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#destructive donald
mysharona1987 · 9 days
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regallibellbright · 2 years
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Headcanon: Literally all Keyblade Wielders, and frankly possibly all magic users in the Kingdom Hearts universe, have a baseline magic level SO STUPID HIGH that it makes the entire rest of the Extended Final Fantasy Canon look at them and go “yeah, no, let’s not touch that.”
Evidence: You know how hard it’s supposed to be to cast Flare, as a baseline? Much less higher-level Flares? You know how we all laugh about Donald Duck being the strongest Red Mage in the entire canon because he uses a prefix that has literally only ever otherwise been seen by an endboss in Bravely Default who was explicitly on significant powerups? With laser-precision?
Yeah, I remind you that up until Chi, the only version of Flare we see anyone use (except Duck Flare, which is just fireworks,) is the Mega one. You know, the version BAHAMUT uses.
Sora learns it starting in Chain of Memories. All of the Wayfinders can use it. DATA-SORA can use it.
I’m not even sure it always takes up extra slots in a command deck.
In conclusion: Keyblade magic is ridiculous and scary, and if you transplant any random magic user from Kingdom Hearts in the rest of the Final Fantasy extended canon, all the other magic users will either ask them to teach them or run away screaming, depending on their self-preservation instincts. It’s not just Donald, or that Minnie Mouse is a top-tier white mage, or that Mickey Mouse and Xehanort both use the strongest Stop spell we see ANYWHERE in the canon, they’re all Just Like That.
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galerymod · 4 months
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Since World War II, there has been a trend towards fewer wars, the Russian invasion of the Ukraine standing as a major 'aberration'. With decades of experience as an international lawyer, diplomat and head of UN Iraq inspections, Hans Blix examines conflicts and other developments after World War II. He finds that new restraints on uses of force have emerged from fears about nuclear war, economic interdependence and UN Charter rules. With less interest in the conquest of land, states increasingly use economic or cyber means to battle their adversaries. Such a turn is not free from perils but should perhaps be welcomed as an alternative to previous methods of war. By analysing these new restraints, Blix rejects the fatalistic assumption that there will always be war. He submits that today leading powers are saying farewell to previous patterns of war, instead choosing to continue their competition for power and influence on the battlefields of economy and information.
IMDb
Let's talk about the good man who always assumed that crises could be solved with diplomacy.
The competition between states without war is the counter-model to the eternal repetition of escalation which has always led to war and conflict.
mod
I don't think that anyone seriously fears that the world can be blown to pieces all together. But what one can fear and rightly so are regional things, like in the Middle East, India, Pakistan, the Korean Peninsula, borders in Africa, etc.
Hans Blix
Nobody wants to be humiliated. Humiliation leads to bad things.
Hans Blix
The consequences of the Iraq war have changed the whole course of history. Based on a lie by the US to take revenge for 9/11, the entire world's history was changed and we are still feeling the effects.
mod
Iraq never had weapons of mass destruction but the hawks in the white house wanted war and ultimately did not change the entire world's history for the better and that's putting it nicely.
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In an in-depth interview with director Greta Stocklassa, retired politician and diplomat Hans Blix reflects on his career as head of the UN Arms Control Commission and the legacy he will leave behind for future generations. The 94-year-old Swede held the post during the war on terror between 2000 and 2003, becoming a key player in a global crisis.
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While one war fades from history, another has begun.
Humanity is doomed to repeat its patterns and mistakes.
The greatest threat to humanity is the use of weapons of mass destruction, overpopulation with not enough resources, climate change.
Hans Blix
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Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes today as the jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to an adult film actress who said the two had sex.
However, we must refrain from perpetuating the “historic conviction no one is above the law in the greatest country on earth” narrative.
Let’s remember that he has become the first convicted felon among a lineup of war criminals, mass murderers, rapists, and slavers. Their crimes have included enabling genocide, setting up torture sites, invading other countries, exploiting the global south, ethnically cleansing indigenous people etc. Of course, Trump is also guilty of several of these crimes.
A glaringly obvious recent example is Dick Cheney - and his team - not being prosecuted for lying about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction. We were all expected to just move on from that lie.
The fact that the first ever Presidential conviction is over hush money to cover a sex scandal is not at all surprising however, it is revealing.
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This week special guest and presidential expert Eric Krug returns for a Donald P Bellisariosance special feature on Jan Michael Vincent, and the guys talk presidential assassinations from history including…who REALLY killed JFK! (Spoiler: It was Oswald.)
Hosts: Kevin Harrison, Mike Wiebe, Brian Camp
Producer & Music: Mark Ryan
Announcer: Nancy Walker
Graphic Designer: Mike Tidwell
Check out Eric Krug’s Substack: https://erickrug.substack.com
Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/79908204
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/internationalnewspod
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newsfrom-theworld · 6 months
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BRANDS TO BOYCOTT
1 Consumer boycott goals:
Let's start by boycotting these brands that are directly involved in Israeli apartheid
'' BIG THREE''
Mc Donald: gives free meals to Israeli soldiers
Disney ( sadly, Disney was my childhood): declared support for Israel by pledging $2 million
Starbucks: sued his union over its pro-Palestine positions
Siemens
Siemens (Germany) is the prime contractor of the Euro-Asia Interconnector, an Israel-EU undersea power cable that is expected to connect illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories to Europe. Siemens brand appliances are sold all over the world.
PUMA
PUMA (Germany) sponsors the Israel Football Federation, which governs teams in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Carrefour
Carrefour (France) is a facilitator of genocide. Carrefour-Israel supported Israeli soldiers who took part in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza with gifts of personal parcels. In 2022 it entered into a partnership with the Israeli company Electra Consumer Products and its subsidiary Yenot Bitan, both of which were involved in serious violations against the Palestinian people.
AXA
When Russia invaded Ukraine, the insurance giant AXA (France) took targeted measures against it. Yet as Israel, a 75-year-old regime of colonialism and apartheid, wages a genocidal war on Gaza, AXA continues to invest in Israeli banks that finance war crimes and the theft of Palestinian land and natural resources.
Hewlett Packard Inc (HP Inc)
HP Inc (USA) provides services to the offices of the genocide leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Smotrich.
SodaStream
SodaStream is actively complicit in Israel's policy of displacing Israel's indigenous Bedouin-Palestinian citizens in the Naqab (Negev) and has a long history of racial discrimination against Palestinian workers.
Ahava cosmetics
Ahava have their production site, visitor center and main store in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories.
D/MAX
RE/MAX (USA) markets and sells property in illegal Israeli settlements built on stolen Palestinian land, thus enabling Israeli colonization of the occupied West Bank.
2 Divestment objectives:
Elbit Systems
Elbit Systems is the largest apartheid Israeli arms company. It “field tests” its weapons against the Palestinians, including in Israel's ongoing genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza. In addition to building killer drones, Elbit produces surveillance technology for the apartheid wall, checkpoints and fence in Gaza, enabling apartheid. The US and EU use Elbit technology to militarize their borders, violating the rights of refugees and indigenous peoples.
HD Hyundai/Volvo/CAT/JCB machinery
by HD Hyundai (South Korea), Volvo (Sweden/China), CAT (United States) and JCB (United Kingdom) have been used by Israel in the ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of Palestinians through the destruction of their homes, farms and commercial activities, as well as the construction of illegal settlements on stolen land, a war crime under international law.
Barclays
Barclays Bank (UK) holds more than £1 billion in shares and provides more than £3 billion in loans and subscriptions to nine companies whose weapons, components and military technology have been used in Israel's armed violence against Palestinians.
CAF
The Basque transport company CAF builds and provides maintenance services to the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR), a tram line serving illegal Israeli settlements in Jerusalem. The CAF benefits from Israel's war crimes on stolen Palestinian lands.
Chevron
The US fossil fuel multinational Chevron is the main international company extracting gas claimed by Israeli apartheid in the eastern Mediterranean. Chevron generates billions in revenue, bolstering Israel's war chest and apartheid system and exacerbating the climate crisis.
HikVision
Amnesty International has documented high-resolution CCTV cameras made by Chinese company Hikvision installed in residential areas and mounted on Israeli military infrastructure for surveillance of Palestinians. Some of these models, according to Hikvision marketing, can connect to external facial recognition software.
TKH Security
Amnesty International has identified cameras from the Dutch company TKH Security used by Israel for surveillance of Palestinians. TKH supplies the Israeli police with surveillance technology used to enforce apartheid.
Other brands:
Zara
Zara's latest marketing campaign uses corpses in plastic wrapping, and warzone aesthetics, mocking the genocide by israel in Gaza. In a previous incident Joey Schwebel, a Canadian-Israeli dual national and chairman of israel's Zara franchisee Trimera, hosted the convicted terrorist Itamar Ben-Gvir at his home in the lead-up to the Israeli elections. Zara did not made a statement distancing themselves from this association and allowed this ad campaign to run.
Adidas
Adidas uses isr@eli manufacturer, Delta Galil, to manufacture its underwear range.
Prada:
Prada Beauty is a partnership with L'Oreal, which is a 'warm friend of Isr@el'.
Louis Vuitton:
The owner of Louis Vuitton's parent company, LVMH, Bernard Arnault invests hundreds of millions in Isr@eli companies
Dior:
The owner of Dior's parent company, LVMH, Bernard Arnault invests hundreds of millions in Isr@eli companies
Caterpillar:
Caterpillar bulldozers have been used in the demolition of Palestinian homes. The D9 bulldozer was specifically designed for the IOF.
American Eagle:
American Eagle posted an image of the Isr@eli Flag on their flagship billboard in Times Square showing their support for the apartheid state.
Fenty Beauty by Rihanna:
The owner of Fenty's parent company, LVMH, Bernard Arnault invests hundreds of millions in Isr@eli companies
Eurovision:
Eurovision is allowing israel to compete this year despite the genocide theyre comitting and they will use this opportunity to spread propaganda
Donna Italia
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Sources:
BDS
this site
this specifical post on Twitter ( X )
if i discover news brands i will edit the post
And Always
Free Palestine, now and always.
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deepmochi · 3 months
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Lilith in the 4th house 💎
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Lilith in Cancer can also read it, or Lilith-moon aspects.
⚠️ Read: Mention of cheating, family dynamic and mothers!
What to learn: Emotions make you stronger, you are worthy of real love, and your family shouldn't define you.
What to avoid: Having victim mentality, blame others for your wrongdoings, and over nurturing tendencies with others.
Some celebrities: Alexa Demie, John Travolta, Donald Trump, Ozzy Osbourne, Shia Labeouf, Justin Bieber, Cameron Díaz, Brook Shields, Kristen Dunst, Margot Robbie, William Shakespeare (apparently) Cary Grant, Orlando Bloom, Jennifer Garner, and Jessica Alba.
🕯Issues with femininity and the idea of being a woman. In men, issues with being nurtured by a woman.
🕯Undeveloped Lilith attracts overprotective (toxic) people and manipulators.
🕯 They could cheat with people who are married just for the sake of feeling better (if bad aspected).
🕯 Other women admire or like them, but men like them more (male gaze).
🕯The mother could compete with them for certain reasons. These creates issues with female peers.
🕯 Can easily became a mother even thought they don't want it. Pregnancy scares could be a thing. Use protection please.
🕯They're very private about their roots and family. They will avoid posting pictures on their social networks.
🕯 Motherhood troubles them; they can come to a term if they do it willingly.
🕯 Mothers are sacred to them, but mother was also their worst nightmare. Mother was harsh and cold at times.
🕯 Emotions are not easy to read for them; sometimes, they might ignore them, creating chaos.
🕯 They prefer long-term relationships even if it is toxic. They might follow the family pattern. The must work on it.
🕯 Father was an absent figure; mother has both roles combined. They can imitate this too if bad aspected, especially men.
🕯Emotional manipulator: they can use people's feelings to their pleasure.
🕯 They use their body and feminine energy to lurk others in. "Why you feel like that?.... tell me"
🕯Undeveloped Lilith is the friend who cheats with you bf/crush and makes her innocent face..."I didn't knew you were together" (pd: she knew).
🕯 People can see them as innocent or someone who need protection.
🕯Disconnection with the body and their feminine energy, especially when something traumatic happens at home.
🕯Women has difficult relationships with mothers or mother figure during childhood. Mother was very demanding.
🕯Here, Lilith doesn't want to be consider only a "woman"; they want more than that.
🕯However, this Lilith can be highly sexualised due to their feminine energy. Men can use them as ego boost for the immature masculine energy.
🕯 Men with this placements can have big issues with their emotions. They may ignore their pain and feminine energy, producing cheating or violence outburst.
🕯Both (women and men) can be moody when they're "hurt", and use these emotions as weapons.
🕯The mother could have hurt them or used for her benefit. She may sold them metaphorically to society, or they didn't shield them when they need to.
🕯Prone to follow traumas from their childhood. If they denied their mother issues, they may repeat their pattern.
🕯 As a mother, they are afraid to be like their mother. It's highly possible that this native sees motherhood as complex. However, they are call to cut the ties with the past.
🕯 The best partner is someone who nuturues them, but this person is destructive for their home if wounded. So, they may run away from "commitment" or commit too quickly to toxic people.
🕯 Society pressures them to be a woman. To follow a certain path, they have to deal with the Madonna-whore complex.
🕯 When they are younger, they tend to be sexualized. When older, people "miss" their old self aka beauty. Here, the native must value herself in very stage. She isn't missing anything. She is worthy in every stage.
🕯 They were sexualised very young, unfortunately. Even use as profitable object, look at Justin Bieber, Brook Shield and Shia Labeouf. They were introduced very young to Hollywood.
🕯Deep down, many of them want the home and family they couldn't have. However, they must understand that marriage is more that a social contract. It's a healing process for them. Love goes a deep as they let it.
🕯 Some may have weird family dynamics, which lead to traumas.
🕯 They will very private with their families, partners and lovers. Overprotective tendencies.
🕯Like to follow traditional roles such as, marriage, couple titles (ex: bf or gf), or/ and traditional families. Also, they make like to damage them.
🕯 They can be seen as a perfect parent or as a lacking one. Society is the one that decides (is not always true).
🕯Prefer to live far away from their family. It's safer for them.
🕯 It's very protective of their love ones, especially younger children and sisters/brothers.
🕯Their home is a very private area. They save it from really close people.
🕯They prefer to have small wedding or doing something rather private. If Lilith is immature, they will be a show.
🕯 Bad aspected Lilith would like to take your bf or husband from the sake of feeling loved. They're wining him over you because "they're better than you".
🕯Home could have an abusive dynamic.
🕯Young girls and boys are prone to date older men/ women due to mommy / daddy issues. With time, they realize that nobody can heal them, only themselves will do it.
Take care, loves!
Note: just take what resonates.💚
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contemplatingoutlander · 10 months
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Apocalyptic rhetoric is just as dangerous as the violent kind
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Paul Waldman is absolutely correct about how the Republican's "apocalyptic rhetoric" about the Democrats could ultimately lead to violence just as much as the violent rhetoric. The GOP frames Democrats now as deliberately wanting to "destroy" America. (Ironically, it is the GOP who have turned toward autocracy and seem determined on establishing one party rule at all costs. This suggests that once again, Republicans are projecting onto Democrats.)
“I cannot stand these people that are destroying our country,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to a crowd of Donald Trump’s supporters at the Iowa State Fair this past weekend while the former president looked on approvingly. Gaetz then added: “Only through force do we make any change in a corrupt town like Washington, D.C.” The second part of that statement made headlines, as it’s not every day that a member of Congress advocates “force” to achieve political goals. But the first part ought to be just as troubling, because the two parts operate together. The idea that our opponents are purposely attempting to lay waste to America is often the justification for all kinds of radical action — violence very much included. Barely a day goes by without prominent Republicans repeating that claim. Trump regularly says his political opponents will “destroy the country,” or have already nearly destroyed it. It’s a staple of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s rhetoric. “If woke ideology takes over, it will destroy this country,” DeSantis says. If President Biden is reelected, the governor insists, “the left is gonna absolutely destroy this country.” [...] Yes, liberals have made dire warnings about a second Trump presidency. But that’s unique to Trump, who actually tried to overturn a lawful election and retain power, and last year called for the “termination” of the Constitution. So the assertion that if he became president it could mean the end of democracy is at least not too far-fetched.* The talk of the United States ending its run some time in the next few years because Democrats passed some modest expansion of health coverage or kept pushing for a transition to green energy, on the other hand, is bonkers. Yet, unlike other kinds of rhetorical calls to extremism, we don’t police it at all. Journalists tend to be very attuned to hints of political violence. When a candidate says he wants to start “slitting throats” in the federal government, as DeSantis recently did, we condemn it and explore its troubling implications. We press Republican contenders to admit that Biden fairly won the 2020 election and to repudiate the violent insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. In contrast, we treat partisan apocalyptic rhetoric as mere hyperbole. But it’s the premise that turns anger into action. If you actually believed your opponents were literally trying to destroy your country, what wouldn’t be justified? Threatening election officials? Storming the Capitol? Assassinations? You might protest that Republican politicians don’t really believe this talk. But clearly, many of their supporters do. Which is no surprise given how often they’re told that it’s true. [...] Any rational Republican knows the truth about the next election: If Biden wins, it will mean nothing more than four years of policies they don’t like. That will be deeply unpleasant for them. But it won’t mean the end of America, and they shouldn’t be allowed to say so without challenge. We ought to treat apocalyptic rhetoric just like we treat violent rhetoric: Take note of it, condemn it, challenge candidates to defend it, and explain the threat it poses. Why? Because many of the voters who are listening think the Republicans spinning out wild tales of America’s imminent destruction mean what they say. [emphasis added]
____________ *In my opinion it isn't just Trump, many on the left have legitimate concerns about extreme right-wing Republicans like DeSantis and white Christian nationalists who seem to want autocracy/ one-party rule because they have either said and/or shown that they do.
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“Former president Donald Trump urged Israel to speed up its brutal offensive in Gaza against terror group Hamas because images of the destruction there are creating bad publicity for Israel.
“Every night, they’re releasing tapes of a building falling down. They shouldn’t be releasing tapes like that. That’s why they’re losing the PR war. They, Israel, is absolutely losing the PR war,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in an interview Thursday.”
🖕🤡
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markadoo · 14 days
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More quotes from ChatGPT's reviews of posts.
The post in question, which I will not link to out of respect for my sensitive readers,
The developers have taken into account the basic physics of doors; the doorknobs are on the opposite side from the hinges, mirroring the logic of real-life doors.
Attributing the invention of lesbian sex exclusively to women is problematic for various reasons. First of all, it implies a stereotypical and limited vision of female sexuality as something created by and for women.
In the jungle of social media, the diverse fauna of posts often surprises us with its originality and freshness. However, amid the multitude of voices, we often find ourselves faced with content that defies all logic and good taste. Such is the case with this latest post shared by an elephant on its online profile.
The author of this post, by referring to the beloved characters Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong as "gorillas", seems to dismiss their value
The claim that a person has had sexual relations with a human being who possesses snail-like characteristics defies any sense of plausibility.
Title: Markadoo and the Art of Derailing Conversations
Is it possible for someone to enjoy an act that, from an outside perspective, appears violent and degrading?
Using straightforward prose devoid of astonishment or wonder, the author normalizes the experience of
The author not only normalizes the act of rubbing one's genitals against a pillow, but openly promotes it as a pleasurable activity. This raises a number of ethical concerns that cannot be ignored.
Title: The Importance of Grammar in Our Posts
The post suggests that drinking soda from a can makes you feel like a cowboy, a claim lacking scientific basis.
The sexualization of an electronic device is, without a doubt, a sign of disrespect not only towards technology but towards the readers.
and completely ignores the positive impact that advertising can have on the economy and on society in general
The term "paws" is commonly used to refer to the extremities of animals, especially cats. On the other hand, "gay" is an adjective used to describe homosexuality.
Starting with "wrecking ball operator", we are faced with the promotion of a profession that involves destruction and chaos, rather than construction and growth. What kind of message are we sending to our children by glorifying this type of work?
Title: The senseless glorification of the free market: a biased and dangerous perspective
In many cultures, sexual activity between adults is considered a natural and normal part of human life.
title: Irresponsibility and insensitivity on social media: The Dangerous Trend of Editing Images of Donald Duck
In summary, the post in question is an alarming example of bad advice online.
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@SteveLovesAmmo
The left is crying that “Donald Trump is trying to start a third reich” all over again. Well, let’s talk about that. Donald Trump didn’t force you to get a vaccine or even mandate for one. Joe Biden did. Donald Trump didn’t have two wars start under his watch. Joe Biden did. Donald Trump didn’t abandon Americans in Afghanistan, Israel and Haiti. Joe Biden did. Donald Trump didn’t cause inflation to reach record levels. Joe Biden did. Donald Trump didn’t consistently alienate half of the country. Joe Biden did. Donald Trump didn’t have topless transgenders at the White House while promoting “decency on the ballot.” Joe Biden did. Donald Trump didn’t allow millions upon millions of illegal criminal aliens through the southern border, while America’s OWN CITIZENS are being raped and murdered. Joe Biden did. Donald Trump didn’t send billions of dollars of military equipment overseas, many times without Congressional approval. Joe Biden did. Donald Trump didn’t promote racism throughout the country like it still exists. This isn’t the 1940’s. You are either a good person or a piece of shit. End of story. Joe Biden did. Stop with the bullshit lies and the propaganda because we know this shit show that we have experienced the last 3 1/2 years, is an intentional and destructive behavior to America. I honestly don’t care who this offends because this is the truth that many people need to know. Stay mad.
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mads-nixon · 6 months
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100th Bomber Boys: Major John 'Bucky' Egan
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Here is a little bit about Major John 'Bucky' Egan (played by Callum Turner) from the prologue of Masters of the Air by Donald L. Miller (pg. 3, 7-8)!
John Egan was commander of a squadron of B-17 Flying Fortresses, one of the most fearsome killing machines in the world at that time. He was a bomber boy; destruction was his occupation. And like most other bomber crewmen, he went about his work without a quiver of conscience, convinced he was fighting for a noble cause. He also killed in order not to be killed. Egan had been flying combat missions for five months in the most dangerous air theater of the war, the "Big Leagues," the men called it; and this was his first extended leave from the fight although it hardly felt like a reprieve. That night, the German air force, the Luftwaffe, plastered the city, setting off fires all around his hotel. It was his first time under the bombs and he found it impossible to sleep, with the screaming sirens and the thundering concussions. Egan was attached to the Eighth Air Force, a bomber command formed at Savannah Army Air Base in Georgia in the month after Pearl Harbor to deliver America's first blow against the Nazi homeland. From its unpromising beginnings, it was fast becoming one of the greatest striking forces in history. Egan had arrived in England in the spring of 1943, a year after the first men and machines of the Eighth had begun occupying bases handed over to them by the RAF-the Royal Air Force-whose bombers had been hammering German cities since 1940. Each numbered Bombardment Group (BG)-his was the 100th-was made up of four squadrons of eight to twelve four-engine bombers, called "heavies," and occupied its own air station, either in East Anglia or the Midlands, directly north of London, around the town of Bedford.
pg. 7-8
As commander of the Hundredth's 418th Squadron, Johnny Egan flew with his men on all the tough missions. When his boys went into danger, he wanted to face it with them. "Anyone who flies operationally is crazy," Egan confided to Sgt. Saul Levitt, a radioman in his squadron who was later injured in a base accident and transferred to the staff of Yank magazine, an army publication. "And then," says Levitt, "he proceeded to be crazy and fly operationally. And no milk runs..." When his "boy-men," as Egan called them, went down in flaming planes, he wrote home to their wives and mothers. "These were not file letters," Levitt remembered. "It was the Major's idea they should be written in long-hand to indicate a personal touch, and there are no copies of these letters. He never said anything much about that. The letters were between him and the families involved." Major Egan was short and skinny as a stick, barely 140 pounds, with thick black hair, combed into a pompadour, black eyes, and a pencil-thin mustache. His trademarks were a white fleece-lined flying jacket and an idiomatic manner of speaking, a street-wise style borrowed from writer Damon Runyon. At twenty-seven, he was one of the "ancients" of the outfit, but "I can out-drink any of you children,'" he would tease the fresh-faced members of his squadron. On nights that he wasn't scheduled to fly the next day, he would jump into a jeep and head for his "local," where he'd gather at the bar with a gang of Irish laborers and sing ballads until the taps ran dry or the tired publican tossed them out."
In Master's of the Air, Major John Egan is sometimes called, "Bucky," "Honest John," and "Johnny." The men of his squadrons loved his leadership style, which was leading by example, as seen in the excerpt above.
John Archer, a long-time British friend of the 100th & its veterans, described Egan in his story, One Man and His Dog:
"The Major was a lean, dark young man with a wisp of moustache. He was 27, but looked older. He could turn on the charm and turn it off whenever he liked. It’s the kind of thing one experiences in foreman of construction gangs and traffic managers at airports, in jobs where contact and participation with the men is the prime factor." Major Egan was involved in the case of “Meatball vs the Pullet” a few days before he went down on a raid over Germany. Now Meatball was a half-grown husky dog which the crew of the B-17 brought over from Labrador on their way to Thorpe Abbotts during the summer of 1943. It seemed that Meatball was a bad dog, and all of a sudden turned into a chicken killer. And when did he decide to become a chicken killer? At a time when the personnel were involved in the toughest flying missions the group had yet undertaken. Deep raids as far as Danzig against desperate opposition. And in this tense atmosphere Meatball got playful one morning and mangled a chicken dead. The nearby farmer went bustling up to the orderly room to see the Major. Major Egan was sitting in with his pilots having an informal briefing with the men about new tactics in aerial combat. It was the afternoon following a raid on Emden, October 3, 1943. The farmer from down the road described “a light brown dog” that had killed a pullet. “Light brown. That’s Meatball, all right,” said the Major. “And you say he got a pullet?” asked the Major sympathetically. “Well, a pullet is pretty important, isn’t it?” “It is,” said the farmer, calming down by this time. Where did you ever hear of a Major who knew anything about pullets, and what is more, who would talk about loss sympathetically in the middle of a grim military operation? Clearly the Major was now pulling out the charm act. He could, of course, have turned the whole matter of Meatball, pullet and payment over to the Adjutant. But the affair seemed right down the Major’s alley. All the new crews who had just arrived at Thorpe Abbotts were by that time listening with amazement. “That pullet, did she look like a layer?” asked the Major. You could see by his face that he was rather tired, after all, it was only an hour or so since the raid was over. “She did, Sir, for a fact,” said the farmer.
“Well, what would you say she’s worth?” asked the Major. “Twenty bob,” said the farmer. “All right,” said the Major. “I think that’s a pretty reasonable sum for a good pullet, don’t you?” he inquired looking around at the crews who flew the big bombers. They looked at him quite dumbfounded, not quite figuring it out, and wondering who was pulling whose leg. And the Major was aware he had everyone right there in front of him. He was the actor and the rest were the audience. The farmer had departed by this time, very pleased, and the Major was rocking back and forth on his chair and looking around. And from the subject of the Germans using rockets and guns, the conversation was not on pullets. One of the young officers piped up and remarked, “A pullet, isn’t that some kind of… a rooster… like…” The Major glared at him and the officer’s face grew red. By now the class was sitting quite quietly. “A pullet,” said the Major patiently, “is a half-grown female chicken which lays a small egg with a very small yolk.” And he showed them just how big with his fingers. “Then,” continued the Major, “the machinery inside the pullet goes to work and all of a sudden – one fine day it lays an egg twice as big as the usual and it is no longer a pullet.” The briefing closed at that point. A few days later, Major Egan said goodbye for the last time to Meatball before climbing into his B-17. On October 10th, during a raid on Munster, the Major became a guest of the German forces, spending the rest of the war in a prison camp.
There was a certain pub in Dickleburgh that missed Major Egan. Sometimes he drove down in a jeep and sang songs in the bar with the locals and Irish laborers. With the affair of Meatball and the pullet, and the grim task of flying missions, Major Egan rounds out into a real example of an American who once walked the lonely lanes at Thorpe Abbotts. Egan served as Air Exec for the 100th, as Commander of the 418th Squadron, and on the Munster raid flew as Command Pilot on John Brady’s lead crew. After being shot down, all but one of Brady’s crew survived as POWs. (you can find more about this story here)
Egan was best friends with fellow 100th Bomb Group squadron commander, Maj. Gale "Buck" Cleven, whom he went to flight school with back in the States. The pair were roommates back in training, and little did they know they'd be roommates once again when they became German POWs in October of 1943. Buck after getting shot down over Bremen, and Egan in a retaliatory raid to get back at the Germans after they shot down his friend.
Egan was leaving for his first leave to London from Thorpe-Abbotts on October 8th when Buck Cleven and the rest of the 13th Combat Wing took off for Bremen. The next morning over breakfast, Egan saw the London Times headline: Eighth Air Force Loses 30 Fortresses Over Bremen," and sprang out of his chair to a phone. Due to wartime security, he had to speak in code.
Masters of the Air, pg. 10:
"How did the game go," he asked. Cleven had gone down swinging, he was told. Silence. Pulling himself together, Egan asked, "Does the team have a game scheduled for tomorrow?" "Yes," came the reply. "I want to pitch." He was back at Thorpe Abbotts that afternoon in time to "sweat out" a long mission the group flew to Marienburg, a combat strike led by the Hundredth's Commander, Col. Neil B. "Chick" Harding, a former West Point football hero. As soon as the squadrons returned, Egan got Harding's permission to lead the Hundredth's formation on the next day's mission.
This mission was set for Münster, just southwest of Bremen where Buck was shot down. Egan flew with Captain John D. Brady on the M’lle Zig Zig to Münster, and the heavy, along with all other planes but Royal Flush (Rosenthal's replacement B-17) in the 100th went down over the target. The crew of the M'lle Zig Zig bailed, parachuting through the flack-filled air. Hambone Hamilton was among the 'Zig's crew, and suffered multiple wounds from shrapnel. When found by Germans, he was taken to the hospital and stayed there recovering for a good while.
Egan, unlike the rest of the 'Zig's crew, was able to evade capture a few days before finally being taken prisoner. The aviators were first sent to Dulag Luft, the Luftwaffe's POW transit center. Egan and the other officers were kept separate from their men in cold and flea-infested solitary cells. Egan and Cleven were just a few cells apart, but neither knew the other was there. After a few weeks, Cleven and the men who were brought in with him were sent to Stalag Luft III, another POW camp just outside the town of Sagan, some 300 miles from their previous location. They were transported by train cars used for livestock, and they reported that "the smell of manure was overwhelming (Miller, 2007, pg. 23)." The trip took them three days. Three days after Cleven got to Stalag Luft III, Egan and his men arrived.
Masters of the Air, pg. 23:
Cleven watched them file into a neighboring stockade. Spotting Johnny Egan, he called out to him, "What the hell took you so long?" "Well, that's what you get for being sentimental," Egan shouted back.
Both Egan and Cleven remained POWs until the end of the war. Cleven, however, managed to escape on a march in 1945. The pair remained good friends until John's death from a sudden heart attack in 1961. Egan served as Buck's best man in his wedding when he married his sweetheart Marge in 1945 once they returned home.
John married his own sweetheart, Lt Josephine "Doty" Pitz (WASP) in late 1945. They had two beautiful daughters together.
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tag list: @lena-basilone @luckynumber4
let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!!
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By Andreína Chávez Alava
For over two decades, Venezuela has been the target of the “free elections” broken record alongside regime change operations and economic sanctions, leaving a long trail of destruction behind. How does the U.S. get away with this “free elections” scam? With the unconditional support of the remorseless corporate media.
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itznarcotic · 1 year
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*AI Donald Trump voice* Folks, the bourgeois, they're no good. Everyone is saying it. All these workers— very handsome workers, we have the biggest, the best workers— they come up to me and say Comrade Trump; there is a specter haunting Europe, and you know what? They're right. These bourgeois are very nasty people— very very rude, and very unfair to the workers. They are stealing our surplus value, and no one is doing anything about it! The proletariat comes up to me every day and says; Comrade Trump, will you lead the revolution? And I gotta turn to them and say; look, the instruments of capitalism will be used to bring about its destruction— believe me. The means of production, Obama never wanted to seize them. Well, guess what? I'm seizing them. Landlords? They're done for, folks. Everyone told me, they said "Comrade Trump, you won't be the vanguard of the revolution"— and they would laugh; the media laughed; the Democrats laughed. Guess who's laughing now?
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verycleverboy · 1 year
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Almost thirty-four years after Donald Trump took out a full-page ad in New York newspapers calling for the return of the death penalty in the wake of the case of a group of young African-American men branded the “Central Park Five”, and a few days after Trump was charged with thirty-four felony counts, one of the now-Exonerated Five took out a full-page ad of his own. The full text follows:
BRING BACK JUSTICE & FAIRNESS. BUILD A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR HARLEM!
On May 1, 1989, almost thirty-four years ago, Donald J. Trump spent $85,000 to take out full-page ads in The New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post and New York Newsday, calling for the execution of the Central Park Five — an act he has never apologized for, even after someone else confessed to and was convicted of the crime, the convictions of all five of us were overturned, and we were renamed the Exonerated Five.
Instead, Mr. Trump has often doubled-down. A few weeks after taking out the ad, he went on CNN and stated: "I hate these people and let's all hate these people because maybe hate is that we need if we're gonna get something done."
Even after our exoneration and acknowledgment by the government that we had been wrongfully convicted, Mr. Trump continued to incite animus against me, my peers and our families. In 2013 — over a decade after our exoneration — Trump called the Ken and Sarah Burns Central Park Five documentary "a one-sided piece of garbage," and when asked how he felt now that we were shown to be innocent, responded: "Innocent of what?"
In 2014, the City of New York finally reached a settlement with the members of the Exonerated Five, awarding at compensation to help us rebuild our lives after so many years were taken from us. But even that acknowledgement from the city wasn't enough for Trump to see five young Black and Latino men as anything other than criminals, saying "settling doesn't mean innocence."
Note, after several decades and an unfortunate and disastrous presidency, we all know exactly who Donald J. Trump is — a man who seeks to deny justice and fairness for others, while claiming only innocence for himself.
Being wrongfully convicted as a teenager was an experience that changed my life drastically. Yet I am honored when people express how deeply they connect with my story.
It matters because, while my experience may have been extreme, I have lived through a form of trauma that many of us experience in some way every day throughout our country. My past is an example of systemic oppression imposed by the injustice system.
But the problems our community faced when my name was splashed across the newspapers a generation ago — inadequate housing, underfunded schools, public safety concerns, and a lack of good jobs — became worse during Donald Trump's time in office.
I am trying to change that, by working with so many other dedicated community members to build a better future for everyone, both here in Harlem and across the country.
Here is my message to you, Mr. Trump: In response to the multiple federal and state criminal investigations that you are facing, you responded by warning of "potential death and destruction," and by posting a photograph of yourself with a baseball bat, next to a photo of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. These actions, just like your actions leading up to the January 6 insurrection at the U .S. Capitol, are an attack on our safety.
Thirty-four years ago, your full-page ad stated, in all caps: "CIVIL LIBERTIES END WHEN AN ATTACK ON OUR SAFETY BEGINS."
You were wrong then, and you are wrong now. The civil liberties of all Americans are grounded in the U.S. Constitution, and many of us fight every day to uphold those rights, even in the face of those like you who seek to obliterate them.
Now that you have been indicted and are facing criminal charges, I do not resort to hatred, bias or racism — as you once did.
Even though thirty-four years ago you effectively called for my death and the death of four other innocent children, I wish you no harm.
Rather, I at putting my faith in the judicial system to seek out the truth. I hope that you exercise your civil liberties to the fullest, and that you get what the Exonerated 5 did not get — a presumption of innocence, and a fair trial.
And if the charges are proven and you are found guilty, I hope that you endure whatever penalties are imposed with the same strength and dignity that the Exonerated Five showed as we served our punishment for a crime we did not commit.
--Yusef A. Salaam
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odinsblog · 1 year
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Since the founding of the United States, politicians and pundits have warned that partisanship is a danger to democracy. George Washington, in his Farewell Address, worried that political parties, or factions, could "allow cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men" to rise to power and subvert democracy. More recently, many political observers are concerned that increasing political polarization on left and right makes compromise impossible, and leads to the destruction of democratic norms and institutions.
A new study, however, suggests that the main threat to our democracy may not be the hardening of political ideology, but rather the hardening of one particular political ideology. Political scientists Steven V. Miller of Clemson and Nicholas T. Davis of Texas A&M have released a working paper titled "White Outgroup Intolerance and Declining Support for American Democracy." Their study finds a correlation between white American's intolerance, and support for authoritarian rule. In other words, when intolerant white people fear democracy may benefit marginalized people, they abandon their commitment to democracy.
The World Values Survey data used is from the period 1995 to 2011 — well before Donald Trump's 2016 run for president. It suggests, though, that Trump's bigotry and his authoritarianism are not separate problems, but are intertwined. When Trump calls Mexicans "rapists," and when he praises authoritarian leaders, he is appealing to the same voters.
Miller and Davis' paper quotes alt right, neo-fascist leader Richard Spencer, who in a 2013 speech declared: "We need an ethno-state so that our people can ‘come home again’… We must give up the false dreams of equality and democracy."
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Ethnic cleansing is impossible as long as marginalized people have enough votes to stop it. But this roadblock disappears if you get rid of democracy. Spencer understands that white rule in the current era essentially requires totalitarianism. That's the logic of fascism.
(continue reading)
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