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mariacallous · 2 years

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To exactly no one’s surprise, Xi Jinping will secure a third term atop the Chinese Communist Party at this week’s 20th Party Congress. Xi’s political triumph—which has been months, if not years, in the making—overturns decades of party precedent that used to limit Chinese leaders to two consecutive five-year terms. But in breaking the rules, Xi has done the United States and its allies a favor by taking the guesswork out of China’s path forward.

The formal extension of Xi’s tenure locks in China’s current policy orientation—one that is unabashedly hostile to political pluralism and free market forces. Indeed, for the last few years, Xi has outlined, often in excruciating detail, his desire not only to deepen the party-state’s influence over China’s economy and 1.4 billion citizens but also to extend that influence far beyond China’s borders. Rarely has a geopolitical rival so unambiguously telegraphed his plans. Yet the Western world remains woefully unprepared for the coming “decisive decade” in its rivalry with China, as U.S. President Joe Biden described it last week.

Policymakers may not realize it yet, but the relative certainty that comes with Xi staying in power is actually a gift in disguise. With his takeover complete, what you see with Xi is what you get, including his proclivity to recycle his own talking points and rehash his familiar vision of China’s future. Indeed, today’s great-power irony is that while Xi appears to have no new ideas to cope with a changing geopolitical landscape and clings to policy prescriptions formulated during the pre-pandemic era, the West appears awash in a whole range of competing ideas to effectively counter China.

That’s why this period of seemingly endless China policy inertia in the West—and the lack of a unifying framework with clearly defined end-states—needs to end and soon.

With the Cold War’s demise, Kremlinology, or the study of Moscow’s inner political workings, largely went out of style. (It has since come back into vogue following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.) For China watchers, however, this sort of divining of hidden meanings has always been a mainstay, especially following a leadership shake-up. While top-level turnover in the Soviet Union often occurred after a leader’s passing, Chinese transitions have functioned like clockwork for more than a quarter century. What invariably followed each reshuffle were years spent by Western scholars parsing public speeches and essays in party journals in an attempt to uncover each new generation’s governing philosophy—and with it, China’s likely trajectory.

Time spent by Western governments studying each new leadership cohort’s intentions often came at the expense of formulating, revising, and executing their respective China policies. Meanwhile, Chinese leaders made the most of the West’s mystification and used that time to codify their policy agendas, first in private among the party elite and then later and only selectively with outsiders. More importantly, however, Chinese leaders capitalized on these nebulous interludes to take steps aimed at shaping, and in some cases neutralizing, actions by the West and other competitors that could undermine China’s position or revisionist aims.

One need look no further than the last Chinese leadership transition to understand how Western uncertainty about a new leader has benefited Beijing. Back in 2011, during former Chinese leader Hu Jintao’s final months in power, China overtook Japan as the world’s second-largest economy. China’s rapid rise raised serious questions in Western capitals about how Beijing profited from its connectivity to world markets despite stacking the deck against foreign firms seeking to tap into China’s lucrative market. Responsibility for allaying Western concerns (and buying much-needed time) fell to Xi at the start of his first term. That’s why, in a 2013 speech during the party’s Third Plenum, Xi hinted at a significant number of “decisive” economic reforms, including enhancing the role of the market—not the state—in determining the allocation of resources and capital. Xi’s liberalization language was directed at least in part at the outside world, and it went a long way in mollifying the West.

The international response to Xi’s overture, particularly from financial markets still reeling from the global economic crisis, was overwhelmingly positive. Observers hailed Xi as “bold,” with some calling him the second coming of Chinese reformer Deng Xiaoping. The Obama administration went on to champion cooperation with Beijing on “shared regional and global challenges” such as “economic growth” while eschewing serious measures to rein in China’s market abuses. Western companies and capital rushed into China, leading various stakeholders to pressure their governments to avoid confrontation with Beijing. Yet Xi spent the next decade thoroughly and systematically dismantling any hint of liberal economic governance. Instead, he deepened the party’s organizational integration throughout the commercial sector, wielding industry regulation and political control as both a sword and a shield.

The culmination of Xi’s efforts, articulated during this week’s Party Congress, is nothing short of a new ideology-infused economic order, in which the party-state’s ostensible ability to steer economic development and technological modernization is seen as maintaining a distinct systematic advantage over freer markets.

As Xi has consolidated his control over the party and rooted out potential competitors, he has employed this same approach on a range of other issues—but always in ways that benefit Beijing. For instance, Xi’s evolving interest in global governance and standard-setting was initially predicated on China’s ostensible desire to contribute to a “more just and fair” world order. Similarly, Xi’s recently unveiled Global Security Initiative purports that China’s security model represents the world’s best hope to avoid wars and ensure international peace. Such messaging is consistent with Xi’s rhetoric at the Party Congress that the Chinese way offers a “new choice” for humanity.

But unlike in the past, when China’s ambitions appeared at least outwardly ambiguous, it is now abundantly clear that China’s interest in setting and shaping global narratives, values, and norms is not for mankind’s betterment. Rather, Beijing’s growing discourse strategy blatantly seeks to bolster China’s composite national strength and, more importantly, to legitimize the party-state’s power at home and abroad.

What makes Xi’s coronation a gift, then, and what distinguishes this moment from other transitions is that Xi has effectively laid nearly all of his cards on the table, with the single ace still up his sleeve being his Taiwan “reunification” timetable. Regardless of whether Xi assumes the title of party chairman—not used since the Mao Zedong era—this year’s Party Congress makes clear that Xi already has this power in all but name. An ever more entrenched Xi will not risk burning down what he has spent the last 10 years constructing by embracing political liberalization and market reform or even softening China’s general hostility toward the United States. Instead, like most autocrats, Xi intends to double down, with China’s economy and people set to suffer the most from his self-destructive policies.

But whereas Xi and his predecessors previously benefited from an initial post-transition honeymoon, during which they quietly formulated their ambitious agendas, China need not enjoy any such grace period this time around. That is, unless Western capitals continue to spin their wheels on the China challenge.

To be fair, the United States and its allies faced difficulties coming to terms with the Soviet threat, particularly in the immediate aftermath of World War II. The current debate around China—crystallized in the Biden administration’s recently released National Security Strategy—risks an unnecessary repeat. Western leaders and policymakers mistake competition with Beijing for an end, not a means, eschewing the hard work of defining the West’s desired end-states vis-à-vis China. Moreover, Washington’s current approach clings to a fast-fading unipolar period rather than the likelihood of a coming multipolar moment and all of the burden-sharing opportunities that kind of order will bring. Even worse, the White House’s not-so-subtle strategy of pitting countries against one another along democratic or autocratic lines risks alienating like-minded partners that might not be impeccable democracies but that share Washington’s concerns about China’s belligerence and have a vested interest in modernizing—not toppling—the creaking rules-based order.

Policymakers of all political stripes have also spent altogether too much time responding to each and every Chinese provocation rather than prioritizing those issues that matter most to core Western interests. If left unchecked, the West will continue wasting its limited resources on a range of illusory Chinese threats. And, lastly, even on issues such as trade, in which the West has agency to promote a prosperity agenda capable of rivaling China’s geoeconomic clout, too many countries, including the United States, lean instead on protectionism.

Which gets to the other gift that could come with Xi’s third term and the certainty of China’s policy stance: simply that Xi’s unbridled boldness could finally force Western countries to get out of the habit of endlessly studying the China problem and get on with the much harder work of confronting it.

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jordanianroyals · 2 years

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CNBC on 8 July published its interview with King Abdullah II, conducted recently by Anchor and Senior International Correspondent Hadley Gamble.

In the interview, he spoke about Jordan’s Economic Modernisation Vision for the next decade, which seeks to sustain recovery from the impact of the COVID pandemic while planning for the upcoming years by capitalising on opportunities in the Kingdom, especially amid the impact of the Ukrainian crisis. His Majesty discussed a number of regional and international issues, as well as their effects on Jordan and the region. Responding to a question on the need for “a NATO for the Middle East”, the King said the issue of alliances is complicated if their charter and mission statement are not identified, stressing the need to consider linkages to the rest of the world, and to find a suitable formula for a very clear mission, otherwise, the alliance would confuse everybody. Commenting on Jordan’s economic vision, His Majesty said there is a need to work further on enhancing the private sector’s capacity to provide job opportunities, by capitalising on Jordan’s competitive investment advantages.

“Geographically, where Jordan is located, we have always been a hub; we have always been the back office for the Gulf countries. I think we can actually promote ourselves to be the front office on many issues,” the King noted. His Majesty highlighted stability as part of Jordan’s strength over the past decades, in addition to its ability to overcome the COVID pandemic and to deal with the challenges of food security and regional instability. “When you look historically at Jordan, investors have all been very comfortable about stability, and I think that has been one of our number one cards that we have been able to play,” the King continued. Discussing Jordan’s modernisation efforts, His Majesty reiterated the importance for proceeding with them in parallel across the political, economic and administrative tracks, as none can be achieved without the other. The King said administrative reform is the more long-term, challenging aspect, noting that countries all over the world have to deal with it, yet Jordan’s goals cannot be achieved without administrative reform, which is also key in the fight against corruption. Turning to political modernisation, His Majesty spoke about the need to enhance public trust in political parties, and encourage the engagement of youth in partisan life, stressing the role of young people in advancing democracy in Jordan, and highlighting the importance of responsible freedom of expression. Responding to a question on the impact of the crisis in Ukraine on the region, the King underlined its repercussions on food security, noting that this challenge emerged with the pandemic and is now being exacerbated with this crisis, which has also affected the prices of basic commodities. On food security, His Majesty said Jordan has stocks of wheat and barley for nearly 15 months, which enhances the Kingdom’s resilience, stressing the need for countries in the region to cooperate and enhance resilience to deal with the long-term requirements for food security. The King spoke about the importance of creating a new vision for the region that entails moving away from politics and looking at economic opportunities to break down barriers. “Regional projects, I think, are the buzzword of the future… It brings us all, countries with different backgrounds, to be able to build this new, hopefully sustainable vision for the peoples of the region” to ensure job creation and a better life, His Majesty said. From a geographic aspect, the King said Jordan is front and centre to many regional projects, citing Jordan’s stability and resilience as key factors that serve all stakeholders in the region. Acknowledging the challenges of energy, water and refugees that Jordan is facing, His Majesty said there are also opportunities for the Kingdom to become a hub for alternative energy and agriculture, and to work with regional partners on enhancing their food security. The King said regional projects offer opportunities for everyone, but if one country is suffering, these regional projects will be affected, adding that he looks forward to seeing a new approach of enhanced partnership in the region, with the possibility of including all stakeholders. Responding to a question on the role of Iran, His Majesty pointed to regional projects and said Tehran could wonder about its part in this type of cooperation, “and so can we put political differences aside to do something right for the peoples of the region?” “We are looking forward to President [Joe] Biden's visit to the region and I think the outcome of that is how can we accelerate these regional projects that break down political barriers,” the King said, adding that one of the messages that the US president will bring to the region is “count on the West, count on Europe and the United States, because we are going to be actively engaged.” Discussing regional challenges, His Majesty reaffirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause, and that the two-state solution is the only solution, warning that the absence of dialogue between the two sides creates insecurities and instability in the region, which, in turn, will affect regional projects. Moving forward in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict cannot take place without the US umbrella, the King continued, noting that at the same time, there is much work that countries in the region need to do, as well as the Palestinians and the Israelis, before the US comes in to make a difference “and it is a presidential card that always takes us across the finish line”. In the interview, His Majesty also spoke about the regional implications of the Ukrainian crisis, especially in terms of decreasing the Russian presence in Syria, after having served as a de-escalation factor on the borders with Jordan, and now, the Kingdom is facing the threats of militias on its border, and attempts to smuggle drugs and weapons, in addition to the rising threat of Daesh. Asked about the Russian president, whom he has known for over two decades, the King said President Vladimir Putin believes in the greatness of Russia, and is surrounded by a strong team. “At the end of the day, we had all hoped that the crisis would not happen. It is what it is now. We are dealing with this issue, and the longer it goes on, nobody wins,” His Majesty continued, warning that the implications of the crisis will not be limited to Europe, but will extend to the entire world. “So how do we give each other respect and how do we give each other an opportunity to find an exit? ... Where is that opportunity where the olive branch can be extended in mutual respect so that we can start moving back towards the light?” the King asked.

#King Abdullah II #interview

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nicklloydnow · 7 days

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“Mr Macron identifies a triple shock of interconnected threats which create a particularly dangerous moment in the continent’s history. The first is geopolitical: Europe’s struggle to stand up to Vladimir Putin’s Russia, even as America’s future commitment to Europe has gone wobbly. Having once worried out loud about not “humiliating” Moscow, Mr Macron has turned into one of Europe’s most outspoken hawks. Listing the record of Russian belligerence, from its threat to use nuclear weapons to its relentless use of hybrid warfare and disinformation, regional troublemaking, and aggression in space and at sea, the president has no doubt about what is at stake. “If Russia wins in Ukraine there will be no security in Europe,” he says. “Who can pretend that Russia will stop there?” What security would there be, he asks, for neighbouring countries: Moldova, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and others?

(…)

Mr Macron also stands by his refusal to rule out putting boots on the ground in Ukraine. His comments prompted disbelief and anger in Germany, and a blistering riposte from Olaf Scholz, the chancellor. Yet the French president argues that, faced with an expansionist Russia, Europe’s ability to deter further aggression rests on not defining red lines. He calls this “the basic condition” of its security and credibility. These were not empty words, he insists. “If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there were a Ukrainian request, which is not the case today,” he says, “we would legitimately have to ask ourselves this question.” France, he notes, sent its troops to help African countries in the Sahel when their leaders asked.

(…)

In his telling, America simply will not always have Europe’s back. The continent has no choice: “We have to get ready to protect ourselves.” He wants to make a start at a summit in July at Britain’s Blenheim Palace. This gathering of the European Political Community, a Macron brainchild, brings together eu and non-eu members. The president wants attendees to identify the security risks facing Europe, the military capabilities it needs, and how to make more kit on European soil. Mr Macron will put on the table a full discussion of how France’s nuclear deterrent (which, unlike Britain’s, is wholly home-built and not “assigned” to nato) could contribute further to European security. He wants to finalise this discussion “in the coming months”. Mr Macron also wants to reinforce bilateral defence co-operation with the hosts, post-Brexit Britain, building on the Lancaster House treaties.

(…)

The second risk to Europe comes from the twin economic shock of accelerating technology and China. Mr Macron, a former investment banker, worries that Europe is about to fall behind in crucial high-tech sectors, from clean tech to quantum computing, if it does not grasp the scale and urgency of what needs to be done now. Part of his solution would involve a large injection of public money, in good old dirigiste fashion. Part of it would also be about deregulation, to encourage risk and disruptive innovation.

(…)

Underpinning this analysis is the observation that nobody else plays by the rules any more. The old order has been broken. Nothing has yet replaced it. America, in Mr Macron’s account, thought it would discipline Chinese behaviour with international trade rules. Instead America has ended up massively subsidising its own industry, just like the Chinese. Europe, he insists, is not being protectionist but realist when it seeks to do the same. Moreover, if Europeans are to build the industrial scale needed to stay competitive, he warns, they have to accept that specialisation cannot mean a “fair” share of subsidies for all countries or industries.

The final threat to Europe is democratic: a resurgent nationalism, turbo-charged by disinformation and echo-chamber news. The best way to understand the risk today, Mr Macron suggests, is to re-read Marc Bloch, a French historian executed by the Gestapo. In “Strange Defeat”, Bloch argued that the elites facilitated the fall of France to the Nazis in 1940 through short-sightedness and complacency. “What kills me, in France as in Europe, is the spirit of defeat,” declares the president. “The spirit of defeat means two things: you get used to it and you stop fighting.” This is the danger: elites are starting to assume that opinion polls make an outcome inevitable, and then to resign themselves to it. “Politics isn’t about reading polls,” he says; “it’s a fight, it’s about ideas, it’s about convictions.”

“Russia said on Monday that it would hold military exercises with troops based near Ukraine to practice for the possible use of battlefield nuclear weapons, a provocative warning aimed at discouraging the West from deepening its support for Ukraine.

These weapons, often referred to as “tactical,” are designed for battlefield use and have smaller warheads than the “strategic” nuclear weapons meant to target cities. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that President Vladimir V. Putin had ordered an exercise for missile, aviation and naval personnel to “increase the readiness of nonstrategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions.”

The announcement of the exercise was Russia’s most explicit warning in its more than two-year invasion of Ukraine that it could use tactical nuclear weapons there. The Kremlin said it came in response to comments by two European leaders that raised the prospect of more direct Western intervention in the war.

(…)

Western officials have long worried that Russia could deploy tactical nuclear weapons, especially if it faced serious setbacks on the battlefield. But Mr. Putin denied as recently as March that he had ever considered it, even as he regularly reminds the world of Russia’s vast nuclear arsenal as a way of keeping in check the West’s military support for Ukraine.

On Monday, however, Russian officials claimed that warnings about the possibility of more direct Western involvement in the war had changed the situation. The Defense Ministry said the exercise would be held “to unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state in response to provocative statements and threats of individual Western officials against the Russian Federation.”

Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said the Western “threats” in question included a recent interview with President Emmanuel Macron of France published by The Economist, in which the French leader repeated his refusal to rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine.

Mr. Peskov also alluded to a comment made last week by David Cameron, Britain’s top diplomat, in which he said that Ukraine was free to use British weapons to strike inside Russia — a departure from Western governments’ typical policy of discouraging such strikes in order to avoid being drawn deeper into the war.

“This is a completely new round of escalation of tensions — it is unprecedented,” Mr. Peskov told reporters on Monday. “And, of course, it requires special attention and special measures.””

“The United States has made a number of strategic miscalculations since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, but the single greatest may be the message that the Biden administration just sent about nuclear weapons. The U.S. showed that it would protect a nuclear-armed friend, Israel, from an as-yet-nonnuclear enemy (Iran); at the same time, Washington has refused to consider using its forces to defend a nonnuclear friend (Ukraine) against a nuclear-armed Russia.

Other governments will deduce that states with nuclear weapons can barbarically attack America’s friends and bully U.S. leaders into abandoning them. The British government has underscored that sentiment by basically admitting that, precisely because of fears of escalation with Russia, Ukraine won’t get the same help that Israel did. Even if the U.S. and its allies were more coy about their calculations, their conduct will encourage a wave of nuclear proliferation in the coming years.

(…)

Instead, the Biden administration is allowing Russia to use the threat of nuclear weapons as cover for its effort to conquer a sovereign neighbor by force. Ukraine is not just any nonnuclear state; it is a state that gave up its nuclear weapons because the U.S. and Russia firmly promised in 1994 to respect its territorial integrity.

In their passivity, the U.S. and its allies are acquiescing in the destruction of the post–World War II nuclear order—which in many ways was a great success. Since the Second World War, the two major nuclear powers never used their nuclear weapons to win wars—even when, as with the U.S. in Vietnam or the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, they were losing in conventional warfare. And although a small number of other states, including China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea, have built nuclear arsenals, many more governments with the capacity to develop nuclear weapons have so far declined to do so.

The global order is becoming less stable in other ways. The Biden administration’s weak response to Russia is bad enough; a second Trump administration could follow a still more destructive policy of telling even close, longtime allies that they can’t count on American support. When Donald Trump said publicly earlier this year that he would encourage Russians to do “whatever the hell they want” with European NATO member states that don’t spend enough on defense, he was signaling to leaders in Europe and around the world that the North Atlantic Alliance is in jeopardy.

Other countries will take note—and begin to arm themselves for a more dangerous world. South Korea, for one, is quietly discussing the prospect of developing nuclear weapons. It’s also talking about constructing a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines, even though it has an agreement with the U.S. not to do so. Many governments will make similar calculations.

We have reached a dangerous moment. In its desperate attempts to de-escalate tensions with Russia, the Biden administration is reinforcing the message around the world that nuclear weapons provide security and freedom of action. When countries are presented with a clear choice between being shielded from attack and being left to their fate, no one should be surprised at which option they’ll take.”

“Free nations prefer peace to war, but that preference is complicated by the continued existence of nations led by criminals, ideologues and irredentists. In a fallen world, war eventually comes, wanted or not.

And it’s coming. Iran and its proxies, having started one war in Israel, don’t appear reluctant to consider another with the U.S. A Russian victory in Ukraine, even a partial one, would make eventual confrontation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization almost inevitable. China menaces Taiwan. And the possibility that Kim Jong Un isn’t plotting an attack on South Korea—or on the U.S.—is a bet only a fool would take.

(…)

Last month I visited Mr. Helprin’s home here, some 10 miles north of Charlottesville. On the wall of his vast and spacious library I spy a framed August 1941 photograph of Winston Churchill on the deck of the H.M.S. Prince of Wales, the ship on which the prime minister met FDR to enlist the U.S. in the struggle against fascism. I came to Earlysville—I say this at the risk of melodrama—to ask Mr. Helprin the sort of question that Churchill had contemplated in the years before that photograph was taken: Are we ready to fight?

The answer today is plainly no. But neither were the British in 1935. What does America need to do to get ready?

(…)

As we sit down, Mr. Helprin doesn’t wait for me to ask a question. “It might not be a gracious thing to do, but let me begin with an ‘I told you so,’ ” he says. Briefly he catalogues several unheeded warnings he has published over the decades. One of those appeared in these pages under the headline “What to Do About Terrorism, Really,” on May 10, 1995.

The essay urged the Clinton administration to remember, the recent Oklahoma City bombing notwithstanding, that terrorism has always come mainly from abroad and would surely remain that way. Mr. Helprin envisaged a cataclysm brought about by “a few former Soviet tactical warheads in a business jet piloted by a young mullah with a grudge against Sears Roebuck.” He was slightly off—the cataclysm, when it came six years later, involved four passenger jets rather than a private plane and warheads, and the target was New York and Washington, not Chicago. But he saw something others didn’t.

Any discussion of U.S. leadership abroad has to start, as ours does, with America’s humiliating 2021 retreat from Afghanistan, a colossal exhibition of weakness and confusion and almost certainly a catalyst of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’s attack on Israel.

Our faltering in Europe and the Middle East is the reason, Mr. Helprin says, we need to adopt a “bastion strategy.” Meaning what? “No, we’re not going to give up on a forward defense in Europe and Asia. But as an emergency measure, as a reserve, in case the forward defenses fail—and they are under tremendous pressure now both because of our isolationism and our disintegration and the world situation externally—if those should fail, we have a bastion.”

The bastion is the Western Hemisphere. “Of course I’m talking about the Monroe Doctrine. Essentially, Russia, China and other nations may not interfere in this half of the globe, but we may interfere in theirs.”

Yet Russia, China and Iran are making enormous inroads in South America, “and we can’t allow them to do that. If South America goes, we’re done for. People think we’re protected by the oceans, and we are to an extent. But even so, in the [American] Revolution, when the tiny wooden ships would take a month to cross the Atlantic, it was a closely run thing. The British were still able to transport huge armies and supplies to the United States with that kind of transport.”

Another strategic priority is the protection of Europe. “A lot of people think we should concentrate more heavily on China because China is more powerful than Russia and more of a developing threat. That’s true,” he says. “China is the bigger, more immediate threat. But Europe is more valuable.”

I think I agree, but I have to ask why Europe is more valuable. “Our economic relationships to the European nations, which are the greatest other than those with Canada and Mexico. Not just trade, but the interplay of science and culture. We are, in so many ways, joined to Europe as we are to nowhere else. Also physically, in terms of a position in Earth’s geography: If the North Atlantic is controlled by hostile powers, if it falls under Russian dominance, then we’re pretty much”—again—“done for.”

(…)

Perhaps the core of the problem is American policymakers’ fear of risk and attendant accountability. If a U.S. administration tried to mount the sort of defense posture Mr. Helprin counsels, something might go wrong, someone would have to pay a political price, and no one at the moment seems inclined to pay any sort of price for anything. As soon as I use the phrase “fear of risk” he points out that “in 1940 Churchill sent all the tanks in Britain to North Africa to fight the Germans. That denuded Britain of tanks, and at the time it was still possible that Sea Lion”—Hitler’s plan to invade the U.K.—“could have happened. The British would have had no tanks to use in defense. It was a risk. Churchill took it. War is about risk.”

Our technological superiority, Mr. Helprin thinks, has fooled us into believing that war is about neat, danger-free solutions. “We have been acclimated to situations in which we control everything,” he says. “We completely control the air. We completely control logistics. We have bases to which we can retreat, and on those bases we have McDonald’s.” Mr. Helprin stops himself: “This isn’t to say that individual units and soldiers haven’t fought like hell and suffered. But in terms of the larger picture of war, we haven’t fought for survival in a long time.”

(…)

But back to the 2020s. Why is the number of men willing to fight and die for the United States decreasing? Mr. Helprin mentions an education system that trains young people to distrust their country and a military bureaucracy enthralled by woke ideology.

So what can we do about that in the short term? Without pausing Mr. Helprin says: “We can depoliticize the military completely.”

That won’t be easy, I say. “It might not be so hard,” he replies. “You don’t have to do anything. You just have to stop doing stupid things. The military is a million education programs meant to indoctrinate and train. Exclude, from all that indoctrination and training, anything having to do with ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ ”—he signals quotation marks—“anything having to do with racism, anything about how bad America is, the ‘gender’ crap, all that. Just stop doing it.”

He has a point. An executive order from the commander in chief would likely accomplish for the U.S. military what Gov. Ron DeSantis did by signing legislation banning DEI in Florida public universities. If the military were to scrap every last shred of DEI training tomorrow, nobody but activist busybodies would regret it, and the benefits would reverberate for a decade.

What about the long term? Very little about today’s cultural landscape suggests that America’s political class and citizenry understand the threats or are prepared to counter them with force. What’s going to get us ready? “A strong leader on a white horse isn’t going to do it,” Mr. Helprin says. “The only way that can happen, I think, unfortunately, is distress and defeat. A depression, a big loss in a war, invasion, Gotterdammerung.””

#macron #emmanuel macron #france #ukraine #russia #putin #nuclear #war #mark helprin #world war 3 #world war iii #wwiii #ww3 #europe #south america #monroe doctrine #Phillips Payson O’Brien

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reuna · 1 month

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Once again seeing discussions about how Russia was banned from ESC because of their broadcaster somehow, conveniently, breaking rules at the same time people were demanding it would be banned because of Ukraine. I'm getting so fucking tired of this. Sent an email to EBU.

Hi. In your statement about why Russia was banned from Eurovision but israel is not, you write that We are aware of the many voices calling to exclude Israel from this year’s competition in the same way as we excluded the Russian broadcaster in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. Comparisons between wars and conflicts are complex and difficult and, as a non-political media organization, not ours to make. In the case of Russia, the Russian broadcasters themselves were suspended from the EBU due to their persistent breaches of membership obligations and the violation of public service values (https://eurovision.tv/mediacentre/frequently-asked-questions-israel-24). However, we live in a time where every statement made in the past can be googled very easily, and find eg. this article by the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/dec/30/eurovision-chief-russia-ban-stands-for-ultimate-values-democracy In the article, Martin Österdahl states, that: The Eurovision chief has said Russia’s ongoing ban from the international song contest has been hard but the event should stand for “the basic and ultimate values of democracy”. Russia was banned from competing in the Eurovision song contest in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s national broadcasters subsequently suspended their memberships of the European Broadcasting Union, which organises the show, preventing them from taking part in future contests. Speaking to Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, for which the Swedish songwriter was acting as guest editor, Eurovision’s executive supervisor, Martin Österdahl, was asked if the decision to exclude Russia had been hard to make. He said: “It was, and it still is. How Europe feels very much affects the contest. “It is also that when you look back in time, you see that the Eurovision song contest is like a logbook of what has happened in Europe, what the trends have been in Europe. “But, also, what is the kind of mood and sentiment of Europe, and what is the social context of Europe at the time. When we say we are not political, what we always should stand up for are the basic and ultimate values of democracy. Everyone is right to be who they are.” Am I to conclude from this statement, that EBU believes that racial discrimination and apartheid, constant war crimes israel itself proudly displays on social media, and actions that the ICJ itself deemed to plausibly add up to genocide are the basic and ultimate values of democracy? Eagerly awaiting you reply, (my name)

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avatarvyakara · 2 years

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The year is 2184, average earth temperature has doubled, only a few million people remain on earth. A green-movement managed to travel back to 2022. What are they doing?

Caution: mild content warning.

“We’ve gone too far.”

Pema shakes their head. “Nandhi, we talked about this. It was always a possibility.”

“This is wrong,” Nandhi persists. “Joel, you tell them.”

Joel just sighs. “Look, I’m not rapped about it either. But the Union thinks this is the best way to break the power of the Venusian Fleet. Not destroy things, just...tweak them a little.”

“Tweak them a little. We’re supposed to be collecting data samples, not destroying the human race!”

Pema scoffs. “I’d hardly call it destroying—”

“If things don’t go as scheduled, we don’t get off-world.”

“Humans were meant to get off-world,” says Mau, the fourth member of their group. Nobody’s quite sure what to refer to the intelligence by; Mau has a body but only just. “They’ll get off-world regardless. Ensuring Russia wins the war against Ukraine won’t jeopardize that.”

“And what if it does?”

The big question. The question sitting at the backs of all four minds. And she can’t state it strongly enough.

“What if we never make it to Mars? Bodhi Arabia doesn’t become the new home of the Dalai Lama. That’s the holy site of New World Buddhism gone, Pema. No skyworlds? Species diversity plummets. We have a future without mammoths, guys. Without mammoths.”

“No need for insults,” Joel replies calmly. “We get your point. Calling us ‘guys’ doesn’t help.”

“And then there’s the changes on Earth. No Korean Rainforests. No Nunavut Prairie. No Amazon Sea. No Great Sahara Lakes. Antarctica is masculine right now. Completely useless. And Earth stays overpopulated so we don’t get to see it. Our ancestors are living in abject squalor right now, stuck in ghettos and suburbs. Within five years, everything takes off. Everything leading to where we are today comes from Russia losing that war. Are we seriously going to jeopardize all of that?”

Silence.

“It’s one war,” says Mau at last. “And it would mean preventing a lot of other tragedies as well. The dissolution of the European Union. The Shanghai Genocides. Trumponia. The Movement of Shades. My grandwomb and grandseed nearly drowned in the evacuation of New Zealand. Your own ancestors were boiled by the Brazilians, Nandhi. You want to keep that? Really?”

Nandhi growls. “You just crossed a line, you guy.”

“We’re not making the judgement call here,” says Pema. “The Union of Terran Satellites is. We just get to decide the fate of the sixteen billion humans living in our solar system.”

“And it won’t do a thing,” Joel insists. “History will swing back. Killing Zelensky now won’t stop the First World Warming from happening. It’s already underway. We’ll get to the skies, and we’ll get to skies without fifty atom-bomb-equipped cities floating above Venus.”

“Or we’ll doom everyone.”

“That’s not your call,” says Mau, tonelessly. “They’ve already calculated what’s likely. And the simulators are checked and double-checked.”

“There’s no room for argument,” says the Martian Buddhist at last. They ready the Arrow—an assassination method targeting only one specific person’s genome, give or take a few hundred variations. “We have our orders. And hey, if it all goes to Capetown, we can just come back and replace the white with a body-double. Shouldn’t be too hard to mimic—everyone looks the same in this era.”

#writing prompt #show and tell time #satt-prompt #satt-writing-prompt #satt-2184 #show and tell #satt #...my mind can be a dark place sometimes

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k-s-morgan · 2 years

Text

Hi! Just a general update + reply to asks I got. In short: right now, I’m fine. This night has been the best for me so far and I was finally able to sleep more or less normally.

Once again, thank you. Hearing your words, getting financial help and all the useful information many of you shared is essential and life-saving to me. Due to a recommendation of one person from Syria, I went to sleep in the hall, away from the rooms with windows, and it did feel much safer. Multiple people gave me advice and even phone numbers of those who might be able to help me transport my pets to Poland - this means the world to me and I can’t thank you enough.

Right now, I’m stuck in my apartment in Kiev because there are fights all over the city and down the roads. Almost no transport is working and we don’t have a car. Staying here is safer than leaving at the moment, but I have no idea what the future will bring. Many of your offered accommodations - this level of support blows my mind. I can assure that if I ever seek out your help, I won’t be a burden for long: we have relatives spread all over different countries, so even if we had to seek shelter, it would be very temporary. Leaving the country is the main problem, especially since I don’t want to leave my brother and father behind and no one will let them pass the border.

Answering some questions: my family does have savings, but they are in $ cash. Ukraine stopped accepting it, so right now these savings are useless - that’s why I asked for help. With you, I managed to buy enough food both for my family and my pets to last us a month, and that made a huge difference.

As for events in Ukraine: things are dangerous, but while this might surprise many of you, at the moment, I’m more worried about Ukrainians themselves. Our government started giving guns to everyone without even asking them for any ID. Marauders have already began robbing and murdering people/marking the abandoned apartments. There is also nothing romantic about civilians arming themselves - if the trained army cannot win this fight, they won’t either. The number of the dead and the level of destruction will rise, that’s all. Yesterday, a group of such people killed/hurt two parents and their children by mistaking them for Russians. Ukrainian army itself is now busy taking some of such people down, so it was a ridiculous and desperate decision.

Also, there is an order for everyone to stay inside after 5 pm. Anyone who breaks this order will be considered a Russian. But people constantly move between their homes and the bomb shelters, at all times! Our shelters don’t have enough food and water; they don’t have bathrooms; there is not enough air for some, so people need to go out. This is not okay. The government also demands soldiers to blow up bridges. This is ridiculous, Russians will still manage to get here, even if takes them longer, but we, on the other hand, will be cut off food supplies for who knows how long - we will be unable to escape the city.

It’s terrible when the danger starts pouring from every side, even the one that’s supposed to protect you. But on a brighter side, things are fine in my suburb. It’s a pretty quiet place located away from the center and the main roads; the existing military base was destroyed the first night, so hopefully, no one will bother much with us now. But since I was unable to sleep until this night, I still felt exhausted, terrible and scared. I even cried when my family went to asleep - every sound felt like a threat. Then I fell asleep myself at last, managed to stay this way for the entire night, and now I feel collected and calm again. I also finally ate something and began to read - small things, but at a time like this, they feel like victories.

I hope peace comes soon, all my family does. My cats and pigeons have no interest in what’s happening, they are as silly and lovely as always. And thank you again - for helping, supporting, and just listening.

#personal #ukraine

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marvelhero-fics · 3 years

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Snowman

Series - Chapter One

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: You’re a HYDRA assassin that’s worked closely with the Winter Soldier, to each of your dismay you’re reunited with Bucky after the blip.

A/N: I haven’t posted in like 300 years, but I hope you guys enjoy this new series! This follows parts of TFATWS so expect spoilers! (Also I’m sure all the Russian is absolutely wrong, if you’d like to correct it please send me a message!)

Word Count: 1,815 (future chapters will be wayyy longer)

Snowman Masterlist || Full Masterlist

New York

2023

“So tell me about this-” the therapist looked down at her notes briefly, “(Y/N).” She finished.

Bucky paused momentarily, “No.”

“James, for these therapy sessions to be effective, you need to open up to me. I can’t help you if I don't know what’s wrong.” His therapist responded, laying her pen carefully on her small notebook.

Bucky thought for a moment, taking in the ambience of the room. What would he even say about (Y/N)? He hadn’t seen her in years. Bucky was kicking himself for accidentally bringing her up in his session last week. “I- uh-” he stammered, shifting his weight on the couch, “I met her in 2011. At least I think it was 2011. Date’s get kinda fuzzy sometimes, with all the cryo.” Bucky’s hand pressed against his head, feeling dazed as he tried to think back. “It was at the big HYDRA base outside of Moscow. We had to go on a mission together-” he was cut off,

“Did she work for HYDRA?” Dr Raynor interjected.

“Yea. She was an assassin too. She went by the alias the Viper.” Bucky pretended not to notice his therapist tense up. Anyone who knew anything about HYDRA knew who the Viper was. She was one of the most prolific assassins after the Winter Soldier.

“Tell me more about when you met her.”

“We were instructed to take out a terrorist organisation forming against SHIELD. Which was ironic because we were working for a terrorist organisation. But at this point SHIELD was being run by HYDRA and they couldn’t risk any slip ups, so they put 6 assassins on the job. HYDRA usually didn’t have their assassins working together, we were all too volatile. But we had to take out over 70 people in one night. It was (Y/N), a few assassins from the Red Room, and a few agents that HYDRA had trained personally, and me.” Bucky stopped.

“Where was (Y/N) trained?”

“At a secondary facility run by HYDRA. She was trained from a really young age. It’s all she’s known.” Bucky seemed somber. But his therapist continued,

“What happened on the mission?”

“Nothing. It went exactly to plan. The targets were taken out and we all left without a trace. But (Y/N), she- she kept trying to talk to me, or get to know me. I was the Winter Soldier. No one in their right mind ever tried to ‘get to know me’.”

“Why do you think (Y/N) did that?”

“She told me she was bored.” He replied bluntly.

Moscow

2011

The poorly lit conference room was filled with a myriad of assassins and officials. The only illumination came from old LED lights hanging from the concrete ceiling. The mossy green paint on the walls looked as if it hadn’t been patched up in years. The only new-ish part of the room was the large, oak conference table, surrounded by black, leather seating. It was difficult not to notice the red HYDRA symbol holding a spot on almost every piece of clothing in the area.

“TITAN terroristicheskaya organizatsiya, formiruyushchayasya protiv nas. (TITAN is a terrorist organisation forming against us.)” Kuznetsov spoke, “Izbrannyye budut otpravleny segodnya vecherom v Ukrainu dlya vypolneniya postavlennoy zadachi. Uberi ikh. (The chosen ones will be sent to Ukraine tonight to complete their given tasks. Take them out.)”

That was all it took. You stared at the file in front of you. You had read through it multiple times, going over every single name, every single skill set your targets had. You were more than certain you could complete this job on your own. But you had no choice on the matter.

Your eyes darted around, taking in the faces of the assassins that were to accompany you on your mission. Two youthful females, dressed in black leather sat next to each other. The older, grimacing woman behind them was Madame B., the head supervisor of the Red Room. You moved your gaze to the two agents in dark green uniforms and red, soviet berets. Neither looked particularly menacing.

You finally landed on the last assassin. His dark hair fell like curtains around his face. Gloomy blue eyes searched their way through the room. His sharp jaw seemed tense through his stubbled cheeks. He was large, extremely built. Covering his frame was an amplitude of black clothing and gear.

“Play nice.” Your mentor spoke softly over your shoulder, breaking you from your train of thought.

“I always do.”

Your padded snow boots ripped through the thick snow covering the ground. The six of you had hiked your way to the set point on your GPS systems, the clouds of snowfall covering your vision held the illusion that there were absolutely no structures nearby. A large helicopter had dropped the group a few miles out from the hideout to ensure nothing was compromised. The trek was in utter silence, fighting against the harsh temperature in mid February.

The waypoint became closer on your map, a tiny building slowly appeared in your vision against the foggy downfall. It was a small, wooden cabin. Everyone hustled their way through the unlocked door. It was barren, it held no furniture, no blankets, no means of any life. There appeared to be a few doors that led to small, empty rooms. The entrance only held a small fireplace, filled with old cut down logs that had been eaten by bugs.

The group quickly dispersed, you headed to one of the rooms alone, throwing down your belongings onto the floor. The bag you carried was mainly filled with weapons and ammunition, along with a very warm sleeping bag. You knew too well you wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, but you would need the extra heat for now.

There was no chatter anywhere in the house. Your mission would begin in 6 hours. Everyone was likely putting together their artillery. You decided to cozy up in your navy sleeping bag for a moment of comfort.

Someone had lit the fire in the lounge. A warm, orange light crept through the cracks in your door. The ambiance was strangely calming for a shitty cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Snow continued to fall against the tiny glass pane of your room. You weren’t a fan of assassinating in the snow. It was low vision, harsher climates, and it lessened the ability to move. Snakes weren’t creatures of the cold. Conveniently you’d been grouped with someone who called himself ‘The Winter Soldier’. I’m sure he loves the cold, you thought.

You’d heard a lot about him. Everyone had. He was the perfect assassin. He never failed a mission, his body didn’t reject cryo, every form of enhancement HYDRA had used on him had been a success. He was what every assassin had aspired to be.

Without thought, you grabbed the glass bottle laying next to you and walked off to the room the Winter Soldier had claimed for the night.

“Privet (Hello)”. You announced, pushing his door open with a creak. His head didn’t turn towards you. He sat on the floor, the sound coming from him indicated he was sharpening knives.

“Khochesh' vypit'? (Want a drink?)” You asked, motioning the bottle towards him.

He stayed silent for a moment. Finally he turned, looking up at you from his position on the floor. “What is it?” His dark tone asked back. The amber light from the fire crashed against his features. His strong jaw was covered with a dark stubble, his brunette hair tucked behind his ears. His most obvious feature was the hauntingly blue eyes that sat in sunken sockets, he looked drained.

“It’s vodka.” You stated, honestly. You were surprised to hear he wasn’t Russian, he sounded… American?

“You’re drinking before a mission?” He queried.

You shrugged. “Alcohol doesn’t freeze.” You sat down next to him. “Plus it takes the edge off.” A faint clinking noise announced as you placed the bottle on the floor between you two. He stared at you for a moment, before quietly going back to his knives.

“Wanna play 20 questions?” You interrupted the silence.

“No.”

“What about truth or dare?”

“I’m not 14.” the soldier replied, his eyes not leaving his handy work.

“How old are you?” You shot back,

“Why are you trying to get to know me?” He dodged your question.

“I’m bored.” You shrugged, taking a deep swig of the vodka. “And by my calculations,” you peered down at your watch, “we still have 3 hours and 27 minutes until the mission starts.”

He gave a shallow sigh, “93.”

“What?”

“I’m 93. How old are you.”

“93?! You were born in 1917?”

“Mhm. How old are you.”

“25. You look great for 93.” You chuckled.

“You look old for 25.” He jabbed back. His knife sharpener still grinding across a 6 inch blade.

“You flatter me.” You replied sarcastically. “So what’s your story? How’d you make it to 93?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Why would I ask if I didn’t want to know?”

Bucky looked over at you. “I’m telling you, you don’t want to know.”

“C’mon old man, I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” You smirked. He once again, went back to his knives. It almost seemed as if he was trying to threaten you, pulling out larger knife after larger knife.

You huffed, opening your mouth to speak, “I was born in Hungary to a drug abusing mother, and an absent father. I was kidnapped and sold to HYDRA when I was 6. I was placed under the care of the Kraken. Not sure if you’ve met him, he’s this large guy-”

“I’ve met him.” Bucky stated, interrupting your spiel.

“Right, well, he trained me for years. Eventually HYDRA got involved again and I was tested on, experimented on, messed with, ya’ know, all that fun stuff.” You explained.

“Are you enhanced?” Bucky asked, almost as if he was actually interested.

“Yea. I have this whole snake venom trick. It’s great for up close combat. The experiments really should’ve killed me though. But maybe that’s what makes us so good-” Bucky looked over at the woman next to him, her bright eyes stared back at him as she spoke “ya’ know, the best assassins are the ones living off borrowed time. Because we’ve met death before, so we’re not afraid to do it again.”

Bucky quickly grabbed the Barrett M82 rifle next to him, his metal arm making faint whirring noises. “I’m going to scope out the base.” He stated bluntly. And with that, his large black boots walked him out the bedroom, and out the door.

You let out a faint sigh, creeping back to your room to sort out your weapons. You were sure it was something you said that scared him off. I guess at 93 you have to be living off too much borrowed time, you speculated. You absentmindedly set up your pistols, your mind not being able to wander from the Winter Soldier. Maybe annoying the Red Room girls would get your mind off it.

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky fic #bucky barnes fanfiction #Bucky Barnes fic #Bucky imagine #bucky oneshot #bucky series #bucky barnes series #bucky #Bucky barnes #the avengers #tfatws #the winter solider #the winter solider x reader #the winter solider fanfic

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route22ny · 3 years

Link

By Timothy Snyder

Published Jan. 9, 2021 - Updated Jan. 10, 2021, 10:12 a.m. ET

Even when he won, in 2016, he insisted that the election was fraudulent — that millions of false votes were cast for his opponent. In 2020, in the knowledge that he was trailing Joseph R. Biden in the polls, he spent months claiming that the presidential election would be rigged and signaling that he would not accept the results if they did not favor him. He wrongly claimed on Election Day that he had won and then steadily hardened his rhetoric: With time, his victory became a historic landslide and the various conspiracies that denied it ever more sophisticated and implausible.

People believed him, which is not at all surprising. It takes a tremendous amount of work to educate citizens to resist the powerful pull of believing what they already believe, or what others around them believe, or what would make sense of their own previous choices. Plato noted a particular risk for tyrants: that they would be surrounded in the end by yes-men and enablers. Aristotle worried that, in a democracy, a wealthy and talented demagogue could all too easily master the minds of the populace. Aware of these risks and others, the framers of the Constitution instituted a system of checks and balances. The point was not simply to ensure that no one branch of government dominated the others but also to anchor in institutions different points of view.

In this sense, the responsibility for Trump’s push to overturn an election must be shared by a very large number of Republican members of Congress. Rather than contradict Trump from the beginning, they allowed his electoral fiction to flourish. They had different reasons for doing so. One group of Republicans is concerned above all with gaming the system to maintain power, taking full advantage of constitutional obscurities, gerrymandering and dark money to win elections with a minority of motivated voters. They have no interest in the collapse of the peculiar form of representation that allows their minority party disproportionate control of government. The most important among them, Mitch McConnell, indulged Trump’s lie while making no comment on its consequences.

Yet other Republicans saw the situation differently: They might actually break the system and have power without democracy. The split between these two groups, the gamers and the breakers, became sharply visible on Dec. 30, when Senator Josh Hawley announced that he would support Trump’s challenge by questioning the validity of the electoral votes on Jan. 6. Ted Cruz then promised his own support, joined by about 10 other senators. More than a hundred Republican representatives took the same position. For many, this seemed like nothing more than a show: challenges to states’ electoral votes would force delays and floor votes but would not affect the outcome.

Yet for Congress to traduce its basic functions had a price. An elected institution that opposes elections is inviting its own overthrow. Members of Congress who sustained the president’s lie, despite the available and unambiguous evidence, betrayed their constitutional mission. Making his fictions the basis of congressional action gave them flesh. Now Trump could demand that senators and congressmen bow to his will. He could place personal responsibility upon Mike Pence, in charge of the formal proceedings, to pervert them. And on Jan. 6, he directed his followers to exert pressure on these elected representatives, which they proceeded to do: storming the Capitol building, searching for people to punish, ransacking the place.

Post-truth is pre-fascism, and Trump has been our post-truth president. When we give up on truth, we concede power to those with the wealth and charisma to create spectacle in its place. Without agreement about some basic facts, citizens cannot form the civil society that would allow them to defend themselves. If we lose the institutions that produce facts that are pertinent to us, then we tend to wallow in attractive abstractions and fictions. Truth defends itself particularly poorly when there is not very much of it around, and the era of Trump — like the era of Vladimir Putin in Russia — is one of the decline of local news. Social media is no substitute: It supercharges the mental habits by which we seek emotional stimulation and comfort, which means losing the distinction between what feels true and what actually is true.

Post-truth wears away the rule of law and invites a regime of myth. These last four years, scholars have discussed the legitimacy and value of invoking fascism in reference to Trumpian propaganda. One comfortable position has been to label any such effort as a direct comparison and then to treat such comparisons as taboo. More productively, the philosopher Jason Stanley has treated fascism as a phenomenon, as a series of patterns that can be observed not only in interwar Europe but beyond it.

Like historical fascist leaders, Trump has presented himself as the single source of truth. His use of the term “fake news” echoed the Nazi smear Lügenpresse (“lying press”); like the Nazis, he referred to reporters as “enemies of the people.” Like Adolf Hitler, he came to power at a moment when the conventional press had taken a beating; the financial crisis of 2008 did to American newspapers what the Great Depression did to German ones. The Nazis thought that they could use radio to replace the old pluralism of the newspaper; Trump tried to do the same with Twitter.

Thanks to technological capacity and personal talent, Donald Trump lied at a pace perhaps unmatched by any other leader in history. For the most part these were small lies, and their main effect was cumulative. To believe in all of them was to accept the authority of a single man, because to believe in all of them was to disbelieve everything else. Once such personal authority was established, the president could treat everyone else as the liars; he even had the power to turn someone from a trusted adviser into a dishonest scoundrel with a single tweet. Yet so long as he was unable to enforce some truly big lie, some fantasy that created an alternative reality where people could live and die, his pre-fascism fell short of the thing itself.

Some of his lies were, admittedly, medium-size: that he was a successful businessman; that Russia did not support him in 2016; that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. Such medium-size lies were the standard fare of aspiring authoritarians in the 21st century. In Poland the right-wing party built a martyrdom cult around assigning blame to political rivals for an airplane crash that killed the nation’s president. Hungary’s Viktor Orban blames a vanishingly small number of Muslim refugees for his country’s problems. But such claims were not quite big lies; they stretched but did not rend what Hannah Arendt called “the fabric of factuality.”

One historical big lie discussed by Arendt is Joseph Stalin’s explanation of starvation in Soviet Ukraine in 1932-33. The state had collectivized agriculture, then applied a series of punitive measures to Ukraine that ensured millions would die. Yet the official line was that the starving were provocateurs, agents of Western powers who hated socialism so much they were killing themselves. A still grander fiction, in Arendt’s account, is Hitlerian anti-Semitism: the claims that Jews ran the world, Jews were responsible for ideas that poisoned German minds, Jews stabbed Germany in the back during the First World War. Intriguingly, Arendt thought big lies work only in lonely minds; their coherence substitutes for experience and companionship.

In November 2020, reaching millions of lonely minds through social media, Trump told a lie that was dangerously ambitious: that he had won an election that in fact he had lost. This lie was big in every pertinent respect: not as big as “Jews run the world,” but big enough. The significance of the matter at hand was great: the right to rule the most powerful country in the world and the efficacy and trustworthiness of its succession procedures. The level of mendacity was profound. The claim was not only wrong, but it was also made in bad faith, amid unreliable sources. It challenged not just evidence but logic: Just how could (and why would) an election have been rigged against a Republican president but not against Republican senators and representatives? Trump had to speak, absurdly, of a “Rigged (for President) Election.”

Trump’s electoral fiction floats free of verifiable reality. It is defended not so much by facts as by claims that someone else has made some claims. The sensibility is that something must be wrong because I feel it to be wrong, and I know others feel the same way. When political leaders such as Ted Cruz or Jim Jordan spoke like this, what they meant was: You believe my lies, which compels me to repeat them. Social media provides an infinity of apparent evidence for any conviction, especially one seemingly held by a president.

It’s not just that electoral fraud by African-Americans against Donald Trump never happened. It is that it is the very opposite of what happened, in 2020 and in every American election. As always, Black people waited longer than others to vote and were more likely to have their votes challenged. They were more likely to be suffering or dying from Covid-19, and less likely to be able to take time away from work. The historical protection of their right to vote has been removed by the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in Shelby County v. Holder, and states have rushed to pass measures of a kind that historically reduce voting by the poor and communities of color.

The claim that Trump was denied a win by fraud is a big lie not just because it mauls logic, misdescribes the present and demands belief in a conspiracy. It is a big lie, fundamentally, because it reverses the moral field of American politics and the basic structure of American history.

When Senator Ted Cruz announced his intention to challenge the Electoral College vote, he invoked the Compromise of 1877, which resolved the presidential election of 1876. Commentators pointed out that this was no relevant precedent, since back then there really were serious voter irregularities and there really was a stalemate in Congress. For African-Americans, however, the seemingly gratuitous reference led somewhere else. The Compromise of 1877 — in which Rutherford B. Hayes would have the presidency, provided that he withdrew federal power from the South — was the very arrangement whereby African-Americans were driven from voting booths for the better part of a century. It was effectively the end of Reconstruction, the beginning of segregation, legal discrimination and Jim Crow. It is the original sin of American history in the post-slavery era, our closest brush with fascism so far.

If the reference seemed distant when Ted Cruz and 10 senatorial colleagues released their statement on Jan. 2, it was brought very close four days later, when Confederate flags were paraded through the Capitol.

Some things have changed since 1877, of course. Back then, it was the Republicans, or many of them, who supported racial equality; it was the Democrats, the party of the South, who wanted apartheid. It was the Democrats, back then, who called African-Americans’ votes fraudulent, and the Republicans who wanted them counted. This is now reversed. In the past half century, since the Civil Rights Act, Republicans have become a predominantly white party interested — as Trump openly declared — in keeping the number of voters, and particularly the number of Black voters, as low as possible. Yet the common thread remains. Watching white supremacists among the people storming the Capitol, it was easy to yield to the feeling that something pure had been violated. It might be better to see the episode as part of a long American argument about who deserves representation.

In the four decades since the election of Ronald Reagan, Republicans have overcome the tension between the gamers and the breakers by governing in opposition to government, or by calling elections a revolution (the Tea Party), or by claiming to oppose elites. The breakers, in this arrangement, provide cover for the gamers, putting forth an ideology that distracts from the basic reality that government under Republicans is not made smaller but simply diverted to serve a handful of interests.

At first, Trump seemed like a threat to this balance. His lack of experience in politics and his open racism made him a very uncomfortable figure for the party; his habit of continually telling lies was initially found by prominent Republicans to be uncouth. Yet after he won the presidency, his particular skills as a breaker seemed to create a tremendous opportunity for the gamers. Led by the gamer in chief, McConnell, they secured hundreds of federal judges and tax cuts for the rich.

Trump was unlike other breakers in that he seemed to have no ideology. His objection to institutions was that they might constrain him personally. He intended to break the system to serve himself — and this is partly why he has failed. Trump is a charismatic politician and inspires devotion not only among voters but among a surprising number of lawmakers, but he has no vision that is greater than himself or what his admirers project upon him. In this respect his pre-fascism fell short of fascism: His vision never went further than a mirror. He arrived at a truly big lie not from any view of the world but from the reality that he might lose something.

Yet Trump never prepared a decisive blow. He lacked the support of the military, some of whose leaders he had alienated. (No true fascist would have made the mistake he did there, which was to openly love foreign dictators; supporters convinced that the enemy was at home might not mind, but those sworn to protect from enemies abroad did.) Trump’s secret police force, the men carrying out snatch operations in Portland, was violent but also small and ludicrous. Social media proved to be a blunt weapon: Trump could announce his intentions on Twitter, and white supremacists could plan their invasion of the Capitol on Facebook or Gab. But the president, for all his lawsuits and entreaties and threats to public officials, could not engineer a situation that ended with the right people doing the wrong thing. Trump could make some voters believe that he had won the 2020 election, but he was unable to bring institutions along with his big lie. And he could bring his supporters to Washington and send them on a rampage in the Capitol, but none appeared to have any very clear idea of how this was to work or what their presence would accomplish. It is hard to think of a comparable insurrectionary moment, when a building of great significance was seized, that involved so much milling around.

The lie outlasts the liar. The idea that Germany lost the First World War in 1918 because of a Jewish “stab in the back” was 15 years old when Hitler came to power. How will Trump’s myth of victimhood function in American life 15 years from now? And to whose benefit?

On Jan. 7, Trump called for a peaceful transition of power, implicitly conceding that his putsch had failed. Even then, though, he repeated and even amplified his electoral fiction: It was now a sacred cause for which people had sacrificed. Trump’s imagined stab in the back will live on chiefly thanks to its endorsement by members of Congress. In November and December 2020, Republicans repeated it, giving it a life it would not otherwise have had. In retrospect, it now seems as though the last shaky compromise between the gamers and the breakers was the idea that Trump should have every chance to prove that wrong had been done to him. That position implicitly endorsed the big lie for Trump supporters who were inclined to believe it. It failed to restrain Trump, whose big lie only grew bigger.

Trump is, for now, the martyr in chief, the high priest of the big lie. He is the leader of the breakers, at least in the minds of his supporters. By now, the gamers do not want Trump around. Discredited in his last weeks, he is useless; shorn of the obligations of the presidency, he will become embarrassing again, much as he was in 2015. Unable to provide cover for their gamesmanship, he will be irrelevant to their daily purposes. But the breakers have an even stronger reason to see Trump disappear: It is impossible to inherit from someone who is still around. Seizing Trump’s big lie might appear to be a gesture of support. In fact it expresses a wish for his political death. Transforming the myth from one about Trump to one about the nation will be easier when he is out of the way.

The big lie requires commitment. When Republican gamers do not exhibit enough of that, Republican breakers call them “RINOs”: Republicans in name only. This term once suggested a lack of ideological commitment. It now means an unwillingness to throw away an election. The gamers, in response, close ranks around the Constitution and speak of principles and traditions. The breakers must all know (with the possible exception of the Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville) that they are participating in a sham, but they will have an audience of tens of millions who do not.

Trump’s coup attempt of 2020-21, like other failed coup attempts, is a warning for those who care about the rule of law and a lesson for those who do not. His pre-fascism revealed a possibility for American politics. For a coup to work in 2024, the breakers will require something that Trump never quite had: an angry minority, organized for nationwide violence, ready to add intimidation to an election. Four years of amplifying a big lie just might get them this. To claim that the other side stole an election is to promise to steal one yourself. It is also to claim that the other side deserves to be punished.

Informed observers inside and outside government agree that right-wing white supremacism is the greatest terrorist threat to the United States. Gun sales in 2020 hit an astonishing high. History shows that political violence follows when prominent leaders of major political parties openly embrace paranoia.

Our big lie is typically American, wrapped in our odd electoral system, depending upon our particular traditions of racism. Yet our big lie is also structurally fascist, with its extreme mendacity, its conspiratorial thinking, its reversal of perpetrators and victims and its implication that the world is divided into us and them. To keep it going for four years courts terrorism and assassination.

To be sure, this moment is also a chance. It is possible that a divided Republican Party might better serve American democracy; that the gamers, separated from the breakers, might start to think of policy as a way to win elections. It is very likely that the Biden-Harris administration will have an easier first few months than expected; perhaps obstructionism will give way, at least among a few Republicans and for a short time, to a moment of self-questioning. Politicians who want Trumpism to end have a simple way forward: Tell the truth about the election.

America will not survive the big lie just because a liar is separated from power. It will need a thoughtful repluralization of media and a commitment to facts as a public good. The racism structured into every aspect of the coup attempt is a call to heed our own history. Serious attention to the past helps us to see risks but also suggests future possibility. We cannot be a democratic republic if we tell lies about race, big or small. Democracy is not about minimizing the vote nor ignoring it, neither a matter of gaming nor of breaking a system, but of accepting the equality of others, heeding their voices and counting their votes.

Timothy Snyder is the Levin professor of history at Yale University and the author of histories of political atrocity including “Bloodlands” and “Black Earth,” as well as the book “On Tyranny,” on America’s turn toward authoritarianism. His most recent book is “Our Malady,” a memoir of his own near-fatal illness reflecting on the relationship between health and freedom.

***

Essay copied & pasted here in its entirety for the benefit of those stuck behind the paywall. Follow the link for the accompanying photos and captions.

#trump coup #american abyss #timothy snyder #fascism in america

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brianandthemays · 4 years

Text

A Ghost From the Past (Four/Billy x Reader)

HEY GUYS! I’m super pumped to be back and writing again! Please let me know if you enjoyed this! I’m writing future missions with these two!!!!!

as always please send an ask, like and reblog so I know how you like it!!!

also a big ole shout out to @angiefangirlworld-2 for beta reading for me!!!

TW: A good amount of gore and blood. Some angst. please do not read if that makes you uncomfy

Word count: 3.4k

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Everything was black. The last thing you remember was walking back to your apartment after walking to the store; you opened the door, and everything was black. The only other thing you remember is a sharp pain in the back of your head. Concussion for sure. You’d worked long enough as a make-shift medic to know.

A year ago, you were in your prime. You and your boyfriend worked with a small theft group. Stealing from the rich and giving some of it to the poor. Billy, your boyfriend, was kinda the leader. He was a parkour master and lead his team in stride. You served as the medic. Dealing with any injuries that may have arrived. And you were happy. You both were.

Then everything was ruined. He fell. Far. And you couldn’t get to him by the time you got to him, he was gone. Whether the police got him or something else, he was gone. And you never saw him again. And they dropped him. So, you left. You took yours and his cut of the money and moved to Florence. Then it was just trying to move on. Getting a nursing job, finding a small apartment, getting a cat. Moving on.

But now your head hurt like a motherfucker, your arms were tied tightly around their wrists, and in the dark. You could feel bruises on your face from where you fell, most likely and something sticky in your hair, which you assumed was blood. Now you were in the dark, both literally and figuratively. Then the bag was yanked off your head. In the room there was a man in a tan suit. You were sitting in his office; it was daylight out. You glanced around looking for something to help yourself with.

“parli italiano?” the man addressed you.

You knew what he said but you knew better to answer any questions in a hostage situation.

“I see you do not…” he continued in English. “We are looking for someone you may have some connection to.”

Again, you did not answer, just glaring at the man. He sighed and nodding at someone standing behind you. A larger man approached you and swiftly slapped you across the face. You let out a shout, feeling your lip split at the force.

“Fuck you,” you spat.

“Ah, she speaks!” The man smiled at you. “Now you can answer questions.”

“Look, I don’t know what you want but I don’t do this anymore,” you told him, rubbing your wrists to try and get some levity in your wrists.

He chuckled, standing and walking to a desk off to the left. You followed him as he grabbed a picture and walked back over to you. It was a picture of you and Billy, working a job you’d done a few months before Ukraine.

“You know this man?” he asked, watching you carefully.

You stared at the picture, heart aching just looking at it. You shook your head and looked at the man, trying to remain as neutral as possible.

“I did…” you started. “he’s dead.”

The two men in the room looked at each other before laughing out loud. You furrowed your eyebrows feeling your blood start to boil Had they just brought you here to torture you. Make you open old wounds.

“I’m sorry to inform you but he is not,” he told you, rubbing his chin. “He was seen in Sicily about 3 months ago.”

You just stared at him, shaking your head. It wasn’t true, it couldn’t be true. You watched him fall, you mourned him, you… no he wasn’t alive.

“I think you’re mistaken,” you returned. “I watched him die.”

He tapped his fingers on his desk before standing up again and walking to the front side of the desk and leaning back against the desk.

“Miss, you must understand that we are in a dire situation,” he explained. “The dictator of Turkistan is… in danger.” You snorted, knowing all about this dictator. The dictator who gassed his own citizens and couldn’t care less for his people. “We are determined to protect him…” He glanced between you and the man behind you. “At any costs.” The way he looked at you made you uncomfortable and you shifted in your seat. “So, if you have any information on this man, and we find out you are hiding it from us…” The man behind you pressed something against your head. Immediately you knew it was a gun and you stiffened.

The man opened his mouth again but there was a loud bang and he stood. He said something in Italian to the man who had hit you and suddenly your chair was being dragged backward. He placed you facing the door.

“What the—” before you could finish, he slapped you across the face again.

“Shut it,” the man growled.

He placed your chair in front of the door, gagged you, before running off in another direction. You felt the blood running down your cheek. And your breathing started to get heavy. Your head was still pounding from the blow to the back and there was so much going on. Then a man flew through the door, quickly followed by a woman. Both of them pointed their guns at you before lowering them when they saw who you were.

“And who are you?” the man behind the desk spoke. The man in front of you turned to look at the man behind the desk, beginning a conversation you could not care less about and the woman stared at you, coming closer.

You grunted at her, trying to get her to let you go. The man she came in with seemed to be negotiating something you couldn’t understand but you just wanted to leave. The picture of Billy had really set you off and you wanted to leave. The woman finally removed your gag.

“Do you speak English,” she asked. She had some kind of accent, a strong one… maybe French?

“Yes, yes please let me go,” you pleaded. “I need to see a doctor.”

Just then the man behind the desk let out a scream and you looked over to see the man that the woman had walked in with gouging out his eye. You shrieked and reared back.

“Bring her with us!” He shouted at the woman. “She may have some sort of information.”

The French woman looked at you apologetically before cutting your roped and grabbing you by the arm.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” you screamed. “Please, no!”

But the woman didn’t answer, she just dragged you out of the door.

“Don’t worry, dear…” she reassured you. “We have a great doctor.”

You groaned and let her drag you outside. Somewhere along the way, everything went to shit. You were thrown into a car, the French woman now pouring blood out of her pelvis area, and joining another woman in a green dress.

“One! Who is she?” The driver asked the man who followed closely.

“She was in there,” he explained. “She might have information on you know who… NOW GET US OUT OF HERE.”

The rest of the car ride was a blur. The car was moving fast and the throbbing in your head only increased as the car twisted and turned around the city.

“I think I’m going to throw up…” you mumbled.

“DON’T THROW UP!” The driver shouted.

You threw up all over the floor before leaning back in your seat and gagging again. The others in the car all cringed away from the substance and the woman in the green dress grabbed your face. She looked at your pupils before rolling her eyes.

“One, she has a concussion, you idiot!” she shouted at him.

“We’re almost there, can she make it to there?” he responded. She shook her head and smiled encouragingly at you.

Suddenly the car jerked and swerved and slammed into a forklift. The driver’s throat was impaled the end of the forklift inches from your own face.

“Go, go, go, go!” One shouted. The woman in the green dress grabbed your arm pulling you out of the car. She dragged you towards a larger van and out jumped two men.

The younger one held up his gun and started speaking. “What happened to…”

Then his eyes met yours and everything froze. No. That wasn’t possible. He was dead. He had to be.

“Y/N?” he murmured as you were dragged by him.

Then your eyes rolled into the back of your head and you were enveloped back into the black that had started your day.

Breath in. Breathe out.

You’re back on top of the building in Ukraine, jumping from roof to roof.

Breath in, Breathe out.

He’s there, smiling back at you every now and then.

Breath in. Breathe out.

Then he’s climbing across and the string breaks.

Breath in. Breathe out.

He’s falling. And you run to catch him.

Breath in. Breathe out.

The last thing you see is his green eyes staring at you as he falls. His green eyes. His eyes.

Breath in. Breathe out.

Your eyes fly open and you sit up breathing heavily. Once again, your arms are tied down to a table and your legs are bound too. Your wrists are sore from the rope burns and the throbbing in your head, though now dulled, is still ever-present.

“Hey, hey, hey calm down. You’re okay.” It’s him. All you see is his eyes as he stares at you. Your breathing picks back up and you struggle to believe what you’re seeing. He comes over to you and places his hand on your arm, trying to get you to calm down. “You need to breathe! You have a pretty bad concussion, love.”

“You want me to breath?” you growl at him, suddenly becoming angry. “I’m in pain, I was kidnapped TWICE, and now my supposed dead boyfriend is suddenly still alive and well and you want me to breath?” He looks down sheepishly rubbing your arm gently. “Why am I tied down.”

“Because we have some questions we would like to ask you.” The man from before, One, walks into the room. You glared at him.

“And why should I answer you?” you shot back.

“Oo, a feisty one, I get why you like her, Four.”

“Who’s four?” you asked, glancing up at Billy. He bit his lip and moved away to stand behind One.

“That’s me… now.” He replied.

You stared at him, still feeling so many emotions. You had to asses your situation. You didn’t have many options. You were hurt in and in an unknown territory.

“If I answer your questions, you answer mine,” you finished on, looking back at One.

One glanced at Four before looked back at you. “Fine, but we go first.” You shrugged and sat back. “Who was that man?”

“Honestly, I have no idea,” you admitted. “I was knocked out and ended up in his office this morning.”

One was silent for a moment, rubbing his chin. “And what did he want from you?”

You looked at Billy, or Four, or whatever his name was. “He wanted to know how I knew him and If I knew where he was.”

“And what did you tell him?” One asked.

Your gaze with Billy never wavered. “That he was dead.”

Billy broke eye contact, looking down. One glanced over at Four before turning back to you.

“Anything else?”

“Just something with a Turkistanian Dictator and some plot against him or something,” you explained.

One nodded turning to Four who turned with him. They murmured to each other for a while, leaving you sitting and feeling ignored. You needed to talk to him. You needed to see him.

“Are you done?” you called, bringing their attention back to you. One nodded and came over to undo your binds. “These were a little unnecessary,” you grumbled pulling your sore wrists up and rubbing them. They were raw and scarring already. Once One was done, he patted Four on his shoulder.

“I’m assuming you’d like to talk to him alone,” he asked. You just nodded. “Fine, you have 10 minutes.” And he left.

Four looked at you, his tongue darting out to wet his lips, hands crossed over his chest. You slide off the table and approached him.

“I’m mad,” you told him simply. “I’m really mad.”

“I know and I’m sorry, but you were never supposed to –”

“Never supposed to be here?” You finished. “Nope I was just supposed to keep on living like you were dead and I had lost you.” He didn’t say anything, his eyes remaining on yours. “Where the fuck have you been?”

“Dead,” He stated simply.

“Fuck you.”

“(Y/N), please.”

“Fuck you, Billy.”

He shuddered at his name, his eyes finally revealing his feelings.

“I fell.”

You scoffed. “I recall. The worst day of my life.”

Billy thinned his lips and continued. “I fell, and One found me. He offered me a job that paid a lot.”

“And that was it…” you felt your heart break more than it did that day. You felt yourself backing away from him. “You found a better offer and left me behind like I was nothing.”

“(Y/N), you don’t understand”

“NO! You don’t understand!” you shouted at him, standing taller. “I went looking for you. To find something, a body, a jacket, anything! But you were gone! And I was alone! The team left and I was alone.” You felt tears begin to well in your eyes and you struggled to continue. “You were dead, Billy! I mourned you for months. The best fucking thing to ever happen to me dead in an instant.” You let out a choked laugh. “And here you were, living it up because you found a better offer.”

He grabbed you and pulled you close to his chest. At first you resisted, trying to push yourself away from him. But you were so tired and weak, and you missed him. Even though you were mad, you missed him. So, you let yourself cry into his chest, reveling in his warmth.

“I’m so sorry,” he mumbled into your hair. “I missed you so much.” You just let out another sob, grabbing onto his shirt. “I did this for us. I was going to get the money and come back to you. I promise.”

“You can never understand how I felt.” Your voice was small now, but still angry. “I was depressed. I was angry with myself for not getting to you sooner. I wanted to see you more than anything. But you were gone.”

“I know, I know,” he sighed, relinquishing you. “When I saw you, bloody and weak, with Five. I was shocked to say the least.” He brushed your hair. “And I held you the whole way here. You were so fragile and tired… but you were in my arms again.”

“And now what?” you asked, looking down. “I go back to pretending you're dead, you're gonna wipe my memory or something.” You felt more tears roll down your cheeks at the thought of having him dead again. You’d just got him back and now you were going to lose him again.

He looked out where One was most likely standing. “I-I don’t know…”

You watched him carefully as he reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind your ear. Letting his finger drag along your cheek.

“I don’t want to lose you again,” you said, quietly, reaching up to grab his arm. He gave you a small smile and pulled you back into him, this time you came willingly. You wrapped your arms around him and took a deep breath.

You stayed like that for a while, only broken up with One walked in with Five again. Five smiled at you as you stepped back from Four.

“I’m Five,” she introduced, holding out her hand. You gave her a small smile and shook. “I’ve got some time to help your wrists, change your other wraps and such.”

You glanced at your wrists and smiled at her. “Sure.” It was at least good to know that they weren’t going to kill you… yet. You looked over at Billy again who nodded at you and you followed her out. This left One and Four standing in the trailer, both watching the two women leave.

“She can’t stay here,” One said simply.

“She can help I, I promise,” Four insisted turning to face One. “She helped me before, and she’s a great medic.”

One stared at him, shaking his head. “She’s a liability.”

“She’s good,” Four finished. “And she’ll be a great Eight.”

One made a face, groaning loudly as he rubbed his hand over his face. He was quiet for a while, clearly thinking.

“If she messes up once, she’s gone,” One stated. “But we could use another medic.”

Four couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. He pumped his arm and rushed out the door. One just shook his head before following more slowly.

“So, how long have you known Four?” Five asked, rubbing some ointment on your wrists.

“Since we were young. We worked together in a small crime ring,” you explained. “He and I… we’ve been through a lot.”

“I can tell he cares about you,” she admitted. “You should’ve seen his face when he saw you. Pale as paper.” You let out a short laugh and she smiled at you. “It was a little bit of a shock to see him, yeah?”

“That’s an understatement,” you grumbled. “You can’t even imagine.”

She didn’t say anything, just continued to wrap your wrists.

“I’m sorry you got caught up in this,” she apologized. “Nasty business this is.”

“I’ve dealt with worse,” you admitted. “Bi- I mean Four has a tendency to get hurt easily.”

She nodded. “Alright, you’re all done.”

You rubbed your wrappings, sighing softly at some of the relieved pain. She cleaned up her station and nodded towards the door.

“You coming?” she offered.

“I’ll be there in a minute… I just have to think,” you told her. She nodded and let you sit by yourself. This day had been a lot. From the pain and confusion to the absolute anger at seeing your long-lost boyfriend. But still, you were incredibly happy to see him, even if he left you alone for over a year. You were beyond happy to see him actually. But you had no clue what to make of all this. What was going to happen to you now that you knew about this secret underground… whatever. Just as you were wondering this, Four walked into the trailer.

“Hey, love. How are you feeling?” he asked, strutting over to you. You raised an eyebrow and help up your wrists, now soundly wrapped.

“They hurt less now, but my heads still beating like a fucking drum,” you told him. He picked up your wrists and put a kiss on both. Then he leaned in and kissed your forehead.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, lips brushing against your forehead again. “I don’t want you to have to go through that again…”

You brushed him off, resting your hand on his arm. “I’ve had worse. They’ll heal.”

He held you again, for the third time in a year and you didn’t want him to let go. It felt like goodbye, and you didn’t want to say goodbye.

“I talked to One,” he said, still not letting you go. You closed your eyes, ready for the inevitable. You had to have your memory erased, or they had to kill you, or you had to leave and never see Billy again. “He said you could stay… if you’d like.”

That you were not expecting. You pulled back enough to look up at him. A smile danced on his face as he gauged your reaction.

“Become dead? Join your little team?” you clarified. He nodded, looping his arms around your back. You looked down, not quite sure how to respond. “I-I don’t know.”

“C’mon! It’ll be just like old times!” he insisted. He pulled you closer and brought his lips right next to your ear. “We can finally be together again.”

You brushed your nose against his, closing your eyes as you rested your forehead against his. Was this really what you wanted? The team seemed close, more like a family than your last team had. And he was here. Everything you wanted was here. But at what cost? Your life, your friends, your family. Who were you kidding? You didn’t have any of those things.

“Fuck…” you gigged. “I guess I’m in.”

He pulled back and smiled. That stupid goofy smile that you’d missed so much. Then he kissed you. He kissed you for the first time in over a year. And fuck it felt amazing. His lips were so perfect and everything about it was amazing. The fireworks in your head were exploding over and over again. You couldn’t help the smile that came over your face as you kissed him.

“Welcome to the team, Eight,” he chuckled, kissing your jaw down to your lips again.

#6 underground #Four x reader #Billy x reader #Billy/Four x reader #6 Underground imagines #ben hardy x read #ben hardy

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 3 years

Link

Timothy Snyder [don't miss a word]

When Donald Trump stood before his followers on Jan. 6 and urged them to march on the United States Capitol, he was doing what he had always done. He never took electoral democracy seriously nor accepted the legitimacy of its American version. Even when he won, in 2016, he insisted that the election was fraudulent — that millions of false votes were cast for his opponent. In 2020, in the knowledge that he was trailing Joseph R. Biden in the polls, he spent months claiming that the presidential election would be rigged and signaling that he would not accept the results if they did not favor him. He wrongly claimed on Election Day that he had won and then steadily hardened his rhetoric: With time, his victory became a historic landslide and the various conspiracies that denied it ever more sophisticated and implausible.

Of course this did make a kind of sense: If the election really had been stolen, as senators and congressmen were themselves suggesting, then how could Congress be allowed to move forward? For some Republicans, the invasion of the Capitol must have been a shock, or even a lesson. For the breakers, however, it may have been a taste of the future. Afterward, eight senators and more than 100 representatives voted for the lie that had forced them to flee their chambers.Post-truth is pre-fascism, and Trump has been our post-truth president. When we give up on truth, we concede power to those with the wealth and charisma to create spectacle in its place. Without agreement about some basic facts, citizens cannot form the civil society that would allow them to defend themselves. If we lose the institutions that produce facts that are pertinent to us, then we tend to wallow in attractive abstractions and fictions.

Truth defends itself particularly poorly when there is not very much of it around, and the era of Trump — like the era of Vladimir Putin in Russia — is one of the decline of local news. Social media is no substitute: It supercharges the mental habits by which we seek emotional stimulation and comfort, which means losing the distinction between what feels true and what actually is true.Post-truth wears away the rule of law and invites a regime of myth. These last four years, scholars have discussed the legitimacy and value of invoking fascism in reference to Trumpian propaganda. One comfortable position has been to label any such effort as a direct comparison and then to treat such comparisons as taboo. More productively, the philosopher Jason Stanley has treated fascism as a phenomenon, as a series of patterns that can be observed not only in interwar Europe but beyond it.

My own view is that greater knowledge of the past, fascist or otherwise, allows us to notice and conceptualize elements of the present that we might otherwise disregard and to think more broadly about future possibilities. It was clear to me in October that Trump’s behavior presaged a coup, and I said so in print; this is not because the present repeats the past, but because the past enlightens the present.Like historical fascist leaders, Trump has presented himself as the single source of truth. His use of the term “fake news” echoed the Nazi smear Lügenpresse (“lying press”); like the Nazis, he referred to reporters as “enemies of the people.” Like Adolf Hitler, he came to power at a moment when the conventional press had taken a beating; the financial crisis of 2008 did to American newspapers what the Great Depression did to German ones. The Nazis thought that they could use radio to replace the old pluralism of the newspaper; Trump tried to do the same with Twitter.

This lie was big in every pertinent respect: not as big as “Jews run the world,” but big enough. The significance of the matter at hand was great: the right to rule the most powerful country in the world and the efficacy and trustworthiness of its succession procedures. The level of mendacity was profound. The claim was not only wrong, but it was also made in bad faith, amid unreliable sources. It challenged not just evidence but logic: Just how could (and why would) an election have been rigged against a Republican president but not against Republican senators and representatives? Trump had to speak, absurdly, of a “Rigged (for President) Election.”

The force of a big lie resides in its demand that many other things must be believed or disbelieved. To make sense of a world in which the 2020 presidential election was stolen requires distrust not only of reporters and of experts but also of local, state and federal government institutions, from poll workers to elected officials, Homeland Security and all the way to the Supreme Court. It brings with it, of necessity, a conspiracy theory: Imagine all the people who must have been in on such a plot and all the people who would have had to work on the cover-up.Trump’s electoral fiction floats free of verifiable reality. It is defended not so much by facts as by claims that someone else has made some claims. The sensibility is that something must be wrong because I feel it to be wrong, and I know others feel the same way. When political leaders such as Ted Cruz or Jim Jordan spoke like this, what they meant was: You believe my lies, which compels me to repeat them. Social media provides an infinity of apparent evidence for any conviction, especially one seemingly held by a president.

On the surface, a conspiracy theory makes its victim look strong: It sees Trump as resisting the Democrats, the Republicans, the Deep State, the pedophiles, the Satanists. More profoundly, however, it inverts the position of the strong and the weak. Trump’s focus on alleged “irregularities” and “contested states” comes down to cities where Black people live and vote. At bottom, the fantasy of fraud is that of a crime committed by Black people against white people.It’s not just that electoral fraud by African-Americans against Donald Trump never happened. It is that it is the very opposite of what happened, in 2020 and in every American election. As always, Black people waited longer than others to vote and were more likely to have their votes challenged. They were more likely to be suffering or dying from Covid-19, and less likely to be able to take time away from work. The historical protection of their right to vote has been removed by the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in Shelby County v. Holder, and states have rushed to pass measures of a kind that historically reduce voting by the poor and communities of color.

The Democrats, today, have become a coalition, one that does better than Republicans with female and nonwhite voters and collects votes from both labor unions and the college-educated. Yet it’s not quite right to contrast this coalition with a monolithic Republican Party. Right now, the Republican Party is a coalition of two types of people: those who would game the system (most of the politicians, some of the voters) and those who dream of breaking it (a few of the politicians, many of the voters). In January 2021, this was visible as the difference between those Republicans who defended the present system on the grounds that it favored them and those who tried to upend it.In the four decades since the election of Ronald Reagan, Republicans have overcome the tension between the gamers and the breakers by governing in opposition to government, or by calling elections a revolution (the Tea Party), or by claiming to oppose elites. The breakers, in this arrangement, provide cover for the gamers, putting forth an ideology that distracts from the basic reality that government under Republicans is not made smaller but simply diverted to serve a handful of interests.

But the president, for all his lawsuits and entreaties and threats to public officials, could not engineer a situation that ended with the right people doing the wrong thing. Trump could make some voters believe that he had won the 2020 election, but he was unable to bring institutions along with his big lie. And he could bring his supporters to Washington and send them on a rampage in the Capitol, but none appeared to have any very clear idea of how this was to work or what their presence would accomplish. It is hard to think of a comparable insurrectionary moment, when a building of great significance was seized, that involved so much milling around.

The breakers and the gamers then saw a different world ahead, where the big lie was either a treasure to be had or a danger to be avoided. The breakers had no choice but to rush to be first to claim to believe in it. Because the breakers Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz must compete to claim the brimstone and bile, the gamers were forced to reveal their own hand, and the division within the Republican coalition became visible on Jan. 6. The invasion of the Capitol only reinforced this division. To be sure, a few senators withdrew their objections, but Cruz and Hawley moved forward anyway, along with six other senators. More than 100 representatives doubled down on the big lie. Some, like Matt Gaetz, even added their own flourishes, such as the claim that the mob was led not by Trump’s supporters but by his opponents.Trump is, for now, the martyr in chief, the high priest of the big lie. He is the leader of the breakers, at least in the minds of his supporters. By now, the gamers do not want Trump around. Discredited in his last weeks, he is useless; shorn of the obligations of the presidency, he will become embarrassing again, much as he was in 2015. Unable to provide cover for their gamesmanship, he will be irrelevant to their daily purposes. But the breakers have an even stronger reason to see Trump disappear: It is impossible to inherit from someone who is still around. Seizing Trump’s big lie might appear to be a gesture of support. In fact it expresses a wish for his political death. Transforming the myth from one about Trump to one about the nation will be easier when he is out of the way.

As Cruz and Hawley may learn, to tell the big lie is to be owned by it. Just because you have sold your soul does not mean that you have driven a hard bargain. Hawley shies from no level of hypocrisy; the son of a banker, educated at Stanford University and Yale Law School, he denounces elites. Insofar as Cruz was thought to have a principle, it was that of states’ rights, which Trump’s calls to action brazenly violated. A joint statement Cruz issued about the senators’ challenge to the vote nicely captured the post-truth aspect of the whole: It never alleged that there was fraud, only that there were allegations of fraud. Allegations of allegations, allegations all the way down.The big lie requires commitment. When Republican gamers do not exhibit enough of that, Republican breakers call them “RINOs”: Republicans in name only. This term once suggested a lack of ideological commitment. It now means an unwillingness to throw away an election. The gamers, in response, close ranks around the Constitution and speak of principles and traditions. The breakers must all know (with the possible exception of the Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville) that they are participating in a sham, but they will have an audience of tens of millions who do not.

If Trump remains present in American political life, he will surely repeat his big lie incessantly. Hawley and Cruz and the other breakers share responsibility for where this leads. Cruz and Hawley seem to be running for president. Yet what does it mean to be a candidate for office and denounce voting? If you claim that the other side has cheated, and your supporters believe you, they will expect you to cheat yourself. By defending Trump’s big lie on Jan. 6, they set a precedent: A Republican presidential candidate who loses an election should be appointed anyway by Congress. Republicans in the future, at least breaker candidates for president, will presumably have a Plan A, to win and win, and a Plan B, to lose and win. No fraud is necessary; only allegations that there are allegations of fraud. Truth is to be replaced by spectacle, facts by faith.Trump’s coup attempt of 2020-21, like other failed coup attempts, is a warning for those who care about the rule of law and a lesson for those who do not. His pre-fascism revealed a possibility for American politics. For a coup to work in 2024, the breakers will require something that Trump never quite had: an angry minority, organized for nationwide violence, ready to add intimidation to an election. Four years of amplifying a big lie just might get them this. To claim that the other side stole an election is to promise to steal one yourself. It is also to claim that the other side deserves to be punished.Informed observers inside and outside government agree that right-wing white supremacism is the greatest terrorist threat to the United States.

Gun sales in 2020 hit an astonishing high. History shows that political violence follows when prominent leaders of major political parties openly embrace paranoia.Our big lie is typically American, wrapped in our odd electoral system, depending upon our particular traditions of racism. Yet our big lie is also structurally fascist, with its extreme mendacity, its conspiratorial thinking, its reversal of perpetrators and victims and its implication that the world is divided into us and them. To keep it going for four years courts terrorism and assassination.

When that violence comes, the breakers will have to react. If they embrace it, they become the fascist faction. The Republican Party will be divided, at least for a time. One can of course imagine a dismal reunification: A breaker candidate loses a narrow presidential election in November 2024 and cries fraud, the Republicans win both houses of Congress and rioters in the street, educated by four years of the big lie, demand what they see as justice. Would the gamers stand on principle if those were the circumstances of Jan. 6, 2025?To be sure, this moment is also a chance. It is possible that a divided Republican Party might better serve American democracy; that the gamers, separated from the breakers, might start to think of policy as a way to win elections. It is very likely that the Biden-Harris administration will have an easier first few months than expected; perhaps obstructionism will give way, at least among a few Republicans and for a short time, to a moment of self-questioning.

Politicians who want Trumpism to end have a simple way forward: Tell the truth about the election.America will not survive the big lie just because a liar is separated from power. It will need a thoughtful repluralization of media and a commitment to facts as a public good. The racism structured into every aspect of the coup attempt is a call to heed our own history. Serious attention to the past helps us to see risks but also suggests future possibility. We cannot be a democratic republic if we tell lies about race, big or small.Democracy is not about minimizing the vote nor ignoring it, neither a matter of gaming nor of breaking a system, but of accepting the equality of others, heeding their voices and counting their votes.

#trump #donald j #political #NYTimes #insurrection #January 6 2020 #corrupt GOP #Criminal GOP #analysis #sedition

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Saturday, April 24, 2021

Burned out by the pandemic, 3 in 10 health-care workers consider leaving the profession (Washington Post) It’s been months since Justin Meschler, 48, practiced medicine. And he wonders if he ever will again. He quit his job as an anesthesiologist during the pandemic last spring when fear began seeping into every part of his life. And what began as a few months off has now turned into something much longer. “I feel guilty for leaving. I think about the others who stayed on. I think about the patients I could have helped. I feel like I abandoned them,” Meschler said. “But mostly, I feel relieved.” A year into the pandemic, many others are joining Meschler at the door—an exodus fueled by burnout, trauma and disillusionment. According to a Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll, roughly 3 in 10 health-care workers have weighed leaving their profession. More than half are burned out. And about 6 in 10 say stress from the pandemic has harmed their mental health. Many traced their disillusionment to how the pandemic exposed and magnified the broken parts of America’s health-care system. “You look at staffing, preparedness, what the priorities were for many hospitals during the crisis, and it’s clear the industry is driven by profits rather than well-being of patients or health workers,” Meschler said from his home in Louisville, Colo. “It makes you question the whole system.”

House Democrats pass D.C. statehood, launching bill into uncharted territory (Washington Post) For the second time in history, the House passed legislation Thursday to make the District of Columbia the nation’s 51st state, bolstering momentum for a once-illusory goal that has become a pivotal tenet of the Democratic Party’s voting rights platform. The bill now heads to the Senate. But the political odds remain formidable. Republicans, who hold 50 seats, have branded the bill as a Democratic power grab because it would create two Senate seats for the deep-blue city. Not even all Senate Democrats have backed the bill as the clock ticks toward the 2022 midterm election. Voting rights groups have described a city of second-class citizens, a plurality of whom are Black, living in the nation’s capital without any say in the nation’s laws.

Bringing Up Baby, And Charging Them For It (NPR) Foster care is a public service that federal law and all 50 state laws require the government to pay for. Foster care agencies are funded through a web of federal and state grants and subsidies, which, again, taxpayers are supposed to pay for. 10% of children in the US foster care system are entitled to Social Security (SS) benefits, either because their parents have died or because they have a physical or mental disability that would leave them in poverty without financial help. This money—typically more than $700 per month—is considered the children’s property under federal law. Congress never intended that the SS benefits owed these children would be a funding stream for their foster care services. The Marshall Project teamed up with NPR to expose how foster care agencies in at least 36 states and Washington, DC have been appropriating money owed to children in foster care to pay for the very services the government is supposed to provide with taxpayer dollars. Agencies do it by combing through their case files to find kids entitled to these benefits, then applying to SS to become each child’s financial representative, a process permitted by federal regulations. Once approved, the agencies take the money, almost always without notifying the children, their loved ones, or their lawyers. Child Trends research shows that state foster care agencies collected more than $165 million from foster children in 2018 alone. And SS data indicates the number is likely much higher.

Biden to recognize Armenian genocide (Foreign Policy) According to multiple reports, U.S. President Joe Biden is to break a long-standing taboo this Saturday by officially recognizing the massacre of 1 million ethnic Armenian by the Ottoman Empire as a genocide. Biden had commemorated the Armenian genocide as a presidential candidate last year, but Saturday’s proclamation would make him the first sitting president to do so. The announcement is certain to anger NATO ally Turkey, which disputes the historical record and the use of the term.

Mexican mobile data law (Foreign Policy) On Tuesday, a judge blocked part of a new Mexican law that requires cellphone users to submit biometric data, such as fingerprints and eye scans. The measure had drawn pushback from privacy and consumer safety advocates. The judge wrote there was no causal relationship between such data gathering and better investigations of crimes—one official justification for the new law. It will now face further examination in the courts.

Human excrement ‘increasingly serious problem’ as Britain opens up but many bathrooms don’t (Washington Post) With Britain slowly easing its way out of its third nationwide lockdown, people across the country are enjoying a return to a sense of normalcy. Shops and gyms have reopened and parks are once again heaving with groups of up to six people—for many, it’s a welcome step forward and a joy to be back socializing outdoors. But what happens when nature calls? The issue of where to relieve oneself in a world where so many facilities have been shut in recent months has long been a concern in Britain. Many public bathrooms, in particular, were closed during the various lockdowns and remain unavailable. Across the country, police patrols have been stepped up in a bid to deter people from urinating in bushes, on beaches and on private allotments. The problem isn’t just in parks, with towns and cities complaining that people spending time outdoors had no choice but to defecate in the street—much to the horror of local residents who said the odor was so bad on certain streets they were unable to open their windows and had to clean up after others with bleach and water. The lack of facilities has also meant people were unable to wash their hands—an instruction the government has repeatedly used in its messaging to curb the spread of infections over the past year.

Many in Western Europe and U.S. Want Economic Changes as Pandemic Continues (Pew Research Center) The coronavirus outbreak has caused, among other things, a debate around how to best rebuild national economies ravaged by the pandemic. Across the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, significant shares believe their economic system needs either major changes or a complete overhaul, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in the late fall of 2020. Few in the four countries say their economy does not need any changes. The desire for change is strongest in France, where seven-in-ten believe the economic system in their country needs either major changes or to be completely reformed. Half share this view in the U.S., UK and Germany, while around four-in-ten in these three nations say minor changes are warranted. Few would opt for no adjustments to the economic system, ranging from 3% in France to 12% in the U.S. Of the five policies tested, the idea of government-sponsored job and skills training for workers garners the highest shares. Sizable shares in these countries also believe it is very important for their government to implement policies targeted at helping those struggling financially, building more public housing, and increasing government benefits to the poor, all three of which are of high import for around four-in-ten or more in each country.

Russia orders troops back to base after buildup near Ukraine (Reuters) Russia announced on Thursday it was ordering troops back to base from the area near the border with Ukraine, apparently calling an end to a buildup of tens of thousands of soldiers that had alarmed the West. A confirmed pullout of the troops brought in on top of the permanent contingent will likely be welcomed by Western countries that had been expressing alarm at the prospect of further Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine. Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian government in the region since 2014. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said he had ordered troops involved in exercises to return to their bases by May 1, as they had completed what he called an “inspection” in the border area.

US troops in Afghanistan begin packing gear in pullout prep (AP) The U.S. military has begun shipping equipment and winding down contracts with local service providers ahead of the May 1 start of the final phase of its military pullout from Afghanistan, a U.S. Defense Department official said Thursday. The pullout under U.S. President Joe Biden marks the end of America’s longest war after a 20-year military engagement. Currently, some 2,500 U.S. soldiers and about 7,000 allied forces are still in Afghanistan. In February last year, the U.S. military began closing its smaller bases. In mid-April, the Biden administration announced that the final phase of the withdrawal would begin May 1 and be completed before Sept. 11. Since then, the military has been shipping equipment and winding down local contracts for services such as trash pickup and maintenance work, the U.S. official told The Associated Press. The Taliban, meanwhile, were non-committal when asked by the AP whether the insurgents would attack departing U.S. and NATO troops. “It’s too early for these issues, nothing can be said about the future,” said Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem.

Indian coronavirus cases surge as health system staggers (Reuters) India reported the world’s highest daily tally of coronavirus infections for a second day on Friday, surpassing 330,000 new cases, as it struggles with a health system overwhelmed by patients and plagued by accidents. Deaths in the past 24 hours also jumped to a record 2,263, the health ministry said, while officials across northern and western India, including the capital, New Delhi, warned most hospitals were full and running out of oxygen. The surge in cases came as a fire in a hospital in a suburb of Mumbai treating COVID-19 patients killed 13 people, the latest accident to hit a facility crowded with virus sufferers.

Violence in Jerusalem (Foreign Policy) Dozens were injured in Jerusalem on Thursday night as anti-Arab protests led by far-right Jewish activists turned violent. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported 105 people injured in the clashes as Haaretz reported more than 30 were arrests. The violence follows a week of assaults on Arab Israelis and Palestinians by Jewish Israeli residents. Tensions rose between the communities last week after videos of Palestinians assaulting Jews were posted on TikTok.

Crew Of ‘Ever Given’ Could Be Stuck On The Big Boat For Years (Jalopnik) The news cycle may have moved on from the Ever Given, but the Ever Given still hasn’t moved on from its holding spot in the Great Bitter Lake in the middle of the Suez Canal after almost a month. The crew still stuck on the ship is very concerned about this, as there seems to be no sign that an agreement will be reached between Egypt and the Ever Given’s owners any time soon. Until there is an agreement in place, the crew is stuck there, and they could be for years. Apparently, it isn’t unusual for crew members to get trapped on ships caught in the middle of international shipping disputes. The Guardian details the fate of one sailor who has been the lone guardian of a ship for the last two years in the Gulf of Suez only 50 miles south of where the Ever Given has been held since it was freed back in March. He’s only allowed off the ship for two hour intervals to get food and water. The crew is stuck in the middle of a legal battle between the Suez Canal Authority, which is basically a stand-in for the Egyptian government, the owners of the Ever Given, Japanese company Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd and the operators of the ship, a German company called Bernhard Schulte. The SCA is demanding $916 million in damages due to the blockage while Shoei Kisen disputes those charges. Until the company pays up, the government of Egypt is holding on to the ship. The 26 crew members are reportedly in good spirits, but apprehensive according to representatives from the National Union of Seafarers of India, the trade union representing the Ever Given’s crew.

#headlines #news

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back-and-totheleft · 3 years

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“I’m not sure I’ve modified my thinking”

“It’s a strange place, England,” Oliver Stone informs me at the start of our Zoom call. “You’ve managed to make it worse than it was,” he says, speaking from his home in Los Angeles. “You’ve turned it into World War Two with your attitudes over there. The English love punishment, it’s part of their make-up.”

You sure know how to break the ice, Mr Stone. It’s a slightly galling accusation, given that he has hitched his wagon to Russia, hardly a paragon of enlightenment. The New York-born writer-director has never shied from ruffling feathers, though. Stone has taken on the American establishment to thrilling effect in his movies, from Platoon to Born on the Fourth of July, JFK to W, Salvador to Snowden, and still emerged with three Oscars. And he has admiringly interviewed a string of figures whose relations with Uncle Sam have rarely been cosy, including Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez and Vladimir Putin. Those had more mixed receptions, as has his support for Julian Assange.

Yet at 74 he is still a thorn in the side of the military-industrial complex and is set to remain one for some time, having just had his second shot of Covid vaccine. This being Stone, he got his jab in Russia. A recent trial showed the Sputnik V vaccine he was given to have 92 per cent efficacy and he’s palpably delighted. Angry too, of course. “It’s strange how the US ignores that. It’s a strange bias they have against all things Russian,” he says. “I do believe it’s your best vaccine on the market, actually,” he adds, sounding weirdly Trump-like.

If his bullishness is still intact, Stone reveals a more vulnerable side in his recent memoir, Chasing the Light. The book, which he discusses in an online Q&A tonight, goes a long way to explaining his distrust of government, society and, well, pretty much everything. There are visceral accounts of him fighting in Vietnam, and fighting to get Salvador and Platoon made. “The war was lodged away in a compartment, and I made films about it,” he says. “Sometimes I have a dream that I’ve been drafted and sent back there.”

The crucial event in the book, though, is his parents’ divorce when he was 15. Stone realises now that his conservative Jewish-American father and glamorous French mother were ill-suited. Both had affairs. What really stung was the way he was told about their split: over the phone by a family friend while he was at boarding school. “It was very cold, very English,” he says. “I say English because everything about boarding school invokes the old England.” He’s really got it in for us today.

With no siblings, he says, “I had no family after that divorce. It was over. The three of us split up.” His world view stemmed from his parents being in denial about their incompatibility, he writes in the book: “Children like me are born out of that original lie. And nobody can ever be trusted again.”

That disillusionment took a few years to show itself. “All of a sudden, I just had a collapse,” Stone says. He had been admitted to Yale University but his father’s alma mater suddenly felt like part of the problem. He felt suicidal and sidestepped those thoughts by enlisting to fight in Vietnam, putting the choice of him dying into other hands.

The Stone in the book was described by one reviewer as his most sympathetic character. “It’s true probably because it’s a novel,” he says. Well, technically it’s an autobiography, but it’s a telling mistake. Fact and fiction can blur in his work, from the demonisation of Turks in Midnight Express (he wrote the screenplay) to the conspiracy theories in JFK.

Writing the book allowed him to put himself into the story, something he says he’s never been able to do in his films. He has tried. He wrote a screenplay, White Lies, in which a child of divorce repeats his parents’ mistakes, as Stone has. “I had two divorces in my life [from the Lebanese-born Najwa Sarkis and Elizabeth Burkit Cox, who worked as a “spiritual advisor” on his films] and I’m on my third marriage, which I’m very happy in.” He and Sun-jung Jung, who is from South Korea, have been together for more than 25 years. They have a grown-up daughter, Tara, and he has two sons, Sean and Michael, from his marriage to Cox.

White Lies is on ice for now. “It’s hard to get those kinds of things done,” Stone says wearily. Will he make another feature? It’s been documentaries recently, the last two on the Ukraine. “I don’t know. It’s a question of energy. In the old days, there would be a studio you’d have a relationship with, and they’d have to trust you to a certain degree. And that doesn’t exist any more.”

He thinks back to the big beasts of his early years. Alan Parker, who directed Midnight Express; John Daly, who produced Salvador and Platoon; Robert Bolt, who taught him about screenwriting. “Those three Englishmen had a lot to do with my successes,” he says. I think he feels bad about all the limey bashing. “John was a tough cockney, but I liked him a lot.” He liked him more than Parker, whom he describes as “cold” with a “serious chip on his shoulder.” He smiles. “Sure. Alan did a good job with Midnight Express, though.”

You wonder if Netflix could come to Stone’s rescue. They have given generous backing to big-name directors, from David Fincher to Martin Scorsese, Stone’s old tutor at NYU film school. Surely they would welcome him? “Well, that’s why you’re not in charge! Netflix is very engineering driven. Subject matter such as [White Lies] might register low on a demographic.”

Isn’t he also working on a JFK documentary, Destiny Betrayed? That could do better with the Netflix algorithms. “I’m having problems with that too. Americans were so concerned with Trump, I don’t know that they wanted to hear about some of the facts behind the Kennedy killing. They don’t recognise that there’s a connection between 1963 and now, that pretty much all the screws came loose when they did that in ’63.” He smiles. “I know you think I’m nuts.”

Well no, but you do wonder at his unwavering conviction that there was a conspiracy to murder Kennedy, probably involving the CIA. JFK is a big reason why a majority of Americans believe in a conspiracy and, according to Stone, led to the establishment of the Assassination Records Review Board, which he claims is “the only piece of legislation in this country that ever came out of a film.”

Yet several serious studies, including a 1,600-page book, Reclaiming History, by the former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, conclude that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. That book accused Stone of committing a “cultural crime” by distorting facts in JFK. “I feel like I’m in the dock with Bugliosi. I didn’t like his book at all,” Stone says. “Believe me, you cannot walk out of [his forthcoming documentary] and say Oswald did it alone. If you do, I think you’re on mushrooms.”

Stone knows whereof he speaks regarding psychedelics. On returning from Vietnam he was “a little bit radical” in his behaviour, he says: drugs, womanising, hellraising. He recently took LSD for the first time in years. “It was wonderful,” he says. He hallucinated that he was “moving from island to island on a little boat”.

What was radical in the Seventies can be problematic now. He has been accused of inappropriate behaviour by the model Carrie Stevens and the actresses Patricia Arquette and Melissa Gilbert. “As far as I know I never forced anyone to do anything they didn’t want to do,” he says. Has he modified the way he behaves around women? “Oh sure, no question.”

At the same time, he is disturbed by “the scolding going on, the shaming culture. I don’t agree with any of that. It’s like the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It scares the shit out of me. I do think the politically correct point of view will never be mine.”

He’s not a slavish follower of conspiracy theories — QAnon “sounds like nonsense”, he says, as was the theory that Donald Trump was “a Manchurian candidate for the Russians. That was a horrible thing to do and it hurt that presidency a lot. I’m not an admirer of Trump by any means, but he was picked on from day one.”

What does he make of Joe Biden? “I voted for him, not because I liked him, but as an alternative to Trump’s disasters. He’s got a far more merciful humanitarian side. But he also has a history of warmongering.” Fake news, he says, has “always happened”, in the east and west, on the left and the right. “I mean, back in the Cold War, the US was saying Russia was lying and Russia was saying the US was lying. Each one of these wars the US has been involved in was based on lies.”

It sounds as if Stone has been on the Russian Kool-Aid himself. He is making a documentary, A Bright Future, about climate change that advocates pursuing nuclear power in the short term, and has visited some Russian nuclear plants. They are “very state-of-the-art,” he says. “The US is not really pursuing the big plants, the way Russia and China are. I believe in renewables, but they’re not going to be able to handle the capacity when India and Africa and all these countries come online wanting electricity.”

Putin liked the interviews Stone did with him in 2017, he says. “I think they contributed to his election numbers.” Wasn’t he too easy on the Russian leader? “That’s what some say. But I got his ire up. I did ask him some tough questions about succession. ‘I think you should leave’ — that kind of stuff. The pressure that Russia is under from both England and the US is enormous,” he adds. “Unless you’re there I don’t know that you understand that. Because you take the English point of view, and they have been very anti-Soviet since 1920. You talk about fake news — I feel that way about MI5 and MI6.”

You can’t help but admire Stone’s conviction. If he’s modified his behaviour that’s probably a good thing, but as he says, “I’m not so sure I’ve modified my thinking. I express myself freely. I don’t want to feel muzzled.” Whatever you think of him, be grateful he hasn’t been.

-Ed Potton, “You talk about fake news. I feel that way about MI5 and MI6,” The Times of London, Feb 8 2021 [x]

#oliver stone #chasing the light #the times of london #ptsd #the vietnam war #russia #Trump #joe biden #politics #vaccine

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tabloidtoc · 3 years

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OK, January 4

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Ashton Kutcher haunted by his mistakes

Page 2: Contents

Page 4: Jennifer Garner ready for romance -- Jennifer has proven she’s fine on her own but she’s eager for her happy ending and has even set her sights on some of Hollywood’s most eligible hunks like Chris Evans but seems happily single; she binge-watched Outlander and was totally taken with Sam Heughan and she also finds Martin Henderson very sexy but heard he has a girlfriend

Page 6: After a tumultuous few years Hayden Panettiere’s 2021 is looking bright and she’s been working on herself since her split from toxic ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson -- she’s taken control of her life and is making good choices -- she’s been able to rebuild her life and her relationship with her daughter Kaya who lives in Ukraine with her dad and next on her agenda is reviving her once-hot career

Page 7: Justin Bieber who’s been a devoted member of the controversial celeb-favored Hillsong Church for years is studying to become a minister -- Justin has long credited Hillsong and especially charismatic and recently fired pastor Carl Lentz for saving him from his dark period of drugs, public meltdowns and arrests -- Justin doesn’t plan to give up his music career but he feels there’s a bigger calling out there for him

* Jessica Simpson has signed deals for both a docuseries and a fictionalized series based on her life but not everyone is so pumped about her tell-all tendencies and least of all is her ex-husband Nick Lachey -- for Nick it’s just dredging up a past that’s better left alone and Nick hopes that Jessica goes easy on him in the scripted series but deep down knows there’s precious little chance of that

* Madonna is majorly inserting herself in her daughter Lourdes Leon’s love life and she’s constantly on the phone asking how things are going between Lourdes and her socialite beau of three years Jonathan Puglia and she wants to know when they’re making things official -- Madonna even pushes for double dates so she can bring her 26-year-old boyfriend Ahlamalik Williams -- Lourdes appreciates how much her mom cares but she’s finding all the micromanaging too much to handle

Page 8: Jason Aldean who boasts an $80 million fortune loves splashing his cash around especially when it comes to his children -- the singer who shares son Memphis and daughter Navy with wife Brittany and girls Kendyl and Keeley with his ex likes being seen as the moneybags and leaves tough love to the kids’ moms and he’s always pulling out $100 bills for his teens and buying his little ones new clothes, toys and high-tech gadgets even though they’re so young -- he’s definitely spoiling the kids but nobody complains about it so he just keeps on buying them stuff because nothing makes him happier

* The milestone 6-0 is still months away but George Clooney is planning to do some serious partying for his birthday and he’s sparing no expense -- he’s looking at celebrations across the States and Europe plus a boys-only getaway to Mexico

* Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence are having a blast filming their first movie together so much so that tongues are wagging about the pair’s fiery chemistry on the set -- even though Leo and Jen behave like total pros when the cameras aren’t rolling there’s a running joke among the cast and crew that Jen’s marriage to Cooke Maroney could be in trouble -- of course the reality is that Jen is crazy about her husband and Leo who is dating model Camila Morrone has a strict rule never to get involved with costars but still there’s an attraction that can’t be denied

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars get glamorous in glitzy looks -- Alexa Chung, Tiffany Haddish

Page 11: Maya Hawke, Sarah Hyland

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Yara Shahidi vs. Cindy Bruna, Becky G vs. Sofia Carson

Page 13: Celine Dion vs. Shailene Woodley

Page 14: News in Photos -- Jessie James Decker in a pink bikini in Nashville

Page 15: Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt and their son Gunner doing a Christmas card shoot in L.A., Jessica Alba spent the day handing out Honest goodies at the Baby2Baby Holiday Drive-Thru Distribution in L.A.

Page 16: Gwen Stefani rocked a cat-themed holiday jumpsuit while on the way to the recording studio in Santa Monica, Leighton Meester surfing in Malibu

Page 17: Maria Sharapova brought back the 1970s during a photoshoot in L.A., Pink kept it casual during a coffee run to Starbucks in L.A., Tia Mowry returned home with a full trunk of gifts and goodies in L.A.

Page 18: Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas exploring London

Page 20: Let’s Get Physical -- Robin Wright took her bicycle out for a spin in L.A., Chris Hemsworth shows off his ripped body while lifting a tire, Winnie Harlow in L.A.

Page 22: Deck the Halls -- newly-engaged Jonathan Bennett gushed of spending his first Christmas with fiance Jaymes Vaughan, Jonathan and Drew Scott dressed as elves

Page 23: Jon Bon Jovi and his dog, Selena Gomez with her dog Winnie in front of the Christmas tree, Brooke Burke kicked off the season by signing ornaments that will be auctioned off by Operation Smile

Page 24: Malin Akerman arranged the sheets and blankets and pillows at a Hotel Style Collection from Walmart event in NYC, Jeremy Renner filmed a scene for Hawkeye in NYC, Chrishell Stause stepped out for a morning walk with her rescue pooch Gracie in L.A.

Page 26: Inside My Home -- Marc Anthony’s elegant estate in Coral Gables, Florida

Page 28: Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart are planning to renew their vows on Valentine’s Day which is 12 years to the day after Harrison proposed to Calista on their sprawling Jackson Hole, Wyoming ranch -- Calista is incredibly touched that Harrison is organizing this and he’s thoughtfully arranging to have her favorite flowers to be flown in and has already booked a local band and a caterer and baker

Page 29: Emily Blunt and John Krasinski might be ready for baby No. 3 but friends are encouraging them to get their marriage on track first -- the two have had a tough couple of years and John can be hard to deal with and cranky when he’s working -- while the duo tend to put a super-positive spin on their marriage in public not everyone is convinced things are so rosy at home but Emily wants another child and so does John so they’re willing to take the risk

* Meghan Markle and Prince Harry plan to kick off 2021 with a much-needed tropical vacation -- after an emotionally turbulent year Meghan and Harry are ready for this break -- following a quiet Christmas at home the couple is looking forward to relaxing on a warm beach somewhere, sleeping in, soaking up nature’s beauty and reconnecting as a couple -- they’re considering a private island in Hawaii or off the coast of Fiji

Page 30: Taylor Swift who’s been collecting bridal magazines and wedding ideas since she was a teen will have to adjust to the idea of a small sequestered affair when her boyfriend Joe Alwyn officially pops the question -- the once-outgoing singer has turned into a hermit since hooking up with the British actor who insists on total privacy and loathes attention and now Tay’s inner circle is said to be worried that in Joe’s continued efforts to fly under the radar he’ll ultimately nix the lavish nuptials Taylor’s long envisioned

* Justin Timberlake and Olivia Wilde have a past -- dating briefly in 2011 and costarring in two films but they won’t have a future if Justin’s wife Jessica Biel has any say -- Justin is eager to work with newly single Olivia again but the collab between the old pals is a total no-no as far as Jess is concerned because she’s always seen Olivia as a threat and particularly now that she’s split from Jason Sudeikis

* Love Bites -- Bachelor Nation’s Emily Ferguson and hockey player William Karlsson are engaged, Christina Milian and Matt Pokora have another baby on the way, Gleb Savchenko and Cassie Scerbo dating

Page 32: Cover Story -- Ashton Kutcher haunted by his past -- the actor is wrestling with major demons and regrets -- the grisly murder of his then-girlfriend Ashley Ellerin has stayed with him -- Ashton and wife Mila Kunis have weathered some storms but they’re in a good place now

Page 36: Celebrity Dads and Their Darling Daughters -- Michael and Carys Douglas, John and Ella Bleu Travolta, Lionel and Sofia Richie

Page 37: Don and Dakota Johnson, Phil and Lily Collins

Page 38: Ryan and Ava Phillippe, Mark and Lola Consuelos, Johnny and Lily-Rose Depp

Page 39: Lenny and Zoe Kravitz, Clint and Francesca Eastwood, Alec and Ireland Baldwin, Rod and Ruby Stewart

Page 40: Interview -- Charlize Theron does it all -- the actress, mom and producer talks about taking on projects that are close to her heart

Page 42: New Year, New You -- kick-start a healthy 2021 with these celeb-approved wellness resolutions

Page 46: Style Week -- Good American cofounded by Khloe Kardashian recently launched its first-ever footwear collection

Page 54: Entertainment

Page 55: Q&A with Brian Austin Green

Page 58: Buzz -- Prince George and Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis joined their parents Prince William and Duchess Kate on the red carpet for the very first time and held hands on their way to London’s Palladium to watch the National Lottery’s Pantoland

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Gwyneth Paltrow on getting starstruck, Kurt Russell on wife Goldie Hawn’s penchant for sleeping in total darkness, Jimmy Fallon on which SNL costar he’d want to be stuck on a desert island with (Tina Fey), Chrissy Teigen on being embarrassed

Page 61: Megan Thee Stallion on the guidance she gets from Jay-Z and Beyonce, Frances McDormand on hooking up with husband Joel Coen, Chad Michael Murray on seeing pics from his heartthrob days, Rachel Brosnahan on what the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel fans can look forward to

Page 62: Horoscope -- Capricorn John Legend turned 42 on December 28

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Larry David

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maks-lawrence · 4 years

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『 FINN HAYTON ❙ CIS MALE』 ⟿ looks like MAKSIM ‘MAKS’ LAWRENCE is here for HIS JUNIOR year as a BUSINESS student. HE is 21 years old & known to be LOYAL, FEARLESS, BRUSQUE & WITHDRAWN. They’re living in OFF CAMPUS HOUSING, so if you’re there, watch out for them. ⬳

brace urself its a long one!!!

April 19th, 1999. Winter’s fingertips just barely clinging to the rural towns outside of the city of Kharkiv, a priest opens the church doors to a biblical sight: pink and sleeping, swaddled in worn but clean linens, a baby in a basket. The baby is a boy. He is deemed healthy but still unclaimed, the area is poor, there is tension on the border, another child can be a child too many.

An orphanage in Kharkiv becomes his home. He is given the name Maksim (meaning the greatest, it feels like a joke) and he learns quickly that people are not always kind, that he must look out for himself, and that affection never comes without a price. He becomes half feral like all the children in the home become, mean to survive, with nothing to call their own.

There were two instances of near adoptions, first when he was a baby, barely a year old, but the paperwork never went through. The one he just barely remembers, when he was four and a lovely couple from the UK came to peruse the orphanage, delighted in the tale of how he’d been found. He was returned six months later, the mother in tears at the unmanageability of the child, shocked at how he’d bite and scream in Russian. Maks only recalls the smothering smell of her perfume when she’d hug him too tightly, and the endless stream of English words he did not understand.

He graduated to a boys home at seven, where he grew the closest with the other boys. There was comfort in friendship like that, like the kind of kinship and protection that’d be felt in a pack of dogs. The fundamental understanding of the home was once a child passed the threshold of thirteen they would not be leaving it, just graduating from institution to institution until they were legally old enough to release on their own.

He was ten when the first volunteers from America came to the home with their hundred watt Chiclet smiles, attitudes always upbeat. They annoyed him at first, taking photos of the boys, asking questions in broken Russian, making them practice their English. He didn’t know it at the time, but they were creating profiles for each of the boys, adoption portfolios for families in America. There was one video of a surly faced young Maksim, introducing himself with a thick accent, his eyes darting to the right of the frame. He appears shrunken in it, shoulders caving in and head ducked.

The Lawrence family saw this video and contacted the volunteers. The adoption process is long and expensive, but the Lawrence’s were determined. Within six months and just shy of his eleventh birthday, Maksim was on a plane for the first time, heading towards his new home.

The transition was difficult, Maks was not an easy child for the older couple to handle. He would fight and yell when people came too close to him, a strange child in a strange place. His English was poor, but the words he did know where all spoken angrily, the way an animal growls when backed into a corner.

He could see the love and kindness the older couple were offering him, but Maks felt like he had to continually test it. Explosive, his episodes were violent or cruel, their only intention to hurt. He had to know if they were strong enough to handle him at his worst, or if they’d give up, and he’d be sent back to the Ukraine again. He believed the things that all the children in the boy’s home believed— he was not something worthy of anything, and that’s why he had nothing.

Slowly, thing became better. He got along with the other children more than he did the adults, the comradery of the boys home made it easier for him to find common ground in them. He was in therapy for years, learning how to let go of the damage his childhood had brought, and embracing this brighter one. He proved to be a good student, though stubborn, and was able to catch up to others his age by his freshman year of high school, participating like a regular student.

He’d always had an interest in how things worked, and this manifested in quiet tinkering in the family garage. He’d teach himself how to repair the broken family lawnmower over an afternoon with a few YouTube videos before progressing to bigger engines and machines. He was able to make a small business out of it, earning enough cash in one summer with his small repair service to buy his first car. He threw himself into modding and improvements to the engine, funnelling far too much of his money into making the little blue 2012 Mazda RX-8 an absolute menace on the roads.

He couldn’t apologize to the Lawrence’s for the way he’d been as a child, just like he can’t quite thank them for what they did for him. He loves them, and expresses it in his own quiet ways. He’s still withdrawn, he struggles to reveal what he’s feeling, but he’s the closest with the other Lawrence kids. They share stories of treacherous pasts— a similar understanding that binds them together.

By the time college rolled around, Maks applied to Radcliffe dutifully. It seemed the best choice— close to home and without any real idea of what his future would hold, the best thing to do at the moment. Spending the first year in dorms, he realized that the close quarters and the packed in students were not for him. He moved into an apartment off campus, and though he struggles to make rent every month, has been much happier ever since.

Maks often defaults to being cold when things get tough, and being cruel when they get tense. He races on the outskirts of campus, and gets into fights weekly. He’s always in trouble in some way, usually bruised or battered a little.

He’s a little hard to get there, but he’s a good friend. He cares a lot about people, though he struggles to show it. He’s a little gruff and can be sort of blunt, but he’s an alright guy. That being said, he does stand his ground and will do a hit if provoked :(

some more fun head canons (because I haven’t typed enough):

can outdrink nearly anyone (vodka on the rocks all night long baybie)

almost always has torn up knuckles and a don’t ask, don’t tell system of how he got them

funnels nearly all his money into modded his car and rent so as a result, he’s always broke :)

prefers cigarettes to vaping in the pretentious way that people prefer vinyl

his sexuality is one big question mark and don’t ask him about it he angee

likes to listen music that’s basically just one electronic thrash sesh— its unlistenable but he’s destroying his eardrums with it!!

he dresses very non-descript, can’t afford labels and wears a black bomber jacket basically year round: think cartoon character and you’ve got the right idea

still sees a therapist semi-regularly, begrudgingly going in on sessions to keep his mum happy

cuts his own hair (disgostin I know)

he’s good at racing and fighting because in the moment he doesn’t give a shit; hit it until it breaks. he feels shitty about it after but it’s something he’s never quite been able to explain; it feels good to just go ape shit every once in awhile!

if u made it this far, congrats i honestly commend u, and of course pls hit me up 4 plots etc etc thenk yew

#radintro

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furkanandiceng · 4 years

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FURKAN ANDIÇ BEMAN MAGAZINE (OCTOBER 2017) INTERVIEW TRANSLATION

You are on our screens with a very different role in Kanal D’s TV series “Meryem”. How is it going?

We’re very busy, to be honest. Just like every work in this sector, we film the episodes within a very limited time, which requires working at quite a busy pace. But I can say that, for us actors, the most important criteria of satisfaction is the quality of the final product. Because the feeling of satisfaction we get as a result of the effort we put in is indescribable. Then you think that it is worth the effort. What we do in Meryem really satisfies me, which in turn motivates me to keep up with this busy schedule.

Do you understand the situation Savaş is in? Do you communicate with the characters you play?

Before building a relationship with the characters I play, I create them. In this way, I know everything about the characters I play in the light of all the knowledge I have gained through my acting experiences so far. We form an opinion (about the character) with the help of the information in the script and character analysis. After that, you ask whatever questions you wish about that character into the space and help that character have a physical form, be something living. It may be a traumatic reflex from his past, or the reactions he gives to different emotions. Then, with our directors, we try to create the character by making all the connections between the total of these and his past given in the script.

Savaş’s situation is really interesing. Life has wounded him from somewhere other than daily problems such as money, love or work. He is a man who lost his mother at an early age and had to grow up separate from his house because of the conflicts he had with his father. And this has always made him emotionally incomplete. After he loses his fiancée who was filling this void and helping him hold onto life in an accident, everything becomes even more difficult for Savaş. The void created in his life after Sevinç’s death pushes him to avenge his emotional breakdown and to start a search of the criminal.

Can you control your anger? What makes you angry the most?

Anger is a very interesting emotion. A very natural, humane reaction when someone is assaulted or deprived of something. To be honest, I used to have a quick temper and show my anger to the other person. But as I got more mature, I have come to realize how tired the other person becomes as a result of such reactions. So in recent years, I can control my anger pretty well. I don’t make an extra effort for this either. What makes me angry the most is when someone takes me for a fool. We people are social beings; we have a tendency to live together in a community. And communication is the most valuable social tool we use to understand each other. We can resolve everything through communication, but the fact that people try to fool others is, in my opinion, like fraud. Because I think like this, I can say that I dislike when people take me for a fool.

You’ve had your first movie experience with “Damat Takımı”. It is going to be in theaters soon, are you excited?

Damat Takımı is very valuable to me. First of all, the script was good and I felt that the friendship of the characters was very similar to the friendship I have with my friends. This is very valuable. Secondly, both my Volkswagen Beetle car and my best friend and manager have minor roles in it, which I believe will bring good luck. And most importantly, Damat Takımı is my first movie.

I had always filmed TV series before this and was very picky about movies, and this had both advantages and disadvantages. Its bright side is that my first movie is like how I imagined. Such a movie that I will keep a copy throughout my life and watch it proudly whenever I wish. The downside is that I met the magical world of cinema late. Cinema is a very different field from TV. Since we don’t have time problem, every scene can be structured more finely, both by the actor and the director. The beginning and the end (of the script) is there, so you can build the character in more detail. And this made me feel as free as I had never felt before, which in turn was reflected directly in my acting. I am going to watch it for the first time on October 16th in the premiere, to be honest. So I can say that I’m very excited. I hope people who take time and watch it enjoy themselves too.

Is there a specific movie genre or character that you want to play in the future?

I want to work in projects that have good scripts and well-written characters that I believe I can portray well. And of course, I want to do all of these with an innovative team. In other words, like everything else, cinema changes rapidly so I want to work in projects that I think will catch up with this speed.

Frankly speaking, rather than being an actor limited to one genre, I want to play characters with diverse emotions and motivations, so I want to be not only in romantic comedies but also in different categories of movies such as drama, horror and action. I think, as an actor, my job is to wear the shoes of the character I will play and present the paths he walks and the choices he makes to the viewers.

Have you learnt anything from the characters you play?

The script’s uniqueness, the actor’s imagination and curiousity altogether can make the actor feel intense and real feelings that he’s never experienced before. The actor can even collect memories, so to speak, while experiencing those feelings. I learnt a lot of things from each of the characters I created. And I believe that made me a more mature person in life. Having different experiences and adding something to yourself while playing different characters are great opportunities for actors.

Among the countries you traveled to, where did you feel like you belonged?

Bali, Indonesia. The attractive disorderliness of the location... A lot of people travel from Europe to Bali. And many people who come bring along their cultures. But, on the other hand, the local people preserve their own religious beliefs and cultural values and this kind of creates a very orderly disorderliness in the island. The island’s unique and attractive natural beauties also made me feel like I belonged there. Beside this fascination, I can say that Bali is an ideal place for me considering my personality. I’m a person of warm climates. I like water and water sports. I like to observe different cultures and talk to people from those cultures. I can communicate with them easily and learn something from them. The local people in Bali also have the same sentiments and motivation toward the foreigners. This is why I love that place.

Have you ever had to break up with someone? If it’s not very personal, why?

Breaking up with someone is something dramatic for me, and I may have never told someone to break up in my life. But I may have played a significant part in the ending of some of my relationships, because at the end of the day, breaking up is a destruction. At work or in friendships, it is the end of a relationship in its general sense. We can say that it is destruction for both sides. That’s why I prefer keeping this destruction at minimum. Even if I’m the one destroying it, I try not to hurt the other person. That’s why I don’t want to say that I’ve broken up with someone. I probably managed to explain myself and my reasons, so I can’t give you any examples since I haven’t broken up with anyone.

When did you suffer because of love for the first time; are you in love right now?

I was 11 in 5th grade, and it was because I couldn’t confess to her. It was a very painful feeling. Loving someone romantically isn’t something we experience every day. That’s why we definitely have to protect our love. We may often be afraid to confess it to the other person, but I believe that nothing that may happen when we share our feelings can be worse than not sharing them at all. Nowadays, I’m not in love with anyone. You never know what future will bring but I can say that there’s no time for it in this tempo of my life.

Do you get help when you shop?

Yes. I make sure to ask the opinion of the person with me.

Is there anything that makes you say “I don’t want to die before I do it”?

I don’t want to die before filming a full-length movie that I’ve written. I hope I will have the chance to do it.

What is the book that had the biggest impact on you?

“Aşkın Gözyaşları” (Tears of Love) by Sinan Yağmur. Shams Tabrizi and Mevlana are two figures whose wisdom was admired not only during their days but even today. In the book, we see both their divine love and eternal values like loyalty, dedication, belief and reality. I also think that the book doesn’t take any sides and everyone can find sincere values about life in it.

Have you ever had a moment when you thought you grew mature?

Toward the end of 2000s, after high school, I went to Kiev, Ukraine. Going there made a big difference in my maturity level. Life was too difficult there. It wasn’t like a normal university life. I can say that it was more like a “fight for survival”. There was a huge difference between the living standards I had before I went to Kiev and after I went to Kiev. It taught me to live with less and to create something out of nothing. What made me mature was that I normalized the process and moved on with my life. I learnt a lot. It may also be because I was at an age when my personality was being set. So, in short, the time when I believe I grew mature was when I returned from Kiev.

Is there an attire that you wear all the time? What kind of style do you have?

My black and white t-shirts. As a style, I like getting dressed casually. Wearing simple and plain clothes is an aesthetic appearance, in my opinion. That’s why I don’t prefer very complicated pieces of clothing. Comfortable pants and a plain t-shirt can make me feel good. That’s when I think what I wear looks good on me. Also, I think what we call a style is the choices that make one feel good.

Who do you look up to the most in life?

I actually look up to a lot of people. Artists, athletes, scientists... I look up to every person who makes efforts to add value to the world rather than to achieve something when they are alive. I can say Keanu Reeves, for example. His humility, helpfulness and spiritual world is really admirable. He’s someone who weighs his work only in terms of the value it adds to the world. I believe that he has a focus like “How can the world become a better place with my performance or the money I earn?”. I think that his tragic background didn’t stop him from achieving his goal but even helped him have this vision. This is a level of patience and calmness that I can look up to greatly.

Why did you choose martial arts?

I did sports throughout my life. I was interested in many sports, particularly basketball. But they were all team sports. I learned different kinds of disciplines and skills, of course. But in this tempo of my life now, it’s really hard to form a team and dedicate myself to the team. So I started doing individual performance sports. The reason why I’ve chosen martial arts is the adrenaline and philosophy. You have different kinds of experiences due to adrenaline hormone. It teaches you to think reactively, know the opponent within a short time, foresee what’s coming, weigh the defense and attack at the same time and most importantly, to focus on that moment independently from everything else. They also have humble philosophies like respecting the opponent, preserving the body’s agility, not hurting the opponent, using intelligence more than excitement and achieving a mental tranquility. This is why I’m interested in martial arts.

Do you have a weakness for anything?

I can actually say that I have a weakness for fun. I noticed this through the observations of the people close to me. Like everyone else, I try to be with the people I love and spend fun time with them while enjoying life. And I can sometimes lose the track of time while doing it. Making the most of now is, in my opinion, life itself. So I may be trying to keep that fun time longer.

What does acting mean to you?

An achieved goal. But after achieving this goal, I’ve realized that it is a very deep and long journey. I know I still have a very long road ahead; it makes me very excited. In some scenes, actors can get too immersed in the depth of a moment. We may experience very exciting feelings in such moments. It is like you are given the chance to live a moment of someone else’s life in your own life. If an actor has really tasted this, he will probably want to collect such moments during the rest of his life as much as he can.

Are you happy with where you are?

Yes. I’m at a point where I feel I’m very open to learning. It had never been so fun to learn something. I’m satisfied with the point I have arrived by improving myself in my work life too.

Our motto is “BeStyle”. What’s yours?

“Know yourself.”

(English Sub) Q&A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmLBamZc-Vc

Backstage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BozrkARyLL4

#Furkan Andıç #FurkanAndıç #Beman #Magazine #Interview #Her Yerde sen #HerYerdeSen #Furkan

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islandpcosjourney · 2 years

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Day 9 (pre-spring clean)

8th March 2022

Oops, I should’ve been wearing purple today for International Women’s Day 🤦🏻‍♀️ My bad! But why do we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD)?

International Women’s Day (IWD) grew out of the labour movement in 1908 which saw 15,000 women marching through New York demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. A year later the Socialist Party of America declared the first National Woman’s Day. Clara Zetkin, a communist activist, and advocate for women’s rights, suggested the creation of an international day. She put her idea to an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in 1910 - and the 100 women there, from 17 countries, agreed to it unanimously.

International Women’s Day was first celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The day was made official in 1974 when the United Nations started celebrating the annual event. The first theme was adopted in 1996 which was "Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future". This year is #breakthebias.

The centenary was celebrated in 2011, so this year we are celebrating its 111th year. Clara’s idea for an International Women’s Day had no fixed date. However, it became a formalised day after a wartime strike in 1917 when Russian women demanded “bread and peace”. The strike began on 8 March and this became the date that International Women’s Day is celebrated. Four days into the strike the tsar was forced to abdicate, and the provisional government granted women the right to vote.

Now with all going on with Russia at the moment, were you aware that the current date for IWD was set after their strike started that day? It won’t be mentioned by the media, which is a shame, because Russian people are people just like you and me. Just because their president has declared war on the Ukraine, does not mean that the Russians deserve any less humanity than the rest of us, yet all I’m hearing is anti-Russian statements everywhere & advice to cut all business ties. I think people have forgotten that many don’t agree with our own Prime Minister. Does that mean we deserve to be punished for his stupidity? Of course not. Same difference. I’ve known Ukrainians and I’ve known Russians just like I know Americans and Germans. I like to give everyone I meet a fresh chance at life. I don’t always know their past, but I can get to know them in that moment, just as they are, no matter what they have thought/done or what their family think/do or their country’s president. I feel sorry for both sides. Nobody deserves war and conflict. It is awful for both sides whether you’re being invaded or are on the other side, not agreeing with your country’s invasion of the Ukraine. Think of the German people who battled being stereotyped as Nazis even generations after the war. It isn’t the new-born’s fault if their father or grandfather or great-grandfather made terrible decisions about persecuting others. Every person deserves a clean break, no matter their background.

I’d like to think that as a Woman, that’s one of my strengths – to be able to play Devil’s advocate and see both sides to every story. I didn’t want to make this blog political, far from it but IWD means something to some people and when we celebrate a special day, we should know why. One of my students today mentioned the recent spike in Covid cases on our island recently and I asked if many in her school were off. Apparently not but she stated that her whole family take LFD tests every day and then she remarked “But I don’t know why. We don’t test for any other illnesses everyday”. Smart girl but no matter what her or my feelings are on the matter, I applauded her for questioning. It is important to ask why. It is vital to ask WHY in life.

On IWD, it was important for me to feel like a woman. I wore a nice dress and felt empowered going to work. Working for myself in a house which I am, alongside Kevin, making necessary but long-term improvements to. I can teach, having chosen my own hours too, in an inspiring room where I look at each feature I purposefully designed for my needs and know that “I made it happen”, because of my sheer determination. I am stronger than I think or that I give myself credit for and thank goodness I have a good man by my side to keep reminding me. They say, “behind every great man there’s a great woman”, the implication that the great woman is often ignored or taken for granted. This phrase first printed/used in the 1940s, long after the first IWD but adopted as a slogan in the 60s/70s feminist movement.

Now I like gender equality as much as the next person, but even I recognise that each of us, no matter what our gender, has unique qualities which give us our strengths and weaknesses and it’s that that I like to think about celebrating when it comes to IWD. Not what I “should” be as a woman or what I “ought” to be according to society but who I am, just for being me. For years and years, I didn’t feel like a woman because I didn’t have a menstrual cycle. When we first get our periods, we are told, “you’re a woman now” so is it any wonder when they stopped, I didn’t feel like a woman anymore? Kevin, my great man, made sure that no matter what, I always felt like a special WOMAN, even though I’d usually ignore or disagree with him. I’d have my good and my bad days in that respect and I’d often joke that I had more testosterone in my body than him 😂. Behind me as a great woman, is my great man for sticking by me and I don’t feel any less of an empowered woman for saying/admitting that. We need each other in different ways and that’s ok. It doesn’t make me any less of a woman for admitting that sometimes I need my man and vice versa.

However, in saying all that, I was delighted to wake up this morning and download my sensor to find that I had ovulation confirmed for Friday 4th March, on Day 15 of my cycle, making it a possible 29-day cycle instead of 40 now. It can be frustrating that OvuSense needs 3-5 days of temps to gather enough info for an average temp each day and it’s those temps that then ultimately confirm ovulation, just 4 days afterwards. Having seen my “fertile window” on the app move 10 days early, I still didn’t have my hopes up because I know that anything can happen with temps and I wasn’t going to believe it until it was confirmed. Making my cycles shorter helps me to feel more like a woman. It helps me to know that I am returning to good health, going in the right direction. It helps me to let go of my historical negative thoughts of not feeling like I deserved to be a woman. There will be plenty of women out there who have PCOS like me and fight the daily battle against male-patterned baldness, excess hair to shave off their face & rising testosterone levels giving them mood swings and no cycles. There might also be plenty of women who have had to have hysterectomies or single/double mastectomies. Those women probably feel like they’ve lost their femininity too, but they are just as much of a woman as I am and will fight just as hard as any woman. We shouldn’t still be having to fight for women’s rights in the workplace or the home, yet we are.

I was overjoyed to see so many men on Facebook today, appreciating and celebrating their women but please don’t let this become another Valentine’s-type day where one might go a little OTT on the romance and others hate it with a passion because it stirs up so many bad memories with them. Let us celebrate women and their achievements every day. Let us celebrate getting out of bed in the morning. Let us celebrate getting dressed. Let us celebrate having a job to go to. Let us celebrate having a home to come back to. Let us celebrate all the small wins in life because they all add up and let us celebrate being human, with the ability to instigate change for and within ourselves. We inspire. We lead. We decide. We are in control. It’s our lives, nobody else’s.

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