#2024 21/366

[parksnark]

my idea thus far is two summer camp counselors who are gay cunts and they make that everyone else’s problem. also werewolves.

[krs-kross]

Day 21, 22, 23, 24, 25...of 366.

I'd say Im surprised, but I think we know the drill by now lol

[lostlibrariangirl]

September 21, 2024

265/366 Days of Growth

A recollection of the past days.

I am so happy I got the 3 certifications that I set as a goal in the beginning of the year. For the next 3 months, I will focus on personal projects for Cybersecurity, ISO 27001 and learning Python.

Also have to organize my readings (academic and leisure readings), as I set a goal for 2024 too.

[ceechalla]

2024 Tumblr Top 10

1. 751 notes - Nov 11 2024

2. 694 notes - Nov 30 2024

3. 608 notes - Jul 24 2024

4. 567 notes - Sep 18 2024

5. 388 notes - Jun 18 2024

6. 381 notes - Feb 26 2024

7. 378 notes - Oct 3 2024

8. 366 notes - Jul 11 2024

9. 311 notes - Feb 21 2024

10. 268 notes - Oct 2 2024

Created by TumblrTop10

[bright-eyes-strawberry-lies]

Top 100 PJO Ships

These are only for romantic pairings, not platonic, and only counts numbers from AO3. The Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase ships/characters aren’t included (sorry guys).

As of 02/18/2024.

2022 (the first year I did this. numbers are almost definitely wrong.)

2023 (the second year I did this. numbers are probably right.)

After doing this for three years, I think I've finally got it down.

Annabeth/Percy (13,750)

2. Nico/Will (11,764)

3. Jason/Piper (3,554)

4. Nico/Percy (3,411)

5. Hazel/Frank (3,091)

6. Jason/Percy (1,722)

7. Calypso/Leo (1,511)

8. Nico/Jason (1,425)

9. Apollo/Percy (1,148)

10. Jason/Leo (982)

11. Annabeth/Piper (930)

12. Luke/Percy (770)

13. Nico/Leo (768)

14. Paul/Sally (756)

15. Thalia/Reyna (658)

16. Clarisse/Chris (431)

17. Silena/Charles (416)

18. Sally/Poseidon (396)

19. Jason/Reyna (391)

20. Katie/Travis (366)

21. Juniper/Grover (343)

22. Hades/Persephone (315)

23. Luke/Thalia (302)

24. Annabeth/Reyna (283)

25. Rachel/Percy (276)

26. Hazel/Leo/Frank (261)

27. Piper/Reyna (256)

28. Piper/Shel (243)

29. Nico/Jason/Percy (235)

30. Silena/Clarisse (217)

31. Artemis/Percy (212)

32. Amphitrite/Poseidon (201)

33. Luke/Annabeth (192)

34. Piper/Leo (175)

35. Leo/Frank (167)

36. Thalia/Percy (153)

37. Percy/Will (142)

38. Annabeth/Nico/Percy (141)

39. Percy/Poseidon (137)

40. Percy/Piper (136)

41. Hermes/Percy (120)

42. Mitchell/Connor (119)

43. Percy/Leo (118)

44. Percy/Reyna (115)

45. Percy/Zeus (111)

46. Percy/Zoë (104)

47. Calypso/Percy (101)

48. Ares/Percy (100)

49. Apollo/Hyacinthus (96)

50. Maria/Hades (95)

51. Annabeth/Jason (94)

52. Artemis/Zoë (90)

53. Luke/Ethan (87)

54. Rachel/Reyna (84)

55. Jason/Piper/Leo (78)

56. Bianca/Thalia (76)

57. Percy/Octavian (75)

58. Hazel/Leo (73)

59. Dionysus/Percy (72)

60. Lou Ellen/Cecil (71)

61. Annabeth/Rachel (69)

62. Hades/Percy (69)

63. Jake/Will (64)

64. Percy/Triton (64)

65. Athena/Percy (63)

66. Reyna/Leo (62)

67. Ella/Tyson (60)

68. Percy/Clarisse (60)

69. Annabeth/Thalia (59)

70. Aphrodite/Percy (59)

71. Jason/Will (56)

72. Percy/Kronos (55)

73. Sally/Gabe (55)

74. Annabeth/Piper/Reyna (54)

75. Percy/Grover (54)

76. Luke/Octavian (51)

77. Nico/Percy/Will (51)

78. Annabeth/Connor (50)

79. Bianca/Percy (50)

80. Percy/Ethan (50)

81. Hazel/Piper (49)

82. Hestia/Percy (49)

83. Percy/Frank (45)

84. Annabeth/Clarisse (44)

85. May/Hermes (44)

86. Calypso/Piper (43)

87. Nico/Thalia (43)

88. Rachel/Octavian (43)

89. Will/Leo (40)

90. Annabeth/Jason/Percy (39)

91. Malcolm/Connor (39)

92. Annabeth/Rachel/Percy (38)

93. Jason/Octavian (38)

94. Reyna/Drew (38)

95. Luke/Nico (37)

96. Charles/Percy (36)

97. Thalia/Zoë (36)

98. Apollo/Lucius (35)

99. Apollo/Naomi (35)

100. Connor/Travis (35)

There are more stats in the reblogs.

[moonlightandmarble]

2024 Tumblr Top 10

1. 589 notes - Mar 18 2024

2. 366 notes - Jul 4 2024

3. 309 notes - Mar 8 2024

4. 302 notes - Mar 30 2024

5. 289 notes - Mar 19 2024

6. 287 notes - Mar 25 2024

7. 280 notes - Feb 15 2024

8. 277 notes - Apr 2 2024

9. 262 notes - Mar 21 2024

10. 253 notes - Apr 29 2024

Created by TumblrTop10

THANKS FOR LIKING MY SHIT POSTS SO MUCH

[kayrosebee]

November 21, 2024

326/366

New Castiel pin 😇

By @404-potato

💙

[kingofthering-two]

Numbers on the 2023 / 2024 / 2025 MotoGP grids

A couple of numbers I’ve been tracking in the recent seasons, with couple of comments :

Races per rider / Seasons of experience in MotoGP

Those two are directly connected. In 2024, the grid only gained one rookie and lost the races & numbers of Pol Espargaro. Pol’s races going out of the equation (148 before 2023) were vastly outbalanced by the 20 rounds the 21 riders staying in contributed (379 races).

In 2025, we’re getting 3 rookies and losing the numbers of Aleix Espargaro, Takaaki Nakagami and Augusto Fernandez. That’s obviously a bigger loss (360 races before 2024), and this time, the experience gained by the riders staying (366 races in 2024) only keep the averages (about) the same.

Poles / Podiums / Wins per rider

All together, Aleix, Augusto and Taka, before 2024, had 6 poles, 11 podiums and 3 wins.

Apart from 2 poles from Aleix, all 2024 poles / podiums / wins were acquired by riders staying on the grid in 2025. Hence the averages growing.

The same thing happened from 2023 to 2024 when we lost Pol.

Riders staying with their team

I wrote a whole article about this last year if you want more details but what I can say here is that 10 is the lowest number we’ve had since 2021 when only 9 riders stayed with their 2020 team. Apart from 2021, it’s always been at least 11 from 2013 to 2024.

[boysbeloving]

2024 with Mile Phakphum (21/366)

[andi-studies]

21/5/2024 • 142/366

went to the library and finally got organised for my exams in a few weeks, finished off some lectures notes id never gotten around to

[jkjmbtsarmy]

⟭⟬💜 ⟭⟬💛⟭⟬💜 ⟭June 07, 2024⟬💛⟭⟬💜 ⟭⟬💛 ⟭⟬

3 days and Jin will finally be home! 130 for our Sunshine Hobi!

⟭⟬💜 ⟭⟬💛⟭⟬💜 ⟭Discharge⟬💛⟭⟬💜 ⟭⟬💛 ⟭⟬

🐹 12/13/22 - 6/12/24 : 3 Days until Discharge (99%)

🐿️ 4/18/23 - 10/17/24 : 130 Days until Discharge (76%)

🐨/🐯 12/11/23 - 6/10/25 : 366 Days until Discharge (33%)

🐥/🐰 12/12/23 - 6/11/25 : 367 Days until Discharge (32%)

🐱 9/22/23 - 6/21/25 : 377 Days until Discharge (40%)

⟭⟬💜 ⟭⟬💛⟭⟬💜 ⟭Birthday⟬💛⟭⟬💜 ⟭⟬💛 ⟭⟬

🐰☀️ 85 🐨🚲 96 🐥🌙 127

[lancedoncrimsonwings]

Augusnippets 2024 Masterlist- Completed

(Ao3 Link)

Character Masterlists; (1: Whumpees/Caretakers/Allies) (2: Whumpers/Enemies)

Fandom; Cursed (Netflix)

Pairing; Lancewain - Lancelot x Gawain - The Weeping Monk x The Green Knight

These snippets may contain major spoilers for Horizons to Battlegrounds!!!

Progress:

Total Completion: 31/31 - COMPLETE!

Path of Hurt; COMPLETE

Path of Comfort; COMPLETE

Path of Whumperless Whump; COMPLETE

Total Wordcount: 16,665

Average Daily Wordcount: 537

Links to all completed days of @augusnippets whump writing event 2024 below!

Day 1: Hypnosis/Brainwashing (337)

Day 2: Platonic Bathing (499)

Day 3: Thunderstorm (232)

Day 4: Alt. Forced To Watch (736)

Day 5: Feverish Caretaking - Part 1 (551)

Day 6: Alt. Medical Complications (624)

Day 7: Choking (527)

Day 8: Found Family/Friends (570)

Day 9: Overheating + Feverish Caretaking - Part 2 (228)

Day 10: Execution + Whipping (492)

Day 11: Escape + Poison - Part 1 (554)

Day 12: Trapped (500)

Day 13: Escape + Poison - Part 2 (591)

Day 14: Gifts/Celebration (737)

Day 15: Throwing Up - Part 1 (500)

Day 16: Humiliation + Sadistic/Intimate Whumper - Part 1 (831)

Day 17: Alt. Snuggling + Throwing Up - Part 2 (699)

Day 18: Infection + Feverish Caretaking Part 3 (752)

Day 19: Branded + Flashbacks (531)

Day 20: Gentle Touch (607)

Day 21: Alt. Drugging + Delirium (815)

Day 22: Captivity/Recapture (498)

Day 23: Massage (283)

Day 24: Animal Attack (499)

Day 25: Sadistic/Intimate Whumper - Part 2 (498)

Day 26: Snuggling + Flashbacks (599)

Day 27: Chronic Pain (366)

Day 28: Mind Control/Betrayal Part 1 (434)

Day 29: Singing (453)

Day 30: Self-Harm (676)

Day 31: Mind Control/Betrayal Part 2; Breaking the Conditioning + Forgiveness (449)

[alonelystargazer]

2024 Tumblr Top 10

1. 537 notes - Oct 23 2024

2. 513 notes - Jun 16 2024

3. 366 notes - May 19 2024

4. 301 notes - Jul 25 2024

5. 285 notes - May 23 2024

6. 263 notes - Aug 16 2024

can you believe that Yuuji and Megumi love each other??

7. 223 notes - Aug 16 2024

8. 148 notes - Feb 13 2024

9. 143 notes - Apr 21 2024

ItaFushi Fic Rec List

10. 136 notes - May 20 2024

Created by TumblrTop10

[lostlibrariangirl]

May 21, 2024

142/366 Days of Growth

Tired, but still giving my best. Finished PCI-DSS on Qualys, and now starting ISO27001 course from SkillFront.

Also, I am preparing myself for my first Hackathon for women. The theme is women in the game universe: challenges, and other struggles. I will participate with my sisters, one of then is also a developer (Golang), and the other is a psychopedagogue 😀 we are excited to work together and have fun.

We will give our best!

How's your week going? 😗

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Signe Wilkinson

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 20, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 21, 2024

Cheering broke out in the gallery and among Democrats on the floor of the House of Representatives this afternoon when the House passed the $60.8 billion aid bill for Ukraine. The vote was 311–112, with all Democrats and 101 Republicans voting in favor and 112 Republicans voting against. One Republican voted present. 

The House also voted on the three other bills that will be packaged with the Ukraine bill as a single measure to go in front of the Senate. The House voted in favor of providing $8.1 billion in support for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific by a vote of 385–34. It approved more than $26 billion for Israel, including $9.2 billion in humanitarian aid not specifically for Gaza but for populations in crisis, by a vote of 366–58. And it voted 360–58 to place additional sanctions on Iran, seize Russian assets, and require the Chinese owners of TikTok to sell the company within nine months if they want it to continue to be available on U.S. app stores.  

The total price tag of the measures is about $95.3 billion. About $50 billion of it will be used here in the U.S. to replenish the supplies that will go abroad. 

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says the Senate will take up the measure on Tuesday. Senators had gone home for recess but will come back to vote. The Department of Defense says it is ready to rush crucial supplies as soon as it gets the go-ahead. "We have a very robust logistics network that enables us to move material very quickly; as we've done in the past, we can move within days," Pentagon press secretary Air Force Major General Pat Ryder said Thursday.  

Aid to Ukraine has been stalled since Biden first asked for it in October 2023. First, MAGA Republicans said they would never pass such a national security supplemental bill until the U.S. addressed the need for better security at the country’s southern border. Senators, including Republican James Lankford (R-OK) took them at their word and hammered out a strong border security measure, only to have Republicans reject it when Trump demanded they preserve border security as a campaign issue. The Senate then passed the national security supplemental bill without a border measure, but that was back in February. Although it was clear the measure would pass the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has steadfastly refused to take it up. 

Meanwhile, countries around the globe have been stepping into the breach, providing funds and weapons for Ukraine as Ukraine’s war effort has faltered without U.S. war matériel.

Suddenly, the dam has broken. 

The MAGA extremists who oppose aid to Ukraine expressed anger over the measure’s passage, but outside of that group, there was bipartisan relief and mutual congratulations. The chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX), who has been vocal in his belief that Republicans have fallen prey to Russian propaganda, compared today’s vote to the period before World War II, when British prime minister Neville Chamberlain tried to appease dictator Adolf Hitler in 1938 by agreeing to Germany’s annexation of the Sudetenland. To Chamberlain’s successor, Winston Churchill, fell the task of fighting World War II. 

“Our adversaries are watching us here today, and history will judge us on our actions here today,” McCaul said. “So as we deliberate on this vote, you have to ask yourself: Am I Chamberlain or am I Churchill?”

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said: “For months, the national security priorities of the American people have been obstructed by pro-Putin extremists determined to let Russia win. A bipartisan coalition of Democrats and Republicans has risen up to work together and ensure that we are getting the national security legislation important to the American people over the finish line.”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also released a statement welcoming the passage of the measure. “This bipartisan legislation will allow the Department to surge lifesaving security assistance to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s aggression, support Israel’s defense from Iran and its proxies, and increase the flow of urgently needed humanitarian aid to suffering Palestinians in Gaza.” It is also, he wrote, “an important investment in America's future.”  

President Joe Biden said that “members of both parties in the House voted to advance our national security interests and send a clear message about the power of American leadership on the world stage. At this critical inflection point, they came together to answer history’s call, passing urgently-needed national security legislation that I have fought for months to secure.” 

The reiteration of the bipartisan nature of the vote suggests support for the idea that the breaking dam refers not just to the national security supplemental bill but also to the power of MAGA Republicans more generally. Representative Tom Cole (R-OK) suggested this interpretation in an interview today with Ryan Lizza of Politico. 

MAGAs are Trump loyalists, counting on his return to power, and Trump is visibly diminished. For the last week, he has been sitting in a courtroom with no choice but to do as he is told by the judge while potential jurors have expressed their dislike of him to his face. This is novel for him, and it is clearly taking a toll. 

Trump’s financial troubles have not gone away, either. Yesterday, New York attorney general Letitia James asked a judge to void the $175 million appeals bond Trump posted to secure the $454 million judgment against him in the business fraud case. She says that the defendants have failed to show that there is enough collateral behind the bond to secure it. She has asked for a replacement bond within a week. Without a bond, James can begin to seize Trump’s property. 

Since Republicans took control of the House, Republican leaders have had to turn to Democrats to find the votes to pass crucial legislation like the national security supplemental bill, preventing a U.S. default, and funding the government. Republicans interested in governing and eager to protect the institutions of democracy appear to be getting fed up with the attention-seeking and bomb-throwing MAGA faction that refuses to do the work of governing. 

That frustration might have been on display when the House also voted on a fifth measure: a border bill the extremist Republicans demanded. Because it was considered under a suspension of the rules, it needed a two-thirds majority to pass. The measure failed with a vote of 215–211. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a lawyer with the American Immigration Council advocacy group, noted that the last time the House voted on a similar measure, it got 219 votes. This time it got fewer votes, even with an added $9.5 billion for Texas, Florida, and other states that are restricting immigrants’ rights. 

In The Atlantic today, David Frum noted the changing U.S. political dynamic and, referring  to the Ukraine vote, wrote: “On something that mattered intensely to [Trump]—that had become a badge of pro-Trump identity—Trump’s own party worked with Democrats in the House and Senate to hand him a stinging defeat. This example could become contagious.” In other words, he said: “Ukraine won. Trump lost.”

For his part, leading Russian politician Dmitry Medvedev had his own reaction to the House’s passage of the national security supplemental bill with aid for Ukraine. He vowed that Russia would win the war anyway and added: “[C]onsidering the russophobic decision that took place I can't help but wish the USA with all sincerity to dive into a new civil war themselves as quickly as possible. Which, I hope, will be very different from the war between North and South in the 19th century and will be waged using aircraft, tanks, artillery, MLRS, all types of missiles and other weapons. And which will finally lead to the inglorious collapse of the vile evil empire of the 21st century—the United States of America.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[newstfionline]

Saturday, December 21, 2024

Government funding bill clears Congress and heads to President Biden, averting a shutdown (AP) Facing a government shutdown deadline, the Senate rushed through final passage early Saturday of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, dropping President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year. The House approved Johnson’s new bill overwhelmingly, 366-34. The Senate worked into the night to pass it, 85-11, just after the deadline. At midnight, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations. President Joe Biden was expected to sign the measure into law Saturday.

In Utah, Jesus Models Are in Demand (WSJ) Utah is seeing a brisk business for models who have long hair and a beard who can passably pull off a Jesus look for family portraits and wedding announcements for couples that want to feature the religious figure directly in their pictures. Models charge about $100 to $200 an hour and, with the right look, can retain a reliable side hustle as the physical manifestation of Jesus in someone else’s pictures. Look-alikes find that people expect them to embody Jesus in more ways than the hair and beard. Some models said they feel like a celebrity when they don the robe—and get treated like one too. (One felt compelled to remind an onlooker he wasn’t the real Jesus.) Others said they’ve had their own semireligious experiences on the job.

More Tornadoes (NYT) In April of this year, there were over 400 tornadoes reported in the United States, the single highest count in 10 years. Through the month of November there were more than 1,762 tornadoes nationwide, the highest ever, significantly more than the 1,517 tornadoes in 2019 and vastly higher than the 886 tornadoes logged 10 years ago.

Stranded in Mexico: Trump’s Looming Crackdown Scares Migrants (Bloomberg) Outside a center for migrants in the city of Villahermosa in southern Mexico, dozens of Venezuelans, Colombians and others from all over the world were stuck with nowhere to go. Mexican authorities had apprehended them mostly in the north of the country and bused them here, far from their intended destination: the US border, a 17-hour drive away. The roundup is part of Mexico’s immigration crackdown, done partly at the behest of the US government. It’s helped drastically reduce crossings, but created significant hardship for those making the journey, who face difficulty finding a place to sleep, much less employment. With no documents allowing them to work legally in Mexico and nowhere to stay, they’re left impoverished and at risk of falling prey to criminals. Interviews in Mexico at shelters, makeshift camps and on the streets indicate many migrants plan to stay put for the time being as they seek appointments to ask for asylum, a system critics say is being abused by those seeking economic opportunity. Other migrants say that Trump’s vows to carry out the largest deportation in US history mean they no longer want to go, and are considering whether to stay in Mexico instead of returning home.

A driver rammed a German Christmas market, killing 2 (NYT) A driver plowed a vehicle into a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg in central Germany this evening, killing at least two people and injuring more than 65 others, 14 of them severely. The driver, identified as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian citizen, was arrested, the authorities said. They said they believe it was a deliberate attack. More than 1,000 Christmas markets pop up every year in Germany, and have been targeted by terrorists before. In 2016, an extremist rammed a truck into a crowd in Berlin, killing 13. Since then, the police have secured many of the markets with temporary barriers.

As Russia threats loom, Finland’s people are learning to shoot back (AP) Unsettled by Russia’s expansionism and emboldened by its recent accession to NATO, Finland is rallying to strengthen its national self-defense beyond its traditional military capabilities. The popularity of weapons training in the Nordic country has soared in recent months. Few places tell the story of the rise in Finnish affinity for self-defense more than shooting ranges that are riding a boom of interest. The Vantaa Reservist Association, which operates a gun range in a warehouse once used to make sex toys, in Kerava, north of Helsinki, has more than doubled its membership over the last two years and now counts over 2,100 members. “They have something in the back of their head ringing that this is the skill I have to learn now,” said association chairman Antti Kettunen, standing among bullet-riddled targets. “I think that the wind has changed, now it’s blowing from the east.”

Ukraine’s mineral wealth (Washington Post) Ukraine is not only the breadbasket of Europe; it is also a mineral superpower, with some of the largest reserves of 117 of the 120 most widely used minerals in the world. Of the 50 strategic minerals identified by the United States as critical to its economy and national security, many of which are quite rare yet key to certain high-value applications, Ukraine supplies 22. Ukraine possesses the largest reserves of uranium in Europe; the second-largest reserves of iron ore, titanium and manganese; and the third-largest reserves of shale gas—as well as large deposits of lithium, graphite and rare earth metals, according to a 2022 report by the Canadian geopolitical risk-analysis firm SecDev. These minerals are essential to the production of vital goods ranging from airplanes, cellphones and electric vehicles to steel and nuclear power. These natural resources are valued at an estimated $26 trillion, according to SecDev.

Japanese city to name and shame people who break rubbish rules (BBC) Starting in March, Fukushima plans to introduce stricter garbage disposal rules—an initiative which includes using the government website to publish the names of the individuals and businesses that violate them. Last year, the city reported over 9,000 cases of non-compliant garbage. Rubbish is taken very seriously in Japan, where since the 1990s the government has made it a national goal to shift away from landfills, reduce waste and promote recycling. Local authorities have introduced their own initiatives in line with this goal. Residents in Kamikatsu, a Japanese town with an ambitious zero-waste goal, proudly sort their rubbish into 45 categories. Kagoshima prefecture has made it mandatory for residents to write their names on their rubbish bags. And last year the city of Chiba piloted an AI assistant to help residents dispose their rubbish properly.

Syria not a threat to world, rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa tells BBC (BBC) The de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has said the country is exhausted by war and is not a threat to its neighbours or to the West. In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for sanctions on Syria to be lifted. “Now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were targeted at the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way,” he said. He said HTS should be de-listed as a terrorist organisation. Sharaa said HTS was not a terrorist group. They did not target civilians or civilian areas, he said. In fact, they considered themselves to be victim of the crimes of the Assad regime. He denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan. Sharaa said the countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset. He said he believed in education for women. “We’ve had universities in Idlib for more than eight years,” Sharaa said, referring to Syria’s north-western province that has been held by rebels since 2011. “I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%.”

For thousands of Jews, Israel still doesn’t feel safe after the Oct. 7 attacks. So they’re leaving (AP) Leaving Israel is easier, Shira Z. Carmel thinks, by saying it’s just for now. For the Israeli-born singer and an increasing number of relatively well-off Israelis, the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack shattered any sense of safety and along with it, Israel’s founding promise: to be the world’s safe haven for Jews. Ten days later, a pregnant Carmel, her husband and their toddler boarded a flight to Australia, which was looking for people in her husband’s profession. And they spun the explanation to friends and family as something other than permanent—“relocation” is the easier-to-swallow term—acutely aware of the familial strain and the shame that have shadowed Israelis who leave for good. “We told them we’re going to get out of the line of fire for awhile,” Carmel said more than a year later from her family’s new home in Melbourne. “It wasn’t a hard decision. But it was very hard to talk to them about it. It was even hard to admit it to ourselves.” Thousands of Israelis have left the country since Oct. 7, 2023. Migration experts say it’s possible people leaving Israel will surpass the number of immigrants to Israel in 2024, according to Sergio DellaPergola, a statistician and professor emeritus of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

‘We Just Want Mercy’: A Gaza Hospital Pleads for a Respite (NYT) The last functioning intensive care unit at a hospital in northern Gaza was severely damaged by Israeli shelling this week, according to medical staff at the facility who have been pleading for a respite from violence to bring in essential supplies. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, which includes the intensive care unit, in the city of Jabaliya, said on Thursday that it had been hit by an Israeli tank shell that caused a fire and inflicted serious damage. The unit was the only intensive care facility still providing services for both children and adults in northern Gaza, he said. “We urgently need repairs related to water and oxygen supplies, but we have not received anything so far,” Dr. Abu Safiya said in a statement. “We appeal to the international community to open a humanitarian corridor and allow the entry of medical supplies, equipment and ambulances so that we can provide safe medical services.” “We have been addressing the world for over 75 days, and yet nothing is being done,” Dr. Abu Safiya said in an earlier statement, issued on Wednesday. “Yesterday was one of the darkest, most difficult and bloodiest days at Kamal Adwan Hospital,” he added. “The tank shells hit the intensive care unit, igniting a fire that forced us to evacuate the patients quickly.”

France’s military is being ousted from more African countries (AP) It’s been a tumultuous month for France and its relationship with former colonies in Africa, as its influence on the continent faces the biggest challenge in decades. Two of its closest allies struck a double blow. The government of Chad, considered France’s most stable and loyal partner in Africa, announced on its Independence Day it was ending defense cooperation to redefine its sovereignty. And in an interview published hours later by Le Monde, Senegal’s new president said it was “obvious” that soon French soldiers wouldn’t be on Senegalese soil. The decisions by Senegal and Chad “are part of the wider structural transformation in the region’s engagement with France, in which Paris political and military influence continues to diminish,” according to Mucahid Durmaz, a senior analyst at global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. They follow the ousting of French forces in recent years by military-led governments in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, where local sentiments turned sour following years of French forces fighting alongside local ones in the face of stubborn Islamic extremist insurgencies.

Note: News coverage over the holidays may be sporadic as the editor takes time off. Wishing you a good break and relaxing, inspiring times of your own.