Today was a nice and sunny day, which made us long for summer. We also needed to bring back the Sunday Evening Sessions because we forgot about them last weeks (busy busy busy). So, thanks to our own Wagner, we combine the two into a playlist of summer chill out tunes. 

I know that there are three major reasons to go to this year's edition of Dunk! Festival, namely Swans, Earth and God Is An Astronaut. All three are absolute highflyers in their respective styles and all three are always an adventure to witness live. However, I also know that people tend to show up late at festivals like this one, too late to witness all the other good stuff. That's too bad, because those people are definitely missing out. So let me try to give you a bunch of reasons to come early this year, not limited to the bands.

Well, for me that is an issue! Certainly on a three day festival like Dunk! I need about two liters of the black stuff to get me through the day. So yeah, I'm happy that it's free. I think that's a very nice gesture of the good people at this festival and I would suggest every festival does that. No more people people sleeping through the best bands.

Yeah, I know. There is food on every festival but once you have been to Dunk!, you'll frown at the rubbish they serve your elsewhere. Dunk! has its own catering team, a team that can cook at least as good as your grandmother and is equally pleased to do so. Vegan? No problem, that can be arranged. Besides, that paella is divine. Dunk! also harbors the most famous fries fryers in the world. I mean, how many caterers do you know that have been interviewed? (watch)

Just look at these pictures. I shot these at last year's edition. The festival takes place in a rural area, near a forest. A short walk takes you into the meadows and nature reserve of Zottegem where you will be able to see all kinds of animals, including buzzards, butterflies and little ducklings. Enjoy the walk but promise me not to litter. Last year, I found a festival cup there. If I see you do something like that, I think I'll let Michael Gira torture you. 

Ever since I watched Thisquietarmy perform in the forest, I am a huge fan of the concept. The organisation promised several gigs in the forest near the festival area, and believe me, they're all going to be worthwhile. Barst, Syndrome, CHVE, Ilydaen, Terraformer and Ashtoreth will perform there. Now let's just hope that the weather will cooperate. 

If you are one of those people who believe that the human race is an evil one, incapable of friendliness, you have to come to Dunk! Festival. These people are so nice, so gentle and so friendly that you will cry your tears out the minutes you have to go home. Not only that, they're damn practical too and can find a solution for every problem. 

Ok, there are a gazillion or so bands playing on Dunk! this year and it would be very nice of you to check out all of them but I know all too well that such a thing is not possible. So I'll pick out ten  of them and leave the rest to be discovered at the festival itself. These are the then acts I'm specifically looking forward to.

1. Meniscus

Their new album, 'Refractions' is an absolute masterpiece, even  better than 'War Of Currents' which was already one of my favorite post rock albums. I am sure that their gig at Dunk! will be one to remember. You will probably find me in the back of the tent, sitting down, eyes closed and enjoying a completely different dimension. I'll be ok, just leave me there...

2. Ashtoreth

He lives at merely three and a half kilometers from my place and still I will go all the way to Zottegem to watch him perform in that amazing forest. His drones will undoubtedly float through the woods for a long time. I'm sure that this will be a damn enchanting concert.

3. Barst and 4. CHVE

Did you see these two performances last year? If the answer is "yes", then you have absolute no excuse to miss them this year. Both acts play in the forest and both acts have gained a year of experience and experiment. Unless Zottegem will be struck by a meteor, these gigs just can't go wrong.

5. Karen Willems and Aidan Baker

Last years, Karen Willems and her band Inwolves played a daring and adventurous set. This year, Karen returns to play the drums over Aidan Baker's drones. As you might have guessed, this will be something to look forward to as both of these artists are extremely talented and experienced. 

6. Briqueville

These masked noisemakers will aim directly at your soul and they will be merciless. Still, I'd rather be beaten down by these guys' sludge doom than by your dad's old porn magazines. No, I don't know where that came from. Go see Briqueville, they are awesome.

7. Pray For Sound

For beautiful, emotional post rock, I'd gladly guide you to the Pray For Sound set.  From my review (read): Pray For Sound is a band from Boston, USA which started out in 2011 as a one-man project by Bruce Mallay. His story is somewhat of a nightmare for musicians. He had been diagnosed with Cholesteatoma (a large cyst is his left ear). Despites doctors' best efforts, Mallay still suffers from hearing loss, tinnitus and recurring pains. However, instead of giving up, Mallay decided to use this ordeal as an inspiration for his music and started translating his emotions in post rock compositions. 

8. PG.Lost

I just love pg.lost. For me, they are one of the greatest post rock bands out there. Their new album is a blast and their performance will amazing. I think I can almost promise you that. Then again, you should already know all that...

9. All We Expected

Belgian youngsters doing their own thing within the post rock & sludge metal scene. It will be nice to finally see them play live and I hope they will bewitch me as much as they did on their split with Raum Kingdom. I mean, their bandname abbreviates to AWE, and I think that is exactly the way you feel after their gig.

10. Spurv

I'll finish with a band I don't know. I have never heard of Spurv. I don't know where they came from and I am only now listening to their music. Then why Spurv? Because that is exactly what Dunk! festival is all about: placing bands you have never heard of alongside some of your favorites and treat them with the same respect and quality as the big ones in the scene. I mean, just think about the magical concert by Spoiwo last year. They were out of this world and so was the audience. Dunk! is about discovering new music, about being amazed by something you know so well and about getting together with likeminded people. With that in mind. Let's all see the Spurv gig and prove me right. Besides, according to what I hear, they're already pretty damn good.

So yes, come early, stay late, take the weekend off and spend it in the lovely town of Zottegem. You don't even have to bring your friends. You will undoubtedly make some new ones. Dunk! Festival is no longer a post-rock festival, it's a magical gathering and it wants you to be a part of it.

Valerian Madatov, whose complete name was Valerian Grigoryevich Madatov, was a notorious general of the Russian empire, of noble Armenian descent, who fought in the historic 19th century conflicts against the Turks and the Persians. 

Born in 1782, Madatov’s military career started at the dawn of the new century. Leaving his homeland in an effort to enlist the help of Russian political authorities against Muslim control of the territory, Madatov – probably unbeknownst to him at the time – was about to start a life of unpredictable and conspicuous adventures, like little human beings in history. In the Russian-Turkish wars, Madatov’s experience would deeply enlarge, and his bravery and profound sense of commitment and duty would decorate him with many honors, and this proceeded throughout his life. Soon, he had a profoundly important role in the Napoleonic wars, more specifically when the French troops invaded Russia. Soon afterwards, he would be a leading instrumental figure in the military offensive to attack the French empire.  

Always progressing in the military ranks, he fought and witnessed several battles, being ostensibly injured in several of them. He also had an enormous role during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus, since he was deeply familiarized with all aspects of the region: languages, tribes, customs and geography. 

An intelligent, articulate and tireless general, Valerian Madatov was the personification of dedication. Formidably disciplined and with a strong sense of purpose, he was mostly victorious and successful in practically all the military operations in which he was engaged. 

When the Persians attacked a Russian stronghold in the Caucasus upon which Madatov was the leader, being a sagacious, confident and experienced military strategist, he managed to succeed in one of the most implausible battles of the time, defeating an army of 10.000 Persians, with a brigade of only 2.000 men. Nonetheless, this only intensified the strife, and both political powers called reinforcements, to continue their belligerent dispute.   

Surprisingly, the Russians again inflicted over the Persians another humiliating defeat, forcing them to retreat, for once and for all, which favored Madatov with another military promotion. 

Madatov’s military career would end in another war against the Turks. A little before the end of the war and the signing of a peace treaty, Madatov died unexpectedly, from natural causes, approximately forty seven years old. His mortal remains were buried in a cemetery in Saint Petersburg. 
    
Wagner

To oppose totalitarian ideologies is a duty of morally correct, determined and altruistic men. We cannot accept – we could never have accepted – any kind of teachings, worldviews or doctrines whose main set of principles are centered in human oppression. But, unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the case, in the social and political scenery of the contemporary world. 

Disgraceful ideologies like socialism and communism do indeed sell ideas of common good, but they are completely false, worthless and unrealistic, as the image created by their theories and fallacies never contemplates what they really project. Every evil is sold appearing to be something good. Socialism and communism are no exceptions. But these shameful, abject and violent ideologies do perpetuate themselves easily, by captivating and enchanting younger generations, that do not have any knowledge about the atrocities perpetrated by socialist and communist regimes. 

Knowledge evidently can be a great engine to fight and suppress all kinds of evil. These two, in particular, should be obliterated, eradicated and forgotten as soon as possible, by virtue of all the suffering, agony and hostility they inflicted upon the human race, in the countries where they were implemented. Nonetheless, these evils sporadically rise again in cycles, and it becomes a duty to try to eradicate them, over and over again, constantly, as many times as necessary. 

Evidently, politics feature a lot of evil expressions, disguised as good things. Even evil has good intentions, so we have to be very cautious about everything concerning political worldviews, in a global and local context. 

Always distrustful of politics and social movements, I am always attentive to the evils in motion. No one that has really studied what these ideologies had done to humankind will sympathize with them, let alone people who had to live in countries applying this sordid and malevolent policies.  

So it’s always necessary to reiterate the evils that these toxic things represent. We cannot simply ignore the fact that these disgraceful and aggressive doctrines are still very much fertile, actively pursuing disciples throughout the world, to contaminate and spread to other people the sardonic devices of its hostile purposes. It’s a duty, a moral accomplishment, an obligation to fight ostensibly these kind of alienation, especially when appears to be innocent and harmless. 

I will always be an ardent, enthusiastic antisocialist and anticommunist militant. It’s not an option, when you chose life and happiness over moral degradation, hostility, animosity, destruction and suffering. It’s a matter of necessity.      

 
 Wagner

Vardan Mamikonian was an Armenian military leader of the late antiquity, of particular importance in the Battle of Avarayr, which was fought against the Persians. I think you can say the battle can be considered almost a religious one, since it’s overtones were all practically grounded in the right and in the fundamental principle of the individual to exercise faith. With the Armenian territory – which held some degree of autonomy and independence – falling under the Sassanid domain, they’ve tried to suppress Christianity. Nonetheless, the Armenians would not let their faith to be despised, demoralized nor to disappear from their lives, so they prepared themselves to fight for their right to practice their faith.     

Initially tolerant of the Armenians’ Christian faith, the Sassanid rulers, for political reasons, tried to persuade them to untie themselves from orthodox Christianity, which was then centered in Rome and Byzantium. But they were not successful in their intentions. So they tried to suppress Christianity by using force, destroying churches, and radically enforcing Zoroastrianism.      

For their surprise, the Armenians hadn’t accepted this pacifically. Soon after the decree, conflagrations and insurrections exploded throughout the region. When hearing about the religious freedom of his comrades being restricted, Vardan Mamikonian, a respected general, asked for the Byzantine Empire’s military assistance, which was conceded, but unfortunately, haven’t arrived at the expected time. The Sassanid army had already prepared an attack. 

With experienced veterans and army officials, reinforced by an enormous contingent of the population, the Armenians were able to gather an effective offensive. They were deeply committed to fight for their right to practice Christianity – which was, by then, their cultural and historic religion – as well as to maintain their customs and principles, that the Sassanid dynasty was deeply committed to modify, extinguish and subvert.     

Nevertheless, despite the respectable and consistent contingent the Armenians had organized in their behalf, the Sassanid army was simply too superior to be subdued. The Armenians inevitably suffered tragic losses, and expired at the battlefield. Vardan Mamikonian perished in the conflict, along with his war entourage. 

Always tough and determined in their resistance, the Armenians never accepted their fate. The general dissatisfactions and the aggressive rebellion against the religious suppression progressed in the years to come. Vahan Mamikonian, nephew of Vardan Mamikonian, led a continuation of the turmoil against the Sassanid dynasty, that eventually resulted in the Treaty of Nvarsak, that guaranteed and restored religious freedom to the Armenians. A testimony that exposes the value of perseverance, persistence and faith.    
 

​Wagner

Laughter is good for the soul, just like music. So it's no wonder that comedy and music fit quite well together. Today we give you fifteen funny tunes from all ages and all genres. Well, not ALL genres, that would be impossible. Come to think of it, ALL times would be quite difficult to. Oh well, forget about this intro. Let's just enjoy these tunes...

Let's kick off with an absolute classic. This song has been covered a lot, including versions by Butcher Babies and Neuroticfish. The band itself made some awesome variations too. However, this is the one that started it all. As a little bonus, check out this song by Lieutenant Pigeon and try to decide if one influenced the other. (click here)

Mucky Pup have always been making funny and light hearted hard core tunes. Back in the days, I loved the whole 'A Boy In A Man's World' album. I used to ride my bike to school with this one loud in a walkman. 

Nick Mason was the drummer for Pink Floyd but he also made a few solo efforts, including 'Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports' where Nick explores the absurd.

Canadian comedian Jon Lajoie made this classic rap parody in 2009. Don't ask me why.

Of course, Weird Al deserves a spot on this list but for once, let's not pick his classics like, 'Eat It', or 'Fat'. Enjoy Weird Al's tip for tin foil...

Axe wielding black metal artists and a vegan lifestyle don't often seem to go hand in hand but this guy is both hilarious and educational, in a culinary kind of way. In epic black metal style, he guides you through some delicious vegan recipes. Bon appetit...

Speaking of black metal, the genre can often be pretty funny too. I mean, who takes Immortal serious? Or how about Impaled Northern Moonforest, the one-off black metal parody of Anal Cunt members Josh Martin and Seth Putnam.

Fact: you don't know comedy if you don't know Monty Python.

If you're having a bad day, just play this song by Australian comedian Kevin Bloody Wilson. 

Since we're adding comedians here, let's throw in Belgium's greatest. Urbanus wrote this tune way back in the eighties. A few years ago, he performed it with Belgian rockers De Fanfaar. 

British electronica producer Mr. Scruff also like a decent slab of absurdity once in awhile. Just listen to these lyrics.

We could throw in quite a lot of songs from the hilarious oeuvre of Matt Stone and Trey Parker, including heaps of South Park tunes. But this one still gets me rolling on the floor laughing each time.

Usually, the world of dark industrial isn't known for its sense of humor (although most other people see those cybergoths as modern clowns). Yet, once in a while a song appeared that made us chuckle, and this one by Eisenfunk certainly does.

Speaking about funny electro, how about this smash hit by Germans And One. Guess what they are singing about in this nice, clean tune...

This past week, I've been seeing a lot of people posting a video that said "A metal song about cereal???". Well, amateurs, here is one about doing the dishes, and while you're at it, check out the whole Belgian Asociality catalogue. They're funny as hell...

Ernesto Geisel was a Brazilian politician, that served as the country’s president from 1974 to 1979. The penultimate president of the Brazilian military regime, during his tenure, Geisel started the slow process that would convert the country into a democracy again. His motto advocated a “slow, gradual and secure openness”. Geisel was especially important for Brazilian politics during this period, because he was a sympathizer of the moderate school of thought of the military institution, which meant that he was determined to work in favor of important social reforms, facing, as a result, ardent opposition from the military generals and politicians known as linha-dura (hard-line), a branch of government conservative officials that wished a continuation of a more rigid and rigorous stance of the state towards the population.      

Born in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil (the same where I live [several other Brazilian presidents came from this state as well, especially during the military regime {the most notorious Brazilian president, Getúlio Vargas, was also from Rio Grande do Sul; he presided over Brazil for two distinct periods: the first one as a dictator, from 1930 to 1945, during a period known as Estado Novo, and then from 1951 to 1954, by virtue of democratic elections; Vargas committed suicide in the Palácio of Catete, in August 24, 1954}]), in the city of Bento Gonçalves, in August 3, 1907, Geisel was the son of German immigrants, and spent his youth studying in military academies. His ascension in the political arena came only after the military coup of 1964, when Geisel fell into the favor of then president Castelo Branco, the first president of the military regime, and one of the articulators of the military coup. Nevertheless, before that, Geisel had a profound experience and a vast and long career as a civil servant, having worked in several government institutions throughout his life. 

Under Castelo Branco’s tutelage, Geisel was nominated leader of the Military Parliament. Then, in a direct sequence of events, in 1966 Castelo Branco elevated Geisel to the ranks of general, only to promote him Minister of the Superior Military Court in 1967. Nonetheless, Geisel’s behavior was discreet. He only wished to execute the functions and duties he was told to. By this point, Geisel probably would never have imagined that he would be, in the near future, president of the country. 

With the death of Castelo Branco in 1967, internal disputes arose for the rights of succession to the presidency, within the two main military branches, the moderates and the hard-lines. Geisel obviously sided with the castelistas, a group of militaries and politicians that were ardent oppositionists to the election of Costa e Silva (another politician from Rio Grande do Sul) to the presidency of the republic. A former official of the Ministry of War during Castelo Branco’s tenure as president, Costa e Silva, a hard-line, was eventually elected, giving rise to the most repressive, cruel, hostile and violent period of the military regime. Costa e Silva’s tenure as president, though, was quite short. Assuming office in the beginning of 1967, in 1969 he suffered a stroke, dying a few months later. Initially replaced by a provisional junta, his substitute, Emílio Garrastazu Médici (also from Rio Grande do Sul), inflicted over the civil population a continuation of the brutality and the repression initiated by Costa e Silva.

During this period, Médici nominated Geisel – that has been also extensively involved with the oil business throughout his life – president of Petrobras, a state owned oil company, that detains the monopoly, the resources and the commercialization of petroleum in the country. The support that his brother, Orlando Geisel, offered to Médici during his tenure as president, eventually made him chose Ernesto as a successor. Disputing the office as member of a party called ARENA (Aliança Renovadora Nacional), Ernesto Geisel defeated his opponents, Ulysses Guimarães – that, probably assassinated in 1992 during a travel in a helicopter that was deliberately sabotaged, would become one of the most notorious Brazilian politicians – and Barbosa Lima Sobrinho.

Several interesting changes occurred during Geisel’s presidency. Probably the most notorious – and remains fundamental to his body of legacies – were changes in the Brazilian political map. Geisel divided the state of Mato Grosso, creating a new state, Mato Grosso do Sul, and diluted the state of Guanabara (today Rio de Janeiro), giving it city status and merging it with the eponymous state, turning it into its capital.  

During Geisel’s term of office, one of the greatest achievements was the dissolution of both the censorship and the AI-5, a severe political amendment that invalidated the constitution, and gave plenipotentiary powers to the state repression apparatus.       

In 1978, Geisel faced the now historical general strike of metallurgical workers, led by former metallurgist and union representative, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, that would eventually rise in the political arena, to become the president of Brazil for two consecutive terms, from 2003 to 2010. Probably the most corrupt politician in the country’s history – and considered among the worst in a global scale – Lula has been responding to several court and judicial orders in recent years, being systematically implicated in the most horrifying political scandals of Brazilian history.    

Geisel’s presidency was mainly marked by ostensive plans to control the inflation – a chronic problem in Brazil’s financial system at the time, destined to continue in the years to come –, devised and elaborated strategies to boost the economy’s development, presided the inauguration of subway lines in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and oversaw the beginning of the construction of the Hydroelectric Power Plant of Itaipu.    

After his term expired, Geisel supported a politician named Tancredo Neves to be the country’s president. Tancredo won, but died before assuming office. 

The post-presidency life of Ernesto Geisel was a quiet and discreet one. He continued his work in oil companies, and together with his wife, Lucy, divided his time between his apartment in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, and a farm in Teresópolis. Geisel died in September 12, 1996, 89 years old.     


Wagner

History, and the public in general, usually blame Adolf Hitler for the Holocaust and the World War II. But he had done it all by himself?

What the vast majority of people do not take into evaluation is the fact that, as a statesman, Adolf Hitler delegated powers to men he considered to be highly capable individuals, who, by their turn, also delegated positions and powers to many other individuals. And like any other political state, Nazi Germany was not immune to corruption, favoritism, and questionable influence networks, so a lot of things had happened without the Führer's consent or knowledge. Do not misunderstand me: I refuse to undertake a defense, or an exoneration of responsibilities here, concerning the terrible and atrocious brutalities perpetrated by the individual that certainly was one of the most sadistic tyrants in history. Nevertheless, it is necessary to understand the extent of Hitler’s involvement in the atrocities carried out by the Third Reich, which did not occur in the way people usually tend to believe.

Contrary to many claims, the Holocaust was the main product of the "work" of three men: Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and Adolf Eichmann, all senior officers of the Third Reich. Himmler, though, was the only one who was part of the personal circle of flatterers of Adolf Hitler, and like all the aforementioned individuals, always acted motivated by insidious intentions, or guided by perfidious personal ambitions. Together with the rest of the Führer's inner circle, which included other influential Nazi figures such as Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels, information deemed to be unwanted or inconvenient was never passed on to Adolf Hitler, who was permanently surrounded by his subservient sycophants, even when he was enjoying recreational periods in the Berghof, his mansion located in Bavaria, having at his reach only the information that went through the "filter" of his dark and manipulative subordinates.

Considering himself to be a brilliant military strategist, and a political leader ahead of his time, from 1942 onwards, the Führer became involved exclusively in the war effort, delegating to other Ministries of the Reich tasks that he considered mundane or secondary. And by his command, the "Final Solution" of the Jewish problem was taken to Himmler's office, which in turn completely exempted himself from the task, and forwarded this ordeal to Reinhard Heydrich – who later became known by the alias of "The Butcher Of Prague " – the responsibility to preside over the macabre meeting that became known as the Wannsee Conference, whose final resolution demanded, but not without its share of internal controversies, for the extermination of the Jewish people.

Although any analysis of the Holocaust will be a task of invariable complexity, the structure of this terrible tragedy came to exist in the logistical efforts of three men: Heinrich Himmler, who administered the concentration camps, Reinhard Heydrich, who was in charge of taking the Jews to their final destination, and Adolf Eichmann, the individual in charge of capturing and deporting them. Completely obsessed with his insane desire to win the war at any cost, Adolf Hitler haven’t followed attentively – not in the way people are usually led to believe – what was happening in Germany, being conveniently kept in the dark about an enormous diversity of affairs. Far from being innocent, the truth is that Adolf Hitler was not the only malevolent and sardonic man in his country, but unfortunately, remains the only monster illuminated by the spotlights of history. It’s more than a propitious time now, to assign and acknowledge responsibility, and properly expose all the others, who were as perfidious, sinister, and evil as Adolf Hitler.


Wagner

Freedom is a major universal concept, and I think that everybody would agree on this matter. But libertarianism goes beyond the basic principles that define freedom. It has as a major point of concern to guarantee individual freedom, and to engage in a strife against all political ideologies whose main dogmas relies on restricting civil liberties, like socialism and communism. Socialism and communism are venomous ideologies, that emphasize the priority and precedence of the state over the individual. This fact perfectly explains why all communist states – without exceptions – were inclined and eventually resorted to totalitarianism. If the state is a supreme ruler, then the state has precedence over everything, and whenever an individual, or group of individuals, dares to think differently, diverging from the mandatory state dogmas, then the state has the “right” to exterminate them. This goes way beyond abuse of power. Marxist ideologies do condone and approve brutality towards individuals that share a belief, or system of beliefs, that the state considers subversive, with the clear objective to suppress them. They call this abhorrent cruelty “maintenance of the order”. 

The correct way for happiness and a livable, satisfactory existence, is exactly the opposite. The individual should have precedence over the state. A government should be a complement in the life of the individual – in order to protect him, and help him in any kind of difficulties –, and not an authoritarian stone figure, with an inflexible hornbook guide, that dictates each and every aspect concerning his existence. We must understand that freedom is not a mere component of life: it’s a primary and fundamental component for happiness.   

I stress the importance of libertarianism as an ideology because, living in Brazil, a country that recently overthrew its socialist regime, there’s still certain circles in society – mainly militants – that stresses, overemphasizes and sympathizes greatly with socialist ideologies.

Don’t get me wrong: it was never a physically brutal or oppressive state. The main party that was in power practiced Fabian socialism, a more “moderate” form of socialism. They put in practice an economic policy that saturated the private sector with an overwhelming deal of expensive taxes, that, in a long term, resulted in a major economic recession, the worst that my country has ever seen. As a result, the unemployment rates have been higher than ever. All of these events have occurred because the socialist government put in practice a very unilateral, hard, corrosive and brutal tributary dictatorship. Now, it will take a long time for the country to recover. Fabian socialism has accommodated politicians with extremely high salaries, and they are fighting hard to maintain the status quo that subsidizes their exceedingly high costs of living. They basically live very well with the financial resources they take – in the form of taxes – from the productive portion of the population. 

Since I’ve never been involved with politics, nor ever sympathized with socialism – even less with socialist militants, and the totalitarian thoughts they spread, along with the usual state idolatry –, my affinities are completely sidelined with economic liberalism, and the suppression of the higher unrealistic salaries, as well as the privileges, enjoyed by the political elite, that are completely incompatible with our poor and miserable current situation.        

But unfortunately, the aftermath of socialist policies will continue, and it will take a long time for them to be completely suppressed and eradicated, if there is, of course, the possibility of a total suppression, which I hardly believe. 

Brazil has endured, in the past, a frivolous, aggressive, tempestuous and authoritarian military regime, that lasted two and half decades, beginning in 1964. The military coup was, in great part, a measure orchestrated by the United States. Ironically, it was a good thing, since it was made as a contingence plan to prevent Brazil from becoming a communist state. If the coup hadn’t happened, Brazil could have been a country as poor and miserable as Cuba (but now, suffering the aftermath of sordid and corrosive socialist policies, we’re not that far from it).  

In this same period, I think from the mid-sixties to the beginning of the seventies, the US government has provided logistical support for a lot of other South American countries, with the same precise objective: to consolidate authoritarian military regimes, to prevent them from becoming communist states (Chile under Augusto Pinochet being one convenient example). This fear was prompted by the overthrown of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista – himself backed by the US –, and the implementation of a communist regime in the small Caribbean island-nation, by virtue of a coup d’état led by Fidel Castro. 

My childhood coincided with the end of the military regime, and Brazil’s transition to democracy. I was seven years old, when the Brazilian population voted and chose its first democratically elected president, for the first time in more than three decades.          

The first elected president, Fernando Collor de Mello, was legally deposed after two years in office, in a process called impeachment – the same process by which the first female president, Dilma Rousseff, was deposed in the past year, duo to the government mismanagement that resulted in the political and economic recession of the country – for his ostensibly malevolent, toxic and lethal involvement with corruption.  

The overwhelming fanaticism of the socialists in my country has taught me a lot about the rottenness of politics. Good and decent human beings will always stay away from this festival of absurdities. For this specific motive, as well as a lot of other reasons, I overemphasize the importance of freedom as a major altruistic goal, a basic need that we all should enjoy. I really don’t want to be a slave of the state, although – in a certain way, given the current deteriorating political and economic situation of the establishment in my country –, I already am, along with my entire fellow countryman. Financial slaves, to define more clearly, since we have to work, in a vaporized economy, to basically sustain and support the torrid expenses of the government. 

Well, setting aside all the pressure the militants and fanatics intensely disperse throughout the media, they will never be able to subvert my ideologies, or my set of beliefs. I am a libertarian. I emphasize and overemphasize the individual’s right to be, not the state. I am a libertarian. And always will be.  
    

    
Wagner

Cry of the Banshee is a 1970 American / British horror co-production, starring legendary horror icon Vincent Price. With a history set in 16th-century England during the witch-hunt, the plot tells the story of a malevolent and depraved inquisitor, named Edward Whitman (played by Vincent Price), who exhibits a sardonic, hostile and perfidious behavior, in his obsessive and dehumanizing designation of imprisoning, inquiring, and killing anyone suspected of practicing witchcraft or engaging in pagan rituals. Using the most aggressive tools his malicious and cunning character has at his disposition, such as abuse of authority, coercion, violence and cruelty, Whitman diffuses a reign of fear, affliction, and terror, which expands the ignominious pragmatism of his authority over the inhabitants of the village where the history happens, besides intensifying the hatred that the pagan peasants nourish towards him. 

In a cruel twist, as formidable as it is unusual, Whitman ends up getting what he deserves, when he least expects it. An excellent film, whose definition of genre would best qualify as a historical drama with elements of suspense, than actual horror. Nevertheless, definitions aside, Cry of the Banshee is a magnificent, realistic and interesting movie, where the qualities are plentiful, and the deficiencies are practically nonexistent. With a solid and cohesive script, marvelously elaborated in a dense and panoramic plot that explores a difficult, tense and troubled historical context, the film's excellence is crowned with the magnificent presence and lucid interpretation of Vincent Price, one of the greatest icons of horror films in the history of cinema. Interpreting a malevolent, aggressive, self-absorbed, egocentric character – but to some extent articulate and charismatic – the frivolous density of the plot becomes even more consistent by profusely taking advantage of the three-dimensional nuances of well-crafted characters, who definitely understand the period in which the story presents itself, being cohesively compatible with the situations presented. 

A great period film, which vehemently portrays the aggressive and inhuman domain of the inquisition, Cry of the Banshee is undoubtedly indispensable for anyone who appreciates the classics of the genre.


Wagner