#and so much pro-iron man/civil war content???

[padfootastic]

Not an unpopular opinion at all I think but some people are very passionate about exactly the opposite thing so here goes

1. Tony Stark was the best part of MCU similar to Batman being the best part of DC

2. Killing Tony was the biggest mistake because MCU Phase 4(?) does not even hold a candle because Tony, Captain and all the amazing character are gone. The only one I can mildly tolerate watching now is Antman (and that is because Paul Rudd is so hot)

3. The last Thor movie which was released was the worst MCU movie ever made (though this might not be unpopular at all)

And I'm sorry for sending this because this is not something you post about but I have seen *some* iron man posts on your dash and I thought why not

omg an mcu ask!!!! please don’t apologise, i love this sm. and ur right, i’ve def posted some IM content bc i’m obsessed w both tony stark and rdj and tho i don’t talk about it, he owns a nice, large piece of my heart.

1. Strongly agree

can’t speak for DC but gosh, yes. tony stark is hands down the heart & soul of MCU. i literally just look at ts comps on youtube all the time bc i can’t stand the movies when they’re so anti tony :( but i also just. really like him ykno? and deeply thirst after him as well. he’s not just impeccable eye candle, but also a great muscle man AND the best brawn possible. literally the perfect package. also, u just know he fucks so hard.

2. Agree

yeah, i feel u. i’m not very invested in MCU as a whole so i don’t feel too passionate about it but amy movie without iron man automatically becomes meh to me. also just, this might be the real unpopular opinion here but i feel like they really butchered mcu spider-man?? like i adore tom holland, he’s v good in the role, but the plot is so stupid? it makes me cringe v v bad to the point i couldn’t even watch the third SM movie tbh.

3. Neutral

ooooh i’ve been v cut off from civilisation for a while so i haven’t watched it (and i’m terrible w any visual media that’s not in theatres hehe) but i’ve heard very mixed reviews about it so zero opinion from my side, friend.

Send me unpopular opinions!

#tony stark #hehehehee the way i’m exposing myself and my tony stark thirst here #i’m v obsessed w him #my phone wallpaper is young rdj #and the amount of mcu fics i’ve read is. well. #let’s not go there lol #and so much pro-iron man/civil war content??? #my absolute no1 guilty pleasure is all the cap bashing ones lol #there’s just something so cathartic about it considering how he was treated in canon #ALSO!! for anywhere also into tony stark here: pls don’t ever hesitate to send me stuff lol #even if it’s hp do not forget one of my favvvv ships is harry/tony #pen’s asks #ask game

[introvertguide]

The Best Years for American Cinema

One of the great arguments that comes up for cinephiles is what was the best year for movies. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with awards since some of the best movies were not recognized at the time, but looking at the Academy Awards helps as a start. As far as American movies go, looking at the two AFI lists, the original and the updated, can also help. Looking at rating systems like Metacritic and IMDB are also a factor. One of the hardest things is staying objective, because picking the year when your favorite movie came out is pretty easy to do. Her is a list of years when an extraordinary amount of great movies came out and attempting to judge the best film for that year was simply an embarrassment of riches. I am going to stick to a list of years for American films since considering the world of film would make any year possibly the best year.

1939

This is generally considered by film historians as the best year for American movies. It exemplified the height of creativity amongst film studios to circumvent the Hays Code while also integrating the relatively new color and dialogue aspects of film. Transforming books into visual media was all the rage and writers were scouring books to find the next great adaptation. There were a myriad of self imposed decency rules and so many directors wanted to push boundaries...and what resulted was amazing. It was nearing the end of the Great Depression and nearing the entry of the U.S. into WW2, so a lot of people were looking for cheap ways of escape. Nothing was quite as wonderful as going to the movies for American audiences and the population flocked to see visualizations of their favorite novels.

-Gone with the Wind; AFI #6, 8 Oscars

-Goodbye, Mr. Chips

-Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; AFI #26

-The Wizard of Oz; AFI #10

-Wuthering Heights

-Of Mice and Men

-Stagecoach; AFI #63 original list, John Wayne’s breakthrough role

-The Hound of the Baskervilles

-The Man in the Iron Mask

1951

After the end of WW2, a lot of countries had begun rebuilding and American had the opportunity to travel. Many returned from the horrors of war, but America did not have to deal with fighting on the continental home land. What seemed to be the greatest perceived threat was the infiltration and spread of communism. The biggest movies were anti-Communism, pro-Christian, and pro-American in nature. In fact, Death of a Salesman did very poorly when first released since it depicted an All-American in a wonderful profession being a total failure. However, it seems like creativity seems to thrive most when those in power attempt to oppress it. 

-A Streetcar Named Desire; AFI #47

-The African Queen; AFI #65

-An American in Paris; AFI #68 on original list

-A Place in the Sun; AFI #92 on original list

-Death of a Salesman

-Quo Vadis

1962

Over a decade since the end of WW2 and the Cold War had turned in a competition for patriotism. A race to be the best pushed invention forward and individuals overcoming overwhelming odds was popular. America worried about spies after severing ties with Cuba in 1961, and a very young President Kennedy delivered the first State of the Union urging the country to stand together. The Civil Rights Movement forces the United States to look inward and examine old ideals that might make the country weak. It was a year of innovation, invention, and introspection, all of which are represented in the wide variety of films produced that year.

-Lawrence of Arabia; AFI #7, 7 Academy Awards

-To Kill a Mockingbird; AFI #25

-The Miracle Worker

-Dr. No; First James Bond movie

-Mutiny on the Bounty

-The Manchurian Candidate; AFI #67 original list

-The Longest Day

1969

The Motion Picture Association created the rating system currently in use that informs the audience about content instead of banning films that did not maintain a certain moral standard. It was the summer of love and the height of freedom movement, so all boundaries were tested and broken. Attacking the American architype was very popular so many of the biggest films had something to do with cowboys. Cowboy pimps in New York, murderous cowboy groups, and cowboy outlaws ruled the movie screens. Testing the boundaries of the MPAA delivered some interesting results: 2 of the top grossing films that year were rated X and that included the film that won the Oscar for Best Picture, Midnight Cowboy, for the one and only time in the history of the award. 

-Midnight Cowboy; AFI #43, only X-rated film to win Best Picture

-The Wild Bunch; AFI #79, X-rated with over 100 on screen deaths

-Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; AFI #73

-Easy Rider; AFI #84

-Whatever Happened to Baby Jane

-Birdman of Alcatraz

-Hello, Dolly!

-True Grit, John Wayne’s only Oscar win for Best Actor

1976

The Watergate scandal rocked the political climate causing an outcry for the oppressed to take their shot since those in power might not have the people’s best interest in mind. Individual’s taking the fight into their own hands and overcoming adversity for good (Rocky and All the President’s Men) or for bad (Taxi Driver) become the heroes of film in 1976. A new innovation was the blockbuster following the release of Jaws the previous summer, allowing producers to get big names in movies in exchange for a percentage of the profits. Movies become a gamble for many actors and directors, much epitomized since Star Wars began filming with George Lucas refusing his director payment in exchange for all rights to future sequels and merchandising, a gamble that netted him $4 billion in the long run. 

-Rocky; AFI #57

-All the President’s Men; AFI #77

-Network; AFI #64

-Taxi Driver; AFI #52

-King Kong

-A Star is Born

1982

The 80s were all about making money in the United States, and, with the sudden growth of computer technology, this was reflected on the big screen with some of the highest production value special effects movies of all time. The THX sound system is created so the immersive experience of the theatre is at an all time high. At the same time, President Reagan was trying to break up the communist threat and popularized those people who had suffered through war and oppression. Many critics at the time stopped worshipping at the church of the Academy Awards because Ghandi beat out E.T. the Extra Terrestrial as Ghandi was an epic historical drama and E.T. was a family film. Blend in Sophie’s Choice, one of the most memorable yet horribly depressing movies of all time, into the competition and you see that the Academy favors a certain type of movie (long dramas based on history or novels) and it becomes apparent that it isn’t the end all for judging the quality of a film.

-Ghandi; 4 Oscars  

-E.T the Extra Terrestrial; AFI #24

-Poltergeist

-Tootsie; AFI #69

-An Officer and a Gentleman

-Victor Victoria

-Sophie’s Choice; AFI #91

-Blade Runner; ; AFI #97

-Tron

-The Thing

1994

I am not certain exactly what triggered the sudden burst of creativity that came out this particular, but it was a watershed moment for animation musicals, independent films, glorified violence, and adapting books that depict intense suffering and redemption. More than anything, I find that when I list off movies from this year, there is a lot of surprise about how many great movies came out at the same time. I also have a little bit of personal bias for this year because it was the first time I saw all the Oscar nominees and cheered for my favorites during the awards. 

-Forrest Gump; AFI #76

-Pulp Fiction; AFI #94

-The Lion King

-Quiz Show

-The Shawshank Redemption; AFI #72

-Four Weddings and a Funeral

-True Lies

-Interview with the Vampire

-Natural Born Killers

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is simply a list of good year for movies, but it is fun to disagree about the best. If I missed any great years, feel free to comment. What is the best year for American film, or film in general, in your opinion?

#best years for movies #movies #films #best films #Hollywood #1994 films #1982 films #1975 films #1969 films #1962 films #1951 films #1939 films #movie history #american film institute #introvert #introverts #movie trivia

[phantomchick]

Tony Stark Fic Recs

Burning Candles - by kerravon Hurt/comfort, exhaustion, concussions, hurt tony, steve is a bro, nick fury being morally shady, the avengers! Summary: A few months have passed since the Avengers fought the Chitauri, and the team is coming together, except for Tony, who seems to be coming apart. At first, Steve assumes that he's just being irresponsible and annoying, but then JARVIS clues him in.

Fifth Time Lucky - by Arkada oneshot, fluff, this fic is short, sweet and a lot of fun. Well worth the read. Summary:  Tony Stark has five soulmates, but he gave up on finding any of them a long time ago.

Hide A Heart Of War - by RayShippouUchiha Tony Centric 2 chapter fic. Flower soul mark au. EXCELLENT ANGST.  Lots of feels, there’s also a slow burn romance in the background. Rhodey is a good bro. Loving all the descriptions of the soulmarks. Summary:  “You’ve got war in your heart boy,” Howard sneers, “don’t ever try and pretend to be anything but what you are.” Tony feels the familiar burn of a flower mark being etched into his skin but he doesn’t look, doesn’t try and check to see what it is. Instead he keeps his eyes on Howard and his hands cupped around his bleeding mouth and nose.

The (Not So) Great Pretender - by RayShippouUchiha Complete, secret identities, tony/bucky which i don’t usually ship but hey this author really makes it worth it. Oblivious Avengers. Hilarious but also angsty? Summary: Basically no one believes Tony when he tells them he’s Iron Man so he’s just... reluctantly keeping his secret identity going? It’s super funny.

To Victor Goes the Spoils - by tisfan Tony Stark/Victor von Doom, 10 chapters, complete, secret identities. Summary: In which Doom finds himself at a super hero masked ball... and gaining the attentions of the handsome and charming Tony Stark...Just one dance... just one kiss... before Doom unleashes his evil plot. Backstory: I accidentally stumbled on this doom x iron man fic so i thought i’d read it for laughs but then the fic itself was really good and I was suckered into shipping it. Now I’m in rarepair hell. The end. 

Iron Man Yes, Tony Stark...Not Recommended - by lilsmartass Gen. Complete. 9 chapters. Angst, lots of angst. Hurt/comfort. Unintentional bullying. Rhodey is the captain of the tony stark defence squad. AND HE WILL HAVE HIS REVENGE. Summary: Clint and Steve have both seen Natasha’s report on Tony and expect him to be a certain way. With Pepper now out of the picture, Bruce in India and Thor is Asgard they have no one to show them just how wrong first impressions can be.

That Which Kills Us - by Ironlawyer Ultimates!verse, steve/tony, oneshot, internalised homophobia, Tony is not a good patient. Summary: Sometimes Tony hates being alive as much as he hates dying. Trying to juggle duties to The Ultimates and a terminal illness isn’t exactly easy. Throw in an irate Steve Rogers and things just get too damn complicated.

Doomed To Failure - by DobbyRocksSocks Oneshot, excellent content, i read this fic and then i had to sit in my chair and be like ‘whoa’ for a while. This au is very well done! Summary: Everyone is born with their soulmate on one wrist, and their mortal enemy on the other. What do you do when it's the same person?

Say Goodbye to Yesterday - by melonbutterfly 4 chapter fic, complete, time loop, team building, alien invasion. time travel is a trope i keel over for this you must learn. Summary:  The day after the invasion Tony wakes up and his tower is intact again; everything is exactly the way it was before this whole mess went down. 

Don't Bet Against the House - by AlexTheShipper 2 chapter fic, complete, protective Jarvis, team dynamics, fluff Summary:  In which jokes about the arc reactor are not taken lightly, not by JARVIS who will never again sit trapped in his servers as someone attempts to kill Sir.

From A to Z - by Rachel500 26 chapter fic.Complete. Very very good, *sips fruit juice out of my champaigne glass* a classic of the genre! I’m a sucker for time travel as a trope, pair that with fixing the disaster that was the mcu chronology? BUDDY I’M SOLD.\ Summary: “OK, hypothetically, you get sent back in time one year. Does that make a difference?” Strange asked. “Two? Three? Could you live through the worst experience of your life again to preserve enough of the timeline to continue? Could you stand aside and let someone you love live through a bad experience in their life?” “OK. I get it. Bad idea.” Tony smirked at Strange to cover for his unease. “So. Plan B?” Strange grinned but there was a serious glint in his eyes. “How about we make it plan Z?”

Acceptable Risk Is Not - by izumi2 Super bamf tony, oneshot, Maria Hill redemption arc. Captain america the winter soldier. Not steve friendly but this can be blamed on the plot of the movie making zero sense with hindsight. Summary: what if someone considered an alternate solution to the data drop?  THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE FICS FOR REASONS SO PLEASE TRY IT.

The Course of Reason - by Infie Oneshot, aftermath of captain america civil war, Carol Danvers is a relateable ho whom I stan, the saltiest of all possible responses to that film. YESSSS. This is it. The fic that finally knocked me over the edge onto the civil war team iron man side of the fence. BEHOLD. It’s greatness. Summary: The UN has asked Tony to discuss their options with the Fugitive Avengers. It does not go the way they expect it to.

Uncompromising Principles - by Kizmet 19 chapter fic, it’s completed and it’s very well done, legal drama, Tony/Pepper, Steve is... a good person who made mistakes, he’s trying anyway, i can’t say more without spoilers, but it’s A Ride, like you’ll read this and it’ll make you have Feelings and Thoughts and it’s very clever in how it goes about making those Feelings and Thoughts happen. Captain America: civil war aftermath fic. Summary: After leaving Siberia Captain America begins his plans to overturn the Accords. But not all is as it seems.Not compliant with the end of "Civil War".

To intervene - by apathyinreverie Currently at 15 chapters, ongoing, a lot of fun, tony stark has a heart, tony and rhodey, civil war team iron man, mutant kind, pro accords. Summary: The one where Rhodey stages an intervention after the whole Ultron fiasco.

Veni, Vidi, Amavi - by Maedlin Treat yo’self. It’s a Time travel fic. ONE OF THE BEST: Bamf Tony Stark, Bamf Jarvis, Palladium Poisoning, Complete, 26 chapter fic, but you’ll wish it was longer by the time you’re done. (Luckily there’s an ongoing sequel series to enjoy!) THIS FIC IS SUPREMELY GOOD! And HEAVY on the Jarvis love! DO YOURSELVES A FAVOUR AND TRY IT SERIOUSLY YOU WON’T REGRET READING THIS. Highest of recs goes to this. Summary:  (We came, we saw, we loved.) Tony's not the hero type. To suggest otherwise would be outlandish and fantastic, clearly.  Yet somehow, he's the one that's responsible for saving the universe. Now, he's a decade in the past. He's just revealed to the world he's Iron Man.  Tony finds himself facing dozens of old problems, and as time passes the ripple effect of his presence generates ever more new issues. All the while, the impending threat of Thanos looms ever-closer.

With One More Try (Can We Start Again) - by Infinite_Monkeys 5 Chapter fic, and it’s Completed. Time travel fix it, not strictly tony stark-centric but still a firm fave, A masterpiece. Definitely in my top 5 time travel fics and i’ve read a LOT so that’s saying something! Contains: That Good Loki Content. Summary: Loki's attempt to conquer Earth has, to his great dismay, succeeded spectacularly. When Thanos sends him to collect the Time Stone, he strikes a deal with the Stone's keeper: He'll be sent back to the beginning of the invasion, and this time, armed with knowledge about his opponents, he can lose properly. Or: a time loop fic in which Loki does increasingly desperate things to try and get the Avengers to defeat him already.

(Science) Bros before (HYDRA) Hoes - by Kizmet Tony is the captain of the Bruce Banner defence squad, Legal Shenanigans, It’s marked as Ongoing but what’s there is satisfying enough on its own I promise, basically a huge callout for Johannesburg, Hulk deserves a hug. Summary: The Hulk isn’t taken from the planet after AoU, there’s no one conveniently out of reach to take the fall for Johannesburg… A choice is going to have to be made: Wanda or the Hulk. 

A Larger Matter - by TheSovereigntyofReality Oneshot. Consequences! The ‘Steve’s blood’ scene in the agent carter tv show always pissed me off so this fic was uh Cathartic shall we say, but honestly you can read it and have it make perfect sense even without having seen the show, Howard Stark, teenaged Tony, Team Stark. Woohoo. Summary: When Peggy Carter tipped out Steve's blood, she had no idea the hornet's nest she just kicked.

Who in their Right Mind... - by AnonEhouse Crackfic, Oneshot Summary: Dum-E saves the universe

Catching Butterflies - by GremlinSR Ongoing, 6 chapters and counting, very very good content, like you wouldn’t think so from the summary which is a little bland but it’s actually very very good. Believe me when I tell you: It contains The Good Stuff. Time Travel fix it, Bamf Tony Stark, Bamf yet confused T’Challa. Summary: Tony snaps his fingers...and wakes up five days before the events that led to the death of JARVIS and the creation of Ultron. He decides he won't let the future he lived come to pass, no matter how thoroughly he has to destroy the timeline.

The War is Far From Over Now - by Dont_call_me_Carrie Ongoing, 40 dhapters and counting, this fic is clearly the author’s baby and they put so much work into it so watching it grow is a pleasure. Protective Jarvis, Protective Stark Industries Employees who like their boss. Rhodey is a good Bro, Awesome Pepper Potts. Fix it via Accidental World Domination. Summary: In which Tony does not, in fact, intend to take over the world.... unfortunately, everyone else missed that particular memo.

Can I Quote You On This? - by Wix Oneshot, Mcu critical, Avengers Critical, salty, extremely salty. Uncovering Plot Holes is easy when the road’s full of them. Summary:  Christine was sent in to just do a puff piece about the Avengers. What she uncovers instead is so much more interesting.

Strong Enough to Bend - by Kizmet Oneshot, salt and shade, tony stark & steve rogers, the author has Opinions about mcu steve so if that’s not your thing i wouldn’t rec it, not steve friendly? Summary: Steve ‘watches’ the videos on Tony Stark that Shield provides him with

Take that Away and What are You? - by Kizmet Oneshot, kidnapping, bamf tony stark, not steve friendly, I love this fic Summary: Tony and Steve get kidnapped. Since Tony’s wearing a tux, Steve figures it’s all up to him to get them out of this mess. Steve never really thought much about the conditions under which Tony built the Mach I.

Facing the devil (and the deep, blue sea) - by petroltogo Oneshot, au, not steve friendly, steve isn’t a good person in this fic, but it’s juicy, soulmate au, soulmarks Summary:  Alternate title: No obvious truth  Post-CACW: In an alternate universe where everyone has the name of their soulmate and the name of their greatest enemy written on their wrists, recently captured ex-Avenger Steve Rogers receives an unexpected visitor two days before the start of his trial. [The trick is figuring out which name is tied to which fate.] [The trick is realising you’ll never know.]

Asking Why - by Kizmet Oneshot. the relief and catharsis of logic. Nat, Hill, Cho, Rhodey and Pepper sit Tony down to talk about what led to the creation of Ultron. Scapegoating is stupid: The Fanfic edition. Summary: Applying analytical techniques in the aftermath of Ultron

#Tony Stark Fic Rec List #tony stark #fic recs #tony stark fic recs #Iron Man #Fic Rec List #Tony Stark has a heart fic recs #Iron Man fic recs #Avengers #Civil War Team Iron Man fics #warning i am very much pro civil war team iron man so some of these fic skew that way #i tagged for it #but as the marvel fandom can be pretty vicious #i'd like to say once and for all don't send me anon hate for reccing the fics that pick a side #don't like don't read #these are just fics I happen to like PERSONALLY

[chirpingtiger]

“You can find our super rational conversations on my blog but it’s seriously an entire different person who was given this blog just to be angry and annoying and basically ruin everyone’s good time by being a bitch.”

@one-piece-of-harry

Would this be a bad time to point out that 90% of the argument you had with “the old person” was actually the same person you’re currently complaining about...?

(Like really, who the hell else writes all of their replies as 10-page essays?)

That whole big long post you’re lauding for being so rational and polite? Yeah, that was mostly her.

There have been two of us on here for a while. Everything she posts, she clears with me before posting. I didn’t hand over the blog, I gave her permission to start a fight because you had said the conversation was getting tedious and we both wanted some action.

Or did you forget this?

The only reason you’re noticing any difference is because we’ve both just had our tolerance level worn to about 0 by Tony stans over the past few months, and have stopped caring about being quite as polite to people who are A-okay with sending and encouraging anon hate, or defending people who go on anon to call names and tell non-Tony fans to go die, or hijacking unrelated posts to go off with non-canon “hot takes” about how Steve and Co. are totally evil.

Additionally, after all of the garbage you throw at the people I follow/talk with, you expect me to be polite and understanding toward you? (Yes, I can see your replies to other people’s blogs. Yes, I know exactly what you’ve been up to.)

That’s pretty presumptuous.

“This blog would comment on every single innocuous tony stark post just to be a bitch.”

Oh, you mean the “innocuous Tony Stark posts” like these?

The one about Steve lifting the hammer

The one about Steve tearing off the helmet in Siberia to save Tony

The one about Steve and his friends being there for one another

This one attacking Steve for “lying to Tony”

This one about how team Cap need to fuck off because they mooch off of Tony

This one about how Steve is a liar and traitor and Tony was right all along but nobody listened to him

This one attacking all of team Cap

This one that started as a generic Civil War gif set

This one that started as a generic Avengers gif set

This one that attacks Wanda and specifically asks for an argument

This one asking why tony stans feel the need to attack Wanda constantly

Or maybe you’re getting confused with what is an “innocuous Tony Stark post” and what is a hijacked Steve-positive post or an anti-team-Cap post.

Most of the posts on this blog are either original content or replies to arguments on anti-team-cap posts and hijacked team-cap-positive posts.

The post in question is the only one that’s been mostly just “pro Tony” (although I would argue the “innocuous,” as it’s heavily implying that Team Cap was lazing about doing nothing while Tony was the only one prepping for Thanos) and even then I merely pointed out that the Avengers weren’t likely going to be surprised by a new suit because that’s what Tony does.

He makes suits.

He spends his spare time upgrading the Iron Man suit. He’s constantly building more, better, bigger suits. He tinkers constantly. He can’t seem to stop himself from building suits.

Hell, the Avengers would probably be more surprised if he showed up two years later and didn’t have some kind of an improvement.

But clearly, pointing this out is enough to warrant an entire call-out post from you attacking my friend.

(Keep in mind, everyone - no poking fun is allowed when it comes to Tony Stark or his fans.)

Honestly, she’s still willing to concede a lot when it comes to Tony. Me, a little less so.

But nobody ever goes for the realistic arguments. It’s all just attacking any character that’s not Tony in an attempt to make him look better.

Even you seem to be right back to “Captain Asshole and that Nazi Wanda” like the rest of them.

Honestly, she’s been surprisingly polite considering some of the comments she’s responding to.

“Before when I went to their blog? An actual whole person used it. There was agents of SHIELD shit and, like, actual content that wasn’t awful.“

Um....I don’t actually have any Agents of SHIELD posts on this blog. At all. I mostly posted Gravity Falls comics and Snape or Draco callouts before deciding to stay on my literary blog and annoy Cassandra Clare fans. So I really am not sure where you got the impression that this discourse thing is recent or new...

And we’ve actually been alternating posts and replies for the past couple months. You apparently just can’t tell us apart.

And no, neither of us plan on stopping this anytime soon.

We know that we can take the garbage and abuse that most of the stans throw around and just brush it off without a problem. And we’d much rather have it directed at us than at the other fans who are just here to like Steve or Wanda or Clint or Sam or Scott or Natasha or Bucky, and who shouldn’t have to constantly put up with with their posts being hijacked by Tony stans who are desperate to make sure that nothing positive can be said about any character who isn’t Tony Stark.

If this bothers you, I strongly suggest you start asking other Tony Stans to stop harassing people who don’t like their fav, or you simply block me, because so long as there are still tony stans that feel the need to harass anyone who doesn’t like their fav or who will attack any other character just to make Tony look good, we’re both going to keep on replying.

Why?

And if you’re going to start in on that “defending people who leave anon abuse for people who don’t like Tony” garbage as well, then we’ll fight you too.

#honestly I had left that conversation thinking that maybe you were rational and polite as well #but you've done a very good job of proving that wrong recently

[xtruss]

Britain’s delusions that it could take on the Taliban alone are ludicrous - what are our empire-nostalgic MPs smoking?

— Published: 19 Aug 2021 | RT

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a debate in parliament on the situation in Afghanistan in London, Britain August 18, 2021. © Reuters / UK Parliament / Roger Harris

Politicians think that the answer to 20 years of military failure in Afghanistan is, er, more war – and that we should send troops back without US support. Given we couldn’t even hold Helmand last time, this is just fantasy.

On Wednesday the British parliament reconvened in an emergency session to allow MPs to vent their spleen over the situation in Afghanistan. It was a scene of self-righteous and delusional posturing and indignation over why the UK had allowed the collapse of the Kabul government and had been too subservient in following the United States.

No, not a session of regret, remorse and acceptance that Britain has wasted 20 years in another pointless conflict, but largely one promulgating the notion that “more war” was the answer to the Afghan ‘problem’, even though two decades of fighting had achieved precisely nothing, save death and defeat. And this new war is apparently to be conducted independent of the US.

For a moment, it seemed we might have been back in 1842, when Parliament debated Britain’s first military humiliation in Afghanistan, after an entire British invasion force of around 16,000 troops and civilians had been annihilated. Except the MPs back then accepted and faced reality: as one MP in June, 1842, put it, it had been an expedition full of “folly and injustice” and Britain was now “reaping bitter fruits, and suffering a severe but just retribution”.

Oh, for such common sense from MPs this week. But instead, the usual buzzword phrases of “our responsibility” and “our duty” were strung around, as if to assume Britain could only ever act out of righteousness and mission in its foreign policy as opposed to the soul-searching of past imperialism. This was not just from Tories, but also from the so-called ‘opposition’, the neoconservative Blairite Labour Party under Keir Starmer, which, in negating the legacy of Jeremy Corbyn, has become even more ravenously pro-war.

Our fantasizing MPs – always willing to send young men to their deaths from the comfort of their green-leather benches – either know nothing of history or ignore it. They talk blithely and ridiculously of Britain going “back in” to Afghanistan to nobly save women and young girls from Taliban rule, but forget that our soldiers couldn’t even hold Helmand – just one province out of 34 in the country.

In fact, during their eight years there between 2006–2014, besieged British troops could only control tiny fractions of that province. As Frank Ledwidge, a former military intelligence officer, wrote in his illuminating book, Losing Small Wars: British Military Failure in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was “luminously clear from the daily reports that British forces controlled only the area a few hundred metres from the barrels of the machine-guns guarding our beleaguered bases”.

It’s as if Britain's lawmakers don’t actually understand what Britain’s foreign policy has been for the last 75 years, or at least pretend not to. It’s never been about “assuming leadership” or acting as an independent power anymore; those days are long gone.

The policy is simply to “follow the United States”, like a faithful poodle on his master’s lead, in the miscalculation that this always constitutes the “national interest”. There has never been more to our foreign policy than that. And as much as the MPs berate Boris Johnson’s apparent lack of leadership, they are foolish to think it could have been done in any other way.

The MPs dramatically inflate the potential impact the UK could have posed to the outcome should it have defied the US, and continued with a military mission in Afghanistan. Ironically, former Prime Minister Theresa May challenged this notion, but not on the conviction that Britain should stop being Washington’s drone or act in a realistic manner, but that it should be independently more hawkish in its pursuits, especially in tackling ‘China’ and ‘Russia’.

All of this is so utterly delusional that the men in white coats should be swiftly sent to Westminster to help the inmates. Let me see if I can spell it out too these MPs in some simple words: When you can be militarily defeated by a few rag-tag terrorists in the inhospitable terrain of Helmand province, you’re not going to stand much chance against the People’s Liberation Army or the Spetsnaz. Sorry.

Britain is not capable of “ruling the waves” anymore and is better off just avoiding such adventurous pursuits altogether, and should stop spouting the whitewashed mythology of British imperialism, which was firmly on display here this week.

In the midst of all this vapid neoconservative venting, what the debate desperately and concerningly lacked was a soul-searching introspection into the legacy of Britain’s recent military adventures. And, in particular, a proper study of the damage done by Blairism, where the ever self-serving sycophant Tony Blair devoutely followed Washington into destructive conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the latter of which was illegal under international law, even when other European countries rejected the idea.

There was scant condemnation of him or George W. Bush this week. Instead of recognizing how these conflicts caused the deaths of hundreds of British and American soldiers and tens of thousands of Afghans, and became conduits for terrorism and radicalisation back home, the voices who dominated the session were adamant that only more war, more occupation, and more conflict were the answers.

How exactly has any of this been in Britain’s national interest? And how would it be in its national interest to single-handedly fight the Taliban alone without the military muscle of the US? Are the lives of our young men that expendable? The speech of Tom Tugenhadt, a military veteran turned MP, got plaudits it really didn’t deserve. He is one of the most unapologetically pro-war voices in the House of Commons and seems happy for ever more British young men to perish in fighting a force they are not capable of defeating.

For elite former army officers like him, all this is easy enough to say, but what about the 19-year-old young man from my hometown who died in this war? Are lives such as his expendable? The solution that Britain should not have been in Afghanistan in the first place never seems to pass their minds.

They don’t regret the Afghanistan war, only that it has ended, and the messy manner of it. Should 20 years have been extended to 30, or even 40? That seemed to be the real message on display at Westminster. These MPs not only do not know the realistic limits of Britain’s foreign policy, they don’t seem to understand what “national interest” truly is.

To pretend British policy is based on upholding values is just an outright fabrication, propagated by the triumphalism of beating Germany twice, victories which allowed us to rewrite the crimes of our imperial past.

Nazism was more evil than us, therefore everything we did that was bad is annulled, right? But the history books don’t lie, and the British imperial way has long been to use force to promote its commercial and economic interest, and then to mask that with the justification of values. So that the legacy of the Empire is rewritten, not as an exploitative force designed to extract wealth from other countries, but as an enlightened mission to bring civilization and enlightenment to the heathens.

For all the UK’s talk about women's rights in Afghanistan, they have been otherwise content to ignore these completely in its close relationship with Saudi Arabia, which has a similar, if not as extreme, outlook on gender. To pretend the UK was in Afghanistan purely as a sense of altruistic duty to help that country’s populace is also a fanciful claim. The US invaded in its “national interest”, it left in its “national interest” – and the UK never opposes what the US wants, it’s as simple as that; there are no values involved. Are we really not capable of understanding that?

British lawmakers should have been regretting they were ever involved in all these conflicts, not whipping up rage demanding more of them. The problem is that the UK has no sense of pragmatism or reality about its role in the world, and nor is it willing to come to terms with its sycophancy to the US, even when it is obvious that it is not in its national interests to do so. The last Prime Minister to see sense in this matter was Harold Wilson, who snubbed the Vietnam War.

But since then, London has heeded Washington’s call every single time, even when it has not been appropriate to do so, and the capitulation seems to stem from a ridiculously inflated sense of status and a denial of who really calls the shots. Boris Johnson did what Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, John Major, Margaret Thatcher et al would have done when a US president said, “Time’s up, let's go!”

It’s time for some honesty – about our limitations and capabilities, our place in the world, our dysfunctional relationship with Washington, and our past misdeeds and mistakes. But will that ever happen? I doubt it.

[skelliet-0-n]

The Terrible Politics of PS4′s Spider-Man

This Spider-Man guy likes beating up criminals a little too much.

The DLC for the PS4 Spider-Man recently went on sale, so my housemate bought it, and I’ve started playing it again. Full disclosure, I love the gameplay. It seems a direct spiritual successor to the PS2's Spider-Man 2 game, and it's endlessly freeing to effortlessly swing from skyscraper to skyscraper.

But in the process of obsessively completing missions to unlock the underpants outfit, I’ve become reacquainted with how confused and abhorrent the politics of Spider-Man are. It’s largely in relation to the police, the NYPD, which has always had a fraught relationship with Spider-Man throughout his existence - comics, films, and games.

But this time, it feels utterly unlike any previous incarnation - while this relationship remains fraught, it’s only in terms of how the police view Spider-Man (only in the sense that he’s doing their job for them). Spider-Man, on the other hand, is unwavering in his adoration of the NYPD, the ‘brave boys in blue’. This is deeply troubling, for obvious reasons - Spider-Man is the point-of-view character, and in a world increasingly disgusted at the wanton violence, racism, and lack of accountability displayed by not just the US police force, but indeed police forces worldwide, it’s utterly tone-deaf.

The police in Spider-Man are best represented by Jefferson Davis, an average police officer and father of future Spider-Man Miles Morales. Davis is a good cop - noble, self-sacrificing, and community-minded. This is how Spider-Man perceives the force at large, rarely forgetting to thank those brave boys in blue for their service. Spider-Man’s internal dialogue often references the supposed friction between him and the police, but you’d never know from the actual cops in the game, and he nevertheless goes out of his way to support them.

You could argue that this is an aspirational representation - what the writers want the police to be. But there are a few problems with this. First, the police aren’t really all that great - it’s just that the immoral things they do in the real world are ignored, whitewashed. Some of them are generally antsy around Spider-Man himself, but equally, many are adoring (and of course, Spider-Man himself is similarly adoring of the police force).

The other problem with it foregoing a real-world representation for an idealised representation is the fact that Spider-Man already engages with other real-world representations. Jonah J. Jameson has forgone his role as newspaper editor to play talkback radio host, his wild accusations and angry ranting a clear analogue to Alex Jones. Norman Osborn, meanwhile, has become mayor in this story, rather like another high-profile businessman turned populist politician. So, to ignore the reality of the police force is irresponsible, given that the game already critiques existing institutions (admittedly, institutions that are safe to critique by the standards of liberal defenders of the status quo). 

There’s even condemnation levelled at the fascist paramilitary organisation Sable, which continues to overstep its boundaries, depriving people of their civil rights. Spider-Man takes the time to (with utter lack of self-awareness) shake his head at this, declare that it's not how things are done in New York - before going right back to gushing over the NYPD. In 2018, the NYPD held a transgender Latina woman overnight, charging her with ‘false personation’, misgendering her, and mocking her. If that doesn’t sound like an autocratic organisation depriving people of their rights, acting above the law, and being an antagonistic force towards parts of the community, then God knows what is.

This is equally an issue with Brooklyn 99, arguably the world’s most influential fictional representation of the police force. Again, it shamelessly portrays the police as fundamentally good, despite the inclusion of the rare bad cop. Instead, the show depicts the NYPD as being diverse in terms of race and sexuality, though if the above example proves anything, it’s that this is far from the truth. It’s not just ineffectual wishing for a better tomorrow, it’s actively creating a false narrative, one that is irresponsible in its refusal to acknowledge the harm that police forces do.

On the one hand, you could say that Spider-Man is no more problematic than crime fiction, in its black-and-white moral of order versus chaos. Superheroes and crime fiction are inextricably intertwined, are they not? But Spider-Man goes further - it brazenly dehumanises criminals (by ‘criminals’ I mean the everyday criminals, not the supervillains, who get complex backstories), reducing them not to victims of circumstance and poverty, but simply to animals that long for destruction and self-gain. Of course, Spider-Man could never give every two-bit goon a backstory, but it goes too far the other direction. Crime is some sort of malevolent force, completely other from ‘normal’ humans. Criminals are some sort of vicious, orc-like beings (and lest we forget, even Tolkien had trouble reconciling the moral implications of orcs, sentient beings who were apparently pure evil and less-than-human).

To return to Brooklyn 99, the first episode demonstrates the two lead characters (both model cops) in a race to see who can arrest the most people. Sure, it’s treated as comedy, but it’s still tone-deaf against the context of real-world abuses of police power, and presents criminals as abstracted, shapeless masses that police have to dispose of to keep us all safe. There’s not even the slightest acknowledgement of the complex socio-economic circumstances that lead many to actions that are considered crime.

45% seems way too high to me.

This article explains, better than I ever could, the dehumanisation of criminals in Spider-Man. In particular, there’s a contrast between the in-game Riker’s Island, a hive of scum and villainy, and its real-world counterpart, a prison full of disadvantaged groups, trapped by a system constructed to keep them down.

Even Spider-Man’s dialogue demonstrates this. In every crime-busting side mission, Spider-Man seems to view criminals as misbehaving children. Spider-Man’s gleeful efforts to return them to prison are jarring and distasteful, compared to real life, where revolving door prison systems keep minorities and low-income people beaten down, thanks to the serious handicap of being labelled a criminal.

Spider-Man’s tone-deaf dialogue shines through again in describing the cops. Coming across a shootout between police and escaped convicts (again presented as thoughtless marauders), he compares the scene to a Wild West setting, of brave lawmen engaged in a firefight in some urban canyon. And then there’s Spider-Man’s juvenile, faux-serious self-narration as 'Spider-Cop’. It’s ironic that Spider-Cop evokes a child’s efforts to play a cop; such a child would have, no doubt, a largely positive view of the police, thanks to media representation such as Spider-Man’s pro-police narrative.

Maybe the game exclusively presents police as noble heroes because the writers tacitly approve of their real-world heavy-handed treatment of minorities. After all, Spider-Man himself declares drug-dealing to be his 'least favourite criminal activity', and while he corrects himself to say it’s one of his least favourites, it’s very telling that he has such a strong reaction to a crime that, in the US, has largely been used to victimise minorities and opposition to the elite. During the Nixon administration, for example, the criminalisation of heroin and marijuana was used as an excuse to harass the black and anti-Vietnam communities respectively, neither of which were friends to Nixon.

As a side note, the clear association between Alex Jones and Jonah J. Jameson is evidence of Spider-Man’s uncertain message, much like the imbalance between the critique of Sable and the lionisation of the NYPD. While he starts out as a bitter, conspiracy-theorising radio host with a clear vendetta, he starts to make intelligent, sane points. For example, he starts to question the conflicting interests of Osborn, a capitalist who has been elected mayor of New York (again, an obvious allusion to Trump). He also urges citizens to fight for their rights in the face of Sable’s abuse of power - is he supposed to be a satirical lunatic, or one of the few sane voices? In a world as black-and-white as Spider-Man’s, a character like Jameson just seems confused.

To return to the point, perhaps this begs the question, what’s the right way to depict the police? Maybe, if you’re not going to take any kind of stand on the injustice they commit, you shouldn’t depict them at all in a piece of fiction, especially if it’s something fun and light-hearted like Spider-Man or Brooklyn 99. Admittedly, in the case of the latter, that would necessitate it not existing, but then, you wouldn’t write a buddy comedy about two US troops in the Iraq War, would you?

DISCLAIMER: You could say that it’s just a game, and that politics should be kept out of this. But those who say they’re apolitical really just mean they’re content with the status quo - everything is political. Especially if it depicts an organisation like the police.

#spider-man #police #politics #gaming #ps4

[mattelektras]

hey if you get a moment and you feel like it could you please do a "where to start reading" list for colleen wing?

i havent read loooads of colleen stuff so this is bound to be non exhaustive but!!! anyway!!!

her first appearance was in marvel premiere #19. where she stayed until #25

marvel premiere then kind of carries on/becomes iron fist vol 1. and im pretty sure she’s in and out of it for that entire series 

deadly hands of kung fu #32-33 for some good n wholesome misty/colleen content

power man vol 1 #48-49

then there was a really random stint she had with the xmen from uncanny xmen vol 1 #118-124. ive only ever skim read it because i skim read all of uncanny, so im guessing its non essential

power man and iron fist vol 1 from #59 onwards. then she’s there pretty much constantly, with maybe a few absences (i know she’s not there for a while from #108 but she’s back in #117

marvel comics presents #149 (daughters of the dragon issue)

heroes for hire vol 1

daughters of the dragon

heroes for hire vol 2; ties in with civil war but knowing the basics of the general event eg pro reg vs anti reg would be enough, if you havent already read civil war

immortal iron fist #5-6. non essential, just cute luke/danny/misty/colleen antics, then #9-19

daughters of the shadow; shadowland tie in, but again, if u dont wanna read all of shadowland, then knowing that matt’s possessed and in charge of the hand, and just... being a little evil, would be enough

i dont know if she’s been i anything particularly significant since then?? but the most recent power man and iron fist book and the upcoming iron fist and power man solos would be a good bet as to where she’s gonna be next

#comic recs #i know she was in namor for a while but ive never read that run do idk to what extent #anonymous #q & a

[medicalmarijuana-news]

Cannabis Activism in Japan—Yes, that’s a Thing

Japan’s reputation as having some of the harshest marijuana laws in the developed world is well deserved. Less than a gram of pot can get you five years with hard labor. But it is important to understand that the Japanese don’t single out cannabis as being particularly loathsome. In fact, it has an important place at the heart of Japanese culture. So where does this animosity toward smokers come from? And what can be done about it?

The History of Hemp in Japan

To begin to answer these questions, it is perhaps best to look at the history of cannabis use in Japan, and the history of American influence in Japan’s government.

The Jōmon period of Japan’s earliest prehistory began about 16,000 years ago and gets its name from the patterns found in pottery from this time. The name means “cord-marked” and comes from the practice of pressing rope into wet clay as decoration. And yes, that rope was made from hemp.

Author and curator of the Taima-Hakubutsukan (Marijuana Museum), Junichi Takayasu, points out that in addition to being an important food source, the plant was used for cloth, paper, fishing line and the many other benefits its strong and straight fibers are renowned for. His own personal connection to the plant came from learning how ninja used it as a training tool. Jumping over the plant as part of a young warrior’s daily training regime would ensure the apprentices were being pushed to do their best, as the plant’s rapid growth forced them to jump higher and higher each day.

In order to spread the word about Japan’s history with hemp, Takayasu has published several books about cannabis. His most recent was crowd-funded, raising over 260 percent of his goal.

His new book is dedicated to the plant’s industrial uses, but the medicinal properties of cannabis have also been widely recognized as an integral part of traditional Asian medicine for as long as these arts have been practiced. As a result, Japan’s landrace strains have a THC content averaging around four percent—more than enough to be psychoactive and indicating a long history of cultivation for potency.

In fact, Japan’s relationship with cannabis is so deep the native Japanese religion, Shinto, requires it for the ceremonial ropes and paper seen at shrines throughout Japan. However, with the shortage of quality hemp, many local shrines are forced to use cotton or plastic rope and store-bought paper instead.

The War on Weed

So if Japan has such an intrinsic relationship with cannabis, why is it illegal, and why are the punishments so severe? The blame for Japan’s weed prohibition can be placed squarely, as is so often the case, on the shoulders of the American government. You see, no Japanese person ever voted or decided to make pot illegal. It was the occupying U.S. government that did that.

In 1948, while Gen. MacArthur was the head of the U.S. Occupation Forces in Japan, he forced prohibition onto the populace through the Cannabis Control Act. Before that, it was grown just about everywhere and was used by just about everyone. It was rarely smoked, but it was an important part of industry and commerce—which, some experts say, is exactly why it was targeted.

By denying the Japanese access to a cheap, renewable resource with so many uses, the U.S. military could crush Japan’s capability to make war. It is telling that no laws regarding cocaine or amphetamines were forced on the Japanese under this act. And now, Japan is the only country in the world where meth use tops weed use among illicit substances.

In the beginning, the Japanese did not take kindly to this strong arm tactic and fought hard against it, forcing the U.S. government to license some growers and allow hemp farming by those who had traditionally raised the plant as their main cash crop. Other small scale farms were shut down, and from that point on, the majority of hemp used in manufacturing and Shinto rites has been imported from China.

A Convenient Lie

The Japanese people, and the government, collectively forgot their own heritage due to the suppression campaign, and the issue was largely ignored for decades. But in the 1960s, the government found out just how much power prohibition had actually given them.

During the war, U.S. bombings in Vietnam and Cambodia raised public concerns and anti-war sentiments among the youth and academics in Japan’s universities. By using pot-busts as a weapon, the Japanese government had found the perfect way to silence the open minded, who had brought back a love of cannabis from the counter-cultures of the West and from India’s enlightened traditions. By branding the opposition criminals and drug users, the right-wing political elites were able to continue consolidating power, and the marijuana activist movement in Japan has been effectively powerless ever since. 

In Japan the Law is the Law

In Japan, the idea that weed itself is somehow an evil takes a backseat when meting out punishment. The fact that a law was broken is all that matters. In the West, civil disobedience campaigns propagated by outlaw growers and those willing to take the risk have allowed people to light up, share a toke and spread the word since the very beginning of the unconscionable War on Drugs. But in Japan, this was never really an option. Because in Japanese courts, the rule of law, and obedience to those above you, is put before all other considerations, including whether or not you have actually done anything morally wrong. The result has been an iron fisted approach to sentencing and a tyrannical invasion of privacy for anyone even suspected of supplying weed.

So what do the Japanese people think about the plant itself? The answer is simple: They don’t.

The vast majority of Japanese know next to nothing about the true nature of cannabis. They are taught it is an illegal drug while they are in school and very little else. Most do not even realize the hemp they use in their national religion is cannabis, nor that it must be imported because of the U.S. government’s global eradication campaign.

National Identity is a Dangerous Tool

Looking at this situation, it is easy to see how the Japanese far-right ended up on the same side of the fence as the left concerning hemp. But Nao Yamamoto, a professor of civics at Kyoto’s Bukkyo University, points out that this is a complicated relationship

“The nationalists want to bring back pre-war traditions, in this way they are similar to the West’s Evangelical Christians,” Yamamoto explained to HIGH TIMES. “While cannabis traditions are an obvious part of that pre-war culture, and therefore an important part of their platform, they also want to suppress ethnic, economic and sexual minorities. These positions make it hard for progressives to support their efforts, even while agreeing with their stance on cannabis.” 

Informing the Populace

Education is key to breaking through the wall of oppression—which is why the powers that be are doing everything they can to suppress information regarding the true role of cannabis as a powerful force for positive change. There are no documentaries and very little literature about pot in Japanese. The mainstream news outlets refuse to cover it, and even the wave of legalization going on around the world may as well not be happening, as far as Japanese media coverage goes. But Japan does not exist in a vacuum, and activists in the U.S. now have the perfect chance to help. Some American activists even feel it is their obligation, since the government that made it illegal here in the first place was America’s, not Japan’s.

Yamamoto says, “American and international activists can definitely help. Through sponsoring music events, youth groups and by funding articles and documentaries about cannabis aimed at the Japanese, real change can finally be pushed forward.”

And efforts to revitalize Japan’s reform movement are more possible now than ever before, thanks to the internet and the new-media revolution.

The pro-legalization group Cannabist-Kansai was founded in 1999 as an activist network focused on educating and informing the Japanese people. They sponsor events throughout the year, and organize an annual Marijuana March in Osaka.

In addition, Cannabist-Kansai collaborates with several other organizations, such as the Taima Houdou Center (Cannabis Press Center), the Japan Hemp Association and the Japan Medical Marijuana Association. According to Yamamoto, “The activities of the industrial, medical and pro-legalization groups overlap, and almost all the people working on reform are acquainted with each other. I think that the core group is only about several dozen people.”

While this seems like an incredibly small number, it is important to remember that many more contribute to crowd-funding campaigns, take part in marches and attend seminars on cannabis, but the government’s paranoia-inducing tactics make it hard for those who want to stand up. The movement in Japan is still struggling against this oppression, but the interest is there.

Medical Marijuana in Japan

Japan has a rapidly aging population, and all the public health issues that accompany this kind of demographic shift are exacerbated by its declining birthrate. There may be no other country on earth that needs a robust medical cannabis system as much as Japan. Currently, a record number of people in Japan are refusing treatment for cancer due to the complications that arise from chemotherapy. In other words, people are choosing to die instead of going through suffering that could easily be alleviated by weed.

This situation was challenged last year by a 58-year-old man with terminal liver cancer. Masamitsu Yamamoto, who never had any other legal troubles, was arrested with 200 grams of pot. He used cannabis as a last resort when all other treatments failed

“I want to be saved, that’s all,” he said. “I’ve tried everything else that modern medicine offers.”

According to Yamamoto, his outlook and condition improved remarkably when he began using cannabis, saying the levels of tumor markers in his blood fell by 95 percent. He also pointed out that he grew his own and never sold or distributed it, so who was his arrest supposed to protect? Yamamoto fought the charge and was forcing the government to address prohibition as the public health nightmare it is. Unfortunately, Yamamoto’s condition deteriorated drastically after his arrest, and he passed away before his trial ended—leaving the question of whether or not the sick deserve medicine for the courts to ignore.

But while his efforts have not yet borne fruit, he did plant seeds.

Hideo Nagayoshi is a medical marijuana activist and author of many books such as An Introduction to Cannabis and An Introduction to Medical Marijuana (both in Japanese). He worked with Yamamoto as a member of the Japan Medical Marijuana Association and is trying to change attitudes about the role of cannabis in traditional and western medicine.

“I was at the trial, and it was clear the prosecution was trapped. It is terrible the courts were able to close the case due to Mr. Yamamoto’s passing. However, he was able to put forth the necessity of medical marijuana to the populace,” he said. “I will continue to spread this message as far as possible.”

Nagayoshi feels that people who are in the same position as Yamamoto should press legislators for immediate reform.

“This is what our group was founded to undertake,” he continued. “It is also important for patients in the early stages of cancer to go to the U.S. and undergo treatment with medical marijuana. To this end, it is necessary for patients, their families and caregivers to know the truth about this plant.”

Currently, patients in Japan have no option but to suffer or face arrest.

The Steps We Need to Take

Ending the disastrous global war on weed will take an equally global response.

We need to stand with our brothers and sisters fighting for their rights, regardless of whether or not they speak the same language, live on the same continent or follow the same set of beliefs. The activists in Japan constantly face arrest, harassment and abuse by government officials determined to stop the truth about cannabis from getting out. But if there is anything America’s continually successful legalization efforts have taught us, it is that in the end, the truth will win.

Please contact Professor Nao Yamamoto HERE for more information or details on how you can help.

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

from Medical Marijuana News http://ift.tt/2i6WUvZ via https://www.potbox.com/

#Medical Marijuana News