#Central Regional Council

[uttarakhand-jagran]

मध्य क्षेत्रीय परिषद बैठक को लेकर पूरी तरह तैयार धामी सरकार

देहरादून:-  उत्तराखंड में मध्य क्षेत्रीय परिषद की बैठक होने जा रही है यह बैठक नरेंद्र नगर के एक निजी होटल में आयोजित की जाएगी। मुख्यमंत्री पुष्कर सिंह धामी ने बताया कि इस बैठक को लेकर प्रदेश सरकार पूरी तरह से तैयार है। बैठक में केंद्रीय गृह मंत्री अमित शाह मौजूद रहेंगे इसके साथ ही मध्य क्षेत्रीय परिषद के सभी प्रदेशों के मुख्यमंत्री भी इस बैठक में मौजूद रहेंगे।

[mogai-sunflowers]

this will be a bit of a long post but i ask that you please please read the full thing if you want to know more about Sudan- i feel like not enough people ACTUALLY know what's going on in Sudan. a lot of people have a vague idea that a 'war' and genocide is going on, but it's important to know the specifics as well.

there is extremely little coverage of Sudan from non-Sudanese sources, and even those that DO cover it often paint it as a war between two different generals for power over a country- and to a certain extent, without context, that IS what's happening. for those unaware, the two 'warring factions' in Sudan are the official Sudanese military- the SAF (Sudanese Armed Forces) and the RSF (Rapid Support Forces).

in April 2019, during the Sudanese Revolution, Islamist dictator Omar al-Bashir was deposed by the SAF in response to a mass wave of revolutionary organizing, protests, and sit-ins. Immediately after, the TMC (Transitionary Military Council) was established, with SAF general inspector Abdel Fattah al-Burhan being appointed as the chairman. for a brief time, protestors engaged in negotiations with Burhan, and many believed that he was being ernest in his promises of a true civilian democratic government- but it soon became clear to protestors that he was not actually taking their demands seriously, so demonstrations once again intensified. on June 3, 2019, it was under Burhan's command that the Khartoum Massacre was committed, killing 118 protestors while they were participating in a sit-in at the military headquarters in Khartoum.

as the next few months went by, agreements came about to dissolve the TMC and form a Transitional Sovereignty Council based on a draft of a constitutional declaration. it was supposed to be that a military official would be the chairman for 21 months, then transitioning to a civilian chairman for the next 18 months- but Burhan staged a coup in October of 2021, and dissolved the council and effectively turned the Sudanese government back into a military junta, which was the cause of further protesting.

i want to emphasize the crimes and horrors of the SAF because they are often forgotten in these discussions due to the absolute atrocities committed by the RSF. there is no good guy here- both the SAF and the RSF are vying for dictatorial power. so let's talk about the RSF.

headed by genocidal war criminal Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known more widely as "Hemedti", the RSF formed around 2014 due to reorginization of the Janjaweed militias- which were the militias that formed across the Darfuri regions of southwestern Sudan to suppress demonstrations against Bashir's oppressive and racist regime which carried out the first genocide of Massalit and other ethnically non-Arab peoples across Darfur in the early 2000s. so to be succinct- the RSF has direct roots in dictatorial suppression of Sudanis protesting against ethnic cleansing, genocide, and oppression.

for around a decade, the RSF and SAF were different factions of the Sudanese military- both have their roots and a pattern of supporting dictatorial violence and anti-Black genocide. and, on April 15, 2023, these two dictatorial Arab-colonialist powers began fighting out of the blue. fighting has been most intense around Khartoum, the central state and capital city of Sudan, where now an estimated 35% of its residents have been forced to flee, with the rest trapped in the middle of an active war zone.

the RSF has been actively continuing the genocide of non-Arab Darfuri Sudanis that its predecessor the Janjaweed committed 20 years prior. they have been consistently launching attacks against Massalit villages in Darfur and El Geneina. Recently, they have completely ethnically cleansed several Massalit villages, killing hundreds in each one of them. in addition, they are committing so many other war crimes, like sexual violence, blocking access to humanitarian aid, occupying civilian homes and kicking the residents out, along with blatant ethnic cleansing campaigns, mass murder, and targeting of civilians.

but don't think that this is a 'civil war' as many are calling it. a civil war is an internal dispute, but this is far from that. both the SAF and the RSF are supported by external powers, namely the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, who all provide funding to these groups IN EXCHANGE FOR SUDANESE RESOURCES LIKE GOLD AND OIL. this is, ultimately, not just some random war between two different military groups- it is a war funded by and for foreign colonial powers who have a vested interest in colonizing Sudan for its resources. as an example- the UAE's- and especially Dubai's- infamous gold and jewelry industry, is only made possible by the fact that the UAE illegally smuggles 80% of Sudan's gold- they fund this by sending weapons AND SOLDIERS to the RSF. Several of the gold mines in Sudan are owned and operated by the Russian government.

all of this, both the 'internal' AND the external, colonial aspects of this war and genocide, has led to the world's current WORST humanitarian crisis. not only do LOW estimates place the total murdered in the past year at 150,000, but out of Sudan's population of nearly 47 million, over half (25 million) are in severe need of humanitarian aid, and of those 25 million, over half are children. fighting between the RSF and SAF has lead to severe blockage of aid, and the UN's initial proposed budget of $1.5 billion in April of 2023 has not only not increased to accommodate the severe worsening of the crisis, but ALSO has not even been funded 20%.

2.5 MILLION PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO STARVE TO DEATH IN SUDAN BY THIS FUCKING SEPTEMBER. THAT IS LESS THAN 2 MONTHS AWAY.

additionally, due to both western colonization and the Sudanese governments' deliberate cutting of internet access across the entirety of Sudan, there is a huge lack of the proper infrastructure for generating awareness and spreading videos and info from on the ground in Sudan. this means that not only are people unable to effectively crowdfund support to leave, but they are also barred from accessing social media to spread awareness, and they're unable to contact loved ones outside of Sudan most of the time.

also, Sudan is HUGE- in order for displaced people to escape fighting, they usually have to walk, on foot, for hundreds of miles, often across literal deserts, with extremely little access to water. there has also been a surge of internally displaced people dying due to illness and scorpion stings in displacement camps. 70% of Sudan's hospitals have stopped functioning entirely. and even if they DO make it to a neighboring country, most of the options there are just as bad, if not worse- Egypt is extremely anti-Black, and doesn't allow work permits to most Black refugees, meaning they are relegated to being houseless and jobless if they go to Egypt- and westward in Chad, there is also crisis with food and resources, so the government of Chad quite literally can not materially support anymore Sudanese refugees. In South Sudan, there is also conflict, war, and crisis, and in Ethiopia, where the genocide is taking place in Tigray, the government is extremely hostile to Sudanese refugees. there are currently more than 6,000 Sudanese refugees stranded in the forests because of the hostilities they faced while in UNHCR camps.

and everyday that we're not doing something, this genocide, war, and humanitarian crisis is getting worse. doing something starts with being educated. i urge y'all to look more into this, don't just take what i'm saying and roll with it- truly learn and listen to Sudanese activists on this. i highly recommend following these accounts on Instagram:

@/red_maat , @/bsonblast , @/sudansolidaritycollective, @/forsudaneseliberation, @/darfurwomenaction, @/liberatesudan, @/zzeirra, @/yousraelbagir, @/modathirzainalabdeen, @/sdn.world, @/nasalsudan, @/sudanuntold, @/kandakamagazine, and @/almigdadhassan0

IF ANYTHING I'VE SAID IS INACCURATE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

i'd like to spread this post for some education. could you reblog this @decolonize-the-left @incorrectmadrigalfamilyquotes @homoidiotic @heritageposts @el-shab-hussein

@fairuzfan @palipunk @silicacid @sissa-arrows @apollos-olives @

@northgazaupdates @our-queer-experience @intersexfairy @genderqueerdykes

[snailkites]

Big news for bird names: American Ornithological Society to replace eponyms

AOS intends to change all offensive and eponymous (named after people) common names of birds in the USA and Canada.

Renaming these species will be done with involvement of the public and overseen by a new committee made up of ornithologists, social scientists, and communications and taxonomy experts.

AOS will work with the ornithological societies of Central and South America determine who in these regions will maintain stewardship of common English names.

AOS announcement: https://americanornithology.org/about/english-bird-names-project/american-ornithological-society-council-statement-on-english-bird-names

More information under the cut.

How do bird names work? Scientific names (binomials like Zonotrichia albicollis) are set by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. These names are meant to be unique, unchanging, and universally recognized. Common names, on the other hand, are more fluid. The American Ornithological Society is the recognized authority on English-language common names for North American birds, published in their annual Checklist.

The larger context. Ornithologists name birds after people to commemorate those individuals, but this create problems. What do you do when a common name is racist, or when a bird is named after someone who, frankly, sucked? AOS has changed bird names for both of these reasons already.

In 2000 AOS changes the common name of Clangula hyemalis from a racist word for Native women to Long-tailed Duck (although at the time, they denied it was because of "political correctness")

2021: AOS changes the common name of Rhynchophanes mccownii from McCown's Longspur to Thick-billed Longspur. McCown was a Confederate. The push to rename this bird was a flashpoint in the #birdnames4birds movement.

Why not decide one-by-one? Sometimes it's obvious. For example, John James Audubon was a grave-robbing, slave-owning racist; birds such as Audubon's Oriole and Audubon's Shearwater are named after him. Although the National Audubon Society has voted to keep their name ("won't someone consider the branding"), many chapters have changed their names, e.g. the Chicaco Bird Alliance. Other individuals with birds named after them are less well-known or clear-cut in how much they did or did not suck. Removing all eponyms, rather than debating who sucks on a case-by-case basis, will cut down on the arguments.

How will this actually happen? It's not yet clear. Any free-for-all-poll might result in some Birdy McBirdFaces. No timeline either. But it sounds like this really is happening!

[aprilcolours]

blackheart

A/N: OC is Visenya, daughter of Rhaenyra and Daemon, second eldest child after Jace and before Luc. She rides Vermithor, the Bronze Fury. This is about SHOW Benjicot Blackwood NOT book!! The three seconds we’ve seen of him at least lol <3 Valyrian is translated at the bottom

part two - part three - part four

—

When Vermithor landed, a slew of muck and water sprayed into the humid Riverlands air. Visenya the Second wrinkled her nose and brushed some of the mud specks off her riding leathers. 

She reassured her dragon, “Sȳz, jikagon arghugon,” and slid promptly off onto his shoulder, before deftly sticking the ten foot drop to the ground. The marshes were full of tents, troops mustered from across the realm to gather here in this central region, where the flags waved black. She had made sure to land a little ways away, wouldn’t want to crush any of our own now would we, she thought with a slight smirk. 

She was the daughter of the Rogue Prince, and carried herself as such. There was a latent danger in the way her lithe form prowled forward, a ferocity to the confident tilt of her shoulders. Despite her stature as a young woman, and a slight one at that, she cut an imposing figure. 

The bannerman watched her approach, most tilting their head in recognition at least, some falling into deep bows. She stalked through the lines of troops, searching for the central war council. 

Visenya had flown to the Riverlands a fortnight hence, to guard their troops from a possible attack by Vhagar, to see her mother’s will done in the strategizing, and for a third purpose that was known only to her and her mother. At the center of a camp, a large table had been brought forth, encrusted with maps of the region and the current positions of hosts. Gathered around the table were a group of knights and lords sworn to Rhaenyra: Lords Darklyn, Staunton, Massey, and a group of young lords that had come to be known as the Lads: Lord Kermit Tully, Ser Oscar Tully, and Lord Benjicot Blackwood. 

Benjicot Blackwood had come into his lordship quite recently, with the death of his father mere months ago at the beginning of the war. Despite this, he had already made a formidable reputation for himself as ruthless, bloodthirsty, and a force to be reckoned with. He was not necessarily physically imposing, favoring a lean build, but he had a certain gleam in his eye. Almost rabid, Visenya had thought to herself with a small laugh. 

She looked at each of the gathered as she reached the table, daring any of these older men to show anything other than submission. Each of the lords bowed, averting their eyes. Bar one. Lord Blackwood always held her gaze as he bowed, eyes gleaming and a crooked smile playing at his lips.

She raised a brow, unimpressed. 

It only seemed to make his smile curl even wider. 

“The Western front has shifted closer, your Highness,” Lord Massey informed her. Visenya finally tore her eyes away from the Blackwood to observe the map. Indeed, the Green host mustered at Lannisport had crept closer in the night. It now dared to encroach on the edges of Tully land. 

“The numbers mustered are not insignificant,” Lord Darklyn added. 

“They are when compared to the whole force of the Reach that soon converges upon us from the South,” Lord Staunton argued. The combined Tyrell, Hightower, and Florent host was decidedly large. 

“A problem only made worse if the Lannisters are allowed to join them,” Darklyn shot back. It was clear this argument had been happening for some time at this point. 

As she considered the map and heeded the advisors, Visenya felt a certain piercing dark gaze boring holes into her. She did not indulge him further with another look, but she could feel the unending weight of his stare as it did not abate. 

“We march on the Lannisters,” Visenya declared, voice carrying high and clear. The council ceased their squabbling. 

A short silence descended, as the Lords who disagreed weighed whether they would be endangering themselves if they expressed their opinion. 

“We will cut them off at Lydden, before they can turn southwards,” she continued, gesturing to the spot on the map. “Darklyn is right, they cannot be allowed to join the Reach. Lannister forces will have supplies from Lannisport, so they will not have been affected by the blockade. Time is our greatest ally at the moment. We have the whole of the North marching to us,” Visenya spoke plainly and matter-of-factly, but at this point she smiled slightly and tossed her silver braid over one shoulder. 

“Furthermore, the Green houses are well… green. The longer they wait, they longer they have to ponder tales of fearsome Northmen who need neither food nor sleep, to whisper legends of Rhaenyra the Cruel and her fleet of dragonriders,” she paused to shoot Blackwood the barest hint of a grin, “to hear word of Bloody Ben and the carnage they march towards.” 

The Lads laughed and jostled Ben’s shoulders. 

“I hear he slew fifty men in a single evening over his cup of tea!” Ser Oscar teased, voice mockingly high. Blackwood ducked his head and laughed, rustling the other two men back. 

“The flower knights will quiver and shake their way back to Highall,” Visenya finished, looking to the council members for dissent. 

“What of Vhagar, your highness?” Lord Staunton asked, “The kinslayer will surely come calling.”

Visenya tilted her head. 

“That is why I am here,” she answered. 

With that, and a few more details of the march agreed upon, the council was adjourned. As he began to walk towards his troops however, Visenya called out to him,

“Oh and Blackwood?”

Ben turned back to face her, taking the address as an invitation to step closer. Closer than any other dared step. She had to tilt her head back slightly to look him in the eye. 

“Be sure to give them something to talk about,” she commanded. Her voice did not falter even as she felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest. 

With a lopsided grin and another bow, “I swear it, my lady.”

—

The battle at Lydden was a roaring success. Vermithor made sure to roar it across the skies. Together, Visenya and her dragon burned whole battalions and paved the way for the Black troops to carve through the Lannister forces. It was not without its casualties to the numbers, but still a resounding victory for the Queen. 

In the aftermath, they had landed in a small forest slightly away from the troops, who she could hear were already carousing. Visenya used the flat of one of her blades to scrape dried blood from Vermithor’s scales. 

“Messy business, isn't it,” a voice rang out from behind her, with his signature teasing lilt. Ben stood at the other edge of the clearing, grinning, also covered in blood and mud. She turned, raising an eyebrow at his antics. 

“What I thought was courage I see now might be stupidity,” she responded with a teasing tone of her own, “to approach a dragon on your lonesome.” 

He approached further, despite her warning, and like a moth to a flame she was drawn closer. 

“Ah but I am not alone, am I?” He said, almost breathless still from the battle they had just fought. They drew near together in the center of the clearing. “And my princess is a great dragon rider who would not allow harm to befall me,” he intoned in a low voice. 

“Ha! I have left court only to find flatterers in the fields,” she replied. Perhaps the bloodlust had gone to her head but Visenya ignored any thoughts of impropriety, choosing to match his grin with one of her own. “

“What is it you want, Lord Blackwood?”

Surprisingly, his expression shifted. The giddiness receded, and what rose upon his features then was a simmering focus. It was not unlike the expression he wore in the midst of battle. After a heartbeat of tension, Benjicot Blackwood stepped even closer. Gazing down at her with that signature glint of crazed gleam in his eyes, he confessed, 

“Since meeting you, your highness… my desires have become uniquely singular.”

Even with her years of courtly training, Visenya could not hide her shock. Or her blush. 

“Let none say you are not bold,” she whispered, stupefied. He chuckled slightly and noted,

“So you think me both bold and courageous.”

“Did I say that,” she teased breathlessly, still gathering her bearings.

“You did,” he replied simply, eyes dark and hooded. 

He was enjoying watching her on the back foot for once, she could tell. She felt a flicker of temper rise and latched onto it. Visenya leveled her haughtiest at look at him and remarked, 

“Our surroundings are hardly appropriate for a marriage proposition, do you not think Lord Blackwood?”

Her indignance only seemed to amuse him further. 

“On the contrary, my lady, they are perfect. Together, we have won a great victory and live to see another day. In war, this is the best one could hope for.” 

She considered his words, considered the whole of Benjicot Blackwood and his proposition. 

Certainly an unconventional choice, she thought. I think mother would like it. 

She considered her third purpose for venturing out across the realm: to seek a husband.

And she kissed him.

Benjicot Blackwood kissed like he was drowning man and she was air itself. He kissed like she might change her mind at any moment and he would make every second count. He was all teeth and tongue and grasping pulling hands at her waist, her arms, her face. 

“Do not get blood in my hair,” she broke away to command, voice breathy but firm.

His laugh echoed into the night. 

—

A/N: Truly insane that I wrote this and he's not even in the show yet lmaoo

Sȳz, jikagon arghugon - good, go hunt

i will post this on ao3 too, and i might add more if i feel so inclined!!

[determinate-negation]

A Preliminary Report from Librarians and Archivists with Palestine

The destruction of cultural heritage in Gaza impoverishes the collective identity of the Palestinian people, irrevocably denies them their history, and violates their sovereignty. In this report, we offer a partial list of archives, libraries, and museums in Gaza that have been destroyed, damaged, or looted by Israeli armed forces since October 7, 2023. This report is necessarily incomplete. It is very difficult to determine the status of archives, libraries, and museums in Gaza during the ongoing Israeli bombardment. Current conditions in Gaza, such as the targeting of journalists, frequent communication blackouts, and extensive damage to the built environment pose an immediate threat to safety. Moreover, archivists and librarians have been repeatedly displaced, injured, or killed, making it even more difficult to take stock of the damage to cultural heritage. As a result, it should be assumed that this report represents only a fraction of the extent of damage and death, not a complete picture.

We compile and offer this information with the understanding that the erasure of Palestinian culture and history has long been an Israeli tactic of war and occupation, a means to further limit the self-determination of the Palestinian people. In 1948, during the Nakba, 30,000 books and manuscripts were looted from Palestinian homes; in 1982, during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, Israel looted and confiscated the library and archives of the Palestine Liberation Organization; libraries and archives were damaged during the Second Intifada, and have been repeatedly targeted in Gaza. Furthermore, the intentional destruction of cultural heritage has been recognized as a war crime and prosecuted in the International Criminal Court.

This report joins those issued by Heritage for Peace (November 7, 2023), the Palestinian Ministry of Culture (December 6, 2023), the Arab Regional Group at the International Council of Monuments and Sites (January 9, 2024), and others. These reports document the destruction of religious sites, archaeological evidence, cultural institutions, and more. We bring a focus on libraries, archives, and museums as sites of knowledge, community spaces, and repositories of cultural heritage. Irreplaceable historic materials have been lost in the destruction of institutions such as the Central Archives of Gaza City and the Rafah Museum. The destruction of libraries represents the loss of not only book collections, but the efforts of Gaza’s librarians to acquire, care for, and provide access to reading materials, despite Israel’s ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Finally, we include information about the librarians and archivists who have been killed in the ongoing Israeli bombardment. We mourn the deaths of our colleagues and their families.

February 1, 2024

Librarians and Archivists with Palestine

[zvaigzdelasas]

Celebrity chef José Andrés' World Central Kitchen, among the largest providers of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, is pausing its operations following the deaths of 7 workers in an Israeli airstrike, the organization said Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an investigation into "a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people" was underway.

Despite coordinating movements with the Israeli military, the convoy was hit Monday as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, WCK said. The team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.

The workers killed include a Palestinian and citizens from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom and a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. [...]

Haaretz reported that Israelis fired three missiles in quick succession at three vehicles[...]

Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to probe the deaths of the World Central Kitchen workers.

"It happens in war," he said [sic]. "We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence."[...]

Hamas condemned the "heinous act" and demanded the U.N. Security Council put an end to Israel's "crimes of the occupation and its aggression" against Palestinians and their supporters.

"This crime reaffirms that the occupation still insists on the policy of systematic killing against defenseless civilians and against international relief teams and humanitarian organizations, within the framework of efforts to terrorize their employees, to prevent them from continuing their humanitarian duties," the militant group said in a statement.[...]

“I am heartbroken and appalled that we, World Central Kitchen, and the world lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the Israeli military," CEO Erin Gore said.[...]

The United Nations agency charged with leading the humanitarian aid effort in Gaza has complained for months about obstacles created by Israeli officials. In a report issued Monday, prior to the WCK tragedy, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said that "access impediments continue to severely compromise the ability of humanitarian actors to reach people in the Gaza Strip." Since March 1, 30% of humanitarian aid missions to northern Gaza were denied by Israeli authorities, the agency said.[...]

The obstacles prompted other efforts, including sea shipment such as the one World Central Kitchen was using Monday. The U.S., partnering with Jordan and other regional nations, has also used airdrops. But trucking aid in from Egypt is viewed as the best method for meeting the tremendous demand.

2 Apr 24

[mariacallous]

Sudan’s rival generals have ignored warnings of mass starvation. In more than a year of brutal war, the two military factions have weaponized humanitarian aid.

Sudan’s de facto leader, military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has blocked aid into at least half of the country under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti. Meanwhile, the RSF is obstructing trucks into places held by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Local volunteers running soup kitchens have been targeted and killed by the RSF, particularly in Khartoum, Sudanese aid workers told FP.

The conflict has created the world’s largest hunger and internal displacement crises. The fighting has pushed 25 million people, more than half the nation’s population, into acute hunger and forced about 11 million people to flee their homes, including 2.3 million who fled abroad. More than two million Sudanese could die by the end of this year, aid agencies warn.

In areas where there is food available, extortion and attacks on traders at checkpoints have raised prices. Women have recounted having sex with SAF soldiers in exchange for food. Reports of torture, rape, the use of children under 15 in the fighting, and ethnic-based massacres by the RSF and armed militias have surged over the past year.

“People are dying of hunger in the capital,” said Mathilde Vu, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s advocacy advisor in Sudan. “We are looking at the risk of starvation being used as a weapon of war. … This needs to be monitored. The policymakers already have a tool for that. The U.N. Security Council resolution about conflict and hunger, and what they need to put in place is a monitoring of that.”

Both sides in Sudan’s nearly 17-month civil war have committed “harrowing” abuses that may amount to war crimes, a U.N.-mandated mission reported on Friday, calling for a countrywide arms embargo. Sudan’s military government rejected a proposal by U.N. experts to deploy a peacekeeping force to protect civilians.

Compounding the situation, the humanitarian response is critically underfunded. A $2.7 billion U.N. appeal has been just 32 percent funded. Much of that funding has come from the United States. However, aid agencies say local volunteers on the ground need to be better supported since a cease-fire is highly unlikely in the immediate future.

Famine was declared in Zamzam camp housing about 500,000 displaced people near the besieged city of El Fasher, the state capital of North Darfur—areas where the RSF is blocking aid trucks. There’s a realistic chance of famine in 16 other areas, Vu said, but precise figures are hard to confirm. Last month, the SAF agreed to open the Adré border crossing from landlocked Chad into Sudan, for a period of three months. But international aid agencies told FP that the SAF has made things difficult through lengthy authorizations ensuring only a trickle of shipments gets in.

U.S. envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey this week in the latest attempt by the Biden administration to expand humanitarian access in Sudan, following failed peace talks in Geneva. The conflict risks turning into a forever war, in which various external actors seize the opportunity to extend their influence. Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Russia have been accused of arming warring parties.

While such negotiations are essential, U.S. attention and pressure should also focus on other regional powers with a vested interest in the conflict such as Eritrea and Ethiopia. Foreign mercenaries from Chad, Mali, Niger, the Central African Republic, and Libya are believed to be fighting in Sudan.

Pressuring regional powers could engage local armed militias allied to the warring parties in ultimately ensuring access to places like El Fasher. “It will create more of a buffer than two guys signing an agreement in Jeddah” and then breaking it, Vu said. “You cannot bypass the regional powers. … They really are the ones who have the leverage. It’s very important that Western powers engage them so that they have a constructive role in this crisis rather than a harmful one,” she added. Even if Burhan and Hemeti signed a peace deal, many of the local armed groups involved would likely not abide by it.

Both generals have held meetings with several African leaders, while the African Union has been largely absent in peace negotiations. More recently, Burhan held meetings with Eritrea’s president, Isaias Afwerki, and Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, at the China-Africa summit.

[mychlapci]

Planetfucker scenario? I'll try my best! If this is a hit, I'll write a (weird-birth-stuff) part 2! :D

AU where at the very start of the war, when Orion first acquired the Matrix, tensions were so high that he could not reasonably abandon his Autobots to spend Primus knows how many cycles on Earth appeasing the Unmaker… After many lengthy debates with the high council and his closest confidants, shockingly Prowl volunteered to go in his stead.

Prowl, young but pragmatic, argues that it's for the best. The Autobots need a leader, which Prowl is not. What he is is knowledgeable, quick witted, and level headed. He's perfectly capable of impersonating a Prime for the union rituals. Maybe he underestimated the task, or maybe he simply doesn't trust anyone else to do it right. 

Optimus protests at first, but eventually concedes… and Prowl is sent to Earth in his stead. 

He makes a stunning bride, clad from helm to peds in traditional crystal jewelry. Prime dresses Prowl himself, hanging glimmering heirloom jewels from his doorwings and stringing beaded necklaces around his neck and waist as he guiltily laments his decision to let Prowl shoulder one of his sworn duties. He accompanies Prowl all the way to Earth, bidding his friend goodbye, goodluck, and thanks before returning to Cybertron.

Upon arrival, Prowl finds himself standing at the maw of a grand cavern hidden deep within a mountainous region of Earth. The air emanating from inside is warm and humid. He enters cautiously, descending a winding path to the heart of the cave system.

The further he walks, the more he swears he can sense the walls around him pulsing in a faint but constant rhythm… The Unmaker knows he’s here.

He traverses a series of neverending tunnels, relying on his senses and pure instinct to lead him through the maze-like system. The further he walks, the more oppressive the heat and humidity becomes, the walls seem to narrow and close in around him. Black creeps into the corners of his vision, and a thick fog of static clouds his processor the closer he draws to Unicorn's core. He's barely aware of the gradual charge steadily building in his array until he feels slick seeping from the seams of his panel. 

Hours, or maybe days pass. By the time he reaches the core, he's enveloped in nauseating heat, swaying with every step as his vision swims in and out of focus. The walls pulse around him in a steady rhythm, lulling him deeper into a haze. 

Dim biolights cast the small central chamber in a warm red glow, every surface inside is made of plush organic matter. At the center of the Unmaker’s core is an engorged mass of flesh and tangled tendrils, eggs shifting visibly beneath its surface, with something resembling a valve at its center. 

Prowl’s whole frame feels feverish, his breath coming out in ragged pants as a sweet, heady scent assails his senses. His panels snap open, lubricant gushing down his trembling thighs and his spike already fully pressurized. He collapses over the mound before he can stop himself. 

His head is pounding as he pants and moans against the soft organic matter. He can't think, but he knows what to do. The countless crystals which adorn his frame gleam beneath the pulsating biolights around him, chiming and jingling with every quiver of his doorwings, reflecting a kaleidoscope of shifting red and pink lights all around the chamber. 

His bleary optics are transfixed on the pretty lights as he feebly ruts his spike into the slick, hot valve of the Unmaker. He doesn't last very long… but here, mere seconds feel like an eternity. And he doesn't stop after the first overload. He pumps load after load of transfluid into Unicron's greedy valve, sobbing and shaking as his spike is milked in time with the rhythm of the pulsing lights around him. 

Eventually, he collapses over the plush bed of tendrils and fleah, his battle computer offline and higher functions failing him as the rhythmic throb of the lights and walls flood his senses. 

Prowl’s half-hard spike is still buried in the Unmaker’s valve. He’s on the verge of unconsciousness when he feels a thin, slimy tendril coiling around his leg. Then another, caressing his jaw, slimy and sluggish as it slides over his face like a long, deft tongue. The cavern around him rumbles, a pleased purr emanating from the Unmaker as it maps out Prowl's features. More join, caressing his frame and playing with the pretty jewels that adorn it. 

When the first tentacle finds his valve, Prowl nearly short circuits. His inner callips eagerly cycle around the digit, coaxing it further inside as his anterior node throbs with charge. Two more join the first, pumping in and out of his valve, twisting together and writhing within him before pulling apart and shamelessly spreading him wide open. Prowl whines weakly at the sensation, mind numbing static smothering any discomfort and leaving only dull aching pleasure in its wake. 

A new tendril emerges from the nest beneath him, thick and slimy as it slides against the curve of his aft. It lines up with his gaping hole, easing its way inside with no difficulty. Prowl squeals as it hits his ceiling node with the first slow, deep thrust. 

Unicron sets a steady pace, pounding Prowl's sloppy valve in a maddening rhythm. Prowl jerks and bucks his hips with every drag against his calipers, grinding his spike against the Unmaker’s valve as he squirms and wriggles in its hold. He's held in place by countless tendrils, they coil around his limbs and wriggle against his plating. One finds its way to his mouth, sliding against his glossa before finally fucking his throat in earnest.

Prowl’s vaguely aware of the mass beneath him shifting, the massive clutch of eggs inside moving and deprleting as the thick tentacle in his valve forces its way deeper, bullying the seal of his gestation tank until it finally gives.

His vision goes white, his cries muffled by the tendril in his mouth as the one in his valve suddenly expands. 

Prowl’s calipers are spread wide around the first of many eggs as they're pumped into his gestation tank one after another. For what feels like an eternity, he lays twitching, writhing, and in a near constant state of overload as his sloppy valve swallows Unicron’s clutch. His midriff swells and distends as his spike drools transfluid in a near constant stream, leaking all over the Unmaker's remaining eggs which the tendril promptly pumps into his valve to incubate. 

By the time Unicron is finished, Prowl’s a twitching, drooling mess. All he can do is whine and twitch against the bed of flesh beneath him, engulfed in a mass of writhing tentacles which leaves no spot on his frame untouched…

When Prowl finally emerges from the caves, he has no concept of how much time has passed. He gradually regains cognition, only to realize how much his frame has changed. The seams of his plating are caked with strange sweet slime, his hips are wider… And most obviously, his stomach is horribly distended, awkwardly impeding his gait. 

All he can do is slowly waddle out into the open, the few crystals which still hang from his doorwings jingling with every trundle.

He rests his weary frame atop a flat slab of rock as he absentmindedly activates a locater beacon. Though his mind is mostly clear now, he can't fight the overwhelming urge to return to Cybertron to birth his mate’s brood…

-🦴

ohhHh buddy this was a fucking banger. extremely funny confession, i haven’t even considered Unicron getting his brides pregnant yet ahsjjskhshhk

I love everything about this, the way entering Unicron only makes Prowl more and more hazy and horny, the way time passes slowly and sludge-like and his processor feels so overwhelmed with sensation, Unicron’s valve beckoning him forth, tendrils slipping egg after egg into Prowl until he’s overloading constantly without a break….

mhmmm Prowl comes back to Cybertron bearing the spawn of his new conjux, and Optimus can't help but think about how it was him who was supposed to be in Prowl's role right now, birthing Unicron's brood....

[whencyclopedia]

Achaean League

The Achaean League (or Achaian Confederacy) was a federation of Greek city-states in the north and central parts of the Peloponnese in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. With a combined political representation and land army, the successful early years of the League would eventually bring it into conflict with other regional powers Sparta, Macedon, and then later Rome. Defeat by the latter in 146 BCE brought the confederacy to a dramatic end.

Founding & Membership

The League was formed in c. 281 BCE by 12 city-states in the region of Achaea who considered themselves as having a common identity (ethnos). Indeed, several of these states had already been members of a federation (koinon) in the Classical period but this had broken up c. 324 BCE. The principal founding members of the League were, then, Dyme, Patrai, Pharai, and Tritaia, all located in western Achaea in the northern Peloponnese of Greece. More Achaean cities joined in the following decade and the stature of the League grew when Sicyon, a city outside the region, joined in 251 BCE. From then on, membership steadily grew to encompass the whole of the Peloponnese.

Members enjoyed the strength in numbers of the League whilst maintaining their independence. Their primary obligation was to contribute a quota of warriors for the League's collective army. Cities also sent representatives to meetings of the League in proportion to their status - smaller cities sent one, and larger ones could send three. Of these, the original founding and larger members continued to exert more influence and their representatives certainly carried more stature as regional statesmen. The representatives met, perhaps four times each year, on a federal council and there was also a citizen's assembly. Up to c. 189 BCE meetings were held at the sanctuary of Zeus Homarios at Aigion and thereafter at individual city-states, presumably on a rotation basis.

The representatives sent by city-states were led by the strategos (general), a position which was introduced in c. 255 BCE and held for one year. To better ensure one state did not overly dominate, the position could not be held for consecutive years. However, this did not stop some notable figures such as Philopoimen (from Megalopolis) and Aratos (from Sicyon) holding the position several times in their careers. Other important positions included the cavalry commander (hipparch), ten damiourgoi officials, and a League secretary.

The League not only gave its members a better defence against outside aggression but also brought several non-military benefits such as access to a common judicial process and the use of a common currency and system of measurements.

Continue reading...

[agentrouka-blog]

I'm curious, do you think Jon or Bran will be king at the end? I find Jonsas tend to be more receptive to the idea of King Bran, even if they don't think its endgame since Jon and Sansa can still be together in Winterfell, unlike the Jonerys side of the fandom who accept Queen Dany as the only possible satisfying endgame. I'm kinda torn between the two, I think grrm could make either work, though Bran would be the more subversive option than the secret prince of an overthrown ancient dynasty. But on the other hand I feel like there won't even be an Iron Throne/7 united kingdoms by the end, so for a King in the North, my #1 pick would always be Jon (alongside his Stark Queen of course).

Oh, I am 100% on board with king Bran! <3

My specific scenario is that he will be an unlikely selection voted in by a Great Council for the new political system in the South of Westeros, which is a parliamentary monarchy of a voluntary union of the Southern regions. There's a permanent Great Council, presided over by a much less powerful figurehead king (hereditary or not) at Harrenhal, which is centrally located in the South and big enough to house that kind of institution, plus symbolically close to the Isle of Faces.

(The Iron Throne and KL being roasted and destroyed, there's need for a whole reassassment of the political future of the continent.)

Bran would be chosen based on his maternal ancestry line (Tully-Whent) connecting him to Harrenhal, through an effective but stealthy election campaign by his aquaintence Samwell Tarly, and probably influenced by Tyrion Lannister in some way. His disability and extreme youth would be considered a plus in this scenario, ensuring the inability to increase royal power beyond the bare minimum through charismatic war mongering for the foreseeable decades. Bran would shine through his intelligence and his ability successfully negotiate political decisions as this proto-democratic institution finds its feet.

I don't think GRRM would ever contemplate putting a Targaryen descendent into a position of ultimate power over Westeros in the end. It would validate the entire dynasty in a way that entirely undercuts the point made by the descent into villainy for literlly everyone actively pursuing that same throne. It would also define Jon's place in the world through the Targaryen line instead of the Stark line, which is.... improbable, given his lack of personal ties to the South and his deep thematic and emotional connection to the culture, landscape, people and politics of the North. The perfect match to Queen in the North Sansa.

[newsfrom-theworld]

1/05/2024

Today's breaking news:

Two young men were injured after Isr@eli forces opened fire at them, stripped them of their clothes, and tortured them while they were attempting to escape from Gaza City to the southern part of the strip.

Isr@eli forces confiscate cars belonging to Palestinians in occupied Hebron

Police use tear gas and rubber bullets on student protesters at the University of South Florida.

Isr@eli fighter jets strike the city of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

NYPD violently assaulted students and detained a number of them at Colombia University.

Isr@eli occupation forces destroy a residential house in the Palestinian village of Maghar in the Galilee region

Isr@elis attack humanitarian aid trucks headed to Gaza.

Dozens of pro-Isr@el counter-protestors have started tearing down the UCLA's Gaza Solidarity Encampment while screaming "Second Nakba!", referring to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians in 1948.

Isr@eli fighter jets launch an airstrike targeting a location in the central Gaza Strip.

Isr@el is establishing a complex system of checkpoints that will prevent men of ��military age” from escaping Rafah

Mohammed Samour, a Palestinian child, has suffered critical injuries due to an explosion caused by planted explosives left by the Isr@eli occupation forces in his family home in Zanah, east of Khan Yunis.

Issa Jabbarin (41 years old) from Ramallah reunites with his family after 22 years of imprisonment by Isr@eli authorities

Isr@el kills Mohammed Hamdi Dib, a player for Gaza's handball team, along with his wife and three children, in a strike on their home in Gaza.

NBC reports that nearly 300 protesters were arrested at Columbia University and City College of New York last night.

Isr@eli authorities release the deputy in the legislative council, Ahmad Attoun, who has been detained under administrative detention for a yea

Injuries amongst pro Palestine protesters at the UCLA university encampment after violent Zionist counter protestors attacked the camp during the night.

[silicacid]

abdullahobead

هذا الصاروخ من الصواريخ الموجهة، أطلقته طائرات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي على منزل في مخيم البريج شرق المنطقة الوسطى لـ #قطاع_غزة، استشهدت إمرأة وفي حضنها طفلتها الشهيدة أيضاً واثنين من ابنائها، مكتوب عليه “US” أي صنع الولايات المتحدة.. أميركا هي المشارك الأول في هذه الحرب وهي الداعم الأكبر لإسرائيل عسكرياً وسياسياً، حيث استخدمت اليوم حق النقض "الفيتو" في مجلس الأمن لمنع دخول المساعدات الإنسانية والغذائية لقطاع عزة ومنع وقوف الحرب على #غزة ، أي تريد استمرار المجازر والجرائم في القطاع.

This rocket is from the guided missiles, fired by the Israeli occupation aircraft at a house in Al-Bureij camp, east of the central region of the Gaza Strip, a woman was killed in her lap by her martyred child also and two of her sons, which reads “US” that is, the United States made. America is the first participant in this war and is the greatest supporter of Israel militarily and politically, as today it used its veto power in the Security Council to prevent the entry of humanitarian and food aid to the Gaza Strip and to prevent the war from stopping on #Gaza, that is, it wants the continuation of massacres and crimes in the Gaza Strip.

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[kamogryadeshi]

As a result of Russian shelling of the village of Komar in the Volnovakha district, an employee of the village council was killed, 14 more people were injured, the Donetsk regional prosecutor's office reported. The Russians made three strikes on the central part of the settlement.

Photo: Telegram/Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office

[sourcreammachine]

GREEN PARTY MANIFESTO 2024 SUMMARY

tldr: there's a feeling of tension in this manifesto, between youthful zennial climatic ecosocialism and old-guard hippy-liberal environmentalism. this year the greens may well go from 1 MP to the dizzying heights of 2 (there's whispers on the wind that they may even get 3...), and the green council delegation is at 800-odd now, so this could easily be a changing-of-the-guard moment

with the great Berry and the ok Denyer in parliament the party could have more momentum in battling the starmerite government, and with that, it has the ability, the possibility to pick up more momentum. this is a big opportunity in the party's history - over the next five years it can and could be pushed into a holistic ecosocialist movement by the centrally influential mass party membership, and remove the last dregs of its tunnel vision to provide a lefty movement for everyone, green and pink, a Newfoundland coalition. with votes at 16 on the cards and this potential evolution of the party, 2029 could be a big moment for this country's left. whether or not the greens play the role of keystone is up to them

it is also the only manifesto to use the term 'neurodivergent'

💷ECONOMY

wealth tax of 1% on individuals with assets over §10m and 2% for assets over §1b (an extremely humble proposal), reform capital gains and investment dividend taxation to be at the same rates as income taxation, remove the income-based bands on national insurance contributions, ie raising total income taxation by 8% at §50k/a, – altogether raising government revenues by upwards of §70b/a

stratify VAT to reduce it for consumer stuff and hike it for stuff like financial services

permanent windfall tax on banks for whenever they get windfalls

perform a holistic land survey to get the data needed for a new, effective Land Tax

abolish the tax relief on existing freeports and SEZs

heavy carbon tax to raise a boatload of billions, rising progressively over a decade to allow industrial adaptation, for a ~§80b state windfall for five years that'll be for green investment as this windfall starts to recede

renationalise water and energy

§15 minimum wage, 10:1 pay ratio for all organisations public and private (ie §150 sort-of maximum wage, ~§300k/a), mandatory equal pay audits, 'support' lower hours and four-day weeks [clarification needed]

unambiguously define gig workers as workers with contract rights from day one, repeat offenders of gig-slavery will be banned from operating in the country

every City bank required to produce a strategy with a clear pathway to divestment of all fossil fuels "as soon as possible and at least by 2030", every City non-banking organisation simply to be banned from having fossil fuel in their portfolios, credit to be banned for repeat City climate offenders, mandate the BoE to fulfil the funding of the climate transition and climate leadership of the City, FCA to develop measures to ban fossil fuel share trading in the City and immediately prohibit all new shares in fossil fuels

"we will explore legal ways for companies to be transformed into mutual organisations"😈

develop regional cooperative banks to invest in regional SMEs, coops and community enterprises

diversify crop growth, promote local agricultural cooperatives and peripheral urban horticultural farms, give farmers a sort of collective bargain against grocers

aim towards a circular economy: require ten-year warranties on white goods, rollout of right-to-repair

tighten monopoly laws on media with a hard cap preventing >20% of a media market being owned by one individual or company and implement Leveson 2

🏥PUBLIC SERVICES

abolish tuition fees and cancel standing debt

surge nhs funding by §30B, triple labour's spending plans for everything, the entire budget, the entire state, everything

free personal care, with occupational therapy being part of this

35h/w free child care (eg seven hours over five days, or seven days of five hours)

renationalise many academies under local authorities, abolish the "charity" status of private schools and charge VAT

surge funding for smoking-cessation, addiction support and sexual health service

surge funding for public dentistry with free care for children and low-earners

free school breakfasts in primary school and free school lunches for all schools

one-month guarantee of access to mental health therapies

online access to PrEP

let school playing fields be used in the evenings by local sports clubs

greater funding for civic sports facilities and pools

🏠HOUSING

unambiguously-under-the-law nationalise the crown estate for an absolute fuckton of land and assets for housing and for green energy and rewilding for FREE

rent control for local authorities, ban no-fault evictions and introduce long-term leases, create private tenancy boards of tenants

local authorities to have right of first refusal on the purchase of certain properties at aggressive rates, such as unoccupied or uninsulated buildings

all new homes to be Passivhaus standard with mandatory solar panels and heat pumps

§30B across five years to insulate homes, §12B of which is for social homes, and §9B more for heat pumps, and §7B more for summer cooling

planning law reform: council planning mechanisms to priorities little developments all over the place rather than sprawling blobs, demolitions to require as thorough a planning application as erections, new developments required to not be car dependent

planning laws to require large-scale developments feature access to key community infrastructures such as transport, health and education, often mandating the construction of new key infrastructures, support nightlife and local culture in planning regulations

exempt pubs and local cultural events from VAT

building materials to be reusable, builders' waste rates to be surged to encourage use of reuse

750k new social homes in five years

🚄TRANSPORT

'a bus service to every village', restore local authority control and/or ownership of their busses

renationalise rail via franchise-concession lapsing, slowly assume ownership of the rolling stock (currently leased, and would continue to be so under labour's implementation of renationalisation) by buying a new train when the stock needs to be replaced

electrification agenda across the rail network, strategic approach to rail line and station reopenings

bring forward (sorta, the tories suspended it but labour says they'll reinstate it) the new petrol car ban from 2030 to 2027, existing petrol cars targeted to be off the road by 2034, investigate road-price charges as a replacement for petrol tax, hike road tax proportionally to vehicle weight, drop urban speed limits from 50kph to 30kph (or from 30mph to 20mph if you only speak Wrong), mass funding for freightrail and support logistics firms transitioning away from lorries

§2.5b/a for footpaths and cycleways, target of 50% of urban journeys to be extravehicular by 2030

frequent-flyer levy, ban on domestic flights within three-hour rail distance, remove the exemption of airline fuel from fuel tax, prioritise training of airline workers into other transportational jobs

👮FORCE

abolish the home office, transfer its police/security portfolio to the justice ministry and its citizenship/migration portfolio to a new migration ministry separate from the criminal justice system

abolish the kill the bill bill and restore the right to protest

recognise palestine, push for immediate ceasefire and prosecution of war crimes, back the south africa case, "[support] an urgent international effort to end the illegal occupation of palestinian land"

grant asylum-seekers the right to work before their application is granted

end the hostile environment

abolish Prevent

end routine stop-and-search and facial recognition

commission to reform 'counterproductive' drug regime, decriminalise personal possession

amend the Online Safety Act to "[protect] political debate from being manipulated by falsehoods, fakes and half-truths", ie actually protecting 'fReE sPeEcH' and not everything that rightists imply by that phrase

decriminalise sex work

reform laws to give artists IP protections against ai

cancel trident and disarm

push for nato reforms (in its and our interest, they're not russophiles, they're not galloway, it's ok): get it to adopt a no-first-use nuclear policy, get it to prioritise diplomatic action first rather than military reaction, get it to adopt a stronger line on only acting for the defence of its member states

right to roam🚶‍♂️

🌱CLIMATE

zero-carbon by 2040, rather than the ephemeral ostensible government target of 2050

stop all new oil/gas licenses, end all subsidy for oil/gas industries, regulate biofuels to end greenwashing, end subsidies for biomass

decarbonise energy by 2030, minimum threshold of energy infrastructures to be community owned, "end the de facto ban on onshore wind" with planning reform

massively expand the connections between the insular grid and the UCTE continental grid to increase electricity import and export and prevent the need for energy autarky

more targeted bans on single-use plastics

"give nature a legal personhood" ok grandma let’s get you to bed

§2b/a to local authorities for local small-business decarbonisation

"cease development of new nuclear power stations, as nuclear energy is much more expensive and slower to develop than renewables. we are clear that nuclear is a distraction from developing renewable energy and the risk to nuclear power stations from extreme climate events is rising fast. nuclear power stations carry an unacceptable risk for the communities living close to facilities and create unmanageable quantities of radioactive waste. they are also inextricably linked with the production of nuclear weapons. green MPs will campaign to phase out existing nuclear power stations." because some people just can't let go of the seventies. nuclear is good. nuclear is our friend

invest in r&d to find solutions to decarbonise 'residual' carbon in the economy, such as HGVs or mobile machinery

increase unharvested woodland by 50% (no time frame given), grants to farmers for scrub rewilding, rewet Pete Boggs, make 30% of the EEZ protected waters and ban bottom trawling

§4b/a in skills training to stop gas communities getting Thatchered, prioritising shifting these workers into offshore wind

a.. licensing scheme for all pet animals? you guys sure about that one

regulate animal farming with a goal of banning factory farms, ban mass routine antibiotics, ban cages/close confinement and animal mutilation

ban all hunting including coursing and "game", ban snaring, ban hunt-landscaping such as grouse moors, end the badger cull, mandate licensing of all animal workers with lifetime striking off for cruelty convictions, compulsory hedgehog holes in new fencing, 'push' for 'ending' horse and dog racing [clarification needed], new criminal offences for stealing and harming pets, 'work towards' banning animal testing

🗳️DEMOCRACY

proportional representation for parliament and all councils

abolish voter ID

votes at sixteen

votes for all visa'd migrants

restore the electoral commission's prosecutory powers and remove the cap on fines it can impose on parties

increase Short Money, especially for smaller parties

create a manifest legal category of organisation for think tanks, to allow better enforcement of lobbying and funding restrictions

consider fun new measures for political accessibility such as MP jobsharing and allowing public provision of offices for all parliamentary candidates

🎲OTHER STUFF

Self-ID including nonbinary recognition, including with an X passport marker

"work towards rejoining the eu as soon as the domestic political situation is favourable", join the eea now (with restored free movement)

let local authorities invest shares in sports teams, including professional ones, dividends ringfenced for public sports facilities and coaching

right to die

[girlactionfigure]

🔅Sun morning - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

🔥FOREST FIRE - JERUSALEM.. near the Ben Zion intersection and the Beit Hanina neighborhood.

▪️BLOCKED ENTRANCE TO JERUSALEM BY PROTESTORS.. Demonstrators from the "Change Direction" movement handcuffed themselves to a display in the form of a ballot box and blocked the primary road entrance to Jerusalem. Police and firefighting team are working to remove the protesters.

▪️BLOCKED THE TEL AVIV HIGHWAY OVERNIGHT.. as has become the weekend custom, protestors blocked the Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv at night and were gradually removed by police.  Above at the Kaplan intersection, water cannon were deployed to break up the protest after they refused to disperse.  1 arrested, the police are also now handing out NIS 1,000 fines on the spot for illegal protest and refusing police dispersal orders.

▪️IT’S ALL POLITICAL NEWS.. The focus is moving to the domestic arena in Israel.  The balance problems of Israel’s many-party non-representative democracy are coming to the fore, with all the leadership types blaming each other for the current situation EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THEM have either been part of the emergency government & war cabinet, part of the coalition, or part of the previous government.

HERO SOLDIERS HAVE FALLEN.. Nachman Meir Haim Vakanin, 20, from Eilat, and Noam Batan, 20, from Moshav Yad Rambam have fallen in battle in the Gaza Strip.  May their families be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem, and may G-d avenge their blood!

▪️US NEGOTIATING WITH IRAN.. Iran's representative to the UN confirms the reports of indirect contacts between the US and Iran in an attempt to achieve calm in the region. Contacts are made through the Sultanate of Oman. (( Well so far the US has given in on the ability to prepare materials for nukes, on funding of terror, on funds ceased due to funding of terror.  In the meantime Iran set up and armed regional terror armies and took control of 1/3 of world shipping, as well as building nukes.  Hmm, what can the US give them this time? ))

▪️HOUTHI UPGRADE.. US Central Command eports that the Houthis used a new and particularly dangerous ballistic missile for the first time.  More range, higher accuracy, higher ship damage.

♦️IDF CAPTURES long range rockets and rocket manufacturing facility in Jabaliya.

♦️POWERFUL IDF ATTACKS.. in Jabaliya, Gaza this morning.

♦️COUNTER-TERROR OVERNIGHT in Kalkilya and Shechem.  “Lions Den” terror group firefight with IDF troops, and al-Aqsa Martyrs in Kalkilya.  Several captured.

⭕ YESTERDAY EVENING’s HAMAS ROCKETS at Ashkelon was a BARRAGE of 10.  5 intercepted, 5 missed.

⭕ HAMAS ROCKETS at Sderot this morning, intercepted.  Last 

⭕ SUICIDE DRONE ATTACKS VEHICLE.. overnight military vehicle in Metulla hit by drone.  No casualties.

⭕ HEZBOLLAH rockets and suicide drones this morning, Malkia,  Dishon, Iftach, Malkia, Mevuot Hermon Regional Council, Ramot Naftali, Yir’on, Baram, Avivim.

⭕ ANTI-TANK MISSILES fired at Mt. Dov and at Arab al-Aramsha.

*******

🔅Sun afternoon - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

▪️EDITOR COMMENT.. For most of this war, the majority of Israeli politicians kept quiet and disagreements somewhat behind closed doors. And even segments of the public and activist groups kept a low profile.

Unfortunately that seems to be coming to an end.  

When we share reports on political statements, protests, and activist actions, we get a fair amount of negative feedback and accusations of bias.  We believe we are presenting a fairly balanced view, taking information from sources that lean both directions and trying to translate them (language and culturally) for our English speaking readers.

Since these political moves directly affect all of Israel, the war, and the Jewish people - we can’t ignore them.  

We do, however, try to limit political and activist reports to the main players and major events.  

▪️POLITICS: GANTZ TWEAKS TERMS.. National Unity MK Gantz adjusts his letter from yesterday - the return of the hostages is not an overarching goal but "a goal of highest priority”.

▪️POLITICS : LAPID CALLS.. Opposition Leader MK Lapid calls on Gantz to resign, he calls on Defense Min. Gallant to stay (as he says because he doesn’t want his deputy to take over).

▪️MASS MURDERER GETS SURGERY.. After Ichilov hospital on Thursday refused to accept the Hamas Nokhaba terrorist for pelvic surgery and he was returned to Sde Yemen, at the end of the week the security forces coordinated with the hospital for the terrorist's arrival and he underwent the surgery.

▪️ATTEMPTED TERROR STABBING - Abu Dis checkpoint.. A terrorist arrived at the "Kiosk" checkpoint located near the town of "Abu Dis" in Judea pulled out a screwdriver and tried to stab the fighters at the checkpoint.  Terrorist killed.

▪️HOSTAGE SHANI LUKE’S FATHER.. at her funeral “I ask all the people of Israel not to go to demonstrations. This is the fuel of our enemies.”

▪️JERUSALEM PROTEST.. that blocked the city entrance.  3 arrested.

▪️RA’ANANA TERROR OR MENTALLY ILL?  A resident of Taiba was arrested by a gym in Ra'anana threatening the exercisers and shouting that they should die "like Shahid". Arrested and police say will be transferred to professionals for mental health diagnosis.

♦️COUNTER-TERROR A-Rihiyya.. near Hebron, raid.

⭕ HEZBOLLAH ANTI-TANK fire at an IDF Hummer in Malikia, followed by artillery at the responders.

⭕ HEZBOLLAH DRONES, 2 rounds, Beit Hillel, Kfar Giladi, Kfar Yuval, Metulla, Manara, Ma'ayan Baruch, Margaliot, Misgav Am, Kiryat Shmona, Tel Hai, Dafna, HaGoshrim, Ghajar, Kibutz Dan, Shear Yeshuv, Snir, Avivim, Baram, Yir'on 

[zvaigzdelasas]

US Threats led to rupture of vital military ties, Nigerien leader says - WaPo

A crucial military relationship between the United States and its closest West African ally, the country of Niger, ruptured this spring after a visiting U.S. official made threats during last-ditch negotiations over whether American troops based there would be allowed to remain, according to the country’s prime minister.

In an exclusive interview, Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine put the blame for the breakdown squarely on the United States, accusing American officials of trying to dictate which countries Niger could partner with and failing to justify the U.S. troop presence, now scheduled to end in the coming months. Niger has been central to efforts to contain a growing Islamist insurgency in West Africa.

The rift between the former allies has created an opportunity for Russia, which has moved quickly to deepen its relationship with Niger, dispatching troops to the capital, Niamey, last month to train the Nigerien military and supplying a new air defense system. Russian and U.S. troops now occupy opposite ends of an air base.

After a military coup d’état ousted Niger’s democratically elected president last year, the United States froze security support as required by U.S. law and paused counterterrorism activities, which had involved intelligence gathering on regional militant activities from a massive drone base in the country’s north. The United States has kept more than 1,000 military personnel in place while negotiating with Niger over their status and urging the junta to begin restoring democracy.

“The Americans stayed on our soil, doing nothing while the terrorists killed people and burned towns,” Zeine said. “It is not a sign of friendship to come on our soil but let the terrorists attack us. We have seen what the United States will do to defend its allies, because we have seen Ukraine and Israel.”

Niger’s insistence that American troops depart culminated in the U.S. announcement last month that it would withdraw them. The pullout, which two U.S. officials said would begin in coming months, represents a significant setback for the Biden administration and will force it to reconfigure its strategy for countering Islamist extremists in the volatile Sahel region.

Though tense discussions between U.S. and Nigerien officials have been previously reported, Zeine’s remarks revealed the extent of the disconnect between the two countries. While the Americans were pressing their counterparts over democracy and their relations with other countries, Niger was asking for additional military equipment and what it considered a more equitable relationship between the two forces, according to his account. He also revealed just how exasperated the Nigeriens had become with the United States.

Relations with the United States have been strained since the junta took power, appointing Zeine, an economist, as prime minister two weeks later. The U.S. government condemned the coup and called for the release of President Mohamed Bazoum, who was put under house arrest.

Zeine said leaders of Niger’s new government, known as the National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland, or by its French initials CNSP, were bewildered that the United States had frozen military support while insisting on keeping the troops in the country without justifying their continued presence. The American response in the wake of Niger’s coup contrasted sharply with that of other nations, including Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, he said, which have welcomed the new Nigerien leaders with “open arms.”

He said the Nigerien leaders took particular umbrage at remarks by Molly Phee, the State Department’s top official for African affairs, who he said had urged the government during a March visit to Niamey to refrain from engaging with Iran and Russia in ways objectionable to Washington if Niger wanted to continue its security relationship with the United States. He also said Phee had further threatened sanctions if Niger pursued a deal to sell uranium to Iran.

“When she finished, I said, ‘Madame, I am going to summarize in two points what you have said,’” recounted Zeine, who has led negotiations with the United States. “First, you have come here to threaten us in our country. That is unacceptable. And you have come here to tell us with whom we can have relationships, which is also unacceptable. And you have done it all with a condescending tone and a lack of respect.”[...]

Since 2012, the United States has maintained a military presence in Niger, with most U.S. personnel stationed at the Agadez drone base, which cost about $110 million to build. That base has been “impactful” for counterterrorism efforts across the region, said Gen. Michael E. Langley, who heads U.S. military operations in Africa. In an interview earlier this year, Langley warned that the U.S. losing its footprint in Niger would “degrade our ability to do active watching and warning, including for homeland defense.”[...]

When Phee first arrived in Niger in December, Zeine said, he showed her photographs of Nigeriens waving American flags during protests against France, Niger’s former colonial power. While protesters set fires and smashed windows at the French Embassy, he noted, they left the U.S. Embassy untouched.

“Nigeriens were saying, ‘Americans are our friends, they will help us this time to annihilate the terrorists,’” said Zeine. “But there was radio silence.” He added that Niger would have not looked to Russia and other countries for help if the United States had responded to requests for more support, including for planes, drones and an air defense system.[...]

Although Niger is insisting that the U.S. military leave, Zeine said that his government wants to continue economic and diplomatic relations with the United States and that “no Nigerien considers the United States as the enemy.” He said he told Phee and Campbell that Niger would rather have American investors than soldiers.

“If American investors arrived, we would give them what they wanted,” he recounted telling the States Department officials. “We have uranium. We have oil. We have lithium. Come, invest. It is all we want.”

14 May 24