#i fall victim to the propaganda every damn time
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embarking on the journey that is watching girls for the first time ….
#fuck shows that romanticize new york city#i fall victim to the propaganda every damn time#like ohhh i wish that was me huh … i wish that was me so bad.
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LOSER'S BRACKET ROUND 2! MATCH 1 OUT OF 4
Propaganda Under the Cut:
Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary
General Propaganda:
come on just look at her shes so fucking cool
SHES SOOOOOOOO FUCKING COOOOLL ok so like. Lobotomy Corporation takes place in an SCP type facility where a bunch of abnormalities are living. She is one of them. She is a mostly undying humanoid creature that lives for the sole sake of hunting down the Big And Will Be Bad Wolf. She lives in your facility and will BREAK OUT of her containment if she feels that the wolf is near (or if too many people are dying). You can also hire her to assist you in taking down other abnormalities, and she's actually super good at it. And her outfit is just so sooo sick? She's so cool. Please play Lobotomy Corporation it goes on sale for like $7 every Steam Sale
She's red riding hood if red riding hood had a gun. Also she kisses women
Monster based on human subconscious aka an Abnormality based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood (duh). In this story, she was mauled by the wolf (Big And Might Be Bad Wolf) who is based on all fairy tale wolf villains. Little Red then got to work plotting her revenge and making Bloodborne-esque gear for herself and the two Abnos are locked in eternal combat of hatred for one another
She's literally the coolest, just look at her. For people who might not be so familiar with her: She's one of the abnormalities that remain locked in the Lobotomy Corporation. Her past is somewhat unclear, but she has some horrid scars on her face due to the Big Bad Wolf and she swore vengeance upon him because of that incident. This lead her to become a mercenary and she looks 1000% scarier and more badass than the wolf lol. Also, asides from the fact that she may kill half of your team if she escapes containment, she is quite chill and will even help you take care of your problems if you pay her.
little red riding hood but consumed by vengeance to the point of becoming an anomalous creature hellbent on completing her eternal battle with the wolf. intense desire for revenge. baller as fuck design. will help you kill other escaping abnormalities but you gotta pay her to do it. gets pissed off every time someone escapes containment except for that one annoying bird for absolutely no discernible reason. if you let her kill the wolf she gives you bonuses but if someone else kills the wolf she goes fucking bananas. truly an inspired feral creature of a woman.
Go girl!!! We love your unrestrained violence!
She is literally the absolute coolest!!! I mean, just look at her design! Everything about it screams fucking cool! Not to mention that her story has themes of vengeance, rage, and grief!!! And Lobotomy corporation is just the fucking best and soooooo underrated.
She's starting to fall behind so GO ON AND VOTE MERC WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! (and buy Lobotomy Corp on steam it's not even that expensive!)
Vote for Riding Hooded Mercenary she's an Abnormality serving as a hired merc that means shes a hunter of her own kind and she WILL chase them to the ends of earth lest she dies herself or knows that damn Wolf is nearby. The cursor for sending hits on something is a wanted poster. She's WAW-classed too, a step below the most dangerous category for her ilk. she shares the class with things such as insane-ass magical girls, an eyeless flower horse turns people into wisteria gardens, fucked up and evil Little Prince, a bird judge that hangs its victims, the now-animate poisoned apple that killed Snow White, and of course the Wolf itself.
Loser's Bracket Propaganda:
little red wouldve gone so so hard if she wasnt against ylfa immediately… victory for our mercenary gal.
Riding Hooded Merc is a bonafide baddie & professional
She;s so fucking cool. almost got murdered by the wolf (also in lobcorp by the way) and she wants revenge so bad. cool as hell mercenary. also just look at her come on
I feel that they all deserve a bit more recognition as just about every Little Red Riding Hood is remembered for their story, but not their character. And I believe that the few I selected are truly well rounded characters, and amazing takes on who the character is.
the Lobotomy Corp one I know nothing about but who has a sick design (I also want the fans of this one to have a win because I liked watching the first round because of them)
Ruby Rose
General Propaganda:
She has a scythe that is also a high-impact sniper rifle.
She is literally just based on Red Riding Hood and she's such an amazing character holy heck
Red Riding Hood but with a gun. (Specifically a combination scythe/high-impact sniper rifle called Crescent Rose). Also she's gone through so much she deserves it. She's trying to save the world and keep going despite all the people she's lost. Grew up dreaming of being a hero who fights monsters. She knows life isn't a fairy tale and wants to make it better. Just went through a mental health arc where she had depression from trying to live up to her (presumed dead) mom and from her friend dying for the second time. Killed the Big Bad Wolf with her magic eye powers. Her sister is Goldilocks and her friends are Beauty and Snow White. also I love her <3
She’s the little red riding hood but also a powerful fighter with a massive fucking scythe that is also a sniper rifle and she’s so skrunkly and so gender. Also RWBY’s whole thing (well one of them) is that their characters are all inspired by pre-existing ones from older stories and Ruby’s the main character so like, poster child of ‘character based off [insert relevant fairytale here]’ so I think she deserves to at least get pretty far
Aesthetics, themes, meta, personality and raw coolness.
She is the main character of her show. The most common monster they fight is a type of wolf (its been a while since ive seen it). Her job is to hunt them down before they can eat her. this story is very much about failed fairy tales, many of the side character's inspired arcs end in failure, but (having not seen the most recent bits) Ruby is still going strong, and i really like her cape, rose petals, and use of a scythe.
She is THE RRH character of all time. She has a scythe that's also a gun and she has to be the hero because she's got super rare main character powers. She is my happy girl. Also her mom was Sleeping Beauty and her sister is Goldilocks, and she fights to stop Rapunzel from destroying everything on the world, the gods, and then herself.
Ruby as a character is literally based on little red riding hood! She has a red cape with a hood
the Red trailer is better propaganda than I could ever write
She is a badass with a scythe, inspired by her uncle and fueled by her mother's death and her sense of righteousness
She has a giant scythe
Loser's Bracket Propaganda:
ruby rose makes me go :D so i picked her here <3 hope this helps
luv them
Ruby Rose is my blorbo in law and I need her in because of that
#red riding poll#loser's bracket#loser's bracket round 2#poll tournament#poll bracket#polls#character polls#red riding hood#little red riding hood#fairytale#little red riding hooded mercenary#f-01-57#lobotomy corporation#ruby rose#rwby
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ngl i'm already rolling my eyes from all the discourse coming from the acolyte show. is there a way to tell interesting jedi stories with nuance? yeah but why does it have to always misinterpret core jedi beliefs and misunderstand what attachments actually are? like some stuff i'm reading from the writers of the show and leaks already do not sound promising.
swear to god if the show does the whole "jedi were so repressed and hate relationships and that's why they fell" bullshit that fandom already parrots regularly? good thing i stopped following most disney plus star wars shows. wake me up when andor and star wars visions return.
It’s absolutely insane how the diseased idea of The Jedi being “The True Evil” of Star Wars has Infected every single facet of it’s franchise. Meanwhile, the actions of the sith and empire are constantly justified??? Especially the sith, saying they’re victims for not being allowed to use their power to “live freely” which is butcher, rape, and do other heinous acts 😐😐
Even in the fucking works of the High Republic era that so many fans laud as being in favor of the Jedi, fall to this. The Acolyte is just another tired addition.
At the same time, it’s so strange that these skewed interpretations have occurred because there are so many examples in the same media that show the complete opposite. One of the major points of Star Wars, especially the Prequels, is that the Jedi were trying their damn best to serve the galaxy, but were betrayed by who they trusted most. The Jedi expected better of people, expected support, but instead the very governments and gullible citizens they protected turned against them, fueled by ridiculous propaganda and petty feelings of greed, hate, jealousy, and a need for control that the Jedi would not give them.
The Jedi may have had some flaws, but they were victims, while the sith and empire happily ruin lives and commit genocide in their pursuit of power, and fans just desperately try to ignore all of it.
The fact that Star Wars Visions and Andor are some of the few works that portray the sith and empire as the fascist bootlickers they are is so disheartening, but I’m glad they exist 😭😭
#replies#anon#the acolyte#im not looking forward to the renewed sith bootlicking and ‘jedi are evil’ propaganda that’s going to come out#we have to survive the bullshit together anon 😭
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Hello been pondering about whether or not I should post this since I haven't been vocal about it but I think my mutuals/tumblr friends/followers deserve to know and decide if they're okay with it:
I do not participate in fandom discourse/shipping discourse/whatever it's called and I never will. The reason for it being: I cannot agree with either side. I am on Twitter, too, and I see how the discourse there looks like; I don't want to participate in it.
(Warning: mentions of p*dophilia and inc*st in the upcoming text)
To clarify: I only believe in consuming media with a critical eye. The claim that fiction doesn't affect reality in any way, something that proshippers love to use in their argument, is baseless and untrue, especially concerning teens and minors who have not entirely developed a critical thinking ability. I can't support the way horrifying themes like inc*st and p*dophilia are seen in, or perpetuated in, a positive likeness and considered as completely harmless in every single way, and no, I will never support such content nor want to come anywhere close to it.
However, I do not agree with the opposing side, either. As already mentioned, I spent a certain time on Twitter; I have seen what the shipping discourse has turned into. Something that started as a critical debate on harmful propaganda, evicting offenders from fandom presence and importance of consuming media carefully has turned into driving young people to suicide over baseless claims, free harassment, and complete disregard of the fact that internet users are, in fact, human beings. The way accusations over the internet had been watered down to the point where half the people don't take them seriously anymore because they're not used properly is scary. It's worrying. It's weird. It's so little about the genuine harmful themes (re:aforementioned) anymore: now exploring anything that isn't goody-two-shoes mentality in fiction is a ticket to being harassed. It's turning into another "video games cause violence" where, instead of focusing on how harmful themes in fiction can be used to endanger people, the battle is turning towards anything bad ever portrayed in media.
My point being: the extremes through which this discourse has escalated are sickening and I, for one, will not take any of my time to participate in it.
Be careful in fandoms. Large internet spaces allow horrible and harmful people to get through to their victims, oftentimes using so-called "fictional content that doesn't harm anyone" to do it. I know. I was manipulated myself.
On the other hand, if you are an adult person who believes people cannot consume media without turning into a glorifier of every dark fictional theme irl, then the media simply is not for you. A person with developed critical thinking can, and should, explore fiction without mixing it up with reality. (Again, I don't agree that themes such as inc*st and p*dophilia fall under this category). Young teens and minors do not have said way of thinking developed yet: so TAG. YOUR. DAMN. WORKS. Tagging is important. It saves people from being harmed by content they don't wish to see.
Sorry for the long post, I was thinking about this and felt like I wanted to say my point on it; after all, I've been more active on tumblr lately, enjoying the company of my mutuals and I want anyone who follows this blog to know where I stand with this. At the end, I hope for my point to be respected, I see harm in both of these mentalities and don't wish to be a part of either of them or this discourse at all. If you want to know where I stand on human rights, equality, danger of propaganda and anti-bigotry, feel free to take a look at my blog, everything is there to see and I hope to never arrive in a situation where I need to explain what I think about fandom discourse, because this is the only post about it I'm ever going to make.
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Controversial and stigmatized beliefs, propaganda- also known as uh, complete and utter bullshit.
While I was brainstorming this morning, it got me thinking- “Why don’t I do a blog about my top three topics that I have the strongest, beliefs and experience in?”
Today, it’s time we discussed some Drugs, Satanism, and Sex (Work), where you could damn near say that I am as close to an expert on, as expertise gets.
Plus, I figured, why the fuck shouldn’t I break down the stigmatized ignorant belief systems and stereotypes about some of the most misunderstood topics to date?
Welcome to todays episode of: Satan, Sex, Secrets! Fuck Your Stigma: Ep. #1!
Get ready to get fucking schooled, because today, we are going to get raw and in-depth.
Because today, we are going to debunk the most common stigmatized misconceptions about three of the most taboo topics to date- we are talking about Satanism, Sex/Work, and some top secret truths behind these severely misunderstood topics.
Trust me, I would know, as I personally am a Satanist, Sex Worker, and Sex Advocate and Addict…
Stigma, Propaganda, Ignorance. What do these three things have in common, you ask?
They all have one for sure thing in common: they are all fucking loads of bullshit. it can come in endless shapes, and sizes. Sometimes though, it comes in the shape of someone we trust more than anything, in the news, and also in Christianity- but we will, as always, get to that later on.
Well, I suppose I should begin with what prompted me to write this piece, specifically. What prompted me to write this right now was a very motivating,(I feel motivated, anyway!) fucking email, one that speaks to every belief I have in my very existence.
Say the biggest of hellos to the newest fucking member of… THE SATANIC TEMPLE!
Now, let me be crystal clear here, The Satanic Temple, and Satanism overall, is ignorantly misunderstood as fuck. People will read or hear the word Satan-anything, and automatically lose their fucking shit, no bullshit (the people out there that have no common sense to educate themselves before establishing a “belief system”, if you can even call it that.)!
The. Satanic. Temple. Does. Not. Worship. SATAN!!!
A bit shocking, I know.
Here are some very useful facts about The Satanic Temple, as well as Satanism overall-
Let’s Talk Satanism!
Let me start this off, with some useful facts about The Satanic Temple- more specifically, facts directly from TST themselves:
“The Mission of The Satanic Temple is to Encourage Benevolence and Empathy, Reject Tyrannical Authority, Advocate Practical Common Sense, Oppose Injustice, and to Undertake Noble Pursuits.”
Now… let’s compare the mission of The Satanic Temple, vs. the mission of “Christianity”- The Seven Fundamental Tenets vs. The Ten Commandments.
The Seven Fundamental Tenets of TST are as follows: And then there would be The Ten Commandments … But first, let me just say, that is was fucking impossible to even find two versions of Christianity’s Ten Commandments!
I have some very strong beliefs on the topic of Christianity, if I am being honest here.
Although, my beliefs stem from factual evidence and experience, so I do believe I am more than qualified to share them.
Anyways, The Ten Commandments are as follows:
1. I am the Lord your God: You shall not have strange Gods before me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
4. Honor your father and mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
From https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-true-ten-commandments
So, now you’ve read The Ten Commandments. Now, what about The Seven Fundamental Tenets of TST?
I am in the mood to write a little bit extra today. So, let’s get a little controversial.
i. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.
ii. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
iii. One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
iv. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own.
v. Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs.
vi. People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one’s best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.
vii. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word. https://www.thesatanictemple.com
The most amazing reference I have come across so far, would have to be the “Hail Satan” podcast- more specifically though, “The 10 Commandment” Episode, where real members of TST compare these two (it is actually the best fucking thing, ever.)
Highly recommend this, by the way.
Now, The 10 Commandments, on a very honest base level, is so mother-fucking contradictory, not to mention incredibly egotistically and ignorantly designed for gullible humans to fall victim to- and also? Fun-fact: no matter what religion you identify as, it is not some excuse for mysogynistic “belief systems” nor something that should be used for discriminatory actions, something used to “convert sinners”, and LASTLY- “Sinning” is something that is strictly specific to CHRISTIANITY ALONE!
Therefore, it is factually impossible to “convert sinners”, as you technically cannot be a “sinner” if you are not a Christian to begin with- therefore, it would be literally impossible to “save or convert”, anyone outside of the Christian Religion.
Personally, I would say that the latter (TST), is by far more reasonable to follow- not to mention at least TST is consistent- and justifiable at minimum!
Although, everyone is absolutely entitled to their own opinions!
Believe what ever you so desire, but do not force it upon others just because another human being doesn’t follow the same belief system as you do.
If you evaluate TST and Satanism on a base-level, it is far more realistic and reasonable to follow than most would expect!
A very good example of why educating yourself is so fucking important! Ironically, though, members of TST do not even believe in Satan, or the supernatural- at all!
In all honestly, I have always been attracted to the more “taboo/shock value inducing” type of things in life- hence, me being a Stoner, a Sex Worker and Sex Addict, Poly-addict, and now, proudly, a Satanist.
This is going to be, a several-part series!
Stay Tuned…
So, if those of you who are reading this, have any questions, or stigmas you want to have debunked- leave a comment below and ask me anything!
-Haylee the Satanic Sex Working Stoner
#sex blog#sex blogger#short story#success#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writing#witch+prompts#satan#rant blog
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Anonymous asked: I love your blog it’s definitely one of the most smartest and cultured ones around. Since you are a super chilled out military vet (flying combat helicopters, how cool is that?!) and also a very thoughtful and devout Christian (I think you talked about being an Anglican) I know this is a cheeky question but I’ll ask it anyway. Would you rather live in a military dictatorship or a theocratic dictatorship?
Now this is an interesting question you play at 2am and the wine is dangerously low.
I have to correct you on a couple of things. Yes, it was ‘cool’ to fly combat helicopters especially in a battlefield setting but it was just a job, like any other. And it’s never about the pilot it’s about the rest of the team behind you, especially your ground crew who make sure you go up and come back in one piece. As for being super chilled you clearly have never seen how sweaty one gets flying in high stress situations. Oh and the stink! A skunk wouldn’t last 5 minutes in my cockpit.
As for my Christian beliefs, I’ll settle for being a believing one. My faith, such as it is, is about living - and failing - by grace day by day than being fervently devout. Faith is a struggle to not rely upon one’s own strength but on divine mercy and grace.
Anyway....
Would I rather live in a military dictatorship or a theocratic dictatorship?
History has shown there's not a lot of difference between the two...
No, wait. On second thoughts maybe I would rather live in a military dictatorship as the lesser evil.
As an ex-officer in her HM armed forces, I know things will be run pretty efficiently with no dilly-dallying. So there’s that.
I suppose even if one does say it’s preferable to live under military rule rather than a theocratic one there is still the question of what kind of military rule? Every nation that has been under military rule came to power and sustained their hold under different dynamics. And of course it also depends on how mature civil society and the rule of law as well as the democratic culture really was in the first place. A lot is tied up with the brutal nature of the personality of the regime leader too. There are simply too many variables.
So one is forced to generalise. So l can’t get too serious in answering this question.
Rather than focus on the negative side let’s look on the bright side.
Just off the top of my head I can think of these reasons why I would choose to ‘live’ under military rule than a theocratic one. There are in no real order:
Beds will be made properly subject to inspection.
Families will be run like military units with the man at the head of the table.
Family meals will be taken at set times.
Public civility will make a return (e.g. no public spitting, drunken, or loutish behaviour).
Freedom of speech will more likely be censored than abolished (better than nothing I suppose)
Elections would be rigged rather than banned (but who really votes anyway these days?)
They will most likely make the trains run on time (unless you’re British or Italian).
Military leaders often enjoy genuine popularity - albeit after eliminating plausible rivals - that is based on “performance legitimacy,” a perceived competence at securing prosperity and defending the nation against external or internal threats. The new autocrats of today are more surgical: they aim only to convince citizens of their competence to govern.
Maintaining power, for military dictators and their court, is less a matter of terrorising and persecuting victims than of manipulating beliefs about the world. But of course they can do both if backed into a corner to survive.
State propaganda aims not to re-engineer human souls but to boost the military regime leader’s ratings.
The military tend to stay out of personal lives. They have a political police but not necessarily a moral police.
Economic growth is more likely to be stable than under a theocratic state.
Military dictatorships are more likely to build vast bureaucracies to run the state - more jobs for everyone
The military put on great events. Their parades are more colourful and spectacular.
Having a sense of humour is more likely to get you imprisoned than executed for telling an anti-regime joke. It’s no joke to say that people develop a more refinery subversive sense of humour when oppressed. Take for example a famous comedian in Myanmar, Zarganar, for whom comedy is a shield and a weapon. During the time of the military dictatorship (1962-2010) he would make jokes like, “The American says, 'We have a one-legged guy who climbed Mount Everest.' The Brit says, 'We recently had a guy with no arms who swam the Atlantic Ocean. But the Burmese guy says, 'That's nothing! We had a leader who ruled for 18 years without a brain!" It was for jokes like this that Zarganar received a prison sentence in 2008 - for up to 59 years.
Military dictatorships don’t last long. They are more unstable. They tend to fall from the weight of their own contradictions.
One of the problems of living in a theocracy is how absolutist it would be in looking at life in terms of clear cut black and white according to those who rule over you. I strongly suspect in a theocratic state the morality secret police will be all over you looking for any social or moral infraction. In a Christian Theocracy, you'll never be Christian enough - the same would be for states that were Islamic, Judaic or Hindu etc. There's always going to be some pious asshole there with another version of Christianity that is more Christian than you and you're going to lose the freedom to make your own choices.
Under theocracies, unlike other authoritarian regimes, the rulers are the moral authorities that legitimises and fuels their political legitimacy to govern. It assumes its own moral correctness married to its political destiny to rule over others. As C.S Lewis memorably puts it, “Theocracy is the worst of all governments. If we must have a tyrant, a robber baron is far better than an inquisitor. The baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity at some point be sated; and since he dimly knows he is doing wrong he may possibly repent. But the inquisitor who mistakes his own cruelty and lust of power and fear for the voice of Heaven will torment us infinitely because he torments us with the approval of his own conscience and his better impulses appear to him as temptations.”
Finally, I’ll go with the military dictatorship with the hope that there might be some way of bringing the system down with a bit of logic and rationality. Hell knows that wouldn't be possible in a theocratic system!
I agree with Margaret Atwood when she said, “If you disagree with your government, that's political. If you disagree with your government that is approaching theocracy, then you're evil.” There’s more wriggle room with fighting against a military dictatorship because it’s usually against an asshole tyrant - or a ruling oligarchy of a military junta - and not a pernicious idea soaked in theological bullshit or an entire ideology divinely santificated by God himself.
A more interesting question is not to ask is why many people are so readily drawn to be ruled under a military rule or a theocratic one and especially a benevolent dictatorship (like Lee Kwan Yew in Singapore or Paul Kagame in Rwanda) but why increasingly more people in the Western world look to authoritarian figures to rule and shape their lives?
Why do Silicon Valley titans like Peter Thiel and others like him think fondly of ditching democracy in the name of some utopian hyper-capitalist vision of ‘freedom’?
I hear murmurs of the same talk when I interact with corporate colleagues and high net worth individuals I hear it around dinner tables about how democracy is bad for business and profit. Often it’s accompanied by praise for China's ability to "get things done." I just roll my eyes and smile politely.
I think - outside of the legitimate concern of the decay of civil discourse, the corruption of politicians, and corrosiveness of crony capitalism - it’s because democratic politics is hard. Damn hard.
Moreover democratic politics does not have a "right" answer. There never is.
In our Western societies it is the playing field (or market place?) where our values compete. Surely, you say, there is a right way to get the job done: to fill in the potholes, build the roads, keep our streets safe, get our kids to learn reading and math. Ah, but look how quickly those issues get contentious.
Whose potholes should get filled first? Do we try to keep our streets safe through community policing or long prison sentences? Should teachers be given merit pay, are small classrooms better, or should we lengthen the school day? These issues engender deep political fights, all - even in the few debates where research provides clear, technocratic answers. That is because the area of politics is an area for values disputes, not technical solutions.
One person's "right" is not another's because people prioritise different values: equity versus excellence, efficiency versus voice and participation, security versus social justice, short-term versus long-term gains.
Democratic politics allows many ideas of "right" to flourish. It is less efficient than dictatorship. It also makes fewer tremendous mistakes.
The longing for a leader who knows what is in her people's best interests, who rules with care and guides the nation on a wise path, was Plato's idea of a philosopher-king. It's a tempting picture, but it's asking the wrong question.
In political history, philosophers moved from a preference for such benevolent dictators to the ugly realities of democracy when they switched the question from "who could best rule?" to "what system prevents the worst rule?"
But clearly democracy is buckling under pressure in our torrid times. Populism - the logical end consequence of a purer democracy - is chipping away at the edifice of democratic norms and conventions. Increasingly inward looking nativism and nationalism fuel passions beyond the control of reason.
Perhaps it is time we went back to the tried and tested example of a monarchy, a constitutional one that is.
A revitalised monarchy in Britain needs a Head of State that can provide a personal identity to an impersonal State, and a collective sense of itself. A Head of State who does not owe his or her position to either patronage or a vote can more properly represent all the people. Consider that a President who has been elected, often by a minority of a minority of the electorate, cannot adequately speak for the people who did not vote for him or her. It is even worse if the President has been appointed, because then he owes his position to a small clique.So, the accident of birth is the best means of appointing a Head of State. Someone who has no party political axe to grind, or special favours to repay to a vested interest. Someone whose allegiance is to the people. Not just allegiance to the people who voted for him or his political party, but allegiance to all the people of the country equally. Far from being "incompatible" with democracy, a Monarchy can thereby enhance the government of the land.
The Monarch is a national icon. An icon which cannot be replaced adequately by any other politician or personality. This is because the British Monarchy embodies British history and identity in all its aspects, both good and bad.
When you see the Queen you not only see history since 1952, when she took the throne, but you see a person who provides a living sense of historical continuity with the past. Someone who embodies in her person a history which extends back through time, back through the Victorian era, back into the Stuart era and beyond. You see the national history of all parts of our islands, together, going right back in time.
As Edmund Burke, Roger Scruton and Michael Oakeshott would say, the monarchy is a living continuity between the past, the present and the future.
With its traditions, its history, its ceremonial, and with its standing and respect throughout the world, the British Monarchy represents a unique national treasure, without which the United Kingdom would be sorely impoverished.
If you value national distinctiveness, you should be a Monarchist.
If you are anti-globalist you should be a Monarchist because Monarchies represent the different national traditions and distinctions among the nations.
The desire to secure, strengthen and promote your own distinct national icons, whether your Monarch, or your own unique national identity, should be your concern, whether you live here in St Andrews, or whether you live in St Petersburg, or whether you live in St Paulo.
As the global financial system rushes us all towards a world intended to eradicate all local and national distinctions, the Monarchy stands out as different, distinct and valuable. Constitutionally, practically, spiritually and symbolically the Monarchy is a national treasure, the continued erosion of which would change the character of Britain, and not in a good way!
I’m speaking as a High Tory now, sorry. And so of course I only see it working for the United Kingdom....and the Commonwealth (slip that discreetly in there for you India, Australia, Canada, and Africa).
Still, if you want egalitarianism then look at Norway and the Netherlands - both highly "egalitarian" societies, and both monarchies.
Everyone else will just have to jolly well do without or ask us politely to come back (I’m looking at you my dear American colonial cousins, all will be forgiven).
The best of all worlds? Time will tell.
At your service, Ma’am....
Thanks for your question.
#question#ask#military dictatorship#government#rule#democracy#culture#society#theocracy#army#christianity#religion#nd high net worth individuals
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i need to break this down into several posts because i do not have the attention span to get through all this in one go.
here’s the thesis: beholding is, in my opinion, one of the vaguest fears because of the role that agency plays in it. how people act when they are avatars of beholding, and how people become victims are beholding, and the cannibalization of beholding’s servants by the eye itself ( you thought you were gonna get a tma powers horror post without cannibalization as a theme you thought ) are all completely different things.
what we’re going to be covering: the drive of a beholding avatar to know directly contradicts the fear of being known of the victims and thusly it preys on them -- but there is an element, i think, in all beholding avatars of not really wanting to confront the self. even beholding avatars whose defining feature is seeking out knowledge and truth will not sit comfortably with the truth that is in the mirror, which is what opens them up to the aforementioned eye cannibalism.
jonah has his mortality: he will not accept being contained to a human lifespan, being something that could fade with time, or become obsolete; i think about stories of the impossibly beautiful who lock themselves in their private rooms, disseminating the image of pristine youth and desirability, but the moment the glamour drops, you discover that it was a corpse all along; i think of elizabeth i’s pockmarked face slathered with white lead paint as she sat in her fifties for her portrait as the virgin queen, the toxins seeping into her skin, draped in pearls to represent innocence, one in place of henry viii’s codpiece because she was impenetrable, everlasting, pure, and the way this image was intentionally spread as propaganda, making a forever-icon of her in the english cultural imagination. elias fears every single power, the buried as the grave, the corruption as rotting flesh and terminal illness and losing identity, the dark as the unknown, the desolation and its destructive power and self-consumption, the flesh as the mangling of the body, the stranger as a lack of recognition of the self, the hunt as being pursued and destroyed, the slaughter as unpredictable violence done unto him, the vast signifying his meaninglessness, the web maneuvering him someplace he does not want to be, the lonely and being forgotten or deemed unimportant, and the end for the cessation of existence; elias is a coward and immortality is his escape, he fears pain and he fears non-existence and he fears fear -- to be known as mortal would undue him, it is a truth ( and beholding cannot feed off of what is not true ) that he denies, perhaps the greatest truth of all: that all things must come to an end. the fact that elias’s true form is an eyeless withered corpse hooked up to a throne? everything to me.
jon is, of course, in denial about what he is and his situation, and this is prevalent in every season: he adopts skepticism as a failsafe against “making” what he’s reading a reality, he allows himself to be consumed with paranoia towards his coworkers even though literally all signs point to elias, he continues reading statements even when he recognizes that something is terribly wrong, etc. etc. etc. and don’t misunderstand me, jon is valid! jon is completely understandable in everything that he does! he does not have the omniscience of the listener! he is in the thick of it! but then we get season 5 and, again, jon isn’t being honest with himself -- both in trying to avoid being the avenging angel of the apocalypse and in blaming himself too much for what’s happened. he’s the most honest we’ve ever seen him, he’s finally admitting that he’s an avatar and that he relates to other avatars, but he’s swung fully around to being too harsh with himself; and berating yourself doesn’t make you good or right, it doesn’t fix the problem, it’s just self-flagellation to no end, guilt that’s indulgent without a solution ( this is why it’s a damn good thing martin’s there but again... jon is valid in wallowing, it’s a perfectly reasonable reaction and he has his flaws and we applaud him for being a well-rounded character ).
this abject fear that the two of them have ( because it is fear, that’s where the refusal is coming from; confronting what you are is extremely difficult, learning the truth about yourself and being honest about your motivations and your actions without falling either into self-deprecation aka jon or self-aggrandizement and absolution aka jonah is really fucking hard! ) opens them to being preyed upon by beholding and by each other. eye bitches love to think of themselves as removed and above it all, logic warriors of the fear world, but they are so weak to one another and being seen for what they are that elias had to remove himself from jon’s presence for an entire season just to ensure that jon wouldn’t pick up on anything about his plan ( which is intrinsically bound to jonah’s fear and self-image ). eye avatars getting into a fight is probably such a raw experience for those involved and super boring for anyone watching who isn’t subscribed to at least three tea spill channels on youtube. if you are then it’s the most captivating shit you’ve ever seen.
conclusion: yes, eye avatars do work that opens up victims of beholding to being fed on, but they have limitations when it comes to that pursuit that opens them in turn to being consumed. yes eye avatars Want to Know at times to their own detriment because the act of their uncovering secrets and making people feel exposed feeds the eye, but they are simultaneously some of the least likely people to want to be exposed and revel in their own secrets and dishonesty towards themselves.
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Joe Strummer (1952-2002)
On his birthday and in the age of pressure on the common man increasing by what seems to be the second, I think of one of my antifascist heroes, Joe Strummer. There are so many things to say about the Clash that I’ve said 1 million times over, but one sentiment always bears repeating—Joe Strummer was an important anti-establishment figure in popular culture of modern history. As a Marxist, Strummer struck a chord in a young generation of the possibility of a world free of imperialist capitalist governments and monarchies. The Clash’s captivating discography never fails to give you the feeling of riding around in the car with your friends, ready to terrorize the establishment and fight the system. Strummer’s musical talents with his time in the Clash cultivated music that spoke to a generation of restlessness; the youth and proletariat fed up with the ever-increasing world conflict and wealth disparity through blatant call outs of the oppressors of the ruling class. He gave a big Fuck You to Generals, Politicians, Bomb Droppers, Tyrants, Pigs—the whole lot. Rising in the punk music scene alongside acts like the Sex Pistols and the Buzzcocks, Strummer’s lyrical lectures of the plight of the working class were not rare for their content, but for his delivery. Compelling lyrical content weaved into captivating, genre blending music that you can’t help but feel throughout your entire body, Strummer’s messages of change were poetically jarring and came from a voice that didn’t care what you thought it sounded like, but you’d be damned if you didn’t listen.
In the Clash’s self-titled debut album The Clash, released in 1977, track “Career Opportunities,” is Strummer’s own anthem for the working class and the struggles of entering the unrewarding cycle of capitalism. Lamenting that “Every job they offer you is to keep you out the dock,” Strummer resents capitalist governments for seeing its citizens as merely a means to capital by only offering jobs that perpetuate the existence of capitalism. Strummer’s voice pouring through your headphones paired with the bouncing, head bobbing hi-hat driven rhythm and jam-like feeling of the track “Clampdown” from the legendary 1979 album London Calling, ignites you to “Kick over the wall, cause government's to fall / How can you refuse it? / Let fury have the hour, anger can be power / D'you know that you can use it?” From the Clash’s 1980 masterpiece Sandinista!, the hypnotic groove of opening track “The Magnificent Seven” serves the dim tale of the average worker and the 7 hour workday of the capitalist cycle perfectly to your ears and memory with his poignant lyrical flow through lines like, “You can't be true, you can't be false / You'll be given the same reward,” regarding the fate of dissenters and those looking for a different way of life rid of the chains of imperialist capitalism like Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi. Sandinista!, a title homage to the Sandinista National Liberation Front, the now democratic socialist party in Nicaragua who led the resistance against the United States occupation of Nicaragua in the 1930’s, holds songs that share themes against imperialism and against war that was ravaging the planet at the time. Opening with a US Marines’ chant, track “The Call Up,” presents Strummer rejecting the notion of answering the call to war and giving one’s own life for the sake of an imperialist monarch as he chillingly reminds us, “For he who will die / Is he who will kill.” The following track, “Washington Bullets,” details the horrors of United States’ intervention in South America and the victims of the imperialist tentacles the United States spreads throughout the world with its smuggling of weapons to facilitate cocaine trade leading to increased violence in communities, where, “The killing clowns, the blood money men / Are shooting those Washington bullets again.” Strummer antagonizes the atrocities of all imperialist interests worldwide, including the Soviet Union’s impact in Afghanistan that left thousands of Afghan rebels and Russian troops dead, carrying his view that every imperialist is to blame for the tragedies of interests in capital around the world in the curt and clear lyrical phrase, “An' if you can find a Afghan rebel / That the Moscow bullets missed / Ask him what he thinks of voting communist.” Strummer brought stories to the mainstream of injustices occurring throughout the world in a time where entire information wasn’t as readily available through the propaganda ridden Western countries.
From the classic 1982 album Combat Rock, Strummer gives a searing performance over an invigorating cacophony of perfectly blended distorted guitars, and the kind of driving punk drum beat that makes you want to break something, in opening track battle cry, “Know Your Rights.” The track is a best representation of Strummer speaking directly to his audience as a voice of social justice in his explanation of the three freedoms given to the poor and disenfranchised, and his questioning of those rights’ validity in actual life. Strummer mocks the contradiction of the power the police hold to unjustly murder civilians without consequence while murder is a serious offense if commit by anyone else. Sarcastically bringing to light the invasive verification process of applying for government assistance and the stereotypes of recipients of these systems that supposedly serve the people, Strummer jokes that the recipient should be so lucky as to receive the right to eat, while hinting that really they would be better off had they simply not needed the help in the first place. Ending with our third right, Strummer shouts out that although we have the clearest right of all, to speak freely, we would be foolish to think that we actually do have the right to test the government under their rule. That if you speak against the those who hold the power, the hand of the state will strike down.
The reason I chose to end with this song and dissect it the furthest (I’ll include a track list of my favorite antifascist Strummer songs below) is not only because of its straightforward simplicity, but as I was listening to my Combat Rock record again this morning it hit me that it has been 40 years since this song came out, unlike how I had ever considered before. 40 years to me is a stretch of time I have yet to experience, 40 years ago I wasn’t even a distant thought to either of my parents. And yet, as Strummer encourages me through my speakers, I can feel the same venom coursing through my veins in my opposition to the rise of fascism in my own country as if I’m listening to this same album in a different living room in 1980. It rocked me to connect so deeply to a different time in history through lyrics and music, as if I had been transported through time. Therein, to me, lies the power of Joe Strummer’s lyrical talent. His messages still ring true today and his legacy lives on in fueling the fire beneath a young generation aching for change. RIP
Know Your Rights
Straight to Hell
Ghetto Defendant
The Magnificent Seven
The Call Up
Washington Bullets
Police On My Back
Clampdown
The Guns of Brixton
Complete Control
I’m So Bored with the USA
Tommy Gun
Career Opportunities
White Riot
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A Sleep-Deprived Journey of Batarians in Halfway Home
(or: the adventures of me in “Everything is problematic and I want to cry”)
(also I have lost count and I am not consistent in anything regarding these updates please bear with me)
I haven’t slept and I am exhausted, as in, globally. So of course I decided it would be the perfect time to write something about the daunting, complex and delicate process of weaving the batarian narrative in Halfway Home.
Because, of course, I have to be like that.
I’d say the “batarian subplot”, as I call it, is the biggest subplot of Halfway Home, and one of the more intricately connected. It is present in some capacity from the first chapter to the last, and it’s the story of three things:
the long, muted fall of an entire civilization (as in the games, so I’m not really counting it as spoiler?)
the narrative on said long, muted fall from the perspective of an outsider (namely Shlee, hi Shlee) shifting gradually as the picture gets more precise and nuanced
Khocress Kam’gestar and his fight against the entropy; to secure a new cultural identity and a new home for his gang, and the batarian people at large (and the ideological turmoil it causes him, hi Khocress)
This subplot is also extremely linked to the political subplots (mostly the growing human influence and its clashes with turian powers), the Omega subplot and who gets to rule that damn upside down edgy space rock. And the main plot as well, of course.
So. Batarians.
Honestly sometimes I wonder what the hell I was thinking trying to go deep in the intricacies of that culture and its horrifying course throughout the games. Because… So beware! the Spice, but batarians, as a “planet of hat” culture (which they very much are in the games)… is kind of not great to begin with? And I don’t mean “not great” diegetically to the Mass Effect world, because yes they are very much not great in-world: they are slavers, with a caste system, pirates, racists and dismissive of other species, involved in “human” trade, sort of sexists, the species by far the most associated with sexual assault canonically, thrive in gangs, terrorists, want to aggressively impose their culture on the civilized other species and ain’t that preposterous… Yeah, so what I mean is that batarians, as a concept, are not exactly… Woke(TM), if I may. While kind of hard to pinpoint as a shortcut to one singular culture, they evoke a narrative that isn’t new but remains vague enough to be used as a “conversation starter” without being too outrageous. Basically batarians, when compared to the expected demographic of the game (which I assume is “western” whatever that means), embody All Of The Bad Tropes coming hot out of the “non-white” hat of cultural shortcuts, except up-played to 11. Wow, I know, what a take right.
I don’t think it has been done out of malice at all. I think the goal, with batarians, was to create a species you could freely hate and shoot (and do a tiny genocide on) without feeling too bad about it. And creating guilt-free antagonists is kind of normal when you’re making a shooter game, especially one like Mass Effect that does everything it can for the player to feel empowered and right (and it evokes this feeling masterfully, which is crazy hard to do). The antagonism between batarians and humans create tension every time Shepard crosses path with one of them, especially if the player went the Colonist route. That’s actually pretty cool to maintain, and the contained aggressiveness with every Omega interaction in Mass Effect 2 makes for interesting momentum (and makes me sort of wish we had some greater batarian antagonist, because there was potential, videogame-wise). And Mass Effect 3 finally paints a little more nuance on this species as a group of people who lost everything (though it kind of paints it with its “congratulation you played yourself” light that we also have with asaris after the Reaper attack –really not a fan, but hey, self-righteousness feels deserved after 150+ hours poured in an RPG series, so good for Shepard I guess).
But yes, culture bias is unfortunate, so invoking racist stereotypes can be a shorthand to achieve diplomatic antagonism pretty fast with our human protagonist, even if unknowingly and with the best intentions in mind.
But now I’m stuck with this too, am I not.
So I got stuck with a lot of decisions from the trilogy since several years ago, the worst offender still and always the Cerberus plot on Omega, which I will never not whine about. But for some reason, I never fought the batarian characterization, and I tried to roll with it and go underneath what that characterization means. What such a culture would be about. Also: after thousands of years of cohabitation (they made contact 40 years after the Council was formed by salarians and asaris, which dates them as crazy old), how they have been reflected back and shaped by other cultures too. Why this crazy long time period had been shoved under the carpet in their characterization, their presence not even mentioned for several major wars, why krogans, while still quite vengeful as a whole, are apparently more deserving of progressive empathy (at least in the way it’s shown) than batarians enslaved by their own kind and unable to leave their propaganda-fueled homeworld on the verge of economic collapse. There is a lot to unpack, a lot under the surface, and I get a sense of disconnect between the simplicity of their portrayal and the complexity of their reality in this world. I guess this is what drove me to them, in part.
So the task was to lay down the story of their fall. Cool.
But with a material so deeply flawed to begin with, it’s very hard to do right. Calling it up right now: I am bound to mess up somehow, because this very narrative is so connoted. I don’t know if there is a name for the trope of the Fatally Flawed Culture, the Unsavable Morally Doomed Civilization, but as much as I dance around the idea that the problem is not with what their culture had become but with the system that put them in that position in the first place, the slip is so very easy to make, especially given their proto-fascist ways. Also how easy it is to shove in some taste of White Savior, even without meaning to, even actively fighting against it, especially when the POV isn’t part of said culture (though Shlee doesn’t save anyone, barely his own ass, and mess up quite incredibly every time he attempts to meddle with a culture he believes really hard he understands and belongs to, honestly). Also, well. Batarian culture is flawed, it is part of their characterization, and washing them off as pure and unproblematic wouldn’t be very helpful either, nor would it be interesting. Victimization is as dehumanizing as blind antagonism. And then, and that comes with how the games sets them up in the narrative: their story is a downward spiral by essence. And this display of tragedy is kind of used, in the games, as a way to get the player to feel that maybe they deserve a little empathy after all. In a story that flips the switch to put the spotlight on their perspective and still maintains the systemic horror of their narrative arc, how do you avoid trauma porn, miserabilism?
I don’t have a perfect solution, obviously. One of my attempts is to multi-facet this whole situation as much as possible, with as much batarian faces as I can fit them in, but then you don’t want to bloat the story either, and then you contrast the pain with anger, and the anger can be horrifying, and another problematic problem in itself (I’m going to dubious places involving some batarian characters, and it’s kind of overwhelming, and also necessary but also kind of a never ending swarm of questions and double guesses, but welp ain’t no way I’m not getting canceled over something in this puddle of hot mess). Hope too, of course, but again, keep the message clear, don’t bloat the story. But hope, still. Somewhere.
All of that convoluted, sleep-deprived post served only to deliver this message: batarians are a mess to get right. They come packaged as a mess, are a mess to work through, and I have very little hope for them not to still be a mess at the end of the road. I will try. They deserve as much.
Who said writing fanfiction was easy again.
#writing#batarians#Mass Effect#mass effect critical#critical#personal#halfway home#khocress#shlee#how does one be sensitive and sound with such a loaded problematic premice#a question for the ages#(or at least a question for me right now)
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Animal Farm (1945) — George Orwell
112 pages
One of Orwell’s best works and definitely more on the nose with its agenda than 1984, Animal Farm quickly establishes the status quo of the farm and the hierarchy of the animals within it. We are presented with clear leaders within their ranks and a dream of a better future governed among the animals and not the farmer and their overnight takeover of the farm. It is in large a depiction of how the ideals of communism fall apart once an individual becomes more powerful than the ideals the society was founded on. The breakdown of their rules is done by rewriting their past and changing the collective memory, making it easier to control their citizens through propaganda. Animal Farm remains a relevant novel, and its short length makes it perfect for an afternoon or evening read.
The Triggering Town (1979) — Richard Hugo
109 pages
As the subtitle says, Hugo’s book is a combination of lectures and essays on poetry, detailing much of his own biography alongside writing suggestions. While I feel that chapters 1,3,5, and 7 are the most helpful for any practical advice, the book as a whole is an interesting look into times of academia past that we can compare to our present attitudes and approaches in the classroom.
Here’s a small selection of exercises and quotes (some paraphrased for space’s sake) on poetry writing:
“Every moment, I am, without wanting or trying to, telling you to write like me. But I hope you learn to write like you…If I say something that helps, good. If what I say is of no help, let it go,” (Chapter 1) *a good perspective to remember when reading any writing advice or taking any writing class.
Try writing a poem in which you:
-Take someone you know well and trust to a city they don’t know, but you do.
-Describe it with confidence.
-Pick out things in the world before you, point them out.
-Write as if you received some news earlier in the day that set your tone of speech. (Chapter 1)
Once you have an idea of the “town,” or subject you want to write about, write under an assumption. Here are a few examples from the book:
“The inhabitants are natives and have lived there forever. I am the only stranger.”
“I am eighty-nine and grumpy but with enormous presence and wisdom.”
“The annual picnic is a failure. No one has a good time.”
“The air is still all week except on Sunday afternoons when the wind blows.”
“No one dies, makes love or ages.” (Chapter 3)
A professor reading poetry collections from many different writers to students can help them figure out what they like and dislike, or help “train the ear,” to find those sounds that appeal to them that they can introduce into their own writing. “In poetry, the big things tend to take care of themselves,” aka the big themes of the poems that young writers are often caught up in, “But little matters like that are what make and break poems.” (Chapter 4)
“When rewriting, write the entire poem again. If something has gone wrong deep in the poem, you may have taken a wrong turn earlier.” (Chapter 5)
“Read your poem aloud many times. If you don’t enjoy it every time, something may be wrong.” (Chapter 5)
Upon hearing a classmate read an essay aloud before the class about a traumatic and embarrassing incident that happened to them:
“…we had just heard a special moment in a person’s life, offered in honesty and generosity, and we better damn well appreciate it…You are someone and you have a right to your life…When we are told in dozens of insidious ways that our lives don’t matter, we may be forced to insist, all too loudly, that they do… That anyone or anything says they are not important is vivid proof that they are.” (Chapter 6)
Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019) — Lana Del Rey
14 tracks, 1 hour & 7 minutes
While I highly recommend listening to Lana’s new album as a whole, at least on the first listen through, here are my summaries of some of my favorite tracks:
-Norman Fucking Rockwell — The title track comes in as a primer for the rest of the album, a retrospective look at a past relationship. Lana sings of having a lover you can’t change and who you only realize later was bad for you when you are no longer blinded by your love.
-Doin Time — A cover that maintains Sublime’s original hit and its essential 90’s sound, while meshing perfectly with Lana’s signature haunting vocals.
-Venice Bitch — An incredible 9-minute acoustic ballad detailing the struggle of wanting that true “Hallmark” love and the transition to finding that love.
-Love Song — Taking place in a car seemingly amid a breakup, Del Rey stating that she has fallen apart lately, but is still holding onto the hope that her lover can see the true her through it all. She sings of doing anything to hold onto their love, but it is tinged with hopelessness and the feeling that this love is already gone.
-The greatest — A reflection on her past and the things she longs for amidst her feelings of burnout, and her desperate need for a “wakeup call,” whatever that may be.
-Happiness is a butterfly — Every night, when the music ends and she’s alone, she feels a low she just can’t shake. She knows she cannot always have that high that she feels on stage and that love is the only thing that can fill the void. Even when the love is bad, it is still better than feeling nothing.
-Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have — Lana knows that music makes her feel a great happiness, but that she feels she can only create art from her pain and suffering. She knows that it will be an uphill battle, but holds out hope that she can change despite it all.
Spotlight (2015)
2 hours & 9 minutes
The film Spotlight depicts the trials of not only navigating the politics of the press, but the tendency of a society to fight against change and maintain the status quo. Even though everyone involved with the catholic church and with covering up the scandals knew that it was wrong and that children would continue to be hurt, they kept the scandals to themselves or settled out of court instead of going public because it would cause a rift in their community. As they state repeatedly in the film, areas with troubled youth and broken families are especially hit hard. In poorer communities, like those focused on in Boston, many vulnerable people turn to religion as an escape and for a sense of hope. In these situations, the young are all too often the victims of adults, both in the occurrence of the sexual abuse and by those around them who would encourage them to keep it to themselves. While at times the two-hour film seems to lack in pacing, it is definitely an accurate portrayal of how slowly justice moves and how many people have to be hurt and team up together before anything can maybe, possibly, be done to stop it.
#weekly 4#mzashleypie#reviews#lana del rey#norman fucking rockwell#spotlight#the triggering town#richard hugo#animal farm#george orwell#creative writing#poetry#writing exercise#poetry prompt#writing advice#books#movies#film review#film#new music#ashley robles
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Social Media isn’t Life! Or is it? - By Maurice Finley
Do you remember what life was like before social media and the internet? I do not either but I am still curious to find out. This blog explores how social media’s influence has shifted the way our society communicates and interacts with one another. In addition, social media has become more than just a platform for friends to stay connected or a way to meet new people. For some, it has become apart of live that is essential to survival. The long-term effects of social media’s presence have contributed to the success of thousands while also being detrimental to many others.
I bring about this topic because on March 13th instagram and facebook went down for an entire day, not allowing users access the app across the globe to. This caused utter chaos on the internet with many users running to twitter to express their frustrations and get their daily dosage of social media consumption. I was completely unaware of the havoc that was happening across the internet because I never use Facebook and on this day I did not attempt to use Instagram. Celebrities such as Cardi B used the outage as an opportunity to troll her fans by posting on Twitter that she had dropped a big surprise on Instagram and encouraging them to check it out. She later posted on Twitter as her alter ego Evil Genius Bardi informing people that she was only kidding. The instagram outage accounted for 50% of Twitter’s trending hashtags, which must suck to twitter given their glory was short lived because the very next day Instagram and Facebook was back up and running smoothly allowing people to resort back to their normal lives.
Have people become totally dependent on social media? Probably not but many have become unhealthily addicted. Before Instagram, Snapchat, and everything else that makes use of a camera, I do not recall feeling a pressing need to take a picture of my lunch or my freshly groomed haircut. I just ate my lunch and admired my fresh cut and enjoyed the sunset. Why do we make these posts? Because we want people to say how awesome our lunch and our hair and our sunsets look. Before, if one person had said in passing, “Damn, I see you bust down!” I’d have been like “You see me, thanks!” and felt great for the rest of the day. Now if only one person gives someone a “like,” they are convinced that they look like ass and the rest of the world hates them. In this day and age people have become too concerned with gaining acceptance from others and forgotten that self-acceptance is vastly more important than another person opinions.
Every single person I know besides my great aunt uses social media platforms or at least the internet to consume content. Many of them also use social media as their primary means of communication. My grandmother sends me chain letters everyday and recently I informed her that the vast majority… No all of them are filled with fake promises. I tried my best to encourage her not believe the claims of chain letters or fake news and she eventually stopped sending them to me. This only persisted for about a few days before eventually began to send me these senseless messages again. It hurts me to say this, but I had to block my grandmother on Facebook. I know I am the worst kind of person and should be ashamed of myself, but can you really blame me? Facebook is so full of bullshit that I can filter out with my experience but for those of us who are not as aware of fraudulent messages and propaganda can easily fall victim to nonsense.
I cannot imagine how bad my life would suck without the social media or the internet but I have come to realize that for many it has become their lives. The recent Instagram outage was a wakeup call for many as the new #shutdown challenge is trending on social media platforms. The purpose of this challenge is to encourage people to step away from social media and give more time to achieving goals manifesting dreams. I think this is great way to help many people refocus their priorities. I would participate in the challenge and encourage others to participate but my grade is currently dependent on me using social media.
https://www.complex.com/music/2019/03/cardi-b-messed-fans-evil-genius-bardi-instagram-outage
https://www.business2community.com/social-media/different-generations-use-social-media-apps-02024237
https://www.scarymommy.com/life-before-social-media/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2019/03/14/facebook-outage-what-did-you-miss-when-social-network-went-down/3161799002/
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Glen Coco’s Top 10 Films of 2020
This has been the weirdest damn year for film--and basically everything else--we’ve ever witnessed. Theatres closed, re-opened, then closed again; dozens of films were postponed, and no one knew where to watch the ones that weren’t. I didn’t see nearly as many films as I usually do and, even so, the selection was relatively underwhelming. Nevertheless, there were still some good pictures released, so, as always, I’m sharing my top ten films of 2020 plus a bonus track...there’s always a bonus track.
#10b. (Bonus Track) Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Director: Jason Woliner
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova
On the surface, Sacha Baron Cohen’s characters may seem utterly absurd and childish--and maybe they are--but, the genius behind them is their ability to reveal the ignorance of the people he encounters and make you question where the true absurdity lies. Cohen accomplishes this yet again, even if this sequel isn’t quite as fresh as its 2006 predecessor. Yet, in the United States of 2020, ravaged as much by asinine politicians, disgraceful racism and dangerous conspiracy theories as by the actual Covid pandemic, Borat is an entirely welcome presence. He makes all the right people look as wrong as they should, especially former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani who’s caught red-handed in a compromising position opposite a very young girl, thus exacerbating his epic fall from grace while reaffirming Cohen’s brilliance.
#10. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Director: George C. Wolfe
Starring: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman
Despite my initial ambivalence, this movie has lingered in my mind for months and that’s always a good sign. Set almost entirely in one location, a 1920s Chicago recording studio, and focusing heavily on a group of musicians shooting the breeze in its basement while their demanding singer talks business with the big wigs upstairs, seemingly nothing much happens and, yet, everything happens; dreams are envisioned, pain is recalled, ideas are shared and, of course, music is made. Those elements are enhanced by the film’s stellar technical features from the production design, to the costumes to the hair & makeup. Yet, it’s the performers who steal the show, which is expected from Viola Davis but a pleasant surprise from Chadwick Boseman who, sadly, gives his final performance. The late actor saved his best for last playing a young trumpeter whose ambitions are constantly hindered by his inability to let go of his tragic past.
#9. The Way Back
Director: Gavin O’Connor
Starring: Ben Affleck
For those of you with the misconception that Ben Affleck is a bad actor, you might want to watch The Way Back in which he plays a former high school basketball star and current alcoholic who’s dealing with the death of his child and separation from his wife when he’s asked to coach his former team. Sure, this covers familiar ground, but it does so better than similar films, finessing the more predictable aspects, adding some welcome touches and treating the subject matter with the respect and seriousness it deserves. The basketball takes a backseat to the character drama here, so the film’s quality relies heavily on the performance of Affleck which might be his best to date; he makes his character’s inebriation so convincing you can practically smell the beer on his breath. And you hope to God he gets the help he so desperately needs.
Full Review: https://thefilmsnob.tumblr.com/post/613090953214001152/the-way-back-12-out-of-5
#8. News of the World
Director: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel
This is a film we need right now for several reasons, not least of which being we get to spend two hours with ‘America’s Dad’ Tom Hanks, a decent, honourable man playing another decent, honourable man in 1870 who encounters a strange young girl on the road near an overturned wagon and promises to return her to her remaining family. With Hanks’s character Jefferson Kidd traveling from town to town reading the newspaper for its citizens, this is also a timely film, stressing the importance of a free and fair press as opposed to the propaganda that saturated the Trump administration and his favourite news outlet. An unusually--yet refreshingly--straightforward and old-fashioned Western for 2020, its highlights include a climactic exchange between adult and child, made so effectively tender with such minimal effort by Hanks, as well as a meticulously crafted chase and shootout sequence at the halfway point, directed with optimal tension and clarity by the great Paul Greengrass.
#7. Nomadland
Director: Chloe Zhao
Starring: Frances McDormand
It’s about time we start including Frances McDormand in lists of greatest actors. In Nomadland, in which she plays a wanderer of sorts who’s lost her husband to cancer and her company town to a poor economy, her performance transcends labels like ‘realistic’ or ‘natural’ and arrives at a place that doesn’t feel like performance at all. She blends in seamlessly with a cast of real nomads playing themselves, living out of vans in the western US, as unconstrained by societal norms as the film itself is by conventional story arcs. We want to see this minimalist lifestyle, which includes seasonal Amazon warehouse gigs and long nights in a freezing cold van, as depressing or unfulfilling, but writer/director/producer/editor (Jesus!) Chloe Zhao dares us to admire both the freedom and sense of community formed among this nomadic subculture. Cinematographer Joshua James Richards also plays with our expectations, bathing the screen in soothing blues and purples, transforming the unremarkable landscape into a thing of beauty.
#6. Da 5 Bloods
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Norm Lewis
In Da 5 Bloods, writer/director Spike Lee deviates from his usual urban American setting to explore the tropical forests of Vietnam, but his focus remains fixed on the African American experience, their plight and search for justice. His subjects are a group of Vietnam War vets who reunite in present day Ho Chin Minh City to retrieve a cache of gold bars left behind some 50 years prior, originally part of a political transaction, as we see in appropriately grainy 4:3 full screen flashbacks. The reason for this mission is more righteous than a simple payday, but Lee refuses to paint these complex characters with the same brush--there’s even a MAGA in the bunch!--nor does he oversimplify the film’s profound issues. A genre-defying work, Da 5 Bloods is a character study, social commentary, war picture and action/adventure flick all rolled into one with some truly shocking developments and one of the finest casts of the year. How Delroy Lindo was denied an Oscar nomination for his volatile performance is beyond me.
#5. Promising Young Woman
Director: Emerald Fennell
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie
In one of the most unique films of the year, Carey Mulligan delivers a brave, bold and beautiful performance as Cassie, a woman with a tragic past who spends her weekends at the club pretending to be blackout drunk, only to shame and humiliate the sleazy men who try to take advantage. Writer/director Emerald Fennell does a masterful job at peeling back the layers of this dark revenge tale ever so gradually to reveal Cassie’s true motives while rebuking, not just society’s abhorrent offenders, but those enablers and silent bystanders who try to hide behind a flimsy shroud of innocence. Benefiting from one of the sharpest screenplays of the year and a fitting score, Promising Young Woman never ceases to ramp up the tension, a strategy that culminates in a shocking final sequence which is at once disturbing and satisfying. It’ll all leave you guessing until the final, brilliant shot.
#4. The Invisible Man
Director: Leigh Whannell
Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid
Originally conceived as part of the ill-fated ‘Dark Universe’--Universal Pictures’ planned movie franchise featuring its classic monsters--and starring Johnny Depp, The Invisible Man was drastically retooled and produced as a stand-alone film with a modernized story. And like so many horror projects of the last decade, it’s refreshingly inspired and well-crafted with a deeper purpose than merely spooking its audience, though it succeeds at that as well. Writer/director Leigh Whannell uses this movie and the fearless performance of the great Elisabeth Moss to examine abusive partners and their persistent hold on their lovers-turned-victims long after the relationship has collapsed. Moss is stunning as usual, portraying an already traumatized woman trying desperately to convince everyone she’s not going crazy as well, even though that’s exactly how it looks. Equally impressive is the restraint by the filmmakers who use the ‘invisible’ effects sparingly yet strategically, creatively and, ultimately, very effectively, making every scare plausible and entirely earned.
#3. Sound of Metal
Director: Darius Marder
Starring: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci
In a world in which people are complaining about losing their freedom because they have to wear a simple mask to save lives, it’s good to see a film that shows what real loss looks like. If you can’t imagine being a heavy metal drummer who suddenly goes deaf, writer/director Darius Marder spells it out for you in big, bold, sorrow-inducing letters. He’s aided by Riz Ahmed giving possibly the best performance of the year as a man who, on the surface, tries desperately to hold on to his life and passion while, deep down, he knows that’s impossible. Sound of Metal is a tender and heartbreaking yet hopeful story, but what’s even more effective than the film’s dramatic presentation is its remarkable sound design. At times, characters sign to each other amidst ambient noise. Other times, the sound is muffled as if we’re putting our ears up to a wall and hearing a fraction of the dialogue from the other side. And, less frequently, when Ruben’s condition is at its worst, we hear nothing at all. Just complete and terrifying silence…which speaks volumes.
Full Review: https://thefilmsnob.tumblr.com/post/647329085467574272/sound-of-metal-out-of-5
#2. The Trial of the Chicago 7
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Mark Rylance, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch, Frank Langella, Michael Keaton, etc, etc, etc...
Aaron Sorkin could write about two accountants conducting a routine audit and make it absolutely absorbing. So, imagine what he does with a courtroom drama about the volatile situation surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the group of anti-Vietnam War protestors accused of inciting riots at the event. Now an accomplished director too, Sorkin organizes all the moving pieces involved with style and grace while deploying his famously kinetic dialogue. With those lines coming from the mouths of his stellar cast, it’s hard not to hang on their every word and be invested completely in their struggle. I could listen to Mark Rylance’s showstopping line-reading of the simple phrase, “No, he doesn’t!”, all day and never get tired of it. Among its many achievements, The Trial of the Chicago 7 deftly navigates heavy topics like police brutality, unpopular wars and a corrupt justice system, showing just how little things have changed in the last 50 years.
#1. Palm Springs
Director: Max Barbakow
Starring: Cristin Milioti, Andy Samberg, J.K. Simmons
Anyone who knows me may be surprised by this pick, but here we are. Nothing makes sense these days. We’re all as confused and anxious about life as Sarah and Nyles are at a wedding in Palm Springs. Despite what the title suggests, the film doesn’t follow a group of horny teens getting up to shenanigans in the famous resort town, but if I describe the actual plot in depth, I may spoil the fun. I will say these characters seem to be reliving the same events over and over again. What’s so impressive about this film is that, although it repeats itself, it never feels repetitive. The twists and turns, the absurd hilarity blended with bracing poignancy, ensure our unwavering focus on this briskly paced little gem. Yet, it’s the irresistible chemistry between the two leads, played by the equally irresistible Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg, that forms the glue that holds it all together, whether they’re pulling off childish pranks, discussing their unusual sex lives or debating the very meaning of life. I’m telling you, this movie has everything: comedy, drama, romance, science-fiction (?!), J.K. Simmons, several weddings, an inflatable pizza slice, dinosaurs, a crossbow and colourful beer cans and summer wear that seem destined to become iconic.
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LOSER'S BRACKET SEMI FINALS! MATCH 1 OUT OF 2
Propaganda Under the Cut:
Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary
General Propaganda:
come on just look at her shes so fucking cool
SHES SOOOOOOOO FUCKING COOOOLL ok so like. Lobotomy Corporation takes place in an SCP type facility where a bunch of abnormalities are living. She is one of them. She is a mostly undying humanoid creature that lives for the sole sake of hunting down the Big And Will Be Bad Wolf. She lives in your facility and will BREAK OUT of her containment if she feels that the wolf is near (or if too many people are dying). You can also hire her to assist you in taking down other abnormalities, and she's actually super good at it. And her outfit is just so sooo sick? She's so cool. Please play Lobotomy Corporation it goes on sale for like $7 every Steam Sale
She's red riding hood if red riding hood had a gun. Also she kisses women
Monster based on human subconscious aka an Abnormality based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood (duh). In this story, she was mauled by the wolf (Big And Might Be Bad Wolf) who is based on all fairy tale wolf villains. Little Red then got to work plotting her revenge and making Bloodborne-esque gear for herself and the two Abnos are locked in eternal combat of hatred for one another
She's literally the coolest, just look at her. For people who might not be so familiar with her: She's one of the abnormalities that remain locked in the Lobotomy Corporation. Her past is somewhat unclear, but she has some horrid scars on her face due to the Big Bad Wolf and she swore vengeance upon him because of that incident. This lead her to become a mercenary and she looks 1000% scarier and more badass than the wolf lol. Also, asides from the fact that she may kill half of your team if she escapes containment, she is quite chill and will even help you take care of your problems if you pay her.
little red riding hood but consumed by vengeance to the point of becoming an anomalous creature hellbent on completing her eternal battle with the wolf. intense desire for revenge. baller as fuck design. will help you kill other escaping abnormalities but you gotta pay her to do it. gets pissed off every time someone escapes containment except for that one annoying bird for absolutely no discernible reason. if you let her kill the wolf she gives you bonuses but if someone else kills the wolf she goes fucking bananas. truly an inspired feral creature of a woman.
Go girl!!! We love your unrestrained violence!
She is literally the absolute coolest!!! I mean, just look at her design! Everything about it screams fucking cool! Not to mention that her story has themes of vengeance, rage, and grief!!! And Lobotomy corporation is just the fucking best and soooooo underrated.
She's starting to fall behind so GO ON AND VOTE MERC WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! (and buy Lobotomy Corp on steam it's not even that expensive!)
Vote for Riding Hooded Mercenary she's an Abnormality serving as a hired merc that means shes a hunter of her own kind and she WILL chase them to the ends of earth lest she dies herself or knows that damn Wolf is nearby. The cursor for sending hits on something is a wanted poster. She's WAW-classed too, a step below the most dangerous category for her ilk. she shares the class with things such as insane-ass magical girls, an eyeless flower horse turns people into wisteria gardens, fucked up and evil Little Prince, a bird judge that hangs its victims, the now-animate poisoned apple that killed Snow White, and of course the Wolf itself.
Loser's Bracket Propaganda:
little red wouldve gone so so hard if she wasnt against ylfa immediately… victory for our mercenary gal.
Riding Hooded Merc is a bonafide baddie & professional
She;s so fucking cool. almost got murdered by the wolf (also in lobcorp by the way) and she wants revenge so bad. cool as hell mercenary. also just look at her come on
I feel that they all deserve a bit more recognition as just about every Little Red Riding Hood is remembered for their story, but not their character. And I believe that the few I selected are truly well rounded characters, and amazing takes on who the character is.
the Lobotomy Corp one I know nothing about but who has a sick design (I also want the fans of this one to have a win because I liked watching the first round because of them)
Bugs Bunny
General Propaganda:
So the story is that the Three Little Pigs sell Bugs their straw and wood houses, the Big Bad Wolf blows them down, and Bugs decides to get revenge - by dressing himself up as Little Red Riding Hood, getting the Wolf to play his part in that story, and then messing with him as only Bugs can. Here's the video if you've never seen it: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6vk41x
Bugs Bunny is an icon and he was so good for his role in this short. When he and the wolf realized they could work together against the pigs... oh my God. Come on Tumblr, you have to admit they had a little gay tension between them. Besides, at the end, when the brick house comes down and the wolf, so surprised and proud of himself exclaims "I did it!" and then it pans over to Bugs with the bomb and he slyly adds "We did it!" communist Bugs canon.
I love Bugs but badass little girls with the personality of a gruff action heroes are everything to 12 year old girls.
Loser's Bracket Propaganda:
Bugs Bunny winning would just be really funny
#red riding poll#loser's bracket#loser's bracket semi finals#little red riding hooded mercenary#f-01-57#lobotomy corporation#bugs bunny#windblown hare#looney tunes#red riding hood#little red riding hood#fairytale#poll tournament#poll bracket#polls#character polls
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Prompt: Beach
Drabble Prompt: Royai for #20: Beach
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“Can I get you a refill on your coffee?”
Roy tried to not appear too eager or look like he was staring at her, but having Riza hovering over him with a smile on his face made his heart beat faster and his mouth go dry. He looked up at her, bright beautiful brown eyes and a warm smile directed at him...yet not him. She didn't recognize him at all but he wasn't going to dwell on that. “Yes, please.”
She carefully poured another cup of coffee for her customer and then checked his cream and sugar to make sure he was well stocked. “What else can I get for you? Have you decided?”
He realized that he hadn't even looked at the menu yet. “Uh...”
“I'm sorry, I can't help but think you look familiar.” Riza studied his face as he looked up at her. He was cute...no he was downright gorgeous. This had to sound like some kind of pick up line, but she felt like she knew his face.
Roy's heart skipped a beat. Hoping that seeing him had brought back a rush of memories.
“Oh...you look like that guy in that movie.” Riza said and put the coffee pot down on the table as it was starting to get too hot to hold. “The Flame Alchemist movie.”
And Roy's heart sank. She was mistaking him for the actor who played him in that damned propaganda film?
“Have you seen it?” Riza asked. “I've seen it a few times, the special effects and story is are good.”
“I don't watch war movies.” Roy said simply. He should have been excited she was compelled to see that damned film, maybe she felt it was familiar in some way, but he just was heartbroken that she had no idea who he was.
Riza looked at him, specifically the uniform he was wearing. Oh god. He was a soldier and from the veterans she had serves here she knew that war movies were not something they watched for fun. “Oh...my god...I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to...”
“It's fine.” Roy said quickly and gave her a cheesy smile to brighten the mood. She must have mistook his expression for one of disgust with the notion of watching the film, not some damned actor being who she thought of when she saw Roy Mustang on screen. “I'd love to hear about it if you liked it that much. Perhaps when you get off work?”
Riza blushed. Sure customers asked her out a lot, but there was something about him that seemed genuine. Not like the gross older men who came by every day. “I'm afraid I'm not a great conversationalist.”
Roy tried to act casual, but he was nervous he'd scare her off and risk losing her again. He forced himself to smile despite his nerves. “I'm enjoying this conversation.”
She bit her lip. “Why, are you avoid work or something?”
He gave her a genuine smile. “We are allowed lunch breaks, you know.”
“Speaking of, are you going to order something or not?” She asked. “My boss is going to wonder why I'm not taking care of other customers.”
“Will you let me take you to lunch?” Roy asked. “Perhaps you can take a break? Looks like business is dying down a little.”
“It will be if I leave and go eat somewhere else.” She said and picked up her coffee pot.
She was getting ready to leave. Dammit. Roy quickly said, “I'll pay for the most expensive thing on the menu, your boss can keep the food. I'd very much like to try the food vendor over by the beach and would like to continue this conversation over where we aren't being watched and in danger of reprimand.”
“Well....”
Roy knew when he was going to be shot down, especially by her. He quickly added, “I have a dog. He had to stay outside and I hate leaving him out there.”
Riza paused and then looked through the window to see an adorable Shiba Inu with his paws on the glass staring in at her. She smiled. “I love dogs.”
Roy felt the warmth in his heart again and pulled his wallet out. He placed a handful of Cenz on the table and moved to drink his coffee quickly.
“Ok.” She said and wrote up a bill and took his money to put in the till. She took off her apron and walked over to he cafe owner, “Can I take a break?”
“Mmmm.” The owner said and looked the military officer up and down and grinned. A “Break”. “Sure. Will 15 minutes be enough?”
Riza huffed. She wished she could find a job somewhere else but that was hard without an ID or even knowledge of who she was. This place paid her under the table and she was at least able to afford to rent a small room and eat here for free. “I'll be back in 15.”
“Enjoy.”
Roy waited for her outside and Hayate was a bundle of energy, it was the first time he had seen his Mom in three months. Three months of Riza missing and finally Ed and Al had found her in this resort town. They had strict instructions to gather intel and report back to him and he was amazed they obeyed. Where Hawkeye was concerned they always obeyed. He turned as she came out of the cafe with her purse and a smile on her face. It was so good to see her again and before he could bask in the glow of her smile, Hayate stole her attention away.
“He's adorable!!” Riza said as she bent down and the black dog almost jumped in her arms. “Is he always so happy to meet new people?”
“He's a military dog...” Roy said softly as he watched Hayate jump up on Riza until she scooped him up in her arms and held him. The dog had waited by the door for her to come home for three months while he slept on the couch waiting to hear his tail thump as an announcement of her arrival. In the office, he sat by her desk and watched the door. Now he was acting like her puppy again and he was jealous that he was able to run up to her and nuzzle her like that. “He's usually well behaved.”
Riza smiled. “He's such a good boy!”
“His name is Black Hayate.” Roy couldn't help but smile. Hayate looked at him and just dared him to tell her to put him down. “Well, shall we get lunch?”
Riza felt the dog lean into her as she went to put him down and thought better of it. He seemed to be enjoying the attention and she doubted his owner carried him around everywhere so she took the opportunity to spoil him a little. They crossed the street and walked to the boardwalk where vendors were selling food. Once they were there she put him down and while she was petting him the gentleman she was dining with placed an order for both of them. She realized she knew the dogs name but not the man she was going on this lunch date with. She was slightly embarrassed by that but when she stood up to walk over to him, something caught her eye.
There had been instances where she would see something and it would cause her to focus on it and struggle to remember why she would find it important. She didn't know why that movie she kept going to see meant so much to her or why that man over on the bench made her feel tense. Since her arrival here three months ago she had struggled to find out who she was and if she was missed by someone, but had no choice other than to settle in to a temporary life to keep herself housed and fed. So when things struck a nerve she tried so damned hard to not get frustrated with herself for not understanding why.
However that man on the bench reading the newspaper....he was dangerous. She knew that somehow. She pick up the dog and walked over to the officer who she came here with. “I can't tell you why, but I think that man over on the bench is planning to do something bad and...we have to stop him.”
Roy put his food down and tried to not look in the man's direction. “What's he doing?”
“Watching.”
“Us?”
“No.” She said and looked at the suspicious man's eyes. He wasn't reading the paper, he was looking over it to the beach. “He's looking out at someone on the beach.”
Roy looked up and scanned the beach for familiar faces. Then he saw them, General Hakuro's family. Of course! Bald's gang never gave up going after the man and Hakuro's last vacation had been ruined so he replanned it. He picked up the food he bought and turned to Riza, even if she didn't know who she was she couldn't stop being herself. “Does it look like he has a gun?”
“I can't tell.” She said and looked under the bench. Her heart rate escalated. “He has a bomb!”
Roy dropped the food as Riza ran over to the bell on the boardwalk used to alert the lifeguards to drowning victims. This beach was popular, but many city dwellers had no experience swimming and often found themselves in trouble. Using local citizens to help spot struggling people saved a lot of lives. She struck the bell with one hand and held Hayate in the other, jumping to action without waiting on him.
“BOMB! Clear the Boardwalk! Clear the beach!! BOMB!”
Roy almost lost visual of her as people started to run everywhere, including their suspect. He was more concerned about clearing the area, getting them somewhere safe he could figure out a way to use alchemy to keep the impact of the bomb minimal. She ran over to her, grabbed her by the waist and they dashed towards a bathhouse as the bomb went off.
Riza's ears were ringing as her soldier threw her into the bathhouse. The building took the brunt of the explosion but tiles came loose and fell on top of them...no him. He was hunched over her, protecting her. She still held onto his dog until the debris stopped falling. Then he was up and spinning back towards the door, taking something out of his pocket. She set the dog down and tapped his shoulder and pointed to his gun. She needed it...and didn't even know why.
Roy handed it to her without question and put his gloves on. He held up a finger signifying she needed to wait on him and then pointed forward when the dust settled. Together the emerged from the bathhouse to a shattered boardwalk and utter devastation in the blast radius. He held his hand up, ready to attack if needed.
The gloves he wore....were from the movie. The Flame Alchemist movie. Was this guy for real or was he just a joke? No...his actions said he was real, this was not a situation anyone could easily play a part in. This wasn't an act. Riza looked around and saw the casualties. People walking by, some crying...some in shock and walking away with debris lodged in their bodies. She held up the gun and her hearing got better. This wasn't a situation anyone could play a part in, this wasn't an act for her either. She knew what to do. “We need a medic. We need to get these people help.”
“We need to make sure the area is cleared before we bring in first responders.” Roy said.
Riza tasted the sulfur in the air, from the bomb. She looked around and felt like this was familiar....not the location but the act of destruction. She looked at a man with a wood splinter from a bench in leg and didn't flinch. Then she looked at the gun she had in her hand and the man beside her who had given it to her like he knew her. “You know who I am.”
“Yes.” Roy replied.
“Am I good or bad?” She asked. This knowledge she had, the feelings he had when she saw something wrong about to happen....it could go either way. She had no idea what kind of person she was.
“It's not a movie, Riza. It's more complicated than the hero and the villain.” Roy said. “You're my hero though and we are trying to do some good in this world.”
She felt her hand shake a little. There was something in the way he said that that made her move closer to him, want to protect him. She felt safe by him. “Why are you here? To find me or that man?”
“To find you.” Roy said and they walked closer to the obliterated food cart where they were standing a few minutes earlier. Help was arriving. Local police and paramedics were filtering in. “You disappeared on a mission. You went undercover. I've been looking for you for three months.”
“Was I here to find this man with the bomb?”
“No.” Roy said and looked down at the empty beach and the people trying to help each other in the aftermath of this attack. “This event is entirely unrelated. You're over a hundred miles from where you should have been. “
“Who am I?”
“Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye.” Roy said and finally looked at her. “You're in that movie about me. The movie about the Flame Alchemist. The movie however is a load of propaganda and bullshit that is meant to glorify a war we were definitely not the good guys in and that movie has stirred up a lot of bad sentiments that had been laid to rest. So this attack, is one of many in this region.”
“What happened that I can't remember?” She asked.
“I don't know.” He whispered. “And I don't care because you're alive and back with me.”
“COLONEL!”
Roy sighed. It was like Ed was drawn to destruction like a magnet. He was running over to the boardwalk and about to interrupt them. “Yes Fullmetal?”
Ed and Al scampered up and stared at Hawkeye, afraid to ask. Ed finally just blurted out, “Can we do anything?”
“Did you chase after the bomber?”Roy asked.
“How the hell was I supposed to know there was a bomber?” Ed snapped.
“Did you offer to protect General Hakuro and his family?” was Roy's next question.
“What!? That idiot is taking another vacation in a town that hates him?” Ed put his hands on his hips. “Maybe you should let them have him, he's a horrible General.”
Roy sighed. “Help with the casualties.”
“I don't have medical training!” Ed replied.
“Lieutenant?” Al asked and touched Hawkeye's shoulder to signify he was addressing her. “Are you Ok?”
Riza nodded and wondered why there was a boy inside a suit of armor. Then she looked at the dewy eyes of the short one and to the dog sitting beside her. Who were these kids? “I don't remember anything. I'm sure it will pass. We need to help these people, there is nothing that can be done for me right now.”
“Roy!”
Roy cringed. Hughes was here. How was Hughes here?
“Yo! Roy!” Maes made his way over, though the destruction and past a few gurneys being rolled out with injured people. “Hakuro is safe. Armstrong got the bomber.”
“What are you doing here?” Roy hissed and Maes came up and smiled at him.
“Hakuro makes terrible decisions. I figured he'd end up the subject of another assassination attempt.” Maes shrugged. “How the hell that guy made general with such terrible situation awareness is beyond me.”
“I know, right?” Ed said and glanced over at Hawkeye who seemed interested and not annoyed. He was worried.
“Good to see you Lieutenant!” Hughes smiled at Hawkeye and she just gave him a weak smile. “You had these boys worried! I told them you could handle yourself, but you know them....”
“Hughes.” Roy hissed.
“Especially this one.” Maes wrapped his arm around his best friend. “So any memories coming back yet? Ed reported you didn't recognize him when you served him last week. That the hospital said you were found in a box car and listed you as a transient.”
“No....” Riza remembered waking up in the hospital, scared. She remembered this boy having a sandwich at the cafe last week.
“You should kiss her and see if she remembers that.” Hughes shoved Roy towards her. “Works in the fairy tales. I'm reading one to Elicia now that works just like that! Handsome prince kissing the sleeping princess....we cut out pictures of you two and glued them in her picture book.”
Riza blushed. There was no way this man could be real military. Then she looked at the expression on Roy's face and it said embarrassment. It said this was something he couldn't believe was being vocalized. She couldn't believe it either and felt....irritated.
Ed's jaw dropped and Al leaned over and nudged him. “I told you so. You owe me 500 cenz.”
“No way.” Ed said and threw his hands up. “There is no way the Lieutenant has such low standards.”
“Wanna bet?” Hughes asked and Al put out his hand.
“He already did and needs to pay up!” Al said.
Riza looked around, the boardwalk had been cleared of casualties and it was just them...having this highly inappropriate discussion in public. There was a General around somewhere. Suddenly her panic of how wrong and dangerous this was made her snap. “Gentleman, please remember where you are and how damaging this talk could be to the Colonel's career.”
“Oh?” Hughes said and put his hand against Roy's back to shove him closer to his protector. “Sure you don't need mouth memory resuscitation?”
“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.” Riza said and glared at him. “You're out of line.”
Hughes ruffled up Roy's hair and then tugged on Ed's cape to make the kid follow him to the sidewalk where the police were gathering. Ed was stammering, trying to put together a sentence to ask if he was serious or if he was just pulling some psychological crap or....what the hell was that? Al lingered a second and then followed them, still asking to be paid.
Riza closed her eyes and then took a deep breath. Things were fuzzy, but she at least recognized the people in her life now. When she opened her eyes Roy was staring at her. “Sir, if you continue to look at me like that we're not going to be able to crush these rumors Hughes is spreading.”
“What does he know?” Roy said quietly. “He thinks you're the princess that needs to be kissed and saved and we both know you're the Queen who saves me.”
“Not helping.” She said and smiled at him. “I don't remember what happened to me....but at least I remember you. That's what's important.”
Roy smiled. She bent down to pick up her dog so he didn't step on any debris.
“I also remember my dog being ten pounds lighter.” She said and gave him disapproving look which was met with a smirk. “Stop feeding him steak.”
“Don't leave me unsupervised.” Roy said and smiled. “I'm willing to explore that kiss theory though.”
“I know you are.” She said and hugged her dog and hid her smile in his fur. “I want to see Elicia's book collection.”
“Fucking Hughes.” Roy sighed. “Push me to the top I told him, not push me on top of you.”
She laughed and put her dog down as they reached the sidewalk. It appeared casualties were minimal thanks to her clearing the area. The man with the splinter in his leg was walking. There were only a few bandages here and there and no ambulances had left to go to the hospital.
“You saved a lot of lives, Lieutenant.” Roy said loudly. “Well done.”
And things were back to normal.
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Britain’s Complicity In Saudi Arabia’s Terror Campaign Against Yemen
from the article Crimes against Humanity: Britain’s Complicity In Saudi Arabia’s Terror Campaign Against Yemen by Media Lens
“The ‘mainstream’ Western media is, almost by definition, the last place to consult for honest reporting of Western crimes. Consider the appalling case of Yemen which is consumed by war and an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.
Since March 2015, a ‘coalition’ of Sunni Arab states led by Saudi Arabia, and supported by the US, Britain and France, has been dropping bombs on neighbouring Yemen. The scale of the bombing is indicated in a recent article by Felicity Arbuthnot – in one year, 330,000 homes, 648 mosques, 630 schools and institutes, and 250 health facilities were destroyed or damaged. The stated aim of Saudi Arabia’s devastating assault on Yemen is to reinstate the Yemeni president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and to hold back Houthi rebels who are allied with the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Saudis assert that the Houthis, who control Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, are ‘proxies’ for Iran: always a convenient propaganda claim to elicit Western backing and ‘justify’ intervention.
Philip Hammond, who was UK defence secretary when the Saudi bombing began in 2015, promised:
‘We’ll support the Saudis in every practical way short of engaging in combat.’
The British government has been true to its word; in this respect at least. Campaign Against Arms Trade says that UK sales to Saudi Arabia since the start of the attacks on Yemen include £2.2 billion of aircraft, helicopters and drones, £1.1 billion of missiles, bombs and grenades, and nearly half a million pounds of armoured vehicles and tanks. Just days ago, it was revealed that Britain is now the second biggest dealer of arms in the world. Is there any clearer sign of the corrupt nature of UK foreign policy?
Perhaps there is. Last month, Oxfam reported that in excess of 21 million people in Yemen, out of a total population of around 27 million, are in need of humanitarian aid, more than in any other country. Over 6,000 people have been killed, more than 3 million displaced and more than 14 million are suffering hunger and malnutrition.
Amnesty International reports that British-made cluster bombs have been used in deadly attacks on civilians. Children are among those who have been killed and maimed. The human rights organisation says that the UK should stop all arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Amnesty has also called for Saudi Arabia to be dropped from the United Nations Human Rights Council because of ‘gross and systematic violations of human rights’, both at home and abroad.
In a two-part piece for BBC Newsnight last year, Gabriel Gatehouse commendably reported from Yemen on the plight of civilians there, including the Saudi targeting of civilian infrastructure. The BBC journalist also alluded to ‘the British dimension’ in which the Saudi ‘coalition’s efforts are supported by Britain and the United States’, with British-supplied weaponry being used by the Saudis. Although a welcome deviation from the norm, his criticism of UK foreign policy was muted and not subsequently maintained by BBC News, as far as we could see (with limited recent exceptions as we will discuss later).
Peter Oborne is a rare example of a Western journalist reporting from Yemen, also pointing unequivocally to British complicity in the country’s nightmare. Together with his colleague Nawal Al-Maghafi, Oborne notes in a recent article that:
‘We discovered indisputable evidence that the coalition, backed by the UK as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is targeting Yemeni civilians in blatant breach of the rules of war.’
At the same time, Saudi Arabia has imposed a brutal blockade on Yemen preventing vital commodities from getting into the country. One doctor at the Republic teaching hospital in Sanaa told Oborne:
‘We are unable to get medical supplies. Anaesthetics. Medicines for kidneys. There are babies dying in incubators because we can’t get supplies to treat them.
The doctor estimated that 25 people were dying every day at the Republic hospital because of the blockade. He continued:
‘They call it natural death. But it’s not. If we had the medicines they wouldn’t be dead.
‘I consider them killed as if they were killed by an air strike, because if we had the medicines they would still be alive.’
This is shocking enough. But Oborne adds that there is:
‘powerful evidence that the Saudi-led coalition has deliberately targeted hospitals across the country. Four MSF [Médecins Sans Frontières] hospitals had been hit by Saudi air strikes prior to the organisation’s withdrawal from the country, even though MSF were careful to give the Saudi authorities their GPS positions.’
Oborne, who resigned as political commentator from the Telegraph last year, places Western complicity in Yemen’s nightmare at the front and centre of his reporting. He points out that Britain has continued to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and its partners, despite copious evidence of breaches of international humanitarian law presented by human rights organisations.
This is an echo of Britain’s shameful role in arming Indonesia while it crushed tiny independence-seeking East Timor, killing around 200,000 people – about one-third of its population. Noam Chomsky described it as a ‘slaughter’ of ‘near-genocidal’ levels. He noted that:
‘By 1998, Britain had become the leading supplier of arms to Indonesia…over the strong protests of Amnesty International, Indonesian dissidents, and Timorese victims. Arms sales are reported to make up at least a fifth of Britain’s exports to Indonesia (estimated at one billion pounds), led by British Aerospace’.
(Noam Chomsky, ‘Rogue States’, Pluto Books, 2000, p. 232)
In the present case of Yemen, the British Foreign Office has repeatedly denied that Saudi Arabia had broken humanitarian law, asserting until a couple of months ago that the FO’s own ‘assessment’ had cleared the Saudis of any wrong-doing. As Oborne notes, however, on July 21 this year, the last day of parliament before the long summer recess:
‘the British government was forced to admit that it had repeatedly misled parliament over the war in Yemen.’
It turns out that no such ‘assessment’ had taken place; a grudging and potentially damaging admission that ministers had clearly hoped to slip out quietly without proper scrutiny. Oborne describes it as ‘a dark moment of official embarrassment.’ You have to dig deep in the BBC News website to find scant mention of this shameful episode.
Moreover, Britain has supported the UN Security Council resolution backing a Saudi blockade, and the UK has also provided the Saudis with intelligence and logistical support.
‘Perhaps most crucially of all, Britain and the United States have provided Saudi Arabia with diplomatic cover. Last year, Britain and the United States helped to block a Dutch initiative at the UN Human Rights Council for an independent investigation into violations of international humanitarian law.’
In a powerful accompanying filmed report on the destruction of Yemen’s capital Sanaa, Oborne concludes:
‘This city of old Sanaa is as extraordinary, as priceless, as unique as any of the masterpieces of Western civilisation – like Florence or Venice. Just imagine the outcry if bombs were falling on Florence or Venice. But because this is old Sanaa, in forgotten Yemen, nobody cares a damn.’
And least of all Britain’s new Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, who callously waved away copious evidence of Saudi breaches of international humanitarian law. The Guardian’s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour writes of Johnson’s assertion that the Saudis are not ‘in clear breach’ of humanitarian law:
‘His judgment is based largely on a Saudi-led inquiry into eight controversial incidents, including the bombing of hospitals.’
To his credit, Wintour notes that Johnson was ‘defending the credibility of a Saudi-led inquiry exonerating Saudi targeting’. Comment seems superfluous. He then adds Johnson’s own unwittingly self-damning statement:
‘They [the Saudis] have the best insight into their own procedures and will be able to conduct the most thorough and conclusive investigations. It will also allow the coalition forces to work out what went wrong and apply the lessons learned in the best possible way. This is the standard we set ourselves and our allies.’
Indeed, this is the same standard that the world saw with horror last year when the US investigated, and largely exonerated itself, over its dreadful bombing of an MSF hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan.
Boris Johnson is sweeping aside compelling evidence of serious breaches of international law in a cynical move to maintain lucrative UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and to protect close strategic ties with a brutal kingdom of state beheaders and torturers. All this belies his carefully-crafted media image as an amiably bumbling and largely harmless P.G. Wodehouse-like character. In reality, he is a dangerous, extreme right-wing politician with too much power. Sadly, even the often admirable Peter Oborne’s judgement went awry on his return from Yemen when he appealed to Johnson to ‘act boldly to reset Riyadh [i.e. Saudi Arabia] relations’:
‘Boris Johnson has the potential to be one of the great British foreign secretaries of the modern era.’
Sadly, this line by Oborne does not appear to be satire.
Meanwhile, on September 5, the foreign office minister, Tobias Ellwood, addressed the Commons after being requested to do so by the Speaker, John Bercow, because of previously misleading statements on Yemen given by ministers to parliament. Wintour claims in his Guardian report that Ellwood ‘apologised’ for these ‘inaccurate answers’. But the quoted wording is far from a proper apology. Indeed, the foreign minister obfuscated further in support of Saudi Arabia. Ellwood:
‘said it was not for the UK government to conclude whether individual bombing incidents by the Saudis represented breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL), but instead to “take an overall view of the approach and attitude by Saudi Arabia to international humanitarian law”.’
In effect, the UK would continue to rely on Saudi Arabia’s assessments on whether the latter had breached international humanitarian law. Worse, while Yemenis continued to die under US/UK-supported bombing, Ellwood went on to support the Saudis:
‘Defending the Saudi response to criticisms of its campaign, Ellwood said: “It was new territory for Saudi Arabia and a conservative nation was not used to such exposure.”‘
This was sophistry of the worst order. ‘New territory’ entails a murderous bombing campaign and a crippling blockade. And describing Saudi Arabia – a brutal and repressive regime which ranks amongst the world’s worst offenders of human rights – as merely ‘a conservative nation’, speaks volumes about the mental and ethical contortions required to defend British foreign policy.
But there is even more to say about the UK’s shameful complicity in Yemen’s destruction. And, from what we have seen so far, it has had zero coverage in the ‘mainstream’ media.
Media Silence Over UK Role In ‘Targeted Killing’
Last week, the online investigative journal The Intercept published an in-depth piece on revelations about spying based on top-secret documents provided to them by Edward Snowden, the US National Security Agency whistle-blower. Titled ‘Inside Menwith Hill. The NSA’s British Base at the Heart of U.S. Targeted Killing’, the article was written by Ryan Gallagher, a UK-based journalist specialising in government surveillance, technology and civil liberties.
The RAF Menwith Hill base lies a few miles from Harrogate in North Yorkshire and is the largest electronic monitoring station in the world. As Gallagher notes: ‘it is a vital part of the NSA’s sprawling global surveillance network’. Consequently, its activities are shrouded in secrecy, despite the best efforts of human rights groups and a few British politicians demanding greater transparency. These efforts have been continually rebuffed by the UK government ‘citing a longstanding policy not to discuss matters related to national security.’
Now, however, the NSA files released by Snowden:
‘reveal for the first time how the NSA has used the British base to aid “a significant number of capture-kill operations” across the Middle East and North Africa, fueled by powerful eavesdropping technology that can harvest data from more than 300 million emails and phone calls a day.’
Over the past decade, advanced surveillance programmes at Menwith Hill have located ‘suspected terrorists accessing the internet in remote parts of the world’ and ‘provided support for conventional British and American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.’
But, adds Gallagher, ‘they have also aided covert missions in countries where the U.S. has not declared war’, including Yemen. These disclosures ‘raise new questions about the extent of British complicity in U.S. drone strikes and other so-called targeted killing missions, which may in some cases have violated international laws or constituted war crimes.’
Kat Craig, legal director of London-based human rights group Reprieve, told Gallagher that Snowden’s revelations are:
‘yet another example of the unacceptable level of secrecy that surrounds U.K. involvement in the U.S. “targeted killing” program. It is now imperative that the prime minister comes clean about U.K. involvement in targeted killing’.
Gallagher describes a number of surveillance programmes, including one called GHOSTWOLF used to monitor ‘terrorist’ activity in internet cafes in the Middle East. This information is being used to ‘capture or eliminate key nodes in terrorist networks’.
As Gallagher observes:
‘GHOSTWOLF ties Menwith Hill to lethal operations in Yemen, providing the first documentary evidence that directly implicates the U.K. in covert actions in the country.
‘Menwith Hill’s previously undisclosed role aiding the so-called targeted killing of terror suspects highlights the extent of the British government’s apparent complicity in controversial U.S. attacks — and raises questions about the legality of the secret operations carried out from the base.’
The British government has consistently asserted that operations at Menwith ‘have always been, and continue to be’ carried out with its ‘knowledge and consent.’ In the context of the commission of war crimes, this is a damning admission.
Gallagher expands:
‘For several years, British human rights campaigners and lawmakers have been pressuring the government to provide information about whether it has had any role aiding U.S. targeted killing operations, yet they have been met with silence. In particular, there has been an attempt to establish whether the U.K. has aided U.S. drone bombings outside of declared war zones — in countries including Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia — which have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and are in some cases considered by United Nations officials to possibly constitute war crimes and violations of international law.’
These new, deeply damaging revelations by Snowden appear to have been completely blanked by the ‘mainstream’ media. Searches of the Lexis-Nexis newspaper database yield zero hits on Snowden’s Menwith revelations, and there appears to have been nothing published on the BBC News website. Indeed, this dearth of coverage by UK media, including BBC News, had been anticipated by US investigative reporter Glenn Greenwald, who previously worked with Snowden.
Not unusually, one has to go to media such as RT or PressTV to find any coverage; another reason why these outlets are so often bitterly denigrated as ‘propaganda’ operations by corporate journalists who haven’t done their job of holding Western power to account.
The Post-Brexit, $2 Trillion Saudi Carrot
On September 7, BBC Newsnight revealed how a draft report by MPs on the influential committee on arms export control was being watered down to remove the call for a suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia (clip available here). A statement in the draft report had said:
‘The weight of evidence of violations of international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition is now so great, that it is very difficult to continue to support Saudi Arabia.’
But a number of ‘pro-defence’ MPs had then tabled more than 130 amendments, including a move to remove the call to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The Guardian noted cautiously that this attempt:
‘underlines the sensitivity of the issue of UK-Saudi relations at Westminster, the importance of the Gulf to the UK defence industry and the concern that Britain, for a variety of security reasons, is too ready to take Saudi assurances about how it is conducting a difficult civil war in Yemen.’
That is putting it all too mildly; a point to which we return below.
The following evening (September 8), Tory MP Crispin Blunt refused to respond when pressed by Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark about reportedly walking out of the committee meeting in order to stall a vote. It appears that Blunt had feared his amendments were about to be rejected, and by walking out of the meeting the quorum requirement would fail and no valid vote could take place.
But the sickness of government priorities at the intersection of foreign policy and economic imperatives was really highlighted when the Saudi foreign minister declared last week that it was ‘in Britain’s interest’ to continue supporting Saudi Arabia in its murderous assault on Yemen. Or, as the neocon Telegraph defence editor Con Coughlin put it:
‘to continue supporting the Saudis in the battle to prevent Yemen falling into the hands of Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.’
Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, then dangled a carrot in front of British ministers’ noses.
‘Apart from maintaining traditional links on military and intelligence cooperation, Mr Jubeir also said post-Brexit Britain could look forward to forging new trade links with the kingdom as Saudi Arabia embarks on its ambitious plan to restructure its economy under a plan called Saudi Vision 2030. “We are looking at more than $2 trillion worth of investment opportunities over the next decade, and this will take the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Britain to an entirely new level post-Brexit.”‘
Sometimes, you have to go to the extreme right-wing press to have the crude realpolitik spelled out so clearly.
Saudi pressure is considerable and difficult to resist. In June, it was reported that even the UN succumbed when it removed Saudi Arabia from a blacklist of countries responsible for child casualties in conflicts around the globe. Saudi Arabia had been placed on the list for killing and maiming children in Yemen bombing attacks. The country, along with other Arab and Muslim countries, had reportedly threatened to withdraw funding from vital UN humanitarian programmes. One anonymous diplomat spoke of ‘bullying, threats, pressure’, and summed it up as ‘real blackmail’.
The reports on Yemen cited in this media alert from the Guardian and BBC News show the permissible limits of occasional – very occasional – challenges to state power. What is routinely missing, and what would be prominent in coverage of British foreign policy in honest news media, has never been better highlighted than by historian Mark Curtis. For many years, he has extensively analysed formerly secret government records detailing internal discussions about state policies and priorities. In his book, ‘Web of Deceit’, which lays out ‘Britain’s real role in the world’, Curtis concludes that the primary function of the British state:
‘virtually its raison d’être for several centuries – is to aid British companies in getting their hands on other countries’ resources.’
(Mark Curtis, ‘Web of Deceit’, 2003, Vintage, p. 210)
To pursue such state policies means initiating war, military interventions, threats, bullying, and other aggressive actions, usually in support of the United States and/or Nato. This global imperialism is dressed up in propaganda garb as ‘countering terrorism’, ‘improving world security’, ‘working with our allies’ and similar pieties propagated by the ‘mainstream’ media. Curtis lays particular responsibility for such propaganda at the door of the ‘liberal’ media, notably the Guardian and BBC News:
‘The liberal intelligentsia in Britain is in my view guilty of helping to weave a collective web of deceit…. To read many mainstream commentators’ writings on Britain’s role in the world is to enter a surreal, Kafkaesque world where the reality is often the direct opposite of what is contended and where the startling assumptions are frighteningly supportive of state power.’
(Ibid., p. 4)
This ‘surreal, Kafkaesque world’ – in which Britain shares responsibility for appalling violence, while proclaiming its supposed desire for ‘peace’ and ‘security’ – will continue for as long as we do not have an honest media that seriously and consistently challenges brutal state power.”
#sociology#britain#saudi arabia#united states#yemen#media#western imperialism#middle east#british imperialism#imperialism#united states imperialism#france#european imperialism#europe#propaganda#war crimes#british corruption#british military#corruption#war#journalism#politics#air strikes#drone strikes#indonesia#human rights violations#boris johnson#bombings#uk#nsa
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Why the North will still vote for Buhari in 2019 –Matthew Kukah
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah, speaks to TOBI AWORINDE on the socio-economic situation in the North, President Muhammadu Buhari’s performance and the forthcoming 2019 elections
You were one of those who vehemently opposed Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency from the outset. How would you describe the quality of leadership in Nigeria in the immediate past era?
Vehemently opposed to Buhari? Where did you get this from? I think you were sold this dummy in the heydays of ecstasy, frenzy and euphoria of the Buhariphilia, who jumped out of every corner of Nigeria believing that their redemption was at hand. Sadly, today, a good chunk has since apostacised. I never doubted the sincerity of the President’s intention to fight corruption. However, no matter how much you hate leprosy, you cannot cure leprosy by just giving Panadol to the victim.
My fears were threefold and based on experience. First, no matter the goodness, holiness or devotion of any human being, wait until he or she has power entrusted to them and see what they become. So, even in the most optimistic of situations, set goals and expectations and let the person prove himself or herself. Secondly, what Buhari kept saying about corruption did not seem to be the result of some deep reflections. His claims and strategies had never been interrogated. And finally, I insisted that national cohesion was far more urgent a task than just saying ‘we are here to fight corruption’. That informed what you may have referred to as vehement opposition. I was simply warning against too much blind trust and now we are where we are today.
What worries you most about this administration?
I am worried over the lack of fresh ideas, focus, vision and a seeming insensitivity to public feelings; a kind of contempt for how people feel and the impact of policy choices, on the part of this government. This is a season of anomie and alienation. The (Buhari) government seems closed to ideas that challenge their assumptions and apparently does not care what Nigerians think and what they feel. Else, there is no way that you can have a government make the mistakes that this government has made; refuse to engage citizens and simply refuse to give a damn. It is disturbing and, clearly, the government is listening to other drummers. Technically, no one suggests that their views should be taken, but this government has given Nigerians a feeling that they were sold a dummy. This is sad; very sad indeed.
Buhari and the military under his government have continuously claimed that Boko Haram has been defeated. Do you believe them?
Well, this is part of the problem and I think we should let the evidence — not the sloganeering and propaganda — do the talking. The government has refused to listen to the views of Nigerians about the rather incestuous and non-plural ways it has dealt with security and the appointments of their heads. Perhaps the government has a reason for allowing members of only one faith to monopolise the security apparatus, perhaps because it thinks Boko Haram is a problem within Islam and only Muslims can address the issues. Either way, our country is haemorrhaging in a way that ending the Boko Haram conflict will only open a new chapter in a country of people suffering the collective trauma, fear, self-doubt and a feeling of being totally disconnected from the state that has no empathy. With the government seeing this purely as a military operation, we can spend all the money in the world, but we will be nowhere near having a united nation or people. This battle has become a military operation with all its consequences on the economy and the dynamics of the engagement.
What was your reaction upon hearing the news of the Dapchi girls’ abduction?
My reaction was that of shock, sorrow; a tragic sense of déjà vu, and some level of near despair.
Do you agree with Buhari that his response time to the Dapchi girls’ abduction was better than that of the previous administration to the abduction of Chibok girls?
This comparison does not arise. One tragedy is bad enough; a repeat is a disaster. It is like asking whether dying by injection is better than drowning.
Do you think Buhari owes Nigerians an apology, considering his commitment to rescuing the Chibok girls and defeating Boko Haram within the first few months of his presidency?
Why should he apologise? I believe this government has done its best and this is about all it can offer. So, they should be judged not on speculation but on the reality. The issue of an apology does not arise because what we are seeing is the best that is on the table and this is the best team for the job in their view.
Buhari’s health was a major talking point last year with the President spending several weeks on two medical trips. Do you think Buhari owes Nigeria an explanation about what he was treated for?
You mean he should apologise that he was sick? I think we should respect everyone’s privacy. You don’t lose that by being a public servant. I was not happy the way we handled the issue of the President’s health. Others behave differently and I think we should learn not to play politics with everything in Nigeria.
Does his physical fitness worry you, given the possibility of his running for a second term?
There is a Hausa proverb which says, ‘You cannot borrow someone else’s mouth to eat onions’. No one has the right to decide on anyone’s health and as to whether they are capable of a particular function. It is left for the insiders of a party to decide whom they will field as a candidate even if the person is on a stretcher. Today’s weightlifter could fall sick tomorrow. Let the party decide who their best candidate is.
Three of the major promises of this administration are to fight corruption, boost the economy and conquer Boko Haram. Would you say the government has made any significant stride in these areas?
I have said repeatedly that personal opinion does not matter in the long run. Look at the reports from the Federal Bureau of Statistics, the United Nations Development Programme, Amnesty International or Transparency International. What does the evidence suggest? You cannot pick and choose what you want to believe. Or look at the entire Nigerian landscape littered with corpses, destroyed businesses and buildings, all the ravages of war. This is very painful.
What achievements do you think the Buhari government has made?
There is a Minister for Information; he has that duty, not me. They said they have technically defeated Boko Haram, reflated the economy, and brought back some Chibok girls and the Dapchi girls, bar Leah. We now have 7,000 megawatts of electricity and so on. They are also telling us about new multi-billion-naira projects which they are embarking on with no idea when they will be completed. The faces of Nigerians tell a different story and, sadly, we are not communicating with one another.
How do you feel about the recent revelation that senators receive N13.5 million monthly as running costs and that House of Representatives members receive N12m monthly?
Senator (Shehu) Sani has done his job. It is left for Nigerians to decide what to make of it. It is a pity that we are in such a state of stupor that nothing can rouse us from our apathy and this country will continue to sink. Will the President, Vice President, governors and ministers ever come clean or does it require reverting to the Freedom of Information Act? In the mafia, they call this destructive secrecy ‘omerta’, an oath of silence under pain of death. This is why Senator Sani deserves our respect for taking the decision he took. We hear that the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) is claiming ignorance as to these sums. But, as I have always said, governance in Nigeria is a criminal enterprise which functions above the law.
What are your thoughts on governors’ transition to senators when their eight-year tenure is completed?
Well, what else is there for some of these people to do? Can they go anywhere to deliver a lecture or write books on their experiences? This country stands or falls depending on what the governors do.
What is your grouse with Governor Nasir el-Rufai?
What do you mean by grouse?
You recently criticised el-Rufai on his handling of the Southern Kaduna massacre. Do you think there is room for reparations?
Did you read my sermon in its entirety and why do you single out Governor el-Rufai? It was a funeral and there was the need to set the records straight. I simply articulated an evidence-based side of a story that I had played a role in. If that is what you mean by criticism, then fine. We are all entitled to our opinions but we are not entitled to our facts because facts are sacred. I presented my side of the story based on my personal experience with the claims he made.
What can the governor do to make amends?
Amends with, or to, whom? That is within the realm of governance which requires consultation and consensus building.
You have been vocal about the role of the northern elite in the poverty and underdevelopment plaguing the North. Can you elaborate on this?
My field of doctoral research was on Religion and Power Politics in Northern Nigeria and the result was my book, ‘Religion, Politics and Power in Northern Nigeria’. It opened up new frontiers and it was a pioneering research on how religion has been used to mobilise and retain power by the northern Muslim elite. I had over 100 recorded interviews with a cross section of northern politicians across the divide.
This has given me an appreciation of the issues. It does not make me an expert. However, it is because of this that those who do not want to follow the arguments keep falling back and accusing me of being anti-northern or anti-Muslim. This is the easy line for those who benefit from this manipulation but do not want to face the consequences.
There is a noble obligation that all elite owe to those they represent; those on whose shoulders they may have stood; those who voted for them or those who helped them get an education. In the rest of Nigeria, this elite have met these obligations by building schools, hospitals, clinics, and so on for their people. They have bridged the gap between government’s absence and the welfare of their people. This is the story of almost all of southern Nigeria and parts of the Middle Belt.
In the North, the evidence of this dereliction of duty litters the entire landscape, millions of out-of-school children, federal and state government projects such as irrigation and power-generating dams that now lie abandoned in remote communities, structures, such as the Almajiri schools, all in decay in many communities, and so on.
Look at the World Bank, UNDP and other reports on development in Nigeria and look at northern Nigeria. The sad thing is that for the elite, these lives of destitution, illiteracy and squalor are reservoirs of investment from where they draw their oxygen of political relevance. The grinding poverty leaves the people permanently below zero and all they do is continue to look at the stupendous wealth of the elite with awe. In exchange, they (the elite) pretend to offer them (the poor) dubious religiosity through the manipulation of pilgrimages and construction of mosques.
Could that be the reason for the emergence of Boko Haram?
In my view, it is the long historical experience of this distortion of the religion of Islam with its exclusionist tendencies that Boko Haram has exploited. Boko Haram exploited the fact that this elite proclaimed Sharia in 1999 and 2000, while in reality, they did not believe in the religion itself. So, Boko Haram simply has asked them to step aside.
Indeed, the Buhari project presents us with an interesting view. The average northerner has become far more impoverished under Buhari than he was under (former President Goodluck) Jonathan. But they will still vote for Buhari because they see him as the only one who can help bring their derelict elite to order. It is a strange appeal but that is it. They believe their corrupt elite are above the law. They were seduced with Sharia because they believed it was going to help them punish their own elite, who they see as being above the law of Nigeria. These are the issues.
Did the northern elite act against the interest of their people intentionally?
If they were mistaken, 50 years would have been enough to correct the mistake, but as I said, this culture of ignorance, poverty and squalor is an investment. Aminu Kano spent his life trying to open the eyes of his people, the Talakawa. The late Bala Usman, a phenomenal intellectual, made massive contributions in this regard by subjecting this charade to critical social analysis. The result was a ‘saner’ environment for the generation of fresh ideas among Christian and Muslim scholars. Ideology replaced the divisive tendencies of religion among the elite. Fighting the Kaduna mafia and other mafias was an ideological project. Today, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and some of the remnants of NEPU (Northern Elements Progressive Union) politics remain the last of the best wine.
What are the interests for the northern elite?
They want to permanently hold on to power. Inherently (there is) nothing wrong with that if it can be used for the good of the people, but after all these years of monopoly of power under the military and civilians, we northerners are still the weakest, the most sickly, the poorest, the most illiterate, and the most vulnerable. We have the highest number of childhood stunting, which is a danger to the future. The elite have brought shame on us and made us too weak to fight.
Do you believe in restructuring?
Does it matter what I or anyone believes? Even if it determines the outcome of the elections, did the All Progressives Congress not promise us restructuring? Promises have never been a problem. The saddest part of it all is that even the politicians do not expect to be believed, but somehow, we stupidly do. The Kenyan scholar, Patrick Lumumba, once said the tragedy with Africa is that those with ideas are not in power, while those in power have no ideas. The sad thing, he said, is that when the people have a chance, they still vote for those with no ideas.
What do you think the North has to gain or lose in restructuring?
They may perhaps gain the chains of poverty and the fear of those who hold the chains over the majority of our people.
What do you make of the APC committee on restructuring led by el-Rufai?
I have not seen it.
Many have described the APC panel on restructuring as an afterthought by Buhari to score political points. Do you agree?
No idea. Nothing is ever late. It is when honesty appears that matters.
What are your thoughts on the Catholic Church in Nigeria rejoining the Christian Association of Nigeria?
How can we rejoin what we started?
Do you still maintain a relationship with former President Goodluck Jonathan?
I don’t know what you mean by ‘a relationship’. The last time I saw him was when the Peace Committee had a consultative audience with him after the swearing-in of the new administration.
Do you have any expectations concerning the outcome of the 2019 elections?
Let us pray to be alive first. 2019 is a long way away. But I tell you that I have never felt this sense of foreboding. Things could change, but we have to plan how to cross this wide river that lies ahead of us.
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source https://www.newssplashy.com/2018/04/why-north-will-still-vote-for-buhari-in.html
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