#chaco war

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Above in (1) to shown the area where Bolivian and Paraguayan troops are waging bitter combat in the dispute over the Gran Chaco territory. Latest reports are that each side has lost about 2,000 men in the Bolivian attack on Fort Nanawa, held by the Paraguayans. The marshland surrounding the fort is a sea of mud making military operations difficult. In (2) is shown General Hans Kundt, veteran German army officer, who is directing the Bolivian attack and calling into operation military tactics used during the Great War. A Paraguayan anti-aircraft gun is seen in (1) indicating the combatants have at their service the necessary attributes of modern warfare.”

- from the Kingston Whig-Standard. January 30, 1933. Page 3.

[confused-alot]

rex & ahsoka’s shitty post-order 66 target run/beach trip?

(from the @rupalpspodrace podcast love you guys💕)

[nexusrasp]

so! i might have mentioned it quite a while back, but i was hired to do some composition/production work for the soundtrack of an indie game a friend of mine was making. it is, finally, finished and out in the world.

it's probably easiest if i just quote the description the director of the game/my friend Santo wrote up, so:

cybeRRRevolution (cyber-R-revolution) is an Indigenous Cyberpunk game about the consequences of imperialist war and how those who survived struggle for the future. An action-adventure game about talking with monsters, piloting godly mechas, and taking down bandits to secure a prosperous future for a nation in a post-war reality. Play as Sepsis, Rebel, or Barrett, each working toward a common goal of Recovery, Reconnection, and Rebuild. While cybeRRRevolution exists in an alternate reality, it is closely based on Guarani customs and traditions, particularly of the communities that live throughout so-called Brazil and Paraguay, with physical locations also being inspired by the jungle, wetland, and arid Chaco regions.

i composed three songs for the game, one of which was included in the launch trailer, and you can see/hear that here.

you can buy the game on itch.io here. i've already been paid for my work but i do make a couple extra bucks if you also buy the soundtrack on bandcamp, which you can find here.

[hotvampireadjacent]

Good lord. I knew the oil industry was drenched in blood but I didn’t know that literally. Still reading opens veins of Latin America. How the oil barons keep control over Latin America and sometimes literally instigating coups and wars for their own advantage.

One specific example is the Chaco war of 1932-1935. “Huey long shook the United States on may 30,1934 with a violent speech according standard oil of New Jersey of provoking the conflict and of financing the Bolivian army so that it would appropriate the Paraguayan Chaco on its behalf. It needed the Chaco- which was also thought to be rich in petroleum- for a pipeline from Bolivia to the river. “These criminals,” Long charged, “have gone down there and hired their assassins.” At Shell’s urging, the Paraguayans marched to the slaughterhouse: advancing northward, the soldiers discovered standard oil’s perforations at the scene of the dispute. It was a quarrel between two corporations, enemies and at the same time partners within the cartel, but it was not they who shed their blood.” (Page 163)

[mapsontheweb]

Argentina's borders

« Atlas des peuples d’Amérique », Jean Sellier, La Découverte, 2006

by cartesdhistoire

In 1853, Argentina adopted a constitution modeled after that of the United States, which combined federalism with presidential governance. However, Buenos Aires did not ratify this constitution and seceded until 1862. It did not become the federal capital until 1880, following its separation from the province.

In the northern regions, territorial expansion was fueled by the War of the Triple Alliance (involving Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay) against Paraguay between 1864 and 1870. Argentina occupied Misiones (located between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers) in 1868, as well as part of the Chaco (which is now the Argentine province of Formosa).

In the southern territories, expansion occurred at the expense of indigenous peoples who had never been subjugated by the Spaniards and who regularly raided the pampas (the provinces of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe). In 1878–1879, General Julio Roca decisively ended these raids by destroying both the summer camps and winter settlements of the indigenous peoples. This "conquest of the desert" led to the incorporation of 650,000 km² of arable land.

In Patagonia, resistance was not primarily from indigenous peoples, who were few in number, but rather from Chilean territorial ambitions. In 1884, Argentina established a foothold in Ushuaïa (Tierra del Fuego). A British arbitration took place in 1902, resulting in Argentina securing the Atlantic side and Chile obtaining control over the Pacific side.

In the South Atlantic, the Falkland Islands archipelago (which received its name from sailors from Saint-Malo) was uninhabited until 1764 when both the French and English undertook colonization efforts. The French departed the archipelago in 1770, followed by the English in 1774. However, after Argentina established a garrison there in 1820, the English protested, expelled the Argentines in 1832, and declared the islands a crown colony in 1833. By 1900, the archipelago had 2000 inhabitants of British origin. In April 1982, the Argentine armed forces attempted to seize the Falklands, but the English compelled them to surrender in June of the same year.

[tsibeyantiger]

Are you guys familiar with the Gran Chaco War? If not: It was a war between Paraguay and Bolivia, competing for the control of the northern half of Paraguay. The interesting part about it is: Bolivia was a lot stronger than Paraguay, so they should have won the war in about five minutes, but they made so stupid decisions that they kept on ruining every advantage they had. Paraguay, meanwhile, could have easily won the war if they had taken advantage of the Bolivian mistakes, but always failed to do so. In the end, there were thousands of totally avoidable deaths because both sides were lead by idiots. It could have been hilarious if it hadn't been so tragic.

What I'm trying to say: Hotd season two makes me think of the Gran Chaco War a lot.

Edit: this is not a critique of the Hotd writing by the way, since "a bunch of idiots in charge of a whole country" is peak realistic writing

[mirai-e-jump]

Masato Yano Photobook: TONE (translations and select pages below)

Publication: March 15, 2024

Masato Yano's 132 Q&A About 13 years ago, "Masato Yano's Style Photobook" was published with a Q&A. Now, a 32 year old Masato Yano answers nearly the same questions again.

1) What's your nickname? Yanocchi, Masanii, Masati

2) When were you born? December 16, 1991

3) What's your blood type? Type B

4) Your zodiac sign? Sagittarius

5) What size family are you from? I come from a family of 4

6) How tall are you? 173cm

7) Your shoe size? 26.5cm

8) What are some of your strengths? My jokes

9) How do you spend your days off? I'll drink the night before, go to the gym

10) What subjects were you worst at? Math and history

11) What are your favorite foods? Sushi and tsukemen

12) What's your assessment of your own personality? I'm easily obsessive and bored. I'm actually shy, but I'm trying my best so you don't think that way (laughs)

13) What are some of your weaknesses? I'm not good at remembering things like people's birthdays or names

14) What are you proud of? That I made my debut in "Shintokumaru"

15) What's your favorite color? Red and white

16) What type of woman do you like? Someone with a good core, someone who eats beautifully

17) What instruments can you play? None

18) What's your special skill? That I can guess who someone is just by their voice

19) What's your best feature? My double eyelids

20) What do you wish would disappear from the world? War

21) The first impressions that are often said about you? That I look scary

22) The person that you respect? Tsumabuki Satoshi-san and Fujiwara Tatsuya-san

23) What do you have a habit of saying? "~nanoyo" and "oh no"

24) Your least favorite type? Someone who only talks about themself

25) What's your treasure? The wallet I received from Tsumabuki-san

26) The ideal self that you desire to be? I want to be liked by many people

27) What's your "theme song"? Recently it's been that I'm the "most powerful king"

28) Your favorite artists? WATWING, the Carpenters, Eric Clapton, GENERATIONS

29) What do you do when you first wake up in the morning? Put on my glasses

30) What do you do right before bed? Put on the radio

31) What habits do you do unconsciously? Touch my nose, do things like suck on the end of a straw

32) What do you usually perform at karaoke? I tend to sing alot by SMAP

33) What foods do you not like? Shiitake mushrooms

34) What's your favorite thing to drink? Mets Grapefruit

35) What was the first CD you ever bought? Jet Coaster Romance by KinKi Kids

36) What do you like to watch and what's your favorite anime? Great Pretender, soccer games

37) How long does it take for you to bathe? 1 hour

38) What's your favorite season? I don't do well with heat

39) When do your emotions become intense? They don't

40) What are your hobbies? Muscle training

41) Do you cry easily? When I feel like it

42) Do you have a pet? What's it's name? I had one. It was a cat named Chaco

43) How many children do you want? I want two. A boy and a girl

44) What's the first thing you look at when entering a convenience store? The bento corner

45) What do you usually buy from a convenience store? Water and spicy ramen

46) What really makes you angry? Nothing much

47) What's the number one thing you want right now? Muscles! (laughs)

48) What have you been secretly interested in recently? The Korean language

49) What's the one thing you'd take to a deserted island? A lighter

50) How do you relax at home? Burn incense and listen to some records

51) What's necessary for world peace? Love

52) What do you wonder about? Why is there a Ladies Day, but not a Men's Day?

53) What would you do if the world ended today? I'd overdo things as usual

54) S? M? I wouldn't say I'm an M💦

55) What's your phone background? Currently it's King-Ohger (for the past 2 months)

56) What animal would you compare yourself to? Some kind of reptilian I guess

57) What are you into these days? Cilantro

58) What do you like to collect? Miniature food sets

59) What's your favorite scent? White musk types, Savon by SHIRO

60) What's something expensive that you bought recently? A vintage varsity jacket

61) How often do you go out shopping? At the very least I go out once a month

62) Can you cook? I do it often

63) What kind of present would you be happy to get from a friend? I'd be happy with anything

64) What would make a girl happy if you gave her a present? Aesop

65) What's your fetish? Legs

66) What would the ideal confession be? Saying it on the way back home after going out for meals a few times

67) At what age do you want to marry by? Hopefully by 40 (laughs)

68) What's something good you do for your body? I go to the gym

69) What's something you always have on you? Chapstick

70) What's the ideal spot for a date? A buffet

71) Which do you prefer? The sea or the mountains? Both the sea and mountains have alot of bugs

72) What scares you? Roller coasters, horror, cockroaches

73) When does your excitement rise? When my work goes well

74) What's your favorite place? Home

75) What's your favorite store? It's a secret ❤️

76) Are you a meat eater? Vegetarian? Are you a fan of cabbage rolls? I eat bugs

77) What's your favorite onigiri topping? Salmon roe

78) What do you usually get at a cafe? I don't go to cafes

79) What's something tasty you've eaten recently? The umeboshi Fukuyama-kun gave me

80) What have you been paranoid about recently? That a big earthquake will hit Tokyo

81) Where do you start washing your body from? My head

82) What's your favorite type of fashion? Things that give off an "American casual" feel

83) At what moment do you fall in love with someone? Sometimes it's not really apparent

84) What words make you happy to hear? "Your performance was good"

85) What's your favorite movie? Grave of the Fireflies

86) What person do you really want to meet right now? Ninagawa-san

87) What's something that's alittle luxurious? Sushi that doesn't come from a conveyor belt

88) How would you describe yourself with a single (kanji) character? "Think," because no matter what I do or say, I have alot to think about.

89) How long does it take you to get up in the morning and leave your house? On a work day it takes 20 minutes. I usually don't go out on my days off (laughs)

90) What changes your mood? When I'm left out

91) What would you consider (if they did) to be cheating on you? If they did a deep kiss (laughs)

92) Are you sensitive to the heat? To the cold? I don't like either

93) Emails or phone calls, which is better? Writing is best

94) What do you frequently use on your phone? Instagram, Twitter, Uber

95) How old were you when you first fell in love? What kind of person were they? It was a kid who lived in my neighborhood when I was in my second year of elementary school.

96) What gestures do women do that make you feel excited? When they put their hair behind one ear

97) Are you enjoying work right now? I want to have fun (laughs)

98) What's your favorite TV program? Programs that only feature comedians

99) What's your favorite sport? Soccer

100) What's your least favorite sport? Baseball

101) Are you the type of person who likes park rides that cause you to scream? I don't do well with them, but if I'm asked to ride one, I will (laughs)

102) Are you good at athletics? I think I'm a good at it

103) What do you take photos of? Tsukemen and sushi

104) What's your favorite flower? Gerbera

105) What's your favorite event of the year? It's New Year's Eve, I'll have a party with my friends and we'll eat alot

106) What's your top 3 favorite stalls at a festival? Beef skewers is #3, grilled squid is #2, okonomiyaki is #1

107) What was your most stressful experience? Performing on opening day for Shintokumaru

108) Your favorite donburi? Beef bowl

109) Are you good with your hands? I wonder~?

110) How long do you sleep in a day? About 3-7 hours. I sleep alot longer on days when I don't work

111) Is your sleeping position good? I think it's okay

112) What's your favorite ramen? I love tsukemen. I have a "cat's tongue" though

113) What color would you compare yourself to? Purple

114) Do you like scary stories? I don't like them in any way (laughs)

115) What subjects were you best at? Gym and art

116) What club activities were you involved in? The soccer club in middle school and the dance club in high school

117) If you were reborn, would you rather be male or female? I'd still want to be male

118) What part time jobs have you had? A bread factory, an Izakaya, a festival stall

119) What do you want to do when you're 40? Meet fans at events

120) What were your favorite school lunches? Nanbanzuke, meat sauce

121) Have you ever seen a ghost? I might've (laughs)

122) What's something you'd like to try that you've never experienced before? Travel overseas

123) Where would you like to take a trip to? Hot springs, Korea, Italy

124) What's your favorite ride at an amusement park? The exploration based ones

125) How many times in one day do you send emails? Currently, I exchange about 30-50 LINE's a day

126) Were you the type of person who finished their Summer homework early? I always felt like I was rushing to finish it at the last second💦

127) Are you more likely to arrive early for a meet up? Or do you arrive late? For work I'm early, in my private life I'm late

128) If you want to go out with someone, how many years older are you okay with? I've never thought about it in terms of age

129) What's an essential item you need when traveling? Earphones

130) What do you do when you can't sleep at night? There are so many things that I'll just give up. I actually thought about this questionnaire when I couldn't sleep (laughs)

131) What do you think about while brushing your teeth? I imagine that there's red paint on my teeth, and then I'll imagine how I have to get it off

132) If you only had one week left to live, what would you do? I'd eat a bunch of the foods I like. I'd meet up with the people I like as much as possible. I'd leave a secret audio farewell message for everyone

[specialagentartemis]

Chaco as a military state- what?? What grounds is that theory using??

Steve Lekson is a genuinely respected Chaco archaeologist with a... very idiosyncratic proposal about its social organization, which I am never sure how much he seriously believes and how much he puts forward to be provocative on purpose.

I think he put forward his idea of Chaco Canyon as the seat of a true state with the ability to muster a military to enforce the alliances with other Great House outliers back when it was more popular to view Chaco as a much more communal religious pilgrimage location. He posited the Great Houses as elite spaces akin to palaces, with their displays of wealth and power and evident ability to organize vast amounts of labor to build them, and the Chaco Roads serving a similar function as Inca or Roman roads: allowing the ability to muster forces and move people and supplies across the landscape quickly. He interpreted elite control over exotic and valuable goods as evidence of a much stronger and more centralized control over the political sphere, and outlying Great Houses not as individual organizations mirroring and claiming Chacoan power for their own communities but impositions of a Chaco worldview from the Canyon as center. and this was even before the DNA study where we learned about matrilineal elites/rulers!

Genuinely can't tell how much he believes it, vs. how much it's the academic version of performance art where he' says's saying to the Establishment, "you wanna believe in hippy-dippy Chaco soooo bad. What if they were a state? What if they did rule by imposed hierarchical coercion? What if the outlying Great Houses weren't a voluntary alignment with Chacoan ideology but an imposition of it by force? Why do you think there couldn't be a North American empire? Does that challenge your ideas of Chacoans as peaceful religious noble savages too much?" He has a very well-written and thought-provoking chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Southwest Archaeology about the need for scientific imagination and narrative history. It begins like this:

A colleague once told me that it was impossible to write a narrative history of the ancient Southwest. So I wrote one. In my narrative (Lekson 2009), there were rises and falls, triumphs and tragedies, nobles and commoners, war and peace, cities and countrysides—tropes of history everywhere in the world—but these almost never appeared in scholarly accounts of the ancient Southwest. And that was the polemic of my history: American anthropological archaeology denies to Native societies north of Mexico any significant history (Lekson 2010). Just a few notable events, mostly natural: a drought here, a collapse there, a migration or two, and so forth—but no kings-and-battles history, nothing for narrative.

It's a political stance as much as it's an archaeological claim, and he has been annoying other Chaco specialists for decades with this.

[eris-snow]

1. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐤𝐞𝐢𝐧

Tags: Anachronism (part 1), fem!reader, fluff, reincarnation, second life, you get the drill

Shoto feels like he has seen you before. But that’s not possible. He’s never seen you in his life.

Believe it or not, it all started with one stupid celebration.

“Come on Shoto,” Ochaco whines, chasing after him into the common room. “It’s one party to celebrate the end of the war! Deku and Katsuki are finally out of the hospital and the school wants to do something fun before we get back to training—”

“I have a half-barbecued brother at home and in desperate need of a family therapist.” Shoto deadpans, escaping to the lift, but Ochaco knows him too well and corners him at the couches. Sero scoots over a seat the best he could with a banged-up leg, too absorbed in his phone to care.

“I’m not going for the dance.”

“Shoto, we’ve just won a war,” Ochaco folds her arms, looking exasperated. “Shouldn’t you take some time off to have some fun for one night before throwing yourself back into hero work?”

The one thing that Ochaco doesn’t seem to get is that Shoto despises social events. It might seem like a silly little ‘prom-came-early’ night for his friends, but it’s an extra 3 hours tops of social anxiety, awkwardness and energy that he does not want to live through. His social battery drains at a deadly fast rate, and by the end of 5 minutes inside a dimly lit room with dizzy disco lights, he’s bound to end up unlocking alcoholism two years too early to cope.

Shoto gets it. It’s been two months since they’ve pounded Shigaraki and All For One into the dust, two weeks since he was out of the hospital and three days since U.A. announced this party for the entire school. It was mostly meant for the Hero Course, but then again, the entire school had been affected, and thus was only fair that everyone could celebrate it. But after being stuck bedridden, then rehab, then coming back to find most of the city still being under construction?

To find people homeless, and have lives lost…the feeling of victory has faded into a murky grey off another ‘oh, yeah, I’ve done this’.

It feels jarring and wrong to celebrate this when so many people died.

“’ Chaco, if Icy Hot doesn’t wanna go don’t fuckin’ force him.”

Shoto lets out a sigh of relief when Katsuki slips past the front door and beelines to the kitchen, arms stuffed with groceries. Finally, a man with a conscience. Ochaco pouts and shoots him a last-ditch effort (puppy dog eyes), but with a head shake from Shoto, she finally lets it go and plops down on the sofa in defeat.

As a silent thanks, Shoto yoinks the perishables to help Katsuki restock the fridge, finding peace in knowing that the entire time his class is spent partying at Sparkly Town, he’ll be up in his room in his pyjamas with a tub of popcorn binging the final season of Attack On Titan. War does many things to people, and one of the things Shoto was introduced to was the beautiful, twisted world of anime to cure his infinite boredom on the hospital bed. (He’s highly invested, thank you very much)

It takes Shoto a second to realise that the ash blond is only rearranging what Shoto has already put into the fridge before Shoto picks up the sour envy radiating from his friend’s soul.

“Wish you were me?” He teases, placing the milk carton into one of the bottom shelves.

Katsuki scoffs, instinctively moving it to the shelving on the door. “Shut your trap, Icy Hot. You try having Izuku stare at you with those big fuckin’ puppy eyes. You wouldn’t last ten seconds.”

“I bet longer than you.”

“I call bullshit!”

Katsuki swipes the apple from Shoto’s hands and gives him a menacing glare. “He went batshit crazy when he heard about the school festival and threw a panic party for himself when Denki suggested he ask Ochaco out. What was I supposed to do? Let him die?”

“You’d think that after beating a crazy war demon, he’d be able to pull his act together to ask his year-old crush out.” Shoto chuckles, leaning against the countertop.

“Short story shorter: Someone needs to drag his sorry ass back to the dorms when he fucks his chance up again by falling on his face, and since you weren’t there at the time, he blackmailed and guilt-tripped me into going with him because he’s a wimp.” Katsuki shoves a tomato in and slams the refrigerator door before he downright hisses at Shoto. “You’re lucky.”

Shoto’s response is a smug smile. “We agreed to take turns.”

“Your turn was over 6 months ago!” Katsuki booms. He’s just about had enough, because when he stalks off to the lifts and Shoto calls out a “thank you!” for his noble sacrifice, all he gets is two middle fingers as the lift doors close dramatically.

Man, is he glad not to have a love life.

—

To everyone’s surprise, Shoto doesn’t burn down the kitchen with his popcorn shenanigans. He does, however, order a big box of the snack because of what happened in the first 5 minutes in said kitchen.

No one has to know, especially not Bakugou.

With his tub of popcorn, he shuffles to the lifts only to stop when his phone vibrates in his pocket.

Uh-oh, a person. Ew.

He balances his phone between his shoulder and his ear, braces himself, and answers the phone one handedly.

“Hello?” He says, pressing his floor number and popping popcorn into his mouth.

“Shoto, thank goodness!” It’s Izuku’s voice, sheepish and awkward. “I’m so sorry to trouble you, but I was wondering if you could grab my phone? It’s on the coffee table, the one in front of the couches.”

Shoto frowns. “Aren’t you using your phone to call me now?”

“I’m calling from Kacchan’s phone. Didn’t you see when you picked up?”

Shoto’s eyes flicker to his phone screen as he rips it away from his ear. Oh.

Part of him doesn’t want to go out. Heck, he’s had enough of family outings and dinners for a good while. All he wants is to watch Eren get kidnapped for the millionth time, Levi kick some ass, and watch people die. Is that really so much to ask for?

“If it’s too much of a hassle, that’s completely fine—”

Oh, right. The call.

With a sigh and a pinch in between his eyebrows, he nods. “Swing by the entrance. I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”

“Sweet! Thanks Shoto! I appreciate it!”

With that, he hangs up. Shoto stares at his box of crisp, caramel popcorn. Looks like the binging will have to wait.

He drops the snack off in his room and trades his shorts for a pair of comfy sweats, throws a coat on and forces himself out of the dorms with Izuku’s phone in hand. Theoretically, the coat was not needed. He could probably walk around in the Artic and scream “Let It Go.” butt naked without a flinch.

Then again, coats are cosy, so sue him, he was wearing one.

He takes a slow walk as he takes in his surroundings, admiring the snow as it dances around him. Being alone is heaven, and Shoto thoroughly appreciates that now that he was out of his house and away from his dysfunctional family.

His eyes trace the outline of U.A’s building, gleaming in the night filled to the brim with life. Fortunately, Izuku’s already there.

“I’m so sorry Shoto, thank you so much!” The green-haired thanks as Shoto passes over the device.

He shrugs. “No big deal. Good luck, by the way. With Ochaco.”

Uh-oh. Wrong dialogue option.

Within seconds, Izuku devolves into a stuttering mess, making Shoto thoroughly wanting to slap his head on one of the lamp posts standing 5 metres away.

He really needs to keep his mouth shut.

“I knew this would happen.” A voice growls, and when Shoto turns, he realises that Blasty Mcxplode had entered the scene, and he had t-minus five seconds before—

“Come on nerd. Let’s go back inside.” Katsuki beckons a semi-functioning Izuku back into the building, before giving Shoto a glare he has seen far to many times in counting.

“Sleep with one eye open, dick head.” He mouths, before he slams the door in Shoto’s face.

Okay.

Three seconds.

He miscalculated.

With a loaded sigh, Shoto turns back around to head back to the dorms as people breeze past him—

Only for his eyes to catch yours.

You stand there with earmuffs and a coat, obviously not dressed to head in. Your hand is up and it looks like you are waving, but Shoto can’t even process anything because as snow falls around you, time seems to slow because he can’t help but feel like he’s seen you before.

But that’s impossible. Shoto has never seen you in his life.

You peer at him with a curious glint sparkling in your orbs, and he can’t help but think, wow…your eyes are mesmerising.

But why?

“Do I know you?”

Your eyes widen for a split second, and it takes him a moment to realise he said it out loud.

Crap, crap, crap—

What is this?

All he wanted was a peaceful night alone, and yet here he is under the snow, heart pounding, breath caught and his face warm.

We met at the start of the winter.

And like clockwork, the dominos fall again. Fate has charted its course with tangled skein, as Shoto finds you again at the age of 16.

[nievz]

guys, i'm scared

The president of my country, Javier Milei, is getting our country into the Israel-Palestine war. Argetina always went neutral and/or polite in most of wars and i'm glad that we had. In the 90s our country was victim of two terrorist attacks (Amia and ambassadorship of Israel) and no argentina wants that to happen again.

The worst of this is that this war isn't ours and the president already said the we have no money, but now he wants to buy war planes and all of that crap. When this year Bahia Blanca was destructed by a big storm, he did NOTHING, NOTHING, he went to vote something of a football team.

I don't want my country to get involved into ANY war. I want to live my life calm and help with that we can, BUT NEVER GET INTO THE WAR.

So, Dear president: I think that YOU and nobody else but you is kiling all of those kids in Chaco, starving them only to get into a stupid war that nothing has to do with our country. I think that you need to stop filling your mouth with words of justice and liberty and get your labour done. You are killing your people for nothing. You are nothing but a capricious child who plays being king with us as your plebs. I really hope that soon you won't rule anymore.

Español:

Estoy asustada.

El presidente de mi país, Javier Milei, está metiendo a nuestro país en la guerra Israel-Palestina. Argentina siempre fue neutral y/o pro mediaciones en la mayoría de las guerras y me alegro de eso. En los 90s mi país fue vícitma de dos atentados terroristas (Amia y la embajada de Israel) y ningún argentino quiere que eso suceda de nuevo.

Lo peor de todo esto es que la guerra no es nuestra y el presidente ya ha dicho que "no hay plata", pero ahira quuere comprar aviones de guerra y toda esa porquería. Este años cuando Bahía Blanca fue destruida por una tormenta él no hizo NADA, N A D A, fue a votar algo sobre un equipo de futbol.

No quiero que mi país se involucre en NINGUNA guerra. Quiero vivir mi vida en paz y que ayudemos en lo que podamos, PERO JAMÁS METERNOS EN UNA GUERRA.

Así que, quierido presidente: Creo que VOS y nadie más que vos está matando de hambre a los pibes del Chaco, dejándolo sin comer sólo para meternos en una guerra de mierda que nada tiene que ver con nuestro país. Me parece que tenés que dejar de llenarte la boca con palabras de justicia y libertad y ponerte a hacer tu trabajo. Estás matando a tu pueblo por nada. No sos otra cosa que un pendejo caprichoso que juega a ser rey con nosotros como plebellos. Realmente deseo que no gobiernes más pronto.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Will Avert Threat of Mennonite Migration,” Kingston Whig-Standard. February 13, 1933. Page 1. ---- Paraguay to Grant Concessions to Former Canadian Subjects in Order to Retain Them in the Chaco— Hoe and Plough More Important Than Armaments ---- ASUNCION, Paraguay, Feb. 13 — Threatened migration of 5,000 Canadian Mennonite from farms in the Chaco to new and warless fields in Uruguay or Brazil will be averted if any concessions which Paraguay can make will induce the sturdy colonists to remain.

Official sources deny that a commission sent to treat for land concessions in Northern Uruguay and the Brazilian State of Santa Catalina represents the majority of the Chaco Mennonites, but serious attention is being given to the matter because the Paraguayan program for development of the Chaco counts heavily upon the Mennonites.    In its war with Bolivia for possession of the Chaco, Paraguay has relied more upon hoe and plow than upon armaments for eventual victory. Colonlzsilon has been a Paraguayan weapon which Botivia could not match. 

Secession of the Mennonites would not only remove a sixth of the white population of the Chaco and leave  idle a fourth of its cultivated area, but would halt a colonization project which bad been counted upon to bring 60,000 members of the sect eventually onto farm wrested from the wilderness. When the first Mennonites   came from Canada in 1927, they acquired 120 square miles of land in the Central Chaco and made plans for an eventual 400 villages of twenty families each. The colony has grown steadily.

[flagwars]

Flag Wars Bonus Round

[i-identify-tanks-in-posts]

ID on these? Picture is small, sadly, and colorized, but it's interesting. One seems to have two turrets?

Left: Vickers Mark E "Six-tonner" type B, "VAE-446", British light tank, 1928, Vickers

Right: Vickers Mark E "Six-tonner" type A, "VAE-532", British Twin-Turret Light Tank, 1928, Vickers

So, these two tanks actually have a pretty wildly interesting story. This picture of them was taken in Paraguay, after their capture in the Chaco War at the Second Battle of Alihautá, and were the last two Vickers tanks left over in the Bolivian armored division after the disastrous war. They remained in Paraguay for several years, however after that their fate becomes unclear.

Some reports show that VAE 446 was sent to Republican Spain in the Spanish Civil War, by way of a Soviet arms dealer. However, this is difficult to corroborate. What is known, however, is that VAE 552 was returned to Bolivia in 1994 as a gesture of good will. (Pictured below)

99% confidence.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Paraguay and Rutherford B. Hayes

Because @fictionadventurer requested it, so I'll try my best, although I'm no historian and not a Paraguayan, so if there is some inaccuracy it is completely unintentional and I'll gladly welcome corrections!

South America, 1864. Blancos and colorados* in Uruguay are once again at war. The Colorados, diplomatically supported by the Empire of Brazil, had raised against the Blanco government, and had advanced north and put siege to the city of Paysandú. Paraguay, an ally to the Blancos, declared that any Brazilian or Argentinian invasion of Uruguay in support of the Colorados would be seen as an attack on the stability of the region. Brazil ignored this warning, and it intervened, causing the fall of Paysandú and defeat of the Blanco side. Brazil had a particularly vested interest as a Blanco government in Uruguay would have provided an opening to the sea for Paraguayan products (which was also against the interests of the British Crown, as Paraguay was rapidly gearing towards industrialization. This has been more or less accepted in recent decades as one of the underhanded causes of the war).

Paraguay invaded both Brazil and Argentina in an attempt to A) force Brazil to retreat from Uruguay B) Cross Argentina (neutral until that point) with troops to reinforce the Blanco defense, as permission was denied to them by the Argentinian government. This prompted an alliance between Argentina, Uruguay (now in Colorado hands), and Brazil against Paraguay. The war lasted till 1870, half a million people died -making it the bloodiest war in the History of South America-, counting between 50% and 85% of the Paraguayan population -specially the overwhelming majority of it's male population of reproductive age- and it is because of that considered nowadays a war of extermination, a genocide.**

At the end of the war, Brazil and Argentina appropriated chunks of the Paraguayan territory; on the Argentinian side, it was basically the totality of the Paraguayan Chaco. Negotiations between the two countries went back and forth for years, until in 1976 they agreed to appeal to the president of the US (at the time, Rutherford B. Hayes) to arbiter between the two (as there were no international courts they could go to). Hayes accepted, received the claims from the two countries, and failed in favor of Paraguay by the end of 1878.

Because of this, Hayes is remembered fondly in Paraguay, and a whole departamento (one of the 17 administrative regions of Paraguay) is named Presidente Hayes after him, and so is its capital city, Villa Hayes. There's also a soccer club named after him.

*The National or "Blanco" party and the Colorado party are the traditional founding parties of Uruguay. They are very difficult to align in terms of the political compass as usually understood in the Anglosphere, as they have/had a wide range of political orientations within them (for example, the Colorado party had a Catholic wing and an extremely anti-clerical wing, the Blanco party had a large landowner side and a side that pushed for redistribution of land, etc, etc). In a very gross simplification, the Colorado Party was the "civilization" party, urban, europeizing, economically conservative and socially liberal, whereas the Blanco Party was a rural party, economically liberal and socially conservative. The Blancos had a habit of getting up in arms every few years, as they found their political rights being ignored or curtailed by the ruling Colorados. To mention the main ones, The Great War (1839-1850), Revolution of the Spears (1970-1872), the Revolution of 1897, and The Revolution of 1904.

** as a side "fun" note, Uruguay returned war trophies to Paraguay in 1885, and forgave it the money sanctions against it. It took Argentina till 1954 to return their war trophies, and Brazil has yet to return anything.

[mapsontheweb]

Borders of Bolivia

« Atlas des peuples d’Amérique », Jean Sellier, La Découverte, 2006

by cartesdhistoire

In the Atacama Desert, which belongs to Bolivia, local rulers ("caudillos") granted concessions to foreigners. Around 1840–1850, Chileans exploited guano and then discovered nitrates. British and Chilean investors founded the port of Antofagasta in 1868, then established an Anglo-Chilean company in 1872 and constructed a railway. The Atacama effectively became a Chilean colony. When Bolivia threatened to confiscate the assets of the company that refused to pay a tax of 10 centimes per quintal of saltpeter exported, the Chilean navy landed in Antofagasta (February 14, 1879). Chile then declared war on Bolivia and its ally Peru: it was the War of the Pacific from which Chile emerged victorious; it ended on October 20, 1883, with the Treaty of Ancón, and Bolivia lost its maritime access. This loss was finalized in 1904 and 1929 when the Chileans ceded Tacna to Peru. In return, Chile constructed a railway from Arica to La Paz.

The liberals in power at the time attempted to retain Acre: situated in the north, this territory assigned to Bolivia in 1867 had attracted many Brazilians during the Rubber Fever. In 1899, Acre proclaimed its independence. When Bolivian troops dispatched there were defeated, Bolivia ceded the territory to Brazil (Treaty of Petropolis, 1903).

To the southeast, Bolivia claimed territory where, under nominal Paraguayan authority, Argentine companies exploited a wood called "quebracho". Incidents between Bolivia and Paraguay were frequent along the demarcation line in the 1920s. In 1931, President Salamanca broke off diplomatic relations with Paraguay. This led to the Chaco War and Bolivia's defeat; an armistice was negotiated in Buenos Aires in June 1935, and the peace treaty – simply initialed – allocated the coveted territory to Paraguay (1938). The final treaty was signed on April 27, 2009, in Buenos Aires.

[brookston]

Holidays 6.12

Holidays

Anne Frank Day

Bedstraw Day (French Republic)

Blue Galaxy Day

Children’s Day (Haiti)

Crowded Nest Syndrome Day

Dia dos Namorados (Brazil)

Flag Day (Brazil; New Zealand)

Ghost in the Machine Day

Grimace Day

Helsinki Day (Finland)

Idol Day

Indiana Jones Day

International Adobo Day

International DDX3X Day

International Dubbing Day

International Shia Day

Interracial Marriage Day

June 12 Commemoration (Lagos State, Nigeria)

Lancaster Day (UK)

Little League Girls Baseball Day

Lover’s Day (Japan)

Loving Day

Magic Day

Man of Steel Day

Mother’s Day (Luxembourg)

National Automotive Service Professionals Day

National Black Men Don’t Cheat Day

National Button Battery Awareness Day

National Cancer Thriver Day

National Chiropractic Health Assistant Day (Canada)

National Control Room Worker’s Day

National Cougar Day

National Dairy Goat Awareness Day

National Dame Day

National Esther Day

National Great Dane Day

National Harm Reduction Day (Canada)

National Hospital at Home Patients Day

National Magic Day

National X Day

Orlando United Day (Florida)

Peace Day (Kosovo)

Perfect Game Day

Portland Trail Blazers Day (Oregon)

Pulse Remembrance Day

Queen’s Birthday (Pitcairn Islands, Tuvalu)

Railway Day (Japan)

Red Rose Day

Rock Around the Clock Day

Russia Day (Russia)

Science Day (Turkmenistan)

Senior Race Day (Isle of Man)

Sharon Needles Day (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

612 Day (Minnesota)

Spoonful of Sugar Day

Spousal Abuse Day

State Protection Service Day (Poland)

Stock Market Employees Day (Ukraine)

Superman Day

Swiss Army Knife Day

Tear Down This Wall Day

Valentine’s Day (Brazil)

Welsh Bands T-Shirt Day (UK)

We Remember 612 Day (Hong Kong)

Women’s Veterans Day

World Day Against Child Labour (UN)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chuy’s National Taco Day

International Cachaca Day

International Falafel Day

National Apple Cinnamon Muffin Day

National Jerky Day

Peanut Butter Cookie Day

Pink Spaghetti Day

Poultry Day

Independence & Related Days

Act of Settlement Day (UK; 1701)

Bill of Rights Day (Virginia; 1776)

Chaco Armistice Day (Paraguay)

Constitution Day (Turks & Caicos Island)

Democracy Day (Nigeria)

Philippines (from Spain, 1898)

2nd Wednesday in June

National Time Out Day [2nd Wednesday]

Worshipful Company of Vintners of the City of London Annual Procession [2nd Wednesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning June 12 (2nd Full Week)

California State Parks Week (thru 6.16)

International Listening Association Week (thru 6.16)

Raggedy Ann and Andy Days (thru 6.13)

Festivals Beginning June 12, 2024

Emmett Cherry Festival (Emmett, Idaho) [thru 6.15]

Ice Cream Days (Le Mars, Iowa) [thru 6.15]

Mattituck Strawberry Festival (Mattituck, New York) [thru 6.16]

North by Northeast [NXNE] (Toronto, Canada) [thru 6.16]

San Diego County Fair (Del Mar, California) [thru 7.7]

Taste of London (London, UK) [thru 6.16]

Teapot Day (Tea, South Dakota) [thru 6.15]

W. C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival (Henderson, Kentucky) [thru 6.15]

Feast Days

Adriaen van Stalbemt (Artology)

St. Anthony’s Day Eve (Portugal)

Antonina (Christian; Martyr)

Bannocks Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor and Nazarius (Christian; Martyrs)

Be More Paranoid Day (Pastafarian)

Bob Katz (Muppetism)

St. Charles Borromeo (Positivist; Saint)

Dave Berg (Artology)

Egon Schiele (Artology)

Enmegahbowh (Episcopal Church)

Eskil of Sweden (Christian; Martyr)

Feast of the Blessed Polish Martyrs of World War II

Festival of Mut (Ancient Egypt)

First Ecumenical Council (Lutheran)

Gaspar Bertoni (Christian; Saint)

Gerard Hoffnung Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Gin Day (Pastafarian)

Guy of Cortona (Christian; Saint)

Henry Scott Tuke (Artology)

Hildegard Burjan (Christian; Blessed)

Johanna Spyri (Writerism)

John of Sahagún (Christian; Saint)

Korean Rice Farmers Stream Hair Washing Day (Everyday Wicca)

Len Wein (Artology)

Leo III, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Media Ver VII (Pagan)

Odulf (Christian; Saint)

Onuphrius (Christian; Saint)

Peter of Mount Athos (Christian; Saint)

Sparky Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Ternan, Bishop of the Picts (Christian; Saint)

Zeus’ Day (Ancient Greece)

108 Martyrs of World War II (Christian)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays [Begins at Sundown Day Before]

Shavuot, Day 2 (Judaism) [6-7 Sivan] (a.k.a. …

Feast of the Harvest

Feast of Weeks

Festival of Weeks

First-Fruit festival

Wheat Harvest

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Prime Number Day: 163 [38 of 72]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [34 of 57]

Premieres

Admission Free (Betty Boop Cartoon; 1932)

All About Dogs (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Andy Warhol’s Blue Movie (a.k.a. Fuck; Adult Film; 1969)

Are You My Mother?, by P.D. Eastman (Children’s Book; 1960)

The Brighter Buccaneer, by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories; 1933) [Saint #12]

Bullet Park, by John Cheever (Novel; 1969)

Can’t Hardly Wait (Film; 1998)

Chesapeake, by James A. Michener (Historical Novel; 1978)

Chuck Berry Is On Top, by Chuck Berry (Album; 1959)

Clash of the Titans (Film; 1981)

Cleopatra (Film; 1963)

Clockwork Angels, by Rush (Album; 2012)

Coming Up for Air, by George Orwell (Novel; 1939)

Deep Throat (Adult Film; 1972)

Donald’s Garden (Disney Cartoon; 1942)

Donovan’s Reef (Film; 1963)

Farmer Al Falfa’s Bedtime Story (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1932)

Food, Inc. (Documentary Film; 2009)

Foundation and Empire, by Isaac Asimov (Novel; 1952) [Foundation #2]

Go Bo Diddly, by Bo Diddly (Album; 1959)

History of the World: Part 1 (Film; 1981)

The Horse Soldiers (Film; 1959)

I’ll Chase the Blues Away, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald (Song; 1935)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot (Science Book; 2010)

Jurassic World (Film; 2015)

Line of Duty (BBC TV Series; 2012)

Love and Kisses, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald (Song; 1935)

Mariah Carey, by Mariah Carey (Album; 1990)

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Film; 2015)

Moon (Film; 2009)

Palestrina, by Hans Pfitzner (Opera; 1917)

Predator (Film; 1987)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (Film; 1981)

Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin (Orchestral Jazz; 1924)

The Sailor’s Home (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1936)

She’s Not There, recorded by The Zombies (Song; 1964)

Some Time in New York City, by John Lennon (Album; 1972)

Speedway (Film; 1968)

Superman vs. The Elite (Animated WB Film; 2012)

Surfer Girl, recorded by The Beach Boys (Song; 1963)

Swingers (Film; 1997)

Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, by Blink-182 (Album; 2001)

Testimony of Two Men, by Taylor Caldwell (Novel; 1968)

Toreadorable (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1953)

2 Cool 4 Skool, by BTS (Album; 2013)

The Witches of Eastwick (Film; 1987)

Today’s Name Days

Florinda, Guido, Leo (Austria)

Bazilid, Gašpar, Leon (Croatia)

Antonie (Czech Republic)

Balisius (Denmark)

Eskel, Esko (Estonia)

Esko (Finland)

Guy (France)

Florinda, Guido, Leo (Germany)

Onoufrios (Greece)

Villő (Hungary)

Basilide, Guido, Onofrio (Italy)

Ija, Narda, Nora (Latvia)

Anupras, Dovė, Kristijonas, Kristis, Ramūnas (Lithuania)

Sigfrid, Sigrid, Siri (Norway)

Antonina, Bazyli, Jan, Leon, Onufry, Wyszemir (Poland)

Onufrie, Pavel, Petru (România)

Zlatko (Slovakia)

Juan, Onofre (Spain)

Eskil (Sweden)

Onopriy (Ukraine)

Ahmad, Ahmed, Aisha, Asia, Mohamed, Mohammad, Mohammed (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 164 of 2024; 202 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 24 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 4 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Geng-Wu), Day 7 (Ding-Wei)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 6 Sivan 5784

Islamic: 5 Dhu al-Hijjah 1445

J Cal: 14 Blue; Sevenday [14 of 30]

Julian: 30 May 2024

Moon: 36%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 23 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Charles Borromeo]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 4 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 86 of 92)

Week: 2nd Full Week of June)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 23 of 31)