#British Red Cross Society

[herprivateswe]

Wounded Italian soldiers, likely having been tended to by the No. 1 British Red Cross Society.

[frimleyblogger]

How Charity Shops Took Over The High Street

The inexorable rise of the #charityshop @CharityRetail

Charity bazaars, elaborate themed events to raise monies for charitable causes, continued to be part of the social scene until the Second World War, although they were increasingly replaced by less elaborate “pop up” charity fundraising events, such as jumble sales, and, later still, bring-and-buy sales. The first recorded jumble sale was held in Wollaston to raise funds for “church…

[updatingranboo]

important tweet from ranboo:

all donation links provided below! please consider donating and spreading this!

Islamic relief USA for Middle East/Palestine

Palestine children’s relief fund

British Red Cross

united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east

human concern international Palestine relief

Institute for Middle East Understanding

Palestine Red Crescent Society

Palestinian American Medical Association

Anera

Abdullah aid

Medical Aid for Palestinians

Islamic Relief for Palestine Emergency Appeal

[thedeafprophet]

The Captivating Princess: An Overview

As I have been pondering that most content around The Princess is not easily accessible, I have decided to do a little write up on who she is. This will not be unbiased - many are aware of my in depth views here- but hopefully it will provide a good summary.

I will try to keep it light, but there will be some ES spoilers in here. Discusisons of information from: The Gift, Say It With Flowers, Reunion, and A Crown Of Thorns, plus some references to Sunless Skies. I intend to mostly focus on who she is in Fallen London though, not in skies.

Who Is She?

'At the very front, cross-legged on the floor, sits the Playful Prodigy. She has the cheeks of a cherub and blue, mischievous eyes. In her arms is a baby, wrapped in a black swaddling-cloth: presumably the Captivating Princess.' - The Gift

The Captivating Princess in universe is The Traitor Empresses' youngest child. Unlike the other royal children, she is an entierly fictional character, and does not have a real world counter part. She was born the year of the fall, 1862, making her around 37 in 1899 (or more accuratly, 40 as of 1902).

She is the most social of her family, frequently seen outside the Palace while her siblings are not . She can be found in both upper society functions, and sauntering down into the.... less savourey locations in London. She does so love to mingle. She is throughougly beloved by the people despite her collection of scandal, and is an extremely popular figure within society - captivates them, if you will.

The player can become aquainted with her at The Feast of The Rose, should you wish to spending some masquing at the Duchess' Banquet. She is also who helps you return to court in the making your name: persuasive arc. She does so have a penchant for the arts...

Most of all she is noted for her habit of honey - both the rumour of her having her own honey-den in veilgarden... and other, less savoury aspects around such.

The rest of the overview below the cut will be going into more detailed, more spoiler heavy, and dark matters

Content warnings: Child/infant endangerment, drug use, torture, bees mention

Matters Of The Palace And The Honey

'No one will tell you what happened, but the word 'traitor' is whispered in the palace corridors. You cry for your mother, and someone gives you a jar and a spoon to quiet you.' -A Crown Of Thorns

One cannot begin to go into the rest of The Princess' character without first going over the issue of the red honey. To go over the entire lore surronding red honey would be a whole post on its own, so i will give just a brief run down here.

Gaoler's honey, which is called red honey for the colour of its hue, is an eviler version of prionser's honey. It is made when bees crawl through people's mind, made of their memories. It is excrustiatingly painful for the victim, who relives the pain every time the honey produced from them is consumed. The Palace contains its own set of 'cage gardens' where people are imprisoned and their memories collected. Cheery, right?

The Princess and her family have all consumed the red honey, the whole of The Palace seeming to have taken to if very soon after the fall. How they got it so quickly after the fall, I don't know, but they seemed to have a lot of it going around.

Its likely The Princess was fed it from infancy, alongside her siblings and other family members. Text implies in general the children in the palace were heavily neglected after the fall, even being given the drugs to make them be quiet. Its...well, an utterly horrible image of how those kids were treated.

Oh yea and it turned all The Princess' siblings into horrifying monsters. The details around what happened are unclear, but it seems to be some connection between the frequent consumption and a 'bad batch' that did Something to the royal children, turning all but The Princess into physically monstrous forms. And most are still consuming it. 10/10, another great move by the british royal family.

It is very likely it is why she is as she is today. Whatever she is, she's not exactly human. She continues to consume it regularly, and on occasion 'shares' it with others.

What Exactly Is She

'Only the Captivating Princess looks as she did in the mirror. Among the nightmares, her beauty is worst of all. It rakes your eyes like fire. ' -The Gift

 "The change imposed by the Red Honey was a gift. As it was to me. The rest of our family proved... inadequate to the wonders on offer." - Reunion

I don't... know. Not really. Sunless skies has her shedding her skin and revealing a bee-like monster underneath, but that was after some considerable other lore stuff and in a different game, and i dont consider it directly applying with in FL.

Within the neath at least, The Princess is quite powerful. Not just for her political role and image as the beloved princess, but also for her seeming power of persuasion and adoration. Her beauty is considered maddening, everything pales to her existence, and its hard not to just immediatly fall to your knees and do every single thing she's asked of you~

Which while i'm sure is a common experience for some around pretty women, is clearly an indication of some sort of mental power here.

She's also considerably stronger then she looks, and i surely do not believe most would stand a chance against her in a physical fight. Nor do i personally believe simple weapons would do much to harm her.

'The Princess' expression curdles. She shoves the table, which sends plates spinning to the floor. She treads on meat as she advances. She has dropped the knife. She does not need it.' - Reunion

Matters Of Morality And Personality

'She points at the Spinster. "I had to compel her from retirement. Since her fiancee is my maid, I had leverage. She should have just done as I asked. Clearly, there's something wrong with her." - Say It With Flowers

The Princess is entitled, cruel, and uncaring towards others. Everything you'd expect from a british royal, but with the added effect of being literarly monstrous instead of just metaphorically. She evidently always expects to get what she wants and has a tendance towards aiming for suffering just for the sake of watching others suffer. And thats without getting in how her frequent use of red honey is directly causing extreme harm to the victims.

All of this tends to be hidden under her vaneer of sweetness. She acts so lovely and sweet and kind, and would do as she was sentencing someone to death. And that is something she'd be inclined to do. She has a penachant towards pet names, and is overly touchey/doesnt seem to care much at all about boundaries. Why would she?

'The Captivating Princess holds your chin in her sharp nailed hand. She stares, intently, at your face. ' - Say It With Flowers

'A happy voice rouses you. Delicate fingers are stroking your hair. "I knew you'd be perfect. So curious. So bold. So resolute. Thank you, for exceeding my estimation."' -The Gift

The Princess is also quick to change moods, becoming angry if she doesnt get her way, or becoming extremely bored rather quickly. If she's not interested in something, she's inclined to leave right away or ignore it, or find some other matter to entertain herself. She also doesn't get along with her family, having an intense rivlavry with one of her brothers (The Brooding Captain), and will often aim to sabotage and manipulate her siblings and other family members. Not to even get into what rumors surrond her suitors, most notably around their deaths...

The things and way she is in skies is all the more.... extreme.

Aims and Motivation

While its hard to say why she does a lot of other things, The Princess does seem to actually have an interest in the arts. When she ran for mayor in 1896, her slogan was “Make London Magnificent For Me.”, and her platform was pushing more for the public arts. Indeed, throughout her appearances in the games, art does seem to truly be an area she's interested in.

Beyond everything else though, The Princess is completely, and utterly bored. She cares little for the lives of those around her, and seems to take great pleasure in the suffering of others, and seemingly this is all related to The Princess' aim for entertainment.

'"Honestly? I'm entirely bored. I am either fawned on or feared, or – worst of all – pawed at by the infatuated. Everyone believes they know me, because of my family."' -1896 Election text

and.... well. If i'm to put my own word in here, I think in her own way, The Princess is lonely.

'And..." She hesitates for a moment. Her last words are hurried. "This is not a gift that should be borne alone."' - Reunion

The earlier line from the election speaks of being pawed at - that her boredom comes from either being fawned or feared, implying no one is truly looking at her. Two of her storylines tentivly involve trying to make another character be What She Is, that she not be alone in this.

She has done many cruel and vicious things, that is of note, but one can't help but think of the inherent tragedy of her character. Never once having a chance to be anything other then she is, being raised in a household that found it suitable to give drugs to children to get them to stop crying. Of never really having anyone like or love you, to everyone fawning at you immediatly with no true level of connection.

In short: The Princess is a horrible cruel woman, and there is an inherent tragey in the fact that she exists the way she does at all.

[killerpancakeburger]

Bloody nose part 3 // Miguel O' Hara

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x Female Reader

Summary: You integrate the Spider Society, not without a couple of twists and turns.

Warnings: Swearing.

Tags: Comedy, action, BAMF! Reader, Reader has super powers, slow burn.

Words: 2570 words.

A/N: Some Hobie in this chapter! Can you blame me, he's so cool and funny. It's completely platonic in regards to the Reader of course.

Part 1. Part 2.

The interdimensional portal in your living-room and yourself are looking at each other defiantly. At least if that thing had eyes you imagine it would do that.

You don’t like portals. Not that you ever used one before, but the little you know from fiction inspires you absolutely zero confidence. Whether they come from magic or technology, crossing through time or space like so feels unnatural and incredibly dangerous. What if you end up in an endless void? What if one half of you get stuck on the other side? What if you end up a thousand feet up in the air and fall ineluctably to your death? Your powers cannot protect you from this.

Your niece isn’t here to reassure or guide you, since today’s a school day. You could have waited after school but the sooner you cut all her ties to the Spider Club, the better in your opinion.

You’re doing this for Naomi, you remind yourself, and, with a deep inspiration, you go through the pulsating hexagon.

The whole trip is a torture. You force yourself to let go, just let the current, or whatever is the mysterious force moving your body, carry you to your destination. I hate this, I hate this, I HATE THIS, you mumble to yourself.

Eventually the red and orange surrounding you turn to blue, then to a blinding white light, and the mysterious force transporting you suddenly cease to exist so you… drop like a stone. And crash miserably on the platform coming to meet you. Thankfully, there’s not a soul around to witness your pathetic entrance. You quickly get up, unharmed, except for your pride.

The elevator you’re in happens to be in glass and your attention is immediately monopolized by the views offered to you. Green stretches and futuristic white buildings spread as far as the eye can see. You’re definitely not in Kansas – ahrem, not in New York anymore. You’re so subjugated, you almost miss the elevator coming to a stop and the door behind you opening.

The room in front of you is sizeable, even if its deep whiteness and neon lights give it an hospital like aspect, and full of Spidermen. Women. Teenagers? They’re all wearing their suits and you suddenly feel, at the same time, like a sore thumb standing out, and like you just arrived to a fucking comic con. You start walking, torn between trying to pass unnoticed, and hurting your neck trying to take it all in. You never imagined this place would be so big and have so many people. You may be forced to take those guys seriously after all. All the Spiders walking on ceiling will certainly take you some time to get used to it.

You’re distracted by a cow-boy spiderman whose horse is apparently ALSO Spiderman – Spiderhorse? – since it can walk on the ceiling and wear a mask too, starting to wonder in what kind of mess full of weirdos you got yourself in, when the inevitable happen: you bump into someone.

“My bad”, you apologize immediately.

“No worries, mate”, replies a voice with a thick British accent.

You look up – because, once again, this is someone who’s towering over you – and take in the teenager facing you with an easy smile. Your gaze lingers on his numerous piercings then take note of the spikes on the shoulders of his leather jacket. There’s a punk spiderman? You think to yourself, before taking the good resolution to stop wondering what kind of spidermen exist – obviously the list never ends.

Thankfully the kid doesn’t seem to take offense to your staring as he addresses you in a joking manner:

“Forgot your suit at home? Happens to the best of us. Or maybe you’re Spider-Hoodie?”

It’s your day off and your tracksuit, sport shoes and zip-up hoodie could never pass for a superhero costume.

“I… I’m a new recruit”, you answer with less confidence that you would have liked. What if they consider you an intruder? Sound the alarm and send a thousand spidermen after you to throw you in an interdimensional jail?

“You don’t sound so sure about that”, he raises an eyebrow, eyeing your watch. “You know what you’re getting into?”

It’s your turn to raise an eyebrow.

“I’ll manage, kiddo, but thanks for the concern.”

He raises his hands in surrender.

“Just checkin’, that’s all. Name’s Hobie Brown, by the way.”

You give your own name in answer, but as you go to shake his hand, you stop dead in your tracks.

“You… change colours? You change colours. That’s a thing. Ok.”

You stupidly stare at him as he goes from the traditional blue and red of spiderman to just red to pink to settle on black and white. He chuckles at your confusion.

“You’ll get used to it. So, you know where you’re going, Newbie?”

“I’m supposed to meet with Miguel, I guess.”

Hobie doesn’t even try to hide the antipathy that name seems to evoke for him.

“The big boss man, ‘course. You in a hurry? Cause if you’re not, we could take the scenic route.”

You can’t stop the smile that spreads your lips.

“You’re always looking to make new recruits desert and stand up the boss?”

“Always. Antagonizing the authorities is one of my favourite hobby.”

You laugh frankly.

“That’s terrific. I think we’re gonna get along great. Scenic route it is!”

Along Hobie, you pass through the Spider Society’s jails, or at least the room where they stock what they call “Anomalies” before sending them to their original dimension. You have a look at their “Strength and Conditioning Centre”, which is really just a fancy and stupidly complicated way to say “gym”, but you can’t help feeling eager upon seeing their state of the art weight machines. You meet Hobie’s friends, Gwen, a melancholic yet resolute teenage girl, and Pavitr, a psyched-up teenage boy for who becoming spiderman sounds to be the best thing that ever happened to him. His enthusiasm momently makes you feel weird, reminding you of the not so long ago times where you only saw your powers as a curse, but you keep your mouth shut. Your own experiences aren’t universal and you have accepted years ago that your opinion isn’t prevailing. Not to mention that ruining a kid’s fun would be quite shitty of you.

You also don’t say anything about the alarming number of teenagers that appears to compose the ranks of the Spider Society. Naomi is the only kid who’s your responsibility, and therefore the only one you have any rights or authority over. Thinking back about your own youth, which was the period when you got your powers, you know from experience that stopping a 15 years old with superpowers to do whatever they want is, for ordinary humans, close to impossible.

Eventually your new acquaintances guide you to Miguel’s… –  you can’t possibly call that an office – crypt? Mancave? At first you don’t understand why they stopped since there is nothing in front of you, but then you hear a sound of machinery running and follow the others’ gazes, somewhere much higher than where you were legitimately looking, and finally see the man. He’s standing on a descending platform equipped of a myriad of orange screens, so many that you can’t imagine how he manages to get his bearings between them all, back turned to you.

This is all good and well, except for the fact that his platform is going down at a painfully slow pace that makes you cringe just watching it happen.

“What’s happening?”, you ask the others. You find it hard to believe that with how advanced the technology here seems to be, there’s no way to make this stupid platform go faster.

“That’s his… thing.”, says Gwen. “Don’t mind him.”

You let escape a nervous laugh, the kind you have when you start feeling yourself go crazy.

“Is this a joke? It has to be a joke. Are you guys hazing me? I’m too old for this bullshit.”

The profound silence and the awkward grimaces that greet your remark makes you realize that, no, this isn’t a joke. You don’t know whether to pinch the bridge of your nose or roll your eyes. You want to tell them that they’re all a bunch of crazy freaks in costume and that you never should have come here. Then you grasp that this problem is actually very easy to solve and you leap on the platform. Like you’re in a fucking Mario game.

“What’s up, Miggy?” you force out, with the most insincere smile you can muster, not bothering to hide your irritation.

“Oh, you’re there. Great. Let’s get this over with”, he says with a deadpan voice and an even more deadpan face. That’s when you realize he didn’t even notice your presence until now, too absorbed in his screens. Add to that the fact that he looks like he just pulled an all-nighter. “And don’t call me that”, he adds afterwards, like an afterthought, frowning.

You restrain yourself from telling him he looks like a zombie, and decides to be proactive. The truth is, you learned teamwork the hard way – in the line of fire –, because it never came to you naturally, and you honestly despise it. Nonetheless you know when to put your feelings aside when the situation calls for it.

“Sure”, you start, slowly, testing the waters. ”How about finding some place with chairs and maybe even a table and some coffee? I was sooo excited to join you guys I didn’t sleep a wink last night.”

That last sentence is an obvious bootlicking lie that Miguel doesn’t buy, and he looks like he’s about to refuse, so you pout at the best of your abilities, trying to make him understand that you’re more stubborn than him, and he relents in a sigh.

“Alright. Follow me. And you three – he looks severely at the teenagers nearby – I’m sure you have better things to do.”

You bid farewell to the spider kids who obey Miguel with more or less reluctance.  

“Lyla”, he calls out, “Can you tell Jess and Peter to meet us in the conference room?”

You open your mouth to ask who the hell is Lyla, because to your limited knowledge there is no one of that name in the room with you, and leave it open in incredulity when a light in the shape of a woman appears over Miguel’s shoulder and answers him.

“On it!”

“What the fuck is that?”

Alright, that may have been kind of rude, but you’ve had it with all the weird shit around here. You’ve been holding in your comments pretty good until now.

“Lyla’s my personal assistant.” Even if Miguel deigns to answer you, it sounds more like he did it automatically rather than anything else. He keeps walking without sparing you a glance and you follow.

“I’m an holographic AI software“, adds Lyla, who sounds glad to show off.

“You have holograms? That’s so cool… wait. So you’re from the future or something?”

“In my dimension the year is 2099. I’ll explain in details when we get there.”

And so your little trip continues in silence, one which is neither awkward nor comfortable. You think about how Lyla seemed way more chattier than Miguel, so you try your luck.

“Lyla?” There really is something particular about calling the name of someone – something – who you know isn’t there but who you expect to answer nonetheless.

“Yeah?” she replies, materializing in front of you, laying on her back with her hands crossed behind her neck, like she doesn’t have a care in the world. Which you supposed should be expected from a computer program.

“You don’t answer only to Miguel?”

“I am available to assist all members of the Spider Society in protecting the multiverse, but Miguel’s requests take priority.”

“What can you do exactly?”

“Sooo many things… I transfer calls between Spider Society’s members, I detect and track anomalies all over the multiverse, I check the state of the canon, I predict the appearance of canon events, I help Miguel create gizmos and goobers…”

You understood half of that but assume Miguel will explain soon the jargon. You chat amicably with the AI while being careful to not lose Mr Dark And Brooding because you know you will get lost.

***

“Did you get all that?”

After listening religiously to Spiderman 2099 for close to an hour and being bombarded with information, you need a moment to get your act together. You feel like you accidentally tore open the fourth wall of reality itself when you shouldn’t have and what you saw on the other side changed you forever. Alternatives dimensions are real and infinites. You are currently in another dimension where the year is 2099 and New York is named Nueva York. The possibilities are endless. Somewhere out there, there are worlds where your sister is still alive. Where you died instead of her in the accident. Where you don’t have powers.

Miguel’s question brings you back on earth, however. To yearn for another existence can only leads to death and destruction.

“Yep.”

Bad answer. He puts his hands on his hips and raises a sceptical eyebrow.

“Did you now?” His voice is dripping with sarcasm and you want to punch him again.

“Yeah I got it. The multiverse exists. Don’t stay in another dimension for too long or everyone dies. Do not interfere with fixed events or everyone dies. Do not let people from other dimensions linger in one that’s not theirs or everyone dies. This is pretty basic sci-fi time travel’s rules. I just compacted your lecture in three sentences, you’re welcome.”

“Che maravilla. Then you can be in charge of giving my “lecture” to the new recruits.”

“I’d say I don’t make a good pedagogue but at least I’ve never thrown a desk at a kid.” You retort without missing a beat, crossing your arms, a sneering smile spreading your lips, staring back at Miguel.

You can’t really be mad at him for the sarcasm, it’s your favourite form of humour after all. But if he wants to play, you’ll give as good as you get.

Once again, Peter plays the peacemaker.

“Heyyy Miguel, didn’t you want to ask about her powers?”

The aforenamed sits for the first time since you arrived in the room, in the chair facing you.

“Lyla, can you take notes of this?”

Lyla makes a military salute.

“From what I’ve gathered firsthand – he rubs his jaw where you punched him – you have enhanced strength. Is your skin completely impenetrable? What about the rest of your body?”

“Enhanced speed, enhanced stamina. I’m almost unbreakable. My muscles and my bones included. My eyes are not.”

“Define “almost”. ”

“The most damage I’ve ever sustained was when I took a shotgun to the head and it knocked me out for a couple days. Otherwise I’m usually bulletproof.”

“What about fire? Are you also immune? Electric shocks? Explosives?”

“Yes, yes and yes.”

It’s like having a conversation with your doctor.

Peter lets out an enthusiastic “wow” and Jessica considers you more attentively. As for Miguel, you can’t tell if he’s impressed or satisfied to have a promising recruit. However you’re quickly interrupted in your analysis of his expression as he stands up.

“Get up. Time to show what you’re capable of.”

[soon-palestine]

Seventy-five years ago, Zionist militias tore through Palestinian villages, massacring the villagers and expelling those who remained alive, to clear the way for the creation of the state of Israel. An estimated 15,000 Palestinians were killed and hundreds of thousands fled their homes to live as refugees in other parts of Palestine or neighbouring countries, an event known by Palestinians as the Nakba – “the catastrophe”.

On April 9, 1948, just weeks before the creation of the State of Israel, members of the Irgun and Stern Gang Zionist militias attacked the village of Deir Yassin, killing at least 107 Palestinians. According to testimonies from the perpetrators and surviving victims, many of the people slaughtered – from those who were tied to trees and burned to death to those lined up against a wall and shot by submachine guns – were women, children and the elderly. As news of the atrocities spread, thousands fled their villages in fear. Eventually, some 700,000 Palestinians would flee or be forcibly displaced at the outset of Israel’s creation, making the massacre a decisive moment in Palestinian history.

[.]

According to a 1948 report filed by the British delegation to the United Nations, the killing of “some 250 Arabs, men, women and children, took place in circumstances of great savagery”. “Women and children were stripped, lined up, photographed, and then slaughtered by automatic firing and survivors have told of even more incredible bestialities,” the report said. “Those who were taken prisoners were treated with degrading brutality.” Israeli historian Benny Morris said the militias “ransacked unscrupulously, stole money and jewels from the survivors and burned the bodies. Even dismemberment and rape occurred.” The number of dead is disputed but ranges from 100 to 250. A representative of the Red Cross who entered Deir Yassin on April 11 reported seeing the bodies of some 150 people heaped haphazardly in a cave, while around 50 were amassed in a separate location.

Prominent Jewish intellectual Martin Buber wrote at the time that such events had been “infamous”. “In Deir Yassin hundreds of innocent men, women and children were massacred,” he said. “Let the village remain uninhabited for the time being, and let its desolation be a terrible and tragic symbol of war, and a warning to our people that no practical military needs may ever justify such acts of murder.” Morris noted that “Deir Yassin had a profound demographic and political effect: It was followed by mass flight of Arabs from their locales.” News of the massacre spread panic among the Palestinians, prompting hundreds of thousands to flee. Four nearby villages were next: Qalunya, Saris, Beit Surik and Biddu. Deir Yassin was no mistake, according to Israeli historian Ilan Pappé.

“Depopulating Palestine was not a consequential war event, but a carefully planned strategy, otherwise known as Plan Dalet, which was authorised by [Israeli leader David] Ben-Gurion in March 1948,” Pappé wrote. “Operation Nachshon was, in fact, the first step in the plan.” The massacre unleashed a cycle of violence and counterviolence that has been the pattern since. Jewish forces have regarded any Palestinian village as an enemy military base, which has paved way for the blurred distinction between massacring civilians and killing combatants, according to the historian.

Israeli historians and Israeli society have been able to admit to the massacre in Deir Yassin by attributing it to the right-wing group Irgun, but have covered up or denied other massacres – notably the one in Tantura in 1948 – carried out by the Haganah, the main Jewish militia from which the current-day Israeli military has evolved.

[.]

Despite this shift of blame, leading human rights organisations like Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International have labelled Israel itself an apartheid state. “We reached this determination based on our documentation of an overarching government policy to maintain the domination by Jewish Israelis over Palestinians,” HRW said in 2021. “As recognition grows that these crimes are being committed, the failure to recognize that reality requires burying your head deeper and deeper into the sand,” it added. “Today, apartheid is not a hypothetical or future scenario.”

[therealslimsanji]

One of the blogs here condemning Taz had reblogged a few months prior a list of legit palestinian organizations that we could donate to. One of the links in the list was the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), I even clicked the link and verified that it was their official website.

Fast forward to the present day. This person is condemning and canceling Taz for donating to the British Red Cross (BRC) under the claim that this organization is neutral as well as funding Israel, and that Taz should be cancelled because he didn't do any research before donating. This gave me a serious whiplash because... The BRC is an official part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movements, which the PRCS is also an official part of. Both work under the exact same international committee (they're just different branches I suppose?) and are currently working together to aid Gaza.

I visited the link this blog had provided for the PRCS, and confirmed that they were indeed part of the ICRC and that they are also claiming "neutrality" because this what the Geneva Conventions state (Geneva Convention IV Article 18). In other words, this person condemns the BRC for claiming "neutrality" despite having previously invited people to donate to the PRCS, who are also claiming "neutrality" and are an official part of the same international committee; and also condemns others for not researching charities before donating when this information is clearly stated in the PRCS and BRC websites.

Yesterday I've sent a message to this person regarding this and expressing my concerns. I hope I can get a reply soon. I'm genuinely concerned because I'm Pro Palestine, but assuming and accusing others who are trying and doing their best to help is just going too far.

I'm sure they'll have some excuse to cover their ass. There seems to be a lot of confusion about the RC situation but even before this war, it was MY understanding that they had to remain neutral in order to render aid to the civilians that are in dire need. But then others have said "it's not the charity, it was his tweet that pissed me off" but my stance is firm in that his whole "agree to disagree" was in response to the criticism in his choice of who to donate to. And him deleting it and going private was probably what he was advised to do.

[queenalexandraofdenmark]

Queen Mother Alexandra of the United Kingdom's "Appeal to the British Nation", as President of the British Red Cross Society, 1914.

[ohbaby-here-we-go-again]

Reread taz’s Instagram statement again, after seeing some people talking about how there was probably a lot of legal stuff going on behind the scenes, and idk I just thought I’d share my some thoughts I had.

First off, I’m not gonna lie, initially when I read the post I was kinda disappointed that it was still relatively vague and neutral when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict. But when people pointed out that there was more than likely a lot of legal stuff going on in terms of his job, security at cons, and how probably Netflix will only allow him to say so much and remain working on opla��.it made more sense

But then I was reading over the statement again and I thought it was interesting how Taz specifically mentions the Red Crescent in his post. Like when he refers to the fundraiser or growing up in Tenerife he just calls them the Red Cross, I’m assuming because that’s the name he’s been familiar with (Cruz Roja is what the Red Cross is called in Tenerife according to the website - which is the same name but in Spanish obviously), but when explaining that the organisation doesn’t “take sides in hostilities,” in the post he called them “The Red Cross/ Red Crescent.” And like, as someone who’s country uses the term Red Cross I straight up had no idea they were also called the Red Crescent in other places.

I say this because the offical Red Cross branch in Palestine is the “Palestine Red Crescent Society.” And idk I just think it’s interesting that someone, who majority of the time refers to the Red Cross as only ‘the Red Cross’ (and I’m assuming has been most familiar with them with that terminology) and coped shit because of donating to the British Red Cross, also then mention the Red Crescent title.

Because Taz pads the post out a bit talking about “believing in humanitarian aid for innocent people, on both sides of any conflict” and deliberately doesn’t specifically mention Palestine or Israel at all, it does come off as quite neutral. But the fact he specifically mentions the the Red Crescent, chose to write it as “The Red Cross/ Red Crescent movement” (kinda making them seperate instead of saying ‘The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC),’ or ‘the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement”), and stated later in the post that “[his] efforts will never be in aid of supporting any aggression” makes me feel like maybe the statement was a little less neutral than I initially thought, and was potentially being very subtle to navigate any legal situations.

My ramble on the internet has once again ended up being kinda lengthy so sorry about that,, and idk, I might sound like a crazy person haha.

I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind just sharing some thoughts on tumblr.

[vijayasena]

Teri Nazron ne dil ka Kiya ho hasher Asar yeh hua...

No one's pov..

His shoulders sore, eyes almost drooping as he removed one last bandaid from his torso.. sliding his white kurta down his body like he was ready to sleep..

Sun almost setting in the horizon after having a long day..

Right now the reddish and orange tint all around the Delhi made it look so divine and peaceful, ram felt a sense of warmth yet the emotions inside his heart of hurting so many indian brothers still hadn't left his mind.

Almost everyone of them were in hospital..

Another day, another riot, another stain of so many blood spots on his uniform, and new set of bruises already increased the glory of his body..

He was so used to it now that he couldn't care any less it all stopped affecting him so long ago ...

Grabbing the Chandogya upanishad.. he was currently reading to distract himself from his own thoughts that were slowly consuming him didn't left his mind..

Everything was silent but his mind was loud with so many voices..

He opened the book, he was in middle of bhrigu valli which contained the value of cultures and rituals perfomed by priests..

Bheem had been becoming his other half slowly he never made any friend but the curly haired man with pure innocent behaviour just made him feel so happy and alive..

Right now he was not thinking about Bheem.. it was something else or someone else.. their another half.. the apple of their eyes..

He felt so guilty.. so damn torturing cause he didn't told his friends the real identity of him being a police officer and working for those white bastards..

*Aadya*

The name crossed his mind and all the things related to her immediately crossed his mind..

Her eyes

Her wheatish complexion

Her height she was small like she wasn't too small but managed to reach his ears..

The way her hair flowed, her sharp eyes, how her mouth used to snap like fire..

How she always gave  the most sassy comments and always gave those disgusting looks to those whites and those brown people too who worked under them..

She was always that fire who always managed to give ram a sense of warmth and comfort..

He was shocked when she fought her mother about her being friends with him..

A man and woman being friends was considered as a sin in the eyes of society but the woman who was an amazing Archer didn't cared about it..

She was so good in archery that she managed to hit the target being blindfolded as well as people called her female Arjuna..

Cause she was just like Arjuna..

He knew how much she hated and cursed at those people whenever she saw them.. who was working under Britishers... He had seen her hardwork how much she was determined to get her country free.. from being the only woman to attend rebel meetings and shooting arrows to speaking English and having the audacity to stand face to face with those white officers..

Ram was also one of them, but she didn't knew about it.. ofcourse he knew she will never gonna be his friend, he knew that she will eventually gonna hate him and leave him so he was just waiting for that moment until then just enjoy being with her .. her presence used to cast a spell on him..

He didn't knew how a woman can make him feel things like this..

He was completely lost in his book by now, he didn't cared if he needed medical attention or if he was tired.. he just loved saying this to himself "just one more page"

The sound of ghungroos caught his attention.. the temple across his house.. it was navratri.. so the atmosphere was cheerful and people were just enjoying the festival..

Ram was not a religious person so he didn't bothered to even think about it ..

The melodious sounds of tablas, and the master giving instructions..

He immediately knew who was it..

Scarlet red fabric caught his attention as his eyes got fixed on his window..

There was she...

Hands and hair adored with mogra strings.. kohl decorated eyes, with ghungroos in her both feet as she moved gracefully..

He forgot to breathe

Lost his sanity just staring lost..

The sun's rays fell on her face making her looked like an apsara mistakenly fallen from Heaven..

Ram forgot everything his injuries his guilts his mind and gaze and soul were just trying to take in the moment..

She moved to and fro, her ghungroos making a rhythmic noise, he would be lying if he said she didn't looked stunning in red..

Her raven hair blow with her every move, as she danced gracefully and with full dedication..

He wasn't tired or exhausted anymore.. he wasn't feeling anything else just her filling him slowly fully..

She just used to make this amazing dance form with her beauty alot more mesmerizing..

Her enchanting beauty was beyond the world..

He knew at this moment he was falling slowly..

[mariacallous]

In the summer of 2022, as it became clear that Vladimir Putin had made a vast strategic error,  a cry went up from concerned and caring Western statesmen that on no account must the dictator be “humiliated”.

Emmanual Macron was adamant that, despite the Kremlin launching an unprovoked war of imperial expansion and committing countless crimes against humanity, the West must offer it an “exit ramp.” Meanwhile, the Biden administration treated Ukraine like a prisoner under torture: it provided enough weapons to keep the country alive but not the modern aircraft, tanks and long-range missiles it needed to escape the pain Russia inflicted.

Western governments feared crossing a “red line” and provoking Putin into nuclear war. Or they worried that a decisive Russian defeat would lead to Putin’s overthrow and chaos descending on the Russian Federation.

Chaos in Russia? My God, that would be intolerable, even though the West seems more than willing to tolerate chaos in Europe.

For in this dark winter the question is now what happens if the West is humiliated?  Where are our red lines?  And what is our exit ramp?  

Western success or failure remains in our own hands. The Institute for the Study of War is stating no more than the obvious when it says that, if the US and Europe stop their aid, Ukraine will fall. And that, if the West maintains and increases support, Russian cannot win.

I said these statements were obvious, and so they should be. Yet both the US and the EU are denying their force.  The European Union allowed Putin’s client Viktor Orban to veto a €50 billion aid package. Meanwhile in the US, pro-Trump Republicans are blocking  support to Ukraine (and to Israel and Taiwan) for the time being, and there is the prospect that Donald Trump will win the presidency in November 2024, and block it forever.

We know what a Russian victory will mean for Ukraine. In the areas of the country Russian troops have conquered, they hunted down local leaders who might inspire resistance, tortured, raped and murdered

What would happen to the West is a question that deserves more attention than it receives, however. The West isn’t a fixed place. If the term means anything it is a description of common beliefs and alliances shared across democratic nations. If the defeat of Ukraine shows that those beliefs are fatuous, Putinist politics will receive an enormous boost; not just in Russia, where the imperial and dictatorship would see its legitimacy enhanced, but also in Europe and North America.

Russian success would mean that, contrary to everything we were taught since 1945, dictators can reorder Europe’s borders by force, and occupy and terrorise an independent country. As that knowledge sinks in, the atmosphere in the West will turn foul and foul Western movements will thrive.

Talking about changes in the atmosphere or zeitgeist feels airy and imprecise; an improper subject for serious journalism. But the argument of this piece is that all societies manage with norms they take to be inviolable. When those norms fail everything changes.

If Russia can engage in unprovoked aggression and colonial land seizures, and get away with it, Donald Trump can deny the results of a legitimate election and incite insurrection, and still get to be US president again.

Trump, indeed, has already shown that he understands the dark currents of our time better than his critics. 

In June 2016, the then candidate Trump welcomed the “leave” victory in the UK’s Brexit referendum, seeing it as a sign that he would win the US presidential election in November of that year. Many journalists, myself included, thought he was an idiot. Potential Republican voters knew little and cared less about debates about British sovereignty and the Common Agricultural Policy, we reasoned. But Trump knew better. He understood that because the UK “scored a great victory” over the “global elite,”  and had torn up the old rules, enough American voters might be prepared to do the same.

 If US weapons delays continue into 2024 and Ukraine staggers or falls, it will help Trump’s prospects and the prospects of Europe’s far right parties. Every Russian success is a jeering attack on human rights and the liberal order. All enemies of liberalism benefit from Putin’s victories.

Imagining a Ukrainian defeat is not to play some kind of grim parlour game. The weapons embargoes hurt. They make planning for the future of the war impossible. Phillips O’Brien, a leading military historian,  says that “Ukraine has no idea what it will have in terms of… the equipment it will need to fight the war because it has no idea what the US will do in terms of aid. I’m struggling to think of a more difficult strategic planning situation.”

Like most historians and military strategists, he is astonished that we can even be talking about a Ukrainian defeat. The balance of forces is such that we should not need to contemplate it. First, credit must go to the courage of the Ukrainian armed forces.   Contrary to all the expectations of the supposedly competent Western intelligence services, they did not fold in February 2022, but inflicted vast losses on the Russian army and defeated the Russian navy in the Black Sea.

And then there is the brute audit of power.

Russia is a vicious state with a relatively small economy and delusions of imperial grandeur. As of 2023, NATO had approximately 3.36 million active military personnel compared with 1.33 million active military personnel in the Russian military. NATO had 20,633 aircraft to Russia’s 4,182, and 2,151 military ships, to Russia’s 598.   From any normal military perspective, an outgunned mafia state, should not be able to win a proxy war against the west.

If it does, three conclusions will follow, none of them comforting.

The power of malign minorities to dictate to the rest of us will be on full display. Most Americans and a majority of politicians in the US Congress want to help Ukraine. But a minority on the Republican right is blocking them, and the Biden administration is so lacking in political skill it cannot mobilise the majority to break the deadlock. Hungary, meanwhile, is a tiny quasi-dictatorship, and Viktor Orban is a Putin ally. If the European Union were a self-confident alliance of democracies, it would expel it. As things stand, it prefers to let Orban dictate European priorities instead.

I mention useless liberal leadership because so much of liberal commentary focuses on the far right. Journalist should be honest and report that the war is revealing a failure of nerve in the liberal mainstream. Everyone quotes from The Second Coming in moments like these, but Yeats’s lines are unavoidable: “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”

If Ukraine loses, the liberal centre will not hold. The decision of the Biden administration to keep Ukraine as a tortured prisoner, without the weapons systems it needs to break free, will not just seem a cruel policy but a colossal strategic mistake, which threw away the chance to weaken the West’s enemies.

The mistake so many of us living comfortable and secure lives make is to believe that we can escape the consequences; that what happens in Ukraine will stay in Ukraine.

In fact, refugees will flood westwards, destabilising Europe and encouraging the far right. War won’t stop. Ukrainians will take to the forests and mountains and fight guerilla campaigns.  Emboldened by victory and confident that the West lacks the will to resist, Russia will push again into Moldova and the Baltic States.

Every cliché dictators utter about the flabbiness of selfish democracies will be proved true. Russia and indeed China will be able to tell the world that the United States and NATO were unreliable allies, who lacked the endurance for the long haul. Tyrants from Xi to Maduro will be licking their lips. Every illiberal movement on the planet will see Putin’s victory as their victory 

It does not have to be this way. But unless in 2024 Western governments stand up for what they say they believe in, it will be.

[bopinion]

2024 / 31

Aperçu of the week

"The 20th century was a test bed for big ideas - fascism, communism, the atomic bomb."

(Patrick Jake "P. J." O'Rourke, US satirist, writer and co-founder of Gonzo journalism. These days mark the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan)

Bad News of the Week

In Southport, England, not far from Liverpool, a 17-year-old drives to a dance school in the afternoon, pulls out a knife and kills three people. They were little girls aged 6, 7 and 9 who were taking part in a vacation course to dance to Taylor Swift songs. And suddenly a nightmare began, which eyewitnesses describe as a horror movie in which a dozen bleeding, injured children try to save themselves from a monster. Three children didn't make it, eight others and two adults are in hospital.

This is a shocking act. And it hurts. But the reaction of some of the British people hurts just as much. Because while upstanding citizens sympathize and help - a good example is the free cab rides to the hospital for relatives of injured children - the scum from the right-wing fringe of society are using this event to spin their own agenda. And that is (of course) xenophobia. Reminder: it was the UK whose then Conservative government wanted to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda in a dubious deal that was even ychallenged by its own Supreme Court.

It all started with fake news doing the rounds on social media that it was an immigrant who had just arrived on the island. "Influencer" Andrew Tate called he came "straight off the boat". And was even cited by "politician" Nigel Farage. Add to that an allegedly Arabic name and the fuse was lit. Just one day after the deadly attack, a mob raged in the small town. A mosque was attacked, stones thrown, cars set on fire and 22 police officers injured. "No surrender!" and "English till I die!" was shouted.

It didn't help that officials made it clear that the perpetrator was not an asylum seeker, but was born in Cardiff, Wales. And that he had neither Arab origins nor an Arabic name. As I said, the fuse was lit. And in the days that followed, it began to burn everywhere. As if the Ku Klux Klan were riding through the country and setting fires everywhere. In London alone, 100 rioters were arrested. I find it shocking that these racist assholes are dancing on the grave of dead children to the sound of their cheap prejudices. Shame on you.

Good News of the Week

Tough times for pacifists. As a teenager in Europe in the 1980s, I know the Cold War all too well. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, the continent, which had been marked by wars for centuries, seemed to have a rosy future ahead of it: Peace. The eastward expansion of the EU seemed to be proof of this. NATO's eastward expansion, on the other hand, proved to be a double-edged sword. It was perceived by Russia, or rather by the despot Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for 25 years, as an encroachment. In the mind of the former KGB officer, who sees the collapse of the Soviet Union as the most tragic moment in history, Ukraine's turn to the West ultimately had to be seen as crossing a red line. Don't poke the bear.

Russia's attack on Ukraine almost two and a half years ago shattered the last illusion of fragile geostrategic stability. The word of the hour became "turning point". And we Germans in particular, who in fact owe our reunification to Kremlin leader Mikhail Gorbachev and had therefore clung almost desperately and half-blindly to the hope of Russia, were abruptly torn from our dreams of a better world. As long as there is talking, there is no shooting - this rule no longer applies. And a hard wedge needs a hard block.

In addition to the military and political issues with which we are now confronted (special funds for upgrading our military, increasing operational readiness, integrating new NATO partners, relocating troop units to the eastern borders, permanently stabilizing defence spending at 2% of gross domestic product, etc.), it is above all the emotional aspects that are making us swallow. Fear is back. It is therefore all the more pleasing that pretty much all democrats (yes, that excludes the AfD / Alternative for Germany) are slowly coming to an understanding that there is a new reality that cannot be ignored. Two examples from the last few days:

The USA wants to station long-range weapons in Germany. For an old-school deterrent. And the Greens, who were founded as explicit pacifists and took to the streets against Ronald Reagan's Pershing missiles in the 1980s, accept this as a simple necessity. As Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock writes in a guest article in the Bild newspaper (of all places): "The principle of hope will not protect us from Putin's Russia. (...) What protects us now is that we invest in our own security and strength - in the EU, in NATO and in Germany." This also includes the decision to station extensive American weapons systems in Germany from 2026, as she sees no hope of an early peace solution through negotiations, as Putin responds to every peace initiative with escalation.

Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow, on the other hand, is from Die Linke (The Left), traditionally the most Russia-friendly party. In principle, he calls for a non-aggression pact between Europe and Russia, saying that Europe must finally be thought of as a whole, and Russia is part of that. However, he conceded that such a step is not currently conceivable. "Of course, this is not possible with a dictatorship, an oppressive apparatus, and Putin is also not a representative of freedom and peace." And assured that he was not against NATO, but for a reorganization of European defence under its umbrella. So democrats stand together. And show strength when necessary.

Personal happy moment of the week

My wife is a big fan of Italy. And she has always wanted to go to Lago di Garda. At the weekend, she had the chance to spend two days with a friend who was visiting her husband and son there on a camping vacation. And she enjoyed it. In every respect. Bella Italia. Her great joy was my greatest joy.

I couldn't care less...

...about "Hindus only". This is the motto under which Palestinians - for a long time an important workforce for many rather low-ranking and low-paid jobs - are no longer employed in Israel. The dirty work is now to be done by guest workers from India. Because no one with an Arabic-sounding name can be trusted anymore. I could puke.

It's fine with me...

...that the elephantine regular in the china store is once again demonstrating diplomatic sensitivity: Donald Trump has congratulated Vladimir Putin on the latest prisoner swap with the West: "I want to congratulate Vladimir Putin for once again making a great deal". Nice of him to show so honestly whose side he is on.

As I write this...

...I'm still unsure what to make of the current Earth overshoot day balance sheet. On the one hand, it's always a problem when this point is reached before new years eve. On the other hand, it's good that experts are seeing a positive trend. Or - to be honest - a slightly less negative one.

Post Scriptum

Jimmy Carter, the 39th US President from 1977 to 1981, will hopefully celebrate his 100th birthday about a month before the presidential elections. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has been receiving palliative care for some time, has now said, according to a newspaper report: "I'm trying to hang on to vote for Kamala Harris". This is fitting, as few have campaigned as emphatically for human rights, peace and democracy as Carter. Almost the antithesis of Putin's bosom buddy mentioned above.

[aimeedaisies]

The Princess Royal’s Official Engagements in February 2023

01/02 The King and The Queen held a Reception for British East and South-East Asian Communities at Buckingham Palace. The Princess Royal attended alongside Their Majesties, The Earl of Wessex, The Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra 🌏

02/02 As Patron of the British Cardiovascular Society, held a Centenary Reception at St James’s Palace 🫀

03/02 Visited Princess Anne Hospital at University Hospital Southampton 🏥 and after attended a Reception at Southampton Civic Centre, Southampton, to recognise Southampton being awarded Lord Mayoralty status as part of The late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations 🎖️

04/02 As Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, accompanied by Sir Tim, HRH attended the International Rugby Match between England and Scotland at Twickenham Stadium 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏉

07/02 As Commandant-in-Chief (Youth), St John Ambulance, HRH held a Young Achievers’ Reception at Buckingham Palace ⛑️

08/09 As Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, Motor Neurone Disease Association and MND Scotland, accompanied by Sir Tim, HRH started the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation Charity Cycle Ride 🚲 🏉

10/02 Opened Cranfield University’s National Flying Laboratory Centre’s Flying Classroom ✈️

11/02 As Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, accompanied by Sir Tim, HRH attended the International Rugby Match between Scotland and Wales at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏉

12/02 HRH accompanied by Sir Tim Laurence, departed from Heathrow Airport, for New Zealand 🇳🇿

14/02 Arrived at Wellington International Airport, New Zealand and in the evening met with the Governor-General of New Zealand (Dame Cindy Kiro) and Dr Richard Davies and after attended a Dinner at Government House Wellington 🇳🇿

15/02 HRH and Sir Tim, carried out the following engagements in Wellington, New Zealand:

Held a meeting with Chris Hipkins MP (Prime Minister of NZ) then subsequently visited the National Crisis Management Centre at the Executive Wing, New Zealand Parliament Grounds 🚨

Visited the Museum of New Zealand, Te Aro 🏛️

As Colonel-in-Chief, Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, attended a Reception at Government House to mark the Centenary of the Corps and afterwards attended a Service of Remembrance and laid a wreath at the National War Memorial at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, Te Aro. 🌹

Attended a Dinner at Government House in the evening. 🇳🇿

16/02 HRH with Sir Tim, carried out the following engagements in Wellington, New Zealand:

Visited Havana Coffee Works Roastery and created her very own Special Edition coffee blend, with profits from the blend to go to supporting the victims of Cyclone Gabrielle, through The Red Cross ☕️⛑️

As Patron of the New Zealand Riding for the Disabled Association they made a visit to the Wellington Group centre in Porirua 🐴

As President of the Mission to Seafarers, HRH opened the new Wellington Mission site, Aotea Quay, Port of Wellington and afterwards unveiled the Foundation Stone for the Mission to Seafarers and Merchant Navy Memorial at Wellington Cathedral ⚓️

As Colonel-in-Chief, Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, attended a Reception at Government House, Wellington and afterwards attended a Dinner at Government House given by the Governor-General of New Zealand (Dame Cindy Kiro). 🇳🇿

17/02 HRH with Sir Tim, carried out the following engagements in Christchurch, New Zealand:

Attended a briefing on the rebuilding of Christchurch Central City and Christ Church Cathedral at Turanga Library and visited the site of Christ Church Cathedral ⛪️

Attended the Rededication Service for the Citizens’ War Memorial and laid a wreath in Cathedral Square 🌹

As President of Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth, they visited the RAS of NZ and Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association at Canterbury Agricultural Park, Hillmorton 🚜

Visited Untouched World Merino and Natural Fibre Workrooms 🐑

As Patron, of the New Zealand Conservation Trust, visited Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, Northwood 🦜

18/02 Accompanied by Sir Tim they departed Wellington, New Zealand and travelled to Sydney, Australia and carried out the following engagements:

In Sydney they toured the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney 🌿

Visited New South Wales Mounted Police Stables, Redfern, New South Wales. They departed from Sydney Airport and arrived back at Heathrow Airport on 19/02 🇦🇺

21/02 HRH held an Investiture Ceremony at Windsor Castle. She presented Captain Preet Chandi with an MBE. In January, Captain Chandi broke the world record for the furthest unsupported solo Polar expedition in history, covering 922 miles in 70 days 🎖️🎿

22/02 Visited the Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care at King’s College London where she spoke to researchers, clinicians and patients to understand how Kings College nursing is improving people’s experience of life limiting conditions, death and dying. 🩺

25/02 As Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, accompanied by Sir Tim, HRH attended the International Rugby Match between France and Scotland at Stade de France, Paris, France 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇫🇷🏉

28/02 Held two investiture ceremonies at Windsor Castle 🎖️

Total official engagements for Anne in February: 59

2023 total so far: 91

Total official engagements accompanied by Tim in February: 25

2023 total so far: 28

[scotianostra]

On 28 May 1926 Sir James Cantlie, the Scottish physician, died.

Cantlie, was born on 17th January 1851 at Keithmore Farm, Dufftown, Banffshire, the eldest son of William and Janet Cantlie.

His early education took place at a local school in the village of Drummuir and at Milne's Institution at Fochabers, Speyside. He graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 1871 with an MA in natural science before training in medicine at the same institution and graduating MB and CM with honourable distinction in 1873.

Cantlie was appointed instructor of anatomy at Charing Cross Hospital, London, in the same year. He became an instructor in the St John Ambulance Association and in 1882 he joined the London Scottish Volunteers as a surgeon. In 1883 he played a part in the establishment of the Volunteer Medical Staff Corps, volunteering later that year for service in Egypt, where he developed an interest in tropical diseases.

Cantlie was interested in the physical condition of the urban poor and wrote a paper entitled Degeneracy among Londoners which was read at the Parkes Museum in 1885. In 1887 he moved to Hong Kong where he practised medicine and established a medical college for Chinese students, the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese which later became the University of Hong Kong. One of the college’s first students was Sun Yat-Sen, who became the first president of the Chinese republic in 1911. In 1886 Cantlie was appointed advisor to the India Office when an epidemic of bubonic plague broke out in Bombay.

In 1896 Cantlie returned to London to take the chair of applied anatomy at Charing Cross Hospital. Soon afterwards, he was instrumental in obtaining the release of Sun Yat-Sen after his abduction by Chinese agents and detention at the Chinese legation in London.

Cantlie was a co-founder of the Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, which published its first edition in August 1898, and was its editor for the following 23 years. He also played a part in the establishment of the London School of Tropical Medicine which opened in 1899 and where he was the first surgeon and lecturer in tropical surgery. Cantlie’s book Physical Efficiency was published in 1906. He continued his involvement with St John Ambulance and was an adviser to the War Office on the establishment of the medical section of the Territorial Force (later the Territorial Army), formed in 1907.

Sir James Cantlie and his wife Lady Cantlie were commandants in the British Red Cross Society during the First World War. They founded a College of Ambulance and a humanitarian corps to aid those in medical need or poverty. Cantlie was appointed knight of the British Empire in 1918 and received an honorary LLD degree from the University of Aberdeen in 1919.

Sir James passed away few years after her, on this day 1926 at Dorset Square, London, and was buried at Cottered cemetery, Buntingford, Hertfordshire.

[spatial-jump]

AB / spatial-jump

“That’s one badass stapler!” — Five Hargreeves, the Umbrella Academy

ABOUT ME:

Name: AB (she/her) Birthday: 17th March (minor); Pisces Ethnicity: Asian British, of Indian descent Hobbies: Reading, writing, procrastinating, netball, badminton, swimming Favourite colour(s): Aquamarine, royal purple Height: 5’2” or 5’3” A-Level Subjects: Maths, Economics, Classical Civilisations Likes: Flapjacks, books, the rain, thunderstorms, lightning, chocolate, broccoli, the night sky, space, cats, monkeys, volcanoes, oceans, Greek and Roman mythology, Spring, my favourite fandoms and characters Other: INTP, Gryffindor, daughter of Poseidon, incredibly stubborn, grammar freak, angsty writer, sarcastic, mix of introvert and ambivert

SOCIALS:

Quotev: Main, Writing Account Wattpad: Main AO3: Main Pinterest: Main Discord: ABADA17

FANDOMS:

(Favourites are in italics.)

Primary: Harry Potter, Marauders Era, Fantastic Beasts, AVPM Trilogy, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, TLT Musical, Heroes of Olympus, the Maze Runner, the Hunger Games, the Umbrella Academy, Stranger Things, Divergent, Once Upon a Time, Anne With an E, Dead Poets Society

Secondary: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Chronicles of Narnia, Miss. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Murder Most Unladylike, How to Train Your Dragon (books), Noughts & Crosses, Enola Holmes

Other books: Five Survive, Yellowface, Love You to Death, Anne of Green Gables, Black Beauty, Swallows and Amazons, Pride and Prejudice, The Secret Garden, Malory Towers, Famous Five, THUG, the Midnight Game, This Book Kills, the Odyssey, War Horse, Arc of a Scythe, Nancy Drew, A Series of Unfortunate Events, the Atlas Six (first book only)

Other films/TV shows: Line of Duty, Red Eye, the Capture, Trigger Point, the Green Mile, the Shawshank Redemption, the Hurt Locker, Terminator, James Bond, the Bay, the Tourist, Barbie, Troy, Cruella, Ghosts UK, the Apprentice, Dragons’ Den, the Traitors, Enola Holmes, Kaos

Currently reading: The Maze Cutter, Little Women

Currently watching: Teen Wolf, Runaways, Pirates of the Caribbean

Future: Supernatural, Bridgerton, Good Omens, the Kane Chronicles, the Mortal Instruments, the Matrix, the Shining, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, the Godfather

CHARACTERS:

Comfort kins: Five Hargreeves (TUA), James Potter (HP), Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano (Hoo), Henry Mills (OUaT), Thomas (TMR)

Kins: Ron Weasley (HP), Lee Jordan (HP), Dustin Henderson (ST), Charlie/Nuwanda Dalton (DPS), Severus Snape (HP), Percy Jackson (PJO), Hazel Levesque (HoO), Tina Goldstein (FB)

Comforts: Teddy the Niffler (FB), Pickett the Bowtruckle (FB), Kreacher (HP), Newt Scamander (FB), Regulus Black (HP), Newt (TMR), Eleven (ST), Steve Harrington (ST), Leo Valdez (HoO), Sadie Kane (TKC), Killian Jones (OUaT), Mulan (OUaT), Gilbert Blythe (AWaE), Jerry Baynard (AWaE)

[ina-nis]

Various papers on loneliness and stigma, culture, etc...

(I’ll be going through a lot of papers, but I’ll try to break them up in several posts)

Most definitions of loneliness converge on the idea that it is an aversive feeling that emerges when one’s social relationships are unsatisfying, in quality or quantity (Perlman & Peplau, 1981). A social stigma, in turn, a complex set of culturally shared beliefs that lead to the derogation and devaluation of specific attributes and discredit the individual bearing them (...) As such, the social stigma associated with loneliness corresponds to a constellation of beliefs that derogate and devalue those who feel lonely, so as to encourage them to have appropriate standards for social connection and to fulfil those standards.

Past research in this area has shown that people who feel lonely are often described in negative terms (...) those who feel lonely are perceived to be socially inept, poorly adjusted, unlikeable and generally incompetent (...) past research in this area has typically confounded loneliness with poor social skills or behaviours (...) this is problematic because, though scholars used to believe that loneliness was the result of poor social skills and a preference for being alone (Jones et al., 1982), this is not supported by evidence. Indeed, people who report loneliness do not show a preference for being alone in their daily life (Queen et al., 2014), their social skills are at least as good as those of people who are not lonely (Gardner et al., 2005; Qualter et al., 2015), and they are sometimes even perceived as more friendly than non-lonely people (Christensen & Kashy, 1998; cf. Tsai & Reis, 2009).

(...) Although negative impressions of individuals reporting loneliness are key to understanding loneliness stigma, stigma can be expressed and understood in other ways too. A core distinction in the stigma literature is that between endorsed stigma (one’s own stigmatizing views of an identity or attribute) and perceived stigma (i.e. the belief that a particular identity or attribute is stigmatized in society; e.g. Pescosolido & Martin, 2015). Impressions of those who feel lonely fall under the category of endorsed stigma.

(...) Loneliness is strongly predicted by social determinants, such as changes in social networks due to life transitions (Buecker, Denissen et al., 2020), life circumstances (e.g. living alone, caring for a family member), socio-economic status, ethnic minority status, experiences with bullying or discrimination, disability, unemployment and living in a deprived area (Lasgaard et al., 2016; Matthews et al., 2019; Priest et al., 2017) – all of which are largely external and uncontrollable. As such, making largely internal or controllable attributions for loneliness neglects the range of structural, environmental and cultural factors that drive feelings of loneliness (Batsleer et al., 2018; Matthews et al., 2019), which is stigmatizing and hinders appropriate targeting of social interventions.

(...) it is important to examine indicators of perceived stigma (Pescosolido & Martin, 2015). Participants in a study carried out in the UK expressed fear that if they were to come forward to seek help for their feelings of loneliness, they would be simply told to ‘pull themselves together’ (Co-op Foundation and the British Red Cross, 2016). Another study, also in the UK, found that 81% of the young people surveyed cited fear of other people’s reactions as a barrier to speaking about loneliness (Co-op Foundation, 2019). These examples show that perceived community stigma contributes to norm enforcement by affecting the individual’s behaviour.

Finally, the derogation of those who feel loneliness and or perceived community stigma enforces normative expectations about sociality by engendering shame in those who feel lonely, as well as by encouraging them to conceal from others that they feel lonely. (x)

I have noticed in my own life that I do struggle with internalized stigma and also what I perceive from others. Of course, this alienates me more. Throughout years, I have heard all kinds of things and assumptions people had about me in my “alone” state: that I’m autistic (therefore, social interactions would be considered unnecessary or an annoyance), that I’m just shy and introverted (therefore, I don’t want to interact with others because they scare or bother me), that I’m intimidating (because of they way I present and express myself, my facial expression and eye contact, etc), that I’m a red flag (because I don’t have “real” friends, because if I’m alone it’s something I have brought upon myself, because I “treat others poorly”), and so on.

All that is to say that, I feel like, I’m somehow unapproachable (therefore, unwanted, disposable, etc) despite attempts at changing my demeanor and trying my hardest to “fit”. The moment I stopped, it’s as if society bared its fangs at me: “you’ll never belong here, stop trying.” I did and I’m paying the price.

(...) The common public view is that a lack of social interaction and social relationships cause loneliness (e.g., Hansen, 2018; Leahy, 2017). This implies that the cure for individuals or entire societies would be to get more socially connected (Hendrix, 2018; Whitley, 2017). Research, however, has uncovered a paradox: Individuals in cultures where people are less likely to be alone because of more and stricter social norms regulating social relationships (i.e., more restrictive norms) are often more likely to feel lonely than those in cultures where people are more likely to be alone because of less restrictive norms (e.g., Lykes & Kemmelmeier, 2014). A lack of social connection hence seems insufficient to account for differences in loneliness between societies with different cultures and can hardly explain the loneliness in cultures with more restrictive norms about social relationships.

This article therefore aims to provide a solution to what we refer to as the “cultural paradox of loneliness”—that is, to explain why loneliness tends to be higher in cultures with more restrictive norms about social relationships and where individuals are thus less likely to be alone or socially isolated. In the novel culture-loneliness framework, we propose that loneliness can thrive whether cultural norms about social relationships are lenient or restrictive, but for different predominant reasons.

(...) Loneliness is an important threat to human health and well-being. In different cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, feeling lonely was related to a higher risk of impaired mental health (including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, or social anxiety), impaired physical health (including obesity, higher blood pressure, sleeping problems, and weaker immunology; for an overview, see Cacioppo et al., 2015), unhealthier lifestyles (e.g., less physical activity; Hawkley et al., 2009), and even earlier mortality (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015). These findings emphasize the importance of preventing chronic loneliness. Yet, escaping loneliness may be hampered by its social consequences: Lonely individuals do not only seem to interpret social situations more negatively (e.g., by paying more attention to negative social cues, or forming more negative memories of social interactions), they are also viewed more negatively by others (who perceive them as less sociable and less attractive; Cacioppo et al., 2014). It is therefore important to identify causes and consequences of loneliness to improve well-being.

Loneliness has been defined as perceived social isolation (Van der Weele et al., 2012) or the feeling of being cut-off or separated from others (Hays & DiMatteo, 1987). Loneliness is thus a subjective experience that may or may not arise from the objective state of being alone (i.e., solitude). Indeed, although loneliness should be influenced by how many actual relationships or social interactions an individual has (i.e., more or less physical isolation; e.g., De Jong Gierveld, 2009; von Soest et al., 2018), it also results if an individual does not have individually fulfilling, high-quality, or responsive relationships (i.e., emotional isolation; Erozkan, 2011; Givertz et al., 2013; Hawkley et al., 2008; Weiss, 1973). Furthermore, it can result if an individual’s own or cultural ideals about relationships remain unfulfilled (i.e., perceived isolation, resulting from perceived ideal-actual discrepancies regarding social relationships; Heu, van Zomeren, et al., 2019; Johnson & Mullins, 1987; Perlman & Peplau, 1981).

Most work on potential causes of loneliness has focused on individual and relational risk factors. These include, among others, being unmarried (Hansen & Slagsvold, 2015; Hawkley et al., 2008), living alone (Snell, 2017; Swader, 2019), genetic disposition (Matthews et al., 2016), introversion or neuroticism (Buecker et al., 2020), an insecure attachment style (Erozkan, 2011; Givertz et al., 2013), a small number or low quality of relationships (Hawkley et al., 2008; Shiovitz-Ezra & Leitsch, 2010), or few social interactions (e.g., De Jong Gierveld, 2009; von Soest et al., 2018). Although there is consensus that one can feel lonely whether one is alone or surrounded by others, most of these characteristics revolve around the extent to which individuals are or may become socially isolated. This is also reflected in models that propose that a key function of loneliness is to motivate socially isolated individuals to reconnect with others (Cacioppo et al., 2014).

This reasoning, however, does not consider that many people, for instance in collectivistic cultures, are hardly ever alone, yet also report to feel lonely: Despite large differences in how individuals relate to each other (e.g., Adams et al., 2012), loneliness seems to be a rather universal (van Staden & Coetzee, 2010) and qualitatively similar experience across different cultures (Heu et al., 2020). Indeed, loneliness in collectivistic cultures or cultures where individuals are more socially connected tends to be even higher than in individualistic cultures or, more generally, in cultures where individuals are less socially connected (e.g., Jylhä & Jokela, 1990; Lykes & Kemmelmeier, 2014; cf. Barreto et al., 2020). This highlights how little we know about loneliness in cultures with more restrictive norms about social relationships, and hence also about how to counteract it in culturally sensitive ways. Indeed, given that risk factors seem to differ, loneliness interventions from a culture with less restrictive norms about social relationships are likely to be ineffective in a culture with more restrictive norms. A better cross-cultural understanding of loneliness is therefore highly relevant to prevent and counteract the public health risk of loneliness in different cultures.

(...) Counter to the idea that tighter and more demanding cultural norms about social relationships (i.e., more restrictive norms) should increase social connection and hence decrease loneliness (e.g., Hendrix, 2018; Whitley, 2017), most research supports the notion that more restrictive norms increase the risk for loneliness. For instance, average levels of loneliness tend to be higher in more collectivistic countries or regions (Anderson, 1999; Fokkema et al., 2012; Imamoğlu et al., 1993; Jones et al., 1985; Lykes & Kemmelmeier, 2014; Sundström et al., 2009; Swader, 2019; Walker, 1993; Yang & Victor, 2011; cf. Barreto et al., 20202). This suggests that, at the cultural level, more restrictive norms have the potential to create higher risk for loneliness.

However, findings at the individual level partly deviate from culture-level findings—and even when individual and cultural levels are examined jointly (Jylhä & Jokela, 1990; Swader, 2019). Indeed, multiple studies suggest that more restrictive internalized or individually perceived norms may have the potential to protect from loneliness: Indicators of higher collectivism and higher relational stability (i.e., stronger cultural norms to hold on to established social relationships; Heu, Hansen, et al., 2019) were found to be related to lower loneliness at the individual level (Heu, Hansen, et al., 2019; Heu, van Zomeren, et al., 2019; Jylhä & Jokela, 1990; Triandis et al., 1988).3 Nevertheless, findings at the individual level are also more mixed than at the cultural level: Unlike most indicators of higher collectivism, perceived norms about how one should relate to others were not significantly related to, or related to higher loneliness at the individual level (Heu, van Zomeren, et al., 2019). Furthermore, more restrictive norms implied by lower relational mobility (i.e., norms that provide individuals with less opportunities to form new, and choose their relationships; based on Yuki & Schug, 2012) were related to higher loneliness (Heu, Hansen, et al., 2019). In sum, although it seems that more restrictive norms usually imply a higher risk for loneliness at the cultural level, more restrictive norms may also sometimes have the potential to protect from loneliness at the individual level. To account for these mixed findings and the cultural paradox of loneliness, we introduce the culture-loneliness framework.

(...) Our framework distinguishes three types of isolation as distinct risk factors for loneliness. Although present in all cultures, they should be more or less likely depending on the level of restrictiveness. First, more restrictive norms about social relationships should reduce the likelihood that individuals become physically isolated; that they lack social interaction and social relationships in general (De Jong Gierveld & Tesch-Römer, 2012; Georgas et al., 1997; Höllinger & Haller, 1990). Indeed, if cultural norms about social relationships become very lenient, individuals may choose convenience at the expense of their social relationships. For instance, those who can choose to do so may leave effortful or conflictual family relationships, live alone rather than deal with the habits of housemates, work from home rather than commute to a shared office, or use the faster self-checkout rather than the human cashier at the supermarket. In a study examining housing preferences in Japan, individuals, for example, indicated to prefer residential complexes exactly because they allowed for anonymity and the option to avoid neighbors (Kiefer, 1980). In sum, individuals may in such cases end up with fewer social relationships and interactions than is beneficial for them, making them feel lonely due to more physical isolation.

Second, more restrictive norms may increase the likelihood of emotional isolation. If individuals get restricted in their freedom to choose whom they relate to or how they relate to others, this should undermine that they can leave low-quality or harmful social relationships (e.g., conflictual family relationships; Heu, Hansen, et al., 2019) and that they can establish responsive relationships (i.e., emotionally rewarding relationships of mutual understanding; Reis & Gable, 2015). Despite a lower risk of too few social contacts, individuals in more (versus less) restrictive cultures may hence be at a higher risk for loneliness because of less opportunities to establish a network of individually satisfying relationships (e.g., Erozkan, 2011; Givertz et al., 2013; Hawkley et al., 2008; Weiss, 1973).

Third, more restrictive norms also imply a higher likelihood of perceived isolation—that is, of higher discrepancies between ideal and actual social relationships, which are important antecedents of loneliness (Johnson & Mullins, 1987; Perlman & Peplau, 1981). Indeed, more restrictive norms can reduce the number of culturally acceptable ways of relating to others (through more social norms about relationships), make ideals less attainable (through more demanding social norms), and increase the severity of deviation (through tighter norms). This, for one, increases the risk for loneliness through a higher likelihood of social sanctions for norm deviations (Cacioppo et al., 2014). Furthermore, individuals themselves may more often perceive their social relationships as insufficient or unsatisfactory due to internalized cultural norms. For instance, a strong cultural norm to have children implies that those who are childless will be more likely to perceive their relationships as deficient. They may hence feel lonelier than if they were living in a culture where many choose not to have children (Zoutewelle-Terovan & Liefbroer, 2017). Similarly, in cultures where the norm is that friends should provide emotional support whenever needed, more individuals may experience their friendships as unsatisfying than in cultures where friends should predominantly provide instrumental support (for cultural differences in friendship, see Adams et al., 2012). Again, this should increase the risk for loneliness through more perceived isolation.

(...) the culture-loneliness framework suggests that individuals need both agency (to seek relationships that are individually satisfying) and relatedness. A moderate amount of restrictiveness (i.e., a mix of some more restrictive and some less restrictive norms) may therefore be best to avoid loneliness. Indeed, moderate restrictiveness can foster both agency and relatedness by preventing that any type of isolation becomes excessive. This is in line with previous findings that both the more restrictive norms that encourage individuals to hold on to their existing social relationships (higher relational stability) and the less restrictive norms that provide opportunities to establish new social relationships (norms implied by higher relational mobility) relate to lower loneliness (Heu, Hansen, et al., 2019). Nevertheless, the finding that, at the cultural level, more lenient norms about social relationships were quite consistently related to lower loneliness (cf. Barreto et al., 2020) argues for fostering more lenient norms about social relationships in larger-scale policies.

The culture-loneliness framework can, additionally, provide the basis for culture-sensitive interventions against loneliness because it pinpoints which cultures should increase the likelihood of which risk factor. It suggests that interventions in less restrictive cultures should focus on preventing physical isolation—for instance, by fostering community structures, or by encouraging individuals to establish at least a minimal number of supportive relationships. By contrast, in more restrictive cultures, interventions should focus on reducing physical and emotional isolation—for instance, by creating safe spaces and establishing communities for those who deviate from relationship norms, by changing cultural norms to allow individuals to form individually rewarding relationships or by reducing social stigma for norm deviations. Which exact intervention is appropriate and effective may, however, depend on the characteristics and cultural norms of its target group. As such, any intervention needs to be preceded by careful research in the setting where it should eventually be applied. (x)

This read was enlightening, and it really illustrated the external impact (in this case, cultural) on a person’s sense of (dis)connection and loneliness. It hit home for me, and it does explain a lot of my feelings.

I came from a more restrictive culture, never felt “at home”, therefore I was considered a deviant, and that only worsened with factors such as queerness, career choices and relationships status, among other things - none of these were things that I purposely decided I wanted because I know the stigma attached to them, and I knew they would be tools of social exclusion and ostracism, in one way or another. The “relationship status” bit was actually a consequence of my “deviation”.

Not then, nor now have I suffered from physical isolation, but before, I was chained to strict norms, unable to leave a toxic and abusive environment, much like some of the examples in this paper. Now that I’m in a less restrictive place/culture, I have embraced the parts of my self that are considered “wrong” and it was great useful for self-improvement and self-worth.

Regarding emotional isolation, I wanted to say it’s hard to tell but... it really isn’t. Before when I was trapped in a shitty situation, I was in survival mode so I didn’t have the “luxury” of looking at my own feelings and needs. I probably suffered from it then like I do now, I just couldn’t address it. I still can’t address it now, but at least it’s out in the open.

I can see how in a more strict culture, it would be harder to feel lonely, because communities are built with very strong social foundations, the problem is when you deviate from these norms. So you can’t belong in there no matter what. Whereas in less strict cultures, it’s “every man for himself”. You have freedom to be who you are, you can find community everywhere, but (from what I could gather) the foundations are not as strong, and they crumble just as easily.