#roughly same time period same country same language

[miliamin1]

I do love the return of the bit with how Berenice and Lenore's English butts heads when they're both American, it is one of my favorites

[dasha-aibo]

We in the US get like no education whatsoever about Imperial Russian life and culture even in college, what are some things you know about it and whether or not the shift to the Soviet Union and later Russian Federation altered it or killed it?

Apologies if this is a sensitive topic.

Imperial Russia was a whack-ass place, where rughly 85% of the population were peasants, who were not allowed to leave the plot of land they were assigned to. So slaves, with a bit of extra flair.

The rest lived a pretty average European existence of the time, with minor caveats, like the horrible police system, the awful bureaucracy and no political representation whatsoever. Tiny attempts at liberalism were only attempted in the brief time between 1905 and World War I.

Then the Soviets came, tried to do a bunch of wild experiments, before defaulting to the pre-revolution status quo, sans the hereditary monarchy. Like, that's legitimately the only thing they got rid of. Peasants still couldn't leave their villages, there was no political representation and the cities and villages lived in entirely different worlds.

Then the Soviets decided they need HEAVY INDUSTRY and that started a massive growth in the number of urban citizens (a good chunk of which were forcibly-ressetled peasants).

Then the 90s threw everything out of whack. We had a brief period of something approaching political freedom up until roughly 2004, when Putin settled into his autocrat status. The 90s were also, like, really-really bad. Everyone suddenly became even poorer than before and the crime skyrocketed. But there's a good argument to be made that it would've happened anyway, even if USSR didn't collapse. Shit was bad.

Culture-wise all of this did some interesting things. So, in the Imperial times, culture as a whole was a prerogative of the free and the wealthy, but also it was mostly pushed forward by rebellious rich kids in a few big cities. They got a nice formal education, spoke several languages and studied foreign art.

Then the Soviets came and due to the inequality inherent in the Soviet regime, the artists, once again, were relegated to the few big cities where there were education opportunities. But the import of foreign art stopped to a trickle, so the culture diverged from the then-contemporary West in its own weird ways. Ways that were tightly controlled by the state, but hey.

And then in the 90s, 7 lost decades of media suddenly flooded into the country along with true opportunities to rise from nothing for the first time since forever. Again, a very interesting cultural time, until it all got massively corporate and state-sponsored. Yeah, at the same time.

[nextinline-if]

Next in Line - Interactive Fiction

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Next in Line is an interactive fiction in development. It was originally planned as a visual novel. (I am still updating to remove visual novel references across social media, apologies). So, while most of the writing for the demo is complete, I am currently revising it to better fit the interactive fiction format, as well as to give players more agency. The game will be free.

You're next in line for the throne of Castelon, a fictional country very loosely inspired but not based on the ancient and medieval worlds. Particularly, Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, and periods of England.

Shortly after the war ended and a month before your 21st birthday, you received a hastily written letter at the compound in the mountains, where your parents had sent you at 16 to keep you away from the war.

"King dead. James abdicated. You are Next in Line."

Your country is reeling from its King's death and the end of a decade-long war. Today, on your 21st birthday, you begin the timeless tradition of sharing the responsibility of running Castelon for the next year, alongside your mother, Queen Vivian. This tradition, known as The Harbinger Ceremony, is your opportunity to prove your ability to be a reliable ruler.

Prepare to step into a story about love, trust, and finding oneself. Can you navigate your royal duties, solve your father's murder, and find love (or friendship) at the same time? Or, will the Gods withdraw their blessing from you?

Next in Line will be rated Mature. Player direction advised. Please do not play or plan to play if you feel this game could cause any harm to you, or your emotional, or mental wellbeing. If you have questions about the content, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer!

Content will include:

Possible violence

Suggestive language and themes

Optional sexual content (will be skippable or avoidable)

References to war and the effects of war

Death and/or references to death

Some exploration of grief

Language that might be offensive - aka swear / curse words

Some bad possibly unfavorable endings that might make you hate me

Subject to change. Changes will be communicated.

Anticipated Demo Release: Late July / August 2022 (most likely August)

Demo Features:

Prologue Part 1, Prologue Part 2, Chapter 1

Choose your gender (M, F, NB), pronouns, first name, hair color, eye color

Shape the MC's future and some of their past.

Pursue romance or friendship with various characters. See characters further down this post.

Players will not choose sexual orientation - it's up to you to pursue romance if you want or simply don't. All currently planned ROs (3) are romanceable by any MC. Note: there are no poly routes available.

Romance is optional in the game. Although, it should be noted this was originally planned as a romance game so there will be a lot of optional romance content.

3 Family Mottos (based on an early choice) that will unlock various choices throughout the game.

A taste of the "Attributes" system- a personality system that unlocks additional choices throughout the game; my aim here is to make the game replayable in a refreshing way. What kind of Heir will you be?

Full Game Features:

Everything listed above, plus...

Chapters 2-14;

Characters may disapprove or become upset or angry by some of your choices - this does not prevent MC from romance. Like reality, everyone in MC's life is not always going to agree with them.

At least 5 holidays that offer opportunities to honor the gods, further relationships, or simply have a good time;

Optional sexual content;

At least 6 endings;

An extensive stats screen where you can read about yourself, your relationship with others, and the world around you.

Chapters 2-13 will each cover the span of one month. The full game will follow roughly a year of the MC's life as The Harbinger.

Features are subject to change at my discretion.

Sir Constantine Dimas [M], 26 years old, Taurus

Constantine is a Knight in Castelon's Elite Guard. He's fiercely loyal to your family and especially your twin brother, James, who he fought alongside during the Arandale War. Like you, he finds amusement in teasing your brother.

"You're not too different from your twin, both reckless royals, so you probably need someone to care for you."

F. Faramund [M/F], 22 years old, Aquarius

F is someone from your past, from before you were sent to the compound in the mountains. They broke your heart and disappeared. Whether that was heartbreak in a platonic or romantic way is up to you. Now, they're back and seemingly apologetic. Bury the hatchet, rekindle your former relationship or walk a different path altogether.

"Love and war... they both certainly know how to cause us pain."

Lady Margaret [F], 22 years old, Gemini

The mysterious Lady Margaret is a noble businesswoman who enjoys observing from the shadows. You know little about her, but she could prove to be a powerful ally, if you play your cards right.

"I can think of many ways to consume your time."

This is not an exhaustive list of characters - but some key players.

Prince James Verissimo [M], 21 years old

Your twin brother was next in line to the throne. Until he wasn't. His abdication took you by surprise. While you were sent to the compound in the mountains during the war, your twin was sent to war. You and your brother were close growing up, but it's up to you how your relationship plays out moving forward.

Queen Vivian Verissimo [F], 45 years old

Your mother, the Queen of Castelon, is a cunning and nosy woman. As a child, your father was the affectionate one, while your mother was the parent who wanted to ensure you understood the realities of the world. It was a surprise when she agreed with your father to send you away from the war. Perhaps she knew you would play an important role one day.

Lady Anna [F], 20 years old

Anna is your best friend and attendant. Where you go, she goes. She came to the palace as an orphaned child of a minor noble house. Anna is the constant in your life - the one person you've always been able to rely on. She might have a crush on your brother.

Felix Faramund [M], 24 years old

F.'s slightly older brother. Like F., he's returned to Castelon. Unlike F., Felix can be quick to anger and he's not afraid to speak his mind. He can read the room, he just doesn't care. You once considered him a friend.

Oracle Davina [F], ??? years old

Davina holds one of the most revered positions in the Kingdom - the voice of the gods. Her duties include overseeing The Harbinger Ceremony and serving on the Royal Council.

[geek-and-destroy]

'Progressive' hindu nationalists - why are they Like That?

Tomorrow is the 26th of January, the 74th Republic Day in India - the day the Indian constitution was formalized and adopted. I thought i'd mourn my fast-fading nationalism on this occasion by kinda airing out some bullshit and starting a political longpost, which is always a good idea right? right???

Since about the end of last year, I've seen some blogs on here that define themselves around hindutva - hindu nationalism, the idea that India is a hindu nation and must abandon its secular status. Any leftie/liberal with any awareness of the news will know their rhetoric is bullshit. Anyone who isn't really aware of Indian religious dynamics would know to spot their Islamophobia from a mile away, because seriously, the discourse is Ben Shapiro levels of bad.

The most egregious of these include hindulivesmatter, rhysaka, yato-dharmasto-jaya, vindhyavasini and others. Basically a small hindu nationalist clique. They're actually not that big a deal even on this hellsite, but they keep annoyingly popping up to start firebrand arguments under posts. But they're not uncommon in the real world. In fact, i think the majority of the Indian urban youth is Like That - anti-homophobia, anti-misogyny, theoretically anti-islamophobia, the same general left-leaning values associated with Gen Z; but with a weird blind spot when it comes to the fascist decline of their own country.

These users are not too different from TERFs, with their couching of hate in progressive, tumblr-social-justice language. There's been a lot of discourse around why TERFs are the way they are, why their otherwise feminist and progressive values eventually shatter in favour of their hate. I want to do something similar for hindutva tumblr, because i see in it a newer kind of hindu nationalist aggression, yet one that i am very familiar with, as an urban upper-middle-class Indian born into a Marathi Hindu family.

The main question i want to answer is this: why does someone espousing dire Islamophobic rhetoric also sincerely believe in progressive ideas? Why do they not see the contradictions? To do that, we need a little primer in post-independence Indian history.

So, it's often said that Indian democracy was not handed to us; this is not only in the sense that we had to fight for our freedom against the Brits, but also in the sense that there were long deliberations on the exact type of republic we wanted to be. The constitution was drafted, finalized and adopted a full three years after the Brits left. This framing of a philosophical struggle stayed on, throughout the tumult of the following decades.

This is how the modern Indian is taught about our history: Several riots, the Emergency in the 70s, the wars with Pakistan and China, the formation of Bangladesh, the victory at the cricket world cup, the Cold War international policy of non-alignment, the Green Revolution, all of these are presented through a frame of struggle, with the Kargil War and the 1991 liberalization being the point of stabilization. The median citizen of 1971 was politically aware and politically involved. That of 2001 was most likely not. At least, that's the narrative of capitalism in the country. This narrative of a 50-year prolonged post-independence struggle is why Indian nationalism is so potent, even outside of the newer Hindu fascist rhetoric. We've got a very intense sense of national pride. I'm guilty of it myself.

In 1991, the economy was opened up to multinational corporations and eventually led to the formation of an Indian petit bourgeois. The period from 1991 to roughly 2011 is seen as a period of idyllic peace much like the Clinton administration in the US. Culturally, this was the time of the Bollywood masala movie - light, apolitical and all about a big Hindu joint family that preaches benevolent unity of all religions. But the thing that was never mentioned in these movies was caste - an elephant in the room that i haven't addressed yet. Just like the 'default' US Culture is white suburban christian, the default culture here is upper caste middle-class hindu. The aforementioned rise of the middle class was largely along caste lines. Households in the US have microcultures along ethnic lines, and they can be similarly mapped in India through caste and religion.

The Indian equivalent of the megachurch pastor is the ruling BJP's paramilitary parent organization, the RSS, as well as others like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Karni Sena, etc - organizations that normal people largely didn't agree with but whose values and morals were ingrained in their subconscious. The apolitical Hindu in like 2004 did not believe, like the RSS does, that India should be a Hindu nation; but he (i use 'he' here because male tends to be default in this case, and that's a whole different conversation) did believe in the greatness of traditions, the Indian armed forces and in ancient Hindu scientific supremacy (which at the time was limited to Aryabhatta's zero and the actual progress in the sciences from ancients like Charaka and Sushruta to more modern ones like Ramanujan and CV Raman - it hadn't gone into cuckoo fantasy land yet, where we showhow had stem cell research and aeroplanes in ancient India and the Ramayana is apparently actual history now). To this person, Savarkar was an icon of the freedom struggle along with others like Gandhi, Bose, Ambedkar, etc, but he didn't know or care about his religio-fascist ideology. Fascist elements existed then and had their pockets of support - the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Modi's CM-hood in Gujarat, and the first BJP national administration came up during this time. To the normal citizen, they were simply extremists with 'some good points'.

2008 was the year of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. Islamophobia didn't fully enter Indian discourse just yet, largely because of the assertion of the city's multicultural identity, but the seeds were certainly sown. In fact, blatant Islamophobia wouldn't be mainstream till 2016 or so - the BJP's 2014 election was won on middle-class concerns. The petit bourgeois finally made its voice heard politically in the 2011 anti-corruption protests spearheaded by Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal, the latter of whom is the founder of the newest major political party in the country. It's typical of protests of this kind, agitating against a vague idea of corruption with not many tangible demands. It is true that by 2011, the Congress government was notoriously bloated, corrupt and ineffectual at a systemic level. The BJP gained a single-party majority on an anti-corruption and pro-welfare platform, with religion not really a factor.

The middle class celebrated this as an ultimate affirmation of their hegemony, and the RSS-derived values kicked into high gear. The celebrations have now become a gloat-fest, kinda like vindicated Marvel fans when their Disney product makes a bajillion dollars. The best example of this is the Ram Mandir inauguration earlier this week. Modi cultivated an image of a messiah figure who could do no wrong. Anyone who opposed their goals is now an anti-national and a traitor. General attitudes as a whole have grown a lot more bloodthirsty and carceral. Propaganda, degradation of public discourse, weakening of the media and public institutions, the whole gamut.

The people running the above-mentioned blogs are quite representative of this demographic. They probably fully believe what they spout. They fully believe that Hindus and Hinduism are under threat in India, that love jihad ("forced conversion") is a real thing, that Islamists are taking over their nation, and even that Hindus have been 'sleeping' and are just now being 'woken up'. At the same time, they believe in socially progressive values. The supposedly pro-LGBT+ and pro-feminist stances taken by the RSS are very much targeted at urban Hindus, not at the West as PR.

The propaganda directed at them (which includes movies, social media and tragically, many news outlets) often appeals to the traditional acceptance of queer individuals in mythological texts to get straight, cis, sheltered urban Hindus of all ages to reconcile bigotries and get on board the hate train. It is often in a comparative frame, juxtaposed with the bigotry in Islamic or Christian texts and historical persecution in the West (btw, the term acceptance is very loose here, they often equate mention of a thing with acceptance of that thing even if it's derogatory. Ancient hindu culture only 'accepted' trans women, and that was a marginalized acceptance at best).

The RSS often preaches that Hinduism is the religion of tolerance, and advocates for a twisted version of the tolerance paradox. It's reached a level where propaganda doesn't have to be deliberate - the citizens will do it for them. These blogs are true believers despite the contradictions, but their online activity is probably a deliberate form of praxis, with the co-opting of social justice vocab and appealing to white/western/Indian expat guilt etc. So yes, very much like TERFs, except that TERFs are an actual minority whereas Hindutva ideology is increasingly the default 'apolitical' belief. The reactionary internalization has been successful.

Tl;dr: people like hindulivesmatter are sincere in their bigotry towards Muslims as well as their progressive beliefs, because Indian culture as a whole oriented itself towards appealing to the urban upper caste middle class.

[bookofjin]

Account of the Eastern Barbarians (LS54)

[百濟: Middle Chinese: *Paek-tsej, Standard Chinese: Bǎijì, Korean: Baekje, had quite extensive contact with Jiankang through seaborn travel.

[新羅: Middle Chinese: *Sin-la, Standard Chinese: Xīnluó, Korean: Silla, was probably the least known Korean kingdom to Six Dynasties China.

[倭: Middle Chinese: *'Wa, Standard Chinese: Wō, Japanese: Wa in more recent centuries has been used as a rather derogatory name for Japan. However this might not have been the case during the Six Dynasties when Japan was after all a remote and little known land in China.

A lot of this material derive from the Sanguozhi, and so was not exactly new when the Liangshu was written.

Also, please don't eat people even if their flesh is delicious.]

Among the states of the Eastern Yi, Chaoxian is the larger part. They obtained Jizi's conversions, and their receptacles and things still have rites and music. In the time of Wei, that of Chaoxian which belonged to the Dongma Han and the Chen Han for generations communicated with the Central States. Since Jin went beyond the Jiang, there floated envoys from east of the sea, and there was Gaogouli and Baiji, and in the timespan of Song and Qi they regularly exchanged appointments and tribute. When Liang flourished, they also made additions to them. The state of Fusang was in the past unknown. Middle of Putong [520 – 527], there was person of the Way that claimed he ad arrived from there. His words on the primary origins were particularly thorough, and for that reason [I] have also copied them.

…

Baiji, their ancestors among the Eastern Yi were the states of the Three Han. The first was called Mahan, the second Chenhan, and the third Bianhan. The Bianhan and Chenhan each had twelve states, Mahan had 54 states. The great states had more than ten thousand families, the small states had several thousand families, altogether there were more than a hundred thousand households. Baiji was precisely one of them. Later they gradually become strong and large, and combined the various small states. Their state was originally together with Gouli located east of Liaodong. During the Jin period when Gouli was roughly possessing Liaodong, Baiji likewise occupied land of Liaoxi and Jinping commandeiers, and from them set up Baiji commandery.

Middle of Jin's Taiyuan [376 – 396] there was King Xu, middle of Yixi [405 – 418] King Yuying, middle of Song's Yuanjia [424 – 453], King Yupi. All of them dispatched to present living mouths. Yupi died, they installed his son Qing. Qing died, his son Moudu was installed. Du died, they installed his son Moutai. Middle of Qi's Yongming [483 – 493], he was appointed Great Chief Controller for the Various Army Affairs of Baiji, Great General who Quells the East, and King of Baiji.

…

Xinluo, their ancestors were originally of the Chenhan kind. The Chenhan were also called the Qin Han, the distance between them was ten ten thousand li. Tradition say that in the age of Qin, fugitives fled conscription and came consequently to the Mahan. The Mahan likewise cut off their eastern area to settle them. Since they were people of Qin, they for that reason were called Qin Han. How they call things in their language resembles people from the Central States. They call a state a country, a bow an arc, a thief a bandit, and drinking wine as drinking toasts. They all call each other convicts, which is not the same as the Mahan. Also for the kings of the Chenhan they regularly employed people of the Mahan to make them. For generations they were bound together, the Chenhan did not mange to install themselves as kings, and they made clear them being drifting and shifting people was the reason.

The Chenhan at first had six states, little by little they divided to become twelve, Xinluo is precisely one of them. Their state is located more than 5 000 li south-east of Baiji. East of their land they adjoin the great sea, and north and south they have borders with Gouli and Baiji. In the time of Wei they were called Xinlu, in the time of Song Xinluo and sometimes Siluo. Their state was small and they were unable to communicate through envoys and missions.

…

The Wo refer to themselves as descendants of Taibo, by custom they all decorate their bodies. The distance from Daifang is more than 12 000 li. For the most part they are located east of Kuaiji, the distance between them is exceedingly long. From Daifang to Wo, [you] follow the sea and travelling by water, go past the Han states, east then south, and after more than 7 000 li, first cross one sea. The sea is more than 1 000 li broad and is named the Han Sea. [You] arrive at the state of Yizhi. Again cross one sea for more than 1000 li, named the state of Weilu. Again travel south-east by land 500 li to arrive at the state of Yidu. Again travel south-east 100 li to arrive at the state of Nu. Again travel east 100 li to arrive at the state of Bumi. Again travel south 20 days by water to arrive at the state of Touma. Again travel 10 days south by water, and travel by land a month and a day to arrive at the state of Qimatai, which is precisely where the King of Wo resides.

Their officials are the Yizhima, next the Mimahuozhi, next the Nuwangdi. The people grow millet, rice, ramie, and hemp, silkworms and mulberry, they weave and spin. They have ginger, cinnamon, tangerine, (fagara) pepper and perilla. They produce black pheasant, true pearls, and blue-green jade. There is an animal which is like an ox, named the shanshu [lit. “mountain mouse]. There is also a great snake that swallows this animal. The snake's skin is hard and not possible to cut, On it there is a hole which opens and closes, sometimes it is glowing. Shoot and hit it, and the snake then dies.

The things and products are roughly similar to Dan'er and Zhuya. The land is warm and temperal, the manners and customs are not licentious. Men and women all expose their hair-knots [?]. The rich and noble use brocade embroidered with a mix of colours for their headgear, resembling the Central States' Hu-style wear. For food and drink they use bamboo bowls and platters. When they die, they have an inner-coffin but no outer-coffin, they raise a mound to make a tomb. The people all by nature have a thirst for alcohol. In their customs they do not know the correct year, but many live to old age. Many become eighty or ninety, some become a hundred years old. In their customs, women are many and men are few. The noble have four or five wives, the humble still have two or three wives. A wife is not licentious or jealous. They have no banditry or theft and few arguments and disputes. If [someone] transgress the law, if it is light they take his wife and children. If serious, they wipe out his clan.

Middle of Emperor Ling of Han's Guanghe era [178 – 184], the state of Wo was in chaos. They attacked and invaded each other over successive years, and then installed a woman, Beimihu as King [Middle Chinese: Pjie-mjie-xu]. Mihu had no husband and held close the Way of ghosts. She was able to deceive the multitudes, and for that reason the people of the state installed her. She had a younger brother who aided her in governing the sate. After becoming king, few saw her. She used a thousand servant girls to attend herself, and only made a single man set out and enter to pass on her teachings and orders. The location of her palace houses, regularly had troops and defending guards. Reaching Wei's 3rd Year of Jingchu [239 AD], after Gongsun Yuan was executed, Beimihu first dispatched envoys to court with tribute. Wei used her as King Friendly to Wei, making use of golden seal and purple ribbon.

Middle of Zhengshi [240 – 249], Beimihu died, and they once more installed a man as King. Within the state [people] did not submit, and once more executed and killed each other. Then they installed a clanswoman of Beimihu, Taiyu, as King. After her they then installed a man as King. All accepted the Central States' feudal titles and instructions. In the time of Emperor An of Jin [r. 396 – 419], there was King Zan of Wo. Zan died, they installed his younger brother Mi. Mi died, they installed his son Ji. Ji died, they installed his son Xing. Xing died, they installed his younger brother Wu. Middle of Qi's Jianyuan [479 – 482], they appointed Wu Holding the Tally, Controlling the Various Army Affairs of the Six States of Wo, Xinluo, Renna, Qieluo, Qinhan, and Muhan, and Great General who Quells the East.

…

South of them is the state of Zhuru [lit. “Midgets”], where people are three or four chi tall. Again south are the states of Heichi [“Black Teeth”] and Luo [“Nude”], the distance from Wo is more than 4 000 li, travel by boat is perhaps a year before arriving. Again south-west for more 10 000 li are the sea people. Their bodies are black and their eyeballs are white, they are nude and repulsive. Their flesh is delicious and travellers sometimes shoot and eat them.

The state of Wenshen [“Patterned Bodies”] is more than 7 000 li north-east of the state of Wo. People's limbs have patterns like animals, and on their heads are three patterns. Those whose patterns are straight are noble, those whose patterns are thin are humble. Their native custom is to be happy and pleased. Things are plentiful but worthless. Travelling guests do not offer provisions. They have roofs and eaves but no walled cities. The place where their king resides is decorated with gold, silver, and precious and magnificent [things]. They surround their houses with a moat, 1 zhang wide, and fill it with mercury. Rain then flows on top of the mercury. At the market they use precious treasure. Those who commit a light crime they whip and cane. Those who commit a capital crime, they set up a violent animal to eat them. If it is unjust, the violent animal will turn away and not eat them. If they pass through the night, they will pardon them.

The state of Dahan [“Great Han”] is more than 5 000 li east of the state of Wenshen. They have no troops or weapons, and they do not attack or battle. Their manners and customs are both similar to the state of Wenshen, but their language are different.

[lilyginnyblackv2]

People on r/anime saying Japan doesn't have a Medieval Period and are being upvoted, while a person saying they did are being downvoted. 🤡

I *cannot* with anime fans anymore. They are talking straight out of their asses, saying stuff like, "it wasn't referred to as Medieval, so it wasn't a Medieval Period" or "their calendar was different, so the dates would be different." 🙃

Jisho.org showing that the idea and concept of the middle ages exists in Japan and is during roughly the same time as Europe:

(Jisho.org image below)

The term is wide reaching and while the exact dates and lengths of time may differ here and there in comparison to Europe's Medieval Period, this era of time still existed in Japan. It is just referred to as Medieval Japan, just to clarify that the topic is specifically on Japan's middle ages.

That is something mentioned on the Japanese wiki page about the Middles Ages in general, where they note all the different Middle Ages (Europe, Japan, China, and Islam) and even note that Japan's Middle Ages period is often also referred to as "Feudal Japan."

(Wiki image below).

And that is a key point. Feudalism is an aspect found in both Europe's Middle Ages and Japan's. That's like a key element, lmao. Are the details and the exact namings of things going to be different between the two? Of course, because they are two different countries, with different languages, customs, religions, etc., but that doesn't change the fact that Japan had a Middle Ages that had elements like:

- A huge wealth gap (peasants and nobility).

- Feudalism - Lords and Vassals, Indentured Servitude, etc.

- Superstition and the belief in other wordly things (youkai, demons, witches, magic, etc. etc.).

- Religion - New forms of Buddhism, like Zen Buddhism from China showed up. Buddhism was being mixed together with the government in a similar way as Christianity in Europe. Buddhist temples were becoming places of education, etc. Christianity was first brought over to Japan at this time.

Nowadays, Christianity doesn't have a strong hold over Japan, but that's only because it was eventually stamped out...*because* it was initially so popular. During Japan's Medieval Period, Christianity was introduced and started gaining popularity. This is all similar, though different, to how religion and Christianity held a large strong hold over people in Europe around the same time.

- A very unsettled time period due to constant wars and fighting.

- Increase in agriculture.

There are likely more similarities, but there you go. There are some key ones. So, it is just baffling to me that these guys over on r/anime are speaking so confidently about Japan not having a Medieval Period. 🙄

The fact that one of the people mentioned the Heian Period tells me that they have absolutely no idea what they are talking about and have never actually studied Japanese history.

Just sounds like more of the usual orientalism that expresses itself as Japanese exceptionalism, aka this idea that Japan did not have or experience a time period (Middle Ages) that was experienced around the world at roughly the same time because *Japan* and the fact that it was so unique and different.

Ugh. Okay, I'm done. There are tons of videos, books, websites, and the like about Japanese history and its Midieval Period.

[languages-with-ian]

GULF ARABIC

!السلام عليكم

First, I'd like to thank everyone for 50 followers! Please keep sharing these posts and feel free to suggest a language or ask a linguistic question!

As the FIFA World Cup progresses through the knockout stage, I'd like to take a dive into the dialect of Arabic spoken in the host country, Qatar.

Arabic as a language is a very broad umbrella encompassing a wide array of dialects spoken from the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, etc. -- the term "Maghreb" (الْمَغْرِب) literally means "the west") to the Arabian Peninsula, and from the Horn of Africa to the Levant. Gulf Arabic, the focus of today's profile, is spoken on the western and southern shores of the Persian Gulf, and to a lesser extent, on the northeast shore. According to Glottolog, Gulf Arabic can be classified as part of the North Arabian Bedouin Arabic set of dialects, part of the Peninsular Arabic branch of the Arabic family. Ultimately, it is a Central Semitic language, the same branch of languages that is home to Hebrew, Phoenician, Ugaritic, Aramaic, and a host of other languages originally native to the Middle East.

Gulf Arabic is spoken by about 10.6 million people (both natively and as a second language), mostly in the Gulf region but also in diaspora. Known locally as "Khalījī" (roughly, "of the Gulf"), this dialect has several features that distinguish it from its dialectal neighbors and from Modern Standard Arabic (MSA, or al-Fuṣḥā - the language of most literature, media, and practically anything else across the Arab world besides vernacular, colloquial Arabic).

Before we dive into particulars, let's take a look at the name, "Qatar". A direct borrowing from Arabic "قَطَر" ("qaṭar" transliterated into the Latin script), it's quite often mispronounced* in English-language media. The Gulf Arabic vernacular pronunciation of the nation's name can be represented in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet, a.k.a. one of my favorite things) like so: [ˈɡɪtˤɑr]. For the uninitiated, imagine saying the English word "guitar" with emphasis on the first syllable. In the video at the beginning of >this article<, the host uses more of a Modern Standard pronunciation, as evidenced by the initial consonant and vowel ("qa" as opposed to "gi").

*However, if someone says something and they mispronounce it or it's not technically a word and you're still able to comprehend what they're trying to say, I say leave it be! It's the polite thing to do, after all.

The Arabic language originated perhaps as far back as 800 BCE somewhere in the northwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Some dialect of Arabic (though certainly not as differentiated as today's Khalījī) was already spoken in Qatar by the time Muhammad sent Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami (العلاء بن الحضرمي) to spread the message of Islam to the area in 628 CE (6-7 AH) (note: it is customary within Islam to follow the Prophet Muhammad's name with an honorific, which this website explains a few of). (If anything in this paragraph is incorrect or disrespectful, please let me know!)

As the centuries passed, empires and caliphates rose and fell. Control over the peninsula changed hands several times well into the modern period. Qatar declared independence from - gasp! - Great Britain only on September 3, 1971, and it had previously been under the control of the Ottomans, Saudis, Persians, and many other dominant regional powers.

Owing perhaps to such a tumultuous regional history, Gulf Arabic's phonology has made some notable shifts away from Classical Arabic (the basis for MSA). Due to influence from an influx of foreign workers (particularly from South Asia), a foreign "p" sound has entered the dialect that distinguishes itself from the "b" sound, an expressly non-native phenomenon requiring a modified letter. Remember that "g" sound in "Qatar" from earlier? This is another of the more visible phonological shifts - though depending on the speaker, some may realize this sound like a Persian "q" (something like a "g" but pronounced back by the uvula), a French "r" (you know the one), an English "g" (phew!), or even like a Classical Arabic "q" in some instances.

I have not personally attempted to learn Gulf Arabic, so I can't give my recommendation on any particular learning apparatus over any other, although this website has a few potential paths to proficiency. However, if you find yourself in Qatar for business or pleasure, you may or may not be pleased to find that English is quite commonly spoken among native Qataris, owing to the nation's recent colonial past with Great Britain.

I would also like to make mention of a hidden gem you may have noticed within this World Cup's logo: the "t" in "Qatar" is quite stretched.

This "stretchy letter" phenomenon is known as "kashida", a borrowing of the Persian "kešide" (کشیده), which means "long" or "weighted" (or, in this instance, "extended"). It can be used for various purposes, such as emphasis of pronunciation or meaning, or as an effort by a calligrapher to fill extra blank space. In many stylized calligraphic texts written in Arabic and its descendant scripts, kashida is perhaps one of the more recognizable techniques utilized, even to someone with no knowledge of what is written.

Here's a link to some Gulf Arabic greetings complete with sound files. Even making the effort to learn some of these will go a long way in opening new doors to you!

Here's a playlist of music by Qatari artists! Listen to the sounds of the Gulf.

I understand this post is quite Qatar-centric, but if you're interested in hearing more about the history and culture of the other areas where Gulf Arabic is prominent (Kuwait, UAE, etc.) let me know and I'd be more than happy to talk about them!

What language would you like to see me profile next? Comment or send me a message! Please follow, share, like, and reblog for more linguistics!

[therewasabrowncrow]

Last week, the “most Indian cabinet” in British history realised a long-standing dream of the Tory right: the introduction of a purposely cruel “points-based” immigration system. Finally, as many were quick to point out, we saw the limits of “representation politics” laid bare – the home secretary, Priti Patel, and the three other British Indians appointed to Johnson’s cabinet will only embolden Tory racism. But there is a more important story to tell here about how the modern Conservative party came to embrace British Indians – one that runs through Nairobi, Harrow East and occupied Kashmir.

Indian migration to Britain took place in two significant waves. The first was in the late 1940s and 50s, when migrants were recruited directly from India by successive governments to fill the labour shortage that resulted from the second world war. They mostly settled in the Midlands and the north-west of England, working in foundries and textile manufacturing. These migrants were heavily involved in building Britain’s antiracist and trade union movements in the 1950s and 60s, drawing on lessons learned from anti-colonial struggles back home to organise their communities in Britain. To this day, these communities are disproportionately working class and Labour voting.

The second wave of Indian migrants to Britain were the so-called “twice migrants” who arrived from east Africa in the 1960s and 70s, having been expelled or encouraged to leave by the newly independent regimes in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. The families of our chancellor, home secretary and attorney general are all part of this latter group.

So how and why have their descendants become so prominent on the Tory frontbenches? The answer begins in 1895, with the creation of the British East Africa Protectorate. British officials envisioned the protectorate, which occupied roughly the same area as modern-day Kenya, as the “America of the Hindu”, a settler-colonial project to be led by Indians on behalf of the British.

In the early 20th century, thousands of Indians (mostly Goans, Gujaratis and Punjabis) were imported into east Africa as subcolonial agents of civilisation. They were required to work in colonial administration and serve in the colonial police and army, to keep the “native peoples” in order. At the same time, more than 30,000 indentured labourers were brought over from India to build the Kenya-Uganda railway.

Many of these labourers chose to settle in the protectorate after the railway was completed. They were soon joined by many more Indian subjects, who moved freely to the protectorate in search of economic prosperity. Functioning as a subordinate ruling class, Indians in east Africa enjoyed success in business, finance and the professions throughout the colonial period, and gained significant control over the economy. By the time Kenya won its independence in 1963, Indians – who accounted for less than 3% of the population – owned more than two thirds of the country’s private non-agricultural assets.

When this group of Indians arrived in Britain, many brought with them the considerable wealth they had accrued (along with a hostility towards black Africans). Others brought with them the benefits of English-language education. These advantages virtually guaranteed the economic success of east African Indians in Britain, especially in the retail businesses of Margaret Thatcher’s “enterprise economy”, for which they soon became known. Rishi Sunak’s pharmacist mother and Priti Patel’s newsagent-owning parents were typical of their generation.

The Conservative leadership of the time identified this demographic as potential voters. From the 1980s onwards, the Tories began to court an imagined “Indian community”, limited to east African Indians who had settled around London. Successful British Indians were held up as evidence of what could be achieved under a free-market Conservative government. In 1988, Thatcher welcomed the new Indian high commissioner to Britain with the following words: “We so much welcome the resourceful Indian community here in Britain. You have brought the virtues of family, of hard work and of resolve to make a better life … you are displaying splendid qualities of enterprise and initiative, which benefit not just you and your families but the Indian community and indeed the nation as a whole.”

Fast-forward to 2010, and the Conservatives held 30% of the British Indian vote. After 30 years of Thatcherite ideology, British Indians were the most pro-Conservative ethnic minority, after the Jewish community. After decades of gradual advance, this number soared to 40% in 2017. In the 2019 election, as the Conservatives chased a realignment towards white northern voters based on racist scaremongering, support in constituencies with high Indian populations increased substantially again. At every point, this has included members of both groups of Indian migrants. Now British Indians make up 15% of the Tory cabinet.

The Tories have now managed to extend their appeal beyond the “two time” migrants by finding common cause in a project of Islamophobia. Supported by the Indian government and its far-right ruling party, the BJP, the Conservatives have exploited a sharp rise in Hindu nationalism within the British Indian community to play Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Muslim communities off against one another.

The Conservative campaign in Harrow East, a marginal constituency in which 25% of the voters are of Indian origin, provided the clearest example of this. The constituency’s Conservative MP, Bob Blackman, whose Twitter background photo shows him smiling next to Prime Minister Modi, saw fit to retweet a post by the far-right commentator Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (alias Tommy Robinson) that highlighted Muslim violence against Hindus. He stated that he had done this in error, but along with others in the Conservative party, he has encouraged the portrayal of Labour as “anti-Hindu” and pro-Muslim, citing Labour’s perceived support for the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination as evidence. In the 2019 election, his majority increased by more than 6,000 votes, and he was sworn into parliament on the Bhagavad Gita.

Seventy years after India liberated itself from colonial rule, the old colonial tactics of divide and rule continue to govern Indians in the metropole. Overcoming this is not an impossible task. However, the relative ease with which we Indians in Britain have found ourselves in this situation should be of serious concern. That the latest expansion of Britain’s punitive border regime can be drawn up and legitimised by the sons and daughters of migrants reveals the limits of an antiracist discourse that claims a common “lived experience” as the grounds for political action.

Our community’s history of antiracist struggle in Britain can show us another way to confront these issues. When Indian migrants first arrived in Britain in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, they joined forces with recently arrived African-Caribbean migrants to form a unified “black” community of resistance. They responded to state neglect, racial violence and racist policing with a range of radical self-help initiatives, run through organisations such as the United Coloured People’s Alliance, the Black Liberation Front and the British Black Panther Movement. This is a story of community and class solidarity based on shared resistance. It should be recovered to prepare us for the fight ahead.

[nemrudking]

Rawê - Gîwergîs Selmo | Darên Bi tenê" { YouTube }

(الفلكلور والغناء الآشوري

– The folklore & Assyrian singing)

History

Tribal and Folkloric Period .

Music, is omnipresent in the village scene. A “Musician” is not necessarily a professional, and whoever can sing in any manner is considered a “singer”. Most of the time, music is learned by ear. The villagers lead a hard life, but whenever there is an opportunity, they love to make music or listen to it

Village music may be categorized, basically, into four groups: Local secular music not related to specific occasions; functional music; religious music; music adopted from other areas

Here are few types of tribal Assyrian Music that has survived to this day, especially in the Assyrian villages and towns of Northern Iraq, southeast Turkey, northwest Iran and northeast Syria

Rawey: A mostly love songs with a story-tale structure, which may include themes about daily life, suffering and pain

Diwane: Sung in gatherings and meetings; lyrics cover aspects of life such as, working in the fields, persecution, suffering, religion

Lilyana: Wedding songs usually sung by women only, especially for the bride before leaving her home to get married. Also sung for the bridegroom the day before his wedding by his family and relatives

Dowlah and Zornah: These are two traditional music instruments, literally meaning a drum and wind-pipe (or flute). They are played together, either with or without singing in many ceremonies such as weddings, welcoming and funerals (however, for funerals played for unmarried men, they are accompanied by singing)

Tambura: Another tribal music instrument, a string instrument with long neck, originated in ancient Assyria, discovered being depicted on carving from South Iraq from UR to Akkad and Ashur. Albert Rouel Tamraz is a famous Assyrian Singer from Iraq who played this instrument and sung many beautiful folkloric songs accompanied by hand-drum (tabla)

It was in the Assyrian homeland north of Mosul that people started to write the modern Syriac vernacular more than two hundred years before the earliest British missionaries, although the earliest records of the Syriac language date from 5th century BC Achaemenid Assyria. The earliest dated text is a poem written in 1591. This makes early Neo-Syriac literature a contemporary of Jewish Neo-Aramaic literature from roughly the same region, dating back to the late 16th century

The Neo-Syriac literature which existed before the arrival of British and American missionaries consisted mainly of poetry. This poetry can be divided into three categories: stanzaic Hymns, dispute poems, and drinking songs. Of these three categories, only the hymns, which in Neo-Syriac are termed duriky; and which can be seen as the equivalent of the Classical Syriac madrase, can usually be traced back to individual authors.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org

***************************************************************

ZMIRYATA-D RAWE

Professor Fabrizio Pennacchietti

University of Turin

Over the last few years, amongst the Aramaic-speaking minorities of the Near East and the countries of Diaspora, an impressive movement of intellectual rebirth has been making its presence felt. In Eastern Neo-Aramaic or Neo-Syriac (Sureth)-the mother tongue of both Christians and Jews of the region extending from the basin of the Botan-Su, a tributary of the Tigris in Turkish Mesopotamia, down to the western bank of Lake Urmia in Iran- the literary activity of the “Assyrians” and the “Chaldeans” of Iran and of American Diaspora deserves note. However, it is above all in Iraq where the Neo-Aramaic cultural reawakening has begun to assume microscopic dimensions

What is disheartening is the fact that only an insignificant minority can still read and write the so-called Nestorian alphabet. However, Neo-Aramaic, as a spoken language, continues to maintain a noteworthy vitality, especially among the Assyrians

Still in this regard, it must be observed that the intense immigration of the Aramaic-speaking population of the Persian Azerbaijan, after the tragic events of World War I extensively influenced the dialects spoken by the Kurdistan Assyrians who in turn became the victims of drastic displacement. Their descendants, in particular those living in Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk, and Basrah, have generally opted for a dialect similar to that of Urmia except for the absence of its typical “Vocal Harmony” or “Synharmonism” . Conversely, the Assyrians of Urmia have willingly adopted the picturesque folklore of the Assyrians of Kurdistan in the form of sane variegated festive costumes, and particular dance steps, not unlike those used by the Kurds

Unfortunately, the disappearance of the dialects of Kurdistan Assyrians is tied up closely with the disappearance of the more authentic contents of Nestorian folklore, like the love songs, the wedding hymns, and the war songs that since time immemorial have been handed down from one generation to the next among the mountain Christians. It is a well-known fact that only Kurdistan Nestorian population groups and above all those who enjoyed equal status with the Moslem Kurds- i.e., the ashiret or warlike tribes originally of the Turkish vilayet of Hakkari- have known how to keep their own fo1k1.ore intact from Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish or Persian influences

This heritage, on the way to extinction, merits being gathered and studied, but presently it is rather difficult to find reliable informants. The younger generation treats it all with indifference, as if it were old-fashioned, while among the old people, only a few know how to explain the sense of an old song or how to give the location of this or that place-name in an ancestral territory that no one has had access or reason to revisit since World War I

Over thirty years ago, the well-known French [Kurdologist], Thomas Bois, voiced the impression that no one among the Assyrians knew how to sing a love song in his mother tongue any more. On looking further back into the past, we can see that research conditions were even less favorable than at the present time. The insecure nature of communication routes, along with the suspicious nature of the Nestorians, made the task of gathering their oral traditions quite a risky undertaking. The few Westerners who ventured into their inaccessible mountain fastnesses either visited them hurriedly, or, as was the case with some American and English missionaries, were moved to do so almost always because of religious motives

The fact remains that whatever meager evidence of popular Assyrian poetry that we have, has never been gathered on the spot in genuine Nestorians surroundings, but rather in marginal areas or even in far distant localities

In 1869, in Damascus, the Semitist and Kurdologist Albert Socin chanced to meet a poverty-stricken Nestorian basket-weaver, a certain Isho by name, son of Dustu from the village of Talana, one of the villages of the Ge1u tribe. Like most of his fellow tribesmen who lived in the poorest and highest territory of the inaccessible mountain Massif that extends form the high basin of the Great lab down to the borders of Iran, the basket-weaver had left his village after 13th September, the Feast of the Cross, and would not return there until the beginning of the following May, after the springtime thaw, and after having wandered all over the Near east. Iso, who other than the Neo-Aramaic dialect of Gelu knew only Kurdish, very willingly dictated two stories to Socin, as well as 16 extremely brief poetic pieces each, composed of a verse made up of three septenary monorhymes

This kind of verse form was already known: it had already been noted in learned Neo-Aramaic poetry about 1600. New, instead, seemed the “literary” form of these tiny compositions with crystal-clear images of mountain life, like rapid sketches, that relayed an amorous message, or described an action born of melancholy, pride, passion, peevishness or good-willed derision

The following year, 1870, Albert Socin visited the Chaldean villages of the plain land at the foot of the mountains to the Northwest of Mosul: Telkef, Alqosh, Dehok and Qasafirr. Here, his curiosity still earnest due to his Damascus encounter, the German orient list expressly asked if re could hear sane popular poetry recited. In the mar Yaqo convent of the French Dominican fathers at Qasafirr, Socin’s crave was quenched to his great surprise by the blind rhapsodist who had just finished dictating to him a penitential sermon by the poet Toma Singari. The blind cantor, believing him to be a priest, held as roost unbecoming Socin’s interest in the kind of poetry best regarded as somewhat immoderate. Socin, incidentally, was never to know that the old cantor was no other than Dawid Kora of Nuhadra (who died at Mosul in 1889), of whom numerous religious hymns and enchanting verse fables have been published. “Blind David” was the most famous Neo-Aramaic poet of his day

Socin’s collection of popular poetry was a rather full one, and was published under the title of Fellihilieder, “Songs of the Fellihi”, that is, of Christian villagers of the plainland, as the Moslems of the nearby city of Mosul call them. How could these songs be defined? Socin liked to call them Schnadahupfl, as if they had something in common with the songs Bavarian peasants sang to accompany the rhythms of group dancers. However, the German scholar did not lose sight of the fact that these verses had not originated on the plainland. Disguised by the local dialect, in fact, too many expressions and words of Kurdish derivation appeared, far more familiar to Nestorian mountain folk than to Cl1aldean villagers who, unlike the Assyrians, fell under the influence of Arabic. Fran this re deduced that they really reflected the folklore of the people of the highlands, in particular the Assyrians of high Kurdistan, “die das Hochgebirge bewohnenden Aramaer” , which were reminiscent of the recitations by the basket-weaver of Gelu, whom he had net in Damascus the year before. Furtherroore, this tradition must have been extremely old, for at the time of his visit it had already lost much of its original meaning, both among the Nestorians of Persia and Jacobites of Tur ‘ Abdin, in Turkish high Mesopotamia

A journey, which I made at Eastertime, 1972, through the province (qada’) of ‘Amadiya about fifty kilometers northeast of Dehok, allowed me the opportunity of establishing that oo1y a small part of the compositions collected by Socin more than a century ago were, in fact, destined for the dance. In the Nestorian village of Bebede, a few kilometers west of ‘Amadiya, I happened to be invited to a wedding reception (xlula), at which I was able to listen to the execution of love songs, called zmiryata-d rawe, which corresponded exactly to those collected by Socin

They belonged to a song form we can describe as amoebaean. While on the threshing floor, the young men and the girls, linked hand in large dance circles, followed the obsessive rhythm of a drum “dahula” and a fife “zurna” , the older guests, gathered together in the diwanxana around the wedding couple, formed two groups and, in turns, started to sing a verselet with a strangely archaic tune. The melodic beat was repeated three times and embraced each line as well as the first accented word of the following line, which means that each word was pronounced twice. It had a modal tune, achieved by means of using chromatics at small intervals, executed with a surprising speed. You had the impression that the width between the highest note and the lowest never exceeded the interval our major sixth would make, even if the most important part of this tune appeared to be limited within the span of a major fourth

Once the stornello was finished, those present showed their appreciation as to the choice of the theme and its execution by singing out a series of stressed (o)’s that finished up on a series of high and extremely sharp (iii)’s. At this point, the second group of singers started the stornello that they considered as being more appropriate to go with the preceding one, and in the end, waited for the applause of the bystanders. This give-and-take continued for hours, with short intervals here and there for something to eat, and to drink a sort of local grappa (eau-de-vie)

In effect, in Socin’s collection the zmiryata-d rawe constitute the major type document. However, besides these stornelli, one can find extracts of songs of a different nature and of wider validity: fragments of a warlike song about the brave ‘Awdiso, and portions of qassityata, verse tales, which are singable in co-ordination with dancing

Upon my return to Baghdad, I looked about for someone who could recite me some songs like the ones I had heard at Bebede. After various fruitless attempts amongst Assyrian city-dwellers -but, unfortunately, they had been city-dwellers for too long – I turned to those of more recent arrival from the district of Barwari Bala, a little more to the North of ‘Amadiya. It was in this way that I realized that the district (nahiya) of Barwari Bala and part of the neighboring districts represents the last strip of Kurdistan territory still populated by autochthonous Nestorians. These are the sons and grandsons of those who, abandoned the area at the end of 1914, and returned by 1920

I finally chose as my informant one of the few survivors of the tragic exodus of 1914: Gewargis, son of Bukko, son of Muse. Born about 1897 at ‘Ehnune/Kani Masi (“the Spring of Fish”), the main village in the Barwari Bala district, Gewargis had lived there with various interruptions until a little after the outbreak of Kurdish-Arab hostilities on 11 November 1961

This austere and strong, venerable old man, dictated to me only these zmiryata-d rawe that he held becoming for a man of his age and reputation. Alas, the number we know of such rawe is terribly limited

Notes

Those who would like to expand their reading on this particular subject are invited to consult my original article “Zmiryata-D rawe

Stornelli degli Aramei Kurdistani”, published in Italian with full notes and comments in Scritti in onore di Guiliano Bonfante, pp. 639-663, Brescia (Italy), Paideia Editrice, 1976

Concerning the word Rawe, which recurs several times in my original text, I had written that, unfortunately, its etymology eluded me. After further investigation, however, I have been able to determine its derivation once and for all. The word Rawe canes from Arabic Rawiy ( ), indicating “the letter which remains the same throughout the entire poem and binds the verses together, so as to form one whole ( ) to bind fast”, cf. W. Wright, “A Grammar of the Arabic Language”, vol. II, Cambridge, At the University Press, 1967. Section 194, p. 352

‘Therefore, banda-d rawe means, a monorhyme strophe and zmiryata-d rawe means monorhyme songs

As for the Italian word stornello, also found, several times in the original article, there is this to say: this kind of poem, ” a short (usually three-lined) popular Italian verse form” (See Chambers’ 1Wentieth Century Dictionary), is known by this Italian name even in English, and so I have chosen to retain it here

Published in “JOURNAL OF ASSYRIAN ACADEMIC SOCIETY 1985-1986 .

[tervacious]

A sudden Nihilistic rant!  Featuring 300% more Nihilism!

I’ve sincerely reached the point, when doing research, of never taking seriously anything that appears as if by MAGIC online when there was never any inkling or evidence of that information prior to the existence of the internet.

One thing about being trained in research from Ye Olden Times when the internet was not a thing is it was difficult to get information and you really had to work for it.  And if you read every work on a subject (which I have on a few subjects), and it was, say, “historical”, not something like scientific research or archaelogy or what not, but based on available documents and storytelling, short of something that can be physically authenticated coming to light?  Everything else that MAGICALLY appears is, honestly, fiction.

And history is already mostly fiction, especially from certain time periods and when concerning certain kinds of people.

The internet, currently, is just awash in make believe and egregious shit.  We’re absolutely in a new Gilded Age in every regard, because during the last Gilded Age, ie roughly 1870 to 1929, newspapers made shit up, people made shit up and it got published as fact, magazines made shit up and it got published as fact, all the goddamned time.  And we’re right back to that same level of unreliability, only on an even more epic scale.  Men telling tales and lying and saying they are fact has always been a problem with history, men believing something is true when it isn’t or couldn’t be, men wanting desperately to believe something is true because it confirms or denies some deeply held opinion of themselves, other men, their country, has always been a problem with history.

I’m not saying nothing new is ever discovered, but if there’s no contemporary documentation and if it contains some amazeballs revelation, odds are beyond high that it is made up.  And I know I’m vagueblogging here because I don’t like to post about what I’m working on, but the last genuine “new” information I found on my subject was unearthed in an archive where it had simply been misplaced for over a hundred years and it could easily be authenticated, and the other was an extremely unexciting but important piece of information that was found in an unassuming way and also could be authenticated and/or accepted as true, and that was in the 1990s.  Everything else about this subject and, frankly, adjacent to this subject that was not recorded prior to, let’s say 2000?  It is so suspect that I’ve decided to just disregard it all.

And that begs the question, why do any of this?  What is the point?  I can’t figure out the point of anything as it is, but when it comes to research and pet projects that go nowhere and you have people accusing you of being close minded and refusing to consider “new information”-- no, I’ve considered it, and there is no credibility to it, so I’m rejecting it, there’s a difference, pal-- I mean, you know, why bother?

Spend enough time on anything that never quite gets off the ground and I think one day you’ll have to take a serious look at yourself and ask the question, what the hell are you doing?  Even if you don’t fall for the sunk-cost fallacy, look at this world and this country, the United States, and seriously, why does anyone do anything anymore?  

And, I mean, History?  In THIS economy?

I know I’m having a crisis right now and it’s effecting me overall, and I’ll probably delete this post or maybe not, but mainly what does the past even matter at this point in time?  What do our niche interests even matter?  How does art make a difference?  How do stories improve anything or answer anything?  I think stories are sacred and have meaning in and of themselves but then how do you tell them and recoup the effort that goes into making them when there’s just no way to do that under capitalism without MAGIC and fakery and, forgive the old timey language but also fight me, whoring yourself and making yourself acceptable in a way only women are ever made to do to get anywhere?

It’s not that I never second guess myself and my life but I’m having a real shit time right now, lads.  Maybe it’s menopause.  Maybe that’s all this is.  Maybe I need to just take a day off and then get back to it and never mind the consequences.  Or maybe I was always wrong from the moment I started this on a lark three decades ago and should never have gone back to it.  Who the fuck even knows?  Not this bitch.

[welcometojapanese]

Dissemination of Chinese written language throughout the east.

Roughly 5000 years ago across the world for one reason or another people began to develop the written language. Over the centuries came the rise, and fall of some languages, as well as the continued evolution of others. One such language that not only continued to evolve, but also contributed to the creation, and development of the written languages of other nations, is Chinese.

Several languages across East Asia were influenced by Chinese. The three languages discussed here will be Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. During the third century BC China’s first dynasty came into fruition. It only lasted a few decades though before the next, the Han Dynasty, began. The han dynasty lasted for several centuries during which China began a period if expansion. After China conquered the surrounding areas, and islands, they would ‘recruit’ the locals to learn the language and work for them. They did this as a means to disseminate their language amongst the locals, and to expand and strengthen their authority in those regions. This was the case for both Korea and Vietnam, however Japan was slightly different. It is thought that somewhere around the fourth or fifth century the ones to bring the chinese language to Japan was Korea. By the 7th century Korea, Vietnam, and Japan, while still largely illiterate, had began to adopt the Chinese writing system as their own. They did this by ascribing the meaning of the written character to the verbal pronunciation of their own language. So the same character in Japan or Korea can mean the same thing, but have wholly different pronunciations. That does not mean that the Chinese pronunciation of the words has been completely removed from the language however. In both Japanese and Korean there are multiple different ways to pronounce the characters which can be figured out with conversational context, and surrounding kanji. Over time other such alterations have been made to the written Chinese language to further suit each language. For example in in Japanese the word basket uses the kanji 毛 meaning fur. This does not mean that fur is used anywhere in the basket making process or anything related necessarily, just that a part of the words pronunciation needed to be supplemented with another kanji. This is what’s known as vernacular writing. Korean also follows this practice, however Vietnamese does not. The Chinese writing system was not fully implemented in Vietnam until much later, around the fourteenth or fifteenth century. They adopted the language using entirely different means, such as adding their own symbols to the Chinese characters to create their own ‘new’ written language. So while Japan and Korea adapted phonetically, Vietnam adapted their language semantically.

Then there is disambiguation. Over time languages must continue to evolve to continue to support our needs and support our ever expanding languages. This evolution can happen either on purpose or on accident, but it will happen nonetheless. This is especially necessary in these countries as Chinese is an adopted writing system that was never meant to support the local languages. This is where disambiguation comes into play. Disambiguation is the process by which something is made more clear. In Japan this was done by introducing what’s known as kana. It’s a new writing system, based on the simplification of kanji, to represent sound, rather than meaning. This allows for the elimination of the need for using kanji like fur to represent an extra syllable in a word like basket, and erases some confusion from the reading and writing process. Once again the approach Vietnam took was different. In order to further disambiguate their language they created entirely new characters of their own to convey meaning. Now they primarily use altered roman script, however they did keep the Chinese style of spacing in their new writing system. Korea also began to diverge from the Chinese Writing system In the fifteenth century King Sejong created an entirely new alphabet to replace the Chinese counterpart. It wasn’t implemented immediately as in the 1950’ Chinese characters were still commonly used across Korea, however since then they have been used less and less, and Chinese characters are far more scarce in Korean papers and literature now.

These types of linguistic practices and evolution are seen globally, not just in East Asia. While being different and far apart our languages have similarly evolved, and continue to do so thus bringing us closer. Especially now in the age of technology, and global communication the adoption of foreign words and practices from all corners of the world into our own has become quite common. A part of me cant help but want a peek at what this will mean for the future of our communication global scale in a hundred or even a thousand years.

[jeduka]

Increasing Numbers of International Students in European Countries

Growing Numbers of International Students in Europe

A number of international students continue to broaden their choices when it comes to studying abroad countries. One recent factor for this is that during the pandemic, some countries only offered online and/or remote learning for long periods while others resumed in-person classes earlier. As we have noted throughout the COVID-19 disruption, even with the growing demand for online and hybrid delivery, many students still prefer the option of in-person study.

Changes in the Choice of Study Abroad Destination

The trend of international students switching their preferred study abroad destination during the pandemic has contributed to a different competitive context for universities and countries. Here are the highlights:

Canada gained more share may be because the US and especially Australia closed borders for a longer time.

With only a few exceptions, international students still can not enter China or New Zealand, and Japan was also very slow to reopen.

The UK might have lost share because of its confusing border policies in parts of 2020–21. But its improved offer for post-study work rights has proven to be so popular that the country is witnessing record numbers of non-EU enrolments.

But overall, it is Europe that has seen a lot more interest from international students in the past few years, and despite their regional proximity, different European countries remarkably have different student mixes from each other.

Studying in UK

The UK saw its international student enrolments increase by 9% in 2020/21 over the previous year to 605,130. The UK’s top markets are in

Two are in South Asia (Pakistan and India)

two are in East Asia (China and Hong Kong).

The UK attracts international students more heavily from Europe for its top 10 sending markets than do France or Germany, and it is also seeing substantial growth in Nigerian student admissions over the past 2 years.

Studying in France

France, which currently hosts roughly 370,000 international students, has only one Asian country in its top tier (China). It is not surprising to know that it attracts large numbers of students from African francophone countries.

Studying in Germany

Germany has seen international enrolments climbing throughout the pandemic to about 330,000. Germany’s top market is mixed among the 3 countries in terms of its regional diversity with significant numbers of students from Asia, the Middle East, Russia, Europe, and Africa choosing German universities.

Studying in Italy

The international student mix of Italy is quite varied. In total, universities in Italy enrolled nearly 100,000 international students in 2020–21. The top 5 sending markets are Romania, Albania, China, India, and Iran.

Studying in Spain

In Spain, Latin America is a major recruitment focus for universities given the Spanish language relationship between the two regions. In 2019–20, 208,370 International students were in Spanish universities — up 12% from 185,145 two years earlier.

Studying in Netherlands

The Netherlands hosted 12% more international students in 2021–22 than in the previous year for a total of 115,070. Top markets for Dutch universities are Germany, Italy, China, Belgium, Spain, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Poland, and India.

Current Demand Factors

European nations other than the UK are seeing increased interest from within the region. It is because the Brexit terms ended EU students’ ability to access “home fee status.” Faced with the prospect of paying the same fees as non-EU students for UK higher education, European students are looking for alternatives to their home countries. They are seeking out quality institutions that are both ranked highly as well as charge relatively less when it comes to tuition fees.

Other destinations within Europe are quickly becoming more popular for African and Asian students who might otherwise have chosen China, Russia, or Ukraine as their Study destinations. This is because they find themselves unable or unwilling to go to those countries because China’s borders remain shut and because of Russia’s war on Ukraine. They also choose European countries rather than Canada or the United States because of the affordable tuition at many European universities.

[lentilbase9]

Apply For China Visa In A Third Country, Hong Kong & Macau

Green Card or your legitimate U.S. visa with your China visa software. In this case, the entity may be an individual, a enterprise firm, a tutorial institution, or perhaps a tourist group. First time applicants who had been born in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau should submit a photocopy of their earlier passport. Although there was an internet process which allowed for an applicant to verify a diploma, this verification just isn't extensively accepted by all labor bureau’s in China. Therefore, it's usually really helpful that an applicant follow the verification process that has been set out of their respective nation. Although the steps of the process may differ from country to country, the ultimate step always remains the same; which is legalization by the Chinese embassy in that specific country. Issued to those that intend to review in China for a interval of not more than one hundred eighty days. Issued to those that intend to study in China for a period of greater than a hundred and eighty days. Issued to resident international journalists of overseas information organizations stationed in China. If you're from Hong Kong or Macau but have obtained the nationality of another country, you no longer need the Entry and Exit Permit. You are subject to the principles of the nation you’re living in. Residents of the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Macau can not apply for a Taiwan visa. And you need to go to the designated institutions for COVID check, and hold the unfavorable outcome to enter. Original and photocopy of certification exhibiting the relationship of quick relations between candidates and inviting individual. If you arrive in Taiwan although some other entry point, you won’t be allowed to enter until you have a legitimate Taiwan visa obtained beforehand. Print the eVisa and use it to journey to Taiwan, where you have to present it to the immigration officers on the level of entry. Japan Visa For Chinese Language Residents One of the largest issues for foreigners and firms hiring foreigners in China is the method to apply & get hold of Chinese work visas for his or her international workers. Work visa requirements in China are infamous, not a lot for its difficulty when it comes to prerequisites, but rather because of frequent modifications in requirements. The list of documents required by the Chinese government has modified nearly every single year since 2016. The processing time for a Japan vacationer visa is roughly 5 working days from the day the applying is submitted. However, 台胞證費用 should apply as early as potential to allow extra time for processing. Visa-exempt travelers to China who want to stay for durations longer than these permitted visa-free for his or her nationality are required to apply for the relevant visa from the closest Chinese embassy or consulate. Like Canada, all visa applicants must use the service supplied by the Visa Center when applying within the UK which is in a position to charge extra fees for dealing with applications. CanadaStarting from March 2015, China introduced that multiple-entry L, M, Q2, and S2 visas with the validity for as a lot as nine years and eleven months can be issued to residents of Canada. The period of stay is 60 days per entry for L and M visas, ninety days for S2 visas, and 120 days for Q2 visas. Visa candidates who're of Chinese descent can get pleasure from a 180-day period of stay when applying for Q2 visas. The utility fee is C$100, and, since making use of via a Visa Center is obligatory when in Canada, an "application service fee" can be charged with each software. The permit is legitimate for 5 years for people underneath 18, or 10 years for these over 18. China Highlights tailor-makes China tours to help vacationers discover China their method. We're a passionate group of one hundred avid vacationers who like to share our knowledge of China with these on the lookout for a extra genuine journey expertise, more ... The unique letter of admission issued by an educational unit working within the People’s Republic of China, and a copy. The United States And China Conform To Extending Visas For Brief Holders of passports from a handful of countries can journey visa-free to mainland China for tourism or enterprise functions. To have an opportunity of extending your visa, you have to go to a neighborhood Chinese consul that deals with the exits and entrances of international citizens. As lengthy as you've a minimal of seven days left in your Chinese Business Visa, you presumably can apply for an extension. This is no assure of an extension, merely a request that can be accredited or denied. Approval for an extension comes with a fee that will be paid for on web site. These are modification pages, reserved by the US Department of State for amendment to the passport. If your passport has no blank visa pages left, you could add further visa pages. If you want passport services, please visit our expedited passport companies section. Those who've settled in Mainland China, nonetheless, may elect to renew their permits in Mainland China, and they can proceed to reside in Mainland China offered that their permits don't expire. A 30-day keep for each go to to Hong Kong is also permitted with the energy of the permit. Like Home Return Permit holders, holders of Taiwan Compatriot Permit also require to acquire a separate employment authorization earlier than working in Mainland China. Taiwan All foreign nationals thinking about entering China must apply for a Chinese visa at the Chinese Embassy of their residence country. There is no provision for China visa application on the port of Entry. ItsEasy maintains the visa requirements to all international locations, together with china. Taiwan passports are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Bureau of Consular Affairs. In addition, an applicant is eligible for an exemption from the MRV fee if he or she is collaborating in a State Department, USAID, or different federally funded educational and cultural exchange program (program serial numbers G-1, G-2, G-3 and G-7). Also, there is not a reciprocity payment for visa issuance to an accompanying or following-to-join spouse or baby (J-2) of an trade visitor grantee or participant. In the occasion of an extended nationwide vacation, the holder might apply for a visa on the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Visa Office, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Holders of aforementioned visas bearing such stamps as VOID, CANCELLED, or CANCELLED WITHOUT PREJUDICE are not eligible for an R.O.C. Travel Authorization Certificate from the National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior. B. For Canadian and UKpassport holders, please check with theNotice for British & Canadian Passport Holders Who Enter Taiwan Visa-Free and Apply for an Extension of Stay. Moreover, from 26 July 2021, the Chinese Embassy within the UK has stopped accepting cost for passport/travel doc application charges by way of bank switch and the Embassy’s bank account has been closed. Application fees must now be paid by way of postal cash order addressed to the Chinese Embassy. When applying for a passport abroad, the payment is US$25 or €20. Myanmar Burma On-line Visa Applications might be accepted provided that the above necessities are duly met. If you like that we return your passport by mail , a self-addressed Canada Post Xpresspost return envelope ought to be enclosed. This workplace assumes no duty for any damages, losses, or delays due to this fact incurred. The working holiday visa for Australia is designed for young foreigners who wish to discover Australia however travel on a good budget. Each sort of visa has its own conditions and necessities and permits the holder to take part in certain actions whereas in Australia. The application materials ought to be delivered to the CVASC in the area of your residence. If a client is dissatisfied with the adjustments being made, the shopper's sole and unique remedy is to refuse the services which the Application Centre offers. The Application Centre will save the collected shoppers' data in physical or electronic type and take cheap administrative measures in order to stop information leakage or unauthorized use and make sure the proper use of all the information. 3.4 Clients shall fastidiously examine all the data on the Pickup Form and make positive that it is right when receiving this document issued by the Application Centre. If any mistakes are discovered, shoppers should contact the Application Centre immediately, and the Application Centre will make necessary correction as soon as attainable. 1.11 “Extended Services” refers to companies supplied by the Application Centre for the convenience of clients other than the Basic Services. If you have been granted an India visa up to now, you should provide a replica of the latest issued India visa. Once the application is submitted the system will process the applicant’s details. If permitted, travelers will receive their visa through e-mail in the following three enterprise days. VFS GLOBAL has taken essential steps to implement and keep safety practices and procedures to guard User Information from unauthorized access, damage, use, modification, disclosure or impairment. VFS GLOBAL has in place suitable safety mechanism and pointers for usage, retention and protection of User Information against unauthorized access, disclosure or abuse. Apply For A U S Visa An intending immigrant becomes a lawful everlasting resident as quickly as the immigrant visa and accompanying paperwork is reviewed and endorsed by a CBP Officer. For particular data concerning immigrant visa classifications and requirements, refer to the USCIS web site or the Department of State web site. When a foreign nationwide desires to return to the United States with no intention of staying completely, he or she should apply for a "non-immigrant" visa. However, you should ask your sponsor earlier than accepting any additional job. A responsibility of the employer is that he/she will be the solely provider of employment for the visa holder. Additionally, he/she will present the employee room and board and round trip airfare as indicated underneath the phrases of the employment contract. The final option is an F-3 visa for individuals who stay in Canada or Mexico and commute to the United States for his or her research. Issuance of a visa does not guarantee entry to the United States. A visa simply signifies that a U.S. consular officer at an American embassy or consulate has reviewed the appliance and that officer has decided that the individual is eligible to enter the country for a particular objective. The CBP Officer on the port-of-entry will conduct an inspection to discover out if the person is eligible for admission under U.S. immigration legislation. Among different required documents, you could have to show the non-immigrant intent and that you have got sturdy ties to your nation. Central Government Opens Vaccine Passport For Travel To The Mainland The precise new requirements are on the discretion of the authorities. Previously, these candidates had to be beneath 60 years old, have a minimal of two years’ work expertise and a bachelor’s diploma. The adjustments are consistent with Chinese Government’s objective to attract more highly-skilled foreign nationals, especially in scientific and progressive fields. And it might probably harm its personal citizens’ efforts to renew journey if other international locations had been to reciprocally make go to rules extra stringent for Chinese nationals who haven’t taken a international vaccine. China this month additionally launched a digital health certificate that accommodates details corresponding to its citizens’ coronavirus check results and vaccination status on messaging app WeChat, which authorities hope can ultimately help Chinese nationals to journey overseas. The eligibility standards for visa software "out of emergency humanitarian wants" will be broadened as applicable. The Mainz-based pharmaceutical company Biontech has introduced a breakthrough. They have now applied for the final approval process and are on the verge of “putting an end to this pandemic”. At the second rules are being tailored continually to be able to lower the number of corona cases. Many individuals are especially questioning how the limitations on travelling during Christmas are organized. In the following article you will discover solutions to your questions. Find out to what you must pay attention when holidaying abroad, what rules apply and what individuals arriving in Germany after spending time in a threat space need to know. Students will be required to fill out an in depth questionnaire to register all travel. Provides you with one-stop solution for the authetication of CanSino or Sinovac vaccinations on the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China for China Visa. We are licensed official translators of the Judiciary Council of Ecuador with legal responsibility for the work produced. We’ll provide you with escorts, interpreters, lawyers and take you through the whole course of efficiently and trouble free. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic known as the exclusion of Chinese vaccines a "dangerous and scandalous determination "during an interview on Saturday. However, they are still subject to different present well being regulations similar to complying with a quarantine interval. Since 2011, we've been serving to hundreds of thousands of visitors such as you untangle travel loyalty programs for free upgrades, flights and resort nights. Make probably the most of your journey with our free and daily publication with the latest hotel and airline news and promotions. Only Benefited for applicant who Inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines produced in China (still very limited quantity, however it's an excellent start). Certificates of unfavorable outcomes from COVID-19 nucleic acid checks along with IgG antibody tests are nonetheless needed to board a flight, based on the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Germany Pupil Visa Requirements 2021 Considering your software as early as potential is the easiest way to go. After all, the earlier you gain acceptance right into a university, the earlier you'll be able to organize your travels. To keep away from disappointment, observe down all the relevant software deadlines in HUGE LETTERS in your calendar. The completion date is the day on which all degree requirements are fulfilled, such as filing the thesis or dissertation in the Graduate Division. If there is no analysis part to the degree program , the completion date could be the final day of final exams of the semester diploma necessities are fulfilled. Students seeking providers can see our currentstudent providers page, which includes virtual and in-person choices. A Q1 visa is single entry, valid for a 30-day stay. The function of the visa is to enter China to apply for a residence allow for family reunion, which might then be used for multiple entries to China during its validity. So, I’m mystified why–before the new laws took effect on Sept. 1–you were issued an X visa, somewhat than an F visa, for a course of research for underneath 6 months. If you plan to review, or take up any sort of work during your studies, then you'll need a visa. If you’re from a country with a year-long visa exemption period, you don’t really want a student visa. You also don’t have to fret about getting a residency allow until you’re really in Georgia.

[lagren0uille]

Michel Niqueux (prof. at the Caen University, and writer of Russian conservatism today : a genealogical attempt) on the history and current state of far-right Russian nationalism/conservatism :

“The Fifth Empire: at the source of some mortifying rhetoric”

The relative support of Russian public opinion (and not “the Russians”) for Putin and his entourage’s reconquest of Ukraine, which can be roughly measured by the spectrum of reactions to Putin's speeches on YouTube, can be explained by propaganda, disinformation, censorship, blind patriotism (“eyes closed, forehead bent, mouth closed”, Piotr Tchaadaev, 1837), and a conservative consensus between the power, the economic elite and the population. But above all, it is rooted in an imperialist, anti-Western, national-conservative soil accumulated over two centuries. Born in reaction to the opening of Russia to Europe by Peter the Great, and then to the French Revolution, Russian conservatism has gradually become more radical, with the West being presented since the beginning of the 19th century by certain conservatives, then by the Slavophiles, Eurasists and their descendants as being “rotten”, moribund, designed to be saved by the light coming from the East or to be buried:

- “Protecting Russia from the European poison of atheism and depravity” [today: the LGBT] (Mikhail Magnitsky, 1820)

- “Russia, the chosen people, will save Europe from decadence” (Andrei Kraiyevsky, 1837)

- “The influence of the West on Russia is over” (Yuri Samarin, 1840)

- “As for the enemy, it is always the same: it is the West” (Fyodor Tyutchev, 1853)

- “Protecting our minds with a Chinese wall” (Eudoxie Rostopchin, 1848)

- “The West is waging a holy war against Russia” (Alexis Khomiakov, 1855)

- “The struggle with Europe is inevitable” (Nicholas Danilevsky, 1869)

- “Democratic progress as decomposition” (Constantine Leontiev, 1882)

- “The Tatar yoke more beneficial than the Roman-German yoke” (Nicholas Troubetzkoy, 1925)

- “The West is the kingdom of the Antichrist” (Alexander Dugin, 2006)

- “We will defeat America” (Archpriest Vsevolod Tchaplin, 2014)

There is a direct filiation between Danilevsky, master of the main political ideologists, and Putin's geopolitical rantings, which should have been taken more seriously (the Münich speech of February 2007; the article on Ukraine in July 2021, justifying in advance the bringing to heel of a “brother” country). The conservative nationalist current, which has its roots in German idealism and slavophilism, has become increasingly aggressive and intellectually impoverished. It remained underground at the time of Brezhnevian communism, but ended up merging with it (cf. Zyuganov's communist party) and swarming into a nebula of nationalist, Stalinist and/or fascist (with Nazi emblems) groups, organisations, websites and blogs, red-brown or brown-white (fascists + monarchists referring to emigration ideologists or to the far right ideologues of the 1905-1917 inter-revolutionary period), most of them weaponizing orthodox religion. The bloody invasion of Ukraine, which was in the midst of its complicated democratic construction, and the submission of Belarus (by other means) is the culmination of 35 years of discourse steeped in imperial nostalgia, a spirit of revenge and resentment against Europe, which for its part complety lacked any kind of political psychology.

Alexander Dugin, born in 1962, is the most media-savvy representative of this Russian New Right (closely related to the [French] Front National), and the author, since 1990, of about 80 books, including Russia's Eurasian Revenge (2014), Ukraine: My War: A Geopolitical Diary (2015), translated into several languages, an admirer of the German “conservative revolution” of 1918-1932 which laid the ground for Nazism, the enlightened propagandist of an anti-globalist, messianic geopolitics, nourished by esotericism, and widely disseminated in governmental, military, and academic circles. His reference authors are René Guénon, Julius Evola, Karl Haushofer, Nicolas Troubetzkoy, Lev Goumiliov, Alain de Benoist, Heidegger. Dugin was able to say of a January 2012 article by Putin: “I had the impression that I had written it” (which may be the case).

Alexander Prokhanov, born in 1938, author of military-imperialist novels, is the prophet of an anti-Western “fifth empire” (after Kiev-Novgorod Russia, Moscow Russia, the Romanov empire, the Stalinist empire). Putin's “long governance”, theorised in 2019 by Vladislav Surkov, the president's adviser from 2013 to 2020, is a version of this. On his eightieth birthday Prokhanov was praised by Putin for his 'lifelong commitment to his civic principles and ideals', which were always Stalinist and anti-Semitic. Putin is now for him the “helmsman of Russian history”.

Prokhanov founded the Izborsk Club in 2012, a think tank directed against the “fifth column” inside Russia (the liberals), and the US outside. It includes, among others, Dugin, the writer Zakhar Prilepine, who is widely translated into French, and was the head of a Donetsk battalion that boasted about having killed “people in large numbers”, Natalia Narotchnitskaya, the director of the “Institute of Democracy and Cooperation” in Paris, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), who is said to be Putin's “director of conscience” (!), O. A. Platonov, ideologist of the “Russian Doctrine” as a bulwark against the anti-Russian “Judeo-Mason conspiracy”, with some forty books, sentenced in 2020 to a four-year suspended prison sentence for incitement to hatred, the television presenter Mikhail Leontiev, a Pinochet supporter, who, along with other power-brokers (Dmitri Kisseliov, Vladimir Soloviov, not to be confused with the great anti-nationalist philosopher, who died in 1900), takes pleasure in throwing oil on the fire. In March 2014, Kisseliev was already threatening to turn the United States into “radioactive dust”.

In 2006-2010 four large volumes of articles appeared under the title Project Russia, the first three anonymous, the third with a million copies printed, the fourth, subtitled The Third Millennium, being the work of the director of the Institute of Strategic Security, a government foundation whose “fascist totalitarian”, millenarian and Gnostic ideas, distributed to all political leaders, were denounced by the protodiac Kuraev.

All these influential personalities participate in the construction of the dominant discourse, which is based on nationalist, anti-European, isolationist, pseudo-orthodox, conspiracy, apocalyptic and esoteric myths or elucubrations disseminated by large publishing houses specialised in this “literature”. The main references are Nicolas Danilevski (1822-1885), author of Russia and Europe (1871), for whom the European type of civilisation has “rotten away” and is bound to disappear in favour of the Pan-Slavic type, and Ivan Ilyine (1883-1954), most often cited by Putin and Ziouganov, who when it comes to immigration defended a fascism free of its “errors”.

The rehabilitation of Stalin, the calls for the canonisation of Ivan the Terrible and Rasputin, the development of a “political orthodoxy (in the confessional sense)”, a nationalist, tsarist, anti-Semitic and anti-oecumenical fundamentalism, a whole darkened, anti-Enlightenment way of thinking, vilifying the universalism of human rights, has seized power over the official media as well as the minds of most deputies and leaders.

The ideological muck of Putin-era Augean stables (Ukraine and the US also have their extremists) has been well studied by social scientists (including in Russia), but more as an object of study than as a real danger. Faced with the radicalisation of conservative discourse, “true conservatism”, or “enlightened conservatism”, present since the beginning of the nineteenth century, with the articles of the philosopher Vladimir Soloviov against Danilevsky's “pseudo-patriotic obscurantism” and the “degeneration of slavophilism”, the voice of Solzhenitsyn, who said in 1990 that “if the Ukrainian people really wanted to break away from us, no one would have the right to hold them back by force” (in How to reorganise our Russia? ), has remained of little weight, the “healthy conservatism” of United Russia (the official party) being a smokescreen and an instrument for the preservation of power. All the rich intellectual and artistic life, culture, and academic research of great quality that existed despite this obscurantism are already suffering from the collateral damage of the war and are cut off from the world by the incoming new Iron Curtain. Vladimir Sorokin's novel Diary of an Opritchnik, was prophetic.

 As early as 1837, Piotr Tchaadaev was worried about the identity-based withdrawal of part of Russian society (...). Lyudmila Ulitskaya, one of the greatest literary voices in Russia, said in 2014: “Every day my country brings the world closer to a new war, our militarism has already sharpened its nails in Chechnya and Georgia, now it is training in Crimea and Ukraine. Farewell, Europe (…). Our great culture, our Tolstoy and Chekhov, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich, our painters, actors, philosophers and scholars were no more able to prevent the politics of the religious fanatics of the communist idea in the past, than they are of stopping the insatiable fools of today." (“farewell, Europe”, 26 July 2014).

[plannedparenthood]

Medicaid vs. Medicare

Disclaimer: Planned Parenthood believes in using gender-inclusive language. However, when we’re referencing government data and statistics, we have to use the data points they chose, which often don’t reflect the full range of gender identities. We hope that in the future, all research will better reflect and respect the diversity of gender. 

It’s easy to mix up Medicaid and Medicare. They sound super similar and they’re both well-known government programs that help people get health care across the country. But it’s important to know the difference so you and the people you care about can benefit.

The Difference Between Medicaid and Medicare

Although Medicaid and Medicare are complex, here’s the main difference: 

Medicaid is insurance that aids people of all ages who have low incomes. Medicaid covers 21% of the U.S. population.

Medicare is insurance that primarily cares for people ages 65 years and up (with any income).  Medicare covers 14% of the U.S. population.

Here’s where this gets tricky: Medicare also covers people of all ages who have disabilities or who are on dialysis — including people who need reproductive health care, such as birth control and pregnancy services. What’s more, people can be on both Medicaid and Medicare at the same time. (For these “dual eligible” beneficiaries, Medicare pays their claims first and Medicaid pays second.)

What Medicaid and Medicare Have in Common

Overall, Medicaid and Medicare provide health care for almost 108 million Americans. These federal programs also provide health care to a greater number of women than any other single source in America. 

Together, their coverage includes several reproductive and sexual health care services — like wellness exams, STD tests and treatment, cancer screenings and treatment, prenatal and postnatal care, and labor and delivery. 

Medicaid: America’s #1 Source for Reproductive Health Care

When you think of Medicaid, think of it as THE reproductive health care program in the United States. Here’s why:

Women and girls are the majority of Medicaid’s 75 million enrollees. 

Medicaid covers more women’s health care than any other payer.

Nationwide, Medicaid covers one in five (21%) of all women and girls of reproductive age. That’s 13.2 million people ages 15 to 44 years old. 

Medicaid covers nearly half of all births and 75% of family planning services.

Medicaid Serves People of Color

Due to racism and other systemic barriers that have contributed to income inequality, women of color disproportionately comprise the Medicaid population, or roughly 57% of women in the program overall. And they are also over-represented given their share of the general population. For example, 30% of African-American women and 24% of Hispanic women are enrolled in Medicaid, compared to only 14% of white women. 

Why is that important to know? Because any limits on Medicaid hurt women of color in particular. 

One example of a limit on Medicaid that hurts women of color: states refusing to adopt Medicaid expansion. As a result of the Affordable Care Act, adults who don’t have children and have incomes at or below 138% of the federal poverty level are entitled to Medicaid coverage if their states choose to expand Medicaid. To date, 37 states (including D.C.) have adopted the Medicaid expansion, and 14 states haven’t adopted the expansion. States that haven’t adopted Medicaid expansion lag behind in covering people with low incomes and vulnerable populations.

Medicare: Meeting Your Health Care Needs Later in Life

Similar to Medicaid, the majority (56%) of Medicare’s older enrollees are women. That’s 24 million women, ages 65 and up.

Medicare covers some of the same sexual and reproductive health services as Medicaid, but not all. Whereas Medicaid always covers birth control, only some Medicare plans do. That’s because Medicare focuses on the needs of older adults. To that end, Medicare covers special services for older women — like bone density screenings and medication for post-menopausal osteoporosis. 

Because of the gender pay gap throughout their lives, older women are more likely to live in poverty and qualify for Medicaid than older men. Of the 50 million Medicare users age 65 and up, more than half (56%) are women. The gender disparity grows larger as people age: Two of every three Medicaid beneficiaries age 85 and up are women.

Who Pays for Medicaid & Medicare?

Medicaid is a jointly-run federal and state health insurance program.  This means both state and federal tax dollars pay for Medicaid. 

Medicare isn’t a joint federal-state program. Instead, Medicare is a federal insurance program. So, your federal tax dollars mostly pay for Medicare.

Do Planned Parenthood Health Centers Take Medicaid and Medicare?

Most Planned Parenthood health centers accept Medicaid, and some providers at Planned Parenthood health centers accept Medicare. Find a Planned Parenthood health center near you to learn what insurance plans they accept. You can also call 1-800-230-PLAN to speak with a Planned Parenthood staff member who can help you figure out coverage and costs. 

Whether you have Medicaid, Medicare, any other insurance, or no insurance at all, you can always visit your local Planned Parenthood health center for the care you need, when you need it.

Can Medicaid and Medicare Cover Abortion?

No, in most cases, you can’t use Medicaid, Medicare, or any other federal health insurance program for abortion. 

An unfair policy called the Hyde Amendment blocks federal funding for abortion with three narrow exceptions: when the pregnancy could kill the patient, or when the pregnancy results from rape or incest. Federal health programs cannot cover abortion even when a patient’s health is at risk and their health care provider recommends they get an abortion.

Still, 16 states with pro-reproductive health leaders have taken the bold step to cover safe, legal abortion with state funds for people who use Medicaid. That includes 15 states already covering it and Maine, whose coverage law will go into effect March 2020.

Failed Efforts to “Defund” Planned Parenthood Have Targeted Medicaid Beneficiaries 

Anti-abortion politicians in the Trump-Pence administration, Congress, and certain statehouses across the country are trying to put safe, legal abortion out of reach. One of their key tactics is attempting to shut down Planned Parenthood through legislation they misleadingly named “defunding.” They made up that misnomer to confuse people about how funding works at Planned Parenthood. 

“Defunding” policies block patients who use public health care programs — like Medicaid and Medicare — from accessing preventive health care at Planned Parenthood health centers. Preventive health care includes birth control, STD testing and treatment, and cancer screenings.

The politicians behind “defunding” don’t care that their policies make Planned Parenthood patients lose access to lifesaving preventive care. “Defunding” has one goal: to shut down Planned Parenthood and make safe, legal abortion harder to access (along with a lot of other sexual and reproductive health services).

Getting Political

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) oversees the two programs. How you get your health care in the United States depends on what HHS prioritizes. And changes politicians make to Medicaid, Medicare and CHIP mean the difference between millions of people getting reproductive and sexual health care — or not. 

Right now, CMS is overseen by Seema Verma, a former corporate health care consultant who thinks maternity coverage should be optional and made millions of dollars dismantling Medicaid in Indiana. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has forced Planned Parenthood out of the Title X program through a dangerous gag rule. 

If you care about health care access in America, stay up-to-date on the politics behind Medicaid and Medicare. Visit PlannedParenthoodAction.org to learn more and get involved. 

Open Enrollment

You may qualify for low-cost or free health insurance through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), depending on your income and what state you live in. If you qualify for either program, you can enroll anytime without waiting for the enrollment period. To find out if you’re eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, visit your state’s Medicaid agency. 

-Miriam at Planned Parenthood

[thexfridax]

Translated interview

A new politics of love - An interview with Adèle Haenel on 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire'

By Barbara Fohringer, in: The Gap, 28th of October 2019

Additions or clarifications for translating purposes are denoted as [T: …]

The film 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' not only shows a same-sex love but also an equal one between two women in the 18th century. The Gap met with Adèle Haenel, one of the two leading actresses, for a conversation.

Marianne (Noémie Merlant), a painter in the 18th century, is commisioned to do a portrait of the aristocratic Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) - without her knowledge -, as Héloïse already refused to sit for another painter. Héloïse, whose sister has recently died, is promised to a nobleman in Milan, her portrait is meant to illustrate her future marriage. In Céline Sciamma's ('Water Lilies', 'Tomboy', 'Girlhood') new film, it is two women who fall in love with each other, two women who are equals.

'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' received the Best Screenplay award and 'Queer Palm' at the Cannes Film Festival this year. The film opened the Viennale a couple of days ago. Adèle Haenel ('Water Lilies', 'The Bloom of Yesterday', '120 BPM') came to Vienna for this event - and answered some of our questions.

Interviewer: Why did you choose this role? Why did it appeal to you?

Adèle Haenel: I've known Céline Sciamma, the director, for a long time. We met twelve years ago and did our first film together, and I think, she is currently one of the most talented directors in France. [T: 🥰] I then read the screenplay, and thought it is a wonderful love story. When I finished reading it, I cried.

I: How did you approach the role? How did prepare for it? It is after all a period film, which takes place at the end of the 18th century.

AH: I never think like that. The fact that it is a period film doesn't influence the way I'm acting. It would be the wrong approach, to think about acting in that way. It doesn't matter in which period the story takes place, but it's about the problem that this film deals with. You cannot say: This is the way to prepare for a period drama. I was interested in the key question of the film and that it's centred around queer people. We wanted to tell a new love story, because it's about the love between two people that are equals. It's two women of roughly the same age. They are of similar height and intelligence. None of them dominates the other. This was our foundation. We asked ourselves, how this collaboration - in love - could work and how we could show love without possession. It's about a new politics of love. It was important for us to show a certain sexiness in equality, consent and non-possession. This opened up new concepts, as we are not yet used to these kinds of stories. We are used to think of submission as sexy - but not of equality. That was the main thing. When I took on the role, I considered it as a journey from object to subject. That is the character's journey.

I: The film not only shows the equality of the characters in terms of its content, but also visually, it virtually creates a female gaze, a new perspective on female characters. How was the shooting, and how did you, the director and you, approach the characters?

AH: Yes, that was the plan. It really is a Post-#MeToo-film. I don't think it would have been possible to make the film beforehand, because there was little understanding about the concept of alienation between women or rather solidarity between women. We talk more with each other now, there are more alliances between women. You can see this with the character of Sophie the maid. She is a maid, but she is also much more than that and has her own story, independent of the two main characters. The film consists of many long shots, and has its own rhythm. I think, the framing also demonstrates the relationship between the characters. Sometimes we as actors didn't have much room to move, sometimes we had more.

I: The aspect of class was also interesting for me, as just discussed for the character of Sophie, and also the fact, that it's about art and how you create this image of another person. How did you approach this theme?

AH: Art is part of the love story in this film, although you could also say the opposite. The film is also about working on a piece of art. The character of Marianne asks herself what qualifies as a good portrait - does it have to contain the soul of a person or is it rather about capturing a moment in time. Marianne didn't ask herself these questions before that, she followed the rules in her way, so when she meets Héloïse she is forced to question herself and to become aware of her choices. Of course, I don't have anything to do with the pictures, but Noémie Merlant took some lessons with Hélène Delmaire, who made all the pictures that you can see in the film.

I: What other female roles are you interested in?

AH: I'm more interested in the dynamics of a film. So every character intrigues me and there is no topic that doesn't appeal to me. The dynamics and the point of view are close to my heart. Sure, you can also say that fight scenes or riding a motorcycle or whatever are interesting, but that's not really the point.

I: What did you learn about yourself and the business since you became an actress?

AH: I don't know about that, but I do know: If a do a film, then I have philosophical and political questions that I'm asking myself at the time. Every film that I made since 2012 tried to answer one of those questions. It's not necessarily about me. But rather pursuing an idea. Younger actresses and actors, who want to learn the trade, need to listen to what brings them joy. [T: Mari Kondo vibes, she actually says inner joy] The feeling for acting you can, you have to feel. It's not just in your head, but also in your heart. Many have that and they must not let go of it. Don't follow the rules and stay true to yourself. But you also have to be careful, there can be problematic situations.

I: Right now, it's the Viennale in Vienna. Do you have a connection with Austrian films?

AH: My father is from Austria, that's why I have a special connection with this country, but I'm not that familiar with the Austrian cinema. But I'm interested in working in German. I would like to do more films or theatre plays in German.

I: Your German is quite good already, especially, when you consider that you learned the language quite late.

AH: I learned German when shooting 'The Bloom of Yesterday'. But when I'm tired, everything is kaputt (laughs) [T: broken]. I'd rather speak in English then. However, I did the Q&A in German in the cinema yesterday.

I: Can you already tell us something about your new projects?

AH: I'm currently working at the theatre. We just started with the rehearsals and will perform next year. [T: 🙏🏿] The play is called 'The Pond' by Robert Walser [T: which is directed by Gisèle Vienne and also stars Ruth Vega Fernandez, see here]. We originally wanted to do this play in German, but we will do it in French now - I think. If we do perform this play internationally, then we might switch to German. Either way, I know the text in French and German. 'The Trouble with You' by Pierre Salvadori will be released in Austria soon. (Editor's note: [...] from 8th of November 2019.)

I: Many French films are quite successful internationally but also in Austria. What do you think is the reason for this success?

AH: France has an exceptional financing system for films. Every film that is successful in cinema gets funding afterwards, which can then be invested in new film projects. We produce a lot of films, even though we are not such a big country. The French film has a very good reputation. I believe, this benefits arthouse films as well as commercial ones.

I: What profession would you have taken, if you hadn't become an actress?

AH: I think, I would give acting classes then.