#Somali New Year

[panafrocore]

Instunka: The Mock-Combat Ritual of Somali New Year

In the vibrant tapestry of Somali culture, Instunka stands out as a captivating tradition that combines martial arts, ritual, and community celebration. This mock-combat ritual, contested during holidays in Somalia, particularly during Somali New Year, has deep historical roots, tracing back to the Sultanate of Geledi between the late 17th and 19th centuries. Let’s take a closer look at this…

[necomanma]

HAPPY NEW YEAR！

[historyhermann]

Cherry Magic! Spoiler-Filled Review

Cherry Magic!, also known as Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, is a comedic boy’s love series, adapted from a manga of the same name by Yuu Toyota. There were previously TV drama and film adaptations. The anime is directed by Yoshiko Okuda and written by Tomoko Konparu. Tomoki Hasegawa is the music composer. The animation studio Satelight, known for Macross…

[ur-mag]

Somali gang rapist finally deported five years after plane passengers staged mutiny to stop him being kicked out of UK

A MIGRANT rapist whose deportation was thwarted by woke airline passengers five years ago has finally been sent home – at a cost of £1million to taxpayers. Yaqub Ahmed, 34, racked up the mammoth bill in legal, prison and deportation costs before finally being sent back to Read Full Text

[ninyard]

The Scriptures aka towning according to nin. (subject to change)

can’t do this without acknowledging the descriptions of them by @rekikiri which are just perfect plus some more stuff on them here and this wonderful background by @tara-the-star

(I owe everyone like a million socmed posts just for putting up with my shit re: this. enjoy!)

austin michael browning

- southern boy. has a soft southern accent. i was thinking something like southern georgia, but his parents have a stronger accent than he does. he didn't want to be known as the sweet darlin' southern boy when he moved to virginia for his FBI training, so he tried his best to speak a bit more neutral

- it didn't last long

- 6’2, soft brown hair, beautiful brown eyes. he’s covered in freckles and has the most gorgeous warm skin with some terrible tan lines. when he tans, he tans.

- he’s quite built but you can only tell when he takes off his suit jacket or he’s wearing just a shirt/t-shirt. if he could’ve gotten an a+ on the fbi fitness test he would’ve. he’s incredibly strong and goes to the gym most mornings (at like 6am. he’s a real early bird)

- has a bachelors degree in law/criminal justice

- was a detective for two years in georgia until he went to quantico. worked on criminal intelligence cases, but occasionally worked on juvenile crime cases. he had one particularly difficult case involving both departments (organised crime involving a minor) which inspired him to work for the FBI.

- has four siblings. he's the middle child with two older sisters and two younger sisters.

- he’s a somalier without being a somalier. literally knows anything and everything about wine. always has the right bottle of wine for any occasion or meal. recommending wines and opening his favourite wines is his love language.

- his family live by strict traditional values - two of his sisters were married by the time they were 22, and the other two followed suit at 21 and 23. he has a couple of nieces and nephews that he doesn’t get to see too often but he’s their fun uncle. he had a lot of pressure to find a nice girl and settle down, and always brushed off the girlfriend question (he even made up a fake girlfriend when he was in college, just to get his parents off his back) ((they didn’t “date” for very long))

- his dad worked on a farm his whole life and his momma has always been a housewife. his sisters were the only ones his mom taught to cook and clean. he had to teach himself a lot of life skills in college. he still occasionally ruins his clothes by washing them wrong but he’s learned to get his work suits dry cleaned. it’s much cheaper to do that than have to get new ones when he inevitably shrinks them.

- his mom never teaches him how to cook/bake, but she gives him a handwritten book of recipes when he moves to maryland for work. it sits on a shelf in the kitchen of his apartment but he’s never used it

- (until towns visits his apartment for the first time and tells him that he has to make him some of his ‘momma’s recipes’ someday. browning falls in love, naturally, and tries a couple dishes and treats)

- he didn’t really know or acknowledge that he was gay until he was in college. he’d had a few “girlfriends” here and there in highschool but he always felt like he was forcing himself into liking them. he kissed a boy for the first time when he was 19, and everything made sense for him, but even still he buried it down quite deep and focused on his studies instead of relationships.

- his family are not accepting at all. He grew up around a lot of homophobia and slurs and disrespect of lgbt+ people, and so that made it really hard for him to come to terms with his sexuality. he started to distance himself from them when he went to college, and the weekly phone calls with his mom turned to once a fortnight, into once or twice a month, into whenever she eventually didn’t take no for an answer and kept calling until he picked up.

- the only person who knew that he was gay was his oldest sister, who he came out to when he was in the third year of his degree. she was honest and told him that their mom and dad wouldn’t be supportive of him, but she wasn’t going to tell them either.

- she always changed the topic when the “girlfriend” conversation came up when he would go home for thanksgiving or Christmas or some other occasion. he appreciated that a lot

- started smoking cigarettes in college and struggled to give it up. he barely smokes anymore but every now and again on a tough case he finds himself reaching for a packet of cigarettes (towns hates it)

samuel arthur towns

- new york new yooorkkk. he was born somewhere in new york that i haven't figured out yet.

- 5’11, mixed with a white dad and a black mom. he wears glasses. he’s not as big or strong as austin is, but he’s in really good shape. he has gorgeous dark brown eyes and spends way too much time on his hair.

- has a tattoo on his thigh.

- he’s an only child to his absolutely amazing mother and father. they’re SO supportive of him and have always trusted him to make good choices in life - he tells his mom everything. he calls her almost every other day and visits home as often as possible.

- has a double bachelors degree in psychology and law from Columbia

- was a backliner on his high school exy team but never had any intentions of becoming an athlete/going pro. he was a TOTAL jock back then

- when he graduated college he pretty quickly knew he wanted to do something good that wasn’t necessarily becoming a cop. he waited until he turned 23 and on the day he finished his two years of working in an attorney’s office, he applied for a job with the fbi

- came out as gay pretty young. his parents have always been fairly liberal (his mom was a hippie back in the day) so he came out as a teenager and they’ve always been cool with it

- right when he was in the middle of his FBI training in quantico, he was dumped by the man he’d been dating for like two years. he had to put it to the back of his mind to focus on the academy, but it was one of the things that made him and austin first start speaking

- he’s kept journals since he was a kid. he has a full shelf of journals and sketchbooks from the age he was 10 or 11 until the present. he always carries a little black notebook with him and writes down his thoughts and little sketches. (its full of doodles of browning)

- his parents also have books and boxes full of photos of him from birth. it’s like an INSANE number of photos. their attic is just full of boxes and boxes of pictures. (austin’s favourite is one they have on the wall in the living room of sammy as a teenager in his exy gear)

- in turn he’s really into photography too and always takes photos. he shoots on film, so he has loads of boxes full of photos too. his dream is to have a dark room in his home.

- his mom really is his best friend. she’s his biggest fan, and the reason he studied psychology. she’s a holistic therapist, and gives the BEST advice. his dad is a food critic.

- when he was younger a friend of his was killed after because he became involved with the wrong people and ended up in a gang. it totally changed a lot for him, and seeing the way the case was handled really inspired him to get into law/want to go into the fbi. he saw all these young black boys from underfunded and underprivileged backgrounds finding themselves caught up in gangs and when things would happen to them - it was clear the effort to stop the feuds and the violence was not as important as if a young white man had been killed, or indoctrinated because he had no choice.

- his mom was worried when he told her that he’d applied to be in the fbi. they had a very long conversation about the realities of what he would see working with the fbi, why he wanted to do it, what it would mean for his future, and the things he couldn’t do. he knew all of it already, having researched it all as soon as he realised it was the career path he wanted to go down, but she really wanted to be sure he knew what he was getting himself into. it scared him, for a little bit, but he knew it was the right choice for him.

- he has a license, but doesn’t drive that much. he didn’t really need to drive much living in new york, and 90% of the time, in maryland, austin drives him around.

- he’s partially deaf in one ear from a crash that happened during a car chase a few years into working with the fbi.

- the hardest part about working where he does was learning how to shoot a gun. he hates it. like he’s good at it and smart with it but he hates having a gun. the first time he shot a real person he held it together until he got home later and was practically in shock. (he wasn’t sure if telling his mom broke confidentiality or not, so because he was on the case with austin, he invited him over and he ended up staying the night just to keep him company)

- austin and sam only lived in seperate apartments for about six months when they moved to maryland until they decided to move in together. austin was already renting a two bedroom apartment, whereas sam was in a studio, and it just made more financial sense for them to move in together. ("financial")

- he started crushing on austin so early on in their friendship, but he had no idea that austin was pretty much the same.

- austin and sam met when they both started their training in quantico together. they were roommates at the academy but didn’t really interact too much. they only really started talking after one of the first weekends they were allowed to leave the campus - towns went home to visit his boyfriend on the Friday and came back trying to hide the fact he was a wreck on Sunday. he tried not to talk about it, because they’re judging their emotional maturity in the academy, but when browning asked if he was okay, he spilled a little too much.

- even after that, they weren’t really friends. they talked, of course, about their classes and the academy itself, but that was mostly it. towns didn’t know browning was gay, because he never mentioned it, even when towns told him he was gay. most evenings austin would sit at his desk with headphones on while studying, and sammy wouldn’t usually interrupt.

- then one time when they’re both at the gym at the same time, austin notices sam working out, and his form isn’t quite right for the work out he’s doing. austin corrects him after telling him he’ll hurt himself working out the way that he is, and he helps him through a couple of other sets that he does himself. they go to the gym together most days after that, spotting each other when they’re doing weights. they start running in the mornings, too.

- during the course of training there’s a couple of occasions where students at the academy are expected to wear business attire. they’re both getting dressed up in their suits, and austin is kind of embarrassed because he doesn’t really know how to properly tie a tie. his dad usually tied them for him, and for some reason even though he swore he knew how to do it, he’s just really struggling. sam offers to help and austin ends up talking a little bit about his family, but not giving away anything about how shitty they really are.

- one of the weekends they’re allowed off campus, later on at their time in training, towns asks browning if he wants to go out for dinner and a drink. it’s not a date, and neither of them think it is, but neither of them were going home for the weekend and they both wanted to do something. austin ends up picking a restaurant based off their wine list, and they talk about their lives outside of quantico for a little bit. they can’t exactly go out and get drunk - or they’re both afraid to do so in case they get kicked out of the academy - but they sit and talk and share a bottle of wine.

- they get closer, and when they graduate, towns’ mom and dad show up, and browning’s family doesn’t. they take pictures together (one of towns’ favourite photos ever) and sam introduces austin to his mom and dad. they’re going out for a celebratory meal, and sam’s dad invites austin along so he’s not celebrating by himself. he refuses, but when they insist, he comes along.

- oh and it’s SUCH a nice evening. he fills any rare awkward silence by explaining his wine choice to sammy’s dad, while sam’s mom nudges her son and raises her eyebrows like oh, he’s cute.

- they exchange phone numbers before they both head home to wait for their offers.

- (austin spent most of those 18 weeks smiling because of how close him and sam got. sam spent about half of that time thinking damn. am I falling for another straight guy?)

- austin calls sam first the day they find out where they’re being stationed. they tell each other on 3 that they’ve both been stationed in maryland and oh my god. Austin didn’t even know he was going to feel so relieved but he’s like holy shit. I didn’t even realise i was secretly really hoping that we were going to work together.

(there’s more but. I have to stop myself. The brain rot is setting in deeper and deeper)

[aposterous]

Don't come at me, I'm the main character and you have to like me.

Rambling under the cut

The character here is Firestar from Warriors. I'd tentatively recommend reading the books if you haven't read them, but I'm not confident people will like them as they have their problems. Although most of the problems show up after the books that feature Firestar. He's supposed to be a Somali cat here. There wasn't any reason for drawing him. I just default to cats with my art experiments because they're easy to draw. And I did a study last night and I wanted to put the stuff I remembered to good use.

I'm trying to experiment with art that mimics traditional art, specifically the doodles I like to draw in class and stuff. This was really my first attempt and I think it turned out good so yeah!

Also, this is my first art piece of the year! Well, the first finished one. The New Year's Redraw is coming... eventually... I'm not too fussed about that coming out on time because I'm not usually on time with them anyway. One of them took four months and another was just never finished because it looked so ugly. This year's version will hopefully turn out very good, but I'll have to see. Anyway. Thanks to all my followers and stuff, and here's to a good year. Maybe I'll even open commissions.

[closetedlesbean]

hi pookie!

ways you can help palestine !!

- please don’t interact if you’re under 15 cause this is a nsfw blog sometimes and men dni <3

⭒˚‧ 🍵 ‧˚⭒

i’m literally just a super lesbian 17 year old. im into shopping, drawing, reading, writing (but im a little new to it), doing makeup and a bunch of other stuff. i also listen to lana del rey, billie eilish, fiona apple, mitski, chase atlantic and a lot of other artists cause im indecisive. my name’s nadi or nabiba and i go by she/her

im in love with ellie williams, abby anderson, dina nolastname, and other fictional characters

⭒˚‧ 🧸 ‧˚⭒

ೀ i’m new to writing so i appreciate feedback

ೀ i’m bengali and somali

ೀ requests are open!!

♡ masterlist ♡

[estellaestella]

Why does Arrakis have another name? And why is that (native) name the title of the book?

So DUNE (novel)'s wiki page cites a quote where Frank Herbert said he chose the title DUNE because it sounds like "Doom", you know , in line with the ecological message of the books.

In addition, I would like to suggest that DUNE is yet another word that he borrows from Arabic, as with so many other references throughout the saga. Just as FREMEN is a worn down version of FREE MEN I believe DUNE is a time eroded version of DUNIYA. According to Google Translate DUNIYA means world in Arabic, Turkish, Corsican, Swahili, Somali, Twi, Zulu, Hausa, Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, and Yiddish. (I might hv found more instances if I kept on looking.) It seems like a good fit as the Fremen language is full of words with Arabic roots.

Given that Dune is the lesser known name of the planet, it would also make sense to call the novel DUNE if it meant world to Frank. Unless the word DUNE made a big statement (like announcing he's about to give you a whole new world) it makes no sense for Frank to unnecessarily complicate things by giving Arrakis a second name.

Sidenote: the Fremen who initially landed on Arrakis (thousands? of years before the first novel starts) were technicians, scientists, mathematicians, etc who were fleeing the oppression of a slaver- scientist. They couldnt go back to the planet they were captured from and had to make Arrakis their new homeworld out of necessity. In light of that, calling this place their DUNIYA makes sense.

Postscript: there is another layer to the word DUNIYA in that it also refers to the transient nature of the world we live in. In Arabic, it can mean this world as much as it can mean this temporary world. And the original Fremen had initially thought that they would find a way to go back to their home planet and that Arrakis would be a temporary home. So yeah, DUNIYA makes sense in that way too.

Share your thoughts, please!

[readyforevolution]

15 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙁𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙀𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙖🇪🇹

1. The Ethiopian 🇪🇹 calendar is different from the Gregorian calendar. There are thirteen months in the Ethiopian calendar, which means they are currently in 2014.

2. Ethiopians 🇪🇹 also measure the hours of a day to a different schedule based on the logic that the clock starts when the day does. Ethiopia, however, observes 13 calendar months per year. This makes the Ethiopian calendar 7 years behind the rest of the world.

3. Ethiopia 🇪🇹 is the only African country never to have been brought under colonial rule. The Itàlians tried but failed woefully and were defeated by the solid Ethiopian forces.

4. Ethiopia 🇪🇹 has the world's 0ldest Bible and the most unique.

5. Ethiopia 🇪🇹 is home to one of the world's best coffee. In fact, coffee production is huge in Ethiopia.

6. According to some archaeological findings, Ethiopia 🇪🇹 is the cradle of humànkind. Meaning lifè actually started in Ethiopia.

7. In 1960, an Ethiopian named Abebe Bikila became the first Black African to win gold in the Olympics. He won it by running barefoot.

8. Addis Ababa's name translates to ‘New Flower’ in Amharic. The city is one of the oldest cities in the world.

9. Ethiopia 🇪🇹 is home to some of the world's tastiest, healthiest and most diverse cuisines on the continent of Africa.

10. The biggest festival in Ethiopia, Timket, is a three-day annual festival that honours the baptism of Jesus Christ in the river Jordan. It's one of the world's largest festivals that takes place annually. The festival attracts millions of people from all over the world.

11. Ethiopia 🇪🇹 has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the continent. Ethiopia takes first place as the African country with the most UNESCO World Heritage sites. There are 9 total ranging from religious sites to natural areas. Among them are the Simien National Park, Konso Cultural Landscape and the rock-hewn churches.

12. Over 80 languages are spoken in Ethiopia. There are over 80 languages spoken with English being the language of educational systems in addition to local languages which include Oromo, Amharic, Somali and Tigrinya.

13. Over half of Africa’s mountains are in Ethiopia 🇪🇹 Along with Ethiopia’s incredible cultural and historical significance, the natural beauty is in a league of its own. In addition to a gorgeous landscape of low desserts and volcanic plateaus, Ethiopia is incredibly mountainous. In fact, around 70% of Africa’s mountains are in Ethiopia.

14. Ethiopia 🇪🇹 is Africa’s oldest country. Originally founded in 980 BC, Ethiopia is the oldest independent nation on the continent. Additionally, Ethiopia has remnants of some of the most ancient human beings on earth dating back millions of years making it one of the most important archaeological areas in the world. Not only that, but it is the second most populated country with more than 106 million people.

15. Ethiopia 🇪🇹 is the only country in the world with its own unique Alphabet.

[tyfinn]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you @ramonaflow for tagging me- Last week on my way to work I came up with a new fic idea, and made time to start it. So, fresh words! New fic!

***

“This is ridiculous! I’m a grown man and run my own business! Why do I need a chauffeur?”

“Because, Son, you have wrecked three cars in less than a year! You’re lucky they weren’t any of the antiques!”

“Oh, my God. The last one should not even count! It’s not my fault that the entrance to Prada looked like a parking garage!” David mumbled.

“Yeah, well lucky your mother is good friends with the manager, otherwise you could have been arrested and be on probation right now.” Johnny Rose looked at his son and adjusted his reading glasses.  

“It’s not bad, David! I really like mine!” Alexis twirled a piece of her long blonde hair. 

“I’m glad it’s working out, Sweetheart. Ted is proving to be a very valuable employee.”

Last month Johnny hired Ted Mullins to drive Alexis around, and to keep an eye on her. After last summer’s hostage situation on David Geffen’s yacht by Somali pirates, Johnny decided they needed to keep better track of their daughter. He also promised Ted a bonus every time he was able to keep Alexis from running off. He has already paid Ted two times, and it has only been a month. 

“Fine! Whatever! So how does this work? Are they on speed dial or something? And how is it anyone is available to drive at a moment’s notice? The whole thing sounds pretty sketchy to me.” 

“He is an employee, David. He was told what the job would entail. He has a work phone, and we already programmed his info in yours. He is aware that you work three days a week at your gallery, and that you, uh, like to go out every weekend to whatever clubs you kids go to nowadays.”

“You know, David, you could probably use him as, like a date, or something, too. That’s what I do with Ted. And then I find my friends and he does whatever it is he does until I’m ready to go!”

David glared at his sister. “Absolutely not. I haven’t even met him yet, and I’m 87% sure he would not fit in with my friends. Is there any way out of doing this?”

“I don’t see how, Son. I really can’t afford for you to wreck another car. Now, if you want to move back to New York where you don’t need to drive, I’m pretty sure I could get another gallery going. We have plenty of friends in New York…” Johnny’s voice trailed off. 

“I’ll have to think about it. And, what do you mean you have plenty of friends in New York? What would that have anything to do with me moving back there?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just thinking out loud. Now, kids, I’m supposed to meet your mother in an hour for dinner. So, David? We are clear about using the chauffeur?”

“I guess. What’s their name?” David threw his hands up in the air. 

Johnny pulled out a paper and scanned the information. “It says here Patrick. Patrick Brewer. He came highly recommended by Ted.”

No pressure open tag for anyone who may have something to share.

[necomanma]

実は、待てからの食べてる図なんですけどね😸

[ur-mag]

Somali gang rapist finally deported five years after plane passengers staged mutiny to stop him being kicked out of UK

A MIGRANT rapist whose deportation was thwarted by woke airline passengers five years ago has finally been sent home – at a cost of £1million to taxpayers. Yaqub Ahmed, 34, racked up the mammoth bill in legal, prison and deportation costs before finally being sent back to Read Full Text

[officiallordvetinari]

Wikipedia Featured Article Poll, Biographies Edition. Summaries and links below the cut

Margaret Ives Abbott (June 15, 1878 – June 10, 1955) was an American amateur golfer. She was the first American woman to win an Olympic event: the women's golf tournament at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Lilias Eveline Armstrong (29 September 1882 – 9 December 1937) was an English phonetician. She worked at University College London, where she attained the rank of reader. Armstrong is most known for her work on English intonation as well as the phonetics and tone of Somali and Kikuyu. Her book on English intonation, written with Ida C. Ward, was in print for 50 years. Armstrong also provided some of the first detailed descriptions of tone in Somali and Kikuyu.

Morris Berg (March 2, 1902 – May 29, 1972) was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball, who later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Although he played 15 seasons in the major leagues, almost entirely for four American League teams, Berg was never more than an average player and was better known for being "the brainiest guy in baseball." Casey Stengel once described Berg as "the strangest man ever to play baseball".

Edward Dando (c. 1803 – 28 August 1832) was a thief who came to public notice in Britain because of his unusual habit of overeating at food stalls and inns, and then revealing that he had no money to pay. Although the fare he consumed was varied, he was particularly fond of oysters, having once eaten 25 dozen of them with a loaf and a half of bread with butter.

Harold Francis Davidson (14 July 1875 – 30 July 1937), generally known as the Rector of Stiffkey, was a Church of England priest who in 1932, after a public scandal, was convicted of immorality by a church court and defrocked. Davidson strongly protested his innocence and to raise funds for his reinstatement campaign he exhibited himself in a barrel on the Blackpool seafront. He performed in other sideshows of a similar nature, and died after being attacked by a lion in whose cage he was appearing in a seaside spectacular.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas (April 7, 1890 – May 14, 1998) was an American journalist, author, women's suffrage advocate, and conservationist known for her staunch defense of the Everglades against efforts to drain it and reclaim land for development. Moving to Miami as a young woman to work for The Miami Herald, she became a freelance writer, producing over one hundred short stories that were published in popular magazines. Her most influential work was the book The Everglades: River of Grass (1947), which redefined the popular conception of the Everglades as a treasured river instead of a worthless swamp. Its impact has been compared to that of Rachel Carson's influential book Silent Spring (1962). Her books, stories, and journalism career brought her influence in Miami, enabling her to advance her causes.

George Went Hensley (May 2, 1881 – July 25, 1955) was an American Pentecostal minister best known for popularizing the practice of snake handling. A native of rural Appalachia, Hensley experienced a religious conversion around 1910: on the basis of his interpretation of scripture, he came to believe that the New Testament commanded all Christians to handle venomous snakes.

Margaret Alice Murray FSA Scot FRAI (13 July 1863 – 13 November 1963) was a British-Indian Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, historian, and folklorist who was born in India. The first woman to be appointed as a lecturer in archaeology in the United Kingdom, she worked at University College London (UCL) from 1898 to 1935. She served as president of the Folklore Society from 1953 to 1955, and published widely over the course of her career.

Dom Pedro Afonso (19 July 1848 – 10 January 1850) was the Prince Imperial and heir apparent to the throne of the Empire of Brazil. Born at the Palace of São Cristóvão in Rio de Janeiro, he was the second son and youngest child of Emperor Dom Pedro II and Dona Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies, and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza. Pedro Afonso was seen as vital to the future viability of the monarchy, which had been put in jeopardy by the death of his older brother Dom Afonso almost three years earlier.

Elias Abraham Rosenberg (Hebrew: אליאס אברהם רוזנברג; Hawaiian: Eliaka Apelahama Loselabeka; c. 1810 – July 10, 1887) was a Jewish immigrant to the United States who, despite a questionable past, became a trusted friend and adviser of King Kalākaua of Hawaii. Regarded as eccentric, he lived in San Francisco in the 1880s and worked as a peddler selling illegal lottery tickets. In 1886, he traveled to Hawaii and performed as a fortune-teller. He came to Kalākaua's attention, and endeared himself to the king with favorable predictions about the future of Hawaii. Rosenberg received royal appointments to several positions: kahuna-kilokilo (royal soothsayer), customs appraiser, and guard. He was given lavish gifts by the king, but was mistrusted by other royal advisers and satirized in the Hawaiian press.

[joyce7878]

#NSAspiesforeignpoliticians

Us spying scandal Hangs over German media reports that the US spied on 122 leaders "NSA accessed more than 300 Merkel messages!" After spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone for years, the NSA has been revealed to have stored information about 122 heads of state, including Merkel, Der Spiegel reported. U.S. intelligence agencies created a database specifically for heads of state, according to an NSA document marked "top secret" and provided to the magazine by former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden. Ms. Merkel's name appears prominently on the list of people monitored by the database. In May 2009, the NSA sought information about 122 heads of state on the list. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Somali President Yusuf are listed in alphabetical order. Merkel was ninth on the list, followed by former Malian President Amadou Toure and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. At 122nd was Yulia Tymoshenko, then Ukraine's prime minister. The database is said to exist to "find out information about targets that would otherwise be difficult to access". Snowden provided articles proving that Merkel had indeed been the target of official U.S. spying and that the National Security Agency had gathered intelligence on her. The German newspaper Bild says Snowden's Revelations have gradually pieced together a full picture of the US intelligence agency's surveillance programs. Der Spiegel also said the documents would become important material evidence for federal prosecutors, who will decide in the coming days whether to launch an investigation into the alleged spying. The Berliner Zeitung commented that Obama's visit to Europe a week ago came as the US and Europe emerged from the spying scandal as "best friends" again. A new scandal over spying on world leaders has cast another cloud over transatlantic relations. German press TV commented that the United States is still refusing to sign a non-spying agreement with Germany. Without a legal compromise by the United States, German officials and citizens could no longer avoid being spied on.

[moneeb0930]

CABEZA EGIPCIA ( Egyptian Head)

A 3,500-year-old mummy head…

Belonging to an anonymous woman age 20-25…

This mummified head, which currently belongs to the Museo de Antropología Médica, Forense, Paleopatología y Criminalística in Madrid, Spain, was first described as the "beheaded head of a Guinean negress young woman."

Let that sink in…

Please take all the time you need…

The head's true origins were found only in 2007, when Moissidou and colleagues traced the mummified remains back to the Theban Necropolis archaeological area in Egypt…

The head's mummification technique made it possible to date it to the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom…

This is the best known ancient Egyptian dynasty as it includes several famous pharaohs, such as Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun…

The researchers believe the woman lived in a period between the reign of Thutmose II and Thutmose III…

"Looking at the accurate embalming, we can say this lady was an important member of the Egyptian society of the time," Gonzalez said.

https://www.seeker.com/mummy-head-shows-ancient-egyptians-bleached-their-skin-1851531742.html

And for those of you who might be wondering why I chose to post a photo of a young Somali woman:—

“Egyptian tradition of the Dynastic Period held that the aboriginal home of the Egyptians was Punt”

SOURCE;

(Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge, ‘A Short History of the Egyptian People With Chapters on Their Religion, Daily Life, Etc’; 1914)

Hatshepsut’s inscriptions claim that her divine mother Hathor was from Punt…

“The Egyptians sometimes called Puntland ‘Ta-Netjeru’, meaning "Land of the God," and considered it their place of origin”

SOURCE;

(Richard Pankhurst, ‘The Ethiopians’; 1998)

The greek historian Diodorus in his book ‘Universal History’ said that in the 6th century before Christ, because of a political crisis in Egypt and the Asiatic infiltrations in Egypt, more than 200,000 Ancient Egyptians migrated south of the Nile…

This last historical fact can explain why the Somali language is a survived ancient Egyptian language, according to the British linguist Charles Barber:—

“The language of ancient Egypt belonged to the Hamitic group; Surviving Hamitic languages are spoken across a large part of North Africa and include Somali."

SOURCE;

(Charles Barber, ‘The English language, A Historical Introduction’; 1993)

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What facts are Palestinians keen to avoid?

Here are some neutral facts Palestinian people are keen to avoid:

One of the most frequently heard claims about the Palestinian people is that they suffer from a standard of living comparable to the poorest of African states.

However, Palestinians live to a ripe old age and Palestinians born today are easily expected reach 75 years of age. In terms of life expectancy the Palestinian people rank 10th out of 22 Arab states.

By contrast the average Somali Arab is unlikely to see their 52nd birthday. There are 132 countries in the world with lower life expectancy than the Palestinian people – including some incredibly wealthy Arab states such as Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria – so life expectancy clearly is not a problem for the Palestinian people.

Another fascinating fact and indicator of standard of living are infant mortality rates (IMR) as this is a strong measure of the healthcare provided.

Thankfully the overwhelming majority of Palestinian babies live beyond the age of one, as only 15 out of 1,000 die before the age of one. This fascinating fact of life gives Palestinians people the 9th lowest infant mortality rate in the Arab world. Tragically 100 out of 1,000 Somali babies are lost in their first year of life.

Fascinatingly, the infant mortality rates throughout the Arab world are only lower in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, UAE, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Oman.

There are 116 out of 224 countries in the world with a worse IMR, so it seems pretty conclusive that in terms of health the Palestinians are not even close to having lowest living standards.

Perhaps one might argue that the Palestinian people may have their health, but they live a miserable existence.

However, once again the fascinating facts don’t agree, because according to the 2012 Happy Planet Index, which is a survey conducted by the New Economics Forum to measure happiness around the world, Palestine was the third happiest Arab country and the 30th happiest in the world. Fascinatingly this makes Palestinian people happier than many developed countries like the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia and Canada.

In fact when we look at the Palestinian economy it dwarfs those of many other nations. Fascinatingly 40% of countries around the world have a lower GDP than Palestine (such as Kosovo, Iceland, Haiti, Moldova, Monaco, etc.). Some people mistakenly have a mental image of Palestine as an impoverished nation, which simply isn’t true. Palestine is not rich, but it is disingenuous to compare it to the poverty of nations like Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Fascinatingly, despite the relatively high Palestinian living standards, the Palestinian people are one of the largest recipients of international aid. Each year over 1.8 billion dollars flows across its borders, while nations living in abject poverty are all but ignored by the international community. Tragically nations like Eritrea, which has a GDP PPP Per-Capita of a meager $729, receives a measly $134 million in aid – despite suffering from decades of war, mass poverty and a dictatorship accused of extrajudicial executions, torture, forced labour, rape and sexual servitude.

To summarise these facts about Palestine and Palestinian people:

Palestinian people live very long lives and have access to great healthcare.

Palestinian people are happier than citizens of superpowers like the UK and USA.

Palestinian people are some of the world’s largest recipients of aid – receiving approximately $1.8 billion each year.

40% of the world’s countries are poorer than Palestine.

According the UN 36% of their member states have a worse development index that the Palestinian people.

Here are some other facts Palestinian people like to avoid talking about:

Under UNRWA practices, any descendant of a male Palestinian refugee, no matter how many generations and decades have passed, is automatically entitled to be counted as a "Palestinian refugee".

More than 95% of today's UNRWA "Palestinian refugees," in fact, were not even alive when Israel declared her independence in 1948; were never personally displaced by Israel's creation, and are listed by UNRWA as "Palestinian refugees" only because of this peculiar practice of inheriting refugee status as a Palestinian birthright.

In not a single case does UNHCR count a person with citizenship as a refugee, while 40% of UNRWA's "Palestinian refugee" registrants are citizens of Jordan. In fact, the UNHCR's authorising statute, and the Refugee Convention that supports the agency, both explicitly forbid continuing "refugee" status when a person attains citizenship. UNRWA's authorising document does not.

UNRWA's own “Consolidated Eligibility & Registration Instructions” do not require UNRWA beneficiaries to be classified as "Palestinian refugees". Its Section III.A.2 and Section III.B create classes of UNRWA beneficiaries not registered as "Palestinian refugees" but who are nonetheless eligible for UNRWA services.

Axel Becker

H/T @HuizengaWest