According to the Tartarian Empire conspiracy theory there once existed a massive, advanced regime that stretched over much of the Asian continent. This Empire’s power was so great that they built structures all over the world, including in Africa, North America and South America. Buildings such as the White House in Washington D.C. and the Great Pyramids in Egypt were built by the great, globe spanning Tartarian empire. They were able to accomplish this in part thanks to advanced technology that is lost to time, like batteries powered by the Earth which distributed electricity wirelessly.

This theory has spawned a community of people who pour through old European maps and pictures of 19th century buildings in search of evidence for this lost empire, then post their findings on Reddit and Tik tok.

But was there really a lost empire called “Tartaria?” Or have conspiracy theorists on the internet misinterpreted an archaic European term for parts of Asia then proceeded to desperately search for evidence of a better world that was lost to time?

REFERENCES

Inside the ‘Tartarian Empire,’ the QAnon of Architecture

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-04-27/inside-architecture-s-wildest-conspiracy-theory

Shaoxin, Dong. "The Tartars in European Missionary Writings of the Seventeenth Century." In Foreign Devils and Philosophers, pp. 82-103. Brill, 2020.

Graff, Rebecca S. "Dream City, Plaster City: Worlds’ Fairs and the Gilding of American Material Culture." International Journal of Historical Archaeology 16 (2012): 696-716.

Greenhalgh, Paul. "Ephemeral Vistas: Great Exhibitions, Expositions Universelles and World’s Fairs, 1851–1939." (1989)

CIA Document: National Cultural Development Under Communism

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP78-02771R000200090002-6.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walhalla_(memorial)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmenhaus_(Burggarten)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Hall_Post_Office_and_Courthouse_(New_York_City)

The Singer Building

https://www.nypap.org/preservation-history/singer-building/

Episode 273: The Tartarian Empire

I don't oppose the butchery in Gaza because I love Hamas or hate Jews or love Islam or hate America.
I don't oppose the butchery in Gaza because I'm a lefty or a commie or an anarchist or an anti-imperialist.
I oppose the butchery in Gaza because I'm not a fucking psychopath.

Reading by Tim Foley.

I Oppose Israel's Atrocities In Gaza Because I'm Not A Psychopath

I don't spend my time attacking the US war machine because I have any special love for Hamas, Iran, Russia, China, or any other power. I do it because the US empire is quantifiably the most destructive and tyrannical force on this planet, by an extremely massive margin.

Reading by Tim Foley.

I Criticize The US Power Alliance Because It's The Most Destructive Force On Earth

It's actually a brilliant self-reinforcing scam. It works like this:

Step 1: Murder people in the middle east in the name of fighting "terrorism".

Step 2: This causes people to hate you and your allies and to want to retaliate with violence.

Step 3: Designate these people "terrorists".

Step 4: Send more war machinery to the region to go fight "terrorism".

Step 5: Murder more people in the middle east in the name of fighting "terrorism".

Do you see how this cycle would repeat over and over again, leading to more and more US military expansionism in the middle east? That's exactly what we've been seeing, and it's exactly what the US empire wants.

Reading by Tim Foley.

The US Empire Deliberately Stokes Hatred And Violence In The Middle East

The dead children don't affect me like they used to.
The images. The videos. They still disturb and horrify, but not like they did in the beginning. Not anywhere close.
And, honestly, I hate it. I hate that that part of me has been stolen.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Behold The World Gently

It's probably worth noting that the empire doesn't actually lose anything from our society's increasing mental health problems, and in fact actually benefits from them. Which is probably why everything in this dystopia is pointed at making everyone crazier and crazier.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Our Rulers Are Literally Driving Us Crazy

This may be the final or phoenix edition of the Rifles & Garbage Podcast as I seek social medial detox and the travelling cures for the next 2 months. "On Fire" includes poems by Charles Whittaker, Tony Brewer, George Christian, Palestinian poet Hiba Abunnada and a special forest fire narration & field recordings by Phil Mill. Poems and various vocal assertions about language and life forms on the brink of extinction by myself as well as the weaving field recordings and sonic textures by yours truly. And special thanks to Tony Brewer for the extended field recording of the cicada double brood from Belle, MIssouri (USA) which allowed me to breath more deeply and orchestrate this virtual commingly of spaces, places and voices. Have a great summer. Be great, everybody, one and all. Because you were meant to be so. 
Selected Bibliography. On the Hawaiin land reclaimation movement
MĀLAMA MĀKUA   https://www.malamamakua.org/
On the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza
https://thebaffler.com/latest/running-amok-turfah
Further field recordings by Phil Mill
https://soundcloud.com/phil-mill1
Find Tony Brewer and Charles Whittaker on Facebook.
George Christian's music: https://soundcloud.com/georgechristian

Rifles & Garbage Podcast "On Fire" #6

La Gloria Sea para Dios

Esperanza viva

A city is often a cacophonous space. Of course, cacophony comes in many forms. The roar of the ocean can feel cacophonous, as can the intensity of surrounding bug life in the wild. The cacophony of the city is unique from those other forms because the noise comes not from manifest dense uniformity but from myriad distinct, often unidentifiable sources acting as if at once. All this was running through my mind as I stood on a corner in San Francisco listening as hotel workers were engaged in a lively strike halfway down the block. The noise of their activity joined with that of passing foot and automobile traffic to create something that was at once noisier than a normal Thursday afternoon, and yet also that perpetuated the city’s ability to absorb all sounds into one sound. No matter the sounds, it was the sound of the city.

(The image is a reworking of a public domain photo via Wikipedia of a 1956 strike.)

A Subsumed Cacophony

“Whether it's God or the Bomb, It's just the same, and it's only fear under another name.” - Max Q  [RIP Ollie Olsen]

Track list and start times:
00:00  Third Eye – Chemical Angels
06:58  Aidan Baker – Januar Pt. 3
14:56  Lazenbee Industries – autumn wind [naviarhaiku563]
19:11  Boy Dirt Car – Born Ugly
27:06  Elif Yalvaç –Vection
32:19  HMOT – Goodbye Black Sky
38:14  Léo Dupleix & Toshimaru Nakamura – 2-06:10
44:09  Natural Life Essence – Vision of sea (thru forest)
53:31  Sholeh Asgary – Nectarine
1:00:25  rizzi – Transformer Station Geofon Alone
1:04:52  Stan Magendanz – A jarring pulse, a brittle hum
1:06:58  tetkik ve tedavi – Indivisible [ naviarhaiku554 ]
1:12:12  Aidan Baker / Jack Chuter / Ryan Durfee – Sorrow Is A Sage
1:24:54  Dzhavanshir Kuliyev – Going Away To Earn Money
1:26:35  Raincat – a prayer for mischief (disquiet0666)
1:29:15  Colin Andrew Sheffield – Patterns
1:36:42  Stan Magendanz – Here I stand amidst the quirks and oddities
1:40:27  Matilde Meireles – Introducing Variables (excerpt)
1:46:40  Paul Church Jr – Just Passing Through  (excerpt)
1:51:42  Jonathan Deasy – Dôme (excerpt)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eclectic current – Fear under another name

Readings of all Caitlin Johnstone's articles, usually by her co-writer Tim Foley.