#commanding an army to conquer the Soviet Union a second time

[ermarl10jpx]

Failed Invasion of USSR

Although Adolf Hitler had congratulated himself on the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of 1939 as a matter of expediency, anti-bolshevism had remained his most profound emotional conviction as World War II entered its second year. Following the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states and of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina in June 1940, which put Soviet forces in proximity to the Romanian oil fields on which Germany depended, Hitler’s long-standing interest in overthrowing the Soviet regime was heightened. He became acutely suspicious of the intentions of the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, and he began to feel that he could not afford to wait to complete the subjugation of western Europe, as he had originally planned, before dealing with the Soviet Union.

Hitler and his generals had originally scheduled the invasion of the U.S.S.R. for mid-May 1941, but the unforeseen necessity of invading Yugoslavia and Greece in April of that year forced them to postpone the Soviet campaign to late June. The swiftness of Hitler’s Balkan victories enabled him to keep to this revised timetable, but the five weeks’ delay shortened the time for carrying out the invasion of the U.S.S.R. and was to prove the more serious because in 1941 the Russian winter would arrive earlier than usual. Nevertheless, Hitler and the heads of the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH, or German Army High Command)—namely, the army commander in chief, Walther von Brauchitsch, and the army general staff chief, Franz Halder—were convinced that the Red Army could be defeated in two or three months and that by the end of October the Germans would have conquered the whole European part of Russia and Ukraine west of a line stretching from Arkhangelsk (Archangel) to Astrakhan. The invasion of the Soviet Union was originally given the code name Operation Fritz, but, as preparations began, Hitler renamed it Operation Barbarossa, after the Holy Roman emperor Frederick Barbarossa (reigned 1152–90), who sought to establish German predominance in Europe.

For the campaign against the Soviet Union, the Germans allotted almost 150 divisions containing a total of about three million men. Among those units were 19 panzer divisions, and in total the Barbarossa force had about 3,000 tanks, 7,000 artillery pieces, and 2,500 aircraft. It was in effect the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history. The Germans’ strength was further increased by more than 30 divisions of Finnish and Romanian troops.

The Soviet Union had twice or perhaps three times the number of both tanks and aircraft as the Germans had, but their aircraft were mostly obsolete. The Soviet tanks were about equal to those of the Germans, however. A greater hindrance to Hitler’s chances of victory was that the German intelligence service underestimated the troop reserves that Stalin could bring up from the depths of the U.S.S.R. The Germans correctly estimated that there were about 150 divisions in the western parts of the U.S.S.R. and reckoned that 50 more might be produced. But the Soviets actually brought up more than 200 fresh divisions by the middle of August, making a total of 360. The consequence was that, though the Germans succeeded in shattering the original Soviet armies by superior technique, they then found their path blocked by fresh ones. The effects of the miscalculations were increased because much of August was wasted while Hitler and his advisers were having long arguments as to what course they should follow after their initial victories. Another factor in the Germans’ calculations was purely political, though no less mistaken; they believed that within three to six months of their invasion, the Soviet regime would collapse from lack of domestic support.

The Soviet Union had twice or perhaps three times the number of both tanks and aircraft as the Germans had, but their aircraft were mostly obsolete. The Soviet tanks were about equal to those of the Germans, however. A greater hindrance to Hitler’s chances of victory was that the German intelligence service underestimated the troop reserves that Stalin could bring up from the depths of the U.S.S.R. The Germans correctly estimated that there were about 150 divisions in the western parts of the U.S.S.R. and reckoned that 50 more might be produced. But the Soviets actually brought up more than 200 fresh divisions by the middle of August, making a total of 360. The consequence was that, though the Germans succeeded in shattering the original Soviet armies by superior technique, they then found their path blocked by fresh ones. The effects of the miscalculations were increased because much of August was wasted while Hitler and his advisers were having long arguments as to what course they should follow after their initial victories. Another factor in the Germans’ calculations was purely political, though no less mistaken; they believed that within three to six months of their invasion, the Soviet regime would collapse from lack of domestic support.

On June 22, 1941, the German offensive was launched by three army groups under the same commanders as in the invasion of France in 1940. On the left (north), an army group under Gen. Wilhelm von Leeb struck from East Prussia into the Baltic states toward Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). On the right (south), another army group, under Gen. Gerd von Rundstedt, with an armoured group under Gen. Paul Ludwig von Kleist, advanced from southern Poland into Ukraine against Kiev, whence it was to wheel southeastward to the coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Last, in the centre, north of the Pripet Marshes, the main blow was delivered by Gen. Fedor von Bock’s army group, with one armoured group under Gen. Heinz Guderian and another under Gen. Hermann Hoth, thrusting northeastward at Smolensk and Moscow.

The invasion along a 1,800-mile (2,900-km) front took the Soviet leadership completely by surprise and caught the Red Army in an unprepared and partially demobilized state. As part of the southern flank of Bock’s group, Guderian’s tanks raced 50 miles (80 km) beyond the frontier on the first day of the invasion and were at Minsk, 200 miles (320 km) beyond it, on June 27. At Minsk they converged with Hoth’s tanks, which had attacked from the northern flank, but Bock’s infantry could not follow up quickly enough to complete the encirclement of the Soviet troops in the area; though 300,000 prisoners were taken in the salient, a large part of the Soviet forces was able to escape to the east. The Soviet armies were clumsily handled and frittered their tank strength away in piecemeal action like that of the French in 1940. But the isolated Soviet troops fought with a stubbornness that the French had not shown, and their resistance imposed a brake by continuing to block road centres long after the German tide had swept past them. The result was similar when Guderian’s tanks, having crossed the Dnieper River on July 10, entered Smolensk six days later and converged with Hoth’s thrust through Vitebsk; 200,000 Soviet prisoners were taken, but some Soviet forces were withdrawn from the trap to the line of the Desna, and a large pocket of resistance lay behind the German armour. By mid-July, moreover, a series of rainstorms were turning the sandy Russian roads into clogging mud, over which the wheeled vehicles of the German transport behind the tanks could make only very slow progress. The Germans also began to be hampered by the scorched-earth policy adopted by the retreating Soviets. The Soviet troops burned crops, destroyed bridges, and evacuated factories in the face of the German advance. Entire steel and munitions plants in the westernmost portions of the U.S.S.R. were dismantled and shipped by rail to the east, where they were put back into production. The Soviets also destroyed or evacuated most of their rolling stock (railroad cars), thus depriving the Germans of the use of the Soviet rail system, since Soviet railroad track was of a gauge different from that of German track and German rolling stock was consequently useless on it.

Nevertheless, by mid-July the Germans had advanced more than 400 miles (640 km) and were only 200 miles (320 km) from Moscow. They still had ample time to make decisive gains before the onset of winter, but they lost the opportunity, primarily because of arguments throughout August between Hitler and the OKH about the destination of the next thrusts thence. Whereas the OKH proposed Moscow as the main objective, Hitler wanted the major effort to be directed southeastward, through Ukraine and the Donets Basin into the Caucasus, with a minor swing northwestward against Leningrad (to converge with Leeb’s army group).

In Ukraine, meanwhile, Rundstedt and Kleist had made short work of the foremost Soviet defenses, stronger though the latter had been. A new Soviet front south of Kiev was broken by the end of July, and in the next fortnight the Germans swept down to the Black Sea mouths of the Bug and Dnieper rivers to converge with Romania’s simultaneous offensive. Kleist was then ordered to wheel northward from central Ukraine and Guderian southward from Smolensk for a pincer movement around the Soviet forces behind Kiev; by the end of September the claws of the encircling movement had caught 520,000 men. These gigantic encirclements were partly the fault of inept Soviet high commanders and partly the fault of Stalin, who as commander in chief stubbornly overrode the advice of his generals and ordered his armies to stand and fight instead of allowing them to retreat eastward and regroup in preparation fas winter approached, Hitler stopped Leeb’s northward drive on the outskirts of Leningrad. He ordered Rundstedt and Kleist, however, to press on from the Dnieper toward the Don and the Caucasus. Bock, meanwhile, was to resume the advance on Moscow.

Bock’s renewed advance began on October 2, 1941. Its prospects looked bright when Bock’s armies brought off a great encirclement around Vyazma, where 600,000 more Soviet troops were captured. That left the Germans momentarily with an almost clear path to Moscow. But the Vyazma battle was not completed until late October; the German troops were tired; the country became a morass as the weather got worse; and fresh Soviet forces appeared in the Germans’ path as they plodded slowly forward. Some of the German generals wanted to break off the offensive and to take up a suitable winter line. But Bock wanted to press on, believing that the Soviets were on the verge of collapse, while Brauchitsch and Halder tended to agree with his view. As that also accorded with Hitler’s desire, he made no objection. The temptation of Moscow, now so close in front of their eyes, was too great for any of the topmost leaders to resist. On December 2 a further effort was launched, and some German detachments penetrated into the suburbs of Moscow; however, the advance as a whole was held up in the forests covering the capital. The stemming of this last phase of the great German offensive was partly due to the effects of the Russian winter, the subzero temperatures of which were the most severe in several decades. In October and November a wave of frostbite cases had decimated the ill-clad German troops, for whom provisions of winter clothing had not been made, while the icy cold paralyzed the Germans’ mechanized transport, tanks, artillery, and aircraft. The Soviets, by contrast, were well clad and tended to fight more effectively in winter than did the Germans. By this time German casualties had mounted to levels that were unheard of in the campaigns against France and the Balkans; by November the Germans had suffered about 730,000 casualties.

In the south Kleist had already reached Rostov-na-Donu, gateway to the Caucasus, on November 22 but had exhausted his tanks’ fuel in doing so. Rundstedt, seeing the place to be untenable, wanted to evacuate it but was overruled by Hitler. A Soviet counteroffensive recaptured Rostov on November 28, and Rundstedt was relieved of his command four days later.

As the German drive against Moscow slackened, the Soviet commander on the Moscow front, Gen. Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, on December 6 inaugurated the first great counteroffensive, with strokes against Bock’s right in the Yelets (Elets) and Tula sectors, south of Moscow, and against his centre in the Klin and Kalinin (now Tver) sectors, to the northwest. Levies of Siberian troops, who were extremely effective fighters in cold weather, were used for these offensives. There followed a blow at the German left, in the Velikiye Luki sector, and the counteroffensive, which soon took the form of a triple convergence toward Smolensk, was sustained throughout the winter of 1941–42.

or a counteroffensive.

Operation Barbarossa had begun to miscarry in August 1941, and its failure was patent when the Soviet counteroffensive started. Although the Red Army experienced greater losses than the Germans during the campaign, the inability of German forces to defeat the Soviet Union marked a significant setback for the German military effort.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.4

598 – Goguryeo-Sui War: Emperor Wéndi of Sui orders his youngest son, Yang Liang (assisted by the co-prime minister Gao Jiong), to conquer Goguryeo (Korea) during the Manchurian rainy season, with a Chinese army and navy. 1265 – Second Barons' War: Battle of Evesham: The army of Prince Edward (the future king Edward I of England) defeats the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, killing de Montfort and many of his allies. 1327 – First War of Scottish Independence: James Douglas leads a raid into Weardale and almost kills Edward III of England. 1578 – Battle of Al Kasr al Kebir: The Moroccans defeat the Portuguese. King Sebastian of Portugal is killed in the battle, leaving his elderly uncle, Cardinal Henry, as his heir. This initiates a succession crisis in Portugal. 1693 – Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Perignon's invention of champagne; it is not clear whether he actually invented champagne, however he has been credited as an innovator who developed the techniques used to perfect sparkling wine. 1701 – Great Peace of Montreal between New France and First Nations is signed. 1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: Gibraltar is captured by an English and Dutch fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke and allied with Archduke Charles. 1783 – Mount Asama erupts in Japan, killing about 1,400 people (Tenmei eruption). The eruption causes a famine, which results in an additional 20,000 deaths. 1789 – France: abolition of feudalism by the National Constituent Assembly. 1790 – A newly passed tariff act creates the Revenue Cutter Service (the forerunner of the United States Coast Guard). 1791 – The Treaty of Sistova is signed, ending the Ottoman–Habsburg wars. 1796 – French Revolutionary Wars: Napoleon leads the French Army of Italy to victory in the Battle of Lonato. 1821 – The Saturday Evening Post is published for the first time as a weekly newspaper. 1854 – The Hinomaru is established as the official flag to be flown from Japanese ships. 1863 – Matica slovenská, Slovakia's public-law cultural and scientific institution focusing on topics around the Slovak nation, is established in Martin. 1873 – American Indian Wars: While protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the United States 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer clashes for the first time with the Cheyenne and Lakota people near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed. 1889 – The Great Fire of Spokane, Washington destroys some 32 blocks of the city, prompting a mass rebuilding project. 1892 – The father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden are found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. She was tried and acquitted for the crimes a year later. 1914 – World War I: In response to the German invasion of Belgium, Belgium and the British Empire declare war on Germany. The United States declares its neutrality. 1915 – World War I: The German 12th Army occupies Warsaw during the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive and the Great Retreat of 1915. 1924 – Diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Soviet Union are established. 1936 – Prime Minister of Greece Ioannis Metaxas suspends parliament and the Constitution and establishes the 4th of August Regime. 1944 – The Holocaust: A tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse, where they find and arrest Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family, and four others. 1944 – The Finnish Parliament, by derogation, elected Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim as President of Finland to replace Risto Ryti, who had resigned. 1946 – An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. One hundred are killed and 20,000 are left homeless. 1947 – The Supreme Court of Japan is established. 1964 – Civil rights movement: Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21. 1964 – Second Gulf of Tonkin Incident: U.S. destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy mistakenly report coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin. 1965 – The Constitution of the Cook Islands comes into force, giving the Cook Islands self-governing status within New Zealand. 1969 – Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuân Thuỷ begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail. 1972 – Ugandan President Idi Amin announced that Uganda was no longer responsible for the care of British subjects of Asian origin, beginning the expulsions of Ugandan Asians. 1974 – A bomb explodes in the Italicus Express train at San Benedetto Val di Sambro, Italy, killing 12 people and wounding 22. 1975 – The Japanese Red Army takes more than 50 hostages at the AIA Building housing several embassies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The hostages include the U.S. consul and the Swedish Chargé d'affaires. The gunmen win the release of five imprisoned comrades and fly with them to Libya. 1977 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy. 1984 – The Republic of Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso. 1987 – The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to present controversial issues "fairly". 1995 – Operation Storm begins in Croatia. 2006 – A massacre is carried out by Sri Lankan government forces, killing 17 employees of the French INGO Action Against Hunger (known internationally as Action Contre la Faim, or ACF). 2007 – NASA's Phoenix spacecraft is launched. 2018 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the Iraq–Syria border, concluding the second phase of the Deir ez-Zor campaign. 2019 – Nine people are killed and 26 injured in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio. This comes only 12 hours after another mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, where 23 people were killed. 2020 – At least 220 people are killed and over 5,000 are wounded when 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate explodes in Beirut, Lebanon.

#Events

[leftenant-sinani]

Unreal x X-COM x My Sci-fi Universe Crossover

So, I was listening to Unreal Tournament music, and I got an idea... what if Unreal universe was mixed with the X-COM one? It would kinda fit because they both are kinda neo-futuristic, Unreal certainly a bit more. Also it will not only be mix of these two, but there will be a lot of things from my own Sci-Fi universe. Since I want to write whole bloody list of my shit about this, this is going to be a very, very, VERY long post, if you have the patience and interest, please click ‘Keep reading’.

Also warning, there will be a lot of repeating of words, because I am small-brainer who cannot think of other words. (And there will be surely some mistakes, although I am trying my best to avoid them)

Games Introduction :

For those who don’t know what these games are about, I’ll give you quick insight of what is what. (Not really quick, because I tend to write long-ass paragraphs)

Unreal :

Unreal (also often known as Unreal Tournament) is a First Person Shooter game made originally in 1998. The story wasn’t really what this series was about, it was all about quickly paced shooting and often about skill flex. Unreal is divided into two types : Unreal and Unreal Tournament. Unreal was the start of it all which included very long single player campaign (+ it’s expansion ‘Return to Na Pali’) which was set on planet known as Na Pali. The Na Pali was full of strange alien species which you had to fight in order to get through levels. While I adore it, I never really finished it. There were two Unreals, Unreal and Unreal II : The Awakening. However, Unreal Tournament was far more known when it comes to Unreal or basically whole FPS community back then. Unreal Tournament was less campaign and far more arena shooting. For me, it was one of my first games I’ve ever played and I still play to this very day. It had also very unique environments. From urban areas and buildings, through medieval-style maps to space stations or bases on asteroid, and that is only Unreal Tournament 99 (Which will be main source of Unreal universe in my crossover), Unreal Tournament 2004 had even far more interesting diversity of environment. There were 5 UTs in total, UT99, UT2003, UT2004, UT3 and UT (often refered to as UT4). There were also two console-exclusive games known as Unreal Championship and Unreal Championship 2, but I don’t know much about them.

X-COM :

X-COM (or just XCOM) is mostly squad-based Strategy (but not only, there were some exceptions which we will get to later) game that has been here since 1994. While the original games aren’t much known today, the modern ones were the reason why is it so popular (at least in my opinion). The plot is mostly very simple, the Earth is under attack of the aliens and you, as the Commander of X-COM AKA eXtra-terrestrial COMbat unit, are meant to repel the invasion and save the humanity (and that is not always the case either). First game was a bit of an oddity, because it is only known as X-COM : UFO Defense in America, all over the world however, it was known as UFO : Enemy Unknown, but then it kept the name X-COM for the rest of series. The gameplay was made of two phases. First phase was strategical type where you had to take care of your base, research, engineering, in some games you even had to take care of aircraft to intercept air attacks (mostly it was UFO) and most importantly, that’s where you were getting the missions. The second phase is made of the already mentioned squad-based strategy gameplay, and that’s where the main fun of the series was. There was a lot of games actually, I’ll try to explain in few words each game + include when they were released. UFO : Enemy Unknown / X-COM : UFO Defense (1994, alien invasion from space) - X-COM : Terror from the Deep (1995, alien invasion but from ocean this time) - X-COM : Apocalypse (1997, alien invasion which was created biologically on Earth or something) -  X-COM : Interceptor (1998, alien invasion from space, but you only fight with aircraft instead of infantry) - X-COM : First Alien Invasion (1999, some kind of email game or something (like wtf is that)) - X-COM : Enforcer (2001, Third Person Shooter this time) - X-COM : Genesis and X-COM : Alliance (Both were unreleased, Alliance was some sort of Squad-Based First Person Shooter and Genesis was the your standard X-COM game) - XCOM : Enemy Unknown (2012, standard X-COM game, first modern one) - XCOM : Enemy Within (2013, expansion for Enemy Unknown, according to the wiki, EW isn’t canon, don’t where the truth lies though) - The Bureau : XCOM Declassified (2013, Third Person Shooter, didn’t play, but from what I’ve heard, it’s pretty mediocre besides the story) - XCOM 2 (2016, standard X-COM game, most known game from the series, also a direct sequel to the Enemy Unknown) - XCOM 2 : War of the Chosen (2017, expansion for the XCOM 2, my personal favorite and also the primary source of X-COM story elements in my crossover) - and last but not least, XCOM : Chimera Squad (2020, standard X-COM game, but you only fight for one big city as Peacekeeping Force againsts three criminal factions).

Whew, that’s for the introduction. Let’s head for the meat of this thing.

Background & Story :

I want to put a little note here before I’ll continue. Unreal has it’s own story, and while I will mix it with X-COM elements, there will be a lot of my own headcanon things, so basically, Unreal x X-COM in my sci-fi universe. Here’s a timeline if you want to know a bit about Unreal story https://unreal.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline (Although we won’t be really going alongside it, so :P). So let’s get started, eh?

Background :

It is year 2293, Milky Way galaxy is under the control of humanity which is divided into two great factions; Sol Alliance (SA) and Milky Way Union (MWU). Sol Alliance is the root of the whole civilization that is scattered across the whole galaxy. They are most advanced when it comes to economy and military when it comes to both Ground Force and Navy, however, they are quite power-hungry and xenophobic which makes them hated by alien minorities, even though it is common knowledge that a lot of alien civilizations destroyed themselves in countless wars and humans had no feat in this, and if not for Sol Alliance in the first place, there would be almost no alien civilization at all (except two, but we’ll get to that later), despite this fact, Sol Alliance treats aliens like low layer of society, and that’s why they are hated so much by aliens and also by a fair amount of humans. It’s also the reason why Mliky Way Union was created in the first place... to get rid of Sol Alliance oppression againsts not only aliens but also their national socialist ideologies.

The Milky Way Union has its own sector in the galaxy, and while they and Sol Alliance are not currently in war (not at least openly), they still hunger for conquering those “Alliance swines”. They are made mostly of humans of course, but there is also a fair number of alien species confirmed among them. MWU isn’t doing really as great as Sol Alliance when it comes to economy and their armies are mostly made out of mercenaries, however, they are the peak of industrial effectivity and mineral-processing industry in the whole galaxy. Their ideology is mostly communistic and they can be quite fanatic about it. (Yes, it’s kind of based on Soviet Union).

The galaxy has been divided into four sectors :

Sector Minotaur, South-Eastern part of Milky Way. It is primary sector of Sol Alliance, that means that’s where our beloved (to some) Earth is, it has been centre of Alliance commmunity for dozens if not hundred of years by now. Roughly 45% of planets are habitable, which is the most when compared to the other sectors.

Sector Hydra, North-Eastern part of Milky Way. This sector belongs to no government nor either of the two great factions, it is mostly a place for the scum of the society. Rogue soldiers, prisoners, mercenaries, pirates, slavers, even some bits of aliens here and there. There are planets in this sector which are also serving as colonies for immigrants from either MWU or SA, however, this sector is not really the choice for ideal life, as there is extremely minimal amount of planets which can be lived on without any major difficulties (the ones that are, are mostly habitats for Rogue Militaries) + pirates and slavers are sometimes raiding colonies. There are also signs of dog fights between certain criminal factions in some places of this sector.

Sector Medusa, North-Western part of Milky Way. Primary sector of Milky Way Union. A good amount of planets in this sector are mineral-rich and are optimal for life. There is a lot of history about this sector, since it used to be a place of many alien civilizations many centuries ago before they devastated each other. There are planets that have a lot of antique sites which are a big enticement for people from both MWU and SA that are interested in alien history or archaeology. Years ago, there people who claimed that there are even ancient alien technologies on few planets which could be used as weapons, power generators or there could be perhaps other uses of it, local alien citizens are rejecting such claims though, as they are sure that their predecessors destroyed everything that could be of use to make sure that their enemies wouldn’t have the upper hand. Most of the found items were either only trinkets or salvaged parts of something that might’ve been weapon or something similar, but wasn’t really usable anymore.

Sector Phoenix, South-Western part of Milky Way. Our centre of the whole story and also a place of our known planet Na Pali. The main planet of this sector is called ‘New Earth’, and ironically, was a point of many wars between the locals just like our home planet. Sector Phoenix is infamous to be place of our two already mentioned alien races and not only that. The two alien races are in fact only the tip of the iceberg, as it goes much, much deeper than that. First off, it is occupied by humans too, but there’s only about 40% compared to the aliens and they are divided into civilians and fighters as the sector is known to be one big warzone. Although there are places here and there that are peaceful, not even urbanized areas like cities or certain buildings are safe from fighting between locals. Sector Phoenix is ruled by New Earth Government (NEG) and local giant corporation known as Liandri AKA Liandri Mining Corporation. The sector also used to be the centre of mining for the galaxy, that didn’t last for a very long time however, as Sector Medusa was far more profitable. Despite the fact the local resource called ‘Tarydium’ was exclusive mineral and it’s use is universal, the great factions found their own exclusive minerals which they found to outmatch this so-called Tarydium. The reason why Sector Phoenix is being often refered to as warzone is the fact that not only the wars between humans and aliens or aliens and second aliens, but also because Liandri Mining Corporation implemented the idea of creating a blood sport only known as ‘Tournament’. The Tournament was a deathmatch between local teams; Almost all of the teams were only humans, and there were even two alien ones and one made purely out of robots. Many teams failed and were massacred, and those which survived eventually fell apart after the end of first Tournament. The combatants which were in the Tournament were everything but common people, there were ex-soldiers, commandos, specialists, genetically enhanced warriors, mercenaries, even robots and aliens.

Story :

After the end of first Tournament, the Liandri Corporation made a big load of money which was shared with New Earth Government to keep the flow of human cilivization. Now, after four months since the end of first Tournament, a civil war started between local factions (which will be introduced later). The conflict included humans, human-made robots and both alien races. All the zones that were used for fighting before and in Tournament were once again used as areas for this massive firefight. The reason for the civil war was following; “Due to the Na Pali being invaded by humans, which is planet that rightfully belongs to the Skaarj race (we’ll get to the races too, do not worry), they broke the peace treaty that was signed at the end of Skaarj-Human war.” Things were worse than they looked though, and it was found out that the second alien race known as ADVENT attacked Skaarj base close to their world. It’s an all out war...

Races & Factions :

This will be a long one. Note that few things won’t be corresponding with the lore of both games.

Races :

In this part, I will only talk about alien races. There are two big ones, and one minor. The big ones are races which are made out of more species, just so you know. I will use some texts from wiki, because I am lazy xP.

Skaarj :

Skaarj of the Skaarj Empire from planet Skrath. They are tall, powerful imperial reptilian race. They are born from eggs of the queen as ‘Pupae’ (the little disgusting thing in the middle), which will eventually mutate into 7-9′ tall monster you see in the picture. There are two types of Skaarj fighters. First is Warrior (the one on the green and blue ones), they are extremely agile and have strength of at least three men. Some of them have cybernetic implants, and many have blades, called Raziks, strapped or surgically affixed to their wrists; these weapons may also fire energy charges from between the blades. Then there is second variant of Skaarj fighter; Skaarj Trooper (You can see him behind the blue Skaarj Warrior). They are artificially made and are meant to be the support line as they use firearms made either by Skaarj or Humans, it doesn’t matter to them. There is a lot of variants of both types, all of them and more info about Skaarj can be found here https://unreal.fandom.com/wiki/Skaarj. Besides that Skaarj are also highly tribal race and divided into clans. Each clan of Skaarj is headed by a Queen (which has a central role in their society) and a Warlord (who leads the Skaarj in combat situations (Can be also seen on the picture, it is the tall one in the middle)). While Skaarj hate humans and tried fighting them three times, they were always defeated despite their efforts, so they eventually signed a peace treaty with them, the peace lasted for 90 years until now. When it comes to the ADVENT, their relationship with them is rather neutral, but there were signs of aggression between both.

As Skaarj are imperialistic race who enslave other races for either labor or fighting, there a few races which are under them.

1. Krall

They are a brown, lizard-like species with large spikes that are more primitive and feral than humans. Their home planet is unknown. Species originally It is a testament to their fighting skills that the Skaarj use them as warriors rather than slaves. The Krall social structure is too fragmented for them to become a major force on a large scale, but as individual fighters, they are truly formidable.

2. Brutes

Large but slow creatures who are part of Skaarj defense line just like Krall. Besides that, not much is known about them. Their origin, home planet nor how their race is truly called is known. They could be possibly artificially created creatures by Skaarj, but who knows really.

3. Nali

The Nali are a primitive race native to the planet Na Pali, as well as its former rulers. The Nali are deeply religious and spiritual and can often be found in heavy prayer. Sometimes their prayers are answered with the ability to teleport (however their ability is limited) or to open solid walls. They also are extremely timid, afraid of anyone who might attempt to harm their benevolent race. Many Nali have been enslaved by the Skaarj to work in the Rrajigar Mine to mine for Tarydium. As their religion forbids the use of violence the Nali could not resist being under Skaarj rule and were left to pray for their freedom. The Skaarj forbids the Nali to leave Rrajigar Mines, so the Nali were also placed under constant guard to prevent them from merely teleporting away to a safe haven.

ADVENT :

While ADVENT is coalition rather than race on it’s own, it’s made out of a fair amount of alien species and many humans and even Skaarj call ADVENT a race (despite the fact it’s not really true). They are being lead by psionically gifted creatures known as ‘Ethereals’ and are often being refered to as ‘Elders’.

Unlike Skaarj, ADVENT has no hatred towards humans and is looking rather for relationship and trading with them and since NEG is having enough problems with Skaarj already, they couldn’t say no to trading with each other. ADVENT even allowed human colonies in their territory, which was suspiciously great generosity from them, but it was better than open war with them.

And unlike Skaarj, they have been here only for few dozens of years and not much is known about them. Their true goals in Sector Phoenix are also unknown. There are sources of knowledge about them like databases, public studies and scientists’ logs... but also rumors and claims.

As mentioned before, ADVENT is made out of fair amount of aliens which were either created or enslaved just like the ones under Skaarj.

1. Genetically Engineered Humans

They are often refered to as ADVENT Troopers. According to the official statements, they are volunteers who willingly chose to serve the ADVENT, if it’s true or not is not known however. They make the backbone of ADVENT army. There are also different variants of Troopers, there is Officer, Shieldbearer, Priest, Stun Lancer, Purifier and General.

2. Sectoids

These originally used to be smaller typical ‘gray aliens’, in recent years however, they somehow grew and resemble humans far more. Physically, they are probably on the same measure as humans when it comes to height and strength, the only advantage they have over ordinary humans is the fact that they have the psionic gift which allows them to mind control lesser-willed beings including humans.

3. Vipers

Vipers are another species enthralled by the Elders. Despite their resemblance to terrestrial snakes, the Viper is actually a wholly extraterrestrial species unmodified by human DNA. Spitting poison and binding their victims make this alien dangerous just as any other alien on this list.

4. Mutons

A frontline unit of the ADVENT army. Standing over 6′6″, this humanoid creature is physically powerful and aggressive, but mentally weak. They appear to be the least intelligent, however, studies showed that their memory is imprinted with high amount of knowledge in combat tactics and weaponry.

5. Archon

According to the knowledge shared by scientists that are working in the ADVENT territory, this particular specimen is both mechanical and organic.  They have received extensive mechanical implants, including ones that replace the internal organs. Due to its modifications, there is no distinguishing line between mechanical and biological to describe this creature. The visual design of the Archon is based on the Egyptian gods, featuring ornate gold armor, a wreath-like design for its levitation jets and a muscular physique.

6. Chryssalid

Not much is known about these nasty creatures. The only knowledge we have is that they use to walk in packs, tend to burrow into the ground and their poison on the claws of theirs can affect any organic being as it is their only way of reproduction. Organics that are killed by a Chryssalid attack or die by the poison will become a cocoon; If the cocoon is not destroyed during the gestation period, up to three new Chryssalids will emerge from the cocoon. One of the scientist that studied them claims that their previous version’s way of reproduction used to be far scarier and nastier than now.

7. Berserker

The Berserker appears to be a larger, more heavily armored Muton. As a melee-only attacker, the Berserker relies on its superior health, defense and higher movement rate in order to close the distance between itself and its enemies; the Berserker also benefits from higher will than a basic Muton.

8. Chosen

Last but not least, we have three aliens of their own kind. People call them ‘The Chosen’. Since they all have humanish look, there are claims that these could be either created or remade humans. According to the knowledge gathered from the databases, they could be around 8′ tall if not more and are considered Elders’ ‘children’, which leads to a fact they are also considered siblings. The one with the hood is Hunter, an unmatched sniper according to the claims, it’s being said that he has a bit of jester-y behavior. The elder-looking one is Warlock, the most psionically gifted out of those three. He is, according to the rumors, ‘a bit crazy’, in what sense though, is not known. And last one is Assassin, one of the best swordsmen ever alive in ADVENT lines. She is told to be the most ‘normal’ when it comes to behavior unlike her siblings. According to logs, they also should have names, but they are not publicly known unfortunately.

There could be more alien species on both sides, but if there are, they are not known yet.

Necris :

Alien race which looks awfully close to humans, the only difference is the gray pale skin and completely white eyes without pupils (although there was a case with pupils spotted once in the Tournament), whether they human look is their true form or not is unknown. Their society is known as Phayder which declared guerrilla war againsts New Earth before. According to the claims, Necris are an alien race that was, "until now, rarely seen." Their thirst for fighting is given by very odd belief, The Necris, and thereby the Phayder, believe that they are bringing "salvation" to the universe, by giving others "purpose" through death.   They consider life to be a weakness and are grateful to the Nanoblack and the Necris Process for their present state of being.

Factions :

The civil war divided the sector into four factions :

Order of the Thunder

Commonly refered to as Order is the faction made purely out of humans fighting for the humanity and of course NEG. Their common enemy are Skaarj, but if provoked, they will fight ADVENT or even their own if there is need for it. They are well-armed, disciplined and will be protagonists of main story (Yes, I am thinking of making stories from this shit and yes, Chosen will be part of them, just so you Chosen lovers will be happy). There is also a fair amount of Tournament survivors confirmed to be among them.

Coalition

ADVENT’s faction. Same as Order, they want to fight the Skaarj as they believe that they could surely get something out of it too. However, they might get into conflict with Order too if they will not be careful enough as Order is zealous in their cause. They hope that such thing won’t happen, as they still see humans as good trade partners.

Raziks

Skaarj faction. They are willing to fight humanity once again and believe that this time, they will finally win and claim humanity as their slaves as they did it with already mentioned races under them. Since ADVENT attacked their base, they will be divided into two fronts, more Warriors will be deployed againsts Coalition and more Troopers againsts Order.

Mercs

“Sure we’ll fight... as long as the payment’s good.” Motto of every member of Mercs. Mercs are neutral faction and will fight for whoever will pay them high enough to do so. The faction is made out of humans, robots and aliens. Some of them are fighting only for money. Some for money and fun. Some for money and glory. There will be money in every case though, as it is with every mercenary. Most of the time, they were working for Liandri Corporation, there is even an evidence that some fought in the Tournament. They have their own armies, bases and even infrastructure which makes them rather a Private Military Company rather than just Mercenaries, it is obvious that Liandri pays them rather well.

That’s it for today, I originally wanted to add something more, but I can always add that later. I was working on this whole day, so I hope you’ll enjoy this ‘small’ piece from me after a long time. I have also in plan to add Arsenal eventually, which is the content I wanted to originally add, however... I am tired now. I’ll take another half-year long pause from writing. :P (just kidding lol)

#CrossOver #xcom #xcom 2 #xcom 2 war of the chosen #chosen #aliens #unreal #unreal tournament #sci-fi #lore #skaarj

[davidshawnsown]

COMMEMORATIVE MESSAGE IN HONOR OF THE 75TH VICTORY DAY AND THE 108TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEGINNING OF NAVAL AVIATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Ladies and gentlemen, to all the people of the United States of America, to all our remaining living veterans of the Second World War of 1939-1945 and of all conflicts past and present and their families, to our veterans, active servicemen and women, reservists and families of the entire United States Armed Forces, and to all the uniformed military and civil security services of the Allied combatants of this conflict, to all the immediate families, relatives, children and grandchildren of the deceased veterans, fallen service personnel and wounded personnel of our military services and civil uniformed security and civil defense services, to all our workers, farmers and intellectuals, to our youth and personnel serving in youth uniformed and cadet organizations and all our athletes, coaches, judges, sports trainers and sports officials, and to all our sports fans, to all our workers of culture, music, traditional arts and the theatrical arts, radio, television, digital media and social media, cinema, heavy and light industry, agriculture, business, tourism and the press, and to all our people of the free world:

To all of you whenever you are all over the world, our greetings of peace and goodwill as we celebrate as one people the 75th year of the Victory Day in the Eastern Front against Nazism and Fascism in the Second World War in Europe and Northern Africa, the 70th Europe Day and the 109th year anniversary of the beginning of Naval Aviation in the United States of America, one of the greatest days ever in the history of the whole of humankind, celebrating the day in which millions rejoiced all over the world marking the end of a long and bitter struggle against the Axis Powers in much of Europe and northern parts of the African continent. We celebrate this historic anniversary in a time wherein our health workers are fighting the dreaded pandemic COVID-19 in every corner of the world, which has postponed or cancelled many of the planned festivities in honor of this historic occasion in the history of humankind, that guided by the legacies of the millions of our Greatest Generation – the millions of men and women who served in the military, paramilitary and civil security services of the Allies, a few of those living having passed away due to this pandemic that has killed many in almost every country of the world, we may press on as one united people to conquer this disease, save millions more people, help to recover from the world’s greatest economic recession of recent memory, and move onwards to build a better and prosperous society guided not just by the lessons learned by this health crisis but also by the legacy of these heroes of our past, who fought bravely against fierce enemies determined to destroy our way of life, our freedoms and liberties.

 Even though knowing that it would be a few more months before the Second World War would end in the Asia-Pacific, on this very day, 75 years have passed since the very day millions celebrated the dawn of the great victory won by millions of the men and women of the national military, paramilitary, law enforcement and emergency forces of the Allied Powers, which ended the Second World War in Europe and northern Africa following the historic signing of the documents of the unconditional surrender of the German government and armed forces representing millions of Germans on the previous day (midnight in Moscow) in ruined Berlin between representatives of the armed forces of Germany and the Allies on the very same night of the victorious advance of the Allies and local partisans in Prague against the Nazi agressor, ending what has been five years, eight months and eight days of a long and painful period in the history of the world, which began exactly 81 years ago in 1939 (while at the same time there was also an ongoing war between the Japanese force and the vailant peoples of China and the occupied peoples of Korea in the Asia Pacific) and has been one of the more brutal and violent moments in the long history of humanity. It was a day of celebration, of sad reunions and happy times, recalling the days of battle and the times of death, when men and women fought together in the defense of our freedom and liberty against the agression of the Axis Powers in Europe and northern parts of Africa. It was on the early morning of this day in Moscow that as everyone celebrated the great victory won against the forces of international fascism All-Union Radio of the Soviet Union aired to the entire country the orders of the Supreme Commander of the Soviet Armed Forces, General  Secretary of the All Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), and Premier of the Soviet Union,  Marshal of the Soviet Union Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, officially declaring that having successfully achieved as a major combatant country of the Allies its important military, civil and economic contribution in the final and definite defeat of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and its allies and the liberation of eastern parts of Europe, at a higher cost of millions of lives lost and millions of servicemen and women killed in action than that of the other Allied countries combined, ravaged lands, and ruined communities and industries in Eastern Europe, after a 5-year long struggle that would define human history, of these almost 4 long years of war were witnessed in the howling plains, hills and highlands of the former Soviet Union, from up north in the Arctic to all the way south in the Caucausus,  all the combat hostilities and related actions of the Soviet Armed Forces – composed of the servicemen and women of the  Workers’ and Peasants Red Army, Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Air Force and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Navy, together with the military and police forces of the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs and the partisan formations supported by the government and the Communist Party and assisted by the other Allied countries through the Lend-Lease program, were officially concluded, and the whole Soviet Union, together with all the combatant armed forces, security services and people of the triumphant Allied nations, today mark the great victory won at the cost of billions of lives all over parts of Europe and Northern Africa against the forces of the Axis Powers, their governments and armed forces, as well as their political parties, with deep respect and profound celebration. The victory in which we celebrate today is one victory fought all through these 5 years of warfare in land, air and sea battles, conventional and unconventional warfare operations throughout the European and Mediterranean Theaters of Operations, wherein our brave soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen and coast guardsmen of the United States Armed Forces, the soldiers, sailors and aviators of the Canadian Armed Forces and servicemen and women of the armed forces and security services of all the Allied countries, as well as Allied-backed partisans and guerillas in enemy occupied territories and servicemen and women of the intelligence agencies, assisted at home by workers of the home front, servicemen and women of law enforcement and emergency services, athletes and workers of culture and the arts, helped with all their hearts and minds, united in the common cause of victory over the Axis Powers in Europe and Northern Africa, with bravery, courage, determination and firm commitment to the defense of freedom and independence fought hard against determined enemies in land, air and sea conventional and unconventional operations. Our millions of men and women who fought bravely during these days even at the cost of losing themselves and fellow service personnel and even having to suffer combat related injuries for the sake of defeating the Axis Powers and ending once and for all the threat of international fascism. It is the sacrifices of these men and women on the front and at home – these millions who are now known as our greatest generation – that enabled all the Allied nations to win this war, first in Europe and Northern Africa, and later on in the Asia-Pacific, against the forces of the Axis Powers!

For the sake of the millions who suffered and died in the hands of the enemy, including those repressed by the Axis Powers and those who died under enemy fire, our millions of men and women in the uniformed services of the Allied Nations fought with firm resolve and determination in many great battles as they walked on the long, dirty and bumpy road to the victory over the Axis Powers. They are millions who form part of what Tom Brokaw calls “the Greatest Generation” – the millions who served in the uniformed ranks of the military forces and paramilitary organizations of the Allied Powers, who throughout these years have been the face of a long, bloody and grueling conflict that stretched over parts of Europe and northern Africa, whose bravery, determination, courage, honesty, discipline and obedience to the law, and firm resolve to defend the rights and dignities of our people against the suffering of the Axis Powers, who were responsible for the deaths of millions, Jews and other religions inclusive, in the concentration camps, while many others were imprisoned in the Soviet gulag system, the destruction of properties, economic facilities and vital historical landmarks and the theft of historical artifacts and artworks, paid off after years of war at a cost of millions of lives with the great and absolute victory won against the forces of evil in these parts of the world, in conventional and unconventional land, air and sea operations, intelligence gathering and operations behind enemy lines. They are the proud heroes who, with their families, we remember today as we mark as one people the diamond jubilee of this historic victory that will forever be a part of our history.  Today, once again we thank these men and women for all they have done to bring us this day of great victory against the forces of international fascism and promise them that we will do our best to forever honor their efforts to win the victory over the Axis Powers and their legacy to the history of humankind. As the years come and go and the waves of rising activism and extremism go higher, let us hope their legacy will help us combat this rising danger to the peace and progress we long for. Thus, this day means so much to all of them, their relatives and the relatives of the millions of war dead.

Indeed, this official announcement of Moscow meant that today, May 9, the original Victory in Europe Day, marks the official day that after 5 years, 8 months and 8 days of warfare marked by millions of deaths all over much of Europe and parts of Northern Africa, the suffering of even more people than ever before, and the economy and infrastructure scarred all over the countries where the war was fought, with the war now over and the Axis powers finally surrendered  to the victorious Allies, the people of much of Europe where the war had directly affected their way of life now celebrated with joy, happiness, and with tears in their eyes knowing that their suffering has come to an end and the fascist enemy had finally been defeated, and thus the road had opened for the promise of peace and reconstruction. Therefore, on this very day, we remember the victories of the Allied forces in Europe and North Africa that really led up to the victorious end of the conflict in this part of the world on May 8 and 9, 1945, forever remembered as that great victory over the forces of fascism and imperialism in those places in the world where it took root during the 1920s and 1930s, especially during the years of the Great Depression. Even through yesterday, May 8, is earmarked as Victory in Europe Day in much of Europe, the US and Canada, the holiday celebrations marked today in much  of the former Soviet Union except for the Baltic republics of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, and in Israel, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania, honor the very victory the world achieved against Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and their allies and sympathizers, and the people behind them, the very victory won at a very hard cost of millions of dead and injured, and destroyed infrastructure and industries in much of Europe itself and in parts of Northern Africa, save for neutral Spanish Morocco, as well as sunk merchant shipping and naval vessels in the Mediterranean, the Arctic  and the Atlantic.

75 years on, in spite of the growing resurgence of the very ideologies that began this very war,  even in the midst of the terrorist attacks in many parts of the world in recent years, today, on this very day that we celebrate the 75th year anniversary of this great victory over the Axis in Europe and northern parts of Africa, we cannot help but recall the bravery of the millions of men and women in both the frontlines and at the home front, whose contributions to the great victory won against the Axis Powers, their governments, armed forces and paramilitary organs, will never be forgotten for generation upon generation, the memories of all the remaining living veterans of this conflict and the sacrifices of all those who perished for the cause of freedom and independence of the human race whose names will be remembered for all time. The victory in Europe and Northern Africa that we remember today is that very legendary victory that cannot ever be forgotten due to the huge contribution of these millions of men and women whose lives were dedicated towards the goal of bringing this victory towards completion. Their stories of bravery, courage and determination to win the victory are the memories we honor today through books, films, television and other forms of media and art, in which we teach our future generations and our children the cost of freedom and liberty and the people who risked all to make it happen. It is through these forms we remember the great heroes and brave units that distinguished themselves during the course of the conflict, including the servicemen from Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regt., 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, XVII Airborne Corps, United States Army, dubbed today as the “Band of Brothers” after the book about them by the late Stephen Ambrose, the vanguard unit of the airborne forces of the United States Army in the campaigns in Normandy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Southern Germany, and in the 2014 film “Fury” by director David Ayer recalling the bravery of Allied tank crews in the final months of this war, including those under the 2nd Armored Division, and the recent Canadian TV drama X Company about the important role played by Allied intelligence and counter-espionage units and personnel. On this day of celebration for millions of people we once again send our greetings to the hundreds of thousands of men and women in active service and in the reserves in the armed forces,  police, public security, forestry, border security, civil defense and emergency services of the Allied combatant countries and their families, our working people, agricultural workers and those working in science and technology, education, tourism, culture and the arts and in the mass media and the press and all our sportsmen and women, as well as our military and civil uniformed service veterans and their families, and the families of all who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the defense of our principles and of our liberty and independence over the years since the conclusion of this war. By their legacy we therefore, once more on this very day, to pledge to forever honor their sacrifice and contribution to this great victory, work hard to defend the principles of independence and sovereignty and give all our time and talent in labor in times of war and peace for the sake of building a stronger, prosperous and independent world by building up our economy, improving education, help preserve the environment, promote culture and the arts, promote and protect the freedom of religion, promote a healthy lifestyle and a sporting way of life, and forever honor the places and people who are part of our history while maintaining readiness to instill in our future generations a spirit of preparedness to serve their country and people to the best of their ability and fight the evils that are still present in our world of today.

The memories of such great a historic victory, won at the cost of millions of lives, cannot be understated, for they form a great part in our history. How we cannot ever forget such a historic victory won against so fierce an enemy that was determined to destroy the human race and bring untold suffering to  millions everywhere? Indeed we  must never forget the huge cost of the great victory in which we celebrate on this very day in our history. No matter what the times may come and go, this history deserves to be remembered by all of us today and it will be carried on to our children and those coming after us.

Today, together with all the people of the United States of America, we continue to celebrate the 109th year anniversary of the beginning of naval aviation in the United States of America on the 8th of May 1911 in San Diego, and reflect on the sacrifices made by all our men and women who are a part of this great service. Our naval aviators, who at this very important and critical time in history, while fighting the dreaded disease COVID-19 at home and abroad, have never left their fundamental responsibility to the the American people in national defense in its territorial waters, protecting domestric and internatuonal interests of the United States and global indepedence against enemies of freedom at home and abroad, supporting international and local shipping by protecting sea traffic and the freedom of navigation, supporting conventional and unconventional military operations and assisting in local and foreign disaster relief and in the activities of the Army and Air Force, federal law enforcement institutions and local law enforcement and emergency services. The aviators and air crews of the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, who for over a century have flown high the flag of the homeland at sea and in the air, have helped defend and protect millions of Americans and gallant allies overseas, and have themselves built a legacy of service during the Second World War. Their heroic actions then as in today are part of the long military history of the United States and her people, their immortal deeds remembered in memorials and monuments, and they have etched a culture of bravery and tenacity against foreign aggression for many decades.  Always up there in the blue skies as the best of the best, these Top Guns are the elite of our naval forces, Marine units and coast guard vessels and detachments assigned all over the country, continuing a long tradition of excellence in national defense and security and in assistance to its people in times of need, as well as in deployments abroad. They will forever be a part of the strong and steady Armed Forces, committed to defend the principles of independence of liberty not just of the American people but of the millions of people all over the world.

And today, we also mark together with the peoples of Europe the 70th anniversary since the framing of the 1950 Schurmann Declaration, the very document that prepared the future of Europe in the years to come, and thus laid up the road towards the full integration of the continent ravaged by both World Wars and towards the founding of the European Union we know today. This, without the efforts of those who fought to free the continent from the forces of fascism in Germany and Italy, would not have been possible, also without the efforts of those involved in that process to unite all of Europe as one united and great continent. Today, this union is in grave danger of destruction, given the rising tide of disunity by groups that caused the very war upon which the idea was created in its aftermath in order that the European people will never again experience the horrors of warfare, and against the influx of both immigrants and refugees from the Middle East and North Africa, while keeping pace as one in the common battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, as we honor this historic moment for the European continent and her people let us always be ready to defend it against its opponents and work towards a brighter future for the peoples of this part of the world, who have always longed for the peace and unity of this continent.

Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of a grateful people, therefore  I greet you all in this historic triple holiday anniversary – the 75th year anniversary of the great victory won in Europe and Northern Africa against the fascist Axis Powers, especially against Nazi Germany and the Italian Social Republic, the 70th of the anniversary of the Schurmann Declaration of 1950 and the 109th anniversary of naval aviation in the United States of America, a day of glorious celebration of peace, unity, progress and remembrance for the generations who forged the way towards this great world of freedom of the generations of today for the children of our tomorrow!

Thus, as we today mark these great anniversaries of our history, once again we send our greetings to all our remaining living Allied war veterans of the war in Europe, to  all the hundreds of thousands of the active, reserve and retired servicemen and women of the uniformed military, public security and civil defense services of all the combatant Allied countries, to all our veterans of succeeding conflicts and in UN peacekeeping operations worldwide and all active and reserve personnel , military families and veterans of United States naval aviation on this great holiday, sending to all our best wishes of a happy and long life and of peace, sending our prayers to Divine Providence for your health and wellbeing and for the eternal remembrance of the fallen of this great war, as we join with all of you and the rest of the world in celebrating the anniversaries marked on this very day. Even as the growing tide of evil may be rising again, united with the men and women of our NATO armed forces in the performance of their patriotic, internationalist and military duties for the sake of the freedom and independence of the peoples of the free world, armed with the best and modern equipment, arms, vehicles, ships and aircraft, and united with the public security services and the hard work of our people, no obstacle cannot be overcome, no problem can be left unsolved and no stone left unturned in our efforts to forever maintain the legacy left behind by these heroes of the Second World War and the brave aviators of the naval service of the United States, who fought at the cost of their lives to win the victory that we celebrate not just on this day but also every day of our lives!

More than ever before in our history, we will never let the fire of the great victory won 75 years ago fade away in our hearts, and forever maintain the legacies of victory won by the great generations who fought before us!

Today, as we mark this great day in our history, may we never regret to recall the heroic deeds of our predecessors who fought in this war and of all our past naval aviators who flew throughout all these years for the sake of the freedom and independence not just of the United States of America and Canada, but the freedom and independence of all of the free world. May we as one united people never tire of honoring the memory of our heroic forebears and always work hard to be worthy of their sacrifices, most of all, for the sake of our present and for the future of our world and of all humanity. We will never forget their tireless sacrifices for the sake of the freedoms we enjoy today and always uphold what this victory truly means – a victory against the ever present forces of international fascism!

And in conclusion, as we today mark this historic anniversary since the victorious conclusion of the Second World War in Europe and Northern Africa and the formation of United States naval aviation,as we today mark this day with remembrance and joyful celebration, may we who keep this sacred holiday and recall the millions who died to make this victory possible  with respect and reverence especially for those who went before us shall be worthy of what they fought and died for, for building a world of peace, harmony and progress, a clean environment, and a brighter future for all our children and grandchildren - truly the very future that is truly worth defending and the very future our forefathers fought with their very own lives. With our greatest gratitude may we always and forever treasure in our hearts all those who have gone before us and have entrusted to us the spirit of defending our freedom and liberty in all those years from the beginning of the war up to the great victories in which we honor today, every day and in the years and decades to come!  And may we forever cherish the victory won today, the very reason of the freedoms we live, and forever kindle the fire of victory that will enflame our memories both now and in the brighter tomorrow that is to come!

And as the men of Easy will always say: WE STAND ALONE TOGETHER!

ETERNAL GLORY TO THE FALLEN AND THE HEROES AND VETERANS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE AND NORTHERN AFRICA FROM 1939-1945!

ETERNAL GLORY TO ALL THOSE WHO GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR THE FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE OF OUR WORLD AGAINST FASCISM, NAZISM AND IMPERIALISM IN THE FIELDS OF BATTLE, THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS, AND IN THE HOME FRONT!

LONG LIVE THE VICTORIOUS ALLIES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE, THE MEDITERRANEAN, THE ATLANTIC, THE ARCTIC AND IN NORTHERN AFRICA!

LONG LIVE THE EVER-VICTORIOUS PEOPLE OF THE FREE WORLD AND ALL OUR SERVING ACTIVE AND RESERVE SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN AND VETERANS OF THE ARMED SERVICES OF ALL THE COMBATANT ALLIED COUNTRIES THAT HELPED WIN THIS GREAT WAR AGAINST FASCISM AND NAZISM, AS WELL AS ALL OUR ACTIVE AND RESERVE SERVICE PERSONNEL, CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES AND VETERANS OF THE POLICE, FIREFIGHTING, FORESTRY, BORDER CONTROL, CUSTOMS AND RESCUE SERVICES!

GLORY TO THE HEROES, FALLEN AND VETERANS OF UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION AND TO THE GLORIOUS ACHIEVEMENTS IT MADE TO THE NATION IT HAS ALWAYS SWORN TO DEFEND!

LONG LIVE THE ACTIVE AND RESERVE SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN AND VETERANS OF THE NAVAL AVIATION SERVICES OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY, UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS AND THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD!

LONG LIVE THE GLORIOUS 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE AND NORTHERN AFRICA AND THE GREAT VICTORY OVER THE FORCES OF FASCISM!

LONG LIVE THE GLORIOUS 109TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FORMATION OF NAVAL AVIATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

GLORY TO THE VICTORIOUS PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND CANADA AND THEIR UNIFORMED SERVICES!

GLORY TO THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND CANADA, TOGETHER THE DEFENDERS OF OUR FREEDOM AND LIBERTY AND GUARANTEE OF A FUTURE WORTHY OF OUR GENERATIONS TO COME!

And to the entire HBO War Fandom, especially the fans of Band of Brothers, who will celebrate for all time this day of victory over Nazi Germany:

LONG LIVE EASY COMPANY, 2ND BATTALION, 506TH PARACHUTE INFANTRY REGIMENT, 4TH BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM AND NOW 3RD BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM, 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSAULT), XVIII AIRBORNE CORPS, UNITED STATES ARMY… THE “BAND OF BROTHERS”!

CURRAHEE! AIR ASSAULT! ARMY STRONG!

A HAPPY VICTORY  DAY AND HAPPY 109TH BIRTHDAY TO NAVAL AVIATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

HOOOAH!  HOOYAH!

  2310h, May 9, 2020, the 244th year of the United States of America, the 245th year of the United States Army, Navy and Marine Corps, the 126th of the International Olympic Committee, the 124th of the Olympic Games, the 102nd since the conclusion of the First World War, the 81st of the beginning of the Second World War in Europe, the 79th since the beginning of the Second World War in the Eastern Front and in the Pacific Theater, the 75th since the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and the victories in Europe and the Pacific, the 73rd of the United States Armed Forces and the 53rd of the modern Canadian Armed Forces.

  Semper Fortis

JOHN EMMANUEL RAMOS-HENDERSON

Makati City, PH

  (Requiem for a Soldier) (Honor by Hans Zimmer)

(Slavsya from Mikhail Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar)

(Victory Day by Lev Leshenko)

(Last Post) (Taps) (Rendering Honors)

#hbo war #band of brothers #ve day #victory in europe day #den pobedy #easy company #hbo war fandom #veday75 #ve day 75 #v-e day

[e350tb]

THE WEHRMACHT WERE NAZIS

So recently I had the dubious pleasure of reading the comments on a news article about the death of a Dutch resistance operative, wherein a number of esteemed persons were calling this woman (fourteen at the time) a monster for killing poor, innocent German soldiers.

Therefore, I’d like to make a little masterpost to let everyone know, in their own words, why the Wehrmacht was not innocent and was in fact deeply tied to Nazi ideology.

Warning for deeply upsetting content below.

The most important objective of this campaign against the Jewish-Bolshevik system is the complete destruction of its sources of power and the extermination of the Asiatic influence in European civilization. ... In this eastern theatre, the soldier is not only a man fighting in accordance with the rules of the art of war, but also the ruthless standard bearer of a national conception. ... For this reason the soldier must learn fully to appreciate the necessity for the severe but just retribution that must be meted out to the subhuman species of Jewry.

Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Reichnau’s Severity Order, 10 October 1941. This is during the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

The rooms were filled with about 90 children. There was an indescribable amount of filth; Rags, diapers, refuse lay everywhere. Countless flies cover the children, some of whom were naked. Almost all of the children were crying or whimpering. The stench was unbearable. In the above mentioned case, measures were taken against women and children which were no different from atrocities committed by the enemy.

That’s a German colonel recounting the aftermath of the capture of Bila Tserkva in Ukraine. The Sixth Army had just assisted the Einsatzgruppen in exterminating the town’s 800 Jews, and these kids were all that was left. Reichnau ordered them killed, and this was done by the Sixth Army (not the SS.)

In this battle mercy or considerations of international law is false. They are a danger to our own safety and to the rapid pacification of the conquered territories.

An excerpt from the Commissar Order (itself a massive war crime, as it called for captured Soviet Commissars to be singled out and shot.) No prizes for guessing what ‘rapid pacification’ means.

The Führer has ordered that the enemy employs in partisan warfare Communist-trained fanatics who do not hesitate to commit any atrocity. It is more than ever a question of life and death. This fight has nothing to do with soldierly gallantry or principles of the Geneva Convention. If the fight against the partisans in the East, as well as in the Balkans, is not waged with the most brutal means, we will shortly reach the point where the available forces are insufficient to control the area. It is therefore not only justified, but it is the duty of the troops to use all means without restriction, even against women and children, so long as it ensures success. Any consideration for the partisans is a crime against the German people.

Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and Hitler’s Yes Man. (His enemies, of which he had many, called him Lakeitel, a play on the German word for lackey.)

[Rommel] is ideologically sound, is not just sympathetic to the National Socialists. He is a National Socialist; he is a troop leader with a gift for improvisation, personally courageous and extraordinarily inventive. These are the kinds of soldiers we need.

Josef Goebbels on Rommel. So much for Good Guy Erwin, I suppose.

But enough of high command, what about the rank and file?

The SS issued an invitation to go and shoot Jews. All the troops went along with rifles and shot them up.

[on killing Jews] It was undoubtedly a mistake. Well, not so much a mistake as undiplomatic. We could have done that later.

[On a Jewish woman who ‘let him sleep with her’] You couldn’t tell she was a Jewess; she was quite a nice type, too. It was just her bad luck that she had to die with the others.

The infantry say they shot 15,000 Jews on the aerodrome at Poropoditz. They drove them all together, fired machine guns at them and shot them all. They left about a hundred alive. First they had to dig a hole - a sort of ditch - then they shot them all, except a hundred whom they left alive. Then these hundred had to put them all in a hole and cover them up, leaving a small opening. Then they shot the hundred and put them in too and closed it up.

...at Riga they first slept with them [Jewish women] and then shot them to prevent them from talking.

“We’ve got typhus in the camp, it’ll last another fortnight, and then the Russian prisoners will all be dead and the Poles too and the Jews.”

Oberjager Muller from Berlin was a sniper, he shot the women who went to meet the English soldiers with bunches of flowers...

All of those are from Soldaten by Sonke Neitzel and Harald Welzer. I wouldn’t honestly recommend, as I think some of the psychological conclusions they draw are a bit dubious, but the extracts are from German POWs who were secretly recorded.

In any case, I could go on all night with this, but here are the facts. The German Army was a Nazified and deeply criminal organisation, and even if a landser wasn’t participating in mass murder, he was part of the machine that made that mass murder possible. Every second of ‘heroic’ Wehrmacht resistance in the late war was another second in which the Nazis could carry out the Holocaust.

That is why we remember resistance fighters and allied soldiers as heroes, and why we remember Germany and their allies as villains. So don’t tell me I ought to feel bad for Nazis.

If you’d like to find actual German heroes, I’d recommend starting here.

#nazism #cw racism #the holocaust #wehrmacht #cw war crimes

[diversegaminglists]

Games with Nazis, Nazi and Fascist Imagery

This list is intended primarily as a content/trigger warning resource. I’m including fascism in general as well as the more obviously named Nazis.

Content Warnings: Mentions of concentration camps, prisoner of war camps, ethnic cleansing, the holocaust, anti-Semitism, eugenics, rape, abortion, and general fascist horrible things.

As with all lists, suggestions and corrections are encouraged,

Fantasy/Fictional Games Featuring Nazis:

'Allo 'Allo! Cartoon Fun! - Licensed game from the 1980s British TV comedy series, set in occupied France.

Another War - Polish made RPG set during WW2 in the style of Baldur’s Gate.

Bionic Commando - The Japanese NES game originally had Hitler as the final boss, but the International versions changed his name without changing his appearance.

Bloodrayne - Set in 1933 and 1935, deals almost entirely with killing Nazis and Nazi vampires. The PC and Xbox versions have had the swastikas removed and replaced with a triskelion style symbol, which is also used by other real world white suprematist groups.

Bugs vs. Tanks - The player is a tank crew of Nazi tanks who have been miniaturised.

CannonCrotch - About killing Nazis with a dick cannon, yeah.

Call of Cthulhu: Prisoner of Ice - Something about Nazi scientists trying to harness the power of eldrich abominations.

Call of Duty: Zombies - Nazi zombies

Captain America: Super Soldier - Features the Iron Cross (the Marvel super soldier, not the medal) and Agents of Hydra, who are both Nazis.

City of Heroes - This defunct MMO had a villain faction who were Nazis.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Time travel led to Russia becoming the aggressor in WW2.

Death to Spies Franchise - Hitman style games about killing German spies in the Soviet Union.

Deus Ex - Brief mentions of Nazi gold.

Dino D-Day - As you’d expect from the title, D-Day with dinosaurs.

Double Hitler - A QWOP game where Hitler is two small kids in a trench-coat.

Download 2 - The plot involves terrorist trying to bring back Hitler with digital technology.

Enemy Front - FPS about an American War Correspondent fighting with the Resistance

Epic Fantasy Battle Series - The second game features a Nazi as the final boss. He joins the party in the 3rd and 4th games. Both the Swastika and the Iron Cross symbolism show up in his outfits, though the Swastikas point in the wrong direction.

Ethnic Cleansing - I don’t think I need to explain this one.

Flight of the Amazon Queen - Features a company which is a front for a Nazi group with the names filed off.

Fists of Resistance - Game about punching Nazis

Freedom Fighters - Alternative history where Russia won WW2.

Freedom Force vs The Third Reich - It’s in the title so I’m being redundant for sake of completeness, it features alternative history and time travel but no actual swastikas.

Golgo 13: Wolf's Lair - Infiltrating a Neo-Nazi lair and killing them.

Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode - The Japanese original features a cyborg Hitler and obvious Nazis. These were apparently changed in the English language localisation, but the imagery and use of the swastika remains

The Great Escape (1986) - Based on the movie, not the real events which inspired it.

The Great Escape (2003) - Based on the movie, not the real events which inspired it.

Gran Turismo - Something about Nazi cars??!

GROM: Terror in Tibet - RPG about fighting Nazis with mystical Tibetan magical relics.

Guntu Western Front June, 1944 - FPS set in occupied France

Hans Kloss - A platforming game based on a Polish TV show about a spy stealing German plans.

Hellboy: The Science of Evil - Story involves Nazi scientists, Nazi robots and Nazi gorillas or something.

Hour of Victory - A FPS set in Europe and North Africa

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - One of the playable characters is a former Nazi scientist.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis - It’s Indiana Jones.

Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb - It’s Indiana Jones.

Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures - It’s Indiana Jones.

Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade - It’s Indiana Jones.

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings - It’s Indiana Jones.

The Intercept - Text Adventure about the Enigma decoders.

Into the Eagle’s Nest aka Eagle’s Nest - Gauntlet style game set during WW2

Iron Sky Invasion - NMR

Jang Pung 3 - Something about punching a Nazi Cyborg Dinosaur.

KZ Manager - A series of Concentration Camp simulators.

Kronolog: The Nazi Paradox - Alternative history where the Axis won.

La Croix Pan - Adventure game about an Allied solider.

The Last Resurrection - Some edge-lord nonsense pretending to be satire where Jesus is an anti-Semitic (yes, really) supervillain rapist and Hitler is his right-hand man or something.

Laura Bow: The Dagger Of Amon Ra - Set in 1926 but features a Germany security guard who goosesteps.

Lost Horizon - Point and click adventure game in the style of Indiana Jones with Thule Nazis, though all swastikas are replaced with the Iron Cross because it was made by a German company.

Len Deighton's Blitzkrieg: The Game - From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of England - RTS where you play as Germany in a fictional scenario where they win the war.

Marine Raider - Text adventure about Allied forces in Japan.

Metal Gear Solid 1 - Hitler is briefly mentioned in dialogue.

Mortyr: 2093-1944 & Mortyr 2 - Alternative History FPS about time travelling to stop Hitler winning WW2.

Mr. T - Something about Mr. T and Will Wright teaming up to fight Nazis,I don’t know either.

Operation Darkness - Fire Emblem style JRPG with vampires and werewolves as well as Nazis and Vampire Nazis.

Opération Teddy Bear - French Edutainment title to teach kids about WW2 history and the French Resistance.

Operation Wolfsburg - FPS about stopping Nazis from doing... something.

Outlast - Nazi scientist research is part of the game’s backstory.

Partisan - Action RPG set during WW2.

Pathways into Darkness - FPS featuring Nazi ghosts.

Pearl Harbor: Attack! Attack! - Alternative history where you shoot down the Japanese planes and prevent the Pearl Harbor bombing.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin - Features Hitler as an antagonist who is actually an eldritch horror in disguise.

Pilot Down: Behind Enemy Lines - Stealth game about a pilot trying to escape to Switzerland

Police Quest IV: Open Season - Something about interrogating a very old Nazi.

Project: Weltuntergang - Mod for Wolfenstein 3D

Raiders of the Lost Ark - It’s Indiana Jones.

The Reckoning - Mod for Mount and Blade: Warband which features a Neo-Nazi faction.

Redcon - You play as an officer in an alternative history fascist future.

Red Shark Franchise - Flight sim involving a time travelling helicopter.

Relic Of War - Strategy game where WW2 didn’t end.

Ring of Red - Alternative history with mecha in WW2.

Rescue Raiders - Helicopter game involving time travel.

Rocket Ranger - Game involving time travel and a Nazi moon base.

The Saboteur - GTA clone set in occupied France.

Secrets of the Vatican: The Holy Lance - Hidden Object Game about trying to get the Lance of Longin (the spear which pierced Jesus’ side during the crucifixion) before the Nazis find it.

Signatory: Chouinsha - I can’t find anything about this old Japanese game but it has Hitler on the front cover.

Spear Resurrection & Spear End of Destiny - Fan made sequels to a Wolfenstein game

A Stroke of Fate: Operation Valkyrie - Adventure game with a German protagonist in the SS and Gestapo who sets out to assassinate Hitler.

The Simpsons Game - Features a level set inside a WW2 shooter.

Soldier of Fortune - FPS where the enemy is a Neo-Nazi Group who have stolen nuclear weapons.,

Southpark: The Stick of Truth - Features Zombie Nazi aborted foetuses, because of course it does.

Super Mario World Dark Horizon - A Super Mario fan game featuring a Super Saiyan Hitler.

Stalag 1 - POW Camp simulator

Stuart Smith's Adventure Construction Set - This early RPG creation kit features a Nazi castle as part of its included settings.

Time Gentlemen, Please! - Involves time travel and alternative history with Hitler and robot dinosaurs.

Titanic: Adventure Out of Time - Point and Click about a retired spy dying in the Blitz travelling back in time to redo a failed mission on the Titanic which will stop WW2 from happening, or something.

The Train: Escape to Normandy - Train simulator about trying to prevent Nazis from getting French paintings.

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty - Alternative History where Nazis invade New York.

ÜberSoldier Franchise aka Crimes of War - About a German soldier who gets super powers and then recruited by the Resistance to fight against Nazis.

Uncharted 1 - Features a U-Boat full of dead Nazis.

Uncharted 2 - Brief references to Hitler.

Undercover: Operation Wintersun - Point and Click adventure set during WW2.

Velvet Assassin - Loosely based on a real British spy. No swastikas because it was made by a German company.

Vogelstein 2D - Top down shooter inspired by Wolfenstein

Walker - Side scrolling WW2 shooter with a walking tank.

War Front: Turning Point - Alternative history RTS where Hitler was assassinated and the Germany and Allied power joined forces to fight against Russia.

Weird Wars: The Unknown Episode of World War II aka Weird Wars: Operation Pantherauge - Polish Isometric RPG involving Nazis and a mystical weapon.

Wolfenstein Franchise -Various reboots turned the series into Alternate History, Jewish-American Protagonist.

Wolfram - Remake of Wolfenstein 3D

Wolfschanze 1 & 2 - FPS inspired by the real life attempted assassination of Hitler by Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg.

World War II: Prisoner of War - Stealth game about escaping a POW camp.

Zombie Army Trilogy aka Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army Franchise

Nazi/Fascist Imagery/Fascist Empires:

Absolute Obedience - This yaoi game is set in Germany and uses a lot of fascist militaristic imagery (also rape) but the exact historical period is unclear (it has the Berlin wall in it, for example,) and is visually all over the place.

Akatsuki Blitzkampf - Japanese Dōjin fighter which uses a lot of fascist militaristic imagery and is clearly inspired by the Axis and Allies of WW2.

Battalion Wars - The Xylvanians are based on the WW1 era German Empire rather than Nazi Germany.

Bioshock Infinite - Despite being set in 1912 Columbia is influenced directly by Nazi Germany in-game because of the time tears. Massively fascist racist society.

Bloodrayne 2 - Set in “modern times” but features a flashback with Nazi imagery and occasional triskelion imagery.

Borderlands Franchise - Handsome Jack is often referred to as a fascist in game, he kills people for no reason, has a massive ego, has huge statues build glorifying him, and wants to kill everyone on Pandora who doesn’t work for him because he has decided they are “savages”.

Bully aka Canis Canem Edit - During the Halloween section Gary’s costume is clearly a Nazi Officer uniform, but without any insignia

Civilization: Beyond Earth - The purity affinity is about glorifying humanity and destroying anything that doesn’t conform.

The Darkness - Apparently features Nazi imagery in a bonus comic which came with the game.

Einhänder - What’s left of the world is run by a German-speaking evil Empire.

Fallout 2 - The Enclave wanted to exterminate everyone who wasn’t part of them, though the later games made them a bit less extreme.

Fallout: New Vegas - Caesar’s Legion attempts to emulate the Roman Empire, complete with hating women, and crucifying all their enemies.

Fallout 4 - The Brotherhood of Steel in this instalment is obsessed with “purity” associated with not being irradiated.

Final Fantasy 2/II - The Empire of Palamecia.

Final Fantasy 6/VI - The Gestahlian Empire is definitely a fascist regime and the Emperor even uses a Nazi salute in game.

Final Fantasy 12/XII - The Archadian Empire.

Final Fantasy 15/XV - The Empire of Niflheim

Final Fantasy Type-0 - The Milites.

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim - Both the Thalmor and the Stormcloak factions are really into the “racial superiority” of the Altemer and Nords respectively.

Half-Life 2 - The Combine.

Killzone Fracnhise - The Hellghast are obviously based on a mixture of Nazi and Stalinist sources.

Lusternia - This MUD has a fascist empire called the Empire of Magnagora.

Maken X - Apparently the Japanese features Nazi imagery but was censored for American release (not sure if this was deliberate or not in context, given the use of the manji symbol in Japanese culture and religion, but the game also apparently features a boss fight against the Pope, so maybe it was).

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy - The Movement brainwashes people and has a uniform with red arm bands and jackboots.

Resident Evil Franchise - Almost every antagonist movement in the series has some element of fascism to it, from wanting to “improve” humanity through genetic therapy, to killing off everyone who is not “worthy”, to experimenting bioweapons on African villagers.

Starcraft Franchise - The UPL & UED are into genetic “purity”and purging humanity of “undesirables”.

Star Wars - Any game which features the Sith Empire, but especially The Old Republic MMO.

Tales of Symphonia - The half-elven Desians round up humans and put them in camps for being “inferior”.

Team Fortress - The design of the Medic evokes a Nazi doctor, especially since he has a German accent and refers to himself as “ze ubermensch”.

Tropico Franchise - The Nationalist faction hates foreigners, and in Tropico 4 their leader is depicted as a skinhead.

Under Defeat - Nazi inspired uniforms.

Valkyria Chronicles - Has an evil empire which is a mashup of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

Special Mentions and Exceptions:

Assassin’s Creed Franchise - In the lore Hitler was apparently a Templar with a piece of the Apple of Eden, but I’m not sure which game(s) contain Nazi imagery, if any, so needs more research.

Bazooka Bill - Is set during WW2 but all the enemies appear to be ninjas instead of German officers.

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures - Unlike the films it’s based on, and most of the licensed games, the LEGO game contains no references to Nazis or Nazi imagery. Characters who were Nazis in the originals are referred to as “Enemies” in game instead.

Mass Effect - The Cerberus group is a “humans first” organisation in their first appearance but their portrayal over the three games is inconsistent.

The Secrets of Atlantis: The Sacred Legacy - Set in 1937 but omits direct references to Nazis and swastikas even though the Hindenburg is a location.

#list actually #nazi mention #abortion mention #rape mention

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.13

29 BC – Octavian holds the first of three consecutive triumphs in Rome to celebrate the victory over the Dalmatian tribes. 523 – John I becomes the new Pope after the death of Pope Hormisdas. 554 – Emperor Justinian I rewards Liberius for his service in the Pragmatic Sanction, granting him extensive estates in Italy. 582 – Maurice becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 900 – Count Reginar I of Hainault rises against Zwentibold of Lotharingia and slays him near present-day Susteren. 1099 – Raniero is elected as Pope Paschal II. 1516 – The Treaty of Noyon between France and Spain is signed. Francis I of France recognizes Charles's claim to Naples, and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, recognizes Francis's claim to Milan. 1521 – After an extended siege, forces led by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés capture Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc and conquer the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. 1532 – Union of Brittany and France: The Duchy of Brittany is absorbed into the Kingdom of France. 1536 – Buddhist monks from Kyoto, Japan's Enryaku-ji temple set fire to 21 Nichiren temples throughout in what will be known as the Tenbun Hokke Disturbance. (Traditional Japanese date: Twenty-seventh day of the seventh month of the fifth year of the Tenbun (天文) era). 1553 – Michael Servetus is arrested by John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland as a heretic. 1624 – The French king Louis XIII appoints Cardinal Richelieu as prime minister. 1645 – Sweden and Denmark sign Peace of Brömsebro. 1650 – Colonel George Monck of the English Army forms Monck's Regiment of Foot, which will later become the Coldstream Guards. 1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Blenheim: English and Imperial forces are victorious over French and Bavarian troops. 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Royal Navy defeats the Penobscot Expedition with the most significant loss of United States naval forces prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. 1792 – King Louis XVI of France is formally arrested by the National Tribunal, and declared an enemy of the people. 1806 – Battle of Mišar during the Serbian Revolution begins. The battle ends two days later with a Serbian victory over the Ottomans. 1814 – The Convention of London, a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United Netherlands, is signed in London, England. 1868 – The 8.5–9.0 Mw  Arica earthquake struck southern Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing 25,000+ deaths and a destructive basin wide tsunami that affected Hawaii and New Zealand. 1889 – William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut is granted United States Patent Number 408,709 for "Coin-controlled apparatus for telephones." 1898 – Spanish–American War: Spanish and American forces engage in a mock battle for Manila, after which the Spanish commander surrendered in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands. 1898 – Carl Gustav Witt discovers 433 Eros, the first near-Earth asteroid to be found. 1905 – Norwegians vote to end the union with Sweden. 1906 – The all black infantrymen of the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Regiment are accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white police officer in Brownsville, Texas, despite exculpatory evidence; all are later dishonorably discharged. (Their records were later restored to reflect honorable discharges but there were no financial settlements.) 1913 – First production in the UK of stainless steel by Harry Brearley. 1918 – Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha May Johnson is the first woman to enlist. 1918 – Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) established as a public company in Germany. 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: The Battle of Warsaw begins and will last till August 25. The Red Army is defeated. 1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Shanghai begins. 1942 – Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizes the construction of facilities that would house the "Development of Substitute Materials" project, better known as the Manhattan Project. 1944 – World War II: German troops begin the pillage and razing of Anogeia in Crete that would continue until September 5. 1954 – Radio Pakistan broadcasts the "Qaumī Tarāna", the national anthem of Pakistan for the first time. 1960 – The Central African Republic declares independence from France. 1961 – Cold War: East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West, and construction of the Berlin Wall is started. The day is known as Barbed Wire Sunday. 1964 – Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans are hanged for the murder of John Alan West becoming the last people executed in the United Kingdom. 1967 – Two young women became the first fatal victims of grizzly bear attacks in the 57-year history of Montana's Glacier National Park in separate incidents. 1968 – Alexandros Panagoulis attempts to assassinate the Greek dictator Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos in Varkiza, Athens. 1969 – The Apollo 11 astronauts enjoy a ticker tape parade in New York City. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon. 1973 – Aviaco Flight 118 crashes on approach to A Coruña Airport in A Coruña, Spain, killing 85. 1977 – Members of the British National Front (NF) clash with anti-NF demonstrators in Lewisham, London, resulting in 214 arrests and at least 111 injuries. 1978 – One hundred fifty Palestinians in Beirut are killed in a terrorist attack during the second phase of the Lebanese Civil War. 1990 – A mainland Chinese fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5202 is hit by a Taiwanese naval vessel and sinks in a repatriation operation of mainland Chinese immigrants, resulting in 21 deaths. This is the second tragedy less than a month after Min Ping Yu No. 5540 incident. 2004 – One hundred fifty-six Congolese Tutsi refugees are massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi. 2008 – Russo-Georgian War: Russian units occupy the Georgian city of Gori. 2015 – At least 76 people are killed and 212 others are wounded in a truck bombing in Baghdad, Iraq. 2020 – Israel–United Arab Emirates relations are formally established.

#Events

[garp20-loissurga]

While still perceived as powerful, how did Nazi Germany loose WW2?

and how does Communism play a key role in the downfall of Nazi Germany?

On August 23, 1939–shortly before World War II (1939-45) broke out in Europe–enemies Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, in which the two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. With Europe on the brink of another major war, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) viewed the pact as a way to keep his nation on peaceful terms with Germany, while giving him time to build up the Soviet military. German chancellor Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) used the pact to make sure Germany was able to invade Poland unopposed. The pact also contained a secret agreement in which the Soviets and Germans agreed how they would later divide up Eastern Europe. The German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact fell apart in June 1941, when Nazi forces invaded the Soviet Union. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/german-soviet-nonaggression-pact)

The public part of the Moscow agreement was announced with great fanfare on August 25, 1939, the day Hitler had planned to launch his “blitzkrieg” (quick, surprise attacks) strike east into Poland. Earlier this same day, however, Great Britain and France, knowing the Nazi-Soviet agreement was pending, reacted by formalising their pledge to Poland in a treaty declaring each would fight in Poland’s defence if it were attacked.

Hitler was incensed by this counter-thrust but quickly cancelled his order for the invasion. Then, in a wild gamble that France and Great Britain would not meet their treaty obligations to Poland, and knowing he had nothing to fear from the Soviet army, Hitler ordered his troops to strike east into Poland on September 1, 1939. Two days later, on September 3, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. World War II had begun. And less than two years after that, Hitler scrapped his pact with Stalin and sent some 3 million Nazi soldiers pouring into the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.

Battle of Stalingrad, (July 17, 1942–February 2, 1943), successful Soviet defence of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd), Russia, U.S.S.R., during World War II. Russians consider it to be one of the greatest battles of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favour of the Allies (https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad)

Hitler’s goal was to eliminate Soviet forces in the south, secure the region’s economic resources, and then wheel his armies either north to Moscow or south to conquer the remainder of the Caucasus. On July 9, 1942 Hitler altered his original plan and ordered the simultaneous capture of both Stalingrad and the Caucasus.

Stalin and the Soviet high command responded to the summer offensive by forming the Stalingrad Front with the Sixty-second, Sixty-third, and Sixty-fourth Armies, under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko. While the initial Soviet response was to maintain an orderly withdrawal and thus avoid the massive encirclements and troop losses that had characterised the early months of Operation Barbarossa, on July 28 Stalin issued Order No. 227, decreeing that the defenders at Stalingrad would take “Not One Step Back.” He also refused the evacuation of any civilians, stating that the army would fight harder knowing that they were defending residents of the city.

The turning point of the battle came with a huge Soviet counteroffensive, code-named Operation Uranus (November 19–23). With winter setting in and food and medical supplies dwindling, Nazi forces grew weaker. Hitler declared that the Sixth Army would be supplied by the Luftwaffe, but the air convoys could deliver only a fraction of the necessary supplies.

In mid-December Hitler ordered one of the most-talented German commanders, Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, to form a special army corps to rescue Paulus’s forces by fighting its way eastward (Operation Winter Tempest), but Hitler refused to let Paulus fight his way westward at the same time in order to link up with Manstein. That fatal decision doomed Paulus’s forces, since Manstein’s forces then simply lacked the reserves needed to break through the Soviet encirclement single-handedly.

On January 31 Paulus disobeyed Hitler and agreed to give himself up. Twenty-two generals surrendered with him, and on February 2 the last of 91,000 frozen starving men surrendered to the Soviets.

On the Soviet side, official Russian military historians estimate that there were 1,100,000 Red Army dead, wounded, missing, or captured in the campaign to defend the city. An estimated 40,000 civilians died as well.

[uselesstalks-blog]

On Things that Never Change

Over ten million soviet soldiers died in the second world war. An unprecedented tragedy not because of the number itself, but because of how big a waste of human life this was. Soviet approach to war was simple. Machinery was precious because there was never enough of it and it was difficult to obtain. Intelligent people were rarely in position of power in Soviet Union, and so good military strategy was rare as well. Without machinery and without good strategy, what else did the Soviets have? The answer is people. Soviet leadership understood this, and so they did not care for human lives. They sent whole armies to death traps for no good reason. They believed that the human flood will overcome the technically and strategically better opponents.

Is this a unique strategy for Soviet period of the time? No, and there is one interesting example which you may not expect. Ancient Romans are known for their advanced technical and strategic superiority. That is how they conquered many surrounding areas. They were also good at incorporating the conquered people into its own ranks. Instead of killing them or forcing them outside of the newly established boundaries, Romans made them allies. This meant that at its own time, Rome had a massive army of men at its disposal. When it came to the worst, Roman commanders did not hesitate to use the strategy later perfected by Soviets. They sent legion after legion to almost certain death, as life of most men had no value. When the Nazi army approached Moscow, the Soviets were not original in their solution. In fact, they utilized the same strategy which the Romans used when Hannibal roamed through the northern Italy. Ultimately, the strategy of human sacrifice worked. Both two centuries before Christ and twenty centuries after.

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"If Americans want to live the American dream, they should go to Denmark" said Richard G. Wilkinson at a 2011 TED conference on economic inequality. He had a good reason. The land of the infinite opportunities only offers them to those who don't need them. Those raised in a low income family have a 43% probability of staying in the same socioeconomic group their whole life. Even in fast growing China the social mobility is poor. Children of families with the least income have 37% likelihood of not being any richer than their parents. Adversely, growing up among the richest secures high probability of staying so as an adult: 49% in China and incredible 70% in the USA.

When the least wealthy have only little chance of change during their lifetimes, they aren't as free as others to make decisions. Even if they know that their work will not allow them to advance, they can't afford to lose it. They are chained to their jobs and fully dependent on their employers.

This is surprisingly reminiscent to Roman concept of slavery. Unlike some recent examples of slavery, the Roman kind was not racially motivated. In fact anyone could be a slave. A Roman could become one by not being able to repay his or her debts, although this rarely happened to those from the top tier of the society. Once enslaved, Romans had small chance of becoming freedmen. The statistics are not known, but it does not seem to be very likely. For sure it was less probable than the chance of current poor Americans or Chinese becoming rich. Even so Roman slaves had their American dream. Similarly to Americans many centuries later, it was most likely never going to come true.

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Convenience of living in modern cities is unquestionable. It is one of the defining characteristics that distinguish cities from the countryside. Cities are denser and everything is within ones reach. But city inhabitants pay for this convenience. I don't mean that they pay by having less space for themselves, less greenery, more noise or worse air quality. I mean that they pay literary by ever increasing amount of money.

With ever increasing cluster of building regulations, the cost of living in every growing city skyrockets.  People from city center start moving uptown, where only newcomers used to live. Later, moving uptown is often not a solution and it is becoming more common to rent instead of buying. People rent their homes not as a temporary, but as a long-term solution. They pay rent, which means and can't save enough money to buy their own place. They get trapped in a circle.

This it turns out is not a modern problem, but more likely a problem of large cities generally. Our good old friends Romans faced the very same issue. The city at the center of their empire was a home to one million people, an unprecedented number at the time. Majority of Romans lived in rented apartments and only the richest could afford to own a place of their own. 10 floors high concrete buildings with dozens of apartments would feel familiar to inhabitants of modern cities. Romans would in return understand how it feels to have only a small chance to own the place they live in. The best they could hope for was a move to the luxury apartments on lower floors, which often had running water. With the current trend of ever more expensive living in cities, our living conditions are becoming more and more like those of Romans.

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Western societies project so much of themselves in ancient Romans. One of the reasons for this obsession is because they believe ancient Rome was one of the pinnacles of democracy, where wise senators in white togas rose to power through general and fair elections. This unfortunately was not the case as Roman elections were far from free and fair in the current understanding of the words. More importantly, for a large part of its history, Rome was not a democracy at all. Most of the famous Roman leaders, be it Augustus, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, Diocletian or Constantine were in fact dictators.

Ancient Rome was a dictatorship for second half of its existence, but the ethos of democracy never vanished. It was so strong that it influenced the way the rulers presented themselves even hundreds of years after the actual end of democracy. Calling oneself a dictator was a political (and often almost literal) suicide even centuries after the democracy ended. Augustus, the first proper emperor of Rome, could not just cancel all the various independent functions which existed in government. He had to cleverly amass them all, one by one. By doing so, he indicated that there are independent institutions, albeit for the moment concentrated in one person. Despite having a ruler with unlimited power, Romans could still see themselves as democrats. It was always imaginable that the individual powers of the emperor will eventually split between democratically elected people. And so the ethos of democracy continued even though the actual democracy was long dead.

One does not need to search too long to find similar examples in the world today. Many years ago it became indisputable that democracy is the right path towards rich society. Since then, many countries at the edges of the western world imitate its various aspects. In Soviet Union and its satellites, elections were held every four years. The results were hardly surprising as stable 100% votes went to the Communist party. After Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, a supposedly free referendum took place. 97% of the voters were in support of Crimea joining the Russian Federation. Less blatant but still unfair are the elections in Turkey, Hungary, Belarus and many other countries today. Through intimidation, propaganda and fraud, undemocratic regimes keep trying to imitate democratic principles. Even for them it is clear that democracy is in fact the best system for the people. For dictators it is as hard as it was two millennia ago to admit who they really are: usurpers of the power with no real support from the people whom they govern.

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Ancient Romans had many fascinating values, but the most interesting among them must be dignitas. Dignitas was a meta-value which represented how much the public thought the dignitas holder was adherent to other Roman values. By being more adherent to Roman values, a Roman could increase his dignitas. Reversely, being less roman meant losing dignitas. And so the race began. Commanders lead their armies to unnecessary wars to gain recognition as heroes. The chase for dignitias forced men to do irrational things. One only has to ask whether this arbitrary value did contribute to their well being at all. As with other arbitrary goals people chose, I would not say so.

Irrational behavior of the past generations you say? And how many followers on Instagram do you have, how many likes did you get for your latest post on Facebook? How much time did you spend taking that one perfect selfie on the beach, instead of enjoying the beach? How about the food you ate cold because you spend so much time trying to capture it from the best angle? People have the need to impress others and it doesn't matter whether it will bring them any real benefits. The need to look better then our peers is imprinted in our DNA and we can't do much about it. The only thing that changes are the circumstances and hence the methods we use. The need to fulfill our biological destiny remains the same, no matter whether you're a millitary leader in 53 BC or a bored teenager twenty one centuries later.

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So, let's say you want to make a grand statement about the history and show how some things stay the same. What do you do? Do you study the topic, do you trace it through the history as far as written records go and then make an informed assessment? I bet you don't. I bet you take some feature of the present, pick a historical period in which the feature was in some way similar, and present this as a clear proof that some things never change. Isn't that lame?

Inspired by: Gregory S. Aldrete: The Rise of Rome Gregory S. Aldrete: The Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome Timothy Snyder: Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning The PEW Charitable Trust: Pursuing the American Dream: Economic Mobility Across Generations Dan Kopf: For all its economic dynamism, China’s income mobility is bad and getting worse Richard Wilkinson: How economic inequality harms societies

[popehilarius]

World War Two

On July 16, 1945, the first nuclear bomb was tested in New Mexico. And when we dropped similar bombs on Japan, we’re taught that we did it to save lives. And World War II is seen as a good war. But it was also the bloodiest war in human history with something like 65 million deaths. Almost half of which were Soviet or Chinese. The numbers, by country, are insanity.   

The opening shots of the war happened in 1931, when Japan went into Manchuria. At the same time, Hitler was increasingly ramping up military spending in Germany. And then Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in 1935. When the U.S., Britain and France did nothing, Hitler assumed none of them wanted a war. So he invaded the Rhineland in 1936. Apparently it was a big risk on his part, since Germany would not have been able to defeat a French force at that point.    

There was also zero Allied response to the Spanish Civil War, where Franco ended up creating a fascist dictatorship. Anti-communist corporate leaders in the U.S. hated the Spanish Republic. And American Catholics, along with Hitler and Mussolini rallied to pro-Catholic Franco’s support. Hitler’s Condor Legion bombed civilians in Guernica in 1937, which was one of the first war crimes to capture global attention. It was made even more famous by a Picasso anti-war painting the same yer. 

Ford, GM and Firestone aided the fascists. Texaco’s chairman, Torklid Rieber, was a fascist sympathizer who gave Franco oil on credit and later aided the Nazis. FDR later stated regrets for not intervening, and it led Stalin to believe the Allies had no interest in stopping the Nazis or the global advance of fascism.   

War erupted in China in 1937. Japan took Nanjing and brutalized the people. Germany annexed Austria in 1938. To avoid war, the Allies capitulated to Hitler at Munich and allowed him to take the Czech Sudetenland. Neville Chamberlain was treated like a national hero for his appeasement.    

The Allies also did nothing when the Nazis instituted the Night of Broken Glass on their Jewish citizens. American public opinion finally turned on the Nazi government. But most Jewish refugees were still barred from entering the U.S.

Hitler broke his promise at the Munich Accords and took the rest of Czechoslovakia in 1939. To buy himself time, Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler, where they divided Poland and other areas of Eastern Europe into spheres of influence. Stalin had wanted a pact with Britain and France, but they would not allow Soviet troops on Polish soil. Then the Nazis invaded Poland, which resulted in Britain and France declaring war on Germany, which actually surprised Hitler. Stalin invaded Poland soon after. Then they went about gaining control of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and beginning mass persecutions. The second World War was officially underway.

Germany conquered Denmark, Norway, Holland, and Belgium. France, which had been decimated by World War I, collapsed after two weeks of fighting in 1940. The anti-Semitic, anti-communist ruling class of France decided to collaborate with the Nazis.     

Hitler began terrorizing England with an air assault. But new prime minister, Winston Churchill, rallied the nation behind him with powerful speeches. And Germany’s failure to conquer England was a turning point in the war and made Churchill a living legend in the UK. 

Americans still wanted no part of this. World War I had made them strongly isolationist. Although attacks on Jews and the fall of France shocked many in the country. And FDR believed that Hitler was bent on world domination, so he started aiding the Allies. He gave 50 old destroyers to Britain and set embargoes on Japan to drive them out of China and delay their access to raw materials. Japan retaliated by joining the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy.

In 1940, FDR broke precedent and declared for a third term, believing he was the only candidate who could deal with the Nazis. He chose Henry A. Wallace as his running mate. Wallace had been a supporter of the New Deal and his agricultural reforms had helped immensely during the Great Depression. He was also in favor of military mobilization. And through his friendship with George Washington Carver, he was pretty cool, racially. Democratic Party bosses thought Wallace was too radical and eccentric, but FDR gave the 1940 Convention an ultimatum. It eventually took a speech by Eleanor Roosevelt to convince the party bosses to put Wallace on the ticket. But they were not happy about it.    

In 1941, Germany was at the height of its powers and decided to attack the Soviet Union. In Mein Kampf (1925-26), Hitler had laid out the concept of lebensraum, or eastward expansion into the vast and resource-rich Soviet Union. In order to do so, the Slavic and Jewish people would have to be removed to make room for the German master race. So with England no longer a threat in the west, Hitler went after the biggest prize of all. During the Great Purge, Stalin’s paranoia led to the arrest and/or execution of most of his country’s military command. But what Hitler wanted to do to the Soviet people was much, much worse.  

Three million troops invaded the Soviet Union, surprising Stalin. Ukraine fell in 1941 and the Battle for Kiev killed 500,000 Soviets. Those who weren’t killed were turned into slaves. Taking Ukraine also meant taking the Soviet industrial heartland. The U.S. and British thought the Soviet Union would fall, and feared Stalin would make peace with Hitler. Even the communist-hating Churchill had to pledge support for the Soviet Union.    

Stalin desperately wanted Britain to engage Hitler in Europe to force a second front. But the Allies totally didn’t mind the Soviets absorbing most of the punishment from the Nazis. The U.S. and Britain were reluctant to give Stalin supplies. And many Americans (including Harry Truman) would have been perfectly happy to see a Soviet defeat. Nevertheless, FDR eventually sent aid.  

FDR met with Churchill in Newfoundland, with Churchill begging the U.S. to join the war. Roosevelt knew that Congress would have rejected any war plans at that point, so he said he’d supply all aid short of war. And hey, maybe it would provoke a response. But Roosevelt also laid out his vision for the world after the war, with political and economic freedom for 3rd world countries. America would fight the war for self-determination, a New Deal for colonized nations. And Churchill, who loved his empire, knew that the price of American aid would be giving them the world after the peace. FDR’s vision became known as the Atlantic Charter, and it would also become the manifesto for the United Nations. Leadership in the world was slipping from Great Britain to the Americans.    

Hitler, who considered the Japanese to be racially inferior, didn’t bother sharing any of his Soviet plans with Japan or try to get their support. That would have enormous consequences for the fate of the world. If Japan had entered into war against Stalin, the Soviets probably would have been crushed. But Japan wanted an empire of their own and they drove into Indochina in 1941. The U.S. responded by cutting off Japan’s oil supplies, which made them abandon their invasion of Russia and led them to focus on getting oil from the Dutch East Indies. The U.S. base at Pearl Harbor was seen as a possible hindrance to those plans.   

Japan launched a surprise preemptive attack on Pearl Harbor, which led the U.S. and Britain to declare war on Japan. Hitler, who had not even been told about Pearl Harbor, also decided to declare war on the United States, for whatever reason. Big fucking mistake. FDR and Churchill were actually relieved by that. Britain got an ally on two different fronts. And it probably ended up saving Europe.    

Japan began picking off British and American colonies in the Pacific. Thailand, Malaya, Java, Borneo, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Burma. The Philippines was the worst military defeat in U.S. history. The Japanese also stunned the British Empire at their major military base in Singapore in 1942. 80,000 Commonwealth soldiers were taken prisoner in the worst military defeat in British history. If Japan had coordinated at all with Germany, they probably would have gotten India. But the two countries never acted like real allies.

The U.S. counteroffensive was led by Douglas MacArthur and Chester Nimitz. They defeated Japan at Midway, a huge naval victory and a turning point in the Pacific. The U.S. war economy was cranking out weapons. And technological innovations like radar and the proximity fuse also aided in victory. But it was the Bomb that changed the course of history.  

In 1938, German physicists discovered nuclear fission, which would make a bomb a theoretical possibility. That freaked out Jewish scientists in the U.S., who were met with apathy until Leo Szilard got Albert Einstein to write a letter to FDR urging a competing nuclear program. Einstein would later regret sending the letter. But the Manhattan Project was created. And it included scientists like Robert Oppenheimer (an admitted communist), Enrico Fermi and Szilard, who invented the nuclear reactor. In reality, Germany had abandoned their nuclear research in 1942 to focus on V-1 and V-2 rockets. The Americans, however, pressed on. 

In the east, the Soviets were on the verge of collapse with the Nazis about to take Moscow. Stalin pressed the Allies for a second front in France. But Churchill, who had just suffered a great defeat in North Africa, convinced FDR to help in there instead. Churchill was mainly concerned with British oil reserves in the Middle East and access to India through the Suez Canal. With no help from the Allies, the Red Army still managed to reverse the course of the war.

Because Japan had marched south, Stalin could bring Marshal Zhukov’s Siberian division back to Moscow. And much like Napoleon at Moscow in 1812, the Germans were stopped. The Nazis also besieged Leningrad for 900 days but never took it. The Soviets there lived in hellish conditions and the casualties are mind boggling.

Stalin then began the greatest forced migration in human history. 10 million people were moved to the interior to build factories and crank out tanks and planes for the war effort. Facing extermination, the Russian people were determined to fight to the bitter end. 4-8 million Ukrainians and 2.5 million Belarusians died in the war. And when Germans saw that they couldn’t wipe out the Soviet population, they decided to go after their resources instead. Russian oil reserves were in Baku. And Germany getting that oil assured a Russian surrender. But first, the Nazis would have to go through Stalingrad.

Stalingrad is the bloodiest battle in the history of human warfare. The Soviets lost more people there than the British and Americans in the entire war. 500,000 Soviets were killed. Germany lost 200,000. Any Russian soldier who attempted to flee was also killed. 13,000 died that way at Stalingrad, 135,000 throughout the war. Not to mention the millions in gulags or whatever other sick shit Stalin was into. Germany had to withdraw to replace their losses. And the Soviets, with all their new tanks and planes, could finally go on offense.

After a defeat at Kursk, Germany began a full scale retreat on the Eastern Front. And while American myth loves to say that we are the heroes of World War II, it was Stalin and the heroism of the Soviet people who defeated Nazi Germany.

[blessedarticles-blog]

The Curse of Moses

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that ALL THESE CURSES SHALL COME upon thee, and overtake thee:

Deuteronomy 28:15

I will camp against you encircling you, and I will set siegeworks against you, and I will raise up battle towers against you.

Isaiah 29:3 (NASB)

Unlike the curse of Adam and the curse on Eve that were brief, heavyweight statements, the curse of Moses was delivered in great detail. It is interesting to see how these detailed curses have played out in the life of the nation of Israel. Let’s look at the details of the curse. The curses of Moses were directed at the Jews. These curses were to come upon them because of their disobedience.

What Picture Has the Curse of Moses Created?

A curse creates a picture!

Every curse creates an unmistakable picture!

To recognize a curse you must know the picture it creates!

The curse on man creates the unmistakeable picture of toil and sweat that yields little fruit.

The curse on women creates the unmistakeable picture of sorrow, disappointment and struggles with husbands and children.

The curse on Jews creates the unmistakeable picture of worldwide inexplicable hatred, scattering and persecution.

The curse on Jew haters creates the picture of inexplicable ultimate defeat and humiliation.

The curse on black people creates the inexplicable picture of servanthood, poor leadership, poverty and insignificance.

A trained medical doctor will notice certain symptoms and signs because he is trained to recognize the picture of a disease. It is an unmistakeable picture to him because he is trained to see it. In the same way, you will now recognize the picture of the curse when you see it. Your trained eyes will pick out the unmistakeable picture that shows that a curse is working.

The Details of the Curse

1. The curse on everything you do:

The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, IN ALL THAT THOU SETTEST THINE HAND UNTO for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

Deuteronomy 28:20-21

2. The curse of strange diseases that wipe out the population:

The Lord shall make THE PESTILENCE CLEAVE UNTO THEE, UNTIL HE HAVE CONSUMED THEE from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

Deuteronomy 28:21-22

A pestilence is an epidemic that sweeps through the population and affects many people. The Ebola virus, the HIV virus and the bird flu virus are well known to have produced modern epidemics (pestilence).

Epidemics wiped out thousands of Jews during the Second World War. The Germans established more than 400 ghettos for the purpose of isolating and controlling Jews. These ghettos were overcrowded unhealthy quarters in which as many as one thousand Jews could be found living in one building. This led to the outbreak of epidemics of cholera and typhus among the Jews. Two thousand Jews died every month in the Warsaw ghetto from epidemics of cholera and typhus.

In one ghetto, sanitary stations were established to bathe and disinfect the Jews to contain the epidemic. Jews were refused permission to leave the ghetto unless they were certified as disinfected and clean. The penalty for leaving the ghetto, where these epidemics were raging, was being shot on sight! Indeed, the curse of the pestilence was happening practically.

3. The curse of being driven into every nation of the world:

The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and SHALT BE REMOVED INTO ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH.

Deuteronomy 28:25

Indeed, the curse of being driven into every nation of the world has happened practically to the people of Israel. Jews have mysteriously been driven from place to place. This repeated persecution, recurring expulsion and migration has never happened to any other group of people on earth.

In AD 70 Jerusalem was burnt down and the Jews were scattered all over the world.

Again, in AD 629 the entire Jewish population of GALILEE was massacred or expelled from Judea.

Between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries the Jews living in FRANCE were expelled.

In 1290 King Edward I of England issued a decree to expel Jews from ENGLAND. This remained in force for 365 years.

In the fourteenth century, Jews were expelled from EUROPE because of the Plague.

Jews were expelled from SPAIN in 1492, from SICILY IN 1493 and from ITALY in 1554.

Between 1648 and 1654, Jews were not allowed in RUSSIA and UKRAINE.

The Jews were expelled from the MIDDLE EAST and NORTH AFRICA between 1947 and 1972.

From the 1960s till 1989, thousands of Jews were forced by the authorities to leave POLAND.

In the 1970s, tens of thousands of Soviet Jews were forced out of the SOVIET UNION. Some migrated to Israel whilst others went to the United States.

4. The curse of bodies lying outside and being eaten by birds:

And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.

Deuteronomy 28:26

This curse of dead bodies lying in the open and without being buried was fulfilled practically in AD 70.

In the year AD 66 the Jews of Judea rebelled against their Roman masters. In response, the Emperor Nero dispatched an army under the generalship of Vespasian to restore order. Vespasian landed in Antioch and took command. Vespasian’s son, Titus, marched up from Egypt, and after linking up with his father, the Romans now moved inland into the region of Galilee. Battles were fought on both land and on the lake of Galilee.

During the battle, the hill on which the Temple stood was covered in flames. The blood that poured from those who were slain was so much that the ground was no more visible. The streets were covered with corpses ; with soldiers pursuing fugitives over the piles of dead bodies.

5. The curse of your wife being taken away from you:

Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.

Deuteronomy 28:30

The curse of wives being taken away from their husbands was fulfilled practically during the Second World War. Males and females were always separated at the concentration camps.

Many parents chose to hide their children, claiming that they were non-Jewish orphans of war.

Families began to be forced apart from each other and many families vowed to find each other after the war.

Some families’ desire to remain together often left them with the only option of going into hiding. During the war, it was extremely difficult to hide from the Germans. Indeed, some Jewish families were forced to live cut off from the world for long periods of time, sometimes years.

6. The curse of being robbed openly and violently – the curse of having your wealth stolen:

The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall A NATION WHICH THOU KNOWEST NOT EAT UP; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway.

Deuteronomy 28:33

Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: THINE ASS SHALL BE VIOLENTLY TAKEN AWAY FROM BEFORE THY FACE, AND SHALL NOT BE RESTORED TO THEE: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.

Deuteronomy 28:31

And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.

Deuteronomy 28:51

The curse of being robbed openly has happened practically to the Jews on many occasions.

The Jews in Europe were robbed of so much wealth by the Germans that their money financed thirty percent of the German war effort.

Nazi German officials also plundered more than £12 billion by looting and by enacting special confiscation laws. German tax authorities “actively worked to destroy Jews financially”. Tax laws discriminated against Jews from 1934, while some who managed to leave Germany before the Holocaust had much of their wealth confiscated through an “exit tax”.

German officials would seize and sell the property of Jews who left or were sent to extermination camps, both in Germany and in the nations conquered during the Second World War.

7. The curse of your children being taken away from you:

THY SONS AND THY DAUGHTERS SHALL BE GIVEN UNTO ANOTHER people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand.

Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.

Deuteronomy 28:32, 41-42

The curse of your children being taken away from you has also been fulfilled many times in the life of the people of Israel.

Many Jewish children were taken away from their parents during the Second World War. One of my mother’s friends was such a Jewish child who was separated from her parents during the Second World War. She was a toddler when her parents put her on a train and sent her away to safety. She never saw her parents again. Her parents probably died on a concentration camp.

In the fulfilment of this curse, the children of Jews suffered various things during the Second World War. Some children were killed immediately on arrival at the German concentration camps and killing centres.

Other Jewish children were slaughtered by the Germans shortly after birth. (For example, 870 infants born in the Ravensbrück concentration camp between 1943 and 1945, largely to Jewish and Gypsy women, were slaughtered).

Yet others, usually above the age of 10, were imprisoned or used as labourers. Finally, some children were used as subjects for German medical experiments.

Indeed, Jewish children, separated from their parents, were hidden for their own safety. In France, almost everyone in Le Chambon-sur- Lignon, hid Jewish children in the town from 1942 to 1944. In Italy and Belgium, many Jewish children survived only by being sent into hiding. Truly, the words of Moses were being carried out to the letter! There is a need to have a proper respect for curses spoken by authority figures.

8. The curse of becoming a wonder and an amazing story of persecution and hatred in the world:

Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: and they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.

Deuteronomy 28:45-46

The curse of Moses that the nation of Israel would be a sign and a wonder has come to pass literally. For centuries, the Jews had to survive as a nation without a country. Wherever they went they were hated, treated as an inferior race and made to live in ghettoes.

At different times over several centuries, the exiled Jews have been persecuted, massacred, or forced to flee for their lives from one country to another.

Thousands of Jews have been forced to flee from their homes, from England, from Spain, from Russia and from Germany. It is as though a special hand was driving them from place to place like flocks of birds with no resting place.

For example, in England, in 1190 there was a fearful wave of massacres spreading from city to city, wiping out Jewish men, women and children.

Then again in 1290, the king of England (Edward I) expelled all the Jews from Britain.

Later on in 1492 all the Jews were expelled from Spain. In other countries their treatment was even worse.

In the 1880s Jews had to flee for their lives from Russia.

In the 1930s the Jews had to flee from Germany.

9. The curse of great weakness and great destruction before the enemy:

Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and HE SHALL PUT A YOKE OF IRON UPON THY NECK, UNTIL HE HAVE DESTROYED THEE.

Deuteronomy 28:48

During the Second World War, the Jews were very weak before their German enemies. The German enemies placed a yoke of iron on their necks with the intention of destroying them. A yoke of destruction called “Final Solution” was placed on the neck of Israel.

In December 1941, the Germans began the “Final Solution”. The “Final Solution” was the Nazi policy of wiping out all Jews. The policy resulted in the murder of 6 million Jews in concentration camps between 1941 and 1945. Adolf Hitler, Himmler and Eichmann were the key implementers of this yoke. Indeed, the Jews did not have the strength to resist this onslaught of mass murder.

Throughout the war, Jews were kept in concentration camps where long-term survival was rare. Most of those selected to work died of exhaustion and disease. The conditions were so extreme that even the fittest people rarely survived more than a few months in the camps.

10. The curse of warring nations besieging and capturing Israel.

And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, IN THE SIEGE, AND IN THE STRAITNESS, WHEREWITH THINE ENEMIES SHALL DISTRESS THEE.

Deuteronomy 28:53

The curse of Moses that they would be besieged has occurred an astonishing twenty-three times. How many cities in the world have been besieged twenty-three times and still exist? Jerusalem has been captured and re-captured forty-four times by different people.

In the history of Jerusalem, it has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times.

11. The curse of women eating their own children in the siege.

The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for SHE SHALL EAT THEM for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.

Deuteronomy 28:56-57

This amazing curse also came to pass practically. In AD 70, Josephus, a famous historian described the horrors he witnessed in the siege of AD 70. This is what he said:

“Throughout the city people were dying of hunger in large numbers, and enduring unspeakable sufferings. In every house the merest hint of food sparked violence, and close relatives fell to blows, snatching from one another the pitiful supports of life. Need drove the starving to gnaw at anything.

Rubbish which even animals would reject, was collected and turned into food. In the end they were eating belts and shoes, and the leather stripped off their shields. Tufts of withered grass were devoured, and sold in little bundles for four drachmas.

Among the residents of the region beyond Jordan was a woman called Mary, daughter of Eleazar, of the village of Bethezuba (the name means “House of Hyssop”). She was well off, and of good family, and had fled to Jerusalem with her relatives, where she became involved with the siege. Most of her belongings which she had packed up and brought from Peraea had been plundered as well as the rest of her treasure, together with such foods.

In her bitter resentment this poor woman cursed the extortioners and this angered them. However, no one put her to death. She grew weary of trying to find food for her kinsfolk. So, driven by anger and want, she seized her child, an infant at the breast, and cried,

“My poor baby, why should I keep you alive in this world of war and famine? Even if we live till the Romans come, they will make slaves of us; and anyway, hunger will get us before slavery does; and the rebels are crueler than both. Come, be food for me, and an avenging fury to the rebels, and a tale of cold horror to the world to complete the monstrous agony of the Jews.”

With these words she killed her son, roasted the body, swallowed half of it, and stored the rest in a safe place. But the rebels were on her at once, smelling roasted meat, and threatening to kill her instantly if she did not produce it. She assured them she had saved them a share, and revealed the remains of her child. Seized with horror and stupefaction, they stood paralyzed at the sight. But she said, “This is my own child, and my own handiwork. Eat, for I have eaten already. Do not show yourselves weaker than a woman, or more pitiful than a mother. But if you have pious scruples, and shrink away from human sacrifice, then what I have eaten can count as your share, and I will eat what is left as well.”

At that they slunk away, trembling, not daring to eat, although they were reluctant to yield even this food to the mother. The whole city soon heard of this abomination. When people heard of it, they shuddered, as though they had done it themselves.

12. The curse of a shrunken population:

Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. And YE SHALL BE LEFT FEW IN NUMBER, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God.

Deuteronomy 28:59-62

The curse of a shrinking population happened practically to the Jews during the Second World War. Most populations increase every year. But according to the words of Moses, Jews were left fewer in number.

In 1933 the world’s Jewish population was 15.3 million.

In 1939, the world population of Jews was 17 million.

By 1945 the Jewish population in the world had shrunk to 11 million.

By 2014, the Jewish population was 14.2 million making up only 0.2 percent of the world population.

13. The curse of being scattered throughout the whole world:

And the Lord shall SCATTER THEE AMONG ALL PEOPLE, FROM THE ONE END OF THE EARTH EVEN UNTO THE OTHER; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:

Deuteronomy 28:64-65

The curse of being scattered throughout the world has come to pass with astonishing accuracy. The Jews have been dispersed into the world on three major occasions.

The first dispersion of Jews occurred when the Assyrians conquered Israel in 722 BC. Then, the Jews were scattered all over the Middle East.

The second dispersion of Jews occurred when Nebuchadnezzar conquered and deported Jews in 597 and 586 BC and allowed them to remain in a unified community in Babylon.

The third major dispersion came about after 70 AD when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and annexed Judaea as a Roman province.

The Israelites, as had been foretold in the Old Testament, became wandering Jews, to be found in practically every country of the world, despised, reviled and hounded by persecution from city to city and nation to nation.

Note the statistics of returning Jews according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics: Between 1948 and 2013, the following numbers of Jews returned to Israel from the respective countries of the world to which they had been scattered:

CountryNo. of Jews Returning to Jerusalem

Russia/Ukraine (former USSR) 1,231,003

Morocco, Algeria & Tunisia 354,852

Romania 276,586

Poland 173,591

Iraq 131,138

United States of America 101,592

Ethiopia 92,730

France 81,885

Iran 76,934

Argentina 66,916

Turkey 62,837

Yemen 50,731

Bulgaria 44,372

Egypt and Sudan 37,763

Libya 35,844

United Kingdom 35,164

Hungary 32,022

India 28,702

Czechoslovakia (former) 24,468

South Africa 20,038

Germany 19,905

Yugoslavia (former) 10,768

Syria 9,547

14. The curse of being forced to change their religion:

And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and THERE THOU SHALT SERVE OTHER GODS, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.

Deuteronomy 28:64

On several occasions, Jews have been forced to convert from their faith to other religions or be killed.

For example, at the end of the 11th century, Ashkenazi Jews in Germany were forced to convert from Judaism.

In the fifteenth century there were mass forced conversions of Sephardi Jews in Spain and Portugal.

During the Spanish Inquisition, tens of thousands of Jews were forcibly converted to Christianity on the threat of death. The chief rabbi, Simon Maimi, was one of those who refused to convert. He was kept buried in earth up to his neck for seven days until he died.

by Dag Heward-Mills

[delwray-blog]

THE GREATEST DANGER FACING MAN TODAY IS THE JEWS

The Attitude of Communism toward Christianity The greatest danger facing the world today is the Jews! The Russian leader Vladimir Putin knows it very well. After having lived to see his country collapse and all because of a Bolshevist, Jewish Communist coup that succeeded and now controls the Soviet Union, once an Orthodox Christian nation turned into an Atheistic Dynasty by dirty money supplied by the Jews in New York City. The Jews have vowed to do it again here in America. Money speaks! The dirty money that overthrew Russia is now being used to destroy America and is behind all, and I say all the upheaval in the United States today, especially, the attacks on the current President Donald Trump and now his Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. An old philosopher once said, to know a thing well one must understand its first cause. It is unpleasant to realize that a certain element of apostate Jewry is behind the turmoil of this dark hour and the present Soviet persecution through which the Church of Jesus Christ is passing. The Jews and Communism: No informed person who is truthful denies the Jewish character of Communism! The writer recently published the names and nationalities of every leader in the Moscow dictatorship as it was set up many years ago. It was discovered that out of the 545 members of the bureaucracy, 454 were Jews and there were only 23 Russians in the group. In other words, the Russian people are governed by a gang of anti-Christian foreigners, many of whom are said to be unable to speak the language of the people they govern. Some of the principal officials of the Red government are reported to have come from the East Side of New York. It has been said on the floor of the United States Congress, and the charge has not been denied, that a certain Jewish banking concern in Wall Street sponsored Trotsky's mass meetings of rebellion in New York some years ago, sent him across the ocean secretly, and deposited millions of dollars in a Swedish bank to the credit of the destroyers, with which the Russian revolution was financed. In her remarkable book “Waters Flowing Eastward”, Mrs. L. Fry states that back in 1893 a Jewish secret order here in America appointed Jacob Schiff, a Wall Street Jew, chairman of its committee on Russian revolutionary activities. If this is true, it simply means that Mr. Schiff sat at his desk in New York and directed the destruction of the Czar's government thousands of miles away. It is impossible to separate Jewish Communism from Jewish Capitalism. Laboring men who think they can free themselves from the Money Power by embracing Communism are being betrayed by soap-box oratory. The Moscow leaders are the world's wealthiest Capitalists. They own one-sixth of the earth's surface. They control one hundred and sixty million Gentile slaves. The Russian people are not allowed to vote, own property, exercise free speech, enjoy the freedom of the press, or worship God. The masses are kept in their weakened, helpless condition by the most powerful system of secret police ever invented in the history of the world. The attitude of Communism toward Christianity was explained by Lunatcharski, one of the leading Jewish members of the Moscow dictatorship: "Why should we believe in God? We hate Christianity and Christians. Even the best of them must be regarded as our worst enemies. They preach love of one's neighbor, and pity, which is contrary to our principles. Christian love is a hindrance to the revolution. Down with love of one's neighbor; what we want is hatred. We must know how to hate, for only at this price can we conquer the universe. We have done with the kings of the earth; let us now deal with the kings of the skies. The anti-religious campaign must not be restricted to Soviet Russia: it should be carried on throughout the entire world. The fight should also be developed in the Moslem and Catholic countries, with the same ends in view and by the same means." There is no way of knowing how many millions of Russian Christians have been slain during the last one-hundred years because of their faith in Jesus Christ. The magazine, New Outlook, recently carried an article entitled, "Men of Russia." It was the author's purpose to make a critical examination of the ringleaders of international Communism. He says: "Some of the businessmen are Russians, but most of them are of other blood, and practically all of them have prison records. In considering the men of Russia, it should be remembered that it isn't often that ex-prisoners get a crack at the society which punished them, but they did in Russia." The writer in New Outlook then proceeds to discuss some of Moscow's principal Jewish fiends: "Joseph Stalin is a minor official of the Soviet Government. He is but one of the three hundred or so members of the Central Executive Committee, and yet, nevertheless, he was the first man of Russia. Although serving as secretary of the All-Russian Communist Party, Stalin was not a Russian. His every feature is commensurate with 'Stalin', the Russian word for steel." Parenthetically it should be remarked that Stalin was merely the customary "Gentile Front" for the Moscow Jewish leaders. His Gentile wife died a "mysterious" death and he immediately married a Jewess. "Lazarus M. Kaganovitch is a member of the Politbureau or arbitrary 'Brain Trust', and chief organizer of the Second Five Year Plan. This Polish Jew was Stalin's Number One Boy and was his logical successor as dictator. "Maxim Maximovich Litvinov is Commissar of Foreign Affairs. He was the super-traveling salesman of Bolshevism. This shrewd Polish Jew has fought diplomatic battles in every political arena where the gate receipts warranted his appearance. He returned from these victories from time to time to his spacious Moscow office to check up one more Red diplomatic triumph by sticking a new red glass tack in the huge map which covers the wall behind his desk. "Klementy Voroshilov (another Jew) was Commissar of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. He is the dashing yet modest cavalry officer who was charged with preparing the Russian forces for an anticipated war. "Mikhail Kalinin, (an Armenian Jew) was President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Like all big leaders, he served his term in prison, taking an important part in the revolution of 1905 as a member of the Council of Workers' Deputies. "Karl Radek, (another Jew) was Contributing Editor of Izvestia, an official government newspaper. Radek has frequently been suppressed by radical organizations for being too radical. "Michael Borodin, Editor of the English-language Moscow Daily News. This Czechoslovakian Jew was educated at Valparaiso University in Indiana; and spent many years agitating for the International Communist Party, in Spain, in Mexico, in America, the British Isles, and China. "'Just' Podolsky, master of the Foreign Office Press-Censorship Bureau. He may have a first name, but it is doubtful that anyone in Russia, including his wife, knows it. He is a soft-spoken Jew in eight languages, not counting American slang, of which he has a thorough knowledge. Padolsky was a hundred percent Communist. "Jerry Lifschitz, Ex-Vice-Yankee Consul, ex-Second-in-Command of Moscow Amtorg. This Polish Jew had an American jail and prison record for I.W.W. activities; and an added palm for being twice tarred and feathered by irate Midwest American farmers. "Comrade Smirdovitch, (another Jew) is the 'Red Pope'. Smirdovitch, an atheist, is the official restrainer and regulator of religion in the U.S.S.R. He was a member of the important Central Executive Committee. As the official Anti-Christ of the Soviet Republics, he decided how far remaining priests of the church may go toward preaching the Word of God. Kindly, cultured, educated, tolerant in manner, Smirdovitch says religion will die out when divorced from superstitious ritual, pomp, and fear. His job was to help kill it." Toward the close of the article, the writer in the New Outlook says: "But the men who control Russia are not Russians. Members of the Jewish race from all over the world predominate. Every member of the foreign office press censor bureau is a Jew. Little men of Russia who help in responsible positions, heads of offices, trusts, are mostly Jews." Let Christians remember that the international Jewish Communists and Capitalists expect to eventually destroy all Gentile governments, rule the world, and establish throughout the earth the kind of conditions they have introduced in Soviet Russia. They expect to murder all Christian believers and blot Christianity out of existence. The struggle is between the philosophy of the Jew Karl Marx and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The manner in which the Moscow Jews have proceeded with their program of destruction is recorded in a quotation taken from the London Times dated November 14, 1919. The quotation is a letter written by a British army officer, who was stationed at the time in southern Russia, to his wife in England. It reads: "The Bolshevists are devils. I hope to send you copies of 64 official photos taken by British officers at Odessa when the town was taken by the Bolshevists. I suggest you make them widely known. Their horror may make people realize. The victim gets crucified with nails through his elbows. The hands are treated with a solution which shrivels the skin. The skin is cut out with a razor, round the wrist, and peeled off, till it hangs by the fingernails, a human glove. The victim gets terrified and goes insane. Other photos are of women. Women with their breasts cut off to the bone. Passes issued to Bolshevists by commissaries authorize holders to arrest any girl they fancy for use of the soldiery. Sixty-two girls of all classes were arrested like this and thrown to the Bolshevist troops. Those who struggled were killed. The rest when used were mutilated and thrown dead or dying into the river. Slaughter-houses were choked with corpses. Hundreds of suspects, men, women, and children, were herded in these, doors and windows manned and the struggling mass fired into until most of them were dead or dying. The doors were then locked and they were left with veritable plague spots causing widespread epidemics. The Bible, to them, is a 'counter-revolutionary' book to be stamped out. Churches are used for anything from movie shows to 'slaughterhouses.'" Let no Christian be duped into believing that we are supposed to sit supinely by and permit the Reds to create a reign of terror in America simply because this menace happens to be a "Jewocracy." True, there is a stratum of Jewry that is indeed "Chosen" and has been a blessing to humanity through the centuries, but there is another stratum that is a "curse in all places" as Jeremiah said they would be. Speaking through the lips of the prophet in Ezekiel 38:3, God said: "I am against thee, O Gog" and this is a clear reference to Communism with its seat of government in "Meshech" (Moscow). It is possible that this invisible empire has existed as a self-propagating body ever since the Jewish leaders contacted the Chaldeans while in Babylonia. Persons holding to this view agree that the organization has almost completed its course, that the time for the consummation of the plot is near at hand, that the last great attack is now being launched for the purpose of setting up an international system of Jewish government. The existence of this secret sinister organization in New Testament times is implied in 1 John 4:3, "And this is that spirit of antichrist whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world." The entire cabal (plot) is so large and far-reaching, its motives so hellish, its plan of attack so contrary to Christian thinking, that it simply staggers the mind when it is first exposed to view. But the results of its devastating influence may be seen both in history and among the nations today. It breathes the spirit of the last great Beast-Emperor described in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation. It discloses the perverted Messianic theories of an apostate people. This anti-Christ force has apparently manifested itself from its underground sources in different ways at different periods of history, but never with the boldness and permanency that it has since it came to the surface so many years ago. There have always been two kinds of Jews. One racial division represents all that is highest and best in Jewry and regards the Jews primarily as being a system of religion. The other has little inclination toward religion but regards Jewry as a political State, the purpose of which is to conduct world conquest until the nations are brought under one head with themselves in control and all the Gentiles changed into servants. In AD 70 when the Romans turned against the designing and wicked political leaders of Israel, the Pharisees and Sadducees were driven under cover. With the dispersion that followed, their taint was taken to the ends of the earth and has grown up in every nation. No doubt Jesus had this in mind when he warned to: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." In all parts of the world, it appears that this poison "leaven" is "leavening" the whole lump of the nations. What used to be the Russian Empire is now completely "leavened." These are the subversive forces that have moved through the centuries, changing their form from time to time as governments have been made to heave, totter, cave in, and fall, but always with the same object in view, a final culmination when all nations will be leveled and a super-Jewish State set up, presided over by one man, their apostate Messiah. This is the genius behind Socialism and Communism. Let me say it again, Let Christians remember that the international Jewish Communists and Capitalists expect to eventually destroy all Gentile governments, rule the world, and establish throughout the earth the kind of conditions they have introduced in Soviet Russia. They expect to murder all Christian believers and blot Christianity out of existence. The struggle is between the philosophy of the Jew Karl Marx and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. America, you better take heed!

[adambstingus]

5 Bizarre Ways Everyone Gets World War II Wrong

What with all the propaganda, prejudice, and humanity’s tendency to reduce the complexities of history to Michael Bay films, World War II remains one of the most misunderstood wars ever fought. If you’re a history buff, a war nut, or a really old dude with a hell of a life story, you might already know some of the following things. But if you’re like us and got most of your World War II knowledge from fighting Hitler in a robot suit, you might think that …

#5. Hitler Was In Undisputed Control Of The German Military

The Myth:

Hitler wasn’t the military genius pop culture usually portrays him as, but at least the guy commanded some loyalty. Dude was the Fuhrer, after all, and we know he was a captivating leader — we’ve seen those videos of him delivering terrifying, passionate speeches to the tune of riotous cheers.

But Actually:

Shockingly enough, being cuffed in the ears by Nazis every time they stepped out of line wasn’t openly embraced by 100 percent of the population. The German Navy, the Kriegsmarine, was fiercely loyal to the state, but harbored a deep-seated distrust of politicians and their shenanigans. Erich Raeder, the Grand Admiral for the first half of the war, actively resisted any and all attempts to Nazify the Navy, and gained some notoriety for his up-to-two-hour shouting matches with Hitler. After Raeder’s inevitable resignation in 1943, his more Reich-minded successor allowed the Nazi mentality to seep in, but even he continued to keep the Party at an arm’s length.

This month’s featured story: “27 Secret Codes For Telling The Fuhrer To Suck It (To His Face).”

The Navy even had a rule that people who joined had to leave the Nazi Party before taking part in any missions, but that didn’t mean the Kriegsmarine were passive-aggressively condemning the evils of Nazism. They were mostly just too Christian and conservative to buy into this new-wave Nazi stuff. Still, the Navy was an apt breeding ground for dissenters like Admiral Canaris, who collaborated with generals on the Eastern Front to use a wine bottle to blow Hitler up in 1943.

Which resulted in him being stripped nude and lynched, with his body left up to rot and bloat. Um … YOLO?

Speaking of the Eastern Front: Invading the Soviet Union didn’t go well for the Germans, and the troops’ opinion of their supreme commander was directly proportional to the depth of the frozen shit creek they found themselves in. Starting in 1942, the Wehrmacht began taking in Soviet citizens to bolster their ranks, and when Hitler told them to stop recruiting racially inferior people into his army, the officers politely told him to screw off. By the end of 1942, 700,000 of the three million soldiers in the Axis army were Soviets. Additionally, a type of German machine gun called the Sturmgewehre proved invaluable on the Eastern Front … after it was developed against Hitler’s orders.

He presumably wanted only pure German weaponry, like schnitzel cannons and bratwurst bombs.

Basically, disobeying Hitler was the main reason the Nazis didn’t lose the Eastern Front so quickly that the D-Day troops would have landed in the middle of a Normandy-wide vodka-and-borscht beach party.

#4. Nazi War Prisoners Got What They Deserved

The Myth:

Being a Nazi POW must have been rough. How could it not have been? Look at what they did to the people they put in prison camps. How do you say “karma” in German, motherfuckers?

Oh, it’s still just “karma”? Well … shut up. Jerks.

But Actually:

Tons of Nazi war prisoners got away virtually scot-free … and we helped them. America took in over 400,000 German prisoners, and an estimated percentage of who-the-hell-knows were unrepentant Nazis. The U.S. had relatively little experience dealing with POWs, and the sudden influx of up to 30,000 of them per week required quick thinking. So they rounded them up, took them to a bunch of prison camps, and … treated them super fine. They were fed well, and even given wine and beer with their meals, because it’s always a great idea to give alcohol to hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers on your soil when your own army is on another continent.

Light beer didn’t exist back then, so they couldn’t even torture the POWs with that.

The prisoners even got pretty well along with the locals, after (we assume) the obligatory wacky misunderstandings. Sure, there was some forced labor, but even that was strictly governed by the Geneva Convention accords, paid, and mostly the kind of manual labor (farm work, etc.) they were used to anyway. The most common stated grievance was boredom. As such, escape attempts remained minimal, and some prisoners stated that their life in a POW camp was way better than it had been back in the German military.

After the prisoners were returned to their war-ravaged homeland by 1946, some of them kept in contact with the American friends they had made, and many eventually returned to the U.S. Ironically, these positive U.S./German relations (along with the CIA) enabled thousands of registered Nazis to eventually settle in America and gain citizenship.

Like your regular neighbors, but even more likely to ignore property lines.

But the U.S. didn’t get blitzed or anything, so it makes sense that they’d go easier on the Nazis than the more involved nations, like the Soviets. You’d think that, and you’d be wrong. In 1943, Stalin gave orders that the treatment of all Axis prisoners, including Germans, be improved. As a result, Axis POWs had it better than Soviet civilians while in captivity. It’s a wonder surrendering didn’t become the hottest fad in the Third Reich years earlier.

#3. World War II Was A … Well, A Big, Worldwide War

The Myth:

World War II began when the Nazis invaded Poland and ended when the United States nuked Japan. Sure, it may not have become Hollywood World War II until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in ’41, but the point is that if the Second World War were a tombstone, it would read “1939-1945,” and its cause of death would read “America.”

But Actually:

What we handily label a giant, globe-spanning “World War II” was in fact a whole bunch of different conflicts, occasionally fought completely independently of each other over the course of more than a decade. Attempts to pin down a specific starting date is a matter of dispute among scholars. Oh, the German invasion of Poland in 1939 is a narratively convenient way to kick-start the story with the European main villain’s first major power play, but that was still a local thing between two countries. You could arguably have a stronger case that the war became truly global in 1941, thanks to Pearl Harbor and Hitler’s invasion of Russia. Or you could take things back a bit and note that there were way, way worse things going on globally well before the Nazis curb-stomped the Polish. The equally conquer-happy Japan had already been locked in the Second Sino-Japanese War with China since the summer of 1937, killing more than 20 million Chinese (almost all of whom were civilians) over the course of eight years. Who’s to say that shit doesn’t count? Not even the Soviet Union suffered that many civilian casualties.

When the war is so devastating that the soldiers have to dress like its the end of the world, then it’s part of the fucking world war.

Speaking of 1937, that was the same year Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact between Germany and Japan, effectively forming the Axis powers. At that point, Italy had already been in full-scale war with Ethiopia for nearly a year — their second war of the decade — and Russia and Japan had been waist-deep in a series of serious border clashes since 1932.

“Ending one war and starting another” was a nice change of pace from Italy’s usual “Ending one government and starting another.”

In short, what the Western world labels “World War II” is more of an era in history, rather than a singular conflict. If we view it as such, then the war was already underway, complete with armies, navies, and war crimes, for nearly two years before Hitler even managed to anger-mustache his way into a chancellorship.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/5-bizarre-ways-everyone-gets-world-war-ii-wrong/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/177708987387

[allofbeercom]

5 Bizarre Ways Everyone Gets World War II Wrong

What with all the propaganda, prejudice, and humanity’s tendency to reduce the complexities of history to Michael Bay films, World War II remains one of the most misunderstood wars ever fought. If you’re a history buff, a war nut, or a really old dude with a hell of a life story, you might already know some of the following things. But if you’re like us and got most of your World War II knowledge from fighting Hitler in a robot suit, you might think that …

#5. Hitler Was In Undisputed Control Of The German Military

The Myth:

Hitler wasn’t the military genius pop culture usually portrays him as, but at least the guy commanded some loyalty. Dude was the Fuhrer, after all, and we know he was a captivating leader — we’ve seen those videos of him delivering terrifying, passionate speeches to the tune of riotous cheers.

But Actually:

Shockingly enough, being cuffed in the ears by Nazis every time they stepped out of line wasn’t openly embraced by 100 percent of the population. The German Navy, the Kriegsmarine, was fiercely loyal to the state, but harbored a deep-seated distrust of politicians and their shenanigans. Erich Raeder, the Grand Admiral for the first half of the war, actively resisted any and all attempts to Nazify the Navy, and gained some notoriety for his up-to-two-hour shouting matches with Hitler. After Raeder’s inevitable resignation in 1943, his more Reich-minded successor allowed the Nazi mentality to seep in, but even he continued to keep the Party at an arm’s length.

This month’s featured story: “27 Secret Codes For Telling The Fuhrer To Suck It (To His Face).”

The Navy even had a rule that people who joined had to leave the Nazi Party before taking part in any missions, but that didn’t mean the Kriegsmarine were passive-aggressively condemning the evils of Nazism. They were mostly just too Christian and conservative to buy into this new-wave Nazi stuff. Still, the Navy was an apt breeding ground for dissenters like Admiral Canaris, who collaborated with generals on the Eastern Front to use a wine bottle to blow Hitler up in 1943.

Which resulted in him being stripped nude and lynched, with his body left up to rot and bloat. Um … YOLO?

Speaking of the Eastern Front: Invading the Soviet Union didn’t go well for the Germans, and the troops’ opinion of their supreme commander was directly proportional to the depth of the frozen shit creek they found themselves in. Starting in 1942, the Wehrmacht began taking in Soviet citizens to bolster their ranks, and when Hitler told them to stop recruiting racially inferior people into his army, the officers politely told him to screw off. By the end of 1942, 700,000 of the three million soldiers in the Axis army were Soviets. Additionally, a type of German machine gun called the Sturmgewehre proved invaluable on the Eastern Front … after it was developed against Hitler’s orders.

He presumably wanted only pure German weaponry, like schnitzel cannons and bratwurst bombs.

Basically, disobeying Hitler was the main reason the Nazis didn’t lose the Eastern Front so quickly that the D-Day troops would have landed in the middle of a Normandy-wide vodka-and-borscht beach party.

#4. Nazi War Prisoners Got What They Deserved

The Myth:

Being a Nazi POW must have been rough. How could it not have been? Look at what they did to the people they put in prison camps. How do you say “karma” in German, motherfuckers?

Oh, it’s still just “karma”? Well … shut up. Jerks.

But Actually:

Tons of Nazi war prisoners got away virtually scot-free … and we helped them. America took in over 400,000 German prisoners, and an estimated percentage of who-the-hell-knows were unrepentant Nazis. The U.S. had relatively little experience dealing with POWs, and the sudden influx of up to 30,000 of them per week required quick thinking. So they rounded them up, took them to a bunch of prison camps, and … treated them super fine. They were fed well, and even given wine and beer with their meals, because it’s always a great idea to give alcohol to hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers on your soil when your own army is on another continent.

Light beer didn’t exist back then, so they couldn’t even torture the POWs with that.

The prisoners even got pretty well along with the locals, after (we assume) the obligatory wacky misunderstandings. Sure, there was some forced labor, but even that was strictly governed by the Geneva Convention accords, paid, and mostly the kind of manual labor (farm work, etc.) they were used to anyway. The most common stated grievance was boredom. As such, escape attempts remained minimal, and some prisoners stated that their life in a POW camp was way better than it had been back in the German military.

After the prisoners were returned to their war-ravaged homeland by 1946, some of them kept in contact with the American friends they had made, and many eventually returned to the U.S. Ironically, these positive U.S./German relations (along with the CIA) enabled thousands of registered Nazis to eventually settle in America and gain citizenship.

Like your regular neighbors, but even more likely to ignore property lines.

But the U.S. didn’t get blitzed or anything, so it makes sense that they’d go easier on the Nazis than the more involved nations, like the Soviets. You’d think that, and you’d be wrong. In 1943, Stalin gave orders that the treatment of all Axis prisoners, including Germans, be improved. As a result, Axis POWs had it better than Soviet civilians while in captivity. It’s a wonder surrendering didn’t become the hottest fad in the Third Reich years earlier.

#3. World War II Was A … Well, A Big, Worldwide War

The Myth:

World War II began when the Nazis invaded Poland and ended when the United States nuked Japan. Sure, it may not have become Hollywood World War II until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in ’41, but the point is that if the Second World War were a tombstone, it would read “1939-1945,” and its cause of death would read “America.”

But Actually:

What we handily label a giant, globe-spanning “World War II” was in fact a whole bunch of different conflicts, occasionally fought completely independently of each other over the course of more than a decade. Attempts to pin down a specific starting date is a matter of dispute among scholars. Oh, the German invasion of Poland in 1939 is a narratively convenient way to kick-start the story with the European main villain’s first major power play, but that was still a local thing between two countries. You could arguably have a stronger case that the war became truly global in 1941, thanks to Pearl Harbor and Hitler’s invasion of Russia. Or you could take things back a bit and note that there were way, way worse things going on globally well before the Nazis curb-stomped the Polish. The equally conquer-happy Japan had already been locked in the Second Sino-Japanese War with China since the summer of 1937, killing more than 20 million Chinese (almost all of whom were civilians) over the course of eight years. Who’s to say that shit doesn’t count? Not even the Soviet Union suffered that many civilian casualties.

When the war is so devastating that the soldiers have to dress like its the end of the world, then it’s part of the fucking world war.

Speaking of 1937, that was the same year Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact between Germany and Japan, effectively forming the Axis powers. At that point, Italy had already been in full-scale war with Ethiopia for nearly a year — their second war of the decade — and Russia and Japan had been waist-deep in a series of serious border clashes since 1932.

“Ending one war and starting another” was a nice change of pace from Italy’s usual “Ending one government and starting another.”

In short, what the Western world labels “World War II” is more of an era in history, rather than a singular conflict. If we view it as such, then the war was already underway, complete with armies, navies, and war crimes, for nearly two years before Hitler even managed to anger-mustache his way into a chancellorship.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/5-bizarre-ways-everyone-gets-world-war-ii-wrong/

[clubofinfo]

Expert: Alessandro Bianchi: The geographic location of Afghanistan has always occupied a central role. The April peace talks between Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Russia and China seemed to have put an end to the persistent and dominant American presence in the country. What’s your opinion? Andre Vltchek: What you have mentioned is extremely important, but I’m not ready to celebrate, yet. This could be, at least in theory, the first step towards the end of one of the most destructive and brutal occupations in NATO’s history, or in what the US mainstream press likes to describe as “the longest American war.” Let us also not call it only the “American presence”. I know some Europeans lately love to portray themselves as some kind of victims, but they are definitely not. Europe is at the core of this entire global nightmare. And the US is nothing else other than its creation: it is Europe’s offspring. In many ways, the United States is Europe. The UK is now well behind this horror through which Afghanistan is being forced to go through, at least theoretically; a sadistic revenge for all former British defeats in the country. The UK is responsible for more massacres worldwide than any other country on Earth. And now it is shaping the US and, in fact, the entire Western imperialism, ideologically. Its Machiavellianism, its propaganda machine is second to none. What I can confirm from my first-hand experience is that by now the people of Afghanistan have had truly enough of this Western imperialist barbarism. They are exhausted after 16 years of the horror invasion. They dislike the West; mistrust the West… But most of them are silent, because they are constantly being frightened into submission. And also remember: collaboration with the Western occupation forces is now the greatest ‘business’ in the country. Afghan diplomats, many politicians, countless military commanders, Western-funded NGO’s, even thousands of educators, are all serving the occupiers. Billions of dollars are being made from such shameful collaboration. It is all one huge business, and the mafia of servile Afghan ‘journalists’, diplomats, governors and ‘educators’ will never leave their lucrative positions voluntarily. Western colonialism corrupts! It corrupts one generation after another in all conquered, occupied countries. Afghans who are pure, Afghans who are proud, true patriots with beautiful hearts (and there are still many of such people in this country that became one of my favorite places on Earth) have presently no power, no say. Fortunately, even the elites are now realizing that there is no way forward under the present regime, and under the present foreign rule. In Kabul and in the provinces, people are beginning to look towards Russia, China, but also Iran, even India. Despite its terrible past track record in this part of the world, even Pakistan cannot be ignored anymore. Anything is better than NATO. AB: Like in other parts of the world, the presence of American troops does not fully explain the long-term goals of military planners. Afghanistan in some respects resembles a similar situation to Southeast Asia. In South Korea, the American presence has persisted since 1950, and with it the destabilization of the Korean peninsula. The American surge will not change the delicate balance negotiated between the parties back in April and it will not affect the efforts of Moscow and Beijing to stabilize the country. How do you define the US presence today in Afghanistan? AV: I define it as inhuman, barbaric and thoroughly racist. And I’m not talking about the US presence only, but also about the European presence, particularly the British one. There could be absolutely no doubts regarding how deep once-socialist Afghanistan has sank under the NATO cruelty. It is enough to go even to the sites of the UNDP or the WHO and it all there, in details: Afghanistan is now the least ‘developed’ (using HDI criteria) country in Asia. Afghan people have the lowest life expectancy on their continent. The US alone claims that it has managed to spend, since the invasion in 2001, between 750 billion and 1.2 trillion dollars. That’s huge, an astronomical amount, even bigger than the entire Marshall Plan after WWII (adjusted to today’s dollar)! But has it been spent to help the Afghan people? Of course not! It has gone mainly into corrupting of ‘elites’ and their offspring, into the military, into the salaries of foreign contractors. Huge military bases were built; some were at some point decommissioned, others were moved somewhere else. Airports were constructed – all of them military ones. Private Western security firms are having a ball. I once calculated that if all that money were to be equally divided between all Afghans, the country would have had a much higher income per capita than relatively affluent Malaysia, for 16 consecutive years! What the West has done to Afghanistan is insane! It is Orwell meeting Huxley, and all mixed with the worst nightmares of painters like George Grosz and Otto Dix. Old trolleybus lines built by the former Czechoslovakia are gone; only stumps are left. But so much is still surviving. Soviet apartment buildings, so-called Makroyans, are still standing and flats there are in great demand to date. Water ducts in the countryside were built by the Soviet Union, and so were irrigation canals around Jalalabad and elsewhere. India built dams. China constructed public medical facilities. What did the West create? Nothing else other than total misery, armed conflicts and above all – countless military barracks, tall concrete walls and fences, the drug trade, intellectual prostitution and as always, dark and complete nihilism! In 2007, around 700 Afghan civilians were killed by Western airstrikes alone, a great increase even when compared with 2006. Georgian military contractors who are working for the US occupation army recently told me: US have total spite for Afghan people. They even destroy unused food at its military bases, instead of giving it to starving children. People of Afghanistan know perfectly well who are their friends, and who are enemies. AB: The world is changing, and more and more fruitful efforts to replace the chaos wrought by US policies can be seen. The road to economic prosperity and a re-established unity among the Afghan people is still a work in progress, but once the country manages to establish its independence, Washington will have a hard time dictating conditions. Will countries like Russia, China and India be able to prevent a dangerous escalation in Afghanistan? AV: Many people in Afghanistan are actually dreaming about true independence, and most of them remember with great love, all the kindness and internationalism given to them by the Soviet people. Unlike the Westerners, the Soviets came here first as teachers, doctors, nurses and engineers. They shared with the locals all that they had. They lived among them. They never hid behind fences. To date, in Afghanistan, you say you are Russian, and dozens of people will embrace you, invite you to their homes. It is all in stark contrast to the Western propaganda, which says that Afghans dislike Russians! When it comes to Russia and China, yes, both countries acting in concert would be able to bring economic prosperity and social justice to Afghanistan. I’m not so sure about India, which is, until now, clearly sitting on two chairs, but definitely China and Russia are ready and able to help. The problem is that Afghanistan is still very far from any sort of independence. The West has occupied it for 16 years, that’s terrible enough. But the country has also been sacrificed for the even more sinister designs of the US and NATO, for much longer than that: Afghanistan has been, for decades, a training ground for the pro-western jihadi cadres, starting with Al-Qaeda/Mujahedeen (during the ‘Soviet War’ and the war against Afghan socialism). Now the Taliban is ruining the country, but also, increasingly, ISIS are murdering all in sight here. Recently, ISIS have been arriving from Syria and Lebanon, where they are in the process of being defeated by the Syrian army, by the Russians, but also by the Lebanese forces and Hezbollah. The ISIS was, as is well known, created by the West and its allies in the Gulf. This is essential to understand: two countries that the West wants to fully destabilize are Russia and China. In both of them, Islamist fundamentalists have been fighting and bringing horrible damage. The West is behind all this. And it is using and sacrificing Afghanistan which is absolutely perfect for the Western imperialist designs due to its geographical location, but also because it is now fully destabilized and in a state of chaos. In Afghanistan, NATO is maintaining ‘perpetual conflict’. Jihadi cadres can be easily hardened there, and then they can be ‘exported’; to go and fight somewhere in Northwest China or in the Central Asian parts of Russia. The destruction of Afghanistan is actually a well-planned genocidal war of the West against the Afghan people. But the country is also a training ground for jihadists who will eventually be sent to fight against Russia and China. AB: While the United States exhales the last breaths as a declining global power, no longer able to impose its will, it lashes out in pointless acts like lobbing 60 cruise missiles at Syria or sending 4,000 troops to Afghanistan. Such acts do not change anything on the ground or modify the balance of forces in Washington’s favor. They do, however, have a strong impact on further reducing whatever confidence remains in the US, closing the door to opportunities for dialogue and cooperation that might have otherwise got on the table. AV: Here I have to strongly disagree. I’m almost certain that the West in general, and the United States in particular, are clearly aware of what they are doing. The US has some of the most sinister colonial powers as its advisers, particularly the United Kingdom. The US will not simply go down the drain without a great fight, and don’t ever think that Europe would either. These two parts of the world were built on the great plunder of the planet. They still are. They cannot sustain themselves just from the fruits of their brains and labor. They are perpetual thieves. The US can never be separated from Europe. The US is just one huge branch growing from an appalling trunk, from the tree of European colonialism, imperialism and racism. Whatever the US, Europe and NATO are presently doing is brilliantly planned. Never under-estimate them! It is all brutal, sinister and murderous planning, but from a strictly strategic point of view, it is truly brilliant! And they will never go away on their own! They will have to be fought and defeated. Otherwise they are here to stay: in Afghanistan, in Syria, or anywhere else. AB: What is the role of Italian troops that you have seen in your last visit to Afghanistan? AV: It is a usual cocktail consisting of what Italian fascism has been made of throughout its colonialist, fascist and NATO eras: a medley of cruelty, hypocrisy, as well as some great hope in Rome that Italy could finally become a competent and ‘respected’ occupier… I saw the Italian troops in Herat… They occupied an ancient citadel of the city, jumping like members of some second-rate ballet troupe all around, just because some high-ranking Italian officer was bringing his family to visit the site. It was all tremendously embarrassing… I still have some photos from that ‘event’. But the best thing about Italians as occupiers is that they can hardly be taken seriously; they are disorganized, chaotic, and hedonistic even during war. Italian troops took over ancient Citadel in Herat City. I actually love to see them in such places like Afghanistan, because they do very little damage. They are true showoffs. The French, Brits, and the US – they are efficient and brutal, true killing machines. Italians are still better at making movies, writing poetry and cooking, than murdering locals in occupied foreign countries. ***** • Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three of his latest books are revolutionary novel Aurora and two bestselling works of political non-fiction: Exposing Lies Of The Empire and Fighting Against Western Imperialism. View his other books here. Andre is making films for teleSUR and Al-Mayadeen. Watch Rwanda Gambit, his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo. After having lived in Latin America, Africa and Oceania, Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter. http://clubof.info/

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.4

598 – Goguryeo-Sui War: Emperor Wéndi of Sui orders his youngest son, Yang Liang (assisted by the co-prime minister Gao Jiong), to conquer Goguryeo (Korea) during the Manchurian rainy season, with a Chinese army and navy. 1265 – Second Barons' War: Battle of Evesham: The army of Prince Edward (the future king Edward I of England) defeats the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, killing de Montfort and many of his allies. 1327 – First War of Scottish Independence: James Douglas leads a raid into Weardale and almost kills Edward III of England. 1578 – Battle of Al Kasr al Kebir: The Moroccans defeat the Portuguese. King Sebastian of Portugal is killed in the battle, leaving his elderly uncle, Cardinal Henry, as his heir. This initiates a succession crisis in Portugal. 1693 – Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Perignon's invention of champagne; it is not clear whether he actually invented champagne, however he has been credited as an innovator who developed the techniques used to perfect sparkling wine. 1701 – Great Peace of Montreal between New France and First Nations is signed. 1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: Gibraltar is captured by an English and Dutch fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke and allied with Archduke Charles. 1783 – Mount Asama erupts in Japan, killing about 1,400 people. The eruption causes a famine, which results in an additional 20,000 deaths. 1789 – France: abolition of feudalism by the National Constituent Assembly. 1790 – A newly passed tariff act creates the Revenue Cutter Service (the forerunner of the United States Coast Guard). 1791 – The Treaty of Sistova is signed, ending the Ottoman–Habsburg wars. 1796 – French Revolutionary Wars: Napoleon leads the French Army of Italy to victory in the Battle of Lonato. 1821 – The Saturday Evening Post is published for the first time as a weekly newspaper. 1854 – The Hinomaru is established as the official flag to be flown from Japanese ships. 1863 – Matica slovenská, Slovakia's public-law cultural and scientific institution focusing on topics around the Slovak nation, is established in Martin. 1873 – American Indian Wars: While protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the United States 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer clashes for the first time with the Cheyenne and Lakota people near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed. 1889 – The Great Fire of Spokane, Washington destroys some 32 blocks of the city, prompting a mass rebuilding project. 1892 – The father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden are found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. She was tried and acquitted for the crimes a year later. 1914 – World War I: In response to the German invasion of Belgium, Belgium and the British Empire declare war on Germany. The United States declares its neutrality. 1915 – World War I: The German 12th Army occupies Warsaw during the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive and the Great Retreat of 1915. 1924 – Diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Soviet Union are established. 1936 – Prime Minister of Greece Ioannis Metaxas suspends parliament and the Constitution and establishes the 4th of August Regime. 1944 – The Holocaust: A tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse, where they find and arrest Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family, and four others. 1944 – The Finnish Parliament, by derogation, elected Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim as President of Finland to replace Risto Ryti, who had resigned. 1946 – An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. One hundred are killed and 20,000 are left homeless. 1947 – The Supreme Court of Japan is established. 1964 – Civil rights movement: Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21. 1964 – Second Gulf of Tonkin Incident: U.S. destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy mistakenly report coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin. 1965 – The Constitution of the Cook Islands comes into force, giving the Cook Islands self-governing status within New Zealand. 1969 – Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuân Thuỷ begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail. 1974 – A bomb explodes in the Italicus Express train at San Benedetto Val di Sambro, Italy, killing 12 people and wounding 22. 1975 – The Japanese Red Army takes more than 50 hostages at the AIA Building housing several embassies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The hostages include the U.S. consul and the Swedish Chargé d'affaires. The gunmen win the release of five imprisoned comrades and fly with them to Libya. 1977 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy. 1984 – The Republic of Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso. 1987 – The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to present controversial issues "fairly". 1995 – Operation Storm begins in Croatia. 2006 – A massacre is carried out by Sri Lankan government forces, killing 17 employees of the French INGO Action Against Hunger (known internationally as Action Contre la Faim, or ACF). 2007 – NASA's Phoenix spacecraft is launched. 2018 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the Iraq–Syria border, concluding the second phase of the Deir ez-Zor campaign. 2019 – Nine people are killed and 26 injured in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio. This comes only 12 hours after another mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, where 23 people were killed. 2020 – At least 220 people are killed and over 5,000 are wounded when 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate explodes in Beirut, Lebanon.

#Events