#Tel Afar

[dein-art]

[taviamoth]

🚨 A child has ascended to martyrdom after being shot by the bullets of IOF snipers at the gate of the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip.

[via RNN]

[ashesofacheron]

I had such a nice time wow. I’m so happy.

[dumbkiri]

hi!! how are you? i hope you are having a lovely day and staying hydrated.

i just would like to request a tobio x fem!reader where reader is the younger sister of oikawa and because of the "bad blood" between the two, she gets tired and lectures them about how they should stop their petty fight and, at least, be civilized with each other. (though oikawa is mainly the petty one 😂)

it's a bit messy, so it's okay if you don't decide it or completely change the plot.

btw, i absolutely love your fics!!! and i definitely am a fan of yours!!!

𝐁𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬

ᴋᴀɢᴇʏᴀᴍᴀ ᴛᴏʙɪᴏ x ꜰᴇᴍ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

The Karasuno Boys volleyball team were excited to be invited to the Karasuno’s Girls volleyball tournament. The tournament was called ‘Spring Days’, it was showcasing the popular teams of Japan and they couldn't wait to see all the cute girls there.

Then they were all smacked in the face when Kageyama offhandedly said that he wouldn’t be there to support the Karasuno girls. 

“What do you mean you’re not going to support them! They always support us!” Hinata shouted at his grumpy teammate. The orange haired male was currently shaking the life out of Kageyama. 

Then Kageyama scowled and began wrestling Hinata as he said, “Because I would be betraying someone important to me. She plays for Shiratorizawa.” 

“Eh?” Hinata stopped shaking Kageyama and just stared at him blankly while being held in a chokehold by said male. Then he whispered so the rest of the boys practicing wouldn’t hear them, “Someone important? Like a girlfriend?” 

“Is that a problem?” Kageyama casually asked, pushing Hinata away. He picked up his drink and started gulping down the water in his plastic bottle. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shrugged his shoulders, “It’s a good thing I get a free ride there, but don’t expect me to cheer for our school.” 

“We are there to support our team, Kageyama,” Sawamura crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at the young teen with his dad stare, “And if I don’t hear you cheer for them, you will not set for two games- no three games.” 

Kageyama deflated and looked off to the side in thought. You would understand the punishment he was getting and would want him to do what’s best for him. But your attitude was going to be different during the game. “Fine, but if our school faces Shiratorizawa, you’re gonna wish I cheered for her instead.” 

The boys watched as the volleyball nerd went over to the net getting ready to practice some sets. They had no idea what he meant by that and left to join him for practice. 

…..

Saturday came quicker than the boys anticipated, nonetheless they sported the Karasuno jackets and walked into the large stadium with giant smiles on their faces. They all loved the feeling they got walking up to the court, so sometimes it was weird for them to be watching and being the supporting students. 

Kageyama was glued to his phone, messaging his girlfriend non-stop. Hinata would definitely peek over Kageyama’s shoulder, but he would always be pushed away with a hand in front of his face. The boys were seated in the first row and had an amazing view of the court. 

Kageyama was doing perfectly fine until he heard his rival speaking from afar. “Ah, the poor little trashy crows have to play against my amazing little sister. I can only imagine how giant the point difference is going to be.” 

Kageyama looked to his left to see two empty seats. That was until that annoying voice still praising his sister got closer. His dark blue eyes looked up to see brown ones glaring at him. Then another male popped up from behind the curly brown haired person.

 “Ah, Kageyama, you’re here to support [Name] as well?” Iwaizumi asked, walking in front of Oikawa and greeting the stumped black haired male. 

Kageyama bowed his head then said, “No, I’m not allowed to cheer for her or else I won’t be a setter for three games.” 

Iwaizumi sat down next to him and chuckled, “I get it and I’m sure she would as well. Did you tell her?” The older teen got comfortable and looked at his old teammate. 

“I’m afraid she’s going to give the Karasuno girls a hard time if I did,” Kageyama admitted with his eyes directed hard at the ground. 

A loud laugh caught their attention and Oikawa leaned back into his seat with a smug smile on his face. “[Name] is so going to crush your trashy team solo! If I were you, I would tell your other halves to forfeit now.” 

Iwaizumi elbowed Oikawa’s rib cage causing the male to lurch forward with a holler. Before Kageyama could agree with his rival, his loud teammates came into the picture with heated glares, “What makes your snotty sister so special, huh?” Tanaka shouted while Nishinoya stood behind him with a fist in the air, “Ten bucks, our team does the crushing instead!” 

“Deal!” Oikawa shouted back with one hand holding his side while Iwaizumi shook his head from the lack of awareness these idiots had. The usually grumpy male leaned over to Kageyama and whispered, “You do know that your team is going to make trashykawa super rich after this game?” 

Kageyama crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled back, “I tried to warn them.” 

“Welcome all to the Spring Days tournament where talented ladies from all over Japan showcase their volleyball skills.” 

The female announcer excitedly proclaimed in her microphone. The males couldn’t focus on what she was saying because a new group arrived behind them and this group wasn’t going to go unnoticed. 

“Oh my, is that Oikawa Tooru? The big brother of our baby eagle, [Name]?” 

Kageyama peeked a glance at his rival and saw the instant disgust on the male’s face which caused a bit of happiness to appear on his own face. Kageyama thought this was a perfect karma moment for the smug male. 

“You do well to address my little sister by her last name. Just because she trains with that guy, doesn’t mean you cannot show her or myself some respect!” Oikawa pointed at a very tall third year student. 

Ushijima looked down at Oikawa with his eyes and stated, “Your sister likes the nickname the team gave her and she has all our respect because of her skills. At least she took my advice to join the girls team at Shiratorizawa unlike you. She’s being nurtured if that’s what you care about.” 

“Don’t word it like that, it makes you sound like a pervert! Also that’s because I don’t want to be your teammate! You’re the one that brainwashed my poor sister! I should have persuaded her to spend her time elsewhere!” 

“What, like Karasuno?” Tendou snidely said with a snicker. 

Kageyama could feel the tension from his captain and vice captain as Daichi spoke up with a fake smile on his face. The third year Karasuno male turned around and asked Tendou with that cheap smile, “Something wrong with Karasuno?”

Tendou hummed and shrugged his shoulders, “Ehh~ You don’t really see people with skill choose Karasuno unless they’re rejects,” He looked at the back of Kageyama’s head, “Or useless dreamers.” He stared at the rest owlishly. 

“That’s enough out of your mouth,” Semi joined in and told everyone to focus on the game which is about to start. Everyone had their feathers ruffled up in some way and it was because of their snide remarks to one another. 

“For our first game, we have Karasuno vs Shiratorizawa! Please welcome them to the court!” 

Kageyama pulled out his backpack from under his chair and everyone looked at him suspiciously. He didn’t pay attention to their questioning glares as his eyes were on a girl who looked around the arena for him. Of course, your knees were not covered by your usual white and purple knee pads. 

It only took another minute for you to find him and you ran over to the stands with a giant grin on your face.

 “Tobio, thank you so much for bringing them! I forgot I left them at your place!” You huffed out and sat down in front of his backpack digging in it without any permission. You found your knee pads and took them out with a sigh of relief. “You just saved me from running ten laps back home.” 

“It’s no problem at all,” Kageyama responded with a gentle smile on his face as he admired your look. The rest of his teammates were baffled by the look of his face and how pretty you were. You seemed kind, way kinder than your older brother. 

You slipped your knee pads over your shoes and comfortably on your knees. You looked up at Tobio and blushed at the soft look he was giving you, but you could tell he wanted to tell you something. “Is something wrong, Tobio?” 

“Yes!” Your brother shouted standing up from the bleachers, “He’s not going to cheer for you! But don’t worry, you have me!” 

“And us!” Tendou shouted from a row behind. You laughed and pushed yourself up from the floor. You weren’t going to tell them that you didn’t notice them because of your attention to your boyfriend. 

“Is there a reason why you’re not going to cheer for me, Tobio?” You asked with a pout on your face and he stood up immediately to comfort you. You loved this about him, he was pretty shy, but he made sure to keep you happy. 

He looked at his team then to you and explained, “They didn’t believe me when I said that my girlfriend plays for Shiratorizawa and said that if I didn’t cheer for the Karasuno girls then I wouldn’t set for three games.” 

You laughed and gave Kageyama a quick hug pushing him gently back onto his seat, “Eh, don’t worry Tobio. I was just teasing you. I know I will always have your support! Anyways, what’s the bet?” 

“You know about the bet?” Hinata questioned bewildered by your psychic abilities and you scoffed with a smirk on your face as you gestured over to your older brother, “Please, if my brother doesn’t force someone to bet on my skills then he’s not my Tooru.” 

“We bet ten dollars,” Oikawa said and leaned back while Iwaizumi shook his head in exaggeration. 

Then you rolled your eyes and fixed your knee pads a bit while saying, “I would have gone higher, older brother. But that’s okay, I hope to see you all in the finals.” You winked at Kageyama and shouted over your shoulder as you walked away, “I better not hear the both of you talking smack to one another. It throws me off my game!” 

Oikawa sat back in his spot and glared at Kageyama, “Why were her knee pads at your place?”

Kageyama shrugged his shoulders and zipped up his bag. The words from you not even seconds ago being forgotten because of a cruel idea in his head. He was tired of Oikawa and this was for sure going to get him riled up.

Kageyama turned his head and smirked at Oikawa, “Maybe because she spends most of her time on her knees.” 

“I dare you to say that again!” Oikawa shouted while being held back by Iwaizumi who had to hide his blush from his former teammate. He wasn't expecting Kageyama to be that bold!

“I meant what I said!” You shouted, giving a glare at your rambunctious brother.

..........

Thank you for your support and I hope this was a fun read for you because I had fun writing it!!

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Joseph Epstein

Since war broke out between Israel and Hamas, the anti-Israel trope of "settler-colonialism"—or foreign Jews displacing indigenous Palestinians has reemerged.

In the case of Israel, this term is no more accurate than such demonization of the Jewish state as an "apartheid" regime or saying that it is committing "genocide." The refutation of a Jewish connection to the land of their ancestors or the denial of a permanent Jewish presence in Israel stems either from ignorance or malevolence.

These countries have intentionally altered the demographics in war-torn Syria and Iraq to strengthen their geopolitical positions.

The worst offender is Iran, which has manipulated sectarian strife to form a Shia corridor from its borders to Lebanon to supply its main proxy, Hezbollah.

In Syria, Iran has settled Shia families from Iraq and Lebanon in strategic Sunni areas between Damascus and the Lebanese border. Tehran has found a partner in the Alawite Islamic sect, which dominates the Syrian regime. President Bashar Al-Assad and other members of the Alawite minority oppress the Sunni-majority that was largely behind the Arab Spring revolution in 2011. As a result, Syria has helped facilitate the export of Iran's Twelver Shia Islam—a branch practiced by the Iranian regime—to areas under Damascus's control. Assad has allowed Twelver foreign clerics to occupy senior religious positions and relaxed visa restrictions for Iranians and Iraqis, leading to an influx of Shiites.

A similar story has taken place in Iraq. Following the U.S. removal of Saddam Hussein, Iraq fell into religious sectarianism, allowing Iran to quickly become the patron of the much of the ruling Shia majority. Under the pretext of war against terrorism and the Islamic State, Tehran began systemically changing the demographics to solidify its corridor to Lebanon. Iranian-backed militias were at the forefront of sectarian cleansing of Sunnis in areas like Tel Afar, Mosul and Fallujah.

Iran often uses the pretext of Shia shrines to justify the presence of its militia proxies. Following battles in areas around the "Sunni Triangle" city Samara—home to the Al-Hadi and Al-Askari shrines—thousands of hectares of agricultural land owned by Sunnis was confiscated and its residents were not allowed to return to their homes. In Syria, protecting Shia shrines in the capital of Damascus and its suburbs gave Iranian proxies, including Hezbollah, an excuse to fortify its presence.

[hebrewbyinbal]

Okay, so picture this:

I’m sitting on a bench in Rothchild Blvd., sipping my coffee and watching this commotion from afar.

When I head home and see this news item pop up on my feed. I laughed so hard!

Now, fast forward to today, where reality is so twisted that watermelons are somehow an anti-Israeli symbol (what??), and Zionism represents evil and colonialism...

When this post I shared in 2018 resurfaced as a memory, I couldn’t help but think – even back then, it's either you laugh or you cry - when the story is that far from the truth!

In the picture is Israeli singer Netta Barzilai - who won the Eurovision - walking with the prince in Rotchild Blvd. in Tel Aviv.

[humanrightsupdates]

Broken Promises of Compensation for Sinjaris

Sinjar has been the site of grave war crimes and mass displacement going back a decade, with about 183,000 Sinjaris still displaced today. Yet despite years of waiting, not a single person from Sinjar has received the compensation payments that they are entitled to under Iraqi law for destruction of and damage to their property, we found a year ago.

80 percent of public infrastructure and 70 percent of homes in Sinjar Town were destroyed during the conflict against ISIS between 2014 and 2017. Without this compensation, many displaced Sinjaris lack the financial means to go home and rebuild the homes and businesses lost during the war. A decade on, tens of thousands of Sinjaris are still living in camps across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and largely reliant on humanitarian assistance. As the federal government’s July 30 deadline for closing these camps looms near, delivering these payments becomes even more important.

As of a year ago, 3,500 completed compensation claims were awaiting payment from the Ninewa Governorate’s Finance Department. That number has now risen to 10,000, and still not a single payment has been made, a representative of the Sinjar compensation office told Human Rights Watch.

The office has processed another 26,000 claims that are waiting for final approval from the appeals court before sending them to the Finance Department for payment, the representative said.

“We finished processing all the cases filed between 2021 and 2023, so there is no more backlog,” Judge Ammar Mohammed, head of the Tel Afar Compensation Committee, which oversees the Sinjar sub-office, told me. “We’ve done our job. It’s now the government’s job to pay.”

[dragoneyes618]

The world looks a lot different from Kibbutz Kfar Aza than it does in the United States or any other point on the planet. The difference is obvious in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or anywhere else in Israel. Throughout the world in most mainstream media accounts and commentary from supposedly enlightened members of the chattering classes, the current war being fought in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is seen as merely the latest twist in a long cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. From that perspective, it’s just more evidence of the cruelty of war to which the only possible moral response is to tell everyone involved to stop it, especially when the alleged underdogs—the Palestinians—are being defeated.

To those who look on from afar, the history of the conflict or the rights and wrongs of how the war started—even the unspeakable atrocities committed on Oct. 7 at Kfar Aza and 21 other Israeli communities when Palestinians associated with Hamas violated a ceasefire, crossed the border and murdered, raped, tortured and kidnapped people—are just details that act to incite the combatants.

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But those details matter, especially if they involve the right to live in safety and relative peace.

A just war

This war is between a democratic nation fighting for its existence against an Islamist movement whose goal is the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. Yet many outside of Israel, even those who do know the history and essential nature of the two sides in this struggle, such as President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, are increasingly speaking as if the only thing to do is to end the war as soon as possible. They say the aftermath of the war must mean that Hamas survives—and gets away with mass murder. That means the Palestinians are rewarded for such abominations with an independent state that will likely have the ability to pursue the terrorist organization’s goal for many more days like Oct. 7. Somehow, that makes sense in Washington and other places.

But not in Israel.

The overwhelming majority of Israelis, including many, if not most, of those who oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, see it very differently. And to understand why, maybe you need to go to Kfar Aza and see the ruins and makeshift memorials to the people who lived in that small kibbutz near the Gaza border who were brutally murdered, raped or kidnapped by Palestinians.

If so, you’ll soon realize that the battle with Hamas isn’t one about Israelis ruthlessly harming Palestinians. Nor is it about “white” oppressors seeking to dominate powerless “people of color,” as many left-wing Americans think. Nor is it one in which tired diplomatic theories about a “two-state solution,” which have repeatedly been rejected by the Palestinian people, can be employed to get a messy situation under control, not to mention ease some of Biden’s political problems.

To be in Israel during this war is to experience both the strength and the fragility of the Jewish state. Yet the general public wouldn’t necessarily think that if all they know of the Middle East is what’s seen on news shows. After all, life goes on pretty much as normal, even if some businesses and farming areas in southern and northern Israel have clearly suffered due to the absence of employees because so many people have been called into active military service. The buses and trains are running, and people still go to the movies and concerts, as well as other normal activities.

The hotels are also full, but not with tourists. That is a key giveaway that something isn’t right. Walk into many hotels in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, and something is a little off. They’re packed with people but not tourists on vacation from abroad. Chat with even a few of the hundreds of thousands of Israelis—families with small children and elderly people prominent among them—who were forced to flee their homes in the south near Gaza and the north near Lebanon, and you get a view of the war that is omitted in the breathless coverage of Palestinian suffering.

A country united by grief and determination

To understand what’s going on, you need to talk to Israelis who have been called back into the military and willingly risking their lives fighting in Gaza. Though they’re eager to resume their regular lives, many I spoke with are just as ready to return to the battlefield because they know the job of destroying a deadly threat to their country isn’t finished. While international opinion deplores the possibility that Israel will attack the city of Rafah—Hamas’s last major enclave inside Gaza—few Israelis I spoke to, including those who have served, are prepared to halt the war until all of the perpetrators of the Oct. 7 massacres are stripped of the ability to repeat their crimes.

You don’t have to do a lot of reporting before you realize that morale among Israeli soldiers is high and stretches across all the cultural, political and religious debates that divide Israeli society. It’s not because they relish war or bloodshed. They don’t want to kill Palestinians and also grieve the loss of so many of their comrades—casualties made more likely because of the strict rules of engagement that prevent the Israel Defense Forces from fully utilizing the firepower at their disposal to lower the number of civilians killed because Hamas uses them as human shields.

Their spirit remains strong. They know that what they are doing has nothing to do with the lies about “apartheid,” “settler-colonialism,” “occupation” or “genocide” that are thrown about at antisemitic demonstrations in U.S. cities or on college campuses and are treated as acceptable discourse in mainstream publications like The New York Times.

Israeli soldiers—young conscripts and veteran reservists alike—aren’t down about the war because they know that what they are doing is defending their homes and families. It’s the civic faith in the justice of their cause that resonates throughout Israeli society and pervades the thinking of those who have sent their loved ones to battle. It is also felt by the grieving families of those who didn’t come home. Israel is a nation that is united by both anguish and determination.

Americans understand war differently

This may come as a shock to Americans, who are used to thinking of wars in a very different way.

Since World War II, Americans were sent to fight dismal and bloody proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam, where the rhetoric about defending democracy against communism rang hollow for many. That was just as true about the attitudes toward the wars fought in Afghanistan and Iraq in this century. Despite any initial enthusiasm about punishing the perpetrators of 9/11 or toppling dictator Saddam Hussein, those conflicts turned into messy quagmires that most Americans—whether on the right or the left—wished to escape. Though the opponents of the United States were clearly evil, by the time both wars ended in what history will record as defeats, they hardly seemed worth the sacrifice of blood and treasure that had been expended on them. Even before the final rout of Americans during the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, these wars had already been sealed in the country’s collective memory by both popular culture and the opinion of most serious commentators as terrible mistakes.

Coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas makes it seem as if it is another version of hapless and brutal Westerners fighting Muslims in futile efforts that cannot succeed, similar to the way Americans failed in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the overwhelming majority of Israelis—from secular left-wing Tel Avivians to pious Jerusalemites and all points in between—know their war is different.

They understand that their opponents are not in far-off lands like America’s in recent decades, and their raw violence directly threatens them. Though Israel has prospered in the 75 years since the Jews regained sovereignty in their ancient homeland, it hasn’t known a day of complete peace. Palestinian Arabs, their foreign allies and enablers in the Muslim and Arab world, as well as those in the West and international community, have never given up their quest to destroy the one Jewish state on the planet.

Places of pilgrimage

That’s why the view from Kfar Aza, and other Israeli kibbutzim and towns throughout southern Israel, is so different.

The sites of the massacres have become places of pilgrimage for Israelis and visitors to the country—and rightly so. To see the homes in places like Kfar Aza that were riddled with bullets and/or burned by the terrorists, and to learn of the horrible fates of their inhabitants, is a searing experience. The same is true for the fields where the Nova music festival took place, and where hundreds of young people were slaughtered, raped and kidnapped—and which are now filled with makeshift memorials to the victims and those taken hostage. Just as haunting are the nearby fields where the wreckage of hundreds of burned-out cars of festival attendees have been piled up and for the time being, left as a gruesome reminder of their fate.

After a brief period of interest and empathy, most of the international media lost interest in the story of Oct. 7. Americans don’t hear from those who survived the attacks or those who risked their lives to rescue some of the victims. But their stories do resonate with fellow Israelis, who understand that they could have just as easily found themselves the prey of Hamas murderers hunting for Jews to torment and kill on that terrible day.

The fate of the hostages also hangs over the country. The pain of the families of those who are still held in captivity by Hamas is felt by everyone there. And while politics has intruded into the discussion—as the anti-judicial reform movement that paralyzed the country has taken control of the weekly “hostage square” protests in Tel Aviv and focused their animus at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rather than Hamas—support for the war effort remains largely unshaken.

The notion of stopping the fighting to allow Hamas to survive while still armed and in control of part of Gaza is widely considered reasonable elsewhere, but not in Israel. There, they understand that if Hamas is allowed to fully escape the consequences of the war it started, it will only mean that it will be allowed to make good on its promise to repeat the Oct. 7 atrocities again and again.

The widespread assumption in America—even among major Jewish organizations that are supposed to have Israel and the Jewish people’s best interests at heart—that a Palestinian state must be created after the war ends is opposed even by most on the Israeli left. They know that rewarding Hamas and its supporters with such a gesture isn’t just an invitation to more bloodshed. It’s also immoral and will ensure that the conflict never ends. The independent Palestinian state in all but name ruled by Hamas in Gaza before Oct. 7 was evidence of what such a “solution” would mean for Israel. They understand that a state in Gaza, as well as one in Judea and Samaria, controlled by genocidal terrorists and their morally equivalent political rivals—the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah Party—could place the entire country in danger.

But that’s hard to see in Washington, even by those not motivated by leftist ideologies to hate Israel and to cheer the slaughter of Jews. Still, it’s a truth that is difficult to escape when looking at the ruins of Kfar Aza.

[sylviegunpla]

Gunpla: Completed Collection of Minis: Part 4: Gundam SEED

Next is the SEED Figures. These guys will have a lot of cockpit shots because i already finished off most of their models (though a couple of them were back before i was doing water slides, and just using the decal-stickers and dry-rubs that came with most non-ver-ka MGs)

PG Astray Red Frame: Lowe Gule

This was done before i had access to my magnifying binoculars. The panel lining was actually done with gundam panel line marker, over Mr. Super Clear Gloss. This kinda turned out well. However, his "brother" (the pilot figurine) wasn't so lucky: (under the cut)

This one i started panel lining, then messed up and erased, and it wound up not coming off right. So i just didn't bother and went ahead and finished it with a flat coat, no nuln oil for detailing or anything. BTW, the way i captured that backshot gives me an idea for what i could do with suit-less pilots.... but i'll leave that for another day. Anyway, i actually already water slide decaled his suit, so i could take pictures of him in the cockpit!

Oops, got a little carried away there.

moving on...

MG Strike Rouge + Ootori: Cagalli Yula Athha

This was THE first figure i tried nuln oil on. However, it turned out kinda messy, because it was a tutorial my friend was showing me. HOWEVER HOWEVER, i managed to recover it without too much work! I think she looks decent overall.

The pilot figurine was also finished with Nuln Oil, but after i knew what i was doing. I think she turned out a bit better.

Next, we're gonna go behind the scenes and see some of the movie magic i use to make it seem like these guys are in fully constructed models (I already tricked you with the post about the Hi-nu!)

Some basic shots showing the cockpit hatch structure.

And now you can't tell again that it's not complete!

The hatch is now closed. We move onto another pink gundam:

MG Infinite Justice: Athrun Zala

I finished him with only a little bit of panel liner, down the middle of his chest, and nuln oil on the face. A little blobby/messy but still achieves a decent effect from afar.

Here's the pilot figurine. No backshot because i pretty much left his back unfinished. You have to constantly change the thing holding the figure in order to paint certain sections and i was getting tired of trying to do the back.

His cockpit operates very simply, so i only have a few shots:

Yup, there he is. He's actually mostly fully built because i had to detach him from the sick ass plane he normally hangs from. Yes, the mecha suit i mean hangs from a plane. It's so sick, i'll have pictures in another post dedicates to this kit.

BONUS: So, for a while, i had this figurine that i THOUGHT was the pilot figurine for this kit. But then one day i opened up the cockpit hatch and saw the figurine. So who is this guy? what kit does he come from? I'm not even sure if it comes from a PG (1/60) or an MG (1/100), it seems closer in size to the PGs though. You can see i attempted to start painting it in Athrun Zala colors. I actually finished it but it looked so weird trying to force the sculpt to match the image. My friend thinks the sculpt looks like it could be a specific pilot outfit that Kira Yamato wears. It's equally likely it might be a Mu from a PG Sky Grasper. Can anyone positively identify the kit this figurine comes from? The few possibilities we think it might be are kits my friend used to have, but lost due to Moving Shenanigans. so we cannot confirm that those kits are missing pilots. ANyway, moving on, to the final figures:

2x RG Strike Freedom: Kira Yamato

Why do i have two of these guys? Because i have two of the kits! The Strike Freedom was the first RG I assembled, in 2020. In 2021, i got P-Bandai's "Titanium Finish" release of the exact same kit. Thus, i had two Kira Yamatos to paint. These both were painted in my first run of minis in Fall 2023, and they are the last of such minis to be shown off here! I did not panel line them, hell you can tell that getting the stripes on their tiny pilot suits was hard enough. They're very messy and have bad color separation. Honestly, i might try redoing one of them now that i have magnifying goggles. It would be worth it. And as a reminder, since these came with an RG, they are 1/144 scale, so a bit tinier than most of the others i've shown off (which are 1/60 or 1/100).

I believe that does it for Part 4. I just barely had enough image slots for all these pictures, but sadly not enough for some "gags" i wanted to do. there would have been 3 more images in the set of 6 pictures of Lowe Gule boarding the Astray Red Frame, but i had to cut them for extra space. To read part 5, Click This Link!

[eretzyisrael]

11 Sivan - Bnei Brak - 1924

On this day in 1924, the town of B’nai Brak was settled just east of Tel Aviv in Israel. The town is originally mentioned in the Book of Yehoshua and is most famous for being the place of the all-night Seder mentioned in the Passover Haggadah that was led by R’ Akiva. During the 4th Aliyah, 8 Chassidic families immigrated from Poland intending to build a religious agricultural settlement. By 1933, those 8 families had attracted over 1,000 others including the Chazon Ish who was considered the leading Rabbi in Israel until he died in 1953. The Jewish world was being guided from his little house in the town. By 1948, the population would be almost 10,000, and today there are nearly 200,000 residents. In 1950, B’nai Brak became an official city of the young State of Israel.

Much of the growth and development of B’nai Brak can be attributed to R’ Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman. R’ Kahaneman had already led the city of Ponevezh in Lithuania for 20 years. One of the largest Jewish cities in Lithuania, under his tutelage the city exploded as a center of Torah. At the outbreak of WWII, he was on a trip to Israel and found himself stranded there. He continued to run the city’s institutions from afar. In 1941, the city of Ponevezh was decimated first by the Red Army and then a few days later by the Nazis y”s. The local Yeshiva was destroyed and all its students were murdered. What was R’ Kahaneman’s response? Within two years he opened the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak with Rommel and the Nazis just a few sand dunes away in North Africa. As Europe was up in smoke, he saw his duty to rebuild Torah in Israel. Within a few months, Rommel would be dead and the Ponevezh Yeshiva would be on its way to making R’ Kahaneman’s vision a reality.

Rabbi Pinchas L. Landis

[laineystein]

What do you think of the protests in Tel Aviv right now? Have you been able to go? Anyway, supporting the Israeli people from afar! Hoping to make aliyah soon so I can join everyone 🙂

They’re great! The conversation has morphed from one strictly about government overreach into some talking points I don’t completely agree with but to each their own. Overall it’s been a wonderful thing to see. But no, I haven’t made it out yet. Crisis typically means the ED is flooded so that’s where I’ve been. I’m trying to get out at some point, I just haven’t been able to make it work.

Mazel and brachos on the possible aliyah! We’d love to have you 💙

[sa7abnews]

Ten years after the Sinjar massacre, Yazidi women fight back

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/ten-years-after-the-sinjar-massacre-yazidi-women-fight-back/

Ten years after the Sinjar massacre, Yazidi women fight back

Ten years ago on August 3, the Islamic State group (IS) began its genocidal assault on the Yazidis, an ethno-religious minority in northern Iraq.

At least 5,000 Yazidis were killed, and an estimated 7,000 Yazidi women and children were kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by IS fighters.

Holya, Berivan, and Fahima — three Yazidi women from Sinjar — managed to escape the attack and are now rebuilding their lives and communities more than six years after the defeat of IS in the country.

The women work as deminers for the British demining charity Mines Advisory Group (MAG). They clear Sinjar, the Yazidis’ ancestral homeland, and the surrounding area of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other explosive ordnance left behind from the war with the terrorist group.

All three women were displaced from their homes when IS attacked and lost relatives, but they are determined to make Sinjar safe again.

“With every landmine we clear, we are victorious over Daesh [Arabic word for IS] again and again,” said 28-year-old Fahima Elyas.

“Before the war, women had traditional roles in the community, but after the war, it became accepted that we could do different jobs and contribute in different ways. We became nurses, teachers, deminers. This is such a source of pride for us.

“I do this work to send IS a message: they took our girls, and I couldn’t hold a gun to protect them, but I can hold a detector and clean the area where they left the remnants of the war,” added Fahima. 

A deadly legacy 

The war with IS left a massive amount of explosive ordnance across Iraq — a deadly legacy that still kills and maims civilians to this day.

Estimates of the initial extent of contamination in Sinjar vary. However, an assessment using the best available data indicates that approximately 107 square kilometres of Sinjar was left contaminated with IEDs and explosive ordnance following the war, including booby traps left in homes.

In the last four years alone, MAG has cleared almost 24 square kilometres of contaminated land and removed nearly 6,000 items of explosive ordnance in Sinjar and Tel Afar.

However, contamination — and challenges — remain.

Much of the infrastructure in Sinjar is still devastated, with many Yazidis still living in IDP camps and stuck in limbo. Meanwhile, many Yazidis remain missing, and there is a lack of justice and accountability for the survivors.

Berivan Khider, 31, fled with her family for 24 hours without rest when IS attacked Sinjar. She managed to escape, but many others did not.

“There were a lot of girls who returned and told us they’d been sold 20 times to different men,” said Berivan.

“Girls said they sold us for 500 dinar — 30p. They sleep with a girl for one night or ten nights. They use girls like a jacket; they wear it for a while until it feels boring.”

Berivan’s father was taken hostage by IS militants in 2007, who demanded a ransom of 55 million Iraqi dinar (£33,000).

The family had to sell their home, possessions, and Berivan’s gold earrings to pay for his release. Now, he is unable to work due to the injuries he sustained during the kidnapping.

Currently, Berivan rents a house in Sinjar with some other women, while her family rents a house next to an IDP camp near Duhok.

Fahima is a MAG team leader. She was 18 and studying at sixth form when IS attacked. Her family woke her up early in the morning, telling her they had to run.

“We fled at about 11 am, and Daesh arrived very soon after. I have three brothers and three sisters, and we couldn’t all escape together. I ran into the street, and a car stopped to rescue me and take me to safety,” she said.

“We were in the car, and we could hear the bullets and the gunfire. As women, we were very afraid of what would happen to us. All the people in the community were helping one another.

“The men were all willing to sacrifice their lives so their sisters, daughters, and wives could escape. My father and brother stayed behind to make sure the rest of the family could escape, and they were able to escape later,” she added. 

Fahima and her family fled to Duhok, a nearby city where many Yazidis were displaced.

“We returned to our family home in 2016, not too long after the liberation of Sinjar,” she continued. 

When she did, she found her house booby-trapped extensively by IS, including an IED wired up to a box of chocolates and a large, bloody knife in her bedroom, which she believes was used for beheadings.

Her experience made her want to help clear the remnants of war so other families could return home.

“My mum was very afraid when I started doing the landmine clearance work, but all of my family and the wider community are incredibly supportive of what we do. They see this work as honourable work — making our homeland safe,” she commented. 

Holya Morad was only 16 when she fled Sinjar with eight of her relatives in one car and drove into the mountains.

“I didn’t believe it would go on this long. I thought maybe two or three days; that the government wouldn’t allow them to do this to our families and our girls,” the 26-year-old said.

“We didn’t expect so much devastation — kidnapping and killing people.

“My house is destroyed; I can’t go home now, but I can help other people go home,” she concluded. 

All picture credits to Sane Seven

Jessie Williams is a freelance journalist, editor, and writer based in London. Her interest lies in global current affairs, humanitarian issues, women’s rights, migration, culture, and politics to explore the human stories behind the headlines

Follow her on X: @JessieWill5

[merrikstryfe]

Last Sunday in New York, thousands marched in the annual pro-Israel parade, less a celebration this year than a rally for the hostages held by Hamas since October 7. The parade’s sponsor, New York’s Jewish Community Relations Council, said its goal was “sending an urgent message to the world: ‘Bring Them Home Now!’” — raising awareness of the plight of the captives, without calling for specific actions to free them. By contrast, the day before, tens of thousands of protesters in Tel Aviv called on the government to strike a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire in the eight-month war in exchange for the return of the 120 remaining hostages, living and dead.

[...]

The two rallies and their competing messages demonstrate a divide between many American Jews and Israelis, both marching under the banner of “Free the hostages.” In Israel, many advocates for the hostages have been vocal in criticizing their government and calling for a ceasefire; in the United States, Jewish groups and individuals have been invoking the hostages either in apolitical gestures of solidarity, or to defend the aims of the war.

[...]

But while their messaging regularly focuses on Hamas atrocities and its violations of international law, the forum and its members have also been pointed in their domestic politics. In December, 80 days after the Hamas attacks, Nisan Calderon, brother of hostage Ofer Calderon, spoke at a rally organized by the forum. “I call on members of the cabinet and the government to work for the return of all hostages now,” he said. In March, 150 days after the attack, he spoke at a Health Committee meeting at the Knesset, complaining that no one from the Israeli government had contacted him — a common complaint among hostage families.

Historically, American Jews have been uncomfortable publicly criticizing the Israeli government from afar. At the same time, many are now facing their own insecurity in the wake of the war and rising anti-Israel and antisemitic activism.

[...]

As the war ground on and Israel faced more criticism both at home and abroad, symbols like the dog tags took on new meanings. “They had a quality of ‘I am with Israel no matter what. I will not criticize Israel,’” said [Rabbi Vanessa Ochs, emeritus professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia], who is a scholar of new rituals and Jewish material culture. “And for people who are critical of Israel it became a symbol of abdicating your role and responsibility for thinking about the consequences of what Israel is doing right now militarily.”

[...]

Amanda Berman, executive director of the “unapologetically Zionist” Zioness Movement, understands that to many Israeli activists, freeing the hostages means supporting a ceasefire. But by wearing a dog tag (next to a chai and other Jewish symbols), she’s expressing a different view of what it means to be “political.” “As an American Jew and as a human being of conscience, I want the war to end. But the question since the afternoon of October 7 has been, what has to happen in order for the war to end? And for me, that pressure should have been on Hamas to release the hostages and to stop shooting rockets and missiles into Israeli population centers and to stop threatening the sovereignty of the Jewish state,” she said. “And the minute that happens, the war will be over.” Berman’s may not be a pro-war message, but it focuses responsibility on Hamas instead of the Netanyahu government. And it was similar to a message conveyed by a delegation from Kibbutz Be’eri, a southern Israeli community hard hit during the Hamas attacks, that marched in New York’s Israel parade. Or Gat, whose sister Carmel is a hostage and whose mother Kinneret Gat was murdered that day, told JTA that the goal of their 10-day trip to the US was to raise awareness of the hostages and to speak about Hamas, “a terror organization that’s controlling Gaza and is the one that most hurts the Palestinian people.”

[...]

The We Are All Hostages movement wants more from American Jews, and said in their letter that they are available to speak to Jewish groups to press their case. “Your voices are crucial to saving our family members. Your voices can help end this war. Lives hang in the balance,” they wrote. “Our families hang in the balance. We need you with us.” Jill Jacobs of T’ruah said her group had come to a similar conclusion earlier in the war. On May 8, it issued a statement urging the Netanyahu government “to make a hostage and cease-fire deal and bring the hostages home.” She is aware, however, that even as the pro-Israel right abhors such implicit criticism of Israel, the pro-Palestinian left resists empathy for the hostages — and that the “kidnapped” posters were often torn down or covered. “There’s this idea [on the left] that it’s somehow a contradiction between calling for a ceasefire and saying anything about the hostages,” she said. “I wish that people on the far left in the US understood that a ceasefire and bringing home the hostages are actually the same things. They’re not different sides.”

[jesusismyredeemer]

For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back to your own land."  (Ezekiel 36:24) Today is Yom Ha'Atzmaut James, in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Galilee and the Biblical Settlements, Israelis are celebrating Israel's 75th Birthday today.

They woke up this morning to a day filled with festivities that have been taking place throughout the country. Since sunset last night, this day has been filled with concerts, street parties, barbecues, festive prayers at the Western Wall, and lots of flag waving throughout the country.  On this day, 75 years ago, Israel miraculously became an independent nation in fulfillment of many Bible prophecies. "Do not be afraid for I am with you: I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.  I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'  Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth."  Isaiah 43:6

[lighting-philips]

Why choose the smart lighting system for your home and when?

Smart lighting system for home refers to the ability to control your lights from afar via a wireless connection and a smartphone app. Set timers for your lights, and make schedules or routines to turn them on and off at specific times or in response to specific actions. You can time your lights to sunrise and sunset, dim or alter their hue, control groups of lights on multiple circuits at the same time, and have lights automatically switch on and off in response to motion and/or occupancy. 

You can also use voice commands or programmable wireless buttons and remotes to operate the lights. 

Changing the hue of your lights to match the colour of the sun can help you feel more energised. 

Here are just a few of the many applications for a smart lighting system for home: 

Security and safety — Never return home to a dark house again; programme lights to switch on at random while you're gone to deter intruders. Without any cabling, use motion sensors to activate outdoor lights at night. You can also check smart home tech trends as well. 

Convenience — If you frequently fall unconscious with the bedside light turned on, it can be set to turn off automatically. A simple command or schedule can turn everything off at night and then back on again in the morning. When you walk into a room, motion sensors switch on the lights and turn them off when you leave. 

Health and well-being — A gentle rising light is less jarring than an alarm and actually works. Syncing your smart lighting system for your home to the hue of the sun throughout the day has been shown to help you feel more energised when needed and begin to wind down when needed. Color-changing bulbs are not only entertaining at parties and events, but they are also helpful as a notification system.

For example, Philips Hue lights can be programmed to turn blue when it rains or red when you receive an email from your office. 

When and why should you use connected bulbs?

Smart LED bulbs are the most common type of smart lighting, owing to their ease of installation and configuration. Prices for smart connected LED bulbs have fallen dramatically, and you can now get one for as little as $5. While that is twice the price of a similar dimmable LED, it is far less expensive than it was just a few years ago. 

Most (but not all) hue lights can be dimmed, and they come in three varieties: white, full-color spectrum, and tunable white lighting (where you can adjust the colour temperature, this is how circadian rhythm lighting works: cold to warm.). 

Are you looking for Philips Hue smart lights now? Get in touch with Philips Hue

directly at https://www.philips-hue.com/en-in or call: Tel: 000-800-050-7777

[henrys-fan]

If you see a woman you like but aren't ready to add value to her life... Just admire her from afar. Please do not interrupt his journey. (à Tel-Aviv Pub Crawl) https://www.instagram.com/p/ColYSd-ocKp/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=