARADE but make it ever more queer pride parade♥ :https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/765565710891155456?source=share &https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/765565917201612800?source=share (you’re scaring Ron you’re scaring Rooonn) + an awakening with HSM(?) :https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/765565797378719744/mndvx-subradioband-happy-pride-yal-anyone?source=share

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

Behold, a bracket!

Text form below the cut because trying to copy all the 256 into the alt text sounded.... horrifying. Warning for 128 matchups, seriously, this list is long, and so I've avoided adding the artists until the polls.

a note: the pinned post has started misbehaving, so only open polls will be directly linked. closed polls instead have the results page linked in the set header, all the polls are linked from there

Set 1

The Lament for Icarus (Miao He) vs The Lament for Icarus (Herbert Draper)

The angel came to me in a fever hallucination, perched upon my bed as I returned from the bathroom. vs Sweet Brown Snail

Figures vs A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery

Happy Shoppers vs Hubble Deep Field

Lovers Painting vs Bath Curtain

Dr. Helen Taussig vs Une Martyre

Orangoutang étranglant un sauvage de Bornéo (Orangutan strangling a Borneo savage) vs Can’t Help Myself

Rape vs Technicolor Hiroshima

Set 2

A Walk at Dusk vs Based on “Autoportrait with the Model” by Maria-Rayevska Ivanova

Diary Page vs Les Jours Gigantesques (The Titanic Days)

Dead of Night vs You Won't

Christina's World vs Bobby

Untitled (I’m Turning Into A Specter Before Your Very Eyes And I’m Going To Haunt You) vs Two Sisters (On the Terrace)

Sharecropper vs Lustmord

The Parca and the Angel of Death vs Untitled (Zdzisław Beksiński)

Stress vs The Fallen Angel

Set 3

Device to Root Out Evil vs Travelling Light

Diana vs Fifty Days at Iliam: The Fire that Consumes All before It

The Plains, from Memory vs Exotic Bodies

Doubting Thomas vs Self-Portrait in the Bathroom Mirror

Empty Nest vs Somebody Fell From Aloft

Anguish vs If I Died

Cat in Obsolete Bath vs You're Not Boring Anymore

Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) vs Untitled (billboard of an empty unmade bed)

Set 4

There Will Be No Miracles Here vs Symphony of the Sixth Blast Furnace

Fox Hunt vs Tarpaulin

Khajuraho Group of Monuments vs Ranakpur Jain Temple

ปราสาทสัจธรรม (The Sanctuary of Truth) vs Grande Panorama de Lisboa

Heroic Head of Pierre de Wissant, One of the Burghers of Calais vs The Weather

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit vs If this is art

Statue of Vincent and Theo van Gogh vs Jeanne d’Arc écoutant les voix (Joan of Arc listening to the Voices)

Fountain vs Judith Slaying Holofernes

Set 5

Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands) vs Cave of El Castillo

Chauvet Cave Bear vs Uffington White Horse

Laocoön and His Sons vs Winged Victory of Samothrace

Crouching Aphrodite vs Statue of Taweret

Guardian Figure vs Kūya-Shonin (Saint Kuya)

Ancient Greek doll vs Arena #7 (Bears)

Enbu (炎舞) (Dancing in the Flames) vs Yearning Shadows

Belfast to Byzantium vs Freedom

Set 6

The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayan vs Portraits

The Blood Mirror vs Nighthawks

Electric Fan (Feel it Motherfuckers): Only Unclaimed Item from the Stephen Earabino Estate vs "Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)

Lady Agnew of Lochnaw vs Forgotten Dreams

Saint Bride vs Pixeles (a group of 9 works)

War Pieta vs The Sunset

The Handmaidens of Sivawara Preparing the Sacred Bull at Tanjore for a Festival vs Ajax and Cassandra

Nāve (Death) vs Abstraction

Set 7

Yes vs Meeting on the Turret Stair

Hacked to Death II vs Stańczyk

Closeness Lines Over Time vs Voice of Fire

The Maple Trees at Mama, the Tekona Shrine and Tsugihashi Bridge vs Portrait of Sir Thomas More

Survival Series: In a Dream You Saw a Way vs Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre

Death blowing bubbles vs The Kitchen Table Series

Painting 1946 vs In the Grip of Winter

Untitled (Black and Gray) vs NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt

Set 8

Blue Plate Special vs Red Cedar

Palace of Fine Arts vs Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba

Le Château des Pyrénées (The Castle of the Pyrenees) vs Susanna and the Elders, Restored - X-Ray

Moby Dick vs Viva la Vida, Watermelons

Venus Envy Chapter One (Of the First Holy Communion Moments Before the End) vs how to look at art

St. Sebastian vs Untitled #12

Carroña vs The invincible one

Untitled (Two Dogs) vs The Dog

SECOND HALF

Set 9

David (Donatello) vs David (Michelangelo)

The Other Side vs The Temptation of St. Jerome

Seated Woman with Bent Knees vs Starry Night

Headdress - Shadae vs Untitled for the Image Flow's Queer Conscience exhibit

Woman with Dead Child (Frau mit totem Kind) vs Les Amants (The Lovers)

Siroče na majčinom grobu (Orphan on Mother's Grave) vs You Make My World a Better Place to Find

Fighting Against SARS Memorial Architectural Scene (弘揚抗疫精神建築景觀) vs Fallingwater

Resting vs The Hull

Set 10

Olive Trees vs Worship

Glow vs Wheatfield with Crows

Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X vs Untitled (He Plays Very Badly)

D.I.Y. by John Wiswell vs The Tragedy

Judith and the Head of Holofernes vs Beethovenfries (Beethoven Frieze)

The Memory of Me (How Could I Forget) vs oh god i had a really big epiphany about love and personhood but i’m too drunk for words

I am happy because everyone loves me vs 瀕危形態 (Endangered Forms)

Three Scaffolders vs Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan

Set 11

San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk vs Water-Lilies, Reflection of a Weeping Willow

The Grief of the Pasha vs Monolith in Vigeland Sculpture Park

Passion vs Space Diner

Hamlet and Ophelia vs Two Earthlings

Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth vs Seer Bonnets

Photograph from "SNAP OSAKA" Collection vs Clytemnestra after the Murder

“Untitled” (Perfect Lovers) vs The Lovers (TIE)

Kedai Ubat Jenun vs Orange Store Front

Set 12

The Apotheosis of War vs Portrait of the Dancer Aleksandr Sakharov

Julie Manet vs Mouth

The Icebergs vs Kaleidoscope Cats III

Maman vs Caza Nocturna (Night Hunt)

The Book of Kells Folio 188r: Luke carpet page vs Ardagh Chalice

Yusuf and Zulaikha vs Dome of the Rock mosaics

Rowan Leaves and Hole vs Untitled (prisonhannibal)

Le Désespéré (The Desperate Man) vs The Dedication

Set 13

Deimos vs Dog and Bridge

The Mocking of Christ vs Prudence

The Broken Column vs Siberian Ice Maiden shoulder tattoo

Transi de René de Chalon (Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon) vs Head of Christ

The Day vs Spirit of Haida Gwaii

Eleanor Boathouse at Park 571 vs Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban জাতীয় সংসদ ভবন (National Parliament House)

Juventud de Baco (Bacchus Youth) vs Barges on the Seine

Oath of the Horattii closeup vs Visit hos Excentrisk Dam (Visit to an eccentric lady)

Set 14

Christ Crucified (With Donor) vs St. Francis

Thunder Raining Poison vs Piazza d'Italia

The Grove vs Among the Waves

Pintura Mural de Alarcón vs Sagrada Família stained-glass windows

Noonday Heat vs La Dame à la licorne (The Lady and The Unicorn)

Matroser i Gröna Lund (Sailors in Gröna Lund) vs Gielda Plakatu

Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks vs The Garden of Earthly Delights

Kuoleman puutarha (The Garden of Death) vs Haavoittunut enkeli (The Wounded Angel)

Set 15

i've wasted a lifetime pretending to be me vs da oracle

minus #37 vs Panel from Fun Home

Excerpt from illustrated edition of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner vs La Mort de Marat (The Death of Marat)

The Veil vs Düsseldorf 4 (Museum Kunst Palast)

Capriccio vs Zodiac calendar for La Plume

The official imperial portrait of empress dowager Cixi vs José y Maria

Blooming Lilacs vs Lágrimas De Sangre (Tears of Blood)

An Interlude vs Boy Staring at an Apparition

Set 16

Mermer Waiskeder: Stories of the Moving Tide vs The Gran Hotel Ciudad de México Art Nouveau interior

Unfinished Painting vs To Arms!

Memorial to a Marriage vs The Island

Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn vs A Few Small Nips

Saturn Devouring His Son vs Guernica

Fairy Princesses vs Lamentation over the Dead Christ

Mummy with An Inserted Panel Portrait of a Youth vs Little Girl Looking Downstairs at Christmas Party

Agnus vs The Cup Of His Murders Is Flowing Over And In His Coat Shall Be Many Curses

[book--brackets]

The Chronicles of Faerie by O. R. Melling (1993-2003)

American Gwen and her Irish cousin, Findabhair, have long planned a summer of backpacking around Ireland, visiting sites out of the old legends of fairy folk. Little do they know that it is the summer of the Hunter's Moon, a dangerous time for mortals who meddle with the kingdom of Faerie. One night, camping out on old ruins, Finn is kidnapped by the Faerie king, who wants her for a bride and possible sacrifice. It is up to Gwen, the more indecisive of the two, to rescue her cousin.

The Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell (2003-2006)

Stories are told of a hero who will come to Farsala's aid when the need is greatest. But for thousands of years the prosperous land of Farsala has felt no such need, as it has enjoyed the peace that comes from being both feared and respected.

Now a new enemy approaches Farsala's borders, one that neither fears nor respects its name and legend. But the rulers of Farsala still believe that they can beat any opponent.

Three young people are less sure of Farsala's invincibility. Jiaan, Soraya, and Kavi see Time's Wheel turning, with Farsala headed toward the Flames of Destruction. What they cannot see is how inextricably their lives are linked to Farsala's fate -- until it's too late.

Everworld by K. A. Applegate (1999-2001)

David’s life was pretty normal. School. Friends. Girlfriend. Actually, Senna was probably the oddest aspect of his life. She was beautiful. Smart. But there was something very different about her. Something strange.

And on the day it began, everything happened so quickly. One moment, Senna was with him. The next, she was swallowed up by the earth, her screams echoing from far, far away. David couldn’t just let her go. Neither could the others. His friends—and hers. So, they followed. And found themselves in a world they could have never imagined. 

Now they have to find Senna and get home without losing their lives. Or their minds. Or both…

The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe (2004)

A young man in his teens is transported from our world to a magical realm that contains seven levels of reality. Very quickly transformed by magic into a grown man of heroic proportions, he takes the name Able and sets out on a quest to find the sword that has been promised to him, a sword he will get from a dragon, the one very special blade that will help him fulfill his life ambition to become a knight and a true hero.

Inside, however, Able remains a boy, and he must grow in every sense to survive the dangers and delights that lie ahead in encounters with giants, elves, wizards, and dragons.

Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice by Dave Wolverton and Jude Watson (1999-2002)

Twelve-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi desperately wants to be a Jedi Knight. After years at the Jedi Temple, he knows the power of the lightsaber and the Force. But he cannot control his own anger and fear. Because of this, the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn will not take him on as a Padawan apprentice.

Now Obi-Wan is about to have his first encounter with true evil. He must face off against unexpected enemies--and face up to his own dark wishes.

Only then can his education as a Jedi truly begin.

Skylark by Meagan Spooner (2012-2014)

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city.     Lark did not expect to become the City's power supply.     For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley believed in a lie. Now she must escape the only world she's ever known...or face a fate more unimaginable than death.

Westmark by Lloyd Alexander (1981-1984)

When Theo agrees to print a traveling showman's pamphlet, he only thinks of the money it will bring in. Instead, it sets off a chain reaction that results in the smashing of the press and the murder of his master. Caught on the wrong side of the law, Theo must flee the city. Soon, he has teamed up with the traveling showman Count Las Bombas (who is actually a con artist) and his servant. The trio is soon joined by Mickle, a clever, strong-willed girl with a mysterious past. Performing feats that astound and amaze, the motley crew falls into a trap set by Chief Minister Cabbarus, who is determined to wrest power from the grief-stricken king. Now they must not only save themselves-they must save the kingdom...

The Goblin Wood by Hilari Bell (2003-2011)

One terrible day, Makenna, a young hedgewitch, witnesses her mother's murder at the hands of their own neighbors. Stricken with grief and rage, Makenna flees the village that has been her home. In the wilds of the forest, she forms an unexpected alliance. Leading an army of clever goblins, Makenna skillfully attacks the humans, now their shared enemy.

What she doesn't realize is that the ruling Hierarchy is determined to rid the land of all magical creatures, and they believe Makenna is their ultimate threat - so they have sent a young knight named Tobin into the Goblin Wood to entrap her.

In this captivating fantasy adventure, the difference between Bright and Dark magic is as deceptive as our memories, hopes, and fears -- and the light of loyalty and friendship has a magic all of its own.

A young hedgewitch, an idealistic knight, and an army of clever goblins fight against the ruling hierarchy that is trying to rid the land of all magical creatures.

Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones (1993)

When Controller Borasus receives a strange letter from Earth he is both curious and alarmed. Someone has activated an ancient machine and is using it for most trivial purposes. Surely no one would dare to tamper with Reigner seals in this way? Yet the effects of such interference resonate throughout the universe, so he decides to go to Hexwood Farm to investigate…

On Hexwood Estate, Ann watches the mysterious comings and goings with interest. She knows something deadly is going on – or is Hexwood simply altering her too?

Guides for Dating Vampires by D. N. Bryn (2022-present)

Vincent Barnes has suffered four years as a vampire, and they’ve been the most miserable years of his pathetic life. Too poor for black market blood, he feeds from sleeping humans to survive. He tries to never intrude on the same prey twice, but after a single delicious taste of a long-lost childhood neighbor, he can’t help returning for seconds.

Wesley Garcia has been waking up with fang marks. Lucky for him, he needs a vampire—to use as bait. He’s certain Vitalis-Barron Pharmaceutical killed his mother, but to gain access to their covert research labs, he has to bring them a bloodsucker for their experiments. 

Step one, a dramatic offer: Stay, and you can bite me. 

Vincent leaps at the chance to gobble Wesley up.

Wes’s plan is perfect. He’ll befriend the vampire, then trick him into coming to the lab. No fighting, no fuss. But Vincent is more than Wesley has bargained for: sweet and shy, with intoxicating fangs that awaken new desires in Wes. As the two bond, Vincent believes he might have finally found someone worth putting his trust in... and Wes fears neither of them will survive the betrayal he has planned.

[isagrimorie]

I did a really fast read through of the book becaues I was really excited about it— I’ll definitely revisit it to look up the details I missed the first time. It will also help that I’ll be listening to an audiobook of it.

I liked the book!

Things I like in bulletpoints:

Seven has a holophoto of her Voyager family but Janeway has a special singular portrait. LOL. Seven.

Seven loves classic music (the Janeway influence) and apparently punk music and mosh pits.

Seven’s first Fenris Ranger mentor— pretty cool, even cooler, Seven’s trill girlfriend.

Janeway being a large presence in the book.

Further explanation of the whole *gestures to the whole hellpit of fire* Romulan evacuation mess and how that can seriously fuck up both the Federation, the worlds it had to pull out from in order to focus on the Romulan crisis, and the eventual pulling out from Romulan aid. I get it but I don’t — as Picard would say, the Federation let its fears guide them and turned inward. Coming from the existential war against the Dominion, and the far too close attack on Mars right on Earth’s doorstep… (Like Seven has her work cut out for her as Ambassador of goodwill as Captain Seven after the Frontier Day shenanigans). Anyway, screw the Romulan leadership and their secret police.

Going a bit more in depth:

— I loved that Janeway was also a big part of the story and she was genuinely trying to get Seven into Starfleet and the Federation, at the cost of her own reputation. I like that David Mack got that part about Janeway right, that Janeway is a dog with a bone. But she also got herself some pretty powerful enemies helping Seven in the book, I don’t know if we’ll see that in Prodigy or in future Trek Lit books.

There are some things I don’t agree with, in the book.

I liked Ellory, she wasn’t just Seven’s Trill love interest but also helped Seven find a place with the Rangers.

There is that one thing about one of the Rangers taking credit for Seven’s “I don’t leave anyone behind” attitude which — excuse me, Kathryn Janeway was the one who influenced that. Janeway did not march into a Borg Cube alone to rescue her — so I’m glad Janeway reclaimed that by the end.

And I’m glad I’m right in my reading that Seven going at it at 100km/h against Picard about Rangers being a vigilante group was because Seven was picking up a fight she was having with Janeway. I do love that they ended the story amicably but with understandable differences about the Rangers.

Janeway already laid out how the Fenris Rangers can turn out bad, especially since it’s more decentralized and has no oversight. The constant need for looking for budgets and money to fund the Fenris Rangers will eventually be too much.

To the credit of Rangers and Seven, it at least had 20 year run before it began to succumb.

Also, because of how the book ends and how Stardust City Rag begins, it heavily implies that Seven loses out on some of her friends, she breaks-up with her girlfriend somewhere down the road.

One thing I think I don’t agree with David Mack is his depiction of Bjayzl… Stardust City Rag heavily implied that Seven and Jay were heavily involved and as seriously screwed up and self serving it ended up being, Jay did have feelings for Seven. Terrible motives, still murder. It’s fucked up but I think Jay did love Seven in her own way. And Seven didn’t allow anyone to use Annika but her, and Jay thoroughly tainted Seven’s association with the name.

“Annika” was Seven’s shibboleth whenever she needed to call herself back from being a Borg drone. Fuck Jay but also, I just don’t buy how easily Seven would just talk about Icheb to a total stranger even if they plied her with alcohol.

No. In-show, the one we saw play out, Seven and Jay had more history. The animosity Seven had with Jay were multiple things, wrapped in a messy complicated thing. It was worse than Seven befriending someone in a bar.

But overall I liked the book, the framing device might not have worked for me but I liked the story overall. It showed why Seven needed to be part of the Fenris Rangers, she needed to carve her own path and stand her own ground and fight for things she believed in.

I get why Seven looked a little worn by the time we see her in Stardust City Rag — because as she tells Jay, almost all of Janeway’s predictions about the Rangers were coming true. And I had the sense by Picard s1 and s2, Seven was one of the few that’s keeping the Rangers honest.

I can see the path of how Seven, after a long and much needed time away from everything Starfleet, finds her long and winding path leads her back to Starfleet.

Janeway is a dog with a bone. And she never let go of the bone that led Seven back to Starfleet.

Anyway, the novel also successfully makes me wonder about how Janeway is coping too, after all these years because the book implies after the Voyager scattered Janeway and Seven had was each other. Janeway still had her family, of course.

But I just realized, in this book, and on Prodigy with how everyone’s scattered after returning to the Alpha Quadrant. Janeway is lonely.

Because even Seven leaves Janeway behind too, and to somewhere Janeway can’t follow.

Chakotay disappears in the Protostar thing— see: Prodigy.

(Yes, Mack wrote Janeway as thinking of Seven as a ‘prodigal daughter’ but there’s enough ways I can work around that as a Janeway/Seven shipper. (One sided from Seven’s side, ‘she’s NOT my mother.’ and maybe denial on Janeway’s side.) (Look, I’m a shipper okay, allow me this.)

Firewall and all through Picard the show, makes me wonder how Janeway coped with Starfleet and the Federation. Picard gave-up and lived in a vineyard for years. But Janeway isn’t a woman who knows the meaning of giving-up, still it must have grind her gears. She’s already furious with Starfleet and by Firewall and Star Trek Prodigy Janeway is still a Vice-Admiral, and from what we saw in Prodigy— she still has higher-ups to answer to. (Hello, Jellico).

Even when she ranked-up to Admiral, I have a suspicion that some Badmirals and Changeling Admirals made an effort to keep Janeway out of big things.

Also, Janeway got herself an enemy within Federation Security, and I won’t even be surprised if she managed to ruffle Section 31’s feathers too.

I get Seven’s instincts in trying to protect Janeway because there are people who seem intent on keeping Janeway where she is.

It is funny how Seven complains to Janeway about how chafing and stifling she finds Starfleet, not knowing that majority of the time, Janeway shared her sentiments and Janeway spends the book going:

(Seriously, I think it’s better Janeway sat out the whole Dominion war, post-Dominion War Starfleet already grates at her, Dominion War!Starfleet would make Janeway furious.)

TLDR this is a really good book, I don’t agree with some of its narrative choices and just like in comic book continuity, I will just pick and choose what I like and don’t.

I was initially thrown how organized the Fenris Rangers were and how well funded, as opposed to what we see of them in No Man’s Land, but in context by the end, its because Rangers is feeling the burdens of having barely any funding and having no central oversight.

I loved seeing Seven figure out step by step why she needed to be here out in the fringes of Federation space, and forming her own identity. She’s not quite the Seven we see at Picard season 1, life hasn’t dragged her through the wringer yet, she’s still idealistic enough to keep the fight going.

And the people there needed Seven.

Anyway, let me end this with a sort of spoilery ending that doesn’t really say much but is very shippy if you’re so inclined to ship Janeway/Seven:

“I’m not asking you to. I’m just asking you to trust me.” There was a pleading note in Seven’s voice, and a purity to her expression, that moved Janeway deeply. She wished she could touch Seven’s cheek.

“Always, Seven. Always.” Seven mustered a sad smile. “Thank you, Admiral.”

“Seven… call me Kathryn.” A bittersweet silence lingered between them until Seven said, “Tell the others I said hello and that I’ll be in touch again soon.”

“I will.” Janeway’s eyes misted with emotion. “Be careful out there, Seven.”

Seven mirrored Janeway’s teary expression. “You, too… Kathryn.”

Look, if not shippy, why ship-shaped???

[scarlet--wiccan]

With the little Infinity Comic special they did on Prodigy for the Hellfire Gala, it really seems like the reason they give for why Tommy isn't attending is proof that the writer knows nothing about him. Instead of pulling on a valid explanation based in something we've already seen- he's ideologically opposed to it, or he's traumatized from what happened with Wanda- he's off on a diplomatic mission with Billy. I mean, I'm glad he's visiting Billy! I hope he causes mass chaos in space! But in what world would Billy bring Tommy of all people along for diplomacy. He literally blew up the UN. I don't think Teddy would allow it.

Yes, Tommy is characteristically rebellious and mistrusting of authority, but I'd also like to think he's grown up a bit since Young Avengers, and that he's at least a little biased towards his family. So, I'm not really worried about him exploding any Alliance embassies... at least, not without a good reason.

Besides, he didn't blow up the U.N. building just to make a statement-- he was fighting supervillians who were holding the U.N. hostage. The building was just collateral, and like I said, he's probably... maybe... learned a little more control at this point.

Anyways, I do agree with what you're saying. At the end of the day, this decision had nothing to do with Tommy's own motives, opinions, or interiority, which isn't surprising because those aren't things that we really see any more. Outside of Oliveira, most writers treat him like a walk-on character in David or Billy's lives, which is the point I've been making this whole time-- nobody's doing anything to advance Tommy as a character.

I do like the idea of Tommy being involved with the Alliance-- I think he genuinely cares for Billy and Teddy, and it'd be cute if he started to get a Pietro-ish protective streak; plus, I really think he would thrive doing more disaster relief and refugee aid-- but I would want him to him to be there as a voice of dissent. The Alliance is a very young government, and they're doing the right thing, broadly speaking, but they're still an imperial monarchy. So far, the text hasn't done much to interrogate that, or actually figureo ut what liberation & reparation will look like in Teddy's new world. Having a character like Tommy around would be helpful for a writer who wanted to start asking those questions.

[footprintsinthesxnd]

Misc Tag Game

thank you for the tag @ronald-speirs , @yeahcurrahhe-e @grumpy-liebgott @blueberry-ovaries @hesbuckcompton-baby @1waveshortofashipwreck @l13bg0tt @executethyself35 and @theflyingfin

Favorite place in the world you've visited?

I loved visiting Belgium with my dad last October. It was a really special trip we shared together seeing where Easy Company were during the Battle of the Bulge and we shared some really special memories together.

Something you're proud of yourself for?

Getting through everyday. Since Christmas it’s been pretty tough between work and final exams and it’s been super stressful. Luckily I have some really supportive friends. Honestly I’m just glad I got through the last month and that I’m getting through February.

Favourite books?

- Parachute Infantry- David Webster

- The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

- The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

Something that makes your heart happy when you think about it?

My dog Finan. He’s the light of my life, no matter how bad something is he’s always there and he’s always such a happy little boy.

Favourite thing about your culture?

This was a tough one but I do love how much history Britain has. There are so many historical places from all different time periods and there are also lots of events held to celebrate/commemorate historical events.

When did you join the HBO War fandom? What was the first show you watched?

So I first watched Band of Brothers in about 2014/2015 roughly. I then watched the Pacific about two years after that. Then Gen Kill last year. I didn’t join the hbowar fandom on tumblr until last year though.

Have you read any of Easy Company's books? If so, which ones were your favorite?

I’ve read so many of them 😂 my favourite is David Websters Parachute Infantry. I know I’ve spoken about it before but he has such a way with words and describing the scenes, as well as his fellow paratroopers.

Favorite HBO War character and your favorite moment with them?

It’s gotta be my baby boy Gene Roe. I love him so much. One of my favourite scenes with him is in Bastogne when he talks to Renée outside the aid station.

My other favourite scene is when he does the whole ‘you’re officers, you’re grownups, you outta know’. That’s probably one of my favourite scenes.

Do you make content for any fandoms, if so; what sort of content?

I write fics and I make moodboards/ edits.

Favorite actor/actress and your favorite film of theirs?

I don’t really have one specific favourite actor or actress to be honest, there are lots I like and lots of movie I like.

Favorite quote/s that you wish to share with others?

It’s not really a quote but it’s a saying my dad and I say to each other when things get tough

‘It could be worse, you could be in Bastogne’

Random fact your mutuals/followers don't know about you?

If you're a writer, do you need a beta reader (say yes so I can be your beta reader)?

I do not have a beta reader. I sometimes ask friends to read my work but if anyone wants the job it’s open.

Three things that make you smile?

1) my dog Finan

2) long summer days

3) my besties @malarkgirlypop @georgieluz and @mads-weasley

Any nicknames you like?

I don’t really have many nicknames but @georgieluz calls me Jessie which I love.

List some people you love to see around on tumblr:

@georgieluz @malarkgirlypop @mads-weasley @ronsparky @samwinchesterslostshoe @liptonsbabe @liptonwashere @supervalcsi @iceman-kazansky @next-autopsy @holdingforgeneralhugs @softguarnere @grumpy-liebgott @hesbuckcompton-baby @heystovepipeboys @blurredcolour @blueberry-ovaries and there are so many others

What would you do during a zombie apocalypse?

I’d like to think I wouldn’t die instantly. I feel that I have pretty decent survival skills and medical skills so I’d last a while I hope 😂

Favourite Movie?

I don’t have one favourite movie really, there are a lot of films that I enjoy. I like war films, historical films, romcoms, comedies etc so I can’t pick just one 😂

Do you like horror movies?

I’m not a fan to be honest. The only scary film I’ve seen and liked is ‘Woman in Black’ and still I spent a lot of time hiding behind a pillow the first time I watched it.

Tags: if feel like most people have already done this so I’m tagging anyone else who wants to participate

[usafphantom2]

Ukrainian pilots start training in F-16 based in Arizona

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 10/27/2023 - 13:00 in Military

Ukrainian pilots began training of the F-16 in Arizona with the Arizona National Air Guard, leaving Kiev one step closer to acquiring the U.S.-made fighters that Ukraine says it needs to help defend its sovereign territory and its citizens from Russian troops.

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink announced the training in the X, saying: “This is an essential part of the construction of Ukraine's air defense. The United States is proud to work with European partners to support Ukraine against Russia's brutal aggression."

A National Guard spokesman said on Thursday that the 162ª Wing of the Arizona National Air Guard in Tucson began training a small number of Ukrainian pilots this week “in the fundamentals of the F-16”, with the training expected to last several months. Normally, F-16 training courses last about eight months, according to the Pentagon.

Training at Morris National Guard Air Base follows English training at Lackland Air Base in Texas last month. Proficiency in English is required to fly F-16 fighters.

During a press conference in Brussels earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that F-16 fighters could reach Ukraine by the middle of next year.

The deputy chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, General David Allvin, said that the F-16 aircraft will be important for Ukraine in the long term, as the Ukrainian Air Force will be able to fully integrate the new fighters into its armed forces.

The news came at a time when the United States announced that it would provide up to $150 million in additional military aid to Ukraine.

The package includes more GMLRS rockets for high-mobility artillery rocket systems, ammunition for the National Advanced Surface-Air Missile System, TOW anti-tank missiles, AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and 155 mm cartridges.

The availability of 155 mm cartridges has raised concerns in recent days, as U.S. partners, Ukraine and Israel need them to fight their wars - one against the invasion of Russia, the other against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which killed hundreds of Israelis and kidnapped more than 200 others in an attack on October 7.

Washington said it is able to support the military needs of Tel Aviv and Kiev.

Tags: ANG - Air National Guard / U.S. National Air GuardMilitary AviationF-16 Fighting FalconUkrainian Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[girlactionfigure]

Polish Social Worker: Irena Sendler

Sentenced to Death

Irena Sendler was a Polish humanitarian who led a mission to smuggle Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto and provide them with safe shelter and fake identity documents. Born Irena Kryzanowski in Warsaw in 1910, Irena was raised in a Catholic family. Her father Stanislaw was a physician, but made very little money because he provided his services for free to the poor, including many Jews. In 1917, Irena’s father contracted typhus from his patients and died. The local Jewish community raised a sizable donation to support the good doctor’s widow Janina and daughter, but Irena’s mother declined, not wanting to accept charity. Janina moved to the less expensive town of Tarczyn and worked hard to raise her daughter, an exceptionally kind and intelligent child.

After graduating from high school, Irena began a course of study in law and Polish literature at the University of Warsaw. Because she also had to work, it took her ten years to receive her degree. During her years at university, Irena was spurred to activism by the discrimination she witnessed against her Jewish classmates. She vocally opposed “ghetto benches” – separate seating areas for Jewish students on campus instituted in the 1930’s. Irena also crossed out the “non-Jewish” identification mark on her student ID. Because of these small acts of resistance, Irena was labeled as a philo-Semite and a radical. For her remaining time in school, she was harassed and blacklisted from employment at any school in Warsaw.

In the early 1930’s, Irena joined a group of social workers led by Professor Helena Radlinska who were doing humanitarian work to help the very poor. She worked at a clinic servicing destitute single mothers and provided legal as well as social work and nursing aid. The clinic was later incorporated into the Warsaw government. Irena became a public health official in the Department of Social Welfare. She married Mieczyslaw Sendler in 1931. As looming clouds of war darkened Eastern Europe, Mieczyslaw was drafted into the Polish army. After the German occupation of Poland in 1939, Mieczyslaw was captured by the Germans and was imprisoned in a POW camp until World War II ended in 1945.

Meanwhile, the German occupation government ordered all Jews working for the Department of Social Welfare to be fired. All other employees of the department were forbidden from helping Jews in any way. Irena and her social worker friends were helping sick and wounded Polish soldiers. To help them get aid, she began creating false medical documents. Soon, and without anybody else knowing, Irena was creating another kind of false document: identity papers “proving” the Aryan identity of Polish Jews. 

In 1940, the Nazis forced 400,000 Jews into the squalid, overcrowded Warsaw Ghetto, where life quickly became a hell on earth as ghetto residents found it increasingly difficult to procure food, water, and medical supplies. In her capacity as a public health official, Irena obtained a special permit to enter the ghetto, ostensibly to check for typhus. Irena and her co-worker Irena Schultz began secretly transporting medical and hygiene supplies into the ghetto, and soon was bringing food as well. Her feisty personality helped her overcome many obstacles. She had many Jewish friends who were trapped inside the ghetto, and on her daily humanitarian visits Irena was horrified at the suffering she witnessed. Every day residents died of starvation, or were shot in the street by Nazi soldiers and left to rot. Irena continued her visits, even after October 1941, when a new law made helping Jews a crime punishable by death, not just for the person providing the aid but for that person’s entire family or household. This draconian law stopped most Poles from helping Jews, but Irena only intensified her humanitarian efforts. She wore a Star of David necklace while in the ghetto as a sign of solidarity.

Irena was determined to do more to help Jews in the ghetto, especially children. As Nazi persecution intensified in 1942, thousands of Jews were deported to concentration camps. Displaying great bravery and ingenuity, Irena smuggled babies and toddlers out of the ghettos using disguise and misdirection to throw off the German authorities. She continued her work creating fake documents and finding safe places for Jews to hide. In September 1942, Irena was involved in the creation of Zegota, the Council to Aid Jews. At this point, tragically, most Polish Jews had already been murdered. The money and resources raised by Zegota from Poles sympathetic to the resistance went to maintain Jews already in hiding. Irena stayed in close contact with the Jews she was helping. During the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Irena set up emergency shelters while other members of Zegota produced identity papers and found more permanent hiding places.

Known by the “nom de guerre” Jolanta, Irena ran the children’s division of Zegota. She created partnerships with Polish convents, where she knew Jewish children would be safe. The children were given Christian names and taught Christian prayers to avoid detection, but it was important to Irena that the youngsters not lose their Jewish identities. She meticulously documented each child’s true name, family, and location so that she could reunite them with surviving family members after the war. She buried the lists of children in mason jars under the floorboards of her home. 

Irena was arrested by the Gestapo in October 1943. She was taken to headquarters, where she was beaten by Nazi stormtroopers trying to get the names of other people helping Jews. The Nazis also wanted the names and addresses of hidden Jewish children. Even during torture, Irena did not betray any of the children or resistance workers. On November 13, Irena was transported to another location where she was to be executed by firing squad. Miraculously, activist Maria Palester, working with Zegota, raised money to bribe Irena’s guards. Irena was able to escape at the very last minute. She returned to Warsaw and went into hiding for a brief period, emerging in December to continue her activities as head of the children’s division of Zegota.

During this time, Irena served as a nurse in a field hospital in Warsaw, where she tended to wounded Polish soldiers. She also hid several Jews in that hospital. When the Germans finally fled Warsaw as the Russian army closed in, Irena worked with Maria Palester to transform the field hospital into an orphanage. Irena retrieved the jars with lists of Jewish children, but tragically almost none of their parents were still living, having been transported to Treblinka, a notorious death camp where over 870,000 Jews were murdered in the gas chambers. Irena worked to reunite the Jewish orphans with “their nation” and many wound up in Israel.

After the war, continued her work in the Social Welfare Department, where she focused on helping orphans, teenage prostitutes, and destitute families.  She received many accolades and honors for her heroic actions during the war and was honored as Righteous Among the Nations by Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem in 1965. 

For saving Polish Jews during the Holocaust, including many children, we honor Irena Sendler as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.22 (after 1900)

1916 – Preparedness Day Bombing: In San Francisco, a bomb explodes on Market Street during a parade, killing ten and injuring 40. 1921 – Rif War: The Spanish Army suffers its worst military defeat in modern times to the Berbers of the Rif region of Spanish Morocco. 1933 – Aviator Wiley Post returns to Floyd Bennett Field in New York City, completing the first solo flight around the world in seven days, 18 hours and 49 minutes. 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Popular Executive Committee of Valencia takes power in the Valencian Community. 1937 – New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States. 1942 – The United States government begins compulsory civilian gasoline rationing due to the wartime demands. 1942 – Grossaktion Warsaw: The systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto begins. 1943 – World War II: Allied forces capture Palermo during the Allied invasion of Sicily. 1943 – World War II: Axis occupation forces violently disperse a massive protest in Athens, killing 22. 1944 – The Polish Committee of National Liberation publishes its manifesto, starting the period of Communist rule in Poland. 1946 – King David Hotel bombing: A Zionist underground organisation, the Irgun, bombs the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, site of the civil administration and military headquarters for Mandatory Palestine, resulting in 91 deaths. 1962 – Mariner program: Mariner 1 spacecraft flies erratically several minutes after launch and has to be destroyed. 1963 – Crown Colony of Sarawak gains self-governance. 1973 – Pan Am Flight 816 crashes after takeoff from Faa'a International Airport in Papeete, French Polynesia, killing 78. 1976 – Japan completes its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during imperial Japan's conquest of the country in the Second World War. 1977 – Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power. 1981 – The first game of the 1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand and the United States is held in Gisborne, New Zealand. 1983 – Martial law in Poland is officially revoked. 1990 – Greg LeMond, an American road racing cyclist, wins his third Tour de France after leading the majority of the race. It was LeMond's second consecutive Tour de France victory. 1992 – Near Medellín, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison fearing extradition to the United States. 1993 – Great Flood of 1993: Levees near Kaskaskia, Illinois rupture, forcing the entire town to evacuate by barges operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. 1997 – The second Blue Water Bridge opens between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario. 2003 – Members of 101st Airborne of the United States, aided by Special Forces, attack a compound in Iraq, killing Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay, along with Mustapha Hussein, Qusay's 14-year-old son, and a bodyguard. 2005 – Jean Charles de Menezes is killed by police as the hunt begins for the London Bombers responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the 21 July 2005 London bombings. 2011 – Norway attacks: A bomb explodes, targeted at government buildings in central Oslo, followed by a massacre at a youth camp on the island of Utøya. 2012 – Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) captured the cities of Serê Kaniyê and Dirbêsiyê, during clashes with pro-government forces in Al-Hasakah. 2013 – Dingxi earthquakes: A series of earthquakes in Dingxi, China, kills at least 89 people and injures more than 500 others. 2019 – Chandrayaan-2, the second lunar exploration mission developed by Indian Space Research Organisation after Chandrayaan-1 is launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in a GSLV Mark III M1. It consists of a lunar orbiter, and also included the Vikram lander, and the Pragyan lunar rover.

[autisticempathydaemon]

Hello there! This is for the matchups!

Song: Guns for Hire from the Netflix show Arcane :) I'm hyperfixating on it because I associated this song with a scene from an Interactive Fiction game I'm following called Leas: City of the Sun (it's a fantasy romance game and I love it so much) For specifics, I love this lyric itself but also the way it was sung was chef's kiss -> With all this weight buckling down on you now/ Don't you drown and float away (I love the pre-chorus too but yeah -> You're out of time make your move/ Live or die while the fuse is lit/ And there's no turning back)

MBTI: It's always one of two of these options -> ISTP and ISFP (I think I'm more of an ISFP tho)

Childhood imaginary friend: I never had one (sad, I know) but I always spoke to my stuffed animals :)

Hobbies: I love writing and drawing in my spare time. It helps me to relax and I usually listen to music that fits the vibe of what I'm writing or drawing as well

Fall asleep to: I never do this on purpose but majority of the time I fall asleep to any kind of ASMR but majority of the time it's ASMR/audio roleplays

Fav R.Audios: David's hoodie audio, Milo's audio where Sweetheart heals him, Milo's ACTUAL sleep aid and Gavin's confession audio. I've also been listening to James' Past/Present audio and I love the Inversion hehe

Don't vibe with: Regulus :) this is absolutely no hate to him but I'm just not a fan of obsessive or possessive characters

R.Audio bestie: I love Huxley. I wouldn't date him but he would be such a great friend :)

Memorised movies: I know all the words to Mulan and Tangled. It's unhealthy

Favourite media (?): My favourite K-drama is Flower of Evil (it's a mystery-thriller romance) and I absolutely love League of Legends: Arcane on Netflix. My favourite webtoon is Purple Hyacinth and it's a mystery with some action and has really hot main characters heh :)

Favourite books/authors: I don't read very often but if I had to choose a favourite book it would probably be The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I also love reading Leigh Bardugo

Fav animal: Cats. Very generic but if I had to choose an animal I would like to be, it would be a cat.

Fav foods: Chicken and potatoes in any form. Very basic but I love it if it is made well

Thanks so much and I hope you have a great day/night! <3

INFP's seem to be characterized by their unique, open, and spontaneous nature. They bring a lot of creativity and fun to the lives of everyone they meet, and I think Lasko could really benefit from a partner like that.

It would make a lot of sense that Lasko, being a workaholic, would forget to make time for the hobbies that bring him joy, like video games and TTRPGs. It’d be so lovely the two of you to sit and be creative together, whether that be writing, drawing, or just consuming art. Lasko seems like he’d enjoy a good Asian drama, I feel this in my soul.

Also, Tangled is one of Lasko’s absolute favorite movies. A young, naive child with special powers and an authoritarian guardian breaking out of a prison to go on a journey where they find self-discovery and love? He eats that shit UP. You serenade him with I See the Light, and it turns him into an adorable mess.

Song:

Ooh, like Sunday I'll pray our love will always stay pure/ Ooh, while the world turns around, he holds me down for sure

Ooh, yes, I am delightfully intimate with the Arcane soundtrack. That was a hyperfixation of mine last year. (ViktorxReader is actually what got me back into writing fanfiction- a little peak behind the emerald curtain lol) So I had to give you the fun, sweet love song off of it. I don’t know if it’s his genre- Lasko’s taste in music eludes me- but I can see him hearing that song and it bringing him joy and it reminds him do you (especially if the two of you watch Arcane and look forward to season 2 together!)

Runner-Ups:

Wouldn’t it be, like, so cute to be the one to show Sam modern media and movies? This man has absolutely no clue what League of Legends is, and you are about to get him so cowboy-hat-deep in lore. Next, hear me out… Eric deserves love and something more in his life, and I think you are just the person to bring it.

Note: Song of Achilles broke me gosh I’m sad now lol jk thank you for giving me an excuse to binge the Arcane soundtrack while I wrote this 🧡

Want a match-up of your own? Read this post, and tell me about yourself! ����

[madamspeaker]

On a swelteringly hot Friday morning in Washington, D.C., House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat, found herself in the Library of Congress, embarking on a deeply personal and emotional journey through the institution's new “Collecting Memories” exhibit, which includes artifacts that belonged to Abraham Lincoln and were in his pockets at the time of his assassination, a look back at the COVID-19 pandemic, and letters and photos that accompanied submissions to the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Her Pride Month visit was cut short due to pending votes in the House but included a poignant reminder of her long-standing commitment to the AIDS Memorial Quilt and her advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.

During the private tour, which included a special curation of archival materials in the Members Room, Pelosi was visibly moved. “This is so beautiful,” she remarked, reflecting on the vast array of artifacts, letters, photographs, and personal stories from the quilt collection. The tour, on which she was accompanied only by her press secretary, security detail, a reporter from The Advocate, and Library of Congress staff, was marked by somber moments as Pelosi recalled the friends she lost during the height of the AIDS crisis. “To see our friends holding them in our arms. Formerly robust people. Just so frail. So frail. Again and again, again and again,” she said.

The exhibit opened the evening before the visit when Pelosi attended Equality PAC’s annual gala. At the gala, an award named in her honor was presented to actors Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson, both longtime LGBTQ+ allies.

The "Collecting Memories" exhibit, which runs until December 2025, is housed in the David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery.

Although the collection contains supporting materials but no panels from it, Pelosi’s connection to the AIDS Memorial Quilt is personal. In the early days of the Names Project, she not only participated in initial meetings but also created a patch in memory of the flower girl from her wedding who succumbed to AIDS.

The Names Project Foundation, established in 1987, is the organization responsible for the AIDS Memorial Quilt. It was created to provide a lasting tribute to those who died of AIDS and to increase awareness of the disease's impact.

Pelosi’s efforts were pivotal in securing the permits for the quilt’s iconic display on the National Mall. Also, in 2019, her influence was instrumental in returning the quilt to San Francisco and ensuring its archives found a home at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is the largest ongoing community arts project in the world. Since it began in 1987, it has grown to over 60,000 individual 3-by-6-foot memorial panels commemorating more than 105,000 names. Each panel was made by friends, lovers, or family members to honor the lives lost to AIDS.

During the visit, Pelosi teared up several times as she took in the heartfelt letters from family members that accompanied their Quilt submissions.

In a candid conversation with The Advocate, she called out Republicans for using LGBTQ+ lives as political tools. “The Republicans have decided that LGBTQ has been defanged as an issue because young people, even evangelical young people, are like, ‘get out of here,’” Pelosi said.

She noted that this is especially true of Republican attacks on transgender people. “They have now decided that this is something that people may not understand. So it’s a blatantly political move on their part.”

Pelosi recounted the story of a former member of Congress who had a transgender child. She described how a Republican whose office was next to hers put up posters that read, “God made boys, God made girls,” and condemned the member’s child. “It’s cruelty. And I guess it sells in certain markets, I don’t know,” Pelosi said. “But I think it will have to go away.”

She added, “Now one thing [Republicans] use is women in sports. And that has a complication. It doesn’t for [Democrats], but it has a complication for some people.”

Pelosi expressed her disappointment in Martina Navratilova’s anti-trans point of view. The tennis star has been vocal about her opposition to transgender people’s participation in sports. “I even had a conversation with Martina Navratilova about this, and she has very definite views because I was not sharing her view. And I wanted to confirm what she was advocating,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi added that we can't let writ-large discrimination stand. "Because it all comes down to the same thing: discrimination. It's so sad," she said.

Pelosi, 84, also spoke about her transgender grand-niece, Skylar, sharing how she has seen firsthand the positive impact of acceptance and support on transgender youth. Pelosi mentioned that Skylar is much happier and has performed better in school since transitioning. Pelosi said it’s important for public figures like herself to be visible in supporting transgender people to help normalize and humanize their experiences.

The lawmaker emphasized the importance of moving beyond mere tolerance to respect and pride. “People always say to me, ‘San Franciscans are so tolerant.’ I say, don’t use the word ‘tolerant.’ It’s a condescending word. It’s not about tolerance, which might have been a good thing a hundred years ago. It’s about respect. It’s about taking pride. It’s beyond tolerance; it’s about embracing and celebrating our differences.”

Pelosi noted that during the height of the AIDS crisis, as most people didn’t understand the disease when the idea for the quilt came about, the power of the art project was the eagerness of the community to contribute to it.

“It was a mobilization, and it was really what helped break down barriers of understanding. And then people would take pride in them just as we have at the Memorial Grove, take pride in planting the tree and coming back and all those things which were renewing and comforting.” The National AIDS Memorial Grove, located in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, is a dedicated space where people can gather to remember loved ones lost to AIDS.

Pelosi recounted her initial conversation with Cleve Jones, the creator of the quilt, about her skepticism that people would participate in sewing: “When they came to see me about everyone having to sew, I said nobody would sew. I was definite about that,” she said. Pelosi admitted that she was wrong in her initial reaction. She said that after she was elected to the House in June of 1987, by October she was advocating in Washington to have the quilt displayed on the National Mall. “Next thing you know, we’re here talking to the Interior Department [to display the quilt on the Mall], and they’re telling us we can have a corner with a few panels. I said, ‘Perhaps you mistook us for someone who thinks small. This is not going to happen.’”

As Pelosi reviewed the materials that had been set aside for her, staff explained that the library continues to accept submissions. Curators are dedicated to preserving and digitizing the records of the quilt to ensure they remain accessible for future generations. “We are preserving this history to ensure that it remains a living, breathing part of our national memory,” one curator noted.

This inaugural exhibition in the Rubenstein Treasures Gallery showcases the library’s rich Americana and international collections, which span over 450 languages and various forms created across time and continents. The exhibit features a diverse array of artifacts, including voice recordings, moving images, scrolls, diaries, manuscripts, prints, photographs, maps, and books, encouraging visitors to explore the connections and divergences among personal memory, collective memory, and recorded history. Dynamic moving images of treasured collections surround the gallery, highlighting the continuous expansion of the library’s holdings.

As Pelosi left the Library of Congress, she expressed her gratitude for the work to preserve this vital history. “This is a wonderful way to share expressions of love and family,” she said.

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

ROUND TWO

Text form and links under read more

Just a reminder, these are one day polls!

SET 1

MATCH ONE: Lament for Icarus vs Untitled (the angel came to me in a fever hallucination, perched upon my bed as I returned from the bathroom)

MATCH TWO: Figures vs Hubble Deep Field

MATCH THREE: Bath Curtain vs Une Martyre

MATCH FOUR: Can't Help Myself vs Rape

SET 2

MATCH ONE: A Walk at Dusk vs Diary Page

MATCH TWO: Dead of Night vs Christina's World

MATCH THREE: Untitled (I’m Turning Into A Specter Before Your Very Eyes And I’m Going To Haunt You) vs Lustmord

MATCH FOUR: Untitiled (Zdzisław Beksiński) vs The Fallen Angel

SET 3

MATCH ONE: Device to Root Out Evil vs Fifty Days at Iliam: The Fire That Consumes All Before It

MATCH TWO: Exotic Bodies vs Doubting Thomas

MATCH THREE: Somebody Fell From Aloft vs Anguish

MATCH FOUR: Cat in Obsolete Bath vs Salvator Mundi (Saviour of the World)

SET 4

MATCH ONE: Symphony of the Sixth Blast Furnace vs Tarpaulin

MATCH TWO: Khajuraho Group of Monuments vs ปราสาทสัจธรรม (The Sanctuary of Truth)

MATCH THREE: The Weather vs The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit

MATCH FOUR: Statue of Vincent and Theo van Gogh vs Judith Slaying Holofernes

SET 5

MATCH ONE: Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands) vs Chauvet Cave Bear

MATCH TWO: Winged Victory of Samothrace vs Crouching Aphrodite

MATCH THREE: Kūya-Shonin vs Arena #7 (Bears)

MATCH FOUR: Enbu (炎舞) (Dancing in the Flames) vs Belfast to Byzantium

SET 6

MATCH ONE: The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayan vs Nighthawks

MATCH TWO: Electric Fan (Feel it Motherfuckers): Only Unclaimed Item from the Stephen Earabino Estate vs Forgotten Dreams

MATCH THREE: Pixeles (a group of 9 works) vs War Pieta

MATCH FOUR: Ajax and Cassandra vs Nāve (Death)

SET 7

MATCH ONE: Meeting on the Turret Stair vs Stańczyk

MATCH TWO: Closeness Lines Over Time vs The Maple Trees at Mama, the Tekona Shrine and Tsugihashi Bridge

MATCH THREE: Survival Series: In a Dream You Saw a Way vs The Kitchen Table Series

MATCH FOUR: In the Grip of Winter vs NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt

SET 8

MATCH ONE: Blue Plate Special vs Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba

MATCH TWO: Susanna and the Elders, Restored - X-Ray vs Moby Dick

MATCH THREE: how to look at art vs St. Sebastian

MATCH FOUR: Carroña vs The Dog

SET 9

MATCH ONE: David vs The Other Side

MATCH TWO: Starry Night vs Headress - Shadae

MATCH THREE: Woman with Dead Child (Frau mit totem Kind) vs Siroče na majčinom grobu (Orphan on Mother's Grave)

MATCH FOUR: Fighting Against SARS Memorial Architectural Scene (弘揚抗疫精神建築景觀) vs The Hull

SET 10

MATCH ONE: Worship vs Wheatfield with Crows

MATCH TWO: Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X vs The Tragedy

MATCH THREE: Judith and the Head of Holofernes vs oh god i had a really big epiphany about love and personhood but i’m too drunk for words

MATCH FOUR: I am happy because everyone loves me vs Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan

SET 11

MATCH ONE: Water-Lilies, Reflection of a Weeping Willow vs The Grief of the Pasha

MATCH TWO: Passion vs Two Earthlings

MATCH THREE: Seer Bonnets vs Clytemnestra after the Murder

MATCH FOUR: “Untitled” (Perfect Lovers)/The Lovers (TIE) vs Kedai Ubat Jenun

SET 12

MATCH ONE: The Apotheosis of War vs Mouth

MATCH TWO: The Icebergs vs Maman

MATCH THREE: The Book of Kells Folio 188r: Luke carpet page vs Dome of the Rock mosaics

MATCH FOUR: Rowan Leaves and Hole vs Le Désespéré (The Desperate Man)

SET 13

MATCH ONE: Deimos vs Prudence

MATCH TWO: Siberian Ice Maiden shoulder tattoo vs Transi de René de Chalon (Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon)

MATCH THREE: The Day vs Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban জাতীয় সংসদ ভবন (National Parliament House)

MATCH FOUR: Juventud de Baco (Bacchus Youth) vs Oath of the Horattii closeup

SET 14

MATCH ONE: St. Francis vs Thunder Raining Poison

MATCH TWO: Among the Waves vs Sagrada Família stained-glass windows

MATCH THREE: Noonday Heat vs Gielda Plakatu

MATCH FOUR: The Garden of Earthly Delights vs Kuoleman puutarha (The Garden of Death)

SET 15

MATCH ONE: da oracle vs Panel from Fun Home

MATCH TWO: La Mort de Marat (The Death of Marat) vs Düsseldorf 4 (Museum Kunst Palast)

MATCH THREE: Capriccio vs José y Maria

MATCH FOUR: Lágrimas De Sangre (Tears of Blood) vs Boy Staring at an Apparition

SET 16

MATCH ONE: The Gran Hotel Ciudad de México Art Nouveau interior vs Unfinished Painting

MATCH TWO: Memorial to a Marriage vs A Few Small Nips

MATCH THREE: Saturn Devouring His Son vs Lamentation over the Dead Christ

MATCH FOUR: Little Girl Looking Downstairs at Christmas Party vs Agnus

ROUND 3

SET 1

MATCH ONE: Lament for Icarus vs Hubble Deep Field

MATCH TWO: Bath Curtain vs Can't Help Myself

SET 2

MATCH ONE: Diary Page vs Dead of Night

MATCH TWO: Untitled (I’m Turning Into A Specter Before Your Very Eyes And I’m Going To Haunt You) vs Untitled (Zdzisław Beksiński)

SET 3

MATCH ONE: Fifty Days at Iliam: The Fire That Consumes All Before It vs Doubting Thomas

MATCH TWO: Anguish vs Salvator Mundi (Saviour of the World)

SET 4

MATCH ONE: Symphony of the Sixth Blast Furnace vs Khajuraho Group of Monuments

MATCH TWO: The Weather vs Judith Slaying Holofernes

SET 5

MATCH ONE: Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands) vs Winged Victory of Samothrace

MATCH TWO: Arena #7 (Bears) vs Belfast to Byzantium

SET 6

MATCH ONE: Nighthawks vs Electric Fan (Feel it Motherfuckers): Only Unclaimed Item from the Stephen Earabino Estate

MATCH TWO: Pixeles (a group of 9 works) vs Nāve (Death)

SET 7

MATCH ONE: Stańczyk vs Closeness Lines Over Time

MATCH TWO: The Kitchen Table Series vs NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt

SET 8

MATCH ONE: Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba vs Susanna and the Elders, Restored - X-Ray

MATCH TWO: how to look at art vs Carroña

SET 9

MATCH ONE: The Other Side vs Starry Night

MATCH TWO: Woman with Dead Child (Frau mit totem Kind) vs The Hull

SET 10

MATCH ONE: Wheatfield with Crows vs Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X

MATCH TWO: oh god i had a really big epiphany about love and personhood but i’m too drunk for words vs Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan

SET 11

MATCH ONE: The Grief of the Pasha vs Two Earthlings

MATCH TWO: Clytemnestra after the Murder vs "Untitled" (Perfect Lovers) and The Lovers

SET 12

MATCH ONE: Mouth vs Maman

MATCH TWO: Dome of the Rock mosaics vs Le Désespéré (The Desperate Man)

SET 13

MATCH ONE: Deimos vs Siberian Ice Maiden shoulder tattoo

MATCH TWO: The Day vs Juventud de Baco (Bacchus Youth)

SET 14

MATCH ONE: Thunder Raining Poison vs Sagrada Família stained-glass windows

MATCH TWO: Noonday Heat vs Kuoleman puutarha (The Garden of Death)

SET 15

MATCH ONE: Panel from Fun Home vs Düsseldorf 4 (Museum Kunst Palast)

MATCH TWO: José y Maria vs Lágrimas De Sangre (Tears of Blood)

SET 16

MATCH ONE: Unfinished Painting vs Memorial to a Marriage

MATCH TWO: Saturn Devouring His Son vs Agnus

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 20, 2023

Heather Cox Richardson

We awoke this morning to news that President Joe Biden was in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he pledged “our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.” Air raid sirens blared as Biden and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky walked through the streets during the U.S. president’s five-hour stay.

As National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters, Biden’s visit was the first time a U.S. president has visited “the capital of a country at war where the United States military does not control the critical infrastructure”…in other words, an active war zone. Biden traveled in a special mission plane from Germany to Poland, then took a train from Poland to Kyiv. To make sure there would be no attacks, the U.S. notified the Russians that Biden would be in Kyiv, but a Russian MiG 30 flew from Belarus during Biden’s visit, triggering air raid sirens.

According to Sullivan, Biden felt it was important to visit Kyiv at the anniversary of the 2022 Russian invasion. The image of Biden and Zelensky standing together sent a message to Russian president Vladimir Putin, as David Rothkopf put it in the Daily Beast: “I am here in Kyiv and you are not. You not only did not take Kyiv in days as some predicted, but your attack was rebuffed. Your army suffered a humiliating defeat from which it has not recovered.”

Just under a year ago, the global equation looked very different. On February 4, 2022, Chinese president Xi Jinping hosted Russian president Vladimir Putin on the opening day of the Winter Olympics. The two men pledged to work together in a partnership with “no limits” in a transparent attempt to counter U.S. global leadership and assert a new international order based on their own authoritarian systems.

At the time, Russia was massing troops on its border with Ukraine but fervently denied it was planning to invade. On February 24, 2022, Russian tanks rolled across the border and Russian planes covered them in the air. Biden remembered that Zelensky called him and said he could hear the explosions as they spoke. “I’ll never forget that,” Biden said. “The world was about to change.” When Biden asked what he could do to help, Zelensky said: “Gather the leaders of the world. Ask them to support Ukraine.”

And over 50 nations stepped up to make sure the rules-based international order in place since World War II, which prevents one country from attacking another, held. Those backing Ukraine against Russian aggression have squeezed Russia with economic sanctions and supported Ukraine with military and humanitarian aid. As Biden said today, standing next to Zelensky: “Kyiv stands and Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.”

Biden pledged another $460 million in aid to Ukraine, emphasizing that U.S. support for the country is bipartisan.

Biden mourned the cost Ukraine has had to bear, but championed its successes. “Russia’s aim was to wipe Ukraine off the map,” Biden said, but “Putin’s war of conquest is failing. Russia’s military has lost half its territory it once occupied. Young, talented Russians are fleeing by the tens of thousands, not wanting to come back to Russia. Not…just fleeing from the military, fleeing from Russia itself, because they see no future in their country. Russia’s economy is now a backwater, isolated and struggling.”

“Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided,” Biden said. He remembered telling Zelensky that Putin was “counting on us not sticking together. He was counting on the inability to keep NATO united. He was counting on us not to be able to bring in others on the side of Ukraine.” While Biden didn’t say it, Putin had reason to think those things: the four years of the Trump administration had seen the U.S. offending allies and threatening to pull out of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that stands against Russian aggression.

“He thought he could outlast us,” Biden said. “I don’t think he’s thinking that right now…. [H]e’s just been plain wrong. Plain wrong.” A year later, Biden said, “We stand here together.”

“You and all Ukrainians…remind the world every single day what the meaning of the word ‘courage’ is—from all sectors of your economy, all walks of life. It’s astounding. Astounding.

You remind us that freedom is priceless; it’s worth fighting for for as long as it takes. And that’s how long we’re going to be with you, Mr. President: for as long as it takes.”

Zelensky answered, “We’ll do it.”

The world could stand behind Ukraine as it has because Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have held a coalition together and presented a united front with Zelensky and allies and partners in defense of democracy.

In contrast today, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) explicitly called for dividing the nation. She tweeted: “We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this.” For once I will spare you my usual lecture on how elite southern enslavers in the 1850s made this same argument because they resented the majority rule that threatened their ability to impose their will on their Black neighbors.

(I will note, though, that former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) helpfully reviewed “some of the governing principles of America” for Greene, tweeting: “Our country is governed by the Constitution. You swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Secession is unconstitutional. No member of Congress should advocate secession, Marjorie.”)

What Greene had to say next is of more interest in this moment. The Munich Security Conference, the world’s largest gathering for international security discussions, has just reported that the Russian war on Ukraine is a war of authoritarianism on a rules-based international order. At that conference, Vice President Kamala Harris said the U.S. had determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity and noted that the bipartisan U.S. delegation to the conference was the largest we have ever sent. The U.S. president has just entered a war zone to declare U.S. support for democracy and is now in Poland, where he will speak with the leaders of the nine countries that make up NATO’s eastern flank and will deliver a speech that Blinken has described as “very significant.”

In contrast, Greene echoed authoritarian leaders Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Putin himself when she called for splitting the nation over “the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats” and “the Democrat’s [sic] traitorous America Last policies.” Authoritarian leaders insist that the equality that underpins liberal democracy threatens traditional society because it means that LGBTQ people, women, and minorities should have the same rights as white men. Greene appears to be taking the same position.

Meanwhile, Fox News Channel personalities, including Tucker Carlson, are trying to spin Biden’s visit to Ukraine as proof that he doesn’t care about the train derailment in Ohio. Scholar of disinformation behavior Caroline Orr Bueno noted: “There’s a narrative being planted here; watch how support for Ukraine is framed as incompatible with US national interests.” She notes that a similar narrative in Canada argues that support for Ukraine hurts Canadian veterans.

A filing in Dominion Voter Systems’ lawsuit against FNC for defamation revealed last week that FNC personalities knowingly lied to their viewers about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, acting as a propaganda outlet for Trump. This information is a handy backdrop for the news reported today by Mike Allen of Axios, who says that House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has given to FNC host Carlson—who figured prominently in the election fraud lies—exclusive access to 41,000 hours of footage from the U.S. Capitol of the January 6, 2021, attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. According to Allen, Carlson’s producers have already begun going through it to see what they can use on his show.

Putin is scheduled to address the Russian Federal Assembly tomorrow. Billboards in Russia proclaim: “Russia’s border ends nowhere,” but observers believe that he was hoping for a major victory on a battlefield in Ukraine before the speech. Instead, Russian forces have taken severe losses in their recent stalled offensive in eastern Ukraine near Bakhmut.

Biden’s speech in Poland will follow later in the day.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON